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2022-07-31-accounts

Charity number: 1190952 Company number: 12727846

ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASSOCIATION OF EX-SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD) ALSO KNOWN AS ASDIC

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended

31 July 2022

CONTENTS

Legal and administrative information 1
Chairman’s Introduction 2
Chief Executive’s Report 3
Report of the Trustees 4
Independent Examiner’s Report 12
Statement of Financial Activities 13
Balance Sheet 14
Notes to the Financial Statements 15

Association of Service Drop-in Centres Ltd (formerly Association of Ex-Service Drop-in Centres Ltd) YEAR ENDED 31 July 2022

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

COMPANY NUMBER 12727846
REGISTERED CHARITY 1190952
TRUSTEES Dr David Trotman (Chairman)
Mr Roger Nield MBE (Treasurer)
Ms Annette Lindsay
Lt Col Mac McPherson MBE
Dr Andrea Morris
Colonel Clive Newell OBE JP
Ms Dorinda Wolfe Murray
CHIEF EXECUTIVE Mrs Tracy Bryant
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Cdre Barry Bryant CVO RN
REGIONAL DIRECTOR Capt Malcolm Farrow OBE RN
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Mr Christopher Toulmin
REGISTERED OFFICE ASDIC
Brydale
Wellesley Close
Crowborough
TN6 1QP
BANKERS CAF Bank Ltd
25 Kings Hill Avenue
Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent
ME19 4JQ
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Samantha Wells
Lindeyer Francis Ferguson Limited
Chartered Accountants
North House
198 High Street
Tonbridge
Kent TN9 1BE
SOLICITORS Pothecary Witham Weld
84 Eccleston Square
London SW1V 1PX

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Association of Service Drop-in Centres Ltd (formerly Association of Ex-Service Drop-in Centres Ltd) YEAR ENDED 31 July 2022

Chairman’s Introduction

Despite the continued impacts of COVID, ASDIC continues to develop and grow its support of Armed Forces’ Veterans’ Drop-In Centres operating across the four Home Nations. An increasing membership enables ASDIC to have a unique insight into the successes and challenges that Drop-Ins face, as that vital link to the social, welfare and health needs of many thousands of Armed Forces Veterans and families living within our urban and rural communities across the UK.

Now with an established and permanent office base in the RBLI Village at Aylesford in Kent, Tracy and the ASDIC team have significantly developed the Charity’s communication processes, via web, social media and print, not forgetting our ‘e’ based quarterly newsletter “Ping” going out to over 100 members. With thanks to the Veterans’ Foundation and continued funding from The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCT) we have been able to employ a specific Membership Liaison and Engagement Officer. Developed and managed by our Office Team and with strong support from Veterans UK, our veterans’ verification system ‘VetCheck’ has been an incredible success.

Under ASDIC’s direction, our Regional Coordinator structure, representing 12 operational regions across the UK, enables direct contact and reporting of current concerns and operational trends of those supporting veterans on the ‘front line’. This in turn leads to guidance and support toward resolution of need as and when required.

Given our approach and position within UK Veterans’ support networks, ASDIC has been invited to undertake direct advisory roles with major third and statutory sector agencies including Cobseo, SSAFA, RAFA, RBL, and the OVA. It has also been awarded a lead strategic role with AFCT’s Veterans Places, Pathways and People programme, delivering vital funding to ground-level members and supporting agencies across the UK. ASDIC will continue to work with funders and decision makers in order to represent, guide policy, and support the whole Drop-In community.

Joined by 170 delegates representing agencies large and small, ASDIC’s first National Conference as a registered Charity, held at Leeds Royal Armouries during May of 2022, was an unmitigated success and reflected the absolute need and relevance of ASDIC within the Armed Forces family. Indeed and following a unanimous request, we look forward to our next gathering as time and resource permits!

Through my own daily work in Wales based at Woodys’, I see that the Drop-Ins are the ‘eyes and ears’ of the veteran community. ASDIC acts as the conduit by which our members come together, giving us the recognition and direct support, in order that we can improve the lives and conditions of many thousands of men and women who have served.

To conclude, and delayed by COVID, we as an ASDIC Board and Team were able, finally, to thank, Commander Peter Mosse RN, Co-Founder and retiring ASDIC Chair, for his hard work and initiative in building the foundations of this incredible Charity.

Dr David Trotman, Chair.

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Association of Service Drop-in Centres Ltd (formerly Association of Ex-Service Drop-in Centres Ltd) YEAR ENDED 31 July 2022

Chief Executive’s Report

Friends,

After a pretty frantic but highly exciting year for ASDIC, I am really delighted to be writing this personal report as an introduction to this document – formal it may be, but I really want it to help make our case to a wider audience. The Association has gone from strength to strength during the year in question. Our membership has seen a 65% growth and this rate continues. The members themselves have grown in stature, influence and maturity, delivering so many vital services to our veterans during the national paralysis induced by Covid by using their own initiative, flexibility and common-sense while more established organisations retreated. I would like to pay my own personal tribute here to their fantastic contributions during this difficult time, and emphasise that their overall value to the veterans’ sector has not gone unnoticed in the corridors of power.

The jewel in our crown during the year was undoubtedly our first national Conference in Leeds in May. From an initially modest idea, it swiftly took on a life of its own, with many supporters and stakeholders keen to join in. We took the attendees on a journey from the life of an individual Drop-In and what it could achieve right down at grassroots level, through the hard-lived experiences of some veterans of recent conflicts, to how ASDIC can knit the summation of all this nationwide activity into a force to be reckoned with. We were joined by sector and nationwide government departments, with senior representatives from Cobseo, DWP, the NHS and many others supporting our direction of travel. Many previously uninitiated individuals have since become firm friends and supporters, and there is no doubt that the wonders of virtual meetings will never replace the value and vibrancy of face-to-face discussions and networking. All agreed that greater collaboration is key!

We have many specific achievements in providing very real support to our community. With the willing support of Veterans UK, our VetCheck system for verifying an individual’s previous service has been a huge success, often getting a simple result in less than 24 hours. We continue to introduce our bespoke online communication and networking platform, the ASDIC Community Hub, to our members and also intend to offer its facilities to participants in the Covenant Trust’s VPPP programme. Wider audiences will be able to view the information and news items on the site. Our Regional structure is growing stronger with most Coordinators now in place and integrating into their local landscapes of veterans’ support and activities. We still have much to do to refine our processes and smooth any rough edges, but we have some firm plans in place.

There is a sense that the sector has been waiting for the representative voice that ASDIC can provide for our small organisations, and there is a palpable feeling of enthusiasm for its support. The power of our many locally-based organisations is offering a new era for veterans’ mental health and wellbeing support, breaking away from purely military networks and recognising that all our veterans have many fantastic service values and have so much to offer as they integrate back into our communities. If ASDIC can help strengthen the final steps of that transition, or those very many journeys, we shall have achieved our aim. Thank you all so very much for coming with us.

Tracy

Tracy Bryant, Chief Executive

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Association of Service Drop-in Centres Ltd (formerly Association of Ex-Service Drop-in Centres Ltd) YEAR ENDED 31 July 2022

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees (who are also Directors of the Charity for the purposes of the Companies Act) present their report and financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st July 2022. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the Annual Report and Financial Statements of the charity. In doing so the Trustees have taken advantage in the exemption from providing a Strategic Report as the Company is defined as small.

Executive Summary

Mission Statement

ASDIC’s original foundation Mission Statement asserted that:

ASDIC will work to maximise the sustainability, resilience, effectiveness and delivery of Drop-In Centres and improve liaison with Breakfast Clubs across the United Kingdom to ensure that all vulnerable veterans receive swift and empathetic support, and that their needs are appreciated at higher levels.

This simple statement defined what ASDIC then was, and also what it was not. Despite the increasingly wide remit, ASDIC still has no ambition or intention to challenge or usurp the many well-established Service charities. However, during the year in question and certainly following the highly successful Conference in May 2022, it became increasingly apparent that while this original Statement remained core business, there was a far wider task to be fulfilled. ASDIC now believes that it has a unique role in coordinating and representing all the very many small and often community-based organisations contributing to the mental health and wellbeing of the entire veterans’ collective. While still ensuring that Drop-In activity is fully understood, appreciated and supported, we now integrate and cooperate with all these relevant existing organisations. This expanded Mission has been incorporated in an updated Business Plan and is described in more detail below.

Nonetheless, we intend to remain a very small and flexible core team. Each member has both specific and wider-ranging responsibilities but also a common understanding of aims, activities and progress, increasingly using social media and our bespoke online Community Hub to maintain contact and improve information and data flow with all associated parties. This integration and teamwork enables all staff to work across boundaries and cover for other members when required.

Development Activity

ASDIC operates both tactically and strategically across the whole of the UK. It covers all members of the Armed Forces and their families, both serving and former, as well as members of the Merchant Navy and the Emergency (‘blue-light’) services, and it deals with any reasonable mental health, welfare and/or social need. These wide responsibilities reflect a fairly unique and valuable position shared with only a few other organisations in the veterans’ welfare sector, and complements the work of, inter alia, the Office of Veterans’ Affairs (OVA), the Confederation of Service Charities (Cobseo), the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCT), the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) and the Veterans Advisory and Pension Committees (VAPCs). Close relationships with these organisations are therefore vital for ASDIC in developing and contributing to the UK-wide picture of need from their experience of all issues at the coalface. Some key themes from the ‘Strategy for Veterans’ (Nov 2018) paper formed the initial framework for ASDIC’s work, and we are now using the ‘Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022 - 2024 (Jan 2022) as our primary policy guide. Indeed, we are concentrating on the Plan’s three main areas:

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  1. Transforming Services for veterans. Improving services to make sure veterans and families have the support that they need.

  2. ASDIC advocates the provision of local support, integrated in local communities, and delivered by local veterans and charities, in partnership with other agencies.

  3. The Drop-In Centres’ work is based around local communities and relationships. ASDIC aims to enhance collaboration between these local groups and share best practice, networks and points of contact to enable the needs of veterans to be met and optimise on their potential.

  4. Understanding our veteran community – use data and research to ensure policy across government is rooted in robust evidence.

  5. ASDIC is now gathering and collating data, managing surveys and commissioning research on a routine basis, often from and with previously neglected veterans’ areas. All results are forwarded to the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA), Cobseo and other authorities to widen the appreciation of the ‘small organisations’ community and the social value of the work they carry out.

  6. Recognising our veterans’ contribution to society. Fully recognising all veterans’ contributions to society, including those who may not have historically have felt their service was recognised, and challenging negative stereotypes.

  7. ASDIC Advocates the provision of local support, integrated in local communities, and delivered by local veterans and charities.

  8. The Drop-In Centres’ work values the role of Veterans in the running of drop-ins - they promote positive messages about the role of volunteering and the value this plays in local communities.

At the strategic level, ASDIC promotes regular liaison by supplying vital information on our member DropIns and their operations to higher-level authorities. Extrapolation of a first formal survey of members revealed an extraordinary level of activity, with some 40,000 physical and 35000 virtual welfare interactions in one twelve-month period. We maintain an excellent liaison with established research organisations, particularly the Directory of Social Change (DSC) and strive to promote focused studies on the activities and impact of the smaller, community-based centres nationwide. All information is kept up to date and the future introduction of an interactive database will markedly improve this liaison and data exchange.

Our Regional Coordinators are encouraged to build and maintain their own lists of, and liaisons with, local assistance bodies, and these close links can often facilitate more rapid provision of relief.

The UK also has a vibrant grouping of Breakfast Clubs. These are not wholly dissimilar from Drop-Ins but tend to have greater emphasis on sociability and comradeship than making direct links with external welfare organisations. While these Clubs have their own membership organisations, they are also being encouraged to join ASDIC to ensure their coordinated voice can be joined synergistically with others and represented to higher authorities.

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ASDIC also maintains informal but strong liaison at both the national and local levels with the wider matrix of any and all organisations which can offer assistance to veterans in need. These obviously include the large number of Armed Forces charities and small local community organisations but also local authorities, NHS services, Citizens’ Advice Bureaux, and others. For some of these, membership will be appropriate and welcomed.

Objectives and Regional Activities

The objects of ASDIC as per the charity’s governing document are as follows:

To provide assistance to and improve the wellbeing of the Beneficiaries (defined below) by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Drop-In Centres for the public benefit, including but not limited to:

Beneficiaries are those persons who have been or shall be at any time members of the Armed Forces, veterans, their families, current and former members of the merchant navy and emergency services in the UK. We strongly believe that this wide definition allows ASDIC to respond flexibly and rapidly to the swiftly developing spectrum of smaller organisations which have evolved, particularly during and since the pandemic, within local communities.

While the Beneficiaries and over-riding Objectives are unlikely to change, the specific provisions of benefit will be amended and updated during the coming year as ASDIC’s experience and influence grows within the sector.

In setting and advancing the objectives, the Trustees will always consider the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.

A vital component in all these objectives has been the introduction of volunteer Regional Coordinators to act as our ‘middle management’ tier, and the introduction of a revised regional system. It has been instructive to observe the many different constructs by different authorities within the nation and it was tempting to follow the present NHS regions that would drive the VPPP programme but, given the sometimes transient nature of NHS areas, it has been decided that the longer-term objectives of ASDIC will be better served by adopting the more permanent national areas of the ONS and other government institutions. A developing closer liaison with Veterans UK and the VAPCs reinforces this decision.

Our Impact

Direct impact on our ultimate beneficiaries, those veterans most in need, is obviously delivered secondhand as we enable the many Drop-In centres and associated organisations to provide a better service on the front-line. However, ASDIC believes that we are having an ever-increasing national and first-hand impact in providing communication between Drop-Ins and Regional Coordinators in the community, and vastly improving liaison between more nationally focused agencies in government (eg DWP), the Ministry of Defence, Cobseo and the OVA, and other welfare charities. In particular, working with the Armed Forces

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Covenant Fund Trust as a Strategic Lead within the VPPP programme, we have been able to act as an interlocutor between a wide spectrum of local interest groups and the wider national picture. This reflects ASDIC’s unique ability to position itself as a small but agile and flexible unit, responding swiftly to inputs from all directions and effectively ‘joining up the dots’. No other agency appears able or willing to fulfil this vital role.

Impact itself is a somewhat subjective concept, particularly when claimed by the perpetrator. Following the impressive groundwork undertaken by some Drop-Ins and as displayed at the Leeds Conference, it would be of immense value if a more standardised and objective evaluation and reporting mechanism was introduced across the sector. This would at least provide a more common assessment of the real monetary value of the huge volume of Social Prescription that goes on within each individual organisation. ASDIC will continue to lobby for the introduction of such a system.

In the wider sense of the appreciation of the Impact of the smaller organisations, external in-depth study is required of this sub-sector. Given the litany of research already carried out into much smaller but perhaps more vociferous veterans’ groupings, such a study is long overdue, and ASDIC will maintain the pressure to secure targeted funding. It also looks forward to making a pivotal contribution to such a truer reflection of this largely unsung community.

Achievements and Performance

Regional Definition

As previously mentioned, the apparently simple task of designing and operating on a regional basis was more problematic than expected as ASDIC sought to optimise its relationships with the wider spectrum of Armed Forces’ welfare organisations and, perhaps more importantly, national services such as the NHS with its own constantly changing construct. The County-based concept, as still used by some, was considered outdated and inefficient. It was wisely decided to align our regions with the long-standing national structure used by government and the ONS, on the basis that as national data gathering becomes of increasing importance, it can be viewed comparably with other nationwide inputs.

Advisory role for grant-making and other organisations on coal-face activity

It has been encouraging to form a relationship with wider grant-makers such as the Veterans’ Foundation, which has sought ASDIC’s opinion on the efficacy of their own grants and their impact on the efficiency of applicants. Similarly, ASDIC’s advice has been requested by government agencies on the true and realistic impact on veterans of national issues such as the existential ‘cost of living crisis’. It is believed that few other stakeholders have the ability to drill down sufficiently swiftly and accurately to produce hard-hitting observations directly from the coalface.

Leeds Conference May 2022

There is little argument that the highlight of the year for ASDIC was our introductory national Conference which took place at the Royal Armouries in Leeds over two days in early May. Under the auspices of the VPPP programme’s aim to achieve greater visibility of both ASDIC’s Strategic Lead role and the incredible contribution being made nationwide by the smaller organisations, the Conference became both an excellent networking opportunity and a chance to showcase the new ASDIC structure. The attendance reflected the spread of interest in this new player emerging from within a previously staid and conservative sector. The audience comprised a wide spectrum of our own members, governmental departments, and

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senior representatives from the overarching veterans’ sector. Rarely had such a broad church been assembled, and there was clear enthusiasm from all attendees to mingle with those of whom they were aware but rarely had the chance to meet in person. The ability to convene such a gathering was a significant lesson for ASDIC, and one which we shall try hard to replicate in the future.

Briefing politicians & significant individuals

Every opportunity has been taken to provide personal briefings to high-profile individuals, sometimes by application and frequently by request. We have concentrated on those with direct application to the veterans’ sector such as the various Veterans’ Commissioners and the Chairmen of Veterans’ Advisory and Pensions Committees. Having achieved greater understanding, the majority show enthusiasm and pledge support. A few, steeped in the traditions of longer-established organisations, question the need for ASDIC’s new and informal approach and lack of a hierarchical structure. Time will tell, but ASDIC continues to stress that it should not and cannot replace other agencies but can certainly help them to improve their own delivery of services by warm referrals and easing their access to the realistic veterans’ world.

Increasing membership and improving relationships with Regional Coordinators

ASDIC’s membership continues to grow incrementally, having recovered from an understandable slowdown during the pandemic. We encourage new members to join with an increasing range of benefits and training packages, plus the visibility that we can give to grant-making programmes such as the AFCT VPPP packages. At the same time, as reported separately, we have also widened access to collegiate organisations within the VPPP programme; they share our aims and objectives, and ASDIC will be very ready to give them the representation that many presently lack. It has been stressed to all Regional Coordinators that our objectives must be as inclusive as possible; their main priority must be to assist any vulnerable veteran, and not feel hampered by artificial barriers and constraints imposed by external authorities.

Increasing visibility

Having spent most of the past year emerging from the restrictions of the pandemic, ASDIC now needs fully to celebrate the incredible successes that our Drop-In leaders and their staffs achieved during those hard months. While more established organisations retreated, ASDIC volunteers continued to go forward as far as possible, within the legal constraints, to help their contacts on the ground. There were so many classic examples of how local and flexible action can trump externally imposed but straitened restrictions, and this has immeasurably strengthened the case for gaining greater support for this sector.

There is a plethora of smaller armed forces welfare organisations wanting to help veterans both locally and nationally, and they are increasingly seeking ASDIC’s help to do so. While this is hugely worthwhile, it is also time-consuming for a very small team and we must balance this very real call on our resources with the need to maintain a small and efficient team.

Representation of smaller organisations

It has become increasingly obvious that there is a large number of smaller welfare organisations that feel that they lack any voice or visibility within the more accepted and traditional corridors of power at national level. Given ASDIC’s obvious higher-level contacts, albeit as a relatively new and tautly manned operation, several have suggested that we should eventually be able to act as a more formal conduit of representation. This is a flattering concept which ASDIC may be able to develop in the future when we

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have ourselves managed to improve our communications and data networks and have the ability to recruit more staff members. Nonetheless, we will discuss the initiative with Cobseo and the AFCT.

Risk Management

ASDIC strives to operate flexibly, with a minimum of formal strictures in place. Nonetheless, the appreciation and management of risk takes a high priority, particularly as the Association develops and expands its operations and new threats emerge. All the Association’s members are independent, setting and policing their own standards and practices having all agreed to ASDIC’s Code of Conduct, which is itself based on common sense and respect for others. This freedom of operation carries an inevitable degree of reputational risk to the Association itself, but this has not been found wanting during the first two years of operation. ASDIC continues to maintain a formal Risk Register covering the usual gamut of both objective and subjective threats and the measures proposed to deal with them should they arise, and this is regularly approved by the Trustees.

Financial Review

The charity has total income for the year, made up of grants and donations, totalling £231,203 (2021: £143,209). Of this amount £120,861 (2021: £35,520) related to restricted funds.

Expenditure for the year totalled £211,850 (2021: £73,992), giving a surplus of £19,353 (2021: £69,217). Total funds carried forward are £88,570 (2021: £69,217). Of these funds, £70,710 (2021: £49,197) are unrestricted, and £17,860 (2021: £20,020) are restricted. The restricted funds relate to balances on the Veterans Places, Pathways and People (VPPP) programme which commenced at the beginning of the previous year, plus also funds from the Veterans Foundation and the Utley Foundation in support of other fundamental parts of the VPPP Programme.

Reserves policy

While understanding and appreciating the normal Charity Commission advice on the need for all longerstanding charities to have a Reserves Policy, the Trustees have agreed that while ASDIC is a relatively new and evolving Association, it needs to deploy all existing resources from the generous AFCT and other grants to consolidate and grow its work with the expanding Drop-In community. This policy will pertain for the next couple of years but, while it is hoped that the essentiality of ASDIC’s work will by then be selfevident, steps will be taken by mid-2023 to ensure that remaining funds from present grants will be adequate to ensure that any existing contractual or other responsibilities can be met if further grants are not forthcoming.

At 31 July 2022 the charity had unrestricted free reserves (that is unrestricted funds less fixed assets) of £68,497 (2021: £46,243).

Plans for the Future

As ASDIC enters its third year of independent operation, it remains determined to maintain and strengthen its own unique brand of grass-roots coordination and representation, but has also become committed to its newly perceived role of becoming the nationally appreciated voice of the ‘small and medium’ veterans’ welfare organisations. Not alone in this task, it is hugely grateful for the strong support of the Veterans’

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Foundation which, while having a wide range of other responsibilities, fully appreciates the representative needs of this vitally important body.

We are also most appreciative of the underpinning support of the Armed Forces Covenant Trust which realises that we have something different to offer within the complicated matrix of welfare support. They also appreciate the evolving importance of local and community-based integration in terms of the successful re-integration of veterans into the mainstream community.

This integral position does not need great innovation or huge initiatives but definitely requires internal reinforcement and some focused training to ensure that the new cadre of volunteer Regional Coordinators can operate with minimum effort but maximum effectiveness. The next year will be devoted to achieving this aim, enhanced by bringing the Community Hub, our new communication and messaging system, online and enabling our new member of staff to manage the more routine elements of membership, communications and data management.

It is clear that there are other strong and influential voices who recognise a coming tectonic shift within the long-stablished Armed Forces welfare scene. ASDIC will continue to support and encourage this dynamic movement, using hard-won objective evidence of need, best practice, return on investment and social prescription in an attempt to persuade all stakeholders that some realignment of available resource allocation could and should result in a more efficient, effective and equable provision of welfare across the sector.

Structure, Management & Governance

ASDIC is a charitable company limited by guarantee. It was incorporated on 8 July 2020 and obtained charitable status on 19 August 2020. It is governed by its memorandum and articles of association.

ASDIC’s Board of Trustees numbers seven individuals with varied experience of the military and care disciplines, led by a Chair with much highly successful involvement with the Drop-In movement across Wales. With planned and staggered succession dates, the Board is well set to lead the Association for several years to come, but a structured and planned refreshment of Trustees will continue. New trustees are recruited by word of mouth and through the adverts within the Cobseo and NCVO newsletters. All applicants are interviewed by the CEO and Chairman prior to appointment.

The present management structure has evolved along with the perceived requirement since the present Chief Executive was appointed to lead the separation from VOS in late 2019. It presently numbers six individuals, with the Chief Executive and the Development Director remunerated full-time. As the task became more formalised over the past year, the Executive and Regional Directors, who were working and remunerated as part-time consultants, became employees. They both continue to contribute almost fulltime effort. ASDIC also now employs a full-time Membership and Engagement Officer and a part-time Marketing and Communications Officer, enabling much better real-time liaison with the ever-increasing number of members and a constant and very relevant presence on social media.

Governance is conducted with a light touch while still fulfilling all legal requirements and normal good practice. There is frequent communication between the Chair of the Board and the CEO concerning operations, and the monthly accounts are agreed between the Chair, the Treasurer, the CEO and the Executive Director. ASDIC is aware of the Cobseo Governance Guidance and refers to that as necessary.

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Trustees

The Directors of the company, who are also the Trustees for the purpose of charity law, are set out on Page 1 of this Report.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the surplus or deficit of the charitable company for that year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

By Order of the Board

Dr David Trotman Chairman

Date : 15 February 2023

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Association of Service Drop-in Centres Ltd (formerly Association of Ex-Service Drop-in Centres Ltd) YEAR ENDED 31 July 2022

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF ASDIC (Association of Service Drop-in Centres)

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the financial statements ASDIC (Association of Service Drop-in Centres) for the year ended 31 July 2022.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As trustees of the charitable company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination and I can confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act: or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).

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 and in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Samantha Wells Lindeyer Francis Ferguson Limited Chartered Accountants North House 198 High Street Tonbridge Kent TN9 1BE Date: 13 March 2023

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ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASSOCIATION OF EX-SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

2022
Unrestricted
funds
Note
£
Income from:
Grants and donations
3
110,342
Total
110,342
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
4
88,829
Total
88,829
Net movement in funds
21,513
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
49,197
Total funds carried forward
9
70,710		 2022
Restricted
funds
£
120,861
120,861
123,021
123,021
( 2,160)
20,020
17,860		 2022
Total
funds
£
231,203
231,203
211,850
211,850
19,353
69,217
88,570		 2021
Total
funds
£
143,209
143,209
73,992
73,992
69,217
-
69,217

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ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASSOCIATION OF EX-SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD)

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 JULY 2022

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
7
Current assets
Prepayments
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors:amounts falling due
within one year
8
Net current assets
Net assets
The funds of the charity:
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds		 2022
£
1,001
95,423
96,424
( 10,067)
9		 2022
£
2,213
86,357
88,570
70,710
17,860
88,570		 2021
£
416
114,707
115,123
( 48,860)		 2021
£
2,954
66,263
69,217
49,197
20,020
69,217

For the financial period in question the company was entitled to exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

No members have required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the period in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 15 February 2023 and are signed on its behalf by:

Dr D Trotman Mr R Nield MBE Chair Treasurer Company number: 12727846

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ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASSOCIATION OF EXSERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue, and so the going concern basis of accounting has been adopted.

The financial statements are presented in pounds sterling and rounded to the nearest pound.

Income

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

For donations this is usually on receipt. For grants, this is usually when a formal offer is made in writing, unless the grant contains terms and conditions outside of the charity's control which must be met before the charity is entitled to the funds. Where grants are received in response to a proposal including a budgeted timescale, such that the timescale for the expenditure is implicit in the grant agreement, the income is recognised in accordance with that timescale.

Gifts in-kind are recognised when the charity is entitled to the donated goods / services, the amount can be measured reliably, and the receipt is probable. Donated goods are measured at market value, and donated services are measured based on the amount that the charity would have had to pay in the open market to obtain the services.

Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised when a present legal or constructive obligation exists at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation, and the amount can be estimated reliably.

The charity has one charitable activity (supporting Drop-In Centres) to which direct and support costs are allocated. Staff costs are allocated between direct and support costs on the basis of the staff members' job roles.

15

ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASSOCIATION OF EXSERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES continued

Expenditure

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly relate to the charitable activities, and include governance costs.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. Restricted funds can only be used for the particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated realisable value of each asset over its expected

Computer equipment

25% Reducing Balance

Assets costing less than £150 are not capitalised but are recognised as expenditure in the Statement of Financial Activities in the year incurred.

Financial instruments

The Charity only has financial instruments of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Short term basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

Employee benefits

The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense. The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the year to which the entitlement relates.

The Charity operates a defined contribution scheme for staff and contributions are charged to the income and expenditure account as they are incurred.

2 STATUS

Association of Service Drop-In Centres Ltd ('the charity') is a company limited by guarantee and registered charity incorporated in England and Wales. The members of the charity are the Trustees. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member.

The address of the charity's registered office and its place of business is Brydale, Wellesley Close, Crowborough, TN6 1QP

The charity changed its name on the 16th March 2022 from Association of Ex-Service Drop-In Centres to Association of Service Drop-In Centres.

16

ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASSOCIATION OF EXSERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

3 INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND GRANTS

INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND GRANTS
Donations and grants
Gifts in-kind		 2022
£
231,203
-
231,203		 2021
£
139,324
3,885
143,209

Gifts in-kind included donated assets. In the prior period, £35,530 of the income from donations and grants was restricted.

4 EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Staff costs
Consultancy fees
Regional Workshops
Marketing
Support costs allocated (below)
Support costs comprise:
Travel and subsistence
Legal and professional fees
IT costs
Website costs
Subscriptions
Telephone
Catering
Bank charges
Depreciation
Governance costs
Trustee meeting costs
Independent examiner's fees
Independent examiner's fees for other services
In the prior period, £15,500 of expenditure was from restricted funds		 2022
£
85,568
75,677
21,587
1,697
27,321
211,850
2022
£
15,288
810
1,913
417
4,432
630
294
96
741
-
2,520
180
27,321		 2021
£
38,504
22,484
-
-
13,004
73,992
2021
£
2,679
1,706
2,449
653
636
862
-
71
897
651
1,800
600
13,004

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ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASSOCIATION OF EXSERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

5 NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

5
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Net movement in funds is stated after charging:
Depreciation
Independent examiner's fees
Independent examiner's fees for other services
6
STAFF COSTS
Gross salaries
Employer's pension contributions
Employer's National Insurance contributions		 2022
£
741
2,520
180
2022
£
79,645
1,825
4,098
85,568		 2021
£
897
1,800
600
2021
£
34,000
926
3,578
38,504

There was no employees with employment benefits (excluding employer pension contributions) of more than £60,000.

The average number of employees on a headcount basis was 2 (2021: 1)

7 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Cost
At 1 August 2021
At 31 July 2022
Depreciation
At 1 August 2021
Charged for the period
At 31 July 2022
Net book value
At 31 July 2021
At 31 July 2022		 £
3,851
3,851
897
741
1,638
2,954
2,213
Computer
equipment		 Total
£
3,851
3,851
897
741
1,638
2,954
2,213

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ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASSOCIATION OF EXSERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

8 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Tax and social security
Other creditors
Accruals
Deferred income		 2022
£
2,854
61
3,533
3,619
10,067		 2021
£
1,329
-
3,051
44,480
48,860

Deferred grant income relates to grants where the application included budgets showing use in a future year.

Deferred income brought forward
Released during the period
Arising in the current year
Deferred income carried forward
MOVEMENT ON FUNDS
Current Year
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Restricted funds
Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust
Veterans Foundation
Veterans Foundation - Conference
Veterans Foundation - Salaries		 Brought
forward
49,197
49,197
2,020
18,000
20,020
69,217		 Income
110,342
110,342
90,861
-
10,000
20,000
120,861
231,203		 2022
£
44,480
( 44,480)
3,619
3,619
( 88,829)
( 88,829)
( 83,892)
( 18,000)
( 10,000)
( 11,129)
( 123,021)
( 211,850)
Expenditure		 2021
£
-
-
44,480
44,480
Carried
forward
70,710
70,710
8,989
-
-
8,871
17,860
88,570

9 MOVEMENT ON FUNDS

The grant from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust is a multi year grant received for the Veterans' Places, Pathways and People Programme.

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ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASSOCIATION OF EXSERVICE DROP-IN CENTRES LTD)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

A grant was received from the Veterans Foundation to fund a six month development project to cover the costs of an experienced consultant to identify, acquire and establish an optimum relational database, develop an integrated membership package alongside further ASDIC marketing and branding to spread the Drop-In message, plus design a basic training matrix for all leaders and coordinators.

A £10,000 grant was received to cover the conference held in May 2022 with a further £20,000 received to cover the salary of a new Membership Officer.

Prior year
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Restricted funds
Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust
Veterans Foundation		 Brought
forward
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Income
107,689
107,689
5,520
30,000
35,520
143,209		 ( 58,492)
( 58,492)
( 3,500)
( 12,000)
( 15,500)
( 73,992)
Expenditure		 Carried
forward
49,197
49,197
2,020
18,000
20,020
69,217

10 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

£
Fixed assets
2,213
Net current assets
68,497
70,710
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds
£
-
17,860
17,860		 Total
funds
£
2,213
86,357
88,570

11 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The key management personnel are considered to be the Trustees and the CEO - TD Bryant. Total remuneration to key management personnel in 2022 was £56,259 (2021: £38,504)

There were no Trustees' remuneration or other benefits during the current period.

Six trustees were reimbursed travel expenses amounting to £841 during the current period. (2021: Five trustees reimbursed £553)

20