## **LEICESTER AREA QUAKER MEETING**
**Annual Report of Trustees 2022**
## **Final**
Agreed at Trustees Mee-ng 07.09.23 Minute 23.24 Adopted Area Mee-ng 24.09.23 Minute 23.73
1
## **CONTENTS**
1. Objec-ves and ac-vi-es
2. Structure, Governance and Management
3. Trustees Business 2022
4. Spiritual Life of Area Mee-ng
5. General Informa-on
6. Financial Report
Appendix A: Accounts Year End December 31 2022 Appendix B: Accounts Year End Dec 31 2022 by Mee-ng Appendix C: Asylum Seeker’s CommiUee Annual Report
2
## **Leicester Area Quaker Mee/ng**
## **Annual Report 2023**
## **1. Objec/ves and Ac/vi/es**
Leicester Area Mee,ng is a charity established for the advancement of religion and other charitable purposes according to the principles and prac,ces of Bri,sh Yearly Mee,ng of the Religious Society of Friends. It was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisa,on (CIO) in November 2020, registra,on number 1192277. Formerly, as a religious charity, it had been exempted from registra,on.
The object of the charity, stated in clause 3 of the adopted governing documents, is the furtherance of the general religious and charitable purposes of the religious Society of Friends in the area of Leicester and beyond.
## **2. Structure, Governance and Management**
Leicester Area mee,ng has four Local Quaker Mee,ngs in Leicester, Loughborough, Oakham and Rugby. Loughborough does not own a Me,ng house and currently rents a room in a civic building in the town. Leicester, Oakham and Rugby Local Mee,ngs own their own Mee,ng Houses.
19[th] October 2008.
- _The Governance document_ : is based upon the model prepared by the Quaker Stewardship commiXee.
- _Terms of Reference for Trustees_ : the document was revised and updated by Trustees and adopted by Area Mee,ng on 12[th] July 2020.
- _Memorandum of Understanding_ : this document describes the rela,onship between Area Mee,ng , the Trustees and the local Mee,ngs and defines ‘who does what’. The document was revised by Trustees and the new version adopted by Area Mee,ng on 12[th] July 2020.
nominates three members of Area mee,ng for considera,on as Trustees. Ideally each of the four Local Mee,ngs nominates one of their members to Area Mee,ng for considera,on as Trustees. The Clerk or Co-clerks of Trustees is nominated from among the trustees for considera,on and appointment by Area Mee,ng. Ordinarily the clerk of Trustees appointment is for a three year term and may be renewed for a second three year term.
3
## **3. Trustees’ Business**
reports on each Local Mee,ng, property maintenance and repairs, a bequest, employment, administra,on of Area Mee,ng finances and safeguarding.
A review was undertaken of the policy documents required to meet Charity Commission requirements. A _Conflict of Interest_ policy and a _Business Risk Assessment Management_ policy were required. The _Conflict of Interest_ policy was approved by Trustees at the September mee,ng and adopted by Area mee,ng at the November Mee,ng. A BRAM was required to allow our Annual Report to the Charity Commission website. A final v1 was approved by Trustees and adopted by Area Mee,ng in November. Friends were then given the opportunity to comment further on the policy and Trustees asked to make amendments for further considera,on of v2 early in 2023.
Trustees agreed to monitor all policy documents on rota,on.
## **Safeguarding**
Reports on safeguarding were heard at each Trustees mee,ng. The safeguarding co-ordinator has devolved a list of roles within mee,ngs where volunteers need awareness of safeguarding issues. She aXended a training session with 31.8 and con,nues to develop training and DBS checks within the local mee,ngs. Her request for a deputy safeguarding co-ordinator was fulfilled.
## **Finances and investments**
During 2022 we monitored our Area Mee,ng budget at each Trustees mee,ng. As the response to the pandemic has con,nued there has been a reluctance to aXend events, conferences and training courses. Less of the budgeted amount has been spent than an,cipated.
The value of investments with Rathbone Greenbank and savings in the Hinckley and Rugby short term deposit account were monitored at each mee,ng. The vola,lity of the current markets resulted in a fall in overall value.
appreciated. The 2022 accounts which will be submiXed to the Charity Commission were examined externally by CAP Plus.
## **Mee/ng Houses and Stewardship**
Our Mee,ng houses have been open throughout the year and several Mee,ngs held as a blended mee,ng. The impact of the fall in leangs con,nues to be no,ced. Quinquennial reviews were held at Rugby and Oakham Mee,ng houses. Both reports stated that the proper,es are being well maintained with a few minor repairs and redecora,on required. Both Mee,ngs are undertaking to complete the necessary works. Leicester Mee,ng holds regular mee,ngs of the property commiXee and have funds set aside for maintenance and repair. Following a fire inspec,on, a wooden storage shed at the rear of Drayton House has been replaced by Drayton House with a fire proof scooter store.
4
## **4. Spiritual Life of Leicester Area Quaker Mee/ng in 2022.**
## **Spiritual Life of Leicester Area Quaker Mee4ng in 2022**
Leicester Area Quaker Mee,ng held six Mee,ngs for Worship for Business in 2022 and the average aXendance was around 20 Friends and aXenders. Minutes were wriXen in the mee,ng, acer the manner of the Society of Friends, and they are filed with the suppor,ng documents for each mee,ng in the Area Mee,ng minute book. Annual reports were wriXen by the local mee,ng clerks for all four of the local mee,ngs, Oakham, Leicester, Rugby and Loughborough, detailing the ac,vi,es and progress of each mee,ng during the year and approved at Area Mee,ng. These reports can be seen by applying to the Area Mee,ng clerk.
Our mee,ngs have dealt with applica,ons for membership (we accepted 5 Friends into membership of the Society in 2022), transfers of membership and the recording of deaths, and nomina,ons to the many Area Mee,ng roles. We have discussed and, where appropriate, accepted Trustees’ recommenda,ons for the management of our bank accounts and finances, read new and revised policies from Trustees and looked closely at the Annual Report and Accounts 2021, which was accepted at a properly convened AGM. Area Mee,ng remains the primary execu,ve body of our charity.
Life Representa,ve Council and we have supported Friends to aXend a variety of other conferences and mee,ngs and training courses which will help them to fulfil the various roles in the Area Mee,ng.
At the beginning of 2022 we were holding Area Mee,ngs online due to the Covid 19 pandemic. It was decided to move to having blended mee,ngs and our mee,ng in Loughborough in May 2022 was the first we had held as a blended mee,ng. Local mee,ngs went to great lengths to make sure the technology was in place and blended Area Mee,ngs have now become the norm, although many Friends have come back to mee,ng in person.
In March we sent a dona,on and a statement of support to the Leicester Ukrainian Associa,on.
We were asked to consider the use of the term”Overseer”, which we have done and our local mee,ngs have now stopped using the word and Area Mee,ng has adopted the alterna,ve “Pastoral Friends”.
In August one of our members was married to a non member in a Quaker wedding at Bourneville Mee,ng House.
In September we set up an Area Mee,ng Link Group to consider and organize Area Mee,ng-wide ac,vi,es of a social nature.
During 2022 Quaker Life appointed an East Midlands Development Worker, and this was Sarah Shaw from Leicester AM. Sarah set up many helpful online groups to create opportuni,es for Friends from Leicester AM, NoXs and Derby AM and Lincolnshire AM to meet and discuss and work together.
5
## **Sustainability**
During 2022 we had sustainability as a standing item on all Area Mee,ng agendas, and reports from local mee,ngs on their work in this field were received regularly. Local ac,vi,es included: wri,ng to local MPs about COP 26 and loss and damage payments; joining in the campaign by Climate Ac,on Leicester and Leicestershire to persuade local authority pension funds to disinvest from fossil fuels, taking direct ac,on on the topic of loss and damage at a protest at Ratcliffe Power Sta,on; crea,ng and displaying a banner on climate jus,ce from the mee,ng house balcony; All Age Worship vigils by candlelight; an All Age event at the mee,ng house for the whole of AM; work on the mee,ng houses, such as plan,ng more trees in the gardens; undertaking a review of the sustainability of the mee,ng house; improving the Mee,ng’s plas,c recycling; joining in the online mee,ngs of the East Midlands Quaker Climate Group, ini,ated by our Local Development Worker. These reports reflect the work done by the Mee,ngs as a Mee,ng and when it is considered that even more work is done by individuals and families outside the Mee,ngs, the record is impressive indeed.
## **Main achievements**
2022 was the year in which Leicester Area Mee,ng made a recovery from the impact of the dreadful years of the Covid pandemic. Mee,ngs returned to mee,ng in person and Covid precau,ons in our Mee,ngs were gradually liced. Income started flowing again as hirers returned to using our mee,ng houses. We have provided a con,nuous presence of Mee,ngs for Worship of all sorts for our own members and for the wider public, and we have ac,vely witnessed to our tes,monies to peace, jus,ce, equality, simplicity and the earth. The world has been changed by the pandemic and the new, online aspect to our mee,ngs is problema,c for some Friends and welcome for others, but we are moving on together as best we can.
## **Membership of the Area Mee7ng**
At the end of 2022 there were 205 members, of whom 1 child, 136 women, and 68 men. There were also 6 members sojourning with us from other Yearly Mee,ngs. And there were 104 aXenders, of whom 13 were children, 48 women and 43 men.
## **5. General Informa/on**
The Trustees in 2022 were:
Arreggar, Bridget – AM representa,ve Dnes, Jenny - AM Treasurer
Deane, James – Leicester representa,ve (Safeguarding Trustee) Fishenden, Anne – AM representa,ve Ludlow Hilary – Clerk to Trustees, Oakham representa,ve MaXhew, Nick – Rugby representa,ve Walker, David – Loughborough representa,ve
Address: Friends Mee,ng House, Queen’s Road, Leicester. LE2 1WP Officers of the Area mee,ng: Julian Rees Clerk; Jenny Dnes Treasurer Beth Gaylard – Safe guarding Co-ordinator Bankers: LLoyds
6
Bulld1 Sodety . Hinckley and RugLry
Investment porrfolio: Rathbone Greenbank
Custodian Trustee: Ffiends Trust Umlted. Friends House. 173. Euston Road, London NWI 2BJ.
Signed:... th*....R....Lao.....................
Hilary R Ludlow
Clerk to Trustees
Zd 03oW 125.
6. Financial Report
The summary accounts can be found in AppendixA of this report. They have been Independently
prepared and examined by Community Accounting Plus. A supplementary breakdown by meetin8 can
be found in Appendix
Overvlew
The finances of Leister Area Meetlng mained healthy at the end of 2022, wlth cash funds of
£322,183 lan increase of £16,315 compared with the end of 20211. This sum includes the funds held
in all our building society accounts. However, 2022 was a difficult year for investments, and the
market value of these fell from £222,105 at the end of 2021 to £184,550 at the end of 2022, a fall of
£37.555.
When the cash funds and the value of the investments are combined. the total assets at the end of
2022 were £506,773, a fall of £21.2(Kl compared with the end of 2021.
Income
Contributions
The contributions appear to have fallen by over £14,cIXI between 2021 and 2022. However, two
fattors need to be taken into account.
The 2021 accounts run from IO, November 2020 to 31 December 2021 and therefore
Include nearly months of contributlons from 2020, which totalled £9,862.
Due to a timing issue at the end of 2022, the 2022 accounts exclude £6.752 of contributions
from members of Leister meeting from 2022 (which will be included in 20231.
Once these two issues are factored in, there VI75 an increase of El,797 in contributions between
2021 and 2022.
Grants and legacies
Loughborough meeting was left a legacy of £37.312 in 2021. This was a one off and the is
therefore a substantial difference in the totsl for this category between 2021 and 2022.
## **Lettings income (hirings)**
Income from lettings recovered well during 2022 as our meeting houses opened up again after the Covid lockdowns.
## **Insurance claim and grant income**
We made a successful insurance claim for loss of income during the Covid lockdowns in 2021 and received a total of £24,126 in early 2022. This was divided between Leicester meeting (£19,831) and Rugby meeting (£4,295). Leicester Meeting also received a grant of £�667 from Leicester City Counc il.
## **Gift Aid**
The process for collecting gift aid from HMRC changed when we became a registered charity in 2020. We now make one claim as an Area Meeting and the funds are then divided proportionately between the meetings. There was no claim made for 2021 during 2022. However, there will be a cla im for 2021 and 2022 during 2023.
## **Expenditure**
## **Meeting Houses**
There were no major building projects for any of our meeting houses during 2022 and expenditure in this category was mainly for repairs and maintenance. In addition, Leicester Meeting purchased new chairs, a new mower and a new cooker for the meeting house.
## **Conferences and training**
Expenditure on conferences and training remained lower than in previous years, mainly as a result of most events being held online.
## **Donations**
Total donations were £15,179. These were mainly to Quaker organisations, including Britain Yearly Meeting. Area Meeting continues to give £1,800 a year to support local asylum seekers. This is divided equally between Leicester City of Sanctuary and the Leicester branch of the Red Cross. A report from the Asylum Seekers’ Committee can be found in Appendix C of this report. This committee monitors how this donation is spent on behalf of Area Meeting.
## **Children’s Bursary Fund and Care Fund**
There were no payments made from the Children’s Bursary Fund this year, but we made two payments from the Care Fund totalling £253. The Children’s Bursary Fund still stands in theory at £1802.30 and the Care Fund at £29,466.42. However, as these monies are not kept in separate bank accounts they are not recorded as separate funds in our accounts.
## **Investments**
The value of our investments with Rathbone Greenbank had been rising steadily in recent years, with an increase of £18,271 in 2021 to £215,451. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine early in 2022 had a major impact on global stability and the costs of energy. These changes resulted in instability in the stock market and the value of investments became volatile, particularly in the early months of 2022.
The year ended with some recovery for the Area Meeting’s investments, but overall their value fell by £37,555 during the year to £178,661. However, dividends continued to be paid and we received a total of £2,761 of income from this source.
8
Trustees monFtored the situation carefully and Rathbone Greenbank. our investment managers,
provided regular updates. These investments were made with a view to maintaining the value of the
Area Meetinds assets in the long run and in supporting initiatives that encourage sustsinable
sources of energy. Trustee5 therefore decided to keep the existing portFolio, rather than make anv
short-term change5.
Signed:
,qoJ
Date:..7&.4... 202
Jenny Dnes Area Meeting Treasurer.
APPENDIX A: Accounts Year End December 312022
Independent examinerfs report to the Trustees of
Leicester Area Quaker Meeting of The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
In Britain
I report to the tnjstees on my exarnination of the accounts of Lerster Area Quaker
Meeting of The Religious SocFety of Friends (Quakers) In Britain (the charity) for the
year ended 31 December 2022.
Responsibilities and basls of report
As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts
in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {'the Act,).
report in respect of my examination of the charity's accounts carried out under
section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all
the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5Kb} of
the Act.
Independent examiner's ststement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my
attention in connection with the examinationgiving me cause to believe that in any
material respect:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by
section 130 of the Act.. or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no ConmS and have come across no other matters in connection with the
examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a
proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed
Date
1410912023
John O'Brien Msc, FCCA. FCIE
Employee of Community Accounting Plus
## **Leicester Area Quaker Meeting of The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) In Britain Receipts & payments account for the year to 31 December 2022**
|_2021_
Total
funds
£
**Receipts**
663
Bank interest
42965
Contributions & collections
2158
Dividends
7031
Gift aid receipts
43812
Grants & legacies
17041
Hirings
94
Sales
-
Insurance claim
3582
Other income
117346
**Total receipts**
**Payments**
19084
Wages, NI & pension
158
Bank charges
543
Conferences, training, BYM
731
Library & literature
302
Office holders expenses
152
Overseers and out reach
83
Printing ,marketing & office costs
26558
Donations given
6469
Legal & professional
420
Furniture & equipment
4781
Insurance
1241
IT & website
30982
Major works & repairs
2014
Materials & supplies
4123
Other support costs
389
Room hire
2853
Utilities
2185
Gardens
106
Sundry
103174
**Total payments**
14172
**Net receipts/(payments)**
291696
Opening transfers
-
Cash funds at start of this period
305868
**Cash funds at end of this period**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**
735
28148
2893
-
3667
33650
87
24126
-
**93306**
20318
72
963
603
81
180
153
15179
4908
6587
5068
1351
6152
2900
4850
989
5453
1172
12
**76991**
16315
-
305868
**322183**|**_2022_**
**Total**
**Funds**
**£**
735
28148
2893
-
3667
33650
87
24126
-|
|---|---|---|
|||**93306**|
|||20318
72
963
603
81
180
153
15179
4908
6587
5068
1351
6152
2900
4850
989
5453
1172
12|
|||**76991**|
|||16315
-
305868|
|||**322183**|
11
Lelcester Area Quaker Meetlng of The Religious Society of Friends In Britain
(Quakers)
Statement of assets and liabilities
at 31 December 2022
202?
Cash assets
Bat* aCcOts
305868
305868
322183
322183
Oiher monetary assets
Investsments Area Rathbone Greenbank (Area GerEral)
hStrents. CCLA (Area general)
215451
6654
222105
178661
5889
184550
Assets retained for the charty's own use
General equipment.
Liabilities
Credito
1071
(1071)
804
(804)
h addition the charity hoFds functional property comptising Ihree meeting
)uses with insed valiEs as folbws:
Meetir@ House Leicester
Meeting House RLoby
Meeting House Oakham
2739174
704464
919393
4363031
2739174
704464
919393
4363031
These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charty by:
Signed a. I
Dated 7&
Jennifer Dnes, tha Mting Treasurer
12
## **Independent examiner’s report to the Trustees of Leicester Area Quaker Meeting of The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) In Britain**
## **1. Receipts & payments accounts**
Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabili,es at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transac,ons through bank accounts and cash in hand.
## **2. Area analysis**
|**Areas**
Area General
Leicester General
Loughborough
Oakham General
Rugby General|**Opening**
**balance**
**£**
61003
97544
55838
7087
84396
**305868**|**Receipts**
**£**
3967
62647
4997
3756
17939
**93306**|**(Payments)**
**£**
(4855)
(56187)
(2351)
(5221)
(8377)
**(76991)**|**Transfers**
**Closing**
**balance**
**£**
**£**
182
60297
-
104004
(160)
58324
(22)
5600
-
93958
**-**
**322183**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
The transfers to the Area General Fund cover shared expenses.
## **3. Creditors**
|Independent Examination|**£**
804|
|---|---|
||**804**|
## **4. Trustees’ remunera7on**
## **5. Related party transac7ons**
During this period there were no related party transac,ons.
## **6. Glossary of terms**
**Creditors:** These are amounts owed by the charity, but not paid during the accoun,ng period.
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## **APPENDIX B: Accounts Year End December 31 2022 by Mee/ng**
## **Leicester Area Quaker Meeting Receipts and Payments account by meeting for the year to 31 December 2022**
|**Receipts**|**Area**|**Leicester**|**Loughborough**|**Oakham**|**Rugby**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Bank interest & gainon investments|510|22|9||194|735|
|Contributions and collections|696|11652|4988|3151|7661|28148|
|Dividends|2761|132||||2893|
|Gift aid receipts||||||0|
|Grants &legacies||3667||||3667|
|Hirings||27292||605|5753|33650|
|Other income||19831|||4296|24127|
|Sales||52|||35|87|
|**Total receipts**|**3967**|**62647**|**4997**|**3756**|**17939**|**93306**|
||||||||
|**Payments**|||||||
|Wages,NIand pension|0|20318|0|0|0|20318|
|Bankcharges||72||||72|
|Conferences, training,BYM|415|475|||73|963|
|Library andliterature||298|130|61|114|603|
|Officeholders'expenses|13|68||||81|
|Overseers and outreach|75||25||80|180|
|Printing, adverts, photocopying,media|91|42|20|||153|
|Donations given|2803|10770|821|235|550|15179|
|Legaland professional|933|3325|0|0|650|4908|
|Furniture & equipment||6317|||270|6587|
|Insurance||3200|124|908|837|5068|
|ITandwebsite costs|526|250|174|197|204|1351|
|Major works||||||0|
|Materials & supplies||2731|68|80|21|2900|
|Othersupport costs (cleaning)||1756||484|2610|4850|
|Repairs &maintenance||3538||2280|334|6152|
|Room hire|||990|||990|
|Utilities||2613||976|1863|5453|
|Sundry|||||12|12|
|Gardens||412|||760|1172|
|**Total payments**|**4855**|**56186**|**2351**|**5221**|**8377**|**76990**|
||||||||
|**Transfers**|**182**||**(160)**|**(22)**|||
||||||||
|**Net in/out**|**(706)**|**6461**|**2487**|**(1488)**|**9562**|**16316**|
||||||||
|Opening balance at bank|61003|97544|55838|7087|84396|305868|
|**Closing balance**|**60297**|**104004**|**58325**|**5598**|**93959**|**322183**|
|Closing balance held in bank accounts as:|||||||
||8380|102524|51089|5598|77833|245423|
||51918|1480|7237||16125|76760|
||**60297**|**104004**|**58325**|**5598**|**93959**|**322183**|
14
## **APPENDIX C: Report from Asylum Seekers CommiYee**
**Annual Report from Leicester Local Quaker Mee7ng Sanctuary Mee7ng CommiOee**
**June 2023**
## **Background**
Leicester Area Meeting supports asylum seekers and refugees in Leicester by donating £1800 a year, divided equally between Leicester City of Sanctuary (LCoS) and the Leicester branch of the Red Cross Refugee Support Service.
Leicester Local Mee,ng became a Sanctuary Mee,ng in November 2018 and is commiXed to easing the situa,on of local asylum seekers. This report is an update from the Sanctuary Mee,ng CommiXee for the benefit of Leicester Local Mee,ng, trustees, and Area Mee,ng on
- the activities of the Meeting in supporting asylum seekers in Leicester
- the work of LCoS and the Red Cross locally between July 2022 and June 2023.
## **Sanctuary Committee activities 2022-23**
The committee met 3 times between July 2022 and June 2023
An appeal after meeting for worship, given by Mick Walker from LCoS took place in November inviting Friends to donate to the Big Give fundraising campaign for LCoS. The appeal highlighted the very difficult circumstances of asylum seekers living in hotels with little contact with family and friends, extremely limited funds, and fears of violence from right wing extremists.
At our September meeting the committee discussed the links between migration and climate change and invited Sarah Shaw, our East Midlands development worker to join us. Sarah invited us to an East Midlands Climate Justice group meeting to give a talk about the subject as well as telling the group about the work of Leicester City of Sanctuary.
## **Involvement in supporting asylum seekers**
Sheila Mosley chairs the Multi Agency Forum which brings together statutory and voluntary agencies that are involved with staff and asylum seekers at Kennedy House in South Wigston on behalf of Leicester Meeting. She is also chair of the charity After 18, which works with young unaccompanied asylum seekers.
## **Fundraising for LCoS and The Red Cross**
During December Leicester Meeting donated £100 to LCoS for the Big Give and a further £100 to the Red Cross.
Money is being collected from tea and coffee payments after meeting for worship and will be paid in equal proportions to LCoS and the Red Cross.
15
## **Financial support from Leicester Area Meeting**
## **a) Leicester City of Sanctuary**
The funds given to LCoS contribute to general expenditure. They are mostly used for the emergency fund which provided modest individual grants to asylum seekers who have financial need
City of Sanctuary have experienced many more calls on their support. Most new arrivals are single young men, and most are being housed in hotels. Inadequate and inappropriate diet is a serious concern, as is isolation.
On a positive note, the organization has recruited more staff and several new volunteers have offered their help, including those with language skills. Football training and sewing classes are running well and members are receiving help with their asylum claims via NEST (new evidence support team).
English classes are provided every week, some in conjunction with Leicester University.
LCoS works in collaboration with the Red Cross.
## **b) Red Cross Refugee Support Service**
Red Cross uses our Quaker dona,ons to provide cri,cal hardship support and to enable service users to ac,vely engage with casework, as well as to help with transport for compulsory Home Office hearings and repor,ng.
The service has seen a rise in numbers of des,tute asylum seekers and migrants with no recourse to public funds seeking help and advice, par,cularly since the cost-of-living crisis. Home Office policy to clear the backlog in the asylum system has meant that many of those receiving refugee status will fall into homelessness acer leaving their designated NASS accommoda,on. The Red Cross has been providing sleeping bags and help to access suitable shelters.
Since Covid restrictions have lifted East Midlands Reporting Centre is again requesting people to report frequently to the Centre in Loughborough, without providing them with fares to get there. The Red Cross fills in the gap by paying bus fares for those that need it.
The Red Cross repeats its request that flexibility is granted to use Quaker’s funding according to the discretion of staff to support destitute asylum seekers and refugees. Area Meeting has already agreed to this, and we ask our AM clerk to assure Eric Nkundumubano, the operations manager, that this arrangement can continue.
## **Conclusion**
We hope this report shows that the funds provided by Area Mee,ng con,nue to support the work of City of Sanctuary and the Red Cross effec,vely and request that Area Mee,ng con,nues to contribute at least £75 a month (£900 a year) to both LCoS and to the Red Cross (£1,800 in total).
_Leicester LM Sanctuary Meeting Committee Jenny Dnes; Anne Fishenden; Sheila Mosley; Angela Walker._
16