Asylum Matters
Charity number 1192664
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022
Asylum Matters
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Trustees' report | 2 to 6 |
| Examiner's report | 7 |
| Statement of financial activities | 8 |
| Balance sheet | 9 |
| Notes to the accounts | 10 to 13 |
Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
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Asylum Matters
Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2022
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors
The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were: Name Position Dates
Name Position Dates Emma Harrison Chair Andrew White Treasurer Maya Mailer Resigned 31 December 2022 Jonathan Featonby Resigned 13 July 2022 Jacqueline Cotton Ayad Al-Ani Carmen Chapell Elkin Appointed 15 February 2023 Peter Fell Appointed 15 February 2023 Charity number 1192664 Registered in England and Wales Registered and principal address Bankers PO BOX 389 Unity Trust Bank plc Hampshire Trust Bank Leeds 4 Brindley Pl 55 Bishopsgate LS26 1GR Birmingham B1 2JB London EC2N 3AS Redwood Bank The Nexus Bldg Broadway Letchworth Garden City SG6 3TA
Independent examiner
Simon Bostrom FCIE West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
Structure, governance and management
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) foundation formed on 7 December 2020 and is governed by a constitution.
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees of the charity are appointed by the trustees at a duly convened meeting.
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Asylum Matters
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2022
Objectives and activities
The charity's objects
The objects of the CIO are:
1) For the public benefit to relieve the charitable needs of refugees and asylum seekers and their dependants in the UK, in particular by:
a) providing training and support designed to build capacity among organisations which provide frontline support to refugees and asylum seekers and seek to improve their lives;
b) working with statutory agencies and key partners, through training, advocacy and campaigning work, to understand, examine and address the causes and consequences of the poverty and inequality which creates hardship amongst refugee and asylum seeking communities.
c) advancing public education in the asylum system, through campaigning, with the aim of raising awareness of the issues faced by refugee and asylum seeking communities and the need to address them.
2) To promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing refugees, asylum seekers and their dependants from becoming socially excluded, relieving their needs and assisting them to integrate into society.
The charity's main activities
Asylum Matters exists to improve the lives of asylum seekers and refugees by working in partnership locally and nationally to secure positive changes in policy and in practice. Our core team of seven campaigns and policy experts are dispersed across England and Wales and are rooted in their local communities, which means that we are able to activate one of the broadest networks in the sector. Our network includes over 1,000 active partners, including local charities that provide front-line support to people in the asylum system; lived experience campaigners; local campaign groups; and supportive individuals.
Asylum Matters facilitates the involvement of this broad partnership base in advocacy work by providing them with different opportunities for engagement which fit with their priorities and resources. We bring partners together to provide coordinated and strategic joint action around opportunities for change. We provide hands-on support to build skills, knowledge and confidence to campaign for change, while creating platforms for people with lived experience to advocate directly with decision-makers.
Public benefit statement
In setting our objectives and planning our activities our Trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.
Achievements and performance
Overview
Continued hostility towards people seeking asylum in the UK has remained a constant theme throughout the year, despite the unprecedented political volatility which saw three Prime Ministers and Home Secretaries in as many months.
The passing of the Nationality and Borders Act – or as we refer to them, ‘anti-refugee laws’ – in April brought into statute the most damaging legislation for people seeking asylum in modern history. The unprecedented and relentless challenge facing those advocating for refugee rights is underscored by the fact we closed the year as we opened it, with ministers proposing further tough new measures against people seeking asylum.
However, while fully aware of the scale of the challenge ahead, we also believe there are grounds for optimism. Together with our extensive network of partners, we have been successful in building widespread visible local opposition to the implementation of these laws. In doing so, overstretched frontline organisations, refugees and people in the asylum system can contribute and experience some hope and positivity at a time when these are in short supply.
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Asylum Matters
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2022
Achievements and performance - continued
Our success alongside our partners in blocking the planned new (and deeply unsuitable) asylum accommodation centre at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, and forcing the Government into a climbdown demonstrates that effective and strategic local mobilisation can deliver tangible results and benefit people’s lives. We are proud of what we collectively achieved at Linton, and are determined this will pave the way for further widespread action to prevent the profound harm threatened by asylum accommodation centres.
This, coupled with the continued strengthening of cross-party support for reform on the right to work, means that while 2023 unquestionably brings many challenges, we believe we can contribute to and where appropriate lead efforts to combat the Government’s anti-refugee drive and help to bring about change.
We will do this by continuing to find ways to collaborate with the widest possible number and range of partners, in our sector and beyond; invest in building the confidence, skills and capacity of local partners and lived experience campaigners; and lowering barriers to participation in campaigning for over-stretched frontline organisations.
Fight the #AntiRefugeeLaws
Throughout 2022 we maintained a strong emphasis on supporting and enabling local, regional and devolved leaders to speak out in opposition to the Government’s plans on asylum (the ‘anti-refugee laws’), and in support of a vision of welcome.
While the Nationality and Borders Bill was still making its way through parliament, we convened local civil society to publicly call on local leaders to act to oppose the Bill (including in the West Midlands and in Yorkshire, generating strong media coverage). We secured further supportive statements (e.g., in Liverpool, a council motion was passed, leading to the Mayor sharing a video voicing her support) and documented this activity in a blog on our website.
We have continued to prioritise working with experts by experience as a key part of this initiative. In Newcastle, we worked with the West End Refugee Service (WERS) to establish and support a group of campaigners with lived experience of the asylum system to meet with the North of Tyne Mayor, who subsequently pledged to continue to oppose the Bill. In Birmingham we worked with local partners to enable one expert by experience to speak to the City Council and local media about his views on the Bill.
Furthermore, we developed a focus on the difficulties facing Afghans seeking safety in the UK; and through the high saliency of people forced to flee the Taliban, highlighted the many challenges in the UK’s asylum system experienced by others of different nationalities. We believed this could provide a timely frame to build greater public understanding of the Nationality and Borders Bill. In February we launched a new video and campaign resources, and the content was shared by local and national partners and MPs. Within six weeks of its launch, the video was viewed at least 6,800 times. Campaign resources were used by at least 35 local and national partners.
When the Nationality and Borders Bill passed into law unamended in April 2022, our focus shifted to opposing its implementation. We launched the Fight The Anti-Refugee Laws pledge, developed with Refugee Action and after consultation with numerous partners. This simple action allows organisations and politicians to pledge to oppose and challenge the new laws. So far it has been signed by over 500 organisations from many sectors; and by over 40 MPs and peers. We developed various assets for partners’ use; and a video featuring people with lived experience on what the new laws would mean for them – one of whom we worked with to speak to her local newspaper and radio station.
Towards the end of the year, we developed local lobbying resources to secure commitments from local authorities to the fight the #AntiRefugeeLawsand generate longer-term support for a more compassionate and effective asylum system. We were delighted when the UK’s largest local authority, Birmingham City Council, declared its support for the pledge and its commitment to oppose the new laws.
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Asylum Matters
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2022
Achievements and performance - continued
Asylum accommodation
In April, the then Home Secretary announced that the first of the Government’s planned accommodation centres would open on an ex-RAF base in Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, placing 1500 people in an unsuitable rural site without appropriate infrastructure, in a village of 500 people. Six months after this announcement, ministers confirmed the centre at Linton would not go ahead, following a tireless local campaign supported by Asylum Matters. This represents one of the biggest successes in recent years in challenging the Government’s increasingly hostile proposals towards people seeking asylum.
Immediately after the initial announcement, Asylum Matters met with local residents, attended the first parish council meeting and supported the newly formed Linton-On-Ouse Action Group to oppose the development; mobilise their MP, parish and district councils; and publicise their work. Our team provided local campaigners with extra capacity and guidance, supporting them in organising, strategising, and media support; and ensuring they had access to contacts and expertise wherever they required them.
Nationally, we also worked closely throughout this period with sector colleagues, convening meetings, enabling the exchange of information, coordination and joint actions. We held an online rally in May 2022 to bring together local residents and those who had been placed in such sites, and urge people to write to their MPs to oppose the plans. In addition, we convened five sector-wide meetings to serve as a forum for wider collaboration on all aspects of asylum housing; coordinated a joint letter to the Home Secretary signed by 23 organisations; generated media coverage; and launched unbranded resources for partners calling for #CommunitiesNotCamps.
Right to work
People seeking asylum in the UK remain effectively banned from working. We have therefore continued to colead the Lift the Ban coalition alongside Refugee Action, and this year we have come closer to achieving reform on the rules on the right to work than at any point in a generation.
Early in the year we worked intensively on a widely supported amendment on the right to work to the Nationality and Borders Bill, placing media articles and securing business backing, engaging with Home Office officials and Conservative rebels, and staging a Day of Action and an online rally. This yielded very significant cross-party support, resulting in three wins in the House of Lords, and numerous senior Conservatives speaking up inside and outside parliament in support of reform. The Government's substantial majority eventually won out and the amendment fell, yet there remains strong and growing support on this among Conservatives; while all the main opposition parties remain solid in their backing for reform.
In summer, with input from the coalition and through expert by experience sessions, we updated our campaign strategy; and worked with partners to generate extensive local and national media coverage on the human impact on the ongoing ban.
We organised a joyful in-person meeting in November - the first since the start of the pandemic - at which 120 campaigners from every corner of the UK, the majority of them with lived experience as a refugee or asylum seeker, met to celebrate our impact and plan next steps.
Finally, we launched a new set of campaign resources following the gathering, focusing on local high streets and small businesses. Business backing for the right to work is strong and has been an important part of the campaign from the outset. We want to ensure local businesses know about the campaign and can support it by becoming a Lift the Ban business ally, so have published a High Street Challenge Handbook and developed a range of resources to support campaigners within their local community.
Asylum support rates / various
We continue to make targeted interventions on the subject of asylum support rates. We submitted a written response to the Home Office’s review of support rates and created a resource to support partners’ participation in it. We also delivered media work with partners and experts by experience (including in Birmingham, the North East and nationally) to draw attention to the link between the cost of living crisis and continued low rates of asylum support.
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Asylum Matters
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2022
Achievements and performance - continued
Asylum support rates / various
We continue to provide information to many hundreds of partners nationally and regionally through our fortnightly partner updates on campaigning and advocacy initiatives across the sector; Home Office policy and operational developments; and research and resources. Partners repeatedly tell us how invaluable this resource is to inform and connect them with the wider sector’s experiences and activities; and to signpost them to useful resources and opportunities to contribute to campaigning.
Financial review
Income for the year was £364,312 and expenditure was £321,523. The net income for the year was £42,789, including net income of £102,527 on unrestricted funds and net expenditure of £59,738 on restricted funds.
Income on unrestricted funds included grants of £54,750, received in 2022, to be spent in 2023.
We are very grateful for the support shown by all our funders. Details of grants and donations received are shown in note 2 to the accounts.
Reserves policy
The charity's free reserves, excluding fixed assets, at the year end were £213,580.
The trustees have decided that the level of unrestricted reserves should be between £80,000 and £160,000, representing approximately 3-6 months expenditure. The trustees expect the level of free reserves to be reduced to less than £160,000 in 2023.
Approved by the board of trustees on 31 May 2023
Andrew White (Trustee)
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Asylum Matters
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Asylum Matters
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the CIO for the year ended 31 December 2022, which are set out on pages 8 to 13.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the CIO you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').
I report in respect of my examination of the CIO's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
Since the CIO's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a fellow of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act.
I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a fellow of ACIE which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
-
1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Charities Act; 2 the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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3 the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Simon Bostrom FCIE
29 June 2023
West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
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Asylum Matters
Statement of Financial Activities
(including summary income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 December 2022
| Notes 2022 Unrestricted funds £ Income from: Grants, contracts and donations (2) 288,312 Transfer of funds on formation - Bank interest 1,137 Other income 490 Total income 289,939 Expenditure on: Salaries NI and Pensions (3) 146,834 Recruitment 417 Staff training and support 647 Staff travel and accomodation 8,294 Staff wellbeing 311 Volunteers, interns, experts by experience 2,433 Grants payable - Trustee travel and training 716 Advocacy and research and consultancy support 919 Campaign events and partner meetings 2,812 Contribution to host organisation costs 3,750 Insurance 766 Computers and IT 2,218 Phone and internet 997 Postage and stationery 844 Payroll charges 1,070 Bank charges 104 Independent examination 1,500 Legal and professional 72 Communications support 2,250 Admin and finance support 10,458 Total expenditure 187,412 Net income / (expenditure) 102,527 Fund balances brought forward 111,053 Fund balances carried forward (4) 213,580 |
2022 Restricted funds £ 74,373 - - - 74,373 114,059 - 980 1,311 - 1,350 - - 8,346 5 - - 384 - - - - - - 7,676 - 134,111 (59,738) 74,558 14,820 |
2022 Total funds £ 362,685 - 1,137 490 364,312 260,893 417 1,627 9,605 311 3,783 - 716 9,265 2,817 3,750 766 2,602 997 844 1,070 104 1,500 72 9,926 10,458 321,523 42,789 185,611 228,400 |
2021 Total funds £ 372,169 81,247 21 - 453,437 233,582 650 694 2,666 1,976 192 3,500 396 1,228 5,631 7,650 742 979 754 779 1,605 177 1,500 3,125 - - 267,826 185,611 - 185,611 |
|---|---|---|---|
All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.
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Asylum Matters
Balance sheet
| as at 31 December 2022 2022 Unrestricted £ Current assets Debtors and prepayments (5) 7,907 Cash at bank 209,952 Total current assets 217,859 Current liabilities: amounts falling due within one year Creditors and accruals (6) 4,279 Total current liabilities 4,279 Net current assets / (liabilities) 213,580 Net assets 213,580 Funds Unrestricted funds 213,580 Restricted funds - Total funds 213,580 |
2022 Restricted £ - 14,820 14,820 - - 14,820 14,820 - 14,820 14,820 |
2022 Total £ 7,907 224,772 232,679 4,279 4,279 228,400 228,400 213,580 14,820 228,400 |
2021 Total £ - 195,032 195,032 9,421 9,421 185,611 185,611 111,053 74,558 185,611 |
|---|---|---|---|
The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 31 May 2023
Andrew White (Trustee)
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Asylum Matters
Notes to the accounts
for the year ended 31 December 2022
1 Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by 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) and with the Charities Act 2011.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year. No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
Going concern
The trustees are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.
Incoming resources
All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the charity becomes entitled to the resources, it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
Grants and donations
Grants and donations are only included in the SOFA when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the resources.
Where grants are related to performance and specific deliverables, they are accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance.
Expenditure and liabilities
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out the resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.
Taxation
As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.
Tangible fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets costing more than £1,000 are capitalised and included at cost including any incidental expenses of acquisition. Gifted assets are shown at the value to the charity on receipt.
Pensions
The charity operates a defined contribution scheme for the benefit of its employees. The costs of contributions are recognised in the year they are payable.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
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Asylum Matters
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 December 2022
| 2 Grants and donations Grants and donations Barrow Cadbury Trust Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust Lloyds Bank Foundation Paul Hamlyn Foundation Sam and Bella Sebba Charitable Trust The Balcombe Charitable Trust The National Lottery Community Fund Tides Foundation (Ben and Jerry's) Treebeard Trust Tudor Trust AB Charitable Trust Migration Exchange The Blue Thread Contracts Unbound Philanthropy Other donations 3 Staff costs and numbers Gross salaries Social security costs Employment allowance Pensions |
2022 Unrestricted funds £ - 50,000 68,083 50,000 35,000 10,000 - 25,000 25,000 25,000 - - - - - 229 288,312 |
2022 Restricted funds £ 21,000 - - 15,000 5,400 - 32,973 - - - - - - - - 74,373 |
2022 Total funds £ 21,000 50,000 68,083 65,000 40,400 10,000 32,973 25,000 25,000 25,000 - - - - 229 362,685 2022 £ 229,674 25,053 (5,000) 11,166 260,893 |
2021 Total funds £ 24,000 37,500 102,425 30,000 20,500 10,000 31,482 24,262 - 2,000 40,000 25,000 5,000 20,000 - 372,169 2021 £ 208,622 21,459 (4,000) 7,501 233,582 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The average number of employees during the year was 6.3, being an average of 6.2 full time equivalent (2021: 6, 5.5 FTE). There were no employees with emoluments above £60,000.
| Defined contribution pension scheme | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Costs of the scheme to the charity for the year | 11,166 | 7,501 |
| Amount of any contributions outstanding at the year end | ||
| Amount of any contributions prepaid at the year end |
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Asylum Matters
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 December 2022
| 4 Restricted funds Transition fund Barrow Cadbury The National Lottery Lloyds Bank Foundation Paul Hamlyn Foundation Paul Hamlyn Foundation Migration Exchange Sam and Bella Sebba Sam and Bella Sebba Tides Foundation |
Balance b/f £ 723 - 11,570 25,452 - 5,556 3,995 3,000 - 24,262 74,558 |
Incoming £ - 21,000 32,973 - 15,000 - - 3,000 2,400 - 74,373 |
Outgoing £ 723 21,000 30,421 25,452 14,302 5,556 3,995 6,000 2,400 24,262 134,111 |
Transfers £ - - - - - - - - - - - |
Balance c/f £ - - 14,122 - 698 - - - - - 14,820 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fund name Transition fund
Barrow Cadbury The National Lottery
Lloyds Bank Foundation
Paul Hamlyn Foundation Paul Hamlyn Foundation Migration Exchange Sam and Bella Sebba Sam and Bella Sebba Tides Foundation
Purpose of restriction
Funding from Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Tudor Trust towards the cost of setting up and registering a new charity for Asylum Matters.
Towards the cost of a Campaigns Manager for the West Midlands. For Greater Manchester Step Change Project. The activity is delivered in partnership with Refugee action as part of the Lottery's Partnerships England Wide programme.
For the cost of Campaigns Managers for Yorkshire and Humberside and the North East.
For work related to Afghan refugees. For Covid 19 related work.
For Covid 19 Respond and Adapt Programme. For work related to Afghan refugees. Cost of living funding. For staff costs.
| 5 Debtors and prepayments Accrued income Other debtors 6 Creditors and accruals Accruals for grants payable Creditors Accruals |
2022 £ 7,899 8 7,907 2022 £ - - 4,279 4,279 |
2021 £ - - - 2021 £ 3,500 641 5,280 9,421 |
|---|---|---|
7 Related party transactions
Trustee expenses
No trustee received any expenses during this year or the previous year.
Trustee remuneration and benefits
No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.
Remuneration and benefits received by key management personnel
The total employee benefits received by key management personnel were £67,612 (previous year: £67,196).
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Asylum Matters
Statement of Financial Activities including comparatives for all funds (including summary income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 December 2022
| 2022 2021 Unrestricted Unrestricted funds funds £ £ Income Grants, contracts and donations 288,312 127,000 Transfer of funds on formation - 93,914 Bank interest 1,137 21 Other income 490 - Total income 289,939 220,935 Expenditure Salaries NI and Pensions 146,834 90,059 Recruitment 417 650 Staff training and support 647 142 Staff travel and accomodation 8,294 1,730 Staff wellbeing 311 1,976 Volunteers, interns, experts by exp'ce. 2,433 18 Grants payable - 3,500 Advisory group 716 396 Advocacy and research 919 - Campaign events and meetings 2,812 - Contribution to host costs 3,750 3,750 Insurance 766 603 Computers and IT 2,218 605 Phone and internet 997 613 Postage and stationery 844 633 Payroll charges 1,070 1,304 Bank charges 104 144 Independent examination 1,500 1,219 Legal and professional 72 2,540 Communications support 2,250 - Admin and finance support 10,458 - Total expenditure 187,412 109,882 Net income / (expenditure) 102,527 111,053 Fund balances brought forward 111,053 - Fund balances carried forward 213,580 111,053 |
2022 Restricted funds £ 74,373 - - - 74,373 114,059 - 980 1,311 - 1,350 - - 8,346 5 - - 384 - - - - - - 7,676 - 134,111 (59,738) 74,558 14,820 |
2021 Restricted funds £ 245,169 (12,667) - 232,502 143,523 - 552 936 - 174 - - 1,228 5,631 3,900 139 374 141 146 301 33 281 585 - - 157,944 74,558 - 74,558 |
2022 Total funds £ 362,685 - 1,137 490 364,312 260,893 417 1,627 9,605 311 3,783 - 716 9,265 2,817 3,750 766 2,602 997 844 1,070 104 1,500 72 9,926 10,458 321,523 42,789 185,611 228,400 |
2021 Total funds £ 372,169 81,247 21 - 453,437 233,582 650 694 2,666 1,976 192 3,500 396 1,228 5,631 7,650 742 979 754 779 1,605 177 1,500 3,125 - - 267,826 185,611 - 185,611 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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