## Asylum Matters
Charity number 1192664
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
## Asylum Matters
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
|**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**
1
## Asylum Matters
## Trustees' report for the year ended 31 December 2024
## **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** Emma Harrison Chair Andrew White Treasurer Jacqueline Cotton Carmen Chapell Elkin Resigned 13 February 2025 Peter Fell Pinar Aksu Diana Gallardo Fatma Elaraby **Charity number** 1192664 Registered in England and Wales **Registered and principal address Bankers** PO BOX 389 Unity Trust Bank plc United Trust Bank Leeds 4 Brindley Pl One Ropemaker Street LS26 1GR Birmingham B1 2JB London EC2Y 9AW Saffron Building Soc. Redwood Bank 1a Market Street The Nexus Bldg Broadway Saffron Walden Letchworth Garden City SG6 3TA Essex CB10 1HX. **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.
2
## Asylum Matters
## Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2024
## **Objectives and activities**
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.
## **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.
## **The charity's main activities**
## **What Asylum Matters does in furtherance of its objects and how it does it**
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 managers 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.
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 create change, while building platforms for people with lived experience to advocate directly with decision-makers.
## **Organisational Overview**
We have finalised our new organisational strategy. We have new strategic objectives to reflect our work areas, a new theory of change and a clear articulation of our aims, vision, values, and crucially the unique space Asylum Matters occupies in the asylum and migrant rights space.
As referenced above we have also been developing campaigns strategies for all four of our areas – this will be the first time Asylum Matters has discrete campaigns strategies unique to each area of our activities. It will enable us to measure our impact more easily whilst ensuring that the organisation remains focussed on smart objectives in our day to day work.
3
## Asylum Matters
## Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2024
## **Achievements and performance**
## **Activity & Achievements**
The past year has been another incredibly busy period both within the Asylum Support space with a continuation of desperate levels of poverty, homelessness, exploitation and unmet healthcare needs, and more broadly in campaigning with a general election and a change in government. Key moments over the last year include:
Arrests of people for the purposes of removal to Rwanda and legal challenges to these, Asylum Matters have continued to be at the forefront of the community response to the harms inflicted by hostile border policies – we supported our partners by producing and disseminating information critical to reduce the harms of arrests, worked with partners to identify legal reps and ensured information flow to communities. Whilst we took the strategic decision to abstain from direct legal action to challenge the Safety of Rwanda Bill, as others were leading on this, we continued to support, amplify and ensure these calls to action were accessible within communities.
A continuation of harmful accommodation, including the Bibby Stockholm barge and utilisation of disused army barracks. Since the change in government we’ve seen huge progress in closing the Bibby Stockholm Barge, scrapping planned expansions in Northeye and Scampton. We continue to evidence the harm of Napier and Wethersfield.
A continuation of the Illegal Migration Act Asylum Ban, reversed by the new government who have started processing claims at pace, but without adequate legal representation.
A significant homelessness crisis generated by a reduction in post positive decision notice to quit asylum accommodation under the previous government – in some cases notice was reduced to just 7 days.
A General Election which saw some hugely harmful rhetoric around asylum and migration, and a change in government.
A scrapping of Rwanda, reopening of the asylum system.
A continuation of the racist violence against people seeking asylum, which has been bubbling for the last couple of years, coming to a pinnacle over the summer.
## **Racist Violence**
The summer was marked by a rapid and gruesome escalation of violence against racialised people, and specifically people accommodated in asylum hotels, culminating in horrifying attacks against hotels in Rotherham and Tamworth where mobs blocked the fire exits and set the hotels alight. Violence against people accommodated in hotels has been mounting for the past couple of years, including a stabbing in a hotel in Worcestershire at the start of 2024. It’s important to note that this was not a moment of violence, but part of a pattern of violence against people seeking sanctuary here.
With partners we developed guidance for providers in hotels, and guidance for people seeking asylum translated into the top languages within the asylum system - we approached Hope Not Hate to have it hosted on their secure servers – it continues to be their most downloaded resource.
## **Fight the #AntiRefugeeLaws/Fight for Asylum Rights**
We campaigned for Asylum Rights in the lead into the General Election and immediately following it the new government reopened the asylum system and the scrapped the Rwanda offshoring scheme. We’ve pivoted our FARL campaign to reflect these changes. We’ve now relaunched the campaign with a new name: ‘Fight for Asylum Rights’.
Our approach to campaigning in the pre-election period was highly focussed on catalysing constituency dialogue. In January 2024 we released our General Election campaigning resources to facilitate local grassroots campaigning for Parliamentary Candidates in anticipation of a General Election in 2024. We engaged with all of our community campaigners, our sector partners and frontline charities to launch these up and down the UK, running constituency & community based events, through partners nationally to ensure they were accessible online and easy to take and run with as part of our ‘Asylum Rights Voter’ drive.
4
## Asylum Matters
## Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2024
## **Achievements and performance continued**
Post General Election we drafted and convened a sector ‘Welcome Letter’ to the new Prime Minister setting out the steps that must be taken within his first 100 days, this included reopening the asylum system and abandoning the Rwanda scheme.
We also gathered 1000’s of our postcards that had been completed with messages of welcome from all around the UK and with our friends at Praxis we arranged for some people seeking asylum to deliver these to No.10 for the attention of the new Prime Minister.
We prepared and delivered Asylum Welcome Packs to every single new and returning MP in the new parliament. These were all adapted to introduce the new MP to Asylum within their constituencies, introducing them to their local asylum support charities, and curating resources from partners to put into the welcome packs – they included briefings from Right to Remain, Humans for Rights Network and Helen Bamber etc. In addition to us sending all of these out to all MPs, we also released a template to partners that they could adapt for their use.
We’ve relaunched the FAR website and recommenced fortnightly mailouts to everyone who’s signed the pledge to Fight for Asylum Rights, ensuring we map campaigner journeys to help cultivate interest and skill in community based campaigners – each campaigner journey includes a menu of different actions people can take to stand up for asylum rights.
## **Asylum accommodation**
Immediately after the General Election, with Refugee Action and NACCOM, we wrote to the minister to outline our shared concerns around asylum accommodation. She responded positively and has now committed to meeting with us every six months. So far we’ve met twice and been able to represent a series of immediate priorities that must be addressed around large scale sites and the use of hotels whilst the Home Office continue to explore longer term direction for asylum accommodation. Our briefing to minister on the short term asks on hotels is attached to this document.
NACCOM’s work around homelessness in and around the asylum system is crucial, and our partner Refugee Action continue their campaign to have asylum accommodation contracts moved out of the private sector and into the not for profit space. Our work through the Communities Not Camps campaign is on the immediate risks of large scale sites and hotels. It’s clear from meeting with the inister that the break clauses in private accommodation contracts in 2026 will not be triggered and the current accommodation arrangements will remain in force for some time. Developing and deepening our partnership with RA and NACCOM we three are in the process of pulling together an overarching asylum accommodation manifesto – working across our discrete policy areas to pull together a masterplan for the sector to coalesce around – ensuring that any NGO, any LA or other key stakeholder has a simple set of policy asks when meeting with any government representative or influential stakeholder.
More specifically on Communities Not Camps our work with front line partners continues earnestly. In addition to the new resources we developed during the racists attacks we’ve also developed briefings for Communities Not Camps coalition partners on the specific risks to people in large scale sites and hotels.
Through the Communities Not Camps coalition, we have every service provider in Wethersfield, Napier and The Bibby Stockholm Barge in the coalition, in addition to campaigners attached to Scampton and Northeye – both earmarked by the previous government for plans for large scale asylum camps.
Since the general election we’ve been able to secure the closure of The Bibby Stockholm, government have announced Napier will close and plans to open Scampton have been pulled. When we started Communities Not Camps we had three camps, one barge and plans for at least three more camps and more barges. We’ve got this down to just Wethersfield, and while of course we’re delighted by the success of our campaign – we continue to fight for Wethersfield to be closed, while also representing the risks around hotels.
5
## Asylum Matters
## Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 December 2024
## **Achievements and performance continued**
## **Asylum support**
Our focus through the winter period has been to build a new coalition campaign strategy around asylum poverty, Action Against Asylum Poverty as the coalition name, and ‘fight asylum poverty’ as the public facing campaign. Whilst we’ve worked on asylum poverty throughout our history we’ve never proactively campaigned against it – having spoken to many sector partners and people in hotels and large scale sites there’s a consensus that this is one of the single biggest issues with the asylum system, with no one in the sector with the capacity to lead an advance on this. Given our history of work in this area and the skill and knowledge we have, we feel that this is the right time to launch a new campaign.
We’ve developed a new partnership with Aston University who will be providing research and academic skill to the poverty campaign, understanding what ‘the ask’ needs to be – historically it’s been that people in the asylum system should receive 70% of Universal Credit – but it’s been a long time since this was tested, and the rationale needs overhauling. We’re busy developing the proposition and methodology together.
## **Lift The Ban**
We’ve relaunched our Lift the Ban campaign with Refugee Action following the general election and convened the coalition together to relaunch the new campaign strategy. This meeting was led by some of our amazing Lived Experience community campaigners.
With Refugee Action, our campaign partners, we’ve organised a Campaign Moment on parliament square – footage of this is available here. We ran the event in such a way as it could be replicated in the Cities across the UK and we’ve seen similar events across the UK.
We’ve completed a new research project with Refugee Action around the key Labour drivers and blockers for working rights. Working with RAMP we’re planning a Parliamentary launch for the report findings in May.
## **Financial review**
Income for the year was £398,124 and expenditure was £333,658. The net income for the year was £64,466, including net income of £57,906 on unrestricted funds and net income of £6,560 on restricted funds.
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 £297,670.
The trustees have decided that the level of unrestricted reserves should be between £100,000 and £200,000, representing approximately 3-6 months expenditure in 2025. The trustees expect that the 2025 accounts will show a deficit of about £70,000 which will reduce the level of free reserves to approximately £225,000 by the end of 2025. A further deficit is expected in 2026.
Approved by the board of trustees on 17/07/2025
Andrew White (Trustee)
6
## 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 2024, 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
- 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
29/07/2025
## **West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO**
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
7
## Asylum Matters
## Statement of Financial Activities
## (including summary income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 December 2024
|Notes
2024
Unrestricted
funds
£
**Income from:**
Grants, contracts and donations
(2)
278,835
Bank interest
8,425
Other income
560
**Total income**
287,820
**Expenditure on:**
Salaries NI and Pensions
(3)
183,439
Recruitment
1,169
Staff training and support
2,154
Staff travel and accomodation
11,560
Staff wellbeing
-
Volunteers, interns, experts by experience
5,520
Trustee travel and training
-
Advocacy and research and consultancy support
-
Campaign events and partner meetings
1,131
Contribution to host organisation costs
3,200
Insurance
908
Computers and IT
1,611
Phone and internet
1,520
Postage and stationery
1,298
Payroll charges
1,366
Bank charges
2
Independent examination
1,250
Legal and professional
963
Communications support
3,999
Admin and finance support
6,844
Advertising, publicity and website
1,980
**Total expenditure**
229,914
**Net income / (expenditure)**
57,906
**Fund balances brought forward**
239,764
**Fund balances carried forward**
(4)
297,670|2024
Restricted
funds
£
110,304
-
-
110,304
100,061
-
-
840
1,974
-
-
-
7
-
-
-
14
19
-
-
-
-
829
-
-
103,744
6,560
14,354
20,914|2024
Total
funds
£
389,139
8,425
560
398,124
283,500
1,169
2,154
12,400
1,974
5,520
-
-
1,138
3,200
908
1,611
1,534
1,317
1,366
2
1,250
963
4,828
6,844
1,980
333,658
64,466
254,118
318,584|2023
Total
funds
£
356,674
5,908
226
362,808
274,978
1,656
2,010
15,233
-
4,712
1,031
3,445
949
4,033
816
3,897
1,408
976
1,239
101
1,250
2,842
5,027
10,587
900
337,090
25,718
228,400
254,118|
|---|---|---|---|
All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.
8
## Asylum Matters
|Balance sheet
as at 31 December 2024
2024
Unrestricted
£
**Current assets**
Cash at bank and in hand
(5)
299,402
**Total current assets**
299,402
**Current liabilities:**
**amounts falling due within one year**
Creditors and accruals
(6)
1,732
**Total current liabilities**
1,732
**Net current assets / (liabilities)**
297,670
**Net assets**
297,670
**Funds**
Unrestricted funds
297,670
Restricted funds
-
**Total funds**
297,670|2024
Restricted
£
20,914
20,914
-
-
20,914
20,914
-
20,914
20,914|2024
Total
£
320,316
320,316
1,732
1,732
318,584
318,584
297,670
20,914
318,584|2023
Total
£
257,737
257,737
3,619
3,619
254,118
254,118
239,764
14,354
254,118|
|---|---|---|---|
The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 17/07/2025
Andrew White (Trustee)
9
## Asylum Matters
## Notes to the accounts
## for the year ended 31 December 2024
## **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.
10
## Asylum Matters
## Notes to the accounts continued
## for the year ended 31 December 2024
|**2 Grants and donations**
AB Charitable Trust
Disrupt Foundation
Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
Lloyds Bank Foundation
National Lottery Community Foundation
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Sam and Bella Sebba Charitable Foundation
The Barrow Cadbury Trust
Treebeard Trust
Tudor Trust
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
The National Lottery Community Fund
Other donations
**3 Staff costs and numbers**
Gross salaries
Social security costs
Employment allowance
Pensions|2024
Unrestricted
funds
£
20,000
20,000
60,000
66,667
-
-
50,000
-
25,000
35,000
-
-
2,168
278,835|2024
Restricted
funds
£
-
-
-
-
33,804
50,000
-
24,000
-
-
-
-
2,500
110,304|2024
Total
funds
£
20,000
20,000
60,000
66,667
33,804
50,000
50,000
24,000
25,000
35,000
-
-
4,668
389,139
2024
£
249,648
25,626
(5,000)
13,226
283,500|2023
Total
funds
£
20,000
-
-
70,000
-
55,000
17,500
30,000
25,000
37,000
27,000
33,685
41,489
356,674
2023
£
242,060
25,135
(5,000)
12,783
274,978|
|---|---|---|---|---|
The average number of employees during the year was 7, being an average of 6.4 full time equivalent (2023: 6.6, 6.3 FTE). There were no employees with emoluments above £60,000.
|**Defined contribution pension scheme**
Costs of the scheme to the charity for the year
**4 Restricted funds**
Balance b/f
£
Barrow Cadbury Trust
-
The National Lottery
12,354
John Laing
-
Tudor Trust
2,000
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
-
14,354|Incoming
£
24,000
33,804
2,500
-
50,000
110,304|Outgoing
£
24,000
36,077
-
2,000
41,667
103,744|2024
£
13,226
Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-|2023
£
12,783
Balance c/f
£
-
10,081
2,500
-
8,333
20,914|
|---|---|---|---|---|
## **Fund name**
Barrow Cadbury Trust The National Lottery
John Laing Tudor Trust Paul Hamlyn Foundation
## **Purpose of restriction**
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 travel costs for Lift The Ban event Towards staff wellbeing. Towards the charity's core costs.
11
## Asylum Matters
## Notes to the accounts continued
## for the year ended 31 December 2024
|**5 Cash at bank and in hand**
Cash at bank
Cash in hand
**6 Creditors and accruals**
Accruals|2024
£
320,316
-
320,316
2024
£
1,732
1,732|2023
£
257,737
-
257,737
2023
£
3,619
3,619|
|---|---|---|
## **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 £51,017 (previous year: £62,634).
12
## Asylum Matters
## Statement of Financial Activities including comparatives for all funds (including summary income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 December 2024
|2024
2023
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds
funds
£
£
**Income**
Grants, contracts and donations
278,835
290,989
Bank interest
8,425
5,908
Other income
560
226
**Total income**
287,820
297,123
**Expenditure**
Salaries NI and Pensions
183,439
213,049
Recruitment
1,169
1,656
Staff training and support
2,154
1,924
Staff travel and accomodation
11,560
13,363
Staff wellbeing
-
-
Volunteers, interns, experts by exp'ce.
5,520
4,570
Trustee travel and training
-
1,031
Advocacy and research
-
3,295
Campaign events and meetings
1,131
857
Contribution to host costs
3,200
4,033
Insurance
908
816
Computers and IT
1,611
3,286
Phone and internet
1,520
1,322
Postage and stationery
1,298
976
Payroll charges
1,366
1,239
Bank charges
2
101
Independent examination
1,250
1,250
Legal and professional
963
2,842
Communications support
3,999
3,842
Admin and finance support
6,844
10,587
Advertising, publicity and website
1,980
900
**Total expenditure**
229,914
270,939
**Net income / (expenditure)**
57,906
26,184
**Fund balances brought forward**
239,764
213,580
**Fund balances carried forward**
297,670
239,764|2024
Restricted
funds
£
110,304
-
-
110,304
100,061
-
-
840
1,974
-
-
-
7
-
-
-
14
19
-
-
-
-
829
-
-
103,744
6,560
14,354
20,914|2023
Restricted
funds
£
65,685
-
-
65,685
61,929
-
86
1,870
-
142
-
150
92
-
-
611
86
-
-
-
-
-
1,185
-
-
66,151
(466)
14,820
14,354|2024
Total
funds
£
389,139
8,425
560
398,124
283,500
1,169
2,154
12,400
1,974
5,520
-
-
1,138
3,200
908
1,611
1,534
1,317
1,366
2
1,250
963
4,828
6,844
1,980
333,658
64,466
254,118
318,584|2023
Total
funds
£
356,674
5,908
226
362,808
274,978
1,656
2,010
15,233
-
4,712
1,031
3,445
949
4,033
816
3,897
1,408
976
1,239
101
1,250
2,842
5,027
10,587
900
337,090
25,718
228,400
254,118|
|---|---|---|---|---|
13