South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice (Registered charity, number 1199706) Financial statements for the period 6 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 Page Contents Trustees, annual report Independent examiner's report Receipts & payments account Statement of assets & liabilities Notes to the accounts 10-11 capLUS COMMUTr4,'TY ACCOUNTING South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice Trustees, annual report for the period 6 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 Full name South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justi Other names by which the charity is known SYRLJ (Working name) Organisation type CIO Reglstered charity number 1199706 Prin¢lpal address The Sanctuary, 37-39 Chapel Walk, Sheffield, S12PD Trustees Gary Bell, Chair Phil Moore, Secretary Patricia Anne Hudson, Treasurer Victor Mujakachi Christopher Cole Emma Rattenbury, from 1910912024 Peter Veal, until 2610312024 Independent examiner John O'Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus, Units 1 & 2 North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG15GL Governance and management The Charity was registered on 19th July 2022 as a Charitsble Incorporated Organisation. with the intention of merging it with an unincorporated association of the same name (Registered Charity, number 1146748). Once due diligen￿ had been completed, the merger of the charities was subsequently registered by the Commission on 11th December 2023, with a transfer date of 26th June 2023. and the unincorporated association removed from the Register. The methods adopted for the recruitment and appointment of new trustees are.. we request a CV and feference, which is then followed by an initial interview by the Chair and due diligence. The proposal to appoint is then considered by existing trustees and if aproved the applicant is invited to join and sign a declaration form. South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice Objectives and activities 1. To promote human rights (as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations declarations and conventions) throughout the world by all or any of the following means: a. Relieving need among the victims of human rights abuses b. Educating the public about human rights abuse c. Eliminating inffingements of human rights 2. The relief of financial hardship amongst asylum seekers, refugees, and their dependants in the South Yorkshire area by the provision of free legal advice and assistan 3. The advancement of education of the public about asylum law and practi South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice is a grassroots legal charity providing immigration legal services to migrants in South Yorkshire who are at risk of human rights abuses. We offer free legal representation to people whose asylum claims have been refused, we work to increase access to justice across the region, we provide training and qualification routes to practitioners entering the legal profession and pursuing a career in immigration and human rights law, and we advocate for a fair system for all migrants in the UK. Our vision All migrants in South Yorkshire have a¢￿5$ to justice and their human rights are protected. Our mission Our mission is to increase the provision of good quality immigration legal advice and representation for migrants across South Yorkshire. We currently do this through providing representation to refused asylum seekers in South Yorkshire., providing d1￿ct one-off immigration advice to migrants, via 'drop in, sessions., providing both paid and voluntary opportunities to undertake training and gain experien￿ in the field of human ri9hls law- providing best Practi￿ training to stakeholders and partners. Our values Respect We treat all clients, volunteers and staff with respect and dignity, and without judgement. Compassion We work with each client in the way that best suits them. We adapt our se￿iCe around the specific challenges and different experiences that our clients fa￿ whilst navigating the legal system. Tenacity We work alongside our clients to explore all legal options and fight to ensure they get justice. Quallty We maintain high standards and are committed to providing an excellent quality of service to those we work with. South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice Summary of the main activities undertaken for the publlc benefit Legal casework and representation Our core service is the provision of immigration legal representation to refused asylum seekers and migrants with human rights related legal issues who are living in South Yorkshire. We offer in-depth ongoing legal representation to those who often have complex legal cases and face multiple barriers to engaging with legal services. We aim to se¢ure long term resolution of our clients, cases. One-off legal advice We provide one-off face to face legal advice though a local drop-in service. This service is open-access and is available to all migrants with human rights related immigration matters. We provide this service in Sheffield and Barnsley. Training and capacity building A key aim for SYRLJ is to build capacity in the sector. This includes providing training and qualification routes internally for our staff and volunteers as well as the provision of external training and capacity building. We work closely with local partners and community groups to increase understanding of immigration law in practice. We support refugee organisations, campaigning and community groups and local activist groups by providing legal expertise and guidance. We also create local spaces and ne￿orkS for skills sharing and knowledge exchange within Ihe legal sector. Advocacy We are active members of several networks working to secure systemic change for our Client group and our sector at a national level. We are particularly passionate about working to ensure that the experiences of migrants, and of organisations working to support migrants in small regional contexts, are represented in national advocacy and policy work. We work to amplify the experiences and knowledge of our client group and local grassroots legal organisations at a national level. Background South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice fomied as an unincorporated charitable association in April 2012. It was founded in response to community concerns about the gap in local legal provision for people whose asylum Claims had been refused. Belmeen 2019 and 2021 SYRLJ faced a significant crisis. Our founder and Chair of Trustees Gina Clayton passed away following a period of illness and we lost several other board members as well as our Coordinator who had been with the organisation for 10 years. These challenges, alongside the impact ofthe Covid pandemic, took SYRLJ to a poinl where we had to question whether we could Gonlinue operating. However, knowing how critical the need for this service was, we resolved to meet these challenges head on. We have been able to build a stronger and more resilient organisation with a growing reputation for high quality legal work, excellent client care and a tenacious drive to improve access to justice for migrants across South Yorkshire and beyond. South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice In 2022 we expanded our service to include one-off immigration advice, open on a monthly basis to all migrants, including those who do not meet the remit for our substantive casework service. Public benefit statement The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit,. The public gain greater knowledge and understanding of the asylum system, refugee protection and human rights. The quality of advice and representstion is improved, speeding up the process, promoting more just and sustainable outcomes, which reduces pressure on public resources. Review of the year Over the period covered by this report we created three additional roles, growing to a staff team of eight and with support from our small team of volunteers we were able to deliver an excellent service providing high quality legal representation and advice. Our two trainee legal advisers and our paralegal continued to gain experience and legal qualifications including OISC qualifications and Solicitor's Qualifying Work Experience. We also recruited a Senior Legal Adviser who we supported to gain his Immigration & Asylum Accreditation Scheme (IAASI Senior Supervisor qualification. This is part of our ongoing commitment to increasing aC￿sS to justice and improving the quality of legal services throLtgh training and support for the next generation of social justice lawyers. We also provide training opportunities and qualification routes to our volunteers. A high proportion of people who volunteered with us went on to secure paid work in Ihe legal sector. We are proud to play an active role in our community, building solidarity in the fa￿ of far-right attacks and the hostile environment. Over the year we worked closely with local partners and played a key role in building relationships be￿een small legal charities acfOSS the north to share learning and resources and combine our experien￿, expertise and strength to tackle some of the bigger structural challenges facing our sector. Following our decision in March 2023 to apply for a legal aid contract. we moved ahead with our application and with developing and updating our internal office and casework systems in line with requirements. Our application was successful and marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the development of SYRLJ. As part of this process, we also successfully secured a Lexcel Quality Standard mark. Our hope is that in undertaking this work we can both enhance the legal support we are able to offer our clients and stand alongside other legal aid providers in the fight to protect this vital public service and uphold the principle of access to justice for all. In Mar¢h 2024 we were able to expand our one-off immigration advice service to offer sessions per month. South Yorkshlre Refugee Law and Justlce Summary of our achlevements We provided legal representation to 119 clients - an irKxBase of 35% on the previous year. We also worked on Improwng the qualty ol our Servi￿ delivery undertaking organisation wide training on trauma-infonned working and suicide prevention. We submitted 37 applications on behalf our dients, enabling them and their dependents to exit destitution arKI access accrmm