Hastings City of Sanctuary
Registered Charity Number 1200852
Annual Accounts
for the period
1 November 2022 31 March 2024
Contents:
Organisational information Trustees Annual Report Receipts & Payments account Statement of Assets & Liabilities Notes Independent Examiner's report General ledger
Audit numbers including voided
Hastings Voluntary Action Jackson Hall Portland Place Hastings East Sussex TN34 1QN
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
Hastings City of Sanctuary
Organisational information for the 18 months ended 31 March 2024
Name of charity: Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852 Legal form: Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Governing document: Constitution (last amended 6 September 2022) Address: c/o Hastings voluntary Action Jackson Hall, Portland Place , Hastings TN34 1QN Committee members: Chair : Polly Gifford Treasurer : Julie Todd Olivia Cavanagh Jane Grimshaw Rachel Lowden Bankers: Lloyds Bank - PO Box 1000 Andover BX1 1LT Independent Examiner: Laura Dawson Finance Manager, Hastings Voluntary Action Jackson Hall, Portland Place, Hastings, TN34 1QN Objects: The objects of the CIO are to promote the following, for the public benefit: 1. The promotion of social inclusion for the public benefit among people who are refugees and asylum seekers, socially excluded on the grounds of their social and economic position, by promoting and/or co-ordinating services and facilities to assist them to adapt within a new community. 2. The relief of financial hardship among asylum seekers and refugees living or working in Hastings and surrounding areas by acting as an umbrella and resource for local refugee support services. 3. The advancement of the education of the public in general about the issues relating to refugees and those seeking asylum. 4. The promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by promoting activities to foster understanding and good relations between the general public and people seeking sanctuary.
Reserves policy:
Hastings City of Sanctuary aims to keep a sum in reserve to cover unforseen debts or unrecoverable expenses. The current level deemed to be prudent is £1,500. This policy is reviewed annually.
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
Hastings City of Sanctuary The Report of the Trustees for the 18 months ended 31 March 2024
April 22
Open Meeting held to recruit more volunteers. 60 people registered to attend, either in person or on line. Monthly volunteer meet-ups have happened since. May
June
People’s Boutique takes place at the beginning of Refugee Week. Approx 50 people attend (?)
Sanctuary Festival 2022
Another successful event was held at Hastings Museum on 26 June 2022. Approx 1500 people attended over the day.
There was a busier programme of activities with more partner organisations involved. Good links established with Ark Alexandra Academy and Hastings Library, as part of the Sanctuary Awards.
July
Colombian Cultural Evening fundraiser at Zoom Arts
Renewed push on Pledge sign ups.
Aug
Sept
Felicity Laurence and Jay Kramer stood down from the Committee. Very many thanks to them for all their hard work.
Olivia Cavanagh stood down as Treasurer but remains on the Committee.
Julie Todd voted unanimously onto the Committee and then into the post of Treasurer.
Committee agree to register HCoS as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
– Stop Rwanda Demo on St Leonards Seafront attended by approx. 250 people.
– – Fill The Skies With Hope event national event led by Together With Refugees attended by approx. 40 people.
Oct
– Poster Project posters inspired by the Conversations From Calais project but with quotes from refugees in Hastings, go up in shops and cafes around the town.
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
Hastings City of Sanctuary
The Report of the Trustees for the 18 months ended 31 March 2024 (continued)
NovApril 22
Open Meeting held to recruit more volunteers. 60 people registered to attend, either in person People moved into ‘spot booked’ hotels in Hastings by the Home Office. HCoS supporters donate or on line. Monthly volunteer meet-ups have happened since.clothing and funds to provide essentials to the residents.
May
Dec
Vigil held for the four people who died in a tragic accident in the Channel, one year on from the Juneloss of 27 lives in the same way – nothing has been learnt.
People’s Boutique takes place at the beginning of Refugee Week. Approx 50 people attend (?)
Jan 23 Sanctuary Festival 2022Polly & Jane meeting with Sally-Anne Hart MP
Another successful event was held at Hastings Museum on 26 June 2022. Approx 1500 people
Febattended over the day.
There wCity of S a nctuary UK Valentine's Day actions a busier programme of activities with more partner organisations involved. Call to send the PM, Home Secretary and/or MPs a Valentine’s card altered to be about love for Good links established with Ark Alexandra Academy and Hastings Library, as part of the Sanctuary Awards.refugees.
JulyVigil to mark 1 year since the invasion of Ukraine.
Colombian Cultural Evening fundraiser at Zoom Arts
Mar
CommunitieRenewed pu s Nh o n Pledge sign ups. t Camps public meeting in partnership with The Refugee Buddy Project.
Aug
In addition over the year the charity has donated over £4600 of clothing and equipment to Septrefugees in local hostels, has financed the local beach response team and has supported the Felicity Laurence and Jay Kramer stood down from the Committee. Very many thanks twork done by the Refugee Buddy project, Community kitchen, and Karma foodbank am o them ngst for all their hard work.others.
Olivia Cavanagh stood down as Treasurer but remains on the Committee.
Julie Todd voted unanimously onto the Committee and then into the post of Treasurer.
Committee agree to register HCoS as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
– Stop Rwanda Demo on St Leonards Seafront attended by approx. 250 people.
– – Fill The Skies With Hope event national event led by Together With Refugees attended by approx. 40 people.
Oct – Poster Project posters inspired by the Conversations From Calais project but with quotes from refugees in Hastings, go up in shops and cafes around the town.
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
Hastings City of Sanctuary The Report of the Trustees for the 18 months ended 31st March 2024
Hastings City of Sanctuary Review of the Year 2023/24
Hastings City of Sanctuary (known locally as Hastings Community of Sanctuary / HCoS) is a volunteer-run Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) committed to building a culture of welcome for people seeking sanctuary and refuge in Hastings and surrounding area. We work to raise awareness of the issues facing refugees and people seeking asylum, run collections for essential items and raise funds to support local projects.
Our projects include the annual Sanctuary Festival , The People’s Boutique and the Sanctuary Awards .
We campaign for a fair and humane asylum system, including more safe and legal routes for people to seek asylum in the UK. Once here, we believe that people should be housed and supported in local communities and be able to work and contribute to those communities, while their claims are assessed.
HCoS grew out of community group Hastings Supports Refugees and joined the national City of Sanctuary movement in 2017. Hastings Supports Refugees now sits under the umbrella of HCoS. We work closely with other voluntary sector organisations and agencies. Key partnerships include The Refugee Buddy Project Hastings, Rother & Wealden, Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, East Sussex Library Service, Hastings Voluntary Action / Links Project, Hasting Borough Council and Community of Sanctuary UK.
Key Activities and Highlights for 2023/34
East Sussex Library Service becomes a Library of Sanctuary
This year we supported our first local organisation to gain their Sanctuary Award. Offered through City of Sanctuary UK to encourage mainstream sectors to contribute to building a movement of welcome, the awards programme recognises and celebrates the organisations who go above and beyond to embed solidarity, compassion and inclusion within their work.
We started conversations with Ark Alexandra Secondary Academy and Christ Church Primary Academy about becoming Schools of Sanctuary, and with Hastings Museum & Art Gallery and East Sussex Library Service. The Library Service gained the award in July 2023.
Sanctuary Festival and creative outreach projects
Thanks to additional funds raised from Arts Council England, Making It Happen, the Fonthill Foundation and the Foreshore Trust, and continued support from The National Lottery Awards for All, we were able to expand the reach of the festival this year with two creative outreach projects – one in partnership with Hastings Library and one with Ark Alexandra Secondary Academy.
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
Hastings Library project:
Nine Hastings residents with lived experience of the UK asylum system took part in creative workshops led by artists Anne-Marie Watson and Fatima Esayli, and English tutor Kathy Briscoe. The group had a really positive experience, and a beautiful artwork was created for the library foyer.
All the participants now feel very comfortable in the library and very proud that their work is so visible to all visitors. “[We feel] very proud. Our soul is in the banner – different lives and cultures in Hastings together in one place in a colourful way.” Participant feedback
The relationship between Hastings Community of Sanctuary and the library service has been strengthened and both are keen to continue to work together.
Ark Alexandra project:
Composer and musician Gwyneth Herbert created a school anthem with Yr8 students at Ark Alexandra Academy, that expressed their values as a School of Sanctuary. Gwyneth had a twoweek residency at the school and worked with all 11 classes in Yr 8, writing a total of 6 songs in collaboration with the students. 5 songs were written between 2 classes each, and 1 was the collective anthem. The sessions took place in music lessons and directly contributed to the music curriculum. The sessions were co-delivered with the music teachers to support exchange of practice.
The songs were performed by Gwyneth at a Yr8 assembly, also attended by Yr7 students. The students joined in with their class songs and also with the communal anthem in a joyful and riotous celebration of creativity and sanctuary that clearly demonstrated the students’ ownership of the songs. Gwyneth had also worked separately with three students with lived experience of being refugees and their words featured strongly in the anthem, in a safe way.
The creation of the lyrics in the lessons enabled a discussion of what sanctuary means to the young people, starting from their own experience and then bringing in reflection on the challenges facing refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK.
A small group of students joined Gwyneth to perform the songs at Sanctuary Festival.
Sanctuary Festival
We were delighted with this year’s festival, that attracted over 1500 people to Hastings Museum on 25 June in glorious sunshine. The festival supported 70 artists, including 15 with lived experience of the UK asylum system, 64 community participants, and 33 volunteers. 18 local groups and organisations had stalls at the event including The Refugee Buddy Project, Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, Women’s Voice and Stand Up to Racism.
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
The Talks programme included two panel discussions, one on the theme of Communities Not Camps, and one on the role of creativity for people navigating the UK asylum system.
We were able to develop several exciting new partnerships this year, including with Hear Me Out, a charity that runs music workshops with people in immigration detention centres, contingency accommodation and asylum hotels. Band from the Barracks are a group currently living in temporary accommodation at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent who have been making music together in weekly workshops with Hear Me Out. They had never performed together before but and were one of the highlights of the music programme. The band members said that, since arriving in the UK, they had never been made to feel so welcome as they were in Hastings.
The People’s Boutique
This project provides free good quality adult and children’s clothes in boutique environment, to give people a greater feeling of dignity and normality.
Along with clothing, books and children’s toys were available, and in previous years we have had hairdressers and manicurists.
Ongoing Activities:
Monthly volunteer meetings, supported by the White Rock Hotel
Attending regional City of Sanctuary online meetings
Support continued for the approx. 80 men still being housed in a local Hastings hotel, as well as in a hotel in Wealden. HCoS provide basic clothing and personal hygiene products, working closely with the Refugee Buddy Project Hastings, Rother & Wealden who were directly supporting the men. We continue to closely monitor the situation around the proposed asylum detention centre in Northeye in nearby Bexhill. We were able to share knowledge and Apr-23 experience gained by other City of Sanctuary groups who were opposing similar developments in other parts of the country. Application submitted to be community editors of the Radio 4 Today programme in August, in partnership with the Buddy Project. A HCoS supporter raised £500 running the Hastings Half Marathon. Sanctuary Festival: Library and School Project sessions take place Volunteer steward recruitment May Trustees Meeting
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
| June | Sanctuary Festival 2023 Another successful event was held at Hastings Museum on 25 June. Over 1500 people attended over the day. There was a busier programme of activities with more partner organisations involved (see above). |
|---|---|
| July | East Sussex Library Service gain their Library of Sanctuary Award. Banner made by members of the local refugee community is installed in the foyer of Hastings Library and a celebration event held. |
| Aug | Vigil held for more lives lost at sea crossing The Channel. HCoS volunteers join the parade for Hastings Pride. |
| Sept | We continue to meet requests when new people arrive in the hotel. Trustees meeting. |
| Oct | Speaking Out for Sanctuary training session delivered by City of Sanctuary UK. Every Sort of People Party event in Newhaven in partnership with Sanctuary Festival. Article written by HCoS volunteer Pal Luthra about the Northeye proposals published by Hastings Online Times |
| Nov | Winter campaign launched for coats and shoes for men in hotels. Coastal Solidarity Vigil to remember the 27 people who died in 2021. |
| Dec | HCoS help inform a motion to Rother District Council to become a Council of Sanctuary. |
| Jan-24 | Trustees Meeting |
| Feb | Fundraising Comedy Night with James Ross. Strategy session facilitated by Deanne Nuala to help identify key goals and aims for HCoS over the next year. |
| Mar | Meetings with Hastings Museum & Art Gallery about becoming a Museum of Sanctuary, with the aim to present the award at Sanctuary Festival 2024. |
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
Hastings City of Sanctuary Receipts & Payments Account
for the period
1 November 2022 to 31 March 2024
| Current Year | Current Year | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts | Notes | Restricted funds |
Designated funds |
Unrestricted funds |
Total funds |
| Donations and legacies | - | 7,323.33 | 1,132.42 | 8,455.75 | |
| Income from charitable activities | 58,535.00 | 1,333.69 | 2,732.97 | 62,601.66 | |
| Other income | - | 693.09 | 1,699.75 | 2,392.84 | |
| Other trading activities | - | - | - | - | |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | |
| Total Receipts | 58,535.00 | 9,350.11 | 5,565.14 | 73,450.25 | |
| Expenditure | |||||
| Expenditure on charitable activities | 36,237.34 | 9,473.84 | 3,270.10 | 48,981.28 | |
| Other expenditure | - | 1,214.34 | 1,904.63 | 3,118.97 | |
| Raising funds | - | - | - | - | |
| Total Expenditure | 36,237.34 | 10,688.18 | 5,174.73 | 52,100.25 | |
| Net surplus (deficit) | 22,297.66 | (1,338.07) | 390.41 | 21,350.00 | |
| Movement in funds | - | - | - | - | |
| Funds brought forward | 31/10/22 | 1,023.00 | 5,971.83 | 3,132.26 | 10,127.09 |
| Funds carried forward | 31/3/24 | 23,320.66 | 4,633.76 | 3,522.67 | 31,477.09 |
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
Hastings City of Sanctuary Statement of Assets & Liabilities
as at
31 March 2024
| HCOS Account @ 31/03/24 HSR Account @ 31/03/24 Paypal Account @ 31/03/24 Current liabilities Current assets |
Restricted Funds Designated Funds Unrestricted Funds Total 23,320.66 588.95 3,148.94 27,058.55 - 4,007.79 300.48 4,308.27 - 37.02 73.25 110.27 |
|---|---|
| 23,320.66 4,633.76 3,522.67 31,477.09 |
|
| 23,320.66 4,633.76 3,522.67 31,477.09 |
Charity Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which comply with the regulations set out in the Charities Act 1993. The trustess have elected to take advantage of the provisions that apply to small charities and have prepared a Receipts and Payments account and Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
Approved by the Trustees on
31/10/24
and signed on their behalf by Chair : Polly Gifford Treasurer : Julie Todd
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
Hastings City of Sanctuary
Notes to the accounts
for the 18 months ended 31 March 2024
1 Receipts & payments accounts
Receipts and payments accounts are statements that summarise the movement of cash into and out of the charity during the financial year. In this context "cash" includes cash equivalents, for example, bank accounts where cash can be readily withdrawn to pay for debt as they become due.
2 Premises & staff
The organisation has no premises.
The organisation has no employees.
3 Trustees' remuneration
2 of our trustees received renumeration in the period. Polly Gifford was paid £6250 for managing the library and schools project. This was discussed in Polly's absence by the other trustees in a meeting on 21/11/2022. It ws felt that Polly with her arts festival management experience, her connections with City of Sanctuary, and her in depth local knowledge of the current situation in Hastings was the person best placed to undertake this work with the library and schools
Rachel Lowden was paid £600 for organising the volunteers for the Sanctuary Festival. Again this was agreed and confirmed by other trustees in Rachel's absence. It was felt that Rachel's ongoing connection and links with our volunteers made her the most appropriate person to undertake this work.
4 There were no related party transactions during the period.
5 Previous period comparison
The previous period's figures have been included for comparison.
6 Glossary of terms
Restricted funds: These are funds given to the charity, subject to specific restrictions set by the donor, but still within the general objects of the charity.
Designated funds: These are funds, not subject to any specific restrictions, but which the charity has decided to set aside for a specific purpose. In this case, the purpose is to earmark online fundraising to support work with refugees.
Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852
Independent Examiner's Report to the Committee of Hastings City of Sanctuary
I report on the accounts of Hastings City of Sanctuary for the Eighteen month period ended 31 March 2024 which are set out on the previous pages.
Respective responsibilities of committee & examiner
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act), and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility:
-
to examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act
-
to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act), and
-
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the supporting documentation presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a "true and fair" view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
-
1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: to keep accounting records in accordance with section130 of the Charities Act
-
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the Act
have not been met; or
- 2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Laura Dawson
Finance Manager, Hastings Voluntary Action Jackson Hall, Portland Place, Hastings, TN34 1QN
Dated: 28.10.2024