Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2021 


**Company Number** 00638709 **Charity Number** 208078 

**cruse.org.uk** 



## Index 

**Page 2** Company Information 

**Pages 3 – 11** Report of Trustees and Directors 

**Pages 12 – 13** Independent Auditor's Report 

**Page 15** Balance Sheet 

**Page 16** Cashflow Statement 

**Pages 17 – 26** Notes to the Financial Statements 

**Page 14** Statement of Financial Activities 

## Company Information 

## **Directors, Trustees & Members of the Board** 

**J A Cryer** – retired as Trustee 01/09/20 

**N Anwar** 

## **Company Secretary** 

**J McCormack** – retired 01/12/20 **H Singh** – appointed 01/12/20 

**M Bradley** – Vice Chair 

## **P Butler** 

## **H Causley** 

## **C Challacombe** 

**A Gannon** – co-opted 15/02/21 

**A Hawkhead** – Chair 

**G Jacques** – appointed 10/12/20 

## **P Mardall** 

**A McWilliams** – appointed 10/12/20 

**M O’Hagan** – appointed 10/12/20 

**L Perna** –  Vice Chair 

**C Robertson** – retired as Trustee 31/12/20. **L Wei** – appointed 10/12/20 **M Whitehouse OBE** – Honorary Treasurer 

> [=  Audit & Finance Committee member] 

=  Council member 

=  People & Culture Committee member 

## **Senior Leadership Team** 

**S Wibberley** – Chief Executive 

**S Tucker** – Director of Support & Services – resigned 26/9/2020 **L Hastings** – Director of Services – appointed 1/4/21 **A Langford** – Clinical Director 

**J McCormack** – Director of Finance & Corporate Services – retired 31/12/21 

**H Singh** – Director of Finance & Corporate Services – appointed 9/11/2020 

**C Vallory** – Director of Fundraising & Income Generation **F Brydon** – Director of Communications & Digital 

## **Auditors** 

**Moore Kingston Smith LLP** Devonshire House 60 Goswell Road London EC1M 7AD 

## **Solicitors** 

**Russell-Cooke LLP** 

2 Putney Hill London SW15 6AB 

## **Bankers** 

**Barclays Bank Plc** 2nd Floor 355 Station Road Middlesex HA1 2AN 

## **Company Number** 

00638709 

## **Registered Office** 

Unit 0.1, One Victoria Villas, Richmond, Surrey TW9 2GW 

## **Registered Charity Number** 

208078 



## Report of Trustees and Directors and the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2021 for Cruse Bereavement Care 

Cruse Bereavement Care was incorporated on 5 October 1959 and registered with the Charity Commission (Registration Number 208078) during 1962 and is governed by Articles of Association adopted 3 December 2016. The charity name is changing to Cruse Bereavement Support but was Cruse Bereavement Care in the period covered in this report. 

## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** 

## **Cruse’s vision** 

Our vision is that we live in a world where everyone grieving is supported, respected and understood. 

Our mission is that we support people through one of the most painful times in life – with bereavement support, information and campaigning. In pursuit of its mission the charity: 

- provides support to people who have suffered bereavement through a nationwide network of trained bereavement volunteers, the Cruse websites, a national helpline and through online and social media channels, and 

- works to raise awareness of the needs of bereaved people and to promote their interests. 

In planning the activities that Cruse undertakes to achieve its aims, the Board has regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. In particular, Cruse makes its services available free of charge to bereaved people from all parts of the community, regardless of their protected characteristics (age, disability, race, religion, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, sex) or the circumstances in which they have suffered bereavement. 

To help bereaved people Cruse provides: 

1. one-to-one support (in-person*, telephone and by video) 

2. bereavement support groups 

3. e-mail support services 

4. specialised children’s services 

5. Cruse website – cruse.org.uk 

6. the Hope Again website for children and young people 

7. web chat 

8. information and literature 

9. Freephone helpline 

* all in-person support was suspended March 2020 – August 2021 due to Covid-19, with risk assessed exceptions for some children and young people whose needs could not be met through remote support options. Limited in-person support started to recommence in August 2021 following risk assessment and government guidance across the three nations. 

To raise awareness of the needs of bereaved people Cruse: 

1.  Edits and produces Bereavement Care, an international journal for those who work with bereaved people. Following a review, this will be published by Cruse as an online open access resource from Spring 2022. 

2.  Works with other voluntary organisations and with Government Departments to improve legislation and practice in areas which impact the wellbeing of bereaved people. 

3.  Provides external training in bereavement support to a wide variety of organisations/individuals, for example to assist them in their contact with bereaved staff or customers. 

## **Cruse’s values** 

Cruse's activities are underpinned by its values: 

- **Kind** – as with grief, we have no idea what another person’s journey is or what they are dealing with, so we always approach and respond with kindness. 

- **Inclusive** – grief doesn’t discriminate and neither do we. Everyone’s experience of a bereavement is different. We embrace diversity. 

- **Genuine** – we’re honest, open to real conversations, tackling difficult subjects. We respect the courage it takes to be vulnerable when seeking support and speaking up. We learn from our mistakes and feel safe to be challenged. We bring our whole selves to our roles. 

- **Ambitious** – we encourage, energise and stretch each other. We’re a passionate, professional and determined team. And the more we succeed in our ambitions, the more we can support bereaved people. 

## **Covid-19** 

The Covid-19 pandemic affected all aspects of national life across the UK and globally. The impact of illness and millions of deaths worldwide resulted in extensive awareness and media coverage of death, dying and bereavement. For many bereaved during this time, covid restrictions meant their loss was exacerbated by being unable to visit their loved ones, say goodbye, hold or attend a funeral or observe traditional or religious ceremonies. 

The pandemic affected Cruse’s service delivery, strategic planning and operational activity from March 2020 when the first national UK lockdown was implemented and through the whole of the financial year April 2020 – March 2021. The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 26th March 2020 and from that date, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland: 

- Cruse’s Board of Trustees and Council of Stakeholders met via video conferencing 11 times throughout the financial year 2020-21 instead of quarterly, to oversee management of risk, governance, implementation of planned structural changes as part of the five-year Bereaved People First Strategy, changes in operational delivery in response to the pandemic and ensure financial sustainability. At the time of publishing (November 2021), many of those changes remain in place and learning from the response to the pandemic has helped inform and shape new ways of working to ensure a sustainable service to meet changing needs. 

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- All in-person bereavement support switched to telephone and video support (with a few exceptions made for children and young people whose needs could only be met in-person, following appropriate risk assessments and in line with government requirements in England, Wales and Northern Ireland). 

- New ways of delivering bereavement support were developed to support more bereaved people in ways that worked for them. This included support via social media, launch of CruseChat, an online support service and reducing waiting lists across the network by delivering swifter responses by telephone or online. 

- The Cruse website was updated within 48 hours of lockdown, providing the first UK coronavirus bereavement information, guidance and support. 

## **Cruse’s strategic priorities** 

Cruse consulted widely amongst stakeholders in 2018 to inform development of a five-year strategy for 2019-24 entitled Bereaved People First. The five pillars of the strategy are: 

## **1. Support more bereaved people – in a way that works for them** 

## **2. Build one Cruse** 

## **3. Increase our profile, reach and influence** 

## **4. Develop our people** 

## **5. Build a high performing Cruse with increased funding** 

A report against the aims in each pillar is set out across the following pages. 

- Cruse offices were closed with staff and volunteers working from home. This included ensuring staff had the technology needed to work from home and support with emotional wellbeing. All meetings took place via video conferencing. A few staff were furloughed where home working was not possible eg roles involving reception at buildings no longer being used to deliver services. 

- All training (internal and external) switched to webinars and online video conferencing. Training materials were adapted and trainers supported to use technology to deliver training remotely. 

- The recruitment pathway into Cruse was adapted to increase volunteer retention with training adapted to be delivered online. Cruse maintained volunteer numbers, despite several existing volunteers initially feeling unable to deliver services online. Training was developed to support volunteers experienced in delivering in-person support, to provide telephone, email or online support, including support by social media. 

- Extensive media work was undertaken, including providing support through new channels, such as social media. 

- Extensive activity secured Cruse’s highest ever level of donations. Many of these were emergency one-off funds in response to the pandemic and the resulting figures should not therefore be seen as a baseline for future income expectations. These included funding from the National Emergencies Trust to develop and expand the national Helpline to support more people, recruiting and training additional volunteers. 

Against this backdrop of change, disruption to national life and personal and professional challenges caused by the pandemic, delivery of the Bereaved People First Strategy was reviewed. It was agreed to pause structural change during 2020/21. In September 2020, we reviewed the strategy in light of changes imposed by Covid-19 and learning from working through lockdown and confirmed that Bereaved People First remains the correct strategy, with some changes to implementation and a greater focus on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. These changes, designed to improve access to services for bereaved people and strengthen governance across Cruse, commenced in April 2021 with centralisation of finance. Part of the re-structure of network services included a formal staff consultation affecting 83 members of the staff team in May 2021, with staff moving to new posts in September 2021. 

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## **STRATEGIC REPORT** 

## **Achievements and performance in 2020-21** 

The highlights of our performance during the year 2020-21 are summarised below against the strategic priorities and the resources which are key to their achievement. 

## **Progress on implementation of our Bereaved People First Strategy** 

## **1. Support more bereaved people – in a way that works for them** 

The strategic aims within this pillar were to create equality of access to Cruse through a single point of access to services, a common pathway for assessment and support delivered to clients, with a range of high quality options to meet their different needs and choices. A new service model and assessment tools were developed to achieve this, with implementation planned through 2021. 

The Covid-19 pandemic affected delivery of services and numbers of bereaved people seeking support. All in-person delivery of services was put on hold, following initial lockdown in March 2020 through to April 2021, with a few risk-assessed exceptions made for children and young people. Our range of services include support delivered remotely 1:1, in groups, from peers, digitally, by email and telephone. CruseChat, a webchat service on our website grew significantly and was used by 24,704 users, meeting new need. The contract to deliver this service was reviewed and extended. Support was also launched through social media, with trained bereavement volunteers responding to messages received through Facebook and other social media. We delivered support to 97,106 people, an increase of 52% on the previous year. 

An online version of the local welcome sessions entitled ‘Understanding Your Bereavement’ was developed and trialled. These give information about bereavement and help signpost participants to what will meet their needs. 

The roll out of support for children and young people continued, with funding from Children in Need enabling training to be delivered across four Regions so far, with a resulting increase in support to young people. 

Headline statistics for this period are given in the table below. 

In addition, website information and advice about grief were updated and we produced the first comprehensive UK guide to grieving during the pandemic. Volunteers who had previously delivered support in-person, were trained to deliver support via the telephone or video calls and the National Helpline opening hours were extended to 7 days/week. 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Headline statistics 2019/20 2020/21 % change<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


|**Headline statistics**|**2019/20**|**2020/21**|**% change**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
|People supported face:face 1:1|24,793|n/a *|n/a|
|Assessments/Brief support|6,538|7,528|15%|
|People supported in groups|7,252|1,914|-74%|
|Children and young people supported|5,877|2,992|-49%|
|Children and young people supported through<br>Hope Again, the website for young people|651|663|2%|
|Telephone responses through helpline|15,469|30,861|100%|
|Email responses through helpline|940|3,904|315%|
|Ongoing telephone support|2,452|24,535|901%|
|**Total support by a Cruse volunteer/staf member**|**63,883**|**97,106**|**52%**|
|People given information|59,329|51,646|-13%|
|People visiting the website (www.cruse.org.uk)|708,300|971,970|37%|
|Page views|3,200,000|3,656,500|14%|
|Visitors to Hope Again (www.hopeagain.org.uk)|52,300|74,343|42%|
|Total social media reach|9,696,267|13,267,831|37%|



* suspended due to Covid-19 pandemic 

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## **2. Build one Cruse** 

This pillar focuses on ensuring consistency in service delivery, quality standards, re-structure of the local management and governance of Cruse whilst maintaining local service delivery points, centralising finance across Cruse and moving to a single operating budget and re-structure of the staff across Cruse. 

The structure and frequency of internal communications was consolidated and co-operative working between local branches improved, leading to reductions in waiting lists for clients. Implementation of the new network model continued, utilising the learning from the first two Hubs established in 2020. Wales became a Hub in April 2021, supported by funding from the Wales Government. Due to the impact of the pandemic the Board agreed to pause further change for the year. It was agreed to implement all remaining Hubs together and a collective consultation was held with staff whose roles were affected in May 2021. New roles were filled over July and August and the new Hubs launched in September 2021. Full central management of finance commenced in April 2021 enabling the development of a single operating budget. This is a significant step towards developing ‘one Cruse’ and also improved governance for monitoring and reporting on Cruse’s financial status across the year. Within the new Hubs, all personnel are managed by paid staff, to ensure consistency and accountability (part of moving to One Cruse). 

## **3. Increase our profile, reach and influence** 

Within this pillar, the strategic aims were to review our brand and increase recognition of Cruse, redevelop and relaunch the website with improved information for bereaved people and functionality including an online donation facility, continue advocating on behalf of bereaved people, be recognised as the leading voice in bereavement care and collaborate with partners to raise awareness of the needs of bereaved people. 

A brand review was undertaken which included market research and consultation with internal and external stakeholders, including volunteers, staff, clients, members of the public and funders. A refreshed brand including mission, vision, values, visuals and logo, was launched in September 2021. As part of the brand review the decision was made to change the name of the organisation from Cruse Bereavement Care to Cruse Bereavement Support, and at the time of preparing these accounts we are in the process of completing the necessary due diligence to implement the name change, with a view to completing the process in early 2022. It provides a platform truly reflecting Cruse’s services and making Cruse more relevant, accessible and inclusive to reach more people who are grieving. 

There has been an increase in Cruse’s participation in speaking and media engagements, including key events around the impact of bereavement through the pandemic with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, the National Bereavement Alliance and the BBC News. Cruse also contributed to the Good Grief Festival, conferences run by the Irish Hospice Foundation and the National Social Prescribers Network and with other agencies such as Independent Age, CCGs and Hospices. Bereavement webinars have also been provided to the Advisory Group on the Psychology of Loneliness, the National Association of Link Workers, XpertHR and universities. 

As part of advocating for bereaved people, work included: 

- Building on the Bereaved Customers First work undertaken in 2019/20 to improve the way businesses treat bereaved people, Cruse continued to work with a range of partners, calling for improvements in the way bereaved customers are treated. 

- Cruse is on the Steering Group of the newly established Bereavement Commission. The aim is to review the experiences of, and support available for, people affected by bereavement through and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, and to make recommendations to key decision-makers, including the UK Government. A study found that the pandemic had a major impact on the quality of support for bereaved people and that disrupted collective mourning practices had compounded people’s feelings of isolation. 

- Pandemic - Cruse worked with the media to highlight numbers of people affected by bereavement during the pandemic and the increase of traumatic bereavement. With UK figures of just under 160,000 deaths where a positive Covid-19 test was reported (October 2021), it is estimated that between a quarter of a million and 1.4million bereaved people will be significantly affected (6-9 people). In addition to those bereaved as a direct result of Covid-19, those bereaved through other causes were also adversely affected. Limitations on numbers allowed to attend funerals or other cultural or religious rituals from March 2020 to May 2021 meant that for much of the year, the majority of the 8 million people who would have gone to a funeral were unable to do so (average 50/funeral). Being unable to visit those who were dying, attend funerals or meet with others to give and receive support will have increased the incidence of traumatic bereavement. 

- There has been wider political engagement with issues around bereavement (see above) as a result of the pandemic. The Cruse Chief Executive met the then minister with responsibility for bereavement (Nadine Dorries) to talk about bereavement. Cruse is building links with the newly formed bereavement team at the Department of Health and Social Care and successfully lobbied for emergency funding to extend the Cruse National Helpline during the pandemic. 

- The CEO was invited to a meeting with Prince William to discuss the impact of pandemic on bereaved people as part of the work of the Royal Foundation on mental health 

- Further review of the ACAS Bereavement in the Workplace Guidance. This included seeking amendments to ensure that the current and longer term impact of traumatic grief relating to the Covid-19 pandemic is understood by employers, to enable them to support bereaved employees and achieve better outcomes for both the bereaved person and their employer. Amendments were also sought around the impact of the death of a child and miscarriage 

- Cruse continues to support calls for eligibility for formal bereavement leave to extend beyond parents of children aged 18 or younger. 

Cruse is represented on a range of national bodies including the Childhood Bereavement Network. 

A major review of the website was undertaken to understand what bereaved people needed. In September 2021 the whole site was then redesigned, restructured and rewritten to ensure the best online advice and support was being provided. At the same time an online self-assessment tool was scoped, tested and launched to allow more bereaved people to understand their feelings and emotions and get personalised support right for them. 

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Cruse attends: 

- the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Funerals and Bereavement (Westminster) 

- the APPG on Bereavement Support 

- the APPG on Hospice and Palliative Care 

- the APPG on Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention 

- the APPG on Loneliness 

- the Voluntary Civil Protection Forum. 

Cruse is a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy’s Older People Steering Group. 

Cruse’s Chief Executive is a member of the Burial and Cremation Advisory Group (Ministry of Justice), and on the steering group of the National Bereavement Alliance. 

Cruse Cymru is also a member of: 

- the Wales Government Cross Party Group on Funerals and Bereavement 

- the Wales Compassionate Cymru Group 

- the Wales National Bereavement Framework Steering Group 

- the Wales Government Cross Party Group on Loneliness and Isolation 

- the Wales Government Cross Party Group on End of Life and Hospices 

- the Wales Government Cross Party Group on Suicide and Self Harm Prevention. 

The Cruse Northern Ireland Director Chairs the NI Independent Medical Examiner sub group and is a member of the Department of Health Covid-19 Bereavement Workstream and its Education sub group and the Department of Health Covid-19 Wellbeing NI Partnership. Cruse NI is also a member of: 

- Northern Health and Social Care Trust Compassionate Communities Committee 

- Paediatric Pathology Services Forum 

- Coalition for Bereaved Workers 

- Bereaved through Alcohol/Drugs project 

Cruse’s journal Bereavement Care is accessed around the world. The decision to produce the journal in a free open access format from January 2022 will enable wider access to articles published, promoting dissemination of understanding and expertise in grief and support for those who are bereaved. 

## **Training (external)** 

In 2020-21, Cruse provided bereavement training to 188 separate organisations (2019-20: 136), through 684 webinars (an increase of 375%). This meant 6,820 delegates (2,200 in 2019/20) received information and training about bereavement awareness and support, helping to raise awareness across financial service providers, public sector councils and unions, with positive feedback to sessions and participants reporting confidence in using their newly acquired knowledge. This activity raises the awareness of bereavement and how to deal with this in a variety of settings, and the direct support to bereaved people provided by those organisations. 

## Through funded projects, Cruse also delivered: 

- 30 webinars on loss and bereavement delivered to prison chaplains and support staff as part of the Ministry of Justice, Inside Grief project. Due to Covid-19 restrictions and prison protocols, the project to work on-site was suspended from March 2020 to September 2021. An innovative framework of tiered bereavement support has been developed, to be piloted across a range of categories of male and female prisons. 

- 19 training workshops to 115 delegates in ExtraCare villages on Loss and Bereavement Awareness (9 in 2019/20) and five information sessions to a 46 Extracare staff and residents. 

- 18 sessions of bereavement awareness training were delivered to 372 military personnel via video conferencing from January to September 2020 when the project concluded. Deployment of military personnel to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic affected planned timing and delivery of several courses (21 sessions were delivered to 434 military personnel in 2019/20). This project was externally evaluated by the University of Sheffield who concluded that the workshops were having a positive impact on people and it would be beneficial to continue delivering them to military personnel. 

- A project to deliver military training aimed at veterans was due to commence in April 2020, funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was put on hold and then re-scoped to be delivered to Veteran Support Agencies from July 2020. An initial course was run in November 2020 with a further 12 sessions delivered by March 2021 to a total of 212 attendees. 38 courses have been booked for delivery in 2021. 

## **4. Develop our people** 

Within this objective, the strategic aims included investment in a national volunteer recruitment programme, increasing the diversity of volunteers and staff and the range of volunteering roles available, develop ways to value and retain volunteers and staff and develop a learning and development strategy for all staff and volunteers. 

The new volunteer pathway, designed to make it easier for volunteers to join Cruse, included different routes into Cruse, depending upon skills and experience. Staff and volunteer surveys were undertaken to understand colleagues’ needs during the pandemic, which included consultation on wellbeing, working patterns, and returning to in-person support or working in offices. Work on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion continued, with an audit undertaken by an external consultant to benchmark Cruse’s current situation and identify priorities for development to increase the diversity of volunteers and staff and accessibility by clients. See Equality and Diversity section on page 10 for details of the audit outcome. The Board has endorsed this work as a priority area for Cruse. 

Core training courses have been adapted for remote delivery as a result of Covid-19. We have also developed an e-learning suite of training, that includes initial safeguarding for children, young people and adults, as well as other courses. The Clinical Director has also engaged in a round table event hosted by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy on race and racism and hosted a round table event on LGBT+ and bereavement. 

Cruse’s services were delivered by 4,560 volunteers working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland (4,596 in 2019/20), working alongside 177 staff. 1088 new volunteers were trained during the year, an increase of 4%. Additionally, 128 new supervisors were trained (71 in 2019/20). 

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## **5. Build a high performing Cruse with increased funding** 

A fundraising strategy was developed in 2019/20, designed to grow voluntary income and recruit a fundraising team. 

Despite initial concerns around fundraising due to the pandemic, fundraising and income generation continued to show growth over 2020/21, both in size and income. Voluntary income increased to the highest amount ever, which is partly due to emergency funding opportunities related to Covid-19, but much can be attributed to the newly formed team. Statutory income increased, and building on these relationships will be a priority for the coming year. External training and consultancy activity grew exponentially, delivering over three times the number of sessions in previous years. All of this work helps raise awareness of the needs of bereaved people, and deliver the services they need. 

A system for reviewing new policies and standards was implemented, to ensure they are clearly understandable and effective. The Helpline staff team has been enhanced to provide shift management and support to the increasing number of volunteers delivering the service. 

A major piece of work has been the procurement process for a new CRM; this follows our termination of a development contract with another vendor. A CRM Development Manager was appointed to oversee the project. Through 2020/21 the focus was on the discovery phase to scope our requirements which has involved a significant number of volunteers. Build and testing has started, with the launch and user training set for early 2022. 

## **Our impact** 

The work undertaken by Cruse helps to reduce the negative effects of bereavement on people. These are predominantly a decrease in mental, emotional and physical well-being, which can often lead to significant health issues. Cruse’s support enables people to manage and understand their grief and continue living their lives. From discussion with National IAPT (Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies), it is clear that bereavement support can often decrease the demands on primary health care services and social care providers, particularly for older and vulnerable clients, and those with higher care needs. 

Many bereaved people also suffer from loneliness and isolation, Cruse’s support also helps reduce social isolation, by helping people to engage with their social circles and the wider community. 

Cruse has continued to engage with more people in a variety of ways, to make sure that bereaved people get the support they need when they need it. Delivering on-going support shifted from meeting people in-person to working with them over the telephone and on-line using video conferencing. This also meant support could be provided without geographic limitations and more easily to and by those who find it difficult to leave their homes. This reduced waiting times, enabling bereaved people to receive support more quickly. We know from research, experience and client feedback that waiting for services can have an adverse impact on wellbeing. 

We are finding that bereaved people are contacting us sooner than they used to, following the death of someone close. We have worked with more bereaved people on our National Helpline and using CruseChat. We have also updated information on our website. This means that we are able to provide support and get information to people when they need it, often soon after a bereavement. This can lessen detrimental impacts of grief and evidentially decreases the likelihood of complicated grief emerging some time later. 

As reported in 2019/20, an in-depth pilot of the Adult Attitudes to Grief (AAG) scale commenced and was then put on hold to focus on embedding other service development around how bereaved people are supported and also the development of Hubs. The AAG is a verified and researched method of working with bereaved people and measuring impact and is primarily a therapeutic tool. This will better enable us to understand the effect of bereavement support on clients in the short and medium term. Cruse has been working with researchers to compare outcome scores of clients supported prior to and within lockdown and work on the AAG will recommence. This will provide some useful insight and raise further questions about how we can support bereaved people in the future. 

The training Cruse provides also has a positive impact upon organisations, their employees and their customers. When we have re-engaged with participants of our training courses (in a focused manner through our specific projects reaching other workforces), we have found that the confidence in speaking with bereaved people has increased. 

## **Financial review** 

Gross income for the year was £8.743 million (2020: £5.543 million); the main increase in income was from additional donations and legacies which were up £458k on 2019/20, and additional grants and income from service level agreements which were up £2,805k on 2019/20. 

The cost of delivering our service increased to £6.642 million from £6.164 million; the main increase in expenditure was related to costs associated with raising funds. The increase in costs is a result of planned expenditure on our Bereaved People First strategy and includes the costs of building a fundraising team and strengthening our senior leadership team and starting a programme of hub development to streamline service delivery, centralise finances and improve governance and accountability. 

The increase in income and expenditure resulted in an overall surplus for the year of £2.1 million compared with a deficit of £621k the previous year. 

## **Reserves policy** 

Cruse’s aim is to deliver services to bereaved people in a sustainable way which is achieved by budgetary controls – put simply where there are resources available our services are expanded, but if it is apparent that ongoing funding cannot be found, services are reduced or closed. However, the charity also has external financial obligations which would have to be met in the event of closure, primarily to staff, landlords and formal commitments to deliver services. 

In light of the current climate and Covid-19, the Board have previously decided to increase reserves to a level equal to three months budgeted expenditure. Accordingly, we have determined our minimum reserve level to be £2.017 million which would be met from a mix of general funds £0.359 million and designated funds £1.658 million. 

The Unrestricted Fund balance as at 31 March 2021 was £359,555 (2020: £359,539). The Designated Fund balance as at 31 March 2021 was £4,297,672 (2020: £2,457,940). As part of the overall Designated Fund balance we have included a fund set aside for the implementation of the Bereaved People First strategy (2021: £750,000, 2020: £708,486), which will be utilised over the next two financial years. The Restricted Fund balance as at 31 March 2021 was £716,427 (2020: £456,090). 

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## **Risk review** 

The Trustees are responsible for monitoring and controlling the charity’s risks. The Audit and Finance Sub-committee lead on this for the Board and review risk at each meeting and report to the Board twice yearly on key risks. This is achieved by each area of operation regularly considering the risks associated with their activity, identifying existing controls and any mitigating actions (such as insurance or procedures) which might reduce the risk whilst maintaining an efficient use of resources. Crucial to the evaluation is distinguishing risks which could be fundamental to the achievement of our strategic priorities. The key risks reviewed by the Board, together with mitigating action are: 

## **1.  Capability / capacity to deliver a quality service to increasing** 

## **numbers of bereaved people in a changing environment** 

Mitigating action: 

- Telephone skills training provided to volunteers 

- Improved website in response to client need including all literature booklets as free downloads 

- Introduction of CruseChat 

- Increased number of volunteers working on the national helpline 

- Instigated remote support eg by zoom 

- All training switched to online, including new volunteer training 

- Developed working with suicide and working with trauma training, to help volunteers mitigate suicidal risk for clients 

- Developed online safeguarding training resources, to ensure volunteers are equipped to deal with critical situations. 

## **4.  Reputational: Lack of high profile voice leads to competitor charity taking our place as leading bereavement charity** 

Mitigating Action: 

- Branch refresh 

- Communications team and strategy in place 

- Plans to increase access to the Bereavement Care Journal 

- Increased activity at speaking events. 

## **5.  Strategy: Capacity to deliver all strands of the Bereaved People First strategy and business as usual** 

Mitigating Action: 

- Re-structured Executive and Senior Leadership team 

- Increased staffing structure in place 

- Additional resources needed to deliver strategy have been approved by the Board 

- Management training in place 

- Developing good internal communication as part of the Communications Strategy 

- Fundraising strategy in place. 

## **6. Wellbeing of staff and volunteers: Experienced volunteers and staff leave due to changes in service model and structures and retirement** 

Mitigating action: 

- Volunteer survey undertaken. Results reported to Board September 2021 

## **2.  Financial resilience: Income decreases due to the economic** 

**climate and potential increased competition for available funds 2021-22 onwards** 

Mitigating action: 

- Reviewing finance & fundraising strategies 

- Evidence that major funders are supportive of Cruse’s work eg NET, Barclays bank, Garfield Weston 

- Fundraising team in place and achieving increased income 

- Network is engaged in generating cost savings and keeping costs down 

- Good network engagement with the fundraising team. 

## **3.  Equality and Diversity: Failure to embed equality and diversity values into our everyday practice, policies and procedures** 

Mitigating action: 

- Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Working party established, co-Chaired by the Chief Executive and Vice Chair of Cruse 

- Funding secured to support work embedding Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in Cruse 

- Trustee recruitment underway to enhance Equality, Diversity & Inclusion skills on the Board 

- Data gathering 

- Review of volunteer training. 

- Online recruitment, training and supervision for volunteers 

- A programme for valuing volunteers is being established 

- Engagement with volunteers who have not signed up for telephone work following Covid-19 cessation of face:face services 

- Enhanced PR to raise external awareness of Cruse and volunteering opportunities 

- Continual improvement of internal communications to staff and volunteers 

- Staff survey and a virtual staff day 

- Review of staff Terms and Conditions. 

## **7.  Safeguarding (Children and young people and vulnerable Adults): Harm to individuals and reputational damage to the charity.** 

Mitigating action: 

- Safeguarding is overseen by the Board of Trustees 

- Lead Trustee for Safeguarding appointed 

- Improved reporting 

- Policies and procedures were reviewed and updated in November 2020. 

The reporting of complaints, concerns and safeguarding cases has improved enabling greater transparency and identification of key trends and any learning needed. New safeguarding induction has been developed and new safeguarding training options are being reviewed. 

Related to safeguarding, we have seen a marked increase in the number of people reporting suicidal thinking and feelings – both on the Helpline and to volunteers in Branches. Webinar training has been developed for working with suicidal thoughts and feelings online, as well as working with trauma, which is often a contributing factor to levels of suicide in grief. 

9 



## **Equality and Diversity** 

It is the aim of Cruse Bereavement Care to recognise and encourage the valuable and enriching contribution that people from all backgrounds and experiences bring to the organisation. We believe that all individuals working or volunteering for Cruse or coming to Cruse for a service should be treated without prejudice or discrimination. We recognise that at the moment our volunteer and staff groups do not reflect the communities that we serve and addressing this needs to be a priority. 

In early 2021 we commissioned an audit of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practice from the consultancy Diverse Matters. They produced a detailed report on areas of strength and weakness. Following this, the Board agreed the following priority areas: 

1.  Conduct a policy review, introducing new policies and systems where appropriate. 

2.  Create a continuous EDI learning and development cycle, enhancing knowledge, skills and awareness across the organisation. 

3.  Build an inclusive culture at Cruse, ensuring there is a shared understanding of what EDI means and how it reflects the organisation’s values. 

4.  Strengthen current governance and leadership structures for embedding EDI and improving communications. 

5.  Enhance data collation and monitoring processes to measure EDI performance. 

## **Fundraising** 

Cruse is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and is compliant with the standards set out by the Regulator in its Code of Fundraising Practice. All fundraising activities are organised directly by staff and volunteers of the Charity. We do not engage third party professional fundraisers to raise funds on our behalf. We are mindful during our fundraising activities not to be unreasonably persistent or to apply undue pressure on anyone, or to intrude on anyone’s privacy. We did not undertake any telephone or doorstep fundraising in the year. We do not buy or sell mailing lists. There were no complaints related to fundraising during 2020/21. 

## **Covid-19** 

The impact of Covid-19 has been significant, at an individual, organisational and national level. Nationally, Covid-19 has affected the way people live, leading to increased isolation for many and a greater reliance upon technology to stay connected. Daily reporting on the progress of the virus and the number of deaths at home and around the world has created an increased awareness of death, dying and bereavement. 

For many, the circumstances of being unable to visit sick and dying members of their family or friends, regardless of the cause of their death, or to hold or attend a funeral in the way they would have wished will have made their bereavement more traumatic. This situation makes it more likely that complex grief reactions will emerge. This includes longer lasting high levels of anxiety, perpetual decreased mood, a high incidence of self-harming, and a higher propensity for suicidal thinking and behaviour. It is expected that the impact of this grief will continue for months and potentially years to come. 

## **Going concern** 

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the Trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. Please see note 1(m) in Accounting Policies. 

10 



## **STRUCTURE GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** 

## **Cruse’s organisation** 

Cruse provides bereavement care through a network of approximately 4,500 volunteers working within its local Branches in the twelve regions and nations that comprise England, Wales and Northern Ireland and through a National Helpline. 

## **Cruse’s governance** 

Cruse is governed by a Board of Trustees who are also Directors of the company. All trustees undergo a detailed induction programme on being a trustee of Cruse and opportunities are given to attend training in charity governance. The Board decides Cruse’s strategic priorities and monitors its performance. It has two sub-committees – Audit & Finance and People & Culture. The Board also delegates, as permitted by the Articles of Association, some of its functions to National, Regional and Area committees so that they may oversee Cruse’s work within the local network. 

Cruse also has a Council which is the formally national recognised consultative body of volunteers. It consists of members elected by the volunteers from Wales, Northern Ireland, Regions across England and the National Helpline. Meetings of Council also include members from the Board of Trustees and are attended by senior executives of Cruse. The Board of Trustees is the legal decisionmaking body and its work is informed by the views of Council. Council appoints two of its members to sit on the Board of Trustees. 

Council members along with the Board of Trustees are the Company members of Cruse and have a vote in the election of Board members and on resolutions put to Annual General Meetings and/or Extraordinary General Meetings. 

In addition, there are two permanent Working Groups, which obtain strategic and operational input from volunteers and users. These are: 

- Training Working Group This group leads the work on the development and delivery of training programmes to the volunteers. 

- Policy Working Group The work of this group is mainly related to the requirements for the delivery of bereavement services by our volunteers. 

The average level of attendance by Trustees at Trustee meetings is 80% (2019/20:76%), with attendance having been affected by members on maternity leave during 2019/20 and 2020/21. A full list of current Trustees can be found on the charity’s website. 

As part of Cruse’s continual review of governance, the Trustees agreed that Board minutes and records of Council meetings should be published on the Cruse intranet for greater transparency. Consideration is being given to having an independent assessment of Cruse’s governance in line with the Charity Governance Code. 

Following a review of the implementation of this, the process was recommenced to extend roll out across Cruse, leading to the formation of 12 Hubs in September 2021. 

The Trustees of Cruse are unpaid. The People & Culture Committee recommend to the Board of Trustees the appropriate remuneration of the Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team after comparison with the salaries of comparable roles in the voluntary sector and consideration of the skills, expertise and performance of the individuals concerned. 

## **Statement of the Trustee’s responsibilities** 

The Trustees (who are also Directors of Cruse Bereavement Care for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) including FRS 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’. 

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees are required to: 

- select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently 

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent 

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business. 

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 

In so far as the Trustees are aware: 

- there is no relevant audit information of which the auditor is unaware; and 

- the Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information. 

## **Auditors** 

Moore Kingston Smith LLP were appointed as auditors during the year and will be proposed for reappointment in accordance with Section 485 of the Companies Act 2006. 

## **Cruse’s management** 

During 2020-21 Cruse was managed by the Chief Executive, three Directors and a Senior Leadership Team, supported by a small central team. From April 2021, the SLT included the Chief Executive and five Directors. Most local services were managed by volunteer Area Management Committees, who employ paid staff in some cases, with support and guidance from the Central Office team. As part of the Bereaved People First Strategy, a re-structuring programme commenced in 2019 with the creation of two Hubs, in the North East and South. Within the Hubs, a Hub manager and key staff roles were appointed, finances were centralised, service delivery became the responsibility of local service delivery committees and a Hub Council was created as a consultative body. 

The Trustees and Directors report incorporating the Strategic Report was approved by the Board on 18th November 2021. 

By Order of the Board 

## **Anthony Hawkhead – Chair Michael Whitehouse - Honorary Treasurer** 

Cruse Bereavement Care, Unit 0.1, One Victoria Villas, Richmond, Surrey TW9 2GW. 

11 



## Independent auditor’s report to the members of Cruse Bereavement Care 

## **Opinion** 

We have audited the financial statements of Cruse Bereavement Care (‘the company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard Applicable in the UK and Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

In our opinion the financial statements: 

- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2021 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended; 

- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and 

- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. 

## **Basis for opinion** 

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs(UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the audit of financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. 

## **Conclusions relating to going concern** 

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. 

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. 

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. 

## **Other information** 

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. 

We have nothing to report in this regard. 

## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006** 

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit: 

- the information given in the trustees’ annual report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and 

- the trustees’ annual report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements. 

## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception** 

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report. 

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion: 

- adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or 

- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or 

- certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or 

- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or 

- the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies exemption in preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and from preparing a Strategic Report. 

12 



## **Responsibilities of trustees** 

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 11, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. 

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. 

## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** 

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. 

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below. 

## **Explanation as to what extent the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud** 

The objectives of our audit in respect of fraud, are; to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses to those assessed risks; and to respond appropriately to instances of fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both management and those charged with governance of the charitable company. 

Our approach was as follows: 

- We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the charitable company and considered that the most significant are the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, the Charity SORP, and UK financial reporting standards as issued by the Financial Reporting Council. 

- We obtained an understanding of how the charitable company complies with these requirements by discussions with management and those charged with governance. 

- We assessed the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, including the risk of material misstatement due to fraud and how it might occur, by holding discussions with management and those charged with governance. 

- Based on this understanding, we designed specific appropriate audit procedures to identify instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. This included making enquiries of management and those charged with governance and obtaining additional corroborative evidence as required. 

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK) we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also: 

- Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. 

- Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purposes of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the charitable company’s internal control. 

- Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the trustees. 

- Conclude on the appropriateness of the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the charitable company to cease to continue as a going concern. 

- Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation. 

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit. 

## **Use of our report** 

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to any party other than the charitable company and charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 

## **Andrew Stickland (Senior Statutory Auditor)** 

for and on behalf of Moore Kingston Smith LLP, Statutory Auditor 30 November 2021 

Devonshire House 60 Goswell Road London EC1M 7AD 

- We inquired of management and those charged with governance as to any known instances of non-compliance or suspected noncompliance with laws and regulations. 

13 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** 

(Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2021 incorporating an income and expenditure account 

||Notes|Unrestricted|Restricted|Total funds|Total funds|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||funds £|funds £|2021 £|2020 £|
|**Income**||||||
|Donations and legacies|8a|2,150,720|-|2,150,720|1,692,308|
|Charitable activities|8b|3,593,329|2,431,196|6,024,525|3,218,800|
|Other trading activities|8c|458,113|-|458,113|602,301|
|Investment income||10,114|-|10,114|7,379|
|Other||99,562|-|99,562|22,160|
|**Total income**||6,311,838|2,431,196|8,743,034|5,542,948|
|**Expenditure**||||||
|Raising funds||932,031|-|932,031|617,170|
|Charitable activities|9a|3,540,059|2,170,859|5,710,918|5,546,920|
|**Total expenditure**||4,472,090|2,170,859|6,642,949|6,164,090|
|**Net income/(expenditure)**|13|1,839,748|260,337|2,100,085|(621,142)|
|Transfers between funds||-|-|-|-|
|**Net movement in funds**||1,839,748|260,337|2,100,085|(621,142)|
|**Reconciliation of funds:**||||||
|**Total funds brought forward**||2,817,479|456,090|3,273,569|3,894,711|
|**Total funds carried forward**||4,657,227|716,427|5,373,654|3,273,569|



A comparative statement of financial activity for the year ended 31 March 2020 can be found at note 16. 

The notes on pages 17 to 26 form part of these financial statements. 

14 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** (Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## Balance Sheet As at 31 March 2021 

||Notes||2021||2020|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||£|£|£|£|
|**Fixed assets**||||||
|Tangible assets|3||892,098||856,260|
|**Current assets**||||||
|Debtors|4|569,239||725,334||
|Cash at bank and in hand|12a|4,704,913||2,147,789||
|||5,274,152||2,873,123||
|**Creditors**||||||
|Amounts falling due within one year|5|(792,596)||(455,814)||
|||(792,596)||(455,814)||
|**Net current assets**|||4,481,556||2,417,309|
|Net assets|||5,373,654||3,273,569|
|**Reserves**||||||
|Unrestricted funds|7||359,555||359,539|
|Designated funds|7||4,297,672||2,457,940|
|Restricted funds|7||716,427||456,090|
|**Total funds**|7||5,373,654||3,273,569|



Approved by the Board on 18 November 2021 and signed on its behalf by: 

**CHAIR: Anthony Hawkhead TREASURER: Michael Whitehouse** Company Registration Number: 00638709 

The notes on pages 17 to 26 form part of these financial statements. 

15 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** (Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## Cashflow Statement For the year ended 31 March 2021 

||Notes||2021||2020|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||£|£|£|£|
|**Net cash (outfow)/infow**||||||
|**from operating activities**|11||2,604,842||(719,744)|
|**Returns from investment**||||||
|**and servicing of fnance**||||||
|Interest received||10,114||7,379||
|**Net cash infow from returns on**<br>**investments and servicing of fnance**|||10,114||7,379|
|**Investing activities**||||||
|Purchase of tangible fxed assets|3|(57,832)||(41,822)||
|Proceeds from disposal of fxed assets|3|-||1,013||
|**Net cash outfow from**||||||
|**investing activities**|||(57,832)||(40,809)|
|**Net cash infow/(outfow)**|12a||2,557,124||(753,174)|
|**Financing**|||-||-|
|**Increase / (decrease) in cash**|12b||2,557,124||(753,174)|



16 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** 

(Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## Notes to the financial statements - year ended 31 March 2021 

## **ACCOUNTING POLICIES** 

Cruse Bereavement Care, a public benefit entity, is incorporated in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee not having a share capital. The Trustees listed on page 2 are also members of the company. Each member has undertaken to contribute to the assets in the event of winding up a sum not exceeding £1. The charity is a registered charity. The registered office is given on page 2. 

The principal accounting policies which are adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are set out below. 

## **(a) Basis of accounting** 

The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention, in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2015)” applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006. 

## **(b) Fixed assets and depreciation** 

Tangible fixed assets are capitalised at cost and depreciation is provided to write off the cost in equal annual instalments at the following rates: 

|following rates:||
|---|---|
|Ofce equipment|20%|
|Ofce furniture|10%|
|Freehold property|2%|
|Leasehold property|2%|



## **(c) Stock** 

Stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items. 

## **(d) Pensions** 

The pension plan for employees is a defined contribution scheme. Consequently, the annual instalments charged to the income and expenditure account are fixed under the terms of the scheme and there is no potential liability other than for the payment of those instalments. 

## **(e) Operating leases** 

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the income and expenditure account spread over the period of the lease. 

## **(f) Fund accounting** 

- (ii)  The charity’s general funds consist of funds which the charity may use for its purposes at its discretion. 

- (iii)  Branch/Area/Region/Nation funds are treated as designated funds for usage within their local area and will be spent on the providing services to bereaved people within the next financial year. As part of designated funds we have included a fund set aside to facilitate the investment required as part of the Bereaved People First strategy. 

## **(g) Voluntary income** 

Income is recognised when the Charity has entitlement to the funds, any conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. 

- (i)  All voluntary income is included in income when receipt is considered as probable, except where the donor requires the sum to be invested to provide income for the charity’s purposes, in which case it is treated as an endowment. 

- (ii)  Donations under gift aid together with the associated income tax recovery are recognised as income when the donation is received. 

- (iii)  Legacies receivable are credited to income when receivable in accordance with SORP 2015. 

- (iv)  Grant income and income receivable in respect of Service Level Agreements is credited to income immediately to the extent that the charity obtains entitlement to that income by its performance in the year under review. Grants that are not performance related are recognised on receipt or when receivable. 

## **(h) Expenditure** 

Expenditure is recognised when a liability is incurred. 

- (i)  Costs of raising funds are those costs incurred in attracting voluntary income including the costs of advertising for funds and costs incurred in trading activities that raise funds. 

- (ii)  Charitable activities include expenditure associated with the delivery of bereavement support, training & education and policy work and include both the direct costs and support costs relating to these activities. 

- (iii)  Support costs, which includes governance, incurred by Central Office and National/Regional Offices have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources, eg staff costs by the time spent. 

## **(i) Donated goods and services** 

Goods and services donated to the charity have been included in the financial statements at the value of the gift to the charity. The contribution of volunteers in volunteering hours is not included in the statement of financial activity as it is not possible to accurately calculate the value of those hours, given the various roles filled by volunteers and the number of volunteers in the organisation. 

## **(j) Taxation** 

The charitable company is a registered charity and has no liability to corporation tax on its charitable activities under the Corporation Tax Act 2010 (chapters 2 and 3 of part ii, section 466 onwards) or Section 256 of the Taxation for Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent surpluses are applied to its charitable purposes. 

- (iv)  The charity’s restricted funds are those where the donor has imposed restrictions on the use of the funds which are legally binding. 

17 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** (Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## **(k) Financial instruments** 

Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised when the charitable company becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. All financial assets and liabilities are initially measured at transaction price (including transaction costs). The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. 

## **(l)  Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty** 

In the application of the Charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates. 

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods. 

The Trustees do not consider there are any critical judgements or sources of estimation uncertainty requiring disclosure. 

## **(m) Going concern** 

We have set out in the Trustees report a review of financial performance and that charity’s reserves position and we have a reasonable expectation that we have the resources to continue to operate for the foreseeable future. 

In forming this view the trustees have considered the current operating environment arising from the Covid-19 pandemic which has impacted on how we operate as most of our services have been delivered face to face, prior to Covid-19. We have responded successfully by changing the way we deliver services from face to face to telephone and online support, creating new material on the website for those grieving through Covid-19, facilitating all staff and volunteers to work from home with greater use of technology, adapting and delivering volunteer training and supervision online and delivering external training through webinars. 

Alongside this, we have reviewed our cost base to identify savings (eg premises and travel costs), and continued to utilise Covid-19 specific funds and engage new funders willing to support our work with bereaved people. 

Trustees will utilise funds designated to Areas as required to enable the charity to meet its debts as they fall due. Due to the level of these funds and the actions set out above, we believe that there are no material uncertainties that call into doubt the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The accounts have therefore been prepared on the basis that the charity is a going concern. 

18 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** (Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## **2. NET EXPENDITURE** 

**Net expenditure is stated after charging:** 

||2021|2020|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Trustees’ expenses for travel, training and subsistence (No Trustees claimed expenses in 2021, 2020:4)|<br>-|8,829|
|Depreciation of owned fxed assets|21,236|29,986|
|Operating lease rentals|132,783|131,884|
|Auditor’s fees – as auditors|16,800|13,630|



## **3. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS** 

||**Leasehold**|**Freehold**|**Ofce**|**Ofce**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**property**|**property**|**furniture**|**equipment**|**Total**|
||£|£|£|£|£|
|**Cost:**||||||
|At 1 April 2020|632,000|230,000|82,674|179,557|1,124,231|
|Additions|-|-|-|57,832|57,832|
|Disposals|-|-|-|(1,469)|(1,469)|
|31 March 2021|632,000|230,000|82,674|235,920|1,180,594|
|**Depreciation:**||||||
|1 April 2020|45,504|16,560|62,946|142,961|267,971|
|Charge for year|7,584|2,760|2,940|7,952|21,236|
|Disposals|-|-|-|(711)|(711)|
|31 March 2021|53,088|19,320|65,886|150,202|288,496|
|**Net book value:**||||||
|31 March 2021|578,912|210,680|16,788|85,718|892,098|
|31 March 2020|586,496|213,440|19,728|36,596|856,260|



Leasehold and freehold properties are included at deemed cost. The carrying amount of leasehold and freehold, that would have been recognised under the historical cost model is £588,312 (2020: £596,474) for leasehold property and £142,217 (2020: £144,272) for freehold property. 

A legal charge over the leasehold property has been given to Barclays Bank PLC as security for an overdraft facility of £160,000. 

The charity has a reversionary interest in a property held by Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland (Scottish Charity No SC031600) whereby the charity will receive 40% of the net sale proceeds or such lesser sum as may be agreed should the properties be sold. 

19 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** 

## **4. DEBTORS – DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR** 

(Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

||2021|2020|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Trade debtors|262,024|340,248|
|Other debtors|534|4,810|
|Prepayments|45,827|26,951|
|Accrued income|260,854|353,325|
||569,239|725,334|



## **5. CREDITORS – DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR** 

||2021|2020|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Trade creditors|396,761|190,271|
|Other creditors|83,255|38,839|
|Other taxation and social security|90,554|80,182|
|Accruals|112,911|126,779|
|Deferred income (Note 6)|109,115|19,743|
||792,596|455,814|



## **6. DEFERRED INCOME** 

||2021|2020|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Deferred income brought forward|19,743|44,639|
|Released in the year|(19,743)|(44,639)|
|New provision added|109,115|19,743|
|Deferred income carried forward|109,115|19,743|



20 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** 

(Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## **7. RECONCILIATION OF RESERVES** 

|||**As at**|||**Transfer**|**As at 31**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**1 April 2020**||**Income**|**Expenditure**|**between funds**|**March 2021**|
|**Unrestricted**||£|£|£|£|£|
|General fund||359,539|1,552,868|(2,624,038)|1,071,186|359,555|
|Designated fund|||||||
|– Area/Nation/Region|1,749,454||4,758,970|(1,547,686)|(1,413,066)|3,547,672|
|Designated fund – Bereaved People|||||||
|First Strategy 2019 - 2024||708,486|-|(300,366)|341,880|750,000|
|Total unrestricted|2,817,479||6,311,838|(4,472,090)|-|4,657,227|
|**Restricted**|||||||
|Area/Nation/Region/Central Ofce||401,351|609,242|(720,813)|-|289,780|
|Pandemic Bereavement Support Line||<br>-|252,635|(252,378)|-|257|
|National Lottery Community Fund||-|574,349|(574,347)|-|2|
|National Emergencies Trust||-|897,570|(621,821)|-|275,749|
|Armed Forces Covenant Fund||-|97,400|(1,500)|-|95,900|
|Northern Ireland Freehold Property||50,000|-|-|-|50,000|
|Agnes Whitaker Fund||4,739|-|-|-|4,739|
|Total restricted||456,090|2,431,196|(2,170,859)|-|716,427|
|Total funds|3,273,569||8,743,034|(6,642,949)|-|5,373,654|
|||**General**|**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Total**|
|||**funds**|**funds**|**funds**|**2021**|**2020**|
|**Represented by:**||£|£|£|£|£|
|Tangible<br>fxed assets||611,288|230,810|50,000|892,098|856,260|
|Net current|||||||
|assets||(251,733)|4,066,862|666,427|4,481,556|2,417,309|
|Total||359,555|4,297,672|716,427|5,373,654|3,273,569|



The transfer of £1,071,186 between general funds and designated funds includes costs incurred centrally to enable the Areas to conduct their activity including the provision of support and literature. The transfer of £341,880 between designated funds is the agreed draw down of reserves to fund the year future costs associated with implementing our Bereaved People First strategy. 

A comparative reconciliation of reserves for the year ended 31 March 2020 can be found at note 17. 

21 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** 

(Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## **8. INCOME** 

## **8a: Donations and legacies** 

|**8a: Donations and legacies**|||
|---|---|---|
||2021|2020|
||£|£|
|Donations|2,125,743|1,329,126|
|Legacies|19,493|356,399|
|Subscriptions|5,484|6,783|
||2,150,720|1,692,308|



## **8b: Charitable activities** 

**Grants and income from service level agreements** 

|**8b: Charitable activities**<br>**Grants and income from service level agreements**|||
|---|---|---|
||2021|2020|
||£|£|
|Local Authorities1|545,103|288,006|
|Local Health Boards/Trusts1|702,503|603,195|
|Clinical Commissioning Groups1|928,190|969,392|
|Wales Government|306,109|74,072|
|Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety|328,231|39,350|
|Ministry of Defence|133,186|101,115|
|Big Lottery Fund|1,014,970|460,803|
|National Emergency Trust|897,570|-|
|Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport|-|351,423|
|Department of Health & Social Care|252,635|-|
|Northern Ireland Prison Service|33,917|50,672|
|Northern Ireland Public Health Agency|-|18,322|
|Other|882,111|262,450|
||6,024,525|3,218,800|



1Grants and income from Service Levels Agreements was received by 

51 Cruse Areas from Local Authorities, Local Health Boards/Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups in the communities they support. 

## **8c: Other trading activity** 

|**8c: Other trading activity**|||
|---|---|---|
||2021|2020|
||£|£|
|Fundraising projects|34,918|131,047|
|Income from training and conferences|402,102|452,837|
|Sale of publications and literature|21,093|18,417|
||458,113|602,301|



22 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** 

(Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## **9. EXPENDITURE** 

## **9a: Charitable activity** 

|**9a: Charitable activity**|||
|---|---|---|
||2021|2020|
||£|£|
|Bereavement support services|5,386,744|5,326,039|
|Policy|324,174|220,881|
||5,710,918|5,546,920|



## **9b: Support costs (included above)** 

|**9b: Support costs (included above)**|||
|---|---|---|
||2021|2020|
||£|£|
|Human resources and payroll|160,388|123,853|
|Governance|224,575|148,545|
|Information technology|264,103|62,001|
|Monitoring & evaluation|309,265|112,615|
|Change management costs|52,759|133,295|
||1,011,090|580,309|



## **10. EMPLOYEES** 

||2021|2020|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Salaries and wages|3,629,078|2,892,363|
|National Insurance costs|251,573|202,669|
|Pension costs|183,630|144,969|
|Benefts in kind|1,836|9,901|
|Redundancy costs|9,438|38,072|
||4,075,555|3,287,974|
||2021|2020|
||Full-time|Full-time|
||equivalent|equivalent|
|The average number of employees during the year was:|||
|Central team & helpline|38|28|
|Specialist projects staf|5|10|
|National/Regional staf|5|4|
|Branch/Area staf|73|62|
||121|104|



The average head count of employees (full-time and part-time) employed during the year was 186 (2020: 177). 

## During the year: 

Nil employee earned in the range £60,000 - £70,000 (2020: One). One employee earned in the range £70,000 - £80,000 (2020: One). The Chief Executive’s earnings are 4.1 times median earnings (2020: 3.5 times). 

The total remuneration paid to the members of the Senior Leadership Team was £379,585 (2020: £441,504). 

One Hundred and Thirty Six employees are accruing benefits under a Group Personal Pension Plan which is auto-enrolment compliant (2020: 112). Contributions to the Plan in the year included £3,620 (2020: £3,550) for the employee earning over £80,000. 

No director (or trustee) received any remuneration during the year (2020: None). 

23 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** 

(Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## **11. NOTE TO THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT** 

**Reconciliation of operating surplus/(deficit) to net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities.** 

|**Reconciliation of operating surplus/(defcit) to net cash**<br>**infow/(outfow) from operating activities.**|||
|---|---|---|
||2021|2020|
||£|£|
|Operating surplus/(defcit)|2,100,085|(621,142))|
|Loss on disposals|758|-|
|Depreciation charges|21,236|29,986|
|Decrease in stocks|-|5,064|
|Decrease/(increase) in debtors|156,095|(153,838)|
|Increase in creditors|336,782|27,565|
|Interest received|(10,114)|(7,379)|
|NET CASH INFLOW /(OUTFLOW) FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES|2,604,842|(719,744)|



## **12A. RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH FLOW TO MOVEMENT IN NET FUNDS** 

||2021|2020|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Increase/(decrease) in cash in the period|2,557,124|(753,174)|
|Change in net funds resulting from cash fows|2,557,124|(753,174)|
|Net funds at 1 April 2020|2,147,789|2,900,963|
|Net funds at 31 March 2021|4,704,913|2,147,789|



## **12B. ANALYSIS OF NET FUNDS** 

||At 1 April|Cashfows|As at 31|
|---|---|---|---|
||2020||March 2021|
||£|£|£|
|Cash at bank and in hand|2,147,789|2,557,124|4,704,913|



## **13. RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS ON TOTAL FUNDS** 

||2021|2020|
|---|---|---|
||£|£|
|Funds at 1 April 2020|3,273,569|3,894,711|
|Surplus/(Defcit) for the year|2,100,085|(621,142)|
|Total funds at 31 March 2021|5,373,654|3,273,569|



24 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** 

(Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

## **14. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS** 

## **At 31 March 2021 the following total commitments under non-cancellable operating leases existed:** 

|Operating leases||||Ofce Equipment|Ofce Equipment|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|which expire||Property||and Motor Vehicles||
||2021||2020|2021|2020|
||£||£|£|£|
|Within one year|66,293||80,830|7,689|9,157|
|Within two to fve years|70,287||103,198|2,438|9,906|
|Over fve years|-||1,000|-|-|
||136,580||185,028|10,127|19,063|



## **15. TRADING SUBSIDIARY** 

Cruse Bereavement Care Services Ltd (Company Number 3957559) ceased trading in 2018 and was deregistered in March 2020. 

## **16. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020** 

||Notes|Unrestricted|Restricted|Total funds|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||funds|funds|2020|
|||£|£|£|
|**Income**|||||
|Donations and legacies||1,498,125|194,183|1,692,308|
|Charitable activities||2,032,942|1,185,858|3,218,800|
|Other trading activities||602,301|-|602,301|
|Investment income||7,379|-|7,379|
|Other||22,160|-|22,160|
|**Total income**||4,162,907|1,380,041|5,542,948|
|**Expenditure**|||||
|Raising Funds||617,170|-|617,170|
|Charitable Activities||4,329,449|1,217,471|5,546,920|
|**Total expenditure**||4,946,619|1,217,471|6,164,09|
|**Net (expenditure)/income**||(783,712)|162,570|(621,142)|
|Transfers between funds||-|-|-|
|**Net movement in funds**||(783,712)|162,570|(621,142)|
|**Reconciliation of funds:**|||||
|**Total funds brought forward**||3,601,191|293,520|3,894,711|
|**Total funds carried forward**||2,817,479|456,090|3,273,569|



25 



**Cruse Bereavement Care** 

## **17. RECONCILIATION OF RESERVES YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020** 

(Company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) 

||||**As at**|||**Transfer**|**As at 31**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**1 April 2019**||**Income**|**Expenditure**|**between funds**|**March 2020**|
|**Unrestricted**|||£|£|£|£|£|
|General fund|||186,707|656,498|(1,183,118)|629,897|289,984|
|Revaluation reserve|||69,634|-|-|(79)|69,555|
|Designated fund||||||||
|– Area/Nation/Region|||2,514,850|3,506,409|(3,141,987)|(1,129,818)|1,749,454|
|Designated fund|– Bereaved|People||||||
|First Strategy 2019 - 2024|||830,000|-|(621,514)|500,000|708,486|
|Total unrestricted|||3,601,191|4,162,907|(4,946,619)|-|2,817,479|
|**Restricted**||||||||
|Area/Nation/Region/Central||Ofce|238,781|1,380,041|(1,217,471)|-|401,351|
|Northern Ireland Freehold Property|||50,000|-|-|-|50,000|
|Agnes Whitaker Fund|||4,739|-|-|-|4,739|
|Total restricted|||293,520|1,380,041|(1,217,471)|-|456,090|
|Total funds|||3,894,711|5,542,948|(6,164,090)|-|3,273,569|
||**General**|**Revaluation**||**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Total**|
||**funds**||**reserve**|**funds**|**funds**|**2020**|**2019**|
|**Represented by:**|£||£|£|£|£|£|
|Tangible<br>fxed assets|505,895||69,555|230,810|50,000|856,260|845,437|
|Net current||||||||
|assets|(215,911)||-|2,227,130|406,090|2,417,309|3,049,274|
|Total|289,984||69,555|2,457,940|456,090|3,273,569|3,894,711|



26 




## Cruse Bereavement Support 

PO Box 800 Richmond, Surrey TW9 1RG 

You can find Cruse online at: **www.cruse.org.uk** 

National Helpline **0808 808 1677** 

Cruse England **020 8939 9530** 

Cruse Cymru **029 2088 6913** 

Cruse Northern Ireland **028 9079 2419** 

**Find us on Facebook:** crusebereavementsupport 

**Follow us on Twitter:** @CruseSupport 

**Follow us on Instagram:** crusesupport 

You’re not alone