2024-03-31-accounts

TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2022/23

CONTENTS

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR 2 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT 3 TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCORPORATING STRATEGIC REPORT) 4 - 27 INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT 28 - 30 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 31 CONSOLIDATED AND CHARITY BALANCE SHEET 32 CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT 33 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS 34 – 53

TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Charity name Registered name Charity registration number Company registration number Registered office

Together for Mental Wellbeing Together for Mental Wellbeing 211091 463505

52 Walnut Tree Walk, London, SE11 6DN Tel [phone] Email [e-mail] Website www.together-uk.org

TRUSTEES INFORMATION

Carol Cole Paul Breakwell Angus Cameron Judy Clements JoAnne Cutting Deirdre Evans Naheed Hassan (appointed 20 June 2024) Georgina Hodson (appointed 20 June 2024) Ian Jones Ajay Mehta (appointed 20 June 2024) Donald Mungall Zain Richardson (appointed 20 June 2024) David Shakespeare Ben Thomas David Betteridge

Chair Honorary Treasurer

OUTGOING TRUSTEES

Louise Bushby (15 December 2023) Vicky Johnson (22 June 2023) Kathie Pearce (7 December 2023)

COMPANY SECRETARY

Adrien Laure (resigned 04.07.2024) Linda Bryant (appointed 04.07.2024)

BOARD SECRETARY

Erica Wilkinson (resigned 01.08.23) Nicola Hannam (appointed 18.12.23)

SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Linda Bryant Chief Executive Emma Edwards Director of Operations and Quality David Graham Director of Business Development Adrien Laure Director of Finance and Resources (Resigned 19.07.24) Laura Raine Director of People & Organisational Development (appointed 03.04.23)

AUDITORS - Haysmacintyre LLP 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1AG INTERNAL AUDITORS - KPMG LLP, 66 Queen Square, Bristol BS1 4BE

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INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR

I am pleased to present our Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24 which provide a full summary of the year’s activity.

During 2023 we were feeling the positive effects of a return to normal and to business as usual, following the pandemic, to then find ourselves in the throes of tackling different challenges for the charity amidst the cost-of-living crisis, inflation and ever more acute pressures on public finances. However, we are nothing if not resilient as an organisation and ambitious for the charity.

As a Board, in collaboration with the executive team, we started the preparatory work on a refreshed corporate strategy for 2024-29 early in the year. It was important for us to have sufficient time to truly understand the impact of the external environment on the organisation and to prioritise the activities over the next five years that will bring future successes for the charity in working alongside existing people using our services and to stretch our ambitions to reach more.

Hand in hand with the development of the new strategy, our Audit & Risk Committee started a review of the Board Assurance Framework to determine the relevance of the current risks and to strengthen the process of monitoring and adjusting to emerging risks – these are the risk that may impact the performance of the organisation now and in the longer term, including our financial sustainability and recruiting and retaining a valued and skilled workforce.

The Board also continued to focus on its commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging (EDIB) with a dedicated session considering Charity Commission expectations and general good practice. This has provided us with a good platform to build on during the year, particularly in light of a skills audit undertaken by the Board and plans to recruit new Trustees with lived experience of mental distress.

A highlight of the year was the successful re-introduction of a lecture series in the name of our founder, the Reverend Henry Hawkins Lecture. In partnership with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for the inaugural year, we welcomed over 200 guests to enjoy a wonderfully curated evening reflecting on how art can have a transformative and healing impact on our mental wellbeing. In addition to a display of artwork by people using Together services and performances by students of the Guildhall, we were fortunate to be joined by two respected keynote speakers. Firstly, Dr Simon Hackett, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Mental Health at Newcastle University, presented the clinical case for arts-based therapies in improving mental health outcomes. The second speaker was Angela Samata, an arts and mental health consultant, BAFTA-nominated television presenter and TEDx talker who spoke about making the compelling argument of art being the ‘highest form of hope’.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff, volunteers and the Board of Trustees for their hard work and commitment on behalf of Together. A special thanks to trustees Louise Bushby and Kathy Pearce, who stepped down during the year. We benefitted hugely as an organisation from their knowledge, expertise, and experience. As we look ahead, we aim to build on the successes of the past year and strengthen our determination to grow and develop as a charity.

Dr Carol Cole

Chair of the Board of Trustees

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT

We talk a lot about the external operating environment and the challenges that it brings to us as a mental health social care organisation, for the people we work alongside and for our workforce. Sometimes those challenges are hard to quantify but they came into sharp relief at points during the year when faced with increasing costs, but with limited additional income from uplifts on contracts. It is not hard to see how difficult it is for organisations like Together to balance the books and continue to invest in the necessary infrastructure and delivery environments – investments that enable us to provide high quality wellbeing and support services to some of the most disadvantaged and marginalised people in our society and communities.

During the year we continued to focus on tackling the strategic risks facing us, and the wider VCSE health and social care sector, including ongoing cost of living rises and pressures on public sector funding. We progressed a number of change programmes, the most significant of which was the introduction and implementation of a new pay framework. This was in recognition of the value we place on our workforce and a commitment to recruiting and retaining staff who are passionate about achieving the very best they can for the people we work alongside.

Whatever the challenges, and with over 140 years behind us as a charity, we are as resilient and optimistic as ever. We worked during the year to develop a refreshed corporate strategy that focuses on our unwavering desire to deliver our mission in a sustainable way that stays true to our values and the pioneering legacy of our founder, Henry Hawkins. We are also hopeful for the people we work alongside and this was embodied in the success of the re-launch of our annual lecture series in the name of our founder, Henry Hawkins – a reflection of the joy that can be found in Art in all its many forms and the positive impacts on the mental wellbeing of us all.

To grasp the opportunities to create a better world for people experiencing mental distress, we must have strong leadership and governance and I was pleased at the beginning of the year to welcome Laura Raine, as our new Director of People & Organisational Development. In addition, the creation of a new Senior Management Team brings to life our value of collaboration, ensuring the quality of our services through well-led operations and central support services working more closely together.

One of our celebratory moments during the year was the launch of a new website, a lively and interactive representation of all the wonderful work that happens across the organisation. We now have the capability and capacity to more effectively promote all that we can offer to people in need of care and support and tell the stories of people who use our services as they journey on the lives they want to lead and towards mental wellbeing.

It is the stories and the voices of people who use our services, and who have lived experience of mental distress, who can and should, shape and influence decision-makers. It is only through those voices that we can advocate for and hold the various public agencies and bodies accountable to provide the necessary investment in mental health social care that will make a difference in people's lives. This is embodied in Service User Leadership at Together and we remain committed to working alongside people to ensure that their experiences, needs and wants are heard and we see the change that must happen to ensure good mental wellbeing for all.

Together cannot achieve our ambitions for the people we work alongside without the skills, compassion and kindness of a loyal workforce of staff and volunteers. I can never truly thank them enough and I will continue to do whatever I can to ensure the experience of working for the organisation is rewarding, recognised and valued.

Linda Bryant Chief Executive

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCORPORATING STRATEGIC REPORT)

The Board of Trustees of Together for Mental Wellbeing presents its annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024. These comply with the Companies Act 2006 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

CHARITABLE DETAILS AND OBJECTIVES

Together for Mental Wellbeing (‘Together’) is a national charity working alongside people with mental health issues on their journey to leading fulfilling and independent lives. It operates throughout England.

Together was founded in 1879 and has been incorporated since 1949 as a company limited by guarantee. The organisation is registered in England under the company number 463505 and is also a registered charity with the number 211091 operating under the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011. Revised Articles of Association, which were adopted in October 2018, govern it and the Trustees are also directors of the company.

The charity's objectives are specific with the primary aim to promote and assist in the relief of persons suffering, or at risk of suffering from mental ill-health of any description or in need of rehabilitation as a result of such a condition. In particular, the organisation seeks to achieve that through:

• The promotion of mental health and the provision of support to people in the maintenance and recovery of this - Our strategy sets out our vision for delivering high quality mental health, wellbeing and support services. We achieve this by delivering and developing our services in the areas of accommodation, criminal justice, advocacy and community support.

• The support of carers, families and friends of people who experience mental illhealth in their caring role and in maintaining their own mental health - Our approach to supporting people experiencing mental distress, as outlined in our 5-year strategy, is that we work alongside these individuals to develop their insights, skills and potential. This approach includes empowering people to make the best use of their informal support networks including carers, families and friends.

• The improvement of understanding of mental health and mental ill-health through engagement with, and education of, people who use mental health services primarily. This is also extended to the support network of those people who use our services including carers, families and friends as well as mental health professionals and the wider public - The guiding ethos of Together is the principle of Service User Leadership, which supports everything the charity does to deliver the organisational strategy. By empowering people to take control of their lives and valuing their lived experience of mental distress, the organisation aims to raise awareness of mental wellbeing through promotional methods like the company website, social media and in the press.

• The promotion of best practice and policies in sustaining mental health and alleviating mental ill-health locally, nationally and elsewhere - The vision for the future stated by the organisation seeks to promote the voices of people who use their services to improve policy and practice in mental health support available to all.

• To promote research into mental health and mental ill-health with a focus on the value of lived experience - The organisational strategy of Together aims to ensure the people they work alongside are supported and enabled to use their collective voice to

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inform and influence policy in mental health support. The charity actively seeks opportunities to engage with research based on the experiences of people who use their services.

In the section ‘Activities and Achievements’ we set out how we have specifically delivered on our charitable objectives and strategy during the current year.

OUR VISION FOR TOGETHER

A recognised charity leader in its field delivering high quality mental health and support services, empowering people who use our services to lead their own care and support and enabling their collective voice to inform and influence.

OUR PURPOSE

To work alongside people with mental distress to develop their insights, skills and potential and to promote their voices to improve policy and practice for all.

OUR AMBITION FOR SOCIETY

Everyone who experiences mental distress is valued, can live the life they choose and determine their own future.

OUR VALUES

As part of developing this new strategy, we reviewed and refreshed our organisational values. We have a value statement and a set of five values that are the behaviours which guide the way we work. Our value statement is below:

“We work together to facilitate choice through involvement, by doing what we say, never giving up on people, and looking to constantly improve how we work.”

Together’s values are as follows:

COLLABORATION: ACHIEVING TOGETHER

• We work with communities, advocating and increasing awareness of the interests that matter most to people who use our services.

• We utilise the knowledge, skills and experience of everybody to achieve the best outcomes.

• We create meaningful internal and external connections to ensure everyone can access the support they require.

• We actively raise awareness of mental wellbeing and the benefits of Service User Leadership, supporting people to participate in local society.

CHOICE: THROUGH INVOLVEMENT

• We champion knowledge gained through lived experience and embrace the positive impact this brings on creating options and supporting choice.

• We work with compassion, respect and creativity to encourage people to solve problems and find solutions.

• We listen and empathise to understand the issues that matter to people, in order to support their choices and aspirations.

• We are responsive and empowering, focusing on what can be achieved.

INTEGRITY: DOING WHAT WE SAY

• We create trusting relationships and environments by considering the whole person, individual situations and not over-promising.

• We are fair, reliable, open-minded, and punctual and agree realistic expectations, which we are trusted to deliver.

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• We ensure that we always say what we mean.

• We communicate with consistency and clarity.

• We are committed to making decisions transparently.

RESILIENCE: NEVER GIVING UP ON PEOPLE

• We care passionately about empowering people to use their knowledge and experiences to lead their journeys to better wellbeing.

• We use flexible and innovative approaches to achieve goals.

• We are brave and resolute when facing challenges.

• We don’t let people’s future be defined by their past.

• We are passionate about everyone’s access to better wellbeing and hold the hope for a better future.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: LEARNING AND EVOLVING

• We are curious and deeply inquisitive about people and our work.

• We consider the whole-person and recognise that genuine interest in each person enables us to support people with their aspirations.

• We create a safe environment for people to be who they want to be.

• We are conscious of our actions, decisions, and their impact.

• • We actively seek and learn from feedback and make changes to deliver the best we can.

The core principle that runs through the organisation is our approach to involving, informing and influencing our work through people who use our services.

By delivering our services in accordance with our values, we will aim to achieve our vision for Together. This will fulfil the reason we exist as an organisation and contribute, in partnership with others, to our ambition for society. Core to that is involving people who use our services – the ‘golden thread’ that runs through all that we do.

We know that people experiencing mental distress are at risk of not getting the support they need from wider services, not being empowered to be in control of that support and not having a voice in service and system design. We have gained many insights about what is important to the people who use our services, staff, volunteers and Trustees. During the next five years, success will mean that we have:

• Ensured that the people we work alongside consistently lead the way, not just in their own support, but at every level of the organisation.

• Been active in informing policy and practice, within Together and externally, through the voices of people who use our services.

• Delivered high-quality, safe services that reach more people who have unmet needs as a result of experiencing mental distress and complex lives.

TOGETHER STRATEGY 2019-24

Together was founded more than 140 years ago by Henry Hawkins. Born in 1825, the Reverend Hawkins worked for over 40 years as a Chaplain in asylums, supporting the emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing of patients. Driven by his belief in the common humanity of all people, he worked tirelessly to improve the lives of people in asylums. He introduced new ideas and inspired like-minded people to volunteer to connect patients with their families, communities and the wider world.

In 1879, through his foresight and perseverance, the Reverend Hawkins founded the charity, that was to become Together, with the aim of breaking the cycle of recovery and re-admission. He looked to support people who seemed well, left the asylum and then were re-admitted because of a lack of support or purpose in life. He did that by offering people practical and emotional support to prevent them from becoming unwell again. Through the founding principles of the charity, Reverend Hawkins challenged societal thinking. He proved that with the right practical and emotional support, people could lead fulfilling lives without prejudice and without being defined by their mental distress.

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DEVELOPING OUR LEGACY

We are deeply proud of what Henry Hawkins achieved and his unique legacy continues to drive and influence our beliefs and aspirations for the future. Our 2019-24 strategy represented the next stage in the life cycle of Together. This is why it was important at the start of the development of this strategy, that we identified 'legacy' strengths. They are the areas that we are proud of and are important to us, which we want to take into the future. These include:

• Service User Leadership through involvement

• A focus on what people can do, rather than what people can’t do

• Expertise in working alongside people who experience complex mental distress and multiple disadvantages, who are often excluded from help and support

• A vision that holds true to and is inspired by our long history that is still relevant today, one that also evolves and embraces change in response to the modern-day

• Our deeply committed and engaged workforce of staff and volunteers who embody our values and vision

OUR STRATEGY MAP

Our 2019-24 strategy map is shown below and was developed from the top down as we defined our ambition, purpose and vision. When reading the map, it is designed to be read from the bottom up, starting at the foundation with the drivers of our behaviours and attitudes, our values.

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ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

In this section we set out how we have specifically delivered on our charitable objectives and strategy during the current year through our specific directorates and service types.

OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW

We continue to develop our digital offer and we have started to implement our new Microsoft Dynamics case management system. This will support better integration and increased accessibility for those accessing and delivering our services.

In October 2023 we launched a new website with updated colours and layout with improved navigation to enhance the experience of people who visit and enable them to find key information about the services we provide. The design of the new website was informed by research with people who use our services, the staff who work in them and partners from across the mental health sector.

SERVICE USER LEADERSHIP

Throughout this year, we continued to ensure that Service User Leadership is at the heart of all we do across Together by ensuring that the people who use our services lead their care and support at all levels of the organisation.

Together has made significant progress, including:

1. The re-launch of four key operational policies, that determine how we deliver our services, underpinned by the newly developed Service User Leadership Principles.

2. The facilitation of 26 workshops to enable services to introduce our approach to Service User Leadership, clarifying our ambitions, principles, and expectations to all staff teams.

3. The launch of new quarterly meetings with Service Managers and Operational Leads to review progress, and offer support, guidance and mentoring as services adopt the operational policies in practice. A total of 87 sessions took place across the financial year.

One of the key enablers within the Service User Leadership Strategy is the workforce commitment, understanding and culture, which has been a key focus during this year. The facilitation of the workshops and the volume of manager support meetings that took place gave an insight into the attitudes, beliefs, and values of services in relation to Service User Leadership. The organisation is progressing well, with the success implementation of the Service User Leadership principles into culture and practice in a way that is aligned with our expectations and organisational values.

The work of the National Service User Steering Group of people with lived experience of mental distress continues to be an integral part of how we navigate the future of Service User Leadership at Together, both operationally and strategically. The National Service User Steering Group collaborated with us on 18 key projects to ensure that each is underpinned by the voice of those with lived experience.

Finally, we have seen positive developments within our Service User Leadership Grant Scheme, which is available to all staff, volunteers and people using Together services to encourage services to identify new and creative ways the organisation can empower those experiencing mental distress. The scheme is open all year round with individuals invited to apply for grants between £100-£1,000. Over the year, a total of 8 projects were applied for, equating to £5,525. Of the 8 projects applied for, 5 were successful and 3 were unsuccessful, meaning that the total amount awarded was £2,825. This was a 63% increase in the total spend in the previous financial year. The plan for the next financial year is to re-design and re-launch the scheme to maximise spend and to ensure we are creating more positive opportunities for the individuals we work alongside.

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PEER SUPPORT

Almost 6500 hours of peer support were provided by our peer workforce of Volunteers and Workers this year who supported a total of 380 people to access peer support how they would like to, within a group or one-to-one and either in-person, online or by phone. This was an increase of 28% in comparison to the previous financial year.

There was an 11% increase in the number of hours of peer support delivered by Workers and Volunteers, a 59% increase in the number of hours of peer support delivered via groups and a 5% increase in the number of hours donated to peer support services by Volunteers.

A total of five Peer Support in Practice Training programmes were delivered across the year, initially targeting all those in operational management positions, to enable the successful implementation of Together’s Peer Support Framework which launched in 2022. In addition, the mandatory 3 Peer Support Training continued to be delivered to all those in peer roles across Together. A total of 9 courses were delivered throughout the financial year.

The Service User Leadership Team facilitated a Community of Practice (CoP) meeting with all Peer Support Co-ordinators across the organisation to build on existing knowledge and skills through sharing good practice. A total of four CoP meetings took place, one per quarter. The membership of this group increased as we developed our peer support presence in South London through the launching of peer support in two new areas: the Lewisham Wellbeing Hub and the Southwark Sanctuary.

SUPPORT AND SERVICES

Over the past year, we have helped over 12,712 people experiencing mental distress across England.

ACCOMMODATION SERVICES

Our accommodation services have gone through three main change processes during the 23/24 financial year, in line with our accommodation strategy. The first involving all services receiving a Health & Safety (H&S) audit. This has resulted in significant investment in upgrades to the fire safety systems and all H&S requirements for properties while respecting a homely environment and personcentred approach.

The second development has seen our accommodation workforce working alongside the individuals who live in the services to identify areas for improvements and record challenges and progress through our Service Impact Measures (SIMs) approach. As a result, we were able to capture learning and achievements and share them within the organisation and beyond.

For the final process update, we have identified properties that will benefit from renovation and expansion. We have been working alongside the individuals living in these properties, the staff teams, the local authorities and our funding authorities to project manage and start implementing changes. Our ambition is that these developments will enhance the experience of the people using our services, facilitate their journey towards mental wellbeing and guide them on the path to independence while transforming our services into more ecologically sustainable environments.

The rollout of our property renovation and expansion has been driven by feedback received from people who use services, and we will continue to consult and seek feedback throughout the process. This will also support our commitment to the local communities we operate in and provide increased capacity for high-quality services allowing us to reach more people.

The renewed effort in terms of H&S compliance and quality of service have been the pillars of a strong performance in terms of occupancy of services. While undertaking these activities we have had confirmation during the year of all our accommodation services being rated “good” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

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COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Our Community Support services continue to make a positive impact for people we work alongside, through helping develop skills to support independence and building confidence and resilience.

Our staff teams help with connecting people in a range of areas including voluntary opportunities, employment, and access to mainstream community assets, help them to connect or reconnect with friends and family and meet their own goals.

We continue to grow, develop and innovate, and in 2023/24 we secured new funding through Glasspool to enable us to support more people through our community services. This helped people who use the services to access vital funds for areas that make a real difference to people's lives, from sourcing new appliances to helping people access vital accommodation.

Our Northants Intermediate Support Service has developed a new contract arrangement with Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust in the provision of the service for 2024-25 and beyond. The service also developed a new Peer Support element to its provision, bringing Peer Support to more people in the Northants area. A new contract relationship was also developed with St Helens Borough Council Adult Social Care, supporting the provision of our St Helen’s Community Support Service into 2024/25, and ensuring vital community connections are maintained for people we work alongside in the Borough.

We were successful in bidding for a new community support service in Lewisham Wellbeing Hub, with the service becoming operational in April 2023. The Hub provides a ‘one-stop-shop’ related to wellbeing and mental health for Lewisham residents, through information and advice, community engagement, peer support, group activities and co-production opportunities.

Together was commissioned to deliver a new Peer Support service in the London borough of Merton. The service is part of the Community Transformation programme, led by South-West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust. The Peer Support element is an alliance of voluntary sector organisations with Together for Mental Wellbeing, Off the Record and Jigsaw4U, are our partners employing peer support staff to engage and support people with mild and moderate mental health conditions within their own specialist areas.

During the year, our existing Southwark Wellbeing Hub mobilised the Black Carers Project, and now delivers a multi-faceted community-based programme targeted at Black carers, to promote carers and their families’ wellbeing. The focus specifically is to promote physical health and emotional wellbeing activities, offer a range of culturally sensitive social events, deliver a men’s walk and talk group and offer access to advice on finances and legal rights.

Due to the successes of our current services and good reputation with commissioners, our community support services continue to provide organic growth opportunities. Our new services and pilots have enabled us to reach more people, particularly those from marginalised, hard-to-reach communities. Our service in Reading has supported people fleeing conflict and has recently partnered with Fair Share, which provides food packages for people in crisis. Reading Outreach has quickly become a critical service, offering workshops, resources and partnerships which led to the service being shortlisted for the Thames Valley award under the criteria of Charity of the Year, for outstanding contribution to the community. Partnership work with other local organisations including Food Banks and Sport clubs also resulted in reaching a very large number of people in Berkshire to support their mental wellbeing, in particular refugees. Our emergency services relieved pressure from NHS and offered support for those who would have otherwise been on a waiting list.

NORFOLK INTEGRATED HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICE (NIHCSS)

Following a service review by Norfolk County Council during the year, we received the good news that the funding for the two-year extension period for NIHCSS had been signed off.

Norfolk County Council commissioners also signed off our proposal of incorporating two specialist Self-Neglect & Hoarding Senior Recovery Workers into the contract and who are now based in

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Norwich. One of the drivers for establishing these roles was the prevalence of hoarding as an observable risk factor in safeguarding adult reviews and coroner's reports. The posts support people to tackle hoarding and reduce the accumulation of unsafe clutter and unhygienic environments. The approach is trauma-informed and person-centred and accepting that it will often take time for people to change their hoarding behaviour. Effective resolution requires a multiagency approach around the individual including joint working with the fire brigade, landlords, environmental health and the police in addition to providers and social care.

In the autumn of 2022, NIHCSS was approached by Public Health to support with an application to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) for a Housing Related Support grant. The application was successful, and we received £570K to deliver a two-year county-wide housing-related support service and interventions to people in substance misuse treatment with an identified housing need. The service launched on 1[st] July 2023 with a full staffing team and has seen many successes and positive outcomes. Co-locating with our partners CGL, who are the only referral pathway, has led to us receiving over 200 referrals.

Due to successful service delivery though, we are pleased to report that all of the contracts received extensions for services including Severe Mental Illness (SMI) Physical Health Checks, SMI Tobacco Cessation and SMI Rehabilitation in Complex Psychosis.

Together’s Head of Regional Operations for the area continues to Chair the Mental Health Providers Forum in the locality, sitting on the Board for the N&W VCSE Assembly and representing the VCSE sector on ICB steering groups and Boards. Building on the good reputation of our current services and excellent commissioning relations, we look forward to further growth opportunities in the year ahead.

ADVOCACY

Advocacy services play a critical role in meeting people's legal entitlement to an advocate because of their unique circumstances, which include those individuals who are being treated under the Mental Health Act or who lack the mental capacity to make their own decisions. Advocacy also supports people to understand their rights under the Care Act and to be fully involved in a local authority assessment, care review, care and support planning or safeguarding process. In 2023/24, Together reached a significant number of people across a range of different advocacy services in Rochdale, Nottinghamshire, Essex, Birmingham, Wakefield and Knowsley. Advocacy is a strong example of Service User Leadership and involvement, as advocates are led entirely by the views and wishes of the individual they are working with.

We were very pleased to secure the Rochdale advocacy service through a competitive tendering process in 2023/24, enabling us to build on the solid work and relationships that have been built by the dedicated team in Rochdale, with a new contract of up to 5 years. One key area of service development in Rochdale was the recruitment and induction of new volunteers into the service, to support those individuals who unfortunately are not able to access advocacy support due to not meeting statutory criteria, but equally benefit from advocacy support. Supporting Volunteers to provide this, once they have been inducted and trained is a way of reaching more people that we would otherwise not be able to support, driving additional value by supporting more people, and driving forward relationships.

Together’s Advocacy services in secure hospitals support adults in settings categorised as low, medium or high ensuring their rights are protected and their views are represented. Our staff provide guidance to people who use the services on how to appeal decisions regarding their care, support during ward rounds, multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings, Care Programme Approach (CPA’s) meetings, Tribunals, Best Interest Meetings and independent Hospital Managers Hearings (appeal of section/detention). This is in addition to supporting patients with quality-of-life issues such as facilities, menus, property and education.

We continue to see an increase in patients raising staff-related issues, particularly about short staffing in hospitals or the use of bank staff that patients are not familiar with which has led to cancellation of activities and reduction of named nurse sessions. This reflects the current national picture around

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challenges in the recruitment and retention of qualified nursing staff in both NHS and private sector providers. Due to an increase in safeguarding incidents, we have felt the need to escalate patients' concerns regarding staffing to both Local Authorities and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Together were successful in securing a 12-month contract extension for the Nottinghamshire Forensic (High, Medium, Low Secure) and Nottingham CAMHS services. In 2024-25 the service will be going through an open tender process via a framework through the NHS North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NOE CPC).

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Criminal Justice experienced additional growth and development this year. A couple of new contracts were secured and mobilised including a new Women’s Enhanced Engagement and Relational Support Service (EERSS) within the Offender Disorder Pathway. The service has an initial term of 4 years, followed by an optional extension of 2 years. Similar to the Together Wellbeing Pathway Service we have been delivering, the EERSS focuses on engaging with women within the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway, through emotional and practical support. Together is now the only provider for the EERSS services, for men and women in the pathway.

We also launched our Integrated Offender Management (IOM) Mental Health Support Service, funded by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime. The service is an increase of 12 staff (management and mental health practitioners) to work with individuals under the IOM programme in London. The team takes a multi-agency approach to working with people and support them through addressing their mental health needs and look to prevent reoffending. The number of contracts within Together’s criminal justice services currently stands at 8, varying in size and with a selection of commissioning organisations.

A review of the London Liaison & Diversion service is being led by the commissioner in NHS England, and the outcome of this will influence the service specification as well as determine staffing levels at the different criminal justice settings. Together staff have participated in a series of consultation meetings around this review.

The ongoing expansion of criminal justice services led to the addition of a second Contract Manager role, to ensure that there is enough capacity within the service to manage the increasing number of contracts. Together managers have been building strong relationships with the different commissioners of services and partners in the different projects. Additionally, Criminal Justice has employed a part-time Clinical Lead, who has been focusing on ensuring the training our staff receive to build their skills and knowledge is appropriate to their roles. Furthermore, the Clinical Lead has been working with managers and the data team in reviewing the mental health support we are providing and ensuring we are able to demonstrate the positive impact our services make to the people that use them.

The Head of Regional Operations for London has been appointed by the Clinks Reducing Reoffending Advisory Board as the mental health specialist for the group. She will retain the seat for 2 years initially and the group provides the key interface between the voluntary sector and the Ministry of Justice, in order to increase mutual understanding and build a strong and effective partnership. The group is made up of senior experts from the voluntary sector and meets quarterly with civil servants to provide guidance and feedback on MoJ policy developments.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

During the last year, we worked on a refresh of our corporate strategy, the new strategy for 2024-29 being approved by the Board in March 2024. We are clear that our values, purpose, vision and mission still hold true. Our commitment to Service User Leadership remains as steadfast as ever, as we know that by people leading their own care and support, informing and influencing and having a voice, they will be able to live the lives they choose and determine their own futures.

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The recruitment, retention and reward of our workforce will remain a top priority as we progress our strategic plans which include the development of a new pay progression model, a new recruitment system and a review of our People Strategy to align with the new corporate strategy and to re-state and bring to life our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB).

We will continue to face the ongoing challenges of the external operating environment and the pressures on public sector funding. The implementation of our business development and finance strategies will direct our resources, priorities, and partnerships to deliver a sustainable future for the charity.

We will be prioritising activities that the organisation needs to take to address the immediate and medium-term consequences of challenges to public sector funding. These include robust cost control through our budget forecasting for all operational and central support services, contract monitoring reviews with commissioners to negotiate the potential for uplifts on contracts to offset unforeseen additional expenditure and differentiating the risk of the impact for different types of services through strategic analysis by the Executive and Board of Trustees.

The CEO and Executive Leadership Team will continue to work with other VCSE health and social care providers and membership bodies to advocate for the urgent need of commissioners and central government departments to review in-year funding of services. We will also look to address the future requirements of explicit inflationary uplifts on contracts and in both cases look to support providers to offset both rising costs and secure the ability to award annual pay rises for the workforce. We will do this on a national policy level, and through our networks, including those comprising of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and local authority officials.

As the UK’s oldest mental health charity, and with our commitment to Service User Leadership, we have a strong brand and profile which we have strengthened and will continue to promote through our new website and we will build on the success of our first annual lecture held in 2023 in the name of our founder, Henry Hawkins, to promote the work of Together and to work in partnership with others to achieve our mission.

GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT

The Board of Trustees ('the Board') is responsible for the overall governance of Together, ensuring it is effectively and properly run, and is meeting its overall purposes as set out in its Articles of Association. The governance of the charity is aligned with good governance practice as set out in the Charity Governance Code. The Board meets at least four times each year and sets objectives for itself in the first quarter in the form of an annual work plan. Four Board meetings were held during 2023-24. A facilitated Board strategy day was held in person in May 2023, which included the CEO and executive team, with a focus on starting the development of the next five-year strategy for 202429. Subsequent Board meetings progressed the strategy discussions with the new strategy being approved by Trustees in March 2024. The new strategy will be launched and published in the following financial year.

During 2023-24, the Board received regular reports from the CEO which included the management of the impact of the cost of living rises, increasing inflation rates and access to public services on the workforce and the people who use our services. Throughout the year, quarterly organisational performance reports were reviewed by the Board based on a set of agreed key performance indicators to measure performance in particular areas.

The Board has delegated consideration of specific issues to five sub-committees, who make recommendations for Board approval by the agreed terms of reference and matters reserved for the Board. Each sub-committee meets quarterly to report back with the exception of the Nominations, Remuneration and Governance (the ‘NRG’) Committee, which meets at least once a year with additional meetings scheduled as necessary.

The NRG Committee has responsibility for the recruitment and performance review of Together’s Board, approval of the remuneration of the CEO and ELT and oversight of the arrangements to assess the performance of the CEO and ELT. In 2023-24, the NRG Committee met twice. During the

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year, the Committee made recommendations to the Board regarding the reappointment of Trustees and reviewed the membership of all Committees. The Committee oversaw a skills audit that, along with diversity considerations, informed the process of recruiting Trustees with lived experience of mental distress. The Committee continued to oversee the approach to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) sessions for the Board. A session was held in June 2023 and a further session is planned for May 2024.

• The Finance, Resources and Investment Committee (FRIC) has responsibility for ensuring that Together complies with the current best practice in its financial systems and controls, as well as in its management of resources and investments. During the year the Committee maintained oversight of capital investments, conducted the annual scheme of delegation review, approved proposals to improve treasury management and reviewed the performance of the investment portfolio. The Committee reviewed and recommended for Board approval a new property strategy and adjustments to the reserves policy, which comprised adjustments to the calculation of the contingency reserves level. Financial risks, including pressures on recruitment and retention of staff and the condition of the estates were reviewed and discussed by the Committee.

• The Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) assures the Board that there is an effective system of governance, risk management and control across the organisation's activities. Four ARC meetings took place during 2023-24. Throughout the year, the Committee oversaw the organisation's risk management and reporting, reviewed internal and external audit reports, and monitored health and safety compliance. The Committee also received specific updates in the areas of stakeholder management and the replacement of the case management system.

• The Quality and Safety Committee is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Together’s clinical governance, quality and safety assurance and improvement activity; it is also responsible for assuring the Board that appropriate quality and safety systems, policies and processes are in place to promote services that are high quality and safe. In 2023-24, the Quality and Safety Committee met four times. Throughout the year the Committee reviewed reports on the work with people who use services with increasingly complex mental distress, and quarterly reports and analysis on trends, themes and learning from complaints, incidents, and CQC compliance. As of December 2023, this is supplemented with Service Impact Measures to hear from people who use our services in a structured manner. At each meeting, the Committee reviewed incidents and accidents, one serious incident was reported to the Charity Commission. The Committee commissioned a service review of one of our CQCregistered accommodation services, received regular updates on the implementation of the new Case Management System and the Health and Safety Action plan.

• The Workforce Committee provides assurance to the Board that all elements of workforce performance, including strategy, policies, procedures and workforce planning, are fit for purpose and support the overarching strategic direction of the organisation. Four Workforce Committee meetings were held during 2023-24. The Committee reviewed regular progress updates on the organisation's People plan as taken forward by the new Director of People and Organisational Development. This included the delivery of a new pay structure and policy and challenging decisions about specific pay issues including divergence from the Real Living Wage. Over the year, the committee also oversaw the final stages of the organisational design programme.

The terms of reference for each sub-committee were reviewed, and updates were approved by the Board in March 2024. The Board also reviewed and approved the Board’s terms of reference, and matters reserved to the Board, in March 2024.

The Trustees delegate the day-to-day management of the organisation to the Chief Executive, with a Scheme of Delegation in place, which is subject to annual review by FRIC and triennial review by the Board (last reviewed and approved by the Board in June 2023). The Chief Executive reports directly to the Chair of the Board of Trustees, and is supported by a group of directors who constitute the Executive Leadership Team:

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• Chief Executive

• Director of Operations and Quality

• Director of Finance and Resources

• Director of Business Development

• Director of People & Organisational Development

STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BENEFIT

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission in determining the activities undertaken by the charity.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Board and Executive Leadership Team identify and review how Together is managing its risks in the pursuit of its strategic objectives. Oversight of the organisation’s risk management system is within the remit of the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC).

ARC review the Board Assurance Framework (BAF) and the Corporate Risk Register (CRR) every quarter, to ensure that the Board receives appropriate assurance about risks to the delivery of the charity's strategic objectives. The Board reviews the BAF bi-annually, with the Corporate Risk Register coming to the Board once a year. The BAF is made up of nine strategic issues, of which the top five are as follows:

#	Strategic Area	Strategic Risk	Mitigations
1	Service Delivery	Failure to deliver safe, quality assured and regulatory- compliant services	Quality and safety strategies in place, with quarterly reporting provided to the Q&S Committee; and annual reports received by the Board
2	Financial	Failure to ensure financial viability	Business development and financial strategies in place with implementation overseen by the Finance, Resources & Investment Committee (FRIC)and annual reports to the Board
3	People	Failure to anticipate and respond to workforce requirements for an appropriately staffed, engaged and motivated workforce	3Rs (Recruitment, Retention and Reward) and organisational development programmes in place, with quarterly updates provided to the Workforce Committee and the Board
4	Horizon Scanning	Failure to anticipate and mitigate environmental, societal and governance changes relevant to our charity	Quarterly horizon scanning reports – using a PESTLE framework – provided to the Board
5	Cybersecurity and Digitalisation	Failure to respond effectively to increasing digitalisation including maintaining robust cybersecurity across the charity	Strengthening of cybersecurity governance and infrastructure (implementation of internal audit recommendations)

The BAF provides the Board with a clear view of the charity’s strategic risks, including the management and mitigation of these risks, with consideration of the integrity of Service User Leadership also being assessed for each risk.

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The Corporate Risk Register (CRR) comprises risks primarily related to the impact on service delivery and quality scoring 12 and above. In 2023-2024 the CRR comprised nine risks related to:

• Long-term financial viability

• Increased competition impacts our ability to retain contracts

• Ravenhill Way Service Viability

• Recruitment and retention of employees

• Continuous defined benefit pension deficit recovery plan resulting from underperforming assets and negative covenant outlook

• Ensuring accommodation is in line with modern requirements

• Compliance and safety risks due to specific property issues

• Failure to respond effectively to increasing digitalisation

• Cyber security breach

In 2023-2024 four internal audits completed by KPMG took place on Training and eLearning, External Partnership working and Stakeholder Management, Financial Sustainability and Absence Management. The final audit reports have been shared with ARC with recommendations and actions being implemented.

The internal Audit plan for 2024-2025 has been agreed, which sets out timings and scopes for future audits to be conducted. This was approved by the ARC in February 2024 with the plan due to be reviewed annually.

APPOINTMENT AND RECRUITMENT OF TRUSTEES

The number of trustees on Together’s Board cannot be fewer than 3 or more than 18. The Board aims to retain an appropriate balance of skills, experience and backgrounds, given the diverse nature of the organisation’s work. Trustees are initially appointed to a term of office of three years’ duration and may be reappointed by the Board for two subsequent three-year terms.

Three Trustees resigned from the Board during this period:

• Vicky Johnson June 2023 • Kathie Pearce December 2023 • Louise Bushby December 2023

The charity’s Articles of Association stipulate a minimum of four trustees with lived experience of mental distress. Therefore, the decision was taken to recruit with this as a central focus. In January 2024 a skill audit was undertaken, the gaps identified and diversity priorities also informed the recruitment campaign that was launched in February 2024.

Following open advertising of the positions and an interview process four candidates were selected and on 20 June 2024 their appointments were approved by the Board, subject to final checks. The new Trustees with lived experience of mental distress are:

Naheed Hassan Georgina Hodson Ajay Mehta Zain Richardson

A full induction is provided for all new trustees when they are appointed, this will be reviewed in the early months of the next financial year. This includes meetings with senior staff, service visits, a “buddy” system, and access to formal documents relating to the governance of Together, along with relevant Charity Commission publications and other charity governance guidance. New trustees are also directed to mandatory formal training courses on safeguarding and equality and diversity. Trustees are updated on current good practice, formal guidance and training opportunities through regular mailings.

• Further details about our trustees and their expertise can be found on the website at www.together uk.org/Trustees.

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Committee Membership as of 31 March 2024:

Workforce	Finance, Resources & Investment	Audit & Risk	Nominations, Remuneration & Governance
David Shakespeare (Committee Chair)	Paul Breakwell (Committee Chair)	Deirdre Evans (Committee Chair)	Carol Cole (Committee Chair)
Carol Cole_(Ex_ officio)	David Betteridge	David Betteridge	Angus Cameron
Ian Jones	Angus Cameron	Judy Clements	Judy Clements
Donald Mungall	Carol Cole_(Ex_ officio)	Donald Mungall	David Shakespeare
	Ian Jones

Attendance by trustees at meetings of the Board and its sub-committees, 2023-24

The table below sets out the attendance of trustees at meetings of the Board and its sub-committees during 2023-24[1] :

Trustee	Board (4 meetings)	Quality & Safety (4 meetings)	Finance, Resources & Investment (4 meetings)	Audit & Risk (4 meetings)	Nominations, Remuneration & Governance (2 meetings)	Workforce (4 meetings)
Carol Cole	4		1		2
David Betteridge	4		4	4
Paul Breakwell	3		4
Louise Bushby	1 (3)					2 (3)
Angus Cameron	3	3	2		1
JudyClements	3			1	2
Jo Cutting	2	3
Deirdre Evans	4			4
Ian Jones	3		2	2		2
Vicky Johnson	0 (1)
Donald Mungall	4			4		4
Kathie Pearce	0 (3)	3 (3)
David Shakespeare	3				2	3
Ben Thomas	3	4

EMPLOYEES AND VOLUNTEERS

At the year end, Together had over 520 employees across England.

Together are also indebted to its network of volunteers, whose support continues to be so valuable to the success of our organisation and to the difference made to the lives of people experiencing mental distress.

1 This does not include reference to where Trustees may have observed meetings of other sub-committees, of which they do not hold membership. Where a Trustee was only a sub-committee member for part of the year, the number of meetings that they could have attended is shown in brackets.

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INVESTORS IN PEOPLE

The Investors in People (IIP) framework is used to accredit over 50,000 organisations and is a tool that helps us to focus our efforts so that we can enhance our performance, ensuring we are confident in our employment offer and management strategies. It enables us to measure our performance in leading and supporting our staff and creating sustainable success, to achieve our ambition.

We have held the IIP accreditation for over 15 years. Following our most recent successful reaccreditation in 2023, we have continued to build upon our successes and implement changes which help to make Together a better place to work, aligned with IIP’s recommendations. Some of these include:

• Creation of a new Senior Management Team to effectively collaborate and maximise opportunities for creating sustainable success.

• Introduction of SharePoint and a new intranet which has helped to better connect all parts of the organisation

• Reinstatement of our Henry Hawkins lecture, which reflected and promoted what people tell us is important to their mental health and raised awareness of Together and the great outcomes we achieve for the people we work alongside.

• Review of our Learning and Development offer and refresh of our programme to include new learning opportunities for our workforce.

• Development of a new pay framework to strengthen our approach to reward and recognition.

EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

Regular meetings are held with employees so that they are involved in and consulted on matters of concern and can contribute to the running of the organisation. Together operates a Workforce Representatives Council (WRC) where union and non-union staff representatives meet with management to discuss matters relating to staff working terms and conditions, as well as issues that will positively support employment within Together. Together has a Statement on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging on the website, which outlines the approach to involvement in the workforce.

The WRC is integral to our commitment to the workforce to help ensure their views are represented and communicated to the Executive Leadership Team. The aim is to ensure that Together is he best workplace it can be and that any issues or innovations are responded to at a senior level. The WRC is made up of 8 people including an officer of UNISON. Only UNISON has the right to negotiate on such issues as salary, hours of work, and general terms and conditions. Together has a signed recognition agreement with UNISON.

Together has 7 inclusion groups which enable our workforce to talk about their experiences within the workplace. The groups create space for staff to offer each other peer support, to identify what is working well and what changes could be considered to make our working environment more inclusive. Any issues and ideas are reviewed and discussed between representatives from each group and members of the Executive Leadership Team at the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Steering Group meeting.

Some of the developments progressed over the year have included:-

• Development of a Carers Policy for those staff who are Carers outside of the workplace. And the introduction of 3 days paid Carers leave

• Trans inclusion in the workplace guidance along with guidance documents around language

• Development of Reasonable Adjustments Guidance

• Achieved Disability Confident Level 1 accreditation

• Became members of Race Equality Matters

• Joined the Parade for London Pride (June 2023)

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Together also seeks feedback from our workforce through regular surveys to understand their experiences of working in the organisation, to learn what is working well and where things can be improved. The results of these surveys are shared with our workforce and our Board of Trustees. SECTION 172 STATEMENT

WORKING WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS

Companies are required to include a statement of how directors have had regard to wider stakeholder needs when performing their duties in accordance with matters in section 171 (1) (a) – (f) of the Companies Act 2006. The duty of the Trustee under this subsection of the Acts is to act in the way he or she considers, in good faith, would be most likely to achieve its charitable purposes and in doing so have regard (among other matters) to:

• a. The likely consequences of any decision in the long term

• b. The interests of the company's employees

• c. The need to foster the company's business relationships with suppliers, customers and others

• d. The impact of the company's operations on the community and the environment

• e. The desirability of the company to maintain a reputation for high standards of business conduct

• f. The need to act fairly between members of the company.

We fully acknowledge that to fulfil the purpose and vision of the charity and to meet our strategic ambitions for society we need to collaborate and engage effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders. We are cognisant of the fact that the decisions we make as a charity need to be transparent and have due consideration for the potential effects and impacts on those stakeholders in the short, medium and long term.

The Board considers the following to be the key decisions and considerations it has made during the year to March 2024:

Significant event / consideration / decision	s172 matter affected	Action and Impact
The Board, in collaboration with the executive team, developed and approved the corporate strategy for 2024-2029	All stakeholders	The Board took the approach of a refresh of the 2019- 2024 strategy determining that the values, vision, purpose and mission of the charity still hold for its future success. Three new overarching objectives, underpinned by several priorities, were defined focusing on: • Sustaining and improving our services; growing and expanding our reach • Levering our national and regional status to promote and transform mental health social care services • Realising the potential and positive impacts of Service User Leadership
The Board reviewed and approved a change in the pension provider of the defined contribution scheme.	Staff	The Board decided to approve a change in provider based on the understanding that a competitive pension is a key part of our benefits package to enable both the recruitment and retention of the right staff with the right skills to deliver good quality services. As part of the approval decision, the Board noted that the change of provider is anticipated to promote easier access to pensions and increased value from pension investment, both important to employee financial wellbeing and future planning.

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The Board reviewed and noted contract wins during the year	People who use our services, staff, volunteers, commissioners, referrers	The Board noted specific contact wins during the year including: • Glasspool Flexible Frontline Fund – successful application to be a Glasspool Grants Provider, enabling us to award grants to people who use our services experiencing financial hardship • NHS England and HMPPS Men's Enhanced Engagement and Relational Support Service (EERSS) Offender Personality Disorder – we successfully retained our Together Wellbeing Pathway service for another 4.5 years • NHS England and HMPPS Women's Enhanced Engagement and Relational Support Service (EERSS) Offender Personality Disorder – a new service for Together providing a dedicated service for women who are part of the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway across London. • Reading Winter Pressure Grant Funding - to deliver outreach to Prospect Park hospital mental health wards, and an outreach \ connecting to local GP surgeries. • Reading Integration Board (RIB) Project Fund Grant Funding enabling us to offer drop-in sessions in GP walk-in clinics and community centres, further expanding our service offer in Reading. • Suffolk Mental Health Support Framework - accepted onto the framework, which will enable us to bid for community-based opportunities through mini competitions, supporting us in our aim to expand into Suffolk. • Merton Peer Support Service – working in partnership with other local voluntary organisations, providing paid and volunteer peer support in Merton • Surrey Care & Support with Community Accommodation DPS Framework allowing us to bid for future opportunities for supported living services working with people with more challenging life circumstances and complex lived experiences, including self-harm, forensic needs, hoarding, neurodiversity and/or substance use. • Rochdale Advocacy Service – successful retender for this statutory advocacy hub service.
The Board noted the implementation of a new pay structure for all staff and an updated pay policy	Staff	The new pay structure, as part of the drive to address the strategic risk of recruitment and retention of staff, focused on achieving the following outcomes: • Together have clear and robust processes for job evaluation and determining pay for all roles across the organisation, • Our pay levels and approach to pay decisions are transparent and set out in our pay policy; this means that decisions will be more consistent, and that staff can see how these are made and aligned with market rates, based on a wide range of organisations

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The Board reviewed and approved the decision for the organisation to no longer be aligned with the Real Living Wage (RLW)	Staff	The Board reviewed the current status of Together, aligning salaries for our lowest-paid roles with the Real Living Wage which is set by the Living Wage Foundation each year based on the cost of living. It was noted that the organisation is not formally signed up to the Real Living Wage Foundation but has communicated internally that we align our pay with these rates for several years. RLW increases had increased sharply to over 20% during the past two years. This impacted not only affordability but pay compression at the lowest grades of many organisations, including Together, as roles at the next level/s up also have to be increased to maintain an appropriate pay differentiation. Regrettably, the Board took the difficult decision that from the 1st of April 2024, the organisation would no longer be aligned with the RLW. However, the decision to make a pay award of 7% to staff on RLW salaries means a 17% pay increase over the last two years. The Board will be closely monitoring the situation and will look to re-engage with the RLW if income on contracts allows through inflationary uplift awards.

ENGAGING WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS

Whilst trustees must ensure decisions have due consideration for the impact on beneficiaries in the widest sense, the day-to-day management of Together’s stakeholders is delegated to the executive and wider staff team. This is informed by an interest/influence matrix, which is used to map and determine approaches to effective engagement by the charity.

At Together, we consider stakeholders as internal or external, but we also bear in mind that in legal terms, stakeholders can be thought of in three categories. Firstly, there are constitutional stakeholders, meaning Trustees of the Board with powers to amend the charity's constitution, change its name, wind it up and appoint and remove individuals from the Board. There are also contractual stakeholders as individuals and organisations, such as staff, funders and people who use our services with a formal relationship with Together. Finally, there are third-party stakeholders, which is everyone else affected by Together including neighbours or the wider local community.

The Audit & Risk Committee undertakes a biannual review of the organisation’s stakeholder plan, noting the importance and relevance of the plan to achieving the organisation’s strategic aims.

In the following table, we set out a summary of the engagement approaches we have taken in the last year in response to the issues presented by our identified stakeholder groups.

Stakeholder group and why they are important to our success	Their issues	How we engage	Where to find further information in this report showing impact of the engagement
Users of our services and their families and friends	•Services that keep them safe and support their health and wellbeing •Empowered to lead their own care and support	•Feedback from our services •Working alongside people who use our services to develop their own support and care plans •Facilitating people who use our services to tell their	Together Strategy 2019-24 - Page 6 Activities and achievements - Page 8

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	•Supported to develop their insights, skills and potential to lead more independent lives	stories through a range of different mediums, •Development of Service Impact Measures •Implementation of the Service User Leadership Strategy
Our employees who are skilled, experienced and competent and experience high levels of job satisfaction are key to delivering the best outcomes for people who use our services	•Opportunities for professional development and career progression •Fair and transparent pay and reward structures •Opportunities for colleagues to work together across services, to share learning and good practice •Empowered and enabled to inform and influence planning at an organisation level	•The financial challenges of operating in the mental health social care sector have a direct impact on our ability to secure pay offers for our workforce reflective of the skills and expertise required A significant programme of work focusing on Recruitment, Reward and Retention continued through the year, including the development and implementation of new a pay structure and pay policy •A programme of staff engagement is undertaken throughout the year and a Workforce Reps Council (union and non-union staff representatives) meets with management to discuss matters relating to staff working terms and conditions every quarter.	Chief Executive’s Report – Page 3 Employees and Volunteers – Page 17
Our funders and commissione rs who enable us to meet our vision purpose as an organisation	•We deliver our services to our contractual promises •We have robust governance and assurance •We provide high- quality and safe care •We demonstrate a capacity to be flexible and adaptable in the way we deliver our services	•We provide good quality quantitative and qualitative data that supports contract monitoring •We are continuously learning from incidents and events to improve our services •We maintain regular contact with all our commissioners and funders, using informal and formal fora, to agree on expectations and to ensure consistency of support to people who use our services	Introduction from the Chair – Page 2 Chief Executive’s Report – Page 3 Governance Structure and Management – Page 13 Activities and achievements - Page 8
Provider organisations we collaborate with and rely on to deliver our services	•Working to agreed contract requirements and payment terms •Shared commitment to partnership working to keep the people who use our services healthy and safe	•We have a clearly articulated organisational strategy •We undertake due diligence to ensure that we are collaborating with organisations that share our values, ethos and standards	Together Strategy 2019-24 - Page 6 Activities and achievements - Page 8
Local communities and wider	•Everyone who experiences mental distress is valued	•Working in collaboration with organisations and agencies across the health and social	Chief Executive’s Report – Page 3

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society that enable us to fulfil our strategic ambitions	•Everyone can live the life they choose •Everyone can determine their own future	care sector to influence policy and strategic decision- making at a local and national level •Using our communication channels to promote the voice of people who use our services and the issues that are important to them	Together Strategy 2019-24 - Page 6 Activities and achievements - Page 8

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION

Together for Mental Wellbeing key sustainability performance indicators are shown below. The base year used for Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting is 2023.2024.

**Energy Consumption **	**Consumption **		TonnesCO2e
Gas	1,304,400	Kwh	239
Electricity	522,570	Kwh	108
Transport by Land	866,688	Km	105
Total	2,693,658		452

The above is broken down into Scope 2 Electricity and gas Usage & Scope 3 Travel-by-land (mileage, taxi, bus, train and underground), each of them uses a different NGA factor to calculate C02e.

Intensity ratio:

Together’s total emissions for during the financial year 2023.2024 was 452 tonnes of CO2e. The intensity ratio has decreased by 0.9% compared to the previous year.

During 2023.2024 the average number of employees, including part-time workers was 531. Therefore, the intensity ratio was 0.851 tonnes CO2e per employee.

The number of people who use our services reached during 2023.2024 was 12712. Therefore, the intensity ratio was 0.035 tonnes CO2e per individual using our services.

Methodology:

The methodology used in the report is based on HM Government Environmental Reporting Guidelines, 2023. All emissions factors are taken from HM Government conversion factor 2023; Condensed set.

Consumption data from gas and electricity was taken from validated and verified utility supplier’s invoices, provided by our broker. The Consumption during February 2024 was estimated as the provider did not provide the electricity consumption breakdown per site. Consumption data from business travel was taken from Together’s internal software, where available. Where description has not been available, average figures have been used to calculate consumption.

Carbon Reduction Measures:

During the year, we launched a sustainability programme to undertake environmental initiatives. Together is committed to improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions each year.

The following steps have been taken to improve the impact Together has on the environment by reducing our carbon footprint:

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• Made several successful applications to the Government for independent energy assessment funding.

• Engaged independent energy assessors to undertake a series of energy assessments at 7 of our category A freehold properties.

• Obtained independent energy assessment recommendations and cost options on energysaving initiatives.

• Undertook Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) to benchmark our current energy rating and scores for our primary 7 category A properties.

• Produced Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) Reports identifying energy reduction recommendations and cost options.

• Roll out of smart meter installations to ascertain in greater detail energy use data.

• Continue to improve the quality of our emissions reporting.

• Together have signed up to an Uber Business account where we can track emissions on journeys related to work.

• Energy Consumption - securing all our electricity supplies from renewable sources.

• Together remain fully compliant with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS). The latest report was prepared and submitted on the 3[rd] of June 2024.

• Abstracting out energy-saving recommendations from the ESOS report.

• Collating energy-saving recommendations from IEA's, EPC's/MEES and ESOS reports to provide a recommended energy-saving report and action plan for proposed works/improvements.

• Together will identify its carbon footprint for the Estate and from this seek to identify a carbon reduction plan, budget and programme.

• Seek business case approvals based on priority, cost, benefit and CO2 reductions to support action plans and reduce carbon footprint.

In addition to the above, Together continues to maintain the following initiatives to inform practices for staff members:

• Staff should use phone or video conferencing for meetings, wherever possible

• When travel is required for face-to-face meetings, staff should use public transport wherever possible

• Employees should look to combine meetings into one trip, to reduce the need for multiple trips

• Local training sessions will be organised wherever possible to reduce the need for travel

• Efforts to decrease energy consumption are encouraged across all services.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The principal funding sources of the charity in the reporting period comes from commissioners under commercial contracts or long-term agreements. Commissioners include NHS England, Integrated Commissioning Boards and Local Councils. All funding sources are allocated towards the delivery and support of mental health and wellbeing services in local geographical areas as specified by the contracts. In turn, these support the key objectives of the charity. Finally, Together derives minimal other income (e.g. fundraising) and if the charity receives such income, it is usually reinvested to further enhance the provision of services and / or strengthen our expertise in specific areas.

There was a net surplus of £248k (2023 net deficit of £906k), and after recognising gain on investments and actuarial loss on the defined benefit pension scheme, the net movement in funds was a deficit of £194k (2023 deficit of £1,990k).

On unrestricted funds, the charity made an operational surplus for the year, before gains on nonoperating items, of £277k (2022/23 gain of £85k). Adjusting for the movement on investments and properties, this produced a surplus of £481k (2022/23 deficit of £52k). The movement on the pension scheme is detailed in note 16 to the accounts.

On restricted funds brought forward of £845k there was a deficit of £29k (2022/23 deficit £991k), resulting in a balance of £816k.

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

This year’s deficit on restricted funds arises from the expenditure related to income, which was accounted for in the previous years, under the charities SORP, being higher than the income on services in the year.

FUNDRAISING

Section 162a of the Charities Act 2011 requires charities to make a statement regarding fundraising activities. Although Together does not undertake widespread fundraising from the general public, the legislation defines fundraising as ‘soliciting or otherwise procuring money or other property for charitable purposes’. Such amounts receivable are presented in Together’s accounts as ‘voluntary income’ and include legacies. The day-to-day management of all income generation is delegated to the Senior Leadership Team who are accountable to the Trustees.

The majority of Together’s income is from public sector funding. Whilst Together as a whole does not have plans to engage in organisation-wide fundraising activities, our new Business Development strategy aims to introduce an element of local fundraising from our services. The charity is registered with the Fundraising Regulator, which is clearly identified on the organisation’s home page of the website. The charity adheres to the code of the Code of Fundraising Practice which sets the standard that apply to fundraising carried out by all charitable institutions and their party fundraisers in the UK. Together has received no complaints in relation to fundraising activities.

RESERVES

FINANCIAL RESERVES POLICY

Unrestricted reserves provide some protection to the Charity and its work by allowing time to adjust to changing financial circumstances. The Board of trustees, via its Finance, Resources and Investment Committee (FRIC), reviews, on an annual basis, the level of unrestricted reserves by considering the risks associated with various income streams, expenditure plans and Balance Sheet items. This enables an estimate to be made of the level of reserves that are sufficient:

• to allow time for re-organisation in the event of a downturn of income or asset values; and

• • to protect ongoing work programmes.

Following a detailed review by the Board, the minimum level of financial reserves held in contingency is currently set at £3.9m.

UNRESTRICTED RESERVES

The trustees have approved a revised reserves policy for the organisation of having unrestricted reserves of £3,900k increasing by the average pay award every year. Unrestricted Reserves are composed of General Reserves and Designated Reserves. Trustees are content with this level of reserves because out of £16,917k of unrestricted reserves, £6,303k are free reserves that are used to further the charities objectives. Free Reserves figure is notably higher than our minimum reserves policy. This provide the organisation with greater strategic flexibility. It enables us to invest in growth opportunities, undertake new projects, or expand services without compromising our financial stability.

GENERAL RESERVES (UNRESTRICTED)

At 31 March 2024, general reserves amounted to £6,303k (2022/23: £5,316k). The increase in general reserves is due to transfer of £780k designated in 2022/23 for annexe works from designated to general funds. This is due to the cancellation of the annexe redevelopment works at the York Road property which is owned by the Charity.

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

DESIGNATED FUNDS (UNRESTRICTED)

Designated funds £10,614k (2022/23: £11,119k) are those unrestricted funds that are annually approved by Trustees for particular purposes. The breakdown of current designated funds is outlined in note 14.

RESTRICTED FUNDS

These funds amounting to £816k (2022/23: £845k) can only be used for the purposes for which they were given. They represent unspent monies received from donors subject to conditions specified by them, or because the funds were collected in a public appeal to raise money for a particular purpose. Detailed analysis of the various restricted funds is set out in note 15. Restricted income funds include negative figure of £424k in relation to Green Lane property. Following its sale, occurred in the next financial year, the amounts expected to reverse the restricted loss recognised in 2022/23.

INVESTMENTS POWERS AND PERFORMANCE

The Trustees, under the powers conferred to them by the Articles of Association, appointed Sarasin in 2019, and gave them discretionary investment powers. The investments aim to provide sufficient income for today’s beneficiaries while preserving the real capital value for future generations. As a measure of performance, the long-term return target has been set at UK inflation (CPI) +4% over a 5- year rolling basis. This performance is formally reviewed annually by the Finance, Resources and Investment Committee and Sarasin.

The Trustees’ aims in investing funds continue to be to:

• act as a reserve to protect core activities in the event of unforeseen income shortfalls;

• support longer term identifiable projects; and

• generate income to support core services not funded.

Total investments at 31 March 2024 amounted to £2,447k, an increase of £252k (2022/23: decrease of £79k). For the quarter ending 30 June 2024, the value of total investments had increased by 1% compared to a decrease for the benchmark by (6.6%) due to weak economic data, high inflation and high interest rates compounded by ongoing war in Ukraine. Interest and dividend income in the year amounted to £237k before the deduction of investment manager’s fees (2022/23: £101k).

SUBSIDIARY COMPANY

Together also has a wholly owned subsidiary company, Together for Mental Wellbeing Support Services Limited. This company was established on 30 March 2019. Together Support Services Limited contracts with commissioners for mental health services and then sub-contracts the execution of these agreements back to Together for Mental Wellbeing under an inter-company agreement between the two.

PENSIONS

The Together defined benefit pension scheme was closed to new accruals on 30 September 2011. The charity now offers a defined contribution pension scheme to all staff (see note 16).

Although the final salary scheme is now closed for future accruals, it remains a risk for the charity. The result as valued by FRS 102 is included in note 16 to the accounts. The accounts as presented reflect accounting standard FRS 102.

This pension scheme is a UK-based defined benefit scheme, providing benefits at retirement. The net present value (deficit) of the pension scheme at 31 March 2024 is (£729k) (2023: Deficit of £82k).

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

FINANCIAL CONTROL AND MONITORING

The Finance, Investment and Resources Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee monitor and review all aspects of financial performance, financial management reporting, and internal financial control, including the preparation and monitoring of revenue and capital expenditure, and quarterly managements accounts. They also deal with such other matters as may be specifically delegated to them.

FINANCIAL POSITION

The Trustees consider that there are sufficient reserves held at the year-end to avoid an unacceptable level of disruption to the organisation in the event of a downturn in future income, and that there is a reasonable expectation that Together has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, the Trustees continue to adopt the going-concern basis in preparing the accounts.

TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the Trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charitable Company and of the group and of the income and expenditure including the net income and expenditure of the group for the year.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; AND

• 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 adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions, and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company, and 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 of the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

So far as each of the Trustees is aware at the time the report is approved:

• there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware;

• • 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 auditors are aware of that information

Dr. Carol Cole Chair of the Board of Trustees 27 September 2024

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Together for Mental Wellbeing for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, Consolidated and Charity Balance Sheet, Consolidated Cashflow 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 Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of the group’s and parent charitable company’s net movement in funds, including the 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 the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group 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 group'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 trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ Report (incorporating strategic report) and the Chief Executive’s report. 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.

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

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’ Report (which includes the strategic report and the directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the strategic report and the directors’ report included within the Trustees’ Report have 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 group and the parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Report (which incorporates the strategic report and the directors’ report).

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

• adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent charitable company; or

• the parent charitable company 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.

Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 27, 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 group’s and the parent 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 group or the parent 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 the 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:

Based on our understanding of the group and the environment in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to regulatory requirements of the Care Quality Commission, Social Care regulations, Charity Law, Employment law, and GDPR and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011, Charities SORP payroll tax and sales tax.

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls), and determined that the principal risks were related to the improper cut-off of revenue, posting of inappropriate journal entries and management bias in accounting estimates. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

• Inspecting correspondence with regulators and tax authorities;

• Discussions with management including consideration of known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulation and fraud;

• Evaluating management’s controls designed to prevent and detect irregularities;

• Identifying and testing journals, in particular postings by unusual users or with unusual descriptions; and

• Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in their critical accounting estimates

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

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 charitable 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 anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

28/10/24

Steve Harper (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Haysmacintyre LLP, Statutory Auditor

Haysmacintyre LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (with registered number OC423459) and whose registered office is at 10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1AG.

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

(Incorporating Income and Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31 March 2024

Notes Income from: Donations and legacies 8 Charitable activities 9 Investments Other Total Income Expenditure on: Raising Funds 3 Charitable Activities 2 Total Expenditure Net Income/(expenditure) prior to net gains on investments Net gain/(loss) on investments 11 Net Income/(expenditure) Other Recognised Gains Actuarial (loss) / gain on Defined Benefit Pension Scheme 16 Net Movement in Funds Reconciliation of Funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	Unrestricted & Designated Funds Restricted Funds 2024 2023 2024 2024 Total Total £ £ £ £ 96,331 2,186 98,517 174,589 21,841,265 25,212 21,866,477 19,748,703 236,836 - 236,836 100,647 123,564 - 123,564 10,653
	22,297,996 27,398 22,325,394 20,034,592
	40,022 - 40,022 31,153 21,980,788 56,370 22,037,158 20,909,691
	22,020,810 56,370 22,077,180 20,940,844
	277,186 (28,972) 248,214 (906,252) 204,310 - 204,310 (136,984)
	481,496 (28,972) 452,524 (1,043,236)
	(647,000) - (647,000) (947,000)
	(165,504) (28,972) (194,476) (1,990,236)
	16,353,589 845,199 17,198,788 19,189,024
	16,188,085 816,227 17,004,312 17,198,788

Comparatives on fund by fund basis are shown in note 21.

All income and expenditure is derived from continuing activities. The charity has no other recognised gains and losses other than the results for the above financial years.

The notes on pages 34 to 53 form part of these financial statement

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

CONSOLIDATED AND CHARITY BALANCE SHEET

as at 31 March 2024

s at 31 March 2024
	Notes	2024	2024	2023	2023
		Group	Charity	Group	Charity
		£	£	£	£
Fixed Assets:
Tangible Assets	10	11,657,991	11,657,991	11,396,605	11,396,605
Investment in Trading Subsidiary		-	100	-	100
Investments	11	2,446,886	2,446,886	2,194,833	2,194,833
		14,104,877	14,104,977	13,591,438	13,591,538
Current Assets:
Debtors	12	1,271,925	849,876	1,306,418	954,858
Cash at Bank and in Hand		7,660,532	7,654,438	7,649,950	7,396,141
		8,932,457	8,504,314	8,956,368	8,350,999
Creditors: Amount falling due within one year	13	(5,304,022)	(5,101,784)	(5,267,018)	(4,855,890)
Net current assets		3,628,435	3,402,530	3,689,350	3,495,109
Net Asset excluding pension assets		17,733,312	17,507,507	17,280,788	17,086,647
Defined benefit pension scheme asset	16	(729,000)	(729,000)	(82,000)	(82,000)
Net assets		17,004,312	16,778,507	17,198,788	17,004,647
FUNDS
Unrestricted Funds
Designated	14	10,613,956	10,613,956	11,119,348	11,119,348
General	14	6,303,129	6,077,324	5,316,241	5,122,100
Unrestricted Income Funds		16,917,085	16,691,280	16,435,589	16,241,448
Pension Reserve	16	(729,000)	(729,000)	(82,000)	(82,000)
Restricted Funds	15	816,227	816,227	845,199	845,199
Total Charity Funds		17,004,312	16,778,507	17,198,788	17,004,647

The net movement in funds for the year of the parent charity was a deficit of £226,140 (2023: deficit of £1,988,634)

Approved and authorised for issue by the Board on 27 September 2024 and signed on their behalf on 27 September 2024 by:

Dr. Carol Cole (Chair) Paul Breakwell (Treasurer)

The notes on pages 34 to 53 form part of these financial statements Charity registration number 211091. Company registration number 463505

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT for the year ended 31 March 2024

Notes Cash flows from operating activities: Net cash generated by operating activities A Cash flows from investing activities: Dividends, interest and rents from investments Purchase of property, plant and equipment Purchase of investments Proceeds from sale of investments Change in investment cash Net cash used in investing activities Change in cash in the reporting period Cash at the beginning of the reporting period Cash at the end of the reporting period Note A: Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities Net (expenditure)/income for the reporting period (as per the Statement of Financial Activities) Adjustments for: Depreciation charges (Gains)/Loss on investments Dividends, interest and rents from investments Decrease/(Increase) in debtors (Decrease)/Increase in creditors Net cash generated by operating activities	2024 2023 Group Group £ £ 379,164 159,461 236,836 100,647 (557,675) (310,817) (63,255) (159,655) - 102,211 15,512 (1,038)
	(368,582) (268,653)
	10,582 (109,192) 7,649,950 7,759,142
	7,660,532 7,649,950
	452,524 (1,043,236) 296,289 338,771 (204,310) 136,984 (236,836) (100,647) 34,493 553,261 37,004 274,328
	379,164 159,461

(i) Analysis of changes in Net funds

(i) Analysis of changes in Net funds
Cash and cash equivalents Cash Overdraft Total	At 1 April 2023 Cash flows Other non cash changes At 31 March 2024 £ £ £ £ 7,649,950 10,582 - 7,660,532 - - - -
	7,649,950 10,582 - 7,660,532

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

for the year ended 31 March 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

a) Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements are presented in Pounds Sterling rounded to the nearest pound.

b) Income

All income resources are shown net of VAT. Income is recognised once Together has entitlement to it, it is probable that income will be received and the monetary value of the income can be measured with sufficient accuracy. Income from the supply of services is recognised with the delivery of the contracted service. Income received in advance is deferred until the services have been provided. A grant that is subject to performance-related conditions received in advance of delivering the services is accounted for as a liability and shown on the balance sheet as a deferred income, Deferred income is released to income in the reporting period in which the performance-related or other conditions that limit recognition are met. Legacy income is recognised when the criteria of probability, measurement and entitlement are met.

c) Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation committing Together to the expenditure. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to a particular heading in the Statement of Financial Activities they are allocated based on the % of direct cost generated by each area.

Costs associated with raising funds consists of costs incurred by Together in encouraging organisations and individuals to make voluntary contributions or to organise a fundraising event (see note 3). Charitable activities includes the costs incurred by Together in the provision of mental health services, residential homes, supported housing, advocacy services, criminal justice services, and community support (see note 2).

d) Other Employee Benefits

Termination benefits are accounted for on an accrual basis and in line with FRS 102. In line with FRS 102, an accrual has been made for holiday pay accrued but not taken at the year end.

e) Fixed Assets

Tangible fixed assets costing more than £1,000 are capitalised, included at cost and written off over their useful lives on a straight line basis.

The useful lives are estimated to be:

Depreciation of Housing Properties

Freehold land or assets under construction are not depreciated .

The charity separately identifies the major components of its housing properties and charges depreciation so as to write-down the cost of each component to its estimated residual value, on a straight line basis as per below:

Structure	100 years
Pitched Roof	80 years
Electrical works	35 years
Windows	30 years
Flat Roofs	25 years
Kitchens, lifts, doors, boilers, heating systems, flooring,
car park & services	20 years
Bathrooms	15 years
Other tangible fixed assets
Fixtures and Fittings	10 years
Computer Infrastructure, Office Equipment and
Software	3 years

On adoption of FRS102 at the transition date of 1 April 2014, Together took advantage of the FRS exemption which enabled revaluation of certain properties to deemed cost.

f) Investments

Investments are included in the Balance Sheet at market value at 31 March. All gains and losses are shown in the Statement of Financial Activities.

.

g) Operating Leases

Operating lease rentals are charged to the income and expenditure account on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

h) Pension Costs

Pension costs for the group personal pension scheme, a defined contribution scheme, are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities as they fall due. Together has also contributed to a defined benefit scheme, which was closed to new accruals on 30 September 2011. The assets and liabilities n the scheme are reported in these financial statements as required by FRS102.

The difference between the fair value of the assets held and the scheme’s liabilities are measured on an actuarial basis using the projected unit method. The net pension asset or liability is presented separately from other net assets on the statement of financial position. A net asset is recognised only to the extent that it is recoverable by the association through reduced contributions or through refunds from the scheme.

The current service cost and costs from settlements and curtailments are charged against operating surplus. Past service costs are recognised in the current reporting period. Interest is calculated on the net defined benefit liability. Remeasurements are reported in other comprehensive income.

i) Structure of Funds

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors which have been raised by the company for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Investment income, gains and losses are allocated to the appropriate fund.

j) Consolidation

Together owns 100% of the share capital of Together for Mental Wellbeing Support Services Limited. Group accounts are prepared incorporating the subsidiary and are consolidated on line by line basis.

k) Going concern

Pressures on costs such as salary and non-staff (utilities, maintenance, food) continue to challenge operating costs both for the charity but also for employees and service users alike. Whilst inflation has started to come down, nominal costs are still very high and only deflation would provide a genuine cost relief (though it would have other consequences). For non-staff costs, Together continue to operate a lean cost base. Nevertheless, building costs, catering provisions and utilities continue to increase compared to 12 months ago. We continue to see limited availability for IT equipment, although this is more manageable. In the meantime, we continue to mitigate the risks through our budgetary management and forecasting procedures.

The Charity’s income is primarily generated from the supply of contracted services, which are predominantly fixed and multi-year. For 2024-25, individual contract fees have increased between 0% - 7% depending on the commissioner / funding authority and we thank them for the financial support provided in those challenging times. In the meantime, we continue to assess the viability of (re)tendering for new and current services through our bid management and scrutiny processes against the impact of rising costs, particularly for contracts of a longer duration where there are no guaranteed annual uplifts to income.

As at the balance sheet date, Together held cash and investments totalling £10.1m and had no loans outstanding. The directors and Trustees considered the impact of a high-inflationary environment on the future liquidity of the Group by reviewing a full 5-year income, expenditure, cash and reserves forecast under a set of assumptions considered as prudent. This forecast, combined with an assessment of the future reserves position, forms the basis of our assessment of going concern. It has been stress tested using reverse stress testing . Overall, the Trustees believe that the assumptions used are conservative and the directors have identified several mitigation opportunities as part of the 2024-25 budget process should those assumptions be adversely impacted. Finally, we have also considered whether there is any material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt over the use of that basis for a period of at least 24 months from the date of approval of the financial statements and we do not believe that this is the case.

Based on this review, the directors and Trustees have identified no material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern and therefore these accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.

l) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

m) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments, including trade and other debtors and creditors and the bank loan, are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

n) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.

o) Foreign currency translation

The charity’s functional and presentation currency is pound sterling. There were no foreign currency transactions translated at the balance sheet date.

p) Company Information

Together for Mental Wellbeing is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (Registration number: 463505).

The registered office is 52 Walnut Tree Walk, London, SE11 6DN.

q) Critical accounting judgements and estimates

In preparing these financial statements, management has made following judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of the charities accounting policies and the reported assets, liabilities, income and expenditure and the disclosures made in the financial statements.

Housing property depreciation is calculated on a component by component basis. The identification of such components is a matter of judgement and may have a material impact on the depreciation charge. Components are identified based on depreciation note (1e).

Depreciation of assets is calculated based on the cost and the estimated useful lives of the assets. The expected useful lives for housing property components is estimated based on the expected replacement frequency used for asset management purposes.

Income from the provision of services is recognised as and when the services are provided. In most cases, the services are provided in accordance with the funding agreement, but in a minority of cases, estimates are necessary as to the extent to which income may be repayable or deferred at the request of the commissioner where the services haven't been fully provided and there is a likelihood of retrospective demand from the funder that a proportion of the income to be refunded. Estimates are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Management's estimate of the defined benefit obligation is based on a number of critical underlying assumptions such as standard rates of inflation, mortality, discount rate and anticipation of future salary increases. Variation in these assumptions may significantly impact the defined benefit obligation amount and the annual defined benefit expenses (as analysed in Note 16).

Management’s decision to continue with Going concern basis of accounting is based on contract revenue which has remained consistent and likely to remain relatively flat due to nature of contracts which are multi-year and fixed. There are increase in costs in some areas which is offset by reduction in some other areas.

2. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES Provision of mental health services

Residential Homes Supported Housing Advocacy Services Criminal Justice Services Community Support & Day Services Service User Involvement	Direct Costs £ Support Costs £ 2024 Total £ 5,365,109 1,094,757 6,459,866 2,154,983 439,728 2,594,711 1,399,242 285,517 1,684,759 2,878,366 587,335 3,465,701 6,394,756 1,304,859 7,699,615 110,052 22,454 132,506
	18,302,508 3,734,650 22,037,158

Total direct costs includes £56,370 of restricted funds.

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2. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES (2023) Provision of mental health services

Residential Homes Supported Housing Advocacy Services Criminal Justice Services Community Support & Day Services Service User Involvement	Direct Costs £ Support Costs £ 2023 Total £ 6,482,514 1,327,112 7,809,626 1,908,049 457,693 2,365,742 1,494,173 358,415 1,852,588 2,242,766 537,984 2,780,750 4,823,311 1,156,991 5,980,302 97,335 23,348 120,683
	17,048,148 3,861,543 20,909,691

Total direct costs includes £1,012,619 of restricted funds. This includes one-off transaction of £950,000 in relation to Green Lane site.

Allocation of Support Cost

The Support Costs includes the Operational Office Costs, Finance and central support, Human Resources, Governance and the Chief Executive Office. The basis of cost allocation used is the % direct cost generated by each charitable activity.

Direct Costs Residential Homes 29.31% Supported Housing 11.77% Advocacy Services 7.65% Criminal Justice Services 15.73% Community Support & Day services 34.94% Service User Involvement 0.60%	Operational Support CEO HR Finance & Central Support Governance costs 2024 Total £ £ £ £ £ £ 263,080 174,453 238,977 384,234 34,013 1,094,757 105,671 70,072 95,989 154,334 13,662 439,728 68,612 45,498 62,326 100,210 8,871 285,517 141,142 93,594 128,210 206,141 18,248 587,335 313,570 207,934 284,840 457,975 40,540 1,304,859 5,396 3,578 4,902 7,881 697 22,454
	897,471 595,129 815,244 1,310,775 116,031 3,734,650

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Allocation of Support Cost (2023)

	Direct Costs	Operational Support	CEO	HR	Finance & Central Support	Governance costs	2023 Total
		£	£	£	£	£	£
Residential
Homes	34.37%	268,620	214,532	297,482	487,397	59,081	1,327,112
Supported
Housing	11.85%	92,641	73,988	102,595	168,093	20,376	457,693
Advocacy
Services	9.28%	72,547	57,939	80,341	131,632	15,956	358,415
Criminal
Justice
Services	13.93%	108,893	86,967	120,593	197,581	23,950	537,984
Community
Support & Day
services	29.96%	234,186	187,032	259,348	424,918	51,507	1,156,991
Service User
Involvement	0.60%	4,726	3,774	5,234	8,575	1,039	23,348
		781,613	624,232	865,593	1,418,196	171,909	3,861,543
3. RAISING FUNDS
						2024	2023
						£	£
Fundraising						8,855	2,052
Publicity						31,000	28,178
Investment Management costs						167	923
						40,022	31,153
4. GOVERNANCE	COSTS
Governance costs included in note		2 above are as	follows:
						2024	2023
						£	£
External & Internal Audit						76,511	77,740
Trustees meeting costs						2,811	1,931
Legal & Professional	services					9,901	40,783
Staff cost						22,928	44,387
Room Hire and office expenses						1,630	1,268
Trustee recruitment						2,551	5,800
						116,332	171,909

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5. MOVEMENTS IN FUNDS FOR THE YEAR

This is stated after charging: Land & building Others Auditors remuneration Depreciation 6. STAFF COSTS Group and charity: Wages and salaries Social security costs Pension costs Redundancy & settlement costs Number of employee within salary range: £100,001-£110,000 £90,001-£100,000 £80,001-£90,000 £70,001-£80,000 £60,001-£70,000	2024 2023 £ £ 164,706 150,627 7,397 5,781 36,560 37,740 296,289 338,771 2024 2023 £ £ 13,785,397 12,409,584 1,338,355 1,210,547 579,173 539,958 27,907 162,855
	15,730,832 14,322,945
	2024 2023 0 1 2 0 3 3 0 0 7 4

The average number of employees, including part time workers, analysed by function, was:

Group and charity: Mental health services Management and administration of the charity Governance	2024 2023 467 436 63 69 1 1
	531 506

The total cost of the key management personnel (defined as the Executive Leadership Team) was £544,668 (2023: £507,897).

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7. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Four Trustees were reimbursed travelling expenses during the year amounting to £2,522 (2023: £619).

Nil remuneration was paid this year to any Trustee. (2023: £nil).

The following transactions occurred between the Charity and its wholly owned subsidiary, Together for Mental Wellbeing Support Services Limited:

• 1) Expenditure of £11,811,945 was recharged from the Charity to the subsidiary (2023: £10,371,802). 2) The subsidiary made a gift aid payment of £194,141 to the Charity (2023: £195,743).

There are no other transactions or balances which require disclosure within the financial statements.

8. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

Legacies Other Subscriptions & Donations	2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023 Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total Income Income Income Income £ £ £ £ £ 75,961 - 75,961 148,333 - 148,333 20,370 2,186 22,556 21,869 4,387 26,256
	96,331 2,186 98,517 170,202 4,387 174,589

9. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Local Auth, Health Auth & NHS trust Charges for accommodation and services Supporting People Spot/Outreach Income Probation Services Project service grants	2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023 Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total Income Income Income Income £ £ £ £ £ £ 13,543,767 15,000 13,558,767 11,613,246 -11,613,246 7,810,842 - 7,810,842 7,455,302 - 7,455,302 351,119 - 351,119 346,438 - 346,438 41,934 - 41,934 174,689 - 174,689 93,603 - 93,603 141,959 - 141,959 - 10,212 10,212 - 17,069 17,069
	21,841,265 25,212 21,866,477 19,731,634 17,069 19,748,703

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10. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS (GROUP)

Cost: At 1 April 2023 Additions Disposals At 31 March 2024 Depreciation: At 1 April 2023 Charge for the year Disposals At 31 March 2024 Net book value at 31 March 2024 Net book value at 31 March 2023	Freehold Furniture Land and And Buildings Equipment Total £ £ £ 12,680,454 1,407,743 14,088,197 233,313 324,363 557,676 - - -
	12,913,767 1,732,106 14,645,873
	1,545,532 1,146,060 2,691,592 193,058 103,232 296,290 - - -
	1,738,590 1,249,292 2,987,882
	11,175,177 482,814 11,657,991
	11,134,922 261,683 11,396,605

10. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS (CHARITY)

Cost: At 1 April 2023 Additions Disposals At 31 March 2024 Depreciation: At 1 April 2023 Charge for the year Disposals At 31 March 2024 Net book value at 31 March 2024 Net book value at 31 March 2023		Freehold Furniture Land and And Buildings Equipment Total £ £ £ 12,680,454 1,407,743 14,088,197 233,313 324,363 557,676 - - - 12,913,767 1,732,106 14,645,873 1,545,532 1,146,060 2,691,592 193,058 103,232 296,290 - - - 1,738,590 1,249,292 2,987,882
		11,175,177 482,814 11,657,991
		11,134,922 261,683 11,396,605

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11. INVESTMENTS (GROUP AND CHARITY)

Listed investments, at market value At 1 April Additions Disposal proceeds Net investments (losses)/gains Total Investments Cash holdings At 31 March Historical cost at 31 March	2024 2023 £ £ 2,179,097 2,258,637 63,255 159,655 - (102,211) 204,310 (136,984) 2,446,662 2,179,097 224 15,736 2,446,886 2,194,833 2,223,789 2,176,047

Investments are held in the Sarasin Endowment Funds Class A INC, Sterling Investment account and Royal Dutch Shell B shares.

12. DEBTORS

Trade debtors Prepayments and accrued income	2024 2024 2023 2023 GROUP CHARITY GROUP CHARITY £ £ £ £ 833,311 443,134 941,076 613,386 438,614 406,742 365,342 341,472
	1,271,925 849,876 1,306,418 954,858

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13. CREDITORS – AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Accruals Trade creditors Owed to trading subsidiary Other creditors Taxation and Social security Deferred Income Deferred income reconciliation (GROUP) Deferred income reconciliation Opening balance as at 1 April Add income deferred as at 31 March Less deferred income released during the year Closing balance as at 31 March Deferred income reconciliation (CHARITY) Deferred income reconciliation Opening balance as at 1 April Add income deferred as at 31 March Less deferred income released during the year Closing balance as at 31 March	2024 2024 2023 2023 GROUP CHARITY GROUP CHARITY £ £ £ £ 766,795 749,875 771,587 754,187 420,442 304,294 545,214 275,877 - 1,419,166 - 984,977 1,765,244 1,178,945 1,523,471 1,128,222 299,001 299,001 288,872 288,872 2,052,540 1,150,503 2,137,874 1,423,755	2024 2024 2023 2023 GROUP CHARITY GROUP CHARITY £ £ £ £ 766,795 749,875 771,587 754,187 420,442 304,294 545,214 275,877 - 1,419,166 - 984,977 1,765,244 1,178,945 1,523,471 1,128,222 299,001 299,001 288,872 288,872 2,052,540 1,150,503 2,137,874 1,423,755
	5,304,022 5,101,784 5,267,018 4,855,890
		2024 2023 £ £ 2,137,874 2,061,060 1,251,038 1,268,742 3,388,912 3,329,802 (1,336,372) (1,191,928) 2,052,540 2,137,874 2024 2023 £ £ 1,423,755 1,389,686 592,882 729,807 2,016,637 2,119,493 (866,134) (695,738) 1,150,503 1,423,755

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14a.UNRESTRICTED FUNDS – GROUP

Project Designated funds Fixed asset reserve Pension Potential liability Total Designated funds General Fund Pension Reserve	1 April Income 31 March 2023 Revaluations Transfers Expenditure 2024 £ £ £ £ £ £ 1,375,753 - - (780,000) (7,808) 587,945 9,743,595 - - 282,416 - 10,026,011 - - - - - -
	11,119,348 - - (497,584) (7,808) 10,613,956 5,316,241 22,297,996 204,310 497,584 6 26 (22,013,002) 6,303,129 (82,000) - (647,000) - - (729,000)
	16,353,589 22,297,996 (442,690) - (22,020,810) 16,188,085

Transfers of £497,584 (2023: £1,123,077) represents;

1) movement in NBV of Tangible fixed assets less depreciation costs of assets held under restricted income.

2) Release of £780k with the cancellation of the redevelopment of the annexe at York Road but the continuation of the 2-bed extension to the main house (£350k included in the original £1.13m designated funds) as approved by the Board in March 2024.

14a.UNRESTRICTED FUNDS – GROUP (2023)

Project Designated funds Fixed asset reserve Pension Potential liability Total Designated funds General Fund Pension Reserve	1 April Income 31 March 2022 Revaluations Transfers Expenditure 2023 £ £ £ £ £ £ 252,792 - - 1,130,000 (7,039) 1,375,753 8,767,904 - - 975,691 - 9,743,595 982,614 - - (982,614) - -
	10,003,310 - - 1,123,077 (7,039) 11,119,348 6,484,352 20,013,136 (136,984) (1,123,077) 6 26 (19,921,186) 5,316,241 865,000 - (947,000) - - 82,000
	17,352,662 20,013,136 (1,083,984) - (19,928,225) 16,353,589

Transfers of £1,123,077 (2022: £258,605) represents;

1) movement in NBV of Tangible fixed assets less depreciation costs of assets held under restricted income.

2) In June 2022, the Board agreed to fund a recovery plan for the closed defined benefit pension scheme as part of the triennial valuation. The agreement included the release of security held by the Trust against the property at York Road. This was executed in 2022-23 and represented in the movements above.

3) £1.13m was approved by the Board in June 2022 for the redevelopment works at York Road, Sutton.

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14b.UNRESTRICTED FUNDS – CHARITY

Project Designated funds Fixed asset reserve Potential Pension liability Total Designated funds General Fund Pension Reserve	1 April Income 31 March 2023 Revaluations Transfers Expenditure 2024 £ £ £ £ £ £ 1,375,753 - - (780,000) (7,808) 587,945 9,743,595 - - 282,416 - 10,026,011 - - - - - -
	11,119,348 - - (497,584) (7,808) 10,613,956 5,122,100 10,453,826 204,310 497,584 3 6 26 (10,200,496) 6,077,324 (82,000) - (647,000) - - (729,000)
	16,159,448 10,453,826 (442,690) - (10,208,304) 15,962,280

Transfers of £497,584 (2023: £1,123,077) represents;

1) movement in NBV of Tangible fixed assets less depreciation costs of assets held under restricted income.

2) Release of £780k with the cancellation of the redevelopment of the annexe at York Road but the continuation of the 2-bed extension to the main house (£350k included in the original £1.13m designated funds) as approved by the Board in March 2024

14b.UNRESTRICTED FUNDS – CHARITY (2023)

Project Designated funds Fixed asset reserve Potential Pension liability Total Designated funds General Fund Pension Reserve	1 April Income 31 March 2022 Revaluations Transfers Expenditure 2023 £ £ £ £ £ £ 252,792 - - 1,130,000 (7,039) 1,375,753 8,767,904 - - 975,691 - 9,743,595 982,614 - - (982,614) - -
	10,003,310 - - 1,123,077 (7,039) 11,119,348 6,288,609 9,637,652 (136,984) (1,123,077) 3 6 26 (9,544,100) 5,122,100 865,000 - (947,000) - - (82,000)
	17,156,919 9,637,652 (1,083,984) - (9,551,139) 16,159,448

Transfers of £1,123,077 (2022: £258,605) represents;

• 1) Movement in NBV of Tangible fixed assets less depreciation costs of assets held under restricted income.

• 2) In June 2022, the Board agreed to fund a recovery plan for the closed defined benefit pension scheme as part of the triennial valuation . The agreement included the release of a security held by the Trustee against the property at York Road. This was executed in 2022-23 and represented in the movements above.

• 3) £1.13m was approved by the Board in June 2022 for the redevelopment works at York Road, Sutton.

Project Designated funds are specific amounts set aside at 3 projects for future repairs programmes.

Fixed Asset Reserve represents the total net book value of unrestricted assets held by the charity.

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15.RESTRICTED FUNDS- GROUP and CHARITY

Green Lane Grant Hopewell House Snowdon Project Services Grants: Bromley Trust North Yorkshire Police NHS Commissioning Board CAF America - Butler Family fund Mayor of Winchester Reading Borough Council	Balance at Movements Expenditure Balance at 1 April in 31 March 2023 income 2024 £ £ £ £ (417,430) - (6,085) (423,515) 650,960 - (8,630) 642,330 469,480 - (6,315) 463,165 22,055 12,398 (6,094) 28,359 6,244 - - 6,244 22,785 - (22,785) - 82,992 - - 82,992 1,652 - - 1,652 6,461 - (6,461) - - 15,000 - 15,000
	845,199 27,398 (56,370) 816,227

Green Lane Grant; The Green Lane service was closed on 1st October 2022 with all service users transferring to other care providers. The site of Green Lane, for which the charity is the freeholder, was held unoccupied. Following approval from NHS England (the property was granted to the charity by way of a grant in 2007), the property was advertised for sale on the market during 2023-24 and disposed off on 26[th] April 2024. Under the terms of the original grant agreement the net proceeds of the sale was paid to NHSE. Following its sale, occurred in the next financial year, the difference between its current book value (£526,000) and net proceeds of £950,000 will be treated as a gain on disposal with amounts expected to reverse the restricted loss recognised in the 2022/23.

Hopewell House, Snowdon properties; these funds match the contingent liability for the repayment of grants used to purchase property (see note 19) .

Project Service Grants: Various donations for the provision of client services.

15.RESTRICTED FUNDS- GROUP and CHARITY

(2023)

Green Lane Grant Hopewell House Snowdon Project Services Grants: Bromley Trust Lankelly Chase Foundation North Yorkshire Police NHS Commissioning Board CAF America - Butler Family fund Mayor of Winchester	Balance at Movements Expenditure Balance at 1 April in 31 March 2022 income 2023 £ £ £ £ 538,655 - (956,085) (417,430) 659,590 - (8,630) 650,960 475,795 - (6,315) 469,480 41,641 21,456 (41,042) 22,055 6,244 - - 6,244 547 - (547) - 22,785 - - 22,785 82,992 - - 82,992 1,652 - - 1,652 6,461 - - 6,461
	1,836,362 21,456 (1,012,619) 845,199

Green Lane Grant ; The Green Lane service was closed on 1st October 2022 with all service users transferring to other care providers. The site of Green Lane, for which the charity is the freeholder, was held unoccupied. Following approval from NHS England (the property was granted to the charity by way of a grant in 2007), the property will be advertised for sale on the market during 2023-24. Under the terms of the original grant agreement the net proceeds of the sale will be repayable to NHSE. As a result, amounts expected to be payable to NHS England has been recognised in the year as a liability with a charge to restricted expenditure. Following its sale, expected to occur in the next financial year, the difference between its current book value (£538,000) and expected net proceeds of £950,000 will be treated as a gain on disposal with amounts expected to reverse the restricted loss recognised in the current year.

Hopewell House, Snowdon properties ; these funds match the contingent liability for the repayment of grants used to purchase property (see note 19).

Project Service Grants : Various donations for the provision of client services.

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16. PENSION SCHEME

On 1[st] October 2011, Together introduced a group personal pension scheme available to all staff. Contributions are charged to expenditure in the accounting period in which they are payable. Contributions in the period were £579,173 (2023 £539,958).

Prior to 1[st] October 2011, the organisation contributed to a UK-based defined benefit scheme, called The Together: Working for Wellbeing Pension scheme. The administration of the Scheme was transferred From First Actuarial LLP to TPT on the 9[th] February 2021. The scheme was closed to new accruals on 30[th] September 2011.

The defined benefit scheme (now closed) provides benefits at retirement based on final pensionable pay for its deferred members. The scheme is funded by the assets being held by Trustees of the scheme separately from the assets of the organisation.

The latest triannual valuation of the scheme was carried out in 2021 and showed a deficit position of (£0.8m). As a result, the charity agreed a recovery plan with four annual instalments, the first one being in 2022-23.

Projected unit method is adopted to calculate the Scheme liabilities at 31 March 2024, by rolling forward the results of the triennial actuarial valuation as at 30 September 2021.

The projected unit method results have been adjusted according to the FRS 102 financial and demographic assumptions applicable at 31 March 2024.

The liability calculations have made allowance for the payment of benefits and actual inflationary increases over the period to 31 March 2024.

Scheme assets and liabilities recognised in the balance sheet

The fair value of the scheme's assets, which are not intended to be realised in the short-term and may be subject to significant change, and the present value of the scheme's liabilities, which are derived from the cash flow projections over long periods and are thus inherently uncertain, were:

Equity Bonds Property Cash Other LDI Liquid Alternatives Private Credit Present value of plan assets Present value of scheme liability Net present value of scheme (liabilities)/assets	2024 Value £000 831 1,587 497 697 652 3,957 832 953 10,006 (10,735) (729)	2023 Value £000 59 1,481 922 352 1,584 4,487 665 1,076
		10,626 (10,708)
		(82)

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Amounts recognised in net income

Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined benefit obligation Actuarial (losses) on liabilities Actuarial return on scheme assets less interest income Amounts recognised in net income Amount credited to net income Administration expenses Gain on settlements Net interest Amount recognised in net income Changes in present value of the defined benefit obligation are as follows: Opening defined benefit obligations Interest on obligations Actuarial (gains)/losses Settlements Benefits paid Closing defined benefit obligation Changes in fair value plan assets are as follows: Opening fair value of plan assets Interest income Actual return on scheme assets less interest income Contributions Administration expenses Benefits paid Closing fair value of plan assets		2024 2023 £000 £000 85 4,018 (7) (550) (802) (4,591)
		(724) (1,123)
		2024 2023 £000 £000 (110) (110) - - (2) 26 (112) (84) 2024 2023 £000 £000 10,708 14,251 512 390 (78) (3,468) - - (407) (465)
		10,735 10,708
		2024 2023 £000 £000 10,626 15,116 510 416 (802) (4,591) 189 260 (110) (110) (407) (465)
		10,006 10,626

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The Organisation expects to contribute £106,974 to this defined benefit pension plan in the year to 31 March 2025 to cover its administration cost.

Movements in scheme's Surplus/(deficit) in the year

Surplus at the start of the year Contributions Administration Expenses Net Interest (cost) / credit Other movements Actuarial gain	2024 2023 £000 £000 (82) 865 189 260 (110) (110) (2) 26 (724) (1,123) 0 0
	(729) (82)

The major categories of plan assets as a percentage of total plan assets are as follows:

Equity Bonds Property Other LDI Cash Liquid Alternatives Private Credit Total	2024 2024 proportion at £000 31-Mar-23 831 8% 1,587 16% 497 5% 652 6% 3,957 40% 697 7% 832 8% 953 10% 10,006	2023 2023 proportion at £000 31-Mar-22 59 1% 1,481 14% 922 9% 1,584 15% 4,487 42% 352 3% 665 6% 1,076 10% 10,626

Actuarial assumptions used

The main actuarial assumptions under FRS102 for the Scheme at 31 March 2024 used in the calculations are as per below

	2024	2023
	%	%
Discount rate	4.89	4.87
Retail price inflation	3.15	3.20
Consumer Price inflation	2.82	2.81
Salary increase rate	3.00	3.00
Pension increase (at limited price indexation)
- LPI maximum 5%	2.76	2.75
- LPI minimum 2.5%	1.97	1.97
Deferred pension revaluation	3.00	3.00

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

Mortality Assumption

Mortality follows the base tables known as S3PXA with mortality improvements in line with the CMI 2021 [1.75%] model. The mortality assumption for the previous year follows the standard table known as S3PXA with mortality improvements in line with the CMI 2021 [1.75%] model.

The life expectancy used as a basis for our mortality assumption following FRS 102 recommendations is: - assuming retirement at age 65, life expectancy in years are as follows:

	at 31 March	at 31 March
	2024	2023
For a male aged 65 now	21.2	21.5
At 65 for a male member aged 45 now	22.8	23.1
For a female aged 65 now	23.8	23.9
At 65 for a female member aged 45 now	25.2	25.4

17. OBLIGATIONS UNDER OPERATING LEASES (GROUP)

Total commitments over the life of operating leases are as follows:

Operating leases which expire; Within one year In two to five years Over five years	Land & Others Land & Others buildings buildings 2024 2024 2023 2023 £ £ £ £ 107,675 1,649 84,290 3,325 108,986 1,592 30,677 2,457 44,771 - 46,015 - 261,432 3,241 160,982 5,782

18. SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES

Together for Mental Wellbeing Support Services Limited

The wholly owned trading subsidiary was incorporated in the United Kingdom in 2019 (Registered number 11915148). Together Support Services Limited contracts with commissioners for mental health services and then sub-contracts the execution of these agreements back to Together for Mental Wellbeing under an inter-company agreement between the two. Together owns all the issued share capital of 100 ordinary shares. Summary of the trading results is shown below:

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

Profit and loss account. Year ended 31 March 2024

TURNOVER Cost of Sales GROSS PROFIT Administrative expenses PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAXATION TAXATION PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES AFTER TAXATION PROFIT BROUGHT FORWARD PAYMENT TO PARENT CHARITY UNDER GIFT AID SCHEME RETAINED PROFIT CARRIED FORWARD The assets and liabilities of the subsidiary were CURRENT ASSETS Debtors Cash at bank CREDITORS: amount falling due within one year NET CURRENT ASSETS SHARE CAPITAL & RESERVES Share Capital Profit & loss account RETAINED EARNINGS

2024 2023 £ £ 12,038,311 10,571,227 (11,797,545) (10,359,802) 240,766 211,424 (14,961) (17,284) 225,805 194,141 - - 225,805 194,141 194,141 195,743 (194,141) (195,743) 225,805 194,141 2024 2023 £ £ 1,841,215 1,336,537 6,094 253,809 1,847,309 1,590,346 (1,621,404) (1,396,105) 225,905 194,241 100 100 225,805 194,141 225,905 194,241

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

19. CONTINGENT LIABILITY

Surrey CCG provided two properties valued at a total of £1,550,000 for the set-up of services at Hopewell House and Snowdon by way of grant agreements. These properties will be surrendered if Together ceases to use them for the purpose for which they were granted. Both these properties are included under fixed assets and restricted income

20. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS (GROUP)

Fixed assets Cash at bank and in hand Other net current liabilities Pension asset	General fund Designated funds Restricted funds Pension reserve Total funds £ £ £ £ £ 2,446,886 10,026,011 681,980 - 13,154,877 6,938,340 587,945 134,247 - 7,660,532 (3,082,097) - - - (3,082,097) - - - (729,000) (729,000)
	6,303,129 10,613,956 816,227 (729,000) 17,004,312

20. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS (2023)

Fixed assets Cash at bank and in hand Other net current liabilities Pension Liability	General fund Designated funds Restricted funds Pension reserve Total funds £ £ £ £ £ 2,194,833 9,743,595 703,010 - 12,641,438 6,132,008 1,375,753 142,189 - 7,649,950 (3,010,600) - - - (3,010,600) - - - (82,000) (82,000)
	5,316,241 11,119,348 845,199 (82,000) 17,198,788

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TOGETHER FOR MENTAL WELLBEING - ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023/24

21. COMPARATIVE CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (2023)

Income from: Donations and legacies Charitable activities Investments Other Total Income Expenditure on: Raising Funds Charitable Activities Total Expenditure Net Income/(Expenditure) prior to net gains on investments Net gains on investments Net expenditure	2023 Unrestricted & Designated Funds 2023 Restricted Funds 2023 Total £ £ £ 170,202 4,387 174,589 19,731,634 17,069 19,748,703 100,647 - 100,647 10,653 - 10,653
	20,013,136 21,456 20,034,592
	31,153 - 31,153 19,897,072 1,012,619 20,909,691
	19,928,225 1,012,619 20,940,844
	84,911 (991,163) (906,252) (136,984) - (136,984)
	(52,073) (991,163) (1,043,236)

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