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2025-03-31-accounts

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact)

Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

A registered charity and company limited by guarantee Charity registration number 219278 Company registration number 00356443

www.prisonadvice.org.uk

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Contents

Reference and Administrative Details ................................................................... 3 Report from the CEO ............................................................................................... 4 Report from the Chairman ...................................................................................... 7 Board of Trustees’ Report ........................................................................................ 8 Objectives and activities ................................................................................................ 8 Performance and achievements ................................................................................ 11 Looking to the future ..................................................................................................... 21 Financial Review ........................................................................................................... 22 Fundraising ..................................................................................................................... 24 Key Risks ......................................................................................................................... 26 Pact Futures CIC............................................................................................................ 27 Structure, governance, and management ................................................................ 27 Independent Auditor’s Report ............................................................................. 30 Opinion .......................................................................................................................... 30 Basis for opinion ............................................................................................................. 30 Conclusions relating to going concern ....................................................................... 30 Other information .......................................................................................................... 31 Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 ........................ 31 Matters on which we are required to report by exception ....................................... 31 Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements ............................................. 32 Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements ............................ 32 Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud .............................................................................................................. 33 Use of our report ............................................................................................................ 34 Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2025 ............... 35 Balance sheet as at 31 March 2025 ..................................................................... 36 Statement of cashflows for the year ended 31 March 2025 ............................. 37 Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 ............................... 38

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Reference and Administrative Details

President

His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols

Charity number

219278

Vice President

Archbishop John Wilson

Company number

356443

Trustees and directors

Steven Bradford Helen Clayton-Hoar (appointed 24.07.2024) Alastair Gordon, honorary treasurer Paula Harriott Caroline Hattersley James Horsted Thomas Leman Sarah Mann (resigned 28.10.2024) Professor James McManus, chair (elected 28.02.24/effective 22.05.24) Cleo Metcalf Carolyn Robertson Kuljit Sandhu Phil Taylor OBE, chair (resigned 22.05.2024)

Chief executive and company secretary Andrew Keen-Downs CBE

Registered office

Homework Southfields 265-269 Wimbledon Park Road London SW19 6NW

Solicitors

BDB Pitmans 50 Broadway, London, SW1H 0BL

Auditor

Crowe R+ Building, 2 Blagrave Street Reading, RG1 1AZ

Bankers

NatWest 1[st] Floor,440 Strand London WC2R 0QS

Deputy chief executive Ellen Green Trading name Pact

CAF Bank 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, ME19 4JQ

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Report from the CEO – looking back

Pact is an independent national charity, founded in 1898. This is our report covering the financial year 2024–25.

Our work this year can be broadly described under the following themes

Thank you!

This year, more than ever, we are grateful to those who have shared their stories with us or allowed us to walk alongside them through difficult times. If you are among them, thank you. We hope we made a difference in your life or that of your family.

We focus on providing people with the support, relationships, and tools they need to survive and cope with a prison sentence, and to build good lives for themselves and their families after release. We are driven by our Mission, Vision and Values. Above all, we seek to inspire people with a sense of hope and possibility that things can change.

A Frontline Charity

We work at the frontline of the criminal justice system in over 70 prisons, in probation teams, in courts, online, and at the end of the phone. Our team comprises a diverse blend of multi-skilled professional staff and volunteers from all walks of life, united by a shared passion and vocation. We work to uphold and defend the innate dignity of every human being. Our work specialises in nurturing healthy relationships and addressing the root causes of offending and reoffending at the individual, family, and community level.

The victims of crime are foremost in our minds. We set ourselves the ambition of there being fewer victims and of building safer communities for us all by the work we do to reduce the risk of reoffending and of nurturing healthy, stable family relationships. We aspire to a justice system that has public confidence because it genuinely rehabilitates people and restores them to live crimefree lives as members of our communities.

Shaped by Lived Experience and the Voices of the People we Serve

We build, design, and develop our services and solutions based on listening to the people we exist to serve, and on the insights they and our skilled, vocational staff bring. One in five staff members who work within Pact bring valued 'lived experience' to their work, either having had a partner or relative who has been to prison or having experienced imprisonment themselves. Our ‘Lived Experience Advisory Panel’ and service user voice forums help shape our thinking and solutions. Every day, we challenge ourselves to live our values, asking first and foremost: Are we listening?

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Sometimes, what we hear tells us that we need to do more, that we need to amplify the voices of those we serve, to help bring about systems change, to influence policy and practice, and respond to immediate and pressing needs. So, when, on 4th July 2024, the country went to the polls and gave the Labour Party a resounding victory, we were naturally interested in what potential this might bring for much-needed change.

A Time of Opportunity

Within their first few weeks in power, the new government spoke frankly about the crisis facing our prisons. They promised to tackle the multiple crises in the justice system, which had compelled the previous Conservative administration to launch an early release scheme to reduce pressure on overwhelmed prisons; prisons that were so full that police services and the courts were warned that there was no more space available. The new Secretary of State announced more emergency measures, including another early release scheme, this time to be better planned, and went on to commission former Conservative Justice Secretary David Gauke to review sentencing. In response to pressure from charities including Pact, Labour also announced that it would, for the first time, create a system to identify children with parents in prison to offer them support. The Health Secretary, and the new Prisons and Probation Minister, Lord Timpson, also joined forces to announce that mental health legislation would, at long last, be reformed, including the use of prisons under the mis-named 'place of safety' orders.

As I write this, a year later, the prison population has sadly returned to record-high levels. The government's own statistics show record levels of self-harm and suicide, and high levels of violence. Around 7 out of 10 individuals released early were recalled to prison. This year, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons published report after report describing squalid conditions, people locked in cells all day with nothing to do, and people with severe psychiatric illness getting more and more ill in prison cells, instead of being transferred to secure hospital facilities. We have welcomed the promise of sentencing reform, reform of mental health legislation, and a new policy framework to ensure that prisoners' children receive the care and support they need.

We largely welcome the direction of travel. These next few years may offer the promise of real and lasting change. But we need clear action, and funding, as well as words. Without the right resources, in the right places, and at the right time, the decline of our once-proud criminal justice system will continue. And so, we have continued to call for an end to short sentences; investment in rehabilitation in prison regimes and in our neglected probation services; alongside diversion and properly funded community mental health services, so that prisons and probation can do their job of protecting the public and rehabilitating people. There must be real alternatives to prison for those who offend because of a diagnosed serious psychiatric illness. We call for more investment in restorative justice, in 'the family', including supporting family contact during and after prison, where this is in everyone's best interests, and practical measures to ensure that children whose parents are sent to prison are provided with appropriate pathways of care and support.

Those of you who support us, who work with us, or who are part of our Pact family know that when we come up with a fresh idea or call for change, it's not from some ivory tower. It's from the prison wing, from listening to the men and women in prison who volunteer through Pact to support other prisoners. It's from prison healthcare or chaplaincy. It's from the Pact family and visitors centre attached to the prison, the children's play area in the prison's visitors’ hall, or the family day, where

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

people share their experiences with us. It's from the court, the probation office, or on the phone, listening to the sobs of a mother whose son has just told us he can't go on anymore. We speak from the frontline, from real experience of working within the system.

Navigating the Challenges Facing Charities in the UK

This report highlights just some of Pact’s achievements over the past year. It was a year marked by difficult decisions, including several staff redundancies, driven by the economic pressures of record inflation and the need to support lower-paid colleagues in coping with the cost-of-living crisis. Then, in the new government's Autumn Budget, it was announced that the thresholds and rates of employers' national insurance contributions were changing. Our analysis showed us that from April 2025, this would increase the charity's annual costs by over £200,000. Together with thousands of other charities, we called on the government to protect charities from this sudden financial shock, estimated to cost the UK charity sector £1.4 billion, but to no avail.

As I write this, we have once again been forced to make cuts. We have once again taken the difficult decisions and steps necessary to ensure that Pact remains a financially viable and resilient charity, ready for the next challenge, and fit for our next stage of growth and development. Thanks to the ingenuity and resilience of our staff, and the support of our Board, we have found more cost-effective ways of achieving our goals, and we continue to strive to deliver excellent services with the lowest possible overheads.

We now look to the future with a sense of optimism and focus. Our work in justice and health, providing not only critical support but also bridges of opportunity, has grown and continues to evolve. We continue to innovate, drive systems change, and model and share good practice.

A Time for Collaboration: Building Solutions Together

As we look to the future, we are focused on how we can most effectively make an impact on people’s lives – particularly in supporting those leaving prison to fulfil their potential and live crimefree, fulfilling lives. This means maintaining or developing healthy, stable relationships, having somewhere to call home, a job or legal means of support whilst training or learning, free of addiction and debt.

We know that no single organisation can achieve all of these outcomes on its own, and so we are seeking partners, friends, and allies with whom we can work in a joined-up, intelligent, and coordinated collaboration.

Together, we can build a safer society in which fewer people suffer the consequences of crime and in which those whose circumstances or poor choices have led them down the wrong path can build new, better lives for themselves and their children. I hope you will feel inspired by what we have already achieved together and encouraged to work with us to build bridges of hope and opportunity.

Andy Keen-Downs, CBE

Pact CEO

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Report from the Chairman – building bridges of hope in a time of challenge

This year has been one of both challenge and opportunity. The criminal justice system continues to face immense pressure, with overcrowded prisons, rising levels of self-harm, and a probation service stretched to its limits. Amidst this turbulence, Pact has remained steadfast in its mission — supporting the people we exist to serve. Our work has never been more needed. And our partnerships with Justice and Health agencies grow ever stronger.

We have spent this year building bridges of hope. Through our Family Link Workers in prisons, our trauma-informed programmes for young men, and our pioneering work in prison healthcare, we have consistently sought to connect people to their families, to services, to opportunities, and to hope. This year, 624 peers—people in prison supporting others—delivered 49,873 hours of support. This love in action is what will change our world for the better.

Our Family & Visitors’ Centres supported over half a million visits. Our casework services delivered thousands of positive outcomes in mental health, relationships, and rehabilitation. Our Listen to Families programme has expanded, giving carers a voice in prison healthcare. And our work with schools and Family Hubs is helping children affected by imprisonment to be seen, heard, and supported. Our 1,500 voices report puts the lived experience of people we work with front and centre.

As a public health professional, I am particularly proud of the strides we’ve made in integrating health and justice. The Family and Carers’ Charter in London prisons is a landmark step, and our Guide to Prison Healthcare is already making a difference to families navigating complex systems.

We have also faced difficult decisions, including financial pressures. Yet, thanks to the ingenuity of our team, the confidence of our partners and funders and the support of our Board, Pact remains resilient and focused on growth. We continue to innovate, collaborate, and advocate for systemic change.

Looking ahead, we are committed to deepening our partnerships with government, commissioners, faith communities, fellow charities and most importantly, prisoners and their families. We remain committed to helping shape a justice system that is not only safer, but more compassionate and restorative.

To everyone who has walked with us this year — families, people in prisons, staff, peers, volunteers, donors, commissioners and advocates — thank you. Let us keep building bridges of hope – together.

Professor Jim McManus

Chair, Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact)

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Board of Trustees’ Report

The Board of Trustees (the Board) presents its report incorporating the directors’ report, the Strategic Report for the purposes of the Companies Act and the audited consolidated accounts of Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact), for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Objectives and activities

Pact’s purpose

Pact’s stated objectives are:

What we do

Pact is a pioneering national charity that supports men, women and young people in prison, people with convictions, and their children and families. We provide caring and life-changing services at every stage of the criminal justice process: in court, in prison, on release, and in the community.

Pact’s vision is of a society in which justice is understood as a process of restoration and healing, in which prisons are used sparingly and as places of learning and rehabilitation, and in which the innate dignity and worth of every human being is valued. We work for the common good of society. Taking a public health-based approach, we work at the intersection of criminal justice, child and family welfare, mental health, wellbeing provision and health and social care.

Our volunteers and staff can be found in courts, prisons, probation services, and in communities across England and Wales. We are a diverse, inclusive, modern, and collaborative charity. We build effective partnerships and sustainable solutions based on our well-established understanding of the systems in which we work, and on our historic values and ethos developed through our 125+ years of service delivery.

Values and mission

Our mission is to support prisoners and their families to make a fresh start and to minimise the harm that can be caused by imprisonment on people with convictions, on children, families and on communities.

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Our values are:

Strategy and vision

In 2023/24, we enhanced our Routes to Change strategy to build a three-year corporate plan. We are now partway through this plan to build and support Pact as a growing organisation. The five goals were as follows:

1. To deepen our understanding and better articulate our impact

We will focus on measuring the impact of our work and articulating how we are helping people to lead better lives.

We will :

2. To ensure that we remain financially sustainable, enabling us to continue our role as an independent innovator

We will :

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

3. To ensure we are a representative organisation in the broadest sense and that we enable all voices to be heard

We are committed to representing and involving service users and to providing them with the support they need to make their voices heard.

We will :

4. To improve our workforce stability by reducing voluntary staff turnover as well as increasing volunteering and peer worker hours.

We will :

5. To make our systems and processes more effective, reduce duplication, and improve cost effectiveness

Our substantial growth over the last few years means that some of our internal systems and processes are now in need of investment to support our continued growth ambitions.

We will seek to:

Our activities

Pact provides support to prisoners, people with convictions, and their children and families at every stage of the criminal justice process: in court, in prison, on release, and in the community. Our services and activities include:

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

We also support practitioners through providing training and advice, and we inform and advise policy and decision-makers. We continue to innovate and test new approaches to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Public benefit statement

All the activities described further Pact’s purposes for the public benefit, and the Trustees consider they have complied with the duty in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.

Performance and achievements

In the 2024/25 financial year, we reached more individuals than ever before. We achieved this through the growth of our services and projects, the continued exploration of innovative approaches, and by staying focused on ensuring that all our work is shaped by the lived experiences of those we support.

Family and Significant Other Services

In 2024/25, we continued to deliver ‘Family and Significant Other' services under contracts with HMPPS at 62 prisons. This work represents just under half of all our service delivery. We assisted a total of 556,015 visits through Pact-run Family and Visitors’ Centres during the year, 286,600 for women, 158,632 for men, and 110,783 for children.

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

As part of our family engagement services, we delivered one-to-one casework to 3,168 people in prison, including 2,138 new referrals during the year. Through this tailored support, individuals achieved 5,558 positive outcomes, including significant improvements in family and relationships (2,491), mental health (639), and attitudes, thinking, and behaviours (610), among other areas. Evidence suggests an average improvement of 18% across outcomes. Ninety-eight per cent of prisoners surveyed said that Pact casework had been helpful, while 92% said it had made things slightly or significantly better for them. Sixty-one per cent of prisoners completing our Relationship Radar reported improved relationships with family. These figures reflect the transformative impact of our work in helping people rebuild their lives and relationships.

We gathered feedback through qualitative surveys with families who used our services to visit loved ones in prison. Ninety-eight per cent found Pact staff friendly and helpful, while 95% agreed or strongly agreed that their visit had enabled them to better bond with their loved one in prison.

Throughout the year, we continued to establish ‘Family Forums’ in each prison, creating spaces for family members to connect with each other, our staff, and prison leaders. These forums are helping to make it easier for families to stay in touch and support their loved ones inside.

We are grateful to our commissioners in HMPPS, as well as to the governors, staff, and HMPPS leadership, for their continued support and commitment to improving outcomes for prisoners and their families.

Criminal Justice Healthcare

During the year, we continued to develop our programme of work to support prison healthcare providers and to give prisoners’ families a voice. In April 2024, the NHS London region team and healthcare providers across London’s prisons formally committed to a new ‘Family and Carers’ Charter’ for Health and Justice Services. Co-produced by Pact, family members and carers, NHS representatives, and prison healthcare staff, the charter sets out nine key commitments aimed at transforming how families and carers are involved in the healthcare of people in prison. The Listen to Families team is now actively supporting prisons across London to implement and monitor these commitments. Importantly, London commissioners have agreed to provide quarterly reports to Pact, tracking progress against key charter metrics.

This year also saw the expansion of the Listen to Families project into four prisons in the NHS South East region, marking a significant step in scaling the programme’s reach and impact. Alongside driving system-level change, we introduced Family Link Workers at each site. These dedicated roles act as a bridge between prisoners, their families, and healthcare teams, ensuring that family involvement is proactive, meaningful, and embedded in care planning and delivery wherever it is relevant and beneficial.

In November 2024, we launched our online Guide to Prison Healthcare on the Pact website, offering a vital resource for families supporting a loved one in prison with physical or mental health needs. Developed in collaboration with families who have lived experience of the prison system, the guide offers clear, step-by-step advice on navigating prison healthcare. It includes practical information on what to expect, who to contact, and how to communicate effectively. Users will also find helpful templates, real-world tips, and compassionate guidance to manage everyday challenges.

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

During the year, we were honoured to contribute to the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Quality Network for Prison Mental Health Services (QNPMHS) working group, ensuring that the voices of prisoners’ families were heard and valued. A key outcome of this collaboration was the release of the Carer Engagement and Involvement Guidance : a practical new resource for prison mental health professionals. The guidance offers clear, actionable advice on involving families and carers, addresses common challenges, and highlights real-life examples of good practice from across the system.

At the close of the financial year, we launched a landmark report highlighting the challenges families face when supporting a loved one in prison with health issues: 1,500 Voices . The report is the culmination of over two years of work and hundreds of hours spent listening to families, capturing the themes and concerns that consistently arise. Working with our dedicated team of family representatives, we developed a series of practical recommendations addressing structure, practice, culture, and accountability across the health and justice systems. 1,500 Voices is already serving as a catalyst for dialogue and action, and we are committed to working with the NHS, prisons, and healthcare providers to develop solutions that mean better outcomes for families, staff, and patients alike.

Learning and programmes

Through our parenting, relationship, and family learning courses - delivered in both prisons and the community - we support people affected by imprisonment to build stronger family relationships. Our programmes foster resilience, empathy, and communication skills, help parents support their children’s learning and development, and lay the foundations for successful resettlement.

Over the past year, 1,326 individuals took part in our in-person courses focused on parenting, relationships, and family learning. We’re proud to report a 98% course completion rate and a 95% satisfaction rate - clear indicators of the value participants place on our programmes.

In addition, our teams delivered nearly 7,000 structured one-to-one resources through casework across our contracts. These resources, drawn from a diverse collection of relationship, parenting, and wellbeing booklets, have played a vital role in helping families stay connected, resilient, and hopeful about the future.

Support through the gate and in the community

Pact works with people on probation through His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS), operating across 12 probation contract package areas in partnership with Ingeus, Nacro, and Seetec. These services provide flexible support to individuals involved in the criminal justice system, empowering them to rebuild their lives, strengthen relationships, and successfully reintegrate into their communities.

Since its commencement in June 2021, Pact’s CRS programmes have supported 3,604 people in developing family, relationship, and parenting skills, as well as 2,006 individuals in enhancing their emotional wellbeing, enabling them to move forward positively after release from prison. This work reduces the risk of reoffending and promotes healthier relationships between parents and their children.

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Pact consistently exceeds CRS performance expectations, achieving over 90% on both Service Level and Quality Performance indicators. Service users have reported a 61% improvement in confidence about their future and their relationships, alongside a 58% improvement in managing difficult situations in a positive way. In relation to parenting, outcomes include a 105% improvement in understanding child development, a 120% increase in assertiveness in parenting, a 79% improvement in co-parenting ability, and a 112% increase in boundary setting.

Furthermore, since January 2025, we have delivered intensive mentoring support to careexperienced young men through a direct contract with Greater Manchester Probation Service, supporting 23 young men in areas such as relationships, conflict management, anger and stress management, and coping with worry.

As part of the HMPPS CFO Evolution programme, Pact is commissioned by Ingeus and Shaw Trust to deliver targeted interventions for 360 people in prison and on probation who have complex needs. By providing personalised support, we help individuals overcome barriers to resettlement, promote stability, and reduce their risk of reoffending. Interventions empower participants to navigate the often-challenging transition from prison to community with support around forming and maintaining healthy relationships, managing change, and building emotional resilience. This work plays a vital role in supporting successful rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

CPD-accredited training and resources for professionals

Each year, an estimated 200,000 children in England and Wales experience the imprisonment of a parent, yet there remains no statutory safety net to ensure they receive the care and support they need. Many teachers, social workers, and other professionals readily acknowledge gaps in their understanding of the criminal justice system and the profound challenges these children face.

To help mitigate some of the harm to this vulnerable group, Pact provides multi-agency training and resources across England and Wales. In 2024/25, we delivered our Hear Our Voice training to 37 teachers and school support staff across primary, secondary, and early years settings. These sessions explore the impact of the justice process on children and young people, what teachers can do to support both children and their caregivers, and how schools can work with organisations like Pact to provide child-centred support. They also include a walk-through of the prison visit process from a child’s perspective.

One participant shared: “It was really impactful to see the visits hall within the prison and to go through security to understand how it would feel for a child. I found the day really informative, and it has made me realise how much work goes into supporting families, but that there is still work to do to ensure children's voices are heard. I hope many more staff can be trained to support these children.”

Thanks to our successful engagement with young people with lived experience and education professionals, Pact was able to pilot, test, and refine what is now a CPD-accredited training programme on the impact of parental imprisonment on children and young people. This programme was delivered to 37 schools and other family and justice professionals. We further developed the Pact Schools’ toolkit and package of resources, co-produced with young people who have lived experience of parental imprisonment, and with the advice and expertise of

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

education professionals and practitioners. By the end of the year, this was being used by more than 330 schools and 66 local authorities across England and Wales. This resource helps teachers, designated safeguarding leads, and other practitioners address misinformation, reduce anxiety among affected children, challenge stigma, and provide safe and supportive school environments.

Schools play a vital role in signposting children and young people, and their parents and carers, to appropriate community services, particularly where children have faced adverse or traumatic experiences, either due to issues within the family home or due to the nature of their contact with police or justice professionals. We have been pleased to develop some promising relationships with the growing network of Family Hubs.

Charitable funding from the Sony Music UK Social Justice Fund has further supported work across four prisons in the East Midlands to raise awareness of the impact of familial imprisonment on children. This initiative aims to equip schools and social care providers to identify affected children early and provide timely, effective interventions.

As part of this programme, in 2024/25 we convened three cross-sector Education Forums, attended by senior prison staff as well as representatives from local schools and social care services. Each forum, attended by 25–35 professionals, explored the impact of parental imprisonment and offered practical strategies to strengthen professional responses. Over 70% of attendees requested follow-up involvement, demonstrating a strong commitment to ongoing collaboration and learning.

In Nottinghamshire, we are working with the County Council’s Early Help services, Family Hubs, and schools to further improve support for children with a family member in prison. Our service manager sits on the Council’s advisory forum for children with a parent in prison and has contributed to online resources, including details of Nottinghamshire prisons, the Prisoners’ Families Helpline, and our schools’ toolkit and training. The team has also launched ‘Through the Eyes of the Child’ prison visits. Four visits have been completed at HMP Nottingham, with further sessions planned at HMP Ranby, HMP Lowdham Grange, and HMP Whatton.

In South Yorkshire, thanks to National Lottery funding, we have disseminated our toolkit and Pact resources to schools in South Yorkshire and those outside the county supporting families with loved ones in South Yorkshire prisons. Strong links have been established with safeguarding leads in local schools, as well as with the behaviour and inclusion teams working across the county. In addition, drop-in sessions are now being provided at the Doncaster Family Hub, offering direct engagement and support to families. Pact information and promotional posters have been distributed to all hubs in the area to ensure consistent visibility and awareness of services available.

With a further National Lottery Community Fund grant for the South Yorkshire programme now secured, mobilisation and planning are underway for a broader and more in-depth delivery model. This expanded approach will set clear targets for collaboration with hubs, schools, and other community providers across South Yorkshire, ensuring greater reach, impact, and sustainability.

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Through this combined training and engagement, education and care professionals in the region are now better informed about the needs of children with a parent in prison. With access to tailored resources and guidance, they are more confident in providing appropriate support and referrals, helping to improve outcomes for some of the most vulnerable pupils.

Government and charitably funded services

Pact runs a range of innovative programmes, funded by grants from the government, corporates, trusts, and foundations, providing practical and emotional support to prisoners, their children, and their families.

Routes 2 Change

Operating at HMPs Brixton and Isis, Routes 2 Change puts relationships at the heart of rehabilitation. The programme provides practical and emotional support to men in prison and their children and families, from the first days in custody, through their sentence, and for up to three months after release. During the year, we supported 390 men and their families, helping to maintain vital relationships and build the foundations for successful resettlement.

Our long-term objective is to embed the Routes2Change approach within the prison system, encouraging HMPPS to integrate the model into the next FaSOS tender in 3-5 years. Over the coming year, we aim to establish the Routes2Change triage model in at least five prisons.

In our partner prisons, HMPs Brixton and Isis, prison staff have already been seconded to Pact to lead delivery, and we hope to secure similar partnerships with other prisons. The ‘Relationship Triage’ process we have developed is now fully embedded in prison induction via prisoner ‘passports’ at our partner prisons, enabling detailed referral planning where family relationships are identified as an area of need. Having prison staff working in civilian clothing on the project has already demonstrated significant change.

Over the past year, we have delivered triage training to more than 30 prison officers across the two establishments. This has equipped staff with the skills and confidence to ask meaningful questions, ensuring induction processes are more family-focused. The work is further strengthened by the involvement of Peer Workers: people in prison supporting their peers alongside prison staff. This involvement helps to improve outcomes and transform prison culture.

In addition, we plan to trial our Let’s Talk volunteer visitor scheme at more prisons and in the women’s estate. The scheme supports people in prison who do not receive visits (sometimes referred to as “no visits” or “NANs” - an acronym for “nothing and no one”). By offering regular visits from a carefully matched volunteer, who can offer a relatable positive role model, the programme helps prisoners improve their mental health, wellbeing, and interpersonal skills, ultimately strengthening their chances of successful rehabilitation and resettlement in the community.

We will continue to develop the training and support provided to our volunteers, while rigorously assessing the impact of the scheme as it expands. Building on our experience, we are also interested in developing tailored models to meet the needs of specific cohorts of people in prison,

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

such as those at the start or end of their sentences, or those transitioning from a drug-free wing back into the general prison population.

The scheme now has more than 40 active volunteers who, in 2024/25, supported 77 men across HMP Brixton, HMP Isis, and, most recently, HMP High Down. Delivery is being extended to HMP Send (the first programme of its kind in the women’s estate) and to HMP Stafford, a specialist PCOSO (prisoner convicted of sexual offences) establishment. We are also in active discussions with several other prisons.

Prisoners' Families Helpline and the Gateway Communications Project

Over the past year, the helpline has continued to answer thousands of calls and emails to offer advice, information and emotional support to people with loved ones in prison. Many of those who contacted us were concerned about their loved ones’ safety and wellbeing. Behind every call and message is a story of fear, confusion, and hope, and we are deeply grateful to our dedicated helpline team, including the volunteers who gave an incredible 5,493 hours of their time to offer comfort, guidance, and reassurance when it was needed most.

We were delighted to be named a finalist in the Inspire Justice Awards for our groundbreaking partnership with HMPPS and prisoners’ families to improve the safety and wellbeing of people in prison. The Gateway Communications Project, funded by an HMPPS Innovation Grant, aims to improve communication between prisons and prisoners’ family members where there are concerns about a prisoner’s welfare. Following a successful evaluation, the HMPPS Safer Custody Board approved funding to disseminate the project’s learning and resources across the entire prison estate, establishing the first national, consistent gateway communication mechanism for prisoners’ families. We are hugely grateful to HMPPS for commissioning this vital service and for working in such a collaborative fashion to improve outcomes for prisoners and their families.

Together a Chance

Pact continued to provide dedicated Social Worker support at HMP Eastwood Park and HMP Send, delivering intensive, tailored assistance to 66 women. Notably, 30% of these women have lived experience of the care system, compared with just 1.15% in the wider community[1] .

One in five of the mothers supported had active family court proceedings at the point of referral. Pact Social Workers have enabled these women to engage fully and knowledgeably in legal processes, ensuring their voices are heard. Where ongoing contact with children is not in the child’s best interests, Social Workers have helped mothers to understand the reasons behind such decisions and have provided vital emotional support in managing the impact.

Through this work, 133 children have experienced improved relationships with their mothers in custody, gained a clearer understanding of their own identity and family circumstances, and been supported to build a stronger foundation for a positive future. This work, originally piloted by Pact with philanthropic funding, is now funded by HMPPS.

1 Homes for Good, 2021. National statistics for fostering and adoption . Available at: https://homeforgood.org.uk/statistics

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Throughout the year, our social workers shared their expertise at conferences, universities, and criminal justice events across the country. They took part in the Beyond the Barriers roundtable at the Royal Courts of Justice, exploring the barriers mothers in prison face when engaging with family court proceedings and potential solutions to enable effective participation. In addition, the team has written a chapter on prison-based social work for the forthcoming Routledge International Handbook of Criminal Justice Social Work .

Visiting Mum

Visiting Mum supports Welsh mothers in prison to maintain positive relationships with their children throughout their sentence. The project identifies women at risk of losing contact with their children and provides specialist support to protect and strengthen these crucial family relationships. Mothers are offered parenting and relationship programmes, alongside tailored one-to-one support, which may include help engaging with social workers and other relevant services.

Over the past year, our team triaged over one thousand women entering custody in HMPs Eastwood Park and Send and supported 229 through ongoing casework. The team also provided 206 supported visits for children and young people. This service is invaluable for the many Welsh mothers who are imprisoned in England and who struggle to maintain their right to contact because of practical considerations such as the cost of travel or lack of suitable adult supervision.

Dealt an ACE

Dealt an ACE is a first-of-its-kind project introducing a trauma-informed approach in a male custodial environment. The programme supports young men aged 18–24 who have experienced severe or multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). In prisons across England and Wales, self-harm and assault rates are at historically high levels, with self-harm affecting around 60% of prisoners at HMP Brinsford. Dealt an ACE is supporting the prison in working towards a total regime change, from a security-led approach to one grounded in trauma awareness. Through a dedicated caseworker and tailored interventions, the programme builds resilience, strengthens relationships, and fosters positive identity and purpose.

During 2024/25, we worked with 33 young men, offering personalised action plans, one-to-one and group support, access to positive role models, learning opportunities and training in parenting and caregiving, and recognition of personal achievements, all with the aim of reducing reoffending and breaking cycles of harm.

Journeys to Freedom

A small but impactful project, Journeys to Freedom has worked to reduce reoffending by offering holistic, person-centred support to women leaving prisons in London and the South East. Its threestage approach includes preparation before release, support on the day of release, and continued support in the community for up to six months. In the project’s second phase (20232025), we supported 38 women to secure accommodation, employment or other legal income, and reconnect with their families.

Throughout Journeys to Freedom , our findings have informed national discussions on accommodation and resettlement for women leaving prison, including evidence submissions to

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

the RR3 Special Interest Group on Accommodation. In recognition of the project’s impact and the clear need for tailored support, HMPPS has funded 11 Family Resettlement Workers across the women’s prison estate. This marks a significant and welcome step toward more informed, compassionate, and effective resettlement services for women. We hope this investment signals the beginning of a long-term commitment to this approach. It is also vital that the insights and learning are reflected in the development of the new Community Rehabilitative Services (CRS) model for women, ensuring that the right support is available in the community.

We are enormously grateful to LHF London Housing Foundation, Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust and Treebeard Trust for their support to enable us to demonstrate the impact of this holistic, women-specific model of service.

Emergency welfare grants

Thanks to charitable funding from a number of charitable foundations and donors, we provided 596 emergency welfare grants this year, totalling £116,597, including 62 grants awarded to people released from prison under the SDS40 scheme[2] . These grants supported people leaving prison and prisoners’ children and families in immediate hardship, most often due to ‘leaving custody/immediate poverty’ and ‘family poverty’. We also provided grants to meet the needs of prisoners’ children, support individuals on Release on Temporary Licence (RoTL), prevent immediate homelessness, and assist those experiencing poor mental health.

Grants averaged £195.63 and were issued as vouchers or essential items, never cash. Common purchases included food, clothing, beds, phones, laptops, and white goods. Every grant was accompanied by advice and support to address underlying needs.

During the year, 302 children directly benefited, with a further 395 supported indirectly through help given to their parent or carer - a number that has grown steadily over the past three years. In fact, since 2021-22, overall demand for welfare grants has increased by 43%.

Befriending and peer support

Last year, our volunteers provided more than 860 hours of emotional and practical support to prisoners’ family members through our telephone befriending service and online peer support groups. Nine out of ten survey participants felt that their emotional wellbeing had improved since accessing support, and that they felt less isolated than before.

Ninety-six per cent of participants rated the services ‘good’ or ‘excellent’. One service user told us: “It is good to be able to speak to someone who doesn’t judge me. I feel that I have someone that I can speak openly with, which is really nice as it is really difficult being on my own and worrying about my partner in prison. I would be lost without this service.”

2 The government’s SDS40 scheme allowed certain prisoners serving a ‘standard determinate sentence’ (with a 50% conditional release point) to be released at the 40% point of their sentence, subject to eligibility criteria. The first tranche of prisoners was released on 10 September 2024.

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Court Service

Pact volunteers are not only found in prisons or on the phone - they also play a vital role in courts. This work is vital because it meets a need that no other service currently addresses. While victims have access to support through organisations such as Victim Support, there is no equivalent provision for defendants and their families. Pact’s Court Service fills this gap, delivering support through a dedicated network of volunteers.

During 2024/25, our Court Service operated in London and South Wales, ensuring that families of defendants could access Pact’s wider support and clear guidance to help them understand the court process. We believe this vital service should be available in every court. In London, our court volunteers provided 742 hours of support, offering compassionate, on-the-ground help during what can be an overwhelming time for defendants and their families. In Swansea Crown Court, the team supported 1,667 individuals, including 81 first-time visitors to HMP Swansea.

Our Volunteers

This financial year saw our first royal occasion as we welcomed Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to our 125[th] Anniversary National Volunteering and Citizenship Awards at St John’s Church, Waterloo. The event recognised the contribution of volunteers, students on placement, faith communities, and ‘peer’ volunteers in prison. HRH The Princess Royal presented the Volunteer of the Year Award to Prisoners’ Families Helpline and National Befriending Volunteer Amy Atherton.

This year, our incredible volunteers contributed over 96,866 hours of their time - a 33% increase from last year’s figures. Valued at the national living wage, that’s the equivalent of £1,182,734 in donated time, or 59 full-time staff members. Their dedication has made a real and lasting difference in the lives of thousands of people, and we are hugely grateful for their time, skills, and dedication.

Our fastest-growing area this year has been peer volunteering: empowering people in prison to support one another. In 2024/25, we saw a significant rise of 420 new peer volunteers, bringing the total to 624 peers across prisons in England and Wales. As a result, peer-delivered support hours surged from 29,283 to 49,873. This growth is a powerful testament to the strength of lived experience and community-led change behind bars.

Faith and Community

As a Catholic charity, we are deeply grateful for the ongoing support of parishes and religious communities across England and Wales. Their encouragement, prayer, and generosity are essential to our work and long-term sustainability.

This year’s Sir Harold Hood Memorial Lecture was held in the historic Grade I-listed chapel at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. The keynote address was delivered by Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, who spoke powerfully about the need to support children and young people affected by the criminal justice system, “those children whose rights, whose inalienable dignity, are most at risk of violation.” Dame Rachel shared a compelling vision - one that echoes

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Pact’s own - that these children and young people are not only heard, but empowered to become “authors of their own destinies”.

Once again, we saw a record response to our Prisoners’ Sunday appeal, with 11 cathedrals holding Prisoners’ Sunday Mass, including the Archdiocese of Birmingham, Archdiocese of Southwark, and the Dioceses of Arundel and Brighton, Clifton, Hallam, Leeds, Nottingham, Northampton, Shrewsbury, Wrexham and Archdiocese of Westminster. We are grateful to everyone who spoke on behalf of Pact or shared their experiences at a service in their community.

We continue to be blessed by the kindness and encouragement of the Church and of so many faith communities and people of faith who share our sense of mission, and our understanding of the Gospel call to action, ‘I was in prison, and you visited me’.

Looking to the future

We are grateful for the ongoing support of philanthropic foundations, parishes, individual donors, and corporate partners. Their generosity enables us not only to deliver essential, compassionate services to those affected by imprisonment but also to innovate and pilot new approaches that respond to the complex needs of people on the margins of society.

We hugely value our positive relationships with our commissioners, and the spirit of partnership and collaboration that enables us to fulfil our charitable missions through the delivery of high-impact services, including those commissioned by the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, NHS England, MOPAC, and other Government departments and public bodies.

We also continue to act as a ‘critical friend’ to HM Prison and Probation Service and other key partners, bringing the voices of prisoners’ families into the conversation and offering evidencebased ideas and solutions.

Despite operating within a system that by its own account is overstretched, under-resourced, and at times broken, our work continues, thanks to the goodwill and professionalism of so many people working within the system, and alongside us in the voluntary sector. We are powered by the dedication of our staff, volunteers, and supporters. Together, we face these challenges with renewed determination and a shared belief in the possibility of change.

To all our friends and partners: thank you. We look forward to the year ahead with hope and commitment to serve more people, strengthen more families, and work towards a more just and compassionate criminal justice system.

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Financial Review

Income for the year totalled £9,798,000 (2024: £10,231,000), which comprised unrestricted income of £8,268,000 (2024: £8,551,000) and restricted income of £1,530,000 (2024: £1,680,000). After a large increase in 2023/24, due to the start of a large contract with HM Prisons and Probation Services, we have had a relatively small dip in income (4%) in 2024/25.

----- Start of picture text -----
Pact Income
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
-
2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Restricted Unrestricted
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Expenditure totalled £10,466,000 (2024: £10,911,000) which comprised of unrestricted expenditure of £8,600,000 (2024: £8,651,000) and restricted of £1,866,000 (2024: £2,259,000). Expenditure decreased by 4% as well, in line with the drop in income.

----- Start of picture text -----
Pact Expenditure
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
-
2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Restricted Unrestricted
----- End of picture text -----

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

The result for the year was an unrestricted funds deficit of £337,000 (2024: deficit £33,000) and a spend down of restricted funds of £336,000 (2024: £579,000). An unrestricted deficit was planned but income did not grow as expected which led to a higher deficit than budgeted.

Cash and short-term deposits decreased to £1,128,000 on 31 March 2025 (2024: £1,689,000), due to a move of cash into investments. Investments increased to £575,000 (2024: £430,000). The total value of the cash, short-term deposits and investments continues to give the charity a sound financial platform for 2025/26. We maintained our investment in the CCLA Catholic fund, based on maximising investment income for the charity in line with our ethical investment policy, during a period of market turbulence.

Reserves and reserves policy

The Trustees recognise that Pact needs to hold a certain level of free reserves. This aims to cover areas where securing funding is challenging, such as innovative research and service user participation, while also mitigating the risk of lower income or higher costs than expected. The main risks arise from the need to cover unfunded exit costs on projects and services coming to an end, failure to achieve expected income targets from fundraising, failure to achieve expected results on payment-by-results contracts, unexpected delays to new projects and services, unexpected reductions in value of existing projects and services, and potential legal fees and bad debts.

The Trustees have reviewed the level of reserves required to cover these eventualities. In line with good practice, they have opted to link the target level of free reserves directly to a detailed analysis of the risks, the likely impact of those risks, and the probability of them occurring. This translates to a targeted reserves level of £1,120,000. The actual free reserves level on 31 March 2025 was £936,000 (2024: £1,216,000). Although the reserves are currently below their target level, they are more than sufficient for us to continue to operate effectively. The Trustees have implemented a programme to reduce our costs further through to March 2027 to reduce financial risk at Pact and put the organisation on a path to greater financial stability.

The use of the going concern basis of accounting is appropriate because there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of Pact to continue as a going concern.

The Board regularly reviews Pact’s work to ensure that maximum benefit is gained from the limited resources at our disposal and the effort of both staff and voluntary supporters.

Investment policy

Under Pact’s articles of association, the Board have the power to invest in such assets as they see fit. The objective, as outlined in Pact’s investment policy, is to produce the best financial return from Pact’s investments at an acceptable level of risk. For short-term reserves, the aim remains to preserve the capital value with a minimum level of risk, with assets being readily available to meet unanticipated cash-flow requirements at short notice. This will be balanced by gradual investment in longer-term reserves as and when such funds become available. The long-term aim is to generate an above-inflation return while generating an income to support Pact’s ongoing

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

activities. The Trustees recognise that the investment market has shown some level of volatility but are confident that the investments will be used to sustain the Charity over the medium to long term.

Pact invests as far as possible in line with its charitable aims, endeavouring to balance maximising income for our work with our wider social responsibilities as a charity operating in accordance with Catholic Social Teaching. Our preference is for investments that help to maintain wellbeing for the economic, social, and natural environments, as expressed in the appeal by Pope Francis, Laudato Sì (On Care for our Common Home) . We are also guided by the principle of solidarity with those who are poor and marginalised and seek social justice.

Fundraising

During the financial year to 31 March 2025, Pact raised £359,000 in unrestricted funds and received restricted funding of £1,530,000. Funds raised provided much-needed support for Pact’s core services, as well as new projects.

We do not make use of any commercial third parties or agents to raise funds for the charity, nor do we pay any commission of bonuses to our staff or volunteers who work hard to raise our funds. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator, the independent regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We abide by the Fundraising Code and Standards as set out by this body. We have received no complaints regarding our fundraising activities during the year.

We are incredibly grateful to the many trusts, foundations, companies, statutory organisations, parishes, and individuals who have been so generous in their support of Pact’s work over the past year, including those listed below, as well as others who prefer to remain anonymous.

As ever, we thank them for the many ways in which they have shown their commitment to us, and for their encouragement and their shared understanding of the importance of our work.

Trusts and Foundations

1772 Charity (Debtors’ Relief Funds Charity) 29 May 1961 Charitable Trust Albert Hunt Trust Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust Barrow Cadbury Trust BBC Children in Need Bell Foundation Belpech Trust Benefact Trust Charlotte Marshall Charitable Trust Chetwode Foundation Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust Community of All Hallows

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Community of the Glorious Ascension David & Elizabeth Challen Trust Edith Bessie Gibson Trust Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust Faithful Companions of Jesus Firebird Foundation Forest Hill Charitable Trust Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood Fuellers Charitable Trust Fund Garfield Weston Foundation Give for Good Russell Family Charitable Trust Hanley Trust Highway One Trust Hobson Charity Inner London Magistrates Court's Poor Box Charity Jerusalem Trust Leigh Trust London Catalyst Fund London Housing Foundation Marsh Charitable Trust Masonic Charitable Foundation Maurice And Hilda Laing Charitable Trust MB Reckitt Trust Michael and Shirley Hunt Charitable Trust Michael Marsh Charitable Trust Moondance Foundation National Lottery Order of the Friars Minor Rayne Foundation Sheriffs' & Recorder's Fund Simpson Foundation Sir Harold Hood's Charitable Trust Sir Pierce Lacy Charity Trust Smallwood Trust Society of the Sacred Heart Souter Charitable Trust Swire Charitable Trust Treebeard Trust Whitaker Charitable Trust Woodhaven Trust

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Corporate Partners

B&Q Foundation CCLA Investment Management CGI Clifford Chance Croudace Homes Group Kingsley Napley London Stock Exchange Group Pinsent Masons LLP Sony Music UK Voluntary Solidarity Fund

Key Risks

In 2024/2025, our focus was on expanding our services, embedding family services growth, and expanding into new health-focused areas. The four key risks which we are managing are as follows:

Risk register

The Trustees and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) continued to work together to maintain and review a corporate risk register that identifies the principal and significant risks facing us.

As with previous years, risks were grouped against our strategic objectives, with each SLT member responsible for the oversight of the risks in their area. All risks are reviewed by the SLT, with key organisational risks shared with the Board.

Our risk register is a living document that is part of our strategic planning pack and is reviewed twice a year and updated by the Deputy CEO and reviewed by our SLT and Board. Our risk register also forms a central part of our ISO 27001 compliance and audit and is subject to external scrutiny.

Risks are assessed by probability and impact, and we put strategies in place to minimise the likelihood of their occurrence where possible and to mitigate their impact should they occur.

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

We are committed to being a learning organisation, and so the Board and SLT regularly review what can be learned from the challenges we face and how we can make things work better in the future. Lessons learned are fed into our process of reviewing our policies and procedures, training, management, and recruitment practices.

Pact Futures CIC

Our wholly owned subsidiary, Pact Futures CIC (Community Interest Company), was merged into Pact on 30[th] June 2022, and Pact Futures has been dormant since 1[st] July 2022. The company has been dissolved and was struck off the register on 16 September 2025.

Structure, governance, and management

Pact is a charitable company limited by guarantee and governed by its memorandum and articles of association as amended by special resolutions dated 18 April 2000, 18 July 2012 and 17 May 2023. Pact started operating in 1898 as the Catholic Prisoners’ Aid Society and was incorporated on 1 September 1939.

The Board is Pact’s governing body and is responsible for establishing Pact’s policies in relation to the furtherance of its charitable objectives. There are between six and 15 Trustees on the Board, and new Trustees are appointed by existing Trustees from time to time, based on a process of regular review of the capabilities and expertise of the Board and the evolving needs of the charity. Prospective Trustees are interviewed and invited to submit an application, and if this is approved at a Trustee meeting, they are initially invited to attend a Board meeting on a co-opted basis. An induction pack is provided, which, together with meeting the CEO and Chairman, visits to projects and Central Office, and background reading, form a comprehensive introduction to the charity.

The Board has a clear governance role, approving the strategy and annual budgets. Trustees ensure risk is well understood and managed, and that the charity is operating legally, that we are maximising our income, and operating in full compliance with our charitable objectives, ethos, and values. The Board appoints and delegates the delivery of the strategy and management of the operation of the charity to the CEO, who, in turn, appoints and manages the Senior Leadership Team, advises the Board, and provides direction and leadership for the staff and volunteers. The Board and CEO work in a spirit of partnership to develop strategy, review performance, and ensure that we maximise our impact for our beneficiaries, drawing on consultation with our service users, volunteers, staff, and key stakeholders.

A subcommittee of the Board, the Remuneration Committee, is responsible for setting the CEO’s pay. The Remuneration Committee takes into account the responsibilities of the role and the need to set a competitive salary compared to organisations of a similar size and scope to Pact, balanced against what is affordable for Pact. The CEO is, in turn, responsible for setting the pay of other Senior Leadership Team members (Deputy Chief Executive, Director of Services, Assistant Director of Services, Director of Human Resources and Workforce Development, Director of Finance & ICT and Director of Communications). This involves maintaining a job evaluation system

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

to account for the responsibilities of each role and periodically carrying out external benchmarking against similar roles, using an external consultant to assist with this process where required.

A further subcommittee of the Board, the Finance and Income Generation Committee, scrutinises Pact’s financial affairs, including annual budgets and reforecasts, management accounts, tax matters, investment decisions, and financial and accounting policies. The committee also liaises with the auditor and reviews the performance of Pact’s external investment advisers.

During the year, the Board, with the assistance of the CEO, continued to review its governance practices, the method of appointment of officers of the Board and Trustee self-assessments. The

Board also considered succession planning within the Board, and explored how the charity’s strategic development and evolution might best be supported by the mix of talents, experience, and perspectives of the Trustee body.

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees, who are also the Directors of Pact for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ report and accounts in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom accounting standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of Pact and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of Pact for that period.

In preparing those accounts, the Trustees are required to:

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

Insofar as the Trustees are aware:

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on Pact’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. In approving this Trustee Report, the Trustees are also approving the Strategic Report included herein in their capacity as Company Directors.

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Prison Advice and Care Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Prison Advice Care Trust (Pact) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, Statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including 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:

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 charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. 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.

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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report included within the trustees’ 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:

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 28, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.

Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Details of the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations are set out below.

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.

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Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

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:

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charitable company operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011 together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charitable company’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were General Data Protecting Regulations.

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within the timing of recognition of certain income streams and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management, and the Trustee Board about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals and certain income streams, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission, and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for

33

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

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.

Janette Joyce Senior Statutory Auditor

For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor Reading

[26 September ][2025 ]

34

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2025

Note
Income from:
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities:
Reducing re-offending by
building stronger families and
healthier relationships
Making prisons safer and
healthier
Supporting people to live
good lives after prison
Involving the people we
serve and enable them to
speak truth to power
Innovating and developing
evidence-based practice
Total expenditure
3
Net gains/(losses) on
investments
8
Net (Expenditure)
Funds brought forward at 1st
April 2024
Funds at 31 March 2025
13		 Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
359
7,890
19
8,268
327
5,179
1,668
932
195
299
8,600
(5)
(337)
1,273
936		 Restricted
Funds
£’000
-
1,530
-
1,530
-
1,169
376
210
44
67
1,866
-
(336)
896
560		 Total
Total
2025
£’000
2024
£’000
359
513
9,420
9,681
19
37
9,798
10,231
327
312
6,348
7,421
2,044
2,018
1,142
197
239
230
366
733
10,466
10,911
(5)
68
(673)
(612)
2,169
2,781
1,496
2,169

All of the above results derive from continuing activities. All gains and losses recognised in the year are included above. Full comparative figures for the year ended 31 March 2024 are shown in note 18. Notes 1 to 18 form an integral part of these accounts.

35

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Balance sheet as at 31 March 2025

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
7
Investments
8
Current assets
Debtors
9
Short-term deposits
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors:amounts falling due
within one year
10
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds
Unrestricted general funds
Unrestricted designated funds
11
Restricted Funds
12
Total charity funds
13		 2025
£’000
-
575
575
1,215
1,108
20
2,343
1,422
921
1,496
936
-
560
1,496		 2024
£’000
3
430
433
1,408
1,685
4
3,097
1,361
1,736
2,169
1,216
57
896
2,169

The accounts were approved and authorised for issue by the board of trustees on 24th September 2025 and signed on its behalf by

Company no. 00356443

The notes 1 to 18 form an integral part of these accounts.

36

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Statement of cashflows for the year ended 31 March 2025

Note
Cashflows from operating activities
17
Cashflows from investing activities
Interest income
Purchase of fixed asset investments
Sale of fixed asset investments
Cash provided by/(used in) investing
(Decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end
of the year
Analysis of Cash & Cash Equivalents
Cash at bank
Short term deposits
Analysis of changes in net debt
Cash & cash equivalents		 2025
£’000
(430)
19
(150)
-
(131)
(561)
1,689
1,128
2025
£’000
20
1,108
1,128
At 1 April
2024
£’000
1,689		 2024
£’000
(751)
36
-
143
179
(572)
2,261
1,689
2024
£’000
4
1,685
1,689
Cashflows
£’000
(561)
At 31
March
2025
£’000
1,128

Notes 1 to 18 form an integral part of these accounts.

37

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

1. Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted are as follows:

1.1 Basis of accounting

The accounts 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) (second edition, effective 1 January 2019) (SORP FRS 102), FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland, and the Companies Act 2006.

Pact meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.

1.2 Going concern

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties regarding the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Trustees meet regularly to consider current and future issues that may affect the Charity, and its ability to function successfully. As a Board they have diverse skills which cover all the major areas of governance required to ensure they meet the objectives of the Charity both now and in the future.

The risks to the Charity’s ability to function are considered annually within the review of the risk register and from this discussion the Trustees have concluded that the Charity should continue in operation and there is neither need nor intention to liquidate or cease its activities in the near- or long-term future. The Trustees gain confidence through the charity owning significant cash and investment resources, by managing the budgets closely and ensuring the Board has a spread of skills to provide advice.

1.3

Critical accounting judgements and estimates

In preparing these accounts, management has made judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of the charity’s accounting policies and the reported assets, liabilities, income and expenditure and the disclosures made in the accounts. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The Trustees consider that Pact Key areas subject to judgement and estimation are grant and contract income. Where grant and contract income has not been received in line with the entitlement to the income, the income had been deferred or accrued accordingly. There may also be performance criteria attached to the grants received which the Trustees may consider impact the establishment of entitlement to the grant.

1.4 Income

Income from donations, appeals and legacies is included in the income and expenditure account when received. Other income is credited to the income and expenditure accounts when it becomes receivable. Income is deferred only if Pact has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or if the donor has specified that it be expended in a future period.

When significant, multi-year contracts finish, Pact hold any aggregate credit balance for up to two years while all the details are discussed with the funder. Any balance of unresolved , unclarified or unclaimed monies, after a two year period are then released to the income and expenditure account.

1.5 Expenditure

Expenditure is included in the income and expenditure account on an accruals basis. Expenditure is allocated between the activities of the charities as outlined in the Trustee Annual Report . Support Costs are then allocated to the activities on the basis of salary costs of direct staff within that activity .

38

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

1. Accounting policies (continued)

1.6 Fund accounting

Unrestricted general funds are donations, appeals, legacies and other incoming resources receivable for the objects of the charity without further specified purpose laid down by FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland, and the Companies Act 2006.

Unrestricted designated funds are amounts that have been put aside at the discretion of the trustees out of unrestricted general funds for specific future purposes or projects.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund, together with a fair allocation of management and support costs.

1.7 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Individual tangible fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are capitalised at cost and depreciated.

Depreciation is provided in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life at the following rates:

Leasehold Improvements

over the life of the lease

Office furniture and equipment

over 4 years

1.8 Debtors

Short-term debtors are measured at transaction price, less any impairment. Loans receivable are measured initially at fair value, net of transaction costs, and are measured subsequently at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less any impairment

1.9 Creditors

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.

1.10 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 are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

1.11 Operating leases

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to income and expenditure account as incurred.

39

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

1. Accounting policies (continued)

1.12 Pension costs

Pact participates in a group stakeholder defined contribution scheme with Scottish Widows. The pensions cost recognised in the accounts equals the contributions payable to the scheme.

1.13 Redundancy and termination costs

Pact recognises employee redundancy and termination costs in full on the date the redundancy or termination is confirmed.

1.14 Listed Investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recorded at their transaction value and subsequentley valued at the closing mid-market value at the Balance Sheet date. Any gain or loss on revaluation is taken to the statement of Finaniacial Activities. Only external injections of cash and withdrawals of cash from the investment portfolio are treated as additionas and disposals within Note 8.


2.Donations and legacies
Donations
Legacies
3.Total Expenditure
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Reducing re-offending by
building stronger families and
healthier relationships
Making prisons safer and
healthier
Supporting people to live
good lives after prison
Involving the people we serve
and enable them to speak
truth to power
Innovating and developing
evidence-based practice
Total expenditure		 Direct
staff
costs
£’000
252
5,291
1,705
952

199
306
8,705		 Other
direct
costs
£’000
66
860
275
155
33
49		 2025
£'000
333
26
359
Support
costs
£’000
9
197
64
35
7
11
323		 40
2024
£'000
399
114
513
Total
2025
£’000
327
6,348
2,044
1,142
239
366
10,466
1,438

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

3. Total expenditure (continued)

Comparative figures for the year to 31 March 2024 are as follows:

Comparative figures for the year to 31 March 2024 are
Direct
staff
costs
£’000
Raising funds
251
Charitable activities
Reducing re-offending by building
stronger families and healthier
relationships
5,941
Making prisons safer and healthier
1,646
Supporting people to live good lives
after prison
160
Involving the people we serve and
enable them to speak truth to power
187
Innovating and developing evidence-
based practice
595
Total expenditure
8,780
Net income/expenditure is stated after charging:
Depreciation
Auditor’s remuneration – audit fees		 s follows:
Other
direct
costs
£’000
45
1,185
301
29
34
109		 Support
costs
£’000
16
295
71
8
9
29
428
2025
£’000
21
3		 2024
Total
£’000
312
7,421
2,018
197
230
733
1,703 10,911
2024
£’000
20
4

Support costs includes governance costs of £29,000 ( 2024: £28,000 ), including staff costs of £8,000 ( 2024: £8,000 ) and audit fees of £21,000 ( 2024: £20,000 ).

4. Staff costs

Salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2025
2024
£’000
£’000
7,828
7,902
670
677
207
201
8,705
8,780

Salaries include redundancy and termination costs of £53,000 ( 2024: £21,000 ).

41

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

4. Staff costs (continued)

The average full-time equivalent number of employees was:

Charitable and development
Administration and fundraising		 2025
2024
No.
No.
209
208
27
24
236
232

The average headcount was 414 for the group ( 2024: 382 )

The number of employees who earned over £60,000 in the following range was:

2025 2024
No. No.
£90,001 - £100,000 1 1
£80,001 - £90,000 1 1
£70,001 - £80,000 2 2
£60,001 - £70,000 4 3

Pension costs of £31,000 (2024: £27,000) were incurred for these employees.

The senior leadership team over the year to 31 March 2025 had the following members:

Post

Post-holder

Chief Executive

Andrew Keen-Downs

Deputy Chief Executive

Ellen Green

Director of Finance & ICT

Director of Finance & ICT Director of Services

Director of Services

Director of Human Resources and Workforce Development

Director of Communications

Assistant Director of Services

Suzanne Davies (retired 31.07.2025) Andrew Gray (appointed 23.06.2025) Tina Parker (retired 31.03.2025) Karen Lloyd (appointed 24.03.2025)

Stephanie Stevenson (resigned 14.02.2025)

Nick Mann

Joanne Mulcahy

Remuneration and benefits paid to the senior leadership team during the year totalled £619,000 ( 2024: £616,000 ).

5. Trustees' remuneration

No member of the board received any remuneration during the year (2024: none).

During the year, 4 trustees received reimbursement of travel expenses amounting to £825 ( 2024: 4 trustees received reimbursement of £1,511) .

42

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

6. Taxation

All income received by Pact comes within the exemptions as set out in section 505 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 and Pact is therefore not subject to corporation tax.

7. Tangible fixed assets

Leasehold
improve-
ments
£’000
Cost
At 1 April 2024
40
Disposals
(40)
At 31 March 2025
-
Accumulated depreciation
At 1 April 2024
37
Charge for year
3
Disposals
(40)
At 31 March 2025
-
Net book value
At 31 March 2025
-
At 31 March 2024
3
Investments
At 1 April
2024
£’000
Dormant Subsidiary
1
Listed investments
429
430		 Office
furniture &
equipment
£’000
0
0
-
-
-
0
-
-
-
Acquisition
£’000
-
150
150		 Total
£’000
40
(40)

-
37
3
(40)

-

-
3
Net gains/
(losses)
At 31
March
2025
£’000
£’000
-
1
(5)
574
(5)
575

8. Investments

At the year end the following investments represented more than 5% of the total investments

CCLA Catholic Investment Acc Class 2
CCLA Deposit Fund Acc		 2025
2024
£'000
£'000
418
429
156
-
574
429

43

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

8. Investments (cont)

Pact Futures Community Interest Company (CIC) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pact, company number 9248698.

Balance sheet of Pact Futures CIC at 31st March

Total assets
Total liabilities		 2025
2024
£’000
£’000
1
1
-
-
1
1

9. Debtors

2025
£’000
Trade debtors
867
Prepayments and accrued income
348
1,215
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2025
£’000
Trade creditors
109
Social security & other taxes
239
Other creditors
36
Accruals
237
Deferred income
801
1,422		 2024
£’000
734
674
1,408
2024
£’000
254
240
37
230
600
1,361

10. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

The movement on deferred income relates to contracts for services to be provided on or after 1 April 2025, as follows:

At 1 April 2024
Released during the year
Deferred during the year
At 31 March 2025		 2025
2024
£’000
£’000
600
779
(323)
(574)
524
395
801
600

44

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

11. Unrestricted designated funds

The charity’s funds include the following designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes:

Fixed asset reserve
Development fund		 At 1 Apr
2024
£’000
3
54
57		 Funds
spent
£’000
-
-
-		 Transfer (to)
unrestricted
general
funds
At 31 Mar
2025
£’000
£’000

(3)
-

(54)
-
(57)
-

The fixed asset reserve represented the value of reserves attributable to tangible fixed assets and has been set up to assist in identifying those funds that are not part of free reserves.

The development fund was designated to invest in sustaining the quality of services delivered and providing the foundations of the next stages of Pact’s growth. This is being achieved by prudently investing in infrastructure to free up frontline practitioners to do what they do best in supporting prisoners and their families, which includes increased staff support on health and safety, data protection and human resources as well as finance system improvements. The funds have now been fully utilised in line with our corporate development plan to improve our effeciencies

12. Restricted funds

Early intervention support for
families (1)
Supporting families affected by
imprisonment (2)
Supporting children and young
people affected by imprisonment
(3)
Providing groupwork and learning
opportunities (4)
Supporting volunteering (5)
Furthering rehabilitation in prisons
and communities (6)
Providing welfare grants (7)
Supporting resettlement (8)		 At 1 Apr
2024
£’000
22
144
183
25
35
240
94
153
896		 Income
£’000
13
439
166
30
27
370
112
373
1,530		 45
Costs
At 31 Mar
2025
£’000
£’000
35
-
385
198
192
157
46
9
56
6
511
99
150
56
491
35
1,866
560

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

12. Restricted funds (continued)

Notes

46

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

12. Restricted funds (continued)

47

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

12. Restricted funds (continued)

48

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

12. Restricted funds (continued)

Full comparative figures for the year ended 31 March 2024 are as follows.

Early intervention support for families
Supporting families affected by imprisonment
Supporting volunteering
Providing welfare grants
Supporting resettlement
Furthering rehabilitation in prisons and
communities
Providing groupwork and learning opportunities
Supporting children and young people affected
by imprisonment		 At 1 Apr
2023
£’000
38
98
379
34
125
686
57
58
1,475		 Income
£’000
30
413
333
30
48
324
116
386
1,680		 Costs
£’000
46
367
529
39
138
770
79
291
2,259		 At 31 Mar
2024
£’000
22
144
183
25
35
240
94
153
896

49

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

13. Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Fixed assets
575
Current assets
1,783
Current liabilities
(1,422)
Long-term liabilities
-
Net assets
936
Comparative figures as at 31 March 2024 are as follows:
Fixed assets
433
Current assets
2,201
Current liabilities
(1,361)
Long-term liabilities
0
Net assets
1,273
Fund balances at 31 March 2025 are
represented by:		 Restricted
Total
funds
£’000
£'000
-
575
560
2,343
-
(1,422)
-
-
560
1,496
-
433
896
3,097
-
(1,361)
-
0
896
2,169

14. Financial and other commitments

As at 31 March 2025, Pact had total commitments under operating leases as follows:

Due within one year
Total
Due within one year
Total
Due within two to five years
Due within two to five years
Comparative figures as at 31 March 2024
are as follows:		 Property
£’000
16
0
16
Property
£’000
88
15
103		 Other
£’000
5
1
6
Other
£’000
2
0
2		 Total
£'000
21
1
22
Total
£'000
90
15
105

15. Share capital

Pact is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. Every member of the company guarantees to contribute a maximum of £10 on winding up, up to one year after ceasing to be a member.

The number of members as at 31 March 2025 was 11 (2024: 12).

16. Related party transactions

Aggregate donations received from Trustees were £ 3,440 (2024 £1,940). There were no further related party transactions during the current or preceding year.

50

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact)

Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

17. Reconciliation of net income to net cash inflow from operating activities

Net expenditure for the year
Add back depreciation charge
(Gains)/losses on investments
Deduct interest income shown as investing
activities
Decrease in debtors
(Decrease)/ increase in creditors		 2025
£’000
(674)
3
5
(19)
193
61
(430)		 2024
£’000
(611)
4
(68)
(37)
13
(52)
(751)

18. Comparative statement of financial activities (2023/2024)

Income from:
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Reducing re-offending by building stronger
families and healthier relationships
Making prisons safer and healthier
Supporting people to live good lives after
prison
Involving the people we serve and
enable them to speak truth to power
Innovating and developing evidence-
based practice
Total expenditure
Net gains on investments
Net (expenditure)
Funds brought forward at 1 April 2023
Funds at 31 March 2024		 Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
513
8,001
37		 Restricted
Total
Funds

£’000
£’000
-
513
1,680
9,681
-
37
1,680
10,231
-
312
1,596
7,421
414
2,018
42
197
49
230
158
733
2,259
10,911
-
68
(579)
(611)
1,475
2,781
896
2,170
8,551
312
5,825
1,604
155
181
575
8,651
68
(33)
1,306
1,273

51