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2023-03-31-accounts

ROYAL MENCAP SOCIETY

ANNUAL REVIEW APRIL 2022 to MARCH 2023

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ROYAL MENCAP SOCIETY ANNUAL REVIEW APRIL 2022 to MARCH 2023

Contents

Introduction
Foreword from Dame Carolyn Fairbairn DBE, chair 06
Refection on the year with Jack Welch, Chair, Voices Council 08
and Edel Harris OBE, CEO
Trustees report
This is Mencap 12
Trustees’ strategic report 14
Lever 1 22
Providing services that model our vision and ambitions
Lever 2 42
Campaigning for change
Lever 3 54
Supporting people with information and advice
Lever 4 60
Researching and evaluating complex issues and opportunities
Lever 5 64
Supporting people to build their own capabilities to fnd local solutions
Our people 82
Income generation and fundraising activities 86
Environmental impact 90
Our Structure, Governance and Management 96
Section 172 statement 101
Financial review 103
Statement of trustees’ responsibilities 112
Independent auditor’s report 113
Financial statements 116

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INTRODUCTION

Foreword

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn DBE, chair

I am immensely proud to have been appointed chair of Royal Mencap Society and promise to use my time in office to make a real difference. I was drawn to Mencap by its vision of the UK being the best place for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives, and by the freshness of its thinking. Mencap is a fantastic organisation that brings with it the heritage of 75 years of advocating for people with a learning disability, and continues to be driven by with as much passion as Judy Fryd and other parents had all those years ago.

Some of you may know that my sister Diana had a learning disability. She lived a joyful and happy life, latterly receiving wonderful care from Harpenden Mencap. I saw at first-hand what a difference the right support can make, and the importance of the relationships with her support team. Diana made a huge impact on everyone she met and brought joy to me and many others. Sadly, Diana’s life was cut short to the utter sadness of our family, her friends, and carers, and I gained some insight into the experiences that some people with a learning disability have of healthcare. I want everyone with a learning disability to live a happy life like Diana did, but I do not want them to have the same treatment that she had at the end of her life. Mencap has a proud history of campaigning on health and I will do all I can to support this. This will be a priority in 23/24 and we have already got off to a good start, by holding a summit on tackling health inequalities attended by senior health leaders including Amanda Pritchard, the Chief Executive of NHS England, and where we were joined by our royal patron, Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Edinburgh.

I have been impressed by Mencap’s determination to be led by people with a learning disability and see evidence of this in all its decision making. The Voices Council is formidable and goes from strength to strength, but I want to go further by increasing the number of trustees with a learning disability on our board. We recently won the Disability Board of the Year at an event recognising equity, diversity and inclusion within leadership and I hope that we can share our experiences and in some small way encourage others to be more inclusive.

As outlined in this report, Mencap also employs a growing number of colleagues with a learning disability and in increasingly senior leadership positions. Their contribution is immense, and they guide our organisation towards greater and greater inclusion. We want to go further and to encourage other employers to do the same. Our work research shows that most people with a learning disability want to work, but find the benefits system is a barrier. We also found that employers want to hire more people with a learning disability, but they aren’t sure about the reasonable adjustments they will need to make. These are clear challenges that Mencap can address, and I am very much looking forward to seeing our work strategy turned into action.

There is so much more I could say - celebrating Mencap’s many successes in the last year and looking forward to the year ahead. But I should also acknowledge the challenges of the past and the tough times we have in front of us. The cost-ofliving crisis was upon us before we had recovered from Covid and the challenges of operating as a social care provider are well documented and very real. I want to pay tribute to all our employees for their hard work over the last few years – you are inspirations. I also want to acknowledge how tough things are for you right now, and to assure you we are doing all we can to prioritise pay. First, we need to build a healthy financial foundation which will be hard work, but we have a clear plan. The one thing I do know from this last year is that the Mencap spirit is indomitable and will find a way to realise its vision come what may.

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Q&A o. Harry Roche, Digital Accessibility Officer “It’s essential interviews Jack Welch from our Voices a Agm, - ; Council about how people with a learning people with lived disability are driving Mencap’s work.

experience are at the centre of decision making.”

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Harry
Roche
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Our Voices Council is made up of people with a learning disability who advise and guide our priorities and decisions.

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Jack
Welch
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Harry Roche (HR): So why did you get involved in the Voices Council?

Jack Welch (JW): I feel it’s essential that people with lived experience are at the centre of decision making. That’s the main reason I joined. On a personal level I enjoy discussing matters around strategy, or Our Big Plan as we call it, organisational changes and influencing important decisions at board level.

HR: What makes the Voices Council so important to Mencap’s work?

JW: I think we have a significant role to ensure that the choices and direction of the charity have people with a learning disabilities’ direct input. We need people with lived experience who can use their own insights, and those of others in their local community, to do what’s in the best interests of people with a learning disability.

HR: How does it make you feel to be involved?

JW: I very much enjoy and take a lot of pleasure in the work that I do. It always gives me a great deal of satisfaction to be part of the discussions with Voices Council members in the room – especially when we meet in person. It’s always very productive during our meetings. People always have something to say. There’s never a quiet person or someone reluctant when it comes to adding their views.

HR: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing people with a learning disability?

JW: From my perspective, healthcare continues to remain a major problem at the national level. So people with a learning disability are facing difficulties getting their prescriptions, for example. That’s because there are sometimes shortages in pharmacies – and of course, pharmacies themselves are quite stretched nowadays. The whole system is stretched – you might end up going to the hospital if you can’t get access to other services in your local community. We know that there’s a low number of people registered to receive annual health checks. And I know Mencap is trying to put this right. But it remains quite a challenge.

HR: What’s the biggest thing readers can do to support people with a learning disability?

JW: I think people need to generally educate themselves. I know that sounds quite blunt! People can find out what life is like for those who have a learning disability by following them on social media. Some of us are quite active [on social media] – including me. They can also sign our petitions that support causes like getting people released from long-stay hospitals and cared for in the community. They can volunteer with Mencap and get involved in buddy schemes.

HR: What are you most proud of this year?

JW: We opened up the Voices Council recruitment process and so we have some new members – which is very exciting. They will bring all of their insights and knowledge about what life is like for them to our group. But we’ve also been part of recruiting a new chair for Mencap. We were very much involved in that interviewing process and selecting our preferred chairs. It was quite competitive!

Voices Council

HR: What most needs to change to make life better for people with a learning disability next year?

JW: That’s quite a tough question! But I think what’s most pressing is the number of people that need to be released from long-stay hospitals and reintegrated back into the community with the right package of support that’s closer to home. I think that is certainly the most urgent problem because many people have been in some of these hospitals for decades in certain cases.

HR: What’s your biggest hope for the year ahead?

JW: I certainly hope we can get a more diverse membership of the Voices Council to represent Mencap’s priorities around equity, diversity and inclusion. In itself that can be quite difficult to achieve, but we have a plan to make it happen and also bring the life experience of those people to the group where we are currently underrepresented.

HR: Finally, do you have a message for everyone who works for Mencap?

JW: Everyone who works at Mencap is doing a very significant job in improving the lives of people with a learning disability whether they’re offering frontline support or working in our back office. So the message is: thank you for what you do!

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Harry Roche (HR): What are you most proud of Mencap achieving this year?

Edel Harris (EH): Like a lot of charities, we’ve had another challenging year. But despite those challenges, we’ve held on to our vision: for the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives. I’m very proud of our campaigning work this year and the work we’ve done to support people with a learning disability and their families through the cost-of-living crisis.

How is the cost-of-living crisis affecting people with a learning disability?

EH: Everyone has been affected to some extent. But we know from our surveys and the calls to our helpline that people with a learning disability are impacted more severely. When you have a disability, there are often extra unavoidable costs. Benefits don’t always provide enough for someone to live on.

This year we’ve successfully campaigned for the minimum income guarantee to rise with inflation. This means many thousands of people with a learning disability who use social care services have more money to spend on essentials. And hopefully also money to spend on things that are important to them.

HR: How are you supporting people through the costof-living crisis?

EH: We’re doing a lot in this area. This year we launched our Priced Out and Forgotten campaign which includes working with Ofgem and energy providers direct.

To try and make energy more affordable for people on low incomes, we’ve been promoting the Priority Services Register. That’s a list of people who can get extra help with their electricity, gas and water bills. We’ve put a lot of focused and important accessible information on our website. For example, tips on how to save energy and keep warm.

Plus, our free learning disability helpline is always open for advice and support. Not just on the cost-of-living crisis, but on a whole range of issues people with a learning disability and their families and carers are concerned about.

HR: What’s the most surprising and interesting thing someone with a learning disability has told you about their experience this year?

EH: I love this question! I’ve met so many people with a learning disability, either people we support in England, Wales and Northern Ireland or colleagues like you, Harry. I spent time with our fabulous Treat Me Well

“We need to be led by people with a learning disability.”

Harry Roche, Digital Accessibility Officer, asks our CEO

Edel Harris, OBE about Mencap’s work during a very challenging year.

CEO Edel Harris, OBE

campaigners and some of our Mythbusters. Everyone has such an interesting life story to share. Sometimes these stories are harrowing, like when I spoke to some of the families of people with learning disabilities whose sons and daughters are still locked away in institutions like Muckamore Abbey in Northern Ireland.

But more often they’re inspiring stories – like spending time with Aaron Plummer. He swam the last mile of my swim challenge with me and then went on and ran the London Marathon to raise money for Mencap. And you, Harry, sharing your experience of working with Inclusion International.

HR: How is Mencap doing at recruiting people with a learning disability?

EH: In the non-social care part of our charity, about 6% of our workforce are people with a learning disability. But we can and should do better. We’ve now got an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategy and an action plan with some really great ambitions and targets for employing more people with a learning disability. We’ve

also strengthened the role of our Voices Council.

Plus, though they’re not employed in the same way as staff, we want to have more people on our board with a learning disability. We need to be a charity genuinely led by people with a learning disability. That’s why we have colleagues like you on our leadership team.

Although our Inclusion Consultants are not included in the 6% figure because they are relief rather than contracted staff they do great work with us on recruitment, informing policy and helping out with campaigning and we pay them for the work they do for us.We also commissioned people with a learning disability through a self advocacy group called My Life My Choice to review how personalised we are in our work.

HR: What more needs to be done to give people with a learning disability the opportunity to have paid work?

EH: Many people with a learning disability don’t have the same opportunities as everyone else to go into paid work. And it’s not just about getting a job. It’s about having a career and opportunities to learn, develop and grow once you have that job.

So this year, Mencap commissioned a company called The National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) to find out the reasons why so few people with a learning disability are in paid work. We co-produced the research with people with a learning disability and paid some of them to carry it out so they were really involved in the project. We found that 86% of the people with a learning disability who completed the survey didn’t have a paid job and said they’d like one. So it’s really important we change this – in our Big Plan, work is one of our priority themes. We’re starting with a new strategy and action plan we hope will help us target what we need to do to create positive change.

HR: What most needs to change to make lives better for people with a learning disability next year?

EH: There are lots of answers to that question, but I want to focus on social care. Not everybody who has a diagnosis of a learning disability gets social care, but most people do. Social care reform is one of the priorities in our Big Plan.

My biggest hope for this year is that we’ll get the social care reform that’s needed across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Despite the good will towards social care workers during the pandemic, we haven’t seen any real change. Politicians and senior decision-makers really need to invest in the wonderful work they do, starting by raising pay.

Social care should be valued as a profession. We also need to get on top of our recruitment and retention problems. Right now we have too many vacancies in Personal Support because the general public doesn’t seem to see a job in social care as a great career.

HR: What are you most excited about for the year ahead?

EH: Delivering our Big Plan. It includes things like working more with others, particularly our network partners, to create change. It’s about working in communities and with communities so they can decide what’s important to them.

It’s about delivering My Fund again to give money directly to people with a learning disability to change lives in their communities. It’s also about campaigning on our priorities: health inequalities, Homes Not Hospitals and social care reform. I’m excited about all of that!

HR: What’s your message for everyone at Mencap?

EH: It’s been a bumpy year – but it’s also been amazing. I often think about how hard all of our amazing colleagues and volunteers have worked and the incredible things we’ve done together to improve the lives of people with a learning disability and their families’.

Whatever your role, I want to offer a heartfelt thank you for all that you’ve done this year, despite the ups and downs. And I really look forward to working with you to achieve our vision for the UK to be the best place in the world to live a happy and healthy life if you have a learning disability.

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We asked… what would make you happier?

THIS IS MENCAP

“

We’re listening – and taking action

We want the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives.

What are we doing about it?

To achieve this, we listen carefully to our communities – and are led by what we hear.

Through the pandemic we worked hard to provide the right services and support. Now, we’re making sure everyone’s voices are heard to shape what comes next.

People with a learning disability still don’t have the same opportunities as everyone else. Too often people are denied the support they need, bullied online and often kept at hospital against their will.

doing research into important issues to create a positive impact and see real change

•

Listening and learning

This year, nearly 2,000 people with a learning disability got involved in our Big Learning Disability Survey. We’re incredibly grateful for their time letting us know what matters most in their lives.

The survey covered everything from discrimination to work – and what makes people happiest. We’ll use the information to work with the governments and public bodies in all 3 countries of the UK where we operate to make change and to guide our own work. That’s because we’re proud to be led by people with a learning disability. For more information, please see page 62.

[Working] on the train. This is my dream job.” (Male, 18–24 years)

“

A job. I lost mine after 20 years due to the Covid restrictions.”

(Male, 45–54 years)

“

More activities for people like me in my local area.”

(Female, 25–34 years)

This must all change. And we won’t stop until it does.

Join us.

What is a learning disability?

A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability which affects someone for their whole life.

People with a learning disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complicated information and interact with other people.

They might need help with some everyday tasks like socialising or managing money. A learning disability is nothing to do with mental health, although some people with a learning disability do also have mental health issues.

What the survey told us:

only 26.7% have a paid job

a quarter of people were married or in a relationship

Over 40% said there were times they didn’t go out in the past month because they were worried about something

over 4 in 10 (40.7%) had not had an annual health check in the last year

The most common reason was “people calling me names or bullying me” (14.7%) 22.4% said they do not have enough support

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in the last week
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66.4%
felt
happy
43.5%
felt
sad
ad
31.7%
felt
o Y
lonely
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(24.3%) nearly a quarter said they do not have enough money

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Trustees’ Report

This report incorporates the Directors’ Report and Strategic Report required by the Companies Act 2006.

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ROYAL MENCAP SOCIETY ANNUAL REVIEW APRIL 2022 to MARCH 2023

Trustees’ strategic report VIEW FROM OUR TRUSTEES

View from our trustees

After Covid-19 we had to take action. Action to support people with a learning disability who faced dramatic rises in fuel and food bills. And action for our colleagues – particularly those working in social care who were exhausted by their hard work during lockdown.

We came out of the pandemic eager to complete the next part of our Big Plan. But like many organisations, we were hit by economic challenges.

Social care is all about people – and people with learning disabilities rely on our brilliant, hard-working support colleagues. Unfortunately, like all social care providers, we face huge challenges recruiting and retaining workers. Without enough good people, we cannot deliver the support those with learning disabilities deserve and during the year we had our first ‘inadequate’ rating from the Care Quality Commission since 2016.

The rating has since improved to ‘Good’ on reinspection, but it is a wake-up call, and we are grateful to the CQC for making it.

This is the toughest time in social care that we have ever experienced. The whole sector needs more investment. We are lucky enough to have strong connections to Government, opposition parties and opinion formers and are making representations for more money and reform, as well as working alongside the Government.

We also took the difficult decision to stop piloting our new delivery model – designed to improve quality and raise support worker pay. Without enough people or funding, we couldn’t run it safely.

We came out of the pandemic eager to complete the next part of our Big Plan. But like many organisations, we were hit by economic challenges.

This year we will concentrate on workforce, quality and finance

Nearly 4,000 people with a learning disability and their families rely on us for support. We cannot let them down. If we do not get paid enough to run our services, we cannot pay people what they deserve. And if we cannot employ enough good people, this will impact on the quality of the care we provide. This means we must concentrate on recruitment and the wellbeing of our colleagues, working hard to improve the quality of our services and negotiating uplifts for our contracts so that we are financially stable. These will be our priorities in the next year.

We’re pleased to be able to share the impact our work has on individuals, communities and society.

We’ve also made good progress in other areas. Our leadership team has had intensive equity, diversity and inclusion training. This means that all leaders in the organisation have the knowledge and skills necessary to help make Mencap a truly fair and equitable organisation.

We’ve also reviewed our governance (how we’re run). You can read more about this on page 96. This means our Voices Council has greater power and will continue to be at the centre of decision making.

Despite this focus, we remain committed to our Big Plan and have made progress against our ‘levers’. Our new Evaluation and Monitoring Framework helps highlight the results of our work.

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ROYAL MENCAP SOCIETY ANNUAL REVIEW APRIL 2022 to MARCH 2023 17 =

This is what we said we’d do this year:

LEVER 1:

Providing Services

PROGRESS

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ACHIEVED
KEY
STILL WORKING TOWARDS
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GOOD PROGRESS BUT ACHIEVED STILL WORKING TOWARDS STOPPED

PROGRESS

LEVER 4:

Research and Evaluation

LEVER 2:

Campaigning for Change

LEVER 5:

Working with communities

LEVER 3:

THRIVING ORGANISATION:

Information and Advice

NOT YET, BUT WE CONTINUE TO OFFER SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE AS BEFORE

Focus on key areas

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ROYAL MENCAP SOCIETY ANNUAL REVIEW APRIL 202 12 to MARCH 202 23

This is what we will do next year as long as we have enough money:

LEVER 1:

LEVER 4:

Providing Services

LEVER 2:

Research and Evaluation

Campaigning for Change

LEVER 3:

LEVER 5:

Working with communities

THRIVING ORGANISATION:

Focus on key areas

Information and Advice

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LEVER 1 LEVER Providing services that Providing services that model our model our vision and ambitions vision and ambitions 1

4000 104

Nearly 4000 people with a learning disability get support through our social care services

We support 104 children in our Early Years Centre in Belfast and their families with parent support

Our colleagues have shown huge resilience this year.

Alongside the people they support, they’re still coping with the effects of Covid-19.

Some places are still in lockdown. And right up until a few days before Christmas 2022 all our support worker colleagues had to work in face masks (except in Wales). Many clubs, centres and day services never returned after the pandemic.

Some colleagues left when they had to have compulsory vaccinations. Others left because they were exhausted. But most stayed – determined to give their best to the people they support. Their passion and commitment is awe-inspiring.

In our last annual report, we talked about our new model of social care and how we were planning to pilot this way of working to improve quality and personalisation and to improve support worker pay. Sadly, pressures on our colleagues and the recruitment challenges in the social care sector meant that we had to stop the pilots.

Creative ways to support people

Our colleagues showed incredible creativity during lockdown. That continued as they found alternative ways for people to be involved safely in their communities, and set up new routines and activities. They’ve been fierce advocates for people to get the medical support they deserve.

It was much easier to go into lockdown than it’s been to come out. Especially when it can feel like the rest of the world has left some people behind. Our colleagues have worked hard to help people overcome anxiety about going back to public places. They’ve also helped people manage challenging behaviours which began as a result of lockdown.

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LEVER
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1
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Good and 93.6%

outstanding (and equivalent) 22/23 CQC

Wales O 2 inspections with no improvement recommendations

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163
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people we support have received a Personal Outcome Scale interview

Tackling the staffing crisis

Right now, attracting and keeping colleagues is the most difficult it’s been in decades. This has put our hard-working managers under huge pressure – with them often having to rely on agency staff to fill rotas.

People with a learning disability thrive when they know their support team well and there’s mutual understanding. We’re working hard to minimise the impact of using agency staff on the quality of care we provide, but it’s increasingly difficult. We cannot provide excellent care without enough support workers to deliver it.

We’re responding by increasing pay and focusing on recruitment [for more see People section on p82].

Together with our partners we lobbied the Welsh Government for a Real Living Wage to be introduced for all Social Care Wales-registered staff in 2022/23. This has continued into 2023/34. We desperately need the same in England and Northern Ireland. In the last few months we’ve started to see some promising improvements in recruitment, but the situation is still concerning.

Working closely with local authorities and NHS Trusts

Everything we do is about valuing and supporting people with a learning disability, and their families and carers. We don’t make a profit However, like any business or charity delivering a service on behalf of the state we need to ensure we are compensated adequately for what we do in order to keep the

organisation solvent and available for the future needs of our beneficiaries. Because we are spending more on agency staff this means more of our contracted work is operating at a deficit. We are now having to seriously consider handing back some contracts to the local authorities and NHS trusts that fund us. We will only do this as a last resort.

We’re urgently talking with local authorities and other commissioners to make sure we can continue to provide good quality support for people with a learning disability.

We understand local authorities and trusts have very tight budgets and there is an increasing need to support even more people with more complex needs. We’re committed to working in partnership with them to meet their aims but we need them to prioritise social care assessments and care packages for people with a learning disability

Working to give people what they want, not just what they need.

We are continuing to develop the use of the Personal Outcome Scale to measure people’s quality of life and help them identify areas they want to improve. This internationally recognised tool covers 8 different areas of people’s lives and allows the person to make decisions themselves about how they want to live their life. This year 163 people we support have received a Personal Outcome Scale interview and as a result have a very personalised and measurable care and support plan.

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LEVER
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1

Bringing families together

People with a learning disability deserve the same opportunities as everyone else. And that includes spending time with the people they care about. For example, our team in Southfields hold weekly get-togethers where everyone is invited to come together and have fun. The people we support and their families love spending this quality time together. One Dad told us it was wonderful having dinner regularly with his son and seeing how he leads a fulfilled life.

Green fingers

This year James has been keeping himself busy - becoming more independent, healthy and active, and learning new skills in gardening.

He attends a weekly gardening group where he has learnt how to handle a hedge cutter and other machinery safely, and all about health and safety in the workplace. He also has a greenhouse at home and this year has grown lots of vegetables (potatoes, onions, elephant garlic, tomatoes, cauliflowers). James enjoy being in the garden, chilling out and listening to the radio on his seated arbour. James is a keen cook and very good too – he studied catering at college. He uses the food he grows to cook meals; from his tomatoes he has made lots of salads and bolognese sauce. Cooking is James’ pride and joy and gives him something to focus on and he loves making meals for the people he lives with.

This year James has lost over 2 stone in weight. He has been following healthy recipes, going to the local gym and having lessons to learn how to swim.

Part of a community

Phil wants to live his life as independently as he can and part of that involves him volunteering at a museum, Tudor House.

He has been volunteering for over 3 years. He shows visitors around the house, tells them about the history, the importance of the objects in the house and local history about Southampton.

His favourite part of the role is meeting new people and feeling like he is doing his bit for the community. He receives a lot of compliments from the visitors. This year he got to show reporters around Tudor house and it was a personal highlight for him.

Partying with Rosie

Independence changes lives

Keith has a severe learning disability and used to struggle living in supported accommodation with other people. Now he’s living life to the fullest in his own flat with 24-hour support. Before his move Keith didn’t want to shave or shower and kept on waking during the night. He also selfharmed: biting his arms and hands every day.

When a flat came up, we arranged a meeting for Keith to discuss a move with people responsible for his care. After follow-up assessments and safety checks Keith moved in.

The new flat suits him much better. Keith’s biting has stopped, he regularly washes and sleeps much better. We are currently supporting Keith to reduce his anxiety medication.

It’s not every day you turn 70! Our team worked with Rosie Church to make her birthday as special as possible. She spent weeks planning a party with her support team – finding a DJ, the venue and choosing decoration. Rosie went out with her support team to buy supplies and send invitations.

Her birthday cake was a surprise. It was baked and decorated by her friend Caroline, who we also support. Rosie was over the moon when she saw it. On the big day she celebrated with friends in her local community and family she hadn’t seen for 20 years, who we helped her find. She loved the party and wasted no time hitting the dancefloor.

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LEVER 1

Artworks

Tracey loves arts and crafts and has been supported to go to an artwork group twice a week for a number of years, she does a variety of activities and projects there.

A lot of her work has been used in art displays. This year one of Tracey’s pieces was noticed by a member of the public and this person wanted to buy it. When Tracey found out she was so happy. It is an incredible achievement for her.

Tracey’s support team are all very proud of what she has achieved this past year. Tracey’s confidence has really grown as she continues to express herself through her work.

Forest the reds

Mathew is an avid football fan and regularly attends Nottingham Forest football matches.

Team spirit

In August, Essex had 63mm of rain in 3 hours which caused flooding. Unfortunately, one of our properties was flooded. Four people we support, including someone with mobility needs, lived in the property and the local team urgently had to find the people we support a new place to live. Through dedication, commitment and excellent teamwork they managed to do just that. 24 hours later the people we support were in a new house and happily doing a jigsaw together.

In February Matthew was on the TV highlights programme when Nottingham Forest played against Brentford. After that he was recognised in the local chip shop that he calls at before the matches, was fist pumped from another fan at the ground and another fan bought him a hot chocolate at half time.

Mathew absolutely loves going to the football but becoming recognisable has brought a welcome bit of fame making it all even better.

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Employment

Helping people into work

In England, we provide supported internships, study programmes and trainee schemes to help people with a learning disability into work. Living through the pandemic has had a lasting impact on our students. Many lost independence and skills and were anxious about leaving their homes and mixing with other people. As a result, their ambitions and aspirations have suffered.

We’ve responded to all the recommendations in our Ofsted report so we can improve our courses and showcase the quality of our programmes. Some of this is practical, other parts are about ensuring our governance mirrors that of a school or college.

Key actions are:

We never refuse support to anyone with a learning disability. But because we’re a charity, local authorities sometimes refer people with the most complex needs to us, rather than people who could benefit most from our programmes. This is a major challenge.

In response we’ve introduced more careful recruitment and selection to find the people who will benefit most. We’re also working on ways to guide people who aren’t right for our programmes to other support.

2022/23 academic year we had:

157 Supported Internships

42 Study Programme Learners.

63

Traineeship learners supported.

39%

of learners on a Supported Internship moved into paid work.

62% of learners on our trainee schemes moved into paid work

6% moved into further education.

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Shannon

Maddie

Maddie completed our supported internship programme in 2022 and is now excelling in her paid job with Greene King.

Bradley

Bradley was part of our supported internships programme working at Travis Perkins, helping customers with finding items, and making sure things are priced and stored correctly.

Bradley worked so hard and did such a good job, that he and his manager won employee of the month. The team at Travis Perkins were really supportive and knew how much Bradley loves Harry Potter, so to celebrate his amazing achievement they got him two tickets to the Warner Bros Harry Potter Tour.

Shannon was recognised in March 2022 at the Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust’s Excellence Awards.

As part of her supported internship, Shannon completed a placement at Kettering General Hospital through the NHS’ Volunteer to Career scheme. After being shortlisted from hundreds of nominations, Shannon won the Inspirational Volunteer of the Year Award which ‘celebrates our volunteers who go the extra mile to support our patients, staff and visitors’.

Reflecting on the award, Shannon’s parents said:

We can’t thank Mencap enough for all the support they have given us and Shannon. It’s absolutely amazing to see what a different young lady she’s become in such a short period of time and we are so proud of her.

She recently received very positive feedback from a customer at the pub where she works:

Tom

Even though the place is very busy, waiting times are minimum. Maddie took care of us today and we can’t fault the service.

Maddie’s manager was thrilled with this feedback and as a result, she received a badge for exceptional customer service.

Sometimes our learners require employers to make certain adjustments to work placements to ensure their success.

This applied to Tom, who was part of our supported internships programme. Tom initially found his placement with Tesco quite challenging due to the size and busyness of the store he was placed in.

Mencap therefore arranged for Tom to move to a smaller store more local to him which he was already familiar with. Tom’s confidence grew considerably, he was passionate about his placement and loved talking about it with his peers. Tom’s Mencap job coach reported on one shift where Tom helped 5 customers find items in the store and that his manager was very pleased with his work.

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Niaz

Niaz was part of Employ Me programme and was successful in securing a full time paid job with delivery company, Ocado.

Niaz previously spent a lot of time in hospital prior to the COVID-19 lockdown which further effected his physical and mental health. Niaz had tried to undertake a supported internship during this time but had been unable to complete his placement due to his health.

Niaz’s family reached out to Mencap for help. We supported him to apply for a freedom pass and PIP, as well as helping with his housing situation, so we could then start to effectively address his employment situation. We then provided support to develop Niaz’s CV and to prepare him for interviews, attending 5 interviews with him, before he secured the job with Ocado.

Lewis

Lewis was part of our supported internships programme and he had a work placement as a network engineer with Virgin Media. Reflecting on the placement, Lewis said:

Everyone has been so welcoming at Virgin Media since I have started my work placement. I enjoy being out in the van and learning new things like scoping which is when you check inside wires to see if they are dirty. If they are dirty, then I have to clean them out. Before my work placement I never wanted to do my driving lessons and now I do. I’d like to get an apprenticeship with Virgin Media and paid employment.

John Lewis

Our traineeships team and learners have continued to deliver incredible outcomes this year. In November we had fantastic news that 5 of our 6 learners completing their 16-week placements at Clipper John Lewis in Northampton were offered paid jobs.

Renee, Jack, Josh, Charlie, Andrew and George all really enjoyed their placement and can’t wait to continue developing their careers.

We are continuing to work with Clipper John Lewis.

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Employment in Northern Ireland

Employability 3

This year in Northern Ireland we ran an employment project called Employability 3, which was funded by European Social Fund (ESF).

The project aimed to support people with a learning disability to build their skills and confidence to progress towards and into employment. The project focused on matching interests and abilities to work placements.

This year we implemented following activities:

Northern Ireland

Employability 3

This year we supported:

275

people on our EmployAbility3 ESF service, most of whom were on work placement

24

trainees have left to take up sustainable paid employment

48

more have gone on to Further Education or training

Workable Northern Ireland service

Without the help of Mencap, I do not know where I would be. My mum no longer worries about me at work, as she knows I have the support of my Employment Officer who is a call away when I need her. I would encourage anyone with a learning disability to contact Mencap, they have given me back my zing for life.

Workable Northern Ireland service offers a flexible range of long-term support to help disabled people who have barriers to employment to find and keep work. When someone with a disability has been offered paid employment of at least 10 hours per week, they can be supported on the ‘Workable NI’ programme, which is currently funded by the Department for Communities.

The Programme is delivered across Northern Ireland through the Supported Employment Solutions (SES) partnership, in which Mencap NI is one of the seven specialist partner organisations. Frontline staff are employed to work with clients on the programme to assist them to overcome barriers in the workplace and retain their paid employment. Staff also offer support, guidance and any required awareness training to employers.

Workable Northern Ireland service

This year we supported:

55 15 employees with a learning disability, through Workable NI, to retain paid work of at least 10 hours per week.

of these left this service during the year, of which 8 progressed to either another job or unsupported employment.

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Derek secured his first paid job as a casual cleaner for the local council in 2019, and kept up his hours there after he secured his first permanent, part-time job for a housing association. Derek enjoyed his work so much that when a permanent vacancy came up for a cleaner in the council, he jumped at the chance to apply. Mencap NI supported Derek with lots of interview preparation, and due to his hard work and determination, he was successful on his second attempt. Derek is looking forward to a long career with ABC council, telling us,

When I got the letter to say I got the job I was

really happy, I love my

job and enjoy working for the council, I am meeting new people every day and I hope to get more hours in the future.

Now that Derek is working 15 hours consistently, he is supported by Mencap on the ‘Workable NI’ programme, and we will provide. him with further

Supporting young children and families in Northern Ireland

Getting the right support early on ensures better lives for children no matter what their background, ability or disability. In Northern Ireland we support two-to-three-year-old children with developmental delay and their families in partnership with the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) through our Royal Mencap Society Children’s Centre.

We see children often before they’re diagnosed with a learning disability and give them the right support to develop and be their best alongside an expert team of nurses, therapists, paediatricians and social workers. Our Children’s Centre aims to provide a stimulating, caring and therapeutic play environment, working in a multi-disciplinary approach. Colleagues use a variety of strategies and evidence-based approaches to meet every child’s individual learning needs.

We offered care and learning through play and therapy opportunities to ensure the children can reach their potential outcomes. Our staff used a variety of strategies and evidence-based approaches including Attention Autism, Elkan, Tac Pac, PECs, Makaton, TEACCH that met children’s individual learning needs

104 children

worked with - 52 children in the academic year 2021/22 and 52 children in the academic year 2022/23

A Quality of Care Inspection Report from January 2023 indicated that “the environment was observed to encourage positive behaviour, and promote children’s social and emotional wellbeing”, and “staff interactions with the children were observed as warm, encouraging, child centred, promoting the development of children’s self-confidence, selfesteem, self-control, and tolerance.” The Mencap Children’s Centre for the second year has received no recommendations for improvement, recognising the outstanding service that is provided.

Of 38 respondents to the Children Centre evaluation report of the academic year 2021/2022, 100% of families agreed/totally agreed with the following statements:

“Overall, the Children’s Centre has been beneficial in supporting my child’s early learning and development.”

“I felt fully informed and could contribute to my child’s learning goals.”

“My child has made positive progress at the Mencap Centre.”

“I felt all staff were fully qualified to meet the individual needs of my child.”

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Mencap summer scheme in Northern Ireland

In 2022 Mencap Summer Scheme offered children and young people in the Belfast Trust area an opportunity to enjoy leisure experiences with their peers. Mencap’s scheme provided necessary respite for families during the summer period. The scheme provided children with opportunities for socialising and learning, and this year applied flexibility to ensure that activities could be tailored to individual needs.

Parents/carers continued to report feeling confident about leaving their child with us and appreciated the programme and the benefits for their child. Of 27 respondents to our post-survey, 100% of parents/carers agreed that their child had a fun and stimulating experience while attending the activities.

“Ellis loves this place better than anywhere, he is always eager to get in and enjoy the centre. The staff are brilliant with him and know exactly how to work with him and he loves them all. When I was told he had a place on the summer scheme, I was delighted and so grateful as I know how much this place helps him and I always see positive change in him after, thank you for everything.” (not real name)

Early Intervention programme Early Learners

All of the children attending were referred to the Children’s Centre for a year placement, however due to the large number of referrals received some applications were placed on the children centres waiting list.

“I think everything has been excellent, The range of activities and home resources given, and the structured set up has been so beneficial for my son and hopefully has prepared him for nursery.”

children and families worked with 17

Bright Start Holiday Scheme Events

This year was the first time we were able to offer an extended programme of delivery during term time holidays for young people aged 10-18, as well as to our younger age group.

children/young people supported and we had a total of 140 attendances over the 3 holiday periods

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We provided a safe inclusive space for children/young people to interact socially with others and meet new people. We were able to provide opportunities for the young people to engage in youth-based activities, for the first time, as an introduction to Mencap’s youth provision as well as participating in activities during term holidays that have never been offered before.

“I was really glad of the opportunity to go and do simple tasks such as food shopping and Christmas shopping whilst my child was attending the scheme.”

people were supported across Northern Ireland to live independently in their own homes.

Housing in Northern Ireland

We worked alongside 3 Health and Social Care Trusts and their teams of Allied Health Professionals to enable people with a learning disability to live in their own home.

73 people were supported across Northern Ireland to live independently in their own homes. During the year, 7 new people moved into their own home.

The services had 4 housemate vacancies in comparison to 11 at the start of the year. We worked closely with Health and Social Care Trusts to generate referrals to fill the vacancies as quickly as possible.

A number of the people we support had positive behaviours support plans in place. 8 people were supported to build positive behaviours to enable them to live a happy and healthy life. We maintained a register of restrictive practices and worked closely with multi-disciplinary teams to have the least restrictive practice in place that we can.

“I’m very happy with the support GD gets, he is well looked after and has everything he needs and I’m pleased with his progress.”

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We do everything we can to campaign alongside people with a learning disability for change.

That includes talking to the 3 governments in the countries Mencap operates in, raising awareness everywhere – from TV to social media – and amplifying our supporters’ voices to change the minds of people in power.

We start by understanding what people with a learning disability need to live better. We listen carefully to the people on our Voices’ Council, communities we work with and those that ask for our help, to put their needs first.

People with a learning disability lead our campaigning work.

We never give up – even when times are tough.

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In addition we have:

Fighting for homes not hospitals

Right now around 2,000 people with a learning disability and/or autistic people are locked up in inpatient mental health hospitals in England. This is a human rights scandal.

The UK Government set a target to reduce this number by half by March 2024. Based on the current rate of progress, a 50% reduction won’t be achieved until at least August 2028.

Some people with a learning disability are locked away for many years because there is a lack of housing and support in the community.

This year we have supported:

13 21 new existing families families

with loved ones in inpatient mental health hospitals or at risk of admission

helped families tell their stories in the media. This included Alison Rogers (pictured left) whose son Adam who has a learning disability and autism, has spent half of his life locked away inside inpatient mental health hospitals for ‘treatment’. Adam is currently detained at Rampton Hospital - a highsecure unit and psychiatric hospital.

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harnessed their stories to create hard-hitting media coverage,

media coverage, including exclusives on ITV national news, in the Daily Mail and on BBC Woman’s Hour

kept MPs focused on the problem in parliament and responded to the government’s Building the Right Support strategy

broke down data showing how much needs to be done a year before the deadline – and what’s working.

£177,000 We funded Access Social Care to provide this legal support

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Supporting everyone’s health and wellbeing

People with a learning disability have a much lower life expectancy

than everyone else. We campaign hard to ensure people with a learning disability have the same chance to live a longer and fuller life.

Getting more people on the Learning Disability Register in England helps improve health. In 2021/22, 338,195 people were on the register (latest figures available).

We supported Paula McGowan OBE to successfully campaign to introduce mandatory training on autism and learning disabilities for all health and care professionals in England. We worked with key politicians to get the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training into the recent Health and Care Act.

We also got involved in testing the training. We wanted to prove that in order for the training to have the greatest impact it needs to be face-to-face and include a co-trainer with lived experience of a learning disability. We also worked with Health Education England to help experts train others so the training reaches more frontline staff in the most effective way.

We are determined to make sure that people with a learning disability are heard by the Covid Inquiry. We were disappointed to be refused core participant status for module 3, but will continue to work as constructively as possible to provide a platform for people’s voices.

This year we also:

• Reached more people with a learning disability and their families in Black and Asian communities. We worked with community groups and produced materials in languages other than English. We also promoted the register in pharmacies and targeted communications at staff working in GP surgeries to encourage them to promote it to patients. We need better data from the NHS so we can target our resources more accurately.

• Launched ListenToUs: our mental health campaign demanding that the mental health needs of people with a learning disability aren’t forgotten after Covid-19. This included lobbying to open up day services so that people with a learning disability can reconnect with others in their communities.

• Set up a Learning Disability Policy Shapers Group to look at what more we can do to improve the health of people with a learning disability. Policy Shapers is made up of people with lived experience.

338,195 people were on the Learning Disability Register in 2021/22 (latest figures available)

Life expectancy is improving, but not fast enough.

SOURCE: (LEDER, 2021)

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Fighting for social care in the cost-of-living crisis

People with a learning disability and their families have been hit hard by the cost-ofliving crisis and cuts to social care.

We conducted a survey around cost of living on our website and many said they had been worried about money recently, often going to great lengths to manage rising costs.

The number of adults with a learning disability in receipt of social care in England dropped by 2,865 between 2019/20 and 2021/22, from 155,400 to 152,535 people. Local authorities tell us they don’t have enough money for anything beyond essential services. We’re concerned this will mean people with moderate needs get their care packages slashed, cutting the support they need to live independently and get through the cost-of-living crisis.

Planned changes to social care focus on older people’s needs and do nothing for those with a learning disability. In fact, we fear that learning disability provision may be cut to fund changes for older people.

We campaigned alongside other disability charities and groups of disabled people to scrap care contributions from disabled adults. We didn’t succeed but the campaigning sparked lots of debate in the House of Lords.

We successfully campaigned for the Minimum Income Guarantee (the minimum income people can live on) to rise with inflation. We also highlighted the problem of people with a learning disability who claim benefits having to contribute towards their care packages. For some people, this meant choosing between heating, eating and care.

The number of adults with a learning disability getting social care in England dropped by

2,865

People with a learning disability often use a lot of electricity and gas to meet their needs. We continue to call for a lower ‘social tariff’ (bill) for energy and to help more people to get access to the Priority Services Register.This is a free service that makes sure extra help is available to people in vulnerable situations.

Thames Water now use our Easy Read guide to help their customers to get on the register. We’ve also been working with people like Ofgem, British Gas and Octopus Energy to help them meet the needs of people with a learning disability, including providing easy-to-understand information.

People with a learning disability:

35% reported that they had skipped meals to cut back on costs

38% said they hadn’t put the heating on despite being cold

26% reported not switching the lights on to save money

Parents and guardians of people with a learning disability:

52% reported not putting the heating on when cold

30% reported not switching the lights on to save money

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Helping more people into work

Many people with a learning disability face huge barriers to getting work. We’ve been campaigning to help make it easier.

According to UK Government figures, only 4.8% of people with a learning disability have a paid job. Our Big Learning Disability survey results suggest that that figure is higher at 27%. Even at 27% it is way behind other disabled people (52.6%) and the rest of the country (82.5%).

We hope the Disability and Health White Paper will reassure people with a learning disability that their benefits won’t be taken away if they do temporary or part-time work. We’ll continue to work with the UK Government on this important legislation.

Through the Work and Pension Committee we recommended the government automatically gives people a copy of their Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Work Capability Assessments (WCA) in a format they can easily understand. We also recommended claims are assessed by people with specialist knowledge of learning disabilities. Both recommendations are included in the White Paper.

We also got involved in research on disabled people’s experience of hybrid working. We were successful is asking Government for increased funding for job coaches through Access to Work, and for simplified digital applications.

We campaigned for more funding for apprentices with a learning disability and more flexibility for people around English and Maths qualifications. We also tested out internships for people with a learning disability without an Education, Health and Care Plan.

We held workshops run together with a person with a learning disability for JobCentre Plus work coaches.

Government figures:

4.8% with a learning disability have a paid job

Our Big Learning Disability survey:

27% with a learning disability have a paid job

52.6% other disabled people have a paid job

82.5% the rest of the country

Working together

We campaign with organisations including:

We are currently supporting the Care and Support Alliance with the development of policy objectives and an influencing strategy to bring the sector together ahead of the General Election.

—

This year the Disabled Children’s Partnership has:

Maintained a high profile for the experiences of families with disabled children with:

164 media pieces and more than 20 questions asked in Parliament

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Campaigning in Northern Ireland

In March 2023 we led on a high profile campaign to raise our concerns about the ending of the European Social Fund. Our campaign was focused on highlighting the issue that the UK Government replacement fund (UKSPF) was not “like for like” funding and would not allow people farthest from the labour market with a disability to access employment support.

Our campaigning got us a special feature on Channel 4 News, BBC The View, ITV News. As well as many features in press including the Belfast Telegraph. We had meetings with Cross-Party Representatives on the issue as well.

Our local offer will include:

Activism

Next year we will launch an activism strategy that will aim to build a learning disability movement and enable anyone to be an everyday activist.

We will do this by continuing to campaign at a society level to influence policy and we will enable communities to campaign for change they want to see locally, building on our asset-based approach to community led development – we call this community activism.

Catherine’s campaigning

I have also been working with the learning disability matron at the hospital to give training to staff who want to know more about learning disability. The people we trained then become known as learning disability champions. This means they have more information about learning disability and can help people better.

My name is Catherine Horbury and I live in Wakefield in West Yorkshire.

Mencap has a campaign called Treat Me Well which is about people working for equal hospital care for people with a learning disability. I am chair of the local Treat Me Well group and we have been working with the local hospital to make sure peoples voices are heard.

I am really proud that we have worked with the surgical team in the hospital to create a pathway for people with a learning disability who are on the GP learning disability register. This means that they do not have to wait more than 8 weeks for surgery and it is the first NHS trust in the country to do this.

As part of this we have helped to get more learning disability staff and have worked with other people on a red bag scheme. This is a bag that has essential items and information for people with a learning disability that they take to hospital when they go in. I have also been to parliament to talk to MPs about Treat Me Well in Wakefield.

I also work as a peer support worker for people with a learning disability in a hospital. As part of my job I go onto the wards to meet people with a learning disability and help people to speak up and tell us what they need.

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Supporting people with information and advice 3

Supporting people with information and advice in England

Interactions

Online help

Enquiries

8619 Counted each time a person has a new enquiry

57,063 406,731

Counted each time clients Counted as unique visitors contact us, we contact to the information and them, or we take action advice pages on our on their behalf website

We provide people with the information and advice they need for all areas of their lives.

This year we’ve worked hard to improve how we do this. That includes having more people on our helpline, putting more information online and finding better ways to take and track enquiries. For example, we can now offer calls in Gujerati and Urdu and have a new translation service to support more families whose first language isn’t English.

People need more in-depth advice than ever before to help with complex situations. Helpline calls now last an average of seven to ten minutes, up from three to five minutes last year.

Helping Maya escape bad housing

Maya’s* home life was causing her huge problems. When she rang our helpline, she was living in a massively overcrowded house with a parent and several siblings. This was badly affecting her mental health, on top of her learning disability.

On the call we discovered she’d already been to her local council. They’d given her forms, but not told her how to complete them.

We realised she was technically homeless and that the council had a clear duty to help her. So, the adviser let her know who to contact, what they should do to help and how to support her claim.

A few days’ later she let us know she’d successfully made an application to the council. This meant she’d got temporary accommodation until they could find a more suitable place for her to live.

Maya now has permanent accommodation after we helped with an Ombudsman complaint. (*Not real name)

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Helping people survive the cost-of-living crisis

Sadly, it’s no surprise many people called about money and benefits. In response to the cost-ofliving-crisis, and thanks to the British Gas Energy Trust, we have 2 new information and advice officers on our Helpline, including a dedicated digital hub. We can also give energy vouchers to people with a learning disability that qualify and help others get vital benefits.

Our advice has stopped at least one person with a learning disability being made homeless. We’ve also helped someone else escape a harmful living situation.

Since October 2022, when the helpline’s money and energy offer went live – the team have helped with 329 enquiries from 327 individuals related to cost of living, 275 of these enquiries were of a complex nature. We issued 26 fuel vouchers to families in immediate fuel crisis.

Making our information accessible for everyone

Everyone should be able to get information online. So we’re working hard to make our website fully accessible. This includes commissioning some new research to help us do this and sharing it with other organisations to help them do the same. We’re talking to the Government about how best to do this.

We’ve worked with with law firm Irwin Mitchell, to produce videos and accessible resources for our information and advice hub.

530 Easy Read documents sent out helping people receive accessible information.

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Of those advised the top 10 main enquiry areas were:
What did people ask us?
ONE TWO THREE
Social Care General Disability Money/Benefits
1276 438 433
FOUR FIVE SIX
Diagnosis Mental Capacity Concern for Welfare
323 304 236
SEVEN EIGHT NINE
Housing SEN Employment
233 213 197
TEN
We funded Access Social Care to take 86 cases involving
Health
people who were wrongly locked up in Assessment and
Treatment Units.
We referred 9 cases of avoidable deaths to Rachel’s Voice.
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The Wales Learning Disability Helpline

Our service in Wales is funded by the Welsh Government until March 2025. We co-produce our service with users – they’re equal partners.

We won a tender to provide preventive support for people with a learning disability in Carmarthenshire. This will offer significant information and advice. We’re also looking at combining our information and advice offer with support for parents.

The Wales Learning Disability Helpline responded to 1019 enquiries, 33% of those enquiries were from parents and carers. 28% of enquiries were multi layered with added complexity requiring additional case work support.

The top 5 reasons why people contacted the Wales Learning Disability Helpline were:

1.[emotional support ]

2.[signposting ]

3.[issues with Local Authority ]

4.[health issues ]

5.[money & finance ]

We are proud to provide a muchneeded service and help people make informed decisions.

“Well we’ve done it - thanks to you. It was well worth pursuing what we knew was a wrong decision in the first place. It’s pretty poor that you can’t rely on the people who should know what they are doing to make the right decision. I am very grateful to you, Mencap and your advisors for making them aware of their own guidelines.”

“Thank you so much for your prompt reply and guidance. I didn’t know who to contact so this is really helpful. I really appreciate it”

“As you are aware Lewis* died in November 2022 and over the years Mencap have provided advice and support to us and Lewis. It initially started when he was at special school, then as part of his support. Latterly the support was to us when he had time in hospital. As we are nearly over clearing up his estate we would like to make a donation in memory of Lewis and to support the work of Mencap into the future”

*Not real name.

“You and me, we’ve been through this together, I’ve been able to share my problem with you and I’m so grateful. I feel like I’m nearly there now.” = “Thank you very much for such a comprehensive answer to my query and indeed for taking so much time on the phone with me yesterday. I have already started the UC application and no doubt the forms and process will be as tiresome as it was for PIP but it’s a necessary evil I suppose and I’m perfectly well equipped to deal with them and whatever else they throw our way. Keep up the fight and many thanks again for taking the trouble to offer us a solution of which we were unaware.”

This is a selection of comments made by some of the people we have been able to help and advise this year:

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LEVER Researching and evaluating complex issues 4 and opportunities

We specialise in making research accessible to people with a learning disability.

We co-create our research projects with our Research Champions, use specialist accessible survey tools and open up research opportunities to tens of thousands of people with a learning disability across our network.

This is a specialist activity – simply sending out an online survey does not work for our audiences and as a result of organisations not using inclusive research methods, the voice of people with a learning disability is often excluded.

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“I’d like to live in my own home, or maybe shared with people my own age, with the support I need.”

“Don’t wrap us up in cotton wool! Everyone should be given the opportunity and choice to achieve the things they want in life. Making assumptions must stop.”

“I hardly have any money to live on after my care top-up has gone out. I have to pay for activities for myself and two carers to keep me safe due to my high needs. Haircuts, toiletries, clothes, shoes and petrol for journeys to see my family every week all has to come out of the £25 I have left.”

“They made me wait [a long time] in the waiting room. This made me distressed – and I became agitated at my appointment.”

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Mencap’s Big Learning Disability Survey

Beating barriers to work

The National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTI) promote inclusion and equality for people who might be excluded from everyday life. We’ve asked them to find out what stops people with a learning disability trying to get a job, training, volunteering or taking part in meaningful activities. They’ll also find out what support employers need to employ more people with a learning disability.

We want a world where people with a learning disability are valued, listened to and included. That’s why we launched Mencap’s Big Learning Disability Survey. Through the survey, people with a learning disability shared their experiences of everyday life and let us know what mattered most to them. We’ll use what they say to help guide our campaigns, services and direction. This way we can make decisions based on the evidence: what people with a learning disability think is most important.

We’ll share the results with the 3 Governments of the countries Mencap operates in, employment and training providers and organisations, employers and employer bodies. The findings will also shape our own work.

We co-produced the survey with people with a learning disability. This meant they had a big say in how it was designed and run.

Inspiring communities

1972 people got involved in our survey, 347 more than the last one we did in 2019.

the last one we did in 2019. During the year we set up a Learning Disability Community of Interest for academics, experts, lawyers, care providers and others to come together 2022 1972 people and talk about what interests them. We run the group, but they decide the subjects and speakers. Sessions 2019 1625 people Po have covered everything from parents with a learning disability, to co-production and supporting young adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

3.[The most popular things people said ] would make their lives better were:

What we found:

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Dan Newton – Research & Impact Assistant at Mencap

My job is to support with research projects, data analysis and writing up findings in an accessible way. I helped to co-produce Mencap’s Big Learning Disability Survey in 2022 and worked on some of the analysis. I am a big fan of data, and I really enjoy looking at the data, seeing what it means and what impact it is having. The team are very supportive and the work that we do is important to Mencap and making sure we are working towards Our Big Plan.

It makes a difference having people with a learning disability in Mencap’s Research and Impact team because we can help to make sure things are accessible and inclusive. My proudest achievement was applying for my first full time job role and being successful. I am proud to work for Mencap because I respect their values and believe we are making a difference to people with a learning disability.

Research is important because it helps us understand what people with a learning disability think. This helps Mencap to support people and make more of a difference.

1.[Over 40% of people ] had not had an 40%

annual health check in the last year.

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getting a more personal having friends
2. [Over 40% said there were times ]
paid job support and socialising
they didn’t go out in the last
month because they were
worried about something.
The most common reason
was “people calling me m im
names or bullying me”
tackling sorting out the having greater =o
discrimination cost-of-living crisis independence
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LEVER 1 LEVER Supporting people Providing services that to build their own model our vision and ambitionscapabilities to find local solutions 5

Every community has its own unique strengths. Our community work is about identifying and building on these strengths and supporting people to make communities accessible for everyone.

It’s exciting, challenging and takes time. But the result is lasting positive change for people with a learning disability. In our first year we focused on finding communities and working with local people to discover their strengths.

This year has been about relationships: bringing people together, making connections and building trust. We’ve worked hard to make sure everyone involved feels equal. People with a learning disability aren’t ‘grateful beneficiaries’ or patronised. Instead, they ask for what they need and get the respect they deserve.

Our work is growing – 20 people with a learning disability and 7 family members are now employed. For more information about how we work go to ~~FFT~~ www.mencap.org.uk/communitypower

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people with a
learning disability
and 7 family members
20
are now employed
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Right now we’re shaping our work in response to the cost-of-living crisis. This means empowering communities to support each other through difficult times and public service cuts. Many of our My Community sites are now looking at how to come together to support each other through challenging times. Forward-thinking funders like Sport England are keen for us to invest in and support communities without denying the reality of cuts.

Sadly, many people are still affected by Covid-19. They’re anxious about returning to community activities and some have longer-term mental health problems caused by the pandemic.

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5

My community - Communities for everyone

We’re grateful to the Associated British Insurers and a legacy donation for generously supporting this work. They’ve helped us give ‘seed funding’ to our community groups to get projects started.

1 [“We are pleased that over the last 12 ] months we have been able to invest just under £19,000 in 8 great ideas from the community to help make Carrickfergus and even better place to live in. What’s also exciting is that some of the more recent ideas are great examples of collaborative working and ongoing communityled development”.

LYNN MCKENZIE, COMMUNITY PARTNER IN CARRICKFERGUS, NI

2 [“We are working closely with our Network ] Partner, 4Eden, who are taking the lead on My Community in Penrith. This signifies a new way of working with our Network Partners to help us achieve our aspirations in Lever 5 of Our Big Plan. It’s a really exciting opportunity to see what impact we can have together.” EVE CASTELOW,

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LEAD, PENRITH

3 [“In Hull, we have been working with a group ] of people with lived experience of a learning disability on creating an accessibility campaign. The group have shared personal experiences and have agreed on aims, goals of the campaign. They have worked with a local artist on the campaign name, Nice Twice Club.”

EMILY CLIXBY AND LAURA BEECH,

COMMUNITY PARTNERS, HULL

4 “My highlight from this past year has been creating a volunteering opportunity for people with a learning disability in Leeds called Positive Changes. The group recently invested seed funding to enable a community member with profound and multiple learning disabilities to run a music group for others with disabilities.” MATT BELLBROUGH,

5 [“Bringing so many people together ] under this project, seeing the difference we are making, inspiring people with learning disabilities to enjoy every day and feel proud of who they are and what they can achieve. So much good has happened here so quickly, it’s infectious!” - LYNNE FULCHER,

COMMUNITY PARTNER, LOWESTOFT

6 “Our biggest achievement has been to galvanise the community and partners to come together, to work together to achieve our vision of making Croydon the best place to live if you have a learning disability and or autism. We have set up the Learning Disability Alliance and we are getting their voices heard in shaping the future of Croydon.”

STELLA OSAN,

COMMUNITY PARTNER IN CROYDON

7 [“I now consider Liam a friend – we see ] each other outside of work. In many ways Liam has mentored me. I think I have a better understanding of the obstacles facing disabled people. Liam will bring a lot to the parliament and it will be richer and more effective from hearing from disabled people.”

JACK, A MEMBER OF THE YOUTH PARLIAMENT IN HARROW

8 [“For the first time in my life I feel like I ] have a paid job like people my age. I finally feel like I’ve found a place in my life where I can be grown up and just be like every one else my age that I know.”

COMMUNITY CONNECTOR, BRISTOL

9 [“Seeing people enjoy free swimming ] sessions at the local pool once again, after changes to the way day services are accessed meant many people could no longer access it. We were able to get these sessions funded by local group, Exercise Buddies, by sharing engagement data highlighting that many local people with learning disabilities really missed using the pool”

JOEY AYRIS, COMMUNITY PARTNER, TENBY AND SAUNDERSFOOT

10 “The highlight from my area is being asked to produce, send and compile responses of a survey, by the Community Network Panel, to ask local residents what health care they would like to see in the area (along with other questions) I had 935 responses, including ideas for those with learning disabilities. This will be presented to the local NHS trust and worked on by us.”

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1
2
4 3
5
9
8 6
7
10
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LORRAINE CORRIGAN TURNER, COMMUNITY PARTNER IN BUDE

COMMUNITY PARTNER IN LEEDS

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LEVER 5

We were successful in winning £330,000 for a new coproduced preventative service in Carmarthenshire.

Our growth in services in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire shows the impact of our community benefit and influencing work. We have been able to shape a new way of supporting people based upon a co-produced model and we will test this support model in Carmarthenshire over the next six years.

Supporting families

Peer support is when people use their own experiences to help each other. We’re working with communities to start peer support networks that will last for decades.

We’ve grown our support in Ynys Mon for younger families thanks to CWVYS-Summer of Fun, National Lottery’s Awards for All, North Wales Transformation Fund and Ynys Mon Local Authority.

We’ve supported 12 families through EPats and an additional 43 families have engaged in the project.

These families have been supported to co-produce activities that meet their needs, including:

6

parent info sessions.

21

courses including E-PAtS, Sleep and Emotional Regulation

12

family activity sessions with professional and peer support

9

Toy Library Sessions

4

Sensory Play sessions

We also worked with Cardiff & Vale University Health Board and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board to help them shape their early years support. We’re currently exploring the potential for a joint bid for early years support.

“I have really enjoyed attending the group sessions, meeting other mums who have similar experiences. It has been really helpful for me as a mum to swap stories, problems or advice”

“This session is so

enlightening and uplifting, I had to rush back so I could join, it’s nice to hear your advice and what you have gone through.”

“I feel I am not alone – people understand my pain, I can learn from them.”

“Thank you for helping me realise my son has signs of special needs and I can get help for him. You have opened our eyes. We really appreciate your hard work.”

“Thank you to the two Mencap team members at SEND Great Day to Play event. You both gave useful advice/ information. My son really enjoyed the day!”

We’re now working in Tameside and Rochdale using a family-led approach – 150 community stakeholders are involved in developing the work, and we have engaged 263 families so far.

Our work with families in Newham is now well established and has been extended thanks to the generous support of the Pears Foundation and the London Borough of Newham.

We now have seven family connectors and are working with 995 families:

380

families have been supported by a Mencap Family Connector

263

families have been supported through Mencap’s online and face to face Peer Support Group

196

parent caregivers have been a part of the Facebook Group ‘Supporting Each Other – Newham’

352

parents have participated in a WhatsApp peer support group

47

parent caregivers have accessed DLA Awareness Workshops

73

Parent workshops have taken place & 321 parent caregivers have accessed them

461

parent caregivers have accessed E-PAtS Groups in the borough

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Nottingham Me Time

In August 2022 we needed to find a new venue for Me Time in Nottingham. We are very active in the community and we were approached by Notts County Foundation. They had a real passion to work with Mencap and had a great venue in a community leisure centre in the heart of the city.

We worked hard to co- produce the service and secure a variety of new sporting activities for the people that access Me Time. Our programme is exciting, active, and ever changing.

We designed the hub and the people we support had an active part. We sourced a local graffiti artist and worked with him to make it our own and describe Me Time in Art form.

Our partnership goes from strength to strength and recently we have co-produced a sponsored walk with 3 other charities raising £5,000.

This is a great move for Me Time and allows us to be part of our community.

Empowering young people

The journey from child to adult can be hard for young people with a learning disability.

On the way many support services disappear while young adults often want to explore their local communities, start friendships and make their mark on the world. We used our community approach to transform Me Time, a programme that helped 211 young adults with a learning disability get involved in their communities last year.

We’re working to engage volunteers so we can extend these services to reach even more people next year. Thanks to funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Pears Foundation we have worked with Volunteering Future Funded Connection Agents and been able to recruit over 400 volunteers. The volunteers have co created lots of opportunities for people to do activities together in the community.

People with a learning disability accessing Me Time services feel happier and more connected to their community. Our survey showed that people with a learning disability reported improvements in the following areas of their lives:

86%

86% health and wellbeing

90%

90% friendships, communication and community

55%

55% independence

31%

31% working and learning

Islington Me Time

Last summer Me Time in Islington was approached by Ambitious About Autism who were looking for a group(s) of people with a learning disability and/ or autism to help shape the way the Whittington Hospital communicates and works with their patients. Over the course of 8, monthly meetings, our group of consultants (simultaneously with groups from Elfrida & Centre 404) offered their user experience and made recommendations to develop new accessible information.

All the new resources are ready for Whittington Health to publish subject to approval by professionals and patients at the Learning Disability Steering Group.

For Learning Disability Week 2022, Me Time attended along with Ambitious about Autism, Elfrida, Islington Learning Disability Partnership (ILDP) and Haringey Learning Disability Partnership, a celebration event at Whittington Hospital. Here we met staff and patients in the Hospital to discuss and highlight the work of the Burdett Accessible Information Project.

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LEVER
5
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Our networks

Beacons project

Our network partners are an important part of Mencap.

They cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland and are very active in their local communities.

This project set out to engage 2 Network Partners and invest in their development as community led organisations. Through this project, we have adopted a community led development approach with the aim of supporting people with a learning disability to articulate aspirations and a vision for how their community can be the best place for them to live. We also aim to support communities to realise assets and develop local solutions delivered and owned by local people.

This is what they achieved last year:

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Collectively, the Beacons
have engaged in
39 conversations with
members of staff/
They have participated in
volunteers/trustees
and 87
community members to
7 shape local vision.
coaching/capacity
106
building sessions,
people with a learning a further
disability have been
involved in learning more
about community led 7
development.
are planned.
We have seen an increase in Both groups have seen their
community-based activities, networks grow; they are engaging
using local spaces to host activities with more people in the local
for all members, as well as increased community on projects that benefit
collaboration and co-production of everyone involved.
activities and services.
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got involved in meetings
and Learn & Share sessions.
They sh aped our work around
25
everything from social care,
community solutions supported campaigns
and how best to run including making sure
our charity. the government provides
enough money for people
to live on.
30
took part in joint projects
71
(including L et’s Get Digital,
My Community,
applied for funding through
Healthier Me and Beacon)
bodies li ke the
Tackling Inequalities Fund
and Wolfson Foundation.
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Jamie

Jamie wanted to go and see Manchester United F.C with his friends. He has supported them for over 35 years, since he was 6 years old and had never been to see them.

My Fun:D

My Fun:D is designed by people with a learning disability for people with a learning disability. Launched in 2022, it gives funding direct to people to help make their lives happier and healthier.

During the first two weeks it was open we had 602 applications from across the UK. Most applications came from people with a learning disability (278) followed by parents (200).

We were also able to signpost another 38 people who didn’t meet the My Fun:D criteria to others who could help. We made a due diligence call with each successful applicant before confirming funding and transferring money. We then held regular check-in conversations over the next six months to track their journey and capture the impact of My Fun:D on their lives.

A panel of people with a learning disability looked at all the applications and approved :

Holidays: 24

Aids and equipment: 68 254 Technology: 65 for Community funding engagement: 19 Experiences: 62 Learning: 16

Ishaaq

Eiman wanted to buy a laptop for his son. His son Ishaaq, 4, has a learning disability and autism.

“I would like to thank Mencap for the My Fund:D money, and the amazing support our family has received. It has been a blessing to our family. The funding has been very helpful to our family and my son. It has helped us to cope with his daily routine and behavioral challenges, and Ishaaq’s behavior is now under control as a result of this laptop. Ishaaq is learning to count and sing his favourite rhymes from the programmes he is watching and it is working perfectly for the family.

I have been in contact with Mencap for over 3 years and have been getting support by attending autism awareness courses, CAF meetings to help with a special school placement, writing reports for EHCP, and attending sports groups in holidays.

We are also getting support to find a support worker who would help us in getting respite.

As a struggling family, we would never have been able to afford this laptop for Ishaaq and to enjoy the peace that we now have”

Lilly-Mae

Lilly-Mae and her family were able to use the money to go on a caravan holiday. They wanted the chance to relax for some respite and the chance to have fun as a family.

“The holiday was brilliant, it meant the world to us. We have had a hard time recently with the cost of living going up, and health problems. Lilly Mae loved it and the staff at the holiday site treated her like a princess. The holiday gave us some quality family time together doing things we love. We couldn’t have done this or had the special time together without the help of My Fun:D. It gave us something we really needed to get us all back on track.”

LISA, LILLY-MAES MOTHER.

“Jamie, Jason, and Mike went on the trip to see Manchester United F.C v Bournemouth. Manchester United F.C won 3-0, and the lads were over the moon. The match was brilliant and the atmosphere was amazing. The lads play for Bournemouth AFC disability football team and all of the coaches they work with were in the away area, and we were in the Sir Alex Ferguson stand. They enjoyed the journey up in the mini bus as much as they enjoyed the match. The trip made them very happy. When we got back Manchester United F.C sent them a free box of merchandise. I took it to them when they were at a training session, and they opened it there and they loved it. Getting the money from My Fun:D was better than winning the lottery – it made the lads dreams come true.”

TRACY, JAMIE’S MOTHER.

EIMAN, ISHAAQ’S FATHER

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o~ 0° 2°
5/26 189 5
stores are now volunteers paid employees
community with a learning with a learning
retail hubs disability across disability
our stores
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Our community retail hubs

The high street is changing and so are we. We’re transforming our shops into community hubs. They still sell things, but are now so much more – offering spaces, meeting places, and employment opportunities for people with a learning disability. 5 of our 26 stores are now community retail hubs.

We have 189 volunteers with a learning disability across our stores and five paid employees with a learning disability.

Our colleagues with a learning disability tell us that they feel there is a ‘store family’ and that they have a greater sense of belonging in the local community.

“For some people coming to the store is the only time they get to meet anyone outside of their home. It has a positive impact on the whole community’s mental health and wellbeing, it really means so much.”

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5

Family support in Northern Ireland

This year our Early Positive Approaches to Support (E-PAtS) programme was financed by 2 external funders, LFT Charitable Trust and The Department of Health Carers Fund.

“I never opened up to anyone before about how life with autism is like, but this group has made me feel so comfortable and understood. When someone understands and supports you, it makes everything feel easier and better.”

“I have learned a lot and I have been able to put what I have learned into practice as a parent to my son. And I do see small positive improvement and changes and that to me, means it’s working.”

“I feel my knowledge on behaviours and other patterns has increased thanks to this programme and also the other mums. They helped me with everything that was on my mind, I was able to contact Lisa when I was stuck, and she helped so much.”

We delivered an 8-week E-PAtS course in Derry/ Londonderry and 2 E-PAtS courses in Greater Belfast.

The outcomes we saw were:

knew what to do to support their child’s development (e.g., sleep, communication, life skills).

85.71%

were able to support their children’s development.

71.43%

stated positive change in their child’s development.

57.14%

knew what to do to support challenging behaviour that their child may display.

71.43%

of parents/carers experienced personal benefits from attending the E-PAtS programme.

100%

of parents/carers would recommend E-PAtS to a caregiver.

100%

of parents/carers said they ‘agreed’ or ‘agreed strongly’ that knew what to do to support their own wellbeing by the end of the programme.

100%

of parents/carers said they knew what support was available to them and their child, and how to access it by the end of the programme.

85.71%

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5

Parent and Toddler programme

This year we had a programme for parents/carers of children aged 0 to 24 months old with a learning disability or developmental delay. The programme aims to provide a safe, secure environment for parents or carers to come together and meet other families on a similar journey, while giving their children the opportunity to explore and learn through a range of activities and play.

Youth Team

This year the Youth Team in Northern Ireland delivered a range of programmes, activities and events to young people aged 10-24 across Northern Ireland.

In total 234 young people took part in our youth provision opportunities.

We delivered 8 sessions for a total of

32 parents/carers and 17 toddlers.

“It was daunting coming out to Mencap for the first time, but as I got to know what the session was about I had become very relaxed and have enjoyed my time here.”

“Staff are so friendly and great with the adults and children.”

Belfast Centre Family Support

We implemented 75 workshops dedicated to the family members of children attending Children Centre, and we had approximately

310 attendances.

Additionally, we implemented 32 Advice and Information sessions for a total of

275 attendances.

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Our People

Our colleagues and volunteers are amazing. Despite many challenges they are highly committed and work hard to support people with a learning disability to lead fulfilled lives.

Today social care is facing a people crisis – with many providers struggling to hire and keep great colleagues. We have the same pressures, but are seeing some small progress in terms of recruitment. However, there’s even more we need to do to make Mencap a better place to work.

Pay is an issue across the sector and made worse by the cost of living crisis. We do all we can to tackle this, and recognise the challenges this creates for our hard working colleagues in our social care services.

Fewer colleagues chose to leave Mencap last year – down from 26.9% in May 2022 to 21.8% now.

Having consistency in our workforce means more stability for the people we support and shows our colleagues feel satisfied in their work.

Sickness absence dropped from an annual average of 11.5 days per person in April 2022 to 9.1 days in March 2023 – even while Covid-19 was still raging. This signals improved wellbeing, which helps keep talented colleagues working with us.

We ended the year with 363 more support workers than at the start of the year. This means we’re attracting lots of new colleagues and shows we’re an attractive employer and a good place to work.

Doubling volunteers

We’ve more than doubled our volunteers to top 1,600. Our fantastic volunteers provide incredible support to many areas of our work, especially our shops and the Mencap Visiting Service. We couldn’t do what we do without them!

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Fewer colleagues chose to leave Mencap last year
– down to 21.8% now from 26.9% in May 2022
21.8% 26.9%
Annual average
sickness absence
has dropped
11.5
DAYS
+363 9.1
SUPPORT DAYS
WORKERS
at the end
of the year
APRIL MARCH
2022 2023
Volunteer numbers
doubled to over
1,600
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Training more colleagues

We met our target of 95% of our colleagues completing our mandatory training courses. Our aim is to exceed this in future years.

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CASE STUDY

Rachel and Kim

“I love volunteering for Gig Buddies. It’s great to feel I can help someone enjoy something they might not always have the opportunity to go and do themselves. I get to have a great time and make a great friend through volunteering- what’s not to love?!

I think it’s really important to enable people with a learning disability to go out and have fun enjoying all different kinds of events. And even better to be able to do it with them.

It’s been great to get to know my buddy, Kim. We’ve discovered lots that we have in common. There’s so much we’ve managed to get up to in the past year, like watching shows, going to gigs, shopping, art gallery visits, going for walks, going out for meals and of course dancing! We’ve developed a strong bond over the last year and I feel so lucky to have such a wonderfully amazing person to call my friend.

Sometimes it’s easy to get carried away with life and take things for granted. Gig Buddies helps you help another person in a way that is really good fun for you both. I’d definitely recommend getting involved- it will make a positive difference to your own life and someone else’s.”

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Income generation and fundraising activities

Raising money to improve lives

Thank you to everyone who raised money for Mencap this year. We’re incredibly grateful for your vital fundraising, which helps us support more people with learning disabilities and their families to lead better lives.

It’s been a challenging year for fundraising. The costof-living crisis means people have less money and we received fewer legacies than usual.

Our gross voluntary income in 2022/23 was £10,223,000. This is a drop of 27% from the year before – below what we thought we’d get.

Our approach to fundraising includes:

Water challenge!

Marathon runner and Mencap ambassador Aaron Plummer (22) gave our CEO Edel Harris, OBE a serious challenge last year: swimming 26.2 miles in October as part of our Superhero Challenge. She accepted and raised over £6,000.

Aaron, who lives with a learning disability and cerebral palsy, has completed the London Marathon an incredible three times for Mencap. He joined Edel for her final mile at London’s Crouch End Lido.

“I’m so happy that Edel took on this challenge and I’m really enjoyed joining her. It was great to swim the final mile with her and raise money for Mencap, a charity which has supported me and helped me so much over the years.” – Aaron Plummer, marathon runner and Mencap ambassador.

Running for Mencap

Serena Kemp’s amazing son Ritchie ‘rocks an extra chromosome’ and lives with a learning disability. Ritchie goes to East Kent Mencap three days a week and particularly enjoys woodwork and upcycling. Serena says that running the London Marathon for Mencap in 2021 was one of the best days of her life. So much so she wanted to run again in 2022. Since 2020 Serena has raised an incredible £3546 for Mencap.

“Ritchie has had many serious illnesses in his life, but he is the most caring, kind and lovable person. The support from Team Mencap was fabulous [like] the telephone calls, handwritten cards from Lorainne in the Events team and support in the Facebook Group. The support was truly second to none and I wouldn’t run for anyone else!” – Serena Kemp.

Getting communities moving with Sport England

This year we were very proud to be a Sport England System Partner. Through this exciting partnership we’ll be working with 10 communities, supporting them and inspiring all residents to get active over the next four years. People with a learning disability will tell us what they want to see and lead the change. So no one will be left behind and no one’s needs will be missed. We’ll focus on building relationships and harnessing the skills, connections and experiences of local people and communities. We’ll drive creativity, innovation and self-sustaining models of support based on mutual interest.

Thanks to Pears Foundation

Pears Foundation, with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) through the Volunteering Futures Fund, generously supported our two-year Volunteering and Me Time programme. The programme is now in its final year. Through it we’ve signed up 392 volunteers across Nottingham, Tameside and Islington. Volunteers with and without a learning disability get involved in activities like designing and creating a sensory community garden, planting trees and making soup. This helps people feel a fun connection to local communities.

Pears Foundation has also helped support our network partners make the best happen with and for the local community. Our two Beacon Partners, Heart of England Mencap and Sheffield Mencap, have connected with 94 community members to explore opportunities and shape local vision. These projects ensure people feel more involved, and do the things they love, in their local community.

The Foundation is also funding our family-led early years programme in Newham to provide local parent carers with joined-up support and better access to local services.

EE } |e ~~ Thanks to The Berkley Group

The Berkeley Group, through the Berkeley Foundation, has been a corporate partner of Mencap since October 2021. They have been busy raising funds to support people with a learning disability through dedicated programmes in Ealing, Oxford and the Midlands. In the last year, they’ve raised over £60,000 through fundraising events. These include employees taking part in the Ealing Half Marathon, a five-a-side football tournament and a wine tasting dinner at their London head office.

Thanks to Google/Youtube

We would like to thank Google/Youtube for their incredibly generous grant of £500,000 through Google. org which is enabling us to develop and deliver a digital citizenship programme. Our program will support young people with a learning disability to be safe online and will empower their support networks to help them.

Thanks to Advent International

Advent International has been our valued corporate partners since June 2020. Advent’s last donation in March 2022 was match-funded by Waltham Forest Council. This enabled us to support 21 learners at Whitefield School and 28 at Hornbeam Academy during 2022/23 – helping pupils on their journey to employment.

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Where our Fundraised income is spent 2022/23

Thank you – you’re all amazing!

We’re extremely grateful for the kindness and loyalty of our many supporters. You provide the essential funding we need to ensure we can make the UK the best place for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives.

How we work

We comply with the latest fundraising guidelines from the Fundraising Regulator, Gambling Commission and Charity Commission. This includes the Code of Fundraising Practice for the UK. Where people or organisations raise funds on our behalf, we require that they also comply with these standards. For individuals, this is through our fundraising guidelines, and for professional fundraisers it is included as a contract term. We’re not aware of any instances where those acting on our behalf have failed to comply.

We occasionally use professional fundraisers as part of direct appeals, but not for unsolicited approaches or ‘cold calling’. Other commercial participators are only involved as partner organisations fundraising from among their own staff, or encouraging their staff to fundraise on our behalf on a personal level.

Where we do use professional fundraisers, calls are monitored directly to ensure our instructions and requirements are being followed, and regular feedback is provided. We also have a supporter care team which can be contacted by telephone or e-mail with any problems around our fundraising activities.

Our events and community fundraising team provide people fundraising on our behalf with clear guidance about what we expect from them. They also maintain regular contact to provide them with support and to monitor their activities and progress.

Our stores

Our 26 stores raised £3.9m this year an increase of 22% from last year.

Our ambition for our Mencap stores is far greater than simply income generation. We see them as community assets – for more information, please see page 76.

In the year ending 31 March 2023, we had 26 complaints through our supporter care team and other channels related to fundraising activity. Of the 26 complaints, 19 related to direct marketing activity and 7 were related to stewardship activity. All complaints were recorded and addressed appropriately.

To protect vulnerable people and other members of the public, Mencap has a vulnerable customer policy in place, and a fundraising promise is displayed on our website. The fundraising team is required to complete enhanced GDPR training and all fundraising teams have policy and procedure handbooks in place which they are required to abide by.

We are careful to protect the private data of our supporters, and give them clear options if they wish to stop being contacted by us. As part of our compliance with the Code of Fundraising Practice, we ensure our approach to fundraising is not unreasonably intrusive or persistent, and we do not aim to solicit donations by pressuring potential supporters. By doing this, we ensure that people have a choice about whether to donate to Mencap.

We would like to thank every one of our donors for helping us ensure that people with a learning disability can live happy and healthy lives.

----- Start of picture text -----
Fundraised Income
£10,223,000
-
Total Expenditure
£11,183,000
£3,515,000 Raising funds
Supporting people to build their own
£3,133,000
capabilities to find local solutions
£2,925,000 Campaigning for change
Supporting people with
£567,000
information and advice
Supporting our work in
£431,000
Northern Ireland
Researching & evaluating complex
£335,000
issues and opportunities
£277,000 Supporting our work in Wales
=
- £960,000
Net
Position £410,000 - £550,000
for Add back Amount of last
2022/23 + amount funds = years £2.75m
raised in previous fundraising
years and spent surplus spent
this year in year
----- End of picture text -----

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ROYAL MENCAP SOCIETY ANNUAL REVIEW APRIL 2021 to MARCH 2022

Our environmental impact

Our vision is for the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives. This means protecting the planet where we all live.

We need to face our environmental challenges and respond by working with people and organisations at individual, community and society level.

More flexible working has reduced energy costs in our offices, plus our Mencap Goes Green group has achieved small but vital improvements. We are also planning to move our main HR system to the cloud. It will be hosted by the supplier, reducing our carbon footprint.

There’s always more we can do. Through our Colleague Forum we’re asking our colleagues for ideas, so we can build a better future for everyone. And we encourage the people we support to be more environmentally friendly in their lives too.

We have a track record of improving sustainability. In the last year we reduced our CO2 emissions by almost 10%.

Growing green

When Janice* wanted to start growing her own vegetables we helped make it happen.

She was very successful – and soon she had more vegetables than she could eat. She really enjoyed growing and got a real sense of achievement. The place she lives has a reuse scheme where people can share items they don’t want or need any more for others to take for free. So Janice shared her vegetables. She also decided to donate some to local homeless people.

*not her real name.

Pears foundation, tree planting

As part of the DCMS and Pears funded volunteering project, 2 new groups were set up in Islington. A community plant nursery and food growing gardening group started in May 2022. This is led by a facilitator from Octopus Communities Network. The group brings together volunteers with and without a learning disability through community food growing activities and the sessions have become increasingly popular with 10-12 volunteers per week.

The Go Green group began in July 2022 and focuses on volunteering and community activities that are centred of different environmental themes. Since it started the group have volunteered with Islington Parks to make bug hotels and sew wildflowers, visited local businesses to raise awareness of the TFL bus consultation, worked with the Islington Volunteer Centre to take part in a research project about barriers to employment for disabled people in Islington with Healthwatch Islington, met with the Islington Climate Centre and they have volunteered at the Hurtado Refugee Centre.

Cleaning the coast

In Penzance, a group of people with learning disabilities volunteered to join their local conservation group’s annual beach clean.

Together with support workers, and other members of the local community, they collected several bags of litter to clean the beach ready for tourist season. They found plastic bottles, takeaway containers, fish netting and even the odd shoe!

In October 2022, volunteers from the gardening group and go green group came together for a tree planting community event in Islington to celebrate the work of the gardening groups. A large number of volunteers, (with and without a learning disability), were involved before and on the day. The event was a great success and provided an opportunity for members of the local community to come together and enjoy and engage with the garden.

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Breakdown of Scope 1, 2 and 3 Emissions:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |Global GHG emissions and energy use data 1st April 2022 – 31st March 2023| |Scope 1|Emissions from combustion of gas used at offices|70.97 tonnes CO2e| |Emissions from combustion of gas at residential and care activity buildings|1,266.14 tonnes CO2e| |Emissions from combustion of fuel for transport purposes|159.22 tonnes CO2e| |Scope 2|Emissions from purchased electricity at offices (location-based)|128.77 tonnes CO2e| |Emissions from purchased electricity at residential and care activity buildings|632.27 tonnes CO2e| |(location-based)| |Scope 3|Emissions from generation of electricity that is consumed in a transmission and|69.62 tonnes CO2e| |distribution system which we don’t own or control| |Emissions from employee business travel which we don’t own or control|691.14 tonnes CO2e|

----- End of picture text -----

Our energy consumption

Our environmental sustainability plan

Decarbonising the economy

During the financial year, our trustees approved Mencap’s environmental sustainability plan.

4.[Attracting and retaining talent through sustainability.]

Total Emissions from Scope 1, 2 and 3

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |Global GHG emissions and energy use data|1st April 2022 – 31st March 2023|1st April 2021 – 31st March 2022|% difference| |Scope 1|1,496.33 tonnes CO2e|1,581 tonnes CO2e|-5.36| |(direct emissions from machinery,| |facilities and vehicles we own).| |Scope 2|761.04 tonnes CO2e|835 tonnes CO2e|-8.86| |(indirect emissions associated with| |generating electricity, heat, steam| |and/or cooling).| |a| |Scope 3|760.76 tonnes CO2e|937 tonnes CO2e|-18.81| |(Indirect emissions resulting from all other| |activities and sources not covered in Scope 2| |– includes business travel, commuting, waste| |and third-party deliveries.)| |Total|3,018.13 tonnes CO2e|3,353 tonnes CO2e|-9.99|

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Personal vehicles contribute to 72% of business mileage emissions. Though our work means we will always need to use personal vehicles, we’ll consider ways we could reduce travel.

61% of our emissions are from residential facilities (Supported Living, Residential and Respite care). We will work with our housing provider partners to find out how they plan to improve the energy efficiency of the homes we lease.

----- Start of picture text -----
Supported Living: 1,032
Building use: 1,957
Residential: 771
Mencap: 3,018
Retail: 111 =
Respite Care: 23
™.
Offices: 212 Other: 20 Personal: 614
Electricity supply: 141 |_|
Service user: 154
Business mileage: 849 Gas supply: 71 = , [wa]
Company Car: 5
a
Train: 138
Vehicles: 773
Air: 69
Bus: 9
Public transport: 229
Taxi: 8
NS -
Company car: 5
----- End of picture text -----

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Energy bills

We buy energy for our offices, retail stores and for the communal areas of the the buildings where we provide services for people with a learning disability. In buildings used for Personal Support, we reclaim the cost of energy for communal spaces through housing benefit. The people we support pay their share of heating costs in supported living services.

We currently get our energy from Opus and Total with support through Inenco, the energy broker. Our current contract runs until September 2024 and our current pricing contract ends in September 2023.

This current contract has protected people that we support from high energy bills. However, the new contract will mean higher bills.

In response, we will work with those affected to ensure they know about energy bill increases in advance and help them respond to these financial challenges.

Talent through sustainability

Studies show people increasingly want to work for organisations that share their values, including on sustainability. To attract talented people we need to be transparent about our sustainability credentials during recruitment, starting with the job advertisement.

Our People Strategy has identified several priorities for the year ahead, including improved recruitment and retention. This gives us the opportunity to demonstrate and reinforce our achievements and commitment to sustainability.

We try to be paper-free where we can. This includes our recruitment process, which include digital contracts.

Supporting people with their bills

Fuel poverty statistics for England released in April 2020 highlighted 3.2 million households in fuel poverty. Meanwhile, 7 million households across the UK are facing fuel poverty as a result of significant increases in energy prices in 2022.

People with a learning disability are at greater risk because of:

Our response includes:

We are also founding supporters of the Disability Poverty Campaign Group. The group is responsible for much of the media coverage of disabled people in fuel poverty and has written an open letter to the Government calling for a social tariff (a reduced tariff).

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Our structure, governance and management

We are a company limited by guarantee (registration number 550457) and a registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales (registered number 222377) and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (registered number SC041079). Our main governing document is our Articles of Association, last amended on 16 May 2019. Our charitable objects are to advance the health, education and wellbeing of people with a learning disability and their families and carers.

In 2022/2023, Royal Mencap Society has continued to carry out the recommendations of the 2021 Governance Review by reconstituting the subcommittees of the board and enhancing the role of our Voices Council. This has resulted in three new sub-committees of the Royal Mencap Society board, including a new dedicated People and Culture Committee.

Our structure

1. Nominations Committee (unchanged)

----- Start of picture text -----
a. Carolyn Fairbairn (Chair)
b. Elaine Hindal
c. David Wolverson
d. Aisha Hazel-Edwards
e. Barbara Louise Norris.
2. Audit, Finance and Risk Committee 3. Delivery and Strategic Impact 4. People and Culture Committee
Committee
Phil Hughes (Co-chair) David Wolverson (Chair) Jackie Pollock (Chair)
Kathryn Cearns (Co-chair) Kathryn Rees Andrew Wilson
Yogi Amin Lucy Edge Elaine Hindal
Catherine McDermott Sohail Qadri David Wolverson
Voices Council
1. Jack Welch - Chair 4. Karen Gray 7. Paul Savage
2. Sam Jefferies - Vice chair 5. Barbara Louise Norris 8. Taylor Phillips
3. Aisha Hazel-Edwards 6. John Phillips 9. Bryony Moss
Trustees
1. Carolyn Fairbairn (Chair) 5. Phil Hughes 9. Yogi Amin
2. Lucy Edge (vice-chair and SIT) 6. Sohail Qadri 10. Jackie Pollock
3. David Wolverson (Safeguarding lead) 7. Kathryn Rees 11. Elaine Hindal
4. Catherine McDermott 8. Kathryn Cearns 12. Andrew Wilson
----- End of picture text -----

Our trustees (also our directors under company law) has overall responsibility for our charity. The trustees ensure we achieve our charitable objects. In doing so they receive vitally important input and advice from our Voices Council – an independent group of ‘experts by experience’.

Our trustees normally meet 5 times a year. This includes an annual strategy day which helps trustees and our executive team focus on our long-term strategic direction. After the end of the pandemic, trustee meetings returned to being in person in 2022. We have a framework of delegation to set out matters delegated to committees of the board, the executive or other staff. This is regularly reviewed and updated as necessary. Conflicts of interest are considered at each meeting and the Company Secretary maintains a register of them.

Our trustees have all been appointed through a public and open recruitment process. In each case a skills assessment has driven recruitment together with a concerted effort to ensure we are drawing from all sections of society and securing intersectional diversity in line with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy. Recommendations are overseen by the Royal Mencap Society nominations committee. This includes a majority of independent, co-opted members who are not trustees of our board.

This year, we will add 2 trustees to our board who are ‘experts by experience’. They are people with a learning disability who can inform our decisions from their lived experience.

Our trustees are appointed for up to 2 terms of 4 years. They don’t receive any remuneration [payment] or financial benefit for this. Details of trustee expenses are provided in note 9 to the financial statements. Our trustees meet HM Revenue & Custom’s ‘fit and proper persons test’ and declare all relevant interests.

Before appointment, trustees are also required to complete a Trustee Automatic Disqualification Declaration. We use this to ensure people who hold, or who are applying for, a trustee position are not disqualified.

How we make decisions

Our trustees are ultimately responsible for the overall control and strategic direction of our charity and protecting our assets. The board’s decisions are informed by our Voices Council. The Voices Council and other groups ensure we deliver our commitment to put people with a learning disability at the core of everything we do.

Day-to-day responsibility for running the charity is delegated to the CEO Edel Harris, OBE and the executive directors who make up our executive team.

Delegated responsibilities fall to four board committees, whose membership is approved by the board and, in the case of the nominations committee, includes co-opted members who are not trustees but provide important specialist and outside perspectives. The board has delegated specific responsibilities to its committees, each of which has detailed terms of reference and reports to the board. The remit of the committees is reviewed regularly to ensure they continue to work well. The chair of each committee reports to the board at quarterly meetings. Minutes of committee meetings are available to all trustees.

Our Voices Council

Our vision is to be led by people with a learning disability. The lived experience and voice of people with a learning disability informs how we fulfil our charitable objects. Our 2021 Governance Review recommended that our governance must embody this vision – our Voices Council is central to this. Over its journey from the Learning Disability Panel to the Voices Council in 2019, members are playing a vital part in shaping our work, decisions and priorities. The Voices Council’s role in shaping our work during Covid-19 has been pivotal.

The Voices Council now have extra resources and authority. Voices Council meetings include representation from the Royal Mencap Society board and our executive team. The Voices Council alone set their agenda and priorities. This led to increasing membership of the Voices Council in 2023.

Find out more about our trustees

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The Royal Mencap Society’s board committees are:

Audit, Finance and Risk Committee (AFRC): In 2022, we merged our audit and risk committee and parts of our finance, planning and remuneration committee. The newly created AFRC’s delegated responsibilities relate to Royal Mencap Society’s financial and risk management processes. The AFRC, co-chaired by Kathryn Cearns and Phil Hughes, monitor and review the effectiveness of our internal and external audit functions. The AFRC approves the plan for our internal audit work. This provides independent assurance that risk management, governance and internal control processes are operating effectively. The AFRC also ensures we maintain an effective financial management and reporting structure across our charity in the short, medium and long term. They review executive remuneration [payment] and make recommendations to our trustees. The AFRC provide assurance to our board on accuracy of the financial information it receives to fulfil its fundamental responsibility of managing our charity’s resources responsibly.

Nominations Committee (NC): The NC ensures we

take a rigorous, open and transparent approach to trustee recruitment and appointment. The NC includes non-trustees and co-opted members. It is responsibile for ensuring the appropriate balance of skills, experience, backgrounds and knowledge is reflected in the make-up of our board.

Delivery and Strategic Impact Committee (DSIC): The DSIC built on the foundations of its forerunner: the quality and compliance committee. However, DSIC’s remit is much bigger. A key aspect of Royal Mencap Society’s Big Plan is to impact the individual, community and society. The role of DSIC is to consider our impact, quality and responsibility across all of our services. This broader remit includes our personal support delivery and our specialist post-16 institution. In doing so, our commitment to delivering high quality, client-led and innovative services are the overarching requirements. In line with our commitment to, and prioritisation of, wellbeing and safety of the people we support, the DSIC oversaw transition from an independent chair for safeguarding to a Safeguarding Scrutineer. Frances Millar was recruited in April 2023 and attends all DSIC meetings.

People and Culture Committee (PCC)

Our new People and Culture Committee (PCC) was created after the recent Governance Review and was formerly constituted in 2022. The Board of Trustees recognised that a dedicated Board sub-committee was needed ensure Mencap has an inclusive, open and encouraging culture across its workforce of almost 8,000 employees. Policies, procedures, initiatives around our people, and feedback surveys are brought to the PCC. This committee also hears directly from colleagues in closed sessions between trustees and groups of colleagues from across Mencap. Creating the PCC is a reflection of the importance of our people in the Big Plan.

The Wales and Northern Ireland Advisory Panels, made up of people with relevant local expertise and lived experience of learning disability, provide invaluable expert advice to our country directors in a voluntary, advisory capacity.

Other groups informing our decisions are the Include Me group, Inclusion Consultants and the Treat Me Well Steering Group.

Policies and procedures for inducting and training trustees

We have an extensive induction programme for all new trustees. This covers all aspects of our activities, strategy and values. Trustees also receive information and guidance on their legal and regulatory obligations as trustees. Induction and training is overseen by Royal Mencap Society’s executive director of governance.

Executive pay

We generally use the charity sector market median as a guide for setting salaries. Some flexibility is applied to take into consideration specific requirements for each post and to ensure we can recruit the best candidate possible to meet the needs of our beneficiaries.

Trustees are responsible for overseeing the pay of our executive team.

As a charity, we believe it is important to be transparent about the pay of senior colleagues and how this is set.

Our senior reward approach involves two main factors:

All senior staff receive ongoing performance management and an annual feedback report and appraisal. This provides feedback from the chief executive, their peers and teams about how they have contributed to achieving our strategy and any personal development areas.

Our executive team remuneration in the year, including basic pay, pensions and benefits was:

----- Start of picture text -----
Salary to ER Pension to ER NICS to Remuneration to Remuneration to
Role 31 March 23 31 March 23 31 March 23 31 March 23 31 March 22
(£) (£) (£) (£) (£)
Chief executive 181,800 9,090 23,763 214,653 205,472
Chief financial officer 131,028 6,565 16,795 154,388 178,962
Chief operating officer 98,079 2,770 9,258 110,107 184,368
Interim director PS England 48,265 2,101 5,848 56,214 0
Executive director of communications,
advocacy and activism (responsible 121,200 6,060 14,878 142,138 135,814
for Fundraising)
Executive director of governance 97,869 4,893 12,182 114,944 95,661
Executive director of ICP
29,250 1,463 3,521 34,234 0
(Communities)
Executive director of people 112,470 5,421 12,712 130,603 77,485
Executive director of transformation 104,306 5,132 13,023 122,461 114,268
----- End of picture text -----**

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ROYAL MENCAP SOCIETY ANNUAL REVIEW APRIL 2022 to MARCH 2023

Section 172(1) Statement

Our network partners

We work with over 300 independent network partners across the UK. They are very important to our work. We are united by a common vision to improve the lives of people with a learning disability. They work in their communities to share best practice, champion change and deliver high quality services and support for people with a learning disability. We fund a network office to provide support to these groups and coordinate work on common issues. Trustees visit and talk with partners regularly.

Mencap Trust Company Limited (MTC)

Mencap Trust Company was set up in 1976 to reduce parents’ worries about vulnerable family members by helping make arrangements to provide for them in the future. We have helped over 2,500 families and manage around 270 discretionary trusts for people with a learning disability and autism, with over 750 trust deeds awaiting activation. MTC works in partnership with investment, tax and legal experts to provide a professional service, managing trusts for people with a learning disability.

For more information on trustee appointments and the MTC’s work see https://www.mencaptrust.org.uk/

Mencap Limited

Mencap Limited is a trading subsidiary of Royal Mencap Society. In 2022 our board authorised the use of Mencap Limited as a vehicle for recovering VAT to which Royal Mencap Society is entitled. The directors of Mencap Limited were changed to include the co-chairs of the AFRC (Kathryn Cearns and Phil Hughes) as well as Royal Mencap Society’s CFO and director of governance. Profit-making external Disclosure and Barring Service checking activity will also continue within Mencap Limited. There is also activity in relation to Royal Mencap Society bought in goods to be sold online and in Royal Mencap Society retail stores, promotional events and revenue generating (for Royal Mencap Society) and sponsorship agreements with third party commercial organisations.

Mencap Promotions Limited

Mencap Promotions is a dormant promotional and sponsored events subsidiary.

Blue Sky Housing Limited

Blue Sky Housing is a dormant property development subsidiary.

Mencap Visiting Service

The Mencap Visiting Service (MVS) is a trust fund established to provide a visiting scheme to named beneficiaries after the death of a donor. It is not a separate legal entity. MVS funds are held in a discretionary trust, and MVS activities are delivered by Royal Mencap Society.

Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires directors to act in the way they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the charity to achieve its charitable purposes. The Act states that, in doing so, the directors should have regard, among other matters, to factors (a) to (f), listed below.

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

The trustees are responsible for Mencap’s strategy and overall direction. Our new Big Plan (in place from March 2021 and running through to 2026) established an approach which continuously and constantly puts people with a learning disability at the centre of our vison. That vision is for the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to lead a happy and healthy life. The cost-of-living crisis in the UK and global events have required us to review the priorities and focus of our work in our Big Plan. This review and reassessment has balanced long-term planning with the need to respond immediately. The strategy remains agile and capable of change and movement as data and trends demand. The timeline of the strategy provides the long-term strategic plan for Royal Mencap Society required under s172(1).

The main purpose of our reserves policy and targets is to ensure long-term financial sustainability. Decisions involving financial spend are assessed for their impact on reserves, not just in the current year but also through a three-five year forecast.

b. The interests of the charity’s employees

Creating our People and Culture Committee (PCC) reflects the value and importance paid to our 8,000 employees. The majority are colleagues supporting people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives. The complexity of the care sector means our value proposition to staff is centred on the impact they create, our culture and their experience of working for us. Together with Royal Mencap Society’s AFRC, the PCC has considered for recommendation to the trustees:

Our ambitions to reward staff fairly and facilitate devolved decision-making continue to be a strong focus for trustees. We recognise the positive changes over this last year. But we also understand we need to continue to resolve structural challenges across the care sector which prevent our support worker colleagues being rewarded fairly.

c. The need to foster the charity’s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others

Our relationships with partners and suppliers are key to our effectiveness. We are clear about our role as co-producing and delivering support, services and change. Our relationships with local authorities and NHS Trusts through direct services and collaborative work are constructive and interdependent. We have worked closely with commissioners to agree a fair value for delivering our services. This includes co-opting commissioners of personal support services to take part in HMRC-approved VAT recovery arrangements.

In general, we continue to work with local authorities and other commissioning bodies to deliver localised, person-centred support for people with a learning disability.

Our work with government bodies enables us to champion best practice in areas such as social care and healthcare, as well as challenge inaction that could disadvantage people with a learning disability. We’ve highlighted health inequality campaigns and awareness earlier in the report. For example, the shocking disparity in life expectancy of people with a learning disability.

We continue to work with regulators to improve our services and so provide the best possible outcomes for the people we support. Our board has clear oversight of, and directly engages with, our services. Through Royal Mencap Society’s Independent Safeguarding Scrutineer, the board receives advice and recommendations on ensuring we achieve the safest and most responsible environment for the people we support.

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Financial review

d. The impact of the charity’s operations on the community and the environment

We work with over 300 independent network partners across the country. These independent groups are united by a common vision to improve the lives of people with a learning disability. They work in their communities to share best practice, champion change and deliver high-quality services and support for people with a learning disability. Our trustees continue to engage and make connections with community groups both in and outside our network.

Mencap’s community work is about identifying and building on existing strengths and supporting people to make communities accessible for everyone. In our first year we focused on finding communities and working with local people to discover their strengths. This year has been about relationships: bringing people together, making connections and building trust. Our work is growing – 20 people with a learning disability and 7 family members are now employed. People with a learning disability aren’t ‘grateful beneficiaries’ or patronized. Instead, they ask for what they need and get the respect they deserve. Right now we’re shaping our work in response to the cost-of-living crisis. This means empowering communities to support each other through difficult times and public service cuts.

e. The desirability of the charity maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct

At the heart of our remit is living our values and ethos: being brave, inclusive, kind, passionate and positive. Each value represents how trustees oversee their responsibility to fulfil the charity’s purpose. To deliver our vision, it’s vital we inspire the trust of all our stakeholders by holding ourselves to the highest standards of conduct in all we do. Our reputation and culture is crucial to our ability to succeed now and in the future.

Trustees ensure a robust, transparent and protected system for reporting concerns and feedback. One focus is on creating an environment encouraging openness and responsiveness. To achieve this, trustees are informed by independent, external audits and reviews. The Delivery and Strategic Impact Committee (made up of four trustees) also receives reports from Mencap’s Independent Safeguarding Scrutineer, Frances Millar, on their independent assessment of how we are safeguarding our people.

f. The need to act fairly as between members of the charity

(‘Members’ means our various stakeholders).

We engage with each of our key stakeholder groups in a proactive, equal and engaged way. This extends to the people who use our services and their families, donors, staff, volunteers, partners and the wider learning disability community of 1.5m people in the UK. We ensure that any decisions we make as a board are informed by the potential impacts on all the groups Royal Mencap Society interacts with and is funded to represent.

Our trustees believe they have taken into account each of the relevant factors and/or stakeholders when making decisions, taking care to balance competing interests for the overall good of our charity. We achieve this in both the short and long term by ensuring people with a learning disability, their family members and carers, are at the heart of our decision making and strategy.

The table below provides a summary financial position and shows that Mencap has historically been able to deliver a robust financial position. 2022/23, however, has been an exceptionally challenging operating environment with the care sector facing unparalleled recruitment and retention challenges and the cost of living crisis affecting our cost base but also our fundraising targets.

At the same time, we know that these challenges are unlikely to dissipate quickly and therefore during 2022/23 we have commenced a financial recovery plan that will see Mencap reach a break-even position in 2023/24 and return to making target level returns by 2024/25.

A major event during the year was the demerger of Golden Lane Housing from the Group as at the 1 April. Where this event is a primary reason for movement in numbers between 2021/22 and 2022/23, it has been reflected in the detailed analysis.

As a financially prudent organisation, we have had difficult decisions to be made to respond to these challenges. We consider it an investment to use our reserves to fund pay for our hugely valuable workforce and to support the continuation of our advocacy and activism work despite the financial headwinds.

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2021/22
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Exc GLH [1] 2022/23
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Total Income 209.3 220.2 238.2 239.0 211.9 216.1
Total net income [2] 0.7 6.8 14.6 5.9 2.8 (6.4)
Net movement in funds excluding (0.8) 14.4 11.2 4.5 1.4 3(8.1)
transfers to Golden Lane Housing
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1 This shows 2021/22 results with Golden Lane Housing excluded. 2 Total net income defined as income after expenditure and the net gains on investments 3 The transfer to Golden Lane Housing of (£63.9m) was part of the demerger on 1 April 2022. Other significant changes in net movement in funds largely reflect material gains or losses from actuarial valuation on the defined pension benefit scheme.

Total income 2018-2023 (£m)

Total net income 2018-2023 (£m)

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250
240
230
220
210
200
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
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15
10
5
0
-5
-10
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
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Areas of Income 2022-2023 (£m)

Areas of Income 2021-2022 (£m)

Income

Total income in 2022/23 has fallen primarily as a result of our subsidiary, Golden Lane Housing, demerging from the group on 1 April 2022. For 2021/22, Golden Lane Housing equated to £27.1m of the total income figure.

The table shows the 2021/22 results adjusting out GLH for future comparison. Excluding GLH, total net income has fallen from £2.8m in 2021/22 to a deficit movement of (£6.4m). The main reasons for this have been

What made up our income in 2022/23?

The table below demonstrates that income from our core commercial activity of providing personal support grew during the year. This was largely driven by contractual uplifts on existing contracts. Other trading activities grew, notably through the ongoing success of our retail operations.

As stated previously, we experienced a reduction in donation in legacies of £3.7m from the previous year.

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Change
Areas
2021/22 2022/23 from
of Income
2021/22
£m £m £m
Charitable activities 193.1 200.4 7.3
Donations & Legacies 14.0 10.2 (3.8)
Other trading activities 4.0 4.6 0.6
Investments 0.2 0.5 0.3
Rental Income 0.5 0.4 (0.1)
Rental Income 26.9 - (26.9)
(discontinued) [1]
Gains on disposals
0.4 0.0 (0.4)
of fixed assets
Total Income 239.1 216.1 (23.0)
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1 This rental income (discontinued) relates to Golden Lane Housing who demerged from the group on 1 April 2022.

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£193.1m
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£26.9m
£14m
£4m
£0.2m £0.5m £0.4m
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[Charitable activities] [Other trading activities]
[Donations & Legacies] [Investments ]
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Charitable Activities

93% of our total income comes from charitable activities. This relates to receipts for the provision of direct service delivery and includes income from central and local government contracts. The increase of £7.3m is driven primarily by price uplifts of £10.8m, offset by the loss of services through re-tendering (located in Hampshire and Stockport) totalling £5.5m.

Our focus continues to be delivering personalised support to the highest quality standard, using the resources available as efficiently as possible, as well as campaigning to tackle the inequalities faced by the wider 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK.

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£200.4m
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£10.2m
£4.6m
£0.5m £0.4m
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[Rental Income] [Gains on disposals of fixed assets]
[Rental Income (discontinued)]
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Total Income

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£239.1m
£216.1m
2021/22 2022/23
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Donations and legacies

2022/23 was our lowest legacy income year going back at least 10 years which is due to a drop in notifications exacerbated by probate delays. Whilst legacy income has fallen in 2022/23, we expect that this will return to 2021/22 levels in 2023/24. It remains a major source of funding and we remain very grateful that people continue to remember us in their wills.

Donations and legacies fell to £10.2m from £14.0m in 2021/22. Much of the reduction relates to a substantive decrease in legacy income, a reduction in trust funds which had increased over the pandemic and cost of living pressures on donations.

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2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
£m £m £m £m £m
Donations 3.2 3.4 2.8 3.1 2.8
Legacies 6.2 6.8 7.9 8.3 5.5
Trust funds 0.6 0.8 1.8 1.1 0.6
Community 0.2 0.2 0.4 1.1 0.4
Organisations raising funds 0.3 0.3 3.6 0.2 0.9
Gifts in kind 0.3 1.3 2.0 0.2 0.1
Total 10.8 12.8 18.5 14.0 10.3
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Total Donations and Legacies 2018-2023 (£m)

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20
15
10
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
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Other Trading activities

Retail has seen strong growth in store performance and therefore trading income. This has been driven by improved quality and volume of stock donations postcovid, and more people shopping in charity stores due to the cost of living crisis. It is expected that this trend will continue into 2023/24.

Other trading activities relates to the income generated from Mencap’s retail stores as well as undertaking DBS checks for external organisations and our trust management services.

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2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
£m £m £m £m £m
Other trading income 3.0 3.3 1.7 4.0 4.6
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Total expenditure

Expenditure on raising funds increased from £3.5m in 2021/22 to £3.6m in 2022/23. This was due to the cost of fundraising being unusually low in 2020/21 due to the uncertainties around covid and reduced spend on fundraising events.

Total expenditure in 2022/23 increased by 5.5% based on the previous year to £221.7m, after adjusting for Golden Lane Housing. The split of expenditure is summarised in the table below.

Our spend on charitable activities increased from £203.0m to £214.3m. This was due to increased payroll costs of £10.0m and £1.3m on other direct and allocated costs. The increased payroll costs were due to a commitment during the year to increase the minimum hourly rate for a support worker to £10.33 and also the increased agency costs incurred in 2022/23.

Added to these costs, losses on investments of (£0.8m) saw a total net expenditure position of (£6.4m). 78% of this total net expenditure was unrestricted.

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2021/22
Areas of expenditure 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Adjusted [1] 2022/23
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Raising funds 6.7 6.7 3.2 3.5 3.5 3.6
Trading Costs of Subsidiaries 0 0 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.8
Charitable activities 202.1 206.1 218.4 227.0 203.0 214.3
Total 208.8 212.8 225.3 234.0 210.0 221.7
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1 This shows 2021/22 excluding Golden Lane Housing who demerged from the group on 1 April 2022.

Total Expenditures 2018-2023 (£m)

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240
230
220
210
200
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
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Net movement in funds

Net negative adjustments to the defined benefit pension schemes of (£1.7m) were made following revisions to actuarial valuations. This meant that the Group deficit was (£8.1m). The split between restricted and unrestricted is shown in the table below.

The group had £3.4m in cash at 31 March 2023, of which £3.0m belonged to the Charity and the remaining £0.4m is retained by subsidiaries. Our cash position remains strong enough to allow us to operate effectively and contributes towards ensuring we meet our reserves policy requirements.

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Total restricted (deficit) Total unrestricted (deficit)
(£1.4m) (£6.7m) [1]
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Additionally, around £12.2m of investments are held in a portfolio with high liquidity. Together with an arranged, unused overdraft, this ensures Mencap has adequate liquidity levels.

1 This includes defined benefit pension losses totalling £1.7m

Charity Reserves

The table below provides a five-year summary of the reserves position. Each year in the table relates to the Mencap charity only and excludes subsidiaries.

The designated funds are the funds set aside for strategic investment in the Big Plan. £9.0m was set aside in 2020/21 and there was (£1.3m) of spend in 2022/23. The Pension fund movements represent the pension deficit payment of (£1.8m) in 2022/23 as well as the actuarial losses recorded on the defined benefit pension schemes of (£1.7m).

Restricted funds saw income of £7.4m, spend of (£8.4m) and losses of (£0.3m) giving a total movement of (£1.4m). Unrestricted Funds have seen a decrease of (£6.7m) due to the fall in our net income as detailed above.

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2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
£m £m £m £m £m
Restricted Funds 7.7 10.0 14.1 14.0 12.6
Unrestricted Funds 34.8 33.2 27.1 30.8 25.1
Designated Funds - - 9.0 6.4 5.1
Pension Fund (10.7) (1.3) (2.6) (2.3) (2.4)
Total Charity Funds 31.8 41.9 47.6 48.9 40.4
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Total Charity Funds 2018-2023 (£m)

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50
40
30
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
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Investment policy and performance for the charity

Mencap’s Free Reserves

From 1st April 2021, Mencap moved to a reserves policy based on liquidity, with free reserves now defined as the total of unrestricted cash plus unrestricted marketable investments.

The investment policy is designed to support the reserves policy. Mencap has adopted a prudent investment policy to balance potential returns with appropriate levels of risk.

This change was made to align reserves management more closely with the operation and to improve transparency, making it easier for all stakeholders to understand how the reserves figure is reached, and how it is used to support financial sustainability across the life of Mencap’s three-year financial plan.

The Charity holds three investment portfolios. One portfolio relates to the Mencap Visiting Service and is designed to meet its funding needs over the long-term so that the service can continue to operate for as long as the beneficiaries need it. The portfolio has a longtime horizon and independent MVS trustees monitor performance regularly to make sure that the assets will be sufficient to meet the needs of the service.

Our target range for free reserves is reviewed annually and is currently set at between £10m to £15m. This was arrived at using scenario planning, incorporating key financial risks in the areas of Personal Support, Fundraising and Retail. The range has increased from the previously agreed position of £8m to £13m, reflecting the increased risks within the care sector that Mencap faces. The next formal review is scheduled to be presented to Mencap’s Audit, Finance and Risk Committee in October 2023.

The other investment portfolios form part of the Charity’s unrestricted funds and form part of the free reserves. One is invested for the long term and its objective is to provide a return in excess of inflation, as measured by CPI. A second is invested in liquid funds, retaining access to the funds at short notice should they be required. We encourage our investment managers to hold investments in funds which have a positive benefit for society, including companies which take a positive approach to disability.

Unrestricted cash as at 31 March 2023 was (£3.0m) for society, including companies which take a positive (2022: £4.8m) which together with unrestricted approach to disability. marketable investments of £16.1m, (2021: £19.9m) gives a total of £13.2m of free reserves. For operational cash management, the cash at Fund Value as at 31/3/23 bank balance is pooled between unrestricted and restricted balances on the basis that there are Mencap Visiting Service £5.9m sufficient unrestricted liquid investments of £10.9m to drawdown into cash as required. Long Term Funds £10.9m This figure is within the free reserves range. The free Liquid funds £5.2m

This figure is within the free reserves range. The free reserves position is regularly monitored and reported to trustees as part of the quarterly reforecasting cycle. Ensuring that the minimum free reserves figure is not breached is a fundamental part of our regular stress testing of the resilience of Mencap’s three-year financial plan.

During the year, Schroder and Co Ltd, trading as Cazenove Capital Management, continued to be engaged to manage the Mencap and Mencap Visiting Service portfolios. The funds were fully invested throughout the year. The returns over the year to 31 March 2023 were net negative as global markets continued to recover from their March 2020 lows, fuelled by the vaccine roll-out and improving economic growth across the world. The long-term funds returned (3.5%) over the year and the return for the MVS portfolio was also negative at (3.4%). The liquid funds generated a positive return of 2%.

Following the results of the triennial valuation of the Mencap Pension Plan (as of 31 March 2020), a schedule of contributions was agreed between the Charity and the pension trustee. Annual contributions of £1.8m pa are made and this has helped the reduction of the technical pension deficit. It is important to note that these annual contributions are budgeted in full and therefore taken account of as we manage our actual liquidity against the reserves target range. The next actuarial valuation is currently being undertaken with the valuation based on the position as at 31 March 2023.

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Risk management and internal control for the charity

Risks will be logged on the assurance framework in the following circumstances:

Risk management is embedded across Mencap. The board of trustees is supported by the audit and risk and the quality and compliance committees. Independent assurance of the robustness of the control environment is provided by an outsourced internal audit function from RSM UK.

Risk management at the operational level is managed by the executive directors, who review risks regularly both within their directorates and as a group.

As at the time of writing, the key risks on Mencap’s strategic risk register, together with the principal controls and main sources of assurances we have in place to mitigate these risks, are shown in the table below.

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No. Risk Theme Key Controls
1 Maintaining service quality standards • Manager’s assurance tool
• Policies & procedures
• Regulatory inspection and peer review programme
• Regulatory training/support for managers
• Incident trend analysis
• Whistleblowing policy & procedures
• Incident reporting
2 Maintaining financial sustainability • Quarterly stress testing of the medium term financial plan
• Monitoring of performance against key financial trigger points
• Monthly financial reporting to executive team and trustees
• Financial recovery plan is in place with regular Exec review of its delivery.
3 Recruiting and retaining a skilled • Pay & Reward Strategy
colleague base. • Manager development programmes are in place
• Inclusive & equitable recruitment processes
• Induction process sets out our values and expectations of new colleagues
• Workforce group to focus on this area.
• Monitoring of exit interviews data to track culture
4 Cyber and information security risks • Information security environment meets external ISO27001 accreditation
• Annual GDPR training is mandatory for all colleagues
• We have strengthened our cyber security arrangements including the
implementation of Multi-Factor authentication on all devices
5 External influence and perception • Communications strategy.
• Horizon scanning
• Regular media monitoring
7 Reduction in Fundraising income • Fundraising strategy in place
• Accountability process overseeing fundraising performance in place with regular
monitoring of performance.
8 Shortfall in Local Authority Funding • Deficit services monitored regularly with actions taken to mitigate the loss.
• Annual price uplift monitoring
• Action plan in place to reduce the level of agency spend.
9 Property Health & Safety Compliance • Manager Assurance tool ensures health & safety checks have been completed
• Annual property maintenance annual plans
• Ongoing review of where property responsibilities data
10 Progress against Ofsted recommendations • Ofsted improvement action plan in place
• Clear KPI’s set for the delivery team
• Data dashboards & trackers to monitor progress
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Going Concern

Within this report, we have highlighted Mencap’s strong financial performance over the last 5 years, the level of reserves held and the principal risks and uncertainties that we face. From a financial perspective, Mencap is well placed to manage these risks. This assertion is supported by

The annual budget is approved by the Board of Trustees on an annual basis and performance against budget is reviewed and reforecast on a quarterly basis. The 2023/24 budget assumes a break even position as the outcomes from the financial recovery plan are delivered throughout the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years.

Our medium term financial plan to 2025/26 forecasts that we will remain above our minimum free reserves figure. As detailed in our reserves policy and explained here, we hold free reserves to provide cover for unexpected changes in income and expenditure and to allow us to adjust our cost base and continue activities. We will continue to monitor the situation and manage our finances accordingly.

As at 31 March 2023, Mencap was holding marketable investments of £22.0m, in addition to £3.4m of operational cash. We acknowledge our pension fund obligations and have a clear strategy to manage the deficit. This includes a deficit reduction plan that is designed to get the scheme to self-sufficiency by 2028, subject to continued discussion and agreement with the pension scheme trustee board.

The trustees therefore have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, being at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. Accordingly, the financial statements continue to be prepared on the going concern basis.

Statement of Public Benefit

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Statement of trustees’ responsibilities

The trustees (who are also directors of Royal Mencap Society for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards).

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions, disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the provisions of the charity’s constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company/group for that period.

Disclosure of information to auditors

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

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

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn: DBE, Chair

Kathryn Cearns: Trustee

Independent Auditor’s Report

Conclusions relating to going concern

Opinion

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.

We have audited the financial statements of the Royal Mencap Society (‘the charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (‘the group’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (Incorporating the income and expenditure account), the Consolidated and Charity Balance Sheets, the Consolidated 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).

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

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

In our opinion the financial statements:

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.

Basis for opinion

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

We have nothing to report in this regard.

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Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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.

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

We have been appointed as auditor under section 44(1) (c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and charitable company and their 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.

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.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 112, 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

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

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of noncompliance 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 including significant component audit teams. 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 and group 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 and The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, 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 and the group’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company and the group for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context for the UK operations were CQC regulations for service providers and managers, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health and Safety legislation and Employment legislation.

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 contract, grant and legacy income and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management, internal audit and the Audit & Risk Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals, 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 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, and to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 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 and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or

for the opinions we have formed.

Nicola May

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

7[th] September 2023

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Financial statements

Consolidated statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2023 (incorporating the income and expenditure account)

----- Start of picture text -----
Notes Unrestricted Restricted Discontinued Total Unrestricted Restricted Discontinued Total
funds funds Operations 2023 funds funds Operations 2022
Funds Funds
----- End of picture text -----
Income from: £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Donations and
Legacies		 2,29 8,661 1,562 - 10,223 10,987 2,974 (1) 13,960
Charitable
activities		 3,29 194,709 5,700 - 200,409 185,190 7,891 54 193,135
Other trading
activities		 4 4,583 - - 4,583 3,951 - - 3,951
Investments 5 337 104 - 441 119 93 3 215
Property income 6 422 - - 422 404 106 26,877 27,387
Gain on disposal of
fxed assets		 34 - - 34 175 - 191 366
Total 208,746 7,366 - 216,112 200,826 11,064 27,124 239,014
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 7 3,497 105 - 3,602 3,370 86 - 3,456
Trading Costs of
Subsidiaries		 7 3,760 10 - 3,770 3,499 7 3,506
Charitable activities 7 206,001 8,334 - 214,335 191,391 11,590 24,006 226,987
Total 213,258 8,449 - 221,707 198,260 11,683 24,006 233,949
Net losses on
investments		 14 (523) (299) - (822) 383 469 - 852
Net income/
(expenditure)		 (5,035) (1,382) - (6,417) 2,949 (150) 3,118 5,917
Transfers between
funds		 23 16 (16) - - (38) 38 -
Transfer of
unrestricted
discontinued
operations to Golden
Lane Housing
(Charity Registration
Number 1071097)		 30 - - (37,402) (37,402) - - - -
Transfer of restricted
discontinued
operations to Golden
Lane Housing
(Charity Registration
Number 1071097)		 30 - - (26,522) (26,522) - - - -
Other recognised
gains/(losses)
Actuarial losses
on defned beneft
pension schemes		 (1,719) - - (1,719) (1,436) - - (1,436)
Net movement
in funds		 (6,738) (1,398) (63,924) (72,060) 1,475 (112) 3,118 4,481
Reconciliation of
Funds
Total funds
brought forward		 34,548 14,025 63,924 112,497 33,073 14,137 60,806 108,016
Total funds
carried forward		 27,810 12,627 - 40,437 34,548 14,025 63,924 112,497

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Consolidated balance sheet as at 31 March 2023

Charity balance sheet as at 31 March 2023

Fixed assets
pC		 Notes 2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
Intangible assets 12 19 365
Tangible assets 13 16,345 129,893
Investments 14 22,003 26,310
Total fixed assets 38,367 156,568
Current assets
Debtors 17 30,416 27,235
Stock 19 38
Cash at bank and in hand 3,377 21,879
Total current assets 33,812 49,152
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts fallingwithin oneyear 18 (23,147) (31,543)
Net current assets or liabilities 10,665 17,609
Total assets less current liabilities 49,032 174,177
Creditors: Amounts fallingdue after more than oneyear 19 (540) (54,287)
Provisions for liabilities 21 (5,681) (5,101)
Net assets or liabilities excluding pension asset or liability 42,811 114,789
Defined benefitpension scheme liability 24 (2,374) (2,292)
Total net assets or liabilities 40,437 112,497
The funds of thegroup:
Restricted income funds 23 12,627 40,547
Unrestricted funds 25,072 61,247
Designated funds 5,112 12,995
Pension reserve (2,374) (2,292)
Total unrestricted funds 23 27,810 71,950
Totalgroupfunds 40,437 112,497

With effect from 1 April 2022 Golden Lane Housing ceased to be part of the Mencap group. With effect from this date, fixed assets, debtors, cash at bank and in hand and creditors of the charity were transferred as a going concern to Golden Lane Housing Limited (Charity Registration Number 1071097). For more details on this, see note 30.

These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the trustees on 17 July 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn: Chair Kathryn Cearns: Trustee The notes on pages 124 to 160 form part of these financial statements.

Notes
2022
£’000
2021
£’000
Fixed assets
ee		 Notes
2022
£’000
2021
£’000
Fixed assets
ee		 Notes
2022
£’000
2021
£’000
Fixed assets
ee		 Notes
2022
£’000
2021
£’000
Fixed assets
ee
Intangible assets 12 19 70
Tangible assets 13 16,345 16,755
Investments 14 22,003 26,310
Total fixed assets 38,367 43,135
Current assets
Debtors 17 30,482 26,697
Cash at bank and in hand 2,971 12,875
Total current assets 33,453 39,572
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts fallingwithin oneyear 18 (23,070) (26,086)
Net current assets or liabilities 10,383 13,486
Total assets less current liabilities 48,750 56,621
Creditors: Amounts fallingdue after more than oneyear 19 (540) (608)
Provisions for liabilities 21 (5,656) (4,759)
Net assets or liabilities excluding pension asset or liability 42,554 51,254
Defined benefitpension scheme liability 24 (2,374) (2,292)
Total net assets or liabilities 40,180 48,962
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds 12,627 14,025
Unrestricted funds 24,815 30,812
Designated funds 5,112 6,417
Pension reserve (2,374) (2,292)
Total unrestricted funds 27,553 34,937
Total charityfunds 40,180 48,962

The charity has taken exemption from presenting its unconsolidated profit and loss account under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. The net expenditure of the charity in 2023 was £(6.5m) (2022: Net income £2.8m).

These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the trustees on 17 July 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn: Chair

Kathryn Cearns: Trustee

The notes on pages 124 to 160 form part of these financial statements.

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120 ROYAL MENCAP SOCIETY ANNUAL REVIEW APRIL 2022 to MARCH 2023

Consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 March 2023

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
----- End of picture text -----

Cash fows from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities (see below) (12,680) 7,331
Cash fows from investing activities
Dividends, interest and rents from investments 441 215
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment 34 1,838
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (527) (8,947)
Proceeds from the sale of investments 18,520 24,821
Purchase of investments (15,035) (24,958)
Shared investment contribution (538) (94)
Cash and cash equivalents transferred to Golden Lane Housing Limited
(Charity Registration Number 1071097)		 (8,657) -
Net cash used in investment activities (5,762) (7,125)
Cash fows from fnancing activities
Repayments of borrowing (60) (12,577)
Cash infows from new borrowing - 13,000
Net cash used in fnancing activities (60) 423
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period (18,502) 629
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period 21,879 21,250
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period 3,377 21,879

Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
----- End of picture text -----

Net income for the reporting period
(asper the statement of fnancial activities)		 (6,417) 5,917
Adjustments for:
Depreciation and amortisation charges 988 2,489
(Gain)/Loss on investments 822 (852)
Dividends, interest and rents from investments (441) (215)
Defned beneft pension expense 211 157
Proft on the sale of fxed assets (34) (366)
Decrease / (Increase) in stocks 19 11
Decrease /(Increase) in debtors (5,590) 1,811
(Decrease)/Increase in creditors (excluding loans) (970) 410
(Decrease)/Increase in provisions 580 (158)
Defned beneft pension defcit reduction (1,848) (1,873)
Net cash provided by operating activities (12,680) 7,331

Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
Cash at bank and in hand 3,377 18,858
Notice deposits (less than 3 months) - 3,021
Total cash and cash equivalents 3,377 21,879

With effect from 1 April 2022 Golden Lane Housing ceased to be part of the Mencap group. With effect from this date, cash at bank and in hand and net assets of the charity were transferred as a going concern to Golden Lane Housing Limited (Charity Registration Number 1071097). For more details on this see note 30.

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1. Accounting policies

1. Accounting policies

(a) Company information

Royal Mencap Society is a public benefit entity registered as charity in England and Wales and a company limited by guarantee. It was incorporated on 9 June 1955 (company number: 550457) and registered as a charity on 23 July 1964 (charity number: 222377). It is also registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator on 11 December 2009 (charity number: SC041079).

The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association (last amended 15 October 2014).

In the event of the company being wound up members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 each.

The registered office of Royal Mencap Society is 6 Cyrus Way, Hampton, Peterborough PE7 8HP.

(b) Basis of preparation and going concern

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Companies Act 2006 and the 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) - effective 1 January 2015.

On 1 April 2022 the charity’s former subsidiary Golden Lane Housing Limited ceased to be part of the group. The financial results of Golden Lane Housing Limited for the year ending 31 March 2022 are included in the comparative figures in these financial statements.

The charity’s other trading subsidiaries as disclosed in the accounts are fully consolidated, as in all cases the charity is the sole member.

Mencap is well placed to manage the business risks we face. This position is supported by a sufficient level of liquid reserves to cover business continuity and development plans, a good relationship with our key funders and proven ability to retain and secure new services.

The Budget for financial year 2023/24 was approved by the RMS Board in March 2024.

The 2023/24 Budget anticipates an operating deficit of £(0.4m), comprising a net surplus of £1.1m and £(1.5)m of investment spend supporting our new strategy. RMS has designated reserves of £9m to invest behind the Big Plan. We hold free reserves to provide cover for unexpected changes in income and expenditure, allowing us to continue activities whilst we adjust our cost base as required. We will continue to monitor the situation and manage our finances accordingly.

At the year-end RMS was holding marketable investments of £22m, in addition to £3m of operational cash.

Our planning processes, including financial projections, take into consideration the current economic climate and its potential impact on the various sources of income and planned expenditure. We acknowledge our pension fund obligations and have a clear strategy to manage the deficit, which includes a deficit reduction plan that is designed to get the scheme to self-sufficiency by 2028, subject to continued discussion and agreement with the pension scheme trustee board.

The trustees therefore have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future being at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. Accordingly, the financial statements continue to be prepared on the going concern basis.

(c) Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the group’s accounting policies, which are described in this note, trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other

sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

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

Significant areas of estimate and judgement include provisions, assumptions used to value the defined benefit pension scheme, and the remaining useful life of assets. Related accounting policies for these items are noted below.

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the presentation of the financial statements are as follows:

(d) Income

All income is accounted for when Mencap has entitlement, there is probability of receipt and the amount is measurable.

Charitable activities (see note 3)

Income in respect of contracts for the provision of services is recognised when Mencap is entitled based on services provided. Amounts received in advance of service provision are deferred until the relevant part of the contracted service is complete.

Legacies (see note 2)

Legacies are accounted for when notified, providing the amount can be reliably measured and that ultimate receipt is probable. This is usually at the point of probate. Legacies which include a life interest held by another party are recognised on notification of the death of the party benefiting from the life interest.

Donations (see note 2)

Income from donations is recognised when there is evidence of entitlement to the gift, receipt is probable, and the amount can be measured reliably. This is usually upon receipt of the donation.

Gifts in kind (see note 2)

Donated goods and services are included as income within the statement of financial activities (with an equivalent amount in expenditure) at their fair value, where Mencap is entitled to the donation, it is probable that it will be received, and the fair value can be measured reliably.

Property Income (see note 6)

Rental and service charge income is recognised on an accruals basis and recognised when the property is available for let, net of voids. As included in the comparative figures for the year ending 31 March 2022, Golden Lane Housing operates a fixed service charge scheme. Where periodic expenditure is required, this will be treated as deferred income and held on the Statement of Financial Position until the costs are incurred.

Investments (see note 14)

Listed investments are stated at market value at the balance sheet date. The SOFA includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluations and disposals throughout the year. Interest income receivable or payable is credited or charged to the income and expenditure account in the financial year to which it relates.

Grants (see note 3 and 6)

Grant income is recognised in the statement of financial activities when received or when the charity becomes entitled to receipt. Grants that have been received will be treated as deferred income where there are specific requirements in the terms of the grant that the income recognition is dependent on certain activities being completed in a future accounting period.

(e) Expenditure

(i) Activity related expenditure (see note 7)

The charity’s cost of operating includes staff costs, rent and other related costs. Costs are allocated between raising funds and charitable activities. Raising funds includes costs of raising funds, investment management costs and the trading costs of subsidiaries. Charitable activities includes strategic lever costs of providing services; campaigning for change; support with advice; researching & evaluating; building peoples own capabilities; providing housing and governance & support costs. All costs are accounted for on an accruals basis.

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1. Accounting policies continued

(ii) Basis of allocation of support costs (see note 7) Support costs include management, finance, information technology and human resources. They are apportioned across the charity based on use.

Governance costs other than those disclosed specifically in the notes to these accounts are included within support costs and allocated on the same basis.

(iii) Pension costs (see note 24)

Mencap pension scheme (defined benefit)

The Mencap defined benefit scheme was closed to new entrants on 1 October 2001 and closed to future service benefit accrual with effect from 31 March 2009.

Pension scheme assets are measured at fair value and liabilities are measured on an actuarial basis using the projected unit method and discounted at a rate equivalent to the current rate of return on a high quality corporate bond of equivalent currency and term to the scheme liabilities. The actuarial assumptions are reviewed every three years.

The valuation is updated at each balance sheet date and the resulting defined benefit asset or liability is shown separately after other net assets on the face of the balance sheet. This defined benefit asset or liability is also disclosed separately within unrestricted funds.

The amounts charged to the statement of financial activities are the current service costs, which are included within staff costs, and gains and losses on settlements and curtailments. Past service costs are recognised immediately if the benefits have vested. Defined actuarial gains and losses are recognised under other recognised gains and losses.

The defined benefit schemes are funded, with the assets of the scheme held separately from those of the group in separate trustee administered funds.

If members of the defined benefit pension schemes have not yet retired, their costs are recognised over the period leading to retirement. Further details of the nature of these costs are given in note 24: Pension scheme.

Other defined benefit schemes

Mencap also participates in a number of local government pension schemes in relation to a small number of staff who have transferred over to Mencap. Mencap participates in these schemes by way of admission agreements. Full provision has been made according to FRS 102 in the financial statements in relation to one of the schemes. However, as the liability is not material, disclosure has been limited so as not to distort or overstate the importance of this scheme.

Defined contribution scheme

The charity also contributes to a defined contribution scheme, which was opened on 1 April 2002. This is currently operated by AEGON (Formerly Blackrock). A workplace pension scheme is operated by NEST.

For the defined contribution scheme, the amount charged to the statement of financial activities in respect of pension costs and other post-retirement benefits is the contributions payable in the year. Differences between contributions payable in the year and contributions actually paid are shown as either accruals or prepayments in the balance sheet.

The cost of the charity’s contributions to the defined contribution scheme is allocated between restricted and unrestricted funds in accordance with the functions of the individual employees to whom the contributions relate.

(iv) Redundancy and termination costs

Employee benefits paid on redundancy or termination include accrued amounts where Mencap is demonstrably committed to make these payments but they had not yet been made at 31 March 2023. All accrued amounts are fully funded and expected to be settled within 12 months of the balance sheet date.

(f) Tangible and intangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets (see note 13)

Tangible fixed assets costing more than £2,000 are capitalised; all tangible assets costing less than this amount are expensed immediately.

Depreciation is provided so as to write off the cost of the assets (net of any shared investment contributions where applicable) in equal instalments over the estimated useful lives of the assets.

The depreciation rates used to achieve this are as follows:

Assets under construction is a category holding assets pending completion and transfer into the relevant fixed asset category. These assets are capitalised at cost and not subject to depreciation or impairment unless extraordinary circumstances have occurred which would require provision to be made.

Office properties are held at cost.

Residential property is held at cost, less contributions from individuals and their families where applicable. Shared investment contributions are accounted in this way where individuals or families have a right to an equity share of the property on disposal, including any resulting profit or loss.

All other tangible fixed assets are subject to review for impairment/accelerated depreciation where there is an indication of a reduction in their carrying value. Any impairment/accelerated depreciation is recognised in the statement of financial activities in the year in which it occurs.

Intangible fixed assets (see note 12)

Intangible fixed assets costing more than £2,000 are capitalised; all intangible assets costing less than this amount are expensed immediately.

Amortisation is provided so as to write off the cost of the assets in equal instalments over the estimated useful lives of the assets. The amortisation rates used to achieve this are as follows:

Component accounting - Golden Lane Housing

Results for Golden Lane Housing Limited are included in the comparative figures for the year ending 31 March 2022. In accordance with FRS 102, Golden Lane Housing Limited recognises and depreciates tangible and intangible fixed assets using component accounting. As a result, it uses a separate and more detailed set of depreciation rates as follows:

Finance leases

Leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of the leased asset to the group. All other leases are classified as operating leases.

Assets held under finance leases are recognised initially at the fair value of the leased asset (or, if lower, the present value of minimum lease payments) at the inception of the lease.

The corresponding liability to the lessor is included in the statement of financial position as a finance lease obligation.

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1. Accounting policies continued

Lease payments are apportioned between finance charges and reduction of the lease obligation using the effective interest method so as to achieve a constant rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability.

Operating leases (see note 11)

Rentals under operating leases are charged on a straight-line basis over the lease term, even if the payments are not made on such a basis. Benefits received and receivable as an incentive to sign an operating lease are spread on a straight-line basis over the lease term which runs to the date of the first relevant break clause.

(g) Current assets and liabilities

Stock

Stock, which comprises stationery and goods for resale, is stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Donated stock is carried at nil value as it is considered impractical to obtain a reliable valuation. The value of goods is instead recognised at their retail price when sold.

Provisions – general (see note 21)

Provision is made for present obligations where it is probable settlement will be required in the future and the amount can be estimated reliably, but the amount or timing is not certain. Amounts provided for, other than for Mencap Visiting Service and leasehold property dilapidations, are expected to be settled within 12 months and are therefore recognised at the estimated settlement amount.

Provisions –Mencap Visiting Service

Provision is made to cover the estimated all future costs of providing the Mencap Visiting Service over its remaining life. In estimating the provision, account is taken of the estimated number of years that the service will be provided to individuals as well as estimated future inflation rates and rates of return on investments associated with the scheme. Investments held by Mencap to cover the liability of providing the Mencap Visiting Service are held in trust for this purpose.

Deferred income

Grants that have been received will be treated as deferred income where there is a specific requirement in the terms of the grant that the income recognition is dependent on certain activities being completed in a future accounting period(s).

(h) Basic financial instruments (see note 20)

Financial assets (including cash and debtors) and financial liabilities are recognised when the group becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Additionally, all financial assets and liabilities are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into.

Financial assets and liabilities are initially measured at transaction price (including transaction costs) and are subsequently remeasured where applicable at amortised cost, except for investments which are measured at fair value with gains and losses recognised in the statement of financial activities.

Financial assets include cash, trade debtors, intercompany debtors, other debtors and accrued income. Financial assets held at fair value include investments.

Financial liabilities include trade creditors, other creditors, finance leases, bonds, loans and accruals.

(i) Funds (see note 23)

The charitable companies within the group maintain various types of fund as follows:

• Restricted funds are those which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charities for particular purposes.

• Unrestricted funds are funds which are expendable at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charities.

• Designated funds are unrestricted funds which have been set aside by the trustees of the charities for specific purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund are set out in the notes to the financial statements along with estimated timescales as to when the funds will be spent.

2. Donations and legacies

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Total Continued Discontinued Total
funds funds 2023 Operations Operations 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Donations 2,707 106 2,813 3,073 (1) 3,072
Legacies 5,379 121 5,500 8,256 - 8,256
Trust Fund 155 443 598 1,103 - 1,103
Community / Big Lottery Fund 242 145 387 1,124 - 1,124
Organisations raising funds 164 700 864 175 - 175
Gifts in Kind 14 47 61 230 - 230
Total donations and legacies 8,661 1,562 10,223 13,961 (1) 13,960
----- End of picture text -----

3. Income from charitable activities

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Continued Discontinued Group
2023 Operations Operations 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
-
Personal support 191,403 186,064 186,064
Other 9,006 7,017 54 7,071
Total income from charitable activities 200,409 193,081 54 193,135
----- End of picture text -----

Other income from charitable activities primarily consists of receipts for a range services: the provision of support, employment, youth services. Some of these are separately named in note 29(e). Included in income from charitable activities for 2022 was £0.29m received from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

4. Income from trading activities

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
DBS checks 333 384
Retail trading element 3,500 2,969
Trust management services 750 598
Total income from trading activities 4,583 3,951
----- End of picture text -----

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5. Investment income

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Continued Discontinued Group
2023 Operations Operations 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Income from listed investments 440 212 - 212
Bank interest 1 - 3 3
Total 441 212 3 215
----- End of picture text -----

6. Property income

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Continued Discontinued Group
2023 Operations Operations 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Rental income 422 510 25,155 25,665
- -
Government grant income 1,722 1,722
Total 422 510 26,877 27,387
----- End of picture text -----

Figures for financial year 2022 included rental income relating to Golden Lane Housing, which with effect from 1 April 2022 ceased to be part of the group.

7a. Total expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
Other Reallocated
Staff direct support Total Continued Discontinued Total
costs Depreciation costs costs 2023 Operations Operations 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Costs of raising funds 2,097 - 1,094 323 3,514 3,381 - 3,381
Investment management - - 88 - 88 75 - 75
costs
Trading costs of subsidiaries 1,889 123 1,411 347 3,770 3,506 - 3,506
3,986 123 2,593 670 7,372 6,962 - 6,962
Charitable activities:
Providing Services 171,355 232 15,684 18,986 206,257 193,200 - 193,200
Campaigning For Change 2,003 - 653 269 2,925 2,663 - 2,663
Support With Advice 932 - 451 140 1,523 1,341 - 1,341
Researching & Evaluating 300 - 4 31 335 298 - 298
Building People’s Own 1,973 - 881 289 3,143 3,590 - 3,590
Capabilities
Providing Housing 80 - 7 9 96 1,838 24,006 25,844
Defined benefit pension - - 56 - 56 51 - 51
scheme finance costs
176,643 232 17,736 19,724 214,335 202,981 24,006 226,987
Governance & Support Costs 11,653 633 8,108 (20,394) - - - -
Total Expenditure 192,282 988 28,437 - 221,707 209,943 24,006 233,949
----- End of picture text -----

7b. Support costs allocated

----- Start of picture text -----
Finance Total Total
Management and IT HR Other 2023 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Raising Funds 47 205 71 1 324 287
Trading Costs Of Subsidiaries 51 219 76 1 347 297
Providing Services 2,770 12,008 4,146 61 18,985 16,365
Campaigning For Change 39 170 59 1 269 226
Support With Advice 20 89 31 - 140 113
Researching & Evaluating 4 20 7 - 31 25
Building People’s Own
42 183 63 1 289 304
Capabilities
Providing Housing 1 6 2 - 9 2,189
Total 2,974 12,900 4,455 65 20,394 19,806
----- End of picture text -----

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8. Information regarding employees

The estimated average full-time equivalent number of employees by function was:

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
Employees Employees
(FTE) (FTE)
Providing Services 4,700 4,878
Campaigning For Change 42 20
Support With Advice 25 18
Researching & Evaluating 8 6
Building People’s Own Capabilities 49 182
Raising Funds 44 39
Governance & Support Costs 258 263
Providing Housing 4 98
Trading Costs Of Subsidiaries 63 60
Total 5,193 5,564
----- End of picture text -----

Employee costs in the year:

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Wages and salaries 174,570 168,529
Social security costs 13,673 13,138
Pension costs 4,039 3,885
Total staff costs as per note 7a 192,282 185,552
Benefits in kind 26 42
Total employee costs 192,308 185,594
----- End of picture text -----

Included in the above are amounts paid to temporary staff during the year totalling £17.4m (2022: £8.5m).

Redundancy and termination payments:

Expenditure totalling £512,834 (2022: £163,831) was recognised in the year in respect of redundancy and termination payments for employees..

Number of employees with salaries over £60,000

The estimated average number of employees by function was:

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
Employees Employees
Providing Services 7,041 7,323
Campaigning For Change 42 20
Support With Advice 25 18
Researching & Evaluating 8 6
Building People’s Own Capabilities 49 182
Raising Funds 44 39
Governance & Support Costs 258 263
Providing Housing 4 98
Trading Costs Of Subsidiaries 63 60
Total 7,534 8,009
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Total Total
2023 2022
£60,000 - £69,999 27 31
£70,000 - £79,999 11 6
£80,000 - £89,999 7 9
£90,000 - £99,999 5 3
£100,000 - £109,999 6 4
£110,000 - £119,999 1 1
£130,000 - £139,999 1 -
£150,000 - £159,999 - 1
£170,000 - £179,999 - 1
£180,000 - £189,999 1 -
----- End of picture text -----

Of the 59 employees above, 54 are members of the defined contribution scheme. Payments made to the defined contribution scheme on behalf of these individuals amounted to £210,979 (2022: £191,622) for the year.

Trustees and senior management

The senior management of Mencap consists of the executive team and are considered to be key management personnel. The total compensation received by members of the executive team during the year amounted to £1,079,742 (2022: £992,031). More details of executive remuneration can be found in the Trustees’ report. Members of the board of trustees are not remunerated.

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9. Expenses of the trustees

During the year, 10 trustees (2022: 5) were reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses in relation to accommodation, travel and subsistence, or such expenses were paid on their behalf. The total amount of these expenses amounted to £7,397 (2022: £7,154). Members of the board of trustees are not remunerated.

10. Net income/(expenditure)

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Net incoming/(outgoing) resources for the year are stated after charging:
Depreciation and amortisation
Own assets 986 2,472
Leased assets 2 17
Rentals under operating leases
Land and buildings 2,056 7,816
Interest payable
Interest element of finance leases - 1
Bank interest 21 2,168
Defined benefit pension expenditure movement for the year 56 51
Auditors’ remuneration
Audit of the group 92 79
Other non-audit work:
- Tax 166 23
----- End of picture text -----

Included in the audit fee charged for the group was £77k (2022: £66k) for the audit of the parent charity.

11. Operating lease commitments

At 31 March 2023 the group has the following annual commitments under non-cancellable operating leases:

----- Start of picture text -----
Land and Buildings Land and Buildings
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Within one year 2,148 8,930
Within two to five years 6,624 19,292
After five years 8,992 12,586
Total 17,764 40,808
----- End of picture text -----

Figures for financial year 2022 include balances owed by Golden Lane Housing which on 1 April 2022 ceased to be part of the group. See Note 30.

12. Intangible fixed assets

(a) Group

----- Start of picture text -----
Assets under
Software development Total
£’000 £’000 £’000
Cost or valuation
Balance at 1 April 2022 3,301 - 3,301
Additions - 19 19
Disposals - - -
3,301 19 3,320
Transfer to Golden Lane Housing (548) - (548)
Balance at 31 March 2023 2,753 19 2,772
Accumulated depreciation
Balance at 1 April 2022 2,936 - 2,936
Charge for the year 70 - 70
Disposals - - -
-
3,006 3,006
Transfer to Golden Lane Housing (253) - (253)
Balance at 31 March 2023 2,753 - 2,753
Net book value at 31 March 2023 - 19 19
Net book value at 31 March 2022 365 - 365
----- End of picture text -----

(b) Charity

----- Start of picture text -----
Assets under
Software development Total
£’000 £’000 £’000
Cost or valuation
Balance at 1 April 2022 2,732 - 2,732
Additions - 19 19
Disposals - - -
Balance at 31 March 2023 2,732 19 2,751
Accumulated depreciation
Balance at 1 April 2022 2,662 - 2,662
Charge for the year 70 - 70
Disposals - - -
Balance at 31 March 2023 2,732 - 2,732
Net book value at 31 March 2023 - 19 19
Net book value at 31 March 2022 70 - 70
----- End of picture text -----

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13. Tangible fixed assets

(a) Group

----- Start of picture text -----
Freehold Leasehold Fixtures,
land and Assets under land and fittings and Motor
buildings construction buildings equipment vehicles Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost or valuation
Balance at 1 April 2022 131,207 4,510 9,407 8,051 1,402 154,577
Additions - - - 508 - 508
- - - -
Disposals (25) (25)
Add back shared ownership, 744 - - - - 744
eliminated on consolidation
131,951 4,510 9,407 8,559 1,377 155,804
-
Transfer to Golden Lane Housing (115,339) (4,510) (9,383) (388) (129,620)
Balance at 31 March 2023 16,612 - 24 8,171 1,377 26,184
Accumulated depreciation
Balance at 1 April 2022 13,208 - 1,443 5,577 1,394 21,622
Charge for the year 256 - - 654 8 918
Disposals - - - - (25) (25)
Add back shared ownership, 206 - - - - 206
eliminated on consolidation
-
13,670 1,443 6,231 1,377 22,721
- -
Transfer to Golden Lane Housing (11,324) (1,419) (139) (12,882)
Balance at 31 March 2023 2,346 - 24 6,092 1,377 9,839
Net book value at 31 March 2023 14,266 - - 2,079 - 16,345
Net book value at 31 March 2022 117,999 4,510 7,964 2,474 8 132,955
Less shared investment contribution (1,906) - (1,156) - - (3,062)
Balance at 31 March 2022 116,093 4,510 6,808 2,474 8 129,893
----- End of picture text -----

(b) Charity

----- Start of picture text -----
Freehold Leasehold Fixtures,
land and Assets under land and fittings and Motor
buildings construction buildings equipment vehicles Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost or valuation
Balance at 1 April 2022 16,612 - 24 7,663 1,402 25,701
Additions - - - 508 - 508
Disposals - - - - (25) (25)
Balance at 31 March 2023 16,612 - 24 8,171 1,377 26,184
Balance at 31 March 2022 16,612 - 24 7,663 1,402 25,701
Accumulated depreciation
Balance at 1 April 2022 2,090 - 24 5,438 1,394 8,946
Charge for the year 256 - - 654 8 918
Disposals - - - - (25) (25)
Balance at 31 March 2023 2,346 - 24 6,092 1,377 9,839
Net book value at 31 March 2023 14,266 - - 2,079 - 16,345
Net book value at 31 March 2022 14,522 - - 2,225 8 16,755
----- End of picture text -----

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14. Fixed asset investments

----- Start of picture text -----
Group and Charity Group and Charity
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Equities and multi-asset funds
Market value at 1 April 2022 10,992 6,541
Acquisitions 1,369 6,930
Disposals (2,171) (2,839)
Net investment (losses)/gains (344) 360
Market value at 31 March 2023 9,846 10,992
Bonds, cash and alternatives
Market value at 1 April 2022 15,318 18,780
Acquisitions 13,666 18,028
Disposals (16,349) (21,982)
Net investment (losses)/gains (478) 492
Market value at 31 March 2023 12,157 15,318
Total value at 31 March 2023 22,003 26,310
Cost at 31 March 2023 21,628 24,875
----- End of picture text -----

Included in market value of investments is an amount for the Mencap Visitors Scheme of £5.9m (2022: £6.4m). This amount is held in a separate investment fund for the purpose of funding the scheme in future years. The liability of the scheme is shown in note 21.

----- Start of picture text -----
Equities and multi-asset funds Bonds, cash and alternatives Total
2023 2023 2023
£’000 £’000 £’000
Group and Charity:
Equities 9,119 - 9,119
Multi-asset funds 727 - 727
Bonds - 3,628 3,628
Alternatives - 2,761 2,761
Cash - 5,768 5,768
Market value at 31 March 2023 9,846 12,157 22,003
Market value at 31 March 2022 10,992 15,318 26,310
----- End of picture text -----

15. Subsidiaries

The charity owns 100% of the issued capital of the following companies.

----- Start of picture text -----
Subsidiary undertaking Company registration number Principal activity Net assets
£’000
Blue Sky Housing Limited 4412276 Property development -
Mencap Limited 889191 Trading activities -
Mencap Promotions Limited 1016345 Promotional and other special events -
Mencap Trust Company Limited 1233201 Discretionary trust management 257
----- End of picture text -----

All the above are registered in England and Wales.

The above undertakings form part of the group consolidation.

Blue Sky Housing Limited and Mencap Promotions Limited remained dormant throughout the year.

With effect from 1 April 2022 Golden Lane Housing ceased to be part of the group (see Note 30).

16. Net income of group companies including consolidation entries

----- Start of picture text -----
Blue Sky Mencap Trust
Housing Company Mencap Mencap Total Total
Limited Limited Limited Promotions 2023 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Trading subsidiaries
Turnover - 750 431 - 1,181 1,055
Cost of sales - - (342) - (342) (170)
Gross profit/(loss) - 750 89 - 839 885
Administration costs - (617) (15) - (632) (585)
Net profit/(loss) - 133 74 - 207 300
Paid to Royal Mencap Society under Gift Aid - - (74) - (74) (247)
Provision for tax - (25) - - (25) (18)
Retained in subsidiaries - 108 - - 108 35
----- End of picture text -----

The costs of the above subsidiaries are included in the Consolidated statement of financial activities under expenditure on raising funds, less any transactions between companies with the Mencap group.

Note 16 continues on the following page.

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16. Net income of group companies including consolidation entries

(Continued)

----- Start of picture text -----
Royal Mencap Total Continued Discontinued Total
Society 2023 Operations Operations 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Charitable companies:
Incoming resources 214,931 214,931 210,835 27,124 237,959
Resources expended (200,872) (200,872) (195,435) (18,273) (213,708)
Income before administration costs 14,059 14,059 15,400 8,851 24,251
Administration costs (19,762) (19,762) (13,488) (5,733) (19,221)
(5,703) (5,703) 1,912 3,118 5,030
Change to Net gains on investmen (822) (822) 852 - 852
Net income (6,525) (6,525) 2,764 3,118 5,882
----- End of picture text -----

With effect from 1 April 2022 Golden Lane Housing ceased to be part of the group (see Note 30).

17. Debtors

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group Charity Charity
2023 2022 2023 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Trade debtors 16,134 13,215 16,074 11,839
Amount due from group undertakings - - 257 2,028
Other debtors 253 245 253 170
Prepayments 1,298 2,017 1,295 1,251
Accrued income 12,731 11,758 12,603 11,409
Total 30,416 27,235 30,482 26,697
----- End of picture text -----

18. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group Charity Charity
2023 2022 2023 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Obligations under finance leases - 6 - 6
Trade creditors 3,812 3,527 3,782 3,314
Taxation and social security costs 3,119 3,231 3,119 3,231
Other creditors 3,422 7,050 3,422 7,049
Accruals 5,482 7,459 5,435 5,266
Deferred income 7,252 9,107 7,252 7,160
Current portion of long term loans 60 1,163 60 60
Total 23,147 31,543 23,070 26,086
----- End of picture text -----

Deferred income movement

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Charity
2023 2023
£’000 £’000
Balance at 1 April 2022 9,107 7,160
Amount released in the year (9,107) (7,160)
Amount deferred in the year 7,252 7,252
Balance at 31 March 2023 7,252 7,252
----- End of picture text -----

Grants that have been received are treated as deferred income where there is a specific requirement in the terms of the grant that the income recognition is dependent on certain activities being completed in a future accounting period(s).

Figures for financial year 2022 include balances owed by Golden Lane Housing which on 1 April 2022 ceased to be part of the group. See Note 30.

At 31 March 2023, the charity holds £8,378,142 (2022: £5,264,777) on behalf of people we support. This balance has not been included within these financial statements.

Included in the 2022 figures net amounts due from group undertakings is a loan from the charity to Golden Lane Housing Limited for £1.17m which was fully paid in April 2022 following the demerger or Golden Lane Housing Ltd from the Mencap group.

Figures for financial year 2022 include balances owed to Golden Lane Housing which on 1 April 2022 ceased to be part of the group. See Note 30.

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19. Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group Charity Charity
2023 2022 2023 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Obligations under finance leases, two to five years - 8 - 8
Debenture loan - 29,000 - -
Bank loan 540 25,279 540 600
Total 540 54,287 540 608
----- End of picture text -----

In 2007, Mencap obtained a loan for £1.5m, repayable in equal instalments over 25 years, at an interest rate of LIBOR plus 0.95%. As at 31st March 2023, the value of the loan stood at £0.60m.

The loan agreement is secured by an unlimited guarantee between Royal Mencap Society, Mencap Limited, Mencap Promotions Limited and Mencap Trust Company Limited. It is further secured by a first legal charge over our property in Peterborough.

The group loans are repayable as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Under 1 year 60 1,163
Between 1-2 years 60 1,205
Between 2-5 years 180 3,895
Over 5 years 300 49,179
Total 600 55,442
----- End of picture text -----

20. Financial Instruments

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group Charity Charity
2023 2022 2023 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Financial assets measured at amortised cost (a) 29,118 47,096 29,187 38,321
Financial assets measured at fair value (b) 22,003 26,310 22,003 26,310
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost (c) (13,316) (73,494) (13,239) (16,303)
----- End of picture text -----

(a) Financial assets include cash, trade debtors, intercompany debtors, other debtors and accrued income.

(b) Financial assets held at fair value consist of investments.

Fair value is the market value of these investments as determined and quoted in an active market.

The group’s income, expense, gains and losses in respect of financial instruments are summarised below:

----- Start of picture text -----
Gains/ Gains/
Income Expense (losses) Income Expense (losses)
2023 2023 2023 2022 2022 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Financial assets measured at amortised cost 1 - - 4 - -
Financial assets measured at fair value 440 - (822) 212 - 852
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost - (77) - - (2,169) -
----- End of picture text -----

Figures for financial year 2022 include balances owed by Golden Lane Housing which on 1 April 2022 ceased to be part of the group. See Note 30.

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21. Provision for liabilities and charges

(a) Group

----- Start of picture text -----
Mencap Visiting Employee
Service Dilapidations benefits Other Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 31 March 2022 2,166 1,400 1,329 206 5,101
Amount utilised in the year (447) - (1,329) - (1,776)
Amount released in the year - (11) - (162) (173)
Amount provided in the year 530 10 1,265 1,056 2,861
Amount transferred to GLH - - - (332) (332)
Balance at 31 March 2023 2,249 1,399 1,265 768 5,681
----- End of picture text -----

(b) Charity

----- Start of picture text -----
Mencap Visiting Employee
Service Dilapidations benefits Other Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 31 March 2022 2,166 1,119 1,329 145 4,759
Amount utilised in the year (447) - (1,329) - (1,776)
Amount released in the year - (11) - (143) (154)
Amount provided in the year 530 10 1,265 1,022 2,827
Balance at 31 March 2023 2,249 1,118 1,265 1,024 5,656
----- End of picture text -----

The provision for the Mencap Visiting Service is the accumulated costs of providing the visiting service for all of its beneficiaries for the remaining expected need of the service. The costs charged against this provision represent the annual costs of running the service which will run for the length of the life of the beneficiaries. This scheme is closed to new members.

22. Analysis of assets and liabilities between funds

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total
funds funds 2023 funds funds 2022
Group £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Fixed assets 29,369 8,998 38,367 120,421 36,147 156,568
Current assets 26,701 7,111 33,812 39,575 9,577 49,152
Liabilities (28,260) (3,482) (31,742) (88,048) (5,175) (93,223)
Total 27,810 12,627 40,437 71,948 40,549 112,497
----- End of picture text -----

23. Group funds

----- Start of picture text -----
Gains Balance at
Balance Incoming Outgoing and 31 March
1 April 2021 resources resources Transfers losses 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Restricted
Homes 363 7 (16) (1) - 353
Mencap Visiting Service 3,439 147 (365) - 469 3,690
- - -
NewBe project 3,347 (149) 3,198
Northern Ireland Housing Executive - 39 670 (735) 19 - (7)
Supporting People
Rothenberg Fellowship 33 - - - - 33
Service provision - Communities & 3,155 976 (1,412) 766 - 3,485
Programmes
Service provision - Lifestyles & Work 1,365 2,292 (2,336) (393) - 928
Service provision - Personal Support 174 4,809 (4,806) 237 - 414
Service provision - Strategy & Influence 348 671 (621) 85 - 483
-
Service provision - other 1,874 1,492 (1,243) (676) 1,447
- - -
Golden Lane Housing 24,801 1,721 26,522
(Charity Registration Number 1071097)
Young Ambassadors - - - 1 - 1
38,938 12,785 (11,683) 38 469 40,547
Unrestricted
General 26,645 200,826 (195,520) (1,911) 383 30,423
-
Golden Lane Housing 29,434 25,402 (24,006) (6) 30,824
(Charity Registration Number 1071097)
Designated reserves:
- - -
- Strategic Investment 9,000 (2,583) 6,417
Golden Lane Housing 6,571 1 - 6 - 6,578
(Charity Registration Number 1071097)
-
Pension deficit (2,572) (157) 1,873 (1,436) (2,292)
69,078 226,229 (222,266) (-38) (1,053) 71,950
Total 108,016 239,014 (233,949) - (584) 112,497
----- End of picture text -----

Note 23 continues on the following page.

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23. Group funds continued

----- Start of picture text -----
Gains Balance at
Balance Incoming Outgoing and 31 March
1 April 2022 resources resources Transfers losses 2023
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Restricted
Homes 353 6 - 27 - 386
Mencap Visiting Service 3,690 147 (560) (26) (299) 2,952
NewBe project 3,198 8 (69) 2 - 3,139
Northern Ireland Housing Executive - (7) 653 (643) - - 3
Supporting People
Rothenberg Fellowship 33 - - (15) - 18
Service provision - Communities & 3,485 1,490 (1,780) 275 - 3,470
Programmes
Service provision - Lifestyles & Work 928 1,758 (2,133) 40 - 593
Service provision - Personal Support 414 2,090 (2,100) 10 - 414
Service provision - Strategy & Influence 483 587 (653) 14 - 431
Service provision - other 1,447 627 (511) (342) - 1,221
- - - -
Transfer to Golden Lane Housing 26,522 (26,522)
(Charity Registration Number 1071097)
Young Ambassadors 1 - - (1) - -
40,547 7,366 (8,449) (26,538) (299) 12,627
Unrestricted
General 30,423 208,746 (211,742) (1,832) (523) 25,072
- - - -
Transfer to Golden Lane Housing 30,824 (30,824)
(Charity Registration Number 1071097)
Designated reserves:
- - -
- Strategic Investment 6,417 (1,305) 5,112
- - - -
Transfer to Golden Lane Housing 6,578 (6,578)
(Charity Registration Number 1071097)
-
Pension deficit (2,292) (211) 1,848 (1,719) (2,374)
71,950 208,746 (213,258) (37,386) (2,242) 27,810
Total 112,497 216,112 (221,707) (63,924) (2,541) 40,437
----- End of picture text -----

Restricted funds

Restricted funds include the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held in trust to be applied for specific purposes. Mencap holds sufficient resources in an appropriate form to enable each fund to be applied in accordance with its restrictions:

to people with a learning disability.

capital project in Northern Ireland funding the construction of a new building for an early intervention centre for children with a learning disability and their families, and a new headquarters for Mencap in Northern Ireland.

More information about Mencap’s work in these areas, funded by a combination of restricted and unrestricted funds, can be found in the Trustee’s report.

Designated funds

£9m unrestricted funds have been specifically designated as a strategic investment fund by Mencap, with £1.3m spent in the year (2022: £2.6m). The remaining £5.1m to be spent over the next 3 years. The fund has been designated to deliver a range of projects which progress the delivery of Mencap’s Big Plan.

Transfers

In addition to the transfers related to restricted and designated funds detailed above, £1.8m was transferred from general unrestricted reserves to the pension deficit during the year. This corresponds with the actual cash payments made by the group to reduce the pension deficit.

With effect from 1 April 2022 Golden Lane Housing ceased to be part of the group. With effect from this date certain activities, transactions, assets and liabilities of the charity were transferred as a going concern to Golden Lane Housing Limited (Charity Registration Number 1071097). See note 30.

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24. Pension Scheme

Mencap operates a number of pension schemes for the benefit of its employees. At 31 March 2009, Mencap’s defined benefit scheme was closed to future accruals. This means that Mencap will fund the benefits that staff have earned to that date but does not offer the same benefit moving forward due to the inherent risk involved in running this type of scheme.

Staff are, however, able to save for their retirement through a defined contribution scheme to which Mencap contributes. All contributions are expensed in the year that they are made.

In addition to the above, Mencap participates in the Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Fund in respect of a small number of staff who have transferred over to Mencap. Mencap participates in this scheme by way of an admission agreement. In relation to this scheme there are 18 active members, 15 of which are current active Mencap employees. Full provision has been made in the financial statements for this scheme. However, as the liability is not material, detailed disclosure has been limited so as not to distort or overstate the importance of this scheme within Mencap’s overall finances.

At 31 March 2016, Mencap was also participating in the Staffordshire County pension fund in respect of a single active member of staff. This employee has now left Mencap, but a management estimate of the scheme liability is included pending the final liability being settled.

Mencap pension scheme

This scheme is valued annually for the purposes of the annual report and accounts. This valuation, which is carried out under specific accounting rules and detailed in full below, is made so that Mencap can account for the pension liability on its balance sheet.

The Trustees of the pension scheme undertake their own formal valuation once every three years. This valuation provides the basis for agreeing the amounts that Mencap will pay each year to fund the scheme. The last valuation for this purpose was undertaken in March 2020 and Mencap agreed to continue with a schedule of contributions to settle the pension deficit over a period of 14 years.

From the year ended March 2016 and going forward Mencap agreed to make the following cash payments to the scheme:

For the period 1 April 2015 £ 4 million to 31 March 2016

For the periods 1 April 2016 £ 2.1m per annum to 31 March 2028

In 2022 the following amendment was made:

For the periods 1 April 2022 £1.8m per annum to 31 March 2028

At the end of March 2023 the total scheme liabilities were valued at £97.3 million and the assets at £95.0 million. The net deficit is therefore £2.3 million. This is a change of £3.3m from the net surplus of £1m reported last year. However, the triennial valuation still shows a sizeable deficit. The annual accounts will typically show a stronger position than the triennial valuation. This is because the accounting standards require a fair view of the position (broadly, neither overstating, nor understating the funding level). Triennial valuations, which are used to determine contributions to the Plan, are overseen by the Pensions Regulator which requires a prudent view of the position (i.e. understating the funding level) to ensure schemes are not underfunded. The next triennial valuation will take place in 2023.

The main reasons for the change to a net deficit position of £2.3 million are as follows:

• A significant rise in actual inflation over the past year than expected when setting assumptions. In 2022 we assumed a future rate of inflation of RPI 3.7% however the actual inflation rate in 2023 was much higher than this. A higher inflation rate means more funds will be needed for future benefit.

• The “gilt crisis” in September 2022 resulted in a significant decrease in the valuation of the plan’s assets (2022: £144.5 million, 2023: £95.0 million). This was not offset to the same extent by the decrease in the plan liabilities, resulting in a net deficit.

There has been a partial buy-in to an insurance policy, the value of which is detailed in the Assets table in the note on page 150.

The following assumptions have been used to place a value on the retirement benefit obligations of the charity:

Financial Assumptions

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
% per annum % per annum
Retail price inflation (% p.a.) 3.20% 3.70%
Consumer price inflation (% p.a.) 2.55% 2.95%
Discount rate 4.90% 2.70%
----- End of picture text -----

The Demographic assumptions used are:

Longevity assumptions as at 31 March 2023

----- Start of picture text -----
Male and Female
Base table 115%/110% S3PA for males/females
CMI 2021 core model with an initial addition of 0.1%, 10% 2020 and 2021 weightings,
Future improvements
and 1.6%/1.2% long-term improvement rates for males/females
----- End of picture text -----

Life expectancies as at:

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 31 March
2023 2022
Males (M) or Females (F) M F M F
Average future life expectancy (in years) for a pensioner aged 65 at 31 March 2023 20.8 23.4 21.8 24.4
Average future life expectancy (in years) at age 65 for a non-pensioner aged 45 at 31 March 2023
22.6 24.8 22.9 25.7
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Based on these assumptions the balance sheet position is as follows:

Assets

----- Start of picture text -----
Fund value 31 March 2023 Fund value 31 March 2022
£’000 £’000
Liability driven investment 21,841 25,473
Investment grade credit (corporate bonds) 8,014 38,705
Infrastructure 11,892 13,329
Property 7,071 9,951
Insurance contracts 39,193 53,991
Cash and cash equivalents 7,009 3,032
Total value of assets 95,020 144,481
Actuarial (value) of liabilities (97,346) (143,479)
Surplus/(deficit) of funded Plan liabilities (2,326) 1,002
-
Irrecoverable (surplus) (1,002)
-
Surplus/(deficit) recognised in balance sheet (2,326)
-
Net pension asset/(liability) (2,326)
----- End of picture text -----

Analysis of amount charged to operating profit

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£’000 £’000
Past service cost - -
- -
Total operating charge
----- End of picture text -----

Analysis of amount credited to other finance income

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£’000 £’000
Interest income on Plan assets 3,860 3,022
Interest on Plan liabilities (3,809) (2,947)
Net interest on defined benefit liability 51 75
Total amount charged to profit & loss (total operating charge less net interest) 51 75
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Analysis of amount recognised in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI)

Reconciliation of Plan benefit obligation

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£’000 £’000
Opening defined benefit obligation 143,479 149,690
Interest cost 3,809 2,947
Actuarial (gains)/losses (45,070) (3,968)
Benefits paid (4,872) (5,191)
Closing defined benefit obligation 97,346 143,479
----- End of picture text -----

Reconciliation of fair value of Plan assets

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£’000 £’000
Opening fair value of Plan assets 144,481 152,108
Interest income 3,860 3,022
Contributions by Royal Mencap Society 1,800 1,825
Actual return on assets excluding amounts included in net interest (50,249) (7,283)
Benefits paid (4,872) (5,191)
Closing fair value of Plan assets 95,020 144,481
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£’000 £’000
Actual return on assets excluding amounts included in net interest (50,249) (7,283)
Actuarial gains/(losses) on Plan obligations 45,070 3,968
Remeasurement loss in Plan (5,179) (3,315)
Decrease/(increase) in irrecoverable surplus from membership fall and other factors 1,053 1,415
Remeasurement loss recognised in OCI (4,126) (1,900)
----- End of picture text -----

Sensitivity analysis

Change in assumptions compared with 31 March 2023 actuarial assumptions:

----- Start of picture text -----
Actuarial value of liabilities on 31 March 2023
£’000
Base case 97,346
-0.5% decrease in discount rate 98,802
1-year increase in member life expectation 99,983
+0.5% change in inflation 98,509
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Local authority pension schemes

Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Scheme

The Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Fund is a defined benefit scheme with 18 members at 31 March 2023. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

The agreed employer’s contribution rate for the year to March 2023 was 14.4% and this was expensed during the year. Contributions have been set at 14.4% for 2023/24.

The estimated asset allocation at 31 March 2023 revealed that Mencap’s share of assets of the scheme exceeded the value of Mencap’s share of the scheme’s liabilities by £0.15m (2022: Mencap’s share of scheme liabilities exceed the value of Mencap’s share of scheme assets by £2.24 million). The surplus in the annual valuation cannot be withdrawn from the scheme until the end of the pension, therefore the valuation in the balance sheet is recorded at a no-surplus, no-deficit position.

Staffordshire County pension fund

The Staffordshire County pension fund is a defined benefit scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

The pension scheme valuation at 31 March 2014 indicated that Mencap’s share of liabilities of the scheme exceed the value of Mencap’s share of the scheme’s assets by £48,000. As any movements in the deficit would not be material to the accounts, a new valuation has not been obtained for the year to 31 March 2023.

Mencap had no active members in the pension scheme in the year to 31 March 2023 and did not expense employer contributions during the year.

Other local government pension schemes

Mencap also participates in four other local government pension schemes. However, as there are no remaining active members, and in view of the cost of obtaining disclosures and the likely liability being immaterial in the context of overall Mencap results, no account or disclosures are made for these four schemes.

Dyfed Pension Fund No active members
Clwyd Pension Fund (Flintshire) No active members
Powys Pension fund No active members
Shropshire County Pension Fund No active members

An actuarial valuation was obtained for the Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Scheme, the following assumptions have been used in its valuation:

Financial Assumptions

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
% p.a. % p.a.
CPI increases 2.90% 3.20%
Salary increases 3.90% 4.20%
Discount rate 4.80% 2.60%
----- End of picture text -----

The demographic assumptions used are:

Life expectancy from age 65

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
Retiring today:
Males 20.7 21.6
Females 23.5 24.3
Retiring in 20 years:
Males 22.0 23.0
Females 25.0 25.8
----- End of picture text -----

Based on these assumptions, the balance sheet position is as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£'000 £'000
Present value of the defined benefit obligation (3,044) (5,434)
Fair value of Fund assets (bid value) 3,197 3,190
Deficit 153 (2,244)
----- End of picture text -----

Reconciliation of present value of the defined benefit obligation

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£'000 £'000
Opening defined benefit obligation 5,434 5,497
Current service cost 154 180
Interest cost 141 112
Change in financial assumptions (2,363) (305)
-
Change in demographic assumptions (226)
-
Experience loss/(gain) on defined benefit obligation (71)
Estimated benefits paid net of transfers in (45) (71)
Contributions by Scheme participants 20 21
Closing defined benefit obligation 3,044 5,434
----- End of picture text -----

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Reconciliation of the fair value of Fund assets

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£'000 £'000
Opening fair value of Fund assets 3,190 2,973
Interest on assets 85 61
Return on assets less interest (146) 159
Other actuarial gains/(losses) (5) -
Administration expenses (2) (1)
Contributions by employer including unfunded 48 48
Contributions by Fund participants 20 21
Estimated benefits paid plus unfunded net of transfers in (45) (71)
Closing fair value of Fund assets 3,145 3,190
----- End of picture text -----

Analysis of amount charged to operating profit

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£'000 £'000
Current service cost (154) (180)
Administration costs (2) (1)
Total operating charge (156) (181)
----- End of picture text -----

Analysis of amount credited to other finance income

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£'000 £'000
Interest on Plan liabilities (56) (51)
Net interest on net defined benefit liability (56) (51)
Total amount charged to profit & loss (total operating charge less net interest) (212) (232)
----- End of picture text -----

Analysis of amount recognised in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI)

----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 31 March 2022
£'000 £'000
Return on Plan assets in excess of interest (146) 159
Other actuarial gains/(losses) on assets (5) -
Change in financial assumptions 2,262 305
Change in demographic assumptions 226 -
Experience gain/(loss) on defined benefit obligation 71 -
Remeasurement of the net assets/ (defined liability) 2,408 464
----- End of picture text -----

Summary of amounts disclosed in the accounts Amount recognised in operating profit/(loss)

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Mencap pension scheme - (11)
Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Fund (156) (181)
Total (156) (181)
----- End of picture text -----

Amount recognised in finance income

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Mencap pension scheme 51 75
Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Fund (56) (51)
Total (5) 24
----- End of picture text -----

Amount recognised in other recognised gains/(losses)

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Mencap pension scheme (4,127) (1,900)
Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Fund 2,408 464
Total (1,719) (1,436)
----- End of picture text -----

Defined benefit pension liability

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
-
Mencap pension scheme (2,326)
-
Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Fund (2,244)
Staffordshire County Pension Fund (48) (48)
Total (2,374) (2,292)
----- End of picture text -----

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25. Related Parties

Donations totalling £0 were received from related parties during the year without conditions. During the year we have received pro bono legal services from Irwin Mitchell Solicitors to the value of £19,000.

They have provided these services at no cost to Mencap. Yogi Amin, a Mencap trustee, is a Partner of Irwin Mitchell; he, nor Irwin Mitchell, have received any benefit for these services.

Group companies

During the year, the following transactions took place between Royal Mencap Society and its subsidiaries:

At 31 March 2023, the following intercompany balances were outstanding between the charity and its subsidiaries:

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
-
Golden Lane Housing Limited - loan 1,170
Golden Lane Housing Limited - other - 548
Mencap Limited 44 72
Mencap Promotions Limited - -
Mencap Trust Company 244 237
Total 288 2,027
----- End of picture text -----

With effect from 1 April 2022 Golden Lane Housing ceased to be part of the group (see Note 30).

26. Volunteers

During the year, Mencap received the generous donation of time from a great many volunteers. They provided contributions to a number of activities, as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2023
Number of volunteers
Raising funds:
Raising funds 284
Trading 703
Total raising funds 987
Charitable activities:
Providing services 397
Campaigning for change 4
Support with advice -
Research & Evaluation 4
Building people’s own capabilities 255
Providing Housing -
Governance & Support 37
Total charitable activities 697
Total 1,684
----- End of picture text -----

27. Capital commitments

Figures for financial year 2022 entirely related to commitments of Golden Lane Housing which on 1 April 2022 ceased to be part of the group. See Note 30.

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Capital expenditure contracted but not provided for in the financial statements - 800
-
Capital expenditure authorised by the board but not contracted for 12,000
----- End of picture text -----

These commitments are expected to be financed with:

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Cash reserves - 800
-
Proceeds from the sale of properties 8,000
Committed loan facilities - 4,000
Total - 12,800
----- End of picture text -----

The above amounts include the full cost of shared ownership properties contracted for.

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28. Contingent liabilities

At 31 March 2023 there were no contingent liabilities.

29. Income

(a) Included in Trust income is income from:

----- Start of picture text -----
Total 2023
£’000
Baily Thomas Charitable Fund 5
British Gas Energy Trust 67
Cecil Pilkington Charitable Trust 6
City Bridge Trust 18
Kathleen Laurence Trust 30
Marlene Gabriel Charitable Trust 10
Pears Foundation 313
The Harpur Trust 7
The Health Foundation 12
The Paddison Trust 15
Thirlestane Charitable Trust 6
Youth Futures Foundation 20
----- End of picture text -----

(b) Included in Community/ Big Lottery Fund is income from:

----- Start of picture text -----
Total 2023
£’000
City of Bradford MDC 36
Compass CIC 48
Health Education England 201
Heritage Lottery Fund - Wales 50
Ofcom 21
Co-op Foundation/Big Lottery Fund #iwill fund Grant 40
----- End of picture text -----

(d) Included in Gifts in Kind is income from:

----- Start of picture text -----
Group
2023
£’000
First Direct 8
Irwin Mitchell LLP 19
Microsoft 22
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Group
2023
£’000
Belfast Health and Social Care Trusts 18
CFNI - RTE Toy Show 69
Department for the Communities 262
European Social Fund 712
North West Regional College 29
Northern Health and Social Care Trusts 43
Sothern Health and Social Care Trusts 498
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trusts 1,180
South Eastern Regional College 28
Sport England 612
Western Health and Social Care Trusts 3,267
----- End of picture text -----

(c) Included in Organisations raising funds is income from:

----- Start of picture text -----
Total 2023
£’000
Charity Sweets 23
Ecclesiastical 30
Google UK Ltd 500
St George 21
Stanhope Foundation 25
The Berkeley Foundation 18
----- End of picture text -----

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30. Transfer to Golden Lane Housing (Charity Number 1071097)

In order to enable and realise the overall strategy of the Golden Lane Housing Board, the GLH Board took the decision, jointly with the Board of the RMS, for GLH to become a Community Benefit Society, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority with rules based on the National Housing Federation Model Rules 2015. The GLH Board has received consent from the Charity Commission and its lenders to undertake this restructure which took effect 1 April 2022. The net assets at that date comprised:

----- Start of picture text -----
Note 2023
£’000
Fixed Assets
Cost 12, 13 130,168
Depreciation 12, 13 (13,135)
Less: Shared investment contributions (3,062)
Total fixed assets 113,971
Current assets
Debtors 17 2,409
Cash at bank and in hand 8,657
Total current assets 11,066
Less: Creditors 18, 19 (61,113)
Total net assets 63,924
----- End of picture text -----

The assets and liabilities were represented by the following funds:

----- Start of picture text -----
Note 2023
£’000
The funds of GLH
Restricted funds 23 26,522
Designated funds 23 6,578
Unrestricted funds 23 30,824
Total funds 63,924
----- End of picture text -----

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