OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2023-03-31-accounts

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Trustees’ Report and Accounts Year ended 31 March 2023

Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families

Company number 402748

Charity number 230750

1

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Reference and Administrative Information

Company number 402748

Country of incorporation United Kingdom

Charity number 230750

Country of registration

England & Wales

Registered office and operational address: Unit B, Ground Floor, Mary Brancker House, 54-74 Holmes Road, London NW5 3AQ

Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Simon Bentley Chair from 9 December 2020 to 3 July 2023 Evangelos Raptis Treasurer from February 2020 to 8 December 2023 Diane Gault appointed 29 April 2020 Lynette Eastman appointed 17 February 2021 Dr Jo Caseborne appointed 21 July 2021, Interim Vice Chair from 13 December 2023 Henry Gregg appointed 21 July 2021 Mariam Kemple-Hardy appointed 21 July 2021 Tom Madders appointed 21 July 2021, Interim Chair from 13 December 2023 Sanaz Nowroozi co-opted 27 October 2021 Ema Howling co-opted 27 October 2021 Tayyaba Siddiqui co-opted 27 October 2021 Lucy Morgan appointed 27 October 2021

Key management personnel:

Victoria Benson Chief Executive and Company Secretary Doug Ridley Head of Finance and Resources from July 2020 till September 2023 Jo Hardy Head of Services from July 2019 Mark Gorman Head of Marketing and Communications from May 2022 (Sabbatical leave September 2023 to May 2024) Vaila McClure Acting Head of Marketing and Communications from September 2023 to May 2024 Teresa Forgione Head of Income Generation from January 2023 Sarah Smith Consultant Head of HR from October 2021

Bankers: Coutts & Co, St Martin’s Office, 440 Strand, London WC2R 0QS Lloyds Bank Burnley Branch, PO Box 1000, Andover BX1 1LT

Solicitors: Bates Wells Braithwaite, 10 Queen Street Place, EC4R 1BE

Auditor: Sayer Vincent LLP, Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor, Invicta House 108-114 Golden Lane LONDON EC1Y 0TL

2

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Trustees’ Report

Introduction

The Trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023. Reference and administrative information set out on page 2 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association, the requirements of a directors’ report as required under company law, and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Gingerbread is the national charity working with single-parent families. We provide expert information and advice; facilitate peer-to-peer support; and campaign for fair and equal treatment and opportunity for single-parent families. In May 2007 the National Council for One Parent Families (founded in 1918 as the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child) merged with the charity Gingerbread. In June 2013, we changed our registered name from ‘National Council for One Parent Families’ to ‘Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families’, retaining the working name ‘Gingerbread’.

Public benefit

The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in planning its activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

Structure, governance and management

Gingerbread The Charity For Single Parent Families is a company limited by guarantee (registered number 00402748) and a registered charity (number 230750). Gingerbread’s governing document, the Articles of Association, was revised in 2013. The Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall strategy and direction of the charity. The Trustees delegate the day-to-day management of the organisation to a Chief Executive Officer. For the reporting period this was Victoria Benson. Board members give their time on a voluntary basis and receive no remuneration. There are a maximum of 15 Trustees, including up to three co-opted trustees, recruited through an open process, informed by a skills and diversity audit. Trustees are appointed for a maximum of two three-year terms. Trustees take part in an induction day to familiarise them with the activities and operations of the charity. They are also provided with a role description and guidance on their duties as trustees. The Board has a Finance Committee, a Nominations Committee and a Fundraising, and Brand Committee. The Trustees also appoint a Safeguarding lead from among their number. The scheme of delegation details which powers the Board of Trustees retains and which powers are delegated to the Chief Executive. The charity is grateful for the contribution of the 59 volunteers who co-ordinated local friendship groups either singly or jointly through the year across England and Wales and support the charity in a number of other ways. The charity benefits from the support of its President.

3

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Remuneration

Gingerbread is committed to salaries that are fair, transparent, based on market rates within the sector and enable us to recruit and retain expert staff. Gingerbread salaries are benchmarked and set at the median market rate (maximum variance of five per cent above or below) for charity sector salaries for all roles including key management personnel. Gingerbread is accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. The ratio between the highest and lowest salary is 3.6:1

Objects

The objects of the charity as stated in the Articles of Association are:

To prevent or relieve poverty and disadvantage and to promote fair and equal treatment and opportunity among single parents and their children, and to promote and protect their wellbeing through the provision of information, advice, education, training and other services; the conducting, commissioning and publication of research; and the raising of awareness through publications, use of the media, public advocacy and other means of communication.

Our vision, mission and values

Vision: Our vision is of a world where all single parents and their children can thrive

Mission: We stand with and support single parents to overcome disadvantage, inequality and injustice.

Values: We are brave, inclusive, trustworthy, supportive and ambitious

4

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Objectives, activities and achievements

A new strategy for 2022-30

In 2022 we launched a new strategy with a renewed focus on our support and campaigning work to address the issues single parents are facing today. Through independent research undertaken in 2021 into the key needs of single parents, we identified 10 areas where single parents say they struggle and need more support – these broadly fall into two areas: their finances, or their mental health and wellbeing.

Single parents tell us they struggle with:

Money and debt Mental health and wellbeing Welfare rights Children’s wellbeing Work Relationships and separation Childcare Parenting Discrimination Isolation and loneliness

Our strategy research showed that although all single parents struggle in some way, there are particular demographic groups who are in greatest need of our support:

Our strategy research also helped us to recognise that support needs fluctuate over time and can be significantly increased by incidents of life shock or adversity, such as separation, illness, bereavement, loss of job or abuse.

By 2030 we aim to build a movement, with every single parent knowing that Gingerbread is there to help them on their journey from crisis to resilience and stability, so they can support their families and themselves. And our ambition is to provide support in all of these areas, whether alone or in partnership. But we recognise that this is a long-term vision, so in 2022-23 we have focused on laying the foundations for success, making shifts in the way that we work as well as investing in infrastructure and change processes. Alongside this we’ve continued to provide advice, information and support for single parents with their finances, health and wellbeing.

Our strategic objectives for 2022-23

In the first year of our new strategy, 2022-23, we set out to:

5

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Objective 1: provide advice, information and support on welfare rights, money and family law for single parent families

Advice and information service

The deepening cost of living crisis continued to hit single-parent families hard in 2022-23, as evidenced by the growing demand for Gingerbread’s services. We received 12,397 calls to our helpline, from concerned parents looking for advice and information.

We were able to exceed our anticipated call answer rate for the whole year; we comfortably exceeded our target answer rate of 42% for 10 out of 12 months (only dropping below target during two exceptionally busy months in September and March) and achieved a call answer rate of 48% for the year as a whole.

Our webchat service has grown in the last year and is now a well-established alternative channel for single parents to get in touch with our advice team. We answered 1,185 webchats across the whole year, and although this was less than anticipated, as we embedded the service , we were pleased to see a significant increase from 802 in the previous year.

Our website is a vital resource for single parents to access relevant information and make confident choices about their family’s future. With over 1.6m unique page views this year, it’s often the first port of call for single parents who need support when trying to understand what benefits they may be entitled to, or what steps to take next following a separation, bereavement or financial abuse.

Key topics single parents sought information about were around:

6

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Having received Advice Quality Standard (AQS) accreditation in 2021, we were delighted to maintain this status in 2022-23. AQS accredited services must be clientfocused and give all the necessary information and options for the client to decide their course of action. This accreditation is recognition of the quality of our services and a tribute to the professionalism of our advice team.

Our Next Steps project

Gingerbread has been funded by the City Bridge Trust for three years to develop ‘seamless referral’ pathways with local organisations and agencies that can offer additional support to single parents that goes beyond the remit of Gingerbread’s advice service and signposting.

As part of the Next Steps project, we have been developing partnerships with key organisations located in London (specifically Camden and Islington) since 2021:

Much of the work has focused on brokering relationships with prospective partners. We have delivered awareness raising workshops to highlight the main issues faced by single parents. And we began to make and receive referrals and piloted a callback offer in partnership with Citizens Advice in Hounslow, as part of their Help Through Hardship programme.

Objective 2: provide information, support and advice on improving mental health and wellbeing for single parents

Our local groups network

Our local Gingerbread groups provide an informal support network for over 3,200 single parents, providing friendship and the opportunity to share tips, peer guidance and coping strategies, drawn from lived experience. The groups help single parents feel connected, understood and less alone. They offer a space for single mums and dads to feel less isolated and, as a result, they also help to improve wellbeing.

The number of local groups has remained consistent over the year, with 59 active groups in April 2022, and the same number in March 2023. We saw 9 groups close, usually because volunteer group leads needed to step down due to work or family commitments, and 9 new groups opened throughout the year.

Opening new local groups is dependent on recruiting, training and supporting volunteer local group leaders. This has been challenging in the last year as our Peer

7

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Support Manager moved on in January 2023. We recruited a new Groups Manager who took up her post at the start of the year, just as we also received confirmation of a two-year grant award from the National Lottery to strengthen and expand our groups network. We look forward to the next year as an opportunity to build on our existing successes and develop new ways of working with universities, corporate partners and family hubs to grow a supportive network of single parents.

“I’ve been in this group for 6 years and it’s been a real lifeline for me and my daughter. The sense of community with similar families has helped both of us to feel part of a very special family. Made us feel less isolated, happy and proud of our family.”

Our online community

Our online community is made up of a forum alongside themed digital groups and are a safe place for single parents to connect, and give and receive support at any time of the day or night.

Digital Forum

Our forum has been running for a number of years and we now have over 1,100 single parents sharing their experiences about childcare, finances, isolation and housing. Getting and giving support from and to their peers helps single parents make better, more informed decisions, feel that they are more in control of their situations, and feel less alone. We’ve continued to strengthen our moderation and safeguarding controls, enforcing our updated forum community guidelines with the help of moderators from Gingerbread’s staff team who ensure that single parents can safely share their experiences, knowledge and coping strategies.

There were 1,494 new threads on the forum during the year. This is lower than in previous years, however it seems likely that single parents are simply engaging with each other online in different ways.

Digital Groups

Over the same period our digital groups have seen significant growth. Following a successful pilot project in the previous year, we now have 3 distinct digital groups – a single father's group, a wellbeing group, and a group for parents of children with additional needs. Group membership has grown dramatically, from 29 members at the start of the year to over 1,100 by March 2023.

Digital groups follow the core group model and are led by single parent coordinators who will facilitate the group, working to the same standards as all Gingerbread groups. We are using Mighty Networks as the preferred platform because of its flexibility and accessibility, although we continue to scope out alternative platforms which may offer greater integration with our other platforms.

8

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Wellbeing Programme

Our online Wellbeing Programme is a bitesize course teaching simple but vital tools and strategies that single parents can use in their daily life to improve their wellbeing without the need for them to dedicate huge amounts of time they do not have. Over the year we delivered 17 of our planned 18 sessions.

However, we exceeded our target for participant numbers by 12% with 123 participants against a target of 108.

“The tips and techniques offered were invaluable, presented in a clear and concise way and we were able to practice them in real time. The tools Lynne showed us were simple enough to use straight away, without much adjustment and were relevant and applicable for our children too. I am so glad I signed up for this program and have already seen the benefits in my parenting.”

Objective 3: influence government, stakeholders and public opinion to change the financial and welfare systems for single parents

Policy and campaign work

Over 2022/23, we focused our policy change efforts on four key areas:

We regularly punch above our weight in Westminster, holding meetings with 59 parliamentarians over the year, presenting at 3 separate Select Committee inquiries and meeting regularly with key civil servants. Following on from previous years work, we were able to secure significant campaign wins over the year.

On childcare, following a longstanding campaign, alongside other organisations and campaigner parents, we were successful in securing changes to the way parents on Universal Credit (UC) can get help with childcare. The Chancellor announced in the Budget in March 2022 that the funding for childcare for eligible UC claimants will be available upfront rather than paid in arrears.

Currently, claimants need to pay fees to their childcare provider upfront and then wait for reimbursement. This has been an impossible hurdle for many single parents – many of whom will be unable to find the money to pay the upfront fees or may go into debt in trying to do so.

The Government also announced that it is increasing the maximum amounts that can be claimed – another key change we have been calling for and well overdue given the soaring costs of childcare. Going forward these changes are a potential game changer for single parents and we are delighted that they are being taken forward.

9

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

On the CMS, the Government agreed to support legal changes to:

More widely, the Government accepted the recommendations of the independent review (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-the- - - - - - - child maintenance service cms response to domestic abuse) into how the CMS supports domestic abuse victims. We submitted evidence to the review and are pleased to see commitments from Government to improve training for CMS staff on domestic abuse, trial single case workers for the most complex domestic abuse cases and make it easier for the £20 application fee for the CMS to be waived for domestic abuse victims.

We also provided evidence to a legal case on the failings of the CMS and the case has been given the green light to go ahead to a full judicial review hearing. This means a judge will look at the lawfulness of how the CMS is working to recover maintenance payments from absent parents. In a judicial review the court can make an order for a public body to carry out its duties differently. We will seek to “intervene” in the case to provide our expertise to the Court on the failings of the service.

On employment, the Government announced that it is introducing a day 1 right to apply for flexible work. The need for regulatory changes were identified in the Single Parent Employment Challenge and this specific change is something Gingerbread has campaigned for in coalition with other charities as part of the Flex for All Coalition.

Our commentary on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on single parent families has raised our profile in the media. CEO Victoria Benson has appeared in a number of broadcast news and magazine programmes talking about its impact on single parents, including Women’s Hour, BBC news, Sky News, ITV, C4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch. This in turn has supported our wider sector coalition efforts to secure changes in this area.

In May 2022, we welcomed the Government announcements of a series of cost of living payments to those most impacted by the cost of living crisis, including low income single parent households. However, we know that single parent households continue to struggle. We also campaigned successfully as part of the Keep the Lifeline and End Child Poverty Coalitions for an uprating in benefits in line with inflation, which was announced in the Autumn Statement.

In other areas, we supported Martin Lewis’ successful campaign for a continuation of the Energy Price Guarantee, which in turn prevented an estimated additional 1.7 million people from being pushed into fuel poverty.

10

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Looking ahead to 2023-24

Over 2023/24, a key priority for the year will be building our connections with key decision makers in all political parties to help ensure that the needs of single parents are recognised as they develop their potential future programmes for Government.

Also of note during 2023/24, we also hope to be able to intervene in the CMS legal case to try and secure a legal judgement around how service failures in order to force further reform. We will also be continuing to gather evidence on the service to make the case for further reform. On childcare, we have taken a leading role in a sector wide coalition on what the future of childcare looks like, ensuring that the voice of single parents is central to any changes. On employment, improving knowledge and understanding of the needs of single parents among work coaches is a key priority. Ideally, we believe that there needs to be single parent speciality work coaches. Cost of Living and how Universal Credit works for single parents continues to be a significant priority and working with key partners, such as the End Child Poverty Coalition, we will continue to highlight the challenges single parents face due to the insufficiency of Universal Credit.

Research and reports

This year we published 3 key reports outlining the issues faced by single parents and the solutions needed to address them.

The invisible family: the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on single parents living in London

To track the impact of policy change and to gain a better understanding of how single parent experiences evolved throughout the pandemic. The report found that single parents collectively feel that they are an afterthought in policy making and government decisions. Or, as one of our interviewees succinctly put it, “we are the invisible family.”

Single parent employment challenge – job loss and job seeking after the pandemic

This project explored single parents’ experiences of the UK labour market as we emerged from pandemic restrictions from mid-2021. We found that single parents want to work, but experience consistently higher unemployment rates than couple parents. They also want to work more hours than they currently do and are frequently having to put their career aspirations aside to take on roles that better fit with childcare options and school hours. This means many are on lower incomes than they would otherwise be. While childcare costs are a key barrier for single parents in getting into work, single parents are being held back significantly by the shortfall of suitable flexible part-time roles.

11

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Both the Invisible Family and the Single Parent Employment Challenge were key for us in building the evidence base for reform of how the childcare element of Universal Credit works and helped us to make the successful case for change on this issue. Thanks to Trust for London and abrdn Financial Fairness Trust for funding these two projects.

Debt is a ticking timebomb for single parent families

To mark Single Parents’ Day we released a new report and data which showed that:

12

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Objective 4: build a sustainable organisation with the infrastructure and skills to deliver reach, engagement, impact and income

Marketing and Communications

By 2030, we want to build a movement of single parents that has over 1 million people supporting Gingerbread in some way. To realise this ambitious vision, we need to increase the reach of and engagement with the charity. During the last year our marketing and communications team have focused on developing a new brand strategy with three key objectives for achieving this:

The foundations of this strategy have been laid this year, with Gingerbread investing significantly in developing a new brand and website. In May 2022 we tendered for a new digital agency to work on our website redevelopment project. We met with 4 agencies, and work began with the successful agency, 18a, in July. The website redesign has been a major ongoing project throughout the year and the new website is scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2023-24.

We are confident that the new site will provide an all-round better user experience, allowing single parents to find the information they need more easily. By rewriting the entire information section of the website we’re ensuring that when single parents find the information they’re looking for, it’ll be accurate, easy to understand and up to date.

In August 2022 we also began work on a new brand for Gingerbread, to be launched simultaneously with new website. The new brand will provide Gingerbread with tools we need to fight for change. It will position Gingerbread as the only charity that is providing expert care and support while also fighting for a world where single parents and their children thrive, and give us the tools to speak confidently about our expertise and to engage people to join our movement.

As well as undertaking these significant long term projects, the marketing and communications team continued to provide ongoing business-as-usual support for the rest of the organisation. We continued to update and maintain our existing website, which received over 702,000 unique visitors during the year, and we provided regular and engaging content to 60,000 followers across all our social media platforms. We paused our supporter emails whilst working on improving the quality of our supporter data, and delivered a re-consenting exercise in early 2023 to ensure

13

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

that all our supporters have consented to our email communications as required by PECR/GDPR regulations.

We supported delivery of the Christmas fundraising campaign across our digital platforms over December and January 2022, and delivery of Single Parents Day communications in March 2023. We were delighted to be able to strengthen our small staff team by the end of the year, with the recruitment of a Digital Communications Officer, a Digital Copywriter and Multimedia Production Officer.

Fundraising

Our small fundraising team continued to ensure our ongoing financial sustainability, despite the additional challenges posed by staff turnover; we were once again able to raise significant funds with only a small deficit. We filled several key vacancies, including Head of Income Generation and Digital Fundraising Officer, and work began during the year to recruit a new Corporate and Major Donor Manager.

Gingerbread’s fundraising mix leans heavily towards statutory and charitable foundations. We are pleased to continue to be supported by a number of significant charitable trusts and foundations, listed below. In particular, we remain very grateful to the Volant Trust for their continued funding towards our overall work,.

The fundraising team worked closely with services colleagues to develop a proposal to the National Lottery to help us test and expand our local support group network. We were delighted to receive notification, at the end of the year, of our success in securing a multi-year grant for this work, which will take place over the next two years. This grant will enable us to significantly grow our local support group offer and is a testament to the collaborative work of a cross-charity team over a period of several months.

We are also delighted to have been working with amicable, the leading legal service for separating and divorcing couples, who aim to shift the narrative around divorce, separation and cooperative parenting. Our partnership with amicable is an opportunity for both organisations to achieve our shared objectives of supporting single and separating parents, and raising awareness of the challenges they face.

We have also continued to diversify and build our individual donor base for both one-off donations and regular gifts. We were pleased with the positive response to our Christmas Appeal which raised almost £21,000. Our thanks go to all the parents who shared their personal stories with such candour and enabled us to convey a compelling message to potential donors about the unprecedented challenges facing single-parent families during a deepening cost of living crisis. We are very grateful to all our individual donors and matched funders who contributed so generously to the total amount raised.

Going into the next financial year we are excited to be working with a new partner, Run4Charity, to expand our challenge event offer with minimal upfront outlay. We are looking to further develop our individual, community and event fundraising offers with the launch of our new brand and website.

14

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

In 2022, we continued to implement and uphold regulatory rules and compliance, and worked hard to develop the thousands of relationships we have with our supporters. We’ve maintained our long standing commitment to the Code of Fundraising Practice in all our fundraising, including when we work with third parties. We adhere to the principles of our fundraising promise and our privacy policy. When we identify people who may be vulnerable, we take steps to protect them from fundraising requests, which can include stopping fundraising communications to them.

Our Board of Trustees oversees our fundraising and ensures we comply with all the relevant rules and regulations. On occasion, we work with a small number of third parties to support our work to raise money. We closely monitor all these third parties and the work we do together by holding regular review meetings in order that we can ensure they meet the same high standards as our own fundraisers. Gingerbread does not work with any professional fundraisers on a commission basis.

We have put measures in place to ensure personal information is kept safe and secure, and is not shared with anyone else for third parties’ own purposes. We also sign contracts with third parties to ensure they only ever use supporter data on our behalf in accordance with our instructions. And we ask them to adhere to the same high levels of data security as we do, following the Data Protection Act. Gingerbread is registered with the Fundraising Regulator. We did not receive any complaints about our fundraising during the year.

15

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Our grateful thanks to the following principal funders for 2022-23

Charitable trusts and foundations The 29th May 1961 Charity abrdn Financial Fairness Trust (formerly Standard Life Foundation) The Adint Charitable Trust The Ardwick Trust Bartlett Taylor Charitable Trust Beaverbrooks Charitable Trust Cecil Pilkington Charitable Trust The Charles and Elsie Sykes Trust The Charles S French Charitable Trust The Charterhouse Charitable Trust City Bridge Foundation – London’s biggest independent charity funder Doris Field Charitable Trust The Dulverton Trust Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust The Florence Turner Trust The Fulmer Charitable Trust The G M Morrison Charitable Trust The Gallus Trust Garfield Weston Foundation Gowling WLG Charitable Trust The Hampstead Wells and Campden Trust The Hanley Trust (1987) Ivan and Rebecca Twigden Charitable Trust John Armitage Charitable Trust The Lawson Trust The Linbury Trust Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales The Lord Barnby Foundation The Mulberry Trust The N Smith Charitable Trust The Paul Bassham Charitable Trust Pears Foundation The Prudence Trust The Rainford Trust The Rayne Foundation The Rhododendron Trust Sir Jeremiah Colman Gift Trust Sir John Eastwood Foundation Smallwood Trust The Souter Charitable Trust St James’s Place Charitable Foundation TK Maxx & Homesense Foundation Trust for London The Volant Charitable Trust W O Street Charitable Foundation The Wyseliot Rose Charitable Trust

16

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Statutory, lottery funders and other grants

Department for Education

His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Turn2Us The National Lottery Community Fund (RC England Wide programme)

Corporate supporters

E-Negotiation Ltd, trading as amicable MAR FM CarterBags.com

Financial review

The ongoing rationalisation and re-engineering of Gingerbread’s funding streams has seen a reduction in income for the year (£1,786,559 for 2023 against £1,831,010 for 2022). Expenditure has also reduced (£1,873,584 for 2023 against £2,090,993 for 2022).

Overall, there was a deficit on the year of £99,928 (deficit of £254,247 - 2022) after accounting for a loss on investments of £12,902. At the year end, Gingerbread was carrying forward a balance of £682,329 (£782,256 - 2022) of which £81,942 (£99,5722022) was restricted.

The financial statements, including the notes to the accounts, have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard 102. As a Charity, the accounts are also prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice.

Reserves policy

The aim of the reserves policy is to ensure that the charity’s reserves are sufficient to provide continuity of service to our beneficiaries, investment capital and ongoing financial security. The trustees have adopted a policy that aims to have sufficient unrestricted funds set aside to cover three months’ close-down operating costs if needed. At 31st March 2023 these operating costs totalled £410,400. Of the total reserves of £682,329 at the year end (2022: £782,256), unrestricted funds stood at £600,387 (2022: £682,684) which included tangible fixed assets of £14,183 (2021: £22,014), more than sufficient to cover the requirement.

Funds totalling £38,958 were designated for future use at the end of the year (2022: nil) and restricted funds accounted for £81,942 (2022: £99,572) of the reserves balance at year end.

A risk based draft reserves policy is currently being run in parallel with the policy outlined above. It is the intention of the Board to take a view as to whether or not to adopt this new approach permanently at the end of the 23/24 financial year.

17

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Going concern

Whilst the Trustees acknowledge that income has continued to decline in the year ended March 2023, they also note that the reported deficit for the year has reduced by £154,319 over that of the previous year. The Trustees consider that this trend will continue and anticipate a small surplus in the year ended March 2024. With the recent acquisition of significant multi-year funding contributing to a strong funding pipeline, the Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about Gingerbread’s ability to continue as a going concern. Gingerbread’s reserve position provides an adequate “cushion” against any potential shortfall in income. There are no material uncertainties affecting the current year’s accounts.

Investment policy

The charity’s policy is to seek to maximise its investment income whilst not incurring a level of risk that is inconsistent with its charitable status.

Investments held directly by the charity are:

During the reporting period, the charity reviewed its investment policy and worked with an investment manager to develop a longer-term investment plan and manage the portfolio. The charity’s investments are managed by Seven Investment Management.

18

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

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

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

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

In so far as the trustees are aware:

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees

19

Gingerbread Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2023

at 31 March 2023 was 12 (2021/22:12). The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Sayer Vincent LLP was re-appointed as the charitable company's auditor during the year and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity.

The trustees annual report has been approved by the trustees on 8th November 2023 and signed on their behalf by

Tom Madders Chair of Trustees

Jo Casebourne Vice Chair of Trustees

20

Independent auditor’s Report

to the members of Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 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 course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

21

Independent auditor’s Report

to the members of Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

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

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is

a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements Independent auditor’s Report can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

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

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following: We enquired of management and the finance committee, which included obtaining and reviewing

22

Independent auditor’s Report

to the members of Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families

supporting documentation, concerning the charity’s policies and procedures relating to:

Use of our report

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

Joanna Pittman (Senior statutory auditor)

14 December 2023

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TL

23

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 March 2023

For theyear ended 31 March 2023 For theyear ended 31 March 2023
Unrestricted
Note
£
Income from:
2
998,390
3
956
4
28,500
5
-
6
23
1,027,869
7a
285,705
7a
632,910
17,531
170,243
1,106,390
(12,902)
9,126
(82,297)
Reconciliation of funds:
682,684
600,387
23
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Research and policy activities
Information and advice services
Training, consultancy and projects
Raising funds
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Total expenditure
Charitable activities
Research and policy activities
Information and advice services
Training, consultancy and projects
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Net income / (expenditure) for the year
and Net Movement in Funds
Net income / (expenditure) before net
gains / (losses) on investments and
transfers
(78,521)
Net gains / (losses) on investments
Transfers between Funds		 Restricted
£
-
705,154
-
53,536
-		 2023
Total
£
998,390
706,110
28,500
53,536
23
1,786,559
285,705
1,335,374
17,531
234,974
1,873,584
(12,902)
-
(99,928)
782,256
682,329
(87,025)		 Unrestricted
£
833,122
1,930
16,174
-
1		 Restricted
£
-
895,283
-
84,500
-		 2022
Total
£
833,122
-
897,213
16,174
84,500
1
1,027,869 758,690 851,227 979,783 1,831,010
285,705
632,910
17,531
170,243		 -
702,463
-
64,731		 284,994
536,728
-
240,558		 -
943,997
-
84,716		 284,994
1,480,725
-
325,274
1,106,390 767,194 1,062,280 1,028,713 2,090,993
(12,902)
9,126
(78,521)		 -
(9,126)
(8,505)		 5,736
-
(211,053)		 -
-
(48,930)		 5,736
-
(259,983)
(82,297)
682,684		 (17,631)
99,572		 (205,317)
888,001		 (48,930)
148,502		 (254,247)
1,036,503
600,387 81,942 682,684 99,572 782,256

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 21a to the financial statements.

24

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Balance sheet

Balance sheet
As at 31 March 2023 Company no. 402748
Note
Fixed assets:
13
13
14
Current assets:
15
Liabilities:
16
18
20a
Total unrestricted funds
Investments
Cash at bank and in hand
Tangible assets
Debtors
Intangible assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Restricted income funds
Unrestricted income funds:
Designated funds
The funds of the charity:
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one
Total net assets/ (liabilities)
General funds
Total charity funds		 £
111,438
500,282		 2023
£
14,183
38,958
302,577		 £
202,362
634,571		 2022
£
22,014
-
314,983
355,718
326,611		 336,997
563,022
611,720
(285,109)		 836,933
(273,911)
38,958
561,429		 -
682,684
682,329
-		 900,019
(117,763)
682,329 782,256
81,942
600,387		 99,572
682,684
682,329 782,256

Approved by the trustees on 8/11/2023 and signed on their behalf by

Tom Madders Chair

Jo Casebourne Vice Chair

25

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 March 2023

For the year ended 31 March 2023 For the year ended 31 March 2023 For the year ended 31 March 2023
Note
£
£
(99,928)
8,622
12,902
(23)
90,924
15,070
27,568
23
(791)
(38,958)
-
(496)
-
(40,222)
-
(121,635)
(121,635)
(134,289)
634,571
500,282
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the
year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Net income / (expenditure)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Net losses/ (gains) on investments
Investment income
(Increase) / decrease in debtors
Increase / (decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided (used in)/provided by operating activities
Cash flows from financing activities:
Cash inflows from new borrowing
Net cash provided (used in) financing activities
Repayments of borrowings
2023
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Investment income
Purchase of fixed assets
Proceeds from sale of investments
Purchase of investments
Change in cash held in investment
Purchase of intangible assets		 £
£
(254,247)
9,214
(5,736)
(1)
(116,471)
(27,491)
(394,732)
1
(9,266)
-
-
2
-
(9,263)
-
(10,602)
(10,602)
(414,597)
1,049,168
634,571
2022
27,568 (394,732)
(40,222) (9,263)
(10,602)
-
(121,635)		 -
(10,602)
(121,635)
(134,289)
634,571		 (414,597)
1,049,168
500,282 634,571

26

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

Gingerbread is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office address is Unit B, Ground Floor, Mary Brancker House, 54-74 Holmes Rd, London, NW5 3AQ.

b) Basis of preparation

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

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern. At that the time of writing, Gingerbread anticipates returning a moderate surplus for the year. Our projected cashflow shows a positive balance through to December 2024, and our funding pipeline is strong.

d) Donations

Donations are recognised in the accounting period in which they are receivable.

e) Legacies

Entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: Gingerbread is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Fundraising income is shown gross of related expenditure.

g) Investment income

Investment income is included gross or at the amounts receivable plus the attributable tax credit.

h) Fees and sales

Fees for the supply of services and publications are recognised when earned. Income received in advance for services to be delivered in the following year is treated as deferred income and included in creditors. Deferred income in these financial statements is shown in Note 17.

i) Donated Services

On receipt, donated gifts, professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

j) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are subject to restrictions imposed by the donor or by the specific terms of the charity appeal. These are accounted for separately from unrestricted funds. Details of restricted funds are shown at Note 21.

Unrestricted funds are those which are not subject to restrictions. Any surpluses are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the objectives of the charity. Designated funds form part of the unrestricted funds and represent amounts earmarked by the Trustees for particular purposes.

k) Expenditure

Costs apportioned to activities include costs of staff time spent on each area of activity, costs directly incurred in order to deliver the activity, and support costs apportioned according to the ratio of staff time on the area of activity to total staff time.

27

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Accounting policies (continued)

The charity operates a group personal pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in independently administered funds. Payments in respect of current service contributions are charged in the accounts as they fall due.

m) Operating leases

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

n) VAT

Expenditure is recorded net of VAT and any VAT not recovered from HM Revenue and Customs is recorded as irrecoverable VAT.

o) Fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets costing more than £500 are capitalised and depreciated over their useful lives and shown in the balance sheet at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided at the following rate: Computers and other equipment - 25% per annum, Furniture & Fittings - 25% per annum.

Intangible Fixed assets include development costs of the website. Amortisation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expecxted useful life. The amortisation rates are as follows:

Website - Straight line over 3 years

At the end of each reporting period, the residual values and useful lives of assets are reviewed and adjusted if necessary. In addition, if events or change in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable then the carrying values of tangible fixed assets are reviewed for impairment.

The accruals concept is applied. Liabilities are recognised as soon as a legal or constructive obligation arises. Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

q) Tax status

The company is a registered charity and is not liable to Corporation Tax on its current activities.

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments. Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

With the exceptions of prepayments and deferred income all other debtor and creditor balances are considered to be basic financial instruments under FRS 102. See notes 15 and 16 for the debtor and creditor notes.

s) Cash and cash equivalents

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

t) Employee benefits

The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense.

In the view of the Trustees in applying the accounting policies adopted, no judgements were required that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements nor do any estimates made.

28

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Income from donations and legacies
Donations
The Volant Charitable Trust		 Unrestricted
£
650,000
348,390
998,390		 £
-
-
Restricted		 2023
Total
£
650,000
348,390		 2022
Total
£
600,000
233,122
- 998,390 833,122

At 31st March 2023, the charity was the sole Trustee of the John Bruce's Will Trust, a charity registered in the UK, whose purpose is to hold and distribute monies to Gingerbread. All assets were transferred from the Trust to Gingerbread in 2014 so it is now dormant.

3 Information and advice services

Information and advice services
Single parent helpline and advice line
Communications
Tangible and Intangible fixed assets		 Fees
£
956
-
956		 £
705,154
-
Grants		 2023
Total
£
706,110
-		 2022
Total
£
768,337
128,876
705,154 706,110 897,213
Training, consultancy and projects
[C] The National Lottery Community Fund -
Single parent Community Learning		 Fees
£
28,500
-
28,500		 £
-
-
Grants		 2023
Total
£
28,500
-		 2022
Total
£
10,000
6,174
- 28,500 16,174

Training consultancy and projects income includes restricted grants of £Nil (2022: £Nil) [G] Dulverton Trust: Providing advice, information and support to single parent families outside Greater London. 5 Research and policy activities


Research and policy activities
Research and policy Fees
£
-
-		 £
53,536
Grants		 2023
Total
£
53,536		 2022
Total
£
84,500
53,536 53,536 84,500

Research and policy income includes restricted grants of £53,536 (2022: £84,500)

6 Income from investments

Income from investments
Bank deposit and other interest
Common investment fund deposit interest
John Bruce Will Trust		 Unrestricted
£
-
-
23
23		 £
-
-
-
Restricted		 2023
Total
£
-
-
23		 2022
Total
£
-
-
1
- 23 1

Total income from Government in the year was £383,595 (2022: £382,012)

29

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

7a Analysis of expenditure (Current year)

Analysis of expenditure (Current
the year ended 31 March 2023		 year)
Staff costs (Note 9)
Direct costs
Management
Finance
Premises
IT
Trustee meetings
Audit
Office administration costs
Depreciation
Irrecoverable VAT
Support costs
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2023
Total expenditure 2022		 Raising
funds
£
137,282
69,168
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
206,451
54,688
24,567
285,705
284,994		 Charitable activities Governance
costs
£
148,421
-
10,585
-
-
-
193
17,547
-
-
-
176,746
-
(176,746)
-		 Support
costs
£
163,116
-
2,631
13,797
83,413
90,401
-
-
31,468
8,621
-
393,448
(393,448)
-
-		 2023 Total
£
1,366,253
248,675
13,216
13,797
83,413
90,401
193
17,547
31,468
8,621
-
1,873,584
-
-
1,873,584		 2022
Total
£
1,523,729
262,922
76,733
1,917
83,998
93,143
-
12,769
26,569
9,214
-
Information
and advice
services
£
774,563
129,484
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
904,048
297,626
133,700
1,335,374
1,480,726		 Training
Consultancy
& Projects
£
14,469
2,800
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
17,269
181
81
17,531
-		 Research
and policy
£
128,401
47,222
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
175,624
40,953
18,397
234,974
325,274
2,090,994
-
-
2,090,994

30

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

7b Analysis of expenditure (Prior year)

Staff costs (Note 9)
Direct costs
Management
Finance
Premises
IT
Trustee meetings
Audit
Office administration costs
Depreciation
Irrecoverable VAT
Support costs
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2022		 Raising
funds
£
164,782
51,116
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
215,898
45,274
23,822
284,994		 Charitable activities Charitable activities Charitable activities Governance
costs
£
123,687
-
67,358
-
-
-
-
12,769
-
-
-
203,814
-
(203,814)
-		 Support
costs
£
163,129
-
9,375
1,917
83,998
93,143
-
-
26,569
9,214
-
387,345
(387,345)
-
-		 2022 Total
£
1,523,729
262,922
76,733
1,917
83,998
93,143
-
12,769
26,569
9,214
-
2,090,994
-
-
-
2,090,994
Information
and advice
services
£
893,851
198,576
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,092,427
254,425
133,874
1,480,726		 Training
Consultancy
& Projects
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Research
and policy
£
178,280
13,230
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
191,510
87,646
46,118
325,274

31

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

This is stated after charging / (crediting):

This is stated after charging / (crediting):
2023 2022
£ £
Depreciation 8,622 9,214
Operating lease rentals:
Property 58,215 58,910
Other - -
Auditor's remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit 13,700 11,900
Under accrual from previous year 1,466 366
Other services - -

Staff costs were as follows:

Staff costs were as follows:
Salaries and wages
Redundancy and termination costs
National insurance contributions
Staff recruitment
Pension costs
Temporary staff		 2023
£
1,175,564
-
126,787
56,527
-
7,376		 2022
£
1,324,052
-
130,895
57,950
-
10,832
1,366,253 1,523,729

£10,153 redundancy costs were paid as at year-end (2022: £Nil)

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs and employer's national insurance) during the year between:


national insurance) during the year between:
2023 2022
No. No.
£60,000 - £69,999 3 -
£80,000 - £89,999 - -
£90,000 - £99,999 - 1
£100,000 - £109,999 1 -

The total employee benefits (including pension contributions and employer's national insurance) of the key management personnel were £366,953 (2022: £452,211)

The charity trustees were neither paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2022: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2022: £nil).

Trustees' expenses represents the payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs totalling £Nil (2022: Nil) incurred by members relating to attendance at meetings of the trustees).

10 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was 32.7 FTE (2022: 40.0 FTE).


(2022: 40.0 FTE).
Training, consultancy and projects
Research and policy activities
Support
Staff are split across the activities of the charitable company as follows (full time
equivalent basis):
Raising funds
Information and advice services		 2023
No.
4.6
19.9
0.7
2.1
5.4		 2022
No.
4.5
24.6
-
4.9
6.0
32.7 40.0
32

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

11 Related party transactions

As at 31 March 2023, the charity was the sole Trustee of the John Bruce's Will Trust, a charity registered in the UK whose sole purpose is to hold and distribute monies to Gingerbread in 2014. All funds were transferred to Gingerbread from the Trust. Therefore it is now dormant.

There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no restricted donations from related parties.

12 Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

13 Tangible and Intangible fixed assets

Cost
At the start of the year
At the start of the year
Charge for the year
At the end of the year
Net book value
Additions in year
At the end of the year
Depreciation
At the end of the year
At the start of the year		 Fixtures
and fittings
£
44,896
-		 Computer
equipment
£
131,596
791		 Total fixed
assets
£
176,491
791		 Website
development
£
-
38,958		 Total
intangible
£
-
38,958
44,896 132,387 177,283 38,958 38,958
44,723
173		 109,755
8,449		 154,478
8,622		 -
-		 -
-
44,896 118,204 163,099 - -
- 14,183 14,183 38,958 38,958
173 21,841 22,014 - -

All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.

14 Listed investments

Net gain / (loss) on change in fair value
Cash held by investment broker pending reinvestment
Fair value at the end of the year
Fair value at the start of the year
Additions at cost
Disposal proceeds
Dividends and fees
Cash
Investments comprise:
UK Common investment funds
Shares listed on the London Stock Exchange		 2023
£
313,271
-
-
(238)
(12,664)		 2022
£
307,535
-
-
238
5,498
300,369
2,208		 313,271
1,712
302,577 314,983
2023
£
248,198
52,171
2,208		 2022
£
264,094
49,177
1,712
302,577 314,983

The listed investments were last valued on 31 March 2023 by Seven Investment Management (7IM).

33

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

e year ended 31 March 2023
Debtors
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 2023
£
24,670
750
86,019		 2022
£
3,575
2,611
196,176
111,438 202,362

With the exception of listed investments, all of the charity’s financial instruments, both assets and liabilities, are measured at amortised cost.

16 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Loan capital repayment
Trade creditors
Taxation and social security
Accruals
Deferred income
Other creditors		 2023
£
81,659
43,645
33,761
-
118,257
7,787		 2022
£
32,440
53,401
57,303
-
121,634
9,133
285,109 273,911

Included within other creditors is £7,739.94 in respect of pension contributions outstanding at 31 March 2023 (2022: £9,085.04).

17 Deferred income

Deferred income comprises income received in the year ending 31st March 2023 that relates to the next financial year. There was no deferred income as at 31st March 2023.

18 Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

Creditors: amounts falling due after one year
Bank loans due in 1-2 years
Bank loans due in 2-5 years		 2023
£
-
-		 2022
£
117,763
-
- 117,763

The above loan is Government funded through the Resilience and Recovery programme.

The total loan given was £250,000. The first capital payment totalling £9,889.98 was due in March 2022.

The loan is for a period of 3 years from March 2021.

Interest at 9% pa for the first year was paid by the Government, as was the initial set up fee.

Thereafter interest is charged at 6.5% pa. Total amount repayable is £267,207.35

19 Pension scheme

The charity operates a group personal pension scheme (Aegon). The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in independently administered funds. Payments in respect of current service contributions are charged in the accounts as they fall due. The amount owed to the pension scheme at 31 March 2023 was £7,739.94 and 26 employees were in the scheme.

34

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

20a Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)

e year ended 31 March 2023
Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)
Net assets
Intangible fixed assets
Current liabilities
Tangible fixed assets
Long term liabilities
Net assets at 31 March 2023
Investments		 General
unrestricted
£
14,183
-
302,577
529,778
(285,109)
-		 Designated
£
-
38,958
-
-
-
-		 Restricted
£
-
-
-
81,942
-
-		 Total funds
£
14,183
38,958
302,577
611,720
(285,109)
-
561,428 38,958 81,942 682,329

20b Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)

Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)
Long term liabilities
Net assets at 31 March 2022
Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Net assets		 General
unrestricted
£
22,014
314,983
737,361
(391,674)		 Designated
£
-
-
-
-		 Restricted
£
-
-
99,572
-		 Total funds
£
22,014
314,983
836,933
(391,674)
682,684 - 99,572 782,256

35

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

21a Movements in funds (current year)

Movements in funds (current year)
Information and advice services
Big Lottery & Trusts Advice and Support
City Bridge Trust
DfE Family Support Services
Garfield Weston
HMRC Advice and support
Linbury
Smallwood Trust
Turn2us
Research and policy activities
Standard Life Foundation
Trust for London 3
Total restricted funds
Designated Funds
Website Development
General funds
Unrestricted funds:
Total funds
Total unrestricted funds
Restricted funds:		 At 1 April
2022
£
88,377
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
11,195
-		 Income &
gains
£
57,000
74,000
228,012
75,000
155,583
50,000
45,000
20,558
30,786
22,750		 Expenditure &
losses
£
(142,957)
(62,848)
(220,992)
(24,971)
(153,477)
(50,000)
(45,000)
(2,218)
(41,981)
(22,750)		 Gains/losse
s
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Transfers
between
funds
£
-
-
(7,020)
-
(2,106)
-
-
-
-
-		 At 31 March
2023
£
2,420
11,152
50,029
()
18,340-
-
-
()
99,572 758,690 (767,194) - (9,126) 81,942
- - - 38,958 38,958
682,684 1,027,869 (1,106,390) (12,902) (29,832) 561,429
682,684 1,027,869 (1,106,390) (12,902) 9,126 600,387
782,256 1,786,559 (1,873,584) (12,902) - 682,329

The narrative to explain the purpose of each fund is given at the foot of the note below.

21b Movements in funds (prior year)

Movements in funds (prior year)
Information and advice services
Big Lottery Advice and Support
DfE Family Support Services
City Bridge Trust
Dulverton Trust
Garfield Weston
HMRC Advice and support
Linbury
London Community Response Fund
Lottery Reaching Communities
People's Postcode Lottery
Smallwood Trust
Sports England
Research and policy activities
Standard Life Foundation
StepChange
Trust for London 3
Total restricted funds
General funds
Restricted funds:
Unrestricted funds:
Total funds
Total unrestricted funds		 At 1 April
2021
£
100,859
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
36,232
7,739
3,672
-		 Income &
gains
£
166,845
228,012
64,300
-
60,000
154,000
50,000
-
-
-
45,000
127,126
44,000
-
40,500		 Expenditure &
losses
£
(179,327)
(228,012)
(64,300)
-
(60,000)
(154,000)
(50,000)
-
-
-
(45,000)
(163,358)
(40,544)
(3,672)
(40,500)		 Gains/losse
s
Transfers
£
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 At 31 March
2022
£
88,377
()
-
-
-
()
()
-
-
-
()
-
-
11,195
()
148,502 979,783 (1,028,713) -
-		 99,572
888,001 851,227 (1,062,280) 5,736
-		 682,684
888,001 851,227 (1,062,280) 5,736
-		 682,684
1,036,503 1,831,010 (2,090,993) 5,736
-		 782,256

36

Gingerbread, the Charity for Single Parent Families

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

21c. Tangible and Intangible fixed assets

Restricted funds are funds that have restrictions imposed by donors and can only be used for the particular purposes specified by the donors.

1) Information and Advice services

[A] HMRC: Providing tailored support to hard-to-reach single parents facing significant life events that require engagement with HMRC

[B] DfE: Providing information and advice to single parents as part of the DfE's Family Support Services

[C] The National Lottery Community Fund - Coronavirus Community Support Fund: Providing advice, information and support to single parent families

[D] The National Lottery Community Fund: Strategic development of a single parent peer support service

[E] Smallwood Trust: Providing advice and information to single parents

[F] Sport England: Working with leisure trusts to overcome barriers to single parent families' participation

[G] Dulverton Trust: Providing advice, information and support to single parent families outside Greater London.

[H] Trust for London - London Community Response Fund: Providing advice, information and support to single parent families in London

[I] City Bridge Trust: Supporting our work in London

[J] Garfield Weston: To support our newly accredited advice and information service

[K] Linbury: To support our free, expert advice and information services to single parents

[L] Turn2Us: Submit referrals for grant support to on behalf of single parents contacting Gingerbread for support through our telephone helpline

2) Research and Policy activities

[M] Trust for London: Research into increased work conditionality for single parents with pre-school aged children in London

[N] Standard Life Foundation: Research into experiences and outcomes for single parents who were in work at the onset of the Covid19 crisis

[O] Step Change: Research into single parent debt

[P] Joseph Rowntree Foundation: Research into tackling single parent poverty

22 Operating lease commitments

The charity's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods


periods
Less than one year
One to five years		 2023
2022
£
£
63,753
63,753
318,764
318,764
382,517
382,517
Property		 Equipment
2023
2022
£
£
3,797
3,797
-
6,644
382,517 382,517 3,797
10,441

23 Capital commitments

There were no capital commitments at 31 March 2023.

24 Contingent assets or liabilities

There were no contingent assets or liabilities at 31 March 2023.

25 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

37