2022-05-31-accounts

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Company number: 898514 Charity number: 251926

The Howard League for Penal Reform (incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 May 2022

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Reference and administrative information ........................................................................ 1 Trustees’ annual report .............................................................................................................................. 4 An introduction from the Chair of the Howard League Board, Fergus McNeill ................... 5 Objectives and activities ............................................................................................... 6 Achievements and performance .................................................................................... 9 Plans for the future from Chief Executive Andrea Coomber .......................................... 27 Structure, governance and management ..................................................................... 29 Independent auditor’s report ..........................................................................................34 Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) ....... 39 Balance sheet ................................................................................................................. 40 Statement of cash flows .................................................................................................. 41 Notes to the financial statements .................................................................................... 42

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Reference and administrative information

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Company Number 898514 registered in the United Kingdom

Charity Number 251926 registered in England and Wales Registered office 1 Ardleigh Road and operational London address N1 4HS Board members Board members, who are also directors under company law and the charity trustees as defined by section 177 of the Charities Act 2011, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Professor Ben Bradford Adrian Briggs Zubaida Haque Sally Lewis, Honorary Treasurer Gerry Marshall Professor Fergus McNeill, Chair Elizabeth Morony, Vice Chair (to 5 July 2022) Professor Pamela Taylor Danielle Vidal

Honorary President Lord Ken Macdonald KC

Key management Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.) (from 1 November 2021) Chief Executive personnel Frances Crook (to 31 October 2021) Chief Executive Euginia Lolomari Director of Finance and Operations Andrew Neilson Director of Campaigns Anita Dockley Director of Research Dr Laura Janes (To 19 February 2022) Legal Director

Staff

Debbie Adewale Administrative Assistant (until December 2021) Lorraine Atkinson Senior Policy Officer (until June 2022) Lee Brown Research Assistant (from June 2022) Dr Helen Churcher Research and Project Officer Dr Molly Corlett Policy and Public Affairs Officer (until July 2022) Poppy Cubbage Legal and Projects Support Officer Marie Franklin Solicitor Steve Gallant Development Support Officer (from January 2022)

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Reference and administrative information

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Philip Goring Finance and Administration Officer (until July 2022) Leela Jadhav Policy Officer (from May 2022) Dr Tim Kerr Membership Officer (from June 2022) Noor Khan Press and Public Affairs Officer (from June 2022) Katie Logue Communications Coordinator (from Sept 2022) Sophie Lumsden Development Manager Adriana Matrigiani Trainee Solicitor ( Frm January 2022) Sinead MacCann Managing Solicitor Barbara Norris Events and Website Manager (until June 2022) Renee Oyeleye Administrative Assistant (until December 2021) Rob Preece Communications Manager Ashley Rookwood Executive Assistant to Chief Executive (until Sept 2022) Ana Rosenthal Caseworker Claire Salama Managing Solicitor Claire Sands Research and Policy Manager (until August 2021) Anna Spencer Solicitor Catryn Yousefi Programmes Manager Maya Ward-Lowery Legal and Projects Support Officer (from Nov 2021) Ryan Walker Executive Assistant (from October 2022)

Consultant

Gemma Buckland, Commission on Crime and Gambling Related Harms

Editor-in-Chief of the Howard Journal of Crime and

Justice

Professor Ian Loader, University of Oxford

Editors

Professor Rachel Condry University of Oxford Dr David Green John Jay College, New York, USA Professor Elena Larrauri Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain Professor Simon Mackenzie Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Managing Editor

Anita Dockley Howard League for Penal Reform

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Reference and administrative information

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Book Review Editor

Dr Mary Rogan

Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin, Ireland

Publishing Editor

Brenda McWilliams

The charity is grateful to Clifford Chance for seconding trainee lawyers on three-month placements to support our work for young people

Bankers NatWest Bank Plc PO Box 1357 169 Victoria Street LONDON SW1E 5BT

Auditor Sayer Vincent LLP Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor Invicta House 108-114 Golden Lane LONDON EC1Y 0TL Investment Cazenove Capital Advisors Schroder & Co Ltd 31 Gresham Street LONDON EC2V 7QA

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

The trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2022.

Reference and administrative information, set out on pages 1 and 2, forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum, articles of association, and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

An introduction from the Chair of the Board, Fergus McNeill

I am writing this a day or two after the appointment of Liz Truss as Prime Minister, and of her new Cabinet. Of course, the wider context of this latest political transition includes the tragedy and turmoil associated with the UK’s experience of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the new Government also faces the inter-related and profound challenges of an ongoing war in Europe and of an energy crisis that threatens to plunge many people into severe hardship and even destitution. Both literally and figuratively, we can all sense the dark times ahead. The prospect of winter has become frightening in ways that we might have hoped had been consigned to history.

The field in which we work – criminal justice – is in no way immune to the impact of these wider challenges. Indeed, we know that whenever times are hard in society more generally, the hardships and deprivations caused or exacerbated by punishment tend to become even more acute. And our sector has its own challenges and problems: Barristers are on strike. Probation staff in the recently renationalised service are denied the right to express opinions to the parole board on key decisions. Inspection reports continue to show that our prisons are often overcrowded, unhygienic and ineffective in supporting rehabilitation and reintegration. The indictment could go on and on. Yet the government’s policy – despite the economic and social crisis that the country faces – is to persist in throwing good (public) money after bad, further bloating our de-habilitating, dis-integrating, crime-generating penal system.

Despite all of this, there is much hope to be found in the pages that follow. Over the last year, the Howard League has seen the most significant and challenging transition in its recent history, and I have confidence that the complex work that our new Chief Executive has undertaken with the Board, the staff and the members, is successfully reshaping and refreshing the organisation. The Howard League now stands even more ready and able to work with others to challenge and change a status quo in our penal system that is, to put it simply, morally indefensible and financially unsustainable. This report provides numerous examples of how our team have worked with diligence, skill and commitment to present that challenge and support that change; sometimes case-by-case, as in our legal work, and sometimes through campaigning and research.

In all of this, we rely on the support of our members and our funders. One important aspect of our changing approach concerns how we engage with and mobilise our membership. If we’re going to find a way out of the darkness of UK penal policy, then we may well need thousands of lights and torches. So, I want to end by asking, as you read what follows, please consider what part you might play in the work that lies ahead.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Objectives and activities

The Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the world. We were established in 1866 as the Howard Association, named after John Howard, the first English prison reformer. In 1921 we merged with the Penal Reform League, forming the Howard League for Penal Reform.

Purpose and priorities 2019-2024

In 2019 the Board of the Howard League set the following strategic vision and priorities for the following five years:

The Howard League for Penal Reform recognises the humanity of all people involved in criminal justice. We seek to uphold their dignity and respect their human rights. We strive to minimise the human suffering and social harms that are both causes of crime and consequences of punishment. We stand for constructive forms of justice that contribute to building a safer, fairer society. We stand against abuse and mistreatment and all forms of unlawful discrimination in the criminal justice system.

To these ends, we are committed to:

Remaining fearlessly independent, radical and critical in our campaigning, as well as being pragmatic, engaged and influential
Sustaining high-quality, high-profile public engagement and education around criminal justice concerns
Being evidence-based and research-informed
Maintaining the culture of curiosity and ingenuity that allows us to respond to penal reform challenges in ways that are flexible, dynamic and agile
Using the law and the courts to challenge injustice
Being well-managed, well-governed and sustainable as a charitable organisation
Being committed to working in partnership with others who share our values and goals.

Over the five years from 2019 to 2024 the Howard League will focus on three broad strategic priorities.

1) Stemming the flow

The Howard League will focus work on stemming the flow of people into the system, advocating for solutions which as much as possible lie outside of the criminal justice system.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

The criminal justice system is not a static repository of people. It is better understood as a flow of individual lives, from point of arrest, through community interventions, all the way to the population in penal custody and beyond.

For the past three years, a key activity in respect of ‘stemming the flow’ has been the work of the Commission on Crime and Gambling Related Harms, which is run by the Howard League. We have also undertaken significant work in respect of the arrests of women and children, which is outlined below.

2) Better justice

The Howard League will focus work on better justice which emphasises rights and remedies. When solutions must be sought from within the system, these should be as non-invasive and flexible as possible. Prison must be a true last resort.

The Howard League’s legal team focuses on the quality of justice for children and young people in custody. Through our access to justice service, we advised hundreds of children and young people each year in advocating for their rights in prison and supporting their return to the community. In the past year we have undertaken several projects that aim to improve and better understand their experience in custody.

Our Campaigns team are committed to share the experiences of people in custody with the public, amplifying key findings from reports from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons and Independent Monitoring Boards. We also respond to government consultations and developments in Parliament, with a view to reducing the prison population and improving conditions in prisons.

3) Strengthening the charity

The Howard League will focus work on strengthening the charity which speaks to our vision of being a well-managed, well-governed and sustainable charitable organisation. In particular, we shall continue to devote efforts to grow our membership, expand our influence and maintain our independence.

In the past year the new Chief Executive – supported by the Senior Management Team – has pursued significant change in respect of the governance and management of the charity, as outlined below.

Values

Over the past year the charity has renewed its focus on its values as an organisation. The Board has agreed to six core values, which inform all of our work, internally and externally. These values are: Excellence, Courage, Integrity, Learning, Collaboration and Accountability. These values are the foundation of our work and the way we treat others

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

and each other. To bring them to life, the staff has elaborated a Cultural Compass that details the behaviours and mindsets that should accompany each value. These are kept under regular review by the staff and by the Board.

Public benefit

For more than 150 years, the Howard League has been advocating for prisons to be used as a punishment of last resort, and for the better treatment of people in prison. This is not just for the benefit of people in prison but recognises that society is made safer when penal policy is evidence-based and humane.

Direct beneficiaries of our work include: people living in prisons (on remand, postconviction and post-sentence) and their families, including the children and young people who call our advice line and who receive representation from our legal team; people working in and running prisons; people who come into contact with police officers and who face court; people facing sentences; academics and students specialised in penal policy; practising lawyers, magistrates and judges; those providing support and supervision in the community including probation and community care workers; members of Parliament across parties and civil servants engaged in penal policy. Direct beneficiaries also include the public at large, including victims of crime, who benefit both from our direct communication about penal policy and the state of prisons, and from a criminal justice system that keeps them safe.

The benefits of our work are demonstrated through: successful outcomes for children and young people who call our advice line and are clients of our legal work; the press and media picking up stories based on our work; the adoption of our recommendations in government penal reform initiatives; the referencing of our contributions to government consultations; the adoption of our suggested amendments to legislation; the acceptance of our arguments in third-party interventions in court judgments; academics positively engaging with the issues on which we are working; and greater understanding among the public and decision-makers of penal policy.

The Board has 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 future activities. In particular, the Board considers how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set. While some activities are available only to members, these are in the minority and the vast majority of our work is available to the public free of charge. The Howard League website provides accessible information on our work to the public at large.

The Trustees confirm that they have paid due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission in deciding the aims, objectives and activities of the charity.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

The Board considers that the Howard League’s activities are of public benefit in at least the following ways:

provision of independent research and analysis to external bodies, including the senior judiciary, government and politicians across the political spectrum to assist in formulating law, policy and practice related to penal policy matters, which can have significant benefit for people in the UK;
dissemination of research and information about penal policy directly to Howard League members, the press and media outlets, and others including: people in prison, people working in prison, judges, barristers, solicitors, chartered legal executives, students, advisers to governments and non-governmental organisations, who are then better able to advise public and private bodies about penal policy issues; and,
offering conferences, lectures and other events on penal policy issues that are open to the general public to attend, to inform them about important issues which may affect their daily lives.

Achievements and performance

The charity's main activities 2021-22 are described below. All its charitable activities focus on reform of the penal system and supporting those within it. These are undertaken to further the Howard League’s charitable purposes for the public benefit.

Stemming the flow

The Commission on Crime and Gambling Related Harms

The Commission on Crime and Gambling Related Harms (formerly the Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling) was set up three years ago to find new and better ways of preventing crime linked to gambling. This work is funded by the Gambling Commission (£1.8million over three years).

Chaired by Lord Peter Goldsmith KC, the Commission on Crime and Gambling Related Harms is comprised of 12 other Commissioners:

Andrew Black, co-founder of Betfair
Prof Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE, FRCPsych, BA (Hons), DOccMed, MD (Imperial), Founder and Director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic
(Retired) Assistant Chief Constable Matt Burton, Cheshire Police
Dr John Chisholm CBE, Chair, Medical Ethics Committee, British Medical Association
Jon Collins, Chief Executive, Prisoners’ Education Trust
Elizabeth Morony, Partner, Clifford Chance LLP
Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns, Howard League for Penal Reform

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Neil Platt, Clinical Director, Beacon Counselling Trust
Sarah Ramanauskas, Senior Partner, Gambling Integrity
Gerda Reith, Professor of Social Science, University of Glasgow
Norma Stephenson OBE, Councillor, Stockton on Tees Borough Council
Sue Wade OBE

In 2022, the Commission changed its name to reflect learning from research findings about people’s lived experience.

Throughout 2021 and the first half of 2022, the Commission was largely focussed on research, building on the evidence base developed through an international literature review, and oral evidence sessions.

In October 2021, the Commission published State of Play, a briefing which summarises the evidence uncovered so far and makes some initial recommendations to government and policymakers.

This briefing was published in tandem with the Commission’s first research report Sentencers’ understanding and awareness and treatment of problem gamblers, conducted by Sarah Page (Staffordshire University), and in partnership with the Magistrates Association.

In 2022, the Commission published two further research reports:

“Surviving, not living”: Lived experiences of crime and gambling by Dr Lauren Smith (University of Lincoln)
Police awareness and practice regarding gambling related harms by Dr Helen Churcher, the Howard League for Penal Reform

Building on Dr Lauren Smith’s findings, the Commission developed two additional research projects, in partnership with BetKnowMore:

Exploring the lived experience of women, crime and gambling related harm
Exploring the lived experiences of people from ethnic minority communities, crime and gambling related harms

These projects use peer research methodology to amplify the voices of women and people from ethnic minority communities who have been directly affected by gambling harms and crime. The research teams are due to report to the Commission in October and November 2022, with reports published shortly after.

The Commission’s final research project explores prison culture and gambling, entitled Exploring people's experience of gambling in prison. This peer research project is being conducted in a men’s prison and is due to report to Commissioners at the end of November 2022.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

In addition to the focus on research, the Commission has been promoting its work and broadening its horizons in various ways.

In December 2021, The Commission made a submission to the NICE draft consultation on guideline scope for Gambling: identification, diagnosis and management.

On behalf of the Commission, Howard League staff engaged in two schemes aimed at enhancing the learning of the Commission:

HarmLess community of practise, focusing on the experience of support practitioners and people from ethnic minority communities
A policy review project conducted by LSE students, in tandem with learning platform Practera

We promoted the work of the Commission through a BBC Radio 4 File on 4 programme in June 2022, entitled Gambling on Justice.

Howard League staff and research teams continue to disseminate the work of the Commission and recent research findings: at academic conferences; to the Ministry of Justice; to Local Criminal Justice Boards; to Police and Crime Commissioners; and at upcoming political party conferences.

Finally, the work of the Commission will be showcased at the Howard League’s upcoming conference ‘Crime, Justice and the Human Condition’, at Keble College, Oxford. The conference is supported by the funds of the Commission and will include: plenary sessions on gambling related harm; research presentations; bursary places for early career academics in the field; and an exhibition stand.

The Commission is expected to make a final report in early 2023.

Stemming the flow – the APPG on Women in the Penal System

The Howard League provided secretariat and policy support to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System (the APPG), latterly chaired by Jackie Doyle Price MP and Kate Green MP. Our huge thanks to Baroness Corston, who stood down as co-chair over this period and was appointed the Honorary President of the APPG.

As the secretariat for the APPG, we submitted evidence to the government consultation on the Prisons Strategy White Paper, questioning the rationale behind expanded prison places for women and for women serving short sentences, which contradicts the government’s Female Offender Strategy. As the APPG, we also gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) inquiry into improving outcomes for women in the criminal justice system. The submission supported the aims of the Female Offender

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Strategy, namely to reduce the number of women in contact with the criminal justice system. It highlighted good practice by police services such as West Yorkshire, Durham, Avon and Somerset and Surrey to reduce arrests and divert women to support. Our Chief Executive appeared before the Committee and much of our evidence was picked up in the PAC’s final report.

Project on reducing the arrest of women

The APPG concluded a three-year programme to reduce arrests of women, funded by the Lloyds Bank Foundation (£150,000). The fourth and final report under this grant was published in July 2022. The Howard League | Arresting the entry of women into the criminal justice system: Briefing four

During this year, we have met with representatives of several forces to learn more and discuss initiatives for reducing the arrest of women. This included meeting with: the Durham Constabulary and Durham children’s services to find out more about their pilot scheme on reducing parental conflict; the Lancashire Women’s Justice Group updating us on their ‘Recourse’ scheme, run in partnership with the Lancashire Constabulary (which was recognised as a runner-up in the Howard League Community Awards 2021); follow-up work with Humberside Police on guidance regarding pregnant women in contact with the police; and speaking to Cambridgeshire Police about their data sets and briefing on women coming into contact with police.

In September we responded to the College of Policing consultation on the scope of the review of the Code of Ethics calling for consideration of the experiences of women and - - policing. https://howardleague.org/wp content/uploads/2021/09/CoP ethics.pdf

We also responded to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) Police and Crime Plan consultation and welcomed proposals for a distinct gender-informed approach for women in contact with the criminal justice system.

As the project has come to an end, we have reflected on successes and challenges in the work. We are pleased to have acted as an information hub for police services, Police and Crime Commissioners and NGOs working with women. We have recognised and shared good practice, encouraged forces to learn from their peers and develop good practice based on local needs. While we have been able to build good relationships with police services that are developing good practice, we have found it difficult to engage those who are not.

Inquiry on Women’s Health and Wellbeing in Prison

Over the year the APPG held an inquiry into Women’s Health and Wellbeing in Prison, which reported in April 2022. Evidence sessions were held on mental wellbeing,

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

disproportionality, treatment and conditions and remand for own protection. This work was funded by a trust that has requested anonymity (£30,000).

The inquiry resulted in the publication of a report - - - - - - - (https://howardleague.org/publications/inquiry into womens health and well being in-prisons/) which highlighted the damaging impact of prison on women’s lives. It noted that prisons are designed around the needs of a majority male population, meaning that women’s health needs – medical and mental health – are rarely met. Poor outcomes for women in public health outside prison are amplified in prison; this is particularly true for women from racialised minorities. Most women enter prison with mental health problems, which are made worse through the prison experience. Fundamentally, most women in prison need not be in prison – very many are held on remand or on short sentences. Prison does little for these women, who in most cases need support and treatment rather than punishment.

We secured publicity for the report. Jackie Doyle-Price MP, as Co-chair of the APPG, spoke about the inquiry on Radio 4’s Women’s Hour and the APPG’s findings were covered in the Telegraph, the Independent and the Justice Gap. The briefing paper was circulated to MPs and Peers as well as the Minister for Prisons and the Minister for Equalities, members of the Justice Select Committee and the Public Accounts Committee. It was covered in the Clinks women in the criminal justice system e-bulletin.

The APPG made submissions to Prisons Strategy White Paper and was in correspondence with the Public Accounts Committee, which led to the Howard League’s Chief Executive giving evidence to the Committee as part of its inquiry on improving outcomes for women in the criminal justice system.

In light of the inquiry’s work, the Howard League submitted evidence to the Justice Select Committee consultation on the use of adult remand. The submission referred to the disproportionality in the use of remand for women and people from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds and the use of remand for own protection for women.

After the APPG published a briefing on 2020 on the topic of remand for own protection, members of the APPG used the passage of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in 2021 to table an amendment to see the practice ended. While the amendment was dropped at the Committee stage, the government committed to review the issue and new draft legislation published this year amends provisions in the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Bail Act 1976, which allow courts to remand people to custody because they are in mental health crisis. The Howard League has welcomed this development and will continue to press for repealing remand for ‘own protection’ or ‘welfare’ in all circumstances, including where courts mistakenly believe that it will protect someone from exploitation or abuse.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

The future of the APPG

In the summer of 2022, it was agreed that the secretariat function for the APPG should be transferred to the charity Women in Prison. This was in recognition of Women in Prison’s significant reach in service provision and therefore expertise on issues affecting women in the penal system. Over the 14 years in which we have hosted the APPG, the Howard League has benefited greatly from the support and advice of countless MPs and members of the House of Lords, from women’s prison advocates and support workers and from women with lived experience of prison. Our thanks to them all, but particularly to Baroness Corston. We wish the APPG all the best for its future success based at Women in Prison and look forward to supporting its work in the years to come.

Racial disparity in youth justice

This year has seen the launch of a new programme of work on addressing racial disparity in youth justice, which builds on previous child arrest work and on our 2021 guide for anti-racist lawyering. Funded for the next three years by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (£80,000 a year), the project commenced in May 2022 with the recruitment of a new policy officer.

Work to date has focused on setting up the parameters and key elements of the project, which include the formation of an Advisory Board. With partner organisations, we are exploring key challenges for the fair treatment of children from racialised minorities in the criminal justice system. While areas of work are emerging, we expect to explore themes of ‘adultification’, overuse of remand and considering ‘joint enterprise’ convictions through the prism of racial disparity.

Supporting crime-cutting projects

The Howard League Community Awards attract a flood of entries every year and, once again, it was striking to see so many schemes deserving of recognition and praise for their excellent work in the community. The range and diversity of the nominated programmes, each delivering services under such difficult circumstances during the pandemic, was remarkable.

From the high-quality field of nominations, 40 entries from England, Wales and Northern Ireland were shortlisted for the 2021 Community Awards, giving them the chance to promote their work on the national stage. They tuned into a Howard League online celebration in October, with 21 winners and commended entries being announced. Shortlisted projects showcased their work on our online event platform exhibition hall to promote their work and best practice ever further. A list of all the winners can be found on our website.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

A new category ‘Racial Disparities in Youth Justice’ was introduced into the awards this year to reflect the importance of this issue and the Howard League’s new work stream. Also, a new criterion this year asked for the nominated organisations to demonstrate the use of lived experience in shaping the work they do. A reference from someone with lived experience of the project or organisation was supplied with each nomination. This information added real depth and colour to each nomination, firmly placing its work in context. The awards have attracted 46 nominations across eight categories. The internal shortlisting occurred in mid-August, with a shortlist of 32 nominations.

The judging panel will be meeting on Thursday 9 September to agree the final shortlist and winners for 2022 awards. The winners will be announced on Tuesday 22 November at our online ceremony.

Government and public affairs

The most significant political developments for criminal justice policy in this reporting year were the passage of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and the publication of the Prisons Strategy White Paper.

In late 2021, the Howard League worked on amendments addressing the issue of IPPs in the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill. Although these amendments were not successful, the government did commit to reviewing current policies in light of a justice select committee inquiry into the sentence. We made our own submission to this inquiry in November.

In February 2022, the Howard League published its response to the Prisons Strategy - - - - - - - - White Paper consultation: Howard League response to the Prisons Strategy White Paper.pdf (howardleague.org). Our response raises serious concern about the direction of travel of prison policy in increasing the prison population by 25%. While the White Paper hopes to improve both the experience of imprisonment and the outcomes for prison leavers, it is unclear to us how this could possibly be achieved in a context of an ever expanding prison population.

Over this year we have also responded to dozens of government and statutory consultations on a wide range of issues including human rights, law, sentencing and the treatment of children.

The charity is regularly consulted by ministers, officials and parliamentary committees. In June, our Chief Executive gave evidence in a private session to the House of Lords Constitutional Affairs Committee on the Queen’s Speech. Our Chief Executive has regular

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

meetings with relevant Ministers, as well as with the shadow justice teams, senior judges and senior civil servants.

Staff maintain strong relationships with senior officials across statutory agencies including the Parole Board, Sentencing Council, HM Inspectorates of Prisons and Probation, the Youth Custody Service and the Youth Justice Board.

Better Justice

Advice and legal representation for children and young adults

Children and young people in custody have distinct needs and are a growing, undersupported group of the prison population. Highly vulnerable and often facing long sentences, they need support in advocating for their own rights, as well as advocacy on their behalf.

We are proud that the Howard League runs the country’s only dedicated advice line for children and young people in custody. With support from BBC Children in Need (see below), this year we were able to extend the hours of the advice line, allowing us to support more children and young people in distress.

Between 1 August 2021 and 31 July 2022, the legal team provided advice and assistance to 132 children under the age of 18 and 240 young people between the ages of 18 and 21 in 526 separate matters.

We gave these children and young people specialist legal advice about a range of different issues, including their treatment in custody, adjudications, transfers, and release planning. We explained their legal rights and entitlements, advised on them on how they could take action themselves and took action and advocated on their behalf. We also signposted and referred them to other firms of solicitors and organisations.

We pursued 74 cases, funded by Legal Aid, to help children and young people with treatment issues in custody, adjudications, recall and parole and resettlement. Half the cases saw us argue for young people to receive help with accommodation and support that their local authorities had a statutory duty to provide to them after leaving prison.

In July 2021, the Supreme Court ruled against our challenge – in A.B. v Secretary State for Justice and the Youth Justice Board – on behalf of a child who had been held in solitary confinement for 55 days. In December 2021, we submitted the case to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that this treatment was inhuman and degrading, and that this represented an interference with his private life. We await the communication of the application to government.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

In May 2021 we issued a challenge to the use of restraint on a child in his own cell in a young offender institution for compliance purposes. We argued that this was unlawful and a breach of the client’s rights under the Human Rights Act. In July 2022 the Ministry of Justice settled, committing to review the draft policy frameworks on behaviour management and physical restraint in youth custody and on body-worn video camera footage taking into account the client’s experiences among other things. Our client also received a financial settlement. We await publication of the final versions of the policy frameworks.

The Howard League has worked for years on issues of ‘adultification’ and this year we commissioned Chocolate Films to produce four, four-minute films on the distinct needs and characteristics of young adults in the criminal justice system. The films were launched on 13 October 2021 at a joint event with the Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance. The event was hosted by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) so as to encourage attendance from court and probation staff. We are working with stakeholders to ensure that the films are used to train practitioners across the sector, including probation staff, judges, magistrates and lawyers.

Project work on better justice for children and young people

We have pursued several projects aimed at improving the quality of justice for children and young people in custody.

Improving children’s understanding of their rights

In May 2019 we were granted four years of funding (including a year of extension funding; (£26,584) by BBC Children in Need to work to improve children’s knowledge of their rights and skills at dealing with authority, and to promote their rights through advocacy and intervention on their behalf. We have used this funding to advise children in custody about their legal rights and entitlements through our access to justice service. The funding has allowed us to extend our advice line hours.

This year we ran two rights-based workshops with children in a secure children’s home. These were run with the UK’s Comics Laureate and used the medium of comic books about heroes, monsters, and mythical creatures to allow children to share their own experiences and discuss their key rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The workshops empowered children to understand their rights and that lawyers can be accessible and helpful. We subsequently used vouchers donated by a member of the Howard League to buy comic books for the secure children’s home’s first comic book library.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Empowering young people in custody

In April 2020, we received three years of funding from the Big Lottery (£366,556) to work on empowering young people in custody to understand and use the law to achieve better outcomes for themselves, to embed good practice, and to encourage lasting systems change.

This year we used the funding to launch a project to understand and support children on remand in prison with their unmet legal support needs. The aim was to understand, in discussion with professionals, why children had been remanded to custody and to see if they could be supported to get bail. Alongside legal casework, the Howard League talked to children about their experiences on remand and their perceptions of what led to it. In September 2021 we met with the second cohort of young people on remand at HMYOI Feltham. We met with three children and one 18-year-old to support them with bail, resettlement, and letters of mitigation and discuss their experiences of being on remand.

During the project we advised 13 children and young people and published two briefings. The first summarised the legal issues faced by children on remand. The second, published in May 2022, focused on the experiences, voices, and lessons to be learned from five of the young people. We are currently working with a barrister who specialises in youth justice to produce further resources for lawyers working with remanded children.

The final year of the project will focus on strengthening information on in-cell technology. We surveyed 130 children across three different prisons about how they use in-cell technology with a view to producing accessible legal education resources for children which they can access in their cell.

Understanding young adults on remand

In July 2022, we received a grant from the Barrow Cadbury Trust (£20,000) to complete a seven-month project about young adults on remand. We want to better understand the personal experiences of young adults on remand and help them and the professionals working with them, to have a better understanding of the law and their rights. The project started in August 2022, and we will be working with young people on remand at HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

Justice and Fairness in Prison

Beyond children and young people, the Howard League continues to be a leading and sought-after commentator on the state of justice and fairness in prisons. This work was supported by the Hogg Trust (£40,000).

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Though COVID-19 has moved into the background of daily life outside prison, it continues to cast a long shadow over life in prison. In order to better understand the realities of the pandemic and beyond it, we asked our members in prison and their families to share their better experiences of prison over the past two years. We learned that responses to the pandemic have exacerbated poor mental health in prison, with the suspension of family visits increasing the sense of isolation and desperation of many. The loss of experienced prison staff during the pandemic has slowed the return to normal regime in many prisons, with thousands of people still locked in cells 22.5 hours a day.

Beyond informing our policy work, we have brought these experiences to public attention over the past year, though work with the press, media and through blog posts. We regularly speak to the media in response to reports of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons and Independent Monitoring Boards, providing context for reports of particular prisons.

We have responded quickly to issues of serious concern in prison, for example to the official statistics on deaths in custody, which in 2022 reached the highest level since current recording practices began.

Our experienced communications team have worked hard to ensure that issues relating to justice and fairness are in the news. For example, Politics.co.uk ran an article by our Chief Executive, Andrea Coomber, reflecting on the last 12 months in prisons and looking ahead to the changes we need to see in 2022. We wrote an article for i news about the government’s White Paper on prisons. And we spoke to the Bloomberg

Westminster podcast about the projected rise in the prison population and the problems this would cause. The Guardian came to us for comment after it obtained data on the number of misconduct investigations faced by prison staff. The story was also covered by Inside Time.

In the last year, we have shared our expertise and set up meetings with media outlets for smaller single-issue NGOs that with limited communications capacity and contacts. This has been motivated by a renewed commitment to collaborative, partnership working, and also by recognition of the importance for our cause of amplifying the experiences captured by NGOs close to the ground.

We continue to improve our ways of communicating out work. At the end of August we had: Twitter - 34.4K followers; Facebook - 5,418 likes; YouTube - 274 subscribers; and Instagram - 856 followers. In the year from September 2021 to August 2022, we had 70,167 use our website, who combined for 94,233 sessions and 185,193 page views.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Consolidating the research base

The Howard League’s deep and long-standing connections to academic research in the criminal justice field are unparalleled. This year we both celebrated the 100[th ] anniversary of the Howard Journal of Crime and Justice and planned a big International Conference to explore key contemporary challenges. Our Research team also led on six large research projects as part of the Commission on Crime and Gambling Related Harms.

Over the year, we published five issues of the Howard Journal. One – Volume 60 S1 – was an online-only publication to celebrate the centenary of the Howard Journal, which mirrored the content of the first journal with contributors reflecting on the relevance of concerns raised in 1921. The issue was discussed at a well-attended webinar chaired by Howard Journal Editor-in-Chief Professor Ian Loader in October 2021.

The Howard Journal has continued to grow in its reach and impact. The past year has seen a marked expansion in readership of the Journal, with a 39% increase in downloads and the Journal enjoys a 60% acceptance rate, with an increasing proportion of contributors coming from abroad.

The Research Advisory Group (RAG) continues to grow, with five new academics joining on the back of a competitive process. We are working with the RAG to drive membership and engagement among new thinkers in the space. Beyond the RAG, our Early Careers Academics Network (ECAN) seeks to engage new academics on issues relating to the Howard League’s work. In the past year we have published three ECAN bulletins, one of which focused on reuniting probation.

Both the ECAN and the RAG have been involved in the development of our upcoming Howard League International Conference 2022 – Crime, Justice and the Human Condition. The event will be held at Keble College, Oxford on 13-14[th ] September and will bring together more than 300 academics, practitioners and activists concerned about criminal justice. We have been overwhelmed by the volume and quality of abstracts submitted, and it looks set to be an exciting and challenging event. With a focus on reshaping the justice system, the Conference will help frame future work and partnerships for the Howard League.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Strengthening the charity

Inevitably, the arrival of a new Chief Executive in November saw renewed attention paid to the management and governance of the charity.

Membership

Members are key to the success of the Howard League; they provide vital funds while often offering valuable insights into the operation of the criminal justice system and lending authority to our work. We are keen to better understand our membership and to make better use of their expertise and experience in driving our work. To this end, in February 2022 we surveyed our members for the first time. The survey – which was completed by 575 members – revealed that a high proportion of our members work in education, criminal justice and the law. Members want to be more involved in our work and want their knowledge and experience to be utilised where appropriate. Our survey also highlighted the importance of using the unique insights of our members in prison, as well as family members of those in prison, to aid our learning and support our evidence base for change.

With the allocation of funds from the Strategic Fund, we have invested in a new database that will allow us to manage our membership and development contacts better and more safely. Our move to the new database – while still afoot – is resulting in the cleansing of our data. We have around 9,000 members at the time of writing, including around 500 members in prison and 900 family members of people in prison. This is fewer members than previously understood, and while the exact figure is not yet clear, our new system will allow us to ensure clear and accurate data.

With a new Membership Officer in post, we are reviewing our membership strategy, and refreshing our approach to membership benefits, recruitment and retention. We very much hope that our members will help spread the word about the Howard League’s work and why prison isn’t the answer to crime.

Fundraising

We are immensely grateful to all the individuals, and trusts and foundations that have supported our work.

Since the arrival of the Chief Executive, we have strengthened our development function, shuffling staff internally to increase focus on fundraising and recruiting a Development Support Officer to generate a pipeline of funders and applications.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Trusts and foundations play a critical role in supporting the work of the Howard League. Over the year, we have received a number of grants from trusts and foundations, both as restricted and unrestricted income, detailed below.

We received new restricted grants or donations from:

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (£80,000 a year for three years; restricted to work on youth justice and young people)

We continued to receive a number of restricted multi-year grants for existing projects, details of which are provide above. These were:

Big Lottery - Integrated legal advice, education, participation and change for young people in the Criminal Justice System (£366,556 over three years 2020-23)
Children in Need – Legal advice line (£25,584 continuation funding one year)
Legal Education Trust – Justice First Fellowship (£47,926 over two years 2022-24)
Lloyds Bank Foundation – Arrests of women (£50,000 per year for three years – completed February 2022)

We have continued to receive unrestricted support from: The Hanley Trust (£1,000); Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (£5,000); Jolanta and Max Neufeld Charitable Trust (£10,000); Oakdale Trust (£3,000); WF Trust (£500); and William P Bancroft Charitable Trust (£1,000)

We’ve received £34,919 in unrestricted income from gifts in wills, from 5 different individuals.

Events

The reverberations of the pandemic continued into this year, with most of our events held online. The following events were held online, and free for the public:

In Conversation with Justin Russell, September 2021
Ending custodial remand event, with Transform Justice, September 2021
Ian Hislop in conversation with Frances Crook, September 2021
In Conversation with Laura Janes, February 2022
In Conversation with Angela Kirwin, June 2022
In Conversation with Tristan Kirk, July 2022

In May 2022, our new Chief Executive delivered the annual Parmoor Lecture, entitled Son of a Convict: law, human rights and the politics of punishment. Our thanks to Clifford Chance LLP for generously hosting the event.

In addition, we held two ‘Law and Practice Seminars’ – one in October 20221 on the Howard League films on young adults in the criminal justice system, the other in June

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

2022 on Crime, Care, Discrimination and Remorse: Children in the Justice System, hosted by Doughty Street Chambers.

In addition to the above, Howard League staff members regularly attended and spoke at a wide range of conferences and events.

Financial review

For the year ended 31 May 2022, the Howard League recorded a net deficit, before other recognised gains and losses, of £786,896. Our investments unrealised gains was £2,131.

Income

Total income received in 2021/2022 decreased by 7 % to £854,720 (2021: £917,377). Details of how this has arisen are shown below.

Donations and legacies

£248,643

Charitable activities

£533,193

Trading activities

£14,755

Investments

£50,735

Others

£7,394

Expenditure

£1,641,616

Staff costs

Staff costs account for nearly 72% of the total costs of the organisation and have increased by just over 10% from 2020/21. During the year, the total average FTE headcount increased to 25 (2021: 19)

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

In early 2022 the Chief Executive led a benchmarking exercise and review of staff salaries. This resulted in new salary scales being adopted, the movement of some staff across scales, an increase to some staff salaries and a ring-fencing of senior staff salaries. The new scale came into effect at the beginning of the 2022/2023 financial year.

Costs of generating funds

The cost of generating funds makes up 4.5% of our overall expenditure, an increase this year from £56,454 to £73,004. This includes fundraising salary costs and overhead costs based on staff time attributable to the fundraising function.

The Strategic Fund

The Strategic Fund is a designated fund set aside by the trustees to support the infrastructure of the Howard League. In this financial year, we have drawn down on the Strategic Fund to increase the IT infrastructure in the office (extended cabling and wifi in the office; the purchase of laptop devices for all staff). Investment in development work (fundraising) and other staff termination expenses has seen a drawn down on the Fund of £158,008.

The charity has sufficient resources to settle its liabilities as they fall due in the foreseeable future.

Principal risks and uncertainties

As part of the governance review, the Howard League is in the process of reassessing its approach to risk. To this end, we expect a new risk management strategy to be adopted in the coming year. Risk is currently monitored regularly by the Senior Management Team and the Board; with the new Finance, Audit and Risk Committee also having review of risk on its agenda.

At present, the main risks identified on the register are retention of key staff; staff recruitment; major disaster; safeguarding; income generation; public perception and the inability of the organisation to influence government policy. For each risk, factors in mitigation are in place and there is regular review against performance.

Beyond the register, the transition to a new Chief Executive, particularly after 35 years of the former, represents a significant and challenging transition for the organisation and therefore risk to the charity. The Chair and Treasurer of the Board are providing regular oversight of and support to Andrea. We are reassured in the fact that Andrea is an experienced NGO leader, with a strong track record of successful leadership of JUSTICE.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

The leadership transition also provides a vital opportunity to reconsider priorities, refresh approaches, rethink roles and reset relationships within and beyond the organisation. Over the past ten months, Andrea has developed strong and constructive working relationships with the Board, the staff and with others in the sector. We are confident that the transition is going very well, despite the profound sector-wide and social challenges noted in the Chair’s report above.

Reserves policy and going concern

Both the Board and the Howard League’s supporters recognise that the organisation operates in a policy environment that requires a long-term commitment if it is to achieve its mission. The nature of our work relies on high quality and timely product from staff. Therefore, it is the view of the Board that the Howard League needs a reserves level that will enable it to continue to attract the highest level of staff expertise and, in so doing, meet its long-term commitments to its supporters and beneficiaries.

Each year the Board reviews the reserves policy, taking into consideration any major risks and the impact these could have on planned income and expenditure. Our current policy is that unrestricted reserves on average equivalent to at least 12 months’ running costs (c£2,087,161 based on our 2022-2023 budget) are needed if the Howard League is to deliver on its commitments, meet the long-term expectations of its supporters and beneficiaries, and continue to attract the highest level of staff expertise with which to do so.

It is important to us to grow the Howard League so that we can keep up with demands of the work that is needed, and we are committed to doing this in a sustainable way. Despite our relatively strong financial position, it remains important that we maintain our reserves at the agreed level. We keep a close eye on these and our cash flow throughout the year.

At the close of 31 May 2022, the Howard League had £857,555 (2020-2021: £1,165,667)) in general reserves which is below the Board’s reserves policy of 12 months’ running costs. The Howard League’s reserve funds are held in a mix of fixed interest deposit accounts and equity-based common investment funds, with the aim of securing and sustaining the charity’s strong financial foundations.

These reserves are comprised of general unrestricted funds and endowment funds that are not tangible fixed assets (general unrestricted funds of £2,257,553 less tangible fixed assets of £1,400,000. See note 16a of the accounts for more details.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

In the coming year, the Howard League’s Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and Board will review its reserves policy.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Plans for the Future, from Chief Executive Andrea Coomber

At the time of writing – 31 August 2022 – I am ten months into leadership of the Howard League, with my tenure covering just over half of the work covered in this Trustees Annual Report. On appointment I inherited from the indomitable Frances Crook an organisation with a rich and proud history of penal reform, with a highly committed and experienced staff and with a strong public profile. The three pillars of the current strategy – stemming the flow of people into the criminal justice system, increasing the quality of justice in prison, and strengthening the charity – provide a solid foundation upon which to build the work of the organisation and the impact of its activities. With this strategy ending in 2023, the coming year will see a refresh in line with a changing, and increasingly challenging context.

Much of my time at the Howard League to date has revolved around clarifying and developing our values and a culture which will allow our staff, and therefore the work, to flourish. While this is an ongoing process, the coming year will see us build on these foundations by refining the strategies and methodologies that will maximise our impact as an organisation. We will develop a theory of change that clearly identifies the role of the Howard League as a leading commentator and actor in the criminal justice sector in England and Wales, and that sets out activities against which we can measure our impact.

This is a critical time for the criminal justice system generally and prison policy in particular. In the context of a cost-of-living crisis, the government has committed to increasing the prison population by 25% in the next three-and-a-half years. This is despite an abundance of evidence that prison does little to deter crime; instead it disrupts, derails and devastates lives in a way that feeds criminality. Many of our prisons, even the ‘good ones’, are hot beds of poor mental health, violence and hopelessness, which sees nearly half of those released reoffend within a year. And it costs the taxpayer a fortune.

The Howard League has an important role in lifting the lid on life in prison and explaining to the public what the politicians already know but refuse to acknowledge: that prison doesn’t cut crime. It follows that we have to support politicians to develop the courage required to make evidence-based policy. We will also hold them to account for the harms they cause when they fail to do so. The Howard League has always challenged injustice in the criminal justice system, and we will continue to do this, though campaigns and policy work, as well as through litigation.

In recent months we have reshaped staffing around our communications function which

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

will see us refresh the way we speak to our members, supporters and the public. This will include redesigning our website, honing our messages and reinvigorating our social media presence. We will launch an events programme, online and in person.

I am particularly keen to make more of our membership, using members to shape and advocate for our work. We will build on our membership survey and find ways to build the membership and to bring members closer to our work, including the experience of members in prison and their families.

We will continue to build our development function, diversifying income streams. We will focus fundraising efforts on deepening relationships with existing donors and on developing new relationships, focusing on unrestricted, multi-year funding opportunities. We will establish a Development Board, and with its support start to build a major donor funding programme, providing opportunities for supporters to engage meaningfully with our work and beneficiaries.

I have invested a lot of time in the past year updating our ‘back office’, which is vitally important for a sustainable, effective organisation. This process should be completed by the end of the coming year.

I have spent much of the last 10 months meeting others in the sector to understand their work and where they see the Howard League advancing change in the criminal justice space. I have spoken to our members, people in prison, prison governors and staff, civil servants, politicians of all shades, and NGOs in the criminal justice sector. I have been invited to prisons, to women’s centres and drug rehab centres, and to see advice lines and innovative services in action. I have been overwhelmed by the warmth of the welcome and by the spirit of collaboration and support that has greeted me. There is enormous goodwill for the work of the Howard League and a strong belief in the importance of the Howard League as powerful voice for and of the sector.

Finally, I would like to thank our members, donors, funders and staff for their support during this period of transition. Frances has built a fantastic organisation with an important and distinct voice; I look forward to seeing it grow in stature and impact over the years to come.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Structure, governance and management

Staffing

As is typical with a leadership transition, the past year has seen some movements in staff. We are grateful to Dr Laura Janes, Barbara Norris, Philip Goring, Lorraine Atkinson and Dr Molly Corlett for years of service and wish them well. Putting inclusion at the heart of our recruitment practices, we have successfully recruited four new members of staff who, along with other valuable skills and experience, bring lived experience of prison to the team. In 2021 the Howard League received registration as a London Living Wage employer and will in future be paying all interns the London Living Wage.

With the support of the Legal Education Trust (£48,426), we were able to recruit a new Justice First Fellow – a trainee solicitor, who joined us at the beginning of 2022.

The nature of the Howard League’s work can be challenging and upsetting. To support staff, and to nurture a healthy organisation, we have engaged an experienced clinical practitioner, Patrick Mandikate, to work with staff on a fortnightly basis.

The last year has also seen the introduction of new staff management systems and processes to streamline planning and evaluation of our work. We are hugely grateful to Nina Williams and her colleagues at Freshfields LLP for their advice and guidance to our human resources function. With support from the Strategic Fund*, we have invested in stronger IT infrastructure, including upgrading the office cabling and wifi, and providing laptop computers to all staff.

Governance

We are a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England and Wales. As our constitutional documents were adopted in 1967, the Board is in the process of updating them to ensure that they both reflect our core activities and best contemporary governance practice.

As part of the governance review, all policies and procedures are being checked and updated. We are grateful to Erica Handling and to Dechert LLP for their support with this process.

The governance structure

The Board members of the Howard League are directors of the company for the purposes of the Companies Act and are charity trustees as defined by section 177 of the Charities

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Act. All Board Members give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. The Board is responsible for the overall governance of the Howard League.

The Chief Executive, Andrea Coomber, is responsible for leadership and management of the charity, meeting regularly with the Chair of the Board, Fergus McNeill, and consulting other Board members as required.

The Howard League is managed by the Senior Management Team, comprising: Andrew Neilson (Director of Campaigns); Euginia Lolomari (Director of Finance and Operations) and Anita Dockley (Research Director). Since the departure of the Legal Director in February 2022, Managing Lawyers Sinead MacCann and Claire Salama have joined the Senior Management Team on an interim basis. Euginia Lolomari meets regularly with the Treasurer, Sally Lewis, to review and discuss financial performance and challenges.

Operation of the Board

Board members are appointed at the AGM and there must be a minimum of three members and a maximum of 12; we currently have 8 in post. The Board meet in regular session four times per year, where they consider overall strategy, operational performance and the financial situation. They also have an annual Away Day for strategy development.

The Howard League generally recruits Board members from within our membership. Board members are appointed at the AGM for a three-year term. In line with recommendations of the UK Charity Governance Review of 2016, the proposed revised articles of association will see the introduction of two-term limits for Board members, with the Chair and Treasurer serving for four years.

Board places are advertised in advance of the Annual General Meeting at which members are appointed. Board members have the power to appoint any person at any time to the Board to fill a vacancy, although this person will stand down and be re-elected at the next Annual General Meeting.

All new Board members are inducted by the Chief Executive, invited to meet with staff, and are provided with an induction pack which includes the Charity Commission guidance on the responsibilities of Trustees, the Charity Governance Code and copies of the articles of association, latest strategy, annual review, accounts and organisational structure.

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

All Board members are encouraged to attend training sessions offered by our auditor on the roles and responsibilities of trustees and the dates of these training sessions are circulated on a regular basis.

Finance, Audit and Risk Committee

Set up in mid-2022, the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee comprises of two Board members – including the Honorary Treasurer – and three members of the Howard League with relevant expertise. The current members are: Sally Lewis (Hon. Treasurer); Ben Elger; Gerry Marshall (Trustee); Lucy Robinson; and Delbert Sandiford.

The Committee will meet four times, with the Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Operations also attending.

Among other things, the Committee’s role is to:

review the detailed draft annual budget and recommend its approval to the Board;
monitor in-year financial performance via receipt of regular management accounts and monitor the overall financial position via regular cash and investment reports;
review the statutory accounts and Trustees’ Annual Report and recommend them to the Board;
review and act upon, where appropriate, the findings from the annual audit as detailed in the post-audit report;
review the relationship with the auditor and ensure that independence and objectivity is maintained;
review and maintain an up-to-date risk register;
ensure organisational policies that are important to the financial health of the charity are relevant and up to date (e.g. reserves, trading, whistle-blowing, disaster recovery policies);
review remuneration and fair pay;
act as a sounding board and provide advice and guidance to the Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Operations in meeting their responsibilities; and
monitor the performance of finance and discuss and review any proposals for significant structural and operational changes.

Statement of responsibilities of Board Members

The Howard League’s Board members (who are directors of Howard League for the purposes of company law and the charity trustees as defined by section 177 of the Charities Act 2011) 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).

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Company law requires the Board 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 Board is required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

Board Members 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, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the Board is aware:

There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware;
The Board has taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

The Board 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 Board are members of the charity,

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

but this entitles them only to voting rights. The Board have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Auditor

Sayer Vincent LLP serves as the charity’s auditor.

The Trustees’ annual report has been approved by the Board on 11 October 2022 and signed on their behalf by

Fergus McNeill Chair, Board of Trustees

Independent auditor’s report

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

To the members of

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Howard League for Penal Reform (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 May 2022 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:

Give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 May 2022 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended
Have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice
Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006

Basis for opinion

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

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on Howard League for Penal Reform'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.

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

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

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

The information given in the trustees’ annual report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
The trustees’ annual report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the 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:

Adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
The financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
Certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
We have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

The directors were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ annual report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

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 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:

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

We enquired of management, which included obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning the charity’s policies and procedures relating to:
Identifying, evaluating, and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
Detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud;
The internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or noncompliance with laws and regulations.
We inspected the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a material effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the charity from our professional and sector experience.
We communicated applicable laws and regulations throughout the audit team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We reviewed any reports made to regulators.
We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and tested these to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.
In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments, assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias and tested significant transactions that are unusual or those outside the normal course of business.

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

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

Independent auditor’s report

The Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

To the members of

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.

Jonathan Orchard (Senior statutory auditor)

25 November 2022

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

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

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

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Unrestricted £ 248,643 5,000 56 57,409 164,013 14,755 50,735 7,394	Restricted £ - 135,050 - 171,665 - - - -	2022 Total £ 140,050 56 229,074 164,013 14,755 50,735 7,394 248,643	Unrestricted £ - 64 124,270 161,487 21,794 64,602 7,477 246,245	Restricted £ 91,000 - 200,438 - - - - -	2021 Total £ 91,000 64 324,708 161,487 21,794 64,602 7,477 246,245
548,005	306,715	854,720	625,939	291,438	729,630 76,836 395,987 109,801 917,377 56,454
73,004 280,026 75,235 308,548 121,437	620,344 - 163,022 - -	900,370 75,235 471,570 121,437 73,004	276,238 76,836 212,516 109,801 56,454	453,392 - 183,471 - -
858,250	783,366	1,641,616	731,845	636,863	1,368,708
(310,245) 2,131	(476,651) -	(786,896) 2,131	(105,906) 166,779	(345,425) -	(451,331) 166,779
- (308,114)	(476,651) -	(784,765) -	60,873 324,611	(345,425) (324,611)	(284,552) -
(308,114) -	(476,651) -	(784,765) -	385,484 200,000	(670,036) -	(284,552) 200,000
(308,114) 2,565,667	(476,651) 923,373	(784,765) 3,489,040	585,484 1,980,183	(670,036) 1,593,409	(84,552) 3,573,592

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 17 to the financial statements.

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Balance sheet

Balance sheet
As at 31 May 2022			Company no. 00898514
Fixed assets: Tangible assets Investments Note 12 13 Net current assets Total net assets The funds of the charity: Restricted income funds Unrestricted income funds: Designated property funds Property fair value reserve fund Property historic cost fund 17 Total unrestricted funds Total charity funds Total designated property funds Designated strategic fund Other designated funds General funds Current assets: Debtors 14 Cash at bank and in hand Liabilities: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 15	£ 78,462 120,205	1,455,230 1,213,669 2022 £	£ 107,965 345,228	1,439,114 1,666,424 2021 £
		2,668,899 35,376		3,105,538 383,502
	198,667 (163,291)		453,193 (69,691)
	750,000 650,000		750,000 650,000
		2,704,275		3,489,040
		446,722 2,257,553		923,373 2,565,667
	1,400,000 620,704 - 236,851		1,400,000 778,712 - 386,955

		2,704,275		3,489,040

Approved by the trustees on 11 October 2022 and signed on their behalf by

Fergus McNeill Chair

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 May 2022

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

Net (expenditure) / income for the reporting period (as per the statement of financial activities) Depreciation charges Losses /(gain) on investments Loss on disposal of fixed assets Gain on revaluation of fixed assets Dividends and interest from investments Decrease / (increase) in debtors (Decrease)/increase in creditors Decrease/(increase) in cash held by investment broker pending reinvestment Note 2022 £ £ Cash flows from investing activities: Dividends and interest from investments Proceeds from sale of investments Purchase of fixed assets Purchase of investments 50,735 504,393 (42,275) (49,507) Net cash provided by operating activities Cash flows from operating activities Net cash provided by operating activities (688,369) Net cash used in investing activities 463,346 Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year (225,023) Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 345,228 Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 120,205	2022 £ 26,159 (2,131) - - (50,735) 29,503 93,600 - (784,765)	2021 £ (16 (20 (6 (3 (1 (84,552) 14,508 ,779) - ,000) ,602) ,587) ,122) -
	(688,369)	(551,134)

(225,023) 345,228		(541,435) 886,663
120,205		345,228

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

1 Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

Howard League for Penal Reform (incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology) is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in the United Kingdom.

The registered office address is 1 Ardleigh Road, London, N1 4HS.

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.

In applying the financial reporting framework, the trustees have made a number of subjective judgements, for example in respect of significant accounting estimates. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The nature of the estimation means the actual outcomes could differ from those estimates. Any significant estimates and judgements affecting these financial statements are detailed within the relevant accounting policy below.

c) Public benefit entity

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

d) Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

e) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity 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.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

f) Donated services

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

g) Investment income and interest receivable

Investment income and interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the income due from the bank or investment manager.

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

1 Accounting policies (continued)

h) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

i) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charitable company in inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose
Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of furthering the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

j) Allocation of support costs

Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned on the following basis which are an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity.

Campaigns, policy & research 20%
● Events, conferences & publications 20% ● Legal services for young people 20% ● Membership income 20% ● Support costs 10% ● Governance costs 10%

Where information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is provided to potential beneficiaries, the costs associated with this publicity are allocated to charitable expenditure.

Support costs are re-allocated to each of the activities on the following basis which is an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity

Campaigns, policy & research 50%
● Events, conferences & publications 5% ● Legal services for young people 30% ● Membership income 10% ● Raising funds 5%

Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity. These costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs are split equally between the 5 activities listed above.

k) Operating leases

Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

1 Accounting policies (continued)

l) Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Where fixed assets have been revalued, any excess between the revalued amount and the historic cost of the asset will be shown as a revaluation reserve in the balance sheet.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

Office equipment 10 per cent per annum
● Library books 15 per cent per annum ● Computers 50 per cent per annum

The trustees have adopted a policy of reporting freehold land and buildings at market value. The last full valuation was carried out on 4 May 2012. Interim valuations will be carried out at other times if it is likely there has been a material change in value.

The trustees are of the opinion that any potential depreciation charge would be immaterial to the accounts. The trustees believe the estimated life of the property to be very long and the estimated residual value of the property to be close to the carrying amount. As such, the property is not depreciated. Any gain or loss arising on revaluation is taken to the fair value reserve.

An annual impairment review on the property and other fixed assets is undertaken to determine if circumstances indicate that the recoverable value of assets is materially lower than their value in the accounts. Any impairments identified are written off as extra depreciation through the statement of financial activities.

m) Listed investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. Any change in fair value will be recognised in the statement of financial activities. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and shown in the heading “Net gains/(losses) on investments” in the statement of financial activities. The charity does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

n) Accrued legal work income (WIP)

Income is recognised on casework earned and due ("work in progress" or "WIP") according to the time booked on the matter multiplied by the relevant legal aid or interpartes rate.

o) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

p) Cash at bank and in hand

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

q) Creditors and provisions

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

r) Financial instruments

The charity only has both basic and non-basic financial assets and financial liabilities. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. Non-basic financial instruments are measured at fair value with any gain or loss going to the statement of financial activities.

s) Pensions

All staff are auto enrolled in a work place defined contribution pension scheme contributing 10% of gross salary.

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

2 Income from donations and legacies

2Income from donations and legacies
3Income from charitable activities Donations Legacies Esmée Fairbairn Tolkien Trust Lloyds Bank Foundation J G Hogg Sub-total for campaigns, research & policy Income from sales of publications Sub-total for Events, conferences & publications The Lottery Barrow Cadbury The Legal Education Trust BBC Children in Need Esmee Fairbairn Legal services for young people Sub-total for Legal services for young people Membership subscriptions Income tax recoverable on subscriptions /donations Sub-total for Membership income Total income from charitable activities	Unrestricted £ 213,724 34,919	Restricted £ - -	2022 Total £ 213,724 34,919	Unrestricted £ 219,306 26,939	Restricted £ - -	2021 Total £ 219,306 26,939
	248,643	-	248,643	246,245	-	246,245 2021 Total £ 1,000 - 50,000 40,000
	Unrestricted £ 5,000 - -	Restricted £ 80,000 30,000 25,050 -	2022 Total £ 85,000 30,000 25,050 -	Unrestricted £ - - - -
	5,000 56	135,050 -	140,050 56	- 64	91,000 -	91,000 64
	56 - - - - 57,409	- 124,814 350 25,313 19,938 - 1,250	56 124,814 350 25,313 19,938 - 58,659	64 - - - - 124,270	- 119,536 27,000 15,361 26,255 5,000 7,286	64 119,536 27,000 15,361 26,255 5,000 131,556
	57,409 119,978 44,035	171,665 - -	119,978 44,035 229,074	119,436 42,051 124,270	200,438 - -	119,436 42,051 324,708
	164,013	-	164,013	161,487	-	161,487
	226,478	306,715	533,193	285,821	291,438	577,259

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

4 Income from other trading activities

4Income from other trading activities
5Income from investments Rental & other income Royalties for publications Income from stocks and shares Interest receivable	Unrestricted £ - 14,755	Restricted £ - -	2022 Total £ - 14,755	Unrestricted £ 21,794 5,699 16,095	Restricted £ - Restricted £ - - - - -	2021 Total £ 5,699 16,095
	14,755	-	14,755			21,794 2021 Total £ 63,830 772
	Unrestricted £ 50,403 332	Restricted £ - -	2022 Total £ 50,403 332	Unrestricted £ 64,602 63,830 772
	50,735	-	50,735			64,602

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

6a Analysis of expenditure (current year)

Cost of raising funds £ 45,755 - - 306 - - 3,750 696 - - - - - - - -	Campaigns, research & policy £ 595,367 81,085 2,357 6,292 21,882 65,330 - - - - 1,964 - - - - -	Events, conferences & publications £ 52,738 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 52,738 11,510 10,987	Legal service for young people £ 333,666 5,437 1,386 235 - 32,912 - 5,289 6,774 - 1,000 - 4,822 - - - 391,520 69,063 10,987	Membership £ 40,935 - - 46,494 - - - - - - - - - - - - 87,429 23,021 10,987	Governance costs £ 54,936 (54,936) 45,989 7,750 1,125 - - - - 72 - - - - - - - -	Support costs £ 230,209 (230,209) - 70,016 28,711 629 - - 1,225 - 23,461 23,542 429 1,220 7,777 30,011 6,354 10,675 26,159	2022 Total £ 84,466 22,983 5,497 53,327 21,882 99,467 3,750 29,518 30,316 429 4,184 7,777 34,833 6,354 10,675 26,159 1,641,616 - - 1,1 1	2021 Total £ 1,073,189 13,128 1,644 49,032 17,645 66,174 1,822 16,875 43,597 5,629 2,175 3,743 41,466 7,931 10,150 14,508
50,507 11,510 10,987	774,277 115,105 10,988							1,368,708 - -
73,004	900,370	75,235	471,570	121,437	-	-	1,641,616	1,368,708
56,454	729,630	76,836	395,987	109,801	-	-

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

6b Analysis of expenditure (prior year)

Staff costs (Note 8) Other staff costs Travel & Subsistence Publication costs Publicity & dissemination Professional/Consultancy fees Investment managers fees Office and other expenses Premises expenses Volunteer expenses Miscellaneous expenses Equipment purchase Irrecoverable VAT Equipment maintenance Bank Charges Audit & accountancy Depreciation Support costs Governance costs Total expenditure 2021	Cost of raising funds £ 28,384 - - - 144 - 1,822 - - - - - - - - -	Campaigns, research & policy £ 522,112 2,399 1,644 10,123 11,357 55,451 - - 6,525 - - 1,020 - - - - -	Events, conferences & publications £ 50,732 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Legal service for young people £ 292,649 1,084 - 754 703 10,423 - 1,596 6,452 - - 225 - 4,389 - - -	Membership £ 35,994 - - 37,383 - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Governance costs £ 58,207 8,850 - 772 - - - - - - - 930 - - - 10,150 -	Support costs £ 85,111 795 - - 5,441 300 - 15,279 30,620 - 5,629 - 3,743 37,077 7,931 - 14,508	2021 Total £ 1,073,189 13,128 1,644 49,032 17,645 66,174 1,822 16,875 43,597 - 5,629 2,175 3,743 41,466 7,931 10,150 14,508
	30,350 10,322 15,782	610,631 103,217 15,782	50,732 10,322 15,782	318,275 61,930 15,782	73,377 20,643 15,781	78,909 - (78,909)	206,434 (206,434) -	1,368,708 - -
	56,454	729,630	76,836	395,987	109,801	-	-	1,368,708

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

7 Net expenditure for the year

This is stated after charging:

This is stated after charging:
	2022	2021
	£	£
Depreciation	26,159	14,508
Loss on disposal of fixed assets	-	-
Operating lease rentals:
Equipment	5,644	6,527
Auditor's remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit	10,675	10,150

8 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:

Staff costs were as follows:
Salaries and wages Social security costs Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes	2022 £ 963,029 100,477 120,960	2021 £ 865,376 89,379 118,433 -
	1,184,466	1,073,188

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) during the year	The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) during the year	The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) during the year
between:
	2022	2021
	No.	No.
£60,000-£70,000	1	1
£70,001 - £80,000	1	2
£80,001 - £90,000	3	0
£90,001 - £100,000	-	1
£100,001-£110,000	-	0

The total employee benefits including pension contributions and employers national insurance of the key management personnel were £505,818 (2021: £485,738)

Total termination costs in the year were £100,488 (2021: £nil).

The charity trustees were not paid or received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2021: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2021: £nil).

Trustees' expenses represents the payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs totalling £1,125 (2021: £0) incurred by 3 (2021:0) members relating to attendance at meetings of the trustees.

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

9 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was as follows:

Raising funds Campaigns, policy & research Events conferences & publications Legal services for young people Membership Support Governance	2022 No. 1 8 1 8 2 1 1	2021 No. 1 6 1 7 2 2 1
	22	20

10 Related party transactions

Aggregate donations from related parties were £NIL (2021: £NIL).

There are no other related party transactions to disclose for 2022 (2021: none).

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

11 Taxation

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

12 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets
Cost or valuation At the start of the year Additions Disposals Depreciation At the start of the year Charge for the year Depreciation released At the end of the year At the end of the year Net book value At the end of the year At the start of the year	Freehold property £ 1,400,000 - -	Computers £ 27,626 38,750 (22,935)	Office Equipment £ 81,304 3,525 (15,227)	Library books £ 2,018 - -	Total £ 1,510,948 42,275 (38,162)
	1,400,000	43,441	69,602	2,018	1,515,061
	- - -	27,626 19,375 (22,935)	42,191 6,784 (15,227)	2,017 -	71,834 26,159 (38,162)
	-	24,066	33,748	2,017	59,831
	1,400,000	19,375	35,854	1	1,455,230
	1,400,000	-	39,113	1	1,439,114

The freehold property at 1 Ardleigh Road, London, N1 4HS was valued at £1,200,000 on 4 May 2012 by Copping Joyce Chartered Surveyors LLP (independent valuers). The historical cost of the freehold is £650,000. An informal valuation was received from Chestertons on 13 September 2019 of £1,400,000. The Trustees consider that, after considering costs of selling, the value of the property is not materially affected.

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

13	Listed investments
		2022	2021
		£	£
	Fair value at the start of the year	1,666,424	1,444,742
	Additions at cost	49,507	59,362
	Disposal proceeds	(504,393)	(4,459)
	Cash	-	-
	Net gain / (loss) on investments	2,131	166,779
		1,213,669	1,666,424
	Fair value at the end of the year	1,213,669	1,666,424
	Investments comprise:
		2022	2021
		£	£
	UK Common investment funds	1,175,003	1,600,775
	Shares listed on the London Stock Exchange	38,666	39,688
	Cash	-	25,961
		1,213,669	1,666,424
14	Debtors
		2022	2021
		£	£
	Other debtors	9,782	10,965
	Accrued Legal work income	37,557	66,347
	Disbursements	13,118	18,387
	Accrued income	18,005	12,266
		78,462	107,965
15	Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
		2022	2021
		£	£
	Trade creditors	1,656	2,755
	Taxation and social security	32,202	30,305
	Accruals	129,433	36,631
		163,291	69,691

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

16a Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)

		Designated	Designated
	General	property	strategic		Total
	unrestricted	funds	funds	Restricted	funds
	£	£		£	£
Tangible fixed assets	55,230	1,400,000	-	-	1,455,230
Investments	146,243	-	620,704	446,722	1,213,669
Net current assets	35,376	-	-	-	35,376
Net assets at 31 May 2022	236,851	1,400,000	620,704	446,722	2,704,275

16b Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)

General unrestricted £ 39,114 - 347,841	Designated property funds £ 1,400,000 - -	Designated strategic funds - 743,051 35,661	Restricted £ - 923,373 -	Restricted £ - 923,373 -	Total funds £ 1,439,114 1,666,424 383,502
386,955	1,400,000	778,712	923,373		3,489,040 At 31 May 2022 £ - 54,842 - - 2,500 - 319,143 - 70,237 446,722
At 1 June 2021 £ - 45,699 500 - 11,816 40,000 825,358 - -	Income & gains £ 21,188 124,814 350 25,313 55,050 - - - 80,000	Expenditure & losses £ (21,188) (115,671) (850) (25,313) (64,366) (40,000) (506,215) - (9,763)
923,373	306,715	(783,366)		-
750,000 650,000	- -	- -	- -		750,000 650,000
1,400,000 778,712	- -	- (158,008)	-		1,400,000 620,704
2,178,712	-	(158,008)	- -		2,020,704
386,955	-	(150,106)			236,849
2,565,667	-	(308,114)	-		2,257,553
3,489,040	-	(1,091,480)	-		2,704,275

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

17b Movements in funds (prior year)

At 1 June 2020 £ - 29,232 - - 27,926 15,165 1,186,096 10,379 324,611	Income & gains £ 38,542 119,536 27,000 15,361 50,000 40,000 - 1,000 -	Expenditure & losses £ (38,542) (103,069) (26,500) (15,361) (66,110) (15,165) (360,738) (11,379) -	Transfers £ - - - - - - - - (324,611) (324,611) - 346,873 346,873 (22,262) 324,611 - 346,873 -	At 31 May 2021 £ - 45,699 500 - 11,816 40,000 825,358 - - 923,373
1,593,409	291,439	(636,864)
550,000 303,127	200,000 -	- -		750,000 650,000
853,127 778,712	200,000 -	- -		1,400,000 778,712
1,631,839	200,000	-		2,178,712 386,955 2,565,667 3,489,040
348,344	792,718	(731,845)
1,980,183	992,718	(731,845)	324,611
3,573,592	1,284,157	(1,368,709)	-

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

17 Movements in funds (continued)

Purposes of restricted funds

Legal work (Adviceline)

Specialist adviceline for young people in custody.

Programme on reducing child arrests

Programme for reducing child arrests.

Sentencing - young adults

A review of sentencing judgments for young adults.

Reducing arrests of women

Programme for reducing arrests of women.

Fairness in prison

A new programme to find ways of reducing conflict, violence and injustice inside jails.

Crime and Problem Gambling

This is a 3 year commission to look into the between problem gambling and crime, it commenced in January 2019. Due to the pandemic period the commission will conclude in March 2023.

The Legal Education Trust

Matched funding for Justice First Fellowship for caseworker in the Legal team 2 years started January 2020.

Lottery Funding

Participation work delivered by the legal team over 3 years - started March 2020

Racial disparity

This is a 3-year project started May 2022 funded by Esmee Fairbairn to investigate the racial disparity in youth justice

Criminal care - ending the criminalisation of children in residential care

Improving policies and practices of agencies and services for children in residential care.

Property

The value of the original restricted donation towards the purchase of the office. See transfers between funds note below.

Purposes of designated funds

Property historic cost fund

The value of the original historic cost of the property.

Property fair value reserve

Demonstrates the gain on the property revaluation compared to its historic cost.

Strategic fund

This fund is designated by the trustees to strengthen the Howard League position through a period of recession and uncertainty, and to fund income shortfall. Decisions to use this fund are agreed by the board on the basis of strategic principles set down during the budgeting process.

Transfers between funds

A transfer was made out of the restricted property fund to bring this fund to zero, as the trustees consider that the restriction on these funds was satisfied on the purchase of the property. The property and equipment fund was renamed the property historic cost fund and a transfer was made into this fund from the restricted property fund and from general funds to show the original historic cost of the property.

Howard League for Penal Reform (Incorporating the Howard Centre for Penology)

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2022

18 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

the following periods
Less than one year One to five years	Equipment 2022 2021 £ £ 5,200 22,104 22,104 29,325 5,644 16,460
	22,104	29,325

19 Legal status

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.

Contents

Honorary President Lord Ken Macdonald KC

Staff

Consultant

An introduction from the Chair of the Board, Fergus McNeill

Objectives and activities

Purpose and priorities 2019-2024

1) Stemming the flow

For the year ended 31 May 2022

2) Better justice

3) Strengthening the charity

Values

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Public benefit

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Achievements and performance

Stemming the flow

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Stemming the flow – the APPG on Women in the Penal System

Project on reducing the arrest of women

Inquiry on Women’s Health and Wellbeing in Prison

For the year ended 31 May 2022

The future of the APPG

Racial disparity in youth justice

Supporting crime-cutting projects

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Government and public affairs

Better Justice

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Project work on better justice for children and young people

Improving children’s understanding of their rights

Empowering young people in custody

Understanding young adults on remand

Justice and Fairness in Prison

Consolidating the research base

Strengthening the charity

Membership

Fundraising

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2022

We received new restricted grants or donations from:

Events

Financial review

Income

Donations and legacies

Charitable activities

Trading activities

Investments

Expenditure

Staff costs

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Costs of generating funds

The Strategic Fund

Principal risks and uncertainties

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Reserves policy and going concern

Plans for the Future, from Chief Executive Andrea Coomber

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Structure, governance and management

Staffing

Governance

The governance structure

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Operation of the Board

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Finance, Audit and Risk Committee

Statement of responsibilities of Board Members

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Opinion

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

Other Information

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

To the members of

Responsibilities of trustees

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

To the members of