## **ALTON COUNSELLING SERVICE**
# **ANNUAL REPORT and ACCOUNTS**
**2023-2024**
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
## **Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
## **1. Trustees and their Advisers**
## **Board of Trustees**
Anne Bothwell (Chair) Sophia Armstrong Graham Hill Fiona Lapraik
## **Counsellors’ Representative**
Alison Curry
## **Consultant Psychiatrist & Clinical Adviser**
Dr Paul Warren, BM, MRCPsych
## **Independent Examiner**
E.M.Mackeggie Gurney, ACA
## **Management Board**
**Head of Counselling** Dorothy Harte **Treasurer** Andrew Croom-Johnson **Service Manager** Lissa Morris
## **Bankers**
HSBC Bank, Lansdowne House, 74 High Street, Alton, GU34 1EZ
## **Premises**
Quaker Meeting House, Church Street, Alton GU34 2DA
Tel: 01420 89207
Web: www.altoncounselling.org.uk
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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## **Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
## **2. Structure, Governance and Management**
Alton Counselling Service (ACS) was established in 1974 as charity number 279857. The governing trust deed of 6 February 1980 was subsequently amended by a deed of variation dated 7 December 2010.
The Trustees are responsible for the governance of ACS. They are initially elected and thereafter confirmed in post annually. The Trustees are unpaid volunteers who may claim reasonable out-of-pocket expenses. The Trustees help to reconcile competing demands faced by the charity. They work with the Management Board to set the strategic direction and major areas of work. The day-to-day management is delegated to the Management Board comprising the Head of Counselling, the Treasurer and the Service Manager. The Trustees meet at least four times a year and the Management Board meets at least ten times a year. Both Trustees and the Management Board may meet more often if circumstances require. The Trustees have put in place a reserves policy and financial systems to reduce as far as possible financial risk, and work closely with the Management Board to preserve and promote ACS. Professional indemnity and public liability insurances are maintained. The service operates to BACP guidelines to minimise clinical risk.
ACS provides high-quality affordable counselling for the local community and to the highest ethical and professional standards. Clients are expected to make a contribution to cover the cost of their counselling, but no one is refused counselling for financial reasons. The service ensures confidentiality and a safe environment that give clients the opportunity to talk through the difficulties they are encountering. These might include:
- feeling unhappy, lonely, anxious or depressed
- being in need of understanding or support
- finding it difficult to relate to others
- lacking self-confidence
- facing a personal crisis, such as bereavement or relationship break-down
- undergoing major changes, such as redundancy or retirement
Each counsellor is part of a supervision group meeting weekly to review client work. Any unresolved or difficult issues are referred to the Head of Counselling and, where appropriate, the Consultant Psychiatrist & Clinical Adviser.
The Service relies on volunteers in all areas of work. Counsellors work on a voluntary basis, though experienced counsellors receive a modest payment in lieu of expenses. The Treasurer, Receptionists and others work without payment. Everyone who works in ACS has a meeting at least once a year with the person to whom they are responsible, with the opportunity to express their views on the operation of ACS. There was a Christmas social event. The Trustees send quarterly newsletters to all members of the service.
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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**Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
## **3. Objectives**
The charity’s objectives as stated in the trust deed, as amended, are:
- To provide counselling to those seeking help for emotional and psychological difficulties in accordance with current best practice
- To research the theory and practice of counselling and to publish the result of this research where appropriate
- To offer training and development opportunities in counselling to qualified and trainee counsellors.
## **4. Review of Clinical Practice**
In the last year most of our work has taken place in the building face to face although some online work has continued.
During the last year a number of our students have qualified and received their diplomas. Obviously, we want to congratulate them on this achievement. We now have a new group of students in the Service aiming for this goal and are meeting with prospective students currently.
This means that we continually have new ideas and thoughts coming into the Service which is enriching in itself. We also have a commitment to developing our counsellors’ skills both for their benefit and that of their clients. With this in mind we have provided training in Short term working as well as in couples work and updates on psychiatric understanding to enhance our practice. The goodwill and and expertise of our counsellors is vital to our work. Our supervisors have continued with their crucial work within the Service. We are grateful to them for their expertise and long-term input into the Service.
Lissa. our administrator remains a mainstay to the organisation and is greatly valued by us all.
As we move towards the 50th anniversary of the founding of the service we continue to look forward and are happy to be able to continue to bring this important service to the local community.
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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**Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
## **5. Treasurer’s report**
## **Financial review**
The end of year accounts shows a net loss for the year of £7,760. Our main source of income is from counselling session fees. Over the last financial year we have continued to see many of our clients, both current and new, suffering financial difficulties and unable to pay the standard session costs. This has had an ongoing impact on our income. We would normally be able to offset this from grants, but unfortunately for the last financial year we were unsuccessful in obtaining any grants towards this. The District Councillor Grant of £963 is for a project around Supervision of counsellors.
Our bursary scheme, as shown in the accounts, only relates to those clients paying less than £30 a session (normal cost £45/£50).
Our income has also been affected by a number of fully qualified counsellors leaving the service, being replaced by trainees who have fewer client sessions until they gain experience.
We were able to run a reduced programme of Training Courses during the financial year with the costs to be processed in the current financial year.
Our Operating Expenses continue to be carefully monitored and managed, with most of our Operating Expenses being fixed costs. A review of the additional accommodation that we took on in 2022 will be undertaken in the summer of 2024 with a view to reducing our costs.
## **HMRC/PAYE**
We have continued to use the HMRC supplied RTI software to manage our payroll and NIC payments. This continues to be trouble free and has ensured that we meet our obligations to HMRC in a timely manner.
## **Credit card system**
The Worldpay (formally Cardsave) virtual terminal credit card system continues to meet our credit card processing needs. In September 2023 we renewed compliance to the Payment Card Industries Digital Security Standards as required by Worldpay.
## **Employee Pensions**
We are registered with The Pensions Regulator regarding workplace pension law (Pensions Act 2008) for our only employee. We have a Workplace Pension Scheme with NEST.
## **Reserve account**
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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**Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
Reserve funds continue to be held in a Charity Deposit account with Virgin Money, paying 1.35% interest as at 31[st] March 2024.
## **6. Overview from the Chair of Trustees**
We continue to see a rise in clients unable to pay full fees due to the cost-of-living crisis. The Bursary scheme, as shown in the accounts, has always related to those clients who are paying less than £30 per session. We have had an increase in clients unable to pay the full fee but able to pay more than £30 and the majority of our clients are now in this position. We continue to provide high quality, professional counselling at affordable prices in accordance with our aims. Grants are investigated and applied for when we can, a major problem being that many funders prefer to fund discrete projects with a clear end date. We continue to monitor the situation and discuss options available.
In conjunction with the Management Board, the trustees are grateful to the EHDC Councillor Grant scheme, and Shalden Parish Council for their generous help this year. Thanks must go to Lissa, Dorothy and Andrew for their work on applications. Use of the new rooms in the flat has not risen any further at present and, while this has been a valuable resource we continue to monitor costs associated with it. The Library, which is on the ground floor, remains in use for those clients with mobility issues. Counselling sessions are either face-to-face or on Zoom or telephone, offering a flexibility of choices, which clients appreciate. New trainees have begun to take on clients thus reducing the waiting list. There remain a few clients waiting due to their time limitations and Lissa keeps in touch with them regularly. Thanks must go to Ally, Jeremy, Stan and Sophia for taking on the Initial Consultations.
Our training programme continues to be successful and well attended, taking place on zoom so that there is a wide catchment area of attendees. Thanks go to Dorothy for her couples counselling training, which was very well attended and well received. There are plans for a further couples’ counselling course as we have many counsellors on the waiting list for this popular course. The service continues to strengthen its links with local groups, including social prescribers, and services and responding to their needs. We are a member of the National Counselling Network (NCN).
We continue to investigate the possibilities for more trustees to join the team.
With the management committee we have approved a development plan, which takes us to 2026 and have put in place what we hope will be realistic timeframes. We have already met our target for providing training for couples’ counselling and other targets will be discussed and monitored at future executive meetings.
Next Sept we will be celebrating 50 years of the counselling service in Alton and plans are under way for an event to mark this.
A great deal of the work of the service goes on behind closed doors, from our Service Manager, Head of Counselling, Treasurer and Supervisors all of whom make essential and valuable contributions to making the service work efficiently, successfully and above all, viably and my thanks go to all of them.
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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**Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
Finally, my sincere thanks go to our counsellors, without whose work and dedication we would be unable to function.
## **7. Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities**
The Trustees are required to prepare an annual report and financial statements for each financial year. These statements should give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the year and its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing these financial statements the Trustees have:
- selected suitable accounting policies and then applied them consistently
- made judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
- taken responsibility for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
## **Signed:**
**Anne Bothwell, Chair of Trustees Date: 23/05/2024**
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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# **Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
## **Clinical Organization**
## **Head of Counselling**
Dorothy Harte
## **Clinical Supervisors**
Alison Curry Jeremy Hughes Stanley Roman
## **Consultant Psychiatrist & Clinical Adviser**
Dr Paul Warren, BM, MRCPsych
## **Counsellors**
The following counsellors have made themselves available to ACS during the year:
Paul Brand Philip Mabe Alison Curry Michelle Macey Liz Drew Jaqueline Sands Jeremy Hughes Pete Smith Laura Jerram Szabina Wagner Mandy Keene
Julia Dabney (student) Victoria Miller (student) Kate Fox (student) Claire Smith (student) Kevin Gallagher (student) Savanna Stephens (student) Amy Hiscock (student) Amy Sutton (student) Christina Hoskins (student) Victoria Townsend (student) Mary Lucas (student)
## **Volunteers**
Tracey Major
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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## **Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
**ALTON COUNSELLING SERVICE**
**Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024**
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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**Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
## **Receipts and Payment Accounts**
||||Notes|
|---|---|---|---|
||**Total**|**Funds**|(1)|
||This Year
|Last Year||
||£|£||
|**Receipts**||||
|Counselling Sessions and Initial Consultations|45,355|48,019||
|Training Courses|5,590|3,800||
|Grants and Donations|1,014|14,586|(2)|
|Bank Interest|116|43||
|Fund-raising events|0|0|(3)|
|Friends of ACS subscriptions|300|445||
|Gift Aid|0|0||
|Sundry income|160|0||
|**Total Receipts**|**52,535**|**66,893**||
|**Payments**||||
|Counselling and Training|(15,173)|(16,854)||
|Training Courses|(0)|(1,600)||
|Bursary Payments|(3,159)|(4,264)||
|Administration|(28,971)|(28,564)||
|Premises Costs|(12,188)|(12,455)||
|Insurance and Affiliation Fees|(804)|(794)||
|Fund-raising events|0|0||
|**Total Payments**|**(60,295)**|**(64,531)**||
|Net of Receipts/(Payments)|(7,760)|2,362||
|Cash Funds last year end|28,434|26,256||
|Deferred income from last year|0|0||
|Adjustment(roundings)|(2)|0||
|**Cash Funds thisyear end**|**20,672**|**28,434**||
## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities at Year End**
|||**Unrestricted Funds**||
|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**||
|**Cash Funds**||||
|Petty Cash||15||
|Current Account (HSBC bank)||5,612||
|Monies due from Streamline||638|(4)|
|Savings Account(Virgin Money)||14,407||
||**Total Cash Funds**|**20,672**||
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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## **Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
## **Notes to the accounts**
|1.
(i)
2.|Restricted Funds (Grants)
Credit
Debit
Balance
£ £ £
East Hampshire District Council (District Counsellor) (i) 963 0
963
Grant given towards the cost of running a training course on Short-Term Counselling.
Grants and Donations
During the year, Grants and Donations were received from the following:
£
East Hampshire District Council
963
Small donations of under £51 (3 donors)
50|
|---|---|
||**Total**
**1,013**|
|3.|Fund-raising events
During the year, receipts from Fund-raising events were as follows:
£0|
||**Total**
**nil**|
|4.|Monies due from Streamline|
This figure (£638) relates to Client Credit Card payments processed and entered into the Accounts before 31[st] March with payment received into the bank account after 31[st] March. Payments are not normally received into the bank account for 3 to 4 working days after processing. These funds have now been received, £587.50 on 2/4/24 and £50 on 3/4/24.
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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# **Alton Counselling Service For the financial year ended 31 March 2024**
## **Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts**
**Charity Commission registered number: 279857**
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