2021-03-31-accounts

ASIAN FAMILY COUNSELLING SERVICE

Annual Report 2020-21

F1 UNIT 4, TRIANGLE CENTRE, 399 UXBRIDGE ROAD, SOUTHALL, LONDON UB1 3EJ

A Word from our Chair

Every year it is a pleasure to report that The Asian Family Counselling Service is still going strong. It is now in its 38th year of providing counselling to the Asian Community nationally. We continue to provide a useful service to our clients to help with relationship problems as well as family issues. The dynamics of modern day living in the UK and living in extended families can be challenging. Forced marriages, abandoned spouses, living with in-laws are among many of the problems facing the Asian community and our counsellors do an excellent job of providing counselling in a culturally sensitive way to help our clients.

The start of this year coincided with the onslaught of COVID19. Over the year it has unfortunately not gone away and the need for counselling has in fact increased our client base manifold. Previously, we reached out to people outside our two main offices in London and Birmingham by providing telephone counselling. We have now found that many clients are happy to have counselling sessions on Zoom. In the past, there would have been resistance to not having face-to-face counselling, but Covid has changed that and many of our clients are more than willing to have counselling sessions on-line. This has been an extremely useful and helpful means for people because being in lockdown has affected people on a national level and as has been reported in the press the cases of domestic violence have gone up. Covid and lockdown has had an adverse effect on fragile relationships. We have a very long waiting list, and our counsellors work very hard to provide as much support as they can.

Our counsellors and volunteers have gone an extra mile to provide the best service they could and I have to thank them all. A big thank you too, to Kulbir Randhawa, the Director of AFCS who works relentlessly to ensure that we run a smooth service.

We look forward to another challenging year and hope that this time next year we can all return to our normal lives.

Fawzia Samad Chair

Who We Are

The Asian Family Counselling Service (AFCS) is a national charity which has been providing low-cost, confidential and culturally sensitive mental health and relationship counselling services in five languages to South Asian communities in Britain since 1983. Our counsellors are BACP-accredited, professionally trained and supervised therapists. They come from Hindu, Muslim and Sikh backgrounds and speak Urdu, Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi and English, thus representing the diversity in the South Asian communities they serve.

We face an ever-increasing demand from British Asian individuals, couples and families who come to us seeking help for a wide variety of issues. They are reluctant to access mainstream counselling services either because of language or cultural barriers. Some of our older clients have never received a formal education and cannot read or write. Even among those who are conversational in English, we find that many are far more comfortable talking about complex emotional issues and trauma in their native language. Then there are those who might be fluent in English but find it difficult to explain problems, which have a specific cultural context, to Western practitioners. Because our counsellors have lived experience of South Asian cultural norms and customs, there are fewer risks of issues being misunderstood or lost in translation. Thus, the counselling sessions are conducted more efficiently and sensitively.

Our Objectives

1. To advance awareness among people of South Asian origin resident in the UK about the benefits of marriage and relationship counselling, with the aim of developing a sense of personal responsibility and enriching family life;

2. To safeguard and protect the good health, both mental and physical, of adults and children of South Asian origin resident in the UK and to ameliorate the hardship and distress caused by the breakdown of marriage;

3. To educate the public as well as statutory and voluntary organisations about the particular issues faced by the South Asian population.

Mental Health in England

1 in 4 people experience mental health issues each year. 24% of women and 13% of men in England are diagnosed with depression in their lifetime. Mental illness is the second-largest source of burden of disease in England. Mental illnesses are more common, long-lasting and impactful than other health conditions.[1]

The IAPT service (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) which provides therapy, such as counselling, to adults with conditions like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, starts seeing nine in 10 patients within the target time of six weeks. But that masks the fact many then face long waits for regular treatment. Half of patients waited over 28 days, and one in six longer than 90 days, between their first and second sessions in the past year.[2] For most, the first session is a combination of an assessment and basic advice, with the second appointment marking the start of the core treatment sessions. AFCS receives regular referrals from the IAPT service, especially those clients who do not speak any English and require counselling in various Asian languages.

Mental health problems take a toll on self-esteem and on relationships and affect a person’s ability to hold down a job thus leading to a vicious circle wherein emotional and financial problems exacerbate anxiety and depression. The statistics on the numbers of Asian people in the United Kingdom with mental health problems are inconsistent, although it has been suggested that mental health problems are often unrecognised or not diagnosed in this ethnic group. Research has suggested that Western approaches to mental health treatment are often unsuitable and culturally inappropriate to the needs of Asian communities.[3]

Depression and anxiety are some of the most common psychological problems, affecting nearly everyone either through personal experience or through close family members. Many of our clients are depressed because they are isolated and do not have the same sort of community backup as in the Indian subcontinent. This is further compounded by the fact that many of the women do not speak English and are not able to seek appropriate help at mainstream services. This became even more pronounced during the COVID19 pandemic, with a lot of Asian families facing bereavements,

1 https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/research-and-evaluation/mental-health-statistics/

2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-50658007

3 https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/b/black-asian-and-minority-ethnic-bame-communities

redundancies, furloughs and family strife due to being in lockdown. Anxieties centred around contracting COVID19, losing loved ones, being made redundant and financial matters.

AFCS was approached by many doctors and nurses for support especially during the times when the NHS was being overwhelmed by COVID19 patients. Not having enough PPE was also an issue that many of the health professionals were anxious about.

Issues We Deal With

While our clients come to us with conditions that are common enough in the field of mental health such as depression and anxiety, the underlying causes are usually due to culturally specific factors and situations.

Arranged Marriages

British Asians often face pressures to adhere to social customs brought over from the subcontinent. For instance, it is still common for parents to pressure their children into arranged marriages with partners chosen from the same religious denomination, caste and socio-economic strata. This is sometimes a source of distress for young people who have grown up in a Western social milieu which emphasises a high degree of individualism and independence. Girls and young women are especially affected as familial relationships are suffused with patriarchal norms. They might feel pressured to put their higher education or career on the backburner and have children early as well as take on additional responsibilities of caring for the elderly and domestic housework in “joint family” living arrangements. There is still a widely held preference for male children amongst South Asian families and women can be made to feel guilty and inadequate if they are unable to produce male heirs.

In recent years, there has been an increasing trend of families looking for potential suitors online as they lack the extended social network they once enjoyed back in the subcontinent to help them with the search. This also increases the risk of marriages breaking down as there is no longer a vetting process wherein trusted family and friends can do due diligence and vouch for the suitability of the match, and there are also greater opportunities for misrepresentation and fraud.

Asian women still find it difficult to address the issues in an unhappy marriage, even though they are much more aware of the nature of the problems. Dissolving a marriage is still a very difficult decision for women, and hard for their families and the community to accept; separation or divorce is often blamed on the woman and the stigma is still very great. The impact of all this on their children is even greater. At AFCS, we are endeavouring to mitigate the effect of divorce and separation on the family. We have continued to provide contact for families where the parents have separated and the couple has been instructed by the courts to come to AFCS, for the absent parent to have contact with their child/ren when are offices were open. Sadly, this could not be carried out while the office was closed.

Generation/Culture Gap and Racism

Another issue is the generation and culture gap felt by young people who are born and raised in England by parents of South Asian origin. These secondgeneration clients sometimes struggle to identify with the social and religious norms and traditions of their elders and their extended family back in the subcontinent and in turn face accusations of ‘losing touch with their roots’. Meanwhile they are also vulnerable to feelings of alienation and anxiety caused by racism in British society which has been exacerbated in the wake of Brexit. Race-baiting by political leaders and public figures is unfortunately becoming the new normal and this is bound to have a profound effect on the bounds of acceptable behaviour in society at large.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has recognised the disproportionate impact that racism and racial discrimination can have on the life chances and mental health of people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Racism can lead to a profound feeling of pain, harm and humiliation among members of the target group, often leading to despair and exclusion. As the Equality and Human Rights Commission has highlighted, an individual from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background is more likely to experience poverty, to have poorer educational outcomes, to be unemployed, and to come in contact with the criminal justice system. These, in turn, are risk factors for developing a mental illness. These individuals are also less likely to receive the care and support when they need it. As the College has previously publicly recognised, patients in the NHS may also experience racism and racial discrimination. It can lead to substantial disparity in access to and experiences of various areas of psychiatric care, including crisis care, admissions, detentions, pathways into care, readmission and use of seclusion.[4] These findings are consistent with the experience of AFCS’s clients.

4 https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/PS01_18a.pdf

Inter-faith Relationships

Inter-faith relationships and marriages are often a source of friction in South Asian communities and can cause rifts in families which are difficult to heal. Family counselling sessions can help mediate in such situations and we have had cases of families reconciling with children who had been once disowned for marrying into a different faith. We have had cases where the child may not have told the parents about their girlfriend/boyfriend and fear the reaction that this knowledge may provoke in their parents. During family counselling, they have been encouraged to tell their parents and many times the parents react favourably, surprising the children. There are, of course times when there is an adverse reaction from the parents and appropriate support has to be provided to all parties.

Domestic Violence and Abuse

When domestic violence or abuse (whether physical or emotional) rears its ugly head, it is still generally considered taboo amongst South Asian families to approach outsiders for help for fear of besmirching the family’s honour or izzat . In fact, an academic study publicised by The Guardian in 2015 highlighted the problem of sexual and domestic violence being vastly underreported in South Asian communities due to this ‘pervasive culture of shame’[5] . The study also found a widespread lack of awareness that rape within a marriage constituted a criminal offence. Asian women and girls find it especially difficult to talk about sexual abuse when it has been perpetrated by close family relatives who they may be financially dependent on. Young brides brought over from the subcontinent, who are socially isolated and may not speak English, are especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by their in-laws. We have had cases where they were treated no better than forced domestic labour, were monitored at all hours of the day and had little or no freedom to even make a telephone call or leave the house unsupervised.

In general, there is still considerable stigma amongst Asian communities around separation and divorce which can lead to women staying in abusive relationships for long periods of time with children often bearing the brunt of the

5 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/sep/19/abuse-going-unreported-in-britains-south-asiancommunities-study

dysfunctional family dynamic. There is an urgent need for more refuges and shelters for victims of domestic violence.

Forced Marriages and Stranded Spouses

We continue to see cases of forced marriage, a problem we have long sought to raise awareness about among the public and the authorities in the UK, going as far back as 1986 when we organised a seminar on ‘Runaway Asian Girls’ in Bradford and the early 2000s when we seconded a counsellor to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to provide specialised counselling and advice for this issue. There have been cases of young women being taken abroad, forced to marry against their will and abandoned there. There have also been a depressingly high number of cases in which the women forced into marriage were raped, impregnated and sent back to the UK to sponsor visas for the husbands.

The UK government has adopted measures to allow victims of forced marriage to testify anonymously against their spouses during immigration hearings. We hope that this belated awareness on the part of the government will soon extend to the plight of stranded spouses - South Asian women who are married to British nationals, often in order to extract dowry from their parents, only to be taken back to the subcontinent subsequently and abandoned there and in some cases, forcibly separated from their children. Such individuals have no legal status or rights in the UK at the moment which makes it exceedingly difficult for them to seek justice or child custody. AFCS has often gone above and beyond the call of duty in such cases, by finding host families in the UK to sponsor their visas so they may come here and fight legal battles. We have long appealed for these abandoned spouses to be accorded the status of asylum-seekers as at the moment they have no recourse to public funds and find it exceedingly difficult to successfully apply for child custody due to lack of funds, secure housing and uncertain immigration status.

Refugees and Asylum-seekers

We also frequently deal with refugees and asylum-seekers. The latter are especially vulnerable because they often face prolonged periods of uncertainty during which their applications are under consideration. Unable to seek employment and often experiencing extreme social isolation as well as the trauma of being separated from loved ones left behind in their countries of origin, these are some of our most at-risk cases who need counselling over long periods of time. We have seen clients who have been in the UK for over

15 years, and they are still in limbo as their cases have not been dealt with. The legal processes take a very long time, even longer now due to the pandemic, and many clients are depressed, anxious and suicidal because of the length of time they have spent with uncertainty about their future.

Our Approach

At AFCS, we continue to put emphasis on listening with empathy and without judgement and providing a safe space for clients, so they are able to take a step back from their situation and understand what their issues are and how those issues are affecting them as individuals, couples and (when relevant) as parents. In cases where communication has broken down amongst family members or the stress of daily life has led to issues being ignored, we provide a therapeutic environment where a degree of structure is established so that each individual gets the chance to speak and be heard by his/her partner, sibling, parent or relative. We do not prescribe a particular course of action but rather support our clients in whatever choices they make. We are flexible in our approach, for example transitioning from individual to couple or group family counselling if required.

When clients first come to us, we conduct an initial assessment of their needs and determine whether our service is the most appropriate for them. If not, they are signposted to other organisations that can better meet their needs. We take a holistic approach towards our clients by providing counselling and support, as well as information in matters which may not be directly related to mental health but certainly impact the client’s overall well-being and peace of mind. For e.g., we provide information about the NHS, support groups for drug and alcohol addiction, organisations which deal with financial advice, legal aid and immigration advice, agencies which can help improve English language skills and provide coaching for the process of searching, applying and interviewing for jobs to name a few.

2020-21: The Year in Review

In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and the government declared a national lockdown. The impact of the pandemic on charities has been devastating and AFCS was no exception. We went into lockdown a week before the rest of the nation, as one of our volunteers had tested positive which meant that all staff had to self-isolate. Once the national lockdown was announced, we were forced to shut down face-to-face counselling sources and move entirely to online and telephone delivery.

New protocols were drawn up and emergency funding was secured to equip staff with the required technology to pivot to online and telephone delivery. Our staff – both counsellors and administrative staff – responded admirably and transitioned to online delivery in a way that felt seamless to clients. The response from our clients to the online and phone offer was also overwhelmingly positive.

The Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately affected black and minority ethnic groups in the UK. More than 33% of all critically ill Covid-19 patients up to August 2020 were from an ethnic minority, despite such groups making up only 14% of the overall population. Public Health England’s report on Covid19 deaths found that, after accounting for the effect of sex, age, deprivation and region, people of Bangladeshi ethnicity faced twice the risk of death compared with people of white British ethnicity. People of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, other Asian, Caribbean and other black ethnicity had between 10% and 50% higher risk of death when compared with white British. There are many factors leading to this disproportionate impact from the higher prevalence of comorbidities to the fact BAME people are over-represented in public facing industries where they cannot work from home and are more likely to live in overcrowded housing.

Given its focus on South Asian communities, it is not surprising then that AFCS saw a surge in the demand for its services, both in terms of new referrals and higher levels of stress amongst its existing client roster which meant our counsellors had to see them for more than the usual 6-12 number of sessions. Lockdown and working from home also meant families were spending more time together with less opportunities for socialising externally – which also resulted in more tensions and conflict. Uncertainty around when the lockdown would end, when families could see their loved ones as well as bereavement due to Covid-19 related deaths have all had an impact on the mental health of our clients. We now have a long waiting list of clients in London.

We took on two new counsellors in London this year to cope with the increase in demand. We were also relieved when one of our former counsellors decided to return from her sabbatical earlier than planned. We also recruited two new volunteer counsellors in London and two in Birmingham. These are qualified counsellors who need to record a minimum of 450 hours of counselling before they can be accredited by the BACP. While our most complex cases are still assigned to the more experienced and BACP-accredited staff, the volunteer counsellors help alleviate the caseload within tighter budgetary constraints. We have been especially grateful for the flexibility that our counsellors have shown, often agreeing to arrange the counselling sessions in the late evening

or on weekends, which has been very helpful particularly for female clients with childcare responsibilities who now find themselves also working from home.

In 2020-21, we held 2034 counselling sessions with 266 clients. The average number of sessions per client was 8. Most of our clients (just over 70%) continued to be women. 65% of our clients were unemployed and thus in many cases we had to charge reduced fees or waive them altogether. No fees were charged for the unemployed, victims of domestic abuse and the elderly.

The charts below show the composition of clients by age and ethnicity/nationality of origin. Most of our clients (53%) were in the 26-45 age group. Most were of Indian origin (55%) followed by Pakistani origin (41%).

----- Start of picture text -----
AGE ETHNICITY/NATIONALITY OF
ORIGIN
76+ Sri
66-759% 4% 16-252.3% Other Lankan1% Bangladeshi3%
26-35 Asian
25% 0.4%
56-65
17%
46-55
16% 36-45 Pakistani Indian
27% 41.0% 55%
----- End of picture text -----

Our clients came to us with a wide range of issues, but relationship problems (42%) and mental health (24%) dominated. Below is the break-up of clients by the issue they presented with. Please note some clients presented with multiple issues so there are instances of double counting.

NUMBER OF CASES BY ISSUE AREA

----- Start of picture text -----
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
----- End of picture text -----

Demand for our service has come through self-referrals, voluntary sector organisations, the IAPT services, counselling psychologists, psychiatrists, word-of-mouth, online search engines, along with signposting from General Practitioners, Health Visitors, Social Services and other agencies.

----- Start of picture text -----
SOURCES OF REFERRAL
Local Council
Internet
1% 9% Self referrals
29%
Family
9%
Other
Voluntary
Sector
organisations
12%
Community IAPT
Mental 18%
Health Teams GP
13% 9%
----- End of picture text -----

AFCS uses CORE 10, PHQ 9 and GAD 7 outcome measures to evaluate the impact of our interventions. These are administered pre-counselling to establish baseline scores and then post-counselling to measure the change. These questionnaires measure the level of depression, anxiety and mental well-being in the clients. Many of our clients do not read or write English and so have difficulty in filling in these forms. Such clients typically provide verbal feedback at the end of counselling. The clients who can, also fill in a feedback form at the end of their counselling sessions, and that gives us an indication of the level of client satisfaction.

We received most of our funding this year from the Department of Works and Pensions’ (DWP) Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC) programme (see details

below). We also received funding from The Women’s India Association of the UK for the Diya project. They have also sent some client referrals our way this year. Small amounts of emergency funding was also received from Catalyst Housing Association, Charities Aid Foundation and City Bridge Trust, which helped the organisation to get ready for online sessions.

The Department of Works & Pensions Reducing Parental Conflict Programme

AFCS is part of a consortium led by Tavistock Relationships delivering this programme funded by the DWP. This is two-year pilot programme delivered in Westminster and Hertfordshire. Data is being collected by the DWP to measure the impact of the interventions and evaluate the success of this programme. After a slow start in 2019 we have had a steady stream of clients, and we have been primarily delivering the Triple P intervention in Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea; and Mentalisation Based Therapy (MBT) and Family Check Up (FCU) in Buckinghamshire. During the past year we have seen 63 parents, and initial data has shown that the interventions offered to the parents enables them to communicate better, manage their feelings towards their partner better and in doing so, improve outcomes for children. The staff pivoted to online support at the end of March 2020 due to the onset of the pandemic. They proved to be flexible and adaptive, offering evening and weekend appointments to clients when required. Many clients were not used to receiving services online and had to be guided in how to use Zoom on their phones and laptops. By the end of the year, most clients were proficient at using Zoom and other online methods.

Diya Project funded by Women’s India Association

We received grant funding from The Women’s India Association of the UK in 2020. Over the period October 2020 to March 2021, counselling was provided to 41 clients suffering from depression, anxiety, panic attacks, domestic violence, abuse, racism, isolation, COVID 19 issues and family problems among other issues. Dissolving a marriage is still a very difficult decision for South Asian women, and very hard for their families and the community to accept; separation or divorce is often blamed on the woman and the stigma is still very great. The impact of all this on children is even greater. At AFCS, we try to mitigate the effect of divorce and separation on the family. We have not been able to provide contact for families where the parents have separated and the couple has been instructed by the courts to come to AFCS, due to the pandemic and the office being closed.

Ealing Together Project

In the initial stages of the pandemic (between April and July 2020) AFCS also volunteered with Ealing Council on their Ealing Together project. Our counsellors volunteered to contact all those referred by the Council through this project as they needed urgent support due to the pandemic. Counsellors called these clients at least once a week to make sure that these vulnerable clients were not left feeling isolated and that all their needs were attended to. Links were set up to signpost them to other local groups. For instance, many clients wanted to grow their own food or start gardening, some wanted the mobile library to deliver books to them at home and some needed hot meals or food deliveries to be arranged for them. There was a huge collective effort at that time.

Case Studies

Domestic Abuse

D is a 29-year-old woman from India; she was referred to AFCS by Women’s Aid. She had been physically and emotionally abused by her husband and his family. D was fearful about the prospect of being sent back to India as her family would be stigmatised by her failed marriage quiet, but her marriage ended anyway when her husband’s family dropped her off at her aunt’s house. Through counselling, D was able to work on how to cope with the trauma and resultant panic attacks due to the abuse she had suffered. She was able to overcome her low self-esteem and gain confidence and let go of the notions of what it meant to be a ‘good wife’ that had been ingrained in her by her family and community. D grew more empowered and was able to overcome the guilt and shame she felt due to her failed marriage and was supported to file a formal complaint against her abusive husband.

Financial Problems

B is a 50-year-old woman, with a diagnosis of depression and multiple health issues including fibromyalgia. She felt overwhelmed and was very unhappy with her current situation and spent a lot of time ruminating on her past. She was supported with weekly sessions through Zoom. She initially spent many sessions talking about her childhood, how she got married, had her children and how she settled in the UK. She spoke about her relationships with her family, how she coped with her deteriorating health and the challenges she faced as a mother. She had always felt controlled financially by her husband

and expressed a wish to gain some confidence, get a job and some financial independence. In later sessions, she acknowledged that she had lived in the past for too long and felt ready to move forward. She considered her work options but was worried about finding a job which could fit in with her home and family commitments and her health condition. She had previous experience of working within a school. She was supported to find a similar post, was encouraged to update her CV and fill in application forms. She applied for a role in a local school and was invited for an interview and was supported in the sessions to prepare for it. She attended the interview and was successful in securing the job, thus achieving her aim to gain some financial independence.

Bereavement

M, a 60-year-old woman had lost her mother to Covid 19. Her elderly mother had carers come into her home to care for her as she was not mobile and had multiple health problems. She caught coronavirus from one of the carers. M lived with her elderly parents and her son, and they all tested positive. What was very traumatic for her was the fact that when her mother started showing signs of distress and she called the ambulance, due to regulations and because they had all tested positive, no-one was allowed to accompany her mother to hospital. She died within a few hours of getting to the hospital. M was left with feelings of extreme helplessness and could not stop thinking about what her mother must have faced on her own at the hospital. M was also not able to attend her mother’s funeral since she herself had to be hospitalised for Covid. Through counselling she worked through her feelings and was slowly able to come to terms with her grief.

Client Testimonials

----- Start of picture text -----
“Lockdowns have left me
feeling very isolated, but
my counsellor supported
me through them. Thank
you”
“My counsellor helped
me to find various
ways of overcoming my
stress and anxiety. She
taught me to cope
better with my
situation”
“I lost my mother to
COVID 19 and was
finding it very hard to
cope with my feelings of
loss. The counsellor
helped me to adjust to my
new reality.”
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
“I was apprehensive before I
“Working from home
started counselling at AFCS
during the lockdown
but found that my
had created a lot of
counsellor could
issues between my understand where I was
in-laws and myself.
coming from as she was
Through counselling
from a similar background
I was able to address
as me.”
the issues with them
in a non-combative
way”.
----- End of picture text -----

In Conclusion

This has been one of the most challenging years AFCS has faced in the thirty years of its existence. We would like to thank our staff and volunteers for their resilience and for adapting so quickly and efficiently to the changes in ways of working and without whom we would not have been able to provide this critical service at a time when the demand for it is higher than ever. Clients have presented with multiple issues and have required counselling and support for longer than usual.

We know that the pandemic has disproportionately affected Asian communities. More than ever, we need to ensure we can continue to provide counselling at low or zero cost to those who need it the most and therefore securing additional funding to expand capacity and reduce the number of clients on our waiting list will be a key priority next year.

I would like to thank all our management, staff, and volunteers for having been so flexible and resilient, to provide a fantastic service to the community. All their hard work has enabled so many clients deal with their issues positively. Our thanks also go out to all our funders, without whom we would not be able to provide services to vulnerable clients.

Kulbir Randhawa Director

Staff Information

London

Kulbir Randhawa (Director) Jayashree Shahani (Data & Admin) Balbir Bansi (Counsellor) Baksho Johal (Counsellor) Chhaya Shah (Counsellor) Farhana Moussa (Counsellor) Narinder Bains (Counsellor) Anica Govil (Counsellor) Samreen Singh (Volunteer Counsellor) Gurpal Bharj (Volunteer Counsellor) Raman Sohal (Volunteer Counsellor) Kamaljit Kandola (Volunteer Counsellor)

Nehar Bird (Volunteer Counsellor) Surabhi Narendranath (Volunteer)

Birmingham

Gurbaksh Johal (Manager) Dippica Mistry (Counsellor) Shazia Qayum (Volunteer Counsellor) Neelam Kalita (Volunteer Counsellor) Inderpreet Bhangal (Volunteer Counsellor) Kulwinder Panesar (Volunteer)

Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2021 for Asian Family Coun5elJing Serwice REG CHARITY NO. 517595

ASIAN FAMILY COUNSELLING SERVICE REG CHARITY NO 517595 Contsnts of the Financial Statsments for tho Year Ended 31 March 2021 Receipts & Payments Balance Sheet Notes to the Accourrts Truste88 R9POrt Independent Examinerfs Report

If rEnd Jl. TOTAL Toiat3ff.0121 1kMO 31.B10 53.364 147519 1345 ¥5a864 91289 Total Incomlng 184J19 1W,957 144.&10 r￿E Costs otfjEner4llrofi•xi 24 12.401 27.941 Ils 39.115 17.792 471 471 C￿1 Tw Statr&awrtWakn 133 935 1SJ 82,276 12.892 1670 140 Q814 153x2 1$1.116 J1 IT.052 TotalfuThl8 br￿U￿f(￿Ird 33.161 347 42295 Tot4lfUndswrf•Ofo￿•rd 171 21MYX121 21M2rartl

Asian Fami Counsellln Servl¢e lstergd Char N . 517595 Year End 31.03.21 atemgnt of assèts and li blllties for the Year Endgd 31 March 20 Note Unrestricted Restricted fvnds income fund3 Totsl 31.03.21 Totsl 31.03.20 od assets Tangiblè assets 3,674 3.674 3.674 Total r￿ed assot8 3.674 3.674 3,674 Current ssets Other Debtors Cash at bank and in hand 4.652 1.594 4.652 128.968 4,652 95,479 78.374 Totsl currènt assets 55,245 78,374 133.620 100,131 Creditors: amounts falling due withln one year 14.116 14.116 14.458 Net assets 58.919 64,260 123,178 89,347 Income fun Balan￿ brought forward Restricted funds Unrestricted funds 56,186 33.161 31.097 89.347 31.097 2,734 42.295 27,810 19.242 2.734 Totsl funds 58.920 64,258 123,178 89,347 Approved 2111212021 Date 2111212021 P&Je 2

ian Fami Counsellin istered Cha No. 517595 Year End 31.03.21 Notes to tho Accounts Note 1 G•n9ral Nots8 Accounti ies Basis of accountirKJ These accounts have been prepared by summarisiNJ all money receivèd and paid out by the chatFty in the finanoal year. and a ststement gmng detsils of its assets and liatslths at the end of the w. Chang& basts The chartty has prepared these acix)unts ￿ a r￿ipts and payments basis. Last the accruals basis was used. Changes to previous year5 No changes have twn made to accthDts for previ(xJs years. Note 2 Ths year Last year Fees ts examinin9 the •xounts Inderndenl examinrfs fees for reporting on the acu>unts Other fees paMJ to the Independent examiner 2.670 2,670 Analy3is of resour expend8d This year Last year Casts of generatiTrJ funds Salaries Pension Adverts IPhotoccpier Total Costs for Charitable OtyectNes Saiaries Pension Charitabk ExEwdilur8 Travelling 56,324 12.404 27,941 902 42 39,115 529 1,070 344 17,792 595 663 Post & StalK)nery Telephone Intem8t Services Insurance Repairs & Renewals Cleaning Training Stsff & Cl￿1 Wetfare Subscripts'ons & Ewdlualk)ns Sundry Expenses Pmfessional & Legal Crsts Rent, Rates & Serv Luhl & Heat Depreciation F&F Depreciation Off Equip Total 4n 1,835 467 70 669 11,666 256 967 130 200 36,680 19.010 935 150,508 82,276 Page 3

Managemènt and Administratron costs Salaries Pension Telepthone A¢r))untarw Fee Payrcrfl Bank charges 2,948 1,000 12,692 2.670 2.670 140 15.502 Total 6,618 Note 3 Pald Empk)y This year Last year Gross wages & s*rr8S Employers Nl Pension Contrrbutions Totsl Staff costs 59.272 38.668 1,965 1,462 42,095 13.404 72,67 A¥e. number of employEes in the year Details of employees engaged in followiThJ acbffts.. Costs of generdting fijnds Actiwti"es in ftFrtheran of charFVs objectives Managemenl & Admin Total No emrAoyees have 8moluments over £50.( Note 4 Tangible Fixed Awts Fixtures & Fittln Offic8 Total ui COST: At 1 April 2020 Additions Al 31 Marth 2021 10.741 30.518 41.259 10.741 30.518 41259 DEPRECIATION . At 1 April 2020 Additions At 31 March 2021 10,714 26.871 37.585 10,714 26.871 37,585 NEf BOOK VALUE: Al 31 March 2021 27 3.647 3.674 At 31 March 2020 27 3,647 3.674 Page 4

Note 5 Restricted fvnds Fund name Departmellt of W0￿S & Pensions via Tawst(￿ RelatK)ns London Bgrough Eali Joint Commissionin Women's India Assoc. se and Reskn'eb"ons Improving outcomes for chikjren. ￿Ung people and familie5 ProvidiThJ counselling for the Asian community in Ealin Diyd Project Amount £147.519 £18,250 £5.000 Catalyst Housing £550 Coron8virus emergency f £3.000 The City Bridge Tnjst £10.000 Nots6 De¢larations A418quacy of a5ststo SLrffi￿nI resour￿ are hekj in an appropriate form lo enable ea¢h fvnd lo be applth in accordan￿ ￿ restrths imt¥)sed. The charity ha5 one brarnth. Change In)w qnd Thg trustees have not than9gd the year erKI date rx)r the ￿n9th of Ihe chartys finan￿al yw. 0￿10￿•￿￿fUI The charity not have any designat￿1 funds. Dlscortlnrt eotttlnulng al￿ ¥qulrod operats AJI the charities OF*ralic￿￿ are ¢x)ntinuiThJ operations and there were no operations dis(x)ntinu&1 or acquired during the year. Fund ￿ thh¢it No funds {unrestrced or restrtdedl are in defiai at the balance sheet date. I￿18￿ble or h18tarle The charity had no assets at Ihe balance sheet date ciassed as inalignable or histo The charity has rK) intangible assets. There were ￿ inter-fund b)ans outstandiw at the balar￿ sheot date. N(￿e of the charivs fundKJnal fixed assets have i￿n revaIL￿d during the year 8nd the charity dr￿ not have a Oicy of revaluation ofth8se assets. Sthidilldes The charity has rK¢ Su￿d￿ery companies. un¢apknl￿edf￿l a5set8 The charity has ￿ material fix￿1 assets whth have rK)t bogn capNtalised and induded on the balants $heeL The use of Unrestric￿ reseNes are detemiined by the Trustees. Page 5

Note 7 counting poll¢les Incomlng Resources simrlar lrtomiryg These are IndUd￿ in the Receipts and Payments IR&P) schedule when: the charity re￿IveS the d￿tion ￿ Sim￿ar income and any ccrtitions for receipt ar8 met" Tax ro¢laIn￿ on Ino)mirKJ resources fr(¥n tax daims are induded on the R&P when Incoming rnS¢)urc•G from thJt)th161ng These are ￿ported gross in the R&P. Gift6 In klnd for sale or These are not inthded in R&P accounts. Glfts In kjiid for￿ by1￿ These are nol induded in R&P acc(MJnts. charity Imang[b￿ Income leg donatèd fadlitlRsl Thls is onty indudgj in incomiro resouThs (wth an equivalont amount in resources expendgdl where another party is bearing the financial cost of the resources suppfied and the benefit is quanbfiable, receivatAe and material. Intangible income is valued at the lower of the cost tKJme by the paty bearing the cost and 8 reasonable 8sth.male of the value of the donation to the charity. Th8 valus ofany vcAuntary Wp receNed is not included in the accounts but is describ&J in the annual reF( Valuht•èr hlp Inv•#trnont I￿lm• This a￿1 any assooaW tax (x￿j￿S are included in the accounts when re￿1vab￿. Expendlture and L•abilities LlabUItyrnco9r Ger￿ty Ikqbilibes are recognised as soon as there is a legal or nstructive obligation cornmitting the charity to the expenditure. There are IBbiltties ¢JJtslanding at the year end for Brtiish Telecom and Rent. These have not been induded in the accounts as they are gpared on a Receipts and Payments basi8. t￿ed ass•ts for use byEharfty These arè ca￿li￿ed rf they c¥n be used for more than one ypar, and cost ai least £250. They are value(J at cost or a reasonable value on receipL The tharity does not ha￿ a Wicy of revaluat*)n.

ASJAN FAMILY COUNSELLING SERVI REG CHARITY NO. 517595 Tru5tè¢s' nual Re ort LEGPL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Charlty Nam• Asian Family Counselling Semce AFCS yother name th• elMrltyi8 by Charity Cornml88ion reghtered numb•r 517595 F(Yth? IIna￿l￿ Jpar t*giMlng On 01.04.20 31.03.21 Ch•vtys wtnclp81 athyro F1, Unit 4, Triang￿ Centr8 399 UxtKNJge Ro&J S(Mrthall Middx. UB1 3EJ Descrlption of the charW$ trusts AFCS ¥vas con¥filuted in August 1985. 11 rs registered as a charity. ObJ•ct5 of the chaEIty To advanc& edLKation among persons of Asian origin and in patty"cular, aMC￿ such persons res￿nt in the UK, 3bcMJl all asp￿ts of marriage and famity rglalionships, with a view to devdoping personal responsibilities and enriching family lrfe. To safwJuard and FKOtect the heath. both mental and ph￿￿1 of adults and children of Asian origin Èn the UK. and lo prevent the hardship arKI distress caused by tha breakdchvn of Marriage. N¢￿9 TRUSTEES ANO GOVERNANCE Nam•s tsftrusi•o8 Name of Trustee Dates during whrch the named tnjstees acted rf not for the whole pericrfl of this reF Names of ￿1￿CtOrS of any coryx)rale chaTrty trustee at the date of this report Name of person {or body) ent￿ed to appoint any charlty trustee. Nina Toller Rashida Pun Fawzia Samad Trustees a￿ elected at the ann￿1 general meeting. N4me3 of th• ¢harWs ￿￿to￿lan trustees None P8ge 7

ACTMTIES AND ACHIEVEMEPITS ¢harWs acuvsllès and dullng the har AFCS has set up an office in Birmingh8m. It has wowded family, marital and indrwdual counselling to 266 new clients and provided 2034 sessions of courLsellirwJ during the year. The management eommtitee of AFCS is responsible for overwing the vK)rf( of the organisalion. The Dwtor is responsible for the day to day runnlng. R has 3 employpes aThY 7 Se￿onal staff and 9 votunteer5. Sl9nlflcant ehanq•4 (kn10 and fvtur• plans AFCS has provided famity. marital and I[￿1vIdUal CLwnseNing to the Asian community resident in the UK It has been at the forefront of vth around the issue of for{￿ marriages and Any rolated partles. tharitl¢s or other orynlstslons wlth whKh th• ¢h8rlty wp8rntes In its AFCS provides ￿￿nSellIng in the vartous asian languages and is dependent on vrAunteer counsellors to pn)vid8 Counsel￿ng in scxne of the Asian languages. Telephone counseUir@ is provpjed to those persons unable io come in the offic&. AFCS is (leFfKlent on the Govemment for grdnts to provkle It also tharge5 for training w)rkshops ano repcts for courts. POLICIES There ts no grant making or investment selection FdiGy. Major risks are reviewed al the Management Committee Meetings. SIGNATURE DECLARATION Declaration I dedare. in my Capacity of charity trustee. that.. the trustees have approved the rer)rt afry)ve; an have authorised Fne to stgn rt on their behaff. Signature Full name Favia Samad Positlon leg S8¢retaryJ Chair, •t¢) Chair Dec 21. 2021 Date P8gÈ 8

ASIAN FAMILY COUN ELLING SERVICE REG CHARTff NO. 517595 Inde endent Examlngrfs Ro on the Attounts R8F)Ort to the trusleeslmembers of Aslan Fami￿ CounsgUirwJ Sgrvice On accounts for the year ended 31 Marth 2021 The ch8rWs trustees ate resprMsibl8 for the preparalion of the a￿)unts. The chanws trustees consider Ih8t an audit is not required for this year under sect￿￿ 144 of the Charities Acl 2011 (The Charilies Act) and that an independent examination is r￿eded. It is cMJr ￿SpOnsIbl71ty to= examine the accounts under sedion 145 of the 2011 Art lo follow the procedures laid down in tha General Directions grvèn by thè Charlty Commissioners (under section 145{5)(b) of the 2011 Act)" and to stste whother particular matters have C￿Me to our attentk)n. Our examination was Garr￿d out in accordance General Directions given by ts Chaiity Commissloners. An examination indudes a review of the accounting re(yxds kept by the charity and a comparison of the aceounts presented ￿th those rec(ffds. It also indudes consid8ration of any unusual items or disclosu￿5 in the a(zounts. and seeking explanations from the trustees Cor￿mir￿j any such matters. The ￿￿(￿EdureS undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audr(. and (￿nseQUent￿ we do not express an audrt opinion on the accounts. In connection with our examlr¥9tion . no matter has come to cwjr attention.. %thich gives us reasonatAè caus• to believe that in any material respect requirements= lo keep a￿U￿ting rec￿ts in accordance vthh sectron 130 ofthe 2011 Act" and to prepare aco)unts which accord 7Mth the accounling records ond com the accountrng requirements of ￿ 2011 Act have not been met. or to which, in our o￿nIOn. attent#)n Sh￿￿j be drawr in (￿der to enable a p¥oper understanding of the ac￿￿nts to be re¥hed. 50 Signed Date 2111212021 Mrs Anjani Boparai FCCA Sethi & Co. Chartered Certrfred Accountants 59-60 Thsmes Street Windsor SL4 1TX Page 9

Financial Statements for the year ended 31st Mar¢h 2021 for Asian Family Counselling Service ATIONAL BRANCH) REG CHARITY NO. 517595

Asian Family Counselling Servi¢e NATIONAL BRANCH Income and Ex nditure Account for the ear ended 31.3.2021 31.3.2021 31.3.2020 GRANTS Home Office Goldsmith Charity OTHER INCOME Training Fees Miscellaneous Bank InleMt ReceNed EXPENSES Wages Pensions Rents.Rates arKI Service Charges ghl & Heal Repairs Consultancy Costs Ji Telephone Accountancy Eqtjipment Rental Bank Inleresl & Charges Travelling Sundries Adverts,Print.P¢JStagÈ & Stalionery SubscriplKJns AGM Expenses NET SURPLUSI{DEFICIT) FOR YEAR Income Reserve Brought FO￿ard 3449 3449 Income Reserve Carried Forvrdrd 3449 3449

Aslan Famil Counsellio Service NATtOLAL BRANCH Balanc¢ Shect &s at 3 1st March 2021 31.3.2021 31.3.2020 FIXED ASSETS Fixtijres and Fittings citRRENT ASSETS Bank Deposit Account Bank & Cash in Hand Debtor- London Branch Prepayments 3449 3449 3449 3449 CURRENT LIABTLrrtES Accruals Bank Overdraft 3449 3449 NET ASSETS 3449 3449 Represented By.- CAPITAL ACCOUNT Income Raserve 3449 3449 Approved By De 2111212021 Approved By Date 2111212021

Asian Familv Counselling Service (NATIONAL BRANCH) REG.CIiARITY No 517595 We have examined the attac￿ finan¢ial statements in accordance wtth recommgnded Chaiibes Sethi & Co. Chartered Certif￿1 AccoNJntants S9￿ Thames Street Win¢Jsor SL4 1TX Date 2111212021 Clients Approval Certificate We approve the financial statemerts and confimi that we have made aVa￿ab￿ al reler4nl rwds and infom)alp)n for their preparation. Date 2111212￿7 Date 2111212021

ASIAN FAMILY COUNSELLING SERVICE REG CHARITY NO. 51759S Inde endent Examin8rf$ Re rt on the Accounts Report lo the trusleeslmembers ofAsian Famty CounselliThJ Service On accounts for the year endeAI 31 March 2021 The charivs trustees are resp)nsitAe for the Fry)aratK)n of Ihe ac£ounts. The charitys tnjslees nsider that 8n audtt is not required for this ￿ar under secti)n 144 of the Charities A¢1 2011 (The Charits'es Act) and that an indeperKlent examinat#)n is r￿d￿l. It is ￿r responsibility to.. examlne the a￿)Unts under sectM)n 145 of Ihe 2011 Ac¢ lo follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions gNen by th8 Charity Commissioners (under section 145{51(b) of the 2011 Act). and to state whether parti(xJL4r matters have come to our attentM)n. Our examination was Lxrried out in ac￿rdance wilh General DirectN)ns given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includ&s a review of the accounting fecords kept by the charlty and a comparlson of the accounts wesented those records. It also Midudes consbderation of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts. and seekirvJ eXP￿natIOnS from the trustees conceming any such matters. The pr(Kedures undertaken do not provftfje all the evidence that would be required in an audit. and conwuentty ￿ do llot express an audr( opinion on the ￿lunts. In connectmm with our examination . no matter has come to our attention: which gwes us reasLmable cause to believe that in any materia respect the requirements: to keep accounlirKJ records in acu)rdance wrth sectior7 130 of the 2011 Act: and to prepare aGcounts which accord with the a￿unt￿￿ recotds arKI comply the accountirtg requirements of the 2011 have not been me( or to ￿[Ch. in our opinion, attentM￿ Sh(￿￿0 be drawn in orderto enable a proper un¢Yerstanding ofthe a(£ounts to L* reached. Signed 0 201114..48GMT 2111212021 Mrs Anjani Boparai FCCA Sethi & Co. Chartered Certified Acwuntants S￿0 Thames Street Windsor SL4 1TX Page 9