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2021-05-31-accounts

www.thedtgroup.org Registered Charity No. 800797 and SC038972

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The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Contents

|Contents
The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report& Accounts2020-21|| |---|---| |Strategic Report|3| |About The Disabilities Trust|4| |Welcome from our Chair of Trustees|6| |A message from our Chief Executive|10| |Key highlights of 2020 – 2021|13| |Our strategy|16| |Our achievements|19| |The way forward|41| |Trustees’ Annual Report|42| |Financial review|43| |Directors’ report|48| |Trustees’ responsibilities statement|62| |Auditor’s report|64| |Financial statements|69| |Get involved|102|

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The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

About The Disabilities Trust

Our purpose

We are a charity that works alongside people with an acquired brain injury, autism, and learning or physical disabilities to help them live as independently as possible.

Established 40 years ago, we have a proven track record of providing high quality services across the UK. These include: seven brain injury assessment and rehabilitation centres, seven residential care homes, 26 supported living accommodations and two hospitals for people with brain injuries, 11 residential care homes and seven supported living accommodations for people with autism and learning disabilities, four residential care homes for those with complex physical disabilities, and a school for children with autism and learning disabilities. We also provide person-centred support to people in their own homes.

Our services support around 750 people each year. 91% of our services are rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ or considered compliant by their respective regulators, the Care Quality Commission, Care Inspectorate Wales, Care Inspectorate Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland or OFSTED. We are also the largest not-for-profit brain injury service provider in the UK.

We provide the individual care, support and rehabilitation that people need to live as full a life as possible. Staff work closely with those we support, their families and friends, local and health authorities, housing associations and others. Dedicated teams support people to move forward with their lives. They include specialists like physiotherapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) practitioners. We use innovative technologies and evidence-based clinical approaches to help the people we support thrive.

Through our Foundation, we also campaign, conduct research and pilot new ideas to amplify the voices of people who do not access our core services. This includes survivors of domestic abuse and those in the criminal justice system with a brain injury.

Find out more at www.thedtgroup.org

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Our Mission, Vision & Values

Mission

Every day we strive to enable the people we support to do more than they could the day before.

Vision

To be the first choice for people with complex autism, learning or physical disabilities and brain injury and for everyone who supports them.

Our Values

WE ARE AGILE

We are forward thinking, responsive, resilient and flexible to make sure we continue to evolve and spot potential.

WE ARE RESOURCEFUL

We spend time and money wisely empowering people to think differently at the same time as being practical and commercial.

WE ARE COURAGEOUS

We do the right thing, step up, try new things, are strong and bold while managing risk.

WE ARE CONNECTED

We collaborate, create positive relationships, listen and learn from others and keep our promises.

WE HAVE HEART

We show dedication, passion, humility and care to make a long-lasting and measurable difference.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Showing strength in the face of adversity

Welcome from our Chair of Trustees

This year has been one of the most challenging in The Disabilities Trust’s 40-year history - but I’m pleased to see we have emerged even stronger.

Week after week, our staff faced the difficult realities that Covid-19 brought and which they continue to manage. The impact of three national lockdowns, and additional local restrictions in some areas, have deeply affected the people we support, their families and relatives, and our staff who felt the full impact of frequently changing government guidance.

All our staff, from those on the frontline to our support services, pulled together. The dedicated and unified approach, from rigorous infection control procedures, to training, vital communications to keep everyone connected and the continued vaccination rollout, kept our services safely running for the people we support and their families. I am immensely proud of everyone at The Disabilities Trust for their tireless and selfless contributions in the face of such adversity.

Keeping life moving in the pandemic

This year, we adapted with agility to the unprecedented changes the pandemic brought, to ensure that the people we support could continue to enjoy the things they like doing, albeit in a slightly different way. Being part of the local community is important for many of the people we support but the pandemic made this challenging. With cafes closed for most of the year, residents at Kent House in Aylesbury and Ty Aberdafen in Llanelli, Wales raised money to open their own. This gave them the chance to sit and enjoy a coffee and meet safely with family and friends. Music therapy sessions continued online at many of our services, including Osman House in Leeds. Funded by generous donations from our supporters and run by music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, the sessions improved people’s confidence, self-esteem, hand-to-eye coordination and speech.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Staff at Heathermount school supported children and young people with autism, and their families, to continue to learn at home. Students received laptops, and teachers maintained daily contact and sent out work packs. All the staff went above and beyond to support students and their families, another shining example of what makes The Disabilities Trust so special.

Supporting people with disabilities

The people we support, and our staff have shown tremendous resilience during the pandemic, and there are many positives to reflect on. Specialist teams continued to support people with brain injuries to become more independent. In 2020, eight in ten people with brain injuries (80%) were discharged to a more independent setting, including supported living accommodation run by The Disabilities Trust.

Managing our finances

The pandemic also brought unexpected costs for the charity, including purchasing personal protective equipment, implementing additional infection control measures, creating outdoor and indoor visiting spaces as well as increased staff costs as a result of self-isolation. Lockdown and national infection rates also impacted admissions and introduced the need for further infection control measures. To ensure the people we support and our staff were kept safe we successfully applied and received Covid-19 grants from local government, to contribute towards these extra costs, which have been key to our ability to respond and adapt to the impact of the pandemic. By recruiting someone to manage these grants, we could report back to funders on stringent criteria including vaccination rates, infection rates and supply of PPE.

Starting a new beginning

This year, three new trustees joined the Board: Eve Castel, Caroline Reid, and Marianne Waite. It’s important we have a team of trustees from a variety of backgrounds who bring different experiences and opinions to discussions.

After 19 years on the Board, and four as Chair, I’m stepping down in November 2021 when my term comes to an end. I have the pleasure of handing over to our new Chair, Kathryn Greenberg, who I am confident will support the Trust to achieve its exciting ambitions and contribute to the Trust’s outstanding legacy.

The organisation is very different to the one I joined but continues to make an enormous difference to people’s lives. My time on the Board has been challenging, at times difficult, but also incredibly rewarding and without doubt, has been the most fulfilling role of my career.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

We have taken many difficult decisions in response to an ever tougher financial and regulatory environment, have begun reshaping the organisation and our Board, very reluctantly closed some services but equally, embarked upon our most ambitious investment programme ever, all to ensure the charity is successful and well placed for the future.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to meet some truly amazing people. Be they the people we support, their friends and families, members of staff or fellow trustees, it has been a gathering of like-minded individuals who work tirelessly towards a single goal – that is, to ensure the people we support can live their best lives. Service visits, meeting the people we support, their families and our staff has been the highlight of my time on the Board and I sincerely regret that Covid put paid to those visits over the past 18 months.

As I step down, so too do Michael Green and Roger Hoyle. Roger served for seven years as a trustee but also as our representative on the Board at York House as well as Chair of the Finance and Investment Committee where his financial experience and knowledge of healthcare was invaluable.

Michael served for 11 years as a trustee and was also Vice Chair during my tenure. I am incredibly grateful for his support and guidance over the years. Michael’s drive and encyclopaedic knowledge of the property sector also meant he played a pivotal role in the proposal for our new £23m hospital development in York - the largest single investment in the history of the Trust.

As the three of us step down, I recognise that we take with us our knowledge and experience but equally, we leave an incredibly talented team of trustees and a superb senior leadership team (SLT). The Board and the SLT are well placed to continue to ensure the Trust grows and remains successful and I genuinely look forward to watching from the side-lines and feeling proud to have played a small part in the Trust’s success.

It has been an honour and a privilege, and I wish the people we support, their families and friends, our dedicated staff and my friends and colleagues, every success for the future.

I have no doubt that the charity will continue to do great work to improve the lives of the people we support.

Stephen Howell

Chair of the Trustee Board

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The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Heart, courage, agility, connectivity and resourcefulness

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Influencing change

A message from our Chief Executive ‘Heart, courage, agility, connectivity and resourcefulness’.

These are some of the attributes I’ve seen in abundance over the last year from people across the Trust – our staff and the people we support alike.

Although this has been a testing year for the Trust and the sector, it has also shown the true worth of social care and its ability to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, and keep our communities afloat and connected in a crisis. I have been extremely proud of how our staff dealt with and continue to respond to the Covid pandemic. From the Senior Leadership Team’s agility and dedication in the face of rapidly changing circumstances, setting direction and showing the way through the pandemic, to the persistence of our frontline workers in keeping the people we support safe; every single person at the Trust played their part. I am also pleased at how we debate about the future of social care, as well as working with the people that we support to amplify the needs of people with disabilities.

Bold campaigning

Covid-19 has undoubtedly increased the profile of health and social care. In response, the Trust has been more involved in the national debate and become more visible, giving us the opportunity to grow and extend our reach and influence.

This year, we provided virtual tours of our services for local MPs so they could see for themselves how the pandemic was affecting disabled people and represent their needs to decision makers. At the outset of the pandemic, we campaigned for better personal protective equipment for social care staff and stood with families calling for disabled people, and those with autism and learning disabilities, to be higher up the vaccine priority list.

I am extremely proud that our influencing work has changed the law to better protect survivors of domestic abuse who have a brain injury. As a direct result of our five-year research programme, from April 2021, prisoners have been screened for a brain injury sustained through violence. And thanks to our campaigning with MP Chris Bryant, and work in prison and probation services, there has been further change. Now, domestic abuse protection orders consider acquired brain injury as part of the range of needs any survivor may have. We hope these changes will ensure that survivors of domestic abuse with a brain injury get the support they need to address their often-hidden disability.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Sharing expertise

More widely, we are speaking out and sharing our expertise. Our webinars for health professionals and commissioners, led by our clinical teams, have been very successful at generating discussion on innovative research and practice with others in the sector. We have also been commissioned by NHS England to provide an innovative e-learning programme for healthcare practitioners in 112 prisons in England. Our training will support them to develop skills to identify and improve ways of working with people who have brain injuries.

We will continue to focus on sharing our expertise, campaigning and influencing in our next five-year strategy. This will help us to support people to become more independent and amplify the voices of those we support and those with disabilities who cannot access our core services.

Investment and growth

This year, we continued to grow, with the opening of new supported living services in Liverpool and Glasgow. These are creating opportunities for people with brain injuries to live more independently. We also extended Eastfields, a brain injury rehabilitation unit, next to Graham Anderson House hospital, in Glasgow, to allow more people with brain injuries to move from an acute hospital to a residential unit to continue their rehabilitation.

We will continue to grow bespoke services to create additional capacity and provide accommodation of a high standard. This includes relocating from our existing York House Hospital where we currently support up to 38 people and building an exciting £23 million flagship specialist hospital in York, which will provide vital support for 40 people with complex brain injuries and allow us to retain 145 jobs. The new hospital will be a ‘capable environment’, which means it will effectively support people with brain injuries to have positive interactions and opportunities.

Integrated care

In the year ahead, you’ll see us continuing to call for integrated health and social care, so that the people we support can have better experiences, especially when they’re moving from hospital care to community-based services. More joined-up working will put an end to artificial silos that too often keep health and social care apart and have a negative impact on the outcomes of the people we support. Integrated services are key to transforming outcomes and, ultimately, creating positive experiences for everyone accessing our health and care system.

We will campaign loudly and boldly for the UK government to make good on their promise of care reform, representing the views of the people we support and their families. Changes should recognise the heroic efforts of staff, and the urgent need for investment.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

I cannot sign off without acknowledging how truly challenging, and unprecedented, the past year has been. Like many of us at the sharp end of delivering support in the social care sector, we were not left untouched by the toll of the pandemic. Be it the people we support being isolated from family and friends or, sadly, the passing of the loved ones, we remember those who did not make it through the coronavirus pandemic or who are left forever changed by it.

Thank you so much for your continued support for The Disabilities Trust. With your help, we will keep up with the demands of our ever changing world, make sure we protect the people we support, their families, communities and staff and help to improve the lives of people living with a disability.

Irene Sobowale

Chief Executive

“We will campaign loudly and boldly for the UK government to make good on their promise of care reform, representing the views of the people we support and their families. Changes should recognise the heroic efforts of staff, and the urgent need for investment.”

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Key highlights

In a challenging year, we continued to provide excellent care for people with brain injury, autism, learning or physical disabilities, helping them to live as independently as possible.

This year, we supported 749 people living with an acquired brain injury, autism, learning or physical disabilities.

We welcomed 246 people to our services during the year and 269 – 36% of those we supported – were discharged, with many moving on to more independent living.

We are supporting more people with brain

injuries with two new supported living services in Glasgow and Liverpool. We also extended our brain injury rehabilitation unit in Glasgow and found a suitable site to develop a 40-bed flagship hospital in York.

Our 1,617 resilient and dedicated staff adapted quickly to work together in a new way during the pandemic and went above and beyond for the people we support.

Almost three quarters (73%) of the therapeutic goals of the people we support were achieved in 2020.

Maintaining strong management of our finances in the pandemic helped offset additional pandemic infection control costs. We applied for Covid-19 grants from local authorities, raising over £1.4 million to

cover some of the extra costs.

Our new fundraising strategy is helping us to allocate substantial funds for

life-enhancing projects and activities

for the people we support. In 2020-21 we used £130,082 of voluntary income to help pay for everything from music therapy to gym equipment at our services.

Our research helped change the law so that prisoners are now screened for brain injury. Domestic abuse protection orders now consider acquired brain injury as part of the range of needs any survivor may have.

We switched most of our face-to-face training to being delivered virtually in an

agile way to ensure our staff have the skills they need to do their job during the pandemic. In total, 26,785 e-learning training modules, 424 business critical face-to-face and 267 training courses were delivered by webinars.

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The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21
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“I never gave up.”

Hannah, 33, has a brain injury caused by an overdose in 2019. She lives at Speyside, our supported living accommodation in Blackpool. Below, Hannah and support worker Jasmine share their perspectives on the journey of rehabilitation they have been on.

Hannah’s story

“I got in with the wrong crowd and was feeling very low, so I made the decision to take my own life. Afterwards I was in a coma, and my mum was told I would never walk and talk again.

When I arrived at Speyside, I was in a wheelchair, but I was so determined to improve that, each day, I would go for a short walk around the block to build up my walking.

One day I decided to push myself even further. I walked to a nearby shop with a staff member. That was about half a mile. I no longer need a wheelchair. I never gave up.

My dreams and hopes for the future are to live independently with my son and a dog. I would say to people ‘never to give up’ as my determination has got me to where I am. Always think positive.”

Jasmine s perspective’

“Hannah’s progress has been incredible. When she first came to us, she would have to point to things that she wanted. During her recovery, she would be surrounded by tubes which scared her son and made her very upset.

After help from the speech therapist, Hannah learnt techniques to speak clearer and slower, and she improved considerably. However, during lockdown, she wasn’t able to see her son or other family members for a long period of time. Hannah was able to call her son and mum, but it just wasn’t the same. Hannah is very social and enjoys going out, so to go from doing that to nothing has been very hard for her.

Hannah has now learnt to deal with her negative thoughts. She knows to speak to staff or people close to her and seeks help when is needed. This is a really positive move for Hannah.”

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

In a challenging year, we continued to provide excellent care

16 The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Our strategy

During the course of delivering our five-year strategy, we supported thousands of people with an acquired brain injury, autism, learning or physical disabilities.

In 2017, we launched a new strategic plan to make sure The Disabilities Trust remained relevant, adaptable and sustainable. Each year the Board of Trustees and senior leadership team reviewed progress against the strategic plan to make sure we were delivering what we committed to and were having a positive impact on the lives of the people that we supported.

We supported thousands of people living with an acquired brain injury, autism, learning or physical disabilities to regain or increase their independence.

Covid-19 challenged us in continuing to deliver our strategic priorities, but we are on track to deliver what we set out to do in 2017 – and put our values at the heart of our work.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Our focus

To achieve the objectives in our five-year strategic plan, we focused on three overarching areas of work, underpinned by a series of goals. These are:

Building firm foundations

We made sure the organisation was sustainable and managed effectively, so we could continue to provide high-quality, personalised care and support to the people using our services.

Being leading edge

We invested in technology and researched new ways to support people with complex needs.

Remembering we are a charity

We made sure our fundraising income had an impact, identified gaps in policy and practice, and influenced decision makers.

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The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Our achievements

Building firm foundations

Goal one: Adopting a personalised approach

Developing the right leadership and organisational systems supports staff to work in creative, person-centred ways.

Student numbers stayed consistent at

76

“During 2020-2021, we faced things as educators and parents that we never imagined. All the staff at Heathermount have been fabulous throughout. My child has felt like an individual the whole way through, his needs and that of our families being taken into consideration constantly. The senior leadership team has called weekly, and the tutor has called every day and sent work packs. My child has changed beyond recognition since starting at Heathermount and this has changed life for us as a family.”

Parent of a child at Heathermount School

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

237

National Disability Strategy

“We support people to gain independence, develop new skills and relearn others. We do this by ensuring their needs are at the centre of everything we do. I take enormous pride in watching the people we support meet their rehabilitation goals. Working at Ty Aberdafen has given me the opportunity to be a part of their incredible journey.”

Jennifer Carpenter, team leader at Ty Aberdafen

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Building firm foundations

Goal two: Supporting our staff

We aim to be an Employer of Choice for people who share our values and want to make a positive difference to the people we support.

Set up a EDI Committee

to feed into equality, diversity and inclusion strategy

Brought together 65

managers from across the organisation

“A lot of food for thought to reflect on and consider how some of the great practices discussed in other services could be rolled out in my own. Thank you to everyone for the past year for their part in keeping us all up and running and safe. I doubt anyone will ever know all the ‘unsung heroes’ out there but I salute you all.”

Attendee of our 2021 conference for managers

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Building firm foundations

Goal three: Providing high quality services

We strive to continuously improve the quality of our care to make sure it’s leading edge and so we can support people in the best ways.

73%

of the therapeutic goals of the people we support were achieved in 2020

Maybo Training

is helping to reduce risk of ‘behaviours of concern’ and the use of restraint

“Datix is an essential tool to manage my role as a busy area manager working across geographically dispersed services effectively. It allows me to ensure services are safe and effective when I am not on site.”

Wendy Baylis-Waring, Area Manager at The Disabilities Trust

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

We kept the people who use our services safe during the pandemic by:

- embedding a high standard of infection control. The Care Quality Commission focused on infection control rather than carrying out wider audits. The regulator made unannounced telephone calls to service managers and some in-person visits. We achieved 100% positive outcomes for infection control reviews by putting processes and systems in place to manage Covid-19.

100% positive outcomes achieved for infection control reviews

- carrying out remote quality service reviews as it wasn’t safe to carry out site visits. We commissioned external quality assurance consultants to carry out the remote reviews to make sure we had an independent overview of the level of compliance within services. This helped us to monitor all our services during the pandemic and make improvements.

- keeping a live database informing us if staff and people using our services were isolating, shielding or had tested positive for Covid-19, this enabled the operations team to manage staffing levels safely.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Building firm foundations

Goal four: Maintaining our financial viability

Being financially sustainable will make sure we can provide reliable and consistent care and support for disabled people.

£1.34m

“Maintaining strong management of our finances in the pandemic helped us provide excellent care.”

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Building firm foundations

Goal five: Good governance

To deliver safe, quality services for disabled people, we work hard to have effective and efficient processes, systems and policies, integrating the latest technology into what we do.

Microsoft Teams & Office 365

introduced across our organisation

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“I feel safe here.”

Lynda lives at Victoria House, our purpose-built centre providing accommodation and support for people with complex and high dependency needs in Hull.

“After I lost my husband, who was my main carer, I had two strokes and two falls and broke my foot. I moved to a residential home in Wales where I felt isolated and lonely.

My brother lives in Hull and found Victoria House. I was scared about moving here as it’s such a big home. But I feel safe here. Everyone is so lovely.

I have come out of my shell and got involved in all the activities as much as I can. I have rediscovered my passion for art, for example.

If I want to spend time on my own in my room, the staff give me the privacy to do so.

My family are happy that I am happier here and that it is a lovely place to live. The views are amazing and I love all the parties and BBQs we have on the grounds.

The staff are beyond belief. They are so attentive and caring and always willing to chat and offer advice.

I never thought I would be happy in a residential home and living with others when I became poorly. But I couldn’t be happier now. I can recommend living here. I am so grateful for all the help and care I get.”

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21 We deliver safe, quality services for disabled people

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Being leading edge

Goal one: Delivering new services

We are developing new services with commissioners to meet the needs of disabled people around the UK.

New Services

We opened two new supported living services

Eastfields Extension

“We are supporting more people with brain injuries to live independently.”

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Being leading edge

Goal two: Investing in technology Technology improves life for disabled people and our staff.

ConnectAbility Life Enhancing project began to find out how smart devices can reduce isolations and increase confidence

•[ Our two-year research project ConnectAbility Life Enhancing Project is aiming ] to find out how smart devices can help the people we support and reduce isolation and increase confidence. We are gathering statistics and feedback from people staying at six of our brain injury, autism, learning and physical disabilities services. This research will feed into a broader assistive technology strategy which will formalise the use of assistive technologies, making sure they are available to benefit as many people as possible.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Being leading edge

Goal three: Exploring pioneering approaches to delivering support We are pioneering clinically-led services for disabled people, adapting what we do based on the latest evidence.

Centrally Recording Outcomes

“I was impressed with the thorough review for the person I’m working with at York House. It gave a great overview of her current presentation, along with how the team has worked with her from the date she was admitted.”

Commissioner

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Neuropsychiatry+ Model

at York House is helping clinicians to identify common signs of progress for people with brain injuries

“Just watched the webinar and very much enjoyed and found it very helpful.”

Wendy Baylis-Waring, Area Manager at The Disabilities Trust

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32 The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21
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“Enjoying the benefits of music therapy.”

Since receiving regular music therapy sessions, John, a resident at Ty Aberdafen, our brain injury rehabilitation service in Wales, has been able to tell others how he’s feeling.

With Nordoff Robbins music therapist, Lucie Phillips, he made up some short songs which help him say short phrases such as ‘Excuse me I’m hungry’ and ‘I need to go shopping for.…’. John has learnt that it’s easier to communicate using a rhythm or tune.

Weekly music sessions with Nordoff Robbins music therapists like Lucie, have helped the people we support at York House, Osman House and Daniel Yorath House too. They have helped the residents with their confidence, self-esteem, control, hand-to-eye coordination and speech.

During the pandemic, therapists were able to move sessions online to make sure residents still got to enjoy making music. This was only possible through £34,000 of fundraising income.

33 TheD15abilrtie5TIu5t | knr•JilReport&AccrHffjts201& Amplifying the voices of disabled VOLKSWIAGEN

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Remembering we are a charity

Goal one: Amplifying the voices of disabled people

The Disabilities Trust Foundation makes a difference to the lives of people who can’t access our core services, including those who are homeless and in the criminal justice system.

We helped change the law

so that all prisoners are now screened for a brain injury

“People working in prisons often think those with brain injuries come across as aggressive or rude. They stand too close or do not pay attention to instructions. Prisoners find lessons in controlling their emotions and anger particularly helpful. Overworked prison staff are grateful for the smoother interactions.”

Philippa Birch, Linkworker for the Disabilities Trust, who trains prison staff about the needs of people with brain injuries and the behaviours they may display

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

“The Disabilities Trust’s work to increase awareness of the causes and symptoms of acquired brain injury, supported by specialist training, a roll-out of screening tools, and clearly identified care pathways, can help ensure frontline services provide a truly whole-person response. We look forward to continuing working with The Disabilities Trust, alongside survivors and colleagues in the domestic abuse sector to better understand the emerging link between brain injury and domestic abuse.”

Jess Asato, Head of Public Affairs at SafeLives

Produced

Brain Injury and domestic abuse - An invisible impact our research report

Shaping policy

People who use our services helped shape the UK government’s National Strategy for Disabled People by responding to a survey and sharing their views about life before and during the pandemic. The survey showed that:

Over half Almost More than Almost Over three six in 10 nine in 10 nine in 10 in five 51 % 59 % 91 % 89 % 63 % said they people scored people said either agreed or said the paid either never their life the place they strongly agreed support they or hardly satisfaction live in either that they have receive helps ever felt between eight mostly or enough people them either feel lonely and 10 out of 10 completely meets close to them to more in control their needs get the support or much more they need in control

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Remembering we are a charity

Goal two: Shaping policy

Using our 40-years’ experience, we are shaping policy to improve the lives of disabled people.

Responded to 6

50,300 people see our tweets each month

“It was so lovely to talk with Caroline. When you think how busy people are yet she took time to call us and see how we are coping with the pandemic at Shinewater Court.”

Shinewater Court resident Jayne talking about a virtual visit from MP Caroline Ansell

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Remembering we are a charity

Goal three: Creating impact with voluntary income

We aim to use the income we generate through fundraising to enhance the lives of the people we support.

“The new gym is an outstanding facility which will enhance the rehabilitation experiences of the people we support. This space supports the exploration of different types of exercise in a fun way, improving someone’s mental and physical health.” Lauren Colley, physiotherapist, commenting on the new gym at Graham Anderson House, paid for by over £8,500 of fundraising income

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38 The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21
“I’m Running
for others.”
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In 2020, Robert Collins raised more than £3,500 for The Disabilities Trust by walking the length of the London Marathon in 10 hours and 22 minutes. This was for the 2.6 challenge which was set up after the London Marathon was cancelled. Robert has a personal connection to the charity as, in 2018, he was knocked off his bike by a car and sustained a brain injury.

“My everyday life was profoundly affected by my brain injury. I will always have issues with things like my memory and concentration because the injury is permanent.

But Graham Anderson House set me firmly on the right track to maximise my recovery. Their personalised and intensive rehabilitation programme improved my cognitive ability and gave me strategies to manage my condition. They also helped me and my family to understand the injury and its effects.

Thanks to their exceptional care and support, I’ve been able to rebuild my new life. I want to say sincere thanks to the amazing team at Graham Anderson House.”

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The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Volunteers

Volunteers play an important role in supporting disabled people offering invaluable support. For example, they arrange trips for residents to get out and keep motivated or help maintain properties, including painting, gardening and clearing, so that we can continue to provide a high-quality service for the people we support. We couldn’t deliver such person-centred services without the work of our volunteers.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Supporters

We would like to thank our amazing supporters who fund and help to raise money for our vital work improving the lives of disabled people. Thanks so much to everyone listed below and all our individual supporters who raised an incredible total.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

The way forward

We have achieved so much over the course of this strategy; there is a lot to celebrate

We have put in place firm foundations, which will enable us to keep building for the future, creating leading-edge approaches for the people we support and growing our charitable approach and ethos. It is time now to look to the future.

We will be beginning a new strategic approach, maximising the charity’s impact and ensuring our long-term sustainability; this is an approach which will carry us boldy forward for the next five years and will represent a more focussed and bold direction.

Early in 2022, we will launch our new five-year strategy and reposition ourselves in the marketplace with a new brand.

We will continue to use our expertise to work with the people we support to live as independently as possible and we will grow our high-quality services across the UK to support people to live their best lives.

We will also continue to build our campaigning and research activity and pilot new ideas to amplify the voices of people who cannot access our core services and the voices of those we support.

“It’s good there are places like York House.”

Sam, 53, from Manchester, had a road traffic accident which left him with a brain injury. When he first came to York House in 2018, Sam was verbally and physically aggressive, agitated and experiencing hallucinations. In 2021, Sam was discharged to a care home close to where he lives.

“After the accident, I was scared and depressed. My brain injury made me quiet. I used to talk more. I had a job repairing fences, but I couldn’t use the machinery anymore.

The staff at York House really helped me. I practised cooking and cleaning, took part in arts and crafts and joined a gardening group. It’s relaxing and I’m not scared of anything. I’m now able to walk better and cope with my injury. It’s good there are places like York House.”

York House Hospital will be moving to an alternative site, the Chocolate Works, to develop a new, purpose-built service.

42

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Trustees’ Annual Report

Trustees present their report and the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ending 31 May 2021. The trustees’ annual report constitutes the annual accounts and the directors’ report for Companies Act purposes.

These financial statements comply with the:

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Summary

The Disabilities Trust has moved from a net deficit of £0.1 million in 2020 to a £6.5 million net surplus in 2021, an increase of £6.6 million. This is primarily the result of substantial gains on investments. Costs have remained broadly consistent.

In the 2020/21 financial year the total additional costs incurred by the Trust due to Covid-19 were £3.8 million (2019/20 £0.7 million) which consisted in the most part of additional personal protective equipment and staffing costs. We have mitigated these costs as much as possible by: using the Government furlough scheme of which £0.3 million was received during the year; working with funders to recover additional costs; and using the Government funding awarded to local authorities for additional costs incurred within adult social care due to Covid-19. Despite this, there remained an overall additional net cost of £2.0 million in the financial year (2019/20 £0.4 million). We continue to seek ways to mitigate the continuing additional costs we face due to the pandemic.

Here is a summary of our operating and non-operating activities:

2021 2020
Operating activity £m £m
Operating income (excluding investment income) 51.5 50.1
Operating expenditure (51.0) (51.3)
Operating (defcits) / surplus 0.5 (1.2)
Non-operating activity £m £m
Investment income 0.7 1.0
Investment gains / losses 5.3 0.1
Non-operating surplus 6.0 1.1
Overall net (defcits) / surplus 6.5 (0.1)

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Investments

Our investments have been acquired in accordance with the powers available to the Trustees or by way of legacy. They are subject to an investment policy which is reviewed on an annual basis. The current policy delegates management of investments to firms of investment managers within defined parameters. Trustees also employ an independent investment consultant to assist with financial advice, select investment managers, as well as providing support to define the objectives they are set and monitor their performance.

The present investment managers for the Trust are Rathbones Investment Management Limited, Cazenove Capital and CCLA Fund Managers Limited. Each manager has specific investment objectives and a mandate in line with our investment strategy. The overarching aim is to maximise returns whilst making sure the charity’s liquidity requirements are met. The Trustees also set what asset classes are permissible, the extent to which they are invested and the credit ratings in their selection.

We do not prescribe the nature of companies in which we invest through the stock market. The primary objective is to achieve optimal financial returns in order to deliver on our charitable objectives. In appointing investment managers, we have delegated ethically responsible investment so that we can best meet the needs of the people we support.

The value of the charity’s investment portfolios at the end of May 2021 was £37.8 million (2020: £32.8 million). Dividend and investment income from our investment portfolios was £0.8 million, consistent with 2020. Gains on our investments were £5.3 million in the year (2020: gains of £0.1 million). This performance met the Board’s objectives in relation to delivering returns.

Investments held by nominees

Our investments include £15.6 million managed by Rathbone Investment Management Limited, £7.5 million managed by Cazenove Capital and £14.7 million by CCLA Fund Managers Limited. These are held on the charity’s behalf.

For investments managed by Rathbone Investment Management Limited, UK investments are registered in the name of Rathbone Nominees Limited and overseas investments are deposited with The Bank of New York Mellon as nominee.

Investments managed by Cazenove Capital are registered in the name of the custodian or designated nominee. Cash holdings are held in the client’s own name or a designated client account. Schroder & Co. Limited is the custodian of the investment position shown at year end.

Our investments managed by CCLA Fund Managers Limited are held on our behalf in a COIF Charities Ethical Investment Fund and are valued at a mid-market price.

No other people acted as nominee for the charity this year.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Reserves

As a charity, our aim is to maximise our impact and the rehabilitation, care and support that we are able to provide to people with brain injuries, autism, learning or physical disabilities. In order to do this, current reserves must be sufficient to meet the start-up costs of new services or expansion of existing services, agreed by Trustees. Reserves must be sufficient to ensure our existing services are financially viable to mitigate the crystallisation of any financial and reputational risks. Overall, Trustees consider a minimum reserve of £10 million is required to cover this which is articulated in the Trust’s Reserves policy.

The current level of unrestricted available reserves amounting to £18.3 million is sufficient to meet this policy. We will continue to open new services when appropriate opportunities arise and hold the funds to action this. The Trust is investing in an alternative site, the Chocolate Works, to develop a new, purpose-built site for York House Hospital and this project has a total commitment of £23 million with project completion expected in November 2023. The commitments are fully reflected within designated funds.

Trustees continue to review the level of reserves, with the consideration of the difficulties in maintaining funding levels. They incorporate this into the strategy, which is regularly monitored and modified, as appropriate. The reserves policy is derived from the five-year strategic review and reflects the charity’s future plans and financial commitments.

Trustees have considered our policy on reserves and designated funds for investing in fixed assets. The total designated fixed asset reserve is currently £71.5 million (2020: £49.9 million).

After taking restricted funds of £0.3 million into account and a surplus on the revaluation reserve of £10.2 million, our total funds amounted to £100.3 million on 31 May 2021.

Trustees consider the assets of each fund (including the revaluation reserve) are sufficient to meet current and future commitments.

Funds held on behalf of others

At year end, The Disabilities Trust Group, as custodian Trustee, held a total sum of £296,000 in its bank accounts, compared to £408,000 at the end of the previous year. This sum was held separately in identifiable bank accounts and was not included in the balance sheet.

Payments to suppliers

Settlement terms are agreed with suppliers as part of our contracts with them. It is the charity’s policy to pay in accordance with those terms. Other creditors are paid in accordance with invoice terms.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Going concern

We have prepared forecasts to the end of 2022 which consider our cash position, sources of income and planned expenditure. These forecasts incorporate key challenges surrounding the ongoing pandemic, including the reconfiguration of service delivery to ensure beneficiaries and staff remain safe. The forecasts include additional costs and savings arising from our response and have considered sensitivities surrounding our income pipeline.

The charity has a strong portfolio of investments and financial performance, which continues to be monitored regularly. The Trustees have scrutinised the key assumptions within forecasts and are satisfied that the current level of free reserves, available investment and cash balances are adequate to meet the Group’s obligations as they fall due. Having regard to the above, the Trustees are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties around the decision to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these financial statements.

Fundraising

We support people and companies to give to The Disabilities Trust by promoting individual and regular giving, event fundraising, legacies and corporate support. We also write trust and grant applications and manage a community of volunteers.

Our local services also carry out fundraising activities to raise money for our assessment and rehabilitation centres, residential and care homes, and supported living accommodation.

We send application forms, fundraising packs and merchandise, and keep in regular contact with fundraisers. We always write to supporters to thank them for their fundraising. All communication with supporters complies with GDPR. This ensures that The Disabilities Trust does not unreasonably intrude on a person’s privacy or is unreasonably persistent.

We are committed to The Code of Fundraising Practice which sets the standards for fundraising carried out by all charitable institutions and third-party fundraisers in the UK.

The Disabilities Trust is also an organisational member of the Institute of Fundraising, Fundraising Preference Service and Fundraising Regulator, as well as the Data & Marketing Association. The Trust has safeguarding policies and procedures in place to protect vulnerable people and other members of the public.

We have not received any complaints from the Fundraising Preference Service and do not undertake any third-party fundraising. Our fundraising promise sets out our commitment to being honest, keeping contact details safe, and support donors. This helps make sure supporters are not put under pressure to donate and know how to make a complaint.

48 TheDI5ab1￿E5TrUSt l knr•JilRepOrt&AccoL￿ts2oIts2I Directors, Report

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Constitution

As a registered charity, The Disabilities Trust is regulated by the Charity Commission (England and Wales) and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) in Scotland. The charity is incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee and governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association, which were last modified on 13 July 2020.

The Disabilities Trust owns a subsidiary, the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust Limited which is dormant.

At 31 May 2021, The Disabilities Trust also held a 50% interest in a joint venture, York House Ventures Limited. On the 22 September 2021, York House Ventures Limited moved from being a joint venture to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trust. Further details are shown in Note 15 on page 90.

Public Benefit

The principal beneficiaries of the work of The Disabilities Trust are disabled adults and children who are supported either within specialist units, supported living services or Heathermount School. Secondary beneficiaries of the work of The Disabilities Trust are families and the general public via our campaigning work.

The Trust’s Foundation allows us to invest resources into improving the lives of disabled people who may not have access to statutory-funded services. External grants support initiatives that would be difficult to attract mainstream or traditional sources of funding.

The Board of Trustees review the charity’s aims and objectives each year to make sure our purpose and activities are aligned. The charity’s achievements and activities are discussed in full in the strategic report.

The Trustees have referred to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the aims and objectives and planning future activities. In particular, the Board considered how planned activities contribute to the Trust’s aims and objectives, exploring:

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Expenses claimed from the charity are set out in Note 10 on page 85 of the financial statements.

50 The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Section 172 (1) statement

The Trustees as Directors of The Disabilities Trust, are aware of their duty under s.172 of the Companies Act 2006 to act in the way which they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole and, in doing so, to have regard (amongst other matters) to:

As a charitable company, the Directors of The Disabilities Trust promote the success of the charity to achieve its charitable purposes:

The charitable objects of The Disabilities Trust are to relieve the needs of people with developmental, learning, physical or acquired disabilities or conditions, in particular but not exclusively by the provision of care, special housing units, facilities and supported living services.

The Directors of The Disabilities Trust consider that they have fulfilled their duties in accordance with section 172(1) of the UK Companies Act 2006 and have acted in a way which is most likely to promote the success of the Group for the benefit of its members as a whole in the following ways:

Communities

The Disabilities Trust works in partnership with communities, promoting inclusion through its campaigning work, local charity initiatives and the work of The Foundation. Recent projects include campaigning and providing free tools to extend the reach of our brain injury training, working in partnership with the NHS, Commissioners, Police and other charities and voluntary membership organisations.

Refer to Goal three: Creating impact with voluntary income on page 37 for more details.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Engagement with Stakeholders

The Trustees remain committed to effectively engaging with all stakeholders and are mindful that the Trust’s success depends on its ability to engage effectively, work together constructively and to consider stakeholder views in decision-making.

The Trustees acknowledge a number of key internal stakeholders (our employees and the people we support within our services) as well as external stakeholders (families, commissioners, Fellows and Patrons, donors, general public, strategic and commercial partners, government agencies, public health bodies, customers and suppliers) of The Disabilities Trust.

During this year, regional Service User Forums were suspended due to Covid-19, though the people we support in our services were encouraged to share their feedback via video media at intervals, which were communicated to staff, managers and trustees. This year, Relatives Webinars were introduced to provide an opportunity for relatives to engage with the Senior Leadership Team on any matters and on our response to Covid-19; we also supported those who use our services with opportunities to contribute to organisational and national surveys. A system to capture complaints, compliments and comments was introduced this year to ensure that the SLT and Board can capture and monitor stakeholder views centrally.

The Trustees consider and discuss information from across the organisation to understand the impact of the Trust’s operations and the interests and views of key stakeholders. The Trustees also review financial, clinical and operational performance, as well as information covering areas such as key risks, quality assurance and regulatory compliance. This information is provided to the Board of Trustees through regular performance reports within meeting packs circulated in advance of each Board of Trustees meeting and via in person presentations.

The Board therefore possess an overview of the organisation’s engagement with stakeholders enabling them to comply collectively with their duties under section 172 of the Companies Act 2006.

Engagement with employees

The long-term success and performance of The Disabilities Trust is directly linked to the talent, motivation and skills of our employees, and we recognise the importance of developing our employees and building our capability as an organisation. We regularly review the support we provide to employees and seek to make improvements, where appropriate. Our dedicated staff work hard to support people with complex needs, and we recognise their contribution.

We keep staff apprised on what is happening across the organisation and seek their views where employees are directly impacted. Managers update staff in regular team meetings, briefing discussions and training sessions.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

We use a variety of channels to communicate with colleagues. Our monthly staff magazine, dtFocus, provides an insight into the lives of the people we support, our weekly Managers’ Bulletin keeps Managers up-to-date with important developments and the weekly Wellbeing newsletter provide features and tools to support staff wellbeing.

The Disabilities Trust operates across England, Scotland and Wales so it is important that staff feel connected. We use a range of technology to do this: the Chief Executive hosts a live webinar quarterly which is recorded and shared with all staff to share latest news, regular communications are issued to all staff on key initiatives, Covid-19 and significant matters, a new intranet Connect has been launched this year and staff also have access to Yammer, an internal social network, to connect.

The Trustees receive regular qualitative and quantitative updates on employee matters from the Director of People and Organisational Development including analysis received through the employee engagement surveys, regular EDI updates and quarterly performance reports on a number of people metrics to understand any workforce trends. This provides the Board with assurance that there are effective mechanisms to link engagement and performance and the continued strength of the Trust’s culture.

More recently the Trustees have additionally been focused on mitigating employee risks arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, including how best to support employees physical and mental health during the challenging period.

For further details on how The Disabilities Trust is supporting staff see the “Our achievements” section on pages 19 to 38.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Governance and decision making

The Disabilities Trust has an objective to relieve the needs of people with developmental, learning, physical or acquired disabilities or conditions, in particular but not exclusively by the provision of care, special housing units, facilities and supported living services.

The Disabilities Trust continues to adopt and apply the principles of the Code of Governance for larger charities, recently updated in December 2020 supporting the Board’s aim to develop high standards of governance. The charity is governed by a Board of Trustees which meets at least four times a year and is supported by several Board Committees in order to provide assurance and dedicated oversight to the matters for which is it responsible. As well as Board meetings, all trustees are expected to contribute to those committees where their individual skills can be of most benefit, in discussion with the Chair. The Trustees have delegated the day-to-day management of the charity to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who is supported by the Senior Leadership Team in delivering the agreed strategic objectives.

In 2020, the Board commissioned a thorough independent governance review by consultants Campbell Tickell to evaluate compliance with the Code of Governance for larger charities and identify any areas for improvement. The report concluded that:

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

The Trustees have several committees with specific areas of focus and who each review their scope and Terms of Reference annually:

----- Start of picture text -----
Meetings
Committee Focus Members
per year
Audit & Risk • Internal Audit • Richard Wilson (Chair) 4
Committee • External Audit • Michael Green
• Annual Report & Accounts • Roger Hoyle
• Financial compliance • Themis Sara Livadeas
• Internal controls
• Risk management
• Business Continuity
Finance & • Financial performance • Roger Hoyle (Chair) 4
Investment • Capital Investment • Michael Green
Committee • Investment Fund management • Caroline Drugan
• Reserves & cashflow • Richard Wilson
• Property & Estates • Matthew James
• Fundraising • Heather Eve Castel
Quality & • Quality Assurance • Themis Sara Livadeas 4
Governance • Clinical effectiveness (Chair)
Committee • User outcomes • Christopher Philipsborn
• User experience and engagement • Matthew James
• Safeguarding • Stephen Waring
• Regulatory reporting and compliance • Marianne Waite
• Health & Safety • Caroline Reid
• Information governance
• Whistleblowing
Remunerations • CEO & SLT remuneration • Stephen Howell (Chair) 2
& Nominations • Staff pay awards • Michael Green
Committee • Stakeholder awards • Stephen Waring
• Employee benefits structures
• Board composition
• Trustee recruitment
• Succession planning
Research • Clinical and applied research • Caroline Drugan (Chair) 4
Development • Research development • Stephen Waring
Policy & • Research governance framework • Matthew James
Influencing • Partnership and funding • Christopher Philipsborn
Committee opportunities • Marianne Waite
• National and local influencing and • Caroline Reid
campaigning opportunities
York House • Business of the Joint Venture, York • Roger Hoyle (Trustee) 3
Board House service • William Chidgey
• Anne Bygrave (R)
• Irene Sobowale
Heathermount • To review the performance of the • Anne-Catherine Buxton
School Board of School; and (Chair)
Governors • Promote high standards of • Caroline Drugan
educational attainment (Trustee) (R)
• Anne Bygrave (R)
• Lisa Lovatt
See further members:
www.heathermount.
co.uk/governors
----- End of picture text -----

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

How principal risks are managed

The Board of Trustees (“the Board”) acknowledges its responsibility to ensure that the charity’s risk management framework is effective. The Board regularly reviews the charity’s process for identifying, prioritising, escalating and managing risks and, where applicable, the charity’s system of internal controls to manage these risks. The Board reviews the effectiveness of the charity’s approach to risk at least every year.

The charity regularly monitors and reviews its risks at both a strategic and operational level via a risk management system with a mature risk matrix to determine those risks meeting the threshold for Board reporting. The significant risks to the Trust are regularly reviewed by the senior leadership team and the Audit and Risk Committee on behalf of the Board. The Board has ultimate responsibility for the Trust’s principal risks and the long-term consequence of decisions as well as the interests of all stakeholders.

The principal risks for The Disabilities Trust are set out below:

Risk Type: Operational

Risk Description: A lack of transparency may develop into an adverse culture, which could result in abuse or breaches of human rights of the people we support.

Mitigations:

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Risk Type: Reputational / Financial

Risk Description: There is a risk to The Disabilities Trust that the organisational strategy to ensure long-term sustainability could result in reputational or financial damage

Mitigations:

Financial:

Reputational:

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Trustee recruitment and term of office

Trustees are a critical resource and give their time freely in support of The Disabilities Trust. They are elected to the Board by Trustees for a term of three years. Each trustee may serve a maximum of three terms. Recruitment of new Trustees is overseen by the Remuneration and Nominations Committee who undertake an open recruitment process, recommending new candidates for appointment when necessary and ensuring appropriate recruitment and succession plans are in place for elected Trustees.

On appointment, each Trustee agrees to comply with a Code of Conduct and the Fit and Proper Person policy and declares any interests which are held within a register of interests and which is monitored and updated on a regular basis and reviewed annually.

Once appointed, Trustees undertake a comprehensive onboarding and induction programme led by the Chair and CEO and take part in a colleague buddying system. New Trustees are provided with key information about the Trust and its strategic objectives, corporate policies and copies of the Code of Governance for larger charities and the independent guidance from the Charity Commission on trustee duties. Any training needs are identified through the annual effectiveness reviews so that trustees are able to successfully discharge their duties. Covid-19 has prevented visits to the Trust’s specialist services, though meeting staff and those we support is a compulsory part of the usual induction.

This year was a timely opportunity to further the Board’s commitment to diversity, reviewing current trustee skills and board composition, and undertaking a trustee recruitment campaign seeking to increase Board diversity. Green Park supported the successful trustee recruitment and Chair recruitment processes, positively resulting in the recruitment of four new, diverse and skilled trustees joining the Board in 2021.

November 2021 sees the last of the agreed Board member transitions with the resignations of three members and full compliance with the recommended nine-year term expected in November 2021.

In very exceptional circumstances, the Board may use their discretion by asking a Trustee in a key role, for example, a Committee Chair or the Board Chair, to serve an extra term of three years. If Trustees use this discretion, the matter will be documented in the Board minutes. From 2023, the exception will be removed.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Remuneration policy

The Remuneration & Nominations Committee meet at least twice a year and are responsible for overseeing the charity’s pay and reward structures, approving annual pay uplifts for the workforce and to review the remuneration package for the CEO. The Chief Executive is responsible for setting the remuneration packages for other SLT members, subject to a maximum increase of 10% of the starting salary in any financial year. SLT salaries are reviewed every two years to ensure consistency with external benchmarks.

Equality statement

We are proud of our diverse workforce which reflects the breadth of people we support. The Disabilities Trust embeds the principles of the Equality Act in everything we do. Through staff training and strong leadership, we are encouraging inclusivity and diversity across the organisation.

Trustees

The following Trustees held office during the year:

Mr S Howell Appointed Chair 20 Nov 2017,
Resigned 29 Nov 2021
Ms H E Castel Elected 28 May2021
Dr C S Drugan
Mr M Green Resigned 29 Nov 2021
Ms K M Greenberg Elected 27 Sept 2021,
Appointed Chair 29 Nov 2021
Mr R A Hoyle Resigned 29 Nov 2021
Mr M James
Ms T S Livadeas
Mr C E Philipsborn
Ms C E Reid Elected 28 May2021
Ms M C Waite Elected 28 May2021
Mr S H Waring
Mr R W Wilson
Mrs C M Yorath Resigned 13July2020

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Senior Leadership Team

The Trustees have delegated the day-to-day management of the charity to the Chief Executive Officer who appoints the Senior Leadership Team:

Mrs I Sobowale Chief Executive Officer
Mrs A Bygrave Director of Operations(Resigned 4July2021)
Ms N Carey Director of People and Organisational Development
Mr W Chidgey Director of Corporate Services
Mr G Fisher Director of Digital(Appointed 11Jan 2021)
Ms L Lovatt Director of Operations – Learning/Autism Disabilities,
Physical Disabilities and Education(Appointed 5Jul 2021)
Mrs V Pilkington Director of Governance andQualityAssurance
Ms V Francis Director of Communications and Foundation
Mrs L Robertson Director of Business Development
Dr R Coetzer Clinical Director(Appointed 6 Sep2021)
Ms K Mitchell Director of Brain InjuryOperations(Appointed 26Jul 2021)

Streamlined energy and carbon reporting Energy consumption

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) is the new legislative reporting requirement in the financial review for the year ending on or after 31 March 2020. It mandates that all large organisations must report on the operational energy consumption and associated emissions. CO2e, or carbon dioxide equivalent, is a standard unit for measuring carbon footprints (where “kg” is kilograms and “t” is thousands of kilograms). The high-level breakdown is as follows:

2021

Gas Electricity Transport Total
kWh 7,038,655 1,888,152 616,379 9,543,187
Mileage 542,414 542,414
kgCO2e 1,295,091 778,013 162,486 2,235,590
tCO2e 1,295 778 162 2,235

2020

Gas Electricity Transport Total
kWh 8,376,798 3,153,936 908,298 12,439,032
Mileage 751,322 751,322
kgCO2e 1,541,306 1,299,579 239,008 3,079,893
tCO2e 1,541 1,300 239 3,080

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Energy and associated carbon emissions

The Disabilities Trust total CO2 emission from grid electricity is 778 tCO2e (2020: 1,300 tCO2e) and 1,295 tCO2e (2020: 1,541 tCO2e) for emissions from natural gas. This is used for operational buildings and care homes. There were higher emissions over the winter months which is due to increased heating demands.

The primary reason for the significant reduction is electricity usage is a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic as office based employees have been working remotely rather than from the office.

Intensity metric

An intensity metric gives The Disabilities Trust an indicator of carbon performance based on an operational figure. In this case, we have used the number of people we support to indicate this performance with 567 people (2020: 603) we support emitting an average of 3,942.8 kgCO2e each (2020: 5,107.6 kgCO2e). This will be measured annually and compared against previous years.

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2020
Number of people we support 567 603
kgCO2e 2,235,590 3,079,893
KgCO2e per person 3,942.8 5,107.6
----- End of picture text -----

DT initiatives

This section highlights energy and carbon improvement projects undertaken during the year and those that are currently underway:

Energy sources

We are measuring the scope one and two emissions. All energy data was collated by our main energy suppliers SSE and E.ON. Transport data and the number of people we support was collated internally. We obtained energy usage for a number of sites for a winter and summer month. These figures were extrapolated over the year for all of our services. The number of people we support at each unit was used as the basis for calculating the energy usage for units. Scope one: Transport and vehicles Scope two: Electricity and gas supply.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Calculations

The following figures were used to convert energy to CO2 figures.

----- Start of picture text -----
Litre kWh Co2e
Gas N/A 1 0.183997
Electricity N/A 1 0.41205
Petrol 1 9.1 2.31
Diesel 1 10 2.68
----- End of picture text -----

Legislative and administration information

Name of the charity:

The Disabilities Trust

Company registration number:

2334589

Country of incorporation :

United Kingdom

Charity registration number:

England and Wales: 800797 Scotland: SCO38972

Registered office:

First Floor, 32 Market Place, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9NP

Auditors:

Crowe UK LLP, 55 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7JW

Bankers:

Barclays Bank plc, Level 28, 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP

Solicitors:

DAC Beachcroft LLP, 100 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BN

Investment Managers:

Rathbone Investment Management Limited, 8 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7AZ Cazenove Capital, 1 London Wall Place, London Wall, Barbican, London, EC2Y 5AU CCLA Investment Management, Senator House, 85 Queen Victoria St, London, EC4V 4ET

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Trustees’ responsibilities statement

The Trustees (who are also Directors of The Disabilities Trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the Trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law), including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the Group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the Group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

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

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

Each of the Trustees confirm that:

The Trustees’ report (including the Strategic Report) has been approved by the Board of Trustees of The Disabilities Trust on 29 November 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Mr S Howell Chair of Trustee Board

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Auditor’s report

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and the Trustees of The Disabilities Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Disabilities Trust (‘the charitable company’) and its joint venture (‘the group’) for the year ended 31 May 2021 which comprise The Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, Group and Charity Balance Sheets, Consolidated statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

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

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

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 the charitable company’s or the group’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. 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 our audit

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Responsibilities of trustees

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

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

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.

Details of the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations are set out below. A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

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

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charitable company and group operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charitable company’s and the group’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company and the group for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context for the UK operations were, CQC Regulations for service providers and managers, taxation legislation, employment legislation and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within the timing and recognition of contract income, recording the impact of CQC regulatory reviews and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management and the Audit & Risk Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission, and reading regulatory reports and minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006, and to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Tim Redwood

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

8 December 2021

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The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Financial statements

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

– Incorporating Income and Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 May 2021

Income from
Note		 Total
unrestricted
fund
£’000		 Total
restricted
funds
£’000		 Total funds
2021
£’000		 Total funds
2020
£’000
Donations and legacies
3
Charitable activities:
Improving the lives of people with disabilities
4
Investment income
5
Share of (deficit)/surplus of joint ventures
15
Other income
6
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
7
Charitable activities:
Improving the lives of people with disabilities
8(i)
Other
Total expenditure
Net income/(expenditure) before gains on
investments
11
Gains/(losses) on investment assets
Net income/(expenditure) before transfers, gains and
losses
Transfers between funds
19&20
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
19&20		 -
48,473
712
(153)
1,752
50,784
106
49,315
-
49,421
1,363
5,232
6,595
434
7,029
92,982
100,011		 1,439
-
-
-
-
1,439
-
-
1,539
1,539
(100)
-
(100)
(434)
(534)
826
292		 1,439
48,473
712
(153)
1,752
52,223
106
49,315
1,539
50,960
1,263
5,232
6,495
-
6,495
93,808
100,303		 202
49,720
984
69
154
51,129
85
51,055
152
51,292
(163)
45
(118)
-
(118)
93,926
93,808

All gains and losses recognised in the current and preceding financial year are included in the consolidated statement of financial activities. The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Consolidated and charity balance sheets

As at 31 May 2021

Note Group
2021
2020
£’000
£’000		 Group
2021
2020
£’000
£’000		 Charity
2021
2020
£’000
£’000		 Charity
2021
2020
£’000
£’000
Fixed assets:
Intangible assets
13
Tangible assets
14
Investments
15
Net assets in joint ventures
15
Total fixed assets
Current assets:
Debtors
16
Cash at bank and in hand
Total current assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
17
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Provisions for liabilities
18
Net assets (excluding pension scheme liability)
Defined benefit pension scheme liability
25
Total net assets
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
19
Unrestricted funds
20
- revaluation reserve
- designated funds
- pension reserve
-general funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds		 1,523
46,948
37,807
(129)
86,149
6,741
14,352
21,093
(6,629)
14,464
100,613
(310)
100,303
-
100,303
292
10,224
71,471
-
18,316
100,011
100,303		 1,915
47,963
32,751
95
82,724
6,402
11,466
17,868
(6,503)
11,365
94,089
(281)
93,808
-
93,808
826
5,746
49,878
-
37,358
92,982
93,808		 1,523
47,203
37,807
-
86,533
6,669
14,352
21,021
(6,629)
14,392
100,925
(310)
100,615
-
100,615
292
10,224
72,159
-
17,939
100,323
100,615		 1,915
48,218
32,751
-
82,884
6,402
11,466
17,868
(6,503)
11,365
94,249
(281)
93,968
-
93,968
826
5,746
50,133
-
37,263
93,142
93,968

The charity generated a net surplus of £6.6m in 2021 before results of subsidiaries and JVs were consolidated into the Group financial statements (2020: net deficit £0.1m).

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on 29 November 2021 and were signed on its behalf by:

Mr S Howell – Chair

Company number: 2334589

The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Consolidated statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 May 2021

Note 2021
£’000		 2020
£’000
Cash fows from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities
22
Cash fows from investing activities
Dividends & interest from investments
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Purchase of intangible fixed assets
Net (purchase)/proceeds from sale of investments
Gift aid received from joint ventures
Net cash (expensed)/generated by investing activities
(Decrease)/Increase in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting year		 1,665
712
3,935
(2,299)
(448)
(853)
174
1,221
2,886
11,466
14,352		 1,645
984
3,517
(3,482)
(417)
(7,355)
276
(6,475)
(4,833)
16,299
11,466

The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2021

1. Principal accounting policies

Our principal accounting policies are set out below.

Basis of preparation

The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the Group’s financial statements.

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) (effective 1 January 2015) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The Disabilities Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.

The accounts are presented in £ Sterling.

Going concern

We have prepared forecasts to the end of 2022 which consider our cash position, sources of income and planned expenditure. These forecasts incorporate key challenges surrounding the ongoing pandemic including the reconfiguration of service delivery to ensure staff and beneficiaries remain safe. The forecasts include additional costs and savings arising from our response and have considered sensitivities surrounding our income pipeline. The charity has a strong portfolio of investments and financial performance, these continue to be monitored regularly. The Trustees have scrutinised the key assumptions within forecasts and are satisfied that the current level of free reserves, available investment and cash balances are adequate to meet the Group’s obligations as they fall due. Having regard to the above, the Trustees are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties around the decision to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these financial statements

Subsidiary undertakings and joint ventures

The consolidated statement of financial activities and Group balance sheet incorporate the financial statements of the charity and its subsidiary undertakings on a line by line basis.

The Group’s share of the results of the joint ventures is included in the consolidated statement of financial activities and the Group’s share of the net assets of the joint ventures is included in investments in the Group balance sheet.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

In the charity’s own financial statements, the investment in subsidiary undertakings is stated at the net book value of the assets of the subsidiary undertakings at the date of acquisition. The charity’s investment in the joint ventures is stated at cost. Investments in subsidiaries are reviewed for impairment annually.

Hamilton Lodge Trust Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Disabilities Trust which provided services to people with learning disabilities and autism, ceased trading on 31 August 2017 further to the Trustees’ decision as a result of its continued operating deficits. The Disabilities Trust has continued to wind down the charity in 2020 and the company was formally struck off the register on 22 September 2020.

On the 22 September 2021, York House Ventures Limited moved from being a joint venture to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trust.

Income

Voluntary income including donations, gifts, legacies and grants, is recognised where there is entitlement, probability of receipt and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability. Such income is only deferred when:

The following specific policies apply to certain categories of income:

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Expenditure

Expenditure has been charged to the statement of financial activities on an accrual basis. Costs are shown inclusive of any related value added tax. Expenditure categories noted below are analysed in the various notes to the financial statements:

•[Raising funds]

Costs of raising funds are the costs incurred in attracting voluntary income.

•[Charitable activities ]

These are the costs involved in activities where the aim is the objectives of the Group. They include direct costs, support costs and governance costs as detailed below.

•[Direct costs]

These include the cost of direct service delivery including all staff and other directly attributable costs.

•[Support costs]

Support costs include the costs of the central support office functions such as central management, financial administration, human resources, information systems and finance costs. They have generally been allocated to cost categories on the basis of staff costs and staff numbers, which, in turn, is judged to allocate costs on a reasonable basis consistent with the activity’s usage.

•[Governance costs]

Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.

Lease contracts

Operating lease rentals are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the life of the lease.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Intangible fixed assets and depreciation

Depreciation is calculated to write down the cost less estimated residual value of all intangible fixed assets over their expected useful lives. The rates generally applicable are:

Computer software - 25% per annum

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Depreciation is calculated to write down the cost less estimated residual value of all tangible fixed assets other than freehold land by equal annual instalments over their expected useful lives. The rates generally applicable are:

rates generally applicable are:
Freehold buildings 2%per annum
Short leasehold improvements overperiod of lease
Computers 25%per annum
Fixtures and fttings 15%per annum
Motor vehicles 33.3%per annum on high mileage vehicles
Motor vehicles 15%per annum onpeople carriers

No depreciation is provided on freehold land.

Impairment reviews are only carried out if there is an indication that the recoverable amount of a tangible fixed asset is below its net book value.

Properties under construction are stated at cost. Cost comprises directly attributable costs and borrowing costs. Such properties are not depreciated until they are reclassified after completion.

There is a de minimis capitalisation limit of £5,000.

Investments

Investments are stated in the balance sheet using the mid-price at market value. All realised and unrealised gains and losses are taken to the statement of financial activities and are reflected in “(losses)/gains on investment assets”. Realised gains and losses are calculated as the difference between market value at the beginning of the year and sale proceeds. Unrealised gains are derived from movement in market value during the year.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. In determining the cost of raw materials and consumables, the purchase price is used.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the transaction amount, net of trade discounts and are reduced by amounts which are not considered to be recoverable.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and 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.

Creditors

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the group and the charity have 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.

Employee benefits

Short term employee benefits and contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised as an expense in the period in which they are incurred.

Redundancy costs are recognised as an expense in the period in which the charity becomes irrevocably committed to incurring the costs and the main features of the plans have been announced to affected employees.

Pension costs

We have a defined contribution scheme for the benefit of employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

Foreign currency

Transactions in foreign currencies are translated at the exchange rate ruling at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated at the rates of exchange prevailing at the balance sheet date. Exchange differences are included in the consolidated statement of financial activities for the period in which they are incurred.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Fund accounting

We have various types of funds for which we are responsible, and which require separate disclosure. These are as follows:

•[Restricted income funds]

Donations or legacies are earmarked by the donor for specific purposes. From these funds, the donation and income deriving therefrom may be used in accordance with the specific purposes.

•[Unrestricted funds]

-[ Designated funds]

We may, at our discretion, set aside funds for specific purposes which would otherwise form part of the general funds of the organisation. Specifically, the charity sets aside funds for the following:

-[General funds]

Funds are expendable in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

2. Judgements in applying accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees have made the following judgements:

Leases

The classification of leases entered into by the Group either as a lessor or a lessee as operating leases or finance leases. These decisions depend on an assessment of whether the risks and rewards of ownership have been transferred from the lessor to the lessee on a lease by lease basis.

Impairment

The determination of whether there are any indicators of impairment applicable to the Group’s tangible assets. Factors taken into consideration in reaching such a decision include the economic viability and expected future financial performance of the asset and where it is a component of a larger cash-generating service, the viability and expected future performance of that service.

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets, other than investment properties, are depreciated over their useful lives taking into account residual values, where appropriate. The actual lives of the assets and residual values are assessed annually and may vary depending on a number of factors. In re-assessing asset lives, factors such as technological innovation, product life cycles and maintenance programmes are taken into account. Residual value assessments consider issues such as future market conditions, the remaining life of the asset and projected disposal values.

Dilapidation provisions

Dilapidation provisions have been provided in these financial statements reflecting the Group’s estimate of repair costs which will need to be undertaken when returning leased properties back to their original state. The provisions are based on the average provision required for each property leased.

Payroll accruals

Payroll accruals have been provided in these financial statements as the compensation owed to employees to the end of the period plus any payroll taxes related to those unpaid wages.

The May payroll is used and any salaries etc for the month of May are removed (because these are actuals) along with any backpay, stakeholder or one off payments are removed, leaving those elements that would be characteristic of the May pay These are divided by 31 and multiplied by 26 days which were the remaining days after the cut-off date. A provision is made for the NI and Pension.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

3. Donations and legacies

Group

Group
Total
funds
2021
£’000		 Total
funds
2020
£’000
Legacies
Grants
COVID-19 grant income
Other donations and gifts		 -
151
1,106
182
1,439		 174
21
-
7
202

4. Income from charitable activities

Improving the lives of people with disabilities

Group

Group
Total
funds
2021
£’000		 Total
funds
2020
£’000
Fee income:
Physical disabilities
Autism
Brain injury
Education
Community services
COVID-19 Fee income
Ancillary services to joint ventures:
Management charges to joint ventures		 4,892
8,633
21,985
4,560
7,212
641
550		 4,711
8,659
24,067
4,363
7,380
-
539
49,720
48,473

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

5. Investment income

Group

Group
Total
funds
2021
Total
funds
2020
£’000
£’000
Bank deposit interest receivable
Dividend income from listed investments		 90
79
622
905
712
984

6. Other income

Group

Total
funds
2021
Total
funds
2020
£’000
£’000
Surplus on sale of fixed assets
Other income		 1,379
33
373
121
1,752
154

7. Expenditure on raising funds

Group

Total
funds
2021
Total
funds
2020
£’000
£’000
Fundraising costs
Investment management costs		 44
23
62
63
106
86

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

8. Charitable activities

(i) Group

Improving the lives of people with disabilities

Total funds

Total funds
Activities
undertaken
directly
Support
costs
Total funds
2021
Activities
undertaken
directly
Support
costs
Total funds
2020
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Physical disabilities
Autism
Brain injury
Education
Community services
The DT Foundation
Total charitable activities		 5,794
1,190
6,984
5,648
1223
6,871
7,720
1,574
9,294
7,885
1,618
9,503
17,887
305
18,192
19,922
4,543
24,464
2,831
1,384
4,215
2,485
314
2,799
5,947
4,420
10,367
5,826
1,423
7,249
256
7
263
163
6
169
40,435
8,880
49,315
41,928
9,127
51,055

2021 Support costs allocation

Physical
disabilities
£’000		 Autism
£’000		 EducationCommunity
Services
£’000
£’000		 EducationCommunity
Services
£’000
£’000		 Brain
injury
£’000		 The DT
Foundation
Total
2021
Basis of
allocation
£’000
Central
support costs
Staff and
training
Other
Governance		 600
574
16
793
759
22		 154
147
4		 698
668
19		 2,227
2,132
61		 3
3
-		 4,475 Staff nos.
4,283 Staff nos.

122 Staff nos.

~~8,880~~
~~1,190~~ ~~1,574~~ ~~305~~ ~~1,385~~ ~~4,420~~ ~~6~~

The allocation of support costs has been made on the basis of the Trustees’ best estimate of time spent on supporting each activity during the year. The Group prepares individual budgets and management accounts for each accommodation unit and costs are directly attributed during the year; the amounts included above for “unit costs” are the support costs allocation of these directly attributable costs.

The central support costs are the costs borne by the charity for central office services including quality control, business development, communications, management accounting, payroll administration, budgeting, information technology, people services and learning & development.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

9. Staff number and costs

Staff costs during the year were as follows:

Group
2021
£’000		 Group
2020
£’000
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Cost of defined benefit pension schemes
Cost of defined contribution pension schemes
Other employee benefits
Payments made to independent third parties for the provision of staff
Total payroll and staff related costs		 30,194
2,495
-
1,556
345
34,590
4,400
38,990		 28,843
2,666
-
1,433
163
33,105
4,788
37,893

The costs of an additional 124 (2020: 120) care staff and 14 (2020: 13) administrative staff are recharged to the joint ventures for which their services are exclusively used.

Payments made to independent third parties for the provision of staff relate to costs incurred as a result of staff vacancies and cover being required pending recruitment. They also include costs arising as a result of cover being required during sickness or holiday.

Wages and salaries shown above include the following which have been fully provided in the accounts and fully funded by the Group

Group
Group
2021
2020
£’000
£’000
Redundancy costs & termination payments 331
152

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

The average number of persons engaged in the provision of welfare services to residents of the Group and the charity during the year, analysed by category, was as follows.

rou
202
Numbe		 p
roup
1
2020
r
Number
Provision of care
Administration		 1,38
18		 9
1,424
7
178
1,57 6
1,602

The number of employees paid over £60,000 (excluding pension contributions) during the year was as follows:

Group Group
2021 2020
Number Number
£60,001 to £70,000 8 9
£70,001 to £80,000 7 6
£80,001 to £90,000 2 1
£90,001 to £100,000 1 2
£100,001 to £110,000 1 1
£110,001 to £120,000 1 -
£120,001 to £130,000 1 3
£160,001 to £170,000 1 -
£180,001 to £190,000 - 1
£190,001 to £200,000 - -

The Trustees consider that, along with themselves, members of the Senior Leadership Team (as detailed in the Trustees’ Report) are the Group’s and the charity’s key management personnel. The total amount of employee benefits paid to members of the Senior Leadership Team in respect of their services to The Disabilities Trust (including remuneration, employer’s pension contributions, employers National Insurance and other benefits) was £1,124,618 (2020: £1,101,558) for the Group.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

10. Remuneration of Trustees

No Trustee received any form of remuneration during the year (2020: £nil). Travel expenses incurred in the course of attending the charity’s affairs and amounting to £193 (2020: £10,909) for the Group and the charity were reimbursed to 1 Trustee during the year (2020: 8).

Due to the impact of Covid-19 and Board meetings being delivered remotely, costs of Trustees’ meetings amounted to £253 in the year (2020: £7,859).

Recruitment and retainer fees expensed during the year totalled £45,300 (2020: £nil) as a result of a Board recruitment phase resulting in three new trustees and a new Chair.

The Trustees have used funds of the charity to purchase indemnity insurance at a cost of £2,095 (2020: £2,188).

11. Net income before gains on investments

11. Net income before gains on investments
Group
Group
2021
2020
£’000
£’000
The net income for the year is stated after charging/(crediting)
Auditor’s remuneration for statutory audit services
- parent
- subsidiaries
Auditor’s remuneration for taxation services
Auditor’s remuneration for other assurance services
Depreciation and other amounts written off tangible fixed assets
Depreciation and other amounts written off intangible fixed assets
Loss on disposal of tangible fixed assets
Hire of other assets - operating leases
Profit on sale of tangible fixed assets		 45
43
3
3
2
2
1
1
1,619
1,739
840
797
52
39
457
1,031
(1,379)
(33)

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

12. Tax

The company is registered as a charity and its income is applied solely for charitable purposes. As a result, it is entitled to rely upon the relevant taxation exemptions and reliefs as set out in the Corporation Taxes Act 2010. Any profit generated by York House Ventures Limited (YHV), the joint venture company, is paid to the joint venture parties under the Gift Aid Scheme, following the yearend and is subject to corporation tax until then. As a result, the income from joint ventures of the Group for the year includes the impact of tax charged on the results for YHV for the year.

13. Intangible fixed assets

13. Intangible fixed assets
Group and
Charity
Computer
software
£’000
Cost
At 1 June 2020
Additions
Disposals
At 31 May 2021
Amortisation
At 1 June 2020
Provided in the year
Disposals
At 31 May 2021
Net book value
At 31 May 2021
Net book value
t 31 M 2020		 4,509
448
-
4,957
2,594
840
-
3,434
1,523
1915

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

14. Tangible fixed assets

Group

----- Start of picture text -----
Land and Motor Fixtures Computers Assets Total
buildings vehicles and under
fittings construction
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost
At 1 June 2020 58,072 268 6,660 1,650 2,784 69,434
----- End of picture text -----

dditions
isposals
onstruction complete
t 31 May 2021
epreciation
t 1 June 2019
rovided in the year
isposals
t 31 May 2021
et book value at
1 May 2021
et book value at
1 May 2020		 545
(2,426)
3,962
60,153
14,372
1,106
(750)
14,728
45,425
43,700		 13
(54)
-
227
225
10
(54)
181
46
43		 276
(863)
-
6,073
5,695
351
(843)
5,203
871
965		 251
(22)
-
1,879
1,178
152
(22)
1,308
571
471		 1,214
-
(3,962)
36
-
-
-
-
36
2,784		 2,299
(3,365)
-
68,368
21,470
1,619
(1,669)
21,422
46,948
47,963

All tangible fixed assets are utilised for the Group’s charitable purposes.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Charity

All tangible fixed assets are utilised for the charity’s charitable purposes.

Land and
Buildings
£’000		 Motor
vehicles
£’000		 Fixtures
and
fttings
£’000		 Computers
£’000		 Assets
under
construction
£’000		 Total
£’000
Cost or valuation
At 1 June 2020
Additions
Disposals
Construction complete
At 31 May 2021
Depreciation
At 1 June 2020
Provided in the year
Impairment
Disposals
At 31 May 2021
Net book value at 31
May 2021
Net book value at 31
May 2020		 58,156
546
(2,426)
3,962
60,238		 268
13
(54)
-
227		 6,660
276
(863)
-
6,073		 1,650
251
(22)
-
1,879		 2,786
1,214
-
(3,962)
38		 68,520
2,300
(3,365)
-
68,455
14,204
1,106
-
(750)		 225
10
-
(54)		 5,694
351
-
(843)		 1,179
152
-
(22)		 -
-
-
-		 21,302
1,619
-
(1,669)
14,560 181 5,202 1,309 - 21,252
45,677 46 871 570 39 47,203
43,952 43 966 471 2,786 48,218

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

15. Fixed asset investments

Group

Listed
securities
£’000		 Cash on
deposit
£’000		 Total
£’000
Market value at 1 June 2020
Disposals
Additions
Movement in cash held as part of investment portfolio
Net gains/(losses)
Market value at 31 May 2021		 29,505
(4,834)
5,517
-
5,232		 3,246
-
-
(859)
-
2,387		 32,751
(4,834)
5,517
(859)
5,232
35,420 37,807

Charity 2021

Total Total
£’000 £’000
Market value of investments at 31 May (as above) 37,807 32,751
Investment in subsidiaries
Deemed cost at 1 June - 124
Write off of investment in Hamilton Lodge Trust Limited - (124)
Deemed cost at 31 May 2021 - -
At 31 May 2021 37,807 32,751

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

Investment portfolio

Group
2021
£’000		 Group
2020
£’000		 Charity
2021
£’000		 Charity
2020
£’000
Market value
Listed securities
Fixed Interest investments
Cash		 14,531
20,889
2,387
37,807		 11,113
18,392
3,246		 14,531
20,889
2,387
37,807		 11,113
18,392
3,246
32,751 32,751

Subsidiaries

The charity’s subsidiaries at 31 May 2021, all of which are directly controlled by the charity were as follows:

Principal activity Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust Limited (‘BIRT’’) Dormant Hamilton Lodge Trust Limited (‘HL’) Services to people with learning disability & autism (not operating)

On 30 November 2017, the charity merged with Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust (BIRT) (Company registration number: 2863860; Charity registration number: 800797-1 (England & Wales) and SCO43579 (Scotland), a 100% subsidiary, whose activities were the provision of services to people with acquired brain injury.

At 31 May 2021 the charity had a 100% interest in Hamilton Lodge Trust Limited through which the charity provided services to people with learning disabilities and autism. Hamilton Lodge Trust Limited ceased trading on 31 August 2017.

Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust:

Company registration number – 2863860 (England & Wales) Charity registration numbers – 800797-1 (England & Wales) and SCO43579 (Scotland)

Hamilton Lodge Trust Limited

Company registration number – 489657 (England & Wales) Charity registration numbers – 306080 (England & Wales)

The company was dissolved on 22 September 2020 and removed from the Charity Register.

Joint ventures

At 31 May 2021 the charity had a 50% interest in the share capital of York House Ventures Limited which provides a rehabilitation hospital for people with brain injuries together with ongoing care facilities.

On the 22 September 2021, York House Ventures Limited moved from being a joint venture to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trust.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

York House Ventures Limited

Profit and Loss for the year ended 31 May 2021

2021
Group’s
share
Total
(50%)		 2021
Group’s
share
Total
(50%)		 2020
Group’s
share
Total
(50%)		 2020
Group’s
share
Total
(50%)
Turnover
Cost of sales
Administrative expenses
Net interest receivable
Profit before tax
Tax on profit on ordinary activities
Share of profit		 £’000
5,923
(5,512)
(717)
-
(306)
-
(306)		 £’000
2,962
(2,756)
(359)
-		 £’000
6,269
(5,453)
(651)
5
170
(32)
138		 £’000
3,135
(2,726)
(326)
2
(153)
-
(153)		 85
(16)
69

York House Ventures Limited

Balance sheet as at 31 May 2021

2021
Group’s
Share
Total
(50%)
£’000
£’000		 2021
Group’s
Share
Total
(50%)
£’000
£’000		 2020
Group’s
Share
Total
(50%)
£’000
£’000		 2020
Group’s
Share
Total
(50%)
£’000
£’000
Fixed assets
Current assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Provisions for liabilities
Net (deifict)/assets		 57
926
(1,240)
-
(257)		 29
463
(620)
-		 82
1,199
(1,091)
(11)
190		 41
599
(545)
(5)
(128) 95

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

16. Debtors

16. Debtors
Group
2021
£’000		 Group
2020
£’000		 Charity
2021
£’000		 Charity
2020
£’000
Falling due within one year
Trade debtors
Amounts owed by joint ventures
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 4,461
866
62
1,352
6,741		 4,625
499
334
944		 4,461
866
62
1,280
6,669		 4,625
499
334
944
6,402 6,402

17. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Group
2021
£’000		 Group
2020
£’000		 Charity
2021
£’000		 Charity
2020
£’000
Trade creditors
Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings
Taxation and social security
Accruals and deferred income
Other creditors		 966
-
706
4,630
327
6,629		 562
-
703
4,461
777		 966
-
706
4,630
327
6,629		 562
-
703
4,461
777
6,503 6,503

Accruals and deferred income includes deferred income as follows:

Group
2021
£’000		 Group
2020
£’000		 Charity
2021
£’000		 Charity
2020
£’000
Fees received for care to be provided
after 31 May 2021
Deferred grants		 1,996
307
2,303		 1,734
218		 1,996
307
2,303		 1,734
218
1,952 1,952

The deferred income at 31 May 2021 has been credited to the 2022 Statement of Financial Activities. Deferred income at 31 May 2020 was credited to the 2021 Statement of Financial Activities.

Accruals and other creditors include pension contributions of £207,000 (2020: £206,000) for the Group and the charity.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

18. Provisions for liabilities

Group and Charity

Group and Charity
Total
£’000		 Dilapidations
provision
£’000
At 1 June 2020
Amounts provided for in the year
At 31 May 2021		 281
29		 281
29
310 310

19. Restricted income funds

Group 2021 Balance at
1 June
2020
£’000		 Movement
Income
£’000		 in resources
Expenditure
£’000		 Transfers
unrestricted
funds (note 21)

£’000		 Balance at
31 May
2021
£’000
Other grants
COVID-19 grants
ConnectAbility appeals
Sundry
Total group restricted funds		 218
-
118
489		 -
1,106
-
333		 -
(1,106)
-
(483)		 (218)

-

(118)

(98)		 -
-
-
292
826 1,439 (1,539) (434) 292
Group 2020 Balance at
1 June
2019
£’000		 Movement
Income
£’000		 in resources
Expenditure
£’000		 Transfers
unrestricted
funds (note 21)

£’000		 Balance at
31 May
2020
£’000
Sundry (HL)
Other grants
ConnectAbility appeals
Sundry
Total group restricted funds		 7
197
128
444		 -
22
-
180		 (7)
(1)
(10)
(135)		 -

-

-

-		 -
218
118
489
776 202 (152) - 826

Other grants are comprised of donations made covering projects for spend at services. ConnecAbility appeals relate to funds raised for a hub at Shinewater and other funds for equipment. The COVID-19 grants were provided to assist with infection control and rapid testing.

Sundry is comprised of grants provided to Heathermount school to improve the conditions and facilities for the pupils.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

20. Unrestricted funds

Group 2021

Group 2021
Balance at
1 June
2020
£’000		 Income
and gains
£’000		 Outgoing
resources
£’000		 Transfers
restricted
funds
(note 20)
£’000
Other
transfers
£’000
Balance at
31 May
2021
£’000
Revaluation reserve
Net surplus on Investments
5,746
4,479
-
-
-
10,224
Designated funds
Investment in intangible and
tangible fixed assets
49,878
-
-
-
(1,407)
48,471
Investment in Chocolate Works
-
-
-
-
23,000
23,000
Total designated funds
49,878
-
-
-
21,593
71,471
General funds
37,358
51,538
(49,421)
434
(21,593)
18,316
Total unrestricted funds
92,982
56,017
(49,421)
434
-
100,011
There is a commitment of £23 million for development of The Chocolate Works. The Trustees have
authorised that these funds are designated to fund the project.
Group 2020
Balance at
1 June
2019
£’000		 Income
resources
£’000		 Outgoing
resources
£’000		 Transfers
restricted
funds
(note 20)
£’000
Other
transfers
£’000
Balance at
31 May
2020
£’000
Revaluation reserve
Net surplus/(deficit) on
revaluation
Designated funds
Investment in tangible and
fixed assets
The DT Foundation
Total designated funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds		 5,701
52,388
-
52,388
35,061
93,150		 45
-
-
-
50,972
50,972		 -
-
(164)
(164)
(50,976)
(51,140)		 -
-
-
-
-
-		 -
(2,510)
164
(2,346)
2,346
-		 5,746
49,878
-
49,878
37,358
92,982

The purpose of the designated funds is explained in the accounting policies.

The transfers shown above are as follows: Group £’000 Transfers to fixed asset designated fund from unrestricted funds (1,407) Transfers to development of The Chocolate Works 23,000

Transfers to fixed asset designated fund from unrestricted funds Transfers to development of The Chocolate Works

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

21. Analysis of net assets between funds

Group 2021

Group 2021
Intangible
fxed
assets
£’000		 Tangible
fxed
assets
£’000		 Fixed
assets
investments
£’000		 Net current
assets
£’000		 Provisions
for
liabilities
£’000		 Transfers
£’000		 Total
£’000
Restricted
Unrestricted
Revaluation reserve
Designated funds
General funds		 -
-
1,523
-
1,523		 -
-
46,948
-
46,948		 -
10,225
-
27,453		 292
-
-
14,172		 -
-
-
(310)
(310)		 23,000
(23,000)
-		 292
10,225
71,471
18,315
100,303
37,678 14,464

Group 2020

Intangible
fxed
assets
£’000		 Tangible
fxed
assets
£’000		 Fixed
assets
investments
£’000		 Net current
assets
£’000		 Provisions
for
liabilities
£’000		 Total
£’000
Restricted
Unrestricted
Revaluation reserve
Designated funds
General funds		 -
-
1,915
-
1,915		 -
-
47,963
-
47,963		 -
5,746
-
27,100		 826
-
-
10,539		 -
-
-
(281)
(281)		 826
5,746
49,878
37,358
93,808
32,846 11,365

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

22. Reconciliation of net income/expenditure to net cash flow from operating activities


from operating activities
2021
£’000		 2020
£’000
Net (expenditure)/income for the reporting period
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Gains on investments
Loss/(profit) on sale of tangible fixed assets
Decrease in stocks
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase in creditors
(decrease)/increase in provisions
Dividends and interest received
Share of profit/(loss) in joint venture
Net cash provided by operating activities		 6,495
2,459
(5,232)
(1,314)
-
(340)
126
29
(712)
153
1,665		 (118)
2,536
(45)
6
11
194
201
(87)
(984)
(69)
1,645

23. Capital commitments

Capital commitments at the end of the financial year for which no provision has been made:

Group
2021
£’000		 Group
2020
£’000		 Charity
2021
£’000		 Charity
2020
£’000
Authorised but not contracted 23,000
23,000		 4,500
4,500		 23,000
23,000		 4,500
4,500

The capital commitments above are phased up to and including 2022/23 (2020: 2020/21) with £23,000,000 (2020: £4,500,000) falling due within one year for the Group and £23,000,000 (2020: £4,500,000) for the charity.

These commitments relate to the relocation of York House Hospital to an alternative site, the Chocolate Works, to develop a new, purpose-built service. Planning permission has been granted and project completion is expected in November 2023. They will be financed from existing reserves and future surpluses.

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

24. Commitments as lessee

The total of future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows:

Group and Charity 2021
Land and
Buildings
£’000		 2021
Other
£’000		 2020
Land and
Buildings
£’000		 2020
Other
£’000
Within one year
Between one and five years
In five years or more		 250
268
852
1,370		 68
91
-
159		 274
436
901
1,612		 125
159
-
284

25. Pension costs

Defined contribution schemes

The charity makes payments to individual employees’ personal pension plans. There is also a defined contribution pension scheme for the benefit of employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. There were no prepaid contributions at either the beginning or the end of the financial year. Group contributions amounted to £1,556,000 (2020: £1,433,000) during the year of which £207,000 (2020: £206,000) had not been paid at the year end.

26. Funds held as custodian Trustees

At the year end, the Group held monies totaling £265,000 (2020: £296,000) on behalf of its clients and the charity held monies totaling £255,000 (2020: £263,000). These monies are not included within the balance sheet and are held separately in clearly identifiable bank accounts.

27. Transactions with other related parties

Group and charity

York House Ventures Limited

During the year, the Group received the following payments from York House Ventures Limited (“YHV”), the joint venture company:

The Disabilities Trust
Staff costs
Management charge
Other charges		 2021
2020
£’000
£’000
3,480
3,477
550
539
87
-

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

28. Comparative SoFA

28. Comparative SoFA
Income from: Total
Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Total
Restricted
funds
£’000		 Total
funds
2020
£’000
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities:
Improving the lives of people with disabilities
Investment income
Share of surplus of joint ventures
Other income
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities:
Improving the lives of people with disabilities
Other
Total expenditure
Net income/(expenditure) before gains on investments
Gains on investment assets
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 -
49,720
984
69
154
50,927
85
51,055
-
51,140
(213)
45
(168)
93,150
92,982		 202
-
-
-
-
202
-
-
152
152
50
-
50
776
826		 202
49,720
984
69
154
51,129
85
51,055
152
51,292
(163)
45
(118)
93,926
93,808

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

29. Post balance sheet events

On 22 September 2021, The Disabilities Trust purchased the 50% shareholding in York House Ventures Limited from The Retreat York. This resulted in 100% ownership of the company by The Disabilities Trust. From this date, the company will be a wholly owned subsidiary undertaking included in the parents’ group accounts by way of the equity method of valuation. The intention is to transfer the activities and remaining assets over to The Trust during 2022.

The results for the year and balance sheet at 31 May 2021 for York House Ventures Limited are disclosed in Note 15 on page 90.

101

The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

“Resident fundraising.”

Residents at Kent House put their pedal power to the test by taking part in a cycling challenge to collectively cycle 250 miles and raise £300 for a new cafe.

“Lockdown has been difficult for those we support and their families, as the government restrictions have meant they can’t spend time together within the social areas in the service,” says Hazel Dias-Fernandes, a physiotherapist at Kent House, which provides rehabilitation for people with an acquired brain injury.

“This money will enable them to create a little coffee corner away from the main unit where everyone can meet with their family members during visits.”

Residents helped fundraise for other in-service cafes at York House and Ty Aberdafen.

102 The Disabilities Trust | Annual Report & Accounts 2020-21

“Everything changed when I had my brain injury. One minute everything was good, then I felt sad a lot. I was really struggling. At Daniel Yorath House, I did sessions with my clinical team, physio and attention process training. They helped me with talking and walking. Daniel Yorath House gives people a place to get better and work on themselves. I would recommend them. It is good rehab.”

Luwam, 31, who has Wilson’s disease, spent around two years at Daniel Yorath House before moving to Sovereign Mill supported living in October 2020

Get involved

If you want to know more about how we can help you, a family member or the people you work with, do get in touch.

Or if you’d like to donate, you can be sure every gift we receive goes towards supporting disabled people to be as independent as possible.

Visit: www.thedtgroup.org Tel: 01444 237254 Email: fundraising@thedtgroup.org

About The Disabilities Trust

We are a charity that works alongside people with an acquired brain injury, autism, and learning or physical disabilities to help them live as independently as possible. For over 40 years, our high-quality services across the UK have supported people to move forward with their lives. These include: brain injury assessment and rehabilitation centres, hospitals, care homes, supported living accommodation, care in people’s homes and a school.

Our services support around 750 people each year. We are the largest not-for-profit brain injury service provider in the UK.

We also campaign, conduct research and pilot new ideas to amplify the voices of people who can’t access our core services.

Our dedicated teams of specialists provide the individual support people need to live as full a life as possible. They work closely with those we care for, their families and friends, local and health authorities, housing associations and others.

Find out more at www.thedtgroup.org