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2023-05-31-accounts

2022-23

Helping people to thrive after a brain injury

Annual report

Contents

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About Brainkind

We are the UK’s leading charity helping people to thrive after a brain injury. Our services include independent hospitals, neurological and rehabilitation centres, residential care homes and supported living services. We provide innovative, personalised, compassionate rehabilitation and ongoing support to people with brain injuries and other neurological conditions.

With decades of experience providing high-quality neurorehabilitation, we understand how a brain injury can challenge every aspect of someone’s life. This is why we provide the full spectrum of rehabilitation and support, from rehabilitation immediately after someone has been discharged from hospital to long-term support to improve quality of life.

Our clinical experts work together to understand the effects of a brain injury on someone’s cognitive, emotional, physical and social skills.

We have multidisciplinary teams, including physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and nurses.

These professionals support people with brain injuries and other neurological conditions, to become more independent and reach their rehabilitation goals – whatever they might be.

Find out more about Brainkind at www.brainkind.org

We believe life after brain injury can be a life well lived.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

A message from our Chief Executive

You may have noticed a big change in our appearance recently. This year, The Disabilities Trust has renamed itself as Brainkind, the UK’s leading charity helping people to thrive after a brain injury and to live well with neurological conditions. The new brand fits with our strategy and vision for a world where life after brain injury is a life well lived.

As Brainkind, we will focus on the thing that we do best – supporting people with an acquired brain injury and other neurological conditions. This is where we know our clinical expertise and experience can have a real impact on people’s lives.

Unfortunately, our focus on brain injuries led to some tough decisions in 2022. We had to say farewell to some dear colleagues at Heathermount School and in our services for people with learning disabilities and autism. It was a difficult decision, and I want to express our gratitude to everyone involved in running these services. We continue to wish them all the best in the future.

In June 2023, Brainkind grew significantly as we began the acquisition of a number of neurological services from the charity Sue Ryder. We will bring 400 new staff on-board – and the 125 people supported by these services. It broadens our reach both in terms of geography and the variety of people we can help, allowing us to have a greater impact.

We currently work with people who either have an acquired brain injury or other neurological conditions, such as Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis. Sue Ryder’s neurological services work with people with similar conditions, making them a natural addition to our existing services. We are excited to welcome them to the Brainkind family in autumn 2023.

The Brainkind Neurological Centre York will officially open in late 2023 to provide high-quality rehabilitation for people with brain injuries. Making sure the centre meets the needs of those who use it has been key, so we’ve involved the people we support in the design, including selecting wall colours and artwork. We have also equipped the hospital with assistive technology to improve people’s day-to-day lives.

The state-of-the-art centre will allow people to recover and access rehabilitation tailored to meet their needs. All our committed and experienced staff from our existing service in York will be moving to the new centre, continuing to provide the same high-quality support and rehabilitation.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Helping people to thrive

We must never lose sight of why we do what we do. We’re here because a brain injury can happen to anyone, and when it does, we help people thrive, whatever their journey. They are our driving force and deserve the best of us.

I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of all our staff. Thank you for the work you do every day to support and improve the lives of people living with brain injuries and other neurological conditions.

Regardless of your role, you make a real difference.

This marks the beginning of a new era and an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to our values: agility, resourcefulness, courage, connection, and kindness. These values guide us in ensuring the best outcomes for the people we support.

Irene Sobowale Chief Executive

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Welcome message from our Chair of Trustees

Welcome to our warm, friendly and supportive community. Our aim is to provide personalised support and care to people so they can thrive after a brain injury and live with neurological conditions.

The past 12 months saw huge change for us as it was the first year of our new strategy. We were able to make great strides towards our six strategic objectives as you will see on pages 8 to 34.

A lot of work over the past year took place behind the scenes. It’s been fantastic to share some of these developments with the wider world, including the launch of the new Brainkind brand, the opening of the Neurological Centre in York, and the acquisition of Sue Ryder’s neurological services.

The external environment continues to be challenging as the social care sector is severely underfunded. As always, the people we support in our services, and the wider brain injury community, remain our priority. We are building new services, attracting investment and developing new approaches to supporting people with a brain injury and other neurological conditions.

This is helping us to reach more people. We will continue to call for better policies and practices for people with a brain injury, as well as more funding and improvements for the wider social care sector.

We are not complacent and must make sure Brainkind staff feel supported and that their needs are met. Our focus continues to be on recruiting compassionate people who share our values. This includes trialling creative initiatives to help us become an employer of choice.

I would like to thank our hardworking staff, volunteers, and Trustees for demonstrating such commitment to our vision. The future is brighter with your contribution.

Kathryn Greenberg Chair of Trustees

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Highlights of the year

From campaigning for better services for people with brain injuries, to preparing to open our new state-of-the-art neurological centre, we are proud of everything we have achieved in 2022-23. Here are some of our highlights of the year:

803 supported

We provided innovative rehabilitation and ongoing support to 803 people with brain injuries and other neurological conditions.

96% rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’

Four services were awarded ‘good’, or the equivalent, by regulators in England and Scotland during inspections this year. This means 96% of our total services are now rated ‘good’, ‘outstanding’ or the equivalent.

1,396 staff members

continued to provide excellent support to the people who use our services.

The refurbishment of Daniel Yorath House in Leeds was completed in April 2023 providing highquality rehabilitation and support for people with brain injuries.

We launched ‘Minds Me’, the app we created as part of the Ministry of Justice’s Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge to reduce re-offending.

It supports prison leavers’ transition from custody to probation.

Our Brain Injury Linkworker team won the Outstanding Local or Regional Organisation Award at the Criminal Justice Alliance Awards. The team does incredible work with offenders with brain injury in the justice system across England and Wales.

We launched and successfully implemented MyPlan – our digital tool to help Brainkind staff manage records, care plans and other information about the people we support. It reduces the need to keep paper records and gives staff more time to spend with people we support.

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Our strategy

We launched a new strategy in summer 2022. It is split into six key areas of work. In this section, we share our progress against the strategy to date.

----- Start of picture text -----
Aim Aim Aim
1 2 3
Build positive, Deliver leading- Drive social action
specialist and co- edge clinical around brain injury
produced services, practice around and make sure
reaching as many brain injury more people have
people as possible their needs met
Aim4 Aim5 Aim6
Build a high- Create an Find the right
performance energetic brand digital solutions
organisation that underpins
our vision
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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Build positive, specialist and co-produced services, reaching as many people as possible

Aim 1

We want to provide the right services in the right places to help people thrive after a brain injury. This means we are committed to developing our services to meet people’s needs, and to support them to live independently.

State-of-the-art neurological centre opening in late 2023

Our flagship Brainkind Neurological Centre York will open in late 2023. It will provide high-quality, personalised neurobehavioural rehabilitation for adults with complex needs following a brain injury, helping people to live as independently as possible.

The new centre replaces our current service in the city – York House – with staff and the people we support transferring across when it opens. It provides a benchmark for the organisation as we look to develop new services and grow existing ones over the coming years.

To make sure the new centre caters to the needs of the people we support,

we consulted with them and staff in the design process. They played a role in selecting fixtures, fittings, decoration, and the colour scheme.

Assistive technology is also being used to improve people’s day-to-day lives, including personalised smart screens to provide reminders for appointments and activities.

Our Service Manager at the Brainkind Neurological Centre York said: “We are extremely excited about the new purpose built, modern facility. It will enhance the collaborative; personalised work we do with the people that we support.”

Read more about how technology will play a key role in the hospital’s care on page 20.

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A modern makeover for Daniel Yorath House

“The building is much brighter and has a cleaner finish. The communal areas are being used more by the people we support and the security at the building has been improved.”

These are the words of one of our support workers who is talking about the impact of the multimillion-pound upgrades that have been made to Daniel Yorath House in Leeds.

This specialist neurobehavioural rehabilitation centre for people with brain injuries first opened in 1992. Over the past 12 months, we have been busy upgrading it throughout. This has included improving accessibility by widening doorways, adapting bathrooms and adding ceiling hoists in the bedrooms. Electrical and USB sockets for personal use have also been added. We’ve built a new and welcoming reception area, with two airlock entry points to keep the people we support, and our staff protected. We have also upgraded communal and staff areas, and added a climbing wall to the physio gym to support people with their rehabilitation.

We are committed to creating modern and accessible spaces where people with brain injuries can get the support and rehabilitation they need.

Expanding our brain injury services

As the UK’s leading charity specialising in brain injury, it is important that we can meet demand for our services. We want to support people with brain injuries to thrive.

This is why we’ve invested significantly in renovating our current sites and acquiring new ones. We will provide high-quality rehabilitation and support services, along with contemporary living facilities for people who may not be ready or able to go back to their own homes.

As part of our new strategy, our aim was to expand our reach, and support more people, to enable us to positively impact more people. We will achieve this with the new services opening and existing ones being developed, providing the opportunity to support an extra 125 people.

New developments include:

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Meeting local needs

We aim to support people with brain injuries at every stage of their rehabilitation journey. So, we are developing a mixed portfolio of hospitals, rehabilitation centres and supported living services across the UK to give people greater choice about where and how their rehabilitation is provided.

This flexibility allows us to work with different communities to make sure our services meet the needs of the local area. We are co-producing services with people with brain injuries, their families, commissioners and healthcare professionals – involving them in the design of services from the very start to ensure they meet people’s individual needs. This will help to make sure our services provide the best possible outcomes for people living with a brain injury.

We are providing consistent and integrated care across the UK, and identifying new places where we know we can have a positive impact on people living with brain injuries.

Person-centred care

An example of a new service that will make a difference to the lives of people with brain injuries is a new site being developed in Hertfordshire. We are transforming a former older people’s nursing home into a modern, neurobehavioural rehabilitation residence for adults with complex needs after brain injury.

The site in Ware is being completely refurbished to create a person-centred service where people can feel safe and progress in their rehabilitation. As part of the development, we plan to carry out research into psychologically-informed environments for people with a brain injury. These environments take people’s psychological and emotional needs into account, as well as their physical needs.

We are delighted to be developing a space that will influence the wellbeing and progress of people with brain injuries. It will also support the UK government’s agenda for increased independent living, reducing reliance on the NHS.

The service, which is set to open in 2025, is being developed in partnership with Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board. It will include 15 bedrooms and self-contained living spaces and provide leading rehabilitation and care.

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Reaching more people with neurological conditions

In May 2023, we were successful in our bid to acquire a number of neurological care services from the charity Sue Ryder. These services provide rehabilitation, supported living, specialist and nursing care to people with a brain injury, and other neurological conditions including Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis.

This is a natural extension to the brain injury services we already provide, and we believe we are ideally placed to support these people, using our existing clinical expertise. It is an exciting opportunity to grow the reach of our services – both geographically and in terms of the breadth of people we can support.

Around 400 staff from Sue Ryder will join the Brainkind team, bringing their expertise and skills with them. We’re supporting these people through this transition period as they help us to provide continuity of care to the people using these services.

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Deliver leading-edge clinical practice around brain injury

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Aim
2
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Our clinical expertise sets us apart from other organisations and helps us to deliver excellent outcomes for people with brain injuries. It also guides our understanding of brain injury, so we can better support the people who use our services.

Making clinical improvements to our services

In 2022, we reviewed our rehabilitation for people with brain injuries to decide who we provide services for and how we can improve our clinical work. This is helping us to better support people living with brain injuries.

We offer rehabilitation at three different stages of brain injury recovery.

These are:

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We have embedded this model across all our services, which has helped us to decide what clinical skills we need in our teams. Our teams are made up of occupational therapists, neuropsychologists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, neuropsychiatrists and nurses. The model is also allowing us to report and interpret outcomes across our services for people in different stages of rehabilitation.

We have also updated our referral criteria for our services. They now include conditions other than traumatic brain injury, stroke and brain infections. We also support people with conditions including multiple sclerosis and alcohol-related brain damage. This will ensure we can provide rehabilitation and support to more people.

We ran sessions on our updated rehabilitation model for senior clinicians and managers, helping them to build their knowledge and skills. They have regular supervision so they can ask questions about and reflect on their clinical work.

Rehabilitation is highly individualised, taking into account each person’s specific needs, and their goals for improving their independence. Different people, including professionals, contribute to the process of rehabilitation. It can take place in a range of settings, for example a hospital, clinic, the community, or a person’s home”

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Jaden’s story Coming out of the dark

Jaden suffered a stroke at just 21, which left him in a coma, paralysed and unable to speak – but with the support of Brainkind he is planning his return to rapping, working, and travelling the world.

” by the wrong part of your body!.

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No one expects a super fit 21-year-old gym supervisor to have a stroke, but this is exactly what happened to Jaden, from Harrow, London. He had a series of headaches that he describes as “skull crushing” in the days leading up to his stroke. He explains, “I was at the gym, where I work as a supervisor and another headache had just started, so I told my boss that I was going home. That’s the last thing I remember from that day, I awoke from a coma several weeks later completely paralysed and unable to speak.”

Jaden had short stays in Northwick Park and Queen’s Square hospitals at the beginning of 2023 before being moved to Thomas Edward Mitton House – one of Brainkind’s short stay neurorehabilitation centres in Milton Keynes.

He explains how the staff at Thomas Edward Mitton House have been supporting him to get back on his feet – and to learn to do the things he loves again. “I have been working on my speech and mobility”, Jaden explains. “The team here have been brilliant, helping me to learn to speak and walk again and supporting me with my memory as well. When I woke up in hospital it was scary not being able to tell people what I wanted, but by the time I moved here I had started to find my words again. I needed help stringing them together into proper sentences and not having to spend ages searching for words and how to form them. It takes lots of repetition, practice and trying not to get frustrated. I am really into making music and rapping so it has been a real priority for me. It’s been a dark time, but I feel like I am back in the light now.

I said when I arrived, I wanted to be home for my birthday and these guys have made that happen!”

Starting again

Jaden has been going home for the last few weeks at weekends, which has allowed him to regain his independence in his own home and became comfortable with day-to-day tasks. He then returns to the centre and talks to our multidisciplinary team about what he feels he still needs more support with - and they spend the week working on those issues with him. Annalise Masad, assistant psychologist at Brainkind says, “Jaden has been very motivated to engage in all sessions, working hard with staff to increase his independence. He is always open to feedback and works hard to complete independent tasks set for him.”

Thanks to the support he has received, Jaden is feeling optimistic about his future. He says “I can’t wait to get home for good, I want to get into the studio and make some music, I have loads of it in my head just waiting to get out. I also want to do some travelling. First, I want to fly again, maybe to the Alps, Morocco, or America - and next year I am going to Dubai! I love travelling and I won’t let this experience hold me back. I am only 22, so to come back from a coma and being paralysed to being able to think about my future like this, in just over 18 months, is amazing. I am so grateful that I am still here, and I can’t thank everyone at Thomas Edward Mitton House and both the hospitals in London and my family enough for all their support. I said when I arrived, I wanted to be home for my birthday and these guys have made that happen!”

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Building connections in brain injury

The Policy & Social Change team went to Dublin in March 2023 for the 14th World Congress on Brain Injury. There, they shared updates on innovative projects and met others working in the brain injury space. Stephanie Bechelet, Domestic Abuse and Brain Injury Researcher at Brainkind, reports back on the team’s visit.

“The World Congress on Brain Injury is the largest gathering of international professionals working in brain injury. So, it was the perfect place for us to go and build new connections, and showcase some of our work to increase awareness and share insights.

It was great to hear from and connect with renowned speakers on diverse topics from all over the world. The event had over 800 presentations, so we were spoilt for choice.

We heard about:

One of the highlights of the conference was speaking at a session about brain injury in the criminal justice system. We were able to share lessons learned from domestic abuse survivors and our Brain Injury Linkworker project in prisons.

Sarah Turner, Policy & Social Change Project Manager, presented on the link between traumatic brain injury in women offenders, and domestic violence. These are both significant areas of focus for the charity, so it was great to be able to update people on progress and meet professionals working in these areas. This helped to raise awareness and build partnerships to influence policy and practice.”

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Sharing our clinical expertise

We raised awareness of our rehabilitation model and clinical work in a number of publications and at several conferences. Publishing articles and speaking at events helps us to build relationships with people working in brain injury and shows our clinical expertise and research abilities.

Ten research papers were published in scientific journals. In June 2022, we published a peerreviewed article describing our updated clinical model in the scientific journal Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences - which has been viewed more than 2,500 times and downloaded 360 times. This paper included data that shows the positive difference we make to the people we support.

Several members of our Clinical Leadership Team have also contributed as ad-hoc peer reviewers for a number of international research journals.

We improved sector-wide practice in 2022-23 by speaking at conferences and events for health and social care professionals. Rudi Coetzer, Clinical Director at Brainkind, presented our rehabilitation model at three conferences: Naidex in Birmingham, Headway South Wales in Cardiff and the British Psychological Society Division of Neuropsychology Scotland. We also spoke about the rehabilitation model at our brain injury rehabilitation conference in September 2023.

Getting the views of people we support

We held two workshops for the people we support so they could share their views on our clinical work. They were asked to identify the strengths of our organisation and look at how we can improve our work. The workshops were run in partnership with Bangor University at Redford Court and Kerwin Court.

We are using the findings from the workshops to make improvements to our services and the way we work. The suggested changes include:

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Our 12 mantras

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01 02 03
Every interaction Things It’s never too
is rehab take time late to rehab
04 05 06
Consistency Movement Research
leads to supports improves
success recovery outcomes
07 08 09
24
Behaviour Eyes on 7 Rehab.
communicates the goal is 24/7
needs
10 11 12
RRR: Repetition, Rehab. We are all in
routines, is more this together
relationships than care
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Using mantras to learn about rehabilitation

“Every interaction is rehab.” This is one of 12 rehabilitation mantras developed by our team of clinicians and researchers to help staff think about the underlying principles of our neurobehavioural rehabilitation model. Using the mantras is helping staff to better understand rehabilitation and support people with brain injuries.

The 12 mantras are short statements which each summarise a key principle of our approach to rehabilitation.

We shared one mantra a month with staff over a period of 12 months and asked them what the mantras mean to them, how they might be applied in practice and how they might be experienced. The results were very positive.

Staff across different roles have reported that the mantras helped them to better understand what is involved in rehabilitation and to communicate this with others, including the people we support. We plan to run this initiative again in 2024.

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New technology to support rehabilitation

Our Clinical Lead Physiotherapist at Kerwin Court has led research into new technologies that can improve the rehabilitation and wellbeing of people who need upper limb rehabilitation.

This includes GripAble, a handheld device which connects to a tablet or computer, that allows people to do fun activities to stay motivated. The technology is especially useful when people are working towards regaining their independence and being discharged home. The adjustment from hospital to home can be challenging, and often people can lose motivation in their regular exercises as these can be repetitive and tedious.

The technology has been trialled in four services. The Brainkind Neurological Centre York and Graham Anderson House now use it to support people’s rehabilitation.

Using virtual reality

We have looked at the evidence for using virtual reality (VR) in rehabilitation. VR technology can allow us to measure a person’s needs more accurately, identify goals and tailor rehabilitation. We found that it can be used to assess someone’s executive function – behavioural and cognitive processes that are vital for day-to-day activities. For example, problem-solving, planning and keeping track of what you are doing.

We are now planning to carry out trials of VR in partnership with two technology companies.

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Drive social action around brain injury and make sure more people have their needs met

Aim 3

We want brain injury to be part of everyday conversations. We also want to improve policy, practice and funding for people with brain injuries. This will help us to find new ways to reach the people we support.

Supporting prison leavers with brain injuries

Research shows that around 6 in 10 people in the criminal justice system are likely to have a brain injury. We are increasing our understanding of how many people are leaving the criminal justice system with brain injuries through an app which supports their transition from custody to probation.

This is part of the Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge, a UK government project funded by the Ministry of Justice to develop new ways to break the cycle of reoffending.

The app will connect people leaving the criminal justice system with a range of services, helping them to navigate and compensate for the impact of a brain injury. It will also increase awareness of brain injury within the prisons and probation services, so staff can better support people who have recently left prison.

We have tested the app and will pilot it with different prison services across the UK and the Ministry of Justice.

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Campaigning for better services

As the UK’s leading charity specialising in brain injury, we have a vital role to play in influencing the UK government to create better services for the people we support. As you will see below, this year, we have been involved in a number of campaigns and projects that are changing practice.

We have been closely involved with the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Acquired Brain Injury, helping them to develop the Acquired Brain Injury Strategy. We have provided expertise, written contributions, and shared examples of best practice. For example, we attended an event in Parliament to raise awareness of the strategy and encourage MPs to be part of the APPG on Acquired Brain Injury. This is helping to raise Brainkind’s profile and put the spotlight on brain injury and the people it affects.

In February 2023, we met with the Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Felicity Buchan to put forward recommendations to support people experiencing homelessness and brain injury. This will provide better services to help people with brain injuries get the support they need. We put forward two proposals:

These proposals will be considered by the DLUHC following the publication of the Acquired Brain Injury Strategy later in 2023.

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We delivered our Brain Injury Screening Index (BISI) training to 32 frontline practitioners in services across Sheffield. This includes support workers, social workers, mental health practitioners and professionals from homeless outreach charities. This will inform and empower these professionals to use the BISI with the people they support.

The tool helps to screen people for head injuries and associated conditions and establish whether someone may have sustained a brain injury. It gives professionals an indication of the level of severity of someone’s injury, so they can provide them with the right support. It also helps them to support people to understand their behaviour and make adjustments.

Changing Futures, an organisation doing research into acquired brain injury in the city’s homeless community, will turn the data the professionals share into a report that will be used to make the case for a range of acquired brain injury services.

Recognition for our criminal justice system service

Our groundbreaking service that supports people with a brain injury in the criminal justice system in South Wales has won an award, recognising the impact it has made.

The Brain Injury Linkworker service helps people to understand how their brain injury affects their day-to-day life, and to successfully transition back into the community.

It was recognised at the Criminal Justice Alliance Awards in November 2022. Our Linkworkers won the Outstanding Local or Regional Organisation Award at the ceremony, which recognises individuals and organisations working to make the criminal justice system fairer and more effective. The quality of entries in this award section was exceptionally high and this win will help us grow our reputation within the criminal justice sector.

The Linkworker service is in three prison services, and the South Wales programme has been so successful that we are now expanding into North Wales and looking at ways to develop it further.

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Inside our Brain Injury Linkworker service

Ryan, our Brain Injury Linkworker based in HM Prison and Probation Service Cardiff, shares his experience as a Linkworker.

“The judgement of a person in our criminal justice system fails to consider the context of where that person has come from. As a Brain Injury Linkworker, many of the men I work with in custody or on probation, report that they sustained their first head injury when they were children at the hands of their parents or other adults that were meant to be caring for them.

A Brain Injury Linkworker provides a space for offenders to be listened to and to legitimise the consequences of their head injuries, which are often dismissed as ‘excuses’. We aim to empower people in prison or on probation to understand their issues and behaviours, while also acting as an advocate, communicating their needs to other professionals who are working with them and building a network of support.

A challenge we have faced is people’s perceptions of offenders, particularly if they are ‘bad’ on paper. This reduces opportunities for offenders, making it difficult for them to reform and rehabilitate. It is important that we treat these people as individuals, acknowledging that there is more to them than the offences they have committed.”

Training more prison staff on the signs of brain injury

We are committed to making sure that as many people as possible can benefit from our expertise and training in brain injury. It is why we provide training in the criminal justice system through Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service’s (HMPPS) My Learning e-learning platform.

Our ‘Ask, Understand and Adapt’ Brain Injury Awareness Training is aimed at staff in prisons and probation services. It helps them to better understand how people living with a brain injury behave, so they can respond to them in an informed and considered way. This training was created in partnership with NHS England, NHS Improvement and the United Kingdom Acquired Brain Injury Forum.

We plan to introduce it to several young adult prisons in the north of England and have completed an ethics application through the HMPPS National Research Committee. It is currently being reviewed by the University of Exeter’s ethics panel to approve the project moving forward.

The link between domestic abuse and brain injury

We are currently running a ground-breaking project, researching the link between domestic abuse and brain injury. We wanted to gain a better understanding of the prevalence of brain injuries in people who have experienced domestic abuse.

The aim was to increase understanding of brain injury in domestic abuse services so that staff and volunteers can identify the signs of brain injury, helping them to provide personalised support to people with brain injuries.

Stephanie Bechelet, Domestic Abuse and Brain Injury Researcher at Brainkind, said: “We are hoping that our work will inform and help prioritise the most appropriate strategies to make sure domestic abuse survivors are offered support that fully meets their specific needs.”

The research was published in Autumn 2023.

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Build a high-performance organisation

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Aim
4
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Our people are the heart of our organisation. We will support them to provide the care and support that others need.

Building a culture where we can all thrive

Our vision is to unite staff around a common purpose and help us achieve our five- year strategy. Every member of our team is contributing to this each day through their work whilst delivering great outcomes for the people we support.

Having a collective ambition that everyone can work towards keeps staff motivated and engaged.

Between August and November 2022, we held 36 roadshows for staff where we listened and talked about the organisational culture we wanted to be part of creating.

At our managers’ conference in May 2022, we engaged with our key group of leaders to talk about our values and culture we want to establish and the key role they have in helping to create and maintain it. This has helped us to develop a shared definition of the culture we want to build at Brainkind.

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Being an employer of choice

When staff feel motivated and appreciated, they can better support the people who use our services. We are committed to being an employer of choice and looking after our staff.

Getting feedback from staff

We are listening to colleagues and gathering their views. For example, we set up a monthly Colleague Forum in September 2022 to bring staff from across the charity to share together their ideas on how to make Brainkind a great place to work. We use the meetings to get people’s views and act on their feedback.

We are also giving staff opportunities to share feedback through regular surveys. The findings from the latest survey, carried out in May 2023, shows that:

However, we recognise that there are still improvements to be made. There is still work progressing to ensure that the senior leadership team can stay in touch with peoples’ views and opinions and develop a culture of effective, meaningful, two-way engagement.

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Our values

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Agile Connected
Resourceful Kind
Courageous
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Recognising achievements

We celebrated the outstanding achievements of colleagues through our staff awards. These were based on our five values.

Nominated by staff, the overall winners were recognised at our awards event in April 2023. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to celebrate their great achievements and for going above and beyond in the work they do at Brainkind.

Alex, a staff nurse at Eastfields in Glasgow, won the ‘courageous’ award for the quick thinking he showed when a colleague experienced chest pains at work.

His colleague who had the chest pains, and nominated him for the award, said: “He recognised the symptoms I was having and put me on oxygen, took my vitals and phoned for an ambulance. I believe if it wasn’t for his quick actions, I would not be here today and back at work.”

The service manager at Eastfields added that Alex showed his colleague respect and dignity and was very professional. “His experience, training, personal instinct and quick response most certainly saved his colleague’s life. A huge thank you and well done to Alex.”

Wellbeing support for staff

It is important that we have an open and supportive culture and an inclusive working environment. We have set up our first special interest wellbeing group which focuses on menopause, so that people feel confident to ask for support and can have open conversations about menopause and perimenopause.

We aim to introduce more special interest wellbeing groups in areas which are important to our colleagues.

It was a wonderful day. I particularly enjoyed hearing the inspirational stories of my colleagues. The day was made even better by the surprise of winning the overall individual award for central support services. I did not expect this at all! I feel extremely grateful, not only for the award but to work for a brilliant organisation.”

Ria, Assistant People Adviser at Brainkind

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

I am very excited and grateful to be given the opportunity to study occupational therapy while working at Daniel Yorath House. I am particularly looking forward to working in different occupational therapy settings and working with increasing independence. I love my job as a Therapy Assistant and cannot wait to learn more about the theory and practice.”

Supporting learning and development

We’re committed to developing our staff and helping them to progress within the organisation.

For example, we provided training for team leaders and first-time managers from June to September 2023 to increase their leadership skills and knowledge. This is helping them to provide better care for the people we support. We partnered with an external training provider to deliver training for approximately 70 staff. Work is planned to develop our leadership development training programme for middle and senior management.

In March 2023, we partnered with Huddersfield University to offer two clinical apprenticeship degree courses in occupational therapy and physiotherapy. This allows staff to complete a degree when they are working and build their clinical skills.

We have also introduced clinical competencies for all of our clinical roles, including nurses. This gives staff clear progression and helps them to develop their skills. The competencies

provide a structure against which to benchmark clinical practice and continuous professional development. They also help managers to create staff development plans and associated objectives for the year.

Developing new ways of working

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to be agile and make quick decisions, so we could best support the people who use our services. As we continue to move through a period of change to deliver our new strategy, it’s crucial we continue to make effective decisions.

We created a new Executive Leadership Team to make quicker decisions in each area of our organisation. The team is made up of the CEO and three Executive Directors - focused on service delivery, people and organisational development, and finance and business - who work together to monitor and develop our strategic direction. This will help the different areas of the charity work together more effectively, so we can do more for people living with brain injuries and other neurological conditions.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Protecting people’s personal information

We continue to develop ways to manage people’s personal information. This includes personal information about the people we support and our staff. It is important that we protect people’s data in accordance with the laws set out by the Information Commissioner’s Office, including the General Data Protection Regulation.

Our Legal and Corporate Compliance team put together a plan to address how the charity manages people’s personal information. The plan is due to be published in December 2023.

To make sure managers are aware of their responsibilities when they work with personal information, we have been publishing regular updates and the legal team have run training sessions with managers at our services. This has provided guidance on safely managing personal information, helping us to make sure we continue to stay up to date and compliant with the relevant data protection laws and regulations.

Further work will be done on our strategy for managing information in 2023-24 (see the Looking to the future section on page 35).

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Create an energetic brand that underpins our vision

Aim 5

Our new identity and way of communicating will help us to better reach our audiences and improve the lives of people living with brain injury.

Conveying our expertise in brain injury through a new brand

In September 2023, we launched a new brand to reposition ourselves as the leading charity specialising in brain injury in the UK. It showcases our expertise and person-centred approach to care, using an empathetic, optimistic and accessible tone of voice.

Our brand identity has been created to reflect who we are as a charity. It shows that we are compassionate and work in partnership with the people we support. It also sends a positive message that life after brain injury can be a life well lived. We’ve produced guidance about

the new brand, including tone of voice and a visual identity. This gives staff the tools and knowledge they need to communicate about the charity.

The brand has now been launched to our key audiences, including commissioners, referrers, health professionals and other partners. We will continue to develop it over the coming years, raising awareness about what we do with audiences who do not know us as well, including the media, general public and potential donors.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Working collaboratively to develop our new brand

It is important that our brand reflects our organisation, and the people we support. This is why we worked with staff, people with brain injuries, their families and commissioners to develop a brand that meets everyone’s needs. We wanted the new brand to convey the important message of hope after brain injury.

The work included:

Brand development doesn’t end at brand launch, and we will continue working with all our key stakeholders – particularly the people we support and our staff – to make sure the brand reflects who we are and what we do.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Find the right digital solutions

Aim 6

Digital systems and solutions improve the way we work and deliver our services, supporting the rehabilitation journey of people with brain injuries.

It’s all going to My Plan

This year, we introduced My Plan, a digital system to help staff manage records, care plans, and other information about the people we support. All our services are now using the new system, and staff feedback has been positive.

My Plan reduces the need to maintain paper records and gives staff more time to spend with people living with an acquired brain injury, providing rehabilitation and ongoing support.

As everyone’s details are now stored in the same secure system, it makes it easier for staff to keep up to date with what’s happened throughout the day. This is useful for handovers at the end of a shift.

One of our community support workers at Colston Road, said: “All documentation is in one place, meaning notes are quickly accessible. This is allowing us time to do what we love, making each moment count with the people who matter.”

This is a significant move away from paper records to a more streamlined and easier way of maintaining patient records.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Looking after our employees

Staff retention is a huge issue in the social care sector so we are doing all we can to keep our staff happy and motivated. Job satisfaction is hugely important to us at Brainkind. Without our brilliant staff, we would not be able to do the work we do.

Earlier this year, we held internal workshops to look at our existing processes for new starters. The aim was to identify opportunities for improvements and introduce automated tools where necessary. These include:

Pioneering sensor technology

We are developing cutting-edge sensor technology to help the people we support have fewer falls.

RoomMate is an infrared 3D sensor that can detect when someone has fallen in their bedroom, or there’s no movement, without infringing on their privacy. It was designed by Norwegian technology firm Sensio and has been used in a number of different care homes. There is enormous potential for Brainkind to use it to support people living with brain injuries who have specific needs.

Once it is developed, the technology will be trialled at Kerwin Court. If it’s successful, we intend to introduce RoomMate across a number of other services, including the Brainkind Neurological Centre York.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Recognition for our cybersecurity

In April 2023, we were pleased to receive Cyber Security Essentials Plus accreditation. This means we are viewed by the UK government as an organisation that takes cybersecurity seriously and looks after the personal information that we hold for people. This is important in a world where there are so many high-profile and damaging cyber-attacks.

Having this government-backed accreditation lets our partners, suppliers, regulatory bodies, commissioners and families know that we operate to a good standard of cybersecurity. It provides the reassurance they need, increases confidence, and in time, will help to build broader brand recognition and grow our reputation. It also means we can bid for government contracts and other public and private sector opportunities.

Brainkind is now listed on the National Cyber Security Centre website. This makes it easy for anyone to check our cybersecurity credentials and validates us as an organisation that takes its security seriously. It also offers reassurance that we operate with the best interests of the people we support.

Smart works at the Brainkind Neurological Centre York

The Brainkind Neurological Centre York will open in late 2023, using new technologies to support people with brain injuries. The hospital is fitted with assistive technology to help people carry out day-to-day activities and to support them to be as independent as possible. These include:

We also plan to trial virtual reality, in partnership with technology companies, at the neurological centre. We could use it, for example, to allow the people we support to experience everyday life situations, such as using cash machines and getting from a supermarket to a cafe.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Looking to the future

In 2023-24, we will enter the second year of our new strategy – and we have big ambitions for the year ahead.

We want to grow our reach

We will seek to become an employer of choice so we can attract and retain skilled staff and support more people with brain injuries and neurological conditions. This includes:

• reviewing the benefits we offer and working alongside others to lobby for improved pay in the social care sector. We know that staff need to be better paid to reflect the cost of living and the value of the work they do.

We want to build on the foundations of our new brand identity as Brainkind, using it to raise awareness of the work we do for people affected by brain injury.

We will build relationships with the UK government and policymakers to provide better opportunities for people living with brain injury and improved funding for services that support them.

We are building our plans for fundraising, looking at how we can add to the services we already provide and pay for some exciting projects that will make life a little easier for the people we support.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

We want to grow our services

We will continue to identify opportunities to grow our services and test new approaches so that we can reach more people. Current initiatives include the Linkworker services that we run in prisons.

We show how we are the leading brain injury charity in the UK through the acquisition of a number of Sue Ryder neurological services. This has included expanding the reach of our work as we are now working with people with other neurological conditions, such as Huntington’s disease.

We work in partnership with the people we support to build the best possible services. Our new Personalisation Lead will make sure that people who use our services have greater choice and control over their rehabilitation and the support they receive.

We will capitalise on our clinical expertise by:

We are committed to making improvements to how we manage information. We will do this by setting up an information risk management group to oversee the actions set out in our plan to manage how we use information (see page 29). They will monitor how we use personal information using the Information Commissioner’s Office’s accountability tracker.

This includes involving people in:

We will follow our plan to improve our financial position. This includes:

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

----- Start of picture text -----
• Charities Act 2011
• Companies Act 2006
•
• Requirements of the charity’s governing
• Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement
----- End of picture text -----

Trustees’ Annual Report

Trustees present their report and the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2023. The trustees’ annual report constitutes the annual accounts and the directors’ report for Companies Act purposes.

These financial statements comply with the:

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Brainkind Annual Report& Aeeounts2022-23 Financial review 38

Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Summary

Brainkind has moved from a net deficit of £4.7 million in 2022 to a £11.3 million net surplus in 2023, an increase of £16 million. This is substantially due to a surplus on the sale of fixed assets in the year of £17.8 million.

The 2022/23 financial year was a challenging year for the sector with continued staffing crisis. Brainkind has experienced difficulties in both occupancy levels, resulting in lower care fee income, and labour costs as staff shortages continue to limit admissions in some services as well as keeping agency costs high. In addition, the increased cost of living has impacted our results, especially with the large increases seen in energy bills, food, transport, and the national insurance increases.

To improve our financial sustainability in 2023-24, we are actively focusing on:

In 2023 we saw a loss of £810k (2022: loss of £23k) in our financial investments. In 2023, investments have faced ongoing challenges, including global inflation, rising interest rates and the continuing war in Ukraine.

Due to the above impacting factors, and following the divestment of Heathermount school and the autism and learning disability services, the overall financial results have changed from the 2021/22 financial year to the 2022/23 financial year as follows:

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

and non-operating activities:
2023 2022
Operating activities £m £m
Operating income
(excluding investment income) 48.9 52.0
Proft on disposal of intangible
and tangible fxed assets		 17.8 0.2
Operating expenditure (55.4) (57.4)
Operating surplus / (defcit) 11.2 (5.1)
Non-operating activities
Investment income		 £m
0.8		 £m
0.5
Investment (losses) (0.8) -
Non-operating surplus - 0.5
Overall net surplus / (defcit) 11.3 (4.6)

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

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 Brainkind 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 2023 was £32.2 million (2022: £38.1 million). Dividend and investment income from our financial investments, including cash on deposit, was £0.8 million, an increase from £0.5m in the prior year. Losses on our financial investments were £810k in the year (2022: losses of £23k). This performance met the Board’s objectives in relation to delivering returns.

Investments held by nominees

Our investments include:

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.

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, In order to do this, current reserves must be sufficient to meet the start-up costs of new services or the expansion of existing services, agreed by Trustees. Reserves must be sufficient to ensure our existing services are financially viable and mitigate the crystallisation of a financial and reputational risk identified on our corporate risk register.

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.

The current total level reserves amount to £107.2m, of which £276k (2022: £163k) is restricted and £107m (2022: £95.8m) is unrestricted (including designated funds).

These investments are held on the charity’s behalf.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Restricted reserves

Restricted funds are currently £276k (2022: £163k).

Restricted funds arise as a result of specific stipulations as to how the funds may be used. This is often relating to a specific activity or grant that may fall over a number of years and therefore the balance carried forward at the year-end is committed for those activities.

Unrestricted reserves

Unrestricted funds arise when no restrictions are in place for their use. Trustees are responsible for ensuring these funds are spent in line with the charity’s objectives in a timely fashion.

Designated reserves are funds that the Trustees have set aside to reflect particular intentions for the use of those funds.

Designated funds

The total designated funds are currently £86.5 million (2022: £71.2 million). Further details are as below:

General funds

The general unrestricted reserves of £11.1m is regarded as being the charity’s level of free reserves.

The charity has a target level of free reserves of £9.4m and the Trustees consider that a minimum reserve of £3 million is necessary, an amount that it considers appropriate and prudent to maintain as a buffer against the risks and challenges faced by the charity.

Trustees consider the assets of each fund are sufficient to meet current and future commitments.

Funds held on behalf of others

At year end, Brainkind, as custodian Trustee, held a total sum of £190,000 in its bank accounts, compared to £207,000 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.

These are funds set aside to develop a new, purpose-built site for York House Hospital and this project has a total commitment of £24.8m

Funds have been designated as Brainkind has also recently agreed to purchase a number of neurological care services, currently operated by the charity Sue Ryder. This will see almost 400 staff members, as well as the 125 people they currently support, move across to become part of Brainkind.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Going concern

The Board has reviewed the charity’s activities and financial position, together with factors likely to affect our current strategy. After divesting our learning disability and autism services to focus on brain injury rehabilitation and support, we are investing free cash in acquiring neurorehabilitation and neurological services and continuing to invest in our extant services.

It was understood that the financial results for the 2022/23 financial year would fluctuate as we progressed through the different strategy phases and divested of services. Although our learning, disability and autism services were loss making, Heathermount school presented a large surplus for Brainkind.

With difficulties in both occupancy levels and labour costs, as staff shortages continued to limit admissions in some services, as well as keeping agency costs high, we ended the financial year behind budget.

The reductions in occupancy levels continue to be focused within a small number of key services, all of which are now undertaking work to improve their occupancy level.

Looking forward, a detailed 5-year forecast and recovery plan was undertaken, in line with the proposed plan, outlining how we plan to reduce the deficit to and move to a surplus within that period.

We have reviewed the reserve level, taking into account the impact of the agreed strategy to ensure that our reserves remain above the agreed level for the next five years. Within this review, we have looked at a low and high scenario of the impact on the reserves once all agreed and proposed investments/divestments are undertaken. This range, at the end May 2024, is between £9.3m and £10.7m.

Fundraising

We support people and organisations to donate to Brainkind by promoting individual and regular giving, event fundraising, legacies and corporate support.

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 write to supporters to thank them for their fundraising.

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

Brainkind is also an organisational member of the Institute of Fundraising, Fundraising Preference Service and Fundraising Regulator, as well as the Data & Marketing Association.

•Complaint handling

We have not received any complaints in relation to our fundraising and do not undertake any third-party fundraising.

•Safeguarding and vulnerable supporters

Our fundraising promise sets out our commitment to being honest, keeping contact details safe, and supporting donors. It also highlights our commitment to protecting vulnerable people and ensures that no donation is sought or gained from someone who may not have the capacity to make an informed or considered decision. This helps make sure supporters are not put under pressure to donate and know how to make a complaint.

The Board has concluded that the existing level of free reserves, available investment and cash balances, coupled with strong cost control and the implementation of our new strategy, are sufficient to ensure Brainkind has the resources to continue operating as a going concern, and to meet our 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.

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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 Brainkind 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 Brainkind’s principal risks and the longterm consequence of decisions as well as the interests of all stakeholders.

The principal risks are set out below:

Risk type: fire

Risk description: Following recent highprofile cases in the media and the nature of Brainkind’s buildings there continues to be a focus on fire safety.

Mitigations:

Additional resources have been put in place, particularly around night staff to ensure effective fire risk management and mitigation. Fire compartment surveys have been completed for all services. Action plans have then been developed for each service to ensure oversight of mitigation and to accelerate any potential remedial building activity required. These continue to be monitored and the risk reviewed on a monthly basis.

Risk type: centralised contracts database

Risk description: Lack of centralised contracts database. There is a risk that Brainkind is unaware of all of its legal obligations and liabilities due to the lack of a centralised contracts database for ease of monitoring and oversight.

Mitigations:

Changes in the approval process have been made so that contracts are no longer signed and held at a service level and instead a central contracts library has now been created to ensure, going forward, all contracts can be collated and managed centrally.

Risk type: financial sustainability - five year recovery plan

Risk description: financial sustainability - five year recovery plan. There is a risk to our financial sustainability due to the underperformance within a small number of key services, that made up 80% of our deficit for 2022/23 financial year.

Mitigations:

Extensive controls are in place to manage this risk. Budgets are set annually and performance against these are reviewed monthly. Annual inflationary fee uplifts have been requested from commissioners and a fee alignment project is in place to ensure correct fees are charged in line with care provided.

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Brainkind Annual Report& Aecounts2022-23 Directors, Report 44

Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Constitution

The Disabilities Trust has relaunched itself as Brainkind, our new brand and operating name. Our legal name remains The Disabilities Trust.

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 two subsidiaries, the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust Limited and York House Ventures Limited, both of which are dormant.

Public Benefit

The principal beneficiaries of the work of Brainkind are people living with a brain injury, supported in a variety of settings, from hospitals to community. Secondary beneficiaries of the work of Brainkind are families, people living with a brain injury beyond our services and those in particular populations, including offenders and survivors of domestic abuse who are disproportionately affected by brain injury, and the general public via our campaigning, training and innovation work and bespoke services.

Our research, policy and innovation work allows us to invest resources into improving the lives of people with a brain injury 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 Brainkind’s aims and objectives.

This includes:

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

Section 172 (1) statement

The Trustees as Directors of Brainkind, 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 Brainkind promote the success of the charity to achieve its charitable purposes:

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.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

The Directors of Brainkind 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 charity for the benefit of its stakeholders as a whole in the following ways:

Communities

Brainkind works in partnership with communities, providing services for people with a brain injury and other neurological conditions, as well as through its campaigning work and research. The organisation works closely with Government partners, contributing to the imminent strategy on Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). We deliver training to staff within the prison services, helping them to recognise the signs of a brain injury. We are also carrying out new research into the prevalence of brain injury amongst domestic abuse survivors, to inform policy and practice in this area. We work in partnership with multiple organisations, including the NHS, commissioners, the police and other charities and voluntary membership organisations.

Engagement with stakeholders

As part of our annual cycle, we have recently produced a satisfaction survey for people who use our services. We received 320 responses – which equates to 77% of the people we support took part in the survey with contributions from all of our services. The report will help inform how we deliver our services, and help us to improve the way we do things. The report will be made accessible to all staff and people we support in a range of formats.

The feedback process, which includes capturing compliments, concerns, complaints, and whistleblowing reports is being embedded. We identified an overall increase in all feedback captured since the new process was implemented. We continue to improve the process by enhancing colleagues’ abilities to identify, capture, investigate and respond more effectively to improve stakeholders experience and support a customer focussed process. In Autumn 2023, we will roll-out complaints management training via workshops with Regional Operational teams, to offer advice, guidance, and support, which encourages and acts on feedback and demonstrates learning. This will reassure the Senior Leadership Team,

and the Board can continue to capture and monitor stakeholder views centrally.

The Trustees consider and discuss information from across the organisation to understand the impact of Brainkind’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 Brainkind is directly linked to the talent, skills and engagement of our colleagues, and we understand the importance of developing a high performing organisation through our people to benefit the people we support. We recognise the contribution of our dedicated workforce who work hard to support people with complex needs, and we continue to review and improve the experience our employees have working for Brainkind.

We want to ensure that our workforce is connected, and we aim to have a two-way dialogue with our people by keeping them appraised of what is happening across the organisation, as well as seeking their feedback and input on a variety of topics, from our new strategy to the culture we want to build. This is done using a variety of channels, including team meetings, our magazine and newsletters, digital channels, such as Connect – our intranet – and we have launched our Colleague Forum which enables us to seek the views of a cross section of our workforce who represent colleagues’ ideas and suggestions for improving Brainkind. Our annual employee engagement survey also provides people with the opportunity to have a voice and provide feedback on a range of topics.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Brainkind operates across England, Scotland and Wales so it is important that all staff feel connected. We use a range of technology and face to face events, including CEO and SLT webinars and our annual Managers’ Conference, to share the latest news, but also to engage staff in aspects of strategy, culture and delivery. We also engage staff in specific projects, alongside the people we support. For instance, a person we support at our brain injury service, Victoria House, sits alongside members of the SLT and the Board, as well as his support worker, on a steering group to feed into the process to deliver a new brand. The group’s input is absolutely invaluable.

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 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (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 Brainkind’s culture.

Governance and decision making

Brainkind’s objective is to support people with a brain injury (BI) to lead their best lives. This objective is delivered, but not exclusively, through the provision of high-quality rehabilitation, care and support, specialised homes for people and community based supported living services.

Brainkind continues to adopt and apply the principles of the Code of Governance for larger charities, 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 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.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

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

Committee Focus Members Meetings per year Meetings per year
Audit & Risk Internal audit Richard Wilson (Chair) 4
Committee External audit Tom Billington
Annual report and accounts Heather Eve Castel
Financial compliance Caroline Reid MBE
Internal controls Britt Iversen
Risk management Kathryn Greenberg
Business continuity Dr Annabel Bentley
Finance & Financial performance Heather Eve Castel (Chair) 4
Investment Capital investment Richard Wilson
Committee Investment fund Matt James
management Tom Billington
Reserves and cashfow Dr Annabel Bentley
Property and estates Kathryn Greenberg
fundraising
Quality & Quality assurance Matthew James (Chair) 4
Governance Clinical effectiveness Stephen Waring (SG Lead)
Committee User outcomes Caroline Reid MBE
User experience and engagement Dr Annabel Bentley
Safeguarding Britt Iversen
Regulatory reporting Tom Billington
and compliance Kathryn Greenberg
Health & safety
Information governance
Whistleblowing
Remunerations CEO and SLT remuneration Kathryn Greenberg (Chair) 2
& Nominations Staff pay awards Richard Wilson
Committee Stakeholder awards Stephen Waring
Employee benefts structures Caroline Reid MBE
Board composition
Trustee recruitment
Succession planning
Research Clinical and applied research Stephen Waring (Chair) 4
Development Research development Professor Tom Warner
Policy &
Infuencing
Committee		 Research governance framework
Partnership and funding
opportunities		 Britt Iversen
Matthew James
Kathryn Greenberg
National and local infuencing and
campaigning opportunities

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Trustee recruitment and term of office

Trustees are a critical resource and give their time freely in support of Brainkind. 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 Brainkind 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 Brainkind’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.

Equality statement

We are proud of our diverse workforce which reflects the breadth of people we support. We work with staff to support their wellbeing and managers to support their understanding of individual needs to ensure that we can support staff in the workplace who may have or develop a disability, including those which may be unseen. Brainkind’s Equality and Diversity committee

meet regularly to discuss and review Brainkind’s equality, diversity and inclusion agenda with the aim of making our organisation one that is fully inclusive, and which celebrates our diversity. There are a number of activities and actions that seek to encourage inclusivity and diversity across Brainkind, including being Disability Confident and a member of the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.

Remuneration policy

The Remuneration and Nominations Committee meet at least once a year and are responsible for overseeing the charity’s pay and reward structures, approving budgets for the 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% (for over 10% CEO requires Committee approval) of salary in any financial year. SLT remuneration packages are reviewed every two years to ensure they remain competitive with external benchmarks.

Trustees

Kathryn Greenberg

Heather Castel

Dr Caroline Drugan Resigned 18 August 2022

Matthew James

Themis Livadeas Resigned 18 August 2022 Christopher Philipsborn Resigned 18 August 2022

Caroline Reid MBE

Marianne Waite Resigned 27 September 2023

Stephen Waring Richard Wilson

Professor Tom Warner appointed on 31 July 2023

Tom Billington appointed on 2 August 2023

Britt Iversen appointed on 31 July 2023

Dr Annabel Bentley appointed on 31 July 2023

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Senior Leadership Team

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

Irene Sobowale Chief Executive Officer

Streamlined energy and carbon reporting

Energy consumption

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) requirement in the financial review for the year ending on that all large organisations must report on the operational emissions. The highlevel breakdown is as follows:

Naomi Carey

Executive Director of People and Organisational Development

William Chidgey

Director of Corporate Services (resigned on 1 November 2022)

Graham Fisher Director of Digital

Victoria Pilkington Director of Governance and Quality Assurance (Resigned 14 September 2022)

Vivienne Francis

Director of Communications and Foundation (Resigned 9 September 2022)

Lynsey Robertson

Director of Business Development and Programme Management

Rudi Coetzer Director of Clinical Services

Keeley Mitchell Director of Brain Injury Operations

Kimberly Shields Director of Legal

Richard Jane Director of External Affairs (Appointed 1 December 2022)

Shirley Rowe

Executive Director of Service Delivery (Appointed 17 April 2023)

2023
Gas Electricity Transport Total
kWh 8,826,146 3,231,949 614,131 12,672,226
Mileage 508,773 508,773
kgCO2e 1,614,557 669,254 61,596 2,345,407
tCO2e 1,615 669 62 2,346
2022
Gas Electricity Transport Total
kWh 9,857,202 3,270,558 905,838 14,033,598
Mileage 796,341 796,341
kgCO2e 1,813,751 1,347,633 236,866 3,398,250
tCO2e 1,814 1,348 237 3,399

Energy and associated carbon emissions

Brainkind’s total CO2 emission from grid electricity is 669 tCO2e (2022: 1,348 tCO2e) and 1,615 tCO2e (2022: 1,814 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.

We divested 11 learning disability and autism services four months into the year and sold Heathermount School one month later. This led to expected decreases in energy consumption.

Clynton Hall Executive Director finance and business (Appointed 11 September 2023)

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Intensity metric

An intensity metric gives Brainkind 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 456 people (2022: 545) we support emitting an average of 5,143.7 kgCO2e each (2022: 6,235.3 kgCO2e). This will be measured annually and compared against previous years.

2023 2022
Number of people
we support		 456 545
kgCO2e§ 2,345,407 3,398,250
KgCO2e per person 5,143.7 6,235.3

DT initiatives

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

Smart meters: In order to obtain an accurate and detailed picture of each building’s consumption, we are changing all of our meters to smart ones.

Legislative and administration information

Legal name of the charity:

The Disabilities Trust

Trading name: Brainkind

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 U.K. LLP, 55 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7JW

Bankers:

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

Solicitors:

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 cold and warm months. 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.

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

Trowers & Hamlins LLP, 3 Bunhill Road, London, EC1Y 8YZ

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

Calculations

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

Litre kWh Co2e
Gas N/A 1 0.182929
Electricity N/A 1 0.207074
Petrol 1 9.5 2.10
Diesel 1 10.5 2.51

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Trustees’ responsibilities statement

The Trustees (who are also Directors of Brainkind 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 of the incoming resources and application of resources for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

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

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

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 have each taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charitable company’s auditor is aware of that information.

The Trustees’ report (including the Strategic Report) has been approved by the Board of Trustees of Brainkind on 27th November 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Kathryn Greenberg Chair of Trustee Board

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Auditor’s report

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and the Trustees of The Disabilities Trust (trading as Brainkind)

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Disabilities Trust (trading as Brainkind) (‘the charitable company’) for the year ended 31 May 2023 which comprise Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including 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 charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other

ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustee’s 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 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

54

Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

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 information given in the trustees’ report, which includes the directors’ report and the strategic report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

•the strategic report and the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 52, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company

law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

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 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 and The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, together with the Charities SORP (FRS102) 2019. 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 ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company 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 of recognition of contract income, recording the impact of the CQC regulatory review 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.

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 Statu tory Auditor Lond on

Signe d _____

19 December 2023 [Date] ___

56

Brainkind Annual Report& Aeeounts2022-23 Financial statements

Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Financial statements

Statement of Financial Activities – incorporating income and expenditure account for the year ended 31 May 2023

Income from Note Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds
 Restricted funds
 Total funds Total funds
2023 2022
Continuing Discontinued Continuing Discontinued
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Donations and grants 3 - - 161 273 434 1,061
Charitable activities:
Improving the lives of people
with a brain injury 4 44,637 3,485 - - 48,122 50,984
Investment income 5 833 - - - 833 500
Other income 6 457 17,628 - - 18,086 239
Total income 45,927 21,114 161 273 67,475 52,784
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 7 99 - 9 - 107 188
Charitable activities:
Improving the lives of
people with a brain injury 8(i) 51,647 3,313 - - 54,960 56,040
Other - - 44 269 313 1,191
Total expenditure 51,745 3,313 53 269 55,380 57,419
Net income/(expenditure)
before (losses) on investments 11 (5,818) 17,801 108 5 12,095 (4,635)
(Losses) on investment assets (810) - - - (810) (23)
Net movement in funds (6,628) 17,801 108 5 11,285 (4,658)
Total funds brought forward 95,794 - 163 - 95,957 100,615
Total funds carried forward 20 & 21 89,166 17,801 271 5 107,243 95,957

Discontinued operations relate to the sale of our Learning, Development and Autism (LD&A) services on 6 September 2022 and the sale of Heathermount School, which provides education to children with autism spectrum condition, on 31 October 2022.

There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Balance sheet

As at 31 May 2023

Note 2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 13 1,466 1,754
Tangible assets 14 62,847 50,187
Investments 15 18,237 38,091
Total fxed assets 82�550 90,032
Current assets
Debtors 16 9,226 6,380
Investments 17 14,000 -
Cash at bank and in hand 10,257 6,861
Total current assets 33,484 13,241
Creditors: amounts fallingdue within oneyear 18 (7,831) (6,810)
Net current assets 25,653 6,431
Total assets less current liabilities 108,203 96,463
Provisions for liabilities 19 (960) (506)
Net assets 107,243 95,957
The funds of the charity
Restricted income funds 20 276 163
Unrestricted funds 21
- designated funds 86,517 71,224
- general funds 20,449 24,570
Total unrestricted funds 106,966 95,794
Total funds 107,243 95,957

These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on 27th November 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

Kathryn Greenberg – Chair

Company number: 2334589

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

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

�tatement of cash �o�s

For the year ended 31 May 2023

Note 2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Cash fo�s from operating activities
Net cash (used) by operating activities 23 (5,721) (1,789)
Cash fo�s from investing activities
Acquisition of York House Ventures Limited - (183)
Dividends and interest from investments 833 500
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment 24,432 6
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (20,881) (4,801)
Purchase of intangible fxed assets (367) (917)
Proceeds from the sale of investments 8,300 4,390
Purchase of investments (2,481) (5,521)
Movement in cash within investment portfolio (721) 824
Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities 9,116 (5,702)
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the year 3,396 (7,491)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting year 6,861 14,352
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting year 10,257 6,861

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

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

�otes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 May 2023

1 Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

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

The Disabilities Trust (trading as Brainkind) is a public benefit entity incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee and governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association, which were last modified on 13 July 2020.

It is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The charity registration number is 800797.

Brainkind is also registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. The registration number is SC038972.

The registered office is 32 Market Place, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9NP.

Going concern

The Board has reviewed the charity’s activities and financial position, together with factors likely to affect our current strategy. After divesting our learning disability and autism services to focus on brain injury rehabilitation, we are investing free cash in acquiring neurorehabilitation services and continuing to invest in our extant services.

It was understood that the financial results for the 2022/23 financial year would fluctuate as we progressed through the different strategy phases as we divested of services. Although our learning, disability and autism services were loss making, Heathermount school presented a large surplus for Brainkind.

With difficulties in both occupancy levels and labour costs, as staff shortages continued to limit admissions in some services, as well as keeping agency costs high, we ended the financial year behind budget.

The financial statements of Brainkind have been prepared under the historical cost convention, in accordance with:

• the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP (FRS 102))

The functional and presentational currency of the charity is £ sterling.

The reductions in occupancy levels continue to be focused within a small number of key services, all of which are now undertaking work to improve their occupancy level.

Looking forward, a detailed 5-year forecast and recovery plan was undertaken, in line with the proposed plan, outlining how we plan to reduce the deficit to and move to a surplus within that period.

We have reviewed the reserve level, taking into accounts the impact of the agreed strategy to ensure that our reserves remain above the agreed level for the next 5 years. Within this review, we have looked at a low and high scenario of the impact on the reserves once all agreed and proposed investments/ divestments are undertaken. This range, at the end May 2024, is between £9.3m and £10.7m.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

The Board has concluded that the existing level of free reserves, available investment and cash balances, coupled with strong cost control and the implementation of our new strategy, are sufficient to ensure Brainkind has the resources to continue operating as a going concern, and to meet our 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.

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

Investments in subsidiaries and consideration of group accounts

We have assessed our investments in subsidiaries, both of which are dormant, in line with accounting standards. Having due regard to materiality of effects on the financial statements and other qualitative considerations that may affect the understanding by the readers of the accounts, we have not established a requirement to produce group accounts. Further details of all our subsidiary company holdings are outlined in note 15.

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:

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 charity. 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 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 use.

• 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.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Lease contracts

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

Intangible fixed assets and amortisation

Intangible fixed assets represent development costs capitalised in accordance with FRS 102. These are stated at historical cost and amortised on a straight line basis over their useful lives (four years).

Amortisation is recognised in the statement of financial activities under expenditure on charitable activities.

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are capitalised at cost at the acquisition date. 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:

Freehold buildings 2% per annum
Short leasehold over period of lease
improvements
Computers 25% per annum
�ixtures and fttings 15� per annum
Motor vehicles 33.3% per annum on
high mileage vehicles
Motor vehicles 15% per annum on
people 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

Investment properties:

Investment properties for which fair value can be measured reliably without undue cost or effort on an ongoing basis are measured at fair value annually with any change recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities. The valuations are estimated by appropriately qualified professional valuers. No depreciation or amortisation is provided in respect of freehold or leasehold investment properties.

Investment funds:

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.

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 shortterm 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.

Current asset investments

Current asset investments include investment funds which are held for resale or pending their sale and cash on deposit with a maturity date of less than one year held for short-term investment purposes rather than cashflow. Current asset investment funds 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.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

Creditors

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

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 there from may be used in accordance with the specific purposes.

�mployee benefits

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

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.

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.

• Unrestricted funds

Designated funds

The trustees may at their 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

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

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

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

Impairment

The determination of whether there are any indicators of impairment applicable to the charity’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 cashgenerating 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 reassessing 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 to reflect the charity’s estimate of repair costs which will need to be carried out 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 for the month of May are removed (because these are actuals) along with any backpay, stakeholder or oneoff 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 National Insurance and Pension.

Provision for bad and doubtful debts

To determine an appropriate level of bad and doubtful debt provision, we regularly review the total level of debt, age of debts and known risks that may impact recoverability, both for individual debts and for total amounts owed by funders.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

3 Donations and grants

Donations and grants
3
Total funds Total funds
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Grants* 390 167
COVID-19 grant income - 857
Other donations and gifts 44 37
434 1,061

*£273k of Grants income relates to discontinued operations.

4 Income from charitable activities

�mprovin� the lives of people �ith a brain in�ury

�mprovin� the lives of people �ith a brain in�ury
Total funds Total funds
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Fee income:
Physical disabilities 5,990 5,236
Autism* 1,322 7,492
Brain injury 30,107 25,185
Education* 2,163 4,975
Community services 8,540 7,897
COVID-19 Fee income - 29
Ancillary services to joint ventures:
Management charges tojoint ventures - 170
48,122 50,984

*All of the Autism income and Education income relates to discontinued operations.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

5 Investment income

Investment income
5
Total funds Total funds
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Bank deposit interest receivable 366 11
Dividend income from listed investments 467 489
833 500

All investment income relates to continuing operations.

6 Other income

Other income
6
Total funds Total funds
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Surplus on sale of fxed assets� 17,775 4
Other income 311 490
18,086 494

�£17,628k of the surplus on the sale of fixed assets relates to discontinued operations.

Other income is comprised of various sources including rent and service charges receivable, insurance claim settlements, external clinical supervision services, profit on the disposal of fixed assets and sundry income.

7 Expenditure on raising funds

Expenditure on raising funds
7
Total funds Total funds
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Fundraising costs 35 89
Investment management costs 72 99
107 188

All expenditure on raising funds relates to continuing operations.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

8 Charitable activities

�mprovin� the lives of people �ith a brain in�ury

Activities Total Activities Total
undertaken Support funds undertaken Support funds
directly costs 2023 directly costs 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Physical disabilities 7,234 1,302 8,536 6,441 1,091 7,532
Autism* 1,422 346 1,768 7,645 1,488 9,133
Brain injury 28,005 5,942 33,945 22,483 5,128 27,611
Education* 1,313 232 1,546 2,977 462 3,439
Community services 6,930 1,726 8,656 6,575 1,406 7,981
The Brainkind Foundation 435 74 509 286 58 344
Total charitable activities 45,339 9,622 54,960 46,407 9,633 56,040

*All of the Autism and Education expenditure on charitable activities relates to discontinued operations.

2023 Support costs allocation

The
Physical Autism* Education* Community Brain Brainkind Total Basis of
disabilities Services injury Foundation 2023 allocation
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Central support costs
Staff and training 588 156 105 779 2,682 33 4,344 Staff nos.
Other 702 187 125 931 3,204 40 5,188 Staff nos.
Governance 12 3 2 16 56 1 90 Staff nos.
1,302 346 232 1,726 5,942 74 9,622

*All of the Autism and Education expenditure on charitable activities relates to discontinued operations.

2022 Support costs allocation

The
Physical Autism* Education* Community Brain Brainkind Total Basis of
disabilities Services injury Foundation 2023 allocation
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Central support costs
Staff and training 534 729 226 688 2,511 28 4,717 Staff nos.
Other 547 747 232 706 2,574 29 4,835 Staff nos.
Governance 9 12 4 12 43 - 80 Staff nos.
1,091 1,488 462 1,406 5,128 58 9,633

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 charity 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. These include: quality control, business development, communications, management accounting, payroll administration, budgeting, information technology, people services, and learning and development.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

9 Staff numbers and costs

�taff costs durin� the year �ere as follo�s:

�taff costs durin� the year �ere as follo�s:
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Wages and salaries 28,447 31,081
Social security costs 2,715 2,848
Cost of defned contribution pension schemes 1,408 1,670
Other employee benefts 46 24
32,616 35,623
Payments made to independent third parties for the provision of staff 9,045 6,673
Total payroll and staff related costs 41,661 42,296

Payments made to independent third parties for providing staff are costs incurred as a result of staff vacancies and cover being required while recruitment takes place. They also include costs arising of finding cover while staff are on holiday or off sick.

Wages and salaries shown above have been fully provided in the accounts and fully funded by the charity. They include:

2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Redundancy costs and termination payments 95 273

Redundancy and termination payments in 2023 amounted to £95k (2022: £273k). These payments were made in light of a review of the resources required to deliver our five-year strategy.

At the year end, £nil (2022: £53k) has been recognised in accrued liabilities for redundancy payments.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

9 Staff numbers and costs continued

The average number of people who provided welfare services to people we support was:

2023 2022
Number Number
Provision of care 1,088 1,317
Support 173 198
1,261 1,515

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

2023 2022
Number Number
£60,001 to £70,000 10 11
£70,001 to £80,000 4 5
£80,001 to £90,000 2 2
£90,001 to £100,000 1 2
£100,001 to £110,000 2 3
£110,001 to £120,000 2 -
£120,001 to £130,000 1 -
£130,001 to £140,000 - 1
£190,001 to £200,000 1 1

The Trustees consider that, along with themselves, members of the Senior Leadership Team (who are listed in the Trustees’ report) are 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 Brainkind (including remuneration, employer’s pension contributions, employers National Insurance and other benefits) was £1,257,521 (2022: £1,310,887) for the charity.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

10 Information regarding Trustees

No Trustee received any form of remuneration during the year (2022: £nil). Travel expenses of £3,590 (2022: £2,223) were reimbursed to 3 Trustees during the year (2022: 5).

The costs of Trustees’ meetings amounted to £7,922 (2022: £8,350) in the year.

During the year, we spent £9,600 on recruitment and retainer fees (2022: £11,100) as a result of a Board recruitment phase for four new Trustees (2022: one new Chair).

The Trustees have used funds of the charity to purchase Directors and Officers Liability and Corporate Legal Liability insurance at a cost of £4,534 (2022: indemnity insurance at a cost of £2,693).

11 Net income / (expenditure) before (losses) on investments

2023 2022
£’000 £’000
The net income / (expenditure) for the year is stated after charging / (crediting)
Auditor’s remuneration for statutory audit services
- parent 59 50
- subsidiaries - 3
Auditor’s remuneration for taxation services 9 3
Auditor’s remuneration for other assurance services 1 1
Depreciation and other amounts written off tangible fxed assets 1,514 1,834
Amortisation and other amounts written off intangible fxed assets 654 643
(Proft)/loss on disposal of intangible and tangible fxed assets (17,775) 65
Hire of other assets – operating leases 1,097 1,097

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

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.

13 Intangible fixed assets

Intangible fxed assets
13
Computer Software
software work in
progress Total
£’000 £’000 £’000
Cost
At 1 June 2022 5,638 71 5,709
Additions - 367 367
Disposals (11) - (11)
Completed software 176 (176) -
At 31 May 2023 5,803 262 6,065
Amortisation
At 1 June 2022 3,955 - 3,955
Provided in the year 654 - 654
Disposals (10) - (10)
At 31 May 2023 4,599 - 4,599
Net book value
At 31 May 2023 1,205 262 1,466
Net book value
At 31 May 2022 1,683 71 1,754

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

14 Tangible fixed assets

Short Fixtures Assets
Freehold
leasehold		 Motor and under
property improvements vehicles fttings Computers construction Total
£’000
£’000		 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost
At 1 June 2022 60,517 222 230 6,223 1,373
3,753		 72,318
Additions 5,662 - - 460 78
14,681		 20,881
Transfers to fxed asset investments
(Investment properties) (50) - - - -
-		 (50)
Disposals (8,396) - (61) (1,709) (290)
-		 (10,456)
At 31 May 2023 57,733 222 169 4,974 1,161
18,434		 82,693
Depreciation
At 1 June 2022 15,688 187 171 5,163 921
-		 22,130
Charge for the year 1,043 6 16 261 188
-		 1,514
Disposals (2,013) - (58) (1,445) (282)
-		 (3,798)
At 31 May2023 14,717 193 129 3,979 827
-		 19,846
Net book value at 31 May 2023 43,015 29 40 995 334
18,434		 62,847
Net book value at 31 May 2022 44,829 35 59 1,060 452
3,753		 50,187

All tangible fixed assets are used for our charitable purposes.

Land and buildings

Land and buildings comprise the following:

2023 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Freehold 57,733 (14,717) 43,015 60,517 (15,688) 44,829
Short leasehold 222 (193) 29 222 (187) 35
Total 57,955 (14,910) 43,044 60,739 (15,875) 44,864

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

15 Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments
15
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Investment properties – United Kingdom 50 -
Investment funds 18,187 38,091
18,237 38,091
(a) Investment properties
Total
£’000
Market value at 1 June 2022 -
Transfers from tangible fxed assets 50
Market value at 31 May 2023 50

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

15 Fixed asset investments continued

(b) Investment funds

(b) Investment funds
Listed Cash on
securities deposit Total
£’000 £’000 £’000
Market value at 1 June 2022 36,528 1,562 38,091
Disposals (8,300) - (8,300)
Additions at cost 2,481 - 2,481
Movement in cash held as part of investment portfolio - 721 721
Net gains / (losses) (806) - (806)
Market value at 31 May 2023 29,903 2,283 32,187
Reclassifcation of investments held for sale to current assets (note 17) (14,000)
Total investments funds held for more than one year 18,187

Within 12 months of the year end, the charity intended to liquidate £14m of investment funds to pay for the acquisition of four rehabilitation services from another charity. It was considered that £14m of the portfolio was held specifically for sale and has therefore been presented within current asset investments.

Investment portfolio

Investment portfolio
Charity Charity
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Market value
Listed securities 24,467 25,180
Fixed interest investments 1,075 6,978
Infrastructure, alternatives and operating assets 1,213 1,212
Other 2,328 1,499
Cash and Near Cash 3,104 3,222
32,187 38,091

Subsidiaries

Brainkind’s subsidiaries at 31st May 2023, all of which are directly controlled by the charity, were as follows:

Principal activity

Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust Limited (‘BIRT’’) Dormant York House Ventures Limited (‘YHV’) Dormant

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

16 Debtors

Debtors
16
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Falling due within one year
Trade debtors 8,151 4,791
Less: provision for bad and doubtful debts (194) (204)
Less: provision for credit notes (35) -
Trade debtors – net of provisions 7,922 4,587
Other debtors 59 10
Prepayments and accrued income 1,245 1,783
9,226 6,380

17 Current asset investments

2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Investment funds Note 15(b) 14,000 -
14,000 -

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

18 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Trade creditors 1,532 1,441
Taxation and social security 654 751
Accruals and deferred income 4,194 3,635
Other creditors 959 340
Bank overdraft 492 643
7,831 6,810

Accruals and deferred income include deferred income as follows:

Accruals and deferred income include deferred income as follows:
2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Fees received for care to be provided after 31 May 2023 729 837
Deferred grants 164 230
893 1,067

The deferred income at 31 May 2023 will be credited to the 2024 Statement of Financial Activities. Deferred income at 31 May 2022 was credited to the 2023 Statement of Financial Activities. Accruals and other creditors include pension contributions of £188,000 (prior year £203,000).

19 Provisions for liabilities

Provisions for liabilities
19
Dilapidations Retentions
provision provision Total
£’000 £’000 £’000
At 1 June 2022 506 - 506
Transfer of prior year balance from other creditors - 100 100
Amounts provided for in the year (79) 434 355
At 31 May 2023 426 534 960

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

20 Restricted income funds

2023 Movement in resources Movement in resources
Balance at Balance at
1 June 2022 Income Expenditure 31 May 2023
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Sundry 163 434 (322) 276
Total restricted funds 163 434 (322) 276

Sundry funds are comprised of:

2022 Movement in resources
Balance at Balance at
1 June 2021 Income Expenditure 31 May 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
COVID-19 grants - 857 (857) -
Sundry 292 204 (334) 163
Total restricted funds 292 1,061 (1,191) 163

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

21 Unrestricted funds

Unrestricted funds
21
2023 Income
Balance at and gains/ Other Balance at
1 June 2022 (losses) Expenditure transfers May 2023
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Designated funds
Investment in intangible and tangible fxed assets 51,941 - - 12,372 64,313
Investment in Brainkind Neurological Centre in
York (formerly �Investment in Chocolate Works”) 19,283 - - (14,079) 5,204
Investment in neurological rehabilitation services - 17,000 17,000
Total designated funds 71,224 - - 15,293 86,517
General funds 24,570 67,041 (55,869) (15,293) 20,449
Total unrestricted funds 95,794 67,041 (55,869) - 106,966

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

The investment in intangible and tangible fixed assets represents funds spent on capitalised assets, as disclosed in notes 13 and 14.

The investment in neurological rehabilitation services represents funds set aside to compete the acquisition of four neurorehabilitation services from another charity. The funds are expected to be spent by 31 October 2023.

The transfers shown above are as follows:

The transfers shown above are as follows:
£’000
Transfers from fxed asset general fund to unrestricted general funds 1,707
Transfers from Brainkind Neurological Centre in York (formerly �Investment
in Chocolate Works”) designated fund to fxed asset designated fund (14,079)
Transfers from unrestricted general funds to Investment in neurological
rehabilitation services designated fund (17,000)

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

21 Unrestricted funds continued

2022 Income
Balance at and gains/ Other Balance at
1 June 2021 (losses) Expenditure transfers May 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Designated funds
Investment in intangible and
tangible fxed assets 48,725 - - 3,216 51,941
Investment in Brainkind Neurological Centre in
York (formerly �Investment in Chocolate Works”) 23,000 - - (3,717) 19,283
Total designated funds 71,725 - - (501) 71,224
General funds 28,598 51,724 (56,253) 501 24,570
Total unrestricted funds 100,323 51,724 (56,253) - 95,794

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

22 Analysis of net assets between funds

2023 Intangible Tangible
Fixed		 Net Provisions
fxed fxed assets current for
assets assets investments assets liabilities Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Restricted - - - 276 - 276
Unrestricted:
Designated funds 1,466 62,847 - 22,204 - 86,517
General funds - - 18,237 3,173 (960) 20,449
1,466 62,847 18,237 25,653 (960) 107,243
2022 Intangible Tangible
Fixed		 Net Provisions
fxed fxed assets current for
assets assets investments assets liabilities Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Restricted - - - 163 - 163
Unrestricted
Designated funds 1,754 50,187 - 19,283 - 71,224
General funds - - 38,091 (13,015) (506) 24,570
1,754 50,187 38,091 6,431 (506) 95,957

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

23 Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash flo� from operating activities

2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Net income / (expenditure) for the reporting period 11,285 (4,346)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation, impairment and amortisation charges 2,168 2,478
Impairment of investment in York House Ventures Limited - 524
Losses on investments 806 23
(Proft) / loss on sale of intangible and tangible fxed assets (17,775) 65
(Increase) / decrease in debtors (2,846) 361
Increase in creditors 1,020 182
Increase in provisions 455 195
Dividends and interest received (833) (500)
Share of loss in joint venture - 211
Other non-cash adjustments - (255)
Transfer of assets, liabilities and trade from subsidiary - (727)
Net cash (used) by operating activities (5,721) (1,789)

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

24 Capital commitments

Capital commitments
24
Capital commitments at the end of the fnancial year
for which no provision has been made: 2023 2022
£’000 £’000
Authorised but not contracted - 230
Contracted for but not provided in these fnancial statements 5,373 20,470
5,373 20,700

25 Commitments as lessee

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

non-cancellable operating leases is as follows:
2023 2023 2022 2022
Land and Other Land and Other
Buildings Buildings
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Within one year 280 84 467 159
Between one and fve years 1 103 297 244
In fve years or more - - - 6
281 187 764 409

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

26 Pension costs

�efined 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.

Contributions amounted to £1,408,000 (2022: £1,669,000) during the year of which £189,000 (2022: £203,000) had not been paid at the year end.

27 �unds held as custodian Trustees

At the year end, the charity held monies totalling £190,000 (2022: £207,000) on behalf of its clients. These monies are not included within the balance sheet and are held separately in clearly identifiable bank accounts.

28 Related parties

Information regarding Trustees has been disclosed separately in note 10. There were no other related party transactions in the year.

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

29 Comparative SOFA

Comparative SOFA
29
Income from: Total Total Total
Unrestricted Restricted funds
funds funds
£’000 £’000 £’000
Donations and legacies - 1,061 1,061
Charitable activities:
Improving the lives of people with brain injury 50,984 - 50,984
Investment income 500 - 500
Other income 239 - 239
Total income 51,723 1,061 52,784
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
188 - 188
Charitable activities:
Improving the lives of people with brain injury 56,040 - 56,040
Other - 1,191 1,191
Total expenditure 56,230 1,191 57,419
Net (expenditure) before (losses) on investments (4,507) (129) (4,635)
(Losses) on investment assets (23) - (23)
Net movement in funds (4,530) (129) (4,658)
Total funds brought forward 100,324 292 100,615
Total funds carried forward 95,794 163 95,957

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Brainkind Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23

30 Post balance sheet event

On 6 July 2023 Brainkind agreed to purchase a number of neurological care services operated by the charity Sue Ryder, for an expected consideration of £11m. This will see almost 400 staff members, as well as the 125 people they currently support, move across to become part of Brainkind. In total, the three services and four bungalows will generate fee income of around £16m per annum. A designated reserve of £17m (note 21) was created at 31 May 2023 for the acquisition, reflecting the expected cost of acquisition at that point. Post year end, the designated reserve has been reduced to £11m to reflect the revised consideration.

86

About Brainkind

We are the UK’s leading charity helping people to thrive after a brain injury. Our services include neurological centres, rehabilitation and supported living. We provide innovative, personalised and compassionate rehabilitation and ongoing support to people with brain injuries and other neurological conditions.

Find out more about Brainkind at www.brainkind.org

Brainkind is the operating name of The Disabilities Trust. A company limited by guarantee 2334589. Brainkind is a charity registered in England and Wales (800797) and in Scotland (SC038972).

© 2023 Brainkind.