Hands That Talk Acom Rimited b uarantee ort of the Trustees includin Directors, Re for the Year Ended 31 Mareh 2023 The trustees ate pleased to present their report with the financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 3 1 March 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Charities SORP (FRS 102), "Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Statement of Recornmended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ir¢land (FRS 102)" (¢ff¢ctivc l January 2019) in prepIllg th¢ r¢port of th¢ trust¢¢s and financial statements of the charitable company, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a Directors, report and accounts for corllpany and charity law purposcs. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Company number Nl 047688 (Northern Ireland) Registered Charitable compgny number8 HMRC: XR37241 Charity Cominission for Noithffli Ireland.. NICIOO158 Principal & Registered Office 116 Main Street Dungiven Co DenylLondonderry Northern Ireland BT47 4LG Trustees The members of the Board during the year and up to the date of approval have been: Coll¢¢n Agnew Avril Scott Liam P Hegarty Dorothy A Hcgaty Caroline Doherty Roisin F8rren Debbie Hutchinson Joshua Kavanagh Luke Keogh Margaret Logue Martin Heaney Mary Mccloskey Raymond Abernethy Naoini Brown Chairperson Vice Chair Treasurer, resigned 26 October 2022 Resigned 19 October 2022 Appointed 26 October 2022 Appointed 26 October 2022 Appointed 26 October 2022 Appointed 26 October 2022 Appointed 26 October 2022 R¢signed 26 October 2022 Company Secretsry Martina Allen Executive Officer Martina Allell Accountant CG Taggart Accountancy Services 17 Cypress Crescent Donaghadcc Co Down BT21 OQG Page I
Hands Tbat Talk Acom an limited b arantee Re ort of the Trustees includin Directors, Re for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 - continued ort REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS continued Solicitor Clarendon Legal 48 ClaTcndon Street Dery City BT48 7ET Bankers Danske Bank 46 Catherine Street Llmavady Co Derry/Londondery BT49 9DB Cambridge & Counties Bank (online account) STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Governing doeument The charitable company is controlled by its governing documents the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defin¢d by the Companies Act 2006. Governance of the OrgAnisAtion Durllig the year under review the trustees m¢t 5 tim¢s. Trustees are nominated and appointed by mfflnbers present at the Annual Geneial Meeting or co-opted by the trustees at any time, and hold office until the next AGM when they are eligible for re-election. At all tiines, whether by way of AGM or co-option members must byive due rcgard to thc overall inake-up of th¢ Board in terms of balance between deaf and hearing members, coinmunity and gender balance. Risk management The trustees have assessed the major risks, to which the charitable company is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charitable company. The trustees are satisfied that systems ar¢ lli plac¢ to mitigate any exposur¢ to major risks. PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT The trustees have complied with the duty to have due Tegard to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland's statutory guidance on the Public Benefit requiremenL issued under th¢ Charities Act (NI) 2008. OWECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objectives The principal objective of th¢ charitable company is to improve the quality of life for the Deaf cornmunity by providing social, educational and recreational activities. Included in this are the following: ( l) The advancement of education of those with deathess and hearing loss and of the gcn¢ral public to improve communication capacity and opportunities and to decrease isolation. (2) The advanc¢ment of heth and well-being of those with deafness and hearing loss. (3) The advanc¢m¢nt of citizcnship and promotion of community development for and between those with dcafness and hearing loss and the hearing community. (4) The advancement of the arts, cultUEe and heritage and encouragement of participation in such activities for those with dethess and hcaring loss" (5) The advancement of human rights for those with deathess and hearing loss and the promotion of equality. diversity and integration with the hearing community. (6) The relief of those in need by reason of their deaf or hearing loss disability. and (7) Any other charitable purpose which providcs or assists in providing facilities in thc intCTCSt of social welfare with the objective of improving the conditions of life for those with deaesS and hearing loss in the area of benefit. Page 2
Hands That Talk Acom limited b arantee Re ort of the Trustees includin Directors, Re for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 - Continued ort Objectives continued Vision.. Hands That Tallc's vision is to engender pride in the Deaf conllnunity and its culture and language. Mission: Hands That Talk's mission is to promote a greater interest in and awarcncss of the Deaf community and create opportunities for fither illtegration of the Dea£ hard of hearing and hearing con]munitics. ACTivrrIES, ACHIEVEMKNTS, PERFoR1NcE AND FUTURE PLANS The principal activities of Hands That Talk can be defined in the following areas: Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing People During the financial year Hands That Ta]k secured ndIng from AIB, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Centr4 Department for Communities, Dungiven Parish, Dunmore Community Benefit Fun(L Evishgaran and Cyaiggore Community Benefit Fund, Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland and Screwfix. With this financial support we upgraded oui classroom and furniture shop. delivered programmes and undertook activities designed to reduce social isolation and promote inclusion for the Deaf Community. A key part of the service offered by Hands That Talk is supporting our members. By offering this suppory we identified a need for elass¢s to be facilitated in sign language, where possible. Social Activities A key activity of Hands That Talk is supporting. developing and delivering social activities that allow not only the Deaf community to come together, but also proinote integration between the Deaf, hard of hearing alld hearing coinmunities. We worked hard to attract inembers back into the centre and our social club meet regularly on Friday nights. This year some of the group activities included - bowls, sewing club, infonnation sessions and cookery. We will keep adaptingF to the Changi1 needs of our members as we co11tue to grow. Education and Outreach The cost of living crisis had a ncgativc impact on 0. accredited BSL classcs for Hearing people and we were unable to get enough nuinbers to run these. Coffee catch ups continue to be popular, and the venue varies to allow people to attend local to where they live. We collaborated with BL)A to deliver a 6 week Teacher Training course with a view to providing mor¢ Sign Languagc Tutors for the future. Upcycling furniture, readingy and luncheon club, mental wellbeing, and intensive courses in BSL level 3 and Level 4 wer¢ all facilitated in sign language. Pagc 3
Hands That Talk Acom an limited b arantee ort of the Trustees includin Directors, Re for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 - continued ort ACTIVITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS, PERFORMANCE AND FUTURE PLANS continued Interpreting Hands That Talk provide sign language interpreters to support Deaf people in numerous situations such as healthcare appointments. parent-teacher meetings, accessÈng services and attending events. In 2022-23 we pi'ovided intery)reters for 821 separate bookiiigs, thus making a huge impact on the ability of Deaf people to interact with the hearinbF commiinity in their first language. From 01/0412023 Hands That Talk tog¢thcr with Sign Language Interactions hav¢ secured the contract for interyreters in medical settings for the next 3 years. Hands That Talk will continue to provide face to face interpreters wÉthin WHSCT for mcdicaj settings. Social Economy Hands That Talk's chartty shop in our premises on Main Street, Dungiven and our rnIture shop generates income to support our work with the Deaf Community and hard of hearing people. We encourage people to volunteer in the shop and in the office on a regular basis. The charity continues to offer courses in upcycling furniture. Long¢r t¢rni we plan to use these skills to help the circular economy and the sustainability of tli¢ charity. Future Plans Hands That Talk plan to work in partnership, where possible. with other Community Groups, also to share space and resources. We look forward to tliese developments. FINANCIAL REVIEW The financial statements deal with all the income and expenditure of the charitable Company, as well as its financial position at the year end. The results for the year and the fmancial position w¢r¢ considered satisfactory by the tsustees. At 31 March 2023, totsl charitable company funds w¢r¢ £419,564 (2022.. £404,767), an increase of £14,797. Of th¢ increase of £14,797 (2022: £4,693), £5,244 relates to restricted reserves (2022.. £(48,089)), with a surplus of £9.553 (2022.. £52,782) in unrestricted funds. Unrestricted reserves at 31 March 2023 were £229,009 (2022: £219,456), of which £80,631 would be rcalisabl¢ only throu¥h a disposal of the building. All monies received supported key objectives of the charitable company, fimding charitable activity Costs and support costs, as well as capital expenth'ture. Reserves policy The trustees, policy is to retain a level of free reserves which matches the needs ofthe charitable company both at the current time and in th¢ foreseeable thre. The Executive of the Board have set a Res¢rv¢s Policy of a minimum level of unrestricted res¢rves held by th¢ charAtable company of the cquivalent of six months core Tunning and salary costs plus one month's other salaries and statutory redundancy pay. This currently equates to approximately £50,000 (2022: £50,000) and will be recalculated every 3 years, unless an earlier calculation is requircd through change of circumstances. A minimum level of £60,000 is preferred. Actual unrestricted reserv¢s at prcscnt arc £229,009 (2022.. £219,456) in total, of which £3,000 is designated and £80,631 (2022: £80,028) is effectively tied up in the building and realisable only through disposal. Fre¢ rcservcs are £140,803 (2022: £82.806). Page 4
Hands That Talk Aco limited b llarantee ort of the Trustees includin Directors, Re for the Year Ended 31 Mareh 2023 - continued ort FINANCIAL REVIEW continued Going Concern The charitable company has reported a surplus of £14,797 for the current year ended 31 March 2023 (2022.. surplus £4.693}. The Balance Sheet shows a net asset position as at 31 March 2023 of £419,564 (2022.. £404,767). Unrestricted funds have increased from £219,456 as at 31 Marcli 2022 to £229,009 as at 31 Marcli 2023. with free reserves staiiding at £140,803 (2022: £82,806). The Board is confident that with the renewal of grant fuiiding from historical sources, increased effort iii fuiid-raisingy activ ities aiid contiiiued income derived from interpretin¥, coupled with an effective cost reduction stratcgy, the charilable coinpany will be able to continue as a goiiig conceni for the next 12 Imontlis. For this reasoii, the trustees coiitinue to adopt the Going Concerii basis in preparingy the financial statements. FurtherdetAils regarding the adoption of the Going Coiicern basis can be found in the Accounting Policies. STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES, RESPONSIBILITIES The trustees (who are also directors of Hands Tliat Talk for the purposes of company law) are respoiisible for prepariiig the Report of the Trustees and the financial statemeiits in accordance with applicable law and United Kinbydoin Accouiiliiig Staiidards (United Kingdom Geiierally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires tlie trustees to prepare financial statemeiits for each financial year wliich give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the cliaritable company aiid of tlie incom iiigy resources and application of resources, including tlie income and expenditure, of the cliaritable company for tliat year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to: select siiitable accounting policies and then apply them consi8tently; observe tlic Inctlinds and priiiciples in tlie Cliaritable company SORP 2019 (FRS 102). make.judg¢meiits and estiinates that are reasoiiable and prudent. state wliether applicable UK Accounting Staiidards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explaiiied in tlie fiiiaiicial slateinents. prepare tlic fiiiancial statements on the gFoing concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that tlie Cliaritable company wil I contiiiue in operation. The trustees are responsible for keeping adeqiiate accoiinting records that are sutficient to show and explain the charitable compaiiy's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time thc financial position ofthe cliaritable coiiipany and ¢nablL' tliem lo ensLire tliat tlie financial 8tatements comply with tlie Compaiiies Act 2006. They are also respoiisible t.or safeguardiiig ihe assets ofiliL cliarilablc coinpaiiy and heiice for laking reasonable steps for tlie prevention and dctectioii of fraud and otlier irregularities. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the company's website. ACCOUNTANT A resolution at a previous AGM required the organisation to retender for accountants. Grace Taggart of CG Taggart Accountancy Serviccs was subsequeiitly appointed for an initial period of l year (2013114). This has been extended every 2 years since and will now reinain in force until furtlier notice. This report has been prepared in accordan¢e with thc special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relatiiig to small companies and was approved by the trustees on 27 September 2023. SIGNED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD: Colleen Agnew Chairperson Page 5