Shopmobility Belfast Limited Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the financial stalements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. Reference and administratlve details Registered charity name Shopmobility Betfast Limited Gharlty reglstrallon number 102592 Company registration number N1031517 Principal office and registered Westgate House office 2 Queen Street Belfast BTI 6ED The trustees C Flinn J Walsh {Chairperson) C Toner D Browne s stewart P Bond Company secretary Julie Guilar Auditor Finegan Gibson Ltd Chartered accountants & ststutory auditor Causeway Tower 9 James Street South Belfasl BT2 8DN Bankers AIB 11-15 DonegaS1 Square North Belfast BT15GB Solicitors Culbert & Martin 7 Donegal Square West Belfast BT16JB
Shopmobility Belfast Limited Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2024 Structure, governance and management Governing Document Shopmobility Belfast is a company limited by guarantee govemed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 1996. Shopmobilty Beifasl is a registered charity with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Shopmobiltty Belfast is a membership organisation with currenlly 6340 members. There were 443 new members signed up in this peri(Kl. Appointment of trustees The board of directors, who are the charity's trustees, and the senior management team comprise the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and conlrolling, running and operating the charity on a day-tfrday basis. Al directors give of their time freely and no director received remuneration in the year. The pay of the senior staff is reviewed annually and nomially increased in accordance with average earnings. In view of the nature of the charity. the directors benchmark against pay levels in other similar sized charities run on a voluntary basis. The remuneration bench-mark is the mid-point of the range paid for similar roles adjusted for a weighting of up to 30 % for any additional responsibilities. If recruitment has proven difficult in the recent past a market addition is also paid with the pay maximum no greater than the highest benchmarked salary for a GQTnparable role. Arrangements for setting pay and remuneratlon of key management personnel The board of directors. who are the charity's trustees. and the senior management team comprise the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the charity on a day-t(Hlay basis. ASI directors give of their time freely and no director reiVed remuneration in the year. The pay of the senior stsff is reviewed annually and nomially increased in accordan with average eamings. In view of the nature of the charity, the directors benchmark against pay levels in other similar sized charities run on a voluntary basis. The remuneration bench-mark is the mid-point of the range paid for similar roles adjusted for a weighting of up to 30Yo for any additional responsibilities. If recruitment has proven dtfficult in the recent past a market addition is also paid with the pay maximum no greater than the highest benchmarked salary for a comparable role. Oryanlsation structure and how charfty makes decisions The board of trustees, which can have up to 15 members. administer5 the charity. The board normally meets quarterly and there may at any time be sub-commitlees covering development. membership. finance and audit which would normally meet monthly. A Chief Executive is appointed by the trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity- To facilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive has delegated authority. wtlhin terms of delegation approved by the trustees, for operational matters including finartce. employment and direct charitable aclivities. Relationships with related partles None of our trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity.
Shopmobility Belfast Limited Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continu8d) Year ended 31 March 2024 Objectives and activities The purposes of the charity are: To provide people with limited mobility either Ihrough permanent or temporary disablemenl, illness, accident or age an assistance to shop and use the social. commercial. cultural and artistic facilities of Belfast and the surrounding area. We hope to provide an alternative to the state of isolation and withdrawal from normal lrfe eXperiend by people who have found themselves temporarily trapped because of illness or age-related conditions. In shaping our objectwes for the year and planning our actIves. the trustees have considered the Charity Commtssion's guidance on public benefit. The strategies employed to achieve the charity's aims and objectives are to.. provide all age groups with limited mobilty the means to access basic services, retail and leisure facilities, by providing the ne$Sary mobility equipment, free of charge. through its three ntral Belfast centres., provide motorised SC¢Jolers, powered and manual wheelchairs and physical assistsnce on application of a simple membership process. After becoming a member of Shopmobility our members were able to use any of our facilities through the city and beyond e.g.. from Queen Street to Crawfordsbum Country Park.. train our staff to show our new members how to use the equipment on offer and when they were confident in its use encouraged our new and old members on the faciliiies to visil Belfast- train and provide mobilty equipment at two hospitals in Belfasl to allow patients to attend dinics and visitors with mobility difficulties to get to wards. Members can use the one membership card at any Shopmobility Belfast facility from thereon in., also train staff ar volunteer5 to perform as advi ntreS to members and the general public in matters regarding disability. mobility and accessibility issues. work with the Alzheimeffs Society to promote and help those with dementia to avail of our service to reduce isolation and depression associated wilh memory loss. All our staff and volunteers have completed a workshop and are trained Dementia Friends. to provide long temi hire of scooters and vtheelchairs. The equipment is often used for going on holiday. to help tourists access Belfast and surrounding areas and or for patients getting out of hospital, awaiting their own scooter or wheelchair delivery.
Shopmobility Belfast Limited Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (conlinu8dJ Year ended 31 March 2024 Achievements and performance In 2023124 we helped 127.749 individuals, many of whom used the service numerous times. Bookings were 12,409 in 202312024. an increase from 11,656 in the previous year. We. like many organisalions. continue to ty to move forward from the Covid pandemic,. GP appointmen15 remained severely impacted - visits in person continued lo be reduced and held on the phone or online- Our demographic of older and vulnerable people was still unsure about venturing out much so curtailed trips out to essentials only: Bookings and membership numbers were also impacted through lack of lourism, which contributes a lot to our long-term hire figures: The cost-of-ltving crisis has made a huge impact on people coming out to the city centre and shopping centres whereas in the past they may have gone shopping or three limes a week they were reducing that to maybe once. Not only was the cost of items increased but so was fvel. parking fees and public and private transport price increased- Shops. restaurants, cafes etc. have all been decimated in recent years - people have less to come out for rf they can't use their favourtte shop or go into their favourite coffee shop-. On-line shopping has become the norm and many people chose this method of buying rather than going out to shop that includes clothing, groceries and loiletries. Inclement and bad weather conditions do have an effect on our business as people don't want to gme oul to sil on a scooter in pouring rain. Local show3 and events like UMMer R03e Fair. Titanic Maritime Festival. Twilight Markets and The Big Event continued to be impacted, mainly by costs. If budgets were reduced, the organisers in general cut the mobility services for the event in order to save money. This has a detrimental effect on new memberships and bry)kings; Good news is that we successfully achieved funding frorn the Rank Foundation for a new Fundraiserlmarketing Executive- This position is fully funded, alongside a mentor. for three years. The post holder has achieved £20,000 fijnding to date. helping Shopmobilty Belfast lo become more sustainable in the coming years by expanding ils repair seNice', Near the end of this financial period. we rel¢xated from Connswater Shopping Centre to Bloomfield Avenue in Belfast and from Gresham Street to Rosemary Street in Belfast city cenlre. These new units are slowly finding a customer base and we intend to market these more intensely. We continue to use Facebk. Twitter and Instagram as our main social media platforms and receive enquiries and bookings Ihrough our website. Again the new Marketing role will help raise our profile on bolh social and Iradttional media and raise awareness of our service by building our brand: Julie. our CEO has continued to participate in sessions and presentations for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Disability Steering Group, Every Customer Counts. Belfast Chamber, Belfast City Council, Visit Belfast and Belfast City Airport Accessibilty Forum. We continue to fulfil contracts with ten countryside parks, the Titanic Experience. Game of Thrones Tour, Newcastle leisure centre. George Best City Alrport and both the Belfast and South Eastern Health and Social ca TTUSts.
Shopmobility Belfast Limited Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees, Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2024 Flnanclal revlew Audiied accounts at the end of 23-24 show a deficit of £69.347 Grant funding by the Department for Infrastructure (Dfll has continued and there has been no further renewal of contract with Belfast Cty Council {BCC). The Trustees confirm the grant provided by the Department of Infrastructure through the Transport Programme for People with Disabilities ITPPD) has been use(J solely tor the purposes tor which rt was provided. We continue io receive funding from the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) and the South Eastem Heatih and Social Care Trust. (SEHSCT). The tnJstees, having regard to the liquidity requirements of the charity, have kept available funds in an interest-bearing deposit account and seek to achieve a rate on deposit which matches or exceeds inflation measLired by the retail prir.p.q indpx. Reserves policy and going concern Reserves are needed to bridge the timing gap bebNeen spending and receiving ot income and to cover unplanned temporary shortfalls in income should they arise. Holding adequate reserves safeguards the provision of our services in the event of unexpected significant financial pressures. The trustees oiisider tliat the ideal level of reserves would be between thtee to six months expenditure whiGh for the year ended 31 March 2024 would be beeen £86,811 and £173,622. Unrestricted reserves freely available to spend. therefore excluding fixed assets. restricted reserves and designated reserves amounted to £24,404. The trustees believe this represents a sufficient level of reSee to ensure that the going concem assumption rs appropriate.
Shopmobility Belfast Limited Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2024 Plans for future periods Shopmobility Belfast will continue to provide its core services with a free daily hire service of mobility equipment to our users both wthin the Belfast Cty Centre area and in outlying shopping centres and parks. We will also continue to provide a long-term hire service for those who require it including people going on holiday and tourists staying in local hotels-. We will endeavour to forge new and ntinUe old relationships with Ial groups and organisations and carry out Uemonstrations and InfOallOn events at community ntres, open days an(J vaNous events to promote our service" We will actively seek out new contracts and opportuntlies to work with stakeholders and statulory agencies to increase income and sustainabilty; There will be a continued emphasis on marketing the ServIS at the Royal and Ulster Hospitals; We will continue to promote our Servi at shows and events across Northem IrelarKI providing equality and accessibility for all. We also continue to participate in and support the Age Friendly Belfast projects and events. We have an on-going relationship with the Alzheimerfs Society and engage with them Ihrough training sessions for our Staff and volunteers., We have achieved funding to allow us to expand and add value to our Service with the addition of a repair and delivery service and we are building relationships with battery companies and parts suppliers to ensure costs are kept as low as possible., We also hope to engage with hotels. Ihe cruise ships and local al to aid travellers and tourists to access Belfast in a more inclusive way., Our aim for the next few years yuld be to establish a hub giving disabilty advice, support and signposting as well as our current services- All these activities will be carried out wilh recourse to Govemment guidelines and primarily with regard to the health and safety of our members and staff. Trustees. responsibilities ststement The trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the trustees, report and the financial statements in accordan wtlh applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practi). Company law requires the charity trustees to prepare financial slatements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the incoming reSoUrS and application of resources. including the income and expenditure, for that period.
Shopmobility Belfast Limited Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (ntinu0) Year ended 31 March 2024 In preparing these financial statements. the trustees are required to: select suitable accounting policies and then apply them rJ)nsistently: observe the methods and principles in the applicable Charities SORP: make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent. prepare the financial statements on the going conrn basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business. The truslees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charivs Iransactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also re$ponsible for s¥f•guarding tho assets of tho charity and honco for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detedion of fraud and other irregularities. The trustees are responsible for the Maintenan and integrity of the corporate and finanGial informalion included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financtal statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. Auditor Each of the persons who is a trustee at the date of approval of this report confirms that.. so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audtt information of which the charivs auditor is unaware., and they have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee to make themsefves aware of any relevant audit inforynation and to establish that the charity's audtlor is aware of that infom)ation. Small company provlslons This report has been prepared in accordance viith the provisions applicable to companies entiued to the small companies exemption. The trustees, annual report was approved on 27 June 2024 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by: J Walsh {Chairperson) Tnjstee