HIGHLAND PERTHSHIRE CROSSING BORDERS SCIO Scottish Charity No: $C045107
Annual Report and Financial Statements Year Ending 30" September 2022
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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT
The trustees have pleasure in presenting their 8th" report together with the financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2022.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Highland Perthshire Crossing Borders (Also known as Crossing Borders)
Charity Number: SC045107
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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Constitution
The Charity is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) registered on 11th September 2014. Prior to this date the organisation was operated under the umbrella of Hipshire Community Network with a separate funding stream. These assets were transferred to the new charity on 29" October 2014.
It has a single tier structure and as such the Trustees are the Members of the Charity.
Appointment of Trustees
Charity Trusteeship is open to any person over the age of 18, interested in the work of the charity. Trustees are elected at the AGM for a period of 12 months. There must be a minimum of three and a maximum of five trustees.
Management
The Trustees form the management group and comprise local volunteers. The management group also includes, ex officio, the Project Co-ordinator.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Charitable Purposes
To benefit both the settled and migrant communities in the Highland Perthshire area by providing support services to individuals and families through education, and promotion of racial harmony, equality and diversity, and help to those in need.
Governance, Activities, Achievements and Performance
From October 1* 2021 the charity services continued to run face to face in local community venues in the Aberfeldy area, and on Zoom for those in Pitlochry and Ballinluig. The Lecture Theatre in Breadalbane Community Campus, and the interview room in the Primary Department continued to be used, for group and one-to-one lessons. Breadalbane Community library was also utilised on weekdays for both lessons and the Daily Life service. As part of the Adult Learning Partnership, HPCB could access these venues free of charge. Lessons continued on a Tuesday evening at the Locus Centre, Aberfeldy, at a very reasonable rate, so HPCB was supporting a range of local venues. Classes were at Starter Beginner, Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, and Advanced.
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However, mid-December 2021 saw the emergence of a new strain of Coronavirus, Omicron. There was a new lockdown imposed over the Christmas period with disruption to community and school activities. ‘here was also a week of severe storms at the beginning of December. This meant that CB face to face classes activities were not permitted until the end of January, as we could not run classes at the library or at the Locus Centre for this period. However, thanks to already being used to providing services on Zoom during the previous lockdowns, we moved sessions to Zoom and services carried on more or less uninterrupted.
In January a stronger bond with the library at Breadalbane Campus was forged, with HPCB having free access at times to suit users of the CB services. This climate of flexibility and trust made a huge difference, so thanks goes to PKC Culture Services.
February 2022 brought the outrage of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. This came a shock to those who had not been aware of the escalating incursions into Ukraine over the past few years. A local man put out an appeal to house two Ukrainian refugee families in Aberfeldy and was flooded with offers. It became obvious that a concerted effort together would be more effective than individuals trying to help refugee Ukrainians on their own. ‘The community group Highland Perthshire Welcomes Ukraine was hastily set up in March. It was felt that language learning might benefit the incoming migrants. ‘he project coordinator at Crossing Borders was asked if there could be any assistance with translation and English tuition. ‘Ihe trustees at HPCB were happy to extend the reach of the charity for this so a partnership working was set up between the charity and the community group. In April 2022 the first refugees arrived and were followed by others, to date, 76 Ukrainian people have arrived to live in the area under the umbrella of HPWU and by extension, HPCB, in the area of Language Support. The new learners were from all areas of Ukraine, including from towns and cities occupied by Russian soldiers, and areas bombed and destroyed such as Mariupol. Everyone had different stories of their escape and travel to this area via Poland, Estonia, Finland, Germany and other routes. ‘Their experiences were harrowing, and their suffering continued after their arrival in the form of constant insecurity and fear for relatives and partners still in Ukraine. For some the journey to the UK has taken six months to complete. HPCB set up classes for new arrivals at all levels, continuing the classes for other migrant members of the community. At the beginning each learner was individually assessed and invited to one-to-one classes. They were equipped with a laptop loan, a course book with online access to the Open University Press course, a sim card to have use of a UK phone, and access to wifi. As numbers increased, new group classes were formed at Beginner, Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Upper Intermediate level. Advanced learners were also given laptops and appropriate level books and also offered the chance to study toward their IELTS exams, with books of past papers given for practice.
It soon became clear that Pitlochry and Dunkeld also needed to be included as their numbers of refugees grew. HPCB put out an appeal for volunteer befrienders and tutors.14 people stepped forward including three people with qualifications in teaching ESOL. The team met regularly with the HPCB co-ordinator who organised lessons, teaching resources,
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updates and feedback on progress.
The Adult Learning Partnership at Perth and Kinross Council once again offered their renewed support to the charity. From March 2022, HPCB was once again a partner and has had a very productive year of regular meetings, stats, reports and case studies, working in partnership with PKC, Perth Prison, Perth College and Church Action for the Homeless.
As well as providing ESOL tuition at no cost, to all and any applicants from the migrant community, the other strand of service of the charity, the “Daily Life” services was utilised constantly. This included assistance with spoken and written correspondence with any aspect of daily life in the UK; bills, employment, housing and homelessness, planning permissions, school, college and university enrolment, sourcing furniture, etc. It also included signposting, implementing contact with Perth and Kinross council services, and correspondence with all types of businesses and organisations; including the police, NHS Tayside, HMRC, DVLA, Women’s Aid, Tayside Police,. etc. Assistance was given with correspondence and documents of all kinds - letters, emails, forms, reports, online enquiries and complaints, etc.
There was an additional need that came up regularly this year that seemed to span the two areas of service., i.e., language support and Daily Life. It was noticeable this year how many members of the migrant community, having attained a good level of English, have moved on to further and more formal study at school, college, university and further training. They have returned to CB for assistance with enrolling on courses, and then attending class to improve their grammar and vocabulary, with a view to supporting them in preparing and submitting work. Some examples of these courses taken were; BA hons in Business, Psychology and Chemistry; HNC/D level courses in Counselling, IT and Accounting; and training as a chef.
It has been astonishing how migrant learners will bravely make their own way in creating a better life here in the UK and achieving their goals despite great obstacles. Any effort or investment put into helping them rise to their challenges and progress forward is met more than halfway by the learners themselves, in their hard work, sustained dedication and determination.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
From October 2022 it is hoped that the solid partnership with the Adult Learning Partnership at PKC continues to flourish for the full year of the service level agreement, up to 31% March 2023. Breadalbane Community Campus library and the Ukrainian Hub in the Locus Centre continue to offer support and great value, and links will be maintained with all other partners such as Highland Perthshire Welcomes Ukraine, the Stronger Communities team, the Anti-Poverty Action group, Aberfeldy Community Larder, Aberfeldy Parish Church, Aberfeldy Community church, CAP, PKC and all other community organisations that HPCB is working with on behalf of the vibrant migrant community. eS)
The trustees continue to meet at least every three months and maintain constant contact, involvement and decision-making in the work of the charity; including supporting learners with daily life issues, befriending and tutoring as volunteers, as well as implementing all the management and financial obligations of the charity. Heartfelt thanks goes to them; and also to the charity external auditor EE who himself has been involved for many years with caring and supporting our migrant local residents.
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by
Hard copy signed on , , . ~~a~~
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Financial Review
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS- for the year ended 30" September 2022.
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Basis of Accounting — these accounts have been prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis in accordance with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended)
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Nature and Purpose of Funds - Unrestricted funds are those which, at the discretion of the Trustees, may be used for the furtherance of the objects of the Charity. The Trustees maintain a single unrestricted fund for day to day running of the Charity. Restricted funds may only be used for specific purposes, specified by the donor or when raising funds.
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Related Party transactions - The Charity’s insurance policy includes Trustee Indemnity Insurance for all its Trustees. No other remuneration was paid to the Trustees or any other connected person during the year.
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Donations - £150.00 cheque and Amazon loyalty scheme. £5.00
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Grants Received:
Perth and Kinross Council, Adult Learning Partnership £19,500.00
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Fundraising — A donation was received of £150.00. Fundraising was hampered by continuing Covid restrictions
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Costs of Charitable Activities: 0
9 Governance Costs 0
- Purchase 0
:
|
| : | | | | | |
|Bank Balance
as
at |£16689.44|£16689.44||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|1/10/21
Hncome
|
Perth
and_ Kinross |£19500.00||
£19500.00|Bxpendiowe
| ___
Project Coordinator
£19,475.00|||
|Council
—
Adult|||||
|Learning Partnership|||||
|Perth
and_
Kinross |£8250.00|£8250.00|Office Costs||£2497.46|
|Council —Community|||||
|Based Adult Learning||Rent of Office||£158.40|
|Fund|||||
|Donations|£400.00|Insurance||£321.58|
|Amazon
loyalty |£5.00|£5.00||||
|scheme|||||
|Total Income 21/22|£,28155.00|Total Expenditure|||
|Total Income added|£44844.44|£44844.44|Bank
Balance|as|at |£22 392.00|
|to Bank
Balance
of||30/9/22|||
|1/10/21|||||
Signed and dated on behalf of the trustees a
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Independent Examiners Report for the year ended 30° September 2021
Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees of Highland Perthshire Crossing Borders SCIO
[ report on the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 30 September 2021.
Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations Act 2006. The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10 (1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of Independent Examiner’s Statement
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanation for the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do not express an audit option on the accounts.
Independent Examiner’s Statement
In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention: -
1 which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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e to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations
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¢ to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations
have not been met, or
2 to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed
Independent Examiner
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