The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)".
Elmore Community Services is a charity set up in 1989. We provide high quality, flexible services in the community to marginalised and disenfranchised people who would otherwise fall between the gaps in Oxfordshire services due to their multiple and complex needs.
Elmore’s clients are people aged 16+ with multiple and complex needs. Clients will have multiple separate support needs such as mental health issues, homelessness and rough sleeping, substance misuse, offending, difficulty in forming and sustaining relationships, physical disability, self-harm, learning difficulties, domestic abuse, sex working or experience of abuse and neglect. Elmore deals with some of the most complex clients in Oxfordshire. The lives of Elmore clients are typically punctuated by various traumatic events which have led to an inability to process emotions in a conventional fashion.
Crises and escalating difficult behaviours can punctuate people’s lives, and in times of crises, multiple agencies may be contacted by or involved in the life of an Elmore client, often at the same time. These contacts can be multiple as well as simultaneous, and without clearer communication and join-up, they can risk overwhelming agencies and, indeed, an overall system that is not designed for such behaviour.
With such needs, clients do not fit easily into services, can be hard to engage, and often they are not getting the services that they need when they need them. Elmore’s flexible approach seeks to engage with people who may have slipped through the net of mainstream services, and to make a positive and lasting impact on their lives.
Elmore clients typically benefit from longer-term interactions. Initial approaches may be rejected. The Elmore worker will persevere, trying out different tactics to engage the client and building up their trust, possibly for the first time, in an agency. The build-up of trust delivers positive outcomes for the individual and the system in the longer-term, which means work can go at a slower pace. Our impact is a ‘slower-burn’ impact of increased time needed to achieve useful outcomes with clients.
We persistently try to engage people and make all potential avenues for treatment and support open and accessible. It is routinely our distinct role to make sense of the range of agencies that might be able to offer a relevant service, and to support people to access them. We occupy a disproportionately large position in the network of agencies across Oxfordshire to define and arrange support from a range of agencies to meet the needs of our clients.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
During 2022-23, Elmore Community Services has supported over a thousand people. This year has seen continued growth for Elmore as an organisation with the addition of new services, working across two new counties, so that the charity is a Thames Valley-wide service provider.
There has been significant change in the world around Elmore: a global pandemic which has transformed the way it works, external service changes which have increased requests for Elmore’s support, and a cost-of-living crisis that is causing unprecedented difficulties for the charity itself, our employees, and the people we support.
Alongside this change, there has been continued consolidation of recently established services in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire and newer partnerships such as the Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance. Elmore continues to work in its traditional way of being based in the community, but now it is embedded within multi-partner teams alongside social care, NHS, and third-sector teams. In some cases, it is fully embedded, in others less so.
Elmore’s efficiency and resilience has improved and costs have been reduced. Innovations in technology and automation, data capture and analysis, and the introduction of back-up systems and processes have put Elmore on a firmer footing.
Elmore continues to be a long-standing member of the Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership, alongside the Oxfordshire Anti-Slavery Network. It continued to shape new services and share clients’ experiences through the story-telling methodology.
The Board has been strengthened by the addition of trustees who hold expertise in finance, medicine, commissioning, and quality assurance. Trustees have lived experience of using mental health and Elmore services, operational management, nursing, safeguarding and governance.
This part of the report supports the audited Accounts of Elmore for the 12-month period to 31st March 2023 and provides more commentary on the statements contained in them. The Accounts conform to statutory requirements and this report is intended to provide further interpretation and explanation.
Income and Expenditure
Elmore finished the year with a with a net loss, expenditure higher than income, of £128.2k. This means that the charity is drawing on some of its historic reserves (its buffer) to bridge the gap. This is a reasonable financial strategy, in the short term, to manage uncertainty, address cost pressures and allow for investment. However, it is not sustainable in the medium term. The cause of the 2022/23 loss is that Elmore’s income from its commissioners is not keeping pace with the increased inflationary pressures, particularly around staff salaries, that have been seen across the country.
Elmore works with vulnerable people and needs to ensure continuity in service provision to help safeguard them from hardship and uncertainty. Management efforts are underway to ensure an improvement in Elmore’s financial position, targeting long-term viability by increasing and diversifying its sources of income.
The charity’s income for this year was £2.28m, an increase of £145.3k on the prior year (2021-22: £2.14m). This represents a significant growth in income as over a four-year period from £851k in 2019-20.
Almost all of Elmore’s income, £2.28m (99.8%) comes from commissioners of our services. These commissioners are the NHS and Local Authorities.
Following the end of the COVID pandemic, the financial support provided by Oxfordshire County Council of £433.6k in 2021/22 was not repeated in 2022/23. Despite this, the overall level of income showed an increase due to the receipt of full year income on some contracts, through inflation uplifts and through the receipt of funding from other sources.
Elmore’s expenditure for the year was £2.36m, an increase of £781.8k (49.9%) on the previous year. Of this there was an increase of £707.8k in our ‘direct’ costs, from £1.28m in 2021/22 to £1.99m in 2022/23. Direct costs are those that are incurred in delivery of the charity objectives and the services for clients provided under our contracts. Of this £707.8k increase, £639.7k was staff costs. Most of these staff were recruited during 2021/22 but their full costs were seen in 2022/23, hence only the small reported increase in end of year headcount between the two years.
Financial review (continued)
Client support costs (another direct cost) increased from £55.9k in 2021/22 to £100.8k in 2022/23.
Support and governance costs (non-direct) increased from £293.3k in 2021/22 to £365.3k in 2022/23. A £72.0k increase but at 24.5%, less than the growth in direct costs. The largest increase in support costs is in office costs.
The charity holds a proportion of its (unrestricted) reserves in investment. In 2022/23 the income (interest) from investments was £2,806 with £3,802 spent on investment management. There was a downwards revaluation of the investment assets at year-end leading to a £50.6k charge (cost) to charity. The performance of the investment and value for money will be the subject of review by Trustee’s.
Balance Sheet
Elmore finished the year with £586.3k of fixed assets, the majority of which are its investment assets. These totalled £563.7k at the end of the year, a reduction of the value in the previous year of £617.7k. This reflects a downwards revaluation of these assets of £50.6k (note 14). This has then impacted on the Income and Expenditure position as set out above.
The value of the charity’s tangible (those that can be seen and touched) fixed assets reduced in year to £22.6k (from £29.7k) as those items were depreciated (their residual value reducing over time as they are used).
The money owed to the charity (debtors) reduced from £804.3k in 2021/22 to £345.8k in this year as more contract income from commissioners was received promptly.
In addition to its investment asset the charity also holds a significant cash balance of £1.05m with no material change from the previous year.
There has been a significant fall in the value owed by the charity to its creditors from £826.2k in 2021/22 to £430.2k in this year. The majority of this (£460.4k) is the use (in 2022/23) of funding received in the previous year but intended to be spent in the current year. This is called deferred income and is treated as ‘owed’ from one year to the next or back to the commissioner if not used. The accounts show that the charity reflect it in the correct accounting year and did use it as intended.
The charity had reserves at the year-end 31 March 2023 of £1.55m. This constitutes a reduction from £1.68m at the year-end 31 March 2022. This reflects the in-year loss in Income and Expenditure. The value of reserves (including cash) is such that it can manage such adverse performance in the short term. Reserves have been increased significantly from £693k as at the year-end 31 March 2020.
The Board of Trustees reviews the level of reserves of the charity on a regular basis, ensuring the provision is in line with the guidance issued by the Charity Commission and is sufficient to safeguard the core services for as long as possible through periods of risk or uncertainty.
Elmore seeks to renew existing contracts, secure new services, extend existing ones, and successfully implement new services secured in the last financial year:
An Adult Eating Disorder project to work alongside NHS Adult Eating Disorder (AED) Services in Oxfordshire. The post holder will provide holistic, person-centred support to adults known to NHS AED teams, offering support around needs unrelated to their eating disorder.
An embedded project in Homeless Oxfordshire, with caseworkers taking a relational and therapeutic approach to ensure the goals of homeless client are met.
A new project in Buckinghamshire to work specifically with clients with mental health needs from South Asian backgrounds (such as India and Pakistan), including those from religious minorities, with an aim to facilitate access to mental health support and other relevant services (including domestic violence, benefits, and housing, among others).
Elmore will move into its fourth year as an accredited Living Wage and Oxford Living Wage employer, wearing its values on our sleeve.
Elmore Community Services (Elmore) is a charitable company registered in England that is limited by guarantee and governed by its Articles of Association, which were last updated in March 2016. The company was incorporated on 11 January 2001 (number 04139974) and registered as a charity on 15 February 2002 (number 1090616).
The principal office and registered office of the charity is 213 Barnes Road, Cowley, OX4 3UT.
The following persons served as Directors throughout the year unless otherwise stated below. They are also Trustees under charity law and have a beneficial interest in the charitable company.
The Trustees guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charitable company in the event of winding-up.
Elmore’s governance is the responsibility of the Trustees and the sole Members of the company. The terms of the Articles of Association specify a minimum of three Trustees and no maximum, though we aim for 8-12 Trustees to be an effective working group while also providing sufficient capacity, diversity, skills, and knowledge.
The Board of Trustees has traditionally met six times per year (regular quarterly meetings plus two strategy meetings) and there is a Finance Subcommittee and Quality Subcommittee which meets in between the quarterly meetings.
Other working groups take place as required, focusing on topics such as Reducing Elmore’s Floating Support Waiting List or other specific work to be undertaken with the support of Trustees.
Authority from the Trustees is delegated to a Chief Executive who is also the company secretary and is responsible for the day to day running of the charitable company. In 2022-23 the Chief Executive was Tom Hayes, in his fourth year in the role, and the charity has been supported operationally by three Service Managers, fifteen Team Managers, and an Administration Team, which together co-ordinate the forty multiple needs workers who undertake the direct charitable activities.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Elmore Community Services for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that 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 responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Shaw Gibbs (Audit) Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting. The trustees' report was approved by the board of directors.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Elmore Community Services (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the 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.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s 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 other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and 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 course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees' report; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purpose 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.
We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act 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.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
At the planning stage of the audit, we gain an understanding of the laws and regulations which apply to the charitable company and how the trustees seek to comply with those laws and regulations. This help us to plan appropriate risk assessments.
During the audit, we focus on relevant risk areas and reviewed the compliance with the laws and regulations by making relevant enquiries from the trustees and undertaking corroboration, for example by reviewing trustees’ minutes and other documentation.
We assess the risk of material misstatement in the financial statements including as a result of fraud and undertook the following procedures but were not limited to:
Reviewing the controls set in place by the trustees;
Making enquiries of the trustees as to whether they consider fraud or other irregularity may have taken place, or where such opportunity might exist;
Challenging the trustees’ assumptions with regard to accounting estimates;
Identifying and testing journal entries, particularly those which appear to be unusual by size or nature.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company's trustees as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's trustees 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 trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report or for the opinions we have formed.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Elmore Community Services is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 213 Barns Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX4 3UT.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
All monetary donations are included in full in the statement of financial activities when receivable, provided that there are no donor-imposed restrictions as to the timing or the related expenditure, in which case recognition is deferred until the pre-condition is met.
Revenue grants are credited as incoming resources when they are receivable, provided conditions for receipt have been complied with, unless they relate to a specified future period, in which case they are deferred.
Investment income is accounted for in the period in which the charity is entitled to receipt of the income.
Expenditure, which is charged on an accruals basis, is allocated between:
Expenditure incurred directly to the fulfilment of the charity's objectives
Expenditure incurred in supporting the activities that directly fulfil the charity's objectives
Expenditure incurred in the management and administration of the charity.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged as an expense on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Support
Support
Client welfare
Client support
Office costs
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
I
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
I
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases:
After the year end date, the charity entered into operating lease agreements resulting in future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases with a total value of £28,000 (of which £14,000 is due in the financial year end 2024).
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none).
The charity had no material debt during the year.