The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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 objects of the charity as stated in the Articles of Association are:
1. To educate the public concerning the benefits of secure couple relationships, marriage and family life in order to improve the emotional, sexual and spiritual well-being of individuals which is derived from committed relationships;
2. To seek to enhance the good health, both mental and physical, of adults and children by increasing public awareness of the benefit of committed couple relationships, marriage and family life and working to prevent poverty, hardship and distress caused by the breakdown of such relationships;
3. To provide counselling, advice, education, guidance and relief to adults and/or children in relation to any aspect of contemporary life or work which may prejudice their physical or mental well being, or influence either directly or indirectly, their present or future family or couple relationship;
4. To relieve those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage;
5. To promote research into all of the above objects and to make the results available to the public.
Vision
Relate's vision is of a future in which healthy relationships form the heart of a thriving society.
Mission
Relate's purpose is to help people make those personal changes which enable them to engage in committed and loving relationships for the benefit of themselves, their family and society.
To develop and support healthy relationships by:
- Helping couples, families and individuals to make relationships work better;
- Delivering inclusive, high-quality services that are relevant at every stage of life;
- Helping both the public and policymakers to improve their understanding of relationships and what makes
them flourish.
Relate aims to deliver its services with cultural sensitivity and without discrimination. The Charity's principal activity is the provision of counselling for couples, individuals, families and young people experiencing relationship difficulties, and the provision of sexual therapy.
Public benefit
Our aim is to provide our services to clients irrespective of age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, religion or ability to pay. We do all we can to support clients on limited incomes and we have been able to provide services to children and to some disadvantaged couples and families at reduced costs.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Overview
2022/2023 has been an important year in the life of the Charity. Not only was it our first complete post-pandemic year of operation since 2019/2020, it was also the year we reached and celebrated our 60th anniversary. This milestone was officially recognised at a well-attended countywide event in November 2022 and marked a year’s worth of dedicated work which resulted in both the rebranding and re-focused direction of the organisation.
Relate North & South West Sussex became Relate West Sussex in September 2022, at the same time that Relate National launched its new website and national branding with the catchphrase, we can Relate. Relate West Sussex has benefitted greatly from the fresh new branding which has now been fully implemented across the organisation. Although our core service of offering effective and transformative counselling services to our clients remains the same, the way we are marketing ourselves has changed. Moving away from its outdated marriage guidance narrative, Relate West Sussex is now proudly flagging its three core services through a range of new publicity materials:
•Connect – Relationship counselling for couples and families, including psychosexual therapy
•Thrive – Counselling for adult individuals
•Grow – Counselling for children and young people aged 5-25
As well as scrutinising our service delivery and the systems that support it, the business development process which began in 2021/2022 explored how we might become more financially stable and sustainable in the coming years. The trustees and management team agreed two key strands of development beyond our business as usual work which aim to increase our core income and create future opportunities for growth and expansion.
1. Open a second Charity Shop
2. Develop our contract and partnership work beyond current levels
As we have monitored progress in our business as usual operations, and acknowledged the potential for our contracts to fall away without much notice, we have added a third priority to the mix: Focus on bringing paid client income closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Key trends from 2022/2023
The key trends and changes we have seen during 2022/2023 have primarily, but not entirely been driven by the work falling under the PCN contracts.
In the past, couple and family counselling have easily accounted for two-thirds of our work, but in the last year, this trend has shifted dramatically with couple and family counselling appointments dropping by 45% and amounting to just 29% of our total offer, compared to adult individual counselling now topping the services list with a 78% increase making up 30% of our offer, and children and young people’s counselling which increased by a massive 117%, making up 28% of our offer. This change has undoubtedly been driven by the PCN contract work, although 27% of all individual adults seen, and 31% of all children and young people seen came to us via routes other than the PCN contracts. The consistent mix of relationship, individual and children and young people’s counselling is certainly in line with the new marketing and rebranding of our service, but as an organisation we regularly monitor and review our offer to ensure that we remain true to our areas of difference and expertise within the wider counselling world.
The escalation in children and young people’s counselling in particular has seen the centre managing a growing number of serious and complex cases. Over the course of 2022/2023, we opened 45 serious case records, up 73% from the year before. These cases were primarily around suicidal ideation and complex mental health needs, as well as domestic abuse and safeguarding concerns. In October 2022 we were required to attend the inquest of the tragic suicide of one of our former young clients to give evidence, and our heart remains with his bereaved family. Our safeguarding and complex case procedures are robust and regularly scrutinised and shared, but the growing number of clients desperate for specialist support is something that the organisation is addressing on an ongoing basis. Consultation and regular communication with GPs, CAMHS, Social Services, Schools and the Police have become part of our day to day work.
Another trend which came into play in the previous financial year, and remains this year is the increased focus on Crawley-based clients, and the decreased focus on other areas of the county. Crawley now accounts for more than half of all our work, whilst Horsham, Chichester and Mid-Sussex have dropped down to 16%, 8% and 6% respectively. Although as with services trends above, this change is driven primarily by the PCN contracts and the fact that Crawley is the only place in the county where we have leased premises at our disposal, it is worth noting that 34% of Crawley clients did not come to Relate West Sussex through the PCN contracts. Also of note is the increase in clients coming to us from outside of West Sussex. 12% of clients came to us from out of area, something that was not even a possibility pre-pandemic. Some of this number have come to us from neighbouring counties for face to face support as Relate National is not yet offering this service in their areas.
A trend which we have been closely monitoring since the onset of the pandemic three years ago is the increase in clients receiving either free or subsidised counselling from us, with a 33% increase during 2022/2023. As an organisation we have committed to making our service financially accessible at this time when soaring cost of living expenses make counselling a “nice to have” for many people. 59% of all clients who came to us received either free or subsidised counselling. Three-quarters of those accessed us through the PCN and Early Help contracts.
The contracts have undoubtedly been a boon to the organisation as a way of making our service accessible and known to the local community, building strong links with partners, and ensuring a level of year on year financial certainty. But as with any change, the proportion of our work devoted to partnership contracts needs careful monitoring and consideration. At the end of 2022/2023, we came near to losing all four PCN contracts at the eleventh hour because of funding issues within our partner organisations. We must always be aware that as quickly as this work has emerged, it can also fall away, and make our plans and preparations accordingly.
To this end, dedicated effort is being made to grow and build up areas of work which have decreased during the Covid years. As well as making ourselves financially accessible, we are targeting potential clients who can afford to pay for their counselling to grow our client income. In the coming year, we are actively increasing our available face to face counselling slots for non-contract clients by at least 42%, and are looking strategically at counsellor recruitment and development. The vast majority of those additional counselling sessions are opening up in Horsham, where we will be resuming a face to face service for the first time in three years, as well as in Chichester and in East Grinstead.
At the same time we are working towards new business development opportunities with the pursuit of new bespoke contracts with local partners, and, should a suitable property become available, with a second Charity Shop which we hope will shore up our sustainable core income and give us more flexibility to grow and develop going forward.
THREE-YEAR COMPARISONS
Cases
| 2020/2021 | 2021/2022 | 2022/2023 |
Appointments offered | 2798 | 4068 | 4786 |
Appointments attended | 2337 | 3294 | 3811 |
% appointments attended | 84% | 80% | 80% |
Number of cases | 486 | 652 | 790 |
Number of individuals | 661 | 896 | 1055 |
Finances
| 2020/2021 | 2021/2022 | 2022/2023 |
Income | 323,088 | 381,325 | 463,248 |
Expenditure | 320,616 | 387,121 | 449,356 |
Surplus/Deficit | 2,472 | -5,846 | 13,892 |
Our services
During the course of the year we offered 4,786 appointments and 3,811 (80%) were attended. This is an 18% increase in appointments offered compared with the previous year. Of the 3,811 appointments attended, 2,235, or 59% were subsidised in some way to enable access to clients who would not have been able to afford the full session fee. The number of free or subsidised sessions offered during the year increased by 33% on the previous year.
Quarter 2022/2023 | Appointments attended | Appointments subsidised | Proportion of appointments subsidised 2022/2023 | Proportion of appointments subsidised 2021/2022 |
Apr-Jun 2022 | 932 | 579 | 62% | 49% |
Jul-Sep 2022 | 893 | 593 | 66% | 52% |
Oct-Dec 2022 | 978 | 519 | 53% | 51% |
Jan-Mar 2023 | 1008 | 544 | 54% | 53% |
Type of subsidy | Appointments attended | Proportion of total subsidised appointments 2022/2023 | Proportion of total subsidised appointments 2021/2022 |
Free counselling through PCN and Early Help contracts | 1,702 | 76% | 65% |
Subsidy from trusts and foundations | 169 | 8% | 11% |
Free counselling through NHS contract (22/23 only) | 107 | 5% | N/A |
Subsidy from core funding | 102 | 5% | 12% |
Other local funding | 97 | 4% | 5% |
Subsidy from Relate National contracts | 58 | 2% | 7% |
Services accessed
For the second year running, children and young people’s services, and adult individual counselling increased dramatically compared to the year before, mostly due to the PCN contracts. Psychosexual Therapy also showed a 100%+ increase, albeit from a low base. A notable change is the 40% drop in relationship counselling sessions attended. Couples and Family counselling combined made up just 29% of our total offer during the year.
Type of service | Number of sessions attended 2022/2023 | % of total service
| % change from 2021/2022 |
Initial Assessment | 306 | 8% | +14% |
Relationship Counselling | 1023 | 27% | -40% |
Individual Counselling | 1138 | 30% | +78% |
Psychosexual Therapy | 175 | 5% | +101% |
Family Counselling | 91 | 2% | -5% |
CYP Counselling | 1078 | 28% | +117% |
ALL SERVICES | 3811 | 100% |
|
Contract and partnership work
During 2022/2023 our contract work with the Crawley Primary Care Networks (PCN) increased so that every GP practice in Crawley had access to a children and young people’s counsellor, and four of the GP practices also had access to an adult counsellor. We offered a total of 62 free counselling sessions every week through these four contracts. We worked hard alongside our partners and advocates, Alliance for Better Care to try and secure a longer-term commissioned service across all practices going forward, but sadly were not able to achieve this due to commissioner funding being earmarked for mental health wellbeing practitioners instead. At the end of the year, however, we were successful in re-funding all four of the existing PCN contracts into the following year. Since these contracts began in January 2021, we have supported 645 adults and 302 children and young people through 2,779 free counselling sessions. This is the feedback from one of the GP Practices we support:
“The service from Relate has been outstanding. The counsellors have been professional, sympathetic and above all kind and helpful to our younger patients who have seen them. The benefit of having repeated counselling sessions with only a short wait for our PCN patients has been significant and transformative.”
During the year we were approached by West Sussex County Council’s Early Help Team to support them with Family Counselling through the Reducing Parental Conflict Programme. During the final quarter of the year, a new two-year contract with Early Help began, offering six family counselling sessions per week out of our Crawley premises and Early Help’s Shoreham premises.
We continued ongoing work with sixth form college Collyers, with a counsellor supporting four members of pastoral staff to safely hold the load of the college students’ emotional wellbeing through half-termly supervision sessions. Collyers students and staff are also eligible for short-term counselling at reduced rates.
About our clients
During 2022/2023, our caseload increased by 21%, and we worked with 790 cases, which amounts to 1,055 individuals supported during the course of the year. 61% of our clients were female, 39% male, and fewer than 1% were non-binary. The average age was 43 years old, compared to 48 years old last year. 23% of clients did not give their ethnicity, reduced from the half of clients who did not give their ethnicity the previous year. Of the clients that responded, 86% of individuals were white British and 14% were from other ethnic groups with the largest proportion from the Asian British community.
Approximately 9% of clients completed an after service form. Of those who completed the forms, 93% said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service they had received and 2% were unsatisfied or very unsatisfied. 90% of clients said they felt very listened to and understood by the counsellor, and 71% said the counselling had helped them to understand themselves better.
Some feedback from our clients
“My counsellor was really helpful. I felt like she really understood and listened, but also helped me realise things about myself that I haven't before. I feel a lot more empowered and calmer for going to see her. Would highly recommend to anyone.”
“It’s given me more confidence in myself and the ability to deal with issues as they arise. I was able to practice some tools with my partner which has made us understand each other better. The future definitely looks brighter!”
“I’ve felt so strong coming out, I’ve gained so much independence and self-confidence/esteem. I’m able to open up and have a better relationship with my husband and family.”
“We sought help from Relate after our relationship was under a lot of strain. It was so easy and quick to arrange an assessment. We had lost how to communicate without arguing. Our counsellor understood and taught us ways to communicate and find us again. She really listened and spoke to us on a level that we could understand and felt that our advice was individual and tailored to us. We cannot thank our counsellor and Relate enough for helping us.”
“My counsellor has been amazing. For the first time in nine years I understand myself and my previous relationship a lot better. I know now that I will not repeat the same cycles that have made me so unhappy for so long.”
“Counselling helped me to talk about my past and gave me the confidence to deal with it. I now feel I can take the steps to enjoy life and not look back.”
“The counsellor has been great with my daughter. It's been helpful to provide her with space to think about how things will/have affected her through some difficult times - thank you.”
“It has made a huge difference as when I first came I was really worried. About halfway through I started feeling more confident and I don't think about worries now.”
“Has allowed me the forum to voice my opinion in regards to what I needed from my relationship. To know that I do have the right to my opinion and that it does matter. Has helped me find some confidence in myself again.”
“My counsellor has saved my marriage. What more can I say! Thank you to him for being patient and working with us to be better people to each other and ourselves.”
“We had relationship counselling, and we were already in a place of good communication so I don't think we had any revelations, but the sessions definitely helped clarify things in where we were both at, our difficulties and our boundaries. Overall the service was very good and personal.”
“Our counsellor was most helpful and a good listener. She was able to give positive advice and was not afraid to tackle difficult areas. The sessions helped enormously.”
“We had counselling separately in the past so it was good to focus together. Our communication is on the right track. The counsellor helped us to see things from a different perspective and at a deeper level.”
“Our counsellor was incredibly understanding and patient, supporting and guiding us in a compassionate way. We felt listened to and over time were given the insight and tools to manage our future together. Worth every single second. Thank you.”
Age range of client | Number of clients in this age range | Percentage of clients in this age range 2022/2023 | Percentage of clients in this age range 2021/2022 |
Under 18 | 253 | 24% | 11% |
18-29 | 97 | 9% | 13% |
30-39 | 227 | 22% | 23% |
40-49 | 204 | 19% | 26% |
50-59 | 176 | 17% | 18% |
60-69 | 68 | 6% | 7% |
70-99 | 30 | 3% | 2% |
Client council area | Number of clients in this council | Percentage of clients in this council 2022/2023 | Percentage of clients in this council 2021/2022 |
Crawley Borough Council | 562 | 53% | 48% |
Horsham District Council | 167 | 16% | 22% |
Chichester District Council | 81 | 8% | 9% |
Mid Sussex District Council | 61 | 6% | 7% |
Arun District Council | 28 | 3% | 3% |
Other West Sussex Council areas | 25 | 2% | 0% |
Neighbouring Council areas | 52 | 5% | 3% |
Other Council areas in England | 74 | 7% | 3% |
Not specified | 5 | Less than 1% | 5% |
Client ethnicity | Percentage of clients in this ethnic group 2022/2023 | Percentage of clients in this ethnic group 2021/2022 |
White British | 86% | 86% |
Asian British | 6% | 5% |
Other White | 4% | 3% |
Mixed Race | 3% | 2% |
Black British | 1% | 3% |
Chinese | Less than 1% | N/A |
Other | Less than 1% | 1% |
How clients accessed our services | Percentage of clients 2022/2023 | Percentage of clients 2021/2022 | Percentage of clients 2020/2021 |
Contract with centre | 44% | 36% | 15% |
Self referral (always known about us) | 23% | 30% | 47% |
Online (google search/website/RelateHub) | 8% | 8% | 8% |
Friend or family member | 7% | 8% | 8% |
Other professional | 6% | 5% | 9% |
Ex-client | 4% | 5% | 5% |
Advertising and social media (incl Facebook, posters, leaflets, radio) | Less than 1% | 1% | 1% |
Other | Less than 1% | 1% | 1% |
Did not respond | 7% | 6% | 6% |
Leavers & Starters
Our counselling team changed over the year with the addition of one new counsellor in training, Jazmin Ward, and three new children and young people’s counsellors recruited to support the PCN contracts, Deborah Thorne, Maria Konstantinelli and Sally Fifield (a familiar face who worked with us in years gone by). We said goodbye to Annie Aitchison and Majeed Iltaf shortly after completion of their training, and also to Nirvana Crowley, Anna Leythorne-Dean, Sara Ines-Genevini and Graeme Butler. Emma Huband, who started her young person’s training the previous year, qualified and has added young people to her existing couples work with Relate. Towards the end of the year, a number of new trainees and newly-qualified counsellors were recruited to begin work in the following financial year.
We were pleased to welcome a new member of staff to our thriving Charity Shop. Sarah Hearnden joined the team as an additional Charity Shop Assistant in December 2022. In addition, Vicki Barry was appointed to the newly-created role of Operations Manager due to start early in the new financial year.
The trustee board remained fairly steady during the financial year, with just one goodbye to Cheryll Allison in May 2022. During the final quarter of the year work was underway to recruit a new Chair of Trustees.
We welcome all our new starters, and wish those who have moved on all the best in their next ventures.
Financial position
The Statement of Financial Activities on page 12 shows a £13,892 surplus (2021/2022: deficit of £5,846) and this has been reflected in the Balance Sheet as set out on page 14.
Funding sources
We are always grateful to our partners, funders and members of the general public who have consistently supported the vital work of Relate West Sussex over the years. We would like to say a massive thank you to the following funders:
Funding to support the whole organisation and all areas served
60th Anniversary fundraising (members of the public) Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust Easy Fundraising Kelly Family Charitable Trust Co-op |
Crawley Crawley Borough Council Longley Trust |
Horsham Horsham District Council Horsham District Community Lottery |
Chichester Bassil Shippham and Alsford Trust |
East Grinstead East Grinstead Common Good Trust |
Once again, we are extremely grateful and appreciative of the efforts of Cara Hyde and her team of assistants and volunteers for making our Charity Shop a record-breaking success during the past year. In the last financial year the shop made a net profit of £78,070 (2021/2022: £65,736).
Reserves policy
The Charity needs reserves to enable it to meet its charitable obligations and commitments it enters into. The Trustees believe that the ideal level of reserves to meet its general purposes and specific activities should be up to the equivalent of four months operating costs (currently approximately £151,000) calculated and reviewed annually. We believe that the reserves should be maintained or built up to the desired level in stages as necessary, consistent with the charity's overall financial position and its need to maintain and develop its charitable objectives. At the end of the financial year, the level of freely available reserves stood at £92,900 (2021/2022: £86,625).
2022/2023 saw the end of the change work and agreed recommendation for the future which began in the previous year. In addition to the change of name, new branding, new website and refreshed marketing now in place, there are a number of key areas of focus going forward. Namely:
•The new Operations Manager in post from April 2023 tasked with upping counsellor utilisation and streamlining/supporting the efficient work of the administration team;
•Increasing core income through a second Charity Shop and new partnership contracts;
•A commitment to bringing client income and our presence across the whole county closer to pre-pandemic levels through a growing counselling team and the opening of new face to face sessions in areas which have lost traction.
Governing document
The Charity is controlled by its governing document, Memorandum and Articles of Association, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
Recruitment and appointment of new trustees
Relate West Sussex recruits trustees with particular skills, who have an interest in relationships, families and young people. All new board members receive a comprehensive induction pack about Relate West Sussex and as to their responsibility as Charity Trustees and company directors. We offer trustees internal and external workshops and on-going advice, information, training and guidance relating to their duties and the Charity's Operations.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall governance of the Charity. Trustees are elected, appointed or co-opted, the total number of Trustees not being less than six nor exceeding eighteen.
The Trustees generally meet between six and 12 times a year, review strategy and operational performance, and set operating plans and budgets. The Board delegates the exercise of certain powers in connection with the financial management of the Charity, controlled by requiring regular reporting back to the Board, so that all decisions made under delegated powers can be ratified by the full Board in due course.
Organisational structure
The company is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association adopted in 1999 and updated in October 2008, May 2014, May 2021, October 2022 and October 2023.
Relate West Sussex Limited is a member of the Relate Federation and has been granted a non-exclusive licence to use the Relate name and logo.
The Trustees, who are also directors of Relate West Sussex for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the annual report, and for the preparation of financial statements for each financial year, in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accountancy Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The Treasurer, Chair, Centre Manager and Finance Manager undertake the financial management of the Charity. They meet regularly to review the budget and management accounts and to prepare financial papers for review by the Trustee Board every two months. They ensure proper procedures are in place to manage cash resources prudently and to maximise income from liquid resources whilst maintaining sufficient funds to meet daily cash requirements. They advise the Trustee Board on the appropriate level of free reserves and of any significant change needed in financial management strategy. Forecasting is a key element of the financial management activities and forecasts are reviewed regularly at Trustee meetings.
The Centre Manager is responsible for the day to day management of the Charity's affairs and for implementing policies agreed by the Board of Trustees. The Supervisors, Finance Manager, Development Manager, Operations Manager and the Administrative Support Team assist the Centre Manager.
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each 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:
- ensure that the most suitable accounting policies are established and applied consistently;
- make judgements and estimates which are reasonable and prudent;
- observe the methods and principles in the charities SORP;
- prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.
The Trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the Charity has appropriate systems and controls, financial and otherwise. They are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and for their proper application as required by charity law. They must take reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities and to provide reasonable assurance that:
- the Charity operates efficiently, effectively and in compliance with relevant laws and regulations;
- proper records are maintained and financial information used within the Charity, or for publication, is reliable;
- the Charity complies with relevant laws and regulations.
Corporate Governance
The organisation adheres to internal controls over all forms of commitment and expenditure. These are continually refined to improve efficiency. The Centre Manager reports to the Board on performance so that all aspects are reviewed and monitored regularly by the Board of Trustees.
The systems of internal controls provide reasonable but not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss and include:
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| a strategic plan and annual budget approved by the Trustees; |
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| regular consideration by the Trustees of financial results, variances from budgets, non-financial performance indicators and benchmarking reviews; |
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| delegation of day-to-day management authority and segregation of duties; and |
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| identification and management of risks. |
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The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
The Directors/Trustees of Relate West Sussex have conducted a formal review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. A Business Risk Assessment Record is kept and this is reviewed as part of the business of Executive Meetings. The trustees are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate its exposure to all the major risks. Internal control risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all financial transactions. Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with health and safety of staff, volunteers, clients and visitors to the Centre.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Relate West Sussex (the charitable company) for the year ended 31 March 2023.
As the trustees of the charitable company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charitable company’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Since the charitable company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of , which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charitable company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
designated
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
designated
Relate West Sussex is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. It is also a charitable company registered with the Charity Commission. The registered office is The Orchard, 1-2 Gleneagles Court, Brighton Road, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 6AD.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charitable company's Memorandum and 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)". The charitable company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charitable company has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charitable company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. 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 charitable company 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.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors 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.
Grants are credited to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which the charitable company becomes entitled to them.
Other trading activities includes income from goods donated to the shop to be sold on and is recognised when the goods are sold.
Charitable activities include client income received by way of counselling, PST and other client income and is recognised when received.
Investment income is recognised in the year it relates to.
Liabilities and related expenditure are recognised in full in the financial statements as soon as an obligation arises and include VAT.
Cost of generating funds includes expenses related to running the Charity Shop and are recognised as incurred.
Expenditure represents the costs directly attributable to charitable activities including governance costs and external Independent Examiner fees.
Support costs now include governance costs which are costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charitable company and include Independent Examiner fees, accountancy fees, legal and professional fees and bank charges.
Allocation and apportionment of costs
The main activities of the charitable company are counselling and running the Charity Shop, so all costs related to these are classed as direct charitable costs. All other costs are allocated as support costs.
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.
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.
The charitable company only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.
The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
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 charitable company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
The charitable company operates a defined contributions pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
Debtors
Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due.
Creditors
Creditors are recognised where the charitable company 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 are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any discounts due.
In the application of the charitable company’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.
designated
Grants received
Income from services provided
Charity shop income
designated
Charity shop expenses
Charity shop expenses
Advertising
Sundries
Counsellor training
Counsellor expenses
Staff expenses
Travelling expenses
Insurance
Telephone
Printing and stationery
Sundries
Office equipment & IT software
Repairs and renewals
Bank charges
Governance costs includes payment to the Independent Examiner of £1,941 (2022- £1,860).
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charitable company during the year.
Trustees' expenses
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2023 nor for the year ended 31 March 2022.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Key Management Personnel
The trustees consider four members of staff to be key management personnel (and five for last year). The total employment benefits of key management personnel were £87,373 (2022 - £93,470).
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxationof Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
Restricted funds relate to income that has been set aside for the Young People's service also known as Relateen.
The Computers fund has been set aside in order for the charitable company to update their computers
The Succession planning fund has been set aside in order for the charitable company to have the necessary funds for any key personnel changes that may happen in the future.
The Counsellor training fund has been set up so the charitable company can provide training for their counsellors in the future when required.
The Marketing fund has been set aside in order for the charitable company to market their future services further.
The Charity Shop fund has been set aside to update the electrics in the shop and any other repairs that are required.
The Fundraising Fund has been set aside to provide subsidies and bursaries according to funder guidelines.
At the reporting end date the charitable company had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none).