The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021.
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 bureau'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’s objects are to promote any charitable purpose for the public benefit by the advancement of education, the protection and preservation of health and the relief of poverty, sickness and distress in particular, but without limitation, for the benefit of the community in Sunderland and surrounding areas.
All of the charity’s activities focus on advice provision and support for public benefit and the work is carried out through face-to-face consultations, telephone advice and community talks/sessions.
Through free, independent, confidential and impartial advice, we aim to provide the advice people need for the problems they face and to improve the policies that affect people’s lives. We also recognise the positive value of diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination.
Under normal circumstances, advice is provided through a number of channels including telephone, webchat and face to face. However, with the unanticipated pandemic and national lockdown, all of our services have been delivered remotely by telephone, webchat and email this year, due to our offices being closed.
Contribution of Volunteers
Although very few in number at present, the organisation receives help and support in the form of voluntary assistance in administering the charity through its Trustee Board. In addition to the nine trustees, we currently benefit from having five volunteers, with others who we can call on to help one off events such as bag packs and manning information stalls.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the bureau should undertake.
Despite the uncertain and difficult financial landscape, Citizens Advice Sunderland has performed well and has helped 13,400 clients this year with over 35,000 issues. Due to lockdown the pandemic, demand for debt and benefit advice has been constantly high and our telephone advice line and our drop in services continue to be extremely busy.
We continue to struggle to meet demand and we have put a hold on recruiting volunteers this year. On the return to the office, we plan to carry out a large scale volunteer recruitment drive to help meet the anticipated increase in demand following the end of lockdown and the furlough scheme. In preparation, we are reviewing and revising our existing training plan to make it more robust, timely and allow for continual practice throughout.
We have a three year contract with Sunderland City Council to provide First Tier advice in Welfare Benefits and Debt for those living in the East of Sunderland. Our contract with the Department of Work and Pensions to provide support to people making an initial claim for Universal Credit has been extended for a further 12 months. Again, this contract has been hit by the pandemic and, where we were based in the local JobCentre offices, we are currently only providing advice by telephone and webchat.
In addition to our Money Advice, Help to Claim and First Tier contracts, we have a contract with the Wise Group to provide Financial Capabilities to people on the Wise Steps programme. This programme is funded by the European Social Fund and the Big Lottery Community Fund and we work with other local stakeholders in preparing people to get back into work. We are working with other local support agencies to support clients with specialist advice and the partnership is proving very successful in providing clients with a holistic approach to getting them back into work. We have secured additional grants with the British Gas Energy Trust and the Energy Redress Scheme and this has allowed us to provide additional and complementary support for our existing services. Despite the issues of lockdown, we are seeing some positive and long lasting outcomes on behalf of our clients and it means we can do so much more for them than we could before.
It has been another good year for securing income gains and writing off debts on behalf of clients and gains of just under £5.2 million were recorded. This is very similar to what we achieved last year and is good news for our clients and the local community.
Despite the pandemic and the difficulties and the uncertainty we faced this year, the staff and volunteers have been outstanding. They have adapted admirably to the lockdown and the urgent changes we have needed to make and their unfaltering dedication and commitment to the service and the local community is inspiring. We have an excellent and cohesive team who are all willing to go the extra mile to make a real difference to people’s lives.
We are proud of our achievements, however, we have faced some difficult challenges and it has been an extremely tough year for us, our local community and the whole country. We anticipate that we will see an increase in demand next year and the economic and political landscape is uncertain. Nevertheless, we will continue to work very hard within the community to build a local network with other partner organisations and community groups to both promote the work the organisation does and to work in partnership to help meet the ever increasing need.
The organisation is primarily funded by grants from the Money Advice and Pensions Service to provide advice on debt and financial issues and the Department of Work and Pensions Help to Claim service helping people to claim Universal Credit. We have two other major contracts which are the First Tier Service funded by Sunderland Council and Wise Steps, managed by the Wise Group and funded by the European Social Fund and the Big Lottery Community Fund. This year, we have received funding to provide Energy and Debt support from the British Gas Energy Trust (BGET) and the Energy Redress Scheme. Both of these grants complement our existing services and are a welcome addition to our services. They allow us to find ways of helping clients make savings through energy measures as well as deal with debts and maximise income cohesively. Other income comes from one-off projects, COVID recovery support, and bank interest. This includes money received from the Illegal Money Lending Team to support our Loan Shark awareness campaign. We will use the money to design and produce a game that we can use in schools to raise awareness of loan sharks and, working in partnership with the Credit Union, we will educate children in responsible borrowing and spending choices.
The organisation ends the year with a surplus of £117,858 (2020: £66,233) which puts us in a strong position moving forward. Most of the savings come from salary savings and a reduction in office costs due to all staff working from home. With the extra funding we have received last year has allowed us to invest in more people to help ensure we have enough resource to meet demand, particularly after lockdown. However, once we return to the office we will need to look at housing the extra staff, particularly as our existing premises are already feeling the strain.
Nevertheless, having reviewed the organisation’s current financial position, the Trustee Board is assured that the charity has adequate financial resources and is able to manage all known business risks going forward. The Management Committee has a reasonable expectation that it has adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future and believe that there are no material uncertainties that call into doubt its ability to continue as a going concern.
Investment Policy
The Management Committee regularly reviews available investment products and seeks to invest reserve funds in low risk, short term investment products which provide the best interest rates attainable. To mitigate investment risk, diversification is limited to those institutions with a solid reputation and a strong credit rating.
Reserves Policy
The Trustee Board has a policy for holding unrestricted reserves to protect the organisation from the impact of shortfalls in forecast income, unforeseen expenditure or planned expenditure that will support the delivery of its charitable objectives.
Reserves carried forward as at 31 March 2021 are £649,866 Unrestricted (2020 : £653,799) and £272,311 Restricted (2020: £150,520), totalling £922,177 (2020: £804,319).
In light of the current climate and an uncertain future, the Trustee Board seeks to maintain a minimum of nine months’ (2021: £58,920) running costs in reserve. The unrestricted reserves position of reserves as at the 31 March 2021 continues to stay above that intended, however, with the additional staff, we believe that this will change in the coming year. Given the uncertainty of the funding landscape and the economic climate, it is important to remain prudent, agile and flexible
Any restricted balances held for the purpose of specific projects at year end do not form part of the reserves policy other than to spend the money in accordance with funders’ restrictions.
Plans for 2021 - 22
We start 2021 with uncertainty. As this year ends, we still find ourselves in lockdown and our offices remain closed to the public. It is anticipated that we will see measures eased in the summer but it’s very much still uncertain. Having the additional staff we are facing a deficit budget but we have already seen some positive steps to securing additional funding to support us in recovery, so we are optimistic.
We are keen to get back into the office and be there for those in our community when they need us the most. Our contracts allow us to provide a robust service to our clients but we appreciate that clients, particularly the more vulnerable, rely on our drop-in services and face-to-face appointments and this is something we are desperate to reinstate.
We will continue to work on our plans for expansion and at a time when the whole community has pulled together, we will look to forge partnerships and strengthen our network. We will revitalise our volunteer recruitment programme and look at alternative ways of building resource and offering valuable work experience to those that may have the skill but don’t have the much needed experience that employers demand.
More now than ever, the future is uncertain and unclear, but some things will always remain constant and that is our unwavering dedication to meeting the needs of our community.
As always, we expect that the next 12 months will be extremely busy and challenging particularly as the whole country has been on hold for the last year and it’s been a struggle for everyone. However, our focus will remain steadfast in providing high quality advice and support for the people of Sunderland. Every effort will be taken to finding the best and most effective way of achieving the charity’s goals over the next 12 months.
During the pandemic, we will look to strengthen our infrastructure and review our current practices to explore the opportunities of embracing new technology and digital services. These are uncertain times and we anticipate great change but we will continue to provide the advice people need in the best way we can. We will continue to work on our plans for expansion and to re-energise and rewrite our training programme to streamline it and improve the experience for new employees. Necessity is the mother of invention and, never more so than now, can we look at becoming more innovative and embracing new ways of working and serving our clients. However, some things will always remain constant and that is our unwavering dedication to meeting the needs of our community.
As always, we expect that the next 12 months will be extremely busy and challenging particularly during the pandemic, but, as always, our focus will remain on providing high quality advice and support for the people of Sunderland. Every effort will be taken to finding the best and most effective way of achieving the charity’s goals over the next 12 months.
Citizens Advice Sunderland is a member of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB) which provides support and a framework of agreed memberships standards of advice and casework management. However, the organisation maintains its independence and all policy decisions are taken by the Trustee Board in meeting its charitable objects.
The charity was incorporated on the 20 August 2007 and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association (as amended in 2012). Overall responsibility for governance rests with the Trustee Board.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were:
The trustees are also directors of Citizens Advice Sunderland for the purposes of Company Law. Starting the year with 10 trustees, the newly recruited Board members have been getting to grips with learning about the organisation and looking to the future. We now have a cohesive and ambitious Board of Directors who are keen to make a difference in our local community and the trustees are working hard on drawing up an achievable but ambitious strategic action plan.
The Trustee Board:
sets the policy of the charity
determines corporate strategy including setting key strategic objectives
makes major decisions about the use of finances
All newly appointed trustees receive a Welcome Pack and a full induction using training and resources provided through the Citizens Advice intranet site, Cablink. All trustees are encouraged to take up further training opportunities as appropriate and engagement with the wider service is undertaken throughout the year in participating in forums, conferences and consultations wherever possible.
The local Citizens Advice trustee board oversee the information security of all personal information of our clients, staff, funders and strategic partners that is processed. The local Citizens Advice hold joint responsibility for client data that is held in our case management system, with the national Citizens Advice Service. An information assurance management team exists to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of all personal and sensitive data is maintained to a level which is compliant with the requirements the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018.
Management team
Denise Irving is the Chief Officer and is supported by a small management team of Susan White and Louise Young, Advice Services Managers and Peter Wilson, the Finance Officer, who help manage the day to day operations of the organisation.
Administrative details
Company number: 6347304
Registered charity number: 1121988
Company secretary: Denise Irving
Registered office: 5a Waterloo Place, Sunderland, SR1 3HT
Independent examiner: Yasmin Bari FCA (Bede House, 3 Belmont Business Park, Durham, DH1 1TW)
Bankers: HSBC (Unit 49-51, The Bridges Shopping Centre, Market Square, Sunderland, SR1 3LE)
The trustees' r eport was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Citizens Advice Sunderland (the bureau) for the year ended 31 March 2021.
As the trustees of the bureau (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 bureau 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 bureau’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 bureau’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 ICAEW , 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 bureau 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 accounts to be reached.
Yasmin Bari FCA
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Citizens Advice Sunderland is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 5a Waterloo Place, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR1 3HT, United Kingdom.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the bureau'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 bureau is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The bureau 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 bureau . Monetary a mounts 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 bureau 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 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 expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expenses against the activity for which expenditure arose.
Direct charitable expenditure includes the direct costs of the activities and depreciation on related assets. Where such costs relate to more than one functional cost category, they have been split on an appropriate basis.
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 net income/(expenditure) for the year.
At each reporting end date, the bureau 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 bureau 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 bureau 's balance sheet when the bureau 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 p aymen ts 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 bureau ’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 bureau 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.
In the application of the bureau’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.
Provision of advice
Provision of advice
Provision of advice
Provision of advice
Staff and volunteer expenses
Repairs and renewals
Insurance
Postage, printing and stationery
Materials, subscriptions and licences
Telephone
Rent
Rates
Light and heat
Cleaning
Sundry expenses
Provision of advice
The charitable activity is the provision of advice.
Independent examiners fee
Legal and professional
Staff and volunteer expenses
Repairs and renewals
Insurance
Printing, stationery and postage
Materials, subscriptions and licences
Telephone
Rent
Other support costs
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year, but one of them w as reimbursed a total of £ 39 travelling expenses (2020- one w as reimbursed £ 32 ).
The average monthly number employees during the year was 26 :
In addition a great amount of time, the value of which is impossible to reflect in these financial statements, is donated by volunteers.
Citizens Advice Sunderland, as a registered charity, is potentially exempt from taxation of income and gains falling within S505 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 and S256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992. No tax charge has arisen in the year.
Unrestricted Funds
The Trustees seek to maintain minimum Reserves levels equivalent to nine months running costs of the Bureau. The Reserves Policy is outlined in the Trustees' Report on page 1 to 6.
Restricted Funds
Money Advice Service Debt Advice Project (MASDAP)
This is an integrated debt advice service which is funded by the Money Advice Service and has funding until March 2022.
Sunderland City Council (First Tier Welfare Rights Contract)
This is a welfare benefits and debt advice service funded by Sunderland City Council. The project has funding until November 2023.
Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund (Wise Steps)
This project providing one to one tailored support to help people take positive steps towards work with funding from the Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund. The project has funding until November 2023.
Universal Support - Help to claim
This is a project with funding from The Department for Work and Pensions and the service supports clients in making an initial Universal Credit claim. It has funding until March 2022.
Energy Redress Scheme
This a new project to provide energy advice to vulnerable people to meet the objectives of the Energy Redress Scheme (ERS). Funding is from Stockton & District Advice & Information Service (SDAIS). The project has funding until March 2022.
British Gas Energy Trust (BGET)
This a new project to provide energy advice to vulnerable people to meet the objectives of the British Gas Energy Trust (BGET). Funding is from Stockton & District Advice & Information Service (SDAIS). The project has funding until March 2022.
Unrestricted
Restricted
Unrestricted
Restricted
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2020 - none) .
Citizens Advice Sunderland is a Registered Charity (Number 1121988). The Charity is a Company Limited by Guarantee, having no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is £1.