CITIZENS_ADVICE_SUNDERLAN - Accounts

The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2020.

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.

Advice is provided through a number of channels including telephone, webchat and face to face. We have daily drop-in advice sessions at each of our two offices and this is supported by our telephone adviceline service. We offer appointments for our Debt, Wise Steps and Help to Claim services and we also have sessions for Help to Claim in all of the Sunderland Job Centres.

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 eleven volunteers, one who managing our Research and Campaigns activity, two are providing telephone advice while the others are training to give advice. We also have some volunteers who help with one off events such as bag packs and manning information stalls.

Despite the uncertain and difficult financial landscape, Citizens Advice Sunderland has performed well and has helped 13,000 clients this year. 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 are working hard to provide services through volunteers. This, however, takes time and volunteer turnover can be as high as 50%. Understandably, the training programme is intense and there is a lot to learn which demands dedication and commitment from our volunteers.

Our drop in services at both the Washington and Sunderland offices are very busy. We can see more than 50 people a day with the majority of enquiries being for welfare benefits and debt.

Our three-year contract with Sunderland City Council to provide First Tier advice in Welfare Benefits and Debt for those living in the North and East of Sunderland comes to an end this year and from next year we will only be supporting those living in the East area. Our contract with the Department of Work and Pensions to provide support to people making an initial claim for Universal Credit has been hugely successful and we are working from the Job Centres supporting people to claim Universal Credit. We are delighted that our contract for 2020-21 has been renewed and we look forward to working closely with the Job Centres for another year.

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 had a number of one off projects that includes the Good Things Foundation offering IT support to digitally excluded clients through presentations and courses to help them become more digitally aware and active.

It has been another good year for securing income gains and writing off debts on behalf of clients and gains of £5.2 million were recorded. This is an increase of over £3m on last year and a result of the new Help to Claim contract and the increase in demand for help with debt issues.

Despite the continuing difficulties and the uncertainty, the staff and volunteers have continued to prove their dedication and commitment to the service and the local community. 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, demand continues to outstrip supply and we still do not have the resources to meet it. It can prove very frustrating for both staff and the people of Sunderland in trying to manage demand and expectation with such limited resources. That said, we 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 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. Other income comes from one-off projects and bank interest.

The organisation ends the year with a surplus of £66,233 which puts us in a strong position moving forward. That said, it is anticipated that the organisation will need to invest in additional resources in the coming year. More staff are needed to tackle the issues of unmet demand and we are already feeling the strain in Sunderland in terms of available office space.

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.

In light of the current climate and an uncertain future, the Trustee Board seeks to maintain a minimum of nine months’ running costs in reserve. The unrestricted reserves position of reserves as at the 31 March 2020 continues to stay above that intended. However, the need to make significant resource changes is anticipated and it is considered necessary to maintain substantial reserves to cover the future planned activities and cover any shortfalls in income.

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 2020-21

We start 2020 with uncertainty. As this year ends, we find ourselves in a worldwide pandemic and we have had to invoke emergency measures. We have had to close our offices to the public and everyone starts the year working from home. This has meant emergency spend on laptops and mobile phones to ensure we can continue to provide services to those in our community. The uncertainty of the COVID-19 virus means that we do not know how our plans for this year will work. We anticipated a year of growth and expansion that would enable us to provide more services but we face 3 months’ of working from home only offering support via telephone and webchat channels.

Despite the virus, we look to the future with positivity and ambition. 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 unable to provide for the foreseeable future.

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 bureau manager and is supported by a small management team of Susan White, the Advice Services Manager 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: N/A

Registered office: 5a Waterloo Place, Sunderland, SR1 3HT

Independent examiner: Michael Barnes ACA (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' report 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 2020.

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.

Michael Barnes ACA

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2020.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for ensuring that the charity keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 of the Act and for preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the financial year in accordance with the requirements of sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

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.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance 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 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 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 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 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 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 were reimbursed a total of £39 travelling expenses (2019- one were reimbursed £32).

The average monthly number employees during the year was 21 :

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 5.

Restricted Funds

Money Advice Service Debt Advice Project (MASDAP)

This is an integrated debt advice service which is funded by the Money Advice Service.

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 July 2020.

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 December 2021.

Universal Support - Help to claim

This is a new project with funding from The Department for Work and Pensions and the service supports clients in making an initial Universal Credit claim.

Unrestricted

Restricted

Unrestricted

Restricted

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2019 - 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.