SWIIS_FOSTER_CARE_LIMITED - Accounts
SWIIS_FOSTER_CARE_LIMITED - Accounts
The directors present the strategic report for the year ended 30 September 2021.
The directors can report that throughout the financial year Swiis Foster Care operated at between 92% and 98% capacity in terms of placements whilst continuing to deliver positive outcomes for children and young people across our service. We closed our financial year caring for 485 children and young people.
Despite the challenges of managing the service throughout a second term of Covid-19, children and young people in placement have continued to make progress and achieve positive outcomes. 98% of our children and young people achieve or exceed an overall level of health that is as good (or better) as can be expected. 92% of children achieve or exceed expected outcomes in relation to emotional wellbeing. 91% of children achieve or exceed expected outcomes in relation to ‘achieving’, for example, school/college attendance, attainment and extra-curricular activities.90% of children achieve or exceed expected outcomes in relation to ‘healthy relationships.97% of children achieve or exceed expected outcome in relation to developing a positive identity. 89% of children achieve or exceed expected outcomes in relation to developing independence and responsibility.
The progress and outcomes achieved by our children and young people reflects positively on the standards of care provided by Swiis foster carers and the multi-disciplinary support offered by the Swiis team.
We have continued to operate in an engaging manner recognising the impact and influence of our children and young people on our service and encouraging their contributions. In 2021 we undertook a national consultation project to obtain the views of our children and young people regarding the way we communicate and consult with them. The consultation project was aimed at children/young people over the age of six. 240 children and young people took part in the consultation project, their feedback was collated and analysed to identify key themes from which several service improvement recommendations were identified in relation to: the manner in which; children and young people provide feedback for foster carers annual reviews, the content of children and young people’s groups and activities, the communication strategies for children and young people to contact Swiis directly.
In comparing Swiis Foster Care outcomes against national statistics (DfE statistics published in November 2021) the directors report that during the reporting period, 1% of children and young people in Swiis were identified as having a substance misuse problem, compared to national statistics of 3%. 8.2% of children in Swiis experienced at least one missing episode compared to 13% of the CLA population nationally. There was an average (mean) of 3.7 missing incidents per child in Swiis, against the national average of 6.6. The directors are pleased to report that 76% of young people in Swiis who ceased being looked after in a foster placement aged 18, remained with their foster carers for at least 3 months after their 18th birthday (Staying Put), compared to 60% nationally.
Several foster carers, birth children and children and young people in placement were nominated for the Fostering Excellence Awards. One young person received the Outstanding Achievement in Education Award, this award celebrates the achievements of a young person who has been in foster care and has succeeded in education (only two winners were awarded in this category).
Over the term, we have continued to operate according to government guidelines regarding the pandemic whilst ensuring the safety and well-being of our carers, children, and young people.
The directors recognises the principal risks as being:
Liquidity Risk; The directors manage liquidity risk by a combination of controls such as monitoring gearing levels and ensuring facilities are readily available for future use as and when required.
Competition Risk; Whilst Swiis Foster Care provide fostering services within an increasingly crowded marketplace in which competition takes the form of independent providers who are often backed by outside investors along with Local Authorities whom often assume the dual position of both customer and competitor. The directors are confident of continuing a successful organic growth strategy which is designed to provide high standards of care in a fiscally secure environment.
The UK economy; The directors continue to recognise the economic restrictions which are increasingly applied across children's services. Swiis Foster Care has been structured in a manner which ensures that the quality of our service provision is robust enough to withstand fluctuations within the UK economy.
The directors are confident that the organic model which has ensured that Swiis Foster Care is able to operate within a highly competitive marketplace without recourse to outside investment will continue to enable our service to provide excellent foster care to our children and young people whilst affording us the opportunity to further grow our market share through organic strategies.
The financial year ending 30 September 2021 has seen an increase in turnover representing a return on prior year investment. Whilst operating profit remains impacted by significant investment in our service, we have seen a return to positive profitability for the year and forecast that PBT will continue to improve in line with a longer-term strategic plan
The company's financial performance for the year is monitored using the following KPI's:
Turnover for the year - £19,284,845 (2020: £17,859,347)
Gross profit % - 34.36% (2020: 34.15%)
Operating profit % - 2.88% (2020: 0.39%)
Net profit % - 2.27% (2020: 0.23%)
Swiis Foster Care have, for both policy and contractual compliance, an ongoing Business Continuity Plan. This is overseen and regulated by our senior management team led by our Chief Executive Officer. Our Business Continuity Plan factors in measures to ensure that the Swiis service continues to operate as seamlessly as possible in the event of unforeseen circumstances, including pandemics.
In light of the impact and continuing presence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Swiis Foster Care continue to be supported by a specific team (Falcon) which is led by both our Chief Executive Officer and our Director of Swiis Foster Care Scotland. The Falcon team monitors the impact on COVID-19 on every aspect of our operation to ensure a seamless continuity of service. The Falcon team provide a weekly report to our local authority clients to inform them of our COVID-19 status.
Our service can be migrated between 'office' and 'homeworking' with our offices adjusted to meet social distancing guidelines and equipped with screens, hand sanitizers, antiseptics, and social distancing floor guides. Home working is supported through a range of comprehensively protected 'virtual' enterprises.
Swiis Foster Care have, and continue to, provide extensive support to our carers through direct support and virtual support, these include but are not restricted to; educational tools, virtual forums, virtual training, participation programs, fitness programs, communication models and 'age-specific' entertainment for our carers and young people.
Swiis Foster Care have an extensive stock of Personal Protection Equipment including masks, gloves, and hand sanitisers for our social workers operating in the field.
A specific COVID-19 policy has been designed and issued to every employee to provide advice, support, and guidance.
The directors have considered the impact on the company of Covid-19 and the impact this is having on the global markets and that of the company. The directors believe that this may have a significant impact on the company's ability to continue to trade at the same levels as reported in these Financial Statements and the overall impact is currently unknown.
On behalf of the board
The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2021.
The directors who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:
The results for the year are set out on page 10.
No ordinary dividends were paid. The directors do not recommend payment of a final dividend.
The auditor, Rayner Essex LLP, is deemed to be reappointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.
give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 30 September 2021 and of its profit for the year then ended; have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Basis for opinion
Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
However, as not all future events or conditions can be predicted, such as the impact of Covid-19 and as subsequent events may result in outcomes that are inconsistent with judgements that were reasonable at the time they were made, the absence of reference to a material uncertainty in this auditor's report is not a guarantee that the company will continue in operation as a going concern.
Other information
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the strategic report and the directors' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the strategic report and the directors' report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or certain disclosures of remuneration specified by law are not made; or we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the directors' responsibilities statement, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with the directors and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the foster care sector.
we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation and data protection, anti-bribery, employment law, The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011. The Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards and other relevant regulations;
we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and
identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and
considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and
investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation
reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
reviewing correspondence with HMRC and relevant regulators.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The profit and loss account has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.
Swiis Foster Care Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 4th Floor, Prince House, 43-51 Prince Street, Bristol, BS1 4PS.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
This company is a qualifying entity for the purposes of FRS 102, being a member of a group where the parent of that group prepares publicly available consolidated financial statements, including this company, which are intended to give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the group. The company has therefore taken advantage of exemptions from the following disclosure requirements:
Section 4 ‘Statement of Financial Position’ – Reconciliation of the opening and closing number of shares;
Section 7 ‘Statement of Cash Flows’ – Presentation of a statement of cash flow and related notes and disclosures;
Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instrument Issues’ – Carrying amounts, interest income/expense and net gains/losses for each category of financial instrument; basis of determining fair values; details of collateral, loan defaults or breaches, details of hedges, hedging fair value changes recognised in profit or loss and in other comprehensive income;
Section 26 ‘Share based Payment’ – Share-based payment expense charged to profit or loss, reconciliation of opening and closing number and weighted average exercise price of share options, how the fair value of options granted was measured, measurement and carrying amount of liabilities for cash-settled share-based payments, explanation of modifications to arrangements;
Section 33 ‘Related Party Disclosures’ – Compensation for key management personnel.
The financial statements of the company are consolidated in the financial statements of SWIIS International Limited. These consolidated financial statements are available from its registered office, 4th Floor, Prince House, 43-51 Prince Street, Bristol, BS1 4PS.
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 credited or charged to profit or loss.
Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.
If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.
Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset (or cash-generating unit) in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation increase.
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.
Other financial assets, including investments in equity instruments which are not subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, are initially measured at fair value, which is normally the transaction price. Such assets are subsequently carried at fair value and the changes in fair value are recognised in profit or loss, except that investments in equity instruments that are not publicly traded and whose fair values cannot be measured reliably are measured at cost less impairment.
Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the company transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the company after deducting all of its liabilities.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, 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 business 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.
Derivatives, including interest rate swaps and forward foreign exchange contracts, are not basic financial instruments. Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently re-measured at their fair value. Changes in the fair value of derivatives are recognised in profit or loss in finance costs or finance income as appropriate, unless hedge accounting is applied and the hedge is a cash flow hedge.
Debt instruments that do not meet the conditions in FRS 102 paragraph 11.9 are subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss. Debt instruments may be designated as being measured at fair value through profit or loss to eliminate or reduce an accounting mismatch or if the instruments are measured and their performance evaluated on a fair value basis in accordance with a documented risk management or investment strategy.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
Equity instruments issued by the company are recorded at the proceeds received, net of transaction costs. Dividends payable on equity instruments are recognised as liabilities once they are no longer at the discretion of the company.
In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the directors 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.
There are not considered to be any estimates or assumptions which have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities of the company.
An analysis of the company's turnover is as follows:
Included in administrative costs is £1,183,077 (2020: £1,252,890) relating to head office costs recharged from fellow subsidiary company Swiis (UK) Limited.
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:
Their aggregate remuneration comprised:
The actual charge for the year can be reconciled to the expected charge for the year based on the profit or loss and the standard rate of tax as follows:
The net carrying value of tangible fixed assets includes the following in respect of assets held under finance leases or hire purchase contracts.
A charge was registered on 27.06.16 with HSBC Bank Plc that contains a fixed and floating charge over the assets of the company. The charge cross guarantees the liabilities of each company across the group.
Included within other creditors is £801,638 (2020: £568,566) representing amounts advanced against trade debtors. The invoice discounting facility is secured by a charge registered 25.07.16 with HSBC Invoice Financing (UK) Limited. These advances are secured by a fixed and floating charge over all assets of the company and a fixed charge over the debtors of the company.
The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund.
At the reporting end date the company had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
The parent and controlling company is SWIIS International Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales, which prepares consolidated financial statements and these are available from the Registrar of Companies.
The ultimate controlling parties were G S Dadral and K Dadral throughout the current and previous year.
The company has taken advantage of the exemption available in accordance with FRS 102 section 33.1A 'Related party disclosures' not to disclose transactions entered into between two or more members of a group, as the company and the parties to those transactions are wholly owned subsidiary undertakings of the group.