IRISH_COMMUNITY_CARE_LTD - Accounts

Growth and consolidation are the main characteristics of the year. The Trustees’ report details how and why we have been able to achieve these in yet again another successful year in challenging circumstances

Through the success of funding bids and awards, Irish Community Care has grown its staff base from 15 to a potential 23. The recruitment process has been superbly handled by Sheila Hillhouse, Chair of the Personnel Committee, with the leadership team and other trustees playing a part. It was not always an easy process because of the impact of COVID restrictions and the very competitive labour market meaning successful applicants not always taking up appointment. New staff, too, are more likely to look for opportunities elsewhere resulting in more churn than ICC has been used to. Nevertheless, new staff bring new skills and energy, and ICC constantly remodels the deployment of staff to best effect.

2021/22 has also seen a recruitment drive for new trustees so that we have a stronger Board and can give a broader focus on strategic developments, with a new Business Plan being prepared for 2022-2025. Following advert and interview, we welcomed to the Board Jade Hughes and Bill Hughes. They bring with them experience of operational processes, employment relations, risk management and social work. Satyem Amin, who brought us high level banking and commercial expertise, resigned in March. Kevin O’Brien, who did a fantastic job in designing our original client database, resigned in July. We are grateful for their support. We continue to seek further expertise in finance and law.

Our finances have grown, though, as ever, the short-term nature of our funding presents a need for continual monitoring and reassessment. Our thanks to Liam Walsh and Owen Hagan, with members of the Finance and Funding Committee, for their good stewardship and vigilance. We are delighted that we have been chosen as one of three pilot organisations for multi annual funding in the Emigrant Support Programme (ESP), from the Irish Government. This should assure us of a base level of funding for three years. We have suggested that in evaluating the pilot, the Embassy should consider how to make multi-year funding operate on a rolling basis.

Our strong financial position has enabled us to carry out a long overdue market comparison of salaries using similar Irish Care organisations. It is essential that ICC is able to attract and recruit staff at an appropriate level of reward and that staff are aware of the package of remuneration and benefits that they enjoy. Staff loyalty, commitment and retention remain a key concern since there is no substitute for the specialist skill and dedicated help that they can bring to support our Service Users. We continue to assist as far as resources permit with cost of living increases.

We have built links with the Northern Consulate of the Irish Embassy, attending its launch in Manchester in October 2021 and welcoming Sarah Mangan, Consul General to the North of England, to meet our staff, trustees and community members. We continue to be grateful to staff there and at the Irish Embassy in London for their continuing support for our work.

Consolidating our position in the North West takes time and relies on good communication of the excellent work we carry out. We are grateful to our staff and volunteers for the part they play in broadcasting what we do, but we still have some way to go with regular social media content. This is an area the Board and leadership team are giving active attention to. It has also been a topic for discussion with our partner organisations, Irish Community Care Manchester and Leeds Irish Health and Homes, through FRÉA, our Community Interest Company that promotes collaborative working and fundraising.

Our governance arrangements continue to be consistent with the recommendations in the Charity Code of Governance for smaller charities. We note that two of our trustees have served for more than eleven years. This does not conflict with our Memorandum and Articles of Association where no time limit is imposed, and we value the corporate memory that they provide.

To assist the Board, there is now a Governance, HR & Quality Assurance Lead at ICC, the post being filled in August 2022. This additional leadership team member will free up time of the Director and other leadership team colleagues and ensure that Trustees are introduced to using Microsoft Teams for interaction.

On a personal note, it continues to be a privilege and a joy as someone not with an Irish background to be welcomed into the ICC community and to have the opportunity to be involved with outstanding colleagues on the Board, the staff and FRÉA partners. They are truly remarkable in all they contribute and achieve.

The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2022.

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 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 objectives of Irish Community Care (ICC), as set out in our Memorandum and Articles of Association are:

• To promote the welfare and inclusion of our communities in general and our Irish and Irish Traveller communities in particular throughout Merseyside and surrounding areas regardless of gender politics, religion, sexuality, age, disability, socio-economic status and ethnic/racial and cultural background through a multi-agency approach.

• To help and relieve need, hardship, sickness and distress through the access of local, regional, national and international facilities for social welfare, recreation and leisure time occupation with the object of improving the conditions of life for the community.

The trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance ‘public benefit: running a charity (PB2)’. Our services have furthered the charity’s purposes for the public benefit, enabling members of our communities to link into entitlements, services and opportunities, helping them to settle well into life here in the North West, contributing to community life and the local economy. ICC is recognised locally, regionally, nationally and internationally as a pivotal organisation in its ability to reach some of the most excluded and marginalised members of our communities; individuals and families who are vulnerable through poverty, low income, debt, isolation, poor accommodation, offending, homelessness, poor physical and/or mental health, drug and/or alcohol misuse, domestic abuse, dual diagnosis, offending, racism, harassment, hate crime, cultural and social isolation and exclusion.

Throughout 2021 - 2022: the pace remains fast and furious at Irish Community Care as we consolidate current programmes and introduce new areas of work. We have embraced every opportunity to ensure that we continue to deliver our mission of ensuring well informed, empowered, and vibrant Irish, and Irish Traveller communities in the North West. We have successfully sustained core services. We are building capacity through strengthened partnerships and collaboration and are delighted to report that we have introduced several new programmes of work this year. We are committed to improving quality in all aspects of our work and task groups continue to drive forward quality assurance standards and systems internally and externally.

We have hosted two successful developments days. The first in November 2021 where trustees and staff explored how we adapt and embed appreciative inquiry in all aspects of our work. The second in May 2022 where staff identified key priority areas for the next 12 months: Systems and Standards; PR & Marketing, Communication and Capacity. We are embedding these in the review of Irish Community Care’s Business Plan 2022 – 2025.

We welcomed new staff members Amy Bird, Simon Barrigan, Maev McDaid, Lauren Keller, Louise Priestley and Ashleigh McDine, all have joined the team this year. Sadly, we said farewell to colleagues Linda Parker, Michael Dunne, Amy Bird, and Lauren Keller. We thank them sincerely for their important contribution to ICC, Lin over many years and Michael, Amy and Lauren over a shorter time. We wish them all the very best for the future. All staff will be greatly missed by colleagues, volunteers, community members and partners. Go n-éirí na bóithre libh.

We recognise that the recent pandemic has tested the resilience of all of us. As an organisation ICC are committed to supporting our greatest asset; our people: community members, volunteers, trustees and staff as we transition to life post pandemic. The new hybrid rota is working well, and we will continue to review this regularly. We have strengthened our health and wellbeing programme to include a direct referral pathway to specialist mental health support and an Employee Assistance Programme for staff, trustees and volunteers.

3. COVID 19 AND COMMUNITY HEALTH PROGRAMME

The aim of this programme is to engage people from BAME communities in Liverpool and Wirral; offering support to access Covid testing and vaccination, track and trace and wider mainstream health services including GP registrations and mental health services. Successes to date include:

• Successful health event in partnership with Liverpool Primary Care Network and Liverpool Irish Centre. We had Serious Mental Illness checks, COVID-19 vaccine and pop up stalls from 8 health organisations. 150 people attended the event, and 96 people were vaccinated. Irish in Britain wrote and published an article about the health event. https://www.irishinbritain.org/news/liverpool-health-event-is-a-great-success

• Partnership with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to explore vaccine hesitancy on white males under 50, a significant % being Irish and Irish Traveller

• Promoting take up of Covid vaccine, through dispelling myths

• Engagement with community members who are clinically extremely vulnerable and working in partnership to support them on a positive health and wellbeing journey

The programme continues to promote the Covid 19 and wider vaccines. It is exploring the wider impact of the pandemic including social and cultural isolation and mental health and how the current economic / cost of living crisis further compound these experiences.

4. TRAVELLING TO INDEPENDENCE

Travelling to Independence has completed its first year! We have been engaging with community members across Cheshire providing advice and advocacy, digital inclusion, COVID-19 support and developing individual skills.

We are working with external organisations to raise the profile and voices of our Community Members, including the Gypsy, Roma & Traveller Advice & Advocacy Forum (National Forum) and the newly established GRT Operations Group with a particular focus on Cheshire. Community members have taken part in four separate consultations where they had their say on issues that mattered to them i.e. Cheshire Council Hate Crime Forum, Winsford Community Forum, Activecheshire.org BAME Community Forum and Chester University Student Nurses Consultation.

We worked in partnership with Liverpool Irish Festival and Pride of Romani to celebrate GRT History Month in June. A series of oral histories and photographs were collected from our Community Members and showcased in an exhibition called ‘Gypsy, Romani, Traveller: Love, life laments’ at the Museum of Liverpool.

It is an exciting time for the Travelling to Independence programme, as we have a full ‘TTI’ team! The months ahead include plans to focus on wider community development, including coffee mornings and skill-based events for our community members.

5. MOTHER AND BABY AND COUNTY HOMES PROGRAMME

The long-awaited report by the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Home Institutions in Ireland 1922 – 1998 was published in January 2021 and exposed the serious institutional abuse experienced by mothers and children who spent time there. A state apology was delivered the following day and an action plan established of which particular focus included access to personal information, counselling support and a payment scheme.

Through Fréa www.frea.org.uk ICC are working closely with Irish Community Care Manchester and Leeds Irish Health and Homes to reach out to former residents of these institutions, now living in the North of England. The aim is to provide information and practical, emotional, and cultural support, linking into the programmes offered by the Irish Government and entitlements here in England. Since its inception the programme has made connections both inside and outside the Irish community, worked with partners in Ireland and set up a crucial partnership with London and the midlands.

We have started working directly with former residents. We are getting their details ready for when the payment scheme opens and supporting people to access the newly established Birth Information and Tracing Services in Ireland.

6. DIRECTIONS BASIC SKILLS AND EMPLOYABILITY PROGRAMME

ICC has continued to engage with community members 1 to1 to improve basic reading and digital skills. Those who have engaged are from the hardest-to-reach communities and usually have multiple challenges, including adverse childhood experiences such as institutional or parental abuse and little or no educational engagement; histories of substance misuse and/or homelessness; extensive interaction with the criminal justice system and long term serious mental illness. Many third-party referrals have come from statutory services where a person is not successfully engaging with support. Very low or non-existent literacy can severely impede productive interaction with critical services e.g. medical, benefits, accommodation and probation services.

Due to the complex needs profile of community members presenting for basic skills support in the first instance, the envisaged progression route to employment and/or GCSE standard, accredited outcomes as agreed with the ESF-funded Directions Programme could not be met. This necessitated careful dynamic assessment of the move from a delivery to strategic partner to ensure ongoing support for existing community members and avoidance of financial penalties. This was a challenging but ultimately successful transition. ICC are exploring how we can embed a peer support literacy programme.

7. PARNERSHIPS, POLICY AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Partnerships, collaboration and business development underpin ICC. They are critical in ensuring that the Irish, Irish Traveller and Gypsy Traveller and wider BAME experiences are recognised and continue to inform appropriate agendas and lead to more equitable access to services and opportunities. Key developments this year include:

• Significant developments in Fréa including the launch of the Women of Irish Heritage Network and the delivery of the Mother and Baby and County Homes Programme www.frea.org.uk

• Moving for Change continuing to deliver contracts inclusive of new learning with roadside Travellers across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.

• New partnerships with Wigan Council, NHS Cheshire, CHAWREC Citizens Advice Liverpool to reach out and connect minoritized communities across the geography.

• Engagement with local universities to strengthen links with students who are struggling to settle into life here in the North-West and also to explore professional development opportunities in the VCF sector.

• Responding and challenging the development of the Policing, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill (enacted on 28/06/2022). Section 4 criminalises nomadic families when encamping on land belonging to other people, whereas previously the processes to remove people were within civil court systems, not criminal courts.

• Consultations on the Human Rights Act, as the government is discussing changing over to a British Bill of Rights ICC has fed into this through a response led by PohWer https://www.pohwer.net;

• Member of national working group led by Herts GATE plan the launch of International Irish Traveller Day 1st March 2023.

Acknowledgements

Sustainability remains a major concern and challenge; particularly as we stare into the abyss of political uncertainty and the cost of living crisis.

ICC is deeply indebted to our range of funders whose continued investment, understanding and support has enabled us to provide much needed services. We acknowledge the continued support from the Irish Government Emigrant Support Programme through the Department of Foreign Affairs. This programme invests significantly in advice, advocacy and community support including Digital Inclusion and Mother and Baby and County Homes programmes. We are delighted to be selected as one of three organisations in the country to pilot a three-year multi annual funding programme.

The Irish Youth Foundation continues to recognise the difficulties faced by young people and families in our communities. It supports our work in offering a vital support service to people either newly arrived or settled here e.g. finding a place to live, a job or training, keeping well, managing debt and the increasing cost of living, keeping connected to culture, community and home.

The Ireland Funds enable ICC to provide direct practical, material and financial support to individuals who are struggling to make ends meet- especially in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic and the current cost of living crisis.

Our application to Lloyds Bank Foundation Racial Equity Programme 2021; was successful and means a £25k annual investment over the next two years.

Funding from the European Social Fund supports people who are furthest from the labour market to develop new skills in readiness for employment, through the Liverpool city region Directions programme. The literacy and digital challenges in our communities are huge, impacting on employment and training opportunities. We thank the Women’s Organisation (Directions Lead) for their understanding of these challenges and their support in retaining ICC as a strategic partner in the programme.

National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) has awarded three-year funding to develop the Travelling to Independence Programme in Cheshire. We are looking forward to driving forward this important work.

We welcome funding from Merseycare’s micro commissioning programme. Through this we are working in partnership with Citizens Advice Liverpool and Granby Toxteth Development Trust to improve access to Citizens Advice service for minoritized communities.

Continued support from Local Authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Cheshire, Liverpool, Wigan, and Wirral) enables ICC to engage with and deliver vital support services to the Irish and Irish Traveller families in these areas.

The future of all funding remains uncertain as global and national economic uncertainty impacts on public bodies, businesses, and charitable trusts. ICC will continue to maintain a strong and robust position to lobby for investment in community specific services to effectively reach those most in need of support. We will do this through

•    Excellent governance

•    Demonstrating outcomes and impact

•    Longstanding Relationships with Key Funders

•    Business and Philanthropic support via FRÉA

•    Excellent Financial Management

•    Reserves and Contingency Planning

•    Marketing and PR

•    Investment in new work streams

•    Attracting new audiences

ICC is all about Care, Community and Connection. Thanks to all Friends of ICC i.e. volunteers who give their time so generously and are the backbone of ICC; everyone who has attended or supported community events or organised fundraising activities on our behalf, Service Users who continue to inspire us all with their resilience in managing the difficulties they face daily, partner agencies who work with us to provide vital support to people in times of crisis, hardship and distress.

The results for the year and the charity's financial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached financial statements.

Income for the year totalled £786,437 (2021: £697,847) of which £698,448 (2021: £636,293) related to funds upon which a restriction was placed. Total expenditure was £666,613 (2021: £561,506) giving an overall surplus for the year of £119,824 (2021: £136,341). At the year end, total reserves were £815,560 (2021: £695,736).

Investment policy and objectives

The Trustees have considered the most appropriate policy for investing resources and have decided that bank deposits meet their requirement for short and medium term protection of resources. The Trustees consider the return on funds from this source to be the most suitable currently available.

Reserves Policy

It is the policy of the charitable company to create and maintain unrestricted funds which are not committed to or invested in tangible fixed assets at a level which, because of the relatively limited amounts involved, provides as much assurance of future operating resources as possible. Operating resources are to cover management, administration and support costs and to respond to unforeseen circumstances. The current level of free reserves is £117,726. This level of reserves is considered necessary to ensure short term continuance of activity levels in the event of significant reductions in or cessation of funding.

Risk Policy

The Trustees have examined the major strategic, business and operational risks which the charitable company may face and believe that all the major risks have been identified. The Trustees have adopted a formal risk assessment procedure and have established systems to ensure that the necessary steps can be taken to lessen these risks.

Plans for Future Periods

As we work through and emerge from COVID-19 and manage the current economic uncertainties and cost of living crisis; we recognise there are significant challenges ahead for all. We will deliver on our Business Plan to ensure:

• Our communities are well informed, empowered, and vibrant

• ICC’s sustainability and future development as a leading participant in the provision of support, information, and guidance for all Irish communities in the North West

• We meet the many challenges and opportunities ahead

We will continue to offer rewarding but demanding work to all who work here as staff and volunteers. We will develop new ways to connect people who come through our door and harness individual and community strengths to influence change.

Going concern

The use of the going concern basis of accounting is considered appropriate because there are no material uncertainties or conditions that may cast significant doubt about the ability of the charitable company to continue as a going concern. Income is expected to remain consistent and any decrease would be matched by a decrease in associated costs. The Trustees believe that the charitable company is well placed to manage its operational risks successfully despite the current uncertain economic outlook.

The organisation is a charitable company, limited by guarantee (registered in England and Wales company no.07259164), incorporated on 19 May 2010. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the company and is governed by its Articles of Association.

The charitable company was registered with the Charity Commission on 6 July 2010 as a charity (charity no.1136760) to promote the welfare and inclusion of our communities in general and our Irish and Irish Traveller communities in particular throughout Merseyside and surrounding areas and to help and relieve need, hardship, sickness and distress through access to local, regional, national and international facilities for social welfare, recreation and leisure time occupation with the object of improving the conditions of life for the community.

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were:

Appointment of trustees, membership and board functioning

The Board of Trustees is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organisation while day to day management is devolved to Breege McDaid, the Director. The trustees meet bi-monthly or more frequently, if required, with committees meeting bi-monthly and task groups developed when necessary.

New trustees are proposed and agreed at trustees’ meeting and their training needs are assessed and the appropriate skills developed.

None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the charitable company and guarantee to contribute £10 in the event of a winding up.

Our current Auditor BWM Chartered Accountants was appointed in 2013 after a successful response to our 2012 tender document. They have been reappointed each year since. Good practice and due diligence would indicate that we should now revisit the market to ensure we are still receiving best value and appropriate service.

A tender document will be circulated to potential alternatives in January 2023 for a decision in March 2023. BWM Chartered Accountants will also be invited to re tender.

Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information.

Small company provisions

The report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

On behalf of the board of trustees

The trustees, who are also the directors of Irish Community Care Ltd for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Irish Community Care Ltd (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 August 2022 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 August 2022 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

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 Trustees' Report, which includes the Directors’ Report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the accounts are prepared is consistent with the accounts; and

the Directors’ Report included within the Trustees' Report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Directors' Report included within the Trustees' Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate and proper 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

we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

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 directors and other management;

• 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 and health and safety legislation;

• 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; and

• enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.

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 section 391 of the Companies Act 2014. 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 statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

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

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

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

Irish Community Care Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 151 Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2AH.

The accounts 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2019). The charitable company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

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 accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

At the time of approving the accounts the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus, the Trustees continue to adopt the ‘going concern’ basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.

Funds held by the charitable company are:

Unrestricted general funds - these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

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.

All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charitable company is entitled to it and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

• Voluntary income is received by way of donations and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when received

• Grants are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable and expenditure is matched to the related fund

• Capital grants are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Capital grants received for the purpose of providing fixed assets are accounted for immediately as restricted funds. The treatment of fixed assets purchased depends on the basis on which they are held. If required by the terms of the grant, the fixed asset is held in a restricted fund but where the acquisition of the fixed asset discharges the restriction, the asset will be held in an unrestricted fund. The relevant fund is then reduced over the estimated useful economic life of the asset in line with its depreciation.

• Contractual income for services performed is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities to the extent that the charity has provided the service.

Expenditure reflects all amounts paid and accrued during the year. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates. All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) on a basis designed to reflect the use of the resource.

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charitable company in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Governance costs represent costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include the audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charitable company.

Tangible fixed assets are measured at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

All assets costing more than £500 are capitalised at cost.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

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.

At each reporting end date, the charitable company 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.

The charitable company 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 charitable company's balance sheet when the charitable company 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 charitable company’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, if material.

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.

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged as an expense on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease.

Taxation

The charity benefits from various exemptions from taxation afforded by tax legislation and is not liable to corporation tax on income or gains falling within those exemptions. Recovery is made of tax deducted from qualifying income and from receipts under Gift Aid. The charity is not able to recover Value Added Tax. Expenditure is recorded in the accounts inclusive of VAT.

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.

Office and other costs

Project costs

Support and governance costs are recharged to direct charitable activities.

The analysis of auditor's remuneration is as follows:

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year and no trustees were reimbursed expenses during the year (2021: one trustee reimbursed £10).

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

Included within wages and salaries are redundancy costs of £nil (2021: £25,047).

All fixed assets are applied in support of direct charitable purposes.

Included in deferred income are receipts from Cheshire West and Cheshire Council, Postcode Neighborhood Lottery, LCVS and Liverpool City Council which relate to a future accounting period and will be recognised to match the delivery of the service.

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independently administered fund.

The charge to the statement of financial activities in respect of defined contribution schemes was £18,123 (2021: £15,029).

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:

The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.

One trustee donated £720 during the year (2021: one trustee donated £180).

There were no other related party transactions in the year (2021: none).

No guarantees have been given or received.

Irish Community Care Limited is incorporated under the Companies Act as a company limited by guarantee. The liability of the members is limited to £10 in the event of winding up the charity.