Introduction to NYAS Annual Report 2022 - 2023 by Sir Mark Hedley Chair of NYAS
NYAS is an established specialised charity engaging with the needs of young people in care, or at risk of entering care, or who have recently left care. Our work also includes working with vulnerable adults and families at risk of the care system. Our legal team also acts for children caught in intractable family disputes involving the adults who care for them, usually parents. NYAS has developed considerable specific expertise in these areas, which is now widely recognized among local authorities, UK and Welsh government departments and the Family Court as well as other charities involved with children. NYAS has developed a clear child-centred culture.
The work of NYAS has grown steadily over the years, and continues to do so, but the budgetary constraints of local authorities and government have necessarily impacted on NYAS with narrower margins on contracts. As a result, this year, and we think the two following years, are full of financial challenges with which the Trustees and senior management team are fully engaged.
Those challenges have happily not led to any cutbacks in the core services that we seek to offer our young people. However, this has resulted in NYAS reviewing and being clear on our charging policy to public and private authorities for the work that we are contracted to do for them, without impairing the unique quality of work. As the charity has well over twice as many volunteers as paid staff, we remain able to deliver key services at the grassroots even when money is very tight.
Our report sets out in detail both the work we do and also what still needs to be done, along with our financial position. We are conscious that there are ever increasing opportunities in these specific fields in which NYAS works and we believe that we will be ready and able to rise effectively to them.
The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.
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 charity'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)".
2022 - 2023 continued to see NYAS further adapting to an agile working model across Scotland, England and Wales. Due to the adaptations to the working patterns NYAS Cymru closed its Caerphilly office with all staff operating a hybrid contract of working from home and working in community hubs when required. This saw NYAS investing in the community. Across the three countries NYAS continues to operate a mix of hybrid, home and face to face working to suit commissioners, staff and the individuals we support.
During 2022 - 2023 NYAS successfully gained contracts, contract extensions and continued growth for NYAS. It also saw further investment in technology with the continued development of our case recording system CHIP, as well as investment in a new Volunteero App to support our NYAS volunteers to stay connected with NYAS and the young people they support through our Independent Visitor (IV) programme. Both systems will enable smarter working across NYAS as well as producing more meaningful management information which is used across the Executive team for planning purposes.
‘We have a high-quality service from NYAS which we developed with them over time’ – Priory commissioning lead’.
2022 - 2023 saw NYAS Cymru expand its services and staff significantly with an annual income growth of 8% from £2.2m in 2021 – 2022 to £2.4m in 2022 – 2023. This was due in part to a new partnership with South Wales Police to deliver independent return interviews for children and young people who go missing from care. Growth was also seen in existing contracts, contract extensions and additional grants supporting children in care as well as new young mothers at risk of losing their children.
Due to falling revenue, rising costs and uncertainly on contract volumes, NYAS reluctantly made the decision to close its two contact centres’ at the end of March 2023. Previous contracts for this service had been direct between NYAS and CAFCASS, however during the last few years it had changed to regional providers with NYAS being a sub contractor to the regional provider. This type of contracting restricts the level of service and resource investment for NYAS.
The year ending 31st March 2023 continued to see an increase in revenue of 11.9% compared to year ending 31st March 2022, with total revenue of £10,228,850. This is due to the retention and extension of existing contracts, as well as new contract gains. Key areas of growth in 2022 - 2023 continue to be in the provision of Reg 44 inspections, mental health advocacy, parental advocacy and the ‘active offer’ of advocacy across Wales, witnessing a growth in the number of young people receiving advocacy upon entering the care system in Wales.
The value of tenders awarded in 2022-2023 is £1,144,030 with an overall increase in whole term value of tenders of 13% when compared to 2021 – 2022. Of the 14 tenders awarded during 2022 – 2023 six were for new business and eight were retenders. Grant success of £160,528 was achieved during the year which will enable NYAS to continue in its mission to improve on delivering its charitable aims.
Background
NYAS delivers high quality rights-based socio-legal services to children, young people and vulnerable adults, all of which are formulated around a framework of children and vulnerable adults’ rights and interests as set out in domestic law and international convention, in particular the provisions of the Children Act 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). NYAS strives to ensure the rights of children and young people are upheld and will be ‘always on the side of the child’.
NYAS delivers its services across England, Wales (NYAS Cymru) and parts of Scotland. NYAS Cymru statutory contracts and grants have increased significantly in recent years, mainly due to the ‘active offer’ of advocacy offered to all children and young people entering the care system. NYAS Cymru continues to experience managed growth in its contracts, with a particular emphasis on funding from grants and trusts, to fulfil an unmet need for various advocacy services outside of the statutory advocacy service. This includes peer-to-peer, parental and family advocacy which has shown significant results with the Welsh Government recognising positive results in reducing the number of children being taken into care.
‘Thank you for helping me through this. It was really helpful for me that you spoke for me’. Young person to their advocate (NYAS Cymru)
‘My advocate was very patient, respectful and listened attentively to my concerns. She really hears and validates my feelings and worries’ – Patient receiving mental health advocacy.
‘The advocates compassion and support for the patients is so evident. Thank you for your help. Patients needs to be given a voice’. – Consultant at the Priory.
‘SidebySide’ and the Knapman Fund continue to be our two flagship charitable activities. Supported through grants and trusts and interest on investments. NYAS is committed to supporting care leavers in the first – and crucially important – twelve months as they transition from care to semi-independent or independent living. 2022 – 2023 saw ‘SidebySide’ being rolled out into a number of local authority areas as NYAS shares its successes from the initial partnership programme developed with Wirral Council, with commissioners and other funders. To date there are now 4 programmes of SidebySide being delivered or due to commence delivery across England with Welsh Government also supporting the delivery of SidebySide in Wales.
2022 - 2023 continued to build on the successes witnessed in NYAS influencing, campaigning and lobbying with some excellent results. A collaboration with MADLUG (Make a Difference Luggage) saw NYAS continue to build relationships with, and receive pledges from over 50 local authorities for the ‘My things matter’ campaign, calling for all parties involved in placement moves to respect the belongings of the young person being moved.
Every 20 minutes a child in care moves home. 3 in 5 young people said that at least one, but often more of their personal belongings had been lost or damaged when moving home while living in care.
NYAS contributed to the recent Care Review and continue to work with DfE as the advocacy experts in supporting the implementation of the many recommendations within the Care Review. This has been an excellent piece of influencing work and has placed NYAS right at the heart of the team at DfE working on the advocacy standards and recommendations.
NYAS was also instrumental in continuing the work on Regulate! – a campaign we launched to prevent 16 – 18 year old care experienced young people being placed in unregulated accommodation. To date the DfE have introduced inspections for all homes with 16 years olds placed in them and we continue to work with them on regulating homes which have 17 and 18 years olds placed in them.
A further successful collaboration is the interchange programme throughout England and Wales. NYAS works with students across England and Wales through charity Interchange, who connect voluntary sector organisations with students in higher education. We work with the students for a set number of weeks developing a project which goes forward to their final exam submission as part of their portfolio.
Throughout 2022 – 2023 NYAS Communications and Policy team continued to lobby for legislation and policy changes, contributed to parliamentary enquires, calls for evidence, responded to consultations, chaired/co-chaired panels and debates. Working alongside the team is a young person led Campaigns and Advisory Group who directly feed into the team. Two of the members of the advisory group are working with the Group CEO and Chairman of the Board to become fully integrating young board members, directly involved in all levels of NYAS operations through the board meetings.
During 2022 – 2023 the Executive team reviewed the current three-year strategic plan (2021 – 2024 making any necessary changes to bring it up to date. In the financial year 2023 – 2024 the plan will be reviewed and replaced with a new one 2024 - 2027. The new plan will reflect any new structures and aspirations for growth. It will see a change to the objectives within the charity to recognise the excellent work with adults, delivering mental health advocacy, peer mentoring and parent advocacy. With the increase in income and contracts, staffing levels have increased both in the direct delivery staff and support staff. A new Director of People and Culture joined the charity and exec team this year as well as a new Finance and Corporate Services Director to replace the outgoing post holder due to his retirement.
Other significant new posts recruited include a Head of fundraising and Income Generation, and a National Volunteer Manager. Successful fundraising will afford NYAS the opportunity to increase delivery of charitable activities not receiving statutory funding and the volunteer manager will be key in guiding over 650 NYAS volunteers who all play such an important role in the charity.
Our Vision
"A society where every child, young person and vulnerable adult's voice is heard and their rights are respected."
‘I am so grateful to you for helping us all be brave and say the things we needed everyone to hear’. – Service User
‘Thank you so much for always supporting the girls to share their views’. – Family
‘I like you, you actually do listen and tell them what I think. This is good. I’ve had others helping me for a long time but this has never happened before, thanks for helping me’. – Service User
Objectives and Activities
In formulating the policies and objectives the Trustees have had due regard for the Charity Commission's revised public benefit guidance.
The main aim of NYAS is to ensure the delivery of high-quality rights-based socio-legal services. These are formulated around a framework of children and vulnerable adult’s rights and interests as set out in domestic law and international convention, in particular the provisions of the Children Act 1989, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
‘Thank you so much for always helping me say what I want. When will you come again to see me? I do want you to visit me again. Thank you’. – Service User.
‘We are finally being listened to. We have been given a voice. At last, someone cares about our lives’. NYAS Cymru Project Unity.
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Our key strategic aims are:
CHAMPION RIGHTS:
INFLUENCE CHANGE:
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WORK COLLABORATIVELY:
INSPIRE TRUST:
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Key Achievements and performance
2022 - 2023 has seen NYAS continue to support vulnerable children and young people to express their wishes and feelings at key points in their lives. They are children and young people who may be in care or leaving care, subject to child protection plans and they may have disabilities. NYAS has also delivered adult services including mental health advocacy, peer mentoring and parent advocacy.
We have delivered this support through a range of services, which includes:-
Advocacy (issue based, mental health and residential visiting advocacy)
Legal representation – Rule 16.4
Return interviews for children and young people who have gone missing
Regulation 44 children’s home visits (England)/Regulation 32 children’s home visits (Wales)
A national helpline – often described as a ‘LIFELINE’ by the callers
Peer mentoring and peer advocacy programmes
Parental advocacy (Wales only)
‘you were my voice today, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much’. Parent advocacy programme NYAS Cymru.
Continuing to roll out ‘SidebySide’ care leavers project (England only)
YPAG (Young Persons Advisory Group) representation – assisting NYAS in developing and improving its programme of works
‘I like the peer involvement and dynamic within the group as it is a safe place and everyone is welcomed and involved. YPAG group member NYAS Cymru.
Campaigns Advisory Group – young people directly influencing our national campaigns work
National Independent Visitor and Volunteer programmes
Interchange students – University placements conducting research on our behalf that feeds directly into how we shape our programmes of work and projects
Student social work placements to help future statutory social workers better understand the wishes and feelings of children and young people in need of care and protection
Continuous staff training - to ensure all staff have the correct skills and knowledge to support children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Continuous improvement of services, systems and staff via young people’s feedback through surveys, questionnaires and face to face.
‘I just want to say that whenever you are in a meeting that I am minuting, I always admire how you come across and represent these young people, you have a lovely way of expressing their thoughts and advocating for them. It was good that XX was able to engage with advocacy and have his views heard at the meeting. Thank you’. – Professional
Mum is happy with this. Mum feels NYAS support and influence has improved XX’s offer from the school and she is happy with that’. Family member to Advocate.
Some Key Achievements - Children’s Services
‘Thank you so much for coming all this way to go to my meeting. You are the best!’. Young person to advocate.
In 2022-2023 NYAS:-
Achieved the roll out of NYAS’s new case recording system C.H.I.P.
Increased the number of registered NYAS volunteers to over 650 active volunteers working with our children and young people.
NYAS made a total of 435 safeguarding referrals on behalf of children, young people and vulnerable adults who told us that they did not feel safe during 2022- 2023. These were children and young people who were already known to public bodies.
As well as the safeguarding work, we also undertook 935 missing from care return interviews across England and Wales.
Worked constructively with the private residential sector, the Department of Education and OFSTED to deliver children centred *Independent Monitoring visits to 828 children's homes, conducting 7,145 visits and making 12,547 recommendations to improve the safety and care of children and young people residing in those homes.
Through the Independent Monitoring visits to homes, we gained feedback from 9,153 children and young people, 2,859 parents and carers and 5,762 professionals.
Secured 50 pledges from local authorities to our ‘My Things Matter’ campaign in partnership with MADLUG (Make A Difference Luggage). 2023 – 2024 will see increased efforts to secure all local authorities signing up to treat the belongings of children and young people with respect and dignity.
Responded to the call for evidence and comments for the Care Review – working with young care experienced people for whom any changes would have a direct impact on their lives.
Retained all our quality marks including Trusted Charities, Cyber Essentials award, Law society accreditations for Children and Family Law, Helplines Standards award and Disability Confident Award.
Conducted a full in depth staff survey – the first since coming out of lockdown.
Our national ‘free’ helpline received 29,799 contacts through phone and email requesting our services. This resulted in 12,232 referrals directly into NYAS services.
* Under the Children's Homes Regulations, children's homes are required to have in place a monthly visit by an independent person whose duties include talking to the children in private about their care in the home.
‘I would like you to go to the meeting for me. It always helps when you are there. I understand what they are doing and I feel involved in decisions that are being made, when you are there’. Young person to their advocate.
Key Achievements – Legal Services
‘Without your help in that dark time heaven knows where I'd be now. Life for me has never been better, like an uncaged bird because of you unlocking the cage I've been set free. (Parent)
2022 - 2023 saw the NYAS legal team increase in size with recruitment taking place nationally rather than the previous usual restriction to head office. The number of legal cases continues to increase across the country, working in close collaboration with CAFCASS and a growth strategy is in place for further increases and diversification into other areas to further assist care experienced young people. This will include – but is not limited to – DOLS, public law and discharge of care orders.
‘You’ve made such a massive and positive difference to XX’s (and as a result, my) life, I really can’t thank you enough. I hope you are able to stay in touch because, after what we’ve been through, just saying “toodle-ooh” and ‘leaving it there’ doesn’t seem quite right! I’m incredibly grateful’. Parent
2022 – 2023 saw 281 families being represented by NYAS. These are new cases in family proceedings where parents were in conflict about the arrangements for their children post separation and divorce.
‘Thank you for everything. My children have a life now BECAUSE OF YOU! Thank you for seeing the truth! Thank you for fighting for them! Guardians are amazing people, who do amazing jobs! You make such a difference I really hope you know what a difference you make! I'm off to live my life now free of abuse, control! I haven't had that freedom in over years! THANKYOU!!!!!!!!!!!
Kindest regards & forever grateful’ (Parent)
The NYAS Liverpool and Wirral contact service closed in 2022 – 2023 due to continued operational losses, contractual issues and technological issues which proved too time consuming and costly to rectify.
‘Before you were involved, I’d spent 4 to 5 years and many tens of thousands of pounds fighting to protect XX’s welfare, his education and his time with me. I was struggling to get my concerns heard. I was putting myself and my family/partner under a great deal of pressure and I was on the cusp of giving up. Without NYAS he would have lost contact with me and who knows how things would have developed at his home’. Parent
The legal team continues its involvement with the Helpline, offering support to young people and care leavers on request. Their support can focus on a variety of issues, e.g. seeking contact with their siblings, care leavers transitioning to adult service, child protection advice, special guardianship, restriction of liberty and information regarding the discharging of care orders.
‘I would like to give feedback on XX, who has recently supported our family as caseworker for a rule 16.4 guardian in the family court in Oxford. What an asset to NYAS that you have in her! I have found her approach open, caring, understanding and proactive. XX has also intervened in difficult situations in support of my children to allow their wishes and feelings to be met prior to conclusions and the court order’. Parent
Our principal funding sources continue to be dependent on contracts with local authorities, health trusts and independent providers for the provision of advocacy, independent visitor services and the Legal Aid Agency for the provision of separate representation and legal advice.
Other funding sources include the National Assembly of Wales, grant making bodies, individual donors, and corporates as well as private sector clients for whom we are delivering mental health advocacy and Reg.44/Reg 32 visits. This year the percentage of public to private funding stands at 61% to 39% An increase in our fundraising activities enables unrestricted funds to be allocated to non-statutory charitable activities such as the recently established SidebySide care leavers support project, the ‘My things matter’ campaign and the ‘Knapman Fund’.
The large majority of fundraising activity undertaken by the charity involves trusts, foundations, government agencies and major donor organisations such as Big Lottery and Comic Relief. Where we do make fundraising appeals direct to the public, we subscribe to best practice and always ensure our actions are compatible with our values. NYAS is an organisation registered with the Fundraising Regulator.
In accordance with best practice as regard to payments to suppliers, NYAS ensures that we always pay to terms and where possible ahead of the date due.
Investment policy and performance
In addition to the aim to retain a prudent amount of reserves each year, the charity's funds have generally been required to be spent in the short term. The investment policy therefore has been to balance liquidity and the availability of funds whilst ensuring an appropriate level of return on the investment. Brewin Dolphin continue to act as the charity's independent investment provider, managing the performance of the charity's fixed assets investments. Further liquid funds remain in easy access bank accounts.
The total return of the invested assets was -2.3% over the year to 31 March 2023. Investment markets have been challenged by a number of events over the year. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, decade high inflation and significant interest rate rises have weighed on returns. However, NYAS’s investments have faired better than its associated benchmark which fell 4.3% over the same period. The invested reserves continue to have a long term timeframe, with the aim to add financial resilience to the organisation.
Reserves policy
The free reserves of the charity have increased during the year from £2,454,154 as at 31 March 2022 to £2,774,791 as at 31 March 2023. Free reserves are calculated as total unrestricted reserves, less designated funds and fixed assets but include fixed asset investments.
The level of free reserves is maintained in a range that protects the charity against any sudden reduction in income and ensures immediate commitments can be met.
The previously recorded designated funds subtotal of £417,000 for discretionary charitable expenditure has been released back to general unrestricted funds with the trustees approval. This discretionary charitable expenditure is now recognised as an established charitable cause as part of our core activities and is now covered within the accounts.
The trustees are keenly aware of the risks to all services supported by public funding. They are committed to ensure that the charity can continue to meet its core aims and have agreed that reserves should be drawn upon, where necessary, to maintain and develop services that are essential to our charitable purpose.
Risk Management
The Board of Trustees has examined the major strategic business and operational risks that NYAS face and confirms that policies, procedures and systems have been established so that necessary steps can be taken to manage those risks and to enable regular reports to be provided.
The Audit, Risk and Reward committee will report on high level risks to the Board of Trustees. A quarterly updated Risk Register is prepared by the Group CEO for review by the A.R&R committee. An interdepartmental Safeguarding/GDPR scrutiny committee chaired by the Group CEO feeds into the risk register.
The trustees continue to be aware of the uncertainty caused by cuts in public spending and the challenges arising from changes to legal aid funding. We are responding by managing contracts robustly, introducing efficiency savings and growing alternative sources of funding through the introduction of a dedicated Income Generation and Fundraising team.
NYAS executive team and trustees are also aware of the potential opportunities and threats contained in the soon to be released care review. The full impact of the recommendations will be considered during 2023 – 2024 and will form an integral part of the revised strategic plan.
The charity remains firmly committed to the mission of ensuring that children, young people and vulnerable adults are able to understand and influence decisions made about their lives by supporting them to have their wishes and feelings heard.
Structure, governance and management
The charity is registered as a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered charity number 1012485 and is constituted under its memorandum and articles.
Governance, pay and remuneration is overseen by the Audit, Risk and Reward committee reporting into the Board of Trustees, working closely with the Chief Executive and operating within the terms of our Memorandum and Articles of Association. The setting of pay and remuneration for the charity’s key management personnel is based on a job evaluation methodology that encompasses the requirements, demands and content of each role across ten factors. The scores are then benchmarked against both market rates and similar scoring internal jobs to determine the salary range.
The Board of Trustees follows a routine of closely monitoring and reviewing its effectiveness at its quarterly meetings and through careful application of any advice contained within the management letter provided as part of the annual audit.
NYAS seeks to ensure the Board of Trustees continually comprises of individuals who contribute a range of skills and expertise relevant to the monitoring, guidance and development of the charity. NYAS is particularly fortunate to have trustees who bring financial, commercial, legal and social work together with extensive academic knowledge and experience.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Recruitment and appointment of trustees
Appointment of trustees follows a skills audit which is conducted periodically to address any gaps in the Board of Trustees' expertise. The appointment process is initiated through an established network of business, legal, voluntary and academic sector contacts and a formal recruitment process.
Potential trustees with the appropriate expertise and experience are given the opportunity to meet the Chair, the Group Chief Executive, other Board of Trustee members and to visit the Charity Headquarters or services which may be local to them. Appointment is made after attendance at a full meeting of the Board. None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company.
All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of it winding up.
Recruitment of additional trustees will continue during 2023 – 2024 including the full integration of a minimum of two young care experienced trustees onto the board.
Induction and training of trustees
New trustees are provided with an induction pack containing background information about the work of the Charity and a copy of the NCVO's 'Good Trustee Guide'. An induction programme is matched to their individual needs and includes copies of the most recent annual report and accounts, current financial records and accounting systems, organisational structure charts, young people's feedback reports and operating practices.
Induction and on-going trustee training is provided via internal/external training courses, webinars and opportunities to interact directly with NYAS exec team and associated staff including the training team. All trustees receive training in safeguarding, GDPR and equality, diversity and inclusion.
Organisational structure and decision-making
The Group Chief Executive and Finance Director report regularly to the Board of Trustees. The Group Chief Executive has delegated authority to make strategic decisions on behalf of the board and NYAS. With the support of her Executive management team they will make operational management decisions.
The Board of Trustees make staff appointments and salary decisions at Group CEO level. Strategic policy decisions are referred to them for information/approval.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the preparation of financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the balance sheet date and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure for the year ended. The Board of Trustees is responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud or other irregularities.
Senior Management
Rita Waters, Secretary and Group Chief Executive.
In accordance with the charitable company's articles, a resolution proposing that BWM be reappointed as auditor of the charitable company will be put at a General Meeting.
Small company provisions
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of The National Youth Advocacy Service 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 charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- 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 charity 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 charity 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 charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The National Youth Advocacy Service (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including 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:
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 charity 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 charity’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 trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. 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.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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 financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; 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 charity 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 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 charity 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 charity’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.
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 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.
The National Youth Advocacy Service is a registered charity and a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Tower House, 1 Tower Road, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 1FF.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "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 is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention modified to include certain financial instruments at fair value. 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 charity are:
Unrestricted funds - these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees.
Designated funds - these funds are set aside by the trustees out of unrestricted general funds for specific future purposes or projects.
Restricted funds - these are funds that can be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
All income is included in the statement of financial activities when the charity has entitlement to the funds, certainty of receipt and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.
Income from donations and grants, including capital grants, and contract income is included in income when these are receivable, except as follows:
When donors specify that donations and grants given to the charity must be used in future accounting periods, the income is deferred until those periods.
When donors impose conditions which have to be fulfilled before the charity becomes entitled to use such income, the income is deferred and not included in income until the preconditions for use have been met.
When donors specify that donations and grants, including capital grants, are for particular restricted purposes, which do not amount to preconditions regarding entitlement, this income is included in income of restricted funds when receivable.
Voluntary income includes discretionary grants for projects, goods and services where no service agreement or contract exists.
Other grants, which have particular service requirements and which are provided in accordance with a contract or service level agreement are included in the statement of financial activities under the heading charitable activities.
For legacies, entitlement is the earlier of the date on which either the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification made by the executors to the charity that a distribution will be paid or when a distribution is received from the estate. Interest is included when receivable by the charity.
Gifts in kind donated for distribution are included at valuation and recognised as income when they are distributed to the projects. Gifts donated for resale are included as income when they are sold. Donated facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified and a third party is bearing the cost. No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers.
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.
Raising funds
These represent costs incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities.
Charitable expenditure
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity 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 and support costs are allocated to charitable activities in the SOFA based on staff numbers (see note 8).
Other expenditure includes all expenditure that is neither related to raising funds for the charity nor part of its expenditure on charitable activities.
Intangible assets acquired separately from a business are recognised at cost and are subsequently measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses.
Amortisation 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:
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
All assets costing more than £1000 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.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible 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).
Legal cases in progress or completed but unsettled are valued at the amount of anticipated receipt from the Legal Aid Agency or opponent, net of any payments on account, and are shown as accrued income.
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 charity 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 charity's balance sheet when the charity 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.
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 net income/(expenditure), 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.
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 charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
Provisions are recognised when the charity has a legal or constructive present obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that the charity will be required to settle that obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.
The amount recognised as a provision is the best estimate of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the reporting end date, taking into account the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation.
Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the amount expected to be required to settle the obligation is recognised at present value. When a provision is measured at present value the unwinding of the discount is recognised as a finance cost in net income/(expenditure) in the period it arises.
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 charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the charity to the fund in the year.
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 also able to partially recover Value Added Tax. Expenditure that is not recoverable by the charity is recorded in the accounts inclusive of VAT.
In the application of the charity’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.
The provision for property dilapidations relating to the charity premises remains outstanding and has been decreased to £45,000.
Based on previous claims experience, a provision is held against the value of legal cases in progress to reflect the uncertainty of fully recovering the accrued value of older matters. The amount required now, however, is relatively small as this is a legacy issue which is largely discharged.
Grants receivable
Performance related grants are disclosed in note 4.
Children's Services
Income from charitable activities
Children's Services
Income from charitable activities
Seeking donations, and grants
Investment management - Brewin Dolphin
The cost of seeking donations and grants, including related staff costs, shown above incorporates obtaining performance related grants disclosed in note 4.
Children's services
Direct charitable expenditure
Included in Direct Charitable Expenditure are payments to partners of £519,991 (2022: £561,557) in respect of the Priory contract. Also included are payments to self employed workers of £1,870,007 (2022: £1,724,244).
Children's services
Direct charitable expenditure
Premises and office costs
Other costs
The above costs are the central head office overheads of the charity which do not reflect or include costs attributable to the delivery of specific services of the charity. These have been allocated to charitable activities (in note 7) on the basis of direct staff numbers. Governance costs are allocated to children's services.
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 (2022; no trustees were reimbursed).
The analysis of auditor's remuneration is as follows:
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The total return of the invested assets was -2.3% over the year to 31st March 2023. Investment markets have been challenged by a number of events over the year. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, decade high inflation and significant interest rate rises have weighed on returns. However, NYAS’s investments have faired better than its associated benchmark which fell 4.3% over the same period. The invested reserves continue to have a long term timeframe, with the aim to add financial resilience to the organisation.
Debt instruments includes bank and cash (including any cash held in investment portfolios), trade debtors and other debtors.
Equity instruments includes the market value of investments at the year end, see note 15.
Financial liabilities includes trade creditors, accruals and other creditors (excluding any amounts due to HMRC).
All Trade Creditors are settled within a maximum of 30 days from invoice date.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The provision for property dilapidations relating to one of the charity premises remains outstanding and has remained the same at £45,000, dilapidations on another premises has been paid during the year and therefore released, this amounted to £10,000.
In 2022 a provision was created to cover for the potential repayment of contract income where activity volumes are lower than planned due to Covid. This has now been utilised during the year and no such provision is considered necessary at the year end.
Section 64 grant finances a one to one holistic support service for care experienced young people who are transitioning from CAMHS to adult mental health service or for those who are accessing or unable to access primary mental health services. It provide health and well-being support to individual’s. The second element of the service is creating an online platform to support foster carers with tools and resources to equip them with information and knowledge on how to deal with and support the mental health of the young people they may be fostering.
Mental Health Recovery fund – this additional money from Caerphilly Local Authority will ensure that parents whose children are at risk of child protection procedures are supported through the process. We will provide advocacy representation within family group conferences and ensure the parents are at the heart of plans in place to safeguard and protect their children.
SSG Parent Advocacy - to support Welsh Government’s plans of reducing numbers of children entering the care system in Wales. The Parent Advocacy programme will also support parents to engage with social services through the provision of independent professional advocacy.
SSG Project Unity - to help break the cycle of children being born to care-experienced young mothers entering the care system in Wales This is achieved by helping them engage with services, access practical and emotional support and learn new life skills with the aim of keeping families together.
NVYO Grant - our Welsh Government NVYO funded project provides an opportunity for all young people throughout Wales to undertake accredited training in Peer Mentoring, Peer Advocacy and support to apply for and gain Youth Work qualifications. The grant has also enabled us to recruit an expert care experienced young person to work with the YPAG to explore using Digital Platforms to meet the project aims.
Welsh Emergency Digital Equipment - we were fortunate to have received this grant for care leavers who are without access to digital equipment. This has been a much-needed resource for young people, affording them the opportunity to expand their skills in this new virtual world we find ourselves in.
Side By Side is a project with volunteers, as mentors, to support care leavers through a programme which will help young people to bridge the gap between leaving care and finding their own way in the world, providing a broad range of support and mentoring. A grant was gratefully received from the Dulverton Trust in 2022/23 and fully spent during the year.
Funds have been used for the bursary for each of these care leavers. Bursaries have provided such items as computers and internet access to aid them with College work and equipment to enable them to cook their own meals.
IST support worker - NYAS Cymru were funded to support Caerphilly Children’s Services with the delivery of Family Meetings in the Intensive Support Team. The aim is to reduce the number of children who become looked after. The project looks to deliver an impartial and independent advocacy service to parents and legal guardians of children/young people under the age of 18, living within the Caerphilly County Borough Council area.
The service is bespoke and dependent on the needs of the individual. Each intervention will involve working with a single individual, addressing any advocacy issues and attempting to bring them to a resolution.
The previously recorded designated funds subtotal of £417,000 for discretionary charitable expenditure has been released back to general unrestricted funds. This discretionary charitable expenditure is now recognised as an established charitable cause as part of our core activities and is now covered within the accounts.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the charity to the fund and amounted to £228,391 (2022, £192,228). Total employee and employer contributions totalling £37,698 (2022, £35,538) were payable to the fund at the balance sheet date and are included within creditors.
At the reporting end date the charity 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.
There were no other related party transactions in the year.
The National Youth Advocacy Service is incorporated under the Companies Act as a company limited by guarantee. The liability of the members is limited to £1.