IMPACT REPORT 2009/10
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Refugee Council’s Impact Report 2009/10
Contents Chair’s foreword .................................................................................... 3 Chief Executive’s introduction ...........................................................4 Providing high quality advice and support ....................................6 Supporting the refugee sector and integration .......................... 9 Our advocacy and influencing work .............................................12 How your support helps us ..............................................................15 Financial information ......................................................................... 16 Board of trustees ................................................................................. 18 Member organisations ...................................................................... 19
As the leading charity working with asylum seekers and refugees in the UK, the Refugee Council is committed to working towards creating a fair, humane and effective asylum system that provides protection and enables refugees to rebuild their lives in safety.
www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
PROTECTING
REFUGEES
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http://www.facebook.com/refugeecouncil http://twitter.com/refugeecouncil
Protecting refugees for 60 years
Chair’s foreword Our work with refugees brings us face to face with acute needs: last year we held over 200 advice sessions every working day and provided specialist emotional support to 232 refugees including rape survivors. For many people we were their only option – almost two-thirds of the clients who came to our largest centre in Brixton were destitute. This report sets out what we did to help, work we could only do thanks to our many supporters and funders. It also shows how we challenged something which is quite wrong: the fact that for many refugees, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, from Iraq and Iran to Eritrea, their journey to find safety and protection is not over once they arrive in the UK. Refugees are not passive, and neither are we. In the face of the biggest public spending cuts in a generation, the Refugee Council has developed and grown new services and new income. We are rethinking how our existing services can serve refugees better. We have worked more closely with sector partners and we have maintained financial control. Our joint General Election pledge with Liberty and the Scottish Refugee Council was signed by over 1,000 parliamentary candidates – including the leaders of the three largest parties. On behalf of the Board I express the strongest appreciation to every single member of staff and all of our volunteers. Whether at the front line or in management, you have – in extraordinarily difficult times, and in a quite extraordinary way – not given in to uncertainty. Shortly before the election, in the final televised Leaders’ debate, our now Prime Minister David Cameron, stated that“the test of a good and strong society is how we look after the vulnerable”. The Government’s vision is of a Big Society of active citizens who speak up and take responsibility. On both counts – vulnerability and active citizenship – refugees deserve our, and our government’s, unstinting support. For two or three decades, hundreds of refugee community organisations have expressed in vivid action the Big Society’s ideals – yet they face more cuts. This is especially
ironic as often refugees are refugees only because they chose to be active citizens in their original countries. 2011 is the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Refugee Convention, and of the Refugee Council’s two predecessor organisations. We only have to look at the countries named above – the top five countries of origin of our clients last year – to see that the need for protection against human rights abuses is no less vital now than it was in 1951. As Britons we tend to regard this past fondly – our new Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband underlined asylum as part of his family’s history and Britishness. We welcomed that. But in 2011 and beyond, Britain, and refugees, deserve more than fond memories. No Big Society can be built relying on memories of past decency. But it could be built on protecting the vulnerable, and valuing unashamedly and upholding robustly the rights of refugees today.
Signature Douglas Board
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Refugee Council’s Impact Report 2009/10
Chief Executive’s introduction As we approach 60 years both of the UN Refugee Convention and of our own work with refugees, the independent and authoritative voice the Refugee Council provides, our knowledge and expertise and the support we give to asylum seekers and refugees is needed as much as ever. Whether it is through our work with asylum seekers, refugees and refugee community organisations or our passionate influencing work, we remain uniquely placed to make a difference to some of the most vulnerable people in the UK – just as we have done since 1951. This last year has been a period of political change as well as economic uncertainty. Twelve months ago few people would have predicted Britain’s first post-war coalition government would be formed, let alone that it would have brought the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats into government together. Our democratic process is something that too often we take for granted in the UK, confident that elections will pass in safety and power will transfer smoothly and fairly. Yet listening to the refugees who come to the Refugee Council – people who have had to flee persecution, torture and conflict – is a daily reminder that in many parts of the world democracy is fragile or non-existent and that many governments are more likely to persecute than to protect. Even in countries such as the UK, which are fortunate to be able to take democracy largely for granted, political leadership remains essential. That is why I was delighted – due in large part to the involvement of our supporters
up and down the country – that so many parliamentary candidates signed the asylum election pledge and committed to remembering the importance of refugee protection in political debates. It was also refreshing that, despite the focus on immigration during much of the election campaign, asylum largely stayed out of the spotlight – giving hope that we may truly be able to build a cross-party consensus on refugee protection. With a coalition government that has committed to end child detention and a leader of the opposition who proudly highlighted his refugee heritage in his first speech as leader, we should not let our very real concerns about spending cuts defeat our spirit or optimism that we can work together to make life better for refugees in the UK. At the Refugee Council we will continue to engage across the political spectrum to ensure the importance of refugee protection is understood and that we develop an asylum system we can be truly proud of. Key to this is getting the voices of refugees themselves heard directly, which is why I was so pleased that, with the support of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, refugees were able to come with us to the party conferences so that politicians could hear for themselves about the journeys they have undertaken in search of protection in the UK.
Our Day Centre handed out 1,342 food parcels Our resettlement
Protecting refugees for 60 years
However difficult and challenging it is to navigate our way as a charity through the economic challenges and public spending cuts that have already begun to bite and to take the tough decisions that have to be taken, I never fail to be inspired, enthused and humbled by the journeys that the asylum seekers and refugees we work with, and in many cases employ, have undergone – and undergone with such dignity, determination and bravery. Even in the most challenging times I am also proud to be able to rely on the unceasing professionalism, expertise and tireless commitment of our staff and volunteers – who always put our clients and our cause first. There really must be few places as inspiring to work as the Refugee Council or in the refugee sector – a sector that without doubt represents the Big Society in action in so many ways. The Refugee Council’s work with its partners throughout the refugee sector and beyond has become increasingly important as we seek to enhance and target the support we provide and increase our influence in political and public debates. Our close working relationships with the North of England Refugee Service (NERS) and with the Sheffield-based Northern Refugee Centre in particular demonstrate not only how we can be stronger together, but also how the Refugee Council can enable and support regionally based refugee charities to deliver services at a local level. We have also been listening carefully to what our partners have been saying – including through the stakeholder survey we carried out
earlier this year and our refugee sector meeting in June. And it has been great to continue to work with partners during Refugee Week, which gets bigger and better every year. This year a real highlight was participating in London’s first ever ‘umbrella parade’, walking through central London in support of refugee protection, receiving attention and support along the way. I am also really pleased that we have been able to develop exciting plans for our 60th anniversary in 2011 and am grateful for the pro-bono support we have received from the communications agency Champollion during this work.
The only thing in my mind was to be safe. I didn’t make any choice to leave my country. Male, Democratic Republic of Congo
As we face the future, the support we receive will inevitably become more precious than ever. All of us face uncertainties during these challenging times but with your help and encouragement we remain committed to being there for as long as we are needed – a strong Refugee Council at the centre of a strong refugee sector. Despite the challenges, we are ready, willing and able to enter 2011 with a renewed focus and an unwavering commitment to ensure refugees receive the protection and support they need and deserve.
Donna Covey
teams carried out 1,446 home visits
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Refugee Council’s Impact Report 2009/10
Providing high quality advice and support Supporting asylum seekers throughout the asylum process and working with people with refugee status have remained at the very heart of the Refugee Council’s work, despite a challenging year. We have continued to deliver high quality advice and support at all stages of the asylum process from locations in Greater London, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside and the East of England. We have also advanced our partnership work including with the North of England Refugee Service (NERS) and Northern Refugee Centre.
Through our induction programme we give advice and information to newly arrived asylum seekers and practical help including accommodation advice, support accessing healthcare, food and clothing. Our One Stop Services provide advice at all stages of the asylum process, whilst our London Day Centre continues to be there for practical support and as a place of safety to often desperate and destitute asylum seekers. We also provide therapeutic services to those who have undergone horrors such as torture and rape, as well as dedicated support to children separated from their families, including those whose age has been disputed. Our Refugee Integration and Employment Service (RIES), which helps newly recognised refugees to integrate
Our Therapeutic Casework Team assisted
Protecting refugees for 60 years
into UK society, has continued to make a real difference to people’s lives, as has our work as part of the Gateway Protection Programme, resettling refugees who have come to the UK from refugee camps. As part of our commitment to delivering better services and value for money we have been carrying out a major review of how our services can best meet the needs of asylum seekers. In response, we have already increased the proportion of our telephone advice services and made more use of the expertise of volunteers to deliver advice for clients – with more improvements and changes on the way. Our key achievements in 2009/10 Our One Stop Services held 52,986 advice sessions for asylum seekers, providing invaluable support to enable fair access to the asylum system. We were audited by the Community Legal Service for legal advice and exceeded all Quality Mark requirements. We provided 1,674 induction briefings at our offices in Brixton and Hounslow and delivered 39,014 advice sessions at Initial Accommodation centres for newly arrived asylum seekers. We continued to provide hot meals to asylum seekers at our London Day Centre and distributed food, clothing and other items donated by corporate supporters and individuals. We also worked in partnership with Short Stop in Leeds to
arrange over 800 nights of accommodation for destitute clients with volunteer hosts in their own homes. Refugee Council’s Sheffield Resettlement team assisted in the production of a feature-length documentary Moving to Mars which received very good reviews and was screened at cinemas and on More4. The film follows two refugee families from Burma who arrived in the UK from a refugee camp in Thailand, highlighting the support they received from the Refugee Council and the challenges they overcame to settle in the UK.
In this place we get very good help. They support and welcome us with goodwill. I hope they continue to provide this good service. Induction programme participant
We delivered a drop-in service in Brixton and one-to-one direct casework with vulnerable young people in surgeries in 12 locations across England. We also secured funding for two specialist posts working with children whose age had been disputed and with trafficked girls. In the three months from January-March 2010 alone, following the appointment of a specialist worker, we worked with eight children who were wrongly detained as adults and who were released as a result of our intervention. We were also involved in a high profile Supreme Court case that led to positive changes on age assessments.
234 refugees We provided 3,878 English language sessions
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Refugee Council’s Impact Report 2009/10
Providing high quality advice and support… As part of the Gateway Protection Programme we helped over 200 Iraqi refugees settle in Yorkshire and Humberside, assisting with all aspects of integration. We facilitated the then Home Secretary, Alan Johnson’s visit to our office in Hull where he met some of the refugees resettled in the city. Our Norwich team has been transferred to Norfolk County Council, mainstreaming the provision of resettlement services in the Norfolk area.
First, l managed to get settled and registered with a GP, dentist and optician. Second, l managed to secure employment as a support worker. I have done an IT course and am currently doing a project management course. You gave me an insight into the UK employment system and how to search for jobs, l really appreciate that. Your services have been excellent and the fact that you are still open to assist anytime l need guidance is great. RIES client
Our Refugee Integration and Employment Service (RIES) delivered advice services to 1,846 clients. Despite the recession, we helped 327 refugees to find sustainable employment. We developed a formal referral arrangement with West Midlands housing associations to assist refugees, worked with Leeds Central Libraries to deliver English classes across the city so refugees could access computer classes and library services and engaged in a range of partnerships including with Jobcentre Plus. Our future work in 2010/11 Complete and implement the major review of our services, sharing findings with partners including UK Border Agency. With other agencies, explore the feasibility of setting up a network of refugee day centres. Continue to raise awareness of problems facing destitute asylum seekers. Develop a support group for pregnant women and parents of young children in the London Day Centre. Continue to work with vulnerable women and seek funding to expand the therapeutic casework team’s work. Secure partnership arrangements with refugee community organisations to deliver Job Club services for refugees in London. Develop with partner agencies a comprehensive housing guide for single homeless refugees living in London and facilitate access to privately rented housing for eligible clients.
In our London office 64% of clients came for advice about destitution We helped
Protecting refugees for 60 years
Supporting the refugee sector and integration At the Refugee Council our reach extends beyond our direct work with asylum seekers and refugees. We also support hundreds of local and regional refugee community organisations (RCOs) across the country, providing them with information and advice, training, conferences and events, development materials and support with fundraising and governance. As a national membership organisation which also has excellent regional relationships we are uniquely placed to support and represent the refugee sector. By working with a diverse refugee sector, providing support, coordination and information, and ensuring that the sector’s voice is heard by policymakers and politicians, and vice-versa, we play a key bridging role. Our work alongside refugee communities has increasingly become one of the most rewarding and unique parts of our work. During the past year, it has meant we have been able to take part in a wide range of discussions with government and key stakeholders, such as advising Ministry of Justice officials about voting registration amongst refugee
327 refugees to secure employment
The project has given us a foundation on the procedures of how to run a successful campaign, given us some good skills to take away and use in all of our different campaigns. Refugee Empowerment Project participant
communities, meeting with the British Council and the Department for International Development about engagement with refugee communities and working alongside the Football Foundation on sports participation by refugees.
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Refugee Council’s Impact Report 2009/10
Supporting the refugee sector and integration… We have now developed further and run a community radio station. With help from the Basis Project we secured funding in 2008 to keep the station running and were recently awarded a further £100,000 from the Big Lottery Fund. Peterborough African Community Organisation We have also led the way in innovative projects such as the Refugee Empowerment Project, supporting refugee campaigners to get their voices heard, and through the Basis Project, run jointly with Refugee Action, provided one-to-one support to hundreds of refugee community organisations to help them manage, develop and sustain their work. We have also worked with refugees and community organisations at a local level, for example by working to provide suitably qualified refugees with the opportunity to enter the teaching profession in the UK and through supporting and mentoring refugee children.
Our key achievements in 2009/10 Working jointly with Refugee Action, the Basis Project facilitated seminars with over 300 RCOs, funders and second-tier service providers. The project provided advice on fundraising, governance, business planning, project development and financial management to 78 organisations, enabling them to raise £400,000 additional income. Our Refugee Empowerment Project worked with campaigners based in eight RCOs in three London boroughs as part of a pilot project to campaign on key issues. The project has since been awarded a grant for a second year, allowing us to build on the success of the pilot phase. Refugees into Teaching (RiT) registered 901 refugee teachers nationally. In all, 15 refugees have gained Qualified Teacher Status, 64 have secured work placements, nine have attended school observations and 34 have secured a place on an Initial Teacher Training course. A total of 224 refugees have received information, advice and guidance on entering the teaching profession and 115 have attended information events.
1,361 delegates attended our training courses 1,846 refugees received integration and employment advice
Protecting refugees for 60 years
Our Supporting and Mentoring in Learning and Education (SMILE) project mentored 37 refugee children, supporting them in accessing education, and helped 18 children to access a year-long programme of recreational activities. We delivered an awareness-raising school talk every two weeks and organised and ran arts, sports and education workshops for over 640 young people. We also delivered seminars, showcasing the project and sharing good practice and our research findings. Our future work in 2010/11 To support and lead the refugee sector including through convening sector-wide events to discuss priorities, sector funding, and engaging with government. To start helping new RCOs whilst continuing to provide support and advice to existing partners, with a particular drive to engage more RCOs in some regions.
To hold the first Basis Project conference. RiT aims to provide 350 individual advice and guidance sessions to clients: to gain 75 school placements and school observation sessions – one of the criteria for anyone wishing to access teacher training – and to create information events and training workshops across the UK for up to 350 refugee teachers. The SMILE project intends to recruit and train additional volunteer mentors, to develop a homework club in London, to continue to run a weekly youth club for refugee young people and to plan and deliver a whole programme of summer youth activities, including residential trips. To continue to develop the Refugee Empowerment Project to help more RCOs campaign on issues that really matter to their communities.
Thushy fled from Sri Lanka in 2007. In Sri Lanka, she qualified as a doctor, and then later used these skills in the classroom as a qualified secondary science teacher for several years. Once Thushy received refugee status in the UK, she then tried to find a job in a school, but was unsuccessful, knocking her confidence. After registering with Refugees into Teaching (RiT) she was able to access information and advice through a dedicated guidance worker on applying for a PGCE, including help with writing her personal statement, gaining confidence for interviews and identifying other organisations for support. RiT was also able to advocate on her behalf when her application was rejected due to a lack of clarity on refugee entitlements to study, and as a result she then gained an interview. The result was positive, and she is now moving forward. Thushy will be starting her PGCE in Science this year, and will hopefully be teaching in a school soon, her skills no longer being wasted. Case study
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Refugee Council’s Impact Report 2009/10
Our advocacy and influencing work Changing hearts and minds and challenging misconceptions on asylum is never easy but by always basing our influencing on robust evidence and research, focusing on positive and practical solutions and working with partners we have been able to achieve some real progress. During the past year, the Refugee Council has been active in influencing politicians, policymakers and other stakeholders on a wide range of issues affecting asylum seekers and refugees. Chief amongst our concerns are seeking to get a fair and effective asylum system, an end to poverty and destitution, permanent status for those recognised as refugees, border controls with a route to safety for refugees, and support for the critical role of refugee communities.
I didn’t think it would be an issue for me to find work. I’ve always been someone who has worked. It’s hard to think I would just come here and just sit, not work.
of refugee organisations, as part of coalitions including Still Human, Still Here and the Refugee Children’s Consortium, and cochairing the UK Border Agency’s National Asylum Stakeholder Forum. We have also played a crucial role in ensuring the refugee sector is kept aware of all of the latest policy developments and in representing the views of the sector to government. In a key year approaching a general election we met regularly with ministers, opposition spokespeople and senior civil servants and continued to provide the secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees. We were especially pleased that we achieved substantial sign-up to the asylum election pledge we ran in partnership with Liberty and the Scottish Refugee Council – in no small part because of the role played by hundreds of Refugee Council supporters who contacted their own candidates online asking them to sign the pledge.
Female, Zimbabwe
We have played an active part in practically every discussion and debate around asylum issues in the past year by working closely with partners including the Scottish and Welsh Refugee Councils, UNHRC and a wide range
Refugee Council’s website receives 30,000 visits monthly 1,031
Protecting refugees for 60 years
Our media work remains important, with the Refugee Council regularly shaping and responding to the news agenda in the past twelve months. Journalists continue to turn to us for comment and expert opinion as we have a well earned reputation of responding effectively and authoritatively. We also have an impressive track record of working with the media to get refugees’ voices heard. Changing public attitudes on asylum and getting the basics about refugee protection better understood has been a key part of our work during the last year and is an area we intend to increasingly focus on as we approach the 60th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention in 2011.
Our key achievements in 2009/10 Developed and promoted a successful asylum election pledge, in partnership with Liberty and the Scottish Refugee Council. Over 1,000 parliamentary candidates, including all three main party leaders, signed the pledge to recognise the importance of refugee protection. Played a key role in the coalition to end destitution, Still Human, Still Here, achieving a small rise in support payments despite the challenging economic climate.
parliamentary candidates signed the asylum election pledge
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Refugee Council’s Impact Report 2009/10
Our advocacy and influencing work… Informed and lobbied decision makers and officials on key policy issues including housing, integration, provision of English language tuition, five year leave to remain, separated children, the Common European Asylum process, refugee women and access to legal representation. This led to policy commitments including one on legal advice. We also secured a Department of Health proposal to restore free healthcare for certain groups of asylum seekers. Continued to push for an end to the use of detention and highlighted the failure to provide adequate medical care in detention. Published Chance or Choice, Understanding why asylum seekers come to the UK. The report presented findings of research commissioned by the Refugee Council and undertaken by Professor Heaven Crawley of the University of Swansea. In contrast to many previous assumptions about why asylum seekers come to the UK, it found that the primary objective of asylum seekers was reaching a place of safety. Consistently secured significant media coverage across national, regional and online media, communicating why refugees need protection and explaining the changes needed to create a fair, humane and effective asylum system. We were especially active in response to the closure of migrant camps in Calais in the autumn of 2009. Successfully held events during Refugee Week, celebrating the positive contribution that refugees have made to the UK.
The Refugee Council was involved in a range of awareness raising events in 2009 including a march to highlight the issue of destitution, a 5-a-side football tournament including refugee teams, media teams from the Guardian and Sky and a team of politicians, and a display stand in the atrium of the UK Border Agency HQ. Our future work in 2010/2011 Take forward our influencing priorities with policy makers and focus on communicating the basic information about refugee protection in order to increase public understanding. Engage with the Government and opposition following the general election and ensure that all newly elected MPs are aware of the importance of refugee protection and briefed on asylum issues. Develop a comprehensive programme of work for 2011– the 60th anniversaries of the UN Refugee Convention and of the organisations that later merged to become the Refugee Council – aimed at increasing public understanding of refugees, influencing asylum policy and raising the profile of the Refugee Council. Continue to develop our website and social media activities so that we can directly reach more people than ever before and recruit new supporters. Seek additional partners and new funding for our influencing work so that we can continue to speak out on refugee issues and change policy and attitudes on asylum.
319 volunteering sessions per week London Day Centre served 26,967 hot meals
Protecting refugees for 60 years
How your support helps us The Refugee Council would not be able to make the difference it does to the lives of those fleeing persecution without the support of the numerous individuals and organisations that help to fund our work. As with most charities our voluntary income is crucial in enabling us to deliver many of our projects, including our Day Centre services, our work with vulnerable women and girls who have been subjected to sexual violence and exploitation, as well as to support our influencing work. Our thanks go to all those who have generously supported our work over the past 60 years. But more than ever we need to ensure that the rights of refugees are respected and that they get fair treatment. Please help us to make sure we can continue to help those seeking safety for the next 60 years. Your support is vital in enabling us to deliver many of our projects including: Advocacy and influencing – this work to raise public and political awareness and to change policy is crucial to ensuring that we have a fair, humane and effective asylum system that provides protection and enables refugees to rebuild their lives in safety. London Day Centre – providing food, clothing and basic provisions to destitute asylum seekers.
The Refugee Council is an important agency within our UK Grants Refugee and Asylum Seeking Women programme, delivering both casework services and policy work. We have a good relationship with them and value them as a grant partner. Comic Relief Therapeutic Casework – providing practical and therapeutic support to help refugees come to terms with trauma. The Powerful Women’s Project – empowering refugee women who have experienced sexual violence to take control of their lives. Trafficked Young Women – our project helps girls to access safe accommodation, escape their abusers and start rebuilding their lives. SCORES (Supporting Community Organisations – Refugees Engage in Sport) aims to help refugees integrate by playing sport and joining local teams.
Age Disputed Children – our specialist service for separated children whose age is being disputed by immigration or social services.
To donate to the Refugee Council call 020 7346 1205 or donate online at: www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/donate
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Refugee Council’s Impact Report 2009/10
Financial information Income and expenditure as at 31 March 2010
Income 09/10 Direct services to refugees and asylum seekers Campaigning and policy Capacity building, education and training Donations, legacies and other voluntary income Investment income Other incoming resources Total incoming resources
Expenditure 09/10 Direct services to refugees and asylum seekers Campaigning and policy Capacity building, education and training Governance Fundraising costs Total resources expended
Independent Auditors’ Statement to the Members of British Refugee Council We have examined the summarised financial statements of British Refugee Council. This statement is made to the charitable company’s members, as a body in accordance with the terms of our engagement. Our work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and trustees those matters we have agreed to state to them in this statement and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company’s members as a body, and the charitable company’s trustees for our work, for this statement, or for the opinions we have formed.
£’ 000 77.14% 1.01%
15,507 203
6.39%
1,285
15.23% 0.20% 0.03%
3,061 40 7
100.00%
20,103
£’ 000 79.38% 2.86%
14,800 534
13.27% 0.25% 4.24%
2,475 47 790
100.00%
18,646
Respective responsibilities of trustees and auditors The trustees are responsible for preparing the summarised financial statements in accordance with the requirements of section 427 of the Companies Act 2006 and regulations made thereunder and in accordance with the recommendations of the Charities SORP. Our responsibility is to report to you our opinion on the consistency of the summarised financial statements with the full financial statements and its compliance with the relevant requirements of section 427 of the Companies Act 2006 and regulations made thereunder. We conducted our work in accordance with Bulletin 2008/3 issued by the Auditing Practices Board. Our report on the full annual financial statements describes the basis of our opinion on those financial statements.
Protecting refugees for 60 years
Statement of Financial Activities
Balance Sheet
for the year ended 31 March 2010
as at 31 March 2010 £’ 000
Incoming Resources Incoming resources from generated funds: Donations, legacies and other voluntary income Investment income
3,061 40
Incoming resources from charitable activities: Direct services to refugees and asylum seekers 15,507 Campaigning and policy 203 Capacity building, education and training 1,285 Other incoming resources Total incoming resources Resources expended Cost of generating funds Charitable activities: Direct services to refugees and asylum seekers Campaigning and policy Capacity building, education and training Governance costs Total resources expended Net incoming resources
Opinion In our opinion the summarised financial statements are consistent with the full financial statements of British Refugee Council for the year ended 31 March 2010 and comply with the relevant requirements of section 427 of the Companies Act 2006 and regulations made thereunder.
PKF (UK) LLP Statutory Auditors Farringdon Place 20 Farringdon Road London EC1M 3AP 20 September 2010
£’ 000 Fixed assets: Tangible fixed assets Investments Current assets: Debtors Cash at bank and in hand
131 4 2,459 6,434
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (2,059)
7 Net current assets
6,834
Total assets less current liabilities
6,969
Provisions for liabilities
(278)
Net assets
6,691
Funds Unrestricted funds: General Designated
2,913 2,091
Restricted funds
1,687
Total funds
6,691
20,103
790 14,800 534 2,475 47 18,646 1,457
These summarised financial statements are not statutory accounts, but a summary of information relating to both the Statement of Financial Activities and the Balance Sheet. The information is extracted from the full audited financial statements, which contain an unqualified report by the auditors, PKF (UK) LLP. The full financial statements were approved by the Council on 16 September 2010, and copies submitted to the Registrar of Companies and the Charity Commission. These are available from the charity’s offices at 240-250 Ferndale Road, London SW9 8BB. For and on behalf of the Council: Douglas Board, Chair Heather Foster, Treasurer
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Board of Trustees Our current trustees are: Douglas Board Chair, Co-opted Yvonne Cass Vice-Chair, Northern Refugee Centre Appointed as Vice Chair 30 July 2009
Afzal Mirza East London Community Law Service (ELCLAS) Resigned 2 December 2009 Yen Nyeya GHARWEG
Heather Foster Honorary Treasurer, Co-opted Appointed 1 October 2009
Sunetra Puri Co-opted
John Wenger Honorary Treasurer Resigned 30 September 2009
John Wilkes Scottish Refugee Council
Ellen Amoah-Khatem East London Community Law Service (ELCLAS) Appointed 2 December 2009
Maurice Wren Asylum Aid
Michael Bartlet Religious Society of Friends Alex da Costa Angolan Civic Communities Alliance Resigned 8 October 2009
We are delighted to have the opportunity to use our professional expertise to help the Refugee Council in their invaluable work. Our role is to work with refugees to help them understand how to go about finding employment in the UK including advice on writing CVs, making job applications and mock interviews. Saxon Bampfylde
Alison Young Co-opted Louise ZanrĂŠ Jesuit Refugee Service
Richard Foster Co-opted Tina Gharavi Bridge + Tunnel Voices Appointed 2 December 2009 Resigned 26 May 2010 Keefa Kiwanuka One World Foundation Mohammed Maigag Haringey Community and Cultural Association
We provided 1,674 induction briefings We ran arts, sports and education workshops
Protecting refugees for 60 years
Member organisations The Refugee Council is proud to be a membership organisation and is committed to working closely with its members to champion the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and to provide support to enable refugees to receive protection and to rebuild their lives in safety. To apply to become a member of the Refugee Council email: members@refugeecouncil.org.uk Action for Social Integration Mr Michael Adeyeye (Individual) Africa Educational Trust Africa Foundation Stone African Support and Project Centre Amnesty International UK Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees (AVID) Asylum Aid Asylum Seekers and Refugees of Kingston Upon Hull (ARKH)
Immigration Law Practitioners Association International Tamil Refugee Network Iranian Association Jesuit Refugee Service Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants Latin American House Lewisham Indo Chinese Community Centre Chinese School
Barnardo’s Bridge & Tunnel Voices
Medical Foundation Methodist Church Minority Rights Group International
The Children’s Society Lord Stanley Clinton-Davis (Individual) Council for Assisting Refugee Academics
Norfolk French Speakers Association (NORFRESA) North of England Refugee Service (NERS) Northern Refugee Centre
Enfield Somali Community Association East London Community Law Service (ELCLAS)
One World Foundation One World UK Oxfam
Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group GHARWEG Haringey Somali Community & Cultural Association Harrow Refugee Forum Hazara Charitable Trust Helping Hands for Refugees and Disabled
for over 640 young refugees
Pan African People’s Welfare Advisory Service Polish Ex-Combatants Association PRAXIS Quaker Peace and Social Witness (Religious Society of Friends)
Reading Refugee Support Group Reconnect Refugee Action Refugee & Migrant Centre Refugee Studies Centre Russian Refugees Aid Society Scottish Refugee Council Sion Centre for Dialogue Somali Carers Project Somali Development Organisation Somali Refugee Action Group St Mary’s Justice & Peace Tamil Relief Centre TRUST UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) Vietnamese Mental Health Services Vision Inspired People Zimbabwe Watford and Three Rivers Refugee Project Welsh Refugee Council Western Kurdistan Association Women’s Association for African Networking and Development (WAND UK) York Racial Equality Network
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I have been a supporter of the Refugee Council for years. I think that anyone who has been desperate enough to uproot themselves from their own country deserves respect and compassion from our society. I am glad that the Refugee Council combines direct support to today’s refugees with lobbying for fairer treatment for refugees in the future. I am proud to support an organisation which stands up for a vulnerable and easily demonised section of society. Major donor to the Refugee Council
British Refugee Council (commonly called the Refugee Council) is a company registered in England and Wales, [No.2727514] and a registered charity, [No.1014576] Registered office: 240-250 Ferndale Road, London SW9 8BB, United Kingdom VAT no: 936 519 988
www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
Sustainability commitment The Refugee Council acknowledges the global effects of climate change and we recognise that only by getting involved now can we hope for a sustainable future. We joined the Guardian newspaper’s 10:10 campaign demonstrating our commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 10% in 2010 to 2011. Paper Round and Carbon Smart have awarded us a certificate of excellence for environmental performance and have donated to the Trees for Cities charity on our behalf. Printed on FSC certified 100% recycled paper, Cocoon Preprint.
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