Annual Review 2015-2016 by Splitz Support Service

SPLITZ Support Service

Annual Review 2015-2016 Income

Services

Beneficiaries

income

Staff

service types

paid employees

10,430 total beneficiaries

£1.52m contract income

programmes

volunteers

BME beneficiaries

£0.56m grant income

88%

89% female staff

female beneficiaries

2.7:1

overall satisfaction

91%

staff retention

78%

disabled beneficiaries

£2.13m

contract:grant ratio

cases closed “needs met”

89% 16%

quality standards renewed in 2015-16

Contents Chairman's report

Governance

What we do

Domestic abuse

Children and young people

Perpetrator programmes

Mentoring and befriending

Plans for the next year

Risk management

Financial overview

Thank you

Splitz Support Service is a charity registered in England (no 1064764) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England (no 3360057). Registered office: Oak House, Epsom Square, White Horse Business Park, Trowbridge BA14 0XG Tel: 01225 777724 www.splitz.org October 2016

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Chairman’s report person-centred approach that is best placed to meet the varied needs of our community. It is our aim to provide easy access to high quality service offering a wide range of support and advice for whoever is at risk of mental or physical harm from domestic abuse, regardless of age; disability; ethnicity; sexuality; or gender.

The Review of the work of Splitz Support Service over the past twelve months provides a powerful reminder of the professionalism and commitment of members of staff, volunteers, colleague trustees and other stakeholders in providing a quality service for our communities in Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The Charity is now in its 27th year of delivering support services to families, individuals and children and young people who are experiencing difficulty where that difficulty is related to separation, divorce or domestic abuse and their associated issues. Through our staff and volunteer teams Splitz has given hope to desperate members of our local communities whose lives have been transformed and to children who have found a better future; in being instrumental in bringing about changes for the better amongst male perpetrators of domestic abuse. Domestic Abuse is an abhorrent crime. It is unacceptable behaviour which should not be tolerated - it ruins lives; breaks up families; affects Society; and has a lasting impact; in England and Wales two women are killed each week by their partner or former partner. Domestic Abuse is a grossly under-reported crime; both men and women can be victims. It takes great courage for an individual or loved one who has experienced domestic abuse to take that first step in seeking help - it is therefore very likely that many of our beneficiaries will have experienced numerous incidents of abuse before seeking help. In England and Wales some 750,000 children a year witness domestic abuse; family members are also victims who need sensitive support.

Splitz promotes fairness and welcomes referrals from all. Our services are open to all ages, genders, and ethnic and religious groups. Our aim - to provide help through times of difficulty; enabling beneficiaries to achieve and sustain independence; to reduce suffering; and to promote and preserve health and well-being. We look to help our beneficiaries by providing the best support and guidance we can, and help them to set their own goals and enable them to achieve and sustain their own independence at their own pace.

“Your Steps ~ Your Pace” I congratulate all members of staff and volunteers in all areas of service delivery on the successful completion of lengthy and comprehensive reviews undertaken by external organisations. I commend all Splitz Support Service staff and volunteer teams in all areas of service delivery; my colleague trustees; our statutory and voluntary agency partners; businesses; the media and members of the community in Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire for their commitment to enable ‘our’ Charity to protect vulnerable people from appalling violence and abuse. They may all feel proud of their work and their support.

Francis Wakem QPM Chairman

Splitz is committed to working to deliver an integrated, coordinated, community response. By working with partner agencies and other organisations Splitz ensures the delivery of a holistic, Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Governance Structure Splitz Support Service (also known simply as Splitz) is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 25 April 1997 and re-registered as a charity on 9 October 1997, having previously been registered as the Single Parent Family Association in 1993. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association that established the objects and powers of the charitable company, and is governed under its Articles of Association. The memorandum and Articles of Association were reviewed in 2013 and redrawn to conform to the Charity Commission template. The charity's objects were reviewed in 2016.

Trustees The board of trustees, which can have up to 15 members, administers the charity. The board normally meets monthly and there is a finance sub-committee that meets quarterly. An Executive Director is appointed by the trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To facilitate effective operations, the Executive Director has delegated authority, with terms of delegation approved by the trustees, for operational matters including finance, employment and service delivery related activity.

Chairman Francis Wakem QPM

Alan MacKenzie

Rosie MacGregor

Vice-Chair Annette Taylor

Cindy Ervine LLB (Hons)

Alison Craddock

Treasurer Stephen Foster PhD ACA

Penny Cannings

Ann Cornelius

Joined 2010 Francis is a retired Chief Superintendent. He was Chair of Victim Support Wiltshire, a founding trustee of the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, Chair of the Wiltshire County Scout Council where he remains Vice President. He has led Domestic Homicide Reviews in Wiltshire and served as Independent Facilitator for the Wiltshire Crown Prosecution Service multi agency Hate Crime and Domestic Abuse Scrutiny Panel.

Joined 2015 Alan retired recently from the quarrying and construction industry where he was a Fellow of the Institute of Quarrying. Alan served as Group Director at Hills Group Ltd and as Managing Director for Hills Quarry Products Ltd. Alan was a member of the Lions Club of Witney and has served as President, VicePresident, Fundraising Chairman and Treasurer.

Joined 2004 Cindy has over 20 years experience Joined 2013 Annette has been practising Family as a matrimonial solicitor. Cindy is a member of Resolution Law in Wiltshire since 1985. She and the Law Society Advanced is a trained mediator and is the Family Panel with specialisms in chair of a counselling charity in domestic violence and children. Chippenham. Annette has held various church leadership positions She is a trustee member of Devizes Contact Centre. Cindy is and is a lay preacher in the a trained collaborative lawyer and Methodist Church. experienced advocate.

Joined 2006 Stephen has been a chartered accountant in practice since 1990. He is the principal in his own general practice. He is also the Treasurer of two other charities. 4

Joined 2009 Penny is now retired and living in Trowbridge. Penny is very aware of the needs of lone parents particularly those with experience of domestic violence and abuse.

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Joined 2006 Rosie is a retired Town Planner. She is currently Chair of Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust’s Planning Committee. She is currently Chair of SW Regional TUC and represents UNISON nationally on the Council and Executive Committee of the National Pensioners’ Convention and is Chair of its Women’s Working Party.

Joined 2012 Alison recently retired as Head of Art at Lavington school. During that time she was also a tutor, pastoral leader, child protection officer and NUT rep. Alison is currently a town councillor in Bradford on Avon. Her charity work includes work for Bradford on Avon branch of Save the Children.

Joined 2015 Ann has almost 30 years’ experience of working in social housing. Ann has a degree in Social Policy, and a professional post graduate housing qualification.

What we do Our Objectives

Our Strategies

Our charity’s purposes are set out in the objects contained in the company’s Articles of Association. The main objects include:

The strategies we use to meet these objectives include:

• Relieve the needs of children and adults who are in need of care and protection. • Relieve the needs of adults where those needs arise as a result of them experiencing domestic violence, separation or divorce. Our objects were reviewed in 2016.

Our Aims The aims of our charity are to work with victims, children and perpetrators of domestic abuse; support those who are parenting alone; and work to encourage healthy relationships. Our aims fully reflect the purposes that the charity was set up to further.

• Providing a range of services that promote healthy relationships and prevent family crises. • Focusing on encouraging healthy relationships, and the impact on family, friends and the wider community. • Working towards applying national standards of service. • Working in partnership with other agencies to ensure the widest range of services are available to best match the needs of the community. • Promoting awareness of healthy relationships, to reduce the likelihood of young people engaging in harmful behaviour.

Our Activities

Public Benefit

Putting these strategies into action we have four major areas of activity which are:

In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance ‘public benefit: running a charity. Our main objectives for the year continued to be promoting healthy relationships, preventing family crises and relieving the needs of those affected.

• domestic abuse outreach work; • support for children and young people affected by domestic abuse; • programmes for perpetrators to help them change their abusive behaviour; and • mentoring/befriending services to help people move on.

Our Reach Cheltenham Gloucester

Trowbridge Barnstaple

Amesbury

Exeter

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Wilts

Gloucs

Devon

Domestic abuse Income

£748k

Staff

Beneficiaries

Satisfaction

income

paid employees

total beneficiaries

98% all support

£432k income

paid employees

total beneficiaries

5,234

89%

£292k

paid employees

total beneficiaries

1,138

90%

income

2,950

all support

The range of support we provide is aimed at keeping victims safe and enabling them to make sustainable changes to their lives and to build their own resilience. We believe that a coordinated, integrated, community response is the responsibility of everyone. We are committed to delivering holistic services that are both inclusive and empowering. Our services in Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire employ the same range of tools and programmes and all our services are free of charge to service users. Support is provided through a range of interventions and each client is assessed by our helpdesks as to their eligibility for services and for the type of intervention that will best fit their needs and the risk that they are facing. Our skilled helpdesk workers provide triage and use a range of tools for assessing clients, including the SafeLives DASH Risk Assessment Tool; a Needs Assessment, to identify any additional needs; and a Think Family Risk Assessment to ensure that the needs and any safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults are also addressed. We believe that the options for victims should include Places of Safety, DVPNs and DVPOs (Go Orders) and options should include provision for victims regardless of gender, religion, and complexity of need. Our work links with a range of other service providers including police, MARAC, housing, legal services, social care, education authority, children’s services and many more.

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Over 97% of people supported report an improvement in how safe they feel. Over 98% of people supported report no change or an increase in self-confidence, including the ability to make positive choices and healthy decisions regarding future relationships, and in coping with challenges and/or personal difficulties. Over 93% of people supported report feeling less isolated, at home, in the community and with family/friends. Of those with social care involvement 76% reported a reduction in social care involvement, including having children removed from care plans.

CARMEN'S STORY Carmen came to the UK ten years ago. She has been married to her husband for twenty six years and they have seven children. Two of the children are over eighteen years and studying in the UK, and her fifteen year old son is living with her sister in Gambia. The family are very isolated, as her husband will not allow anyone to visit the home. Two years ago her husband married another, younger, woman in Gambia. They are Muslim and Carmen said it is customary, but if there are other wives the husband should be fair. The relationship has always been abusive and some time ago she sought help from the council, as she was thinking of leaving, but decided to stay after mediation. He told her that if she leaves him something will happen to her. She believes this to mean something divine. Her husband is extremely controlling financially. He has a well paid job and the Child Tax Credit is deposited into his bank account. Carmen only has Child Benefit to feed, clothe and generally care for the whole family. She is frightened to ask him for money, as he gets angry and has a very short temper. Carmen was supported to obtain legal advice. Her solicitor suggested a number of actions including a Transfer of Tenancy Order and Occupation Order, a Non Molestation Order and a Judicial Separation, which is not the same as a divorce (for religious reasons) but means that financial matters can be addressed. Carmen then contacted the DWP to inform them that the Child Tax Credit should go into her bank account. Carmen understood that the risk could escalate when her husband realised this money is no longer going into his account. A safety plan was drawn up and the children advised on what to do. They were supportive and agreed to the plan. Carmen now feels safer and more in control of her life and is looking to return to work, but accepts it may take a bit longer for things to settle. In the meantime she has been helped to engage with a number of local support groups to help reduce her sense of isolation.

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Wilts

Gloucs

Devon

Children and young people Income

ÂŁ100k

Staff

Beneficiaries

Satisfaction

income

paid employees

total beneficiaries

91% all support

ÂŁ34k income

paid employees

total beneficiaries

no data yet

ÂŁ145k

paid employees

total beneficiaries

307

90%

income

285

all support

Children and young people who have been harmed through witnessing domestic violence and abuse are often called the forgotten victims. We are committed to delivering holistic services that are both inclusive and empowering. Our service includes both one-one and group work to promote and ensure safety of children; develop/encourage better communication with the main carer (usually mum); help children to recognise that the abusive behaviour is not their fault nor their responsibility; and help them deal with their feelings and emotions in a constructive way. We are also passionate about getting the healthy relationships message out to young people. We work with local schools by delivering a structured programme aimed at better understanding abuse and improving relationships. The services are different in each geographical area and dependent on available funding as well as priorities by local authorities. In Devon we only work with children of families who are receiving support from our other services. In Gloucestershire we have a new initiative working with teenagers in schools. In Wiltshire we have structured support for teenagers and healthy relationships programmes in schools.

Over 75% of young people communicate more positively at home, at school and in group work, and teachers report that 66% are doing better at school. 92% of young people who attend the group have more self-confidence. Over 75% of young people are able to control aggression better. 142 young people attended the Healthy Relationships programme.

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

AMY'S STORY Amy was introduced to KidzPace through her mother Jen, who had been receiving support from Splitz. Amy had begun self harming and had begun to isolate herself. She had a lot of guilt and confusion as to who was to blame for the separation of her parents as her dad still had a great deal of control over the way that Jen and Amy led their lives. Amy and Jen found it hard to communicate with each other without it becoming negative or ending up in an argument. At first Amy was reluctant to engage with the service, insisting she did not want to get involved with “no counsellors.” It was explained that we could support her reduce her feelings of guilt and encourage her to regain her confidence and promoting positive communication between Amy and her mum. Amy remained cautious but was invited to attend a workshop as an observer. After observing one session Amy decided that she would like to join the group sessions and attended on a regular basis. During the group sessions Amy joined a theatre group in her area. She commented that “attending the group gave her the confidence to start drama.” Her understanding of abuse and that it isn't her fault helped reduce her sense of guilt. Amy's confidence grew as each week passed and she became a valuable member of our group, taking on the role of encouraging other young people. At home it was evident there was improved communication between Jen and Amy, and both were able to share their thoughts and feelings on what had happened. Amy also landed herself a lead role in a play with the theatre company. Amy continued to show great progress and enthusiasm and when we raised £1000 for a film project of our own she immediately offered to take the leading role. The drama was based on two siblings living with domestic abuse and the effect it had on their daily lives and is available on our website. Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Wilts

Gloucs

Devon

Perpetrator programmes Income

£50k

Staff

Beneficiaries

Satisfaction

income

paid employees

total beneficiaries

main group and wss

£90k income

paid employees

total beneficiaries

127

main group and wsw

£176k

paid employees

total beneficiaries

210

main group and wsw

income

93% 86% 95%

Male perpetrators of domestic abuse can access our structured groups in Devon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The groups have been developed over a number of years and meet Respect national standards. The main aim of these programmes is to improve the safety for the rest of the family. To manage this we have an integrated women’s safety service (WSS). This involves working with the (ex)partner to measure safety and help the family understand how the modules are likely to impact on the perpetrator as they progress through the programme. Risk is measured using the DASH risk assessment tool and we are piloting the Daphne risk measurement tools. Main Group

Women's Safety Service

The main programme has a 2hr session weekly over 25 weeks, with one-to-one monitoring meetings throughout. Motivation to attend such a long programme is measured during the comprehensive pre-group assessment. While some men fail to complete the programme it is not always a lack of motivation. Some have shown enormous reserves of determination, especially when using public transport. We had one man from Yorkshire successfully complete the programme while visiting family in Wiltshire each week.

The main aim of the programme is to help keep the women and children safe. To do this we work with the current or ex-partners, giving them support in staying safe and what to expect from the man as he progresses through the programme. The women are supported as long as necessary and for up to 6 months after the men complete the follow-on group.

Follow-on Group We offer a follow on group that meets monthly to help men stay on track and share experiences on how they have successfully achieved this. The family has access to support for up to 1 year after the man has completed the main programme. During this time we capture data to measure longitudinal impact. Other success factors are reported by social services, and often involve the removal of children from a range of safeguarding measures. 10

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

JIM'S STORY Jim was a violent man who had difficulty controlling his temper. This resulted in him hitting his wife on many occasions. In the most recent incident he hit her so hard he also damaged his fist. The police were involved and other agencies informed due to the severe nature of the violence. Jim's children were put on a child protection plan and Jim was referred to the programme by social care. He was initially very reluctant to accept any responsibility for his behaviour, instead blaming everything on his partner. He attended regularly and over time he began to recognise his behaviour in what others were saying and gradually came to realise how abusive he had been. This was a slow process to begin with, taking nearly 3 months to reach this point. It took a great deal of input and challenging from the team, but mostly from other men on the group who had made that breakthrough. The women's safety worker worked with the partner and reported positive changes in Jim's behaviour at home. Jim was listening more and he took time out before responding, although it took longer for him to reduce his aggressiveness and anger. The social care team were kept abreast of changes and noted his responses to them had also changed markedly during this time. The children were stepped down to a child in need plan and eventually the case was closed. Jim completed the programme saying â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;it takes a while for it to sink inâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and everybody should be offered the opportunity to redo part of the programme. Jim asked if he could retake the first module as he recognised he hadn't taken anything in at this time. He went on to complete the follow-on group and still keeps in touch with this group.

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Mentoring and befriending Wilts

Income

ÂŁ24k income

Staff

Beneficiaries

Satisfaction

employee+volunteers

total beneficiaries

main service

1+22

90%

Adults who have completed structured support may still require a limited amount of support to help them with the final part of their journey. We have a Buddy Scheme in Wiltshire that offers a mentoring and befriending service. This is delivered by volunteers, some of whom were service users, and provides an ideal route for former clients to give something back. It is also a great way for volunteers to return to work. Similar services are being developed in Devon and Gloucestershire. This year we have been developing a volunteer team leader role to assist delivering the service and increase the service capacity and geographical coverage. This service is delivered against the national mentoring and befriending standard, now managed by NCVO. We built the project to meet these standards and have been recognised as meeting them since 2009. Our volunteers are highly trained, receiving 18 hours of structured tuition, prior to receiving their first case. Training is scheduled to accommodate the needs of the volunteers, but usually takes place over 3 or 4 days, a week apart.

What people say... Seeing Maggs has been a godsend, for a start it gave me a routine. She was unbelievably supportive and unbelievable understanding. I can express enough how I wouldn't have coped without her. ... With Maggs it was OK if I wanted to cry. Sometimes I'd be counting down the hours to our appointment, seeing her was like a release valve. She really is fantastic, she's lovely. It was such a good choice of matching. Splitz is invaluable, you can't put a price on the support I got.

Michaela Mandi was so lovely, sometimes she just listened .. she never judged me and sometimes she gave me ideas of what to do... It's an excellent service... When I first started seeing her I didn't even like going out but after a while she said 'right next week we're going to meet in a coffee shop' and we started doing that quite regularly, it made a huge difference to me.

Nicola

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Plans for the next year Our intention is to work with our partners to develop services in all areas to meet the growing gap left by the reduction in provision of statutory services, especially where the need has not reached critical point or where early intervention is proven to have long-term benefits for the individuals and the community. We will develop new services in the geographical areas where we already work and develop new programmes to compliment our existing services.

We are investigating similar restructures in other areas, as we feel these changes are likely to reflect the mood of other commissioners in the region. At this time we feel that the funding climate isn’t strong enough for us to develop new programmes in new geographical areas. This remains an aspiration and something to look forward to in the coming years.

We have planned for and undertaken a restructuring of services in Devon following a change in funding requirements by Devon County Council. This has involved significant changes to the work we do and how we do it, but we were heartened by the support shown by the team in making these changes happen.

Risk management The trustees have a risk management strategy, which comprises: • an annual review of the principal risks and uncertainties that the charity faces; • the establishment of policies, systems and procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the annual review; and • the implementation of procedures designed to minimise or manage any potential impact on the charity should those risks materialise. We have identified 28 risks grouped into 7 themes, based on a template from NCVO. Each risk is assessed on its likelihood and impact, generating a gross risk score. Each risk then identifies an effectiveness score for our countermeasures, resulting in a residual risk score. Splitz Support Service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

(c)

Category Risk

Governance - Trustees

Ser

(b)

vernance - Activities of the charity

(a)

The trustees don't have the relevant skills & commitment The Board is dominated by one or two individuals or by connected individuals reducing engagement

This work has identified that financial sustainability is the major financial risk for the charity. A key element in the management of financial risk is ensuring we have multiple funding streams, retaining our contracts and grants by maintaining strong positive relationships with our funders and achieving maximum public benefit. Attention has also been focused on non-financial risks arising from poor service quality provided by staff and volunteers. These risks are managed by ensuring accreditation is up to date, having robust training plans for staff, and monitoring feedback from a wide range of stakeholders.

(e)

(f)

(g)

Likelihood Impact Gross Risk Managed (Y/N) (1-5) (1-5) (d) x (e) 2 4 8 Y 2

8 4

Trustee conflict of interest

The charity engages in activities that are potentially outside its stated aims or terms of reference, or are outside the purposes for which funders gave their money (restricted funds)

Reporting to trustees is ineffective or delayed

Service development is unplanned or uncoordinated

Contract risk: failure to meet terms of contract; failure to retain contracts; unscheduled ending of contract

Direction, strategy & forward planning is patchy

Fundraising: risk of not achieving fundraising target; risk of key

dated: 4 Sep 2015

G07 Risk Register Summary (d)

Y Y

(h)

Countermeasures

Skills audit undertaken as required Oversight by Company Secretary

Conflict of interest form signed annually; conflict raised at start of each meeting Chairman meets Executive Director monthly; Report from Executive Director; Blog from projects; SMT minutes copied to Chairman Oversight by Board, including Company Secretary

New service plans produced and approved by SMT, then passed to Board for final approval Review of strategy undertaken by SMT and Board 2013/15 Contract compliance monitored by SMT; project leads develop good networking with funders; SMT maintain oversight of competitors New fundraising strategies developed; full time fundraiser;

(i)

(j)

Effectiveness Residual Risk (%) (f) - ((f) x (i)) 80% 1.6 75%

2.0

80%

1.8

70%

2.4

90%

0.4

70%

2.7

50%

7.5

0.6 Splitz Support Service Annual Review80%2015-16

Financial overview Income

Income This year our income fell by £¼m. This was largely due to the ending of a contract to deliver housing support in Wiltshire. Our major contract income streams were for: • Domestic abuse services for Devon County Council • Domestic abuse services for Gloucestershire County Council • Perpetrator programmes for Gloucestershire County Council • Domestic abuse services in partnership with Wiltshire Council Grant income remained broadly similar to last year. We are extremely grateful to all of our funders for their continued support. Our main grant income is from: • The Big Lottery Fund • Comic Relief • BBC Children in Need • The Henry Smith Charity

£2.13m

Dn 10%

Contract income

£1.52m

Dn 16%

Grant income

£0.57m

Up 2%

Income Contracts 71.6%

Expenditure Grants 26.8%

Other 0.1% Bank interest 0.2% Donations 1.4%

Charitable activities 97.9%

Cost of raising funds 1.6% Governance 0.5%

Expenditure For some funds the money carried forward isn’t classed as deferred income, which accounts for the high surplus this year. All of the surplus is designated for projects and activities continuing in 2016-17. The majority of expenditure (£2.17m: 97.9%) was on the activities of the charity. We spent a small amount (£34,517: 1.6%) on raising funds. This was mostly staff costs. A minimal amount of income (£11,318: 0.5%) was spent on Governance.

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Expenditure

£2.17m

Dn 1%

Reserves

£0.21m

Up 0%

The charity maintains a healthy financial position. Income and expenditure are managed through strong fundraising strategies and stringent financial controls. Income has exceeded expectation with additional grant income, new contracts and contract extensions. As such we continue to hold a large amount of deferred income, which is used to generate a small amount of interest. We ended the year with a small deficit of £36,363. This is attributable to an extra £31,011 being transferred from income to deferred income, and making insufficient provision for depreciation. Reserves

Investments

Reserves are needed to cover unforeseen costs like redundancy payments should a service not be funded or temporary funding of services while new funds are sought, and to cover unplanned emergencies and other unforeseen expenditure. The trustees consider that the ideal level of reserves as at 31 March 2016 would be between £100,000 and £225,000.

Investments are made in accordance with the charity's Articles of Association and Investment Policy. Having considered the available options, the trustees decided to invest in commercial common investment funds (high interest bank accounts and short term deposit accounts). The trustees consider the overall return on investments and deposits (at around 1% in the year) to be very disappointing.

Splitz had £210,000 of free reserves in March 2016. This situation is largely attributable to on-going growth of the reserves fund in line with income growth over the past 5 years.

Fundraising Splitz employs a fundraiser who is paid a salary. No funds raised are paid in commission to any person or organisation. All funds raised by Splitz staff, or on behalf of Splitz, are for the sole use of Splitz Support Service in delivering its charitable benefit. We may allocate the funds to a specific project or piece of work with the agreement of the donor. However, unsolicited donations or small donations with no restricted purpose will be allocated to the crisis fund for that geographical area, and used for the direct benefit of our service users

Pay The pay of the senior staff is reviewed annually. Pay is not mapped to any national scale, but when pay is increased it is usually in line with the national cost of living increase or NJC increase as funds permit. Pay is not currently benchmarked, as it has been difficult to find the right group of similar charities to benchmark against.

5 Year Trend

Splitz Support Service Annual Review 2015-16

Thank you The trustees, staff and volunteers wish to express their thanks to everyone who supported us this year.

Hollie Gazzard Trust

Garfield Weston Foundation

The Blagrave Trust

Bridge House Community Trust

St James Trust

Aster Community

The Henry Smith Charity

Dr CS Kingston Fund

Walter Guinness Charitable Trust

Devon County Council

Lodge of Concord

Gloucestershire County Council

The Big Lottery Fund

Wiltshire Council

Porticus UK

OPCC Devon & Cornwall

Comic Relief

OPCC Gloucestershire

Col William LLewellen Palmer Educational Charity

OPCC Wiltshire

The Dawe Family Trust

CAFCASS

BBC Children in Need

Terry Evans

Donation from Masonic Lodge of Concord, Trowbridge Master of the Lodge Mark Manning, Fran Lewis MBE, Francis Wakem QPM

Splitz Support Service Oak House, Epsom Square, White Horse Business Park, Trowbridge BA14 0XG Charity no 1064764 Company limited by guarantee no 3360057 October 2016