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The Executive Board presents its report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2005
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Objectives
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The company is established for the public benefit for the following objects:
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- To provide services for people who require care and support in the activities of daily living, together with advice and assistance to others involved in their care.
- To promote and organise co-operation in the achievement of the above purposes and to that end to bring together representatives of statutory authorities and voluntary agencies engaged in the furtherance of any of the above purposes.
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Since the last annual report there have been no changes to the company's objectives.
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Review of development and activities
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ELCAP provides services to people who need support in the activities of daily living so they can lead their lives in ordinary community settings. Since 1989, ELCAP has been assisting people to move from hostels and hospitals as well as family homes into their own tenancies where possible. However for many people availability of housing resources meant a move into shared living in the first instance. ELCAP has continued to be committed to the principle of person centred services and has continued to work to develop more individually tailored life styles. Last year it was reported that the Board had taken a formal decision only to contract to support individuals except where people themselves had made a positive decision to share. In the past year, in furtherance of this policy, the Board has developed a Housing Options strategy to re-cycle the equity from ELCAP's property portfolio to create alternative housing for people currently in shared housing.
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The Board has also entered into a Joint Project Board with East Lothian Council to plan and manage the resettlement process. To facilitate this process, the Board agreed not to wait for the outcome of the Supporting People service review due to take place later this year, but to accept ELCAP's share of the 7.5% Supporting People cut from 1 April 2005. This allowed ELC to fund the appointment of two dedicated care managers to re-assess the support needs of people in shared housing from the transition funding granted to Councils by the Scottish Executive to soften the impact of the cuts. The Joint Project Board started meeting in March.
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In February 2005 ELCAP and FAIR (Family Advice and Information Resource, Edinburgh) were successful in a bid to the Pension Service Fund , resulting in a two year advice project to assist the take up of Pension Credit and Savings Credit. Two support workers spend three quarters of their time based with ELCAP and one quarter based with FAIR, advising older people with a learning disability and/or older carers of someone with a learning disability of their benefit entitlements. The project has been invited to become an Alternative Office which will allow them to complete and validate benefit claims directly thus offering a streamlined and enhanced service.
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ELCAP's short stay service (respite), was used during the year by 41 people who between them received 1692 days/nights support. The occupancy was at an average of 66.22% during the year. This service is due to be replaced by 2007 by a generic respite service which East Lothian Council is developing.
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Legal and administrative details
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The company was constituted as a company limited by guarantee by Memorandum and Articles of Association of 10 March 1989. The executive board consists of 12 members, who are appointed in accordance with the terms of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, retire annually at the Annual General Meeting and, subject to the rules, may be re-elected. In addition, the executive board may co-opt up to three individual members onto the board.
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Employment of disabled people
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ELCAP has an equal opportunities policy and all our recruitment and selection processes are designed to be non-discriminatory. All staff, regardless of ability/ disability, gender, sexuality, age and race have equal access to training and development and promotion opportunities
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Employee information
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ELCAP has a range of mechanisms for ensuring staff have access to information: briefing from managers at team meetings, the staff newsletter, individual copies of the summary of the business plan, team reviews, practice development sessions and access to updated policies and procedures through the policy pack. We also hold quarterly Open Forums where each team can send one member to meet with senior management for a staff led discussion on current issues and future plans.
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Results
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The operating activities for the year generated a surplus of £112,751 (2004 - £413,486). However after transfers to the designated funds for the contingency reserve and property equity reserve, the operating fund made no surplus or deficit (2004 - £17,472). The designated funds have a surplus of £195,428 (2004 - £431,493) and there is a deficit of £30,247 (2004 - £52,257) in the restricted reserves. The company made an overall surplus of £165,181 (2004 - £501,222) in the year.
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Reserves
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As a registered limited company and a registered charity, ELCAP is required to hold adequate funds to cover future expenditure requirements. The need for reserves was highlighted in December 2003 when the company had to use the full amount of its reserves to fund payroll as funding had not been provided by the Local Authority. If these reserves had not been available to fall back onto then the financial viability of the organisation would have been threatened. Of the fund balances at 31 March 2005, only the Operating fund of £81,134 is available for ongoing operational activities.
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Designated funds are funds which the Board has put aside for a specific purpose. The largest fund, the Property Equity fund, represents the funds tied up in the properties owned by the company to provide housing for service users. ELCAP must be confident that it can continue to run services even through an unforeseen interruption to funding income, or meet the costs of an unpredictable crisis. The Contingency Fund exists for this purpose, and ideally should run at a level equivalent to three months operating costs. It presently stands at just under two thirds of that level. The Board's policy is to build towards that target by transferring 1% of operating income each year, but this will not be achieved unless income exceeds operating costs.
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The Restructuring, Development and Change Funds have been used to purchase 3 new properties in order to facilitate service users moving to their own individual tenancies. The Board agreed to extend the remit of the Change Fund. The Change Fund will now be used to fund the development of person centred services.
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New restricted funds have been created as of 1st April 2004. Restricted funds represent external income, which may only be expended for specific purposes. The Property Management reserve represents income from housing benefit and tenants used to fund major works of refurbishment, maintenance and other related property management costs for the ELCAP owned properties.
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Risk
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The Executive Board has conducted its own review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed and systems have been established to mitigate these risks. The Board has a strategic plan to develop services and funding sources to reduce external risk. Internal risks are minimised by the implementation of policies and procedures. These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they still meet the needs of the charity. The Board is supported in this by the work of the Audit Committee and by the externally appointed 'Internal Audit' function.
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Investment Policy
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In order to maximise the return on funds held the Executive Board has agreed to transfer an initial sum of £210,000 to a corporate bond with the interest accruing retained within the bond.
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Review of transactions and financial position
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The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with current statutory requirements and the company's constitution.
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Fixed Assets
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Details of movements in fixed assets are set out in note 7 to the financial statements.
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The heritable properties purchased by ELCAP normally require significant adaptation to allow them to meet the needs of users. Grants have been obtained both for the purchase of some properties and to cover costs of adaptation and they are represented as part of the property equity reserve.
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Funds
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The funds are held to enable the company to discharge its contract obligations and realise its objects.
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The executive board confirms that the assets are adequate and available to fulfil the future obligations of the company.
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Relationships with other bodies
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The company has service contracts with East Lothian Council and Midlothian Council for the provision of Housing Support services, Care at Home services and respite services to adults, and with Midlothian for support to families with a child with support needs. To strengthen the Housing Support service, ELCAP has contracted with Ark Housing Association for the provision of housing management services (with effect from 1 July 2004) During the period under report ELCAP was represented on the committees of Community Care Providers Scotland, Learning Disability Alliance Scotland, The Same as You Implementation Group, East Lothian Community Care Forum, Midlothian Voluntary Sector Providers' Forum .
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Pension Funds
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Additional disclosure on pensions has been included in the accounts as required by FRS17. The Lothian Pension Fund has a deficit of £547,000 (2004 - £547,000). This is a notional sum to be paid over the remaining service lives of the employees in this pension fund and it has no direct impact on the financial position of ELCAP at this date.
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Executive board responsibilities
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Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs and of the surplus or deficit of the company for that year. In preparing those financial statements, the executive board is required to:-
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- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.
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The executive board is responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and to enable it to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 1985. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
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Independent Auditors
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A resolution to re-appoint Scott-Moncrieff will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting in accordance with Section 385 of the Companies Act 1985.
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LINDA HEADLAND
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Secretary
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