refugee council impact report 2010/2011

REPORT2010/11

IMPACT

Chair’s foreword .................................................................................... 2Chief Executive’s introduction ...........................................................3Providing high quality advice and support ....................................5Supporting the refugee sector and integration .......................... 8Our advocacy and influencing work .............................................11How your support helps us ..............................................................14Financial information ......................................................................... 15Board of Trustees .................................................................................17Member organisations ...................................................................... 18

Contents

Refugee Council’s Impact Report 2010/111

As the leading charity working with asylum seekers and refugees in the UK, the Refugee Council is committed to working towards creatinga fair, humane and effective asylum system that provides protectionand enables refugees to rebuild their lives in safety.

www.refugeecouncil.org.uk

www.facebook.com/refugeecouncil

@refugeecouncil

With thanks to Bill Knight for many of the photographs used in this report.

This year we extended and deepened our keyregional partnerships with the NorthernRefugee Centre and the North of EnglandRefugee Service. Working across the countryas part of the Big Lottery funded Basis Project,we have worked even more intensively withRefugee Community Organisations (RCOs).

We continued to develop our advocacy andinfluencing work, funded independently ofgovernment, to allow our daily experience ofworking with refugees to promote policy andattitudinal change. In this work we particularlyfocused on destitution, adult detention,asylum housing and access to legal support.We urgently need change on all of thesepolicy areas.

We offered strong support to refugees seekingemployment through our projects such asRefugee Integration and Employment Service,Refugees into Teaching and Refugees intoJobs; this will remain a priority focus for us.We have also remained active partners in theUNHCR Gateway Protection Programme whichoffers refugees in international refugee campsa new start in the UK.

And we have seen the commitment of our supporters growing. In such a difficultenvironment, we are fortunate to have suchsupporters prepared to dig deep in giving both money and time.

What is not obvious from these achievements,but obvious to anyone involved with refugeesin Britain, is that while this has been a veryharsh year for public services in general, it hasbeen a savage year for refugees. Two largeorganisations providing vital legal servicesfolded, RCOs (in many ways exemplars of

‘The Big Society’) have been badly hit, andbasic survival and securing justice bothbecame harder for many vulnerable people.

The Refugee Council itself had to make 82colleagues redundant. The Board of Trusteescould not be more conscious of thecontribution, knowledge and indeed fightingspirit of these individuals, as well as the needsof refugees who relied on them. These eventsleave us all the more determined.

Civilised societies protect the vulnerable andstrangers in their midst. It is clear where theBritish public stand: as the Minister forImmigration, Damian Green, said on 27 May2011 quoting from our poll, over 80 per centof Britons believe that protecting the mostvulnerable is a core British value and twothirds declare themselves sympathetic torefugees coming to Britain.

In this global recession, turning this sense ofBritishness into practice becomes particularlyurgent. What is needed in response are thecapabilities, expertise, independence, evidencebase, sound management and creativity of the whole of the refugee sector, workingincreasingly unselfishly together. The RefugeeCouncil is playing its part in that, and theexamples above highlight some of the ways in which this is happening.

Douglas Board

This year, thanks to our staff, volunteers and funders, we introduced a new own languagetelephone service for refugees. In its pilot stage we saw a 270% increase in contacts withnew clients and a 400% increase in the number of women accessing our service.

Chair’s foreword

Protecting refugees for 60 years 2

Our staff have showed amazing commitmentand resilience, providing a first class service to refugees despite their personal distress atthe uncertainty created by a significantredundancy exercise. Our volunteers havestuck with us, and made an amazingdifference to the clients they support. Our supporters stood alongside us, lobbyingMPs and the minister, helping us to get anadditional year’s funding. And the generosityof our funders, combined with the excellenceof our fundraising staff, means that we havebeen able to raise more funds from othersources to help us plug the gap.

A highlight of ourfundraising activities,which came just afterthe period coveredby this impact report,was our anniversaryevent with JemimaKhan which helpedus meet the targetfor our anniversarymatch fund –bringing almost a quarter of a million pounds intothe charity at a timewhen we have neverneeded it more.

It has been particularlyfrustrating that thecuts to ourgovernment granthave come at a time when we are needed asmuch as ever.Despite somewelcoming policycommitments in thecoalition agreement –on childdetention,

Chief Executive’sintroduction


I want to begin by saying a huge thank you to our supporters, staff and volunteers.Losing two thirds of our Border Agency funding in one fell swoop was a dreadful way tostart our 60th anniversary year. But thanks to so many people, the Refugee Council, likethe UN Refugee Convention we are proud to share a birth year with, is still going strong.

Last year our London Day Centre provided over 40,000 lunches

faster decisionmaking and lesbian andgay asylum seekers –seeking protection in the UK remains a souldestroying experience. A culture of disbeliefcontinues amongst many

of those making asylumdecisions, and the levels of

detention and destitutionremain unacceptably high

amongst refugees.

For the small number of peoplewho get refugee status, settling inthe UK brings its own challenges.Learning English, getting a job,and finding a home are harderthan ever in the currenteconomic and politicalclimate. And the BorderAgency’s decision not to continue with theRefugee Integration andEmployment Service(RIES), which we areproud to have deliveredin many parts of thecountry, could

not have come at a worse time. We arecommitted to providing employment andintegration support to refugees in spite ofthis, and have been particularly pleased towelcome into the Refugee Council theexpertise in this area provided by Refugees into Jobs.

Refugees who come to the UK are some ofthe most inspiring, resilient people I have evermet. They have seen terrible things in theirown countries, and are forced to flee, makingperilous and dangerous journeys half wayacross the world. They face disbelief andresentment in the UK. And they respond withenergy and passion when given the chance to build a new life for themselves here, and to contribute to their new community.

In the past year, I have been inspired andhumbled by the response of our staff,volunteers and supporters to these difficultcircumstances. Together, we have shown that the passion that resides in our hearts forthe work of the Refugee Council cannot bedimmed, and that some of the resilienceshown by refugees seeking to build new lives in the UK has rubbed off on us all.

Donna Covey


The Refugee Council is there as thepoint of contact, their port of call toensure that their rights are respectedand that they have a fair chance tomake an appropriate settlement inthis nation.Male refugee

from Kenya

s and breakfasts

The Refugee Council offers advice andsupport services to asylum seekers andrefugees in four regions in England. We help people to navigate the asylumsystem and assist refugees to build newlives in the UK. We also supportunaccompanied children who are seekingasylum. In London, we provide a daycentre service for destitute clients, many ofwhom have been refused asylum but areunable to return to their home country.

In 2010, we carried out a strategic review ofour adult advice services, consulting extensivelywith clients and Refugee CommunityOrganisations. The findings showed that clientswanted easier access to advice. Many clientsexpressed their frustration at having to travelto our offices and spend lengthy periodswaiting to meet with an adviser when thedrop-in service was busy. In response, westarted to look at how we could deliver a cost-effective Own Language Telephone Advice Service (OLTAS), building on plans thatwere already in place to make greater use oftelephone advice.

Following the Comprehensive SpendingReview after the General Election, weanticipated reduced funding from the HomeOffice for our advice services in 2011/12. InJanuary 2011, we were told that the budget

for our One-Stop advice service (OSS) would reduce by 60% and funding for ourWraparound service for newly-arrived asylumseekers would be reduced by 40%. We alsolearnt that funding for our Refugee Integrationand Employment Service (RIES) would ceasecompletely from October 2011. More positively,funding for our work with unaccompaniedchildren remained at the same level as 2009/10and is secure until 2013.

The scale of the cuts was a major blow and welost many experienced staff members as adirect result. Despite the challenges, wecontinued to provide high quality services toour clients and we remain determined to do soin the future. Thanks to the 2010 strategicreview we are well-placed to begin thetransition to a new service model, replacingdrop-in sessions with telephone support. Ourstaff have responded with great commitmentand creativity and we are continuing to exploreinnovative ways of supporting asylum seekersand refugees.

Our key achievements in 2010/11

We successfully applied to join the Helplines’Association, then piloted the Own LanguageTelephone Advice Line (OLTAS) in the WestMidlands. Calls came in to a singlefreephone number, with callers then givenan option to select from six languages, plusEnglish. 3,500 calls were received in the pilotperiod, with a 270% increase in contactswith new clients and a 400% increase in thenumber of women accessing our adviceservice. Advisers were able to book face-to-face appointments with clients to deal with

Providing high quality adviceand support


Despite a 60% cut in OSS budget, rolling

more complex problems. A University ofBirmingham evaluation of the pilot showedthat clients were very positive about theservice, with most preferring it to drop-inadvice. Nationwide roll-out of OLTASbegan in April 2011.

Our Brixton Day Centre continued toprovide hot meals, showers, laundryfacilities and physical and mentalhealth services to destituteasylum seekers. We introduced aDay Centre Welcome Deskstaffed by volunteers anddeveloped a more structuredprogramme of activities.

Our most vulnerable clients weregiven emotional support by ourTherapeutic Casework Team andthrough our gardening project,Sowing Seeds.

As well as working with youngpeople at our Brixton office,the Children’s Sectiondelivered outreachsessions inpartnership withorganisationsincluding theNottinghamshireRefugee Forum,the Children’sSociety andPaiwandAfghanAssociation.


g out OLTAS has meant that our number of telephone and face-to-face advice sessions has only been reduced by 6%

We secured £566,000 from the Health & Social Care Volunteering Fund to deliver a new Health Befriending Project in four regions in England. Volunteers will assist asylum seekers and refugees to access mainstream health services,particularly services which address mental health problems.

Over the last three years, the RefugeeIntegration and Employment Service hashelped over 760 clients into employment.

We strengthened strategic relationships withmany of our partners. Charlotte Cooke, oneof our senior managers in Yorkshire wasseconded to the Northern Refugee Centre as Director of Operations in July 2010.

Our future work in 2011/12

The Immigration Minister, Damian Green,will visit our Sheffield office to meetrefugees who’ve built new lives with theRefugee Council’s support, following theirresettlement in the UK by UNHCR’sGateway Protection Programme.

The Scottish and Welsh Refugee Councilswill be part of OLTAS and we will continueto monitor and develop the service toensure it meets clients’ needs. As well asintroducing two additional languages and aseparate freephone number for youngpeople, we plan to use text messaging toconfirm appointment times with clients.Specialist training from the Samaritans willassist telephone advisers to identify themost vulnerable clients and refer them toour Therapeutic Casework Team.

We will launch our Joint Client Database, an online system shared with the Scottishand Welsh Refugee Councils that willenable telephone advisers to book clientappointments at any of our offices.

In the East of England we will work towards meeting the huge demand fromour clients for legal advice, employing aqualified adviser and collaborating with alocal legal firm to bid for legal aid contracts.If successful, we will look at using this as a template for the other parts of thecountry where we work.

We will work with regional networks to share information and to do moreoutreach work. To inform the delivery offuture outreach sessions, we’ll analyse data from OLTAS to identify locations where significant numbers of clients are based.

Our Gateway Team will work in partnershipwith Sheffield and Hull City Councils towelcome and resettle Iraqi and OromoEthiopian refugees from camps in Syria and Kenya.

We are in active discussion with potential partners across London with a view to continuing a day centre serviceafter we leave our current premises in June 2012.


Providing high quality adviceand support…

50% of our OSS clients sought advice on destitution in 2010 – 11

The Refugee Council is made up of over 60member organisations from across the UK,many of which are Refugee CommunityOrganisations (RCOs). Despite very limitedresources, RCOs carry out an incrediblerange of work at grassroots level tosupport refugees in their communities. The Refugee Council runs a range ofprojects to provide support to RCOs,offering specialist advice and trainingprogrammes.

Our Basis team provides ongoingorganisational support to RCOs in the areas of governance, financial management, projectdevelopment and fundraising. The processbegins with a one-to-one assessment of theRCO to identify if we can help them and thenext stage is a needs assessment and tailoreddevelopment plan.

The Fundraising & Sustainability Project acts as a link between RCOs and policy makers,funders and other service providers, providingone-off training sessions and assistance withfunding applications.

Our Refugee Empowerment Project (REP) is a unique training and capacity buildingprogramme, designed to give RCOrepresentatives the skills to start campaigning.Members of 18 RCOs from across London arecurrently taking part. The seven-week trainingprogramme includes workshops oncampaigning strategy, media work and theparliamentary process. Sessions such as publicspeaking with the English Speaking Union anda visit to the Houses of Parliament givepractical skills and insights into reachingdecision makers. Throughout the programme, mentors provide individual

support to participants, helping them todevelop and implement their own campaign.

Mentoring is also an integral part of ourRefugees into Teaching (RiT) project whichoffers specialist advice and support to refugeeteachers across England, helping them torebuild their careers and make the most oftheir skills. To date, over 1300 refugee teachershave registered with RiT.


Launched SCORES, a programme funded by the Football Foundation that aims tosupport RCOs to develop sports projects.The objectives are two-fold: to raiseawareness among RCOs of the benefits of sport and the role of sports in thecommunity, and to encourage funders tosupport RCOs to run sports projects.

SCORES supported Crossworld, a SouthLondon football club originally set up for unaccompanied young people by theRefugee Council day centre, to affiliate to a local league. SCORES also helped four other London football teams to train coaches.

Supporting the refugee sectorand integration


In November, funders including Comic Reliefand Sport England attended a SCORESconference on providing grants for sportsand sport-related activities. A Liverpoolfootball project that has brought togetherrefugees and local people came to theconference to showcase their activities.

RCOs benefited from a training andinformation session on the Localism Bill. The content of the session was later used to draw up a written briefing on the bill.

As well as learning about campaigning, REP participants have developed their ‘soft’ skills, such as listening, speaking inpublic in English, time keeping and greaterconfidence in dealing with people inauthority. They are better equipped tonavigate local bureaucracy and engage withdecision-makers to access support for theirorganisations. Participants have also learntabout strategic planning, financialmanagement and budgeting.

REP campaigners have accessed a greatwealth of expertise from their volunteermentors. The mentors are all campaigningprofessionals from organisations includingAmnesty International, Big Lottery Fund,British Heart Foundation and Global Witness.

External mentors have also used theircontacts to link up RCOs with film-makersand journalists. For the mentors, the projecthas been an opportunity to see thechallenges that small organisations face and to gain valuable experience of workingat grassroots level.

115 RiT clients volunteered in schools,helping them to gain invaluable experienceof the English education system.

As part of employment preparation, 111 RiT clients attended a familiarisationcourse, 62 mentoring relationships are upand running and 60 clients have beenhelped to access a placement or anobservation place in schools. Since theproject started in 2008 a total of 143clients have secured paid employmentwithin school and 214 are employedin non-school related roles.

To date, our Basis Project hassupported over 260 RefugeeCommunity Organisations. Thanks to this work, theseorganisations are more successful,confident, joined up and are nowbeginning to mutually supporteach other.

Supporting the refugee sectorand integration…


During the lifetime of RIES,

3,687 refugees were supported by Refugee Council

When we go to the Refugee Council we explained oursituation and she said, no you can’t go back home, becausefor my husband, and my son, Kosovo is very dangerous,maybe he can go in prison. Female refugee from Kosovo

We held two sector meetings,giving an opportunity for

members and partners tocome together anddiscuss post-electionchallenges andengaging with the Big Society.


REP participants will implement thecampaign strategies that they’ve worked on throughout the project. Plans includeorganising events with MPs and makingfilms. Two of the campaigners will speak at Refugee Council events at the Labour,Conservative and Liberal Democrat party conferences.

The Refugee Council’s unique approach to empowering refugees to campaign hasattracted international interest. The REP Co-ordinator has been asked to speak at the ECRE (European Council on Refugees & Exiles) Conference in Malta to sharelearning from the project with organisationsfrom across Europe.

RiT will continue to hold discussions with the Department for Education about futureproject funding. At the same time, work willbe done to develop legacy activities, allowingfor some continuation if funding does cometo an end in late 2011. Training providers,mentors, local authorities and RCOs are all keen to provide ongoing support, forinstance by setting up a Facebook group,disseminating information, doing outreachwork with universities, and maintaining the project’s website and informationresources.

The Basis Project is working with an external consultant to assess the implications of recent policydevelopments for RCOs, with a view

to identifying the most effectiveways to support RCOs in future.


To achieve lasting change for asylumseekers and refugees, we have tochallenge the policies and practices thathave a such a devastating impact on theirday to day lives. We draw on ourexperience of providing frontline servicesto carry out research and develop anevidence base. We transform case studiesinto hard-hitting media stories showingthe realities for asylum seekers in the UK,and we make sure that positive storiesfind an audience as well. We engagedirectly with the UK Border Agency toimprove the asylum system. We provideinformation to MPs and Peers to raise theprofile of refugee issues in parliament.We empower supporters to campaign forchange and we involve clients in our workas spokespeople and advocates.

2010/11 has been a fundamentally importantyear for advocacy and influencing at theRefugee Council. The ten-year period in whichmuch of our policy work was funded by theHome Office came to an end, leading to asignificant reduction in the number of staffposts. In the restructure that followed, we took the opportunity to create a new inter-disciplinary team in which all staff work onmedia, policy and research. We’ve identifiedfour policy priorities – detention, destitution,housing and legal advice – and each staffmember will lead the work on one of theseareas. In the coming year, we’ll be looking athow we can make the most of this new way of working.


The Coalition Agreement outlining the newgovernment’s priorities included acommitment to ending the detention ofchildren for immigration purposes. This is asignificant move that we and our partners inthe Refugee Children’s Consortium havelong campaigned for.

We re-established the All PartyParliamentary Group (APPG) on Refugeeswith a new Chair, Dr. Julian Huppert MP.The APPG ran events with UNHCR and theHolocaust Educational Trust, and a sessionwith UKBA’s new Director of Asylum, Emma Churchill.

Our Media Officer worked with theChildren’s Section to highlight the ordeal of Mohibullah, a 16 year old asylum seekerfrom Afghanistan who suffered mentalhealth problems after being detained fourtimes by the Home Office. The story wasfeatured in a Channel 4 documentary,Dispatches: The Kids Britain Doesn’t Want and prompted a huge response. The Fundraising Team organised a specialscreening for major donors resulting in a £100,000 donation.

We significantly increased and developedour social media presence, launching aTwitter account and holding an onlinediscussion with supporters following thescreening of the Dispatches programme.

The Asylum Support Partnership publishedYour Inflexible Friend: The Cost of LivingWithout Cash, exploring the dangers and

Our advocacyand influencing work


72% of the clients in detention who were supported

by Refugee Council’s Children Section were released

indignities faced by refused asylum seekerswho are forced to rely on the Azurepayment card. The issue was subsequentlyraised in parliament.

We worked with Community Links, a charitysupporting disadvantaged people in EastLondon on a research project looking atbarriers to refugees’ participation in theformal economy. The report was launchedby London’s Deputy Mayor and the GreaterLondon Authority is now taking forward therecommendations as part of the LondonIntegration Strategy.

We worked with the National Institute ofAdult Continuing Education (NIACE) andthe University & College Union on thesuccessful campaign to protect ESOL(English for Speakers of Other Languages)from government cuts.

We submitted a response to thegovernment’s consultation on legal aidproposals, and joined with Rights of Women and other organisations to lobbythe government to ensure access to legalaid for all migrant women who haveexperienced domestic violence.


sed after they were shown to be children

Refugee Council staff and supporters joinedwith over 250,000 others to take part in theTUC’s March for the Alternative throughcentral London. Our Chief Executive wasamong the group leading the march andgave a speech at the rally in Hyde Park.

We launched a pledge for our 60thAnniversary year asking people to pledgethat they are proud the UK protectsrefugees. We organised constituencylobbying on permission to work for asylum seekers.

Refugee Week partners held a WorldRefugee Day Umbrella Parade, wherehundreds of people marched throughLondon carrying white umbrellas as a symbolof peace and shelter. The parade also tookplace in capital cities across Europe todemonstrate a commitment to theprotection of refugees. The Refugee Councilalso held a Human Library, in partnershipwith the Holocaust Educational Trust, wheremembers of the public could hear arefugee’s personal story.


Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg MP willgive a speech in the Refugee Council DayCentre, to launch a year-long series ofactivities to mark the 60th anniversary year of the Refugee Council and of the UNRefugee Convention.

To create strategies and develop partnershipsto deliver campaigns on our four policypriorities. This will include supporting smallerorganisations that work on these issues todisseminate their messages.

To build more support and reach out to newaudiences through social media. We also plan to involve more staff and clients insocial media.

Continuing 60th Anniversary events,including a seminar series on the theme ofintegration with high-profile academics at the University of London.

Work with other members of the RefugeeChildren’s Consortium to ensure that thecommitment on the detention of children is implemented.

Deliver our Influencing Women’s Project,supporting women asylum seekers toadvocate for a system that better meets theirneeds. The Refugee Council is an activemember of the Charter of Rights of WomenSeeking Asylum coordinated by Asylum Aidthat calls on the UK Border Agency tocommit to treating women seeking asylumwith fairness, dignity and respect.

We are the UK partner in an EU Commissionfunded project led by ECRE (European Councilon Refugees and Exiles), looking at practicesaround the return of children in both EUMember States and countries of return.

Undertake a Nuffield Foundation fundedresearch project designed to identify thebarriers refugees and asylum seekers face inaccessing post-16 education. The final reportwill be used to give education providers andindividuals information about entitlements. In the longer term, we hope this will lead to more of our clients gaining higher-levelqualifications, helping them to enteremployment.

Our advocacyand influencing work…


96% of women supported by our Powerful Women Project said they felt empowered and had gained confidence

2010/11 was a difficult year with charitiesfacing a challenging fundraisingenvironment. So we are both delightedand incredibly grateful for the continuingsupport we have received that has enabledus to deliver vital services to refugees.

In tough economic times our voluntary incomeis more crucial than ever in ensuring that wecan provide essential support to refugees.

We simply would not be able to make the difference

we do to the lives of those fleeingpersecution without the support of themany individuals and organisationswho help tofund our work.

Our supporters have proved both generous andloyal and our thanks go to everyone who hashelped us in our efforts to ensure that refugeesare respected and that they can get the helpthat they need.

The future is uncertain, but with yourcontinued support we know that we can continue to help those seeking safety. Your support will help us to:

Raise both public and political awarenessof the circumstances of refugees so that wecan work towards a fair and humane system.

Provide food, clothing and basic provisionsto destitute asylum seekers.

Work with children whose age is beingdisputed by immigration services to make surethey get the support they need as children.

Respond to the needs of refugees whohave suffered particularly traumaticexperiences and need extra support toovercome their problems.

Support refugees granted statusto help them find employment and integratemore fully into UK society.

Work with RCOs to help build a vibrantrefugee sector.

How your supporthelps us


To donate to the Refugee Council call 020 7346 1205 or donate online at: www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/donate

The Refugee Council has provided alot of support, it has also providedsupport for the Refugee CommunityOrganisations. It is also the first lineof contact when refugees come tothis country Male refugee from Ghana


Independent Auditor’s Statement to the Trustees of The British Refugee Council

We have examined the summary financial statement of The British Refugee Council.

This statement is made solely to the trustees, as a body inaccordance with the terms of our engagement. Our workhas been undertaken so that we might state to the trusteesthose matters we have agreed to state to them in thisstatement and for no other purpose. To the fullest extentpermitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibilityto anyone other than the charity’s trustees as a body, forour work, for this statement, or for the opinions we haveformed.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and auditor

The trustees are responsible for preparing the summaryfinancial statements in accordance with applicable UnitedKingdom law and the recommendations of the CharitiesSORP.

Our responsibility is to report to you our opinion on theconsistency of the summary financial statement within theimpact report with the full financial statements andtrustees' report and its compliance with the applicablerequirements of section 427 of the Companies Act 2006and regulations made thereunder. We also read the otherinformation contained in the impact report and consider theimplications for our report if we become aware of anyapparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with thesummarised financial statements.

Basis of opinion

We conducted our work in accordance with Bulletin 2008/3'The auditors' statement on the summary financialstatement' issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use inthe United Kingdom. Our report on the full annual financialstatements describes the basis of our opinion on thosefinancial statements and the trustees’ report.

Income 10/11 £’ 000Direct services to refugees and asylum seekers 71.78% 11,862Campaigning and policy 0.27% 45Capacity building, education and training 5.94% 982Donations, legacies and other voluntary income 20.93% 3,459Investment income 0.41% 68Other incoming resources 0.67% 110

Total incoming resources 100.00% 16,526

Expenditure 10/11 £’ 000Direct services to refugees and asylum seekers 76.44% 12,465Campaigning and policy 2.43% 397Capacity building, education and training 16.73% 2,728Governance 0.27% 44Fundraising costs 4.13% 673

Total resources expended 100.00% 16,307

Financial informationIncome and expenditure as at 31 March 2011


Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2011

£’ 000Incoming ResourcesIncoming resources from generated funds:Donations, legacies and other voluntary income 3,459Investment income 68

Incoming resources from charitable activities:Direct services to refugees and asylum seekers 11,862Campaigning and policy 45Capacity building, education and training 982

Other incoming resources 110

Total incoming resources 16,526

Resources expendedCost of generating funds 673

Charitable activities: Direct services to refugees and asylum seekers 12,465Campaigning and policy 397Capacity building, education and training 2,728

Governance costs 44

Total resources expended 16,307

Net incoming resources 219

Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2011

£’ 000Fixed assets: Tangible fixed assets 24Investments 4

Current assets:Debtors 3,166Cash at bank and in hand 6,854

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (2,099)

Net current assets 7,921

Total assets less current liabilities 7,949

Provisions for liabilities (1,039)

Net assets 6,910

Funds Unrestricted funds: General 3,447 Designated 1,902

Restricted funds 1,561

Total funds 6,910

Opinion

In our opinion the summarised financial statements areconsistent with the full financial statements and the trustees'report of The British Refugee Council for the year ended 31March 2011 and complies with the applicable requirementsof section 427 of the Companies Act 2006 and regulationsmade thereunder.

PKF (UK) LLPStatutory auditorLondon, UK

27 October 2011

These summarised financial statements are not statutoryaccounts, but a summary of information relating toboth the Statement of Financial Activities and theBalance Sheet. The information is extracted from thefull audited financial statements, which contain anunqualified report by the auditors, PKF (UK) LLP.The full financial statements were approved by theCouncil on 24 October 2011, and copies submittedto the Registrar of Companies and the CharityCommission. These are available from the charity’soffices at 240-250 Ferndale Road, London SW9 8BB.

For and on behalf of the Council:Douglas Board, Chair Heather Foster, Treasurer

Douglas Board Chair, Co-opted

Yvonne Cass Vice-Chair, Northern Refugee Centre

Heather FosterHonorary Treasurer, Co-opted

Ellen Amoah-KhatemRefugee Advice Centre

Michael BartletReligious Society of Friends

Richard FosterCo-opted

Tina GharaviBridge & Tunnel VoicesResigned 26 May 2010

Keefa KiwanukaOne World Foundation

Mohammed MaigagHaringey Community and Cultural Association

Yen NyeyaGhana Refugee Welfare Group

Rita Paulino (Abdullah) South Sudan Women Skills Development Elected 1st Dec 2010

Sunetra PuriCo-opted

John WilkesScottish Refugee Council

Maurice WrenAsylum Aid

Alison YoungCo-optedResigned 28th February 2011

Louise ZanréJesuit Refugee Service

Board of TrusteesOur current trustees are:


Following the Arab Spring, The Refugee Council supported 435 clients

from the countries involved – 58%

We are human, we are not justthings, we are not just asylumseekers, refugees. We are people,we are human, we’ve got capability,we’ve got values, we’re determinedto contribute as well to society. Female refugee from Liberia

Action for Social IntegrationAfrica Educational TrustAfrica Foundation StoneAfrican Women’s GroupAfrican Support and ProjectCentreAmnesty International UKAssociation of Visitors toImmigration Detainees(AVID)Asylum AidAsylum Seekers andRefugees of Kingston UponHull (ARKH)

Barnardo’sBridge & Tunnel Voices

Children’s SocietyCouncil for AssistingRefugee Academics

Dadihiye SomaliDevelopment Organisation

East London CommunityLaw ServiceEnfield Somali CommunityAssociation

Freedom from Torture

Gatwick Detainees WelfareGroupGHARWEG

Haringey Somali Community& Cultural AssociationHarrow Refugee ForumHazara Charitable TrustHelping Hands for Refugeesand Disabled

Immigration LawPractitioner’s Association(ILPA)

Lord Stanley Clinton-Davis(Individual member)

International Tamil RefugeeNetworkInvesting in People andCultureIranian AssociationIslington Somali Community

Jesuit Refugee ServiceJoint Council for the Welfareof Immigrants

Kurdish Housing Association

Latin American HouseLewisham Indo ChineseCommunity Chinese SchoolLewisham Refugee Network

Methodist ChurchMr Michael Adeyeye(Individual member)

Norfolk French SpeakersAssociation (NORFRESA)North of England RefugeeService (NERS)Northern Refugee Centre

One World FoundationOne World UKOXFAM

Pan African People’s WelfareAdvisory ServicePolish Ex-CombatantsAssociationPRAXIS

Quakers in Britain

Reading Refugee SupportGroupReconnectRefugee ActionRefugee and Migrant Centre(formerly WolverhamptonWARS)Refugee Studies CentreRussian Refugees’ AidSociety

Scottish Refugee CouncilSion Centre for DialogueSomali Refugee ActionGroupSomali Carers ProjectSt Mary’s Justice & PeaceSudanese Women’sAssociation

Tamil Relief CentreTRUST

UKCISA (UK Council forInternational StudentAffairs)

Vietnamese Mental HealthServicesVision Inspired PeopleZimbabwe

Watford and Three RiversRefugee ProjectWelsh Refugee CouncilWestern KurdistanAssociationWomen’s Association forAfrican Networking andDevelopment (WAND UK)

York Racial Equality Network

Member organisationsThe Refugee Council is proud to be a membership organisation and is committed toworking closely with its members to champion the rights of refugees and asylumseekers and to provide support to enable refugees to receive protection and to rebuildtheir lives in safety. To apply to become a member of the Refugee Council email:[email protected]


of these came from Libya

Sustainability commitmentThe Refugee Council acknowledges the global effects of climate change and we recognisethat only by getting involved now can we hope for a sustainable future. We joined theGuardian newspaper’s 10:10 campaign demonstrating our commitment to reducing carbonemissions by 10% in 2010 to 2011. Paper Round and Carbon Smart have awarded us acertificate of excellence for environmental performance and have donated to the Trees forCities charity on our behalf. Printed on FSC certified 100% recycled paper, Cocoon Preprint.

REFUGEE COUNCIL

IMPACT REPORT2010/11

Design by www.us2design.co.uk

When I learned about the life enhancing work of the Therapeutic CaseworkUnit I knew that I wanted to donate to the Refugee Council. Trainedcaseworkers work with asylum seekers who have experienced so manylosses: loss of home, family, familiar surroundings, identity and citizenship,sense of self and sense of worth. It’s hard to imagine the accumulatedtrauma. In addition to facilitating internal processes of adjustment andacceptance, the caseworkers also enable refugees to meet the externalchallenges of life in the UK – giving informed advice on how to accesssystems and services. Yes – this is why I want to continue to support thework of the Refugee Council. Hilmary Quarmby, Supporter

British Refugee Council (commonly called theRefugee Council) is a company registered inEngland and Wales, [No.2727514] and a registered charity, [No.1014576]

Registered office: 240-250 Ferndale Road, LondonSW9 8BB, United Kingdom VAT no: 936 519 988

www.refugeecouncil.org.uk

refugee council impact report 2010/2011

Documents

refugees seekingemployment

refugees intojobs

needsof refugees

legal support

refugee sector

strong support

asylum housing

asylum seekers