Mencap has reported a record annual income of £239m but it expects a decline next year following its demerger from Golden Lane Housing (GLH), according to its latest annual report.
GLH, a subsidiary charity created by Mencap in 1998, became a stand-alone housing association for people with a learning disability or autism in April this year.
As part of Mencap in 2021-22, GLH contributed £27.1m to the parent charity’s record £239m income. Mencap said in its recently-published accounts that it expects that “total income is likely to fall in 2022-23” as a result of the demerger.
Mencap’s trading income more than doubled to £4m in the year to 31 March 2022 after lockdown measures restricted its charity shops’ operating hours the year before. This is higher than pre-Covid levels, as the charity has expanded its retail operations in recent years.
The charity increased its payments to temporary staff during the year by 73% to £8.5m, which contributed to its overall expenditure increasing from £225m to £234m.
Covid grants covered increased costs during pandemic
Speaking to Civil Society News, Mencap’s chief executive Edel Harris said government support and surprisingly high fundraising income helped the charity to cover additional costs over the past two years.
Harris, who joined Mencap at the start of 2020, said the charity spent millions of pounds on PPE and topped up furlough payments to ensure staff received 100% of their contracted salary.
But the government’s Covid support grants helped to cover those costs, she said.
“They really, really helped and covered some of those additional costs like PPE, like paying our colleagues who had to shield or were on furlough, paying people who couldn't come to work because they tested [positive for Covid] – all those sorts of issues were covered by the Covid grants.
“And then the second factor was fundraising. Again, you'd almost imagine that something like a pandemic would have the opposite effect. But actually, we had one of the best, if not the best fundraising years we've ever had.”
Harris’ full interview with Civil Society News will be published in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, writing in the introduction to the accounts, former chair Derek Lewis said: “As the impact of Covid-19 diminished we were left with its legacy of mental health issues, staff shortages, delays to some of our key initiatives and the absence of any effective response from government to the underfunding of social care.”
Carolyn Fairbairn replaced Lewis as chair earlier this year.
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