Major employment charity the Shaw Trust has reported a £21m increase in expenditure and a drop in funding from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Its income grew by £6m to £302m, according to accounts made up to 31 August 2023, with restricted income increasing from £106m to £120m.
As the largest provider of the DWP’s Work and Health Programme, the charity earned £52.6m from the department in 2022-23, down from £79.1m the year before.
However, the charity saw an increase in funding from the Department of Education last year from £64.0m in 2021-22 to £70.6m in 2022-23.
The accounts add that despite the cost-of-living crisis and increasing budgetary pressures on local and central government, revenue from these sources remained “relatively steady” at £173m (2022: £183m).
£14m deficit as costs increase
Shaw Trust reported an increase in its overall expenditure from £295m to £316m in 2022-23, making a deficit of £14m.
The charity spent £13.4m on pension scheme settlements, compared to none the year before, and over £20m more on raw materials and consumables.
As of 31 August 2023, the Shaw Trust had free reserves of £20.4m, up from £10.4m a year earlier, with plans to build these to £25m over the next five years.
In the year, the average number of people employed by the charity was 5,268, which is down on the 5,430 the year prior, with employee costs remaining flat at £189m.
Included in this was £570,000 spent on redundancies, which was a rise on the £427,000 the year prior.
The highest-paid members of staff received between £250,000 and £260,000.
“In the face of increasing pressures on personal and government finances following a decade of austerity and the impact of Covid-19, the demand for high-quality services at an affordable price continues to drive demand for the charity’s services,” the accounts read.
Related Articles
