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02
Jan
Harrogate charity incurs £62,000 costs in legal battle
One of Harrogate’s largest charities has incurred costs of £62,048 in an ongoing legal battle.
The figure was contained in Disability Action Yorkshire’s accounts for the year ending March 31, 2024, which were published just before Christmas.
A section of the report headed ‘significant events’ says the costs “relate to the recovery of royalties owed to the charity”.
It added:
The trustees considered this expenditure necessary given the economic benefits that royalty income provides to the charity. The trustees have also considered any future legal expenses in the budgets and forecasts of the charity.
Asked by the Stray Ferret for further details of the legal issue, chief executive Jackie Snape said it was “necessary expenditure to recover and protect a valuable asset to the organisation”.
Ms Snape added “the legal process is still ongoing therefore we cannot give any further details at the moment”.
£315,000 deficit
The delayed opening of St Roberts Grove, a £7.5 million, 36-bedroom supported housing facility off Claro Road, Harrogate, contributed to Disability Action Yorkshire ending the year with a deficit of £315,620.
The charity, which is the onsite care provider, hoped to move customers from its old care home into the new facility in autumn 2023 but “building-related delays” prevented this from happening until spring this year, the report says.
It added:
We therefore spent this year preparing customers and staff for the move. During the period the number of customers fell to 11 as those who did not want to move to supported housing found alternative accommodation. This was a challenging time for the charity as we retained our staffing levels knowing that we would need all of the staff when we moved.
Former Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones opened the new care facility last year.
St Roberts Grove generated £650,163 income but its expenses were £1,072,889 million.
The charity’s overall income fell from £1.1m to £900,000. The average number of staff employed increased from 48 to 49.
‘Massive and positive impact’
The report details the services the charity offers disabled people. Besides supported housing, it provides holiday accommodation at a lodge in Louth, Lincolnshire, employment and training support, personal care and information, advice and guidance.
Ms Snape said:
Disability Action Yorkshire is pleased to be continuing to support disabled people to maximise their independence through the work we do to advocate on issues such as transport and accessible places and directly working to support employment opportunities. We’ve been delighted to be able to facilitate the development of independent living through moving from a residential care model, which has been a long running aim and project of the charity over the last few years, and has been a great success for our customers who now report on the massive and positive impact on their lives.
We anticipated many of the costs in making the transition however there were some unavoidable delays in the building of the supported housing scheme, to which residents of 34 Claro Road moved in April 2024, which led to the charity ending the year with a deficit outturn. During the transition the home ran with reduced occupancy, whilst we retained a full staffing team to continue to support people in the transition and to be ready to provide care and support in peoples own homes.
This was a considered approach, with the benefits of empowering disabled people to live independently outweighing the short-term challenges to the charity.
Whilst times are difficult for many charities the trustees are satisfied that given the current year forecasts and the level of reserves the charity is well placed to manage the current challenges successfully.
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