CUMBRIA LAW CENTRE

Registered charity 1004114 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as CARLISLE COMMUNITY LAW CENTRE, COMMUNITY LAW CENTRE

Free legal advice and representation in Carlisle, Allerdale, Copeland and Barrow. (Future plan for Eden). We tackle poverty and oppression for those who cannot access help elsewhere. Telephone advice (01228 515 129) every weekday, and clinics throughout Cumbria. Specialists in Housing, Employment, Community Care, Welfare Benefits, Debt, Discrimination, Public law and Human Rights & Education.

Objects

I) TO RELIEVE POOR PERSONS RESIDENT IN THE BENEFIT AREA BY PROVIDING SUCH PERSONS WITH LEGAL SERVICES WHICH THEY COULD NOT OTHERWISE OBTAIN THROUGH LACK OF MEANSII) THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION AMONGST PERSONS RESIDENT OR WORKING IN THE BENEFIT AREAIII)THE ADVANCEMENT OF SUCH OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES AS ARE BENEFICIAL TO THE PERSONS RESIDENT OR WORKING IN THE BENEFIT AREA

Area of benefit: CITY OF CARLISLE AND THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT ADMINISTERED BY THE COUNCIL OF CARLISLE, ALLERDALE BOROUGH COUNCIL, COPELAND BOROUGH COUNCIL AND ANY OTHER PART OF CUMBRIA

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · Disability · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Accommodation/housing · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Cumberland, North West, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity achieved a net income of £117,739 and ended the year with total funds of £383,885, including unrestricted funds of £278,673. The trustees report that the cash position met the policy target of at least £200,000, and the charity has maintained a surplus for two consecutive years. The trustees confirm adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

In its annual return the charity told the Commission it is also regulated by: Financial Conduct Authority. This is the charity’s own declaration; it is not a rating and has not been verified by the Commission or by this site.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Cumbria Law Centre (matched by registered charity number).

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~7.9 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (98% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• John Reginald Nicolchair
• Dr JOHN MASSON
• JOHN RICHARD HUNSTON · trustee of 1 other charity
• Laura Elizabeth Rutherford
• Michelle Wright
• VIVIENNE ANNE LEWIS

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Cumbria

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Grants marked “Unverified read” were flagged by automated checks as possibly misread from the funder’s filed accounts. They are listed, but left out of the totals, counts and funder relationships this site computes.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with CAMDEN COMMUNITY LAW CENTRE.

• CAMDEN COMMUNITY LAW CENTRE income £641k
• Community Legal Centre England income £70k
• CENTRAL ENGLAND LAW CENTRE LIMITED income £4.2m
• Cumbria Addictions Advice and Solutions income £844k
• Carer Support Eden income £542k
• BRISTOL LAW CENTRE income £1.5m

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.