THE FIRST STEP LTD

Registered charity 1054533 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as FIRST STEP, KNOWSLEY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SUPPORT SERVICE

Provision of information, advice, support services and refuge to any resident of Knowsley Borough affected by domestic violence including victim/survivors and children

Objects

THE PROVISION OF SERVICES DIRECTED TOWARDS THE PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THE RELIEF AND SUPPOT OF PERSONS WHO HAVE SUFFERED OR ARE IN DANGER OF SUFFERING VIOLENCE FROM PERPETRATORS KNOWN TO THEM. TO ADVANCE THE EDUCATION OF VOLUNTARY AND STATUTORY AGENCIES AND THE PUBLIC IN ALL ASPECTS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE,ITS CAUSES AND PREVENTION.

Area of benefit: IN PRACTICE KNOWSLEY

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 · Accommodation/housing · website · Get email alerts

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity generated a surplus of £104,114 for the year ended 31 March 2025, with unrestricted reserves standing at £648,139. The trustees and auditor confirm that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, with no material uncertainties identified regarding its going concern status.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by DSG Audit. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

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
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• 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
• Volunteer management

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 03172572

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — The First Step (matched by registered charity number).

Company officers (Companies House)

Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

• HULSE, Alison Madelane — director, appointed 02/12/2024on trustee list
• FRYER, Germaine Dominique — director, appointed 06/12/2022on trustee list
• PRIVILEGE, Jessica — director, appointed 06/12/2022on trustee list
• THORNTON, Hayley — director, appointed 06/12/2022on trustee list
• RIGBY, Kevin — director, appointed 10/07/2019on trustee list
• GRANT, Caroline — secretary, appointed 14/07/2022

Official officers record.

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

Reported reserves equal ~6.0 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (99% 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 (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• ALISON hulse Mrs
• Germaine Fryer
• Hayley Thornton
• JESSICA Privilege
• Kevin Rigby

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

Operates in: Knowsley

Income and spending

Common questions

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 Safe Steps.

• Safe Steps income £1.7m
• AYLESBURY WOMEN'S AID income £1.1m
• STAFFORDSHIRE WOMEN'S AID income £2.0m
• STAYING PUT income £3.4m
• Pennine Domestic Abuse Partnership income £1.7m
• TRAFFORD DOMESTIC ABUSE SERVICES income £3.1m

Side by side with its peers

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