LEWES DISTRICT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU

Registered charity 1068146 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as LEWES AND SEAFORD CAB, LEWES AND SEAFORD CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU, LEWES AREA CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU

The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. CABx use evidence of their clients' problems to campaign for improvements in laws and services that effect everyone

Objects

to promote any charitable purpose for the public benefit by the advancement of education, the protection and preservation of health and the relief of poverty, sickness and distress in particular, but without limitation, for the benefit of the community in Lewes District and surrounding areas.

Area of benefit: EAST SUSSEX . SPECIFICALLY LEWES DISTRICT.

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 · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · website · Get email alerts

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net surplus of £49,322 from core activities, but this was offset by £91,000 of income designated for future years, resulting in a £42,000 deficit funded from reserves. The trustees maintain a reserves policy targeting four months of unrestricted funds to cover costs and liabilities, with unrestricted general reserves standing at £160,090 at year-end.

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
• Campaigns and political activity 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
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• 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

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 03485336

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Lewes District Citizens Advice (matched by registered charity number).

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

• Big Lottery — “Big Lottery: Funding our Rural Outreach Service and Volunteer Coordinator” (source page)
• Sussex Community Foundation — “Sussex Community Foundation: Funding for IT equipment” (source page)
• Next Foundation — “Next Foundation: Funding for IT equipment” (source page)
• Lewes Town Council — “Lewes Town Council: Funding towards advice outreach” (source page)

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.

• MCDONALD, John Colin — director, appointed 17/04/2025on trustee list
• KOLKMAN, Emma Marijke — director, appointed 11/07/2024on trustee list
• LAWFIELD, Alison Rachel — director, appointed 14/09/2023on trustee list
• HAMMOND, Julia Catherine — director, appointed 08/09/2022on trustee list
• POWELL, Kevin Stephen — director, appointed 23/12/1997on trustee list

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

1 registered title in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (0 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): instagram

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

Reported reserves equal ~4.1 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (62% 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).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (21/01/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Alison Rachel Lawfieldchair · trustee of 1 other charity
• Emma Kolkman
• John Colin McDonald
• Julia Catherine Hammond
• KEVIN POWELL

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

Operates in: East Sussex

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 LEEDS CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU.

• LEEDS CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU income £3.1m
• CANOLFAN CYNGHORI YNYS MON CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU income £1.4m
• CITIZENS ADVICE 1066 income £1.4m
• RURAL CAMBS CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU LTD income £1.1m
• CITIZENS ADVICE IN WEST SUSSEX (NORTH, SOUTH, EAST) income £2.7m
• CAMBRIDGE AND DISTRICT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU income £1.4m

Side by side with its peers

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