GLOUCESTERSHIRE ACTION FOR REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS

Registered charity 1082388 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as GARAS

Promoting the welfare of refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants within and around Gloucestershire through the drop-in centre offering a 'safe space' activities, refreshments, information &advice on health, housing,benefits,immigration,law,education, career; Counselling provision for those effected by trauma;access to other agencies;food clothing,toys,furniture,household items& bedding.

Objects

TO RELIEVE SICKNESS POVERTY AND DISTRESS IN THE AREA OF BENEFIT WITH THE PARTICULAR AIM OF PROMOTING THE WELFARE OF REFUGEES, ASYLUM SEEKERS AND OTHER MIGRANTS IN THE AREA OF BENEFIT.

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED. IN PRACTICE GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

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 Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Gloucester, South West, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net expenditure of £74,941 for the year, resulting in a decrease in total funds from £639,601 to £564,660. The trustees note that grant funding is hard to access and identify the main risk as the potential ending of funding, which would fundamentally change service delivery. However, the accounts also confirm that the charity holds sufficient funds to meet all commitments and has adequate resources to continue as a going concern.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Pitt Godden & Taylor LLP. 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
• 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
• 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.

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 04026398 · Financial health read from its filings

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.

• LYDON, Stephen Leslie — director, appointed 18/08/2026on trustee list
• EL MASRI, Omar — director, appointed 01/04/2026not on trustee list
• CHRISTIE, Malcolm Bell — director, appointed 15/04/2025on trustee list
• LIVESEY, Louise Sara, Dr — director, appointed 28/02/2025on trustee list
• RAJA, Zulekha — director, appointed 06/06/2023on trustee list
• MCDONALD, Marie-Louise — director, appointed 21/03/2023on trustee list
• OPPENHEIMER, Sue — director, appointed 04/07/2018not on trustee list
• PRICE, John Walter — director, appointed 07/07/2011on trustee list

Official officers record.

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

Reported reserves equal ~3.3 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (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 (5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Susan Oppenheimerchair
• Elizabeth Abderrahim
• JOHN WALTER PRICE
• Louise Livesey
• Malcolm Bell Christie
• Marie-Louise McDonald · trustee of 1 other charity
• Omar El Masri
• Stephen Lydon
• Zulekha Raja

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

Operates in: Gloucestershire · Oxfordshire

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

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

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 REFUGEE RESOURCE.

• REFUGEE RESOURCE income £631k
• MIGRANT AND ASYLUM SEEKER SOLIDARITY AND ACTION income £143k
• GLOUCESTERSHIRE RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE CENTRE income £836k
• ASYLUM WELCOME income £1.6m
• GLOUCESTERSHIRE BUNDLES income £58k
• REFUGEE ACTION income £6.9m

Side by side with its peers

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