MEDWAY DISTRICT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU SERVICE

Registered charity 1115644 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Provides an advice and advocacy service on the many and varied problems that arise in daily life. These include information and advice on a whole range of issues: family and personal; welfare benefits; housing and homelessness; taxation; money advice and personal debt; immigration and nationality; consumer; and employment.

Objects

TO PROMOTE ANY CHARITABLE PURPOSE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE AREA OF BENEFIT (COMPRISING THE MEDWAY TOWNS AND THE IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDING AREA) BY THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION, THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND THE RELIEF OF POVERTY, SICKNESS AND DISTRESS.

Area of benefit: THE MEDWAY TOWNS AND THE IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDING AREA

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 · 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 deficit of £218,260 for the year ended 31 March 2025, primarily due to a withdrawal of core funding by Medway Council. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted reserves fell significantly from £697,841 to £79,613, though the trustees maintain that the charity 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 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
• 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

Funders the charity credits

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

• Money Advice Service — “Funded by the Money Advice Service (MAS), this project helps to provide money and debt advice to anyone who is in debt.” (source page)
• Trussell Trust — “Funded by the Trussell Trust, this project allows us to have Advisers present when you receive a food parcel from Medway Foodbank to help pu…” (source page)

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

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

Reported reserves equal ~8.2 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (66% 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 (27/03/2020) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• DAVID JOHN AINSLEYchair · trustee of 4 other charities
• Alan David BUCKETT
• Oliver David Martin
• PETER MURRAY

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

Operates in: Kent · Medway

Income and spending

Common questions

Government & lottery funding

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