DETENTION ACTION

Registered charity 1198554 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Detention Action is a national charity that aims to change the way that migrants are treated by immigration detention policy in the UK. We defend the rights and improve the welfare of people in detention by combining support for individuals with campaigning for policy change. Detention Action was known as London Detainee Support Group until May 2011.

Objects

THE OBJECTS OF DETENTION ACTION ARE FOR THE RELIEF OF POVERTY, SICKNESS AND DISTRESS AMONGST REFUGEES, ASYLUM SEEKERS AND OTHERS WHO ARE OR HAVE BEEN DETAINED IN LONDON AND ELSEWHERE AND WHO ARE RESIDENT OR WHO ARE INTENDING TO RESIDE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND ELSEWHERE BY PROVIDING SUCH PERSONS WITH EDUCATIONAL, PRACTICAL OR OTHER SUPPORT.

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

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

Registered contact address: Tower Hamlets, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a small deficit of £7,046 for the year ended 31 March 2025, resulting in a decrease in total reserves from £154,390 to £147,344. The trustees confirm that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, with unrestricted reserves of £145,722 carried forward.

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 4 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
• 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
• 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 13608398

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Detention Action (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.

• BARDELLI DANIELI, Andrea — director, appointed 19/05/2026not on trustee list
• CRUSE, Mary Elizabeth Victoria Anne — director, appointed 19/05/2026on trustee list
• RAHAMA, Bushra Gamar Hussein — director, appointed 19/05/2026on trustee list
• YOUMANS, Daniel Paul — director, appointed 19/05/2026on trustee list
• LAM, Linda — director, appointed 09/09/2025on trustee list
• MCKENZIE, Jacqueline Theresa — director, appointed 28/02/2023on trustee list
• BROWN, John Forster — director, appointed 08/09/2021on trustee list
• EKONJE, Hans Dibobe — director, appointed 08/09/2021on trustee list

Official officers record.

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

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

Reported reserves equal ~2.2 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (100% 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 (13/02/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Hans Dibobe Ekonjechair
• Andrea Bardelli Danieli
• Bushra Gamar Hussein Rahama
• Daniel Paul Youmans
• Jacqueline McKenzie
• Linda Lam
• Mary Elizabeth Victoria Anne Cruse

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

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 ACTION.

• REFUGEE ACTION income £6.9m
• DISPLACED PEOPLE IN ACTION LTD income £345k
• ACTION INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES (UK) income £141k
• BAIL FOR IMMIGRATION DETAINEES ( BID ) income £714k
• MIGRANT LEGAL ACTION income £206k
• ADOPTION UK CHARITY income £4.2m

Side by side with its peers

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