Leonard Cheshire has reported a second consecutive operating surplus, but continued to make several redundancies in 2024-25, according to its recently published accounts.
The disability charity recorded an annual income of £141m for the year ending 31 March 2025, £10m lower than 2023-24’s total of £151m as revenue from its charitable activities dropped by £8m.
Leonard Cheshire also did not receive the £544,000 government Covid-19 support funding that it received in 2023-24.
However, income from legacies increased to £2.5m after it dropping to £1.8m in 2023-24, while income from donations dropped from £1.1m in 2023-24 to £848,000 in 2024-25.
The charity’s expenditure fell from £150m to £140m in 2024-25, with the charity spending £345,000 less on raising funds and around £9m less on charitable activities.
Meanwhile, the charity upped its spending on campaigning from £218m to £284m in 2024-25.
After making 310 redundancies in 2023-24, a charity spokesperson confirmed to Civil Society that Leonard Cheshire had made a total of 255 further redundancies in 2024-25, which it primarily attributed to the closure of some of its services, and had spent £1.45m on related costs.
Its average headcount reduced from 4,245 in 2023-24 to 3,770 in 2024-25.
Charity working to resolve governance issues
The Charity Commission continues to investigate concerns over the charity’s governance, which predate the current chief executive and trustees.
In the latest accounts, the trustees wrote that the current trustees and executive have taken decisive steps to address these historical issues – engaging openly and constructively with the Charity Commission.
“The commission will be issuing a report, which we welcome, and trust it will acknowledge the steps taken by the current trustees and executive to address the past.”
The trustees added that they had introduced a new policy last year to ensure restricted funds are protected, and that these funds would be replenished in cash within three years. The commitment has already been met as of July this year.
The trustees also noted that they had undertaken reviews of historical income and expenditure to ensure all restricted funds were appropriately accounted and allocated for.
