It is a particularly significant year as United Response celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Our mission remains as relevant today as it did in October 1973 when the charity was first formed.

We are grateful to the National Lottery, which awarded us a significant grant from its Heritage Lottery Fund, to mark our anniversary milestone. We have used the funding to deliver a commemorative project, titled “Our Life Stories”. In conjunction with the British Library, over two years we will develop a collection of peer-to-peer histories which captures, preserves, and celebrates the rich and diverse life stories of people with learning disabilities that have been supported by United Response.

For a year that was marked by celebration, it was also one of challenge. We witnessed high inflation and pressure on cost of living, together with the continued impact of underfunding of public services. In spite of the improvement in financial performance compared to the previous year, we recognised the need for a fundamental transformation in order to improve our long-term financial outlook. The transformation will take the organisation from being a collection of discrete service centres, to a structure that is more coherent and based upon functionally aligned capabilities. That transformation work was initiated at the end of 2023, and will continue throughout the 2024/25 financial year.

As part of the transformation, we combined our North and South divisions into a single operating unit, which led to the departure of Mike Crowhurst, Director of Operations South, in March 2024. The new structure also provides a better focus on people and inclusion, business development and finance, as well as increased emphasis on growth opportunities such as Housing and Education. Throughout this process, we are committed to maintaining the high quality of care services that we provide.

Sadly, we saw the departure of Tim Cooper, who stepped down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in April 2024, having led United Response through nine difficult years. The Board would like to thank Tim for his outstanding contribution. Our thanks also go to the rest of the executive leadership team, led by Belinda Phipps (interim CEO), for their commitment and hard work.

There have been Trustee changes as well. Alastair Ballantyne and Bill Hodson have moved on, and the Board would like to thank them for their years of dedicated service. In their place, Nikki Pawsey and Vicky Whelan have joined the Board as Trustees.

In a year of celebration, challenge and change, we look back to reflect on all of our achievements to date, and then look forward to ensure we will adapt to be a resilient organisation that is fit for the future. The environment in which we operate is not going to get any easier, but we are confident that United Response will be a financially sustainable organisation that delivers positive outcomes for the people we support.

Of course, this is only possible thanks to the work of our dedicated staff. I am enormously proud of their efforts to ensure that the people we support have the opportunity to live their lives to the full. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank every member of the United Response team for their continued dedication to our purpose.”

⮜ Return to the 2023-24 Annual Report