RNIB Group annual report and financial statements 2013/14 RNIB Group annual report and financial statements 2013/14 Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Trustees’ report and the audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the “Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) – Accounting and Reporting by Charities (2005)” as revised in May 2008, and the Charities Act 2011. This report covers the work of the RNIB group of charities throughout the UK, which includes Action for Blind People, Cardiff Institute for the Blind (CIB) and RNIB Specialist Learning Trust. Contents Chair and Chief Executive introduction 4 Structure and objectives 6 Trustees’ annual report: our work in 2013/14 15 Independent auditors’ report to the Trustees of RNIB 52 Consolidated statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2014 54 Balance sheets as at 31 March 2014 57 Group cash flow statement for the year ended 31 March 2014 59 Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2014 62 Who’s who at RNIB 123 RNIB Group annual report and financial statements 2013/14 3 Lesley-Anne Alexander CBE Kevin Carey Chief Executive Chair Chair and Chief Executive introduction The shared ambition of RNIB, Action for Blind People, Cardiff Institute for the Blind and RNIB Specialist Learning Trust is to make every day better for everyone affected by sight loss. Our practical and emotional support helps people losing their sight, and blind or partially sighted people to face the future with confidence. Continuing cuts to services and income are having a huge impact on the lives of many blind and partially sighted people and it is more important than ever that we reach as many people as possible, enabling independence and inclusion. Of course the tough economic climate is also having an impact on our resources but we continue to work hard to make a real difference for everyone affected by sight loss and we have had some fantastic achievements this year that we are immensely proud of. When someone has just been diagnosed as losing their sight we want to be there to help them come to terms with this potentially devastating news and help them face the future with confidence. This year we have continued to increase the quantity and quality of sight loss advisers available to support people in eye clinics at the point of diagnosis. We also launched our “I am here” campaign which raised awareness of the importance of sight loss support services in eye clinics and the potential threats to existing services from continuing local authorities and NHS cuts. We provide blind and partially sighted people with practical support to lead independent lives. The demand on our Helpline continues to grow, this year we responded to over 500,000 individual enquiries, and our welfare rights service continued to identify previously unclaimed entitlements for blind and partially sighted people, this year amounting to an incredible £14.5million. 4 rnib.org.uk We campaign for the long term changes to society that will improve the quality of life of almost two million people living with sight loss in the UK today. As a result of our work this year there have been improvements to a number of regional and national transport services including to bus services. Some bus companies have now realised the difficulty that request stops pose to people who cannot see the bus coming and have altered their policies to ensure that buses stop at every bus stop. We continued to bring people closer to the new technology solutions available to support independence through our “Switch on to technology” events held across the UK and through the vital work of our Technology Support Squad volunteers. We work to raise public awareness of eye health and to improve eyecare services in order to reduce the level of avoidable sight loss. We had great success this year advocating new sight-saving treatments with an amazing six being approved by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and five by the Scottish Medical Consortium (SMC). But we don’t stop there, we continue to press local health services to provide these treatments and support people to receive the treatments they require. This has been the last year of our current 2009/14 strategy and inside this report you will find out more about the progress we have made toward achieving our goals. We have also finalised the development of our 2014/19 strategy which for the first time is a strategy for the whole group of charities. In developing the strategy we consulted with blind and partially sighted people, including our members, as well as professionals working in the field of eye health and sight loss. We are tremendously excited to launch our new strategy which cements our commitment to be there for people when they are told they are losing their sight. You can find out more about our 2014/19 strategy later in this report. All of our achievements this year, over the course of our previous strategy, and in the coming years of our new strategy are only possible thanks to our supporters. Thank you to our generous donors and the people who leave us a legacy in their Will. Thank you to the local fundraising groups tirelessly raising money for us. Thank you to the volunteers whose time helps us to provide vital services. Thank you to the people who support our campaigns and help us shout louder for the rights of blind and partially sighted people. Each and every one of you, along with the dedicated staff of RNIB, Action for Blind People, Cardiff Institute for the Blind and RNIB Specialist Learning Trust, is making a huge difference to the lives of people with sight loss in the UK. Lesley-Anne Alexander CBE Kevin Carey Chief Executive Chair RNIB Group annual report and financial statements 2013/14 5 Structure and objectives Our legal structure Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a registered charity, number 226227, in England and Wales; number SCO39316 in Scotland and number 1109 in the Isle of Man (foreign company number 5724F). Established in 1868, RNIB was incorporated under Royal Charter in 1949, with a Supplemental Charter in 1993 (revised in 2007 and 2014). On 1 July 2014, we restructured the RNIB group of charities in order to support the effective delivery of the new strategy. The effect of this has been to set up a new entity, RNIB Charity (company number 08971500, charity number 1156629) on 1 April 2014. RNIB Charity and Action for Blind People, both subsidiaries of RNIB, will provide a focus for customers in terms of service delivery. We have also amalgamated our support functions into RNIB to ensure efficiencies for all charities within the group. RNIB is governed by a Trustee Board. On 31 March 2014 this consisted of 18 people and currently consists of 10 people. The Trustee Board meets a minimum of four times a year and takes all important strategic, policy and financial decisions, and has overall responsibility for RNIB Group activities. There are no restrictions on the way in which the Charity can operate. Until 30 June 2014 a number of Trustees were elected to serve on the Board; five Trustees were elected by the English region representatives of the UK Members’ Forum and the RNIB Cymru, Northern Ireland and Scotland Member Forums elected a Country Chair who automatically became a Trustee on the Board. RNIB’s Honorary Officers were elected by an electoral college comprising members of the Board and the UK Members’ Forum. Additionally a proportion of our Trustees were appointed by the Board itself, following a process of open competition. Trustees served a three-year term of office, following which they could choose to retire or seek re-election/re-appointment. However, no Trustee could serve for more than three consecutive terms of three years of office, unless they became one of the Charity’s Honorary Officers (RNIB Group Chair, Vice-Chairs or Honorary Treasurer) when they could serve for no more than three consecutive terms of three years in that capacity from the AGM at which they were appointed to that position. From 1 July 2014 six Trustees are nominated by RNIB Charity and two Trustees are nominated by Action for Blind People to serve on the Board. Two independent Trustees are appointed by the Board itself. During an initial transitional period, the Board will elect its Honorary Officers (Chair, Vice-Chair and Honorary Treasurer) from within the Board itself. Thereafter the Honorary Officers will be elected by an electoral college comprising the Board and the UK Members’ Forum, with the first elected Honorary Officers taking up their appointments on 1 January 2016. 6 rnib.org.uk During the transitional period, Trustees will hold office for a period of up to three years, as specified in the transitional arrangements approved by the Privy Council as part of the re-structure. Thereafter, Trustees will serve for a three year term of office, but may serve for no more than three consecutive terms of three years, other than in the case of an Honorary Officer, in exceptional circumstances approved by the Board. An induction pack is provided to all new Trustees and they are invited to attend an intensive induction day during which they are provided with information on the key services provided by RNIB and the main challenges and policy issues facing the Charity. Each Trustee receives an annual appraisal during which any individual training needs are identified. Where collective training needs are established, these are delivered to the Board as a whole.