Annual Report 2019/20
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National Trust Annual Report 2019/20 National Trust Annual Report 2019/20 1 The National Trust in brief Our purpose To look after special places throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland for everyone, forever. About us The charity was founded in 1895 by three people who saw the importance of our nation’s heritage and open spaces, and who wanted to protect them for everyone to enjoy. This year we celebrated our 125th anniversary and our founders’ vision remains at the heart of everything we do. We look after coastline, historic sites, countryside and green spaces, providing access for all. We welcome everyone to explore: • 780 miles of coastline; • almost 250,000 hectares of land; and • over 500 heritage properties which include historic houses and gardens, industrial monuments, and social history sites. Most of our property is held inalienably, so it cannot be sold or developed without the consent of Parliament. We rely on the support of our members, donors, volunteers and grant-making bodies, as well as income from commercial activities such as retail and catering, to look after the places in our care. This Annual Report can also be viewed online at www.nationaltrustannualreport.org.uk The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty is a registered charity (no. 205846). It is incorporated and has powers conferred on it by Parliament through the National Trust Acts 1907 to 1971 and under the Charities (National Trust) Order 2005. The Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees whose composition appears on page 42. A brief description of the Trust’s organisation is given on pages 33 to 41. Our bankers, investment advisers and independent auditors are identified on page 81 and the contact details for our principal offices are listed on page 102. This Annual Report has been prepared by the Board of Trustees and covers the period March 2019 to February 2020. 2 National Trust Annual Report 2019/20 Contents Message from the Chair and Director-General 2 Board of Trustees’ report for 2019/20 3 125 Years of National Trust 4 Nature, beauty, history. For everyone, for ever – our strategy to 2025 6 Our performance 2019/20 7 Looking after 10 Land and nature 12 Urban places 14 Experiences 15 Growing support 16 People and resources 18 Climate and environment 21 Financial review 23 Governance – structure, management and internal control 32 Annual report of the Council 2019/20 44 The financial statements 2019/20 46 Consolidated statement of financial activities 46 Balance sheet 47 Consolidated cash flow statement 48 Notes to the financial statements 49 Independent auditors’ report to the Trustees of the National Trust 80 The Trust’s advisers 81 Glossary of financial, property and fund terms 82 Operating margin 83 Year on record 84 Acquisitions of properties, works of art and other objects 84 Visiting figures 87 Grants and donations 88 Supporter groups 91 Legacies 93 Contact details 102 National Trust Annual Report 2019/20 Contents 1 Message from the Chair and Director-General We are pleased to present the National Trust’s Annual Report & Accounts for 2019/20. It was for the most part another successful year for the Trust but one that ended with sadness as coronavirus reached these shores. At the time of writing it is already clear that this wretched virus has and will continue to have a profound impact on the nation and the National Trust. It is with enormous sorrow that we report a number of our volunteers have died as a result of coronavirus. We extend our heart-felt condolences to their families for their loss. We also thank all our staff and volunteers for their commitment and loyalty throughout 2019/20 and especially during the pandemic. 2020 marks the 125th anniversary of the National Trust, a special moment for the charity. It was a year in which we had plans to celebrate the vision of our founders, former and current staff and Images Trust © National Photography John Millar Trust/ ©National Photography volunteers, historic families, our partners, funders and millions of members who have supported the Trust over so many years. While the impact of the pandemic meant most celebrations were cancelled, we must still recognise the contributions of many people over many years and do so in this report. In 1895 the Duke Tim Parker Hilary McGrady of Westminster observed to one of our founders, Octavia Hill, Chair Director-General 22 July 2020 22 July 2020 ‘Mark my words, Miss Hill, this is going to be a very big thing’. How right he was and we thank everyone who has made this so. During 2019/20 the Trust reviewed and revised its strategy for the future, one we have called Nature, beauty, history. For everyone, for ever. Our strategy describes how the Trust will respond to the challenges of today, not least to the environment and to nature. As we move out of the emergency, the Trust will continue to argue for a green renewal rather than mere recovery. Climate change remains an enormous threat to our nation and the planet. The Trust will continue to play its part by addressing its impacts at our places and by promoting national approaches that place the environment and nature at the centre of decision-making. Coronavirus must not distract us from the outstanding achievements of 2019/20. During the year the Trust spent a record £169 million on conservation projects and welcomed approximately 28 million visitors. 2020/21 will see the numbers fall across most of our performance indicators. But we will renew and continue the pursuit of the National Trust’s charitable purpose for everyone, for ever. We commend this report to you and thank you for your support. 2 National Trust Annual Report 2019/20 Message from the Chair and Director-General Board of Trustees’ report for 2019/20 We echo the words of our Chair and Director-General in sending our condolences to the families of volunteers who have lost loved ones during the pandemic. We thank all our staff and volunteers for their hard work over the year and their flexibility and forbearance during the emergency period. We thank too our historic families, funders, our many partners, over estimated and we are responding. In January we announced our Council, Regional Advisory Boards and Specialist Advisory we would plant 20 million trees on our estate over the next 10 Groups. Finally, special thanks go to our members whose support years and become carbon neutral by 2030. The impact of the is essential to the Trust’s work and whose loyalty during this virus may mean progress is delayed but we are determined to challenging period has been wonderful. deliver on this objective. You can read about other examples of how we are responding to these challenges in this report. The 2020/21 report will describe the full effects of the pandemic on the Trust. For now we focus on 2019/20. This report charts We finish where we started by repeating our thanks to everyone our strong progress against a range of performance or impact connected with the National Trust. The year ahead will be one of measures designed to chart progress with the Trust’s strategy. the most challenging in the Trust’s history as we seek to navigate the economic, social and political implications of the pandemic. Despite further challenging weather patterns, the Trust exceeded Our work and our voice will be more important than ever. the Operating Margin target for the year of £130 million and – as noted by the Chair and Director-General - invested over £169 million in conservation. We welcomed approximately 28 million Coronavirus visitors to our pay-for-entry properties and membership numbers As result of Government advice, in late March the Trust rose to 5.95 million. In 2000 our membership was 2.7 million. closed its properties and large car parks; only countryside and While the impact of the pandemic will mean the numbers will fall, coastal places remained open. With properties closed and we can still celebrate what represents a 120% increase over 20 a national lock-down in place, 80% of the Trust’s staff were years. Pages 7 to 9 detail progress against all the Trust’s stretching furloughed and we began offering members payment breaks. performance targets. While overall performance is strong, not all Our immediate priorities were the safety of our people, our targets have been met. As we re-group after the pandemic we will properties (including security) and our financial assets. For revise targets in line with resources available and what we have those staff still working, a work-at-home policy was introduced learned so far in delivering existing ones. and social-distancing measures adopted where attendance at work was necessary. At the time of writing we estimate the Last year we reported that the Board had started to review its impacts of coronavirus will result in a loss of income in excess strategy. During 2019/20 the Board completed that review and the of £200 million. This is largely the result of no visitor income strategy was re-launched under the banner of Nature, beauty and and falls in the stock market. The Board and senior staff are history. For everyone, for ever. working closely together to assess the long-term implications for the Trust and how to respond. It is, however, already clear Our revised strategy emphasises the charity’s duty to deliver that significant savings will need to be made. Further detail on public benefit for everyone. To this end, we remain determined the financial impacts of coronavirus and the mitigating actions to broaden our appeal by examining how we communicate our taken by the Trust can be found throughout the report.