RNIB Group annual report and accounts 2010/11 RNIB Group annual report and accounts 2010/2011 This Trustees’ report and the 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 1993, as updated by the Charities Act 2006. This report gives details of our work throughout the UK. Contents Chair and Chief Executive introduction 4 Structure and objectives 6 Our work in 2010/11 12 Stopping people losing their sight unnecessarily 12 Supporting independent living 16 Creating an inclusive society 21 Financial review 25 Reducing our impact on the environment 34 Independent auditors’ report to the trustees of RNIB 38 Consolidated statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2011 40 Balance sheets at 31 March 2011 42 Group cashflow statement for the year ended 31 March 2011 44 Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2011 46 Who’s who at RNIB 101 Your support 105 3 4 Chair and Chief Executive introduction There is no doubt that this has been a very tough year across the charity sector. This makes us even more proud of some of our fantastic achievements during the year, but along the way we have had to make some hard decisions. These decisions have been made with our overall vision and the needs of blind and partially sighted people at the forefront of our mind. Through the services and campaigning of RNIB, the local services of Action for Blind People and Cardiff, Vales and Valleys and the specialist services of National Talking Newspapers and Magazines, we remain totally committed to delivering our group strategy: stopping so many people losing their sight unnecessarily; making sure the needs of people are better met at the point of diagnosis; supporting people who have lost their sight to lead full and independent lives; improving the support available to people with sight loss and complex needs; and influencing service providers, industries and government to make the world a better place for people with sight problems. Kevin Carey, Chair Although it has been a challenging year and we are preparing ourselves for an even more challenging time ahead, we have still managed some remarkable successes. The development of our school in Coventry has made great strides and is due to be fully operational by the autumn of 2011. The state-of-the-art school and children’s home offers education, care and therapy to children with sight problems and complex needs. This year the school was renamed RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning in recognition of the fantastic support we have received from the Pears Foundation. It is now more important than ever that we continue to provide the services that are so vital to the lives of so many people, such as our information and membership services which dealt with almost half a million enquiries this year, giving people with sight problems the support and advice they need. We sent out over 1.7 million audio books enabling blind and partially sighted people to carry on reading after losing their sight. We also continued to develop new and innovative solutions to improve peoples’ lives, such as our work with Goodmans to develop the Lesley-Anne Alexander, first talking set-top box which will enable people with sight problems to more easily reap the benefits of digital Chief Executive television. The ”Smart Talk” set-top box is now available and in February 2011 won a Which? “Best Buy” award. 11 April 2011 was a landmark day for blind people. It was the culmination of more than four years of some of our most successful campaigning, which led to people with a severe visual impairment becoming eligible for the higher rate mobility component of the disability living allowance (DLA). This meant that around 23,000 people would now be eligible for more than £30 a week extra to help them cope with the additional costs of living with sight loss. Chair and Chief Executive introduction (continued) But unfortunately now is not the time to sit back and celebrate our success. The Welfare Reform Bill currently going through Parliament and the cuts to local authority services, will, if they remain unamended, have a devastating impact on the lives of many blind and partially sighted people. A reduction in out of work support will make it harder for people to find employment, and restrictions in access to sight saving treatments could mean people losing their sight unnecessarily. As we set out on 2011/12 we are absolutely determined to do all we can to influence a change of direction and minimise the impact these reforms could potentially have. The large reductions in local authority spending budgets will also have a negative impact on the services we are able to provide. This year we celebrated the 75th year of our Talking Book Service. This vital service enables people to carry on reading when they have lost their sight. Many of the 38,000 subscribers have their subscriptions to the service subsidised by their local authority. But this by no means covers the full cost to us of providing the service, and without this we will find it difficult to continue providing the service to blind and partially sighted people in the way we are currently able to. Frighteningly we are already seeing signs of local authorities withdrawing this support. We are tremendously proud of the fact that our fundraising income has held up well this year and because of downward trends in local authority spending, it is going to become more and more important in the years to come. At the end of the year we went live with an internet film campaign called “I’d miss” which told the story of Alexia and how she would miss out on the joys of reading if it were not for us. The film has been a fantastic success and has really brought home the potential realities of living with sight loss and the difference RNIB can make, to the 100,000+ people who have already seen it. We would like to end by saying thank you. None of our campaigning successes or the vital services we run would be possible without the fantastic contribution of our volunteers, donors and staff. Thank you for your vital support – it really does make a huge and lasting difference to the lives of blind and partially sighted people. Kevin Carey, Chair Lesley-Anne Alexander, Chief Executive 5 6 Structure and objectives Our legal structure Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a registered charity, number 226227, in England and Wales; and number SCO39316 in Scotland. Established in 1868, RNIB was incorporated under Royal Charter in 1949, with a Supplemental Charter in 1993 (revised in 2007). RNIB has undergone a period of constitutional review. It is governed by a Trustee Board of currently 20 that 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. Trustees are elected by the UK Members’ Forum or appointed by the Board, for a three year term of office, following which they can choose to retire or may seek re-election/re-appointment. However, no Trustee may serve for more than three consecutive terms of three years of office unless they become one of the Charity’s Honorary Officers (RNIB Group Chair, Vice-Chair or Honorary Treasurer). A proportion of our Trustees are appointed following a process of open competition. Advertisements are placed in appropriate publications and websites. Candidates are invited to apply on the basis of a Trustee job description, person specification and the specific skills identified by the Board. Applications are reviewed against the person specification and the specialist information being sought by the Board. Points are then awarded on the basis of how well the candidate met the criteria. Shortlisted applicants are invited to interview and again are scored against the selection criteria. At the conclusion of the process, successful candidates are recommended to the Board for appointment. The remainder of our Trustees are elected by the UK Members’ Forum. 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 on a collective basis. Recently delivered training includes voice coaching (including voice coaching for chairing meetings) and trustee duties and responsibilities (with particular emphasis on management of conflicts of interests). Arrangements are in hand to deliver a programme of support for Trustees to give them greater insight into RNIB’s finances and the interpretation of financial accounts. Structure and objectives (continued) How we were managed The Board delivers the strategy through a number of programme boards. It is also supported by a number of committees and member forums. The key committees supporting the Board are as follows: l Audit Committee l Investments Sub-Committee l Education, Care and Safeguarding Sub-Committee l Remuneration Committee l Executive Committee l RNIB Cymru Committee l Governance Committee (and Nominations l RNIB Northern Ireland Committee Committee) l RNIB Scotland Committee. RNIB’s schools and colleges have their own governing bodies. The day-to-day management of RNIB is delegated to the Strategic Management Team (SMT), comprising the Chief Executive, and the Group Directors of: l Prevention and International Affairs l Fundraising l Supporting Independent Living l Resources l Inclusive Society l and the Chief Executive of Action for Blind People.