RNIB Group annual report and accounts 2010/11
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
Structure and objectives
Our work in 2010/11
· Stopping people losing their sight unnecessarily
· Supporting independent living
· Creating an inclusive society
· Financial review
· Reducing our impact on the environment
Independent auditors' report to the trustees of RNIB
Consolidated statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2011
Balance sheets at 31 March 2011
Group cashflow statement for the year ended 31 March 2011
Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2011
Who's who at RNIB
Your support
Contact information
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.
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 first talking set-top box which will enable people with sight problems to more easily reap the benefits of digital 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.
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
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.
How we are 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:
· Audit Committee
· Education, Care and Safeguarding Sub-Committee
· Executive Committee
· Governance Committee (and Nominations Committee)
· Investments Sub-Committee
· Remuneration Committee
· RNIB Cymru Committee
· RNIB Northern Ireland Committee
· 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:
· Prevention and International Affairs
· Supporting Independent Living
· Inclusive Society
· Fundraising
· Resources
· and the Chief Executive of Action for Blind People.
The Chief Executive of RNIB Group, with the support of the rest of SMT, reports to the Board of Trustees for approval of all major decisions. Full details of SMT can be found in the section “Who’s who at RNIB”.
RNIB Membership
At March 2011 we had 10,373 members forming a strong community and voice for blind and partially sighted people. This was the first full year of the UK Members Forum which supports the Board and influences policy via the “on the ground” experiences of our blind and partially sighted members. Members also influence our work through regional and country forums. Every member is kept up-to-date with the latest news from RNIB via our award-winning members’ magazine “Vision”.
The supplemental charter and bylaws require that a majority of the Board of Trustees, UK Members Forum and all other aspects of RNIB's governance structure are blind or partially sighted.
Our registered office
We are registered at 105 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NE, telephone 020 7388 1266.
Statement of trustees' responsibilities
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales, and Scotland requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
· select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
· observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP
· make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
· state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements
· prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993, as amended by the Charities Act 2006, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed, and the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the provisions of the charity’s constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Our vision and mission
Our work starts from our vision:
“A world where people who are blind or partially sighted enjoy the same rights, responsibilities, opportunities and quality of life as people who are sighted.”
Our mission is:
“To challenge blindness by empowering people who are blind or partially sighted, removing the barriers they face and helping to prevent blindness.”
There are almost two million people in the UK living with a sight problem.
Achieving our mission
In order to achieve our mission, RNIB Group Strategy 2009-2014 aligns our work under three clear priorities:
1. Stopping people losing their sight unnecessarily
In support of the UK Vision Strategy, a Vision2020 UK initiative of over 650 individuals and organisations led by RNIB, we work with partners to save the sight of thousands of people at high risk of losing their sight, whilst developing models, political will and NHS capacity to make an even bigger impact on unnecessary sight loss in the future.