United Kingdom Council on Deafness

United Kingdom Council on Deafness

Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2003

Pages

Charity information...... 1

Trustees' report...... 2

Independent auditors' report...... 7

Statement of financial activities...... 8

Balance sheet...... 9

Accounting policies...... 10

Notes to the financial statements...... 11

Charity information
Correspondence Address
Westwood Park
London Road
Little Horkesley
COLCHESTER
CO6 4BS /
Registered Address
Hill House
Thorpe-le-Soken
ESSEX
CO16 0AG
Telephone Numbers
01206 274075 (voice)
01206 274076 (minicom)
01206 274077 (fax) / e-mail

Website

Charity Number
1038448 / Company Number
2922584
Bankers
National Westminster Bank plc
Kings Cross Branch
266 Pentonville Road
LONDON
N1 9NA /
Auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Benson House
33 Wellington Street
LEEDS
LS1 4JP / Insurance Advisors
Willis Limited
Stuart House
Caxton Road
Fulwood
PRESTON
PR2 9RW
Trustees’ report

The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their report together with the audited accounts of the Council for the year ended 31 March 2003. The financial statements of the charity are prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice issued by the Charity Commissioners in October 2000, and the Companies Act 1985.

United Kingdom Council on Deafness

The UK Council on Deafness is a company limited by guarantee registered under number 2922584 on 25April 1994. It is also a registered charity under number 1038448. It is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Objectives

The Council aims to improve and extend co-operation between member organisations in promoting and representing the interests of deaf, deafened, deafblind and hard of hearing people.

The Council provides a forum for debate and a focus for action; the Council promotes understanding and acceptance of the different perspectives on issues connected with deafness and works together to achieve change on matters of shared concern.

Membership of the Executive Committee

The names of the persons who have served as Trustees during this financial year are as follows:

David Buxton(appointed 12.11.02)

Rodney Clark(Treasurer, retired 12.11.02)

Sharon Collins

Susan Daniels(Vice Chair)

Tom Fenton(Treasurer, appointed 12.11.02)

Jeffrey McWhinney

Ruth Myers(Chair)

Miranda Pickersgill(appointed 12.11.02)

Stephen Powell

Fiona Robertson

Stephen Rooney(appointed 12.11.02)

Paul Simpson

Paul Tomlinson

Ross Trotter(retired 12.11.02)

Teresa Waldron(appointed 12.11.02)

The Trustees have the powers and obligations of directors under the Companies Act 1985.

Income

Income comes from four main sources for the 2002/2003 financial year: Membership Fees, Corporate Sponsorship, Generated Income and Grants from the Department of Health (for Opportunities for Volunteering and Section64) and Lloyds TSB Foundation.

Review of the year

2002/2003 was a year of significant growth for the Council. Membership almost doubled from 38 to 66 organisations and the number of organisations affiliated to the Council more than trebled to 85. New sources of income have been secured, most notably corporate sponsorship and generated income from the Conference and Seminar programme.

In April 2002 we registered as an umbrella body with the Criminal Records Bureau to enable our member organisations to make applications for Disclosure through us free of charge, over the last year this service has been used regularly by many of our members. On 25th April we held the Human Aids to Communication Conference, sponsored by the Department for Work & Pensions.

In May we started marketing the Care Management Video produced by the West Midlands Deaf & Deafblind Forum. On 9th May we held the Deaf People at Work Seminar and on 23rd May a Council Meeting with guest speaker Candy Whittome, Director of the British Institute of Human Rights.

In June we secured sponsorship from Boots Hearingcare for the first national Deaf Awareness Week to cover the full range of deafness, to be held in May 2003. On 25th June we held the Helplines Seminar sponsored by Vodafone.

In July we launched the weekly Parliamentary Report and on 11th July held the Mental Health & Deafness Conference sponsored by the Department of Health and SIGN.

In September we co-ordinated our members responses to the Department of Health’s Consultation Report, A Sign of the Times and sent a letter to the Foreign Secretary, signed by 31 leaders of deaf organisations, calling for the release of Ian Stillman from jail in India. On 26th September we held a Council Meeting with the theme Deaf Education: Raising Standards.

In October we launched the Deaf Awareness Training Campaign to encourage companies to use local deaf organisations to train their staff and on 16th October held the Black & Ethnic Minority Deaf People Conference.

At the AGM on 12th November we were able to announce a significant reduction in the level of membership fees as a result of the successful campaign to increase membership and secure additional sources of income, our guest speakers were Malcolm Bruce MP and Elspeth Dugdale, sister of Ian Stillman. On 21st November we hosted a consultation day for the DTI on the proposal for a Single Equality Body, with guest speakers Bert Massie, Chair of the DRC and Sir John Wall, president of the European Blind Union. On 7th December we were delighted to receive the news that Ian Stillman had been released from jail in India.

In January 2003 we launched our new website and secured sponsorship from Vodafone to develop our Information Services and to work with them to improve mobile information for deaf people. For the 2003/6 funding period we negotiated an increase in the amount of money available to distribute to deaf organisations as Opportunities for Volunteering Grants from the Department of Health.

In February the new Board of Trustees held a Strategic Planning Day and agreed ambitious targets for the coming year, including developing regional services. On 25th February we held the Trustee Induction & Networking Day for Trustees of our member organisations.

In March we attended the announcement of the official recognition of British Sign Language by Andrew Smith, Secretary of State at the Department of Work and Pensions, a landmark development following many years of campaigning by Deaf organisations. On 27th March we held the Good Practice in Fundraising Seminar.

The Deaf Awareness Training Campaign has been difficult to develop and we have not made as much progress as we would like in the campaign to improve the provision of communication support for deaf people that do not use Sign Language. At the Strategic Planning Day the Trustees agreed that making progress on these two issues would be a priority for 2003/2004. In the coming year we will continue to develop our role within the deaf voluntary sector as the national umbrella body working on issues relevant to the wide spectrum of deaf organisations.

Member Organisations during 2002/2003:

  1. Aberdeen & North East Deaf Society
  2. Action for Tinnitus Research
  3. Asian Deaf Women’s Association
  4. Association of Lipspeakers
  5. Association of Sign Language Interpreters
  6. Association of Teachers of Lipreading to Adults
  7. BID Services for Deaf People
  8. Brent Deaf People’s Ltd
  9. British Association of Audiological Physicians
  10. British Association of Audiological Scientists
  11. British Association of Audiologists
  12. British Association of Community Doctors in Audiology
  13. British Association of Teachers of the Deaf
  14. British Deaf Association
  15. British Institute of Verbatim Reporters
  16. British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists
  17. British Society of Hearing Therapists
  18. Catholic Deaf Association
  19. Christian Deaf Link UK
  20. Church of England Committee for Ministry among Deaf People
  21. Cochlear Implanted Children’s Support Group
  22. Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People
  23. Cued Speech Association UK
  24. Ddeaf Equality Forward
  25. Deafax
  26. Deaf Broadcasting Council
  27. deafconnect
  28. DELTA Deaf Education through Listening & Talking
  29. Deaf Ex-Mainstreamers Group
  30. DeafMail
  31. deafPLUS
  32. Deaf Studies Trust
  33. Defeating Deafness (Hearing Research Trust)
  34. Dorothy Miles Cultural Centre
  35. The Ear Foundation
  36. Ewing Foundation
  37. Hampshire Deaf Association
  38. Hard of Hearing Christian Fellowship
  39. Hartlepool Deaf Centre
  40. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
  41. Hearing Concern
  42. HiYPE!
  43. Jewish Deaf Association
  44. Leicester & County Mission for the Deaf
  45. Lincolnshire Deaf Services
  46. LINK - the British Centre for Deafened People
  47. Little Signers Group
  48. London Ethnic Minority Deaf Association
  49. Ménière’s Society
  50. Merton Hard of Hearing Resource Centre
  51. National Association of Deafened People
  52. National Cochlear Implant Users’ Association
  53. National Deaf Children’s Society
  54. Norfolk Deaf Association
  55. Nottinghamshire Deaf Society
  56. Oxfordshire Deaf Children’s Society
  57. Reversed Youth / Children’s Provision
  58. Royal Association for Deaf people
  59. Royal National Institute for Deaf People
  60. Scottish Council on Deafness
  61. Sense - National Deafblind and Rubella Association
  62. SIGN: The National Society for Mental Health and Deafness
  63. Slough Deaf Centre
  64. STAGETEXT
  65. Telecommunications Action Group
  66. West Sussex Deaf & Hard of Hearing Association

Trustees’ responsibilities

Company law requires Trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the company’s affairs at the end of each period and of its surplus or deficit for that period. In preparing those accounts Trustees are required to:

  • select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
  • 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 accounts; and
  • prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is appropriate to presume that the company will not continue in business.

Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the company’s financial position and enable it to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 1985. They are also responsible for safeguarding the company’s assets and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Reserves

UKCoD will ensure that procedures are in place to maintain sufficient untied reserves adequate for its working capital needs and to enable it to cope with foreseen and unforeseen crises, budget variances and fluctuations, growth in demand for its services and any reduction in charitable income.

Internal Financial Control

The charity has in place systems of internal control. They are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss. They include:

  • A rolling plan and an annual budget and operational plan approved by the Trustees.
  • A number of matters are specifically reserved for the Trustees’ approval.
  • There is a clear organisational structure with appropriate lines for reporting.
  • Regular consideration by the Trustees of financial results, variance from budgets, non-financial performance indicators and benchmarking reviews.
  • The development of policy documents covering major strategic and operational activities. They are reviewed with appropriate regularity and consultation.
  • The delegation by the Trustees to the Director of the management and identification of risks.

Structure of governance

The Chair is elected by the members at each Annual General Meeting to hold office until the ensuing Annual General Meeting.

Trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting for periods of three years.

Five new trustees were elected at the Annual General Meeting in November 2002, two were re-elected, with two trustees retiring.

By order of the Board

Ruth Myers

Chair

11th September 2003

Independent auditors’ report to the trustees of the United Kingdom Council on Deafness

We have audited the financial statements which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet and the related notes, which have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the statement of accounting policies.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and auditors

The trustees are also directors of United Kingdom Council on Deafness for the purposes of Company Law. Their responsibilities for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable United Kingdom law and accounting standards are set out in the statement of responsibilities of Council.

Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in accordance with the relevant legal and regulatory requirements and United Kingdom Auditing Standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board.This report, including the opinion, has been prepared for and only for the company’s members as a body in accordance with Section 235 of the Companies Act 1985 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving this opinion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or in to whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial statements give a true and fair view and are properly prepared in accordance with the United Kingdom Companies Act 1985. We also report to you if, in our opinion, the Report of Council is not consistent with the financial statements, if the charitable company has not kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit, or if information specified by law regarding directors’ remuneration and transactions is not disclosed.

Basis of opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with Auditing Standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made by the trustees in the preparation of the financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the charity’s circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.

We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the financial statements.

Opinion

In our opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs at 31 March 2003 and of its net incoming resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended and have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors

Leeds

11th September 2003

Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2003

Note / General
Funds
£ / Restricted
Funds
£ / Total
2003
£ / 2002
£
Incoming resources
Activities in furtherance of the charity’s objects
Grants / 1 / 44,440 / 145,300 / 189,740 / 158,000
Membership fees / 29,850 / - / 29,850 / 30,943
Interest received / 498 / - / 498 / 571
Donations / 198 / - / 198 / 157
Sponsorship / 35,574 / - / 35,574 / -
Other income / 20,358 / - / 20,358 / 9,167
Total Incoming Resources / 130,918 / 145,300 / 276,218 / 198,838
Resources expended
Charitable expenditure:
Costs of activities in furtherance of the charity’s objects:
Staffing / 59,834 / 5,524 / 65,358 / 55,352
Staff and volunteer travel and subsistence / 4,207 / 564 / 4,771 / 1,819
Rent / 14,789 / - / 14,789 / 9,315
Sundry office costs / 18,315 / 964 / 19,279 / 10,345
Meeting costs / 12,832 / 607 / 13,439 / 6,992
Grants to projects / 2 / - / 133,200 / 133,200 / 119,098
Production of publications / 7,166 / - / 7,166 / 10,835
Audit fees / 1,100 / - / 1,100 / 881
Management costs Sense / 1,152 / - / 1,152 / 1,150
Management costs between core costs and projects / (4,441) / 4,441 / - / -
Total charitable expenditure
/ 114,954 / 145,300 / 260,254 / 215,787
Total resources expended
/ 114,954 / 145,300 / 260,254 / 215,787
Net incoming resources/(resources expended)
/ 4 / 15,964 / - / 15,964 / (16,949)
Fund balances brought forward at beginning of year / 14,175 / - / 14,175 / 31,124
Fund balances carried forward at end of year / 7, 8 / 30,139 / - / 30,139 / 14,175

The notes on pages 11 to 14 form part of these accounts.

All the results included in the statement of financial activities above relate to continuing activities.

The company has no recognised gains and losses other than those included in the statement of financial activities above, and therefore no separate statement of total recognised gains and losses has been presented.

There is no difference between the fund balances and the deficit for the year stated above and their historical cost equivalents.
Balance sheet at 31 March 2003

Note

/ 2003
£ / 2002
£
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets / 10 / 5,933 / -
Current assets
Debtors and prepayments / 5 / 16,441 / 385
Cash at bank and in hand / 67,268 / 32,647
83,709 / 33,032
Current liabilities
Creditors / 6 / (59,503) / (18,857)

Net current assets

/ 24,206 / 14,175
Total assets less current liabilities / 30,139 / 14,175
Represented by
General fund / 7,8 / 30,139 / 14,175
Restricted fund / 7,8 / - / -
30,139 / 14,175

The financial statements on pages 8 to 14 were approved on 11th September 2003.

On behalf of the Trustees

Tom Fenton

Treasurer

11th September 2003
Accounting policies

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with applicable accounting standards. The principal accounting policies are set out below. The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting by Charities issued by the Charity Commissioners in October 2000.

Incoming Resources

All incoming resources are included in the SoFA when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

No amounts are included in respect of services provided by volunteers.

Resources Expended

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to that category.

Fundraising proceeds

Voluntary income is accounted for when received.

Taxation

The Council, being a registered charity, is not liable to corporation tax.

Fixed assets

Depreciation is charged so as to write off the cost of assets acquired evenly over their estimated useful lives which are as follows:

Computers4 years

Fund Accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.