Charity no. 1001081
# **British American Security Information Council**
# **Report and Unaudited Financial Statements**
**31 December 2021**
## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Reference and administrative details**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
|**Charity number**|1001081||
|---|---|---|
|**Registered office and**|Spaces||
|**operational address**|70 White Lion Street||
||London||
||N1 9PP||
|**Trustees**|The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report||
||were as follows:||
||Andrew Cottey|Chair|
||Peter Jones|Treasurer|
||Stuart Warner|Treasurer. Resigned February 2022|
||Anita Friedt||
||Thomas Hajnoczi|Appointed February 2022|
||Melissa Ullom||
||Helena Harding||
||Laicie Heeley|Appointed September 2021|
||Daniel Johnson|Appointed September 2021|
||Togzhan Kassenova|Appointed December 2021|
||James Madeley||
||Trevor McCrisken|Resigned June 2021|
||David Pritchard||
||Sam Walton|Resigned January 2022|
|**Executive directors**|Marion Messmer||
||Sebastian Brixey-Williams||
|**Principal bankers**|Metro Bank||
||One Southampton Row||
||London||
||WC1B 5HA||
||UK||
|**Independent examiners**|Godfrey Wilson Limited||
||Chartered accountants and statutory auditors||
||5th Floor Mariner House||
||62 Prince Street||
||Bristol||
||BS1 4QD||
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
The trustees present their report and the independently examined financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021.
Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Trust Deed and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective from January 2019).
## **Structure, governance and management**
The Trustees, chaired by Dr Andrew Cottey, govern the organisation through quarterly board meetings. The Co-Directors are responsible for day-to-day operation and are responsible to the Board. BASIC is governed by a trust deed which is available upon request.
The Board appointed two new board members in September 2021 (Laicie Heeley and Daniel Johnson) and one new board member in December 2021 (Togzhan Kassenova). One board member stepped down in 2021, Trevor McCrisken, and two in early 2022, Sam Walton and Stuart Warner.
New Board members are identified by the existing Board in conjunction with the Co-Directors. Prospective Board member’s skills and experience are comprehensively reviewed to assess their ability to support and contribute to BASIC’s mission and activities and roles and responsibilities are fully discussed with prospective Board members. Diversity is an important consideration in identifying Board members. New Board members are confirmed at a normal board meeting and are provided with an induction pack and a one hour session with the Chair and the Co-Directors to introduce them to the role and the organisation.
Sebastian Brixey-Williams and Marion Messmer remain as Co-Directors. The Co-Directors’ salary is reviewed by a board sub-committee made up of the Chair of the Board, the Treasurer and at least two additional board members with financial, HR or management experience. The Co-Directors’ performance is assessed on an annual basis.
## **Objectives and activities**
The objectives of the charity, as set out by the Trust Deed, are to promote, on a non-party basis, research into the study and discussion of, and exchange of information upon, the impact of nuclear weapons, modern industry, modern methods of warfare and the psychology of warfare upon international relations, defence, disarmament, military strategy and security in order to improve people’s mutual understanding and awareness of such issues.
The main activities undertaken to meet the objectives of the charity include: policy thinking and research; publications; network-building; the convening of dialogues and other events; and direct public engagement. All activities are planned and undertaken with the expectation of impacting policy influencers’ and decision-makers’ thought processes in order to centre the risks of nuclear weapons. We measure the success of our activities through:
1. The uptake of our events (attendance numbers);
2. Our recommendations or our language being picked up and implemented by other actors, especially governments and international organisations;
3. Feedback from stakeholders.
The trustees consider that they have complied with the duty in the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
Our programmes further the organisation’s mission by highlighting different aspects of the impact nuclear weapons have on international security. We conduct specific work to further nuclear disarmament, reduce nuclear risks, challenge the use of language around nuclear weapons, examine how other technologies interact with nuclear risks, assess the evolution of legal thought around nuclear weapons and engage with parliamentarians around the UK’s nuclear weapons and its security policy.
## **2021 Programmes**
1. Nuclear Disarmament
2. Risk Reduction
3. Nuclear Responsibilities
4. Emerging Technologies
5. Gender, Youth and Diversity
6. Nuclear Weapons Law
7. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Security and Non-Proliferation.
## **Achievements and Performance**
## **1. Nuclear Disarmament**
The Nuclear Disarmament Programme works with the Stepping Stones Approach to Nuclear Disarmament (SSA) that promotes a dynamic, systemic approach to disarmament, in order to overcome and address the current challenges to global disarmament. In 2021, we held four workshops with experts from the Euro-Atlantic region and the Asia-Pacific to address declaratory policies and risk reduction for each region. We also published blog pieces, a short summary report and the definitive explanation of the Approach to raise awareness about the SSA, and hosted a UN First Committee side event discussing the Approach.
## **2. Risk Reduction**
The Risk Reduction Programme analyses the risk of nuclear and conventional escalation between NATO and Russia, in order to explore and develop risk reduction policies that can stabilise NATORussia relations. In 2021, we held two full-day roundtables to explore risk assessments in NATOs north-eastern flank countries and Russia respectively with participation from experts and government officials.
## **3. Nuclear Responsibilities**
The Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities works to stimulate international dialogue on states’ responsibilities in relation to nuclear weapons, as a means to deepen shared normative
understandings of acceptable behaviour and strengthen key norms in the global nuclear order. It does this by encouraging participants to put responsibility at the centre of their approach to thinking, talking, and writing about nuclear weapons. In 2021, BASIC and its partner, the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security (ICCS) at the University of Birmingham convened a number of interviews and track 1.5/2 dialogues with stakeholders from the Australian, Indian, Pakistani, and UK nuclear communities, and the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Study Group. The purpose of these dialogues was to critically assess and articulate each community’s responsibilities to nuclear weapons.
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**British American Security Information Council**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **4. Emerging Technologies**
The Emerging Technologies programme deploys novel methods to assess risks that stem from the evolving technology landscape, without limiting ourselves to the traditional security technology spheres. Our wide lens enables us to identify the underlying, supportive technologies that are the real drivers of nuclear risks, and develop targeted interventions to remedy them. In 2021 we developed a novel scenario method for understanding the technological risks that arise from evolving ASW technologies in the South China Sea, we convened a roundtable on the need for a novel medical radioisotope reactor for the Global South, and began work on understanding how Arctic sea-ice retreat might impact North American security.
## **5. Gender, Youth and Diversity**
The Gender Youth and Diversity programme is uniquely placed in our field, in that it asks fundamental questions about the processes and outputs of the international relations community using an inclusive and intersectional lens, and provides substantive outputs and recommendations in order to work towards a truly inclusive, accessible, and equitable decision making space. In 2021, the Emerging Voices Network (EVN) also became a brand of its own, growing in size by 30% whilst maintaining its gender diversity and benefiting from an increase in participation from non-Western countries. As part of the EVN project, BASIC released 'Contemporary Opportunities for the NPT: Perspectives from the Emerging Voices Network' in collaboration with UNODA, providing a substantive platform for a truly global community of experts to articulate a specific set of policy challenges within a varied area of expertise, and present an innovative, ambitious and implementable agenda for resolving them. We also released the Gender, Think-Tanks and International Affairs Toolkit, bringing together academics and NGOs from around the UK in order to provide practical guidance and direction to organisations who want to improve their diversity policy.
## **6. Nuclear Weapons Law**
The Nuclear Weapons Law programme (previously reported as the International Law programme) analyses the lawfulness of nuclear weapons programmes and forecasts how international law in relation to nuclear weapons could evolve over the next half-century, in order to strengthen the legal regime surrounding the practice of nuclear deterrence. In 2021, we convened a virtual roundtable of esteemed legal experts to consider the lawfulness of aspects of the United Kingdom's nuclear doctrine and the applicability of the Additional Protocol 1 of the Geneva Conventions to nuclear weapons.
## **7. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Security and Non-Proliferation**
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global Security and Non-Proliferation has the aim to exchange information and increase understanding of arms control and non-proliferation issues among British parliamentarians, with a view to more effective participation in public and political debate on security issues in Britain.
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **Financial Review**
## **Financial performance**
2021 was a year of exceptional growth. Our total income in 2021 was £647,161, an increase of 123% on the previous year. Total spend increased by 49% to £438,012.
In 2021 we are reporting a £209,149 surplus of income over expenditure, of which £204,287 is surplus on restricted funds. This is due to the receipt near the end of 2021 of several grants in advance of work starting in 2022. Our general reserves increased in the year by £4,862 to £58,775.
Our principal source of both restricted and unrestricted income is grant income from governments and trusts. All the income is raised on the basis of spending that money directly or indirectly upon the mission of the organisation. Expenditure is planned to ensure the organisation maintains a positive reserves balance.
## **Total funds and reserves policy**
BASIC’s operations are supported by a healthy balance of unrestricted and restricted funding. Unrestricted funding enables BASIC greater political independence and agility to adapt rapidly to a changing policy environment, take potentially-rewarding risks, plan for the longer-term and explore new, innovative programmatic directions. Restricted funding provides the primary financial backing behind our programme activities.
While the organisation does not aim to build up savings for their own sake, it is desirable to possess a minimum level of reserves to give the organisation some level of confidence in continued operations. Our objective is to ensure that BASIC possesses general reserves in the range of two to four months of operational costs.
BASIC ended 2021 with £316,111 in reserves, made up of £257,336 restricted reserves and £58,775 unrestricted reserves. This is sufficient general reserves to cover around 1.7 months of operating costs. The forecast for 2022 and beyond shows that unrestricted funds will grow to a more favourable position.
The charity holds funds for the autonomous All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global Security and Non-Proliferation. These form part of our restricted funds, and are £6,771 at the end of 2021. The APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation has the aim to exchange information and increase understanding of arms control and non-proliferation issues among British parliamentarians, with a view to more effective participation in public and political debate on security issues in Britain. The group is composed of MPs and Peers and is convened in Parliament by Lord Hannay of Chiswick and Sir Peter Bottomley MP.
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**British American Security Information Council**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **Principal risks and uncertainties in 2021**
The Board of Trustees review and update the organisational risk register on a quarterly basis to ensure they are responding rapidly to any new risks and uncertainties arising through the year. The principal risks identified by the Trustees are shown below:
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Risk Mitigation and control measures
External shocks impact 1. Strong relationships with existing funders to increase likelihood of
upon availability of funds in follow-on funding.
the field. 2. Continuing to diversify our funding streams.
3. Developing alternative sources of income.
4. Control charity costs.
Competition from similar 1. Developing projects for BASIC with a strong USP.
organisations. 2. Investing in partnerships with other organisations.
3. Putting in the research to stay at the forefront of innovation in the field.
4. Clearly showing our impact.
Travel restrictions keep civil 1. Regularly checking in with our network via email and video call, to
society reps from meetings. maintain it.
2. Think of alternative ways to socalise remotely.
3. Proactively using opportunities to expand our networks while working
remotely, through online workshops or by reacting to new publications.
4. Reviewing how we have impact with a view to expanding that.
Lockdown impact on team 1. Being clear about the support available at BASIC.
mental health. 2. Regularly scheduling team socials.
3. Asking line managers and project managers to keep an eye out for
any warning signs so that we can intervene early to ensure team
members get the support they need.
4. Having strong project management processes in place so that work
can be handed over to other team members.
5. Being flexible with annual leave and sick leave so that team members
can take time off if necessary.
Loss of key staff members. 1. Have an off-boarding and handover process in place.
2. Have a practice of written documentation at all project stages.
3. Have recruitment materials ready to be prepared to recruit quickly
once a team member hands in their notice.
Losing data or access to 1. Use a reliable IT provider with a strong backup policy.
the server. 2. Regularly review that IT solutions are fit for purpose.
3. Have contacts on hand in case of an IT emergency.
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**British American Security Information Council**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **Plans for future periods**
In recognition of the increased tensions in global security, BASIC has been on a growth trajectory that has included growth in terms of income, as well as in terms of incorporating new strands of work. In order to ensure high levels of impact and the close alignment of our work with our mission, vision and values, we began a review of BASIC’s organisational strategy in 2021, which will be completed in 2022. This strategy will determine BASIC’s priorities for the next five years.
## **How we work**
BASIC takes a holistic approach to nuclear threat reduction that operates on multiple parallel timescales. Taking an analogy from the field of medicine: we simultaneously seek to reduce the immediate symptoms of nuclear risk in the short term, stabilise the international system in the medium term, and ultimately foster preventive measures to address the root causes of nuclear risk in the longer term.
BASIC operates in this manner because there is a dual imperative to minimise the chances of nuclear weapons use in the near future, and to facilitate a meaningful transition to a more safe, secure, and sustainable system of planetary security. Any nuclear weapons use would break the longstanding ‘nuclear taboo’ and fundamentally alter the global nuclear order, in ways from which it might never recover, necessitating short-term action. Yet, it is especially important that longer-term measures – such as the development of politically-salient positive visions of a non-nuclear future – attract a far greater focus of the multilateral agenda, without which the international community will continue to take a rudderless and incrementalist approach to nuclear diplomacy.
Working across these timescales makes BASIC’s work more strategic, innovative, and ambitious. This is because BASIC’s advice in the short term is informed by its longer-term institutional vision and objectives, and vice versa. The outcome, in practical terms, is that BASIC has a balanced and integrated portfolio of programmes that seek to address different aspects of those timescales. Each of these timescales is explained in more depth below, with examples in bullet points of how BASIC’s programmes contribute to their achievement.
## **Short term**
In the short term, BASIC identifies, raises awareness, and fosters dialogue to address emerging or preexisting political and technological risks that could spillover into nuclear weapons use. Our approach here typically focuses on symptomatic aspects of the broader nuclear weapons threat landscape, working with stop-gap practical or symbolic measures that can help reverse negative trends; though simultaneously, we encourage our interlocutors to imagine more sustainable security arrangements. Within this timescale, BASIC is constantly engaged in the debates of the day and called upon to provide advice and research by governments.
- BASIC’s Risk Reduction programme leads the way in identifying such measures and works with key governments to implement them.
- Our Emerging Technologies programme scans the technological horizon to identify enabling new and emerging technologies, and combinations thereof, that can produce new risk pathways, and identifies and promotes measures that can minimise the chances of nuclear use.
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **Medium term**
In the medium term, BASIC seeks to strengthen the laws, norms, and institutions that support and stabilise the reduction of nuclear risks, including those that contribute to the process of nuclear disarmament. The focus here is on facilitating the agreement of progressive steps identified by the international community that lock in progress.
- BASIC’s Nuclear Weapons Law programme looks to gradually strengthen jurisprudence to reduce the number of circumstances in which nuclear weapons use could be deemed legal under international law.
- BASIC’s Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities fosters a global conversation on states’ responsibilities in relation to nuclear weapons and one another, with the intention of solidifying key norms that increase predictability and collective responsibility.
- BASIC’s Nuclear Disarmament programme works with states and other stakeholders to develop political support for key steps (or ‘stepping stones’ towards steps) that move the disarmament agenda forward.
- The Risk Reduction and Emerging Technologies programmes also operate within this timescale.
## **Long term**
In the long term, BASIC seeks to address the fundamental drivers of nuclear risks: namely the political tensions and distrust between states, and the lack of a clear alternative vision for global security that is not founded on threats of nuclear violence.
The objective here is to facilitate the transition towards a more sustainable system of security, that uses a broader definition of security whose referent object is not the state (state security) – or even humans (human security) – but rather the interconnected security needs of all living things. This system of security recognises the oneness and mutual vulnerability inherent to the planetary ecosystem. Viewed in this way, nuclear disarmament in this context is just one essential component of a multifaceted process of transition: the security systems change equivalent to the transition away from a fossil-fuel-driven capitalist economic system.
- BASIC’s Nuclear Disarmament programme works to redefine security for the 21st century, drawing links between nuclear risks and other existential threats such as the overlapping ecological emergencies (climate, biodiversity loss, pollution, etc.). Within this context, it seeks to develop a positive and politically-salient vision for a secure and stable world free of nuclear weapons that does not perpetuate other existential threats.
- BASIC’s Gender, Youth and Diversity programme takes a long-term approach to trust building and tension reduction by fostering trust among high-performance early-career professionals who will likely go on to work with one another across political divides later in their careers.
## **What we do**
BASIC is an agile organisation that is able to rapidly acquire new skills and ways of working in order to best achieve our mission. As such, we do not consider ourselves limited to certain ways of working. However, there are five core services in which we have expertise and an established reputation, as set out in the table below.
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
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Service Description Recent Examples
Thinking and Development or mainstreaming of new Stepping Stones Approach; Nuclear
Research visions, approaches, conceptual frameworks, Responsibilities Approach; Gender
strategic analysis and policy proposals. Toolkit
Dialogue Tracks 1, 1.5 and 2 dialogues for distrust Europe-Russia risk reduction
Facilitation reduction and trust-building; building shared dialogues; Nuclear responsibilities
visions, understanding and agreements. dialogues
Initiative Co- NGO partnership to governments, Stepping Stones / Stockholm Initiative
Piloting international organisations, and academic
institutions providing advice, methodologies,
proposals, networks, convening power,
political energy, legitimacy etc. to such efforts.
Network Track II bilateral contacts between nuclear- Emerging Voices Network; BASIC-N
development armed states; global youth network Square UK Network Mapping; APPG;
development; breaking out of nuclear silos. Gender Breakfasts
Capacity- Training governments on new frameworks Nuclear Responsibilities Collective
building & and approaches; building capacity of younger Introspections
Training people in the field.
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **Theory of change**
In the same way that BASIC does not limit the kinds of services it can employ, BASIC does not use any single formal theory of change (TOC) in the delivery of its services. This would mean BASIC ‘putting all of its eggs in one basket’, as it would assume that the TOC is the most effective means to achieve a heterogenous range of services and objectives. Nevertheless, BASIC’s work is generally premised on a set of certain shared characteristics, assumptions and values – and a loose cycle of change.
1. Produce new thinking or come across new issues or research questions through reading, attendance at dialogues, private conversations, and/or reflection.
2. Discuss the idea and reformulate the issue into a pitch using our concept note toolkit; the core of this is to package the ideas into a set of problem-solution statements.
3. Find a funder for the pitch.
4. Produce or commission preparatory research and proposals.
5. Convene one or more dialogues with diverse representation to explore ideas and proposals in more detail. BASIC may produce or commission more research off the back of the dialogues that feeds back into future dialogues. BASIC may publicise these dialogues or keep them off the record, and it may or may not publish the outcomes of those dialogues, depending on the project.
6. Follow up with key stakeholders to try to advance policy impact.
7. Host a Parliamentary or other public event to bring debates held in private into the public domain, where possible. These events usually produce new thinking, issues and research questions (go back to step 1).
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **Statement of responsibilities of the trustees**
The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales 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 the incoming resources and application of resources, including the net income or expenditure, of the charity for the year. In preparing those 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 accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the constitution. The trustees 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 corporate and financial information included on the charity's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
## **Independent examiners**
Godfrey Wilson Limited were re-appointed as independent examiners to the charity during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.
Approved by the trustees on 22 June 2022 and signed on their behalf by
Andrew Cottey, Chair
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**Independent examiner's report**
## **To the trustees of**
## **British American Security Information Council**
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of British American Security Information Council (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2021, which are set out on pages 12 to 25.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
- (1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act;
- (2) the accounts do not accord with those records; or
- (3) the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
## Alison Godfrey
Date: 24 June 2022 **Alison Godfrey FCA Member of the ICAEW** For and on behalf of:
## **Godfrey Wilson Limited**
Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Statement of financial activities**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
|Restricted
Note
£
**Income from:**
Donations and legacies
3.
-
Charitable activities
4.
594,251
**Total income**
594,251
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
-
Charitable activities
402,236
**Total expenditure**
6.
402,236
**Net income / (expenditure)**
192,015
Transfers between funds
12,272
**Net movement in funds**
14.
204,287
**Reconciliation of funds**
Total funds brought forward
53,049
**Total funds carried forward**
**257,336**|Unrestricted
£
9,310
43,600
52,910
14,523
21,253
35,776
17,134
(12,272)
4,862
53,913
**58,775**|**2021**
**Total**
**£**
**9,310**
**637,851**
**647,161**
**14,523**
**423,489**
**438,012**
**209,149**
**-**
**209,149**
**106,962**
**316,111**|2020
Total
£
22,713
267,916
290,629
42,467
251,810
294,277
(3,648)
-
(3,648)
110,610
106,962|
|---|---|---|---|
All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed above and in note 14 to the financial statements.
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Balance sheet**
## **As at 31 December 2021**
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2021 2020
Note £ £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets 10. - -
Current assets
Debtors 11. 51,131 47,815
Cash at bank and in hand 292,217 77,256
343,348 125,071
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts due within 1 year 12. 27,237 18,109
Net current assets 316,111 106,962
Net assets 13. 316,111 106,962
Funds 14.
Restricted funds 257,336 53,049
Unrestricted funds:
General funds 58,775 53,913
Total funds 316,111 106,962
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Approved by the trustees on 22 June 2022 and signed on their behalf by
Andrew Cottey, Chair
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Statement of cash flows**
## **As at 31 December 2021**
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2021 2020
Note £ £
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (a) 214,961 (26,204)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period 214,961 (26,204)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period 77,256 103,460
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period (b) 292,217 77,256
NOTES TO THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT
(a) Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash flow 2021 2020
£ £
Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the
statement of financial activities) 209,149 (3,648)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges - 341
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (3,316) (29,975)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 9,128 7,078
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 214,961 (26,204)
(b) Analysis of cash and cash equivalents 2021 2020
£ £
Cash in hand 292,217 77,256
Total cash and cash equivalents 292,217 77,256
**----- End of picture text -----**
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**British American Security Information Council**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **1. Accounting policies**
## **a) Basis of preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
British American Security Information Council meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.
## **b) Going concern basis of accounting**
The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern, which the trustees consider appropriate having regard to the ongoing impact of the COVID19 pandemic, future confirmed unrestricted funding, budgets for 2022 and cash balances at the signing date. The charity made a surplus on unrestricted funds this year and is continuing to ensure that all activities are costed on a full cost recovery basis. The trustees have reviewed the levels of unrestricted reserves as part of their annual report.
## **c) Income**
Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Income from grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.
Gifts in kind include donated facilities and services, recognised when received or performed.These have been valued by the directors of BASIC either at market value or, where a market value is not available, based on appropriate estimates.
## **d) Interest receivable**
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity: this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.
## **e) Funds accounting**
Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity. Expenditure which meets these criteria is identified to the fund, together with a fair allocation of management and support costs.
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **1. Accounting policies (continued)**
## **f) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT**
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
## **g) Allocation of support and governance costs**
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity, including the costs of complying with constitutional and statutory requirements and any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on the following basis:
||**2021**|2020|
|---|---|---|
|Raising funds|**4.3%**|19.6%|
|Charitable activities|**95.7%**|80.4%|
## **h) Tangible fixed assets**
Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:
Office equipment 25% straight line
Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000.
## **i) Debtors**
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
## **j) Cash at bank and in hand**
Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
## **k) Creditors**
Creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
## **l) Financial instruments**
The trust only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are recognised at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **1. Accounting policies (continued)**
## **m) Pension costs**
Pension costs charged in the financial statements represent the contribution payable by the charity during the year.
## **n) Foreign currencies**
Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the exchange rate ruling on the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities are retranslated at the rate of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. All differences are taken to the SOFA.
## **o) Accounting estimates and key judgements**
In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.
The key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements are described below.
## **Depreciation**
As described in note 1(h) to the financial statements, depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. Depreciation rates in operation during the prior period were as follows:
Office equipment 25% straight line
## **2. Prior period comparatives: statement of financial activities**
|**Income from:**
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
**Total income**
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
Charitable activities
**Total expenditure**
**Net income/(expenditure) and net movement in funds**|Restricted
£
£
-
22,713
204,458
63,458
204,458
86,171
-
42,467
247,523
4,287
247,523
46,754
(43,065)
39,417
Unrestricted|**2020**
**Total**
**£**
**22,713**
**267,916**
**290,629**
**42,467**
**251,810**
**294,277**
**(3,648)**|
|---|---|---|
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## **British American Security Information Council**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
|**3.**
**Income from donations and legacies**
**2021**
**Total**
£
**£**
**Donations and gifts**
3,628
**3,628**
**Gifts in kind by type**
Consultancy
4,350
**4,350**
Server hosting and email service
1,332
**1,332**
5,682
**5,682**
**Total income from donations and legacies**
9,310
**9,310**
All income from donations and legacies received in the prior year was unrestricted.
Unrestricted|2020
Total
£
22,713
-
-
-
22,713|
|---|---|
|**4.**
**Income from charitable activities**
**Grants and fees > £10,000:**
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Canada
Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
CRDF Global
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
New Venture Fund
Polden Puckham Charitable Foundation
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
**Grants and fees < £10,000**
**Total income from charitable activities**
**Prior period comparatives:**
**Grants and fees > £10,000:**
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Polden Puckham Charitable Foundation
The Marmot Charitable Trust
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
**Grants and fees < £10,000**
**Total income from charitable activities**|Restricted
£
£
176,302
-
128,318
-
89,723
-
75,076
-
73,323
-
-
35,000
18,296
-
6,000
6,000
10,390
-
16,823
2,600
594,251
43,600
Restricted
£
£
82,197
-
75,978
-
10,748
-
-
12,000
2,500
15,000
-
35,995
33,035
463
204,458
63,458
Unrestricted
Unrestricted|**2021**
**Total**
**£**
**176,302**
**128,318**
**89,723**
**75,076**
**73,323**
**35,000**
**18,296**
**12,000**
**10,390**
**19,423**
**637,851**
**2020**
**Total**
**£**
**82,197**
**75,978**
**10,748**
**12,000**
**17,500**
**35,995**
**33,498**
**267,916**|
|---|---|---|
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**British American Security Information Council**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **5. Government grants**
The charity receives government grants, defined as funding from Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (in 2020) and UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to fund charitable activities. The total value of such grants in the year ending 31 December 2021 was £176,302 (2020: £100,682). There are no unfulfilled conditions or contingencies attaching to these grants in either period.
## **6. (a) Total expenditure**
|**Expenditure on raising funds**
Fundraising and publicity
**Charitable activities**
General Nuclear
APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation
Nuclear Disarmament
Risk Reduction
Nuclear Responsibilities
Emerging Technologies
Nuclear Weapons Law
Gender, Youth and Diversity
Sub-total
Support and governance costs
**Total expenditure**|Staff costs
(note 8)
£
12,017
12,017
-
4,125
45,751
26,532
105,068
59,636
2,700
25,088
268,900
280,917
24,298
305,215|Other direct
costs
£
240
240
1,617
-
18,152
1,824
54,043
26,930
6
1,591
104,163
104,403
28,394
132,797|Support
and
governance
costs
£
2,266
2,266
-
790
8,589
4,953
19,706
11,171
527
4,690
50,426
52,692
(52,692)
-|**2021 Total**
**£**
**14,523**
**14,523**
**1,617**
**4,915**
**72,492**
**33,309**
**178,817**
**97,737**
**3,233**
**31,369**
**423,489**
**438,012**
**-**
**438,012**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total governance costs were £2,450 (2020: £2,610)
## **(b) The support costs and their basis for allocation were as follows**
|Wages and salaries
Other staff costs and consultancy
Office running costs
Meeting and travel expenses
Audit and accountancy
Depreciation
Other expenses
Losses/(Gains) on foreign exchange|**2021 Total**
**£**
**24,298**
**4,350**
**11,860**
**200**
**4,504**
**-**
**7,852**
**(372)**
**52,692**|2020 Total
£
40,016
1,146
8,646
-
4,989
341
422
-
**55,560**|
|---|---|---|
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**British American Security Information Council**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **6. (b) The support costs and their basis for allocation (continued)**
Support costs are allocated to activities in the ratio of each activity’s staff costs as this is considered to be a reasonable reflection of usage.
## **6. (c) Total expenditure prior period comparatives**
|**Expenditure on raising funds**
Fundraising and publicity
**Charitable activities**
General Nuclear
APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation
Nuclear Disarmament
Risk Reduction
Nuclear Responsibilities
Gender, Youth and Diversity
Sub-total
Support and governance costs
**Total expenditure**
Total governance costs were £2,610|Staff costs
(note 8)
£
31,337
31,337
-
2,239
72,630
4,629
33,340
16,088
128,926
160,263
40,016
200,279|Other direct
costs
£
240
240
4,287
216
55,150
9,307
9,254
-
78,214
78,454
15,544
93,998|Support
and
governance
costs
£
10,890
10,890
-
778
25,169
1,611
11,556
5,556
44,670
55,560
(55,560)
-|**2020 Total**
**£**
**42,467**
**42,467**
**4,287**
**3,233**
**152,949**
**15,547**
**54,150**
**21,644**
**251,810**
**294,277**
**-**
**294,277**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
## **7. Net movement in funds**
This is stated after charging:
|Depreciation
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
Trustees' remuneration
Independent examiners' remuneration:
• Independent examination (inc. VAT)
• Other services|**2021**
**£**
**Nil**
**Nil**
**Nil**
**1,800**
**650**|2020
£
341
Nil
Nil
2,010
600|
|---|---|---|
There were no trustees' reimbursed expenses during the year (2020: Nil).
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**British American Security Information Council**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
**8. Staff costs and numbers**
Staff costs were as follows:
|Wages and salaries
National Insurance
Pension costs|**2021**
**£**
**269,941**
**26,475**
**8,799**
**305,215**|2020
£
179,797
15,026
5,456
200,279|
|---|---|---|
No employee received remuneration amounting to greater than £60,000 during either year.
The key management personnel of the organisation comprise the trustees and Executive Directors. The total employee benefits received by the key management personnel during the year were £116,828 (2020: £98,034).
The average head count during the year was 9.3 (2020: 5.4). The average number of employees (full-time equivalent) during the year was 7.6 (2020: 4.1).
## **9. Taxation**
The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.
## **10. Tangible fixed assets**
|**Cost**
At 1 January 2021
Disposals
At 31 December 2021
**Depreciation**
At 1 January 2021
Disposals
At 31 December 2021
**Net book value**
**At 31 December 2021**
At 31 December 2020|**£**
1,362
(1,362)
-
1,362
(1,362)
-
**-**
-
**Office**
**equipment**|**Total**
**£**
**1,362**
**(1,362)**
**-**
**1,362**
**(1,362)**
**-**
**-**
-|
|---|---|---|
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**British American Security Information Council**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **11. Debtors**
|Trade debtors
Prepayments
**Creditors: amounts due within 1 year**
Trade creditors
Accruals
**Analysis of net assets between funds**
Current assets
Current liabilities
**Net assets at 31 December 2021**
**Prior period comparatives**
Current assets
Current liabilities
**Net assets at 31 December 2020**|£
257,336
-
**257,336**
£
53,049
-
**53,049**
Restricted
Restricted|**2021**
**£**
**49,241**
**1,890**
**51,131**
**2021**
**£**
**56**
**27,181**
**27,237**
£
86,012
(27,237)
**58,775**
£
72,022
(18,109)
**53,913**
Unrestricted
Unrestricted|2020
£
45,385
2,430
47,815
2020
£
-
18,109
18,109
**Total**
**£**
**343,348**
**(27,237)**
**316,111**
**Total**
**£**
**125,071**
**(18,109)**
**106,962**|
|---|---|---|---|
## **12. Creditors: amounts due within 1 year**
## **13. Analysis of net assets between funds**
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## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **14. Movements in funds**
|**Restricted funds:**
Nuclear Disarmament
Risk Reduction
Nuclear Responsibilities
Nuclear Weapons Law
Gender, Youth and Diversity
**Total restricted funds**
General funds
**Total funds**
APPG on Global Security and
Non-Proliferation
Emerging Technologies
**Total unrestricted funds**|At 1
January
2021
£
1,808
64
7
35,073
8,792
2,700
4,605
53,049
53,913
53,913
106,962|Income
£
£
9,500
(4,537)
75,076
(75,065)
212,540
(31,191)
176,302
(171,924)
80,823
(89,615)
5,824
(2,706)
34,186
(27,198)
594,251
(402,236)
52,910
(35,776)
52,910
(35,776)
647,161
(438,012)
Expenditure|Transfers
between
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
12,272
12,272
(12,272)
(12,272)
-|**£**
**6,771**
**75**
**181,356**
**39,451**
**-**
**5,818**
**23,865**
**257,336**
**58,775**
**58,775**
**316,111**
**At 31**
**December**
**2021**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
## **Purposes of restricted funds**
## **All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Security and Non-Proliferation**
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global Security and Non-Proliferation has the aim to exchange information and increase understanding of arms control and non-proliferation issues among British parliamentarians, with a view to more effective participation in public and political debate on security issues in Britain.
## **Nuclear Disarmament**
The Nuclear Disarmament Programme works with the Stepping Stones Approach to Nuclear Disarmament (SSA) that promotes a dynamic, systemic approach to disarmament, in order to overcome and address the current challenges to global disarmament. In 2021, we held four workshops with experts from the Euro-Atlantic region and the Asia-Pacific to address declaratory policies and risk reduction for each region. We also published blog pieces, a short summary report and the definitive explanation of the Approach to raise awareness about the SSA, and hosted a UN First Committee side event discussing the Approach.
## **Risk Reduction**
The Risk Reduction Programme analyses the risk of nuclear and conventional escalation between NATO and Russia, in order to explore and develop risk reduction policies that can stabilise NATORussia relations. In 2021, we held two full-day roundtables to explore risk assessments in NATOs north-eastern flank countries and Russia respectively with participation from experts and government officials.
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**British American Security Information Council**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **14. Movements in funds (continued)**
## **Nuclear Responsibilities**
The Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities works to stimulate international dialogue on states’ responsibilities in relation to nuclear weapons, as a means to deepen shared normative understandings of acceptable behaviour and strengthen key norms in the global nuclear order. It does this by encouraging participants to put responsibility at the centre of their approach to thinking, talking, and writing about nuclear weapons. In 2021, BASIC and its partner, the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security (ICCS) at the University of Birmingham convened a number of interviews and track 1.5/2 dialogues with stakeholders from the Australian, Indian, Pakistani, and UK nuclear communities, and the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Study Group. The purpose of these dialogues was to critically assess and articulate each community’s responsibilities to nuclear weapons.
## **Emerging Technologies**
The Emerging Technologies programme deploys novel methods to assess risks that stem from the evolving technology landscape, without limiting ourselves to the traditional security technology spheres. Our wide lens enables us to identify the underlying, supportive technologies that are the real drivers of nuclear risks, and develop targeted interventions to remedy them. In 2021 we developed a novel scenario method for understanding the technological risks that arise from evolving ASW technologies in the South China Sea, we convened a roundtable on the need for a novel medical radioisotope reactor for the Global South, and began work on understanding how Arctic sea-ice retreat might impact North American security.
## **Nuclear Weapons Law**
The Nuclear Weapons Law programme (previously reported as the International Law programme) analyses the lawfulness of nuclear weapons programmes and forecasts how international law in relation to nuclear weapons could evolve over the next half-century, in order to strengthen the legal regime surrounding the practice of nuclear deterrence. In 2021, we convened a virtual roundtable of esteemed legal experts to consider the lawfulness of aspects of the United Kingdom's nuclear doctrine and the applicability of the Additional Protocol 1 of the Geneva Conventions to nuclear weapons.
## **Gender, Youth and Diversity**
The Gender Youth and Diversity programme is uniquely placed in our field, in that it asks fundamental questions about the processes and outputs of the international relations community using an inclusive and intersectional lens, and provides substantive outputs and recommendations in order to work towards a truly inclusive, accessible, and equitable decision making space. In 2021, the Emerging Voices Network (EVN) also became a brand of its own, growing in size by 30% whilst maintaining its gender diversity and benefiting from an increase in participation from non-Western countries. As part of the EVN project, BASIC released 'Contemporary Opportunities for the NPT: Perspectives from the Emerging Voices Network' in collaboration with UNODA, providing a substantive platform for a truly global community of experts to articulate a specific set of policy challenges within a varied area of expertise, and present an innovative, ambitious and implementable agenda for resolving them. We also released the Gender, Think-Tanks and International Affairs Toolkit, bringing together academics and NGOs from around the UK in order to provide practical guidance and direction to organizations who want to improve their diversity policy. In 2021 £12,272 was transferred from unrestricted funds to support work on the Emerging Voices Network not fully covered by the restricted funds received.
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**British American Security Information Council**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2021**
## **14. Movements in funds (continued) Prior period comparatives**
|**Restricted funds:**
Nuclear Disarmament
Risk Reduction
Nuclear Responsibilities
Emerging Technologies
Nuclear Weapons Law
Gender, Youth and Diversity
**Total restricted funds**
General funds
**Total funds**
APPG on Global Security and
Non-Proliferation
**Total unrestricted funds**|At 1
January
2020
£
2,363
72,290
17,572
3,889
-
-
-
96,114
14,496
14,496
110,610|Income
£
£
2,500
(3,055)
84,166
(156,392)
-
(17,565)
82,197
(51,013)
9,769
(977)
3,000
(300)
22,826
(18,221)
204,458
(247,523)
86,171
(46,754)
86,171
(46,754)
290,629
(294,277)
Expenditure|Transfers
between
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-|**£**
**1,808**
**64**
**7**
**35,073**
**8,792**
**2,700**
**4,605**
**53,049**
**53,913**
**53,913**
**106,962**
**At 31**
**December**
**2020**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
## **15. Related party transactions**
There were no related party transactions recorded in the year (2020: nil).
## **16. Restatement**
In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) recommended practice for larger charities, expenditure has been presented on an activity basis in note 6 to these accounts. The prior period comparator for note 6 has been restated accordingly.
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