## **Regulatory Policy Institute** ## **Report of the Directors/Trustees for the Financial Year ending on 31 March 2023** As anticipated, the activities of the Institute returned to near normal again after the disruptions of the Covid period. In particular, both the Spring Westminster Conference and the Autumn Oxford Conference were successfully held, although in the latter case there was a postponement from September 2022 to December 2022 due a clash in timing between the planned September dates and the State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth. The Westminster event comprised four sessions: Issues in the application of competition law; a critical examination of the clarity, coherence and effectiveness of energy policy; crosscutting issues in economic regulation; and a forward-looking discussion on what principles and themes could be drawn out of general experience, The first afternoon of the annual Oxford conference was more innovative in intent, starting with an examination of learnings from brain science and the study of neural networks, then stretching out into some regulatory areas that have received relatively light coverage in the past from the Institute, but which are highly salient to current public policy challenges: namely housing policy, the regulation of health services and policies to promote both the accumulation and utilization rate of human capital. This wider and more cognitively diverse thinking received very positive responses from the participants. John Fingleton gave the annual Zeeman Lecture on Economic Regulation and Productivity. The second day of the conference contained sessions on: the governance of the energy sector; challenges in competition law and policy; and a review of a forty-year history of major regulatory reforms and their effects, focusing on the lessons that might be learned from both the successes and the failures. It concluded with a panel discussion centred on the Zeeman Lecture theme, namely the relationships between economic regulation, innovation and productivity. On the research side, the predominant themes were analogies taken from neuroscience research which might be useful in thinking about the structure of regulatory policy institutions and processes, and the continuing challenges of climate change policy and the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. A pilot project on the regulation of migration flows was initiated, reflecting an intent to apply knowledge gained from study of more traditional areas of regulation and from other disciplines to new problems that are of high policy salience. Seven short pieces, each encapsulating an aspect of this work were published on the website over the year, and hence made freely available on a global basis to any interested reader. In addition, Professor Stephen Littlechild produced a longer piece of work for the site on the challenge of removing a mistaken price cap in retail energy markets. Toward the end of the year preparations were also made to publish, for the first time, a book encapsulating David Starkey’s life-long work and experience in the regulation of aviation markets. The two-year programme of training courses for officials of the renamed Communications, Space and Technology Commission of Saudi Arabia continued throughout the 2022-23 Financial Year, featuring an online course, and two, week-long courses in Riyadh and Oxford. The courses encompassed some cutting-edge thinking on regulation as well as more standard content and, on the basis of the experience, the possibility of developing an international summer school grounded in the same principles was marked out down for future consideration. On the financial side, a significant tranche of upfront costs for the training courses was incurred in the 2021-2022 year, leading to a dip in reserves at the start of the 2022-23 year, which itself followed a larger dip in 2020-21 which was chiefly a result of the effects of the Covid epidemic, and of the responses to it, on operational activities. As indicated in the Financial Statements however, the 2022-23 year showed a strong recovery in the reserves position and the Trustees ended the year with full confidence that this recovery would be sustained in 2023-24. Payments to Directors/Trustees for teaching and research undertaken in direct pursuit of the Institute’s object amounted to a total of £10,700 over the course of the year. A.R. Appleyard Chair of the Board of Trustees 24 January 2024 ## **Unaudited Financial Statements** **for the Year Ended 31 March 2023** **for** **Regulatory Policy Institute** **Regulatory Policy Institute** ## **Contents of the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2023** ||**Page**| |---|---| |**Income Statement**|1| |**Balance Sheet**|2| |**Report of the Accountants**|4| |**Detailed Income and Expenditure Account**|5| |**Detailed Balance Sheet**|6| **Regulatory Policy Institute** ## **Income Statement** ## **for the Year Ended 31 March 2023** |**TURNOVER**
Other income
Staff costs
Depreciation and other amounts written off assets
Other charges
Taxation
**SURPLUS/(DEFICIT)**|2023
£
210,432
337
(35,081)
(320)
(69,090)
(64)
106,214|2022
£
116,549
4
(26,503)
(160)
(101,918)
-
(12,028)| |---|---|---| Page 1 **Regulatory Policy Institute (Registered number: 02659216)** |**FIXED ASSETS**
**CURRENT ASSETS**
**CREDITORS**
Amounts falling due within one year
**NET CURRENT ASSETS**
**TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT**
**LIABILITIES**
**RESERVES**|**Balance Sheet**
**31 March 2023**
2023
£
229,121
(2,073)|£
-
227,048
227,048
227,048|2022
£
122,327
(1,813)|£
320
120,514
120,834
120,834| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||| ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** ## 1. **STATUTORY INFORMATION** Regulatory Policy Institute is a private company, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. The company's registered number and registered office address are as below: **Registered number:** 02659216 **Registered office:** 300 Banbury Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX2 7ED ## 2. **AVERAGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES** The average number of employees during the year was 1. The company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2023. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for: - (a) ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and - (b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company. continued... Page 2 **Regulatory Policy Institute (Registered number: 02659216)** **Balance Sheet - continued 31 March 2023** The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the micro-entity provisions. The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 15 December 2023 and were signed on its behalf by: ........................................................................ Professor G K Yarrow - Director Page 3 **Regulatory Policy Institute** ## **Report of the Accountants to the Directors of Regulatory Policy Institute** As described on the Balance Sheet you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 set out on pages one to three and you consider that the company is exempt from an audit. In accordance with your instructions, we have compiled these unaudited financial statements in order to assist you to fulfil your statutory responsibilities, from the accounting records and information and explanations supplied to us. Webb Teasdale Accountancy Ltd Boston House Grove Business Park Downsview Road Wantage Oxfordshire OX12 9FF Date: ............................................. This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements Page 4 **Regulatory Policy Institute** ## **Detailed Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31 March 2023** |**Turnover**
Income
**Other income**
Deposit account interest
**Expenditure**
Insurance
Staff salaries
Staff pension contributions
Telephone, fax, e-mail
& website costs
Conference expenses
Sundry expenses
Accountancy
Research and teaching
**Depreciation**
Computer equipment
**NET SURPLUS/(DEFICIT)**|2023
£
693
27,926
7,155
570
38,847
1,175
1,100
26,705|£
210,432
337
210,769
104,171
106,598
320
106,278|2022
£
650
20,000
6,503
1,350
10,629
1,289
-
88,000|£
116,549
4
116,553
128,421
(11,868)
160
(12,028)| |---|---|---|---|---| This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements Page 5 ## **Regulatory Policy Institute** ## **Detailed Balance Sheet** ## **for the Year Ended 31 March 2023** |**FIXED ASSETS**
Computer equipment
**CURRENT ASSETS**
VAT
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments
Bank deposit account
Bank current account
Paypal
**CREDITORS**
**Amounts falling due within one year**
VAT
Tax
Social security and other taxes
Accrued expenses
**NET CURRENT ASSETS**
**TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT**
**LIABILITIES**
**NET ASSETS**
**RESERVES**
Income and expenditure account|2023
£
-
2,095
-
-
480
196,633
25,082
4,831
229,121
-
(64)
(909)
(1,100)
(2,073)
227,048
227,048
227,048
227,048|2022
£
320
-
1,831
3,650
-
50,296
61,719
4,831
122,327
(1,598)
-
(215)
-
(1,813)
120,514
120,834
120,834
120,834| |---|---|---| This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements Page 6 Indep•nd&nt Examinerfs Report to the Trustees on the unaudited financial $L￿eMentS of the Regulatory Pollcy Instituté I report lo the charity truslees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2023 Responsibilities and basis of r&port As the charity trustees of the company (and also Ils directorg for the purposes of company lawl you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2011 1.the Act'i. Having satisfi'ed myself that the accounts of the company are not required lo be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respeel of my examination of your company's accounts 28 carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 20111'the 2011 Acl'l. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commlssiorb under section 14515llb) of the 2011 Acl. Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confirm IhAt no matters have come lo my artention in Connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect-. accounting records were not kept in respeel of the company as required by secbon 386 of the 2006 Act., or the accounts do not accord with those records.. or the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements Df section 396 of the 2006 Act 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., or I have no concems and have come across no other mallers In connecb'on with the examin8tion to which 3llenb.on should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be rcachcd. S Boyd Proprletor Steven Boyd Accountancy and Bookkeeplng Servlces 14 Orchard Close. Chalgrove, Oxon OX44 7RA 201h December 2023 Page 10