Company registration number .' 02678080 Charity regislration number.. 1015668 Scotland charity registralion number. SC042339 Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limited by Guarantee Financial Statements 31 December 2023 Westcotts sw LLP Chartered Accountants & Statutory Auditor 80 Oxford Street B￿rnham￿n-Sea TA8 1EF Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Llmlted by Guarantee Flnancial statements Yèar ended 31 Dècember 2023 Contents Pages Trustees, Annual Report lin¢oTporaling the Directors, reporti Independent Auditor's Report to the Members 10-14 Statement of Financial Activities {including Income and Expenditure Account) 15 Statement of Financial Position 16 Cash Flow Slatement 17 Notes to the financial statements 18-34 Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limited by Guarantee Financial Ststements Year ended 31 December 2023 The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law. present their report and the financial slatements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023. Reference and admlnlstrative details Reglstered charlty name Surf Life Saving Great Britain Charlty registration number 1015668 SC042339 England and Wales Scolland Company reglstratlon number 02678080 Prlncipal office and registered Buckland House offlce Harrier Way Sowton Exeter EX2 7HU United Kingdom The Trustees MrR J H Martin MBE Mr G C Goodier Mr P W Lawrence (Resigned 22nd May 2024) (Resigned 21 February 20241 Mr G S Mayhew Mrs J Shepherd MrA Mann Mr P Lewis Mr M S Taylor (Appointed 21 August 2023) (Appointed 21 August 20231 {Appointed 21 August 2023) Chlef Executlve Offlcer Mr T W Coventry Audltor Westcotts LLP Chartered Accountsnts & Statutory Auditor BO Oxford Street Burnhamvon-sea TA8 1EF Bankers Lloyds Bank PLC 234 High Slreet Exeter United Kingdom EX4 3NL Soll¢ltors Tozers Solicitors LLP Broadwalk House Southernhay West Exeter EX1 1UA Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (contlnuod) Year ended 31 December 2023 Structure. governance and management A. Introdu¢tlon Surf Life Saving Great Britain {"SLSGB"l is a registered charity, the recognised National Goveming Body for Surf Lifesaving and a Company limited by Guarantee. The Artides of Association and Bye- Laws (available for public access on our document store at www.slsgb.org.ukl constitute our governing documenls and set out our objects which are as follows: The object for which the Company is established is to save lives on Britain's beaches and to engage in search and rescue activities and to provide education in all areas relating to, lifesaving, search and rescue and resuscitation for the benefit of the public by.. the provision of support and maintenance for a ne￿Ork of Affiliated Clubs with similar objects., the promotion and improvement of national and internalional standards, qualifications and training in water safety. search and rescue. lifesaving, coaching, resuscitation and first aid,. the promotion and organisation of beach and pool training, water sports and lifes8ving activities for training. recreation and enjoyment that encourage fitness, team work, responsibility and excellence in pursuit of these objects- the promotion of the provision of voluntary life5aving search and rescue services to the community and public at large. The Trustees have reviewed the public benefit guidance by the Charity Commission and are satisfied that the benefits created by the charity are both identifiable and available to the public. These benefits include (but are not limited tol- making Britain's beaches safer for the public by providing a volunteer Life Saving and inshore coastal search and rescue service-, providing a volunteer flood and terrestrial search and rescue service at both local and national levels., providing Life Saving learning and skills development opportunities to members and the wider public-. providing opportunities for lifesaving sport that reflect the skill and fitness of the activity of our core value of Lif8 Saving and Search and Rescue., providing support to other Charities (e.g. dubs)- and providing personal development and volunteering opportunities. Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Directorfs Report) (contlnu8d) Year ended 31 December 2023 Structure, governance and management (contlnuedj B. Governance Structure 1.Organisational Structure The organisational structur6 of Surf Life Saving Great Britain, a charitable company. is compliant with the16gal requirements under charitable and company law. The organisational structure. which includes staff and so can vary, is available to members on request. A Board of Trustees governs. is appointed by, and answerable to, the members through an Annual General Meeting, or, when required. a General Meeting. The Board may create a number of Sub Committees whose responsibilities are made known to members on request. A Management Team, answerable to the Board, is responsible for the operational control and cc ordination of the company's activities. Knowledge based Committees have been created to consider and provide guidance to the Board of Twstees and the management on specified specialist topics thal all relate to the core activ¢ties of the or9anisation. These currently include but are not limited to Lifesaving, Clinical Governance and Sport and Events. A Chief Execulive Officer is normally appointed by the Board to oversee the day-tOThday management of the company Ihrough a Management Team that comprises key staff. Other staff are appointed as required to enable the company to conduct its business effectively. An Honorary President may be appointed by the Board of Trustees on a 3-year term, which may be renewed, to champion and progress the work of Surf Life Saving GB at both national and international level. The position is an honorary role that carries no executive authority- The role of the President is set out in the President's Role Description. 2.Board of Trustees a. Composlllon The Board comprises a Chairman. Treasurer and between five and eight other Trustees. Three to five of these Trustees should have a sound kn￿edge and empathy for Surf Life Saving as well as previous experience from either private business or community activities, ideally such experience having been gained as a committee member or board member. The remaining Trustees must have the ability to contribute specialist knowledge. 5ki51s and experience in areas identified as strategically and operationally important for the organisation. and with previous experience from private business. government or community sectors, ideally as a senior executive or board member. Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees, Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) f¢ondnuedJ Year ended 31 December 2023 Structure, governance and management (condnue(lJ b. Procedures for Recrultment and Electlon of Trustees Trustees are ele￿ed by the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Chairman is also appointed by the AGM. If therè are vacancies, Trustees can be COaOPted onto the Board at any time but must Stand for election at the following AGM. Sometimes. the Board will identify a need for Trustees wth specific skills and experience and so all Trustees will be required to go through a recruitment process that may be externally facilitated to allow the existing Board. and members to make a sound judgement on the suitability of each applicant to seNe as a Trustee. Any person wishing to stand for election as Trustee must be nominated by a proposer and seconder who must be current voting members in good standing. The nomination must include details of the prospective Trustee's CV. A call for nominations will be made at least 3 months before the Annual General Mèeting with a closing date not later than 6 weeks before the date of the meeting. Full details of a prospective Trustee standing for election at the Annual General Meeting will be circulated with the notification and papers for the meeting. c. SeNlng Trustees The following Trustees, who are also the directors, seNed during the year.. Mr R J H Martin MBE Mr G C Goodier Mr P W Lawrence Mr G S Mayhew Mrs J Shepherd MrA Mann Mr P Lewis Mr M S Taylor - appointed 17 April 2011, resigned 22 May 2024 appointed 17 April 2011 appointed 17 April 2011, resigned 21 February 2024 appointed 26 August 2017 appointed 13 September 2019 appointed 21 August 2023 appointed 21 August 2023 - appointed 21 August 2023 Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limlted by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (¢ontlnued) Year ended 31 December 2023 Objoctlves and actlvltles C. Roport 1. Prlnclpal Actlvlty The Exeter based headquarters support affiliated charities, not for profit organisations and independent Accredited Training Centres who operate in Great Britain to provide lifesaving education and skills to those from five years upwards in beach safety, lifesaving and search and rescue and helping create fitter and safer communities by the sea and in other open water environments. There are also individual members. Member volunteers devote time to training and educating others and providing a voluntary rescue service for the benefit of the publio Surf Life Saving Clubs and their members are the main and central activity of SLSGB. Surf Life Saving Clubs are family based with a very high level of partictpation by young people under the age of 18. By providing all ages and gender with the opportunity to train and practi￿ rescue skills. water safety, first aid and life support using pools during winter and on beaches in the summer, clubs are helping to make communities fitter, safer and providing an essential community based beach safety resource. For Ihose who enjoy honing and proving lifesaving and rescue skills through competition, there are local, county, regional, national and also International lifesaving events for those selected b represent the national lifesaving teams. As part of their training within clubs, members can achieve SLSGB Lifesaving awards. qualifications and competencies in a range of rescue and lifesaving and sport discipline5. SLSGB is the awarding body for the highest standard of beach lifeguard qualification and trains many of the paid RNLI lifeguards working on our beaches. Wrth opportunities that include vocational qualifications for beach. surf, lifeguard and event open water safety management, SLSGB is now the national leader in recreational open water safety training and guidance to the highest standards of safety governance. Our voluntary beach and inshore rescue patrol actiwty formally recognised by the Coast Guard continues to enable our declared rescue assets to operate within the National SAR Coastal Framework with and alongside Category Qne Responders. The arrangemenl with the Coast Guard emphasises their trust in our governance and training protocols and the standards being achieved and maintained by our volunteers. During Ihe year our 14 formally declared patrols reported 82 incidents, undertook 18 lifesaving intetventions and saved 40 lives. They also managed 3 major first aid incidents We continue to provide the Police wth assistance for missing person search operations using highly trained special operations boat teams as an extension of both our coaslal and flood rescue capabilities incorporating when required a re5cuelrecovery swimmer. Our swiftlextreme water rescue boat training Is now recognised as Ihe most advanced available. During the year our volunteer operational SearGh and Rescue Flood Response Teams have maintained their operational capability- Our flood response activity is fully compliant wlh the DEFRA Concept of Operations. All teams were audited by DEFRA with a clean score. In 2023 our flood teams supported multiple Local resilience call outs and our Type B Teams were deployed to incidents in Devon. Dorset, Wiltshire. Avon and Somerset and North Yorkshire. The search and rescue resources that we have built is based on our operational governance reflected by our recognition and participation as a full and active member of the UK SAR Operators Group and with DEFRA at operational levels. Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees, Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (eontlnu8 Year ended 31 December 2023 We have progressively developed our inhouse flood technician and team manager training to a level where outside training is no longer required. With increasing demands on local voluntary response assets, we have continued building close strategic working relationships in local communities through local resilience forums. We directly contributed to work undertaken by the UK SAR Operators Group on immersion and submersion protocols. We provided guidance on drowning incident dala collection to get more focus on near miss inodents that inform avoidance strategies. We attended the ILS 2023 World Drowning Prevention conference and made acknowledged, significant contributions to the discussions about the impact of global warming that have resulted in huge increase in widespread serious floods and how to plan and establish resilience and response programmes. Under a long standing strategic partnership agreement we commenced all expenses paid for assistance for Surf Life Saving Australia for the development of a national plan for flood rescue resilience based on the principals that we have adopted and use. Strategic report The following sections for achievements and performance and financial review forrn the strategic report ofthe charity. Achlevements and perfonnan¢e 2. Business Plan & Financial Revlew In spite of fears that COVID would damage Surf Life Saving. the opposite seems to have happened. Our policy to use all our resources to support member aclivity to help our clubs provide a valued. healthy, safe and enjoyable family based activity founded on Lifesaving values resulted in a further increase in membership. By the year end membership was 10,297 (2022.. 9,200, 2021- 7344). We awarded 2,917 Lifesaving Awards and our clubs organised 1016 courses for our members {2022.' 520) Thank you to all our members. volunteers and Staff who contributed to this remarkablè result. Inspired by the Club Sport Committee and our Officials supported by an army of hard-working volunteers, lifesaving sport events have again increased now spreading to our Northem Clubs. During the year our clubs organised 17 sport competition events shoe horned into an already busy club calendar. Entries for our National Pool and Surf Life Saving events increased. particularly in the Nipper and Youth age groups. Total entrie5 for the Pool Championships were 1,315 (2022.. 1071) Nipper entries year on year increased by 27 /, Youth by 12Y•. Entries for our Ocean Championships were 1.224 {2022.' 975) Nipper entries year on year increased by 26Yo, Youth by 22V.. Our Masters Championship representing our elite sports category had a record 344 entries (2022.. 231) a 49% year on year increase. Branksome Chine again provided a superb event for the third time, a hard act to follow. Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limlted by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (conunued) Year ended 31 December 2023 During 2023 we were again supported continuously by both our Lifesaving Committee and Clinical Advisory Group who provided highly valuable. timely and accurate advi￿ and guidance. We are fortunate to have the input of such dedicated. knowledgeable. reliable and well-informed experts. Based on our acknowledged expertise and capability in search and rescue and safety. we opened wholly owned Irading company, now called SLSGB Training Ltd, with the intention of seeking income for the benefit of SLSGB (the charity) to help offset growing costs and to slrengthen our core services lo Clubs and members. In July we signed a 3 year renewable contract with the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority to provide a safety training programme for Police Officers working dose to water. The programme is delivered by the Authority SUPPOrted by Poli￿ Tutorlmentors trained by the Company who also provide CPD and programme updates as required. There are 34 Police Authorities in England all wilh Poli￿ Officers exposed to aquatic risks that our training resolves. Early signs are that the training is being well received. We are optimistic about the opportunity to increase our offer of this training to other Police Authorities. We are also seeking other appropriats opportunities related to flood resilience programmes. The outcome for Ihe year has been an operating deficit of £21,732 {2022.' £31.455) which redU￿d our reserves to a total of £231,169 (2022.. £252,901). The Charity is currently financially secure and now set to invest by replacing members of our core operational tsam who left in 2020121 to secure the further development of our aims in search and rescue, prevention of drowning and saving lives. During the year £75,897 was contributed to our income by charitsble donations and sponsorship. We are extremely grateful to those indiwduals and organisations for their generous support. Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) fcontlnuodj Year ended 31 December 2023 3. Reserves Policy The board of trustees has reviewed its policy on reserves, considering.. The income of the Charity is not entirety predictable and will suffer peaks and troughs. The target amount of reserves should be sufficient to ensure conlinuity of the employment of key personnel to run the charity for 6 months employment costs. This target should not be at the cost of unexpècted events, so that if there are unforeseen pressing needs for the Charity to make urgent expenditure, these are considered within the context of.. the amount needed to be spent and predicted future income to rebuild the resetves. The reserves should be reviewed annually in accordance with the expected annual employment costs and any revision of the target seL The business plan should not seek to increase the reserves beyond the agreed target so that all available income will be Spent for the charitable purposes of the organisation. During 2023 the reserves have decreased to £231.169 {2022'. £252.9011. The Board will continue to implement policies and actions as appropriate to Ihe needs of the organisations charilable aims. Flnanclal review 4. Managing Risks & Controls The Board of Trustees review and update the organisalion Risk Register as appropriate but not less than ￿lce in each year. The Board of Trustees set, and abides by, all organisational policy and procedures. The Board of Trustees implement, monitor and review all conflicts of interest in accordance with the policy. The Board of Trustees set an annual Income & Expenditure budget in advance. The Board of Trustees review the monthly finance controls, report and monitoring of Income and Expenditure against Budget. The Board of Tnjstees manage the risk and bene)It ot extemal relationships as appropriate but not less than ￿lee in each year. The Board ofTrustees appoints and seeks the support of Advisors as required. 5. Premises During 2023 the Buckland House, Park Five. Harrier Way, Sowton, Exeter premises lease was renewed for a period of six years to September 2029. The lease has a break and review in September 2026. The lease is outside Ihe Landlord and Tenant Act so has no automatic right of renewal. Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limited by Guarantee Tiusteos, Annual Report (Incorporating thè Dlrectors. Report) (continuBdl Year ended 31 D8camber 2023 Trustees, Statsmont of Responsibilities The trustees {who are also directors of Surf Life Saving Great Britain for the purposes of company lawl are responsible for preparing the Trustees, Report {incorporaling the Directors, Report) and the financial ststements in accordance wslh applicable law and United Kingdom A¢Gounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102.. The Financial Reporting Slandard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Accepted A¢¢ounting Practice). The law applicable to charities in England and W81es, and Scotland, requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial slalements, the trustees are required to: select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently,. observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 IFRS 1021., make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent., state whether applicable accounting stsndards have been followed, subject lo any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements., and prepare the accounts on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business. The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the charitable Company and to enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotlandl Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts {Scotlandl Regulations 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In so far as the trustees are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the char(table companvs auditor is unaware. and the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to make themselves aware of that information. This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. The Trustees, Annual Repo behalf of th B rd of Trus and the Strategic Report were approved on . es by.. . and signed on MrG Trustee Mayhew Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Limlted by Guarant88 Indepgndent Auditors Report to the Mgmbers of Surf Lifg Saving Grnat Britain Year ended 310ecèmber 2023 Opinion We have audited the financial statements of Surf Life Saving Great Britain (the 'charity'l for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditurg Accounll. Statement of Financial Position, statement of cash fflows and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Aceounling Slandards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Gengrally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion the financial ststements.. give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of ils incoming resource5 and application of resources. including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended.. have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.. have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011. Basis of opinion We conducted our audit in accordance with Intemational Standards on Auditing IUIQ {ISAs {UKII and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the audilorfs responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in aGcordanee wtth the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC'S Ethical Standard. and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordan￿ with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidents we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate lo provide a basis for our opinion. Conclusions in relation to golng concern In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees, use of going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have perfomied, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the chaiity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at lest twelve months from when the financial slalements are authorised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees are described in Ihe relevant sections of this report. io Surf Life Savlng Great Britain Company Limited by Guarantetr Indgpend9nt Auditorf8 Report to tho MembeTr of Surf Llfe Saving Great Britain (continued) Ygar ondad 31 December 2023 Other Infomiation The other infomiation comprises the infomalion included in the annual report, other than the financial slatemenls and our auditor's report Ihereon. The trustees are responsible foi the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other infomiation and. except to the extent otheNi5e explieilly stated in our reporL we do not express any fomi of assurance conclusion thereon. In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and. in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or othe￿ise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements. we are required to detemiine whether there is material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other informalion. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude Ihat there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that focL We have nothing to report in this regard. Oplnlons on other matters prè$crlbed by the Companigs Act 2006 In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit: the infomiation given in the trustees, report for the financial year for which the financial slatemenls are prepared is con51Stent with the financial statements,. and the Irustees, report has been prepared in accordance with appli¢able legal requirements. Matters on which we are requirgd to report by exception In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit. we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees, Report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Aet 2006 and the Charities Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion.. adequate accounting records have not been kepl, or retums adequate for our audit have not been eived from branches not visited by us-, or the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns., or rtain disclosures of trustees, ￿muneratIon specified by law are not made,. or we have not received all the information and explanations we require ft)r our audit. 11 Surf Life Saving Great Britain Company Llmited by Guarantea Independgnt Auditotrs Report to the Members of Surf Life Saving Great Brltain Icontlnued) Year ended 31 Dècèmbor 2023 Responsibilities of trustees As explained more fully in the Trustees, Responsibilities Statement. the trustees (who are also the directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements Ihat are free from material mi$$latement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial slatements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity's ability to continue a5 a going concem. disclosing, as applicable. matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic altemotive but lo do so. Auditorfs rosponsibilities for the audit of the financlal statements Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the finaneial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. and to issue an Auditor's Report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level ot assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAS (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements Can arise from fiaud or error and are considered material if. individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected lo inftuence the economic deeisions of users laken on the basis of these financial statements. Irregularities. including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulation$. We design procedures in line ￿th our responsibilities, outlined above. to delect material misstatements in respeet of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable ol detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.. We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expectsd to have a material effect on the financial statements from our general commercial and sector experience and through discussion with the directors and other management. We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our team. and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit. The company is subject to laws and regulations that govern the preparation of the financial statements, including financial reporting legislation, and other companies legislation. The ompany is also subject to other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-complianc8 could have a material impact on the amounts or disc105ures within Ihe financial slatemenls. including employmenl, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering. (￿Ing to the inherent limitalions of an audiL there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstslemenls in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and perfomed our audit in accordance with audiling standards. In any audit. there remains a higher risk of non4election of irfegularities. as these may involve collusion. forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations. or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be experted to detect non