2024-03-31-accounts

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KSSX ' WPREYSUSSEX KSS-; AIR AMBULANCE CHARITY KENT SURREY SUSSEX Annual Report and Financial Statements - COMM Year ending 31 March 2024 SI I sx K.

Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex is a charitable company; a charity registered in England and Wales and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales

Our Registered Charity Name: Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex Our Registered Company Number: 2803242 Our Registered Charity Number: 1021367 Our Registered Office:

The charitable company is incorporated and domiciled in the UK. The address of our principal and registered office is:

Air Ambulance Building Rochester City Airport Maidstone Road Chatham Kent ME5 9SD

aakss.org.uk

hello@aakss.org.uk

01634 471 900

Our Trustees’ Annual Report

Introduction from our Chair ............................................................................................................. 4 Welcome from our Chief Executive .................................................................................................. 5 Our Charitable Objects and The KSS Way ........................................................................................ 6 Our Strategic Report

Our Activities for Public Benefit ...................................................................................................... 8 Our Key Achievements .................................................................................................................... 9 Goal 1: We Deliver Outstanding Treatment and Care ................................................................... 10 Goal 2: We Make a Difference ....................................................................................................... 17 Goal 3: We Generate and Inspire Support ..................................................................................... 19 How we raise funds .............................................................................................................. 20 Our Fundraising Promise ...................................................................................................... 22 Goal 4: We Aspire for Excellence in All We Do .............................................................................. 24 Our Structure, Governance and Management Our Structure, Governance and Management .................................................................................... 26 Our Trustees .................................................................................................................................... 27 Our Key Management Personnel ....................................................................................................... 28 Our Key Advisors .............................................................................................................................. 29 Our Finances Financial Review ........................................................................................................................... 30 Managing Our Finances ................................................................................................................ 32 Managing Risk .............................................................................................................................. 36 Statement of Trustee’s Responsibilities ........................................................................................ 39 Independent Auditor’s Report ...................................................................................................... 40 Our Financial Statements

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities ............................................................................. 45 Consolidated Balance Sheet .......................................................................................................... 46 Balance Sheet ................................................................................................................................ 47 Consolidated Cashflow Statement ................................................................................................ 48 Notes to the Financial Statements ................................................................................................. 49

Introduction from our Chair

Welcome to our Annual Report for the year ended 31[st] March 2024. I would like to start by thanking everyone who has helped KSS over the last year – whether as a donor, a lottery player, a volunteer, a fundraiser or a member of our staff and Executive Team. Everybody has played their part to make this a very successful and important year.

88% of our income comes from public support and over the last year our total income exceeded £20M for the first time. That is a crucial achievement as our service continues to be in demand, with KSS responding to over 3,300 missions and treating almost 2,000 patients.

It was also a very busy year internally. KSS operates with two

helicopters which have historically both been leased from our aviation services provider. We bought one of our helicopters during the year and the other one shortly after the end of the financial year. The fantastic response from our supporters in raising a significant £2.0M contribution through our Buy it for Life appeal alongside the Trustee's decision to release reserves meant we were able to purchase both aircraft outright. These purchases will reduce our ongoing operating costs, secure our future and increase our operational flexibility.

The second helicopter purchase was only made possible due to a time-limited opportunity resulting from our aviation provider entering administration around Christmas of 2023. I would like to congratulate Team KSS for securing an excellent alternative supply partner in Gama Aviation and for managing a transition which avoided any downtime for the helicopters. We should also thank our advisers and the regulators who pulled out all the stops at short notice to support the transition.

For our patients, the importance of this cannot be overstated. We now have more security than ever before, and the amount raised via the appeal will help us fly both helicopters for more hours and save more lives through our other strategic initiatives.

The last year has been more settled in terms of our Trustee and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) which has enabled us to cement our governance and policies. Of course, the helicopter purchases had an impact on our financial portfolio and our Board and Committees have spent time considering our income, reserves and investments carefully to ensure we remain financially resilient for many years to come. Whilst we continue to push forward with expansion of our service and innovate in the care we provide; we are always careful to ensure enough flexibility in our plans to be able to react to unexpected events.

The support from our communities continues to be outstanding and something we will never take for granted. I would like to personally reiterate my thanks to every one of you for all you do.

“Barney “Burgess

Barney Burgess Chair of the Board of Trustees

Welcome from our Chief Executive

On 26[th] July 2023 we marked a very poignant anniversary as we remembered 25 years since three of our crew, Graham Budden, Mark Darby and Tony Richardson, sadly lost their lives serving our charity. Each year we come together as Team KSS, with their families and loved ones, to pay tribute to them and reflect on the ultimate sacrifice they made in caring for others.

It feels appropriate that, in the year where we were able to purchase our own helicopter, that both will carry a dedication to these three incredible crew members, who will always remain part of our KSS family and are forever in our hearts.

This year has been a truly incredible year for KSS. We have overcome significant challenges and capitalised on huge opportunities which means we are in a strong and resilient position to drive forward with our strategic ambitions of reaching more patients and saving more lives. At the year end, we launched our largest ever integrated appeal, Buy it for Life. This was a time limited opportunity, and everyone across Team KSS worked tirelessly to deliver the appeal which raised £2.0M and enabled the purchase of our second helicopter, G-KSST. We could not have achieved this without the generosity of the communities we serve and our amazing supporters who have helped secure the future of our second helicopter which is a lifeline for the people of Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

Our key priority, as always, is our patients. We continue to drive forward our innovative developments and improvements to our service. This year we implemented a new Patient Safety and Incident Reporting Framework which ensures our patients continue to receive the highest standard of care and are encouraged to give us any feedback they may have, knowing that we take this as an opportunity to review our processes and continue to learn and develop.

As part of our education and prevention strategy, we launched our first online Restart a Heart campaign. Led by paramedic Ben Paul, this event was live streamed across our communities, into businesses, schools and private homes. We were delighted with the response. Over 17,000 children and adults took part in interactive online workshops to learn the principles of CPR, including over 60 schools. That is over 17,000 new potential lifesavers in our communities. Our plans for this year are even more ambitious as we encourage our communities to be ready and able to save a life.

We look to the future to ensuring we stay at the forefront of pre-hospital emergency medicine, continue to inspire support from our communities and aspire for excellence in all that we do. My sincere and heartfelt thanks to our volunteers and to our supporters for their incredible generosity without whom we cannot be there for our patients when they need us most.

Thank you all sincerely on behalf of every patient we treat and care for.

David Welch Chief Executive Officer

Our charitable objects To relieve sick and injured people by the provision of specialised medicine and knowledge primarily, but not exclusively, through an aeromedical service. to improve the health and medical outcomes of the wider community primarily in South East England and surrounding areas. and nationally (or internationally) in times of need or distress. The KSS Way: Our strategic and cultural framework Our vision An end to preventsble loss of lrfe from medical emergency Our purpose Saving lives and ensuring the best possible patient outcomes Our goals We deliver outstanding treatment and care +++ We make a difference We generate and inspire support We aspire for excellence in all we do Our values Caring Trusted Dedicated Innovative Collaborative Caring for people and putting people atthe heart of all we do Generating trust in everyone we engage wtth Dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for our patients and communitres Pushing the boundariesthrough research and innovation to better meetthe needs of our patients and expectations of our supporters Embracing collaboration and partnership to achieve the best for our patients

4r1 Our Strategic Report

Our Activities for Public Benefit – How we Work

Our patients and the wider communities we serve are always at the heart of everything we do. Treating patients is the core of our service and where we expend the vast majority of our resources. Our activities are thoughtfully planned to ensure the highest standards of public benefit, whether that be delivering high quality, safe care to our patients, to our prevention, education and training work, and the wider benefit we can offer to our communities.

The Trustees have complied with the duty under the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission which can be illustrated as follows:

Under the list of descriptions of purposes in the Charities Act 2011, KSS falls under the description of the advancement of health and saving lives; a broad description which extends beyond treatment and provision of care to the provision of items or services and facilities to ease suffering or assist recovery of people or provide comfort for patients.

We provide expert pre-hospital emergency medicine, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, offering reassurance to the public that we are ready to respond whenever and wherever required should we ever be needed.

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Our Patient and Family Aftercare Service offers ongoing support to anyone connected with an incident we attend, as an important part of their recovery. This might be a patient, a loved one, a bereaved family member, or a bystander. It might be a bystander who had to give assistance at the scene, including our emergency service colleagues. Our support includes offering a visit to one of our bases to meet a member of our medical staff and our peer support group.

Our crews are specialists in pre-hospital emergency medicine, and we offer training opportunities through secondments and employment opportunities to ensure this highly specialised knowledge is shared within the wider medical community.

KSS participates in clinical audit, service evaluation and research to ensure that our communities benefit from pre-hospital interventions led by science, and to ensure a continuous cycle of improvement and innovation. This research is shared widely across other pre-hospital service providers ensuring KSS has an impact and public benefit on both a national and international platform.

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We engage with our audiences and communities through our social media channels and directly through regular community talks, to share key educational, and often lifesaving, messaging.

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We engage with schools across our area, providing opportunities to participate in lifesaving campaigns, such as Restart a Heart, and talking to them about our service.

We offer a wide range of volunteering opportunities which are known to have a public benefit with regards to social contact and learning new skills.

The next few pages detail our achievements in the past year.

Our Key Achievements

In the year to 31[st] March 2024

We responded to a total of 3,382 missions, 58% in our helicopters and 42% in our Rapid Response Vehicles

We treated 1,939 patients, including 648 at night

Our first Restart a Heart campaign trained over 17,000 people across our region in the principles of CPR

As part of their recovery, we supported 40 former patients and their loved ones as part of our Patient and Family Aftercare

We continue to innovate, pushing boundaries with new technologies such as drones, live streaming video calls and navigational aids to allow us to fly more often

Our Research Team published work in three international trauma journals, produced four peerreviewed posters and gave three formal talks at UK conferences

We raised a record £20.7M income of which 88% was raised by the communities we serve

Our trading company (Air Ambulance Promotions Ltd) made gift aided donations of £7.3M to KSS from our lotteries and raffles

Each of our Fundraising Teams increased their income year on year, as we continue to diversify our income streams

We held Heli Hikes across all three counties with our supporters walking a total of 3,952 miles, the distance from London to Chicago

Without you, we can't keep flying. Without you, we can't save lives. Thank you!

Our Achievements and Performance

We outlined our five-year strategy ‘Working Together to Save More Lives’ in 2022.

GOAL We Deliver Outstanding Treatment and Care

We deliver outstanding specialist treatment, care and support to give our patients their best possible outcomes. Delivering outstanding treatment and care also goes beyond the direct treatment a patient may receive from our expert teams. We consider how we deliver that care, investing in our helicopters, rapid response vehicles (RRV) and the equipment they carry, and keeping abreast of technological and innovative advancements.

We share our life-saving knowledge through training opportunities to the wider medical community and the public. To ensure we remain outstanding, each of our missions is reviewed by our Clinical Teams, and we regularly carry out audits and evaluations to ensure we remain research-led and leaders in prehospital emergency medical care.

We carried out 3,382 missions (2023: 3,165) and treated 1,939 patients (2023: 1,881). More details about our missions are as follows:

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Mission Update
Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex
Types of missions
143
Patients
28% 28% 8%
3,382 received
Missions blood
products Medical RTC Assault
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20% 8% 8%
1,939
Patients 648
Accidental
Treated [(] Night Intentional Other
Patients injury self-harm
O 38 08 @
Transport used
Mission locations
Kent 42%
Surrey 25%
West Sussex 17%
East Sussex 13%
58%
42%
Other 3%
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In September we marked ten years of becoming the first air ambulance charity in the country to fly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, enabling us to reach more patients and save even more lives.

Over the last decade we've carried out over 4,100 missions by helicopters at night, treating more than 2,350 patients and flying for over 2,000 hours. In that time, KSS aircraft have flown approximately a quarter of a million miles at night, equivalent to flying around the earth 11 times or travelling to the moon.

Missions by time of day

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Patients by Age and Gender

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Restart a Heart

Over 17,000 participants, including 8,000 children from more than 60 schools shown the principles of CPR

Some medical emergencies, such as cardiac arrest, are so time critical that the best way to ensure more lives are saved is through training our communities in lifesaving skills. This year we supported Restart a Heart Day offering eight interactive online CPR awareness sessions. These sessions equipped children and adults across our

communities with the confidence and skills to provide CPR and save lives.

This unique project brought together staff from across KSS to manage the live sessions and ensure their success. Led by our own paramedic, Ben Paul, this innovative project showed just how many people we can reach using a digital platform, bringing our staff into many classrooms and workplaces at the same time. We built on this success and delivered an even bigger campaign in October 2024 which has created even more lifesavers in our communities.

Through our corporate partnerships, we have also delivered in person training to staff at a further two sites, including Gatwick Airport.

We are continuing to work with our partners on a structured approach to train and manage a team of voluntary first responders, who could be critical to deliver lifesaving first aid in the community until a medical team arrive on scene.

Our Service

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Our Key Achievements
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Purchased our first helicopter, G-KSSC, with G-KSST also purchased shortly after the year end.
• Attended more missions and treated more patients than ever before.
First drone delivered and tested at Redhill, trial in development.
Moved forward with research into more advanced in-flight medical procedures.
Reached stage five of six with our airspace change procedure which will allow us to fly in more adverse weather conditions.

We continue to work closely with the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb). Our working relationship is unique, relying on seamless cooperation in highly pressurised environments. KSS perform medical interventions at the scene typically only seen in a hospital. To aid this coordinated working we have been working together on joint standard procedures. We carry out joint clinical governance programmes where we can review complex cases together and we use these opportunities to deliver multi agency training sessions, known as moulages, where we will use actors to create a lifelike simulation for the crews.

We continue to innovate and have moved forward with our ambition to trial drone-delivered Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to where they are needed the most. Around 80% of cardiac arrests happen within the home and we know that the chance of survival drops by 10% for every minute without treatment. By assisting a bystander to start treatment using an AED as soon as possible, ahead of the emergency services arriving on-scene, we envisage even more lives being saved.

Our drone hangar has been installed, the first drone has been delivered and the first successful test flight has taken place within the confines of Redhill Aerodrome. We will continue to work closely with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on this project with the aim of beginning our trial at the earliest opportunity.

In-flight Procedures

Our state-of-the-art helicopters allow for 360-degree patient access which allows our crews to carry out several procedures whilst in flight. Using our dedicated training simulator G-SIMM our crews have completed the first phase of the in-flight trials and have a more informed understanding of how to administer care and undertake medical procures to patients in the helicopter. The second phase of the trial is underway with a number of simulations taking place whilst the helicopter is in flight. Due to patient demand and helicopter availability, we have limited time to undertake these training flights and with an incredibly busy year we have carried this trial forward.

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Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework

We care deeply about our patients and being a trusted organisation. We have adopted the new NHS Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework (PSIRF); a tool for reviewing and learning from any patient safety incidents, to improve understanding of how incidents happen and ensuring our patient’s voices are heard.

Our PSIRF policy was supported by a Patient Safety Incident Response Plan (both of which are available on our website) which outlines the planned response to different types of patient safety incidents should they occur. Following formal adoption by our Board of Trustees, oversight of this plan will be monitored by the Clinical Governance and Service Delivery (CGSD) Committee, comprised of key members of the SLT and Trustees with the relevant expertise and experience.

Aviation Capability

Our helicopters have until recently been leased and operated through a third-party contract with Specialist Aviation Service (SAS). Following the conclusion of a pre-packed administration process in January 2024, renegotiated contracts were transitioned to Gama Aviation (Gama). We were delighted that the pilots remained committed to their role with us and the majority remained with their new employer to keep us flying. The new contract is a better outcome for KSS, whilst there was an underlying cost increase most of this was offset by securing the agreement with Gama to purchase G- KSST. The contract provides KSS with greater control of its future destiny and greater protection should a similar event ever occur. The transition whilst complex was seamless, and Gama have shown their commitment to keeping our vital service airborne.

The purchase of G-KSSC and the further purchase of G-KSST in the new financial year were hugely welcomed. This purchase has driven large cost savings for KSS, meaning over the mid-term there is more money to spend on some of our frontline projects and potentially service expansion earlier than originally planned.

We currently fly two helicopters: one 24 hours a day, the other for 12 hours a day. Our ambition to increase the second to 18 hours a day was deferred due to the change in contract and uncertainty over committing to this significant extra funding. However, with the success of our Buy it for Life campaign which helped secure the future of our second helicopter, this will be reviewed again in the upcoming year.

As part of the contract negotiations and the pre-packed sale, the Charity Commission granted an emergency Section 105 Order to enable KSS to make an additional payment to SAS so that operations could continue through the transition. This was made with several conditions, resulting in the full return of the payment at the time of signing our contract with Gama.

Flying in Adverse Weather Conditions (Point in Space Navigation)

Our AW169 helicopters have unique features that allow them to fly in certain adverse weather conditions. We have been investigating the rollout of an all-weather operations programme to allow us wider utilisation of these features.

Ahead of schedule, we have been working with the CAA and are now at stage five of six of the airspace change procedure. Once complete, this means our helicopters can fly safely along certain routes through more challenging weather, with the assistance of an autopilot function and point in space navigation (PinS). PinS allow pilots to navigate to or from a designated location using instrument procedures even in challenging weather conditions. Unlike traditional navigation methods that rely solely on visual cues or ground-based navigation aids, PinS ensure safe and accurate navigation in instrument meteorological conditions, where visibility is restricted.

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Patient and Family Aftercare Services
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Our Patient and Family Aftercare (PAFA) Service offers holistic care and support to our former patients, their families and loved ones and to those affected by an incident we have attended including bereaved family members as well as bystanders and emergency services colleagues who either witnessed or were involved in helping care for our patients In the last year we have welcomed many former patients and their families and loved ones back to KSS, all of whom have benefited from our PAFA service.

Building on our successful ‘Farmer Down’ project which has brought together an inspiring group of individuals who suffered a medical emergency in the course of their farming activity, we have also developed three further support groups including a cardiac arrest survivor group, bereavement group and a group related to a specific incident. Work has started on a new Patient Charter which will complete next year.

Our patients are at the heart of everything we do. To be assured we are acting in the best interests of our patients, a clinical governance day has been developed that runs twice a month where the care and support provided to service users can be described and discussed, with learning from every encounter considered, making future interactions more effective.

Looking to next year, we will be recruiting the first of our nurse positions to join our team, who will play a crucial role in liaising with key hospitals to raise awareness of our services to those we are able to help.

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GOAL

We Make a Difference

Our second goal is to ensure that we make a difference to the medical practices and patient outcomes of the wider Helicopter Emergency Medicine Service (HEMS) community, both in the UK and abroad. We do this by conducting and publishing rigorous research into the effectiveness of our service, as well as by trialling innovative practices in a controlled fashion.

This has been a year of development for our Research and Innovation Team. The uniqueness of our work means there is little research on pre-hospital emergency medicine. We can reach even more patients and save even more lives through research which is published and read nationally and internationally. We are internationally recognised, and we hope that our research will go on to benefit many more patients.

The charity’s investment in research now means we have our own dedicated team, led by Professor Richard Lyon. This will ensure we can maximise opportunities to be industry leaders and provide a world-class service that is led by research.

We took part in some key studies this year. The SEE-IT trial utilised a live stream app available to anyone calling 999 which allowed the emergency call handlers to quickly see what resources should be dispatched to a scene. The initial trial has been completed, and a paper has been published which successfully demonstrated the value of live streaming from the scene. Work for the second phase is now being developed. This work was in collaboration with the University of Surrey and SECAmb, showing what can be achieved with strong partnership working.

KSS is taking part in a significant new trial looking at the transfusion of whole blood, which contains all blood components including packed red blood cells, plasma and platelets, instead of more traditionally used blood plasma for patients with major bleeding. The trial will run for 36 months and will evaluate any improvement in patient outcomes from the use of whole blood.

We published three papers in international trauma journals, produced four academic peer-reviewed posters and gave three formal presentations at conferences across the UK.

There are currently more than 30 research activities ongoing, all of which helps to ensure the service we provide is research-led. Each of our missions is internally reviewed, even if informally with a clinical line manager, to ensure we continue to learn from every experience and are offering the best possible care. Where appropriate, a wider governance review will focus on lessons from a particular job to ensure the whole clinical team can continue to learn from each other.

We continue to inspire the next generation of medical students and are actively involved in inputting into a variety of MSc and PhD postgraduate academic projects. Outside the year we held our first Future Directions in HEMS conference which attracted over 170 attendees from UK and European HEMS

charities and organisations, critical care paramedics and key stakeholders. The event was a great success and aided much of our learning and understanding of advancements in pre-hospital care.

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18 Transforming pre-hospit care through research

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We Generate and Inspire Support

GOAL

How we raise funds

We generate support and commitment, both financial and non-financial, from our communities and partners to ensure the growth and sustainability of KSS.

Our Lotteries and Raffles

Overall, our lotteries and raffles, managed by our trading subsidiary Air Ambulance Promotions Ltd (AAPL), continued to grow year on year. Both the AAPL and KSS Boards undertook a review of this activity and the sector overall, alongside a benchmarking exercise to ensure we remain with the best choice of third-party canvassing provider. It was concluded that Tower Lotteries remain our chosen provider, although we are constantly reviewing our options to extend our reach. Following a lengthy process, we were delighted to receive a Remote Gambling Licence, meaning we can now promote

and sell our lottery and raffle products online and via the telephone at a scale that wasn’t previously possible. In line with our strategy to diversify our income streams, we introduced new opportunities for those who wished to support through regular giving.

Through the year to 31[st] March 2024, lottery canvassers were all engaged through Tower Lotteries Ltd, but received a KSS induction, giving an overview of our work and detailing our expectations on conduct when fundraising on our behalf, in line with the Code of Fundraising Practice. We carry out spot checks, such as mystery shopper activity and welcome calls to ensure our high standards are met, as well as closely monitoring any feedback received.

Following the government’s white paper on reform of gambling regulation we have engaged with several consultations being undertaken by the Gambling Commission and other bodies, which could have had significant impact on us and other society lotteries. We joined several other charities in responding robustly to these consultations. We are pleased that the early responses have recognised the unique nature and position of society lotteries in comparison to the wider gambling sector and the positive impact they have.

We also contract a further third-party supplier, Purity Fundraising, to assist with phone calls to our supporters, letting them know about further campaigns, or other opportunities to support us. We have access to all calls made and KSS staff, at least weekly, will spot check calls for quality of call-handling and to ensure our tone of voice is respected. All call handlers are trained in recognising when a caller may be vulnerable, and there are proven processes in place to deal with these scenarios. We believe a person’s data is a footprint of that person and is to be handled with as much care and attention as we would that person. We ensure that our supporters are aware of their rights over how their data is used and are respectful of their choices.

Highlights from our 2023-24 Fundraising

One of our key objectives is to diversify and grow our income streams following last year’s investment in the Income Generation and Marketing and Communications Teams. Despite the financial climate, the year ended well, with each team increasing year on year income and collectively exceeding their overall fundraising objective by £0.9M. We recognise how hard every member of staff and volunteers have worked to achieve this and send heartfelt thanks to everyone involved.

Our Community Fundraising Team of staff and volunteers look after those activities that are carried out on behalf of KSS by our wonderful communities of supporters who never cease to amaze us in the ways they choose to raise funds and awareness for us. From wing walks to roller-skating, hosting events to inviting us to their open days we are humbled by their commitment and support. This year the team raised £1.1M (2023: £0.9M).

Our Events Team ensured the year was packed with a range of activities that would encourage our supporters to join us, learn more about our work and raise funds. Our strategy was to ensure our flagship Heli Hike and Carol Concert events were available across our three counties, with a further Heli Hike at night event in Kent to celebrate our 10 years of night flying. The Heli Hikes alone attracted over 700 participants, 68% identifying as new supporters to KSS. Our Carol Concerts, also held across the three counties for

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the first time, attracted 1,267 people with 61% identifying as new supporters. Overall, our Events Team contributed income of £0.3M (2023: £0.1M)

We hosted our first Winter Ball, with guest speakers including Mary Nightingale and our own Prof. Kevin Fong. It was an enjoyable evening for all involved and raised an incredible £0.2M for KSS. Our thanks to everyone who kindly donated our incredible auction prizes, which were instrumental in the final total raised.

Our Philanthropy Team work on identifying and applying for charitable grants for some of our activities, including securing restricted funding for our projects as outlined in note 14, and support our major donor network. This proved to be an exceptional year for the team, with £1.6M (2023: £0.8M) of much needed funding secured.

Legacies and inmemory continue to form an ever-growing share of our income stream, raising £5.0M (2023: £4.2M). We are honoured to be remembered by our supporters this way and work hard to ensure we fulfil the legal wishes of the legator.

We started the new financial year with our hugely successful Buy it for Life campaign, the details of which will appear in next year’s financial reports.

Thank you to our Corporate Sponsors

Our Corporate Partnerships Team have spent the year networking and building relationships, raising £0.4M (2023: £0.3M). We would like to thank our key sponsors, GW Highways, Fidelity International and Gatwick Airport, for their ongoing support. Not only

have they sponsored key events and raised much needed general funds, but their staff have also supported our other fundraising events as volunteers.

Our Fundraising Promise

We are proud to be registered with the Fundraising Regulator and display this badge on our fundraising materials. We are committed to The Fundraising Promise, which encompasses everything we do. This means:

We will commit to high standards

We will adhere to the Fundraising Code of Practice. We monitor professional fundraisers, volunteers and third parties working with us to raise funds, to ensure that they comply with the Code of Fundraising Practice, the law and with this Promise.

We will be clear, honest and open

In line with our values, we will always be transparent Tradingcosts subsidiary about how we use our donations, including the amount we spend on fundraising, and not exaggerate with you. We are always clear about how you can update how you support us and will always be transparent about any third parties we use to fundraise on our behalf. This year we maintained the support of Purity Fundraising and Tower Lotteries Ltd. We support the induction process of any new representatives into these companies through a KSS induction, explaining our work F re and the standards we expect to see.

We will ensure our complaints process is clear and easily accessible on our website. We will provide clear and evidenced-based reasons for our decisions.

We will be respectful

We will respect your rights and privacy. Where the law requires, we will seek your consent to contact you about fundraising and will always offer you the right to change

how we contact you. We work with the Telephone, Mail and Fundraising Preference Services to ensure we honour our supporters’ wishes.

We will not put undue pressure on you to make a gift. If you do not want to give or wish to cease giving, we will respect your decision and we have careful procedures in place for recognising and dealing with people in vulnerable circumstances, available on request.

We will be fair and reasonable

We will treat donors and the public fairly, showing sensitivity and adapting our approach depending on your needs. We will take care not to use any images or words that intentionally cause distress or anxiety and will take care not to cause nuisance or disruption to the public.

We will be accountable and responsible

We will manage our resources responsibly and consider the impact of our fundraising on our donors, supporters and the wider public.

Our complaints process is transparently displayed on our website and we will welcome and listen to feedback, responding appropriately to compliments and criticism we receive. We monitor, record and

report the number of complaints and compliments we receive each year, both to our Income Generation, Marketing and Communications (IGMC) committee and in our annual report.

Our complaints procedure will let you know how to contact the Fundraising Regulator in the event that you feel our response is unsatisfactory. Any data on feedback will be shared with the Fundraising Regulator on request.

Strategy, Governance and Oversight

To ensure we remain compliant against the high standards we set ourselves, we have established an IGMC Committee, comprising of three Trustees, the Chief Executive and members of the SLT responsible for income generation, marketing and finance.

The role of this committee includes reviewing reports on performance against metrics and scrutinising of the quarterly complaints and compliments reports. Following an annual business plan, it also reviews key policies and processes to ensure adherence to our Fundraising Promise, offering support and guidance as needed.

On an annual basis, the committee will also recommend a final strategic plan and budget to the Board. Our strategy and focus remain on building a resilient and diverse income portfolio, not to be overly reliant on our successful lottery and legacies, and to continue to inspire those around us to support our fundraising efforts by raising our profile and strengthening our identity so more people are aware of our charity status and how they can support us.

Managing Complaints

As part of our cycle of continuous improvement, we encourage feedback from our supporters, patients, families and volunteers whenever appropriate. Whilst we are proud of the way in which we treat and engage with everyone, we acknowledge that there may be times when we fail to meet our own high standards. When this does occur, our priority is to ensure that we deal with the situation as quickly and effectively as possible and not to be dismissive of anyone airing a concern. We can then look to learn from any experiences and put measures in place to prevent recurrence. Communication is key to our procedure, ensuring the individual is kept informed of any outcomes.

We are thankful to anyone who takes the time to reach out and help us improve and have used both complaints and compliments to shape the communications we send. In 2023-24 we sent out around two million individual communications. We received 443 compliments and 261 complaints relating to these. This equates to a complaint rate of just 0.01% of all communications. We also received 55 compliments and 11 complaints relating to our service delivery. These do not include complaints relating to aviation, which are handled by our helicopter supplier. Each complaint was fully investigated and resolved in line with our complaints process which is published on our website.

Our Plans for the Future

KSS maintains an ambition to meet the growing needs of our communities and look for innovative ways we can achieve our purpose of saving lives and ensuring the best possible patient outcomes. This will always be balanced with ensuring our long-term sustainability. To achieve this, we continue to grow and diversify our income streams. We will also continue to investigate and evaluate opportunities to expand our core service, strengthen our independence, collaborate with like-minded organisations and invest in our research and medical capabilities to ensure we remain a cutting-edge service led by research. This will keep our patients at the heart of everything we do and, working together, we will move towards a vision of an end to preventable loss of life from medical emergency.

We continue to invest in our talented team of staff and volunteers and will continue to build a strong foundation and infrastructure that is capable of supporting growth across KSS, with focus on the development of both core and bespoke training to grow and empower staff to deliver their best.

b-KSb, GOAL We Aspire for Excellence in All We Do

The Trustees are proud to lead an organisation that aspires for excellence and understands that underpinning this is a foundation of strong governance, compliance and financial management. From service delivery, health and safety, human resource management, IT infrastructure, data protection and financial controls, we aim to work to best practice standards.

Our service is rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission in all five of its key lines of enquiry and we are proud of the quality of service we continue to offer. Our exceptional service was recognised by means of a Community Hero Award at the Surrey Business Awards in October for our 24/7 lifesaving pre-hospital emergency medical care.

Barney Burgess, Chair of our Board of Trustees, was awarded the Trustee of the Year Award at the Air Ambulances UK Awards of Excellence, a much-deserved recognition of his dedication to KSS.

Captain Blaine Ashurst, who has recently retired as a pilot after 25 years of flying with us, was shortlisted for the AAUK Lifetime Achievement Award. With 25 years of experience, he flew over 5K missions, safely delivering our lifesaving crews to thousands of patients.

Our IT infrastructure continues to mature. In addition to our Cyber Essential Plus accreditation, we completed a further audit as part of our Gambling Commission application, which is comprised of parts of the ISO27001. We were delighted to pass this with just two minor recommendations.

We continue to mature our Learning Management Systems (LMS) and will become an early adopter of the NHS Skills For Life LMS. To compliment this, we have introduced a course authorship tool which will enable us to develop and roll out bespoke training to all staff, volunteers and Trustees.

Our first apprentice completed her exams to become CIPD qualified and the only student at her college to receive a double distinction. We are delighted that after being inspired and encouraged by our medical teams she has been accepted to study paramedic science at university and is due to start in September.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

Building trust by operating responsibly is an integral part of our strategy and culture. We recognise that as a charity we are rightly held to a higher account and transparency is crucial for securing public support. ESG is routinely on our Board agenda as we continue to develop our long-term strategy and framework.

We are aware that our lifesaving work relies on the usage of our AW169 helicopters and hybrid RRVs which consume fossil fuels. We have many good practices across our bases including recycling options, hybrid working for office-based staff, and an ambition for plug-in hybrid vehicles to eventually replace our current RRV fleet. While electric vehicles currently do not provide the range and performance we require for our work, we continue to monitor the developing market and have successfully deployed plug-in hybrid vehicles to support our clinical operations managers. We are also aware of our environmental responsibilities and actively seek opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint as they present themselves. We are willing to invest in appropriate technology as it becomes available.

Our Board and Committee business plans ensure we adhere to these principles. We regularly review our governance against the Charity Governance Code and our Board and Committee timetables are set with these principles in mind. The Trustees recently undertook a board effectiveness review of which the findings were discussed at the following Board meeting. A wider Board evaluation will also include a review of our scheme of delegation, our board policies and code of conduct. Each of our Board and Committee meetings have an annual timetable of agenda items which correlate with recommendations in the Charity Governance Code and various Charity Commission guidance documents.

In 2024 we launched our first symposium on Optimising Inclusivity in PHEM with a particular focus on understanding the obstacles for women to enter and remain in this industry so that KSS can be a sector leader in creating an environment in which everybody can equally thrive.

Our People

We are proud of our staff, volunteer and supporter engagement and understand the benefit of each person feeling valued for what they contribute. We aim to be an organisation where everyone feels free to be their authentic self and continue to develop our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) strategy to ensure we are truly reflecting and engaging with the communities we serve.

We are committed to fair remuneration being offered to attract and retain appropriately qualified staff to lead, manage, support and deliver our services, including key management. In the year, all remuneration remained at the London living wage or above and all salaries are benchmarked by our HR Team to avoid unconscious bias. Pay structures, pensions and other benefits are all approved by the Board of Trustees and are reviewed annually. A number of medical staff salaries are associated to the appropriate NHS pay scales, to ensure competitive pay rates and gender equality in pay, although KSS retains full discretion with regards to annual pay application awards on all directly employed staff.

We champion wellbeing and have several support systems in place to support our staff, including an employee assistance scheme and access to the SECAmb Wellbeing Hub. In June 2023, three of our managers underwent mental health first aid training with the objective to increase our awareness and support of staff showing early signs of need. Our Culture and Wellbeing Group also regularly organises events to bring people together. We celebrated wellbeing month in January with several initiatives from a fun rowing machine challenge at both bases, to a smoothie station and, more practically, supporting our staff with their financial wellbeing via a pension advice session.

Whether they've been with us since the beginning or have recently joined with fresh ideas and skills, every volunteer is an essential part of our team. Our volunteers help us reach further into the communities we serve, provide vital support, and bring energy, passion, and fun to our activities. Their contributions are invaluable, and we are committed to running a successful and inclusive volunteering programme. We were supported by an average of 120 volunteers through the year with a range of duties from managing reception, to supporting our fundraising events and presenting our popular community talks.

Our Structure, Governance and Management

Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex is a Charitable Company limited by guarantee (not having a share capital). Our registered office address is Rochester City Airport, Maidstone Road, Chatham, Kent ME5 9SD. We are registered with the Charity Commission under charity number 1021367 and registered with Companies House under company number 2803242. We are governed by our Articles of Association as last amended on 9[th] March 2022.

We have one wholly owned trading subsidiary, Air Ambulance Promotions Ltd (AAPL), the details of which are given in note 4 of the Financial Statements.

Our Board of Trustees hold quarterly Board meetings and an annual strategy day. Additional meetings may be called as the need arises. The Chief Executive and SLT attend all Board meetings.

A Scheme of Delegation is in place to identify matters reserved for the Board and those delegated to committees of the Board or to the SLT or other staff. This is regularly reviewed and updated as necessary. Day to day responsibility for running the charity is delegated to the Chief Executive and the SLT.

Our Trustees

Our Trustees, who are also directors of KSS under company law, are responsible for the strategic direction and policies of KSS. As part of their roles, they ensure our high governance standards are maintained.

Trustee Appointment

Our Trustees are elected to hold office for three terms of three years until they reach a maximum period of nine years. Every three years, they will retire their position, and the Board must re-elect them into post. Should it be in the charity’s best interest for a Trustee to serve beyond this term, the articles require a break from office before being reappointed.

We are committed to a thorough and transparent recruitment process for our Trustees. Before undertaking any Trustee recruitment our Trustees complete a skills gap exercise which helps us identify the skills we require in our new Trustees. We widely advertise any positions and use an external recruitment agency where needed.

Each candidate submits a CV to the Chair and Chief Executive after which we carry out an informal interview to enable any candidates to get a deeper understanding of what is required and confirm their commitment to their application. A formal interview is then conducted, and the preferred candidate recommended to the Board for their formal approval, by a simple majority.

Due diligence is always carried out in advance to ensure the nominee is willing and eligible to stand as a Trustee.

Once elected, all our Trustees have an induction that includes inhouse training on Trustee duties, meeting key members of SLT and a visit to both bases. They will be given copies of recent minutes, management accounts, the most recent annual report and copies of the appropriate Charity Commission guidance.

Declaration of Interests

Trustees have a legal obligation under both charity and company law to act in the best interests of KSS and must not put themselves in any position where their duties as a Trustee may conflict with any personal interest they may have.

As such, a register of Trustees’ interests is maintained, and any interests are declared routinely at the start of meetings.

All Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustees received remuneration in the year. Details of Trustees’ expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in note 16.

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The Trustees who served during the year were as follows:

D H B Burgess, Chair of the Board of Trustees (Re-appointed 06/12/23) T S N Oakes, Hon. Treasurer (Re-appointed 06/12/23 for two years) M J Docherty, Vice Chair Prof A Rhodes, Vice Chair S E Appleby, Trustee N C Hall, Trustee R R Lee, Trustee D A J Morgan, Trustee E B Styles, Trustee P D Stewart, Trustee (Re-appointed 06/12/23 for two years) J B Redman, Trustee

*Two years allow for staggered end dates for key board members.

Our Key Management Personnel ~~Pe~~ The management of KSS is undertaken by our Chief Executive (CEO) David Welch and supported by a SLT who lead on strategic work in each of their directorates.

The team are outlined below:

A D Welch, Chief Executive Dr D J Bootland, Executive Medical Director L J Curtis MBE, Executive Director of Service Delivery Dr J A Harkins, Executive Director of Business Development K R Heaton-Ralph, Executive Director of Fundraising and Philanthropy I W Howick, Executive Director of Corporate Services Prof. R M Lyon MBE, Executive Director of Research and Innovation/ Dep.Medical Director S D Russell, Executive Director of Individual Giving and Lotteries

Our Decision-making Structure: Our Committees

All Trustees are required to be members of at least one committee which meet quarterly, in advance of the Board meetings. Our committees are outlined in the table below alongside the Trustees who attend them. Each of our committees work to a Terms of Reference approved by the Board.

Name	Purpose	Trustee Members
Audit, Risk, Remuneration and Investment (ARRI) Committee	To support the Board in executing its responsibilities around risk management, internal controls, renumeration and benefits, governance and compliance, coordinating financial scrutiny and oversight of all KSS investments, budgets and financialperformance.	T S N Oakes (Chair) D H B Burgess P D Stewart E B Styles
Clinical Governance and Service Delivery (CGSD) Committee	To provide oversight for the Board and support the Service Delivery Team in reviewing patient care, service performance, developing and delivering strategic plans, research activity, including oversight of relevant budgets and making recommendations to the Board.	Prof A Rhodes (Chair) N C Hall R R Lee D A J Morgan
Income Generation, Marketing and Communication (IGMC) Committee	To provide oversight to the Board in relation to the charity’s Income Generation, Marketing and Communications strategies, campaigns and project delivery, including financial oversight of relevant budgets and supporter experience. To support the teams in developing and delivering strategies and making recommendations to the Board on its behalf.	M J Docherty (Chair) S E Appleby J B Redman
Aviation Advisory Group (AAG) – Adhoc, meeting when required rather than quarterly	To provide direction and guidance to the Board and SLT on the options available to KSS in relation to its short-, medium- and long-term aviation strategy and critical supply partners and any other related party, contract or service.	Prof A Rhodes (Chair) D H B Burgess N C Hall D A J Morgan T S N Oakes
Air Ambulance Promotions Ltd (AAPL)	The trading subsidiary of KSS, a wholly owned registered Company limited by shares in England and Wales.	The following served as Directors during the year: D Mantz A D Welch S D Russell T S N Oakes

Our Key Advisors

•National • Crowe • Brodies • Evelyn • Ruffer

Westminster U.K. LLP Partners LLP LLP Bank Plc Chatham (A) Medway 25 80 Victoria Branch 148, High Street Bridge House, 110 Queen Moorgate London Street London Chatham, Kent ME4 4DB 1-8 Fair-meadow, Street, Glasgow EC2R 6AY SW1E 5JL

Maidstone, G1 3BX Kent ME14 1JP

¥1 Financial Review T*Y

Year-End Financial Position

Our year-end financial position is set out in the group consolidated balance sheet on page 46 and the charity’s balance sheet on page 47.

The charity group remains in a healthy financial position overall with sufficient funds to mitigate external shocks. The purchase of G-KSSC was funded in part by the redemption of loans to SAS, realisation of quoted investments managed by our investment managers and cash held.

We retain liquidity to meet the organisation’s day to day cyclical working capital needs.

As part of the new maintenance and pilotage agreement with Gama, we now pay quarterly upfront, resulting in an increased prepayment balance at the year end.

Trade creditors represent regular supplier balances, settled after the year end.

Income Pe

Our principal funding sources are set out in detail in note 3.

Despite the continuing economic headwinds faced by our supporters, our income increased to £20.7M compared with £18.3M in 2023, an increase of 13%. The proportion of income from our supporters remained constant at 88%.

Donations and legacies of £7.7M (2023: £6.3M) and income from the trading activities of our subsidiary Air Ambulance Promotions Limited (AAPL) of £9.0M (2023: £8.7M), predominantly from our well supported lottery, represents 81% (2023: 82%) of our income.

Income from fundraising and events of £1.6M (2023: £1.0M) increased by 59% on last year’s performance, delivered by growth from both the Community and Corporate teams.

Investment income was reduced mainly due to the redemption of the G-KSSC loan to SAS in the year, as part of that helicopter’s purchase by the charity.

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1%
8%
37%
43%
11%
a Donation and Legacies
Oo Charitable activities
Trading activity
a Investment income
Oo Other income
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Expenditure

Total expenditure increased by 8.8% to £20.4M (2023: £18.8M) primarily due to the increased cost and wage inflation across the organisation as well as investment in our Fundraising Team. Direct charitable expenditure was moderated by the impact of the purchase of G-KSSC.

The cost of raising funds increased by £0.9M to £3.8M (2023: £2.9M) mainly due to the full year cost of the restructured Fundraising Team, additional fundraising agency fees to drive growth and costs related to the Buy it for Life integrated campaign, which raised £2.0M.
The costs of trading fell by (£0.2M) to £1.7M (2023: £1.9M) as lottery sign ups moderated in the face of economic pressures faced by supporters. Lottery membership grew through the year by 2% (2023: grew by 4%) with 103,558 plays in the weekly regular draw at the end of March 2024 (2023: 101,410).
Charitable expenditure increased by 7% to £15.0M (2023: £14.0M). Direct charitable expenditure on research and education increased by £0.5M to £0.7M (2023: £0.2M), much of

which was supported by dedicated funding for specific initiatives, while doctor staffing costs increased by £0.4M to £1.6M (2023: £1.2M).

Air Ambulance Promotions Ltd (AAPL)

Our trading company's turnover has increased by 3% to £9.0M (2023: £8.7M). At the year end the main lottery plays increased by 2% to 103,558 with 60,276 (58%) also entering the weekly Superdraw. The weekly draw known as 24/7 raises funds specifically for night flying and by the end of the year there were 4,893 member plays (2023: 5,149). Total sales from the three weekly draws and raffles amounted to £8.9M, an increase of 3% (2023: £8.7M). At the same time the profit for the financial year increased by 6% or £0.5M to £7.0M (2023: £6.5M). The Directors are pleased with the performance in year and are looking at several strategies to continue to further improve results and the support for our parent charity over the coming years.

Total merchandise sales amounted to £32,768 (2023: £50,455) reflecting an under-budget performance in the sale of Christmas cards.

The Directors have agreed to gift aid each year's taxable profit to KSS. This amounted to £7.3M (2023: £6.8M), including the remaining taxable profits of £1.0M at the year end.

We continue to closely monitor and manage the activities of our professional fundraisers, Tower Lotteries and Purity Fundraising, taking into account the requirements of our licence with the Gambling Commission and the requirements of the Fundraising Regulator.

Managing Our Finances

Going Concern

Our Trustees have reviewed forecasts that have been sensitised to reflect various risks and uncertainties including the new contract with Gama, continuing inflationary pressures on our cost base, a sensible range of investment outcomes and specifically the post balance sheet events detailed in note 17.

Our Trustees confirm that they consider the going concern basis to remain appropriate as the charitable company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The risks continue to be mitigated by flexibility in our operating model, the ability to decelerate or stop strategic developments and our diverse income streams, from legacy cases in progress, the substantial lottery and plans to maximise opportunities from fundraising events, trusts and foundations, and ad-hoc raffle campaigns, supported by our continued engagement within the community.

Reserves

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Unrestricted
Restricted
reserves
reserves
Designated General
funds funds
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Reserves Policy

Our Reserves Policy is reviewed annually by the ARRI Committee and its proposals adopted by the Trustees.

In accordance with the Charity Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), KSS holds two types of reserves:

Restricted reserves – specific donations including for research, equipment and long-term capital development.
Unrestricted reserves - made up of designated funds and general funds.
Designated funds - unrestricted funds which the Trustees may from time to time set up for specific purposes. These include:
The fixed asset fund (currently equal to the net book value of fixed assets owned by KSS).
Funds allocated to long term expenditure, for instance the Future Helicopters fund and the property development fund.
General funds - unrestricted reserves to manage operational or cash flow needs and to provide contingency for unexpected events, operational requirements or patient opportunities.

Our Future Helicopters Fund is funded by the capital and interest repayments of the loans lent to our helicopter services providers (SAS/Gama) which are secured against the helicopter itself and various corporate guarantees. The loan associated with G-KSSC was repaid in full on the 1[st] August 2023. The loan associated with G-KSST was repaid in full on the 10[th] May 2024 and designated reserves in the Future Helicopters Fund were used to purchase the helicopter. The Board of Trustees are currently reviewing the Reserves Policy and statement for future years to reflect these purchases and appropriate designations that might be required for future replacements and development.

Policy on Specific Reserves

We are very largely reliant on fundraising and donations for our activities and our expenditure can vary depending on demand and activity. We hold reserves to mitigate these risks, plus other unexpected events.

Total Reserves

The total funds held by the charity at 31[st] March 2024 was £34.1M (2023: £33.7M), of which £17.9M (2023: £17.1M) are designated general funds. A full analysis is shown at note 14.

Restricted Reserves

We retained a restricted funds balance of £0.3M (2023: £0.2M) A full analysis is shown at note 14.

Designated (unrestricted) Funds at Year-end

The Future Helicopters Fund stands at £3.3M (2023: £11.3M) following the purchase of G-KSSC.
The Fixed Assets Fund presently stands at £11.6M (2023: £4.1M), representing the net book value of assets we utilise, including the recent purchase of G-KSSC. This fund would not ordinarily be realised other than by the amortisation or disposal of the associated fixed assets.
The Property Relocation Fund retains a balance of £1.0M (2023: £1.0M), this reflects consideration to any further building development which may be required in future and acts as a mitigation to the short contractual notice period on our lease at Redhill of two years.

Risk-based Approach

We have a five-year budget forecast that is reviewed at least annually. Due to the lifesaving nature of our work, there is a low-risk approach taken with regards reserves, as closure of the service would be potentially catastrophic to the public we serve.

Consideration is given to the reliability of the income streams individually and over reliance on any particular income stream. We seek to further diversify our income streams to reduce overall risk of failure due to external factors affecting one of these streams e.g., the lottery.

We have a risk-based approach when reviewing our reserve levels with consideration given to future operational and capital expenditure, the level of general funds required to maintain long-term security of our activity and the current macroeconomic conditions.

Our financial state remains healthy, but Trustees are very conscious of the significant liabilities and commitments we have, especially in the contracts relating to the operation of helicopter, and the fact that we are almost entirely reliant on public donations for our income. We received 14% (2023: 13%) of charitable activities expenditure from NHS funding.

The purchase of our helicopter, as well as providing annual cost savings, helped secure the long-term access to helicopters beyond our current contracts. However, the capital outlay once completed will lower general reserves. Our designated reserves will grow with the increase in assets held.

Currently, the Board’s target remains for general funds to cover up to 12 months of future forecast expenditure, with preparedness to allow a lower number of months’ cover in the short-term period, for major investment (such as the acquisition of a helicopter). That is exactly where we are at the end of 2023-24, with general funds standing at £17.9M (2023: £17.1M), representing 9.2 months’ expenditure (2023: 9.2 months), reflecting both the recent acquisition and the increased cost base.

During 2024-25 this target will be reviewed, as the possession of helicopter assets presents us with additional liquidity opportunities, not normally available from our other assets in time of need.

Investment Policy and Performance

The ARRI Committee is charged with ensuring a suitable asset allocation strategy for the investment portfolio, taking professional advice where needed. We seek to keep sufficient cash and near cash to cover known short-term cash flow requirements and day to day working capital requirements.

Balances over the liquidity requirements may be invested longer-term in various Board approved vehicles including bank deposits, investment funds, loans and any other investments that the Board may from time to time deem to be appropriate e.g. government gilts. Our Trustees have considered their appetite with regard risk and accordingly our longer-term reserves should be invested to grow at least in line with inflation to mitigate inflationary risk. In 2023, this proved challenging following the spike in inflation and Trustees agreed a minimal change in our approach, following review with our investment managers, on the basis that our investment targets are assessed over the long term and the held view that inflation would return to levels more recently seen. As a result, investment performance in this single year did not return additional income or match inflation growth. Over the long term, performance remains good.

We seek to obtain the best financial total return from our longer-term reserves, generally within a medium degree of investment risk. The horizon for the longer-term investments is up to five years but consideration is given to the portfolio of investments to ensure there remains access to funds in the short-term to provide any funding needs beyond our known cash flow requirements.

Investments are diversified, with the aim of avoiding over-exposure in any institution, although most of our bank deposits are currently held with a single UK National bank.

Our Ethical Investment Policy precludes investment in tobacco and avoids direct investment in companies that generate more than 10% of revenue from alcohol manufacture, armaments, gambling, pornography and pay day loans.

Investment Performance

The Trustees consider it appropriate to hold reserves in a combination of cash, low risk investment funds (Ruffer – targeting to preserve capital and beat returns on cash deposits), and balanced risk investment funds (Evelyn Partners – targeting returns of CPI + 3%).

During the year KSS withdrew £3.5M of investments to fund the purchase of G-KSSC. It also made a deposit of £1.05M into Evelyn Partners to take advantage of the interest rates achievable in UK Government Treasury Bills.

At the year end, KSS had an £9.1M (2023: £8.5M) portfolio with Evelyn Partners which is managed based on a multi- asset portfolio strategy which aims to achieve a combination of capital growth and income distributions over the long-term. Dividends are rolled over and there is no entry in these accounts, therefore, for investment income from this source.

Our Trustees monitored Evelyn Partners own total return as follows:

Investment Performance	Portfolio Total Return	MSCI PIMFA Balanced Index	CPI + 3%

Since inception (May 2018) to 31stMarch 2024	40.25%	36.32%	50.11%
12 months to 31stMarch 2024	12.42%	12.2%%	6.56%

At 31[st] March 2024, the Ruffer holding was valued at £9.0M (2023: £11.8M). The portfolio is invested entirely in one in-house fund with the aim of delivering positive returns regardless of how the financial markets perform and at a higher rate than would be achieved by depositing funds in cash.

Our Trustees monitored Ruffer’s own total return as follows:

Investment Performance	Portfolio	FTSE All- Share index	Bank rate

Since inception (March 2019) to 31st March 2024	27.8%	31.2%	8.4%
12 months to 31st March 2024	(7.3%)	8.4%	5.1%

Investments may also be made as cash deposits with reputable banks and on terms between 30 days and one year, ensuring that funds are maturing on a regular basis should our short-term cash flow requirements need supplementing. We constantly monitor interest rates, which have increased on the back of the Bank of England rate changes, resulting in interest received of £77,608 (2023: £50,619).

The total unrealised gain from all investments amounted to £0.2M (2023: loss of £0.2M).

On 8[th] February 2016, we entered into a secured loan agreement with SAS (Kent) Limited to lend 50% of the purchase price, £3.079M, for the new AW169 helicopter (G-KSST) at an interest rate of 4.771% over a 10-year term. During the year, interest of £0.07M (2023: £0.08M) was accrued and paid over. At the year end the outstanding balance on the loan, including unamortised legal costs, stood at £1.4M (2023: £1.6M). The loan is secured by a charge over the helicopter.

On 21[st] December 2017, we entered into a second secured loan agreement with SAS (Surrey and Sussex) Limited to lend 50% of the purchase price, £3.628M for a second AW169 helicopter (G-KSSC) at an interest rate of 4.781% over a 10-year term. As part of our agreement to purchase G-KSSC on the 1[st] August 2023, the loan was repaid in full and the charge held by KSS over the helicopter was released as KSS took unencumbered ownership. Up to that date, interest of £0.03M (2023: full year £0.12M) was accrued and paid over.

At part of the service agreement transition arrangements, ownership of SAS (Kent) Limited had transferred to Gama, and as part of the novated services agreements KSS was in discussion with both parties to purchase G-KSST, which would also redeem the loan. The deal concluded on the 10[th] May 2024.

Managing Risk

Furthering our charitable objectives means balancing risks and opportunities.

KSS has a three lined approach to risk management:

Operational risk management: This is embedded throughout the organisation and involves managers and staff identifying and mapping key risks and the policies, procedures and controls they have in place to mitigate these risks. The operational risk management register is held on RADAR.

Project risk management: At the inception of a major project, KSS has prepared a project initiation document (PID) which encourages a risk-based approach to project management, with potential risks being identified at an early stage and as the project is developing with appropriate mitigations from the outset. This includes the risks associated with personal data, through the completion of a data protection impact assessment where applicable.

Strategic risk management: These are risks arising from the strategy which tend to be external risks and therefore are often outside of our control, especially within one team. These risks are managed by the SLT and Board of Trustees and rely on regular horizon scanning.

Our management processes allow for a bottom up and a top-down approach to risk. They require all objectives, either strategic, project or operational, to be clarified and associated risks be identified. The risk is analysed against an agreed matrix for consistency and response to the risk documented and regularly reviewed.

In 2024 we further adapted our risk reporting into six core categories to enhance understanding of both aggregated risks in each of the categories as well as growth in the numbers of risks being managed and individual movements. This provides much greater transparency and a RAG based system provides a trigger for actions.

Risk Appetite

Risk appetite is not a single, fixed concept and KSS has developed the following risk appetite statement: “Overall, KSS has an averse appetite for legal, regulatory, safeguarding, health and safety and reputational risks and we will put in sufficient controls through policies, procedures and controls to manage these risks to their lowest possible levels of impact and likelihood.

KSS takes pride in its service delivery and is cautious in this regard to protect our core service, however, it would always seek to expand its horizons and is hungry to new ideas or approaches to compliment or improve our service, though it would not wish to be seen as unconventional and will balance this approach to ensuring the core service is protected.

As the organisation is partly statutory funded, it seeks to diversify its income streams and is open in this regard. KSS holds significant funds in investments and has an open appetite to investment opportunities but the overall management of these and the delegation of financial authority will be cautious.

Where KSS is more open to risk, staff are expected to ensure that adequate governance, risk management and internal control is in place, but it is accepted that the residual risk may remain higher even with these measures in place. Where appetite for risk falls outside of these statements it will be escalated as required.”

The most significant risks we faced in 2023-24

The single largest risk to our operation in the year was the potential of SAS entering administration which would have grounded our helicopters and left us without any pilots in the immediate aftermath. KSS did have a business continuity plan in place, including increased use of our RRVs (road response) and a limited helicopter service using another supplier, but inevitably there would have been a service impact. This risk could never be fully mitigated but was managed as competently as it could have been without having to fund a shadow equivalent service as back up. Following detailed evaluation, we applied to the Charity Commission for a s105 Order to make an extra payment to SAS to enable them to continue to operate for a defined period whilst contract negotiations could take place with Gama, to structure a pre-packed administration sale to occur. This was successful, service continued without disruption and a deal concluded on the 1[st] February 2024 resulting in the supply of aviation operations switching from SAS to Gama. The service has since been robust as we continue to develop our new working relationship. KSS recovered the extra payment made, in full. We are grateful for the urgent support provided by the Charity Commission, the support of other air ambulances affected and the efforts of the SAS Directors, administrators, CAA and legal advisors (including our advisors Brodies) to maintain the service. A serious incident report was filed with the Charity Commission, who were kept abreast of the evolving situation.

The cost-of-living concerns were also a risk high on our agenda, with the potential impact of a decrease in public support to our fundraising activity. We mitigated this by diversifying our income streams as much as possible, thereby giving people different ways to support us, but also by increasing our efforts in trust and foundations and our major donor programmes and extension of canvassing into regular giving. Budgets were re-evaluated quite early in the year, but we were delighted to end the year exceeding £20M income for the first time in our history. Planning for the Buy it for Life campaign to generate additional public support to help secure the purchase of our second helicopter developed over the last quarter of the year.

Our lottery and gaming funding stream, operated by AAPL, remains the biggest single income stream for KSS and the consultation launched by the Gambling Commission gave rise to a real risk of society lotteries being negatively impacted by tighter restrictions in the gambling industry, particularly with regards to how we can engage with our supporters over our lottery and gaming products. We are pleased with the initial outcomes from the consultation, which has recognised that society lotteries do not pose the same risk as other betting outlets and should be treated differently.

A second serious incident was reported relating to a cyber security incident within a third-party supplier. Fortunately, the issue was resolved and, whilst the risk to KSS data was low, it reinforced our internal commitment to strong cyber protection and careful due diligence of third parties that we have embedded.

The most significant risks we face in the year ahead

Operational

We continue to manage the inherent risks associated with managing a HEMS based operation, and ensure we hold all relevant insurances to mitigate, as far as practically possible, the potential of significant financial risk. In addition, with the current pressures faced by the NHS, with whom many of our staff are also employed to carry out additional shifts, ensuring our rota is robust so that we always have the right teams on call continues to pose a challenge.

We continue to monitor long-term plans at both of our operating bases linked to potential future developments which may affect KSS operations beyond the upcoming year.

Helicopter Ownership

An inevitable result of our move from helicopter leasing to ownership is the acquisition of the risks and rewards that accompany it, including the risk of unforeseen costs and the residual value risk inherent in owning a relatively new designation and low serial number and the investment of capital involved in those purchases.

We have leveraged expertise available to us through the Board of Trustees, internal and external professionals, our maintenance providers, Gama, and the experiences of other Air Ambulance charities to ensure we understand and mitigate those risks to the extent reasonably possible. However, inevitably some risk may remain, especially around currency exposure as second hand helicopters are customarily valued in USD, with new helicopters from Leonardo priced in EUR. To date, the residual values are strong, and we believe that the AW169 remains the optimal helicopter for our operating model and no successor is expected in the next five to ten years. Historically, helicopters will operate for over twenty years, and both G-KSSC and G-KSST are under ten years of age.

External Economic Shock

In an increasingly tumultuous global political arena, including ongoing global conflicts, and general elections in both the UK and the US, as well as key countries in Europe, there is risk of impact on the global economy, competing demands from other charitable causes and ultimately both individual and corporate supporters feeling less able to support. Impact for KSS would include reduced donations and contraction in some of our ambitions. In these times, many charities then turn to other sources of funding, such as trust and foundations which increase competition, making them harder to secure. We mitigate this through continuing to diversify our income streams and ensuring our budget and long-term strategy has enough elasticity to navigate this kind of uncertainty, and if necessary, by drawing on our reserves.

Cyber-protection

With the NHS outwardly being targeted by foreign cyber-criminals, and considering our close proximity to them, we are not complacent about our cyber-security and will always recognise this as a significant risk.

We continue to respond robustly, and mitigations include reaching our Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation in 2023-24, but we continue to carefully monitor and respond to this ongoing threat.

Statement of Trustee’s Responsibilities

Our Trustees are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). The financial statements are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the profit or loss of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue to operate.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding 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.

Disclosure of Information to Auditors

Insofar as each of the Trustees of the charity at the date of approval of this report is aware, there is no relevant audit information (information needed by the company’s auditors in connection with preparing the audit report) of which the company’s auditors are unaware and each Trustee has taken all of the steps that he/she should have taken as a Trustee in order to make himself/herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditors are aware of that information.

Signed

“Barney “Burgess

D H B Burgess

Chair of Trustees

This report, including the strategic report, was approved by the Board on 13[th] November 2024 and signed on its behalf.

Independent Auditor's Report

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Air Ambulance Charity Kent, Surrey Sussex (the 'Charitable Company') for the year ended 31st March 2024, which comprise the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, the statement of changes in equity 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 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).

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the Charitable Company's affairs as at 31[st] March 2024 and of its net profit for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Charitable Company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council's Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions Relating to Going Concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Charitable Company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 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 course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on Other Matters Prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

the information given in the Trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the Trustees’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which We are Required to Report by Exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Charitable Company 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 Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the Trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies’ regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the Trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 39, the Trustees 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 that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the Charitable Company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the Charitable Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial 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 of 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 fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the company operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006 and Taxation legislation.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be the override of controls by management and the recognition of revenue. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included:

enquiry of management about the company’s policies, procedures and related controls regarding compliance with laws and regulations and if there are any known instances of non-compliance
examining supporting documents for all material balances, transactions and disclosures
review of the board meeting minutes
enquiry of management and review and inspection of relevant correspondence with any legal firms
evaluation of the selection and application of accounting policies related to subjective measurements and complex transactions
detailed testing of a sample of revenue during the year and around the year and agreeing these through to invoices and despatch records
testing the appropriateness of a sample of significant journal entries recorded in the general ledger and other adjustments made in the preparation of the financial statements, and review of accounting estimates for biases.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. We are not responsible for preventing noncompliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/ auditors’ responsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our Report

This report is made solely to the Charitable Company’s shareholders, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charitable Company’s shareholders those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charitable Company and the Charitable Company’s shareholders, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Signed

Matthew Howard (senior statutory auditor)

For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor Medway Bridge House 1-8 Fairmeadow Maidstone Kent ME14 1JP

Date: 20[th] November 2024

Our Financial Statements

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

(INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)

YEAR ENDED 31[st ] MARCH 2024

	Notes	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total Funds	Total Funds
		Funds	Funds	2024	2023
Income:		£	£	£	£
Donations and legacies	3	7,308,639	438,353	7,746,992	6,324,221
Charitable activities	3	2,201,696	-	2,201,696	2,002,245
Tradingactivity	3	8,810,106	149,950	8,960,056	8,716,055
Investmentincome	3	179,696	-	179,696	250,326
Other income	3	1,369,883	237,590	1,607,473	1,009,398
Totalincome		19,870,020	825,893	20,695,913	18,302,245
Expenditure:
Raisingfunds	5	3,744,725	40,888	3,785,613	2,879,113
Charitableactivities	5	14,419,448	535,332	14,954,780	13,986,751
Cost of sales trading subsidiary	5	1,680,682	27,848	1,708,530	1,931,635
Total expenditure		19,844,855	604,068	20,448,923	18,797,499
Operating surplus / (deficit)		25,165	221,825	246,990	(495,254)
Unrealised gains / (losses) on investments	8	164,290	-	164,290	(166,937)
Net income		189,455	221,825	411,280	(662,191)
Transfer between funds		56,902	(56,902)	-	-
Net movement in funds		246,357	164,923	411,280	(662,191)
Reconciliation of funds:
Fund balances brought forward		33,523,605	177,170	33,700,775	34,362,966
Fund balances carried forward		33,769,962	342,093	34,112,055	33,700,775

The above statement contains all the gains and losses recognised in the current and preceding year. All operations are continuing.

The notes on pages 49-65 form part of these financial statements

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

31[st ] MARCH 2024

	Notes	Total Funds	Total Funds
		2024	2023
Fixed Assets:		£	£
Tangible assets	7	11,582,913	11,582,913 4,088,953
Investments	8	19,444,056	19,444,056 24,259,525
		31,026,969	28,348,478
Current Assets:
Stocks	9	5,456	5,456 1,618
Debtors	10	1,778,363	1,778,363 714,321
Cash at bank and in hand	11	4,258,642	4,258,642 6,455,778
		6,042,461	7,171,717
Creditors: amounts falling due within oneyear	12	2,957,375	1,819,420
NET Current Assets		3,085,086	5,352,297
NET Assets		34,112,055	33,700,775
Reserves:
Designated Funds	14	15,903,884	15,903,884 16,426,354
General Funds	14	17,866,078	17,866,078 17,097,251
Restricted Funds	14	342,093	342,093 177,170
		34,112,055	34,112,055 33,700,775

Approved by the Board on 13[th] November 2024 and signed on its behalf:

“Barney ‘Burgess

D H B Burgess

Chair of Trustees

The notes on pages 49-65 form part of these financial statements.

BALANCE SHEET

31[st ] MARCH 2024

Registered charity no. 1021367 Registered company no. 2803242

	Notes	Total Funds	Total Funds
		2024	2023
Fixed Assets:		£	£
Tangible assets	7	11,582,913	11,582,913 4,088,953
Investments	8	19,444,058	19,444,058 24,259,527
		31,026,971	28,348,480
Current Assets:
Debtors	10	2,994,727	2,994,727 1,717,531
Cash at bank and in hand	11	2,244,740	2,244,740 4,666,229
		5,239,467	6,383,760
Creditors: amounts falling due within oneyear	12	2,154,381	1,031,463
NET Current Assets		3,085,086	5,352,297
NET Assets		34,112,057	33,700,777
Reserves:
Designated Funds	14	15,903,884	15,903,884 16,426,354
General Funds	14	17,866,080	17,866,080 17,097,253
Restricted Funds	14	342,093	342,093 177,170
		34,112,057	33,700,777

Approved by the Board on 13[th] November 2024 and signed on its behalf:

‘Barney “Burgess

D H B Burgess

Chair of Trustees

The notes on pages 49-65 form part of these financial statements.

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2024

Reconciliation of net incoming resources to net cash inflow from	Total Funds	Total Funds
Operating Activities	2024	2023
	£	£
Net incoming resources	246,990	(495,254)
Investmentincome	(77,608)	(50,619)
Interest accrued on loan to SAS	(102,088)	(199,707)
(Profit) / Loss on disposal of fixed assets	(6,054)	(4,577)
Amortisation	42,780	11,975
Depreciation	736,295	476,069
(Increase) / Decrease in stock	(3,838)	(590)
(Increase) / Decrease in debtors	(1,064,042)	553,126
Increase / (Decrease) in creditors	1,137,955	62,379
Net cash inflow from operating activities	910,390	352,802
Returns on investment
Interest received	77,608	50,619
Capital expenditure and financial investments
Purchases of tangible fixed assets	(8,235,481)	(33,821)
Proceeds from disposal of tangible fixed assets	11,280	4,577
Investments made in year	(1,050,000)	(24,625)
Proceeds on disposal of investment	3,500,000	-
Loan repayments received	2,589,067	958,737
Net cash flow from capital expenditure and financial investments	(3,185,134)	904,868
Net cash (outflow) / inflow	(2,197,136)	1,308,289
Cash at bank and in hand
Opening balance at 1stApril 2023	6,455,778	5,147,489
Net cash inflow for the year	(2,197,136)	1,308,289
Closing balance at 31stMarch 2024	4,258,642	6,455,778

Notes to the Financial Statements

of accounting in preparing the annual financial statements.

1. Accounting policies

General information

The principal activity of the charity is to relieve sick and injured people in South East England and surrounding areas by providing a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) and Air Ambulance service for the benefit of the community.

The charity is incorporated and domiciled in the UK. The address of its registered office is

Air Ambulance Building Rochester City Airport Maidstone Road Chatham Kent ME5 9SD

b) Basis of consolidation

The Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) and Balance Sheet consolidate the financial statements of KSS and its subsidiary undertaking, Air Ambulance Promotions Limited. The results of the subsidiary are consolidated on a line-by-line basis.

In accordance with Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, KSS has not presented its statement of financial activities. The excess of income over expenditure of KSS was £0.41M (2023: (£0.66M)).

c) Fund accounting

Designated funds

The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the Group’s financial status.

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 preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (FRS102) - (effective 1 January 2019) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

KSS 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.

Accounting standards require the Trustees to consider the appropriateness of the going concern basis when preparing the financial statements. The Trustees have taken notice of the Financial Reporting Council guidance, which requires the reasons for this decision to be explained. The Trustees regard the going concern basis as remaining appropriate for the reasons outlined in the Trustees report. Thus, they continue to adopt the going concern basis

Unrestricted funds that are earmarked for a particular purpose by the Trustees. The aim and use of each designated fund are set out in note 14.

General funds

Unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of KSS and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds

Funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds is charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund are set out in note 14.

Investment income and gains or losses on quoted investments are allocated to general funds, unless otherwise stated.

d) Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

Donations are recognised by the charity on receipt. If there are conditions attached to the donation and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained then income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the Charity and it is probable that they will be fulfilled. Donated facilities and donated professional services are recognised in income at their fair value when their economic benefit is received, it can be measured reliably and the Charity has control over the item. Fair value is determined on the basis of the value of the gift to the Charity. For example, the amount the Charity would be willing to pay in the open market for such facilities and services. A corresponding amount is recognised in expenditure. No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP (FRS 102).

For legacies, entitlement is the earlier of the charity being notified of an impending distribution or the legacy being received. Income from trading activities includes income earned from fundraising events and trading activities to raise funds for the charity. Income is received in exchange for supplying goods and services in order to raise funds and is recognised when entitlement has occurred. The Charity receives grants in respect of furthering its charitable activities. Income from grants is recognised at fair value at the earlier of receipt or when the Charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. Investment income is earned through holding assets for investment purposes such as loans and bank accounts.

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.

Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised on receipt.

e) Resources expended

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs are not directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of the resources.

Fundraising and publicity costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the cost of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities.

Charitable expenditure is that expenditure directly in connection with the objects of the charity and includes management and support costs.

f) Tangible fixed assets and depreciation Tangible fixed assets are capitalised and included at cost including any incidental expenses of acquisition. Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at annual rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset evenly over its anticipated useful life, as follows:


	straight line over the term of
Leasehold improvements
	the respective lease


	straight line over the
	anticipated remaining useful
Helicopters
	economic life to expected

	residual value

Plant and equipment	10% on cost


Office equipment	20% on cost


Computerequipment	25% on cost


Helicopterequipment	20% on cost


Motor vehicles	25% on cost

g) Investments

Listed investments are stated at market value at the balance sheet date. The SOFA includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluations and disposals throughout the year.

Unlisted investments (including investments in subsidiaries) are measured at cost less accumulated impairment.

Loans and other accounts receivable and payable, are initially measured at present value of the future cash flows and subsequently at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

h) Stock

Stock consists of purchased goods for resale.

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Items donated for resale or distribution are not included in the financial statements unless they are sold or distributed.

i) Debtors

Trade debtors and other debtors are recognised at their transaction price less any allowance for doubtful debts.

j) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash in hand and deposits held with UK banks.

k) Value added tax

Irrecoverable value added tax is included within the expenditure to which it relates.

l) Operating leases

Rentals applicable to operating leases are charged to the SOFA over the period in which the cost is incurred. Details of operating lease commitments are as shown in note 6.

m) Pensions

KSS operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. Contributions to this scheme are charged to resources expended as they fall due. KSS has no potential liability other than the payment of these contributions.

n) Financial instruments

KSS only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

2. Judgments in applying accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The charity may be required to make estimates and assumptions concerning the future. These estimates and judgments are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The resulting accounting estimates will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results.

The principal areas where judgment was exercised are as follows:

i) Tangible and intangible fixed assets: The Trustees annually assess both the residual value of these assets and the expected useful life of such assets which is currently judged to be up to 20 years, based on experience.
i) Accrued legacy income: Management judgments are required to estimate a suitable amount of legacy income to accrue at the reporting date. The amount is calculated based on the conditions set out in the Charity SORP (FRS 102).

l) Corporation tax

No provision has been made for corporation tax, as KSS is able to claim full statutory exemption subject to the proper application of all its charitable reserves.

m) Creditors

Trade creditors and other creditors are recognised at their nominal value when KSS has an obligation to make payment to a third party.

ii) Going concern: The Trustees use budgets and forecasts when concluding upon the going concern assertion when preparing the financial statements. These forecasts have estimates and judgments included throughout but are based on the historic performance of the charity and expected future income and expenditure.

3. Incoming Resources

	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total Funds	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	2024	2023
Donations andlegacies:	£	£	£	£
Donations (not arising from events)	2,261,436	433,353	2,694,789	2,032,698
Legacies & in memorium	4,955,288	5,000	4,960,288	4,187,982
Collection boxes	91,915	-	91,915	103,541
	7,308,639	438,353	7,746,992	6,324,221
Charitable activities:
Intangible income –	-	-	-	4,390
cars loaned by sponsor
Intangible income –	15,965	-	15,965	12,496
drugs & medical consumables
Intangible income -	13,094	-	13,094	29,143
armed forces, doctors’ salaries
Clinical staff funded by NHS	2,009,592	-	2,009,592	1,800,000
Other charitable income	-	-	-	5,225
Lease income	160,149	-	160,149	147,206
Profit/(Loss) on disposal of fixed assets	6,054	-	6,054	4,577
Exchange rategains/(losses)	(3,157)	-	(3,157)	(792)
	2,201,696	-	2,201,696	2,002,245
Income from trading subsidiary	8,810,106	149,950	8,960,056	8,716,055
Investment income
Bank deposit interest	44,870	-	44,870	11,514
Interest on loans	102,088	-	102,088	199,707
Bank deposit interest - tradingsubsidiary	32,738	-	32,738	39,105
	179,696	-	179,696	250,326
Other income
Group fundraising and events	1,369,883	237,590	1,607,473	1,009,398
TOTAL INCOME	19,870,020	825,893	20,695,913	18,302,245

4. Net Income from Trading Activities of Subsidiary

KSS has one trading subsidiary that is incorporated in the UK, Air Ambulance Promotions Limited (registered no. 02674568). KSS owns 100% of the issued share capital of the company. A summary of its trading results is shown below:

its trading results is shown below:
	Total Funds	Total Funds
	2024	2023
	£	£
Turnover	8,960,061	8,716,055
Cost of sales	(1,634,771)	(1,872,483)
Gross profit:	7,325,290	6,843,572
Interestreceivable	32,738	39,104
	7,358,028	6,882,676
Less overheads
Administrative expenses	(73,758)	(59,152)
Income from subsidiary	7,284,270	6,823,524
Comprising:
General funds	7,162,168	6,694,056
Restricted funds	122,102	129,468
Total income from subsidiary	7,284,270	6,823,524

Air Ambulance Promotions Limited gift aided the year-end profit of £7,284,270 (2023: £6,823,524) to KSS and this was paid by 21[st] August 2024.

5. Analysis of Total Resources Expended

	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total Funds	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	2024	2023
Raising funds:	£	£	£	£
Staff costs	2,182,862	-	2,182,862	1,707,141
Consultancy fees	12,929	-	12,929	55,695
Advertising, promotion and publicity	240,604	-	240,604	200,185
Other costs	1,308,330	40,888	1,349,218	916,092
	3,744,725	40,888	3,785,613	2,879,113
Direct charitable expenditure:
Air ambulance running costs	8,115,514	286,937	8,402,451	8,619,607
Helicopter depreciation	314,477	-	314,477	-
Paramedics costs	1,103,970	-	1,103,970	1,295,228
Clinicalmanagers	509,626	-	509,626	429,221
Doctors	1,588,637	-	1,588,637	1,236,070
Operational employees	756,530	-	756,530	595,719
Research and education	457,267	248,395	705,662	211,555
Depreciation of helicopter equipment	141,205	-	141,205	150,057
	12,987,226	535,332	13,522,558	12,537,457
Management and administration
Staff costs	468,332	-	468,332	426,258
Professional fees	77,141	-	77,141	46,681
Other costs	231,537	-	231,537	284,120
	777,010	-	777,010	757,059
Supporting costs and depreciation
Property expenses	473,923	-	473,923	488,175
Depreciation	181,289	-	181,289	204,060
	655,212	-	655,212	692,235
Total charitable expenditure	14,419,448	535,332	14,954,780	13,986,751
Trading subsidiary cost	1,680,682	27,848	1,708,530	1,931,635
TOTAL EXPENDITURE	19,844,855	604,068	20,448,923	18,797,499

6. Total Resources Expended

6. Total Resources Expended	6. Total Resources Expended
Total resources expended is stated after charging:		Total Funds	Total Funds
		2024	2023
		£	£
Auditors’ remuneration	- as auditors	24,500	24,500
	- for taxation services	1,100	1,000
	- for professional advice provided	6,178	16,786
Operating leases	- land and buildings	226,103	240,661
	- helicopter (including pilotage)	5,754,369	5,834,335
	- cars	25,005	25,892
	- office equipment	14,376	21,482
Depreciation		736,295	476,069
Staff costs		2024	2023
		£	£
Wages and salaries		4,075,840	3,134,814
Social security costs		422,455	309,462
Pension costs		408,632	311,182
		4,906,927	3,755,458

The average number of employees excluding Trustees, analysed by	2024	2023
function was:
Management and administration	21	19
Fundraising and publicity	40	34
Direct charitable expenditure,includingsecondees and emeritus	69	52
	130	105

The average number of full-time equivalent staff is 106 (2023:82) including 78 full time (2023: 61) and 53 part time (2023: 43). Of this number 26 (2023: 19) FTE are secondees.

17 (2023: 11) employees earned more than £60,000 during the year in bandings as follows:

	2024	2023
£60K - £70K	7	1
£70K - £80K	2	7
£80K - £90K	4	-
£90K - £100K	2	2
£100K - £110K	1	-
£150K - £160K	-	1
£160K - £170K	1	-

The total amount of employee benefits received by the 8 (2023: 9) members of the Senior Leadership Team was £894,097 (2023: £853,064).

Included within direct charitable expenditure is the cost of staff not directly employed by KSS. This mainly relates to the cost of doctors on board the helicopters who are employed directly by the NHS and

the military £917,596 (2023: £799,982) and NHS clinical managers and paramedics £1,151,351 (2023: £1,225,721).

7. Tangible Fixed Assets

Group	Redhill Base	Helicopter	Helicopter	Motor	Computer	Rochester	Total
and Charity			Equipment (Incl plant)	Vehicles	and Office Equipment	Base
Cost	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
At 1stApril 2023	2,411,323	-	1,161,149	233,509	520,597	2,362,369	6,688,947
Additions	-	8,075,737	85,730	57,973	16,041	-	8,235,481
Disposals	-	-	(109,861)	(51,000)	-	-	(160,861)
At 31st March 2024	2,411,323	8,075,737	1,137,018	240,482	536,638	2,362,369	14,763,567
Depreciation
At 1stApril 2023	521,404	-	841,792	174,327	489,672	572,799	2,599,994
Disposals	-	-	(104,635)	(51,000)	-	-	(155,635)
Charge for the year	99,279	314,477	141,205	40,615	21,056	119,663	736,295
At 31stMarch 2024	620,683	314,477	878,362	163,942	510,728	692,462	3,180,654
Net book values at
At 31stMarch 2024	1,790,640	7,761,260	258,656	76,540	25,910	1,669,907	11,582,913
At 31stMarch 2023	1,889,919	-	319,357	59,182	30,925	1,789,570	4,088,953

8. Fixed Asset Investments

Group		Listed Investments	Unlisted Investments	Total
Market Value		£	£	£
At 1stApril 2023		20,308,696	3,950,829	24,259,525
Additional investment in year		1,050,000	-	1,050,000
Interestaccrued		-	102,088	102,088
Disposal in year		(3,500,000)	-	(3,500,000)
Repayment of loans		-	(2,589,067)	(2,589,067)
Amortisation		-	(42,780)	(42,780)
Increase/(Decrease)in valuation		189,290	(25,000)	164,290
At 31stMarch 2024		18,047,986	1,396,070	19,444,056
Charity	Shares in	Listed	Unlisted	Total
	Subsidiary	Investments	Investments
	Company
Market Value	£	£	£	£
At 1stApril 2023	2	20,308,696	3,950,829	24,259,527
Additional investment in year	-	1,050,000	-	1,050,000
Interestaccrued	-	-	102,088	102,088
Disposal in year	-	(3,500,000)	-	(3,500,000)
Repayment of loans	-	-	(2,589,067)	(2,589,067)
Amortisation	-	-	(42,780)	(42,780)
Increase/(Decrease) in valuation	-	189,290	(25,000)	164,290
At 31stMarch 2024	2	18,047,986	1,396,070	19,444,058
Group and Charity			Original	Total
			Cost
Listed investments comprise the following:			£	£
Evelyn Partners portfolio			6,574,625	9,063,407
Ruffer LLP portfolio			7,000,000	8,984,579
			13,574,625	18,047,986

Group and Charity	2024	2023
	£	£
Unlisted investments comprise the following:
Helicopter loans	1,296,071	3,825,829
Enterprise investment1	100,000	125,000
	1,396,071	3,950,829
	2024	2023
Movement on listed investments	£	£
Market value at the beginning of year	20,308,696	20,451,008
Additions in year	1,050,000	24,625
Disposals in year	(3,500,000)	-
	17,858,696	20,475,633
Market value at end of year	18,047,986	20,308,696
Increase/(Decrease) in value	189,290	(166,937)
Subsidiary Balance Sheet	2024	2023
The assets and liabilities of the subsidiary were:	£	£
Current assets
Stock	5,456	1,618
Debtors	780,182	523,157
Cash at bank	2,013,902	1,789,549
	2,799,540	2,314,324
Creditors: Amounts fallingdue within oneyear	2,799,538	2,314,322
	2	2
Capital and reserves:
Called up share capital	2	2
Profit and loss account	-	-
	2	2

All loans and monies due by Air Ambulance Promotions Limited to KSS are secured by a first floating charge created on 30[th] March 1994 on the subsidiary company’s assets.

1 Enterprise investment consists of a shareholding in Old Hay Farms Limited, through an unrelated third party which dates back to 2014. The primary asset of Old Hay Farms Limited is a plot of land which is used as a private airfield. The shareholding was purchased when the site was being considered as a potential single base site prior to KSS’ move to Redhill. Following a recent site valuation, the Board has agreed the reduction of £25K.

9. Stocks

9. Stocks
	Charity		Group
	2024	2023	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£
Goods for resale	-	-	5,456	1,618

10. Debtors

10. Debtors
	Charity		Group
	2024	2023	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£
Tradedebtors	7,800	55,903	10,131	60,358
Current account with subsidiary	1,993,131	1,526,365	-	-
Other debtors	3,619	588	431,077	159,341
Prepayments and accrued income	990,177	134,675	1,337,155	494,622
	2,994,727	1,717,531	1,778,363	714,321

11. Cash in Hand and at Bank

	Charity		Group
	2024	2023	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£
Investment deposit accounts	107,358	104,329	107,358	104,329
Other bank accounts	2,136,729	4,561,121	4,150,616	6,350,655
Pettycash	653	779	668	794
	2,244,740	4,666,229	4,258,642	6,455,778

12. Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year

	Charity		Group
	2024	2023	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£
Tradecreditors	1,417,310	505,648	1,504,417	581,862
Other taxation and social security	137,996	129,059	134,580	129,059
Other creditors	65,534	44,798	65,534	44,798
Accruals and deferred income	533,541	351,958	1,252,844	1,063,701
	2,154,381	1,031,463	2,957,375	1,819,420

Deferred income is made up of amounts received by subscribers to lotteries and raffles which are yet to be drawn. All amounts are less than one year.

13. Financial Instruments

13. Financial Instruments
Financial Assets	Charity		Group
	2024	2023	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£
Financial assets measured at amortised	23,662,846	30,337,184	24,113,405	30,763,575
cost
Financial Liabilities	Charity		Group
	2024	2023	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£
Financial liabilities measured at	1,482,844	865,017	1,569,951	949,651
amortised cost

Financial assets measured at amortised cost comprise cash at bank, trade debtors, loans to SAS / Gama and listed investments.

Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost comprise trade creditors and accruals.

14. Analysis of Funds

Unrestricted Designated and General Funds

The Unrestricted funds are available for the purposes of KSS, to be spent as the Trustees see fit to meet the objectives of KSS. An element of these funds, £15,903,884 (2023: £16,426,354) has been defined as designated funds and earmarked for future helicopter acquisition, property relocation and supporting the net book value of the fixed assets. A full analysis is detailed below. The balance of £17,866,078 (2023: £17,097,251) has been classified as General funds.

The General funds are not specifically earmarked but equate to 9.2 months of expenditure and are used to further the objectives of KSS.

	At 31stMarch	Utilised /	New	At 31stMarch
Designated Funds	2023	Released	Designations	2024
	£	£	£	£
Fixed Assets	4,088,953	(741,521)	8,235,481	11,582,913
PropertyRelocation	1,000,000	-	-	1,000,000
Future Helicopters	11,337,401	(8,118,518)	102,088	3,320,971
	16,426,354	(8,860,039)	8,337,569	15,903,884

The Fixed Assets fund is equal to the net book value of tangible fixed assets held.

The Property Relocation fund is an amount set aside as a contribution toward the potential cost of relocation if the charity, were it required to move either of its bases.

The future helicopters fund includes the value of the loans made to SAS for their acquisition of two AW169 helicopters - £6.7M - plus the legal costs incurred of £0.1M. The legal costs are being amortised over the term of each loan and are charged to the fund, whilst the interest received on those loans during the period is added to the fund, less the cost of acquiring G-KSSC in the year.

Movements in Funds

Movements in Funds
Group	General	Designated	Total	Restricted	Total Funds	Total Funds
			Unrestricted		2024	2023
	£	£	£	£	£	£
At 1stApril 2023	17,097,251	16,426,354	33,523,605	177,170	33,700,775	34,362,966
Totalincome	19,767,932	102,088	19,870,020	825,893	20,695,913	18,302,245
Totalexpenditure	(10,984,816)	(8,860,039)	(19,844,855)	(604,068)	(20,448,923)	(18,797,499)
(Loss)/gain on investments	164,290	-	164,290	-	164,290	(166,937)
Transfers between funds	(8,178,579)	8,235,481	56,902	(56,902)	-	-
At 31stMarch 2024	17,866,078	15,903,884	33,769,962	342,093	34,112,055	33,700,775
Charity	General	Designated	Total	Restricted	Total Funds	Total Funds
			Unrestricted		2024	2023
	£	£	£	£	£	£
At 1stApril 2023	17,097,253	16,426,354	33,523,607	177,170	33,700,777	34,362,968
Totalincome	18,059,402	102,088	18,161,490	825,893	18,987,383	16,370,610
Totalexpenditure	(9,276,286)	(8,860,039)	(18,136,325)	(604,068)	(18,740,393)	(16,865,864)
(Loss)/gain on investments	164,290	-	164,290	-	164,290	(166,937)
Transfers between funds	(8,178,579)	8,235,481	56,902	(56,902)	-	-
At 31stMarch 2024	17,866,080	15,903,884	33,769,964	342,093	34,112,057	33,700,777

Analysis of Net Assets Between Funds

Group	General	Designated	Total	Restricted	Total Funds	Total Funds
			Unrestricted		2024	2023
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Tangible fixed assets	-	11,582,913	11,582,913	-	11,582,913	4,088,953
Investments	15,123,085	4,320,971	19,444,056	-	19,444,056	24,259,525
Cash	3,916,549	-	3,916,549	342,093	4,258,642	6,455,778
Other Assets and Liabilities	(1,173,556)	-	(1,173,556)	-	(1,173,556)	(1,103,481)
	17,866,078	15,903,884	33,769,962	342,093	34,112,055	33,700,775
Charity	General	Designated	Total	Restricted	Total Funds	Total Funds
			Unrestricted		2024	2023
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Tangible Fixed Assets	-	11,582,913	11,582,913	-	11,582,913	4,088,953
Investments	15,123,087	4,320,971	19,444,058	-	19,444,058	24,259,527
Cash	1,902,647	-	1,902,647	342,093	2,244,740	4,666,229
Other Assets and Liabilities	840,346	-	840,346	-	840,346	686,068
	17,866,080	15,903,884	33,769,964	342,093	34,112,057	33,700,777

Restricted Funds
Group & Charity	At 31stMarch	Income	Resources	Transfers	At 31stMarch
	2023	Resources	Expended	between	2024
				Funds
	£	£	£	£	£
Training Centre	15,208	-	-	-	15,208
Buy it for life appeal		12,860	-	-	12,860
Night flying	-	149,950	(149,950)	-	-
Fidelity Mannequins – Training	22,965	-	(833)	(19,065)	3,067
Ultrasound	7,031	-	-	-	7,031
Autopulse - Cardiac Support pump	7,500	-	-	-	7,500
Compact suction units	962	-	(195)	-	767
Load bearing vests	1,100	-	-	-	1,100
Rescue warming mats	371	-	-	-	371
Research and innovation - whole blood	5,000	5,000	(10,000)	-	-
Training equipment	11,098	14,000	(86)	(8,007)	17,005
Lions equipment	2,410	28,191	-	(19,284)	11,317
Tempus Pro Monitor	41,116	-	-	(6,056)	35,060
Ventilator	27,241	-	(1,753)	(1,990)	23,498
Helicopter	4,020	-	(4,020)	-	-
Fuel costs	-	7,000	(7,000)	-	-
Equipment	7,148	36,460	(7,147)	(2,500)	33,961
Drones project	-	30,000	(30,000)	-	-
Community response fund	17,000	3,000	(5,000)	-	15,000
Community education	-	3,618	(2,895)	-	723
Aftercare	-	108,125	-	-	108,125
PINS	-	250,000	(200,500)	-	49,500
Winter ball	-	172,580	(172,580)	-	-
Sussex area support	7,000	-	(7,000)	-	-
Kent area support	-	5,000	(5,000)	-	-
Rapid Response	-	109	(109)	-	-
	177,170	825,893	(604,068)	(56,902)	342,093

The transfer of funds amounting to £56,902 includes the following capitalised items:

Fidelity mannequins £19,065 Used to support moulages and training Training equipment £8,007 Patient simulation monitors Lions equipment £25,340 Ultrasound machines Ventilator £1,990 Oxylog ventilator kit assembly Equipment £2,500 Flying helmets

Restricted Funds

Restricted funds represent funds held for the provision of emergency equipment and resources for use in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. These funds include donations and grants specifically for:

Training centre fund	Grant received from the Libor Fund for the development of a training centre
Buy it for life appeal	Charitable appeal to fund the purchase of G-KSSC
	Receives the profit from the 24/7 weekly draw operated by AAPL and
Night flying	other donations. The funds are used in support of the night flying
	operations
Fidelity mannequins	The purchase of high-fidelity mannequins for training
Ultrasound	The purchase of ultrasound diagnostic equipment
Autopulse – cardiac support	The purchase of cardiac support pumps
Compact suction units	The purchase of compact suction units
Load bearing vests	The purchase of load bearing vests used by the crew
Rescue warming mats	The purchase of rescue warming mats used to maintain patient body temperature
Research and innovation - whole blood	The evaluation of the use of whole blood in HEMS
Training equipment	The purchase of medical training equipment
Lions equipment	Donations and grants specifically from the Lions Club International
Tempus Pro Monitor	Tempus ALS system for prehospital monitoring and defibrillation
Ventilator	The purchase of ventilators
Helicopter	To support the cost of operating helicopters within a HEMS based operation
Fuel costs	Fuel for helicopter flying missions
Equipment	Medical and helicopter equipment
Drones project	Supporting the evaluation of drones in emergency medical service
	Supporting the development of new community projects such as Patient
Community Response fund	and Family Aftercare and prevention and education training to equip our
	communities toprovide critical first response
Community education	Funds to support community education
Aftercare	Supporting the development and operation of an aftercare service
PINS	Supporting the Development of Point in Space navigation
Winter ball	Funds received from the Winter Ball in support of HEMS provision
Sussex area support	support of HEMS provision in the Sussex area
Kent area support	support of HEMS provision in the Kent area
Rapid Response	support of the purchase of Rapid Response Vehicles

15. Operating Lease Commitments

At the balance sheet date, the charity’s future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases or, as in the case of the Redhill Hangar 10 until the next break clause of 13th March 2027, were as follows:

2027, were as follows:
	1 year or less	2 to 5 years	More than	5	Total
			years		commitments
	£	£		£	£
Land & Buildings	-	-	-		-
Redhill Hangar 10	220,000	429,151	-		649,151
Rochester	20,000	80,000	185,260		285,260
	240,000	509,151	185,260		934,411
Aviation capability	6,223,076	20,749,269	-		26,972,345
Vehicles	37,678	100,206	-		137,884
Total Lease Commitments	6,500,754	21,358,626	185,260		28,044,640
Expiry date:
Redhill Hangar 10	12thMarch 2042
Rochester		2ndJuly 2038
Helicopters G-KSSC and G-KSST		31stJuly 2028
Length of unexpired leases at 31st March 2024:
Redhill Hangar 10		17.96 years
Rochester		14.25 years
Helicopters G-KSST and G-KSSC		4.33 years

As part of the service agreement with Gama G-KSSC has been leased back to Gama under an operating lease for a nominal sum and will continue to be piloted and maintained by Gama until the conclusion of the service agreement to 31[st] July 2028.

16. Related Party Transactions

The following related party transactions took place with AAPL in the year:

	2024	2023
	£	£
Gift aided lottery and raffle profits	5,965,077	5,753,179
Gift aided AAPL profits	1,005,765	794,557
Total gift aided donations	6,970,842	6,547,736
Recharges for staff costs	269,299	246,157
Recharges for property and administration	44,128	29,631
Total Recharges	313,427	275,788

During the year, 6 Trustees purchased event tickets and made donations totalling £11,989.50 in aggregate, which also attracted Gift Aid of £475.00.

During the year, Easy Jet, where David Morgan holds the title of Chief Operating Officer, donated a simulator flight as an auction prize for the Winter ball, with an estimated value in excess of £1,000.

Trustee remuneration and benefits

None of the trustees have been paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with their charity or a related entity.

Trustee Expenses

Six Trustees were paid a total of £520 expenses during the year (2023: £961).

Included in Management and Administration costs is the cost of Trustees’ liability insurance (including professional indemnity cover) amounting to £6,310 (2023: £5,473).

17. Post Balance sheet Events

On the 10[th] May 2024, KSS concluded a deal to purchase G-KSST from Gama at market value. As part of the arrangement, G-KSST has also been leased back to Gama under an operating lease for a nominal sum and will continue to be piloted and maintained by Gama until the conclusion of the service agreement to 31[st] July 2028.

L7-KSSL AlrAmbul

Ksst AIR AMBULANCE CHARITY KENT SURREY SUSSEX 01634471900 hello@aakss.org.uk aakss.org.uk Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex, Rochester City Airport, Maidstone Road, Chatham, Kent, ME5 9SD I Charity no. 1021367

Contents

Our Trustees’ Annual Report

Introduction from our Chair

“Barney “Burgess

Welcome from our Chief Executive

Our Activities for Public Benefit – How we Work

Our Key Achievements

In the year to 31[st] March 2024

Missions by time of day

Patients by Age and Gender

Restart a Heart

Our Service

In-flight Procedures

Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework

Aviation Capability

Flying in Adverse Weather Conditions (Point in Space Navigation)

How we raise funds

Our Lotteries and Raffles

Highlights from our 2023-24 Fundraising

Thank you to our Corporate Sponsors

Our Fundraising Promise

We will commit to high standards

We will be clear, honest and open

We will be respectful

We will be fair and reasonable

We will be accountable and responsible

Strategy, Governance and Oversight

Managing Complaints

Our Plans for the Future

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

Our People

Our Structure, Governance and Management

Our Trustees

Trustee Appointment

Declaration of Interests

Our Decision-making Structure: Our Committees

Our Key Advisors

Year-End Financial Position

Income ~~Pe~~

Expenditure

Air Ambulance Promotions Ltd (AAPL)

Managing Our Finances

Going Concern

Reserves

Reserves Policy

Policy on Specific Reserves

Total Reserves

Restricted Reserves

Designated (unrestricted) Funds at Year-end

Risk-based Approach

Investment Policy and Performance

Investment Performance

Managing Risk

Risk Appetite

The most significant risks we faced in 2023-24

The most significant risks we face in the year ahead

Operational

Helicopter Ownership

External Economic Shock

Cyber-protection

Statement of Trustee’s Responsibilities

Disclosure of Information to Auditors

“Barney “Burgess

D H B Burgess

Chair of Trustees

Independent Auditor's Report

Opinion

Basis for Opinion

Conclusions Relating to Going Concern

Other Information

Opinions on Other Matters Prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

Matters on which We are Required to Report by Exception

Responsibilities of Trustees

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements

Use of our Report

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

(INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)

YEAR ENDED 31[st ] MARCH 2024

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

Income Pe