Company No: 02920866 Charity No: 1037513
THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
(A company limited by guarantee)
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
Dub & Co
Chartered Certified Accountants 7 Torriano Mews London NW5 2RZ
THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Legal and administrative information | 1 |
| Report of the trustees | 2-5 |
| Independent examiner's report | 6 |
| Statement of financial activities | 7 |
| Balance sheet | 8 |
| Notes | 9-13 |
THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
Reference and administrative details
Charity registration number: 1037513 Company registration number: 02920866 Registered office 7 Torriano Mews London NW5 2RZ
Directors and trustees
The directors of the charitable company (the charity) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the trustees.
The trustees who served during the year and since the year end were as follows:
R Keene OBE ( Chairman ) Major A C Robinson (Deceased 4 May 2020) Professor M A Crawford PhD FRSB FRCPath ( Research Director ) Lord J N Rea MD DCH FRCGP (Deceased 1 June 2020) Dr R E Lister PhD FRSB Dr Z Hassam MD FRCPath M D Pirkis Dip Agric Rev S H House Dr R Gow MSc PhD
Secretary
Dr R Gow MSc PhD
Independent examiner
J Davies Dub & Co Chartered Certified Accountants 7 Torriano Mews London NW5 2RZ
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
The trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 April 2021.
The legal and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The trustees confirm that the annual report and the financial statements of the charity comply with the current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (Charities SORP FRS 102).
Structure, governance and management
Governing document
The Mother And Child Foundation is a charitable company limited by guarantee with no share capital, incorporated in England and Wales on 20 April 1994 and registered as a charity on 12 May 1994. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under it's Articles of Association. In the event of the charity being wound up, members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £10.
The directors of the company are also trustees of the charity. The trustees provide a balance of expertise and knowledge ranging from the representation of parents and mothers to agronomists, science and medicine. The Foundation has no offices and does not employ staff, the work being done voluntarily.
Recruitment and appointment of the board of trustees
Trustees are recruited through personal contact, advertisement or a not for profit organisation.
Trustees induction and training
New trustees meet with the Chair and present members of the Board informally to discuss the working of the Foundation, its past, present and future commitments.
Risk Management
The trustees have examined the major risks (operational, financial and general) to which the company is exposed and confirm that appropriate steps are in place to mitigate these risks.
In the present situation, we have funds underwritten for 12 months. The Foundation has no property and does not engage staff. All functions are voluntary, except for payment to our web master when requested. All studies funded by the Foundation on humans are before starting, covered by NHS ethical approval. The same applies to those conducted abroad where we insist on local ethical approval.
Objectives and activities for the public benefit
The trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Foundation's aims and objectives and in planning future activities. The Foundation's primary goal is to foster good maternal health and prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes. Dissemination of the Foundation’s work has been achieved by the publication in peer reviewed publications and its web site http://www.themotherandchildfoundation.org
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
Achievements during this current financial year
This year has been struck with sad deaths of two founder trustees Lord Rea of Eskdale and Major Christopher Robinson. Both were present in 1990 when a steering committee was formed to initiate this Foundation and its research arm the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition (www.ibchn.org.uk). The committee included Professors Kate Costeloe, Michael Crawford, Sir Michael Marmot, Alan Garton FRS, Ian Dawson Shepherd (founder of Scope), Michael Pirkis and Margaret Wynn. It was chaired by Professor Cedric Hassel FRS. The committee met at the coffee room of the Nuffield Institute of Comparative Medicine where Michael Crawford was head of the department of bio-chemistry and leader of the research programme run by Wendy Dolye, the State Registered Dieticean who pioneered the Hackney study into maternal nutrition in pregnancy and the cause of low birthweight. The results to that date had shown a strong relationship between low socio-economic groups and a high prevalence of low birthweight and allied chronic ill-health and neurodevelopmental disorders. The inequality of health and low birthweight implied an inequality of nutrition and it was felt that Crawford should set up an institue to focuss on the causation of low birthweight and preterm birth and the associated handicap and neurodevelopmental disorders. Previous work at Professor Crawford's research group at the Nuffield Institure of Comparative Medicine, had identified nutritional requirements for brain growth and function. The bulk of the evidence came from animal and comparative studies. Most of brain cell division occurs before birth. Hence the primary objective was to assess relevance in human biology. This meant a focus on pregnancy and infant development.
This focus identified two strategies, maternal nutrition and nutritional requirements for brain function. The highest risk for neurodevelopmental disorder, learning disabilities behavioural, cognitive and motor disabilities is associated with low birthweights and preterm births. The highest prevalence of that cluster was in the East-end of London. Dr Ken Grant, the Chief Medical Officer for the East-end offered a laboratory in Hackney Hospital. The funds havng been raised, the research was transferred from the Nuffield which was attached to the Zoologcal Society of London. Professor Cedric Hassall was chairman and the application for the charity was granted in 1994.
Christopher Robinson with a historical connection with the then Spastics Society was greatly supportive in helping raise the funds. Lord Rea also made a great contribution and from time to time raised the issue of low birthweight and mental ill-health in the Upper House. Robinson also took over the chair after Cedric Hassall decided to spend more time in New Zealand. He chaired the Foundation's work until 2018. The support and mentorship of these founder trustees was immeasurable, they will be deeply missed. Recent research which we funded at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (CWH) has yielded a full justification of the dedication of our founder trustees and their support over the years. The results from Hackney had culminated in a randomised clinical trial (RCT) of the micronutrients from early pregnancy. It reduced the proportion of small for gestational age births by greater than two fold cementing the significance of poor maternal nutrition as causative. The trial at CWH added the test of brain specific fatty acids provided a powerful predictor for preterm birth and objective evidence of the supplement enhancing DHA rich regions of the prenatal brain. Importantly it enhanced cortical grey matter, which is involved in cognition and the corpus callosum which is relevant to autism. The effect was only in the boys. This year the researchers have been studying the data to find out why the girls did not respond. A paper with a plausible explanation is currently being drafted.
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
Future
The comments last year are even more relevant to the future direction for the Foundation. The results of the research at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Campus of Imperial College, need to be translated into practice. The evidence clearly upholds the call of the late Sir Kenneth Stuart, for a United Nations Charter for Mothers, as we commented before. Despite shortage of funds, we continue to work with the Sudanese towards and establishment of a trial on the prevention of prematurity, low birthweight and the associated prenatal stunting and disorder of brain development. Discussions have been held with the MRC UK with a view to a large study on neurodevelopment of sufficient power to include all neurodevelopmental disorders. An application for a programme grant is being submitted to the MRC.
References:
Schmidt WF, Chen Fu, Broadhurst CL, Crawford MA, (2019) Spectroscopic evidence of 13C and 1H differences within and among the redundant and repeating [(H-C=C-H)-CH2. in moieties in three n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Submission no: JMS_2019_265.
Enitan Ogundipe, Saidee Samuelson, Michael A Crawford Gestational diabetes mellitus prediction? Nutr Diabetes. 2020; 10
Crawford MA, Schmidt WF, Broadhurst Leigh C, Wang Y. Lipids in the origin of intracellular detail and speciation in the Cambrian epoch and the significance of the last double bond of docosahexaenoic acid in cell signalling. (2020). Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 166 (2020) 102230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plefa.2020.102230
Crawford M, Johnson M, Wang Y, Edwards D, Tusor N, Ogundipe E. Male and Female, Prenatal Brain Development Differs in Response to the Maternal Omega 3 and 6 Nutritional Status. Curr Dev Nutr. 2021;5(Suppl 2):734. Published 2021 Jun 7. doi:10.1093/cdn/nzab046_031
Financial review
Like many, the work of the Foundation was and continues to be adversely affected by the pandemic. The research laboratories are shut and so the access to and further analysis of the data is closed. This stops the extraction of new information both for implementing our aims and for fundraising. This is especially critical as the Foundation has been using so much of its money to finalise the studies on maternal nutrition and neurodevelopment so important to help address the escalation of mental ill-health and leaving us short of funding for new initiatives. The Foundation has sufficient funds to operate for a further year. New funds are urgently needed.
In the year under review, the resources expended exceeded the incoming resources by £2,627. At the balance sheet date, the reserves held was £11,286.
Reserve policy
The directors and trustees have amended the provision of £6,000 in the bank account at the National Westminster Bank.
Statement of trustees' responsibilities
The trustees (who are also directors of The Mother And Child Foundation for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Standards.
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees confirm that to the best of their knowledge there is no information relevant to the independent examination of which the examiner is unaware. The trustees also confirm that they have taken all necessary steps to ensure that they themselves are aware of all relevant examination information and that this information has been communicated to the examiner.
Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The number of such guarantees at 30 April 2021 was 7 (2020: 8). The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.
Small company provisions
The above report has been prepared in accordance with the small companies' regime under the Companies Act 2006.
This report was approved by the board of trustees on 5 January 2022 and signed on its behalf by
Professor M A Crawford PhD FRSB FRCPath Director and trustee
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Mother and Child Foundation Limited
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Mother and Child Foundation Limited (the charity) for the year ended 30 April 2021, which are set out on pages 7 to 13.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
As the trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination, I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Basis of independent examiner's report
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
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the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
J Davies FCCA Dub & Co Chartered Certified Accountants 7 Torriano Mews London NW5 2RZ
5 January 2022
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
(Incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
| Unrestricted Note funds £ Income Donations and gifts 2 36,036 Income from charitable activities: Medical research projects 4 9,000 Investment income 3 9 Total income 45,045 Expenditure Expenditure on charitable activities: Medical research projects 6 47,672 Total expenditure 47,672 Net (expenditure)/income and net movement (2,627) in funds for the year Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward (1,699) Total funds carried forward 10 (4,326) |
Restricted funds £ - - - - - - - 15,612 15,612 |
Total funds 2021 £ 36,036 9,000 9 45,045 47,672 47,672 (2,627) 13,913 11,286 |
Total funds 2020 £ 40,262 39,000 45 79,307 79,203 79,203 104 13,809 13,913 |
|---|---|---|---|
The Statement of Financial Activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movement in funds is shown in note 10 to the financial statements.
The notes on pages 9 to 13 form part of these accounts.
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
BALANCE SHEET 30 APRIL 2021
| Note Current assets Debtors 8 Cash at bank and in hand Total current assets Liabilities Creditors falling due within one year 9 Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities The funds of the charity: Unrestricted deficit 10 Restricted funds 10 Total charity funds |
£ £ 6,036 6,738 12,774 (1,488) 11,286 11,286 (4,326) 15,612 11,286 2021 |
£ £ - 43,357 43,357 (29,444) 13,913 13,913 (1,699) 15,612 13,913 2020 |
|---|---|---|
For the year ended 30 April 2021 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for:
(a) ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and
(b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of each financial year and of its income and expenditure for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime and in accordance with FRS 102 SORP.
The financial statements on page 7 to 13 were approved by the board of directors and trustees on 5 January 2022 and signed on its behalf by:
Professor M A Crawford PhD FRSB FRCPath Director and trustee
Company registration no: 02920866
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
1 Accounting policies
(a) Basis of accounting
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 Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006.
The charity has taken advantage of the disclosure exemption, otherwise requiring a Statement of Cash Flows, as permitted by Update Bulletin 1.
The Mother And Child Foundation 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(s).
(b) Going concern
The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern, which the trustees consider appropriate having regard to the current level of reserves and further guarantee of support up to £60,000 if needed.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the trustees remain of the opinion that there is no reason to believe that the charity will have to cease to operate as a result of inadequate financial resources, or any other foreseeable event, within a period of at least 12 months from the date of the approval of these accounts. The trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
(c) Funds accounting
Funds held by the charity are:
Unrestricted funds: these are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds: are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or where funds have been raised for a specific purpose.
(d) Income
All incoming resources receivable during the year are accounted for in the Statement of Financial Activities. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:
Voluntary income: includes donations and gifts that provide core funding or are of a general nature is recognised where the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
Income from includes income received under contract or where entitlement to grant funding is charitable activities: subject to specific conditions and is recognised as earned. Grant income included in this category provides funding to support the undertaking of activities and is recognised where there is entitlement, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.
(e) Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:
Charitable activities: include expenditure associated with medical research projects and include both the direct costs and support costs relating to these activities.
Support costs: include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories to reflect the use of resources. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly; they also include governance costs associated with the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity.
2 Income from donations and gifts
| Unrestricted funds £ Donations 30,000 Gift aid repayments 6,036 36,036 |
Restricted funds £ - - - |
Total 2021 £ 30,000 6,036 36,036 |
Total 2020 £ 24,000 16,262 40,262 |
|---|---|---|---|
3 Investment income
The charity's investment income arises from bank interest receivable.
| Bank interest receivable | 2021 £ 9 9 |
2020 £ 45 45 |
|---|---|---|
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
4 Income resources from charitable activities
The income was primarily from grants to undertake medical research projects.
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | 2021 | 2020 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Grants receivable | 9,000 | - | 9,000 | 39,000 |
5 Allocation of support and governance costs
The charity allocates its support costs as shown below. Support costs are allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources and identifies those costs which relate to the governance function.
| Bank charges Independent examiner's fee Other costs |
Support Costs £ - - 35 35 |
Governance Costs £ 16 1,200 288 1,504 |
Total £ 16 1,200 323 1,539 |
|---|---|---|---|
6 Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities
The charity undertakes direct charitable activities for medical research projects.
| Imperial College - IBCHN Borne Foundation - research Support costs Note 5 Governance costs Note 5 |
£ 42,013 4,120 35 1,504 47,672 |
|---|---|
(IBCHN - Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition)
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
7 Taxation
The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
8 Debtors
| Debtors | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Other debtors and prepayments | 6,036 | - |
9 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
| Bank overdraft Other creditors and accruals Movement in funds Unrestricted funds General funds Restricted funds Grants and donations Total funds |
Opening balance £ (1,699) 15,612 13,913 |
Income £ 45,045 - 45,045 Movement |
Expenditure £ 47,672 - 47,672 in resources |
2021 £ - 1,488 1,488 Transfer between funds £ - - - |
2020 £ 27,956 1,488 29,444 Closing balance £ (4,326) 15,612 11,286 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 Movement in funds
11 Purposes of restricted funds
Grants and donations receivable were used for the studies on maternal and child nutrition and health.
12 Analysis of net assets between funds
| Unrestricted funds Restricted funds |
Net current assets £ (4,326) 15,612 11,286 |
Total £ (4,326) 15,612 11,286 |
|---|---|---|
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THE MOTHER AND CHILD FOUNDATION LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2021
13 Trustees' remuneration
The trustees received no remuneration or benefits in kind during the year.
14 Related party transactions
During the year, the following trustees made donations to the charity:
| 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Professor M A Crawford | 30,000 | 24,000 |
At the balance sheet date, the charity owed Professor M A Crawford £Nil (2020 £Nil).
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