## **HAZARDS FORUM** ## **ANNUAL REPORT** **2023** Registered Charity Number 1047047 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ ## **HAZARDS FORUM** ## **Annual Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 December 2023** |**Contents**|**Page**| |---|---| |Trustees’ Annual Report|2| |Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees|14| |Receipts and Payments Account|15| |Statement of Assets and Liabilities|16| |Notes to the Accounts|17| |Appendix – List of Voting Members of the Hazards Forum|18| |Hazards Forum Mission Statement|19| 1 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ The Trustees of the Hazards Forum present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023. ## **REFERENCE & ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION** |**Charity name**:|Hazards Forum| |---|---| |**Charity registration number**:|1047047| |**Principal office of the**
**Charity**:|One Great George Street
Westminster
London SW1P 3AA| ## **Trustees** : ## _**Current**_ Mr Nick Shaw CMgr FCMI FRSA MIOD (Chair) Ms Ayssar Hanza CEng MEI MIOD Mr Ian Wallis CEng FIChemE Mr Peter Stewart CEng FIMechE Ms Ruth Wilkinson CMIOSH Eur Ing David M Hirst CEng, Chartered Energy Manager, FICE, FEI ## _**Resigned in Year (End of Term)**_ Dr Nina Jirouskova GMICE (resigned on 04 August 2023) ## **Independent examiner** : Stephanie Beeston-Clarke FCCA Beeston-Clarke Management Solutions Limited 242 Leicester Road Markfield Leicester LE67 9RG ## **Bankers** : National Westminster Bank Strand Branch PO Box 414 38 Strand London WC2H 5JB 2 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT** Hazards Forum (referred to herein as “The Charity” was formed by the constitution adopted 21[st] June 1994 as amended 30[th] January 1997, 29[th] January 1998, 21[st] February 2002, and 21[st] March 2018 as an unincorporated association and is a registered charity no: 1047047. ## **Trustee recruitment and appointment** The Charity’s governing document allows for at least four and not more than eight Trustees who shall be elected by the Members for a term of up to three years or coopted by the Trustees. Normally, a member of each Founding Engineering Body shall be elected as a Trustee. Individuals may be proposed for election as a Trustee by a Founding Engineering Body, the Trustees, or the Technical Advisory Committee. A Trustee who is a member or representative of a Member organisation (including a Founding Engineering Body) has the same duties as the other Trustees to act in the way he or she decides in good faith would be most likely to further the purposes of The Charity. The Trustees may at any time co-opt any individual as a Trustee to fill a vacancy in their number or (subject to the maximum number permitted) as an additional Trustee, but a co-opted Trustee holds office only until the next Annual General Meeting. A retiring Trustee may be re-elected, but normally should serve no more than two terms. ## **Governance and management** The Trustees normally meet formally in-person four times a year; they may hold video conferences or additional in-person meetings between these formal meetings. During 2023 four Trustee meetings were held in-person and one additional meeting was held online by videoconference. The Technical Advisory Committee provides advice to the Trustees on technical matters in furtherance of the Charitable Object. Membership of this committee was altered by the Trustees during this reporting period. Membership now includes a chair nominated by the Trustees, one of the three Trustees nominated to serve as a Trustee by The Charity’s Founding Engineering Bodies, and any other persons the Trustees may determine. The Technical Advisory Committee operates according to terms of reference made by the Trustees. The committee normally meets four times a year. ## **Membership** Members may be drawn from organisations that endorse the objectives of The Charity. There are four classes of members: - a) **Founding Engineering Bodies** includes the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Chemical Engineers, and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. - b) **Engineering Members** are Recognised Bodies[1] and includes Professional Engineering Institutions (other than the Founding Engineering Bodies) licensed > 1 In accordance with Section 30 of The Charity’s Constitution, the Trustees have extended the criteria of Recognised Bodies beyond institutions which are Professional Engineering Institutions licensed by the Engineering Council (UK) and Professional Affiliates of the Engineering Council (UK), 3 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ by the Engineering Council (UK), Professional Affiliates of the Engineering Council (UK), and distinguished public or charity sector organisations concerned principally with the advancement of Engineering. - c) **Associate Members** are bodies drawn from both the public and charity sectors, and whose purpose / objects are broadly aligned to the Charitable Object. - d) **Corporate Members** are bodies drawn from any sector or industry who have an interest in the work of The Charity and who endorse its Charitable Object, but do not meet the criteria for Associate Membership The category of **Individual Affiliates** is no longer open for new members to join. The Trustees made this decision in 2021 following a review of membership where it was noted that the number of Individual Affiliates was low and that efforts to grow membership should focus upon organisations. The Trustees invited a small number of Individual Affiliates (those not in arrears) to carry on enjoying the benefits of membership as honorary members of The Charity. The Trustees may decide to grant distinguished status to persons who have contributed significantly to The Charity, and who have attained eminence in some branch of engineering, or in the arts and sciences related thereto. Distinguished status shall only be granted by resolution at a meeting of the Trustees. Those granted distinguished status shall be considered as Individual Affiliates of The Charity. The Trustees may decide to grant honorary status to any person. Honorary status shall only be granted by resolution at a meeting of the Trustees. Those granted honorary status shall be considered as Individual Affiliates of The Charity. Members in classes a), b), c) and d) are entitled to vote at the Annual General Meeting, or at any Special General Meetings. Each member has one vote. Applications for all classes of membership must be submitted on behalf of the organisation to the Trustees for a decision on acceptance. ## **CHARITABLE OBJECT AND ACTIVITIES** ## **Charitable Object** The Charitable Object is for the public benefit to mitigate and reduce hazards and disasters both human-made and natural. ## **Summary of policies adopted to further the Charitable Object** - a) To identify those areas in which engineering experience and expertise enable The Charity to make an effective interdisciplinary contribution to disaster reduction and to disseminate to all appropriate bodies, including national and local government, and individuals, all relevant conclusions and recommendations resulting from the work undertaken. - b) To encourage and support such activity to reduce injury or loss of life and property and to help minimise distress and damage arising from natural and man-made disasters. to include other distinguished public or charity sector organisations concerned principally with the advancement of Engineering. 4 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ - c) To provide a multi-disciplinary forum to enable engineers to share experience and knowledge and to encourage the study of practices in specific areas which might be transferred to other fields: - i. Hold regular meetings including joint meetings with other organisations, groups, and societies to discuss subjects lying within its remit. - ii. Foster and cooperate in interdisciplinary activities with other national and international organisations with related interests. - iii. Promote discussion at regional and national level. - iv. Publicise relevant meetings of Members who are Recognised Bodies and consider ways in which the work of The Charity might be enhanced. - v. Publish and promote proceedings of The Charity's public meetings and other relevant studies and circulate reports of The Charity's own activities to disseminate information relating to both national and international activities and developments. - d) To raise funds by way of donation, subscription and otherwise provided that The Charity shall carry out no taxable permanent trading activities. - e) To open and maintain bank accounts in The Charity's name and to invest money in interest-bearing deposits and the like. - f) To do all such other lawful things as shall further the Charitable Object. ## **Summary of main activities undertaken for public benefit in relation to the Object** In planning the activities for the year, the Trustees continue to be mindful of the public benefit. The Trustees have considered Charity Commission guidance on public benefit: ‘ _Public Benefit: Running a Charity (PB2)_ ’ and are satisfied that the activities The Charity undertakes fully reflects the purposes for which The Charity exists. Its main activities provide a platform for debates on current, evolving, and emerging hazards to industry and society, whether human-made or natural and how these can best be managed. Its debates draw such issues to the attention of professional stakeholders, including individual dutyholders, companies, and members of engineering and related institutions, thereby raising the profile of such issues among professional stakeholders. The Charity does not aim directly to inform lay stakeholders such as journalists or the public. This is better done by larger institutions with the necessary capacity; it seeks to inform lay stakeholders via those institutions. The Trustees are appreciative of the organisations that have supported events during this year. Gratitude extends to the many organisations and individuals who have provided or acted as speakers and supported webinars and meetings. Finally, thankyou to the Members for their continuing financial support in enabling The Charity to fulfil its Charitable Object. ## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE** ## **Developments in governance and management** In this reporting period the Trustees undertook several actions to further strengthen The Charity’s governance and management: - **Co-opting of a new Trustee** . The Trustees undertook a recruitment exercise and co-opted a new trustee to the board. This Trustee’s appointment will be put to vote at The Charity’s 2024 Annual General Meeting. 5 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ - **Trustee succession planning** . The Trustees undertook a review of succession planning arrangements and identified key dates upon which to implement succession plans for several key roles including the chair of the Trustee board. - **Review of the framework of internal financial controls** . A review of the framework of internal financial controls was undertaken by the Trustees. This review concluded that the current arrangements continue to provide adequate control of The Charity’s finances. - **Implementation of a new operating model** . Following a series of reviews carried out by the Trustees and the head of membership and operations, a new operating model was implemented to improve the effectiveness of The Charity’s Operations. The new operating model will be described later in this report. - **Enhancements to operational reporting** . The Trustees have enhanced their framework of internal controls by requesting that each quarter they be provided with an operations report, by the head of membership and operations. This report ensures that the Trustees are sufficiently informed so that they can provide oversight, direction, challenge, and support of and to operational activities. ## **Delivery of strategic themes** The Charity continues to deliver its mission and is working to achieve its vision. **Mission** : To enable interdisciplinary learning between professionals for the prevention and mitigation of hazards and disasters. **Vision** : To be widely recognised as the independent enabler of the most needed debates as a key source of interdisciplinary knowledge on the control of major hazards. In delivering its vision the Trustees have continued to make progress in developing and achieving the Charity’s three strategic objectives: ## _**Strategic Objective One: Enhance our Offering**_ The Charity’s modus operandi continues to be its events which do much to support its Charitable Object. The Charity’s event programme this year included several events which The Charity hosted or co-hosted, and a workshop: - **Keeping the Lights on During Solar Storms: Space Weather as an Energy Sector Hazard** . June 2023. An in-person event co-organised with the Royal Meteorological Society and EDF Energy, held at the Geological Society, London. The event focussed on how space weather, through solar flares, geomagnetic storms, and high energy cosmic rays, presents a risk to critical energy infrastructure in the UK. The event brought together industry, academics, and government representatives to present and discuss risks, how industry can utilise space weather services and resilience strategies to protect against extreme space weather, and a panel discussion to create a space for coordination of space weather resilience strategies. - **Artificial Intelligence Workshop** . July 2023. A hybrid workshop (online and inperson), held at the Health and Safety Laboratories in Buxton. This workshop brought together presenters from Thales, Office for Nuclear Regulation, and University of York, along with other experts in the field of hazard and risk management. Its aim was to consider whether, or how, the rapid adoption of 6 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ artificial intelligence and the resulting opportunities outweigh the new risks that emerge. - **Wildfires** . September 2023. An in-person event held at One Great George Street, London. This event explored the modelling and forecasting of wildfires, the implications for infrastructure and built environments, and the challenges of emergency response. The event heard from expert speakers who presented clear recommendations for what can and should be done to learn lessons, adapt systems and share knowledge to better fight, control and manage wildfires. - **Data and Information Sharing for Safety and Environmental Benefit** . September 2023. An online event. This webinar brought together experts from a variety of sectors to explore how data and information can be shared for safety and environmental benefit. The webinar included the sharing of perspectives from government, the engineering professions, and solution providers. - **Horizon Scanning Workshop** . December 2023. A workshop held at the Health and Safety Laboratories in Buxton. The emerging technologies interest group held a horizon scanning workshop to consider the activities that The Charity’s Members and other organisations are undertaking relating to emerging technologies, to enable the interest group to develop a work plan that adds value to our Members and other stakeholders. - **Human Decisions and System Performance** . December 2023. A hybrid event, online and in-person at One Great George Street. This event brought together a panel of experts from academia and industry, who explored how humans make their decisions and how this contributes to overall system performance, and the important role that emotional intelligence has in maintaining safe and secure operations. Attendance or participation in these events and workshops is of no cost to employees or members of our Member organisations. Video recordings of several of these webinars/events are now available for our Members and the public to access via The Charity’s website: www.hazardsforum.org. During this reporting period The Charity has continued with its subscription to _Science in Parliament_ , the journal of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, and this is distributed to our Members as a benefit of their membership. ## _**Strategic Objective Two: Expand our Profile, Reach and Influence**_ The Charity has continued to strengthen its relationships with its Members and other stakeholders throughout 2023. At the start of 2023, the newly appointed Head of Membership and Operations, Dr. Luise Vassie undertook several semi-structured interviews with trustees, members of the Technical Advisory Committee, the chairs of the three interest groups, and The Charity’s contract support resource, to identify strengths and weaknesses in The Charity’s resources and capabilities, along with opportunities and threats in its external environment. Following this, Dr. Vassie and one of The Charity’s Trustees, Mr. Pete Stewart, carried out semi-structured interviews with nine of The Charity’s 15 Authorised Representatives of its Member organisations to gain insights into how the Authorised Representatives perceive The Charity’s relationship with the organisations that they represent. 7 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ Dr Vassie and Mr Stewart analysed the data they had gathered and put forward a series of recommendations to the Trustees which included altering the composition and role of the Technical Advisory Committee, altering the membership and role of the interest groups, altering the role of Authorised Representatives, and establishing an event planning committee to divert this activity away from the Technical Advisory Committee and interest groups. The Trustees approved these recommendations which have now been implemented. Early indications are that benefits of these changes are starting to materialise. The Charity has established an informal collaborative relationship with the Thomas Ashton Institute for Risk and Regulatory Research, a collaborative partnership between the Health and Safety Executive (one of our Members) and The University of Manchester. In May, we supported the Thomas Ashton Institute’s Annual Lecture 2023 by promoting it to our Members and by sending representatives to attend it. Focussed upon work, health and wellbeing post-pandemic, the guest speaker was Professor Dame Carol Black. The Thomas Ashton Institute kindly hosted June 2023’s meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee at its premises at The University of Manchester, and its operations manager gave a presentation on the role of the Thomas Ashton Institute and its research focus areas to the committee. During 2023, The Charity worked with a Thomas Ashton Institute team of academics and Health and Safety Executive staff, to develop a research proposal to enhance learning from incident investigations. At the date of publication of this report, this collaborative work remains ongoing. The Charity supported the Government Office of Science with its Silverfish Project. This project was created to uncover areas of science and technology (S&T) where capability gaps may lead to undesirable consequences and to make the government aware of them. The Charity also participated in a research project commissioned by the Royal Academy of Engineering at Cranfield University concerned with learning from failure to gain a better understanding of how to learn from failure and to improve the management and governance of complex systems. The Charity has sought to strengthen its long-term relationship with the Institution of Chemical Engineer’s Hazards conference, where for many years The Charity has been recognised as a Supporting Organisation. The Charity sent representatives to attend Hazards33 which was held in Birmingham in November, and this provided The Charity with an opportunity to promote its Charitable Object and develop relationships with potential members. To assist it in communicating its modus operandi, The Charity has developed physical and digital marketing material which it was able to share for the first time at Hazards33. The use of Google Workspaces and Slack has continued throughout 2023 and these tools provide a useful means of remote collaboration. The Charity’s website (www.hazardsforum.org) continues to mature in content; event reports and video recordings (where available) are publicly available for all events undertaken during 2023. The Charity continues to have an active presence on LinkedIn and Twitter. In 2023, the Charity remained a member of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee and supported its events by sending representatives to discussion meetings. Once again this has proved to be useful in maintaining awareness of the activities of the Hazards Forum amongst other members of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. 8 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ The Charity maintains several links with other bodies and networks via its Trustees, members of its Technical Advisory Committee, and interest groups, including but not limited to: Engineering Council; Standing Committee on Structural Safety; Met Office; The Welding Institute; Thomas Ashton Institute for Risk and Regulatory Research; Safety and Reliability Society; The Council for Work and Health. The Charity has continued with its periodic meetings of the Founding Engineering Bodies. This meeting is an opportunity for the Trustees and the authorised representatives from the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and the Institution of Chemical Engineers to share knowledge and provide strategic insights which may be of mutual interest. ## _**Strategic Objective Three: Ensure we are Sustainably Funded**_ The Charity has continued to grow its membership during 2023 and is delighted to announce that Frazer-Nash Consultancy has joined as a corporate member. The Charity was also engaged in several conversations with potential new members towards the end of this reporting period, and whilst outside of this reporting, The Charity is also delighted to announce that in January 2024, the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors has joined as an associate member, and RAS has joined as a corporate member. This builds on the recruitment successes of the previous reporting period with a net gain of six members since the start of 2022. The Charity’s reserves remain high, although substantially lower than previous years, and whilst the Trustees have made progress in growing The Charity’s income, the Trustees acknowledge that more progress is required. The Trustees consider the plan to invest a portion of The Charity’s reserves over three years to be a responsible use of The Charity’s reserves: an investment to enhance the delivery of the Charitable Object for the public benefit. Notwithstanding this, financial sustainability is The Charity’s most material risk, and this is discussed further in the Risk Statement section of this report. The Trustees decided to raise the membership fees by 10%, effective from 01 January 2024. This is the first increase in membership fees for several years and was necessary due to inflationary pressures. The Trustees are grateful for the continued support of The Charity’s Members during a challenging economic climate. ## **RISK STATEMENT** ## **Summary** The Trustees have considered the risks which The Charity is exposed to and are satisfied that established systems and procedures are proportionate to managing these risks. The risks that the Trustees currently assess as being material to realising the Charitable Object include: 1. An inability to demonstrate contribution to public benefit. 2. Failing to ensure that The Charity remains sustainably funded. 3. Failing to communicate and adequately engage with key stakeholders. The Trustees are committed to maintaining an appropriate system of risk oversight, risk management, and controls, to identify, assess, monitor, and manage material risks to the conduct of The Charity’s activities. 9 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ ## **Responsibilities** The Trustees are responsible for: 1. Ensuring that risks to delivering the Charitable Object are identified. 2. Ensuring that these risks are mitigated, and the residual risks are tolerable. 3. Continually improving the management of risk, balancing risk with the likelihood and expected benefits of planned outcomes. The Trustees continue to develop, implement, and maintain appropriate management systems, that enable them to: 1. Identify, assess, manage, and prioritise mitigations to identified risks in an effective, proportionate, and efficient manner. 2. Make decisions based on a comprehensive view of the relationship between risks and the desired outcomes that realise the Charitable Object. 3. Provide certainty over the delivery of the Charitable Object and satisfy legal obligations. ## **Policy and procedure** Risk management is central to the management and operations of The Charity. The inclusion of risk management enables the Trustees to prioritise the application of its resources and focus on managing the things that matter. This involves: 1. **Identifying risks** . Each quarter the Trustees consider the operational and administrative activities of The Charity, review any changes, and update the risk register when needed. Annually the Trustees undertake a strategy and planning session including horizon scanning, to uncover anything missing from the list of possible risks, and implement relevant lessons learned from both internal and external sources. 2. **Assessing risks** . For each risk the Trustees identify a lead Trustee to assess the likelihood and timeframe for a risk to materialise, its potential impact and related consequences. To maintain a consistent, calibrated, and coordinated assessment, the impact (consequence) and likelihood of each risk are assessed in terms of the agreed framework of financial, governance, operational, compliance and reputational consequences. Risk owners, be they Trustees or other persons, will be identified on the register and included in the assessment. 3. **Acting, to manage and prioritise mitigations to risks** . The Trustees ensure actions are taken and resources allocated to mitigate, transfer, or avoid the identified risks, and to monitor the effectiveness of mitigations taken. 4. **Reviewing risks and mitigations** . The Trustees review all material risks at least annually and determine whether the residual risk remains acceptable and tolerable, or intolerable. This shall reflect the Trustees’ views as to what level of risk is acceptable. The Trustees seek to apply a consistent approach when determining risk tolerance and ensure that responses across risk categories are proportionate. To support the identification of risks and their assessment, risks are considered in five categories. The impact of each risk is assessed using an aligned scale from 1 (insignificant) to 5 (intolerable) in each category: 10 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ 1. **Operations and resources** . Resources include cash flow and reserves, and the time and commitment of volunteers and member organisations. Operations include the promotion, delivery, and administration of events and other activities. Risks may arise where resources are inadequate or the operations fail to deliver the Charitable Object. 2. **Harm to reputation** . This includes a range of occurrences including incidents, events and outcomes that may consequently damage The Charity’s reputation. 3. **Strategy and governance** . This includes a range of occurrences whereby The Charity may not achieve its Charitable Object due to an inadequate framework of strategy, governance, or oversight. 4. **Income and financial sustainability** . The delivery of The Charity’s activities requires adequate financial resources. Risks may arise where there is a reduction in income from membership fees, increased costs, failure to provide adequate insurance cover, or fraud. 5. **Compliance** . The Charity must comply with applicable legislation and regulatory requirements. A failure to do so could lead to reputational damage, financial penalties, or the closure of The Charity. Each risk is assessed for its potential impact and consequence. Potential impacts range from ‘extreme’ where the impact would be intolerable, to ‘minor’ where the impact would be insignificant. Given the diverse nature of the risks that could potentially impact The Charity, the Trustees maintain a schedule that calibrates the relative impact across each of the five categories. The likelihood of the occurrence of a risk is assessed, and, if the likelihood is deemed to be greater than 50% (is deemed more likely than not to occur) then the trustees will update the delivery plan to accommodate the risk. The likelihood of risks occurring will be rated from 1 (low - less than 10% chance of occurring) to 5 (high - between 40% and 50% chance of occurring). ## **Overview of key risks** Material risks are those which could jeopardise The Charity and its ability to deliver its Charitable Object. In conducting their risk management responsibilities, the Trustees recognise the following risks as having a potential material impact on The Charity: 1. **The Charity may fail to provide a clear public benefit in its contribution to the management of natural or man-made hazards. Should this occur, it would represent a major impact for The Charity** . To address the risk the Trustees have established the first of The Charity’s three strategic objectives as seeking to “enhance our offering”. In 2023, additional contract support was put in place by appointing a head of membership and operations who chairs the Technical Advisory Committee and oversees the activities of the three interest groups. The Trustees delegate responsibility for maintaining a forward activity and event plan to the head of membership and operations. This provides enhanced assurance of the delivery of activities and events. Trustee’s review this plan and the efficacy of activities undertaken; monitor feedback from participants, monitor website engagement, and provide direction to the Technical Advisory Committee. The plans are then revised accordingly. The Trustees recognise that this risk has reduced since the appointment of the head of membership and operations. The risk remains significant but tolerable and shall remain subject to continued active monitoring. 11 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ 2. **This risk to The Charity remaining sustainably funded has increased. This is due to economic pressures on both existing and potential Member organisations, increased operational costs for 2023, combined with an increase in inflation affecting future costs** . The increase in operating costs is largely the result of the appointment of a head of membership and operations. This additional expenditure can be met for a minimum of two years within the current budget and utilising existing reserves. To further mitigate this risk, the Trustees may: (a) increase membership fees; (b) seek to grow membership; (c) source alternative revenues streams. Income is currently solely derived from membership fees. Ensuring The Charity continues to meet the needs of members is key to remaining sustainably funded. Trustees set the budget annually and monitor it through the year. The retained risk, whilst significant, remains tolerable. 3. **Stakeholder engagement. It is possible that The Charity fails to adequately communicate or engage with stakeholders about strategy, its activities, and outcomes.** The Trustees seek to ensure clear communication is maintained with its Members and the Founding Engineering Bodies in particular. The latter is the responsibility of each of the three Trustees nominated by the Founding Engineering Bodies. The Trustee’s support and engage with the Technical Advisory Committee and the three interest groups to influence and shape future activity and event plans. The Trustees have revised existing stakeholder arrangements to ensure that all Members have a named person as a point of contact and are seeking to identify and engage with organisations that have previously been members. Overall, the retained risk remains significant, but is tolerable, in part by ensuring clear and timely reporting to, and feedback from, the Annual General Meeting. ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** The accounts for the year are shown in this annual report. Trustees resolved to move to payment and receipts accounting from 2019. Over the past few years, the Trustees have developed a policy which would see the reserves maintained at a level corresponding to around one year’s income, to provide some assurance against a sudden loss of income. The accounts for this year, shown in this report, record a net decrease of receipts over payments of £12,320, compared to a deficit of £4,530 in 2022. The unrestricted accumulated fund amounted to £37,535 at the year-end compared with £49,855 at year-end in 2022. This is broadly in line with the reserves policy. The strategic plan seeks to address financial sustainability and enhancement of The Charity’s activities, its reach and influence. Surplus funds are placed on short term deposit. ## **Degree of financial dependency** The Charity is dependent on the voluntary efforts of its Members and other volunteers, and the continuing financial, and other support, from its Founding Engineering Bodies and other Members. ## **Organisational context** The Charity’s mission is to enable interdisciplinary learning between professionals for the prevention and mitigation of hazards and disasters. This role is not something that 12 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ can exist in isolation and The Charity maintains many important links with other engineering disciplines, professional bodies, and academia. Although legally and structurally distinct from other bodies, The Charity seeks to cooperate with other bodies in areas of common ground. ## **Future plans** Next year, the Trustees and Technical Advisory Committee will continue to focus effort on the following three strategic objectives, while maintaining the quality of activities and events, and providing a forum for debate: 1. Enhance our offering. 2. Expand our profile, reach, and influence. 3. Ensure we are sustainably funded. ## **DECLARATION** The trustees declare they have approved the trustees’ report above on 12 March 2024 and was signed on its behalf by: Nick Shaw Chair of the Board of Trustees 12 March 2024 13 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ ## **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Hazards Forum** I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Hazards Forum for the year ended 31 December 2023 which are set out on pages 16 to 18. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the charity trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts as required under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. ## **Independent examiner's statement** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: (1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or (2) that accounts do not accord with those records; or (3) that accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than the requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Stephanie Beeston-Clarke FCCA Beeston-Clarke Management Solutions Ltd 242 Leicester Road Markfield Leicester LE67 9RG Relevant Professional Body: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) 14 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ ## **THE HAZARDS FORUM** ## **Receipts & Payments Account for the year ended 31 December 2023** |**RECEIPTS**
Membership subscriptions
Bank interest
Facilitation
**Total receipts**
**PAYMENTS**
Administration & support
Committee meeting expenses
Events & meetings
Subscriptions to other bodies
Publicity & promotions
Website
Facilitation
TAC Management
Insurance
Bank charges
Independent examination
**Total payments**
**Net receipts/(payments)**
Cash funds & other monetary assets last year end
**Cash funds & other monetary assets this period end**|**2023**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**23,705**
**338**
**1,873**
**25,916**
**11,404**
**773**
**5,090**
**542**
**5,595**
**3,087**
**222**
**10,872**
**110**
**1**
**540**
**38,236**
**(12,320)**
**49,855**
**37,535**|2022
Unrestricted
funds
22,550
60
-| |---|---|---| |||22,610| |||10,534
1,293
3,472
525
4,814
3,190
2,752
-
110
-
450| |||27,140| |||(4,530)
54,385| |||49,855| 15 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ ## **HAZARDS FORUM** ## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 December 2023** ||**2023**|2022| |---|---|---| |**CASH FUNDS**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**|Unrestricted
funds| |Cash at bank|**7,692**|16,657| |Short term deposits|**28,262**|27,925| ||**35,954**|44,582| |**OTHER MONETARY ASSETS**||| |Funds held by the Institution of Civil Engineers|**1,581**|5,273| |**Total cash funds & other monetary assets**|**37,535**|49,855| |**ASSETS**||| |Prepayments|**8**|7| ||**8**|7| |**LIABILITIES**||| |Independent Examination|**570**|540| |Suppliers|**4,027**|1,169| |Subscriptions paid in advance|**1,680**|3,575| ||**6,277**|5,284| The receipts & payments accounts were approved by the Trustees on 12 March 2024 and were signed on their behalf by: Nick Shaw Chair of the Board of Trustees 12 March 2024 16 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ ## **HAZARDS FORUM** ## **Notes to the Accounts** ## **for the year ended 31 December 2023** ## **1 Responsibilities of the Trustees** The Trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Hazards Forum and take reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In preparing the financial statements the Trustees are required to: - a. select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently. - b. make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent. - c. prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Hazards Forum will continue to operate. ## **2 Accounting Policies** The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS102. The financial statements have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis. ## **a. Basis of accounting** The annual accounts have been prepared on the historical cost basis of accounting. ## **b. Direct charitable expenditure** Most of the Hazards Forum’s expenditure relates to direct charitable expenditure. Fund-raising costs are not applicable. It is not practical to place a monetary value on the support provided by The Institutions of Civil Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Chemical Engineers, Engineering and Technology and other bodies. ## **c. Income recognition** All income is recognised on a receipt’s basis. ## **d. Payments** Resources expended are recognised in the period in which they are paid and include any attributable VAT that cannot be recovered. Resources expended are allocated to the activity from which the cost related directly to that activity. ## **3 Related Party Transactions** None of the Trustees have been paid any remuneration in their role as Trustee. Expenses for trustee travel and accommodation were reimbursed to one trustee in 2023 totalling £506.36 (2022: £87). During the year, the Hazard’s Forum received a donation in kind of £4,240 from the Institute of Civil Engineers (2022: £3,395): this was for the use of rooms for meetings and events. 17 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ ## **APPENDIX 1** ## **Voting Members of the Hazards Forum as of 31 December 2023** ## **Founding Engineering Members** Institution of Chemical Engineers Institution of Civil Engineers Institution of Mechanical Engineers ## **Engineering Members** Royal Academy of Engineering ## **Associate Members** Institution of Occupational Safety and Health Health and Safety Executive Office for Nuclear Regulation Office of Rail and Road ## **Corporate Members** BP plc Corporate Risk Associates Costain EDF Sellafield Limited Fluor AtkinsRéalis Frazer-Nash Consultancy 18 _Hazards Forum – Registered Charity No. 1047047 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2023_ The Hazards Forum’s Mission is to enable inter-disciplinary learning between professionals for the prevention and mitigation of hazards and disasters. The Hazards Forum was established in 1989 by four of the principal engineering institutions because of concern about the major disasters which had occurred about that time. The Hazards Forum holds regular meetings on a wide range of subjects relating to hazards and safety, produces publications on such topics, and provides opportunities for interdisciplinary contacts and discussions. Hazards Forum One Great George Street Westminster London SW1P 3AA E-mail: admin@hazardsforum.org Telephone: 020 7665 2244 Website: www.hazardsforum.org _Registered charity number 1047047_ 19