OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator. This document is also available as Markdown.

← The Living Paintings Trust

2021-05-31-accounts

The Living Paintings Trust Trustees’ Report & Financial Statements

2020-21

A company limited by guarantee No: 3095963 | Registered Voluntary Charity No: 1049103

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 1

Reference and Administrative Details of the Company, its Trustees and Advisers for the Period Ended 31 May 2021

Trustees

Cat Bailey, Chairman Neil Walke, Treasurer Corienda Brown Sir David Brown Jane Findlay David Hall Catriona Macritchie Claire Short Cat Bailey and Neil Walke are members of the Management Committee

Trustees appointed

None

Trustees resigned

None

Chief Executive

Camilla Oldland

Independent auditor

James Cowper Kreston Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor 2 Communications Road Greenham Business Park Newbury RG19 5AB

Bankers

Bank of Scotland

The Edinburgh Royal Mile Branch, 300 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, EH1 2PH

Company details

The Living Paintings Trust Company registered number: 3095963 Charity registered number: 1049103

Registered office

Queen Isabelle House Unit 8, Kingsclere Park Kingsclere Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 4SW

Company secretary

Newbury Building Society

105b Northbrook Street, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 1AA

CAF Bank Limited

PO Box 289, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4TA

Solicitors

Pitmans

47 Castle Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 7SR

Camilla Oldland

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 2

Contents

Administrative and Professional Information 1
Report of the trustees for the year 1st June 2020 - 31st May 2021
Introduction 5
Our Year 7
Highlights including the impact of Covid-19 and response 9
The Financial Picture for the year 1st June 2020 – 31st May 2021 20
Case Studies 21
Objectives and Activities 25
Our Volunteers 26
Impact of our work 27
The Future (Our Work Plan) 29
Structure, Governance and Management 30
Financial Review 33
Our Reserves Policy 34
Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement 36
Report of the Independent Auditors 37
Statement of Financial Activities 40
Balance Sheet 41
Cash Flow Statement 42
Notes to the Financial Statements 43

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 3

Every six minutes in ine onvaté the UK, approximately one more person - a << ~ ™ . iG loses their sight

Every day, 250 more people join the 2 million people already living with sight loss. 4 of them will be children. And this number is set to double by 2050. 80% of the information we receive Gs « ec Bienes i e . reaches us via our eyes. -—e | «# 7 oe ome eps .

Covid-19 has seen the needs of blind and partially sighted people neglected. Adults have been left isolated and alone without services and support. Children have been even further excluded due to a cessation/reduction in essential special needs support of their mobility and social development and access to literacy and education.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 4

imagination share engage belonging fun empathy equal footing inclusion [play] thrive read learn understanding confidence

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 5

Introduction

Every day 250 people start to lose their sight. This number includes children whose parents will hear that their precious child is, or will become, blind. It is a devastating diagnosis, leaving parents uncertain as to how their child can join in with story time at nursery, follow school work with their sighted peers, and make friends. For as well as the educational impact, blind children face real social exclusion, as they struggle to join in conversations about the visually informed subjects that form the basis for so much social interaction. For older people, who often live alone, we know only too well that blindness can lead to life shattering isolation, leaving them cut off from the world around them and activities that brought them joy.

“Living Paintings has had such a hugely positive impact on my life, from the first time I received a book and found out what Thomas the Tank Engine looks like (until then I had no idea what a train with a face could possibly mean), to helping me learn to read and express myself. I wouldn’t be who I am today without this wonderful charity.”

Our work at Living Paintings is designed to address the significant challenges that living with sight loss brings whatever the age. Our free postal library of Touch to See books, with their raised images and audio guides, website and Book Clubs create the unique opportunity to explore the visual world which in turn brings pleasure, learning and new friendships to blind and partially sighted children, young people and adults.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 6

“During lockdown, the world was virtually shut off to visually impaired children. They couldn’t learn through the TV or computers. When all children were required to learn from home, I was at least able to contact Living Paintings to request a book (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) so that my daughter had a hugely better understanding of the story her class was following that term. It was invaluable to have any degree of comprehension.

Thank you Living Paintings for working through the pandemic!”

Evidence proves that the work of  Living Paintings transforms the lives of those blind and partially sighted © people of all ages that we reach.

Our Free, postal library service has remained fully operational throughout Covid-19 reaching blind and partially sighted people across the country at a time when our Touch to See books have never been more needed.

Our mission is to reach ever more people with our life changing services.

“Since starting using the Living Paintings books in our care home, I’ve been able to include both sighted and visually impaired people. The stories are rich in detail and span a wide spectrum of topics which then lead to quite amazing conversations afterwards. The raised images are a truly fantastic aid for visually impaired people to see what others in the group are also seeing. I’m so very grateful to have come across the Living Paintings and their team that have been very helpful with queries and accommodating with requests.”

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 7

Our Year

Our free, postal library service and the production of new Touch to See books continued without interruption throughout the pandemic.

This has been a year full of complexities as Living Paintings has navigated the ever-changing and often challenging environment that has resulted from living in a world profoundly affected on every level by a global pandemic. We have worked hard with continued flexibility, creativity and determination and the results have been remarkably positive. Most importantly, our library service bringing light and laughter, entertainment and shared experiences, education and literacy to blind and partially sighted people has continued without disruption. Driven by the knowledge that our Touch to See books have never been more needed our dedicated staff team have gone above and beyond to meet a 25% increase in demand despite missing the contributions of our necessarily absent volunteers. Here are just three of stories that fuelled our determination:

At 8 months old Henry’s parents were told that he was severely sight impaired.

Henry is almost 5 years old, he has nystagmus and is registered severely sight impaired. He lives with his mum, dad and older brother, Otis, on their family run dairy farm in Yorkshire. His mum tells us: “Henry loves to enjoy farming life and doesn’t let his visual impairment hold him back - sometimes a little more caution would be welcome!

==> picture [241 x 111] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
“He loves the
tactile pictures that
enable him to fully
experience the story.”
----- End of picture text -----

“We don’t want Henry to miss out on anything and this is one of the reasons we love the Living Paintings books. He loves the tactile pictures that enable him to fully experience the story. The wide range of books are fantastic and Henry will be able to enjoy these for many years to come. Henry loves sharing the books with all the family and showing the pictures from his “special books” to everyone.”

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 8

Elizabeth is 93 years old, lives alone and lost her sight as a result of an accident.

“ I joined the Living Paintings library 22 years ago and have been listening and enjoying learning from many different topics and titles ever since. I have learned a lot about the history of various countries and their ways of life and living, ancient history and many new discoveries and inventions. I have also enjoyed learning about the history of kings and queens, sea travels, and prominent people’s lives.

The Touch to See books have improved my learning and filled a large void in my life. Thanks to Living Paintings my life has been more interesting and pleasurable, and my confidence since using the books has improved. They give me the urge to go further and to learn more about what is out there. ”

Kaison is approaching his first Birthday.

He was born with an extremely rare genetic condition which has caused him to have extremely small eyes with holes in them and underdeveloped optic nerves. There is nothing that can be done to save his sight. Kaison started borrowing Living Paintings books this year when he was just 3 months old! His mum had this to say:

“We found Living Paintings when Kaison was just a few months old, and we’re so grateful! We love sitting as a family sharing the books. Kaison has an older brother, Oscar who is 4 who enjoys to sit with his brother exploring the fabulous books. We love how they’re adapted to meet all needs with the voice over, large bright pictures, raised tactile pictures and the Braille. As Kaison is getting older he is scratching and feeling the pictures more, and his brother really helps him to explore them.

Thanks to Living Paintings I’m confident that as Kaison gets older he will grow to love books.

Thank you Living Paintings for all your hard work and support to help develop the lives of visually impaired children and their families!”

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 9

Highlights

Including the impact of Covid-19 and response

MORE beneficiaries

During the year, 885 blind and partially sighted people were newly introduced to our Touch to See books and had the opportunity to gain from our free, postal library service. 713 were children and young people . We know that the family, friends and classmates of these blind and partially sighted people experience a positive impact too, and we estimate that during the year Living Paintings has touched the lives of 1,600 additional people in this way. This growth in reaching new beneficiaries is great news especially as we know that 94% continue to borrow after their first ‘trial’ loan of a Touch to See book.

We have experienced an unprecedented movement in the number of people benefiting from our service over the last 12 months due to the impact of Covid-19. For instance we have seen reducing beneficiary numbers due to the suspension of our Touch to See Book Clubs Programme and the significant hiatus in schooling and yet accelerated growth in children borrowing at home and care homes signing up for our services. As a result we are delighted to be able to report that our total beneficiary numbers have slightly increased across the year.

“ The tactile pages and wonderful audio descriptions help my daughter engage in topics and subjects she enjoys more positively, especially during the covid lockdown when we were home-schooling and we didn’t have access to other suitable learning tools. The books that we receive from Living Paintings brought the world back to her imagination again.”

“A gentleman in his 90s, blind, hard of hearing, suffering partial paralysis in left arm followed the very clear instructions on your CD. He seemed not to tire nor get distracted. He was in charge of his journey of exploration. At the end he was almost lost for words and kept repeating “Marvellous”. For the first time in years he was in control of the story. He could follow the instruction and explore by touch this new world. He was for years alone, put in front of the TV which he could not see or understand, and now he has entered a new universe - full of wonderment. ”

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 10

MORE benefit

Never before have our Touch to See books been more needed. They have been crucial in supporting literacy and education attainment for children during periods of enforced home schooling and severe disruption to classroom study. For adults they have become a lifeline as they provide an opportunity to escape from the confines of their homes by exploring the world from the safety of their sofas. In doing so they have been given a break from the tedium and found solace and comfort. Our priority throughout this difficult year has been to get our Touch to See books into their hands.

It is therefore with pride that we report that across the year we made 6,000 tailor made loans of Touch to See books , each of which has benefited multiple blind and partially sighted children and adults and positively impacted the lives of the people around them. As with all good books, our special books will have often been read over and again through the duration of the loan period. And we have managed to successfully meet a 25% increase in demand.

In total our library completed 14,000 transactions. This is an extraordinary achievement as the work has been completed without the army of volunteers who were not able to come into the library due to Covid-19.

“ A huge thanks for providing such a wonderful service. You are always quick to respond to requests and always send out books suited to age and visual needs. We love receiving our box of books, especially during the current Covid -19 situation. We have so much fun sharing books in our household. ”

“I always thoroughly enjoy the books from yourselves but I have absolutely loved this one of objects rather than paintings. The raised images and descriptions were amazing and brought everything to life for me, I could just imagine holding them. Thank you so very much. Many, many thanks for all of the hard work you put into providing these wonderful books for us and the pleasure they bring.”

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 11

MORE impact

Throughout the year we continued to conduct our extensive monitoring and evaluation processes including our annual survey of child beneficiaries conducted during and despite the challenges of Covid-19. The resulting Children’s Impact Report (published January 2021) delivered yet another set of outstanding results. As a charity whose ambition is to combat the effect of social injustice on the lives of our beneficiary group, it is essential that our positive impact builds year on year. Therefore, we are delighted that our surveys continue to yield unequivocal evidence of the exceptionally high standards that we maintain.

==> picture [490 x 124] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
CONFIDENCE ENGAGEMENT WELL-BEING
99% 99% 98%
have improved have an increased experienced a positive
confidence thanks to interest in learning. change in confidence in
Living Paintings; socialising and making
89% friends.
significantly.
----- End of picture text -----

Key results

For those blind and partially sighted children who receive Living Paintings’ service:

benefited from improved confidence in reading ;

96% 99% S

are more confident in joining in class activities and discussions;

increase in benefitted from an shared experiences with sighted friends, family and peers ;

benefitted from a positive change in their confidence in taking part in physical activities such as getting involved in playing games;

80% of children use Living Paintings Touch to See books daily or weekly.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 12

Case Study: Teddy’s Story

Teddy is 5 years old and joined Living Paintings library this year. He was born prematurely at 34 weeks and, after a rocky start, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and is registered sight impaired.

His mummy Daisy tells us how much Teddy loves borrowing Living Paintings books…..

“Teddy first started using Living Paintings books at his school but I didn’t realise they were available for us to borrow at home until I saw a social media post by Sarah Millican during the first lockdown. I registered Teddy straight away and he was amazed to see the books arrive at home!

Teddy absolutely loves reading - especially with his grandad! He enjoys looking at his books all the time – first thing in the morning, after school and always at bedtime. We live with Teddy’s nanny and grandad so they are very much involved in story time. Grandad even reads to Teddy in the bath!

His favourite books are Julia Donaldson ones - he loves the rhymes! When The Snail and The Whale arrived, he sat on the sofa with nanny to carefully feel all the pictures, it really brought the story to life for him.

The Living Paintings books and resources mean that Teddy can listen to stories, engage with the 3D images and turn the pages. There are so many barriers to books with his disabilities. The boxes we get through the post open up a world of imagination for him and are allowing him to start to become a more independent reader as he grows.

“The boxes we get through the post open up a world of imagination for him.”

Teddy sits in his P-Pod to turn the pages of the story. He loves to memorize the words and read them back to us, so if he knows the book he will say the words to himself from memory. Otherwise he just pretends as he turns the pages. He also likes to chill out in his room with audio CDs - we have a lot so often we have the same story as the books we receive. He likes to follow the audio descriptions from Living Paintings and take his time looking at the pages.

Receiving the Living Paintings boxes in the post is the highlight of the month for Teddy!

I am so grateful for the service you provide and I just wish we’d found you sooner!”

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 13

MORE exciting new Touch to See book titles published

Yoga Babies

A book about yoga and mindfulness for young children written by Fearne Cotton and illustrated by Sheena Dempsey. Fearne kindly lent her voice, from under a duvet!, to the audio soundtrack and shared information about its publication with her followers on Instagram.

“Matilda absolutely loved the book. We really enjoyed the story and she loved acting out the yoga positions afterwards. Such a lovely book to read together.” Parent

Tiddler

An underwater adventure about ocean wildlife for Early Years and Reception children, written by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler with our audio description read by Martin Clunes.

Somebody Swallowed Stanley

A beautifully illustrated book by environmental expert, Sarah Roberts, for Reception and KS1 children, with a powerful message about plastic pollution. Sarah lent her voice to the soundtrack and posted on Instagram about the project.

Rosie Revere Engineer

Written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts, a fun and engaging book for Key Stage 1-2 children that promotes STEM subjects to girls and offers great lessons in courage and perseverance. The book was read by actress Angela Griffin in her home studio.

“Wow! The details are amazing! I’m so thrilled this book is becoming part of the Living Paintings library! Thank you so much!” David Roberts, illustrator

The Snowman

This timeless Christmas classic by Raymond Briggs, read by BBC presenter Simon Reeve, brought magic and joy to the library in time for Christmas 2020. Seven year old library member Jai-Ryan and his mum had this to say:

“If I could kiss you, I really would. Thank you so much for bringing this story to life, especially for a little man who is really starting to fully understand Christmas and the magic of it! Jai-Ryan really enjoyed this story, and has fallen asleep dreaming of this magical tale.”

Simon Reeve posted on his Instagram mid-session and received over 5,000 likes:

“Bodged lockdown studio (old duvet) today to record an audio guide to the wonderful #raymondbriggs book #TheSnowman for @livingpaintingscharity”

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 14

Zog and the Flying Doctors

Publication of our Touch to See version of this book, by best-selling duo Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, coincided with the animated adaptation that was shown on Christmas Day 2020, making sure blind children didn’t miss out on meeting the fantastical characters and enjoying an event that has become a family Christmas favourite.

Blue Peter presenter, Richie Driss, and film crew created a short film about the making of this adaptation, which was broadcast as part of Blue Peter’s ‘BBC Children In Need Special’. Richie took part in pressing and painting the feely pictures and recorded the audio guide in our studio. He then delivered the first completed copy to lucky library member and Blue Peter fan, Imogen. Richie had this to say: “It was amazing working with you guys on an incredible project!”.

What the Ladybird Heard

A wonderfully humorous book by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Lydia Monks which introduces young children to the sights, sounds and smells of the farmyard! The audio description for the book is read by Sarah Millican, writer and comedian, and is already proving very popular with our young library members. Sarah lent bags of humour and animal fun to the reading, plus an Instagram post on her platform helped us reach more new benficiaries.

Furthermore, 19 new Touch to See titles are currently in production

Titles include a hands-on ‘art and craft’ book for Key Stage 1, a fact-book celebrating women in history, an entertainment series of books about BBC TV show ‘Doctor Who’, and a range of celebrated picture books to support first steps in literacy. Plus our 2021 TV tie-in, ‘Superworm’, the Christmas Day family entertainment animation on BBC One.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 15

Case Study: Teacher’s story

“ I work as a Qualified Teacher for the Visually Impaired (QTVI) with one, 12 year old, student with severe vision impairment. She was born with Microcephaly which affected the development of her brain, including her ability to see. She is able to see colour, light and dark and can read highly contrasted 48pt type when very close up, but trying to read and decipher images is tiring and slow.

Because of her reduced memory capacity and visual impairment which are both part of the condition, her literacy attainment is equivalent to that of a much younger child. In addition, the inability to see her surroundings, the television or anything else that fully sighted children glean their information from has severely affected her knowledge and understanding of the world around her, as well as her social and life skills.

Part of our additional curriculum activities at school, and currently at home, have been the use of Living Paintings resources. Very early on I started ordering materials from Living Paintings for my student to practise her Braille reading skills, and to be able to access your Science books, which were a revelation to me and my understanding of her needs.

When my student read Handa’s Surprise and looked very closely at the illustration of the elephant she said “Oh, is that what an elephant looks like, I didn’t know” . Also, when exploring raised images of trees in a Science book, she felt and looked closely at a tree with leaves on and identified what it was, then she felt the one next to it and asked “why is it different, what’s this at the bottom?” I explained that in the autumn all the leaves fall off the trees on to the floor, leaving the bare twigs and branches; she said that she didn’t know that, no one had told her before .

These two incidents amongst others, made me realise (as somebody completely new to the field of visual impairment), how very limited her vision and therefore her understanding was. It made me even keener to explain everything clearly and to give her every opportunity to experience and understand things outside of school. So far we have joined other students with visual impairment in the county. We have had a sensory experience morning at a local garden centre and done some creative follow up activities. We have booked for her to go horse riding with other blind and partially sighted children in the area, have visited a local café and ordered and paid for food, and we are planning a visit to the seafront and the zoo next academic year. All these things have come about from a realisation of her limited experience, prompted by the Living Paintings books and the inspiration that your books have provided!

We have, and will continue to order materials from Living Paintings which will help the student I work with to not only read Braille more fluently, but to gain knowledge and experience from both the stories and the brilliant Science books. I am sure that they will continue to serve as a source of inspiration for her and me as I seek to organise life experiences for her in the years to come. ”

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 16

MORE development

“Ted has moved to mainstream secondary school in a global pandemic! That could have gone wrong but his understanding of the world is as good as his sighted peers because of Living Paintings and so he doesn’t just contribute to class discussions, he leads them!”

New online Library System

Our new purpose built, visually impaired accessible online Library System has been launched and alongside an easy, smooth user experience, the time efficiencies it enables has made a real difference to our ability to meet a 25% increase in demand. We have been able to continue to turn around orders within 48 hours despite the lack of volunteer support. A data cleanse has been completed and new, robust reporting implemented. Our new Living Paintings website was launched concurrently and we are extremely pleased with the result, which is giving us greater capacity to optimise the value of our excellent social media activity and our search

www.livingpaintings.org

engine rankings are improving constantly. We remain extremely grateful to the group of visually impaired people who road tested the new site at every stage in its development and, in doing so, ensured that the end result has high accessibility values - a priority for this project.

“I just wanted to congratulate your charity, I found you by chance on Twitter. I work in Early years and am supporting a child who is blind and has a variety of complex needs. Your books arrived at the start of this difficult term and have brought so much joy to their sessions at Nursery, thank you for helping me to help bring the books to life and giving me more inspiration to support them especially in this difficult time, I applaud you all.

Work has begun on rebuilding our Touch to See Book Clubs Programme with a new delivery model.

It has been a sadness for us that this Programme has had to be suspended with a significant impact on the number of adult beneficiaries that reach. We know the immense value of this project in increasing the wellbeing of this group of people whilst helping to alleviate their loneliness and so are committed to its restart.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 17

A gradual, carefully managed return of volunteers who work in production and library has begun.

We are ensuring a Covid safe environment for them and this has meant a move of equipment etc. to off-site storage in order to release greater working space. We are eager to welcome them back; they have been much missed.

The staff team have worked harder than ever.

Having discussed the resourcing issues created by our lack of the 45 in-house volunteers whose contributions amount to the equivalent of 3 full time employees, it is relevant to recognise what has been happening with our staff team. As we faced a year of greatly reduced income we implemented cuts in staff costs achieved through the redundancy of roles and by absorbing natural changes. We began the period with the equivalent of eleven full time staff and this reduced to just six. So our staff team virtually halved and yet we continued to deliver extraordinary output.

We worked hard with the team to support them in every way during this difficult and ever changing period. They were managing the complexities of home life and working whilst providing extra hours in order to fill the gap in achieving the workloads at a time when disruption was the name of the game. Thankfully, our finances have permitted the beginning of a rebuild in the staff resourcing .

December 2020 Staff Christmas party on Zoom and we are still smiling! The Rainbow Christmas Tree ornament, one of a number of little gifts, will remind us of our Covid experience for years to come!

Looking to the future.

Over and above all that has been achieved this year in the most difficult of environments the staff, trustees and representatives for our beneficiaries have undertaken a strategic review process encompassing all the learnings from not only our 30 years of operation but also the Covid-19 experience. Not an easy task in times of restriction and lockdown completed via video conferencing. The resulting strategy is being finalised. The resounding, overarching decision is to double the number of blind and partially sighted people we reach with ever evolving, relevant services. With this in mind the Trustees agreed a designated fund at the end of the financial year to be spent on pursuing Strategic Growth. The first step will be to raise awareness of the charity and the services offered in order to increase beneficiary numbers and fundraising opportunities.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 18

Our finances during the year have strengthened and we are therefore able to pursue the Strategic Growth that we seek.

Having expected an economic downturn as a result of Covid-19 we predicted a significantly lower income year and took the necessary steps to reduce expenditure in line with this. However the efforts of our diminished fundraising team have proved highly successful and we have achieved another exceptional income year which has included a donation of £89,000 specifically for the full redemption of the mortgage on the building that houses all our Touch to See production. This in turn has improved our balance sheet. The continued loyalty of our wonderful donors and the move from

raising funds through events to digital campaigns has again contributed to the financial success that we experienced. We launched The Big Christmas Read. Blind and sighted alike took on sponsored reading challenges and one young hero, Jacob, who is seven and blind, alone raised a magnificent £1,500. One little girl wrote: “I am 5 and I will be reading a book with mummy every night to help raise money for children who cannot see as well as me”.

Our next big fundraiser was led by 19 year old Louis from Bradford who has been a beneficiary of Living Paintings since he was two. Louis’ online campaign raised £24,000 in total having blasted through his £15,000 target within 2 weeks.

As a huge fan of Doctor Who, Louis has never seen the Tardis, Daleks and Doctors etc and so the money will fund 3 new Touch to See titles revealing images from this iconic BBC TV Series. The project, with full permission and support from BBC Doctor Who, will delight our beneficiaries of all ages.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 19

We are extremely proud to be able to present such a positive report for this year despite the extraordinary challenges presented by Covid-19. As a tightly run, flexible and agile charity with amazing, loyal supporters and a genuine closeness to our beneficiaries, our determination was fuelled and we found the energy and resources to keep doing what we do best; support and transform the lives of blind and partially sighted people young and old.

These words were written a year ago to conclude our previous report. We were just 3 months into the onset of Covid-19 and fully, now in hindsight naively, expected the world to right itself to some large degree within a short time. Today, as we seek a conclusion to this current report, we find that we can but reiterate and re-emphasise these same words as they so ably describe the last 12 months of operating under the spectre of the pandemic. There is just one addition we would make and that is to express our delight at having been able to greatly strengthen the financial position of our charity making it possible to consider, define and pursue our newly formed strategic growth ambitions.

Though there is still uncertainty about how the story of the pandemic will play out, for us, thankfully, the air is charged with excitement and anticipation. This is made possible thanks to:

We extend our extra special thanks to each and every one of these people who have supported and inspired us as we navigated through a complex year. They have helped us rebuild and fill us with confidence in our ability to transform the lives of even more blind and partially sighted people in the coming year.

Cat Bailey - Chairman

Camilla Oldland - Chief Executive

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 20

The Financial Picture for the year 1st June 2020 – 31st May 2021

Our income

Total Income: £514,885

How we spent the money

Services for Children, young people and adults

Total Expenditure: £396,263

About our operating surplus

We achieved an operating surplus of £118,622 for the year within which was a grant of £89,000 restricted to and spent through capital expenditure on redeeming our mortgage. We particularly thank the small group of loyal grant making trusts with whom we have a long term relationship who gave Covid-19 Emergency Funding, local community foundations and a little blind boy who raised £43,000 at the end of last year and beginning of this.

Our Fund Balances at 31[st] May 2021

Total Fund Balances: £603,664

==> picture [123 x 125] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
£146,785 £170,448
£60,000
£226,431
----- End of picture text -----

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 21

Case Studies

Matthew’s story

“ Matthew was born very unexpectedly at 35 weeks, but he was a healthy weight and doing well, he didn’t wake for any feeds and when awake he mainly cried. The next day Matthew suddenly took a turn for the worse. His temperature rose dangerously high so he was taken to NICU. Matthew is our first child so we didn’t know what to expect as new parents but it was not this fear and sadness at seeing him in a tank covered with wires. Matthew suddenly started to have seizures that could not be controlled. We were called to be with him. The next few hours were a blur of tears, offers of priests, wires and seeing our tiny baby fight for his life in front of our eyes. We almost lost him as quickly as he arrived.

We later found out Matthew had meningitis and sepsis which he was born with. This happens very rarely and sadly most babies’ don’t survive. The next 4 weeks were a rollercoaster of emotions, successes, achievements and just as many setbacks. Matthew fought so hard for his life. He suffered severe brain damage as a result of the meningitis and seizures. His mobility is severely affected as he has Cerebral Palsy and he is cognitively delayed.

Matthew is severely sight impaired. He has central visual pathway problems, and optic nerve damage which means what he does see struggles to make it to his brain. He also has cortical visual impairment which means his brain struggles to understand any messages that do get there, due to the severe brain damage.

Other children that are Matthew’s age are immersed in language and words all day. Whether it’s reading a bedtime story, going to the shops or playing with their toys. Matthew does not have this opportunity.

When Matthew first felt a Touch to See book sent via ‘Living Paintings’ he was surprised and then overjoyed and felt all over - the page . He loves to read his special books now. Every time a new package arrives we will open the box as a family and show -azZ Matthew each new story adventure in store. We use the books as a special reading time together. We will read the story and Matthew IF feels the pictures and braille, we have just started encouraging I him to use his “Peter Pointer” finger. It’s just so wonderful that now he knows books have content. The Living Paintings books are all made so beautifully. Each book has the most beautiful raised tactile pictures. This really helps to bring the stories to life and just show how much love is put into each book.

We are not sure if cognitively Matthew will ever be able to read braille. He has started on his pre braille skills such as squeezing playdough and picking up items from a box. But this does not stop him hungrily “reading” his stories and feeling the words on the page and “seeing” the story come to life, all thanks to the wonderful team at Living Paintings. I can’t thank them enough for showing my son he can love books. ”

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 22

George’s story

George is 2 years old and has been a member of Living Paintings Library for a year. His mum Hanna wrote to us to share George’s journey and to tell us how thrilled she was to discover our tactile library.

“George was born at 23 weeks 6 days, weighing just 700 grams. Whilst in the NICU he would be checked weekly for an eye condition most common in pre term babies weighing less than 1250 grams called Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Unfortunately, it was confirmed that George had ROP.

There are two types of treatment for ROP - injections in the eyes, or laser eye surgery. It was decided that laser eye surgery would be the best for George, and we were told a lot of the time it is successful. It didn’t work the first time, so we tried again, but yet it was still unsuccessful. George took a trip in a helicopter to try and save his sight by going to see a specialist at the other side of the country.

George’s vision looked hopeful and he was sent back to our own hospital where he went on to have another surgery for a cataract. The surgery was successful, but in the coming weeks after, George’s eye started to shrink and in the end his retina detached and he lost all vision in his right eye. Luckily he can still see a little bit with his glasses in his left eye.

George is now at home thriving. I contacted our

local library to ask if they had any suitable books for George but unfortunately they didn’t, so I was thrilled when I came across the Living Paintings Charity. They have books suitable for George’s age and they come adapted with voice overs, braille and 3D pictures. George loves to read them with me and scratch and feel the pictures.

We feel lucky to have found Living Paintings!”

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 23

Louis’ story

From a 2 year old enjoying books and learning to read, to a 19 year old university student raising funds for his favourite charity.

We asked Louis, 19, if he would be one of our Living Paintings case studies for the year. He has put so much time and effort into his response we thought it only right to share it with you in its entirety just as he has written it:

Living Paintings are, and always have been an absolute delight!

I have a long history with Living Paintings and I am extremely grateful for the work that they do.

My name is Louis, I am 19 years old and completely blind. I live in Bradford with my family.

I became completely blind at 18 months old due to

Neuroblastoma, a type of children’s cancer. Despite this, my parents were always keen for me to have the same opportunities as my sighted peers, in my opinion, this was the best thing they could’ve done for me.

My parents didn’t really know where to turn to as far as simple things like children’s books were concerned, but then they discovered Living Paintings when I was around 2 years old and I am still involved now at 19! I have a long history with Living Paintings and am extremely grateful for the work that they do for blind and visually impaired people of all ages.

I’m very much of the belief that while people like me who are blind or partially sighted are unfortunately, physically different in that we can’t see, beyond this we are no different at all and should be given access to as close to everything that sighted people have access to.

One of the many things Living Paintings has done for me is to bring characters to life, whether it be Postman Pat, Thomas the Tank Engine, the icons of Star Wars or the Mona Lisa. Living Paintings give blind and visually impaired readers the chance to meet these characters, and to see what they look like so that we can appreciate them as much as our sighted peers and friends. One of the earliest books I can remember borrowing is Thomas the Tank Engine, and I can remember it vividly. I thought it was really cool and I just remember thinking “so this is what the characters look like!” Until I experienced Living Paintings books, I had no idea!

Growing up, the thing with Living Paintings books was that there were stories that you knew, that every child knew. The characters were popular characters that were on TV that everyone was familiar with, and now I could see what they looked like too. The fact that I then had access to these stories and I could see what the pictures were like and could visualise them, well that was a big thing, and to be able to appreciate them like a sighted child could.

As a child, I read the books in every way possible. Sometimes alone, listening to the audio and feeling the tactile pictures - I found it fascinating. The narrators are fantastic and always have been. The voices are matched to the book and it just works perfectly.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 24

I would also listen to a book with either my mum or dad or brother, and at times we would all read a book together as a family. We would flick though the standard pictures, listening to the audio and all feel the tactile pictures together; it was just a really nice, family experience.

Then at school my Living Paintings books and packs would be passed around all the children who would feel the tactile pictures - it was fascinating for them too.

Living Paintings have been a constant

Living Paintings have had a massive impact on my life. From when I was a child through to now where I’m coming towards the end of my first year at University, Living Paintings have been a constant and have always provided entertainment and education. The work they do to help blind and visually impaired people “see” the world through their range of touch to see books is fantastic, and the staff that make it happen are some of the friendliest and most outgoing people you could meet.

I was honored when back in 2008 I was invited to London by Living Paintings to attend their Steiff Teddy Bear Auction. I remember holding one of the bears up for everyone to see, and thinking that I was incredibly lucky to be there. I’ve then gone on to help Living Paintings on more occasions, such as testing out books for them. I was not only proud to have done this, but I also really appreciated that they were asking blind and partially sighted people to test their books, so that it was the end user that gave feedback before the book was finalised and made available. I personally found this extremely reassuring, that they gave this book to another blind and partially sighted person to test before giving it to me, thus ensuring it’s accessibility.

As a blind person, Living Paintings books are the most compact way you can read a book

Everyone can enjoy Living Paintings books with no compromise for anybody. All the images and text are there just as in a standard book. You also have braille which is on transparent sheets so a sighted person can still see the pictures and text. You are guided through by the audio description which tells you everything you need to know – the background, the landscape, all the details – I can really appreciate as an adult that without these details you wouldn’t be able to picture it in your head.

As a blind person, Living Paintings books are the most compact way you can read. The tactile pictures can really help you to be able to relate to something on the same level as a sighted person. Being able to see what musical instruments look like or a work of art like the Mona Lisa.

I’m extremely thankful to Living Paintings

If I could sum up what I think is the most important thing about Living Paintings I would ask a sighted person to just imagine – close your eyes and now imagine you can’t open them again. This is how it is and now you want to read a book, but how are you going to do that? How important is reading a book to you? As a sighted person how would you feel if that was taken away from you and you couldn’t read anymore? Then you discover Living Paintings and the books are full of characters you’ve heard about and imagined all the time. They have been on the TV, you’ve listened to the audio books, you may have had the books read to you and you never quite understood what they looked like and now, because of Living Paintings you can.

I’m extremely thankful for Living Paintings, and hope that they can continue to do their amazing work for many, many years to come.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 25

Objectives and Activities

The objects of the Living Paintings Trust, known as Living Paintings, set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association are: “To relieve and educate blind and partially sighted people” .

In setting our objectives and planning our activities the Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.

What we do

Living Paintings purpose is to put the life chances of blind and partially sighted children, young people and adults on a par with sighted people by providing them with equal access to the visual world of pictures, books and learning.

We design, create and publish Touch to See books for all ages that make the visual images that colour and inform our lives accessible to blind and partially sighted people. These include raised tactile pictures accompanied by atmospheric, educational and entertaining audio guides. The audio guides, often narrated by famous people, help fingers explore the tactile images, tell the stories of the pictures and describe their features. In this way, the senses of touch and hearing combine to make up for the missing sense of sight. By including colour images of the topics in the tactile pictures, our books can be shared with sighted friends, family and classmates.

Our Touch to See books are provided completely free of charge from our postal library so all visually impaired people, no matter where they live or their financial circumstances, can borrow them and gain a feel for the visual world.

For Children

Our young library members can grow with the library, as pre-school children develop their fine motor skills by tracing the shapes of the well-loved characters Spot and Peppa Pig, as well as learning to listen and follow simple instructions. Children have fun and develop literacy with our Touch to See versions of best-selling titles such as Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo and Stick Man. Our educational range of books tie in to subjects across the National Curriculum and are excellent for homework help, too. We know that most of our young visually impaired members attend mainstream schools, so our resources offer the opportunity for positive, shared learning experiences. In addition our special interest range stimulates a visually impaired child’s own enjoyment and exploration of topics including Dinosaurs, World Music, Seashore and Space.

For Young People

Teenagers and young people can absorb themselves in our collection designed to support and stimulate teen interest areas such as; Fashion, Football, Film, Theatre and Music.

For Adults

With us, adults explore subjects such as British wildlife and the countryside, English gardens, architecture, the history of the teddy bear, history of art, and they can even take a tour of Edinburgh and other cities. They can enjoy all these topics and many more as a member of one of our community Touch to See Book Clubs , or at home with family and friends.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 26

Volunteers

Volunteers are the key to the creation and delivery of our work and their contribution is what makes it possible to achieve so much with donations received. For the year to 31st May 2021 our wonderful team of volunteers were in, the large part, unable to make their essential, committed contribution to Living Paintings due to Covid-19. In normal times they number 300+ meaning that our staff to volunteer ratio would be approx 1:40. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of financially accounting for their invaluable contribution which is especially true during this time of Covid, we do not reflect this in the accounts. However, in a normal year we calculate their donations of time and expertise to be worth approx £200,000 which clearly shows that they are one of our most valuable assets. When possible our volunteers undertake a range of tasks, many of which require specialist skills and training. They help with every stage of the production process with researching, writing, recording, editing sound recordings, manufacturing Touch to See books, painting feely pictures etc. They also undertake the day to day library service transactions, help with fundraising, record keeping and the promotion of Living Paintings. Included in their number are many famous faces who give of their time freely, most often to record the audio descriptions for the Touch to See books. They include Sir Derek Jacobi, Joanna Lumley, Alan Davies, Michael Sheen, Lord Fellowes, Jo Whiley, Fearne Cotton, Dallas Campbell, ESA Astronaut Tim Peake and Sir Robert Winston amongst many more.

Such a team merits a high level of professional support as every Living Paintings activity includes a substantial volunteer component whether at Kingsclere, or working from home. So we go to great lengths to recruit, train and support our volunteers, communicate news to them, and give them the warm welcome they deserve and the gratitude they earn. During Covid-19 it has been our pleasure to place emphasis of supporting this wonderful group who do so much for us with weekly contact and virtual coffee mornings.

Why we do it

Evidence from the UK Vision Strategy confirms that sight loss is a major concern in the UK with significant health, social and economic impacts. The RNIB state that there are two million people who are blind or partially sighted and this number is set to grow to 2.7 million by 2030.

For children and young people

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 27

For adults

These people face challenges of mobility, social inclusion, achieving an education and securing a job. Many are struggling with the harsh realities of the emotional and practical devastation of losing sight at an age when new challenges are not easily met, whilst finding themselves increasingly cut off and with little or no support from severely limited and fast diminishing community services.

For blind and partially sighted children ‘They are more likely to live in a family experiencing financial hardship. They are likely to have less exposure to social and cultural events, have fewer friends and do less physical activity. Parents and teachers perceive them as performing less well at school than their sighted peers. Not surprisingly, there is evidence to suggest that they are less secure and confident from a psychological perspective. They are more likely to be bullied at school, have concentration or behavioural problems and feel unhappy, downhearted or low.’ RLSB, RNIB and NatCen Social Research 2012

Also, the findings of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development state that, “Reading was a more important indicator of future success than any socio-economic factors” a statement that is key to the importance of our service, as we are enabling and encouraging visually impaired children to learn to read and inspiring an enjoyment of books in doing so.

All suffer isolation and exclusion.

What impact does our service have on the lives of blind and partially sighted people?

Our Touch to See library service helps blind and partially sighted people of all ages to:

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 28

All of the above has been learnt through extensive, direct feedback from members received over the years and the various case studies and surveys recently completed including:

Children’s Impact Survey (published January 2021) which reported:

For those blind and partially sighted children who receive Living Paintings’ service:

Touch to See Book Clubs Impact Survey completed 2018 reported that of the blind and partially sighted participants:

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 29

The Future

Our Aims

Our Objectives

Our Work Plan

We know that in our beneficiary group we only have a minority of the blind and partially sighted children, young people and adults who could benefit from the proven value our service brings. Our plan is to double the number that we reach by 2026 in order to support their early years development, education and life-long learning.

Therefore our work plan for the year 1st June 2021 to 31st May 2022 once again encompasses reaching new members, enhancing our services for existing members and developing our user experience and engagement. Our focus will be on supporting blind and partially sighted children in order to counteract the negative impact that Covid-19 has had on their literacy, education and wellbeing. To this end we will be pursuing six key areas with children as a priority.

1. Covid-19 Response – Continuing with our Covid-19 response, safety measures and working arrangements whilst it remains necessary.

2. Publishing - Developing the range, breadth, scope and diversity of our Touch to See Books.

3. Digital Vision - Delivering our digital strategy in support of our Objectives.

4. Library Service - Developing delivery in support of growing numbers of beneficiaries whilst optimising the opportunities offered by emerging technologies.

5. Community – Researching and piloting a new delivery model for Touch to See Book Clubs, implementing it once Covid-19 conditions allow, and developing engagement with our beneficiary group alongside their families, teachers and carers.

6. Organisation – Completing a Strategic Plan setting out our 5 and 10 year strategy.

These six areas are intrinsically linked and will complement one another.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 30

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing Document

The Living Paintings Trust was formed in 1988. The Trust was registered with the Charity Commission on 15th February 1989 as a charity. On 31st December 1995 the activities of the charity were transferred to The Living Paintings Trust, a company not having a share capital, limited by guarantee. The company is entitled to those exemptions from UK taxation which are available in law to charities. The Trust is governed by the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Administration

The administrative and secretarial duties of the charity are undertaken in our office which is also the company’s registered office. Details of the professional advisors are set out on page 1.

Trustees

The Trustees are also the Directors of the company. Under the requirements of the Memorandum and Articles of Association at the Annual General Meeting one third of the Trustees retire from office, being those who have been longest in office since their last appointment or re-appointment.

Trustee Recruitment:

The responsibility for appointing new members of the Board rests with the existing Trustees. The aim is to ensure that the membership of the Board includes people with varied skills and interests such as: business strategy, charity sector, education, finance, art history, human resources, law and visual impairment and any other expertise which is needed. The Trustees use their extensive networks to source possible new appointees and their details are brought to and discussed at a Trustees’ Meeting. A potential Trustee is then invited to meet with the Chief Executive and talk with two existing Trustees prior to a formal proposal for appointment being made.

Induction and Training of Trustees:

The induction and training process is two fold. Arrangements are made to familiarise a new Trustee with their responsibilities using the Charity Commission’s guide ‘The Essential Trustee’ and the Living Paintings Memorandum and Articles of Association. New Trustees are extensively briefed about Living Paintings’ current position, finances, plans for the future and their expected role. They will meet with members of the staff team and some of the many volunteers.

The Trustees have overall responsibility for the work of the charity. They agree policies, strategies and the financial budgets. There is a Management Committee which includes a minimum of two Trustees, currently the Chairman and Treasurer, and appropriate staff members which has the responsibility for reviewing in detail the work of the charity. Progress on policy, strategy, the financial budgets and operational issues is reported through the Management Committee to the Trustees on a quarterly and annual basis. The day to day operation of the Trust’s affairs is delegated to the Chief Executive.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 31

Our Trustees

Cat Bailey (Chairman)

Creative Director and Founding Partner, PinkGreen.

Corienda Brown

Beneficiary of Living Paintings. Announcer, C4 Television. Previously BBC. A disability inclusion champion with lived experience of visual impairment.

Sir David Brown

Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Chairman of the Bletchley Park Trust Ltd. Previous directorships include Chairman of Motorola Ltd and Chairman of the British Standards Institution. Knighted in 2001 for services to British industry.

Jane Findlay

David Hall

Parent to visually impaired child. Director Strategic Accounts, Tanium. Previously Veritas Technologies and Symantec.

Catriona Macritchie

Qualified Solicitor. Group General Counsel, William Grant & Sons Ltd. Formerly various including Diageo PLC and McGrigor Donald (now part of Pinsent Masons).

Claire Short

Qualified Solicitor. Senior Government Lawyer currently with Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as Deputy Director, Nuclear and Non-Proliferation Legal team.

Neil Walke (Treasurer)

Qualified Chartered Accountant. Strategic Engagement Manager at Vodafone Group. Formerly with Deloitte.

Head of Learning and Audience Development, Dulwich Picture Gallery. Previously at The British Museum, Kenwood House and the National Maritime Museum.

Our Patrons

We are delighted to continue to benefit from the patronage of Christopher Lloyd CVO, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Sir Timothy and Lady Sainsbury . Christopher was Surveyor of The Queen’s Pictures 1988 – 2005 and is a former Curator at Christ Church Oxford and the Ashmoleum Museum Oxford. Dame Jacqueline Wilson was the Children’s Laureate 2005-07. She works full-time as a writer and is a best selling, popular children’s author. She has sold over ten million books. Sir Timothy is a former MP and Minister of State. He is a former Trustee of the V & A Museum. Sir Timothy and Lady Sainsbury have been keen supporters of Living Paintings for 25 years.

“I think the very best way to get children to develop a love of books is to share stories with them when they are little. But how can you interest a child in a picture book when they are blind? The answer is through the touch and sound publications that the award winning Living Paintings offer in their free national library - children can feel what The Gruffalo, Winnie the Pooh, Thomas the Tank Engine are like. And because of their unique design the books can be shared – everyone enjoying the story together.”

Dame Jacqueline Wilson

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 32

Our Ambassadors

We benefit from the support of three Living Paintings Ambassadors who have been appointed with the joint purpose of giving them a voice as beneficiaries of our charity and providing positive role models for other people who are experiencing sight loss.

Kali Gilbert is mother of seven year old Tayen who loves our Touch to See books. Kali is a great supporter of our work and an excellent spokesperson because she believes passionately in the value of what we do – helping blind children, like Tayen, read and develop a love of picture books. Tayen lost her sight at 18 months and Kali is a ready communicator about the trials, tribulations and joys of being this special little girl’s mother.

Lucy Edwards is a hugely successful visually impaired young person - after becoming an internet sensation a few years ago for her blind beauty YouTube videos, she is now the first blind BBC 1 Radio DJ, a journalist, an award winning content creator and a Pantene brand Ambassador. In her words she is ‘changing how the world views blindness’, through her videos and posts on her influential digital platforms. Lucy’s Instagram has 113K followers and she supports Living Paintings through her influence on social media.

Emily Davison is a writer, journalist and YouTuber who has been published in the Huffington Post and Guardian. As well as blogging about fashion and beauty, Emily advocates for improved accessibility in children’s books and has an MA in English Literature from Goldsmiths University. Visually impaired herself, Emily champions our work for blind children and young people on her successful Instagram, sharing news of our new book publications and campaigns.partially sighted teens build the confidence to enjoy fashion. Emily is advocating for improved accessibility in children’s literature, pursuing her keen interest in space, and studying for her MA in children’s literature at Goldsmiths.

Risk Management

The Trustees have continued to refine our risk management strategy. This has included a review of the major risks which the charity may encounter, and the establishment and enhancement of procedures to mitigate these identified risks. The principal risk remains that of maintaining current levels of income. Steps that have been taken to mitigate this risk include the establishment and maintenance of a comprehensive database providing weekly, monthly and annual reporting and which drives our fundraising efforts alongside the creation of a fundraising strategy which includes the development of new income streams. Trustees are satisfied that adequate systems are in place to mitigate any exposure to our major risks, in particular financial and operational risk. During Covid-19 the charity has undertaken regular risk assessments following ever-evolving government and WHO guidelines.

Key Management Personnel Remuneration

The Trustees consider the Board of Trustees and the Senior Management Team as comprising the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling the charity and running and operating the charity on a day to day basis. All Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee remuneration was paid in the year. Details of Trustee expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in notes 7 and 18 to the accounts.

The pay of the Senior Management Team is reviewed annually and is normally increased in accordance with average earnings. The remuneration is reviewed to ensure that it is fair and not out of line with similar roles.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 33

Financial Review

The financial results for the year are shown on pages 40 - 51. We achieved an income of £514,885 while expenditure was £396,263 giving a surplus of £118,622 for the year.

Income

This year we raised £514,885. We receive no statutory funding and are entirely dependent on voluntary donations. We are reliant on donations from grant making trusts to fund the majority of our work and we are grateful to all those trusts who supported us again or for the first time during the year. They are listed on pages 40 - 51.

There are two main components which make up income in the year:

  1. Donations and gifts of £180,764 for the Unrestricted Fund (as defined on page 40). These donations support our core work of operating a free library service to blind and partially sighted people in Britain and Ireland and include Covid-19 Emergency Funding.

  2. Donations and gifts of £334,121 for the Restricted Fund (as defined on page 40). This income relates to the production of specific new Touch to See books and specific areas of our bespoke library service to members including Covid-19 Emergency Funding.

The Trustees have set the budget for 2021/22 at reduced income levels in order to reflect the financial impact of Covid-19 on our Fundraising Events income and that we received extraordinary income of £89,000 this year for the redemption of our mortgage. Only a small amount of our income is promised in advance therefore the support of our donors is absolutely crucial to our ability to continue our much needed service to our beneficiaries during these exceptionally difficult times.

Expenditure

This year we spent £396,263 reflecting year on year reduction of 13% resulting in cost saving measures undertaken in order to mitigate the risk from uncertainty in the fundraising market. Budget expenditure for 2021/22 is higher reflecting our intention to rebuild our staff team as the impact of Covid-19 reduces and investing in our Strategic Growth plan.

Operating Surplus

We achieved an operating surplus of £118,622 for the year within which was a grant of £89,000 restricted to and spent through capital expenditure on redeeming our mortgage. We particularly thank the small group of loyal grant making trusts with whom we have a long term relationship who gave Covid-19 Emergency Funding, local community foundations and a little blind boy who raised £43,000 at the end of last year and beginning of this.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 34

Our Fund Balances at 31[st] May 2021

1. The Unrestricted Fund of £456,879 comprises:

2. The Restricted Fund of £146,785 comprises:

For clarity, during the year the trustees agreed to designate the capital element within the Unrestricted Fund comprising property and fixed assets for use by charity.

Our Reserves Policy

The Trustees have defined the Reserves Policy such that a General Reserve of Unrestricted Funds excluding fixed assets and any secured loans thereon be maintained equivalent to 6 months nondiscretionary expenditure. The management team proactively work to maintain reserves above the policy threshold through routinely monitoring the funding position combined with the on-going forecasting of anticipated income and expenditure. Should funds fall below defined trigger points set above the policy threshold, there are clear procedures in place to assess the situation and determine whether mitigating actions are required to recover the position. The Trust is pleased to report that the policy aim has been achieved with a closing General Reserve of £170,448.

Our Donors: 1st June 2020 – 31st May 2021

Living Paintings is entirely dependent on voluntary donations, listed below are some of the organisations which made grants:

The Band Trust Swire Charitable Trust The Valentine Charitable Trust BBC Children in Need John Horniman’s Children’s Trust Suffolk Community Foundation The Foyle Foundation Berkshire Community Foundation Leicestershire and Rutland The Headley Trust Heathrow Community Trust Community Foundation The Underwood Trust Miss Agnes H Hunter’s Trust Sandra Charitable Trust Postcode Community Trust and The Cotswold Primrose South Yorkshire Community Postcode Society Trust Charitable Trust Foundation Aviva Community Fund The Ernest Kleinwort Charitable The Leathersellers’ Company The Sylvia Adams Charitable Trust Charitable Fund Trust The Hutton Foundation Barnwood Trust The Carmen Butler-Charteris The Lawson Trust Miss W E Lawrence 1973 Charitable Trust The Patrick and Helena Frost Charitable Settlement The Jectus Charitable Foundation Simon Gibson Charitable Trust Foundation The R S Macdonald Charitable The Dorothy Hay-Bolton The Childwick Trust Trust Charitable Trust The Eveson Charitable Trust The Shears Foundation The Gerald Palmer Eling Trust St James’s Place Foundation The Sobell Foundation David Brooke Charity

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 35

The David Laing Foundation Hull and East Riding Charitable The W. M. Mann Foundation The Edward and Dorothy Cadbury Trust Harford Charitable Trust Trust John James Bristol Foundation Annie Tranmer Charitable Trust The Shanly Foundation Marshgate Charitable Trust Baron Davenport’s Charity The Wixamtree Trust May Hearnshaw Charitable Trust Douglas Arter Foundation Ulverscroft Foundation Michael Watson Charitable Trust Eddie Dinshaw Foundation Helen Robertson Charitable Trust P F Charitable Trust Gloucestershire Disability Fund Joan Wilkinson Charitable Trust Somerset Community The Alan Jenkin Stokes Memorial Lord Leverhulme’s Charitable Foundation Trust Trust The Benham Charitable The Ammco Trust The Hadfield Trust Settlement The Atlantic Foundation The Mickleham Trust The Colefax Charitable Trust The Bartle Family Charitable The Tay Charitable Trust The Duke of Devonshire’s Trust The Toy Trust Charitable Trust The Lady Forester Trust The Walter Guinness Charitable The Harry Payne Trust The Lillie Johnson Charitable Trust The Holbeck Charitable Trust Trust Mrs E Y Imrie’s Charitable Trust The Jenour Foundation The Lynn Foundation Sir John Priestman Charity Trust The JTH Charitable Trust The N Smith Charitable The Chalk Cliff Trust The Linden Charitable Trust Settlement The Charles S French Charitable The Michael Marsh Charitable The Sydney Black Charitable Trust Trust Trust The George A Moore Foundation The Norman Family Charitable The W E Dunn Trust The Joseph and Annie Cattle Trust Norman Collinson Charitable Trust The Sir James Roll Charitable Trust The Rainford Trust Trust Anthony and Deirdre Montagu The Russell Trust The Summerfield Charitable Charitable Trust The Walker Trust Trust The Florence Turner Trust A W Gale Charitable Trust The Wilfred and Elsie Elkes J A Floyd Charitable Trust Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust Charity Fund The Alchemy Foundation Belvedere Trust The William Kenneth Hutchings The Fitton Trust In Aid of Handicapped Children Charitable Trust The Fitzmaurice Trust Cruden Foundation Limited The Gibbons Family Trust The J Reginald Corah Foundation Eleanor Rathbone Charitable The Jessie Spencer Trust Fund Trust

Additionally, we received highly valued gifts made by friends to Living Paintings and beneficiaries. We also received invaluable support in kind from organisations, companies and individuals.

To each and every person, group, business and grant making trust who have supported us this year we extend the greatest of thanks. It is their generosity that makes our work possible.

Camilla Oldland - Chief Executive

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 36

Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement

The Trustees (who are also directors of The Living Paintings Trust 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 Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and 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 charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Disclosure of Information to Auditor

Each of the persons who are Trustees at the time when this Trustees’ report is approved has confirmed that:

Auditor

The auditor, James Cowper Kreston, has indicated the willingness to continue in office. The Designated Trustees will propose a motion re-appointing the auditor at a meeting of the Trustees.

==> picture [78 x 39] intentionally omitted <==

Cat Bailey - Chairman

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 37

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of the Living Paintings Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Living Paintings Trust (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 May 2021 set out on pages 40 to 53. 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:

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 Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual report, other than the financial statements and our Auditor’s report thereon. 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.

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 38

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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.

Opinion on Other Matters Prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are Required to Report by Exception

In the light of our 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:

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements 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

Living Paintings Trustees Report & Financial Statements to 31st May 2021

Page: 39

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.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

The specific procedures for this engagement that we designed and performed to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud, were as follows:

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/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditor’s report.

Use of Our Report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, 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 members 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 its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

==> picture [142 x 38] intentionally omitted <==

Michael Farwell MA FCA DChA (Senior statutory auditor) for and on behalf of

James Cowper Kreston

Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor 2 Communications Road, Greenham Business Park, Greenham, Newbury, Berkshire, RG19 6AB.

Date:

Living Paintings Statement of Financial Activities Incorporating Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31 May 2021

Page: 40

Statement of Financial Activities Incorporating Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31 May 2021

Restricted Unrestricted Total Total
funds funds funds funds
2021 2021 2021 2020
Note £ £ £ £
INCOME FROM:
Donations 3 334,121 175,222 509,343 561,683
Investments - 36 36 118
Other income 4 - 5,506 5,506 3,356
TOTAL INCOME 334,121 180,764 514,885 565,157
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds - 41,663 41,663 37,437
Charitable activities 5 263,217 91,383 354,600 419,114
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 6 263,217 133,046 396,263 456,551
NET INCOME 70,904 47,718 118,622 108,606
Transfers between funds 14 (89,000) 89,000 - -
NET INCOME / (EXPENDITURE)
BEFORE OTHER RECOGNISED
GAINS AND LOSSES (18,096) 136,718 118,622 108,606
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS (18,096) 136,718 118,622 108,606
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS:
Total funds brought forward 164,881 320,161 485,042 376,436
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED
FORWARD		 146,785 456,879 603,664 485,042

The notes on pages 43 to 51 form part of these financial statements.

ANALYSIS OF FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD AT 31 MAY 2021

Unrestricted Fund £
General reserve 170,448
Designated Fund: Strategic Growth Fund 60,000
Designated Fund: Property & fixed
assets for use by charity 226,431
456,879
Restricted fund
Funded projects awaiting completion 92,858
Library fund 53,927
146,785
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 603,664

Living Paintings Statement of Financial Activities Incorporating Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31 May 2021 _

Page: 41

Balance Sheet as at 31 May 2021

2021 2020
Note £ £ £ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 10 226,431 240,714
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 11 7,948 35,965
Cash at bank and in hand 386,883 323,354
394,831 359,319
CREDITORS:
amounts falling due within one year 12 (17,598) (28,899)
NET CURRENT ASSETS 377,233 330,420
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 603,664 571,134
CREDITORS:
amounts falling due after more than one year 13 - (86,092)
NET ASSETS 603,664 485,042
CHARITY FUNDS
Restricted funds 14 146,785 164,881
Unrestricted funds 14 456,879 320,161
TOTAL FUNDS 603,664 485,042

The company's financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 12/11/2021 and signed on their behalf, by:

Cat Bailey – Chairman

Neil Walke ACA – Treasurer

The notes on pages 43 - 51 form part of these financial statements.

Living Paintings Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st May 2021

Page: 43

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 May 2021

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - 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) (effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The Living Paintings Trust 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.

1.2 Going concern

The Trustees have considered the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the ability of the charity to continue trading for the foreseeable future. This review has included considering the impact of the pandemic to the date of signing the financial statements and updating financial projections. Based on this review and taken together with existing financing facilities the Trustees believe that the financial statements have been prepared appropriately on the going concern basis.

1.3 Company status

The Living Paintings Trust is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. The liability of the members of the company is limited by their guarantee to contribute £1 each towards the liabilities of the company in the event of liquidation.

1.4 Fund accounting

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

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the company for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Investment income, gains and losses are allocated to the appropriate fund.

1.5 Income

All income is recognised once the company has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

Donated services or facilities are recognised when the company has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use of the company of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably.

Living Paintings Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st May 2021

Page: 44

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the company which is the amount the company would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

1.6 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities. Governance costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the company and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

Costs of generating funds are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income, and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.

Charitable activities and Governance costs are costs incurred on the company's educational operations, including support costs and costs relating to the governance of the company apportioned to charitable activities.

Library materials are only of benefit to blind and partially sighted people and therefore are of very low commercial value. As such they are expensed in the year rather than being treated as a capital asset for ongoing use in the charity.

All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

1.7 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

All assets costing more than £100 are capitalised by the Trust.

Tangible fixed assets are carried at cost, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets, less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives on the following bases:

Long term leasehold property - 50 years - straight line basis Office equipment - 5 - 10 years - straight line basis Computer equipment - 3 years - straight line basis

1.8 Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the company; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.

Living Paintings Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st May 2021

Page: 45

1.9 Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

1.10 Cash at Bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

1.11 Liabilities and provisions

Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the Balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the company anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide. Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pre-tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised within interest payable and similar charges.

2. JUDGEMENTS IN APPLYING ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND KEY SOURCES OF ESTIMATION UNCERTAINTY The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported for assets and liabilities as at the balance sheet date and the amounts reported for revenues and expenses during the year. However, the nature of estimation means that actual outcomes could differ from those estimates. The following judgements (apart from those involving estimates) have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements.

Tangible fixed assets (see note 9)

Tangible fixed assets are depreciated over their useful lives taking into account residual values, where appropriate. The actual lives of the assets and residual values are assessed annually and may vary depending on a number of factors. Residual value assessments consider issues such as the remaining life of the asset and projected disposal values.

3. INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

Donations
Legacies
Total donations and legacies
Total 2020		 Restricted
funds
2021
£
334,121
-
334,121
145,500		 Unrestricted
funds
2021
£
165,122
10,100
175,222
416,183		 Total funds
2021
499,243
10,100
509,343
561,683		 Total funds
2020
£
561,683
-
561,683

Living Paintings Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st May 2021

Page: 46

4. OTHER INCOMING RESOURCES

Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Total funds
2021
2021
2021
£
£
£
Covid-19 grants
-
5,506
5,506
Total 2020
-
3,356
3,356
5.
GOVERNANCE COSTS
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Total funds
2021
2021
2021
£
£
£
Governance Auditors' remuneration
-
5,300
5,300
Consultancy fees
-
1,187
1,187
-
6,487
6,487
6.
ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE BY EXPENDITURE TYPE
Staff costs
Other costs
Total
2021
2021
2021
£
£
£
Raising funds
39,338
2,325
41,663
Costs of raising funds
39,338
2,325
41,663
Direct charitable expenditure
225,759
122,354
348,113
Expenditure on governance
-
6,487
6,487
265,097
131,166
396,263
Total 2020
328,118
128,433
456,551
7.
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
This is stated after charging:
2021
£
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets:
- owned by the charity
13,362
Interest on loans
1,968
During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration (2020 - £NIL).
During the year, no Trustees received any benefits in kind (2020 - £NIL).
During the year, no Trustees received any reimbursement of expenses (2020 - £NIL).
8.
AUDITORS' REMUNERATION
2021
£
Fees payable to the company's auditor and its associates for the audit of
the company's annual accounts
5,300		 Total funds
2020
£
3,356
Total funds
2020
£
4,633
2,390
7,023
Total
2020
£
37,437
37,437
412,091
7,023
456,551
2020
£
10,602
4,484
2020
£
4,633

Living Paintings Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st May 2021

Page: 47

9. STAFF COSTS

Staff costs were as follows:

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
The average number of persons employed by the company during the year was as
Production
Fundraising and publicity
Administration and management
Library
The number of higher paid employees was:
In the band £60,001 - £70,000		 Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
The average number of persons employed by the company during the year was as
Production
Fundraising and publicity
Administration and management
Library
The number of higher paid employees was:
In the band £60,001 - £70,000		 2021
£
240,773
17,555
6,769
265,097
follows:
2021
No.
3
2
2
3
10
2021
No.
1		 2020
£
299,164
21,292
7,662
328,118
2020
No.
4
3
3
4
14
2020
No.
1

The average number of persons employed by the company during the year was as follows:

The key management personnel of the charity comprise Trustees and the Senior Management Team. The total employee benefits (including employer’s pension and national insurance contributions) of the key management personnel were £71,202 (2020: £71,722).

10. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Cost
At 1 June 2020
Additions
Disposals
At 31 May 2021
Depreciation
At 1 June 2020
Charge for the year
At 31 May 2021
Net book value
At 31 May 2021
At 31 May 2020		 Long term
leasehold
property
£
340,510
-
-
340,510
119,424
6,810
126,234
214,276
221,086		 Office
equipment
£
59,808
-
-
59,808
49,896
2,329
52,225
7,583
9,912		 Computer
equipment
£
58,723
3,973
(4,894)
57,802
49,007
4,223
53,230
4,572
9,716		 Total
£
459,041
3,973
(4,894)
458,120
218,327
13,362
231,689
226,431
240,714

The leasehold premises comprise 2 leases each of 999 years calculated from 29th September 1986 each at a rent of £100 per annum.

Living Paintings Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st May 2021

Page: 48

11. DEBTORS

Trade debtors
Other debtors - prepayments
Accrued income
12.
CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year
Bank loans and overdrafts
Trade creditors
Other taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income
13.
CREDITORS: Amounts falling due after more than one year
Bank loans		 2021
£
711
4,081
3,156
7,948
2021
£

-
4,027
3,987
4,379
5,205
17,598
2021
£
-		 2020
£
1,386
3,703
30,876
35,965
2020
£
6,646
2,214
4,535
4,374
11,130
28,899
2020
£
86,092

The Trust raised a loan in April 2006 from The Charity Bank Limited for £155,000 in order to finance the acquisition of the leasehold premises identified as Unit 9, Kingsclere Park. The bank loan is secured by a first fixed charge over the identified leasehold premises.

The aggregate amount of secured liabilities is £nil (2020: £92,738) as the loan was repaid during the year.

Living Paintings Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st May 2021

Page: 49

14. STATEMENT OF FUNDS

STATEMENT OF FUNDS - CURRENT YEAR

Balance at
1 June
2020
£
Designated funds
Designated fixed asset fund
147,976
Strategic growth fund
-
147,976
General funds

General funds
172,185
172,185
Total Unrestricted funds
320,161
Restricted funds
Funded projects awaiting completion
101,769
Library fund
63,112
164,881
Total of funds
485,042
STATEMENT OF FUNDS - PRIOR YEAR
Balance at
1 June 2019
£
Designated fixed asset fund
-
General funds
Property and fixed assets for use by
the charity
47,541
General funds
160,720
Restricted funds
Funded projects awaiting
completion
116,702
Library fund
51,473
Total of funds
376,436		 Balance at
1 June
2020
£
Designated funds
Designated fixed asset fund
147,976
Strategic growth fund
-
147,976
General funds

General funds
172,185
172,185
Total Unrestricted funds
320,161
Restricted funds
Funded projects awaiting completion
101,769
Library fund
63,112
164,881
Total of funds
485,042
STATEMENT OF FUNDS - PRIOR YEAR
Balance at
1 June 2019
£
Designated fixed asset fund
-
General funds
Property and fixed assets for use by
the charity
47,541
General funds
160,720
Restricted funds
Funded projects awaiting
completion
116,702
Library fund
51,473
Total of funds
376,436		 Income
Expenditure
£
£
-
(10,545)
-
-
-
(10,545)
180,764
(122,501)
180,764
(122,501)
180,764
(133,046)
169,221
(89,132)
164,900
(174,085)
334,121
(263,217)
514,885
(396,263)
Income
Expenditure
£
£
-
-
-
-
291,815
(170,915)
127,842
(164,761)
145,500
(120,875)
565,157
(456,551)		 Income
Expenditure
£
£
-
(10,545)
-
-
-
(10,545)
180,764
(122,501)
180,764
(122,501)
180,764
(133,046)
169,221
(89,132)
164,900
(174,085)
334,121
(263,217)
514,885
(396,263)
Income
Expenditure
£
£
-
-
-
-
291,815
(170,915)
127,842
(164,761)
145,500
(120,875)
565,157
(456,551)		 Transfers
in/out
£
89,000
60,000
149,000
(60,000)
(60,000)
89,000
(89,000)
-
(89,000)
-
Transfers
in/out
£
147,976
(47,541)
(109,435)
21,986
(12,986)		 Balance at
31 May
2021
£
226,431
60,000
286,431
170,448
170,448
456,879
92,858
53,927
146,785
603,664
Balance at
31 May 2020
£
147,976
Income
£
-
-
291,815
127,842
145,500
565,157

-
172,185

101,769
63,112
- 485,042

Living Paintings Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st May 2021

Page: 50

SUMMARY OF FUNDS - CURRENT YEAR

Balance at
1 June
2020
£
Designated funds
147,976
General funds
172,185
320,161
Restricted funds
164,881
485,042
SUMMARY OF FUNDS - PRIOR YEAR
Balance at
1 June
2019
£
Designated funds
-
General funds
208,261
208,261
Restricted funds
168,175
376,436
Income
£
-
180,764
180,764
334,121
514,885
Income
£
-
291,815
291,815
273,342
565,157		 Expenditure
£
(10,545)
(122,501)
(133,046)
(263,217)
(396,263)
Expenditure
£
-
(170,915)
(170,915)
(285,636)
(456,551)		 Transfers
In/out
£
149,000
(60,000)
89,000
(89,000)
-
Transfers
In/out
£
147,976
(156,976)
(9,000)
9,000
-		 Balance at
31 May 2021
£
286,431
170,448
456,879
146,785
603,664
Balance at
31 May 2020
£
147,976
172,185
320,161
164,881
485,042

Funded projects awaiting completion consist of numerous funds of varying sizes covering specific projects in line with the charity's objectives for instance the creation and manufacture of new Touch to See book titles and the salary costs of the Touch to See Book Club Programme Manager.

The Library Fund comprises multiple donations made specifically towards the costs of providing the Library Service free of charge to blind and partially sighted beneficiaries.

Management accounting procedures quarterly track the movement in each individual restricted fund. They provide the necessary information to ensure that the appropriate balance is held in each account in order to complete the projects and thus meet the restrictions imposed by the donors.

Living Paintings Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st May 2021

Page: 51

15. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS - CURRENT YEAR

Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Total Funds
2021 2021 2021
£ £ £
Tangible fixed assets - 226,431 226,431
Current assets 146,785 248,046 394,831
Creditors due within one year - (17,598) (17,598)
146,785 456,879 603,664
ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS - PRIOR YEAR
Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Total Funds
2020 2020 2020
£ £ £
Tangible fixed assets - 240,714 240,714
Current assets 164,881 194,438 359,319
Creditors due within one year - (28,899) (28,899)
Creditors due in more than one year - (86,092) (86,092)
164,881 320,161 485,042
RECONCILIATION OF NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
2021 2020
£ £
Net (expenditure)/income for the year (as per Statement of Financial
Activities)		 118,622 108,606
Adjustment for:
Depreciation charges 13,362 10,602
Loss on the sale of fixed assets 4,894 -
Decrease in debtors 28,017 883
Decrease in creditors (97,393) (18,843)
Net cash provided by operating activities 67,502 101,248
ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
2021 2020
£ £
Cash at bank and in hand 386,883 323,354
Total 386,883 323,354

ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS - PRIOR YEAR

16 RECONCILIATION OF NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

17. ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

18. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

During the year, a donation of £20 was received from 1 Trustee (2020:£1,630) and no Trustees purchased raffle tickets (2020:£400)

19. CONTROLLING PARTY

The Charity is controlled by its Trustees as listed on page 1.

Living Paintings Statement of Financial Activities Incorporating Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31 May 2021

Page: 42

Statement of Cash Flows for the Year Ended 31 May 2021

2021 2020
Note £ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities 16 67,502 101,248
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (3,973) (2,981)
Net cash used in investing activities (3,973) (2,981)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year 63,529 98,267
Cash and cash equivalents brought forward 323,354 225,087
Cash and cash equivalents carried forward 17 386,883 323,354

The notes on pages 43 to 51 form part of these financial statements.