THE EMIS NATIONAL USER GROUP
(A company limited by guarantee)
Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ending 31 December 2020
Charity number: 1072834 Company number: 03640679
The EMIS National User Group
Contents
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Message from our Chair | 1 |
| Report of the trustees | 2-6 |
| Report of the Independent Examiner | 7 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 8 |
| Balance Sheet | 9 |
| Statement of Cash Flows | 10 |
| Notes to the accounts | 11-17 |
The EMIS National User Group Message from our Chair Year ended 31 December 2020
1
Welcome to our annual report for the year
Chair introduction to the accounts
Welcome to our annual report for 2020. We hope you and your organisations are keeping safe and well. The last 18 months have seen extraordinary change in all of our lives. I think it is fair to say that this last year has been like no other that we have ever experienced. Whether it has been workrelated pressure, family matters, financial difficulties, bereavement or sickness – COVID has affected us all. However, I would like to reassure you that the NUG staff and committee are working on behalf of its members to fulfil the charity’s objects and provide the best service we can for our members.
This is our second virtual AGM with the first one being held in September 2020.
In line with our charitable objects we have continued to produce a range of educational and training resources via our quarterly members’ magazine and via conference presentations and we are investigating how to improve and extend the delivery of our educational tools that are accessed via our members’ area of the website.
Due to COVID we unfortunately had to cancel our 2020 Annual Conference. Following the success of the York location in 2019, which received such positive feedback, we had planned to hold the event again there in 2020. Lorraine Witherspoon, Group Manager and I spent a great deal of time looking at a range of venues in York to make the event even bigger and better than 2019. However, like so many other organisations we had to then investigate the possibility of an online event and therefore, I am pleased to say we held our first online virtual Conference in September 2020. It was a very different experience and I missed the interaction with our members and loyal sponsor/exhibitor supporters. Hopefully we will be able to host a face to face event again in 2022 and with this in mind we are currently in discussions with venues in York again and hope to see as many of you there as possible. We will be posting updates in our magazine.
Lastly, I want to thank all our members for their continued support and I want to express my thanks for the support of Lorraine, Yvonne Quinn and the Committee.
Best wishes
V J Young Chair
2
The EMIS National User Group Report of the Trustees Year ended 31 December 2020
The trustees are pleased to present their report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.
The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and 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 2015). The organisation is a Public Benefit Entity within the definitions of s34 FRS 102.
Objectives and activities for the public benefit
The EMIS National User Group (NUG) is a registered charity with stated objects “ to aid the relief of suffering and cure illness by continuous research into matters relating to the causation, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness and disease, in particular by collecting, collating and exchanging information with users of EMIS computer software or other interested members of the public ”.
Our work this year has been slowed considerably because of the Covid-19 pandemic and all this has meant for healthcare. Attention has been focussed on providing direct medical care and delivering the vaccination programme and has meant many of the functions of the NUG have necessarily taken a back seat.
We did continue, albeit at an understandably less intense level this year, to deal with many of the charitable objects detailed in the last year’s report and which inevitably focussed on the Covid-19 pandemic. These included dealing with the provision of Covid-19 data to follow spread through the community and the effect on health service provision, risk assessment of patients with Covid-19, safety alerts within EMIS, recording test results and vaccinations and engagement with other organisations at national and local levels to further these work-streams. We also dealt with the implications of the national emergency Information Governance changes for the pandemic.
We continued to use the website, quarterly magazine and social media to engage with our members to further our educational objects. We discussed the scoping of an outsourced educational package for our members and aim to implement this during the coming year. We held a one-day virtual conference as we could not go ahead with the planned live meeting.
NUG Committee Activity
We had two resignations this year, Dr Dustyn Saint and Ms Tessa McCooey who had recently joined. The committee wishes to thank, in particular, the considerable input from Dr Saint.
The following Committee members are Trustees: Ms Vanessa Young remained Chair, Dr Alan Selwyn Treasurer, Prof Julia Hippisley-Cox, Dr Mike Walton, Dr Monica Saskena-Joye, Rachael Lankspear and Jenny Baeva (the latter two being voted onto the committee last year).
The Group Manager is Ms Lorraine Witherspoon and the Trustees wish to record their thanks for her efficient and knowledgeable management of the Charity and Organisation and thanks also to Ms Yvonne Quinn who has efficiently assisted her as Office Secretary.
3
The EMIS National User Group Report of the Trustees Year ended 31 December 2020
We were only able to hold three committee meetings this year due to Trustee availability, one face to face and two online via Zoom.
Subcommittees include Watchdog and User Driven Requirements, Education and Conference.
High quality and popular quarterly magazines have been produced by the Group Manager and Chair.
The Conference Committee is largely the responsibility of the Group Manager and the Chair with financial oversight from the Treasurer.
Due to the pandemic we had to cancel our booking for the York Racecourse and elected to hold an online event. We scoped this and identified a number of providers, formed a shortlist and eventually selected Launch Interactions using the SpotMe Conference App and an external video editor to prepare the presentations. The conference was free of charge for all delegates. We set a target of 500 delegates and achieved 566 on the day (642 total registration on the app in total). We provided 14 educational presentations over two streams. Feedback from the delegates was generally good and the presentations were of a high standard. They remained live on the App for 6 months and we made them available afterward to members on our website. The conference was sponsored by 4 organisations at different levels and a further 11 exhibitors manned virtual stands. Feedback from them was generally poor – they attracted few visitors and the technical facilities provided (breakout rooms etc) were too hard to use and didn't offer value for money. There was obviously a lot of learning and refinement to do on all sides, not least the technical provision; the market is clearly at a formative stage.
Most conferences this year had to either cancel or move online. Whilst there are clear advantages in providing an online experience - and we attracted many who would not have attended a live event - many missed the ‘buzz’ and social interaction of the live event. The exhibitors certainly did (though this event saved them travel, overnight accommodation, setting up stands and printing material and in many cases they pick up little actual business at a live event). The conference app. tried to replicate the interactive elements but was not successful, though it appeared to be one of the more function-rich such apps.
It was a good learning experience for us and it is likely we shall consider a ‘hybrid’ option in the future, certainly if the pandemic continues. It was hard work, mainly for myself and Lorraine and I thank her for her staunch support.
An online raffle raised £290 for Alzheimer’s Society.
The Education & Research Sub-Committee has been considering the employment of an outside organisation to construct an educational programme for our members, as the pool of Trustees is too small to adequately plan and implement such a project. This will be actioned in the coming year. After looking at some options to engage with an external health charity, we discussed with Alzheimer’s Society whether EMIS NUG could be involved in a research project to help improve patient care and carer information. We’ll be pursuing this over the next few months.
4
The EMIS National User Group Report of the Trustees Year ended 31 December 2020
The NUG Facebook page for User Driven Requests continues to provide some excellent suggestions coming from members which we fed through to the UDR Subcommittee. We have taken forward many of these to discuss with EMIS and some will enter their development roadmap.
We held 4 quarterly review meetings with EMIS at which we discussed The User Driven Requests and Watchdog issues. We continued to work with EMIS to develop improvements to reflect the needs of users to further the charitable objectives. We also programmed monthly teleconference catch-ups with EMIS.
The Watchdog Subcommittee dealing with unresolved system problems reviewed all the outstanding issues and planned with EMIS to create a tracking database which would make a more efficient system for raising and monitoring these. Dr Mike Walton continues to lead the Watchdog Subcommittee.
Subsidiary
EMIS NUG has one subsidiary, EMIS NUG Services Limited, which undertakes the trading activities of the charity.
Financial review
The accounts show a surplus for the year amounting to £48,641 compared with £82,074 in 2019. Bank balances were £571,487, an increase from £473,585 in 2019. Expenditure on committee activities was much reduced due to the pandemic on top of the changes previously made. The office continued to be run efficiently. The Trustees are very pleased with the financial performance. Unrestricted charity funds now stand at £688,931 and discussions have continued to be held about using more funds in schemes to further the charitable objects, particularly in an external educational project and working with a charity.
Reserves policy
The trustees aim to maintain free reserves in unrestricted funds at a level which equates to 12 months of unrestricted charitable expenditure. The trustees consider that this level will provide sufficient funds to fulfil paid member’s membership benefits and ensure that support and governance costs are covered.
The balance held as unrestricted funds at 31 December was £688,931, of which £688,777 are regarded as free reserves, after allowing for funds tied up in tangible fixed assets. 12 months’ costs are anticipated to be around £410,000 (normal year costings – we face a very uncertain next 12 months). The current level of reserves is therefore higher than is needed but contingency for redundancy costs, commitments beyond 12 months and unforeseen expenses would justify the current level.
We shall review this during the year and have discussed ways to use the excess funds for the benefits of members and to further the objects of the charity.
Governance
The charity is a company limited by guarantee; its governing document is its “Memorandum and Articles of Association”.
5
The EMIS National User Group Report of the Trustees Year ended 31 December 2020
The EMIS National User Group (NUG) is run by a committee of dedicated and enthusiastic people, all involved in Primary Medical Care in one form or another. Trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting each year. A third of the committee of the NUG stand for election each year. Any member of the NUG may put themselves forward for election. Officers are elected by the committee and reelected each year.
The NUG committee members are based throughout the UK. There are usually 4 full Committee meetings held during the year and 4 meetings of each of the four subcommittees (Education, Watchdog, User Driven Developments and Conference).
The EMIS NUG has an office based in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear which employs one member of staff. It is the office’s responsibility to ensure smooth running of the User Group and to provide support to the committee.
Risk Management
An annual assessment is made of our investment policy to ensure that the charity’s funds are secure and available to meet current and future educational and operational needs. Other risks to the charity have been identified and reviewed on an on-going basis, and appropriate action taken. This has included ensuring appropriate insurance cover and ensuring a general health and safety risk assessment has been undertaken at any premises used by our members or staff.
Reference and administrative information
Company number
03640679
Charity number
1072834
Trustees
J Hippisley-Cox M Walton Resigned 1 June 2021 A Selwyn V Young D Saint Resigned 30 January 2020 M Saksena-Joye J Baeva-Renshaw Appointed 28 September 2020 R Lankshear Appointed 28 September 2020
Principal office
Unit 25 Enterprise House, Kingsway North, Team Valley, Gateshead NE11 0SR
Independent Examiner
Mai L C Mak BSc FCA, Kinnair and Company Ltd, Aston House, Redburn Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE5 1NB
6
The EMIS National User Group Report of the Trustees Year ended 31 December 2020
Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Report of the Management Committee 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 which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
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make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records which 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.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Signed on behalf of the trustees
A Selwyn
16 September 2021
The EMIS National User Group
Report of the Independent Examiner to the trustees of The Emis National User Group
I report on the financial statements of The Emis National User Group for the year ended 31 December 2020 which are set out on pages 8 to 17.
Respective responsibility of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011(the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:
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Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act
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To follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act) and
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To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
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to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and
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to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities,
have not been met; or
- (2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
Mai L C Mak BSc FCA
Kinnair and Company Ltd Chartered Accountants Aston House Redburn Road
Newcastle upon Tyne NE5 1NB 24 September 2021
8
The EMIS National User Group Statement of Financial Activities Year ended 31 December 2020
| Notes Income Charitable activities 2 Commercial trading operations 3 Investment income 4 Total income Expenditure on: Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) and net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
2020 2019 £ £ 133,228 265,639 42,184 96,289 227 404 |
|---|---|
| 175,639 362,332 |
|
| 126,998 280,258 |
|
| 126,998 280,258 |
|
| 48,641 82,074 640,290 558,216 |
|
| 688,931 640,290 |
| The EMIS National User Group Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2020 Notes Fixed assets Tangible assets 8 Investments 9 Total fixed assets Current assets Debtors 10 Cash at bank and in hand Total current assets Liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 11 Net current assets Total net assets The funds of the charity Unrestricted funds Total charity funds 12 |
£ 135,754 571,487 |
2020 £ 154 2 |
£ 219,995 473,585 |
9 2019 £ 455 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 156 688,775 |
457 639,833 |
|||
| 707,241 18,466 |
693,580 53,747 |
|||
| 688,931 | 640,290 | |||
| 688,931 | 640,290 | |||
| 688,931 | 640,290 |
For the year ended 31 December 2020 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Trustees’ responsibilities:
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The members have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476; and
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The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small charitable companies and with the Financial Reporting Standard 102.
Approved by the Management Committee on 16 September 2021 ~~a~~ nd signed on its behalf by
A Selwyn
10
The EMIS National User Group Statement of Cash Flows Year ended 31 December 2020
| Net movement in funds Add back Depreciation Deduct Decrease (increase) in debtors Increase (decrease) in creditors Net cash used in operating activities Cash flows from investing activities Purchase of fixed assets Net cash used by investing activities Change in cash balances in year Bank and cash balances brought forward Bank and cash balances carried forward |
2020 £ 48,641 301 84,241 (35,281) 97,902 - - 97,902 473,585 571,487 |
2019 £ 82,074 589 24,106 33,304 |
|---|---|---|
| 140,073 | ||
| (441) | ||
| (441) | ||
| 139,632 333,953 |
||
| 473,585 | ||
The EMIS National User Group Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2020
11
1 Accounting policies
The principal accounting policies are summarised below. The accounting policies have been applied consistently throughout the period.
Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Fund accounting
- Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
Income
All income is included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:
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Donations are recognised where there is entitlement, certainty of receipt and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.
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Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis.
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Income from charitable activities includes income recognised as earned (as the related goods or services are provided) under contract.
The EMIS National User Group Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2020
12
Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity the expenditure. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
Support costs
Support costs included central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources, for example, allocating property costs by floor areas or per capita, staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage.
Irrecoverable VAT
Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended for which it was incurred.
Fixed assets
Individual fixed assets costing £100 or more are initially recorded at cost.
Fixed assets investments
Fixed assets investments are included at market value at the balance sheet date.
Depreciation
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life
Fixtures and fittings
10% to 33% Straight line
Pensions
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions are charged to expenditure as they become payable in accordance with the rules of the scheme.
The EMIS National User Group Notes to the accounts Year ended December 2020
13
2 Income from charitable activities
| 2 Income from charitable activities |
||
|---|---|---|
| Training and Education £ Conference income - Subscriptions - Other income 5,000 5,000 3 Income from commercial trading operations Donations due from EMIS NUG Services 4 Investment income Interest from cash deposits 5 Charitable activities Training and Education £ Website expenditure - Accommodation and room hire 3,371 Post and stationery - Speakers fees 1,250 Article fees - Printing and formatting - Conference consultancy 9,663 External education project 3,625 Event collateral 16,784 Governance - note 7 7,799 Support costs – note 7 13,512 56,004 |
Training and Education £ - - 5,000 |
Publications 2020 2019 and subscriptions £ £ £ - -136,240 123,228 123,228128,855 5,000 10,000 544 128,228 133,228265,639 Unrestricted 2020 2019 £ £ £ 42,184 42,184 96,289 |
| 5,000 | ||
| Unrestricted 2020 2019 £ £ £ 227 227 404 |
||
| Publications and subscriptions 2020 2019 £ £ £ 2,160 2,160 2,960 - 3,371 90,599 5,071 5,071 4,381 - 1,250 2,800 4,000 4,000 3,400 10,040 10,040 10,846 - 9,663 44,930 - 3,625 400 - 16,784 31,277 18,196 25,995 40,242 31,527 45,039 48,423 70,994 126,998280,258 |
The EMIS National User Group Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2020
14
6 Staff costs and remuneration of key management
| taff costs and remuneration of key management | |
|---|---|
| Salaries Social security Other pension costs |
2020 2019 £ £ 30,429 36,714 781 882 1,738 1,991 |
| 32,948 39,587 |
The average number of employees during the year was 1 (2019 – 1) with all employee time involved in providing either support to the governance of the charity or support services to charitable activities.
The charity considers its key management personnel comprise the trustees and one senior manager. The total employment benefits including employer pension contributions of the key management personnel were £32,948 (2019 - £39,587).
7 Analysis of governance and support costs
The charity identifies the costs of its support functions. Costs are identified specifically for the governance function. Having identified its governance costs, the remaining support costs together with the governance costs are apportioned between Training and Education and Publications and subscriptions. The table below sets out the basis of apportionment and the analysis of support and governance costs.
| Basis Salaries Time Pension Time Outsourced administration Time Establishment costs Time Office costs Time Travel Governance Meeting expenses Governance Bank charges Time Professional fees Governance Depreciation Time |
Support Governance Total £ £ £ 24,968 6,242 31,210 1,390 348 1,738 6,250 1,562 7,812 10,067 4,315 14,382 1,840 789 2,629 - 790 790 - 3,002 3,002 313 134 447 - 8,723 8,723 211 90 301 |
|---|---|
| 45,039 25,995 71,034 |
The EMIS National User Group 15 Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2020
| 8 | Tangible fixed assets | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixtures & | ||||||
| Equipment | ||||||
| Cost | £ | |||||
| At 1 January 2020 | 19,484 | |||||
| At 31 December 2020 | 19,484 | |||||
| Depreciation | ||||||
| At 1 January 2020 | 19,029 | |||||
| Charge for year | 301 | |||||
| At 31 December 2020 | 19,330 | |||||
| Net Book Value | ||||||
| At 31 December 2020 | 154 | |||||
| At 31 December 2019 | 455 | |||||
| 9 | Investments | |||||
| 2020 | 2019 |
|||||
| £ | £ | |||||
| EMIS NUG Services Limited | ||||||
| 2 Ordinary shares of £1 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Undertaking | Country of | Principal activity | Class | % | ||
| Incorporation | ||||||
| EMIS NUG Services Limited | England | Trading activities | Ordinary | 100 | ||
| of charity |
| Undertaking | Capital | Profit for |
|---|---|---|
| and | year | |
| reserves | ||
| £ | £ | |
| EMIS NUG Services Limited | 2 | - |
The EMIS National User Group Notes to the accounts
16
Year ended 31 December 2020
10 Debtors
| Trade debtors Amount due from subsidiary Taxation Prepayments |
2020 2019 £ £ 915 30,406 129,639187,455 2,457 - 2,743 2,134 |
|---|---|
| 135,754219,995 |
11 Creditors: amounts falling due in one year
| Trade creditors Other creditors Taxation and social security Accruals |
2020 2019 £ £ 1,546 32,696 15,300 14,850 - 4,921 1,620 1,280 |
|---|---|
| 18,466 53,747 |
12 Total charity funds
| At | Income | Expenditure | At | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | 31 | December | |||
| 2020 | 2020 | |||||
| Unrestricted | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| General | 640,290 | 175,639 | 126,998 | 688,931 |
13 Members liability
The charity is a private company limited by guarantee and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the members is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 towards the assets of the charity in the event of liquidation.
The EMIS National User Group Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2020
17
14 Trustees remuneration and expenses
No remuneration was paid to trustees in the period.
Trustees (3) were paid expenses totalling £696 (2019 - £5,249). This was for travel expenses, locum costs and similar costs incurred by trustees when undertaking their trustee duties. At the year end trustees were owed £Nil.
15 Pension scheme
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The pension costs represent contributions payable to the scheme. The cost was 1,738 (2019 - £1,991).
16 Related parties
Controlling party
The charity is controlled by the trustees who are all directors of the company.
Subsidiary company
The charity owns 100% of the share capital of EMIS NUG Services Limited. At the year end the company was owed £129,639 (2019 - £187,455) by the subsidiary.