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2023-03-31-accounts

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Flying to save lives

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

Page
Chairman’s introduction and review of activities 1 - 2
Legal and Administrative details 3 - 4
Trustees’ Report 5 – 37
Independent auditors' report 38 – 40
Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities 41
Balance Sheets 42
Consolidated cash flow statement 43
Notes to the Financial Statements 44 – 64

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

Chairman’s Introduction and Review of Activities

A warm welcome to our annual review.

Firstly, on behalf of all our patients and their families, may I say thank you to all our wonderful supporters for their ongoing commitment to ensuring our Charity can continue to ‘fly to save lives’, and guaranteeing we are able to ‘bring the hospital’ to the most critically ill and injured patients, across the whole of the North West, 365 days a year.

As a lifesaving charity, it is imperative we remain fit for purpose and fit for the future, ensuring we have the right level of funds and our income is sustainable, so we can deliver our clinical ambition.

This year:

Engaging with our staff and volunteers and ensuring everyone has a voice is essential to making sure we have a culture where everyone feels valued, part of a team and has the opportunity for personal growth and development.

This year:

This year:

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Clinically our service continues to go from strength to strength. All our Paramedics have been upskilled to Critical Care Paramedics (CCPs) and now have the capability to administer specialist drugs, such as ketamine, as well as carry out surgical interventions, such as sedation and thoracostomies, interventions which previously have only been carried out by our Consultantlevel Doctors.

This year:

In shaping the future of our Charity, our aim is to lead the way in bringing the hospital to the patient and to this end we have big, brave, and bold aspirations over the coming years.

This annual report will inform you further of the achievements, challenges and performance of our Charity over the last 12 months, in line with our 2018 - 2023 strategy, all of which have been made possible thanks to the dedication and commitment of all our supporters, staff, crew and volunteers, whether it is on the front line carrying out lifesaving medical interventions, or behind the scenes. Everyone is part of the same crew: #OneCrew.

Together, we continue to save lives!

Mr A G Jude Chair, on behalf of the board of Trustees

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Legal and Administrative Details

North West Air Ambulance ("the Charity") is a registered company and is registered with the Charity Commission. The Charity was incorporated on 12 April 1999.

Charity registration number: 1075641 Company registration number: 03752544 Chair of the Trustees: Allan Jude

Bankers:

The Co-Operative Bank plc 1 Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP

Barclays Bank plc 48b & 50 Lord Street Liverpool L2 1TD

Registered Auditors:

Crowe U.K. LLP The Lexicon Mount Street Manchester M2 5NT

Registered and Principal Office:

Stanley House North Mersey Business Centre Woodward Road Knowsley Merseyside L33 7UY

Key management personnel:

Ms Heather Arrowsmith – Chief Executive Officer Mrs Emma Pridgeon – Director of Finance and Resources (resigned February 2022) Mr David Briggs – Director of Operations Mrs Sarah Naismith – Director of Income and Engagement Mr Roger Brown– Director of Finance and Resources (appointed February 2022)

Trustees:

Mr A G Jude (Chair) Mrs K J Spencer Mr S E Meehan Mrs D J Smith Dr R C Hall (resigned 7 July 2021) Mr D R Head Dr S J Mercer (appointed 6 October 2021)

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Investment Advisors:

Isio Manchester 3 Hardman Square Manchester M3 3EB

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

North West Air Ambulance Charity Financial Performance

The Trustees, who are also directors of the Charity for the purposes of the Companies Act, submit the annual report and audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice 2019 Accounting and Reporting for Charities second edition, October 2019, in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the Charity.

North West Air Ambulance Charity was established as a company limited by guarantee in 1999. It is governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association, which were amended in 2017 to update the appointment and tenure of Trustees, objectives and inclusion of training as a future area where the Charity could be involved. Further changes covering election terms and voting processes were made in 2019.

The objectives for which the Charity is established are:

The Charity is supported by North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited, a trading company (primarily shops) and the Friends of the North West Air Ambulance Lottery Community Interest Company (CIC) which runs the Charity’s lottery. Both companies are subsidiaries of the Charity. They were established to raise funds and/or generate awareness of the Charity.

Financial Performance

The Charity Group had a consolidated surplus for the year of £1,420,851 (2021/22, £(349,630)) with significant increases of income and costs.

The following table summarises the financial results.

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Summary Financials 1/4/22 to 31/3/23
£k		 1/4/21 to 31/3/22
£k
Donations and legacies 6,170 4,062
Other tradingactivities 7,983 7,174
Investments 93 3
Total Income 14,246 11,239
Commercial tradingoperations 2,854 2,763
Other fundraisingcosts 2,136 1,968
Charitable activities 7,735 6,876
Total expenditure 12,725 11,606
Net income 1,522 (367)
Gains/(losses) on investments (101) 18
Net movement in funds 1,421 (350)

Total income increased from £11,239,148 to £14,246,459, driven by strong retail sales, a large increase in legacy income and healthy fundraising activity, continuing the bounce back from the restricted activity of previous years.

Despite the closure of three shops in the previous financial year, retail income increased, achieving shop sales of over £2 million, with an initial £227,000 and a further £22,000 received from a business interruption insurance claim related to the pandemic shop closures.

Fundraising activity increased further during the year with a full programme of community events taking place for the first time since the pandemic. Regular giving continued to increase, achieving over £50,000 in income per month by March 2023.

Mission numbers increased again, as activity returned to normal, and all helicopters operated for 12 hours. Additional operational costs were incurred as the evening car trial continued each weekend. This will be rolled out seven days a week during 2023/24.

Staffing levels were maintained in the year, with a cost-of-living payment made to all staff in October 2022.

The Charity’s investments in diversified growth funds continued to fluctuate during the year as global market conditions remained volatile and ended the year with an overall reduction in value. The liquidity fund is now far eclipsing pre-pandemic levels, with monthly returns reaching over £17,000 by March 2023.

An additional critical care car was purchased, with further investment in new and advanced medical equipment.

Supplier and manufacturer delays means the new and modified helicopters, originally due to start

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arriving in August 2023, are due to arrive at the end of January 2024.

Retail Development

The promotions business continues to show significant improvement, benefitting from the restructure of stewardship at the start of the 2022/23 financial year. This was bolstered by the addition of a Regional Manager for the south of the area. Strong sales were supported by a good return on Gift Aid claims.

Investment in improvements have demonstrated a positive impact, these being:

An added contribution to income came from business continuity insurance for forced closures during the pandemic.

Results of Subsidiary Companies and Group

The results of the Charity group are summarised in the Statement of Financial Activities and those of the subsidiary companies in the notes to the Financial Statements.

Clinical Impact

Introduced and embedded Critical Care Paramedics into the team

To enhance and further develop the clinical capabilities of the North West Air Ambulance Charity crews, investment was made into up-skilling existing Paramedics to become Critical Care Paramedics, with North West Ambulance Service and a partnership with Bangor University, providing the academic structure.

All the Charity’s Paramedics work operationally as Critical Care Paramedics with the majority also have been signed off academically. This brings huge patient benefits as they can now offer additional surgical skills including airway management, and crucially, can administer additional specialist drugs such as ketamine.

Introduced new and innovative equipment

Schiller Monitor: Having previously used the Lifepak15 monitor which was heavy, cumbersome and technologically limited, trials were conducted to assess three alternatives. The Schiller Monitor was chosen for its advanced technology, its ability to communicate with other pieces of clinical equipment - and potentially hospitals - with patient information - and because it weighs

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less than half of the Lifepak15.

Seven monitors were purchased, one for each aircraft and vehicle. These are now in daily operation with all crews. Since the introduction, North West Ambulance Service, the Charity’s strategic partner, has also commissioned Schiller to provide its entire service with defibrillators/monitors, demonstrating the Charity leads the way.

Arterial Lines: These were introduced alongside the Schiller Monitor to help measure vital signs/levels more accurately. Additional training equipment was purchased, and training was conducted in-house by the Charity’s highly skilled, Consultant-level Doctors.

Butterfly Ultrasound Equipment: Used by the Consultant-level Doctors, with ongoing training to potentially enable use by Critical Care Paramedics, Butterfly iQ+ (Butterfly Network Inc) is a pocket-sized, portable, external, ultrasound scanner. It’s a handheld, single-probe, whole-body ultrasound system, powered by a single, silicon chip which connects to a Smartphone.

Trialled and introduced an evening car service

An evening car response service was trialled by the Charity for six months between October 2021 and March 2022. This used an evidence-based approach and was supported by work previously commissioned with Lancaster University. Based at Barton Airbase, it delivered enhanced prehospital care by either a Consultant-level Doctor and a Critical Care Paramedic, or two Critical Care Paramedics, between 6pm and 2am each Friday and Saturday.

The trial, validated by an academic clinical study, supported the evidence-based approach and demonstrated a need for such a service within the North West region. The service delivery model was adopted as a permanent feature from April 2023 with plans to expand capacity in the next financial year, supported by additional clinical recruitment. The aspiration is to move to seven nights per week by March 2024.

Clinical Crew

During the last four years, the number of clinical staff within the Charity has more than doubled. Within the last 12 months, there has been an increase of two Critical Care Paramedics, with further recruitment during the next financial year for the night car expansion.

Current Clinical Staffing 1/4/22 to 31/3/23 1/4/21 to 31/3/22
Consultant-level Doctor 22 22
Critical Care Paramedic 20 moving to 25 during
financialyear		 18 moving to 20 in
Dec 2022
Pilot 7 7
Engineer 3 3
Bank Paramedic 7 7

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All clinical staff and governance are provided via a service level agreement with North West Ambulance Service. A Medical Director and Consultant Paramedic oversee all clinical matters and North West Air Ambulance Charity is now fully embedded into the North West Ambulance Service clinical directorate.

Consultant-level Doctors typically work two days per month with North West Air Ambulance Charity, with Critical Care Paramedics on full-time, permanent secondment to the Charity. Bank Paramedics are used to cover ad-hoc sickness and Pilots, Engineers and air operators’ certificates are provided via Babcock.

Patient Impact

The tables below show the activity levels for the last two years.

Table 1 – Number of incidents, patients and treatments

Number ofjobs 1/4/22 to 31/3/23 1/4/21 to 31/3/22
Total number ofjobs 2,884 2,690
Number ofpatients 1,383 1,206
Number of Rapid Sequence
Intubation(RSIs)		 137 136
Number of intubations without drugs 142 97
Major haemorrhages 46 72
Bloodplasmapatients 65 72

Table 2 – Number of incidents by job type

Number of jobs
bytype		 1/4/22 to 31/3/23 1/4/21 to 31/3/22
Accidental injury 683 660
Road traffic collision 770 753
Medical 772 609
Assault 248 282
Other 64 67
Intentional self-harm 186 177
Sport/Leisure 77 95
Transfer 26 16
Other transfer 28 20
Exposure 30 11
Total 2884 2,690

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Table 3 – Number of jobs by region

Number of missions
bycounty		 1/4/22 to 31/3/23 1/4/21 to 31/3/22
Cumbria 156 150
Lancashire 808 835
Greater Manchester 1055 918
Merseyside
&
Cheshire		 819 760
Other 46 27
Total 2,884 2,690

What’s Next:

Introducing blood on board to all aircraft and critical care vehicle teams

The capability to deliver blood, via the enhanced pre-hospital care team was introduced by the Charity in January 2019. Since then, more than 230 transfusions have been given, making a significant impact to the chances of survival for patients across the region.

The current operating model is provided by the Consultant-led Doctor team, either via aircraft or critical care vehicles. This is supported by a strategic partnership with Greater Manchester Blood Bikes (a charitable organisation) and Salford Hospital Blood Service. Blood products are provided by Salford Hospital via a service level agreement. The products are delivered daily and on request to Barton Airbase by volunteers.

Increased capacity to deliver blood is planned to expand beyond the current Consultant-led approach to the Critical Care Paramedic-led aircraft and critical care vehicles.

North West Ambulance Service supports this challenging and ambitious goal. The North West Ambulance Service’s clinical governance and procedures underpin all the Charity’s essential ethical and governance requirements. Blood is planned to be available on all platforms by quarter three of 2023. This will help to ensure an equitable blood transfusion service. The Charity is participating in a national research trial called ‘Swift’ along with another nine air ambulances. This is to ascertain if whole blood makes a difference when administered at the roadside. Currently, the Charity provides packed red blood cells and plasma.

Rob’s Story:

In June 2022, Rob, a plumber from Preston, was working in his garden. He was using a new chainsaw to cut wood when the machinery bounced back off the wood, hi�ng Rob in the chest.

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losing a considerable amount of blood. His injuries were life-threatening.

Rob called his wife Karen for help. She said:

“I heard Rob shou�ng my name. He’s always potering around in the garden, but this was a

“He came from the side of the shed and walked around, and I could see the chainsaw. “He was trying to push it away from his body and then he just lay down on the floor.” Karen atempted to stop the bleeding from Rob’s wound while speaking to 999 call handlers.

When Paramedics arrived, they requested an air ambulance immediately because of the severity of Rob’s injuries. A helicopter carrying a Consultant-led Doctor and Cri�cal Care Paramedic from North West Air Ambulance Charity arrived to treat Rob.

The crew began treatment straight away. The Charity’s enhanced pre-hospital care teams carry eight units of blood on board to every job. All eight units were used at the scene to give Rob the best chance of survival.

Doctor Eimhear, who treated Rob at the scene, said:

“We immediately started to transfuse Rob with our blood products as quickly as we could. “Undoubtedly without the pre-hospital blood transfusions, Rob would have died on the way to hospital.

“The injuries he sustained included lacera�on of his subclavian artery and vein. These are large vessels inside the chest that originate very close to the heart and pump blood at high volume and pressure.”

Rob received advanced pain relief and the crew performed a thoracostomy on Rob to reinflate his lung. The crew also prepared Rob in case he suffered a trauma�c cardiac arrest on his way to hospital caused by ongoing catastrophic blood loss. Trea�ng this would have required the ambulance team to stop the ambulance and perform a resuscita�ve thoracotomy – a form of emergency surgery that provides access to the chest for a beter view of Rob’s major organs. Rob was transferred to hospital via land ambulance.

A�er spending �me in hospital, Rob returned home just before his wedding anniversary. He said:

“The interven�on and treatment from the North West Air Ambulance Charity was the pinnacle point for me. They gave me the �me to get to the hospital. I've been very lucky – I feel like a very lucky man.”

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Increasing service delivery by providing 12-hour cover on each aircraft daily

From October 2022, all aircraft commenced operating for a 12-hour period, something previously only provided via the Consultant-led Doctor aircraft.

The Consultant-led Doctor aircraft will continue to work from 8am to 8pm, 365 days a year. Previously, helicopter provision was staggered seasonally across the day to provide maximum flying potential, covering nine and a half hours on each of the two Critical Care Paramedic-led aircraft. This increase allows for a more robust staffing model, better work-life balance for crews and raises coverage of enhanced pre-hospital care by a total of five hours per day, 365 days a year.

Upgrading helicopters

The helicopter contract with Babcock was renewed last year, following a robust tendering process. The scope of the contract changed significantly to enable delivery of the Charity’s clinical strategy. The upgraded and replacement helicopters will be introduced in a phased approach during December 2023 and January 2024.

The new contract will see increased performance for two of the existing aircraft, giving a payload increase of 115kg which can be used to carry additional fuel, equipment, medical trainees/observers and potentially a parent and child at an incident.

All aircraft will benefit from brand new, medical-fit interiors including:

Although not possible with the three existing airframes, the replacement aircraft will have the ability to operate at night, should an evidence-based study (timeframe to be confirmed) suggest this as a future option.

To support operational resilience, the new contract includes a dedicated North West Air Ambulance Charity branded, back-up aircraft to provide cover during planned maintenance or adhoc prolonged downtime. The current service delivery standards for aircraft and pilot availability sit at more than 98%.

Another added benefit of the new contract is the provision of a dedicated seventh regional pilot to support the existing team of six, along with the pool of available touring Pilots provided by Babcock.

Finally, with a digital-first based approach, all three helicopters will have the ability to operate as

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a data flight cell, meaning patient data can be transmitted while in the air, representing a huge step forward in the aligned use of digital-based solutions and improvements to existing working practices.

Digital

Working towards paperless patient records (ePR)

An initiative to go paperless for patient records is a key objective because it will save crew time as they will not need to re-type the same information, enabling a more seamless and secure transfer of patient sensitive data. In partnership with North West Ambulance Service, the Charity is trialling integrating HEMSbase, its patient reporting system, with North West Ambulance Service’s direct access system, so receiving hospitals can be provided with secure, timely and relevant information electronically.

North West Air Ambulance Charity Patient Aftercare

The Charity’s approach is to enable an integrated and joined up way of working with receiving hospitals, focusing on the six major trauma centres across the region.

A patient aftercare service has been established in Aintree and Preston Hospitals (the two busiest in terms of receiving North West Air Ambulance Charity patients), along with Salford Royal Hospital and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. There are advanced discussions with Manchester Children’s Hospital and Manchester Royal Hospital, who are all aiming to be online by quarter four of 2023.

The aftercare service provides the following:

What’s Next:

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Fundraising Performance

The Trustees of the North West Air Ambulance Charity are committed to a responsible approach to fundraising, treating donors and fundraisers respectfully and fairly, so they feel valued and free to donate if, when and how they wish.

The Charity is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and complies with its Code of Fundraising Prac�ce. in all fundraising activity. The Charity is supported by North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited, a trading company (primarily shops), and the Friends of the North West Air Ambulance Lottery Community Interest Company (CIC), which runs the Charity’s lottery, its largest income stream.

The North West Air Ambulance Charity relies entirely on donations to fund its work. Without the public’s generosity, taking part in its weekly lottery or becoming regular donors, the lifesaving service the Charity provides would not continue.

The Charity works very closely with carefully chosen fundraising agencies to make sure anyone who is fundraising on its behalf, represents the organisation and works to the highest standards.

The Charity is transparent about how its funds are raised, proactively engaging with the Fundraising Regulator, so that any concerns can be highlighted and addressed as a priority.

provides employee training and has an implementa�on plan for compliance policies to reduce the risk of any breaches of fundraising guidelines.

Throughout the year an innovative approach to fundraising has been adopted. To ensure sustainable funds for the future, the Charity has also explored ways of diversifying income genera�on.

Overall, income from charitable fundraising finished slightly below the target of £1.83 million, at £1.78 million, just £43,000 behind. Initially, supporters seemed reluctant to attend events, but regular giving rapidly increased during the year through the growth in successful direct debit signups.

Community and Events

The Community and Events team have completed the first year of a five-year strategy to increase income by 302%. The income target of £890,000 was exceeded and by year end, over £1 million income had been achieved by the team.

During this year, the new schools’ presentation and lesson pack was launched, enabling engagement with new audiences including around 40 schools across the North West. The team also increased engagement with colleges and universi�es through an online ques�on and answer

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session with the Charity's clinical crew, which aimed to enhance understanding of the Charity's work and charitable status.

The Charity had physical presence at key public events, including the Royal Cheshire and Lancashire Shows, Blackpool Air Show, Kendal Calling Festival and the Great Manchester Run, where the Charity’s key messages were shared with the public. The annual Cross Bay Walk took place in July with 400 participants supporting the Charity and the team were finally able to stage large-scale public collections again for the first time since the pandemic.

The Charity launched a successful Christmas campaign across all channels, offering supporters to send a ‘message in a bauble’ to the clinical crew. This was promoted through Skylines, magazine, which achieved over 800 responses, with baubles being displayed at both Barton and Blackpool airbases. An online message in a bauble op�on was launched, to extend the campaign’s reach.

The Charity’s first Facebook challenge took place in March, engaging and recruiting new audiences and re-engaging with former patients who signed up to take part.

What’s Next:

The Charity continues to take a digital-first approach to community and events fundraising, looking at new and innovative ways to fundraise including developments in contactless technologies, new online platforms and social media fundraising options, embracing the introduction of digital solutions and innovations to create new opportunities for people to support us.

The team will be focusing on increasing diversity in the supporter base by implementing activities that target under-represented communities in the North West.

A dedicated Events team is now in place and will be increasing the number of North West Air Ambulance Charity bespoke events on offer to the public and making maximum use of new branded event kit to further promote the Charity. They will be developing new supporter experience programmes for participants in running and challenge events and further strengthening relationships with key event organisers in the region, with the aim of creating a pipeline of ‘charity of the year’ status at large events.

The team will be actively contributing to the development of the Charity’s 25th anniversary plans for 2024, utilising the increased public awareness to reach new audiences.

High Value Giving

Major Gifts:

Centre in 2022/23. The evening was a great success, providing greater insight into the current

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prospect pipeline and their warmth to the Charity.

The enrolment of a new Major Gifts’ Fundraiser has been a crucial step in the development of the major gifts programme. This has supported the expansion of reach and the steady increase of the Charity’s major gift income.

Trust and Foundations:

There has been a noticeable growth in the Charity’s trust and foundations income since recruiting an in-house Trust and Foundations Fundraiser. Building strong long-term relationships with the grant-giving trusts and Trustees has enabled larger donations to be secured and enhanced relationships, resulting in some cases, multi-year pledges. There has also been an uplift in Trustees attending airbase visits to witness first-hand the crew’s vital work. The impact of all this work has resulted in an increase of income to this particular income stream.

Corporate:

The key focus of the corporate team during 2022/23 has been to increase the Charity’s reach to businesses in the North West: identifying new corporates who have a charitable arm within their organisation and making initial enquiries to receive their support.

There have been numerous successes in securing ‘charity of the year’ partnerships and sponsorship during 2022/23 and a substantial increase in the number of approaches being made. The team have built relationships with businesses across an array of industries whilst raising awareness of the Charity.

What’s Next:

In 2023/24, a corporate club is being developed, enabling small and medium sized businesses to be part of a corporate networking group whilst supporting the Charity with charity donation. The roll out is planned in quarter two.

Individual Giving

The Charity’s regular giving supporter base steadily increased over the year, with face-to-face acquisition going well with an external partner.

The development of a regular giving supporter journey has begun. This aims to increase the retention of regular giving supporters. The Charity is working with a creative agency to develop a full supporter welcome pack and a games area on our website for supporters' families to explore.

A successful Christmas campaign took place through Skylines, raising over £48,000.

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What’s Next:

An individual giving campaign across all channels, to inform supporters of our uplift in operational costs will be launched. This aims to re-engage with donors. Over the coming year the use of addi�onal digital channels will be explored with the aim of atrac�ng and engaging with a younger demographic.

The Charity’s enhanced supporter journey will be implemented, and retention rates will be monitored. Further development of the supporter journey is planned.

We are looking at introducing a ‘keep the change’ initiative on our lottery which would enable our supporters to ‘round up’ their lottery donation. This would mean we are able to claim Gift Aid on those donations and will result in extra income for the Charity.

Lottery

At the beginning of the year, a company was appointed to host both lottery and raffle sign-up pages through the Charity’s website, the first time that the raffle has been available to purchase online. The raffle moved from being sent along with Skylines and was advertised as a stand-alone product. As a result, the raffle was marketed to a cold audience for the first time. An external lottery partner has been appointed to run weekly lottery draws on the Charity’s behalf, freeing up North West Air Ambulance Charity staff to spend more time on other products and ensuring capacity to meet five-year strategy objectives.

This year saw two successful in-house raffles both achieving over-target income.

adverts with previous winners. The campaign performed very strongly and finished in June 2023.

What’s Next:

A new digital ini�a�ve will be introduced this year. This is an app-based football bingo game which will be in place from May 2023 onwards.

Lottery winner video ads have been filmed and will be promoted in 2023/24.

The weekly lottery supporter journey will continue to be improved. Winners’ questionnaires will be included along with cheques in the new year.

An external supplier will take over the operations of the Charity’s raffle and lottery and their webpages in 2023/24.

Legacy

The Charity has invested in the Legacy team to maximise the opportunity to increase income from

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legacies. Involvement with the National Free Wills Network has been maintained. While new relationships with Make a Will Online and local solicitors have been built to encourage supporters to move from considering a gift in their will to taking action.

There were three supporter events: two at Barton Airbase in Manchester and one in Kendal. They gave the opportunity to show supporters the impact that gifts in wills make. These were successful in generating new pledgers and enquirers as well as building relationships with supporters.

In March, there was a coordinated burst of legacy promotion including features across social media, inclusion in Skylines and the e-newsletter. This generated 25 legacy enquirers who will be stewarded in future.

What’s Next:

The programme of supporter events will continue, with events in Liverpool and Cheshire in 2023/24 to show supporters the impact a legacy makes to the Charity’s work.

A dedicated ‘gifts in wills’ mailing will be trialled, asking supporters to consider leaving a gift in their will. To introduce legacy messaging to a wider audience, a social campaign will be tested. The legacy focus month will be repeated, and legacies will be integrated into other communications to ensure gifts in wills messaging is seen by current supporters.

In 2023/24, there will be a focus on legacy pledgers and enquirers’ supporter journey, including introducing a welcome gift, offering more opportunities to visit the airbase and regular updates.

The internal culture of legacies will continue with dedicated training, working closely with Retail and other teams to make sure legacy conversations are introduced to supporters at the appropriate stage of their journey with the Charity.

Supporter Engagement

The Supporter Engagement team is often the first point of contact in the Charity for supporters, potential donors and members of the public.

The team is responsible for managing a variety of people, engaging with supporters by phone, email and in writing about a wide range of enquiries, ensuring these are managed in accordance with the Charity’s customer service standards.

In 2022/23, the team received regular training on complaints handling, the Codes of Fundraising Practice and the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, which set out the requirements all licensees must meet in order to hold a Gambling Commission licence.

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The Charity’s Customer Relationship Management team also resides within this area. They are responsible for the management of the Charity’s database which is used to maintain supporter relationships.

In 2022/23, the team conducted a procurement process to acquire a new Customer Relationship Management system to integrate with digital fundraising platforms, better manage interactions with its supporters and streamline processes to support the delivery of the five-year strategy. Following the selection of a system supplier the development of the implementation plan has begun.

What’s Next:

In 2023/24, potential contact centre solutions will be reviewed to enable better management of calls, emails, live chat and social media interactions through one platform. The team will also support the planned activities for the Charity’s 25[th ] anniversary.

The Customer Relationship Management team will be responsible for completing the database migration which will include the embedding of new workflow management solutions throughout the Charity to increase efficiency and ultimately improve the supporter experience.

Marketing, Communications and Public Relations

A summer media campaign ran from the beginning of June 2022 until the start of August 2022, consisting of radio, outdoor and social media advertising. During the period of the campaign, the North West Air Ambulance Charity’s website had 8,423 visitors. Facebook advertising in June and July reached 216,000 people in the Manchester and Merseyside areas. The adverts were clicked through 2,247 times.

Between April 2022 and March 2023, North West Air Ambulance Charity’s social media posts reached 2.3 million users, with 2,000 posts published across the platforms. People interacted 33,000 times on Facebook, the highest engagement rate of those platforms at 27%.

What’s Next:

While building and sustaining brand awareness of the Charity across all channels will continue, advancing its digital presence will be a focus for the Marketing team.

The team will continue to enhance the Charity’s positive reputation and support through proactive press engagement.

A programme of research will inform key marketing opportunities, strategy and the subsequent tactics deployed.

Previous research identified a marketing opportunity to attract a younger demographic. A

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marketing campaign is in development for delivery in July and August 2023, targeting those in the 18 to 34 age range.

Further market research will support the campaign delivery and ensure it resonates with its intended audience. This research will also ensure that the channels utilised will be the most effective to reach the younger demographic.

During the planned brand audit, the campaign’s effectiveness will be assessed through awareness levels once the campaign is completed.

The team will be instrumental in the implementation of the marketing activity celebrating the Charity’s 25th anniversary.

Volunteer Engagement

As the North West Air Ambulance Charity volunteer programme continued to grow, 2022 saw the introduction of volunteer awards. Over 100 nominations were received to recognise the impact of exceptional volunteers. 12 volunteers, nominated by staff and peers, were invited to the Barton Airbase for a celebration, led by the Charity’s Chief Executive Officer.

All nominated volunteers received certificates of appreciation, ten volunteers received special recognition videos from the crew while the winners received awards and a tour of the airbase with the Charity’s Leading Paramedic for emergency helicopter and vehicle services.

There has been a significant increase in volunteer support in Retail Operations. 2021/22 ended with 249 volunteers supporting retail operations across the 11 stores, e-commerce, and warehouse. The year 2022/2023 saw 320 volunteers averaging over 1,000 hours of support each week which was the biggest single year increase of volunteers the Charity has seen.

With 185 volunteers supporting the Community Fundraising team, the Charity had 505 committed volunteers at the end of the year. Volunteer growth at North West Air Ambulance Charity has bucked the trend of volunteer growth nationally, which is in decline.

New volunteer roles, enhanced training for volunteers and improved communication through newsletters, forums and focus groups, has enabled volunteers to feel closer to the Charity. Strategic partnerships leading to regular volunteer placements have also opened the door to new volunteers.

The 2023 survey showed a further increase in volunteers from diverse backgrounds. In 2020, 100% of volunteers who chose to complete the survey were from white backgrounds; in 2023, volunteers from black, Asian or mixed/multiple ethnic groups make up 10% of the volunteer workforce.

The investing in volunteers audit demonstrated areas of volunteering best practice and directed

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strategic changes to improve the volunteer programme.

What’s Next:

The implementation of new supporting documents to process and induct volunteers, will ensure all volunteers are given consistent key messaging and a positive introduction to the Charity.

Volunteer co-ordinators will offer further in-person support as standard during the volunteer training and induction process, to ensure a consistent volunteer experience and to help volunteer managers in up-skilling and supporting volunteers at the start of their role. New flexible volunteer roles and leadership roles will be launched, to allow volunteer managers more scope to expand the work they do, particularly in Community and Events.

The achievement of investing in volunteers will be a cause for celebration as the Charity continues to show its commitment to a quality volunteer experience.

The implementation of the new Customer Relationship team platform and volunteer management software will be revolutionary in how the Charity engages with volunteers.

Complaints and Compliments

The complaints policy is available via the Charity’s website, email and post. In 2022/23, seven complaints were received, of which four related to fundraising. Complaints are taken very seriously – they provide the Charity with an opportunity to gain feedback and take the appropriate action to minimise the risk of a recurrence.

An internal complaints and compliments report is compiled which is shared with Directors. By recording compliments and comments received from the public, we can share the information with relevant staff and strategic partners, which supports the continual improvement of our supporter journey.

All the Charity’s direct marketing communications contain clear instructions of how a supporter can easily opt out of receiving any further communication, if they wish to. The Charity is signed up to the Fundraising Preference Service to enable people to inform the Charity if they do not wish to receive fundraising communications. Two requests were received from this service last year.

Retail

The Promotions business was able to achieve 50 weeks of sales after the final pandemic lockdown, so recovery was ahead of expectations, delivering strong end of year results.

Three shops were closed within the year, two of them due to commercial decisions and one where the landlord required us to return the premises.

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Staffing brought its challenges because of recruitment issues and pandemic sickness levels.

For most of the year, the Promotions business was brought into the Operations directorate and there was a further retail management change at the end of the year, to create a more robust management structure.

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GOVERNANCE

Organisation Structure

The Charity and its promotions and lottery subsidiaries are governed by the Trustees who are also Directors of the companies. The Trustees hold board meetings four times a year and where necessary, hold occasional meetings and communications via tele and video conferences between official board meetings.

Trustee Governance

Trustees appointed by the Charity are unpaid. They are appointed for a period of up to three years and at the end of that three-year term, they may be re-appointed.

Trustees are selected for their abilities to make an effective contribution to the Charity and key attributes and experience include:

The board of Trustees is chosen to reflect the diverse range of skills needed. The Charity undertakes an annual review of the composition of the board, considering the skills and experience mix required and those already in place, to ensure a good cross-section of skills and that the board is not over dependent on individual Trustees. In most areas, it can, therefore, expect a proficient level of resilience and challenge.

The board recognises that, on occasion, this may require specialist input and assurance. It has, for example, ensured that it has external aviation support during the procurement of its helicopter provision and sought specialist support to review the challenges faced by the retail business during the pandemic.

The appraisal and self-assessment of Trustees is in place and has fed into improving training and development for Trustees. Trustees are ultimately accountable for the operation of the Charity and its subsidiary companies. Decisions regarding key risks, strategy, annual budget agreement and major purchases are reserved for the board.

The overall accountability framework for the organisation showing the board and sub-committee composition and their terms of reference is agreed annually by the board.

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Governance Review

In 2021, the appointed auditors undertook a review of North West Air Ambulance Charity’s compliance and governance framework in order to further improve governance procedures. The review was recommended by the Trustees in response to the updated 2020 Charity Code of Governance. The Code of Governance is not a legal or regulatory requirement but represents good practice.

The Charity was assessed against key areas including purpose, leadership, integrity, decision making, risk control, board effectiveness, equality, diversity and inclusion, openness and accountability.

The report concluded that North West Air Ambulance Charity showed considerable evidence of compliance with the Code in line with recognised good practice. Recommendations were raised for consideration by the board about the organisation’s development and enhancement, and these will be considered to future-proof governance arrangements.

Leadership Team

The running of the Charity and subsidiaries led by the Chief Executive is undertaken by the Leadership team following delegated powers of authority.

The Leadership team consists of:

The remuneration packages of the Leadership team (excluding the Medical Director) are benchmarked against those of similar organisations and are reviewed annually by the Trustees.

The Medical Director is provided by North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, a key strategic partner, as part of a service level agreement arrangement. The role is essential to manage and be held accountable for the clinical governance of the Charity. The position strengthens the revisions to the service level agreement and provides assurance to the Trustees that the Charity is operating in a compliant clinical manner and, accordingly, in their approach to risk.

The interim Director of Finance and Resources completed their contract in April 2023, with a permanent replacement in post during June 2023

Legal

Company secretarial and governance advice is provided by Brabners LLP.

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Associations

The Charity is a member of Air Ambulances UK. The association was established as a membership body for those organisations which form the air ambulance services in the UK and extensive use is being made of the contacts with forums available for all Air Ambulance Chief Executive Officers, Finance Directors, Operations Directors and Human Resources Managers.

Board Sub-Committees

Finance Sub-Committee (FSC)

A finance sub-committee, comprising two Trustees and members of the Leadership team, meets quarterly to consider financial matters, risk management, investment management and information technology, and reports to the board of Trustees accordingly.

As a result of careful financial stewardship, the Charity continues to carry reserves in excess of the current reserves policy.

During the year, the Financial Services Commission recommended changes to the scheme of delegations for North West Air Ambulance Charity.

Governance Sub-Committee (GSC)

The governance sub-committee continues to review all aspects of governance. It comprises two Trustees and members of the Leadership team and meets quarterly.

Key matters taken to the sub-committee during the year are noted below.

The compliance framework document is a key North West Air Ambulance Charity governance tool. This is the internal framework which was created based on the Association of Air Ambulances’ framework for a high performing air ambulance service in 2013 and continually developed by North West Air Ambulance Charity. The compliance framework document is updated and evidenced against the appropriate standards noting completed items.

The Charity has a robust programme embedded with several audits as standard working practice across the organisation.

Clinical Governance Sub-Committee (CGSC)

As per the service level agreement and to demonstrate compliance within the accountability framework, the North West Ambulance Service provides clinical governance and Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration for North West Air Ambulance Charity.

The purpose of the Charity’s clinical governance sub-committee is to monitor and provide assurance regarding clinical governance provided by North West Ambulance Service and to report

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to the board of Trustees on all clinical and quality aspects of service delivery.

Supporting information for the clinical governance sub-committee is achieved via clinical governance review meetings, held monthly and chaired by a member of the Clinical Senior Management Team. This forum allows for case review, professional discussion and creates a positive learning environment. In addition, all clinicians, led by the Clinical Senior Management Team, have been appointed a defined audit area to review and will support the methodology of and enable ‘deep dive’ key topic audit review.

- Operations Sub Committee (OSC)

This committee scrutinises and reviews systems in place to ensure, monitor and improve the quality of operational service provided to support and facilitate clinical service delivery and the wider Charity. The active reporting of health and safety requirements is overseen here along with oversight and guidance in relation to the above-mentioned helicopter contract review and renewal.

During the year, the committee discussed the following key matters noted below:

Staffing and Resources

People and Culture

The outdated term ‘HR’ has been replaced with the new term, ‘People and Culture’, to reflect a progressive, people-centred approach with a keen focus on best-in-class culture. Culture being increasingly important for an organisation to be valued as an ‘employer of choice’ for both job seekers and employee retention.

North West Air Ambulance Charity Culture and Values

Following on from the success of its first staff conference, the Charity’s second annual staff conference and values awards took place in November 2022 with the focus on ‘Our why’.

The day captured the purpose, essence and spirit of what and why the Charity does, with touching in-person, patient stories as well as lifesaving skills sessions delivered by the clinical crew.

The day also included the presentation of values awards to employees who best demonstrated the Charity’s values:

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The conference brought the majority of employees across the Charity together including staff, crew and Trustees, who all enjoyed a memorable day full of direct engagement and integration. Feedback from the day regarding both the conference and the value awards was overwhelmingly positive.

Employee Value Proposition

An appealing employee value proposition is being developed to reflect the value North West Air Ambulance Charity offers to employees in return for the value they bring to the organisation, with improvements to sick pay, pension contributions and annual leave.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As part of promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, mandatory training is being rolled out across the Charity, focusing on promoting an inclusive and compassionate culture where diversity can thrive.

The candidate selection and interview process has been reviewed with the aim to tailor the current process to be more ‘neurodiversity smart’ and a new hire onboarding experience has been introduced. A blended learning approach is being worked on to promote personal growth opportunities and embed a strong learning and development opportunity culture.

Employee Engagement Survey

Following on from the first employee engagement survey last year, a second survey took place in quarter two. The previous survey results in June 2021, scored the Charity in the ‘one to watch’ category, meaning the organisation had demonstrated good levels of workplace engagement.

In the second survey, the score increased further into this category with a 36-point improvement. This was based on a larger number of participants who responded this year compared to last year.

An action plan from the staff survey results, is in place and being worked through. Other staff engagement initiatives remain in place such as an employee forum and monthly update calls, amongst others.

Staff turnover rates decreased in 2022-23. This followed an increase in new roles in Income and Engagement teams in this period and was also in keeping with the general trend and impact of the pandemic of staff movement experienced across the UK.

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Staff turnover in 2022/23 in comparison to previous years:

Retail Charity Total
2019-20 21.5% 28% 24.4%
2020-21 8.1% 9.5% 8.8%
2021-22 31% 41% 36%
2022-23 23% 19% 25.8%

Engaging with staff and ensuring everyone has a voice is essential to making sure the Charity has the right culture where everyone feels valued, part of a team and has the opportunity for personal growth. Having an active and representative employee forum, conducting annual staff engagement surveys, and holding conferences, are all examples of important elements in achieving this.

Hybrid working has become the norm and where appropriate, has been facilitated throughout the year. This has also enabled the Charity to increase our headcount in a way that would otherwise be impossible with the existing workspace.

There has been a greater focus on learning and development opportunities, too. For example, mental health first aid training has recently been rolled out and first aid training will be scheduled this year.

The absence levels across the whole organisation remain low and below the national average.

IT and Data Governance

The Charity has continued to maintain a robust data governance framework, which is supported by its internal data protection steering group. The annual data governance audit showed us to be compliant with the UK GDPR and positively assessed the way personal data is handled within the organisation.

As the value of digital information grows, cyber security is of high importance and a priority for the Charity. The type of risks posed include theft of sensitive and personal data, theft or damage to data, threat of hacking for criminal or fraud purposes and potential disruption to infrastructure such as charity IT systems and the Charity’s public facing website.

To mitigate these threats, protective measures have been enhanced by ensuring multi-factor authentication and strong passwords are enforced to all accounts that access the Charity’s systems. Cyber security and data protection training has been refreshed for all staff and delivered through the new training platform.

We look forward to the implementation of our new supporter engagement system to support our five-year strategy and grow all income streams. The new system is key to maximising our supporters’ journey, integrating existing services and raising our social media presence.

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Core business services have improved in IT, Finance, People and Culture and Project Management. Solutions have been implemented that make day-to-day tasks easier, collaborative and more accessible across devices. These improvements are made with careful consideration to digital security and compliance with data governance.

The renewal of cyber essentials plus certification reconfirms and provides assurance that the Charity follows industry standard good practice across the organisation and the addition of cyber insurance cover this year provides peace of mind that if the worst happened, the support is in place to recover and continue business operations.

Public Benefit Statement

The Trustees confirm that they have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and that the Charity meets the requirements in the advancement of its objectives.

The Charity exists to provide free of charge, emergency-enhanced, pre-hospital care services to the people of the North West of England. Three helicopters are crewed by highly skilled Consultant-level Doctors and Critical Care Paramedics providing cover typically during daylight hours, supported by four critical care response vehicles, one of which operates on two evenings per week from 6pm until 2am. This care service is to be expanded during 2023/24 with the aim of covering four and then seven nights per week.

Financial Investments

Trustees completed their review of the investment policy under the guidance of professional independent financial advisors and implemented it during 2016/2017.

The Charity relies entirely on donations from the public for its activities, with investment assets held as reserves. The investment objective is to generate a return in excess of inflation, as inflation is a key risk to long-term objectives.

The Charity is aiming to achieve and maintain a real portfolio value of circa £10 million over the medium to long term. The portfolio aims to preserve capital value as much as possible while seeking to achieve our investment objective and maintaining the liquidity necessary to support operational requirements.

The target and actual investment allocations as of 31 March 2023, were as follows:

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Asset Class Fund Strategic
Allocation		 31 March 2023
Diversified Growth Fund Black Rock Dynamic Diversified
Growth Fund		 25%
26.5%
Diversified Growth Fund Ninety-One Diversified Growth Fund 25%
23.4%
Cash ABRDN Sterling Liquidity Fund 50%
50.1%
Total 100%

The Trustees engage ISIO as investment advisors (ISIO were formed out of the sale of KPMG’s pensions advisory business) with the performance of the funds kept under review by ISIO and reviewed twice a year by the board of Trustees.

The total return to 31 March 2023, can be broken down between mandates as follows:

Relative returns BlackRock
DDG fund		 ABRDN
Sterling
Liquidity fund		 Ninety-One DGF
(formerly
Investec)		 Total
12-month net return -2.8% 2.3% -0.9% 0.1%
12-month net objective
(target)		 5.6% 2.3% 13.3% 5.9%
Net objective description
(target)		 Sonia + 3% Sonia CPI + 3.25%

Developed equity markets have delivered strong returns over the last six months despite recent volatility surrounding the banking sector, following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Investors concluded the systemic risk was minimal and as a result the financial sector recovered in March to finish on a quarter high. The total return is estimated at 0.1% compared with the investment manager’s objective returns target of 5.9%.

In the first few months of the year, the valuation of Black Rock and Ninety-One dropped dramatically, similar in nature to those prior to the pandemic. They recovered in the last few months of the year, but not enough to prevent an overall loss in value of the two funds.

The Charity is aiming to achieve and maintain a real portfolio value of £10 million.

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Risk

North West Air Ambulance Charity has a corporate ‘strategic’ risk strategy. During the year, the risk register was migrated to a cloud-based platform which adds clarity and functionality to ensure a clearer risk management process.

The board is made aware of the highest-rated risks and the plans to reduce their current levels and what residual risks will remain if actions remain open. A red, amber, green (RAG) system is reported at the quarterly board meetings.

The finance sub-committee provides oversight of the process and ensures progress, accountability and consistency are maintained. Each committee will review and challenge the risk assessments for its own area, as necessary.

Each of the Leadership team Directors has identified risks that are reviewed each month and specific notes and comments made for the Financial Services Commission and board awareness and horizon scanning.

Throughout the year, sub-committees are also invited to undertake ‘deep dives’ on risks identified at their quarterly meetings to gain a greater understanding of the assessment of, and assurance around, the risks identified.

During the fiscal year, the pandemic has remained a key focus, together with monitoring of necessary staff recruitment and mitigation of risks for the key income areas for the Charity.

As we go into the new fiscal year, the current top three strategic risks identified are:

The board notes the action plans put in place to mitigate known risks, although it is recognised that this will not all be within the control of the Charity.

Reserves Policy

Funds as per the balance sheet

The total reserves/funds for the group at the end of 2022/23 is £19,099,111 (2021/22: £17,678,260). Of this, the restricted funds for nominated specific use totals £16,754 (2021/22:

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£83,231) which are analysed in more detail in the notes to the accounts leaving unrestricted funds of £19,082,357 (2021/22 £17,595,028).

Unrestricted designated funds are based upon the need to earmark funds to meet two years’ annual lease commitments (for property and helicopters) as described in the notes to the accounts, which gives a value of £7,877,235 (2021/22 £6,589,550). This leaves a value of £11,205,121 (2021/22 £11,005,478) of unrestricted general funds.

A further allowance must be made to discount for tangible functional fixed assets, to reflect the fact that these funds cannot be freely spent. This reduction of £507,087 (2021/22 £552,115) then leaves a free reserves balance of £10,698,034 (2021/22 £10,453,363).

Review of Available Reserves

The Charity’s policy is to hold two years of operational expenditure as reserves to ensure continued financial security and to provide for contingencies. The reserves considered are those that are unrestricted funds, less the tangible assets.

The total annual operational expenditure for 2022/23 was £7,560,639 (2021/22 £6,605,805) which was mostly from unrestricted funds. This comprises the direct costs of the operations (lease costs, fuel, clinical staffing, training) plus a proportion of indirect costs (such as staffing, depreciation and governance costs) as detailed in the notes to the accounts.

To assess the reserves policy position at the end of the year, it will be necessary to compare the total funds above and planned operational spend for the next two years. It will be also necessary to consider any forecast change in reserves.

The funds available under the reserves policy as of 31 March 2023, are therefore £18,575,270 (being unrestricted funds less the tangible assets). This is in excess (by circa £3.45 million) of two years of the 2022/23 total unrestricted operational expenditure at current levels. Therefore, Trustees should consider if it remains within its reserves policy when considering contracts costs going forward.

Trustees are committed to continuing evidence-led operational and clinical development and, therefore, expenditure will increase further over future years.

Given this forward-looking context, the reserves of £18,575,270 are in line with holding two years of operational funds and, therefore, the organisation is operating within its reserves policy.

Over the next couple of years, reserves will be put under pressure by capital expenditure plans, the new helicopter contract and an increase in indirect operational spend. Once the new helicopter contract commences, the annual direct operational spend alone will be in excess of £8 million. Whilst the reserves are currently in excess of the two years of operational spend, these

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plans will reduce this surplus. As a consequence, the Trustees will ensure the policy is kept under review.

Going Concern

In light of the financial outlook outlined above, the directors have considered the financial forecasts for the CIC (Lottery) and are confident that it remains a going concern, and for the accounts to be prepared on this basis.

Similarly, the financial forecasts for the Charity, with the potential to use reserves in the medium term if required, enable the Trustees to remain confident that it has the means to remain a going concern and to adapt as necessary to changes required.

The results for promotions from this year have shown another healthy surplus, again without the need to continue the use of our CBILS facility from the Co-Operative Bank.

On this basis, the Directors have considered the forecasts for the retail business and consider the business to be a going concern.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibility

The Trustees (who are also directors of North West Air Ambulance Charity, for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom generally accepted accounting practice (United Kingdom accounting standards).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each fiscal 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 the group, and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group 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

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and explain the charitable company’s transactions, 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 and the provisions of the Charity’s constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and the group and, hence, for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Insofar as the Trustees are aware, there is no relevant audit information (as defined by section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the Charity's auditor is unaware, and the Trustees have each taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

During the last year, Simon Mercer joined us as an interim Trustee whilst Rachel Hall took a sabbatical. Simon has since been appointed as a permanent Trustee of the Charity, Director of the promotions company and Director of the lottery company.

Forward Look for the Charity

North West Air Ambulance Charity continues to achieve its objectives and targets and with robust reserves in place, the Charity is in a positive position to progress in the next financial year and beyond.

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- Plans for the Future Period and Long Term Objectives:

The report gives a detailed outline of the objectives for the immediate future, which are:

The key aspects of our strategy for longer term objectives are:

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Auditors

Crowe UK LLP has indicated its willingness to be reappointed as statutory auditors.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act relating to small companies.

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 4th October 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Mr A G Jude Chair

Mrs K J Spencer Trustee

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How to Support Us

There are many ways in which people can support our lifesaving Charity by giving money, time or talent.

Making a Donation

To make a donation, please visit our Donate page at nwairambulance.org.uk or call our team on 0800 587 4570.

Fundraising

Our lifesaving service is there for the whole of the North West community. Each year thousands of people run, swim, walk and do amazing things to raise money for our Charity. We have a dedicated team to support people who want to make a difference and support our Charity by taking part in a fundraising event or holding an event themselves. To learn more please contact fundraising@nwairambulance.org.uk.

Play our Lottery

Playing in our Lift Off Lotto is a fun way to support our Charity. Our weekly lottery is a vital source of income and it funds around half of all of our missions. Tickets are £1 and players have the chance of winning up to £1,000 every week, plus a huge £10,000 in our quarterly super draws. To learn more, or to enter into our lottery or raffles, visit nwairambulance.org.uk/playour-lottery.

Legacy Support

Legacy gifts provide the Charity with a valuable income that can allow us to plan for the future and benefit as many patients as possible. Gifts left to our Charity in a will help us to fund vital service to make a difference to the people of the North West.

As a Charity, our patients are at the heart of everything we do. We are dedicated to bringing the hospital to the patient by delivering enhanced pre-hospital care and gifts in wills allow us to continue to do this for everyone in the North West.

In the 2022/23, financial year we received £3,437,765 in legacy gifts.

Gift Aid

If you are a UK taxpayer and make a simple declaration, for every £1 donated the Charity receives 25p of Gift Aid. In 2022/23 we were able to claim £194,829 in Gift Aid.

A big thank you.

The Charity would like to thank everyone who has supported us in the past year. You really have made a lifesaving difference to the people of the North West.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND THE TRUSTEES OF NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of North West Air Ambulance (‘the charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (‘the group’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheets, the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement, and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

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 group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’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 or the group’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 contained within the annual report. 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.

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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND THE TRUSTEES OF NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report included within 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 set out on page 21, 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 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.

Details of the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations are set out below.

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.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND THE TRUSTEES OF NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charitable company and group operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011 together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charitable company’s and the group’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company and the group for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context for the UK operations were those contained within the Charities Act and the Gambling Commission Regulations.

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within the timing of recognition of income and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission, and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

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 the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Vicky Szulist Senior Statutory Auditor For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor The Lexicon Manchester M2 5NT Date: 9th November 2023

40

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING AN INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Notes
Income from:
Donations and legacies
4
Other trading activities
5
Investments
3
Total
Expenditure on:
Raising funds:
Commercial trading operations
Other fundraising costs
6
Charitable activities
Cost of operation of the North
West Air Ambulance
6
Total
6
Net Income
Other recognised gains
Gains/(losses) on investments
12
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
15		 Restricted
funds total
Year ended
31 March
2023
Unrestricted
funds total
Year ended
31 March
2023
Funds total
Year ended
31 March
2023
Funds total
Year ended
31 March
2022
£
£
£
£
26,130
6,144,349
6,170,479
4,062,158
-
7,982,992
7,982,992
7,174,442
-
92,988
92,988
2,548
26,130
14,220,329
14,246,459
11,239,148
-
2,853,641
2,853,641
2,763,234
-
2,136,131
2,136,131
1,967,570
-
4,989,772
4,989,772
4,730,804
92,607
7,642,541
7,735,148
6,875,653
92,607
12,632,313
12,724,920
11,606,457
(66,477)
1,588,016
1,521,539
(367,309)
-
(100,693)
(100,693)
17,679
(66,477)
1,487,323
1,420,851
(349,630)
83,232
17,595,028
17,678,260
18,027,890
16,755
19,082,356
19,099,111
17,678,260

The notes in the appended pages form part of these Financial Statements.

41

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

BALANCE SHEETS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 Registered Company Number: 03752544

Notes
Fixed Assets
Tangible Assets
10
Investments
12
Intangible assets
11
Current assets
Stock
Debtors
13
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors:amounts falling due
within one year
14
Net current assets
Net assets
Income funds
Restricted Funds
15
Unrestricted – General Funds
15
Unrestricted – Designated Funds
15		 Group
Charity
2023
2022
2023
2022
£
£
£
£
507,087
552,115
408,890
412,361
10,904,901
10,925,089
10,398,540
10,428,439
-
-
-
-
11,411,988
11,477,204
10,807,430
10,840,800
11,023
17,266
-
-
2,172,105
1,804,257
3,423,625
2,971,359
7,220,336
6,784,100
5,772,696
5,421,771
9,403,464
8,605,623
9,196,321
8,393,130
(1,716,341)
(2,404,567)
(946,091)
(1,612,140)
7,687,123
6,201,056
8,250,230
6,780,990
19,099,111
17,678,260
19,057,660
17,621,790
16,755
83,232
16,755
83,232
11,205,121
11,005,478
11,163,670
10,949,008
7,877,235
6,589,550
7,877,235
6,589,550
19,099,111
17,678,260
19,057,660
17,621,790

The consolidated figures above include the results of the Charity which had income for the year of £11,417,549 (2022: £8,350,511) and a net surplus of £1,546,267 (2022: deficit £492,716).

The Financial Statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on 4[th] October 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Mr A G Jude Chair

Mrs K J Spencer Trustee

42

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash Flows from investing activities
Dividends and interest from investments
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Proceeds from investments
Net cash provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year.
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year.
NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net incoming resources
Investment income
Depreciation and amortisation of fixed assets
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
Decrease/(increase) in stock
Increase in creditors
Net cash provided by operating activities
ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
2023
£
Cash at bank
7,220,336
RECONCILIATION OF NET DEBT
At 1 April
2022
£
Cash at bank
6,784,100
6,784,100		 Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash Flows from investing activities
Dividends and interest from investments
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Proceeds from investments
Net cash provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year.
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year.
NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net incoming resources
Investment income
Depreciation and amortisation of fixed assets
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
Decrease/(increase) in stock
Increase in creditors
Net cash provided by operating activities
ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
2023
£
Cash at bank
7,220,336
RECONCILIATION OF NET DEBT
At 1 April
2022
£
Cash at bank
6,784,100
6,784,100		 Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash Flows from investing activities
Dividends and interest from investments
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Proceeds from investments
Net cash provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year.
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year.
NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net incoming resources
Investment income
Depreciation and amortisation of fixed assets
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
Decrease/(increase) in stock
Increase in creditors
Net cash provided by operating activities
ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
2023
£
Cash at bank
7,220,336
RECONCILIATION OF NET DEBT
At 1 April
2022
£
Cash at bank
6,784,100
6,784,100		 2023
2022
£
£
600,436
(905,551)
92,988
2,548
(176,687)
(224,588)
(80,501)
27,845
(164,200)
(194,165)
436,236
(1,099,745)
6,784,100
7,883,845
7,220,336
6,784,100
2023
2022
£
£
1,521,539
(367,309)
(92,988)
(2,548)
221,715
215,492
(367,848)
(1,115,123)
6,243
12,890
(688,226)
351,047
600,436
(905,551)

2022

£

6,784,100


Cashflow
Other non-
cash
changes
At 31 March
2023

£
£

600,436
(164,200)
7,220,336

600,437
(164,200)
7,220,336
At 1 April
2022
£
6,784,100
6,784,100

43

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

1. General information

The Charity is a company limited by guarantee (registered number 03752544) which in incorporated in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is Stanley House, North Mersey Business Centre, Woodward Road, Knowsley, Merseyside L33 7UY.

2. Accounting policies

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

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) - (Charities SORP (FRS102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland

(FRS102) and the Companies Act 2006. North West Air Ambulance meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102.

The Charity has taken advantage of the exemption available to a qualifying entity in FRS102 from the requirement to produce a charity only cash flow statement with the consolidated financial statements.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value.

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the Financial Statements of the subsidiary companies: North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited and Friends of the North West Air Ambulance Lottery CIC for the year to 31 March 2023. This has been consolidated on a line by line basis in accordance with the requirements of the Charity SORP (FRS102).

The Charity has not presented its own Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) as permitted by the Companies Act 2006 and the provisions of the Charity SORP 2015 (FRS102).

The financial statements for the two subsidiaries contain financial information up to 31 March 2023.

Going concern

Charity income streams have shown significant results in the year, particularly Legacies and Promotions. The operational business continues to provide a life-saving service. The clinical strategy and the five-year Fundraising strategy are progressing, and the Charity currently has a reserves policy that gives the financial headroom for this to take place. Therefore, the Trustees have considered the financial forecasts for the Charity and are confident that it has the means to remain a going concern and to adapt as necessary to changes required.

44

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

2. Accounting policies (continued)

Income, Grants and donations

All incoming resources are included on the Statement of Financial Activities when the Charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Grants and donations are included in the Statement of Financial Activities as they become due and are included in the relevant fund. Income expended is accounted for in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Where income has donor imposed restrictions regarding its use, this is shown within restricted funds with related costs being allocated to the same fund.

Where there is a timing restriction which requires income to be deferred to a future period, such amounts are shown within creditors and later credited to the Statement of Financial Activities as eligible.

Donations in kind

Where assets are donated to the Charity these are included within restricted income and costs at the market value of the asset or the value in use at the time of the donation. Where the cost is capitalised, a transfer is made out of restricted funds to the extent that the restriction no longer exists. A threshold of £3,000 is operated for donations in kind.

Legacies

Legacy income is recognised when the Charity is satisfied that the conditions of entitlement, probability and measurement have been met. Pecuniary legacies are accounted for when notified. Residuary legacies are accounted for on receipt.

Grants paid

Grants paid are included in the Statement of Financial Activities as they become payable. These become payable when authorised by the trustees.

Expenditure and support costs

Expenditure has been charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis. Expenditure relating directly to the objectives of the Charity is shown as charitable expenditure. All costs have been directly attributed to one of the functional categories of resources expended in the statement of financial activities. There is deemed to be only one key objective to which charitable costs are allocated.

Support costs are shown in note 8. These include Governance costs. Governance costs include an element of administrative staff costs / support costs which relate mainly to year end compliance costs and non-fundraising related professional fees.

Investments

Investments are shown at market value.

45

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

2. Accounting policies (continued)

Commercial income

Commercial income represents the amounts (excluding value added tax) received from the sale of goods to customers during the year through the trading subsidiary North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited and income from the lottery run by Friends of the North West Air Ambulance Lottery CIC. All such turnover arises in the United Kingdom.

Taxation

The Charity does not have any charge to tax on its charitable activities.

Unrestricted funds

Unrestricted funds are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees.

Irrecoverable VAT

Irrecoverable VAT is accounted for in the expenditure category under which the costs are incurred.

Fixed Assets

Tangible fixed assets for use by the Charity are stated as cost less depreciation. A fixed asset is defined as a unit of property that has an economic useful life that extends beyond 12 months and was acquired or produced for a cost greater than £500.

In addition, "Grouped assets" are a collection of assets which individually may be valued at less than £500 but which together form a single collective asset because the items fulfil all the following criteria:

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost or valuation of fixed assets, less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives on the following bases:

Plant & machinery, office equipment and motor vehicles: 20% on straight line basis Computer equipment: 33% on straight line basis

Goodwill

Goodwill being the amount paid in connection with the acquisition of a business in 2007 which is now fully amortised.

46

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

2. Accounting policies (continued)

Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowances for any obsolete or slow moving items.

Donated goods received for sale in the shops are not valued as it is impractical to do so.

Operating lease agreements

Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged against income on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease

Pension costs and post-retirement benefits

The Charity operates a defined contribution scheme for the benefit of its employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Charitable Company. Employer contributions in respect of this scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Financial instruments

The Group has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at the transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using an effective interest method. Financial assets are held at amortised cost comprise cash and bank in hand, together with trade and other debtors. Financial liabilities held at amortised cost comprise bank loans and overdrafts, trade, and other creditors.

Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the entity's accounting policies which are described above, the Trustees are required to make judgments, estimates, assumptions about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects the current and future periods.

In the view of the Trustees, no assumptions concerning the future or estimation uncertainty affecting assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date are likely to result in a material adjustment to their carrying amounts in the next financial year.

47

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

3. Investments – Group

3.
Investments – Group
Bank Interest
Investment Income
4.
Donations and Legacies – Group
Community Fundraising
Corporate Fundraising
Challenge Events
Individual Giving
Charitable Trust
Unallocated Income
Legacies
Donations Gift Aid
Grants
Donations in Kind
5.
Other trading activities - Group

Lottery income
Shop income		 Year ended
31 March
2023
£
245
92,743
92,988
Year
ended
31 March
2023
£
660,950
191,636
135,192
1,222,201
178,469
6,918
3,561,609
213,504
-
-
6,170,479
Year ended
31 March
2023
£
5,638,077
2,344,915
7,982,992		 Year ended
31 March
2022
£
895
1,653
2,548
Year
ended
31 March
2022
£
549,479
206,346
57,685
816,221
152,977
6,395
2,006,364
189,056
74,725
2,910
4,062,158
Year ended
31 March
2022
£
5,373,687
1,800,755
7,174,442

48

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

6. Total expenditure – Group


Direct Charitable expenditure
Operating costs
Support costs (note 8a)
Depreciation
Investment managers fees
Raising Funds
Staff costs and travel (note 8a)
Other expenses (note 8a)
Subsidiary expenses
Lottery expenses
Shop expenses

7.
Staff members and costs –Group
Total staff costs for the year may be analysed as follows:

Wages and salaries
Social Security costs
Pension costs		 Year ended
31 March
2023
Year ended
31 March
2022
£
£
6,366,839
5,624,613
1,193,797
1,068,392
154,474
141,402
20,038
41,246
7,735,148
6,875,652
1,022,022
873,829
1,114,109
1,093,745
2,136,131
1,967,574
1,121,451
1,164,509
1,732,190
1,598,725
2,853,641
2,763,234
12,724,920
11,606,457
Year ended
31 March
2023
Year ended
31 March
2022
£
£
2,476,668
2,210,810
220,075
166,401
71,001
62,864
2,767,744
2,440,075

In addition to the staff costs above, there are further costs relating to operational staff and paramedics included within 'Operating costs' which are paid by way of a service level agreement. We also provided a clinical team including paramedics, doctors, dispatch, and a senior consultant.

The Trustees decided that the charity should pay the full cost of the service provision from 2020/21 and therefore the charity now receives no government funding for clinical costs.

The costs of the Charity shop management staff (within the subsidiary company) are included within fundraising costs.

The key management personnel of the Charity comprise the senior management team and are listed in the legal and administrative information on page 3. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the Charity were £361,411 (2022: £378,703).

49

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The average number of employees, analysed by function was as follows:

Year ended
31 March
2023
Number
Fundraising
35
Administration
17
Commercial
43
95
The remuneration package of the higher paid employees was:
2023
No
£70,001 - £80,000
2
£80,001 - £90,000
1
£90,001 - £100,000
-
£100,001 - £110,000
1
£110,001 - £120,000
-
£120,001 - £130,000
-		 Year ended
31 March
2022
Number
32
14
41

87
2022
No
-
-
2
1
-
1

The Trustees received £nil remuneration from the Charity (2022: £nil), reimbursement of expenses during the year totalled £nil (2022: £nil). During the year professional indemnity insurance was purchased relating to all of the Trustees, at a cost of £3,041 ( 2022: £ 2,829 ) .

During the year there were redundancy or termination payments which amounted to £nil (2022-: £30,000).

8a Support costs

Support costs are allocated to fundraising and direct charitable expenditure as follows (on the basis outlined below):

Cost of raising funds
Staff cost and travel
Office and utility costs
Stationery, postage and telephone
Events and consultancy
Advertising and website
Professional fees and other costs
Governance costs		 Total
2023
Charitable
Activities
Fundraising
Costs
Total
2022
664,932
-
664,932
560,605
2,044,044
1,022,022
1,022,022
1,747,659
145,137
72,569
72,568
217,560
145,137
17,689
17,688
16,450
84,971
-
84,971
59,576
98,690
-
98,690
198,412
233,680
58,420
175,260
210,863
23,097
23,097
-
28,841
3,329,928
1,193,797
2,136,131
3,035,966

50

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

8b Support costs – Basis of allocation

Support costs are allocated to fundraising and direct charitable expenditure on the basis outlined below:

Costs of raising funds
Staff cost and travel
Office and utility costs
Events and consultancy
Stationery and postage
Advertising and website
Professional fees and other costs
Governance costs		 Total
Charitable
Activities
Fundraising
Costs
Basis of
allocation
664,932
0%
100%
Nature of
service
2,044,044
50%
50%
Staff numbers
145,137
50%
50%
Staff numbers
84,971
0%
100%
Nature of
service
35,377
50%
50%
Staff numbers
98,690
0%
100%
Nature of
service
233,680
25%
75%
Nature of
service
23,097
100%
0%
Nature of
service
3,329,928

8c Governance costs


Non fundraising related professional fees
Auditors fees – audit and accounts
Bank charges and other		 Year
ended
31 March
2023
£
3,530
16,342
6,968

23,097		 Year
ended
31 March
2022
£
3,390
14,857
6,864
24,841

9 Taxation

Neither the Charity nor its subsidiary companies had any liability to corporation tax during the year.

51

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

10
Tangible Fixed Assets
Group
Cost
At 1 April 2022
Additions
At 31 March 2023
Depreciation
At 1 April 2022
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2023
Net Book Value
31 March 2023
31 March 2022		 Plant &
machinery
£
835,663
126,360

962,023
499,873
132,949
632,822
329,201
335,790		 Office and
computer
equipment
Motor Vehicles
£
£
406,366
140,085
11,709
38,618
418,075
178,703
251,395
78,731
64,255
24,541
315,620
103,272
102,455
75,431
154,971
61,354		 Total
£
1,382,114
176,687
1,558,801
829,999
221,715
1,051,714
507,087
552,115

52

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Charity
Cost
At 1 April 2022
Additions
At 31 March 2023
Depreciation
At 1 April 2022
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2023
Net Book Value
31 March 2023
31 March 2022		 Plant &
machinery
£
453,264
100,698
553,962
242,761
72,053

314,814
239,148
210,503		 Office and
computer
equipment
Motor Vehicles
£
£
328,935
140,085
11,709
38,618
340,644
178,703
188,431
78,731
57,902
25,541
246,333
103,272
94,311
75,431
140,504
61,354		 Total
£
922,284
151,025
1,073,309
509,923
154,496
664,419
408,890
412,361

53

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

11Intangible Fixed Assets- Group
Software
Goodwill
£
£
Cost
At 1 April 2022
25,183
125,000
At 31 March 2023
25,183
125,000
Amortisation
At 1 April 2022
25,183
125,000
Amortisation in the year
At 31 March 2023
25,183
125,000
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2023
-
-
At 31 March 2022
-
-
12Fixed Asset Investments
Group
2023
£
Carrying value (MV) at beginning of year
10,936,591
Disposals at carrying value
(12,239)
Investment income
92,743
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation
(100,693)

Carrying value (MV) at end of year
10,916,402

Historical cost of above investment at the end of the year
10,000,000
Analysis or investment value by type:
2023
£
Diversified Growth Funds
5,440,898
Liquidity funds
5,464,003

10,904,901		 Total
£
150,183
150,813
150,183
150,183

-

-
2022
£
10,935,254
(17,995)
1,653
17,679
10,936,591
10,000,000
2022
£
5,563,540
5,361,549
10,925,089

54

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Charity 2023 2022
£ £
Investments in listed securities 10,387,038 10,416,937
Investments in subsidiary entities 11,502
 11,502
10,398,540 10,428,439
Investment in subsidiary entities 2023 2022
£ £
Ordinary £1 shares in North West Air Ambulance
Promotions Limited – at market value 11,502
 11,502

The historical cost of these investments was £11,502 (2022: £11,502).

The Charity has two subsidiaries, North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales (Company Number: 03752582) and Friends of the North West Air Ambulance Lottery CIC (Registered Number 6646759) which are consolidated into the results of the North West Air Ambulance. The Charity owns the entire share capital of North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited, being 11,502 ordinary shares. The Charity is the sole member of Friends of the North West Ambulance Lottery CIC. The companies raised funds for the North West Air Ambulance during the year.

Audited Financial Statements of North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited and Friends of the North West Air Ambulance Lottery CIC for the year ended 31 March 2023 are filed with the Registrar of Companies. A summary of the trading results of North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited and Friends of the North West Air Ambulance Lottery CIC are shown below:

North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited

North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited
2023 2022
£ £
Turnover 2,095,104 1,800,755
Cost of sales (119,712) (50,319)
Gross profit 1,975,392 1,750,436
Administrative expenses (1,612,478) (1,548,406)
Other operating income 249,811 71,122
Operating loss 612,725 273,152
Interest payable (9,375) (9,375)
Tax on profit (3,380)
Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities after tax 599,970 263,777
Gift aid payment to Parent (628,081) (138,373)
Total comprehensive income (28,111) 125,404

55

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The aggregate of assets, liabilities and reserves are:
Assets
Liabilities
Total reserves (including £11,502 share capital)
North West Air Ambulance Lottery CIC
Turnover
Cost of sales
Gross Surplus
Administration expenses
Operating Surplus
Interest receivable and similar income
Surplus for the Financial Year
Gift Aid Payment
Total Comprehensive Income
The aggregate assets, liabilities and reserves are:
Assets
Liabilities
Total reserves		 2023
2022
£
£
1,014,255
759,904
(1,002,753)
(720,291)

(11,502)
39,613
2023
2022
£
£
5,638,077
5,373,689
(993,414)
(1,032,284))

4,644,663
4,341,405
(128,037)
(132,226)

4,516,626
4,209,179
9,711
173

4,526,337
4,209,352
(4,516,627)
(4,209,179)

9,710
173
2023
2022
£
£
1,412,664
1,465,809
(1,374,591)
(1,437,447)

38,073
28,362

The consolidated statements of financial activities include the results of the subsidiary companies.

56

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

13 Debtors

Debtors
Trade debtors
Amounts owed by subsidiary
undertakings
Prepayments
Accrued income
Other debtors		 Group
Group
Charity
Charity
2023
2022
2023
2022
£
£
£
£
16,511
5,910
-
-
-
-
1,488,852
1,297,719
1,418,064
1,176,015
1,307,874
1,078,339
523,395
417,676
405,774
390,144
214,135
204,656
221,125
205,157
2,172,105
1,804,257
3,423,625
2,971,359

14 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors
Social security and other taxes
Accruals and deferred income
Prepaid Subscriptions
Sundry creditors		 Group
Group
Charity
Charity
2023
2022
2023
2022
£
£
£
£
554,896
102,198
1,448,400
89,878
352,722
44,811
1,284,246
32,935
523,826
440,574
94,847
382,504
483,785
-
453,711
-
94,847
294,949
-
-
1,716,341
2,404,567
946,091
1,612,140

57

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

15 Reconciliation of movement in funds

Charity
Restricted funds
Mrs Kluziac

Zochonis Charitable Trust
The Grace Trust
Awards for All (National Lottery
Community Fund)
The Dixie Rose Findlay
Charitable Trust
The Williams Family
Foundation
Hospital Saturday Fund
Lord Leverhulmes Charitable
Trust
Yorkshire Building Society
Old coin card campaign
Williams Family Foundation
The Morrisions Foundation
Wallasey Lions Club
Trustees		 1 April
2022
Incoming
resources
Outgoing
Gains/
Transfers
resources
(losses)
£
£
£
£
£
-
-
39,894
-
(39,894)
-
-
6,749
-
-
-
-
4,000
-
-
-
-
7,237
-
(7,237)
-
-
2,400
-
-
-
-
1,410
-
(1,410)
-
-
10,000
(10,000)
-
-
2,622
(2,622)
-
-
2,000
(2,000)
-
-
40
(40)
-
-
4,414
(4,414)
-
-
2,466
22,990
(22,990)
-
-
-
1,140
-
-
-
-
2,000
(2,000)
-
-
83,231
26,130
(92,607)
-
-		 31 March
2023
£
-
-
6,749
4,000
-
2,400
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,466
1,140
-
16,754

58

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

15 Reconciliation of movement in funds (continued)

Charity
Unrestricted
funds
General
Designated
Total funds		 1 April 2022
Incoming
resources
Outgoing
Gains/
Transfers
31 March
2023
-
-
10,949,015
11,391,419
(9,778,675)
(110,403)
(1,287,685)
11,163,671
6,589,550
-
-
-
1,287,685
7,877,235
17,538,565
11,391,419
(9,778,675)
(110,403)
-
19,040,906
17,621,797
11,417,549
(9,871,282)
(110,403)
-
19,057,660

59

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

15 Reconciliation of movement in funds (continued)

Group
Restricted funds
Mrs Kluziac
Zochonis Charitable Trust
The Grace Trust
Awards for All (National Lottery
Community Fund)
The Dixie Rose Findlay
Charitable Trust
The Williams Family
Foundation
Hospital Saturday Fund
Lord Leverhulmes Charitable
Trust
Yorkshire Building Society
Old coin card campaign
Williams Family Foundation
The Morrisions Foundation
Wallasey Lions Club
Trustees of Hospital Saturday
Fund
1 April 2022
£
39,894
6,749
4,000
7,237
2,400
1,410
10,000
2,622
2,000
40
4,414
2,466
-
-
83,232
Incoming
resources
Outgoing
resources
Gains/
(losses)
Transfers
31 March
2023

£
£
£
£
£
-
(39,894)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6,749
-
-
-
-
4,000
-
(7,237)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,400
-
(1,410)
-
-
-
(10,000)
-
-
-
(2,622)
-
-
-
(2,000)
-
-
-
(40)
-
-
-
(4,414)
-
-
-
22,990
(22,990)
-
-
2,466
1,140
-
-
-
1,140
2,000
(2,000)
-
-
-
26,130
(92,607)
-
-
16,755
Incoming
resources
Outgoing
resources
Gains/
(losses)
Transfers
31 March
2023

£
£
£
£
£
-
(39,894)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6,749
-
-
-
-
4,000
-
(7,237)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,400
-
(1,410)
-
-
-
(10,000)
-
-
-
(2,622)
-
-
-
(2,000)
-
-
-
(40)
-
-
-
(4,414)
-
-
-
22,990
(22,990)
-
-
2,466
1,140
-
-
-
1,140
2,000
(2,000)
-
-
-
26,130
(92,607)
-
-
16,755
Incoming
resources
Outgoing
resources
Gains/
(losses)
Transfers
31 March
2023

£
£
£
£
£
-
(39,894)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6,749
-
-
-
-
4,000
-
(7,237)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,400
-
(1,410)
-
-
-
(10,000)
-
-
-
(2,622)
-
-
-
(2,000)
-
-
-
(40)
-
-
-
(4,414)
-
-
-
22,990
(22,990)
-
-
2,466
1,140
-
-
-
1,140
2,000
(2,000)
-
-
-
26,130
(92,607)
-
-
16,755
-
 -

60

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1 April 2022 Incoming Outgoing Gains/ Transfers 31 March
resources resources (losses) 2023
Unrestricted funds
General 11,005,478 14,220,329 (12,632,313) (100,693) (1,287,685) 11,205,116
Designated 6,589,550 - - - 1,287,685 7,877,235
17,595,028 14,220,329 (12,724,920) (100,693) - 19,082,356
Total funds 17,678,260 14,246,459 (12,724,920) (100,693) - 19,099,111

The designated fund of £7,877,235 shown above has been earmarked to cover two years annual lease commitments as described in note 17 and the Annual Report. It is imperative that the Charity is able to meet these costs before committing other expenditure. The transfer from general to designated funds represents the increase in lease costs.

The restricted balance called Mrs Kluziac relates to a legacy received in previous years of £61k which was to be used against future training costs. This fund has now been spent in full, within the year, on such training costs.

The Zochonis Charitable Trust is money to assist in the purchase of a defibrillator for the response vehicle and for Monitors.

The Grace Trust is money for a community defibrillator.

61

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The Dixie Rose Findlay Charitable Trust is money for shop defibrillators.

All balances on the balance sheet relate to the unrestricted funds with the exception of restricted funds which are represented by cash.

The John Zochonis is funding for Lucas machines.

The Lord Leverhulme fund and Yorkshire Building Society have provided funding for Fluid Warmers

The Williams Family Foundation has contributed funds towards parapacs and ultrasound machines

The Morrisons foundation is funding vehicle defibrillators and Monitors.

The Hospital Saturday Fund has contributed funds towards parapacs (completed within the year).

Yorkshire Building Society have provided funding for Fluid Warmers.

The Old coin card campaign was a campaign to raise funds specifically for the future cost of new helmets for the crew.

Wallasey Lions Club is funding for the supply of kit bags.

Trustees of Hospital Saturday Fund is restricted for the purchase of training manikins.

16 Analysis of Net Assets between Funds

Group
Fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Group
Fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
2023
£
£
£
11,411,988
-
11,411,988
9,386,79
16,755
9,403,464
(1,716,341)
-
(1,716,341)
19,082,356
16,755
19,099,111
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
2022
£
£
£
12,259,703
-
12,259,703
7,739,892
83,232
7,823,124
(2,404,567)
-
(2,404,567)
17,595,028
83,232
17,678,260

62

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

17 Operating lease commitments

Future minimum lease repayments under non-cancellable operating leases for the following periods are:

Group

roup
Within 1 year
After 1 year and less
than 5 years
After 5 years
Total operating lease
commitments		 Property
Other
Helicopters
Total
2023
Total
2022
£
£
£
£
£
360,417
-
3,578,201
3,938,617
3,294,775
244,231
-
16,269,208
16,513,439
13,892,561
-
-
11,066,857
11,066,857
11,149,692
604,647
-
30,914,266
31,518,913
28,337,028

18 Related party transactions

The Trustee directors of the Charity are also directors of the trading subsidiaries: North West Air Ambulance Promotions Limited and Friends of the North West Air Ambulance Lottery CIC. The transactions with these entities are consolidated with the results of the Charity and as such do not require separate disclosure.

There are no other related party transactions that need to be disclosed in the financial statements.

19 Financial Instruments

Financial Instruments
Group
Financial assets measured at amortised cost
Financial assets measured at fair value
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost		 2023
£
7,974,377
10,904,901		 2023
£
7,974,377		 2022
£
7,412,342
10,925,089		 2022
£
7,412,342
1,614,143 2,314,689

Financial assets at amortised cost consist of cash, trade debtors and other debtors

Financial assets held at fair value include assets held as investments

Financial liabilities at amortised cost consist of trade creditors and other creditors

63

NORTH WEST AIR AMBULANCE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

20. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES – Comparative figures by fund type

type
Notes
Income from:
Donations and legacies
4
Other trading activities
5
Investments
3
Total
Expenditure on:
Raising funds:
Commercial trading operations
Other fundraising costs
6
Charitable activities
Cost of operation of the North
West Air Ambulance
6
Total
6
Net Income
Other recognised gains
(Losses)/gains on investments
12
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
15		 Restricted
funds total
Year ended
31 March
2022
Unrestricted
funds total
Year ended
31 March
2022
Funds total
Year ended
31 March
2022
£
£
£
70,912
3,991,247
4,062,158
-
7,174,442
7,714,442
- 2,548
2,548
70,912
11,168,237
11,239,148
-
2,763,234
2,763,234
-
1,967,574
1,967,574
-
4,730,804
4,730,804
158,389
6,717,264
6,875,653
158,389
11,448,068
11,606,457
(84,477)
(279,832)
(367,309)
-
17,679
17,679
(87,477)
(262,153)
(349,630)
170,709
17,857,181
18,027,890
83,232
17,595,028
17,678,260

64