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2021-03-31-accounts

THE READING AGENCY

READ – THE READING AGENCY ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Charity Registration No. 1085443

Company Registration No. 3904882 (England and Wales)

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LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

CEO

Trustees

M Littleford, Chair

K Napier

A Durcan, Vice Chair

Finance, Commercial and Business Director

T Moody-Stuart

A Langley D O’Gara

D Giwa

P Cocozza S Hariff-Khan

Creative Director

D Hicks

S Hall

M Lentin

P Kelly

H Telfer

Charity number

1085443

Company number

3904882

Registered office

8 High Street Brentwood Essex CM14 4AB

Auditors

M J Bushell Ltd 8 High Street Brentwood Essex

CM14 4AB

Bankers

Lloyds Bank plc High Street Winchester SO23 9DA

Solicitors Bates, Wells and Braithwaite Cheapside House 138 Cheapside London EC2V 6BB

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CONTENTS

PAGE
Chair’s report 1
CEO’s report 2
Trustees’ report 3 - 16
Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities 17
Independent auditor’s report 18 - 20
Statement of fnancial activities 21
Balance sheet 22
Statement of cash fows 23
Notes to the accounts 24 - 37

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’ CHAIR S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Last year, I wrote my report in the most extraordinary circumstances - we were firmly in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic and the world was struggling to adapt to unforeseen challenges. This year, countries, communities, organisations and individuals are all still navigating the ongoing effects of the pandemic and slowly beginning to navigate a tentative road to recovery. At The Reading Agency, we are also adapting our work to assist the country in this mammoth task.

The past year threw a multitude of new challenges at us and continued to test our flexibility, adaptability and resilience. We worked with great partners who have helped us make a real difference, including Arts Council England, the 151 library authorities nationally and all our publisher partners.

We were also able to increase our reach exponentially with new funding streams and commercial sponsors. My thanks go to the fantastic Board of Trustees for all their time effort and pro-active support of the charity.

The Board and I have continued to be encouraged by the many ways The Reading Agency has responded to the pandemic with enthusiasm, positivity, adaptability and imagination. After swiftly launching the Summer Reading Challenge online platform, the charity has fully embraced the new digital landscape, adapting programmes and events throughout the year to accommodate the lack of in-person opportunities. In addition to our digital activity, we have gifted thousands of packs and books to families living with disadvantage and forged new strategic and commercial partnerships through gifting, sponsorship and funding. I would like to take this opportunity to thank The Reading Agency’s CEO Karen Napier who, along with Debbie Giwa (Finance, Commercial & Business Director) and Debbie Hicks (Creative Director), make a great leadership team driving the charity forward.

With thanks also to all The Reading Agency team for their hard work, talent and resilience which has ensured that despite the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of our programmes and services, we were still able to celebrate some outstanding achievements in 2020/21. We have increased our reach in the past year to over 1.9 million, up 100,000 from the previous year, where we reported a reach of £1.8m across the UK.

Following World Book Night and the Summer Reading Challenge’s pivot to digital in 2020, Reading Ahead launched a new digital platform, and Reading Partners enjoyed enormous success with its Winter Webinar series, reaching over 100,000 people across social media. The 15th anniversary

of World Book Night was also marked with two brilliant celebratory events – including one hosted from The British Library – which attracted thousands of viewers.

We know that at a time where mental health and wellbeing have been challenged and social connectivity disrupted, the proven power of reading is more important than ever. Our DCMS-funded campaign, Read, Talk, Share, placed the nation’s COVID-19 recovery at the centre of our work and shone a light on the importance of reading to support mental health and wellbeing – helping to expand our Reading Friends and Reading Well programmes across the country, with the help of libraries, publishers and ambassadors.

We are looking forward to a year of growth, renewed opportunities and a chance to further nurture the new partnerships we have developed. If the last year has shown anything, it is that our work is more vital than ever, and with the help of our partners and dedicated staff, we remain committed to placing the proven power of reading at the centre of the nation’s post-pandemic recovery.

As libraries begin to reopen and communities begin to reconnect, we remain focused on our mission to be stronger and more tangible than ever nationally. We endeavour in everything we do to create a world where no one is left behind, where everyone can read, enjoys reading and can use it to realise their ambitions for themselves, their families, friends and their communities.

M Littleford, Chair Dated: .............................................7[th] October 2021

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Like many charities, The Reading Agency has faced a multitude of challenges this year. The pandemic forced us to rethink our approaches and strategies for each programme, while throwing into even sharper relief just how vital the proven power of reading can be in times of difficulty. In the last year, we have seen just how much people turn to reading in challenging times - and it has further strengthened our resolve to continue working tirelessly towards a world where everyone is reading their way to a better life.

From launching new digital platforms, to pivoting to virtual events, I am immensely proud of and thankful to our team, for demonstrating such positivity, commitment and adaptability throughout the year. Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, we managed to increase our reach in the past year and share the proven power of reading with over 1.9 million people. We were hugely fortunate to receive an unprecedented

level of funding from DCMS allowing us to expand our Reading Friends and Reading Well programmes across the country – at a time when tackling social isolation and loneliness and supporting mental health had never been more important. In addition, we also benefited from Arts Council England’s Emergency Funds and COVID-19 Recovery Funding, allowing us to maintain core functions as well as adapt our programmes to suit the new climate.

As we look forward to next year and take tentative steps into a post-pandemic recovery, we are even more committed to our values and mission of tackling life’s big challenges, spreading the joy and benefits of reading to as many people as possible and to those who need it most. We are looking forward to collaborating with our fantastic partners, working alongside the libraries as they reopen and expanding our reach even further.

Karen Napier, Chief Executive

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report and the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)”.

Objectives and Activities

Our vision is for a world where everyone is reading their way to a better life. Our mission is tackling life’s big challenges through the proven power of reading. We do this by:

Impact of COVID-19

Like all organisations, The Reading Agency was affected by the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic has impacted our work in many ways and you’ll see these referenced throughout the report.

A difficult start to the year compelled us to redouble our commitment to our mission and to diversify our delivery models and funding. The closure or isolation requirements of many of our trusted delivery partners including schools, libraries, prisons, hospitals, surgeries and community centres, hugely affected the delivery of our well-established programmes and greatly impacted our finances. The charity lost a third of its unrestricted income that typically comes from commercial sales of programmes including the Summer Reading Challenge and Reading Ahead, incurring huge losses on the same from irrecoverable spend. 60% of staff were placed on furlough in the past year, including four permanent members of staff who were later made redundant.

We were able to pivot quickly to remote working and, in direct response, we quickly developed and extended the digital offer across all programmes, providing a hybrid of digital and print resources for users to engage with. Successful fundraising campaigns, establishing new partnerships, have led to a transformation of the organisation and its activities. This included raising £3.5m from Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to roll out two of our programmes Reading Friends and Reading Well.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

HIGHLIGHTS OF PERFORMANCE

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’ ’ TRUSTEES REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

OUR IMPACT IN 2020/2021

NATIONAL READING PROGRAMMES

Life Skills and Learning

In 2020-21 we continued to work with an ever-expanding range of delivery partners despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, whilst maintaining our core partnership with public libraries, to build the impact and reach of our national reading programmes. We have exceeded our target reach with 1.9 million people of all ages and across the whole of the UK engaging in our work this year. Our robust approach to evaluation has proven the difference this engagement has made to their skills, confidence and wellbeing and social connectivity.

Children:

Summer Reading Challenge: In 2020, The Reading Agency’s mission of tacking life’s big challenges through the proven power of reading motivated us to ensure as many children and families as possible had access to the Summer Reading Challenge. By developing a digital Challenge platform in six weeks and working with libraries, publishers and other - partners to deliver physical Challenge packs, the Silly Squad themed Challenge was available to support children to continue reading for pleasure over the summer.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

SILLY SQUAD

"I love doing it every year and this year it helped me feel like I was doing something with other people." – 8-9-year-old participant whose family was shielding due to Covid-19 "It was a huge positive that the Summer Reading Challenge went ahead this year and was able to manoeuvre so quickly to change into a digital offer." – Partner "I enjoy it as it brings us closer as a family, whilst strengthening my child's reading skills." – Parent/carer of 6-7year-old boy

Over 48,000 children taking part in the Challenge in person through their local library.

Nearly 79,000 children taking part via the digital Challenge platform.

313,500 packs gifted to families in need via Arts Council Bridge organisations, schools, hospitals, food banks, prisons and community groups.

An additional 86,937 packs distributed by public libraries within their local communities.

In our family survey, parents/carers told us about the impact that Silly Squad participation had on their family: 100% said their child maintained or increased their enjoyment of reading.

99% said their child maintained or increased their reading confidence.

58% said that taking part helped their family cope better during lockdown and social distancing.

We and our partners ensured all children could access the Challenge so that no one was left behind.

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’ ’ TRUSTEES REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Teachers’ Reading Challenge: We launched a new

programme delivered in partnership with Open University that offers the opportunity for school and library staff to expand their knowledge of children’s books and develop their understanding of reading for pleasure pedagogy. The Challenge invites participants to join a supportive and inspired community of educators and readers, set their own reading goal, share reviews, access resources and submit an example of practice. Over 2,400 teachers took part in this inaugural year.

Winter Mini Challenge: We partnered with diverse publisher Knights Of with the theme Everyone is a Hero. This was a great success, doubling the reach with 7.7k engagements compared to 3.3k the previous year. We also featured A Night with Knights of as part of our Winter Webinar Series. The publishing team was joined by a panel of its authors - Sharna Jackson, Elle McNicholl and Gabrielle Kent - and the illustrator Kay Wilson. The event attracted an audience of 300 and resulted in lots of audience discussion with the panel, as well as initiating a wider conversation around the children’s book industry.

Reading Sparks: Our reading and science programme that is funded by ACE is now underway following delays as a direct result of the pandemic. The programme has pivoted delivery to a new model which is both adapted to the operating conditions of COVID-19 and seeks to mitigate the worst impacts of this pandemic on families, children and young

people experiencing disadvantage. So far, we have distributed 330 reading and science bags to 10 library services serving some of the most deprived communities in the UK (according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation) and these are being loaned to families via a range of partners including Early Help and other social work teams, schools and in targeted libraries in communities. The project is taking place across 11 English library sites with a first phase of work focused on the creation with NUSTEM of two themed reading and science book bags for children aged 8-11 for loan in each authority. We are grateful to DK publishers for the donation of titles to support this initiative. A youth engagement training programme is also under development with a focus on the development of youth-led content for this year’s Summer Reading Challenge. We have strong partnerships with the British Science Association, STEM Learning, NUSTEM, DK Publishing and the Natural History Museum as well as attracting the interest of a wide range of publishers via our Publisher Partner scheme. Science and Technology Funding Council (STFC) has committed to providing annual funding of £50,000 per annum for the next three years.

Get Islington Reading: Our Get Islington Reading programme, funded by the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington (Mercer’s) and delivered in partnership with National Literacy Trust, is also now underway with a shift in community research and development work into schools. The programme seeks to support reading engagement in transition-aged children. Underway is the delivery of three interest-themed monthly

book bags to year 5 children and families in the 10 Islington hub primaries. The first wave of 500 boxes was distributed in March with further distribution in the summer. The bags contain a book gift for the child as well as one for the parent/carer and activities to do together. The three themes being tested include crafts as a way into science, wellbeing and sport. The hub schools will also feature in the Summer Reading Challenge integrated pilot and will receive Reading Well collections. Work is also underway on a new digital reading activities Challenge model for the target age group.

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Adults:

Reading Ahead: COVID-19 restrictions presented a significant challenge for delivery of the Reading Ahead programme as public library buildings, colleges and prison libraries all closed for extended periods of time. This impacted the priorities of our delivery organisations and their ability to be in touch with participants.

18,710 people took part in the programme between September 2019 and November 2020. In February 2021, the Reading Ahead programme relaunched with a new design and a digital platform to support organisations to deliver the programme during lockdown restrictions. Although delivery still faces limitations, the adaptions have allowed many organisations to return to the programme. The new programme has 118 organisations currently taking part with 54 organisations using the new website and 496 participants taking part digitally. Engagement is predicted to rise from September. The impact of the programme has continued in line with previous years, with individual participants reading more frequently, enjoying reading more, feeling more confident and reporting an increase in social connections.

Reading Ahead Champions: a peer-to-peer extension project, that began as a pilot in 2019 in six Staffordshire prisons has been completed and evaluated. It was found to have a positive impact on prisoners taking part through increasing their

agency and opportunities to develop further skills. We are planning to offer the programme to more prisons from September.

A Family Reading Challenge pilot for prisons is being developed and will combine elements of the Summer Reading Challenge to further extend the impact of Reading Ahead this Summer.

Quick Reads: In 2020-21, Quick Reads reached over 372,695 readers. This included 208,251 library issues, 155,234 copies sold and 9,210 books donated. The full evaluation was published in June 2021. As a result of impacts on the publishing sector due to COVID-19 the decision was taken to delay the publication of the 2021 titles from February to May. Six new titles for 2021 have been commissioned. Significant development has taken place to grow the reach and impact of the programme. This has included a marketing, PR and advertising campaign that will extend from May to September. We have worked with an external agency to secure new retail space in supermarkets, developed The Reading Agency’s ability to offer ‘special sales’ to the adult literacy sector and have begun a partnership with SnakAppeal, an organisation which can sell the books in community spaces. Significantly, we have secured a commitment from the publishers for a gifting model that will see sales matched with donated copies of the books.

Health and Wellbeing

In December 2020, the Government announced a £7.5 million funding package to help tackle loneliness over the winter period. The funding package was designed to help provide immediate and targeted relief to those most at risk, targeted at sectors known for their power to bring people and communities together. Of the £5 million awarded to Arts Council England for arts and library services, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) awarded The Reading Agency £3.5m to work with public libraries across England to engage with and address this societal challenge. DCMS support expanded and enhanced two of The Reading Agency’s successful programmes - Reading Well Books on Prescription and Reading Friends .

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The funds were used to mount the Read, Talk, Share campaign, which provided Reading Well mental health book collections for children, young people and adults to all public libraries in England, as well as significantly expanding the delivery of Reading Friends – a social reading model using reading to bring people together and tackle loneliness – through libraries across England.

The Reading Agency established a new campaign - Read, Talk, Share - an initiative to combat loneliness and promote wellbeing through the proven power of reading during the winter and early spring of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reading Well: The Reading Agency worked closely with every library service across England to provide access to the carefully designed Reading Well reading lists: Reading Well for mental health; Reading Well for young people; and Reading Well for children. Topics covered in the booklists include: coping with grief, anxiety, depression and stress, understanding bullies, body dysmorphia, ADHD, autism and OCD and more - with tips and strategies from psychological therapies including mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy. Books from each list were made available for physical borrowing and e-lending from library authorities across England.

Following the announcement of national lockdown and the stay-at-home order in January of this year, The Reading Agency worked with library authorities and a book distribution working group to prioritise delivery of Reading

Well physical book collections to library sites that were able to receive them and get them into the local community at pace.

The three mental health collections for children, young people and adults were dispatched to all public and community branch libraries in England. In total, 311,783 books were donated to 2,975 public and community-managed libraries across 150 authorities. This included 295,200 print books and 16,583 e-book and audiobook copies. In addition, 24 book titles were donated to libraries by Hachette for free digital simultaneous access for three months from March through to June 2021 with a further extension agreed until mid-September 2021.

As library buildings were closed to public access, restricting physical lending, and as there had also been restrictions on the distribution of physical collections, The Reading Agency decided to invest additional resources in expanding the availability of Reading Well collections through the library e-lending service, providing a fund for each authority to purchase digital titles.

Reading Well activity in Wales: We held a virtual launch of Reading Well for children in Wales and discussions are now underway with the Welsh Government for follow-on funding support for additional lists. Following interest in the programme in England by the Granta Trust, a bid has been requested for a new Reading Well list for consideration. Work is also well underway with Health Education England to create a Mood Boosting Books list for health sector staff and

key workers and a Reading Well list for Health Libraries. We also ran a children’s mental health webinar featuring a panel of health and education professionals and attracted a strong audience, giving rise to a children’s health offer action plan to support future development.

Reading Friends: Reading Friends brings people together, using reading to start conversations and connect people who are vulnerable, isolated and at risk of loneliness. It offers a framework to share stories, meet new friends and have fun, as a result building social capital and tackling social isolation. The programme is delivered by volunteers in groups and oneto-one sessions using socially distanced and telephone/video call befriending models during the pandemic. Reading Friends is co-produced with participants to ensure it is authentic, meets needs and matches personal interests. The DCMS funding in the second half of the year allowed The Reading Agency to rapidly expand Reading Friends in England using distance befriending models tested during earlier lockdowns. The original target for the rollout was 75 authorities. Grants of up to £10,000 and training resources were made available to 102 library authorities to deliver Reading Friends to diverse audiences, such as new and expectant parents, young carers and those living with dementia.

National Lottery Community Fund which supported the initial development and piloting of Reading Friends came to an end in the year. A full evaluation of the programme is underway and is due to be published later in the summer.

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Connected Communities

World Book Night: The annual celebration of books and reading for adults took place one month into the first nationwide lockdown, seeing activity pivoting swiftly to convert into a digital-only campaign. Press activity focused on the changing reading habits of the public due to lockdown, receiving 300+ pieces of coverage including key spots on the BBC, Sky News, The Guardian and more. Over 14 million people were reached on social media and the #ReadingHour was launched to huge success, encouraging people to dedicate an hour of their evening to reading. World Book Night captured the attention of the public during a difficult time, engaging not only adults but also families.

“Learners enjoyed the chance to share their books and their reading experiences despite being in lockdown. Many of our learners are very vulnerable and they are finding this so hard, so any way we can reach out to them as a service is really helpful.”

Youth, Family and Community Learning Service – South Lanarkshire Council

“I have always loved books, in our current virtual world it was comforting to think that for that hour other people were immersed in another world too.” Female, 55-64

In the second half of 2020, The Reading Agency secured a partnership with Specsavers as the lead sponsor for the 10th anniversary of World Book Night in 2021. A booklist was curated on the theme ‘Books to Make You Smile’ including a special commission of short stories ‘Stories to Make You Smile’ and a total of 100,000 books were arranged to be distributed on and around 23 April 2021. A celebratory event was hosted by Sandi Toksvig at the British Library.

49,580 books across 26 titles were donated by publishers through organisations to people who don’t regularly read for pleasure or have access to books. Due to COVID-19, the vast majority of the giveaways were postponed until later in the year, using Libraries Week in October as a hook to engage people with their local library services.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Reading Together Day: (16 July 2020) was a new initiative proposed by the Department for Education, coordinated by The Reading Agency and supported by work from 18 organisations across the publishing, reading, literacy, culture and education sectors. The day aimed to bring together families, friends, schools and wider communities to inspire children of all ages to read and for families to connect with loved ones to build a shared love of reading. The day also aimed to combat the dip in children’s reading and literacy levels because of the disruption to education caused by COVID-19, over and above the existing trend for these skills to dip over the summer.

Collaborating organisations contributed activities for children of all ages, from Early Years to Key Stage 3, including an online story time, book launches and downloadable resources. There were also events targeted at families and educators including an expert panel with advice for parents/ carers. Social media activity was coordinated between the organisations using #ReadingTogether, reaching over 1.6 million people: press activity with ambassadors included Ade Adepitan, Cressida Cowell, Bobby Seagull and Jacqueline Wilson and reached over 1.7 million.

Reading Together Day was successful in bringing organisations together on a short timescale with unified messaging to promote and encourage children’s reading for pleasure. A #SummerofReading is planned for 2021.

The Costa Coffee Gift-A-Book Campaign: The Reading Agency partnered with Costa Coffee to give out 100,000 books to those hit hardest by the pandemic ahead of Christmas. Overall, 50,000 book-and-coffee care packages - containing one adult book, one children’s title and a range of festive treats - were distributed to food banks, community hubs, hospitals and care homes across the UK in time for Christmas Eve. The Campaign launched on 11 December 2020 and ran until 8 January 2021. As well as the fantastic qualitative feedback we received, the social media aspects of the campaign garnered a total reach of over 718,000 across our media platforms. This included reach figures of 93,617 on Facebook, 573,382 on Instagram and 51,226 impressions on Twitter. We are in discussions with Costa regarding their 2021 strategy and future opportunities to collaborate.

Reading Partners: We have used this year to strengthen our digital offer and develop our subscription model, refreshing our Reading Partners brand to ensure we continue to build this area of our work and reach its income potential. Our model will include an enhanced subscription offer for publishers and other partners together with more standardised pricing. We have created a business development strategy that supports our mission to work with more publishers and other author-focused organisations (film companies, publicists, freelancers, etc) in 2021/22. We have continued to strengthen our partnership-based approach and expand the reach of our campaigns with 40 publishers. Successful campaigns this year include a special book club

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

pack for the Thursday Murder Club and a Peppa Pig Loves Reading digital activity pack. We are proud to have run campaigns reaching all age groups and to have promoted these opportunities through our other programmes. Approximately 49,288 people took part in Reading Partner activities this year with 5,490 books being given out.

“The Reading Partners subscription has been very valuable in amplifying the reach of Dinosaur Books Ltd on social media: it has got our books noticed by a far wider range of customers than would otherwise have been the case, particularly the librarians and teachers that we are keen to reach.”

Dinosaur Books

Reading Partners has an ever-growing digital presence. Our Winter Webinar series reached over 100,000 people on social media. Our Reading Partners Roadshow also went virtual in 2020. In total, 972 attendees viewed the session with 46 authors and publishers presenting. This was an increase of 360% in publisher participation and audience attendance was up by almost 2,000%.

“I thought the whole event was so considered, honestly one of the best online events I’ve attended.”

Organisational Development

We are committed to making positive change in society as we deepen and widen our measurable impact across all ages and across the country. This is particularly important to us in areas of greatest need. We are bold and ambitious as we deepen and extend the commitment to our mission of tackling life’s big challenges through the proven power of reading.

Future Plans

Delivering our vision and mission, especially when factoring in the impact of COVID-19 requires a very different way of working, as well as new partnerships and skills. The 2021 - 22 plan looks to enhance an agile set of programmes and a workforce that continues to respond to national challenges through the proven power of reading. Our plan builds on the alacrity we have demonstrated over the previous 12 months and seeks to futureproof our programmes so that they continue to remain relevant, extending our reach, inclusivity and impact. It is this focus that builds on the charity’s demonstrable history and enables us to deliver on our mission of tackling life’s big challenges, that inspires and underpins the positive impact we are committed to making nationally.

The key ambitions of the 2021 – 22 plan are:

Event attendee

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

As a charity, we do not underestimate the challenges that we will face in the coming year but our vision and mission continue to shape all that we do as part of the pandemic recovery and inform our approach and outlook of building back better which underpins our Business Plan.

Risk Review

The key risks we have identified in developing and delivering our future plans are as follows:

Achievements and performance

Financial review and strategy

Income for the year was £6,497,434 (2020: £3,414,263). Of this income, £225,486 (4%) was generated through the creation and sale of materials designed to promote reading (2020: 29%), £3.5m (54%) was funding awarded by DCMS, £131,461 (2%) was received via the Government’s Job Retention Scheme and a further £2.2m (33%) came from grants and donations from other organisations (2020: 64%). The balance of £482,459 (7%) (2020:7%) was generated from other partnerships and fees.

The Reading Agency was designated as a National Portfolio Organisation for the period 2012/13 to 2017/18 (This status has been confirmed for the period 2018/19 to 2021/22 and again extended by a further year to 22/23 as a result of the pandemic) by Arts Council England, which contributed £1,026,391 towards core funds (2020: £475,394). This figure comprises revenue grant of £484,141 (including income previously granted from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council now consolidated into the Arts Council England grant) and, for this year only, £92,250 from the COVID-19 Emergency Fund and £450,000 from the Culture Recovery Fund. Total expenditure amounted to £6,171,132 (2020: £2,890,806). Net incoming resources were £326,302 (2020: £523,457).

The Reading Agency business plan covering the period 2018-19 to 2021-22 (which incorporates the agreed National Portfolio Organisation submission to Arts Council England), outlines the charity’s plans to maintain existing and develop new programmes for promoting reading, literacy and engagement, under the umbrella of the “Reading Journey” which has been developed as a way of providing clarity around what we are trying to achieve. It describes the way in which everything we do is designed to support and keep people reading at all stages of their lives – it is the route through which we will achieve our vision.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Reserves Policy

It is the charity’s policy to maintain unrestricted funds, at a sufficient level to maintain a positive cash balance at all times and to ensure the prudent day-to-day financial management of the charity.

At 31 March 2021 total reserves amounted to £1,730,916 (2020: £1,404,614) of which unrestricted reserves amounted to £1,069,013 (2020: £766,761). The trustees have reviewed the reserves position and consider that adequate resources continue to be available to fund the activities of the charity for the foreseeable future. The trustees are of the view that the organisation is a going concern.

Unrestricted reserves at the end of the year stand at £1.07m. Our stated policy is to maintain reserves to cover 3 to 6 months working capital. This constitutes around £600k of unrestricted reserves. The remaining £407k portion of reserves is expected to be fully spent in 2021/22. Funds will be used to underpin our COVID-19 recovery, particularly the re-modelling of our core programmes that were largely impacted by a significant reduction in income as a direct consequence of the pandemic. Investment will ensure that these critical and much-needed programmes continue to be viable in a post-COVID-19 climate and support our delivery of our overall vision.

Structure, governance and management

Trustees

The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were:

Governing Document

Read - The Reading Agency is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association of Well Worth Reading incorporated on 11 January 2000. In July 2002 Well Worth Reading merged with Launchpad and the Reading Partnership, forming The Reading Agency for Libraries Limited. In November 2007 the organisation changed its name to Read – The Reading Agency Limited.

M Littleford, Chair S Hall A Durcan, Vice Chair M Lentin T Moody-Stuart P Moyes (resigned 12 June 2020) A Langley J Fildes (resigned 28 March 2021) D O’Gara P Kelly P Cocozza H Telfer S Hariff-Khan

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Trustee Recruitment, Election, Induction and Training

The Board of Trustees appoints new trustees from time to time, to fill a vacancy or as an addition to the existing trustees.

In accordance with the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, a new trustee may be appointed by nomination from any of the existing trustees. The nomination must take place, and be seconded, at a Board meeting (other than the Annual General Meeting).

At every Annual General Meeting, the longest serving third of the trustees retire from office. Trustees retiring in this manner are eligible for re-election.

A key priority of governance is to ensure the diversity of thought, experience, background, class, race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion and disability as part of TRA Board. An annual review is led by the Vice Chair.

Potential trustees are invited to attend a Board meeting to assess whether they would like to join the Board. They are provided with a Board induction pack containing legal, financial and structural policy and planning information, and they meet with the Senior Management Team before their first Board meeting to discuss the information in the pack and clarify any questions about trusteeship and the organisation. If the trustee has a special role, then they may also meet with the relevant specialist employee to discuss this area.

Organisational Structure

The Board of Trustees, of which there should be a minimum of at least six members, agrees the strategic direction of the charity, measures success against agreed objectives and oversees the administration of the charity. The Board meets quarterly and an observer from Arts Council England has a standing invitation to attend these Board meetings.

From within the Board of Trustees, members have been selected to form a Finance SubCommittee (FSC). It is responsible for providing the Board with an independent and objective review of The Reading Agency’s financial affairs. It serves to provide assurance of effective systems being in place for governance, regulatory and legislative compliance, risk management and internal control, supporting the achievement of The Reading Agency strategic objectives. FSC meets quarterly.

The day-to-day running and forward planning of the organisation is the responsibility of the Senior Management Team. To ensure the organisation meets its charitable remit, the Senior Management Team reports to the Board regularly on finance, employment, risk management and strategic development.

Members of the charitable company guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charitable company in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees as at 31 March 2021 was eleven.

Risk Management

The Board recognises the importance of risk management and the current most significant risk being financial, associated with fundraising and the impact on our partners of local government spending cuts. To mitigate this risk the board have made income diversification and fundraising a key priority.

The charity has a developed risk management strategy. This strategy comprises:

and agreed by the board; and

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Public Benefit

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 17(5) of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit: “Charities and Public Benefit”.

Our charitable purpose dictates all that The Reading Agency does.

The purpose and aims of The Reading Agency are for the greater public good; i.e. the charity produces creative reading and writing experiences for many public audiences and works with delivery partners to drive up participation in reading and literature. The charity further supports reader development for the public through helping national and community organisations develop their skills and benefit from increased partnership working.

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STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

The Trustees, who are also the directors of Read - The Reading Agency for the purpose

of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the accounts in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Auditor

The auditor, M J Bushell Ltd, is deemed to be reappointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.

Disclosure of information to auditor

Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

Each of the Trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information.

In preparing these accounts, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the vsmall companies exemption.

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

...................................... M Littleford, Chair

October 2021 Dated: ..........................................7[th]

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’ - INDEPENDENT AUDITOR S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF READ THE READING AGENCY

Opinion

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

We have audited the financial statements of Read - The Reading Agency (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of 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:

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.

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 charity 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.

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 charity’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.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE TRUSTEES OF READ - THE READING AGENCY

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. 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 course of 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

We have nothing to report in this regard.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE TRUSTEES OF READ- THE READING AGENCY Matters onwhichwe are requlredtor¢port byexception of the choriryforthepurpose ofcomponylaw, ore rwon5ible forthepreporotionofthe finonciol statementsond for being satL5fiedthottheygiveatrueandfoirview. andforsuchin¢ernai control as theTrustees determineisnecessorytoenuble the preparation of finoncialsrarements that ore free frommaterlal rni$statement,whetherdue tofraudorerror.ln prep2ring the financlol statements, theTrusteesareresponsibleforosse55ing thechoritys obility to continueasagoing toncern.distlosin9,aS applieable,matters related togoing contern at￿ using thegoing coneen) basisofo¢¢ountit)g unie$$theTrusteeseitherintend to liquidats thechoritablecompanyor toceaseoperationsorhave noreolisticalternativebuttodo so. misstotsments inrespectof trreguiarltte&ineludin9frau The￿enttoWhlch0UrProteduTes1Jre mwbleof detecting lrreguknritie4inciuding frnud,isdetoi]ed below. Inthellght oftheknowledgeondunder5tanding of thecharity artditsertvfironmentobtatned In the courseofthe oudlt.wehove notldentlfiedrnaterialmis5tatement$irtthedlrectorg report Sncludedw5th1ntheTrusiees' report. Ahutherdesrriptionof 0urre5ponsibi1tt￿ISOyOilQb1eOnthe nancÉol Reportln9 Q)tJttcribwebsiteaL.http5.'l/www.frcorg. Wouditor5responsibilitie$.ThisdesCriptionfort￿sptsrtof our audito￿$rep0rt. Wehave nothts)gtoreport in respÉctof thefoUowiDg motrersin re1at5pntowh5chrhecgmponies￿l20O6reqULreSll5to report toyou If. in ouropinion.. ilse of oui'i'eport Thisreportismode solelytothe chorltoble tampony'srnember5. as a body. in accordance with Chapter 3 of Port 16 of the CompanEesAct2￿j6.0ut0lldftwOr￿h0SbeeD undertoken 50 thatwemÈ9htstoteto thechoritablecompoDy'smembetBthose ]nttttetswe orÈrequiredtQ 5tatetothem inan auditor5'report ¢Thdfornootherpurpose.Tothe h￿eS¢eXtentperrnittedbY1Uw. w£do nottscceptoras5wneresponsibiiityto onyoneotherthon thechoritablecompanyondthe clwitoble componysmembers asobody, lor ourauditworKforthisreport,or for theopinions wehave fonne odequateattountingreeordshtwertotbeen kept. orreturns adequateforouraud5thave no¢been recelved frombranches notvlsltedbyus',or thefinanclalstatementsarenot ino9reemen¢vJith the occountingrecords and return5.' or • eertalndisck)suresof ¢rustee$'remuneration specifiedby loworenotrnode: or wehovenotreceived ollthe informotion ondexplana(ions werequlre forouraudit,. or theTrusoeswere not entltledtopreparethe financial statementsirtaeeordaneewiththe smrLllcomponiesregime andtake advaniageof thesmallcomponies, exempuonsin prep(wlng theTru$tees' repJrt and fromtherequirement topreporea gtrategicreport. AudiwL'S igsp0l￿ibl1itieS fortlieaudlt of the finan¢Aalstatements Ourobjettivesoreto obtoinreasonable ttssuron¢eobout whetherthefinanci015totementsasawhok orefreefrom materLalTllis5tatement.whether due tofraud orerror,andto issuean auditorfs reportthotindude50uropinioA Reosonable a5suronce is ahi¢Jhlevelofa5suronce butisnotaguarantee that onoudfittondurtedlnaccordoncewlthISAs IUKI wlllolways detectamateriol misstatementwhen it e3usts.Misststements caTJ arisefromfraudorerrorondore¢on*deredmo¢eriai if,individuolly orinthe 099regOte,thÈycouidreasonoblybe expecredto infiuencethe eCo[￿MiC decisions of user5tokenon thebasi5 of thesefinancia15totement& lonWorwickACAFCCAISeniorStatutoryAudfitor) fOrt￿d011beb0jt ofMJBUSl￿llLtd Responsibi]itiesof Trustees A8explalnedmorefullylnthestatwnentofTrustee8' responslbllltles, theTrustees.whoarea150thedire¢tors statutoryAuditor 8High Street Brenmod EssexCM144AB Irregularities,including fraud.areinstancesof non-compltance wlthlows rÉgulation& Wedesignprncedures in]ine withourrespon5ibililies, outlinedobove,to detectmttterial READ - The Reading Agency 20

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

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BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 MARCH 2021

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |These financial statements have been prepared in accordance| |with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the| |small companies’ regime.| |The accounts were approved by| |the Trustees and authorised for issue on| |............................................. 7|[th]|October 2021| |and are signed on their behalf by:| |. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| |M Littleford, Chair| |TRUSTEE| |Company Registration No. 3904882|

----- End of picture text -----

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STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

1 Accounting policies

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Company information

Read - The Reading Agency is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 8 High Street, Brentwood, Essex CM14 4AB.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)”. The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

1.4 Incoming resources

Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received. Where the income relates to charitable trading activities, it is shown net of VAT.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

The financial statements have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations but which has since been withdrawn.

The accounts are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these accounts are rounded to the nearest £.

Income from government and other grants is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

1.5 Resources expended

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure excludes attributable VAT where it is recovered.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

Where VAT on programme costs is irrecoverable, it is included in the programme costs. Where VAT on support costs is irrecoverable it is included within support costs.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the accounts, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Expenditure is allocated to particular activities where the cost relates directly to that activity. Support costs comprise costs relating to the overall direction and administration on each activity, including salary, and overhead and governance costs of the central function. Support costs are apportioned to activities on the basis of usage.

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Computer and office equipment 33% straight line

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

1.7 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks and other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.

1.8 Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

1.9 Employee benefits

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

1.10 Retirement benefits

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

1.11 Leases

Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged as an expense on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease.

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated 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 ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

3 Donations and legacies

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

4 Charitable Activities

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

4 Charitable Activities

(continued)

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

5 Investments

8 Charitable Activities

6 Other Income

7 Raising Funds

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

9 Support Costs

10 Net Income 11 Trustees

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

12 Auditors’ Remuneration

Fees payable to the company’s auditor for the audit of the company’s annual accounts

13 Employees

The number of employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more were:

Contributions totalling £11,688 (2020: £7,446) were made to defined contribution pension schemes on behalf of employees whose emoluments exceed £60,000.

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

14 Tangible Fixed Assets

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15 Debtors

16 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

17 Deferred Income

18 Retirement Benefit Schemes

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

19 Restricted Funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

19 Restricted funds (continued)

Arts Council England: Investment Funds (SRC Impact Review)

ACE originally awarded this grant to allow us to commission an external evaluation to explore the impact of participation in the SRC on children’s reading skills, attitudes and engagement. Due to the pandemic, it was not possible to complete this work and we have now agreed to refocus the work around a new integrated local authority pilot.

The Beatrice Laing Trust: Reading Ahead in Women’s Prisons

This grant was to intended to contribute to our use of Reading Ahead with women in prison across the UK, enabling us to support prison library and education staff to deliver the programme effectively in this important part of the prison estate. Due to the pandemic, it has not been possible to carry out the work this year and so the grant will be used to further this programme in 2021.

The Bromley Trust: Reading Ahead in Prisons

Funding from the Bromley Trust contributes to our work using Reading Ahead with priority groups in prisons and young offender institutions across the UK where it helps to support skills development in preparation for release and employment and will allow us to carry out detailed evaluation of this work. After a hiatus in the work due to the pandemic, this work will be resumed in 2021.

Department of Culture, Media and Sport: Read, Talk, Share Campaign

DCMS funded the universal roll out In December 2020 DCMS awarded The Reading Agency 3.5 million to roll-out two programmes - Reading Friends and Reading Well - during the financial year 2020-2021.

Reading Friends: Most of the money allocated to Reading Friends has been spent on funding 102 library authorities to set up and deliver a Reading Friends project with additions made to communications and staffing, so that we could provide further resources and support to the new library authorities.

Reading Well: DCMS funded the universal roll out of Reading Well for Mental Health collections for adults, young people and children to every branch library in England. Each library branch site received a collection of books and the library authority received funding to add to their e-book and e-audiobook offer to support people remotely when library sites were closed.

The Gisela Graham Foundation: Reading Ahead in Prisons

This grant has contributed to our work using Reading Ahead with priority groups in prisons and young offender institutions across the UK.

Kusuma Trust: Summer Reading Challenge

Charity of Sir Richard Whittington: Get Islington Reading

The start of this programme has been delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Get Islington Reading will be delivered in partnership with the National Literacy Trust and will focus on an integrated schools/library campaign to build a reading community for children living in disadvantaged communities. It will inspire young people across the borough to develop and sustain a love of reading by connecting schools and public libraries through a suite of reading for pleasure opportunities underpinned by a powerful new campaign focusing on the critical transition between primary and secondary school.

Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru (Books Council of Wales): Support for production of Welsh language materials for SRC

This award of £10,000 was made in response to the unprededented challenges presented by COVID-19 in order to enable the online adaptation of the Summer Reading Challenge.

Libraries Connected: Reading Well

In 2020/21 Libraries Connected, with a grant from Arts Council England, funded The Reading Agency for the continued delivery of the Reading Well scheme and the management of the national strategic library health group. Through this leadership, The Reading Agency delivered a universal library strategy and infographic for social prescribing, updated staff training for Reading Well and a book collection to support children to stay safe, calm and connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of this funding will also be used to develop a national library bereavement strategy.

We received a grant of £9,904 from the Welsh Books Council as a contribution towards the cost of producing bilingual materials to enable the Summer Reading Challenge to run in Wales.

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

National Lottery Fund: Accelerating Ideas (Reading Friends)

Reading Friends was awarded £2.1 million in 2016 for the programme over four years. When COVID-19 struck, the programme adapted its model to telephone and virtual models and new projects came on board to test out these models during spring 2020. In summer 2020 the Lottery kindly agreed to a 6 months’ extension. The funding was due to be spent by September 2020, but an end date of 31 March 2021 was agreed to accommodate for the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. The remaining funding was largely spent on website development, evaluation for the COVID-19 phase and final reporting to the Lottery, resource creation, adaption of training materials, re-printing of incentives and translation.

Welsh Government: Reading Well in Wales

In 2020/21 Welsh Government funded The Reading Agency to continue the roll out of Reading Well to all Welsh public library authorities with the launch of the Reading Well for Children scheme. All Welsh library authorities are being provided with two collections of the booklist in English and Welsh which we have worked with Books Council of Wales to publish, together with supporting materials. Leaflets have also been provided to every health board in Wales. The scheme supports people to access an accredited reading list of helpful books to support their mental health and wellbeing, available free from local libraries.

World Book Night

Open University: Teachers’ Reading Challenge

The Reading Agency worked in partnership with the OU to create the Teachers’ Reading Challenge website for anybody who works with children in an educational environment who wishes to expand their repertoire of children’s books and develop their understanding of how to encourage reading for pleasure.

Pearson: Summer Reading Challenge

This award was made in support of the online adaptation of the Summer Reading Challenge.

Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC): Reading Sparks

This funding is a contribution to the Reading Sparks science engagement project which is testing new approaches to raise the participation in science by working collaboratively with young people in disadvantaged communities to explore how creative reading and librarybased activities can engage new audiences. Pilot library services, in 11 sites across England with low science capital and cultural engagement, are recruiting young people to programme science-related events and activities inspired by creative reading to engage children and families living in these areas.

Our publisher partners each provide 2,000 copies of a selected book for distribution to people who don’t regularly read. They also give a donation to support the running costs of World Book Night.

Jojo Moyes: Quick Reads

This is the second of three donations from Jojo Moyes to support the commissioning, editing and promotion of six Quick Reads books. Quick Reads provide a route into reading that prioritises great storytelling and adult-focused content while ensuring the books are written in an easy-toread style. Each year, The Reading Agency works with authors and publishers to produce six new titles, with the aim of introducing readers to new authors and genres, as well as to the benefits of reading. The titles are designed to be engaging, accessibly written and affordably priced.

Other donations

The Reading Agency would like to express its gratitude to the members of the public who supported our work through their generous personal donations.

Society of Chief Librarians (Wales): Support for production of Welsh language website for SRC SCL Cymru awarded this funding to the Reading Agency to support the development of a fully bilingual website for the Summer Reading Challenge 2020.

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

20 Analysis of net assets between funds

21 Operating lease commitments

22 Related party transactions

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

22 Related party transactions (continued)

Transactions with related parties

During the year the charity entered into the following transactions with related parties:

Subnum Hariff-Khan, a trustee of the charity, was also Library and Information Manager for Oldham Libraries and Culture Lead for Greater Manchester Libraries. During the year, Greater Manchester and Oldham Libraries purchased goods to the value of £14,019 (2020: £14,461) from the charity and received grant funding of £10,000 (2020: £nil) from the DCMS fund for Read, Talk, Share.

No other trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity during the year (2020: £nil).

No guarantees have been given or received.

24 Analysis of changes in net funds

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