2023-07-31-accounts

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Company number: 04247766 Charity number: 1088353

Multiple Sclerosis Trust and its subsidiary undertakings

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 July 2023

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Letter from the Chair ........................................................................................................... 1 Annual impact report ........................................................................................................... 3 Trustees’ annual report ....................................................................................................... 7 What the MS Trust achieved in 2022/23 .................................................................... 8 Plans for the future ................................................................................................... 11 Financial review ........................................................................................................ 16 Reference and administrative information ......................................................................... 21 Independent auditor’s report ............................................................................................. 23 Statement of financial activities (incorporating the income and expenditure account) ...... 27 Balance sheet ................................................................................................................... 28 Statement of cash flows ..................................................................................................... 29 Notes to the financial statements ...................................................................................... 30

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Letter from the Chair

For the year ended 31 July 2023

In 2023, the MS Trust celebrated its 30th birthday. A milestone like that is often the opportunity to reflect and take stock. I’m pleased to say that the last 12 months have been the strongest since the pandemic for the MS Trust, and that we can confidently say that we are making even more of a difference for people living with MS. Looking to the future, we are tireless in our commitment to helping people make sense of MS. We hope to continue to prove that we are big enough to make a difference, yet small enough to care.

Although our current situation is strong, we face a number of significant challenges, which we will meet with determination, ambition and focus.

Firstly, neurological waiting lists in the NHS are longer than ever before. We are doing everything we can to support overstretched MS services. This year, we have appointed two additional MS nurses and one additional MS Champion into the NHS. Going forward, we have made the decision to use some of our reserves to appoint five additional posts into MS services in areas of the greatest need – two new specialist MS nurses and three new Advanced MS Champions. This will be the highest number we have placed in one year so far. This will help ensure that more people living with MS get the care they need and will help save money in unnecessary hospital admissions and GP visits.

Secondly, the cost-of-living crisis continues to affect the charity sector. We don’t receive a penny from the Government or from the NHS. We are proud to say that our fundraising has been very strong, despite the economic challenges. The MS Trust is now back to prepandemic fundraising levels. This success is down to the generosity of our loyal supporters, and to the resilience, creativity and commitment of those who take on the challenge of fundraising on our behalf. We aim to thank you by ensuring that we continue to put the money raised to the best possible use for people living with MS.

We want to ensure that the charity’s trusted information resources are used by even more people living with MS. In autumn 2022, we relaunched our website as we know how important it is to continue to provide people affected by MS with credible, up-to-date information in an accessible way. We also want to ensure that the charity’s trusted information resources are used by even more people living with MS.

In the last 12 months, we have had over 2.6 million information interactions. We received just under 1.4m unique visits to our website. We continue to make ourselves available across a wide range of formats, from printed materials to social media, videos, podcasts and webinars.

The MS Trust continues to live by our values of being a trusted, caring expert. We are a charity focussed on continuous improvement that will always put people living with MS at the heart of everything it does. Our staff are a critical part of our success. We continue to attract and retain high quality staff, by focusing on organisational culture, by investing in training and development, and by embracing hybrid working to maximise work/life balance for staff.

Volunteers continue to play a vital role in the work of the MS Trust. From social media creation and pro-bono work on communication campaigns, to event and administrative

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Letter from the Chair

For the year ended 31 July 2023

support, our amazing team of over 320 volunteers enable a small charity to do even more for people living with MS. We are incredibly grateful for the expert skills they bring as well as their generosity of spirit and ongoing commitment.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to the success of the MS Trust this year. While the last few years have been particularly turbulent, the generosity and commitment of our supporters has been constant and unwavering. We hope they will continue to support us and enable us to deliver on our plans to do more than ever before for people with MS and those who care for them. Our staff, our volunteers, our donors and fundraisers are a formidable team, and with their ongoing support, I am excited about the future of the MS Trust and the next 30 years.

Caitlin Sorrell Chair of Trustees

Multiple Sclerosis Trust Annual Impact Report For Ihe year ended 31 July 2023 Annual Impact Report 22-23 Sex 4 145

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Multiple Sclerosis Trust Annual Impact Report For Ihe year ended 31 July 2023 Leading with Expertise. ro. & "frust In our 22-23 Financial year, we continued to make a diFFerence For people living with MS. Our inFormation services, health proFessional programmes. and education courses all put people living with MS at the heart of what we do, while supporting overstretched MS services across the NHS. your kelpliKe proviaea Me wilk reassmramce ad COMPrt at a time wkem My woyla Plt like it was Cyilmblimfj. oljvi•4 We believe the MS Trust is big enough to make a difFerence, and small enough to care. Allow us to share some OF the ways we have helped make sense tsFMS in 22-23. A huge Ihanks to our supporler5, Staff, volunleers, and donors, who have made all of this possible. Information Interactions lttcludin9 lnfornioti1 webpa9e view5. enquiries.publicotron orders. YouTube view4 thpodrost downloads 3.539 Publication orders 38,442 Total Items 4,372 Enquiries A stt799ering 8,210 items werÈsÈnt in Mttrth 2023- A result of ourhighly antrtipdted revttmp ofow Disease modifying drugs glde andourms Trust Conferet7ce. Over 95.kn of our enquiries were t7nswered withift one day of being sent to us. We a1$04wd•tedovr publict7tionson Sex, 1lltijl£YP tsndMS.'tt idefvrwomen. ond t7noging sposticttyon( sp¢75ms. Di5ea$¢ modifying drugs Respondents 1,433,- Website Visits To ovrLiAe cht7nging.'mentolheolth ondms survey Our mostpopulorpoges ortinue to be our Worried You HGve M5? MS Signs & symptoms. fjndourA-Zof MS, ensuring those ot ony stoge of theirms journey hove accessto relevant. fact-checked ioforniotioii. Wefound that 56% of respondentsreported thot MS had affected thetr mentolheolth rnoden7te£vorseverely. You view our otkey lidiys we65i+ei Ms+YuSt.oYfj.uk

Multiple Sclerosis Trust Annual Impact Report For Ihe year ended 31 July 2023 Vaaw Healthcare Professionals Port-funded by the MS Trust sspeciolist Nurse Prognimme andAdvoncedMS Champion Progr¢7mme Health ProFessionals programmes Fully relaunched this year. aFier pausing due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. And we made a Flying start, introducing MS Nurses Bola in Redbridge, Ble55ing in Plyrnouth, and an Advanced MS Champion. Rachel. in Tayside. Our were These roles already making big diFFerences to patient's lives. working to eslablish continuous care and impioved health outcornes. are ((tur¢dL->K} PatientDoreen with 8ola. Rachel. cndBlessing withpabent lan. 55 MS Nurses trained On ourDevelopment of MS Core ond MoJwgementforSperrulist5Module (Devmodj .1 Pel }¥llillea seeiy tke fjreat Impad 4 clithical ihterveK+io pyoviad +0 Reabriage patieKh witk MS• their improvea 1YAIi ol lip.. _ Bola etroined5tudetJts rom across the UK- from Inverness. LeEd4 G05porL Covnty Antri Newport. & fflonymor&l .O°A of delegates who gavefeedbacksaid the cours8 gove them dn improved knowledge of MS ttndthdt it would improve theirpro¢ti¢e. 17 saved per year On redvcedemergencyadmissions* perNHS sstefor each Advoncedms Champion 339 Conference Attendees Chompion Executi¥é' Summaryshowedth• impact the Champl¢ role con hovefor both potients with Advanced MS ondthe NHSsites they are estoblished in. Our onnu¢71MS Trust Conference 5haresftew leorftingsfrom MS hefjlthprofes5ionols. Over 95Yo of Survey respondent5 roted our conference ¢is good, ve good, orexcellent. Learb) OL4r lealtk Pr4e55iObwIs we6sile4 MStv¥st.orfj-wk

Multiple Sclerosis Trust Annual Impact Report For Ihe year ended 31 July 2023 Elghty-slx Runners across Two London Marathons OF course. we owe so rnuch to Ihe support and donations From the general public. corporations, and charitable trusts who share our vision in making Sense of MS, and so kindly donate their time and money to the MS Trust. Ourfofttortic runners helpetl roise É231,741 ocross the two London Marothons in our 22/23 Finonciol Year. fhonkyou to everyone wh• helped make it hoptrfpI Here are stsme highlighls - but this is only a glimpse. Thank you For every bike ride, cake sale, parachute j(Jrnp, and gift in memory OF a loved one - and every other way you have SLJpporled usb Your donations enable us Lo achieve 50 much For people with MS. ewb 1.128 Regular Donors 2,154 Miles achieved During Miles For MS 75 People made their first regulor tlonotion to the MS Trnst in 2023. Thankyoufor helping us make sense of MS together. l youstortedat our otrTice in Letchworth GardeJ7 City. 2.154 rniles could tokeyou on journey through Brussels. Berlin, est. ¢7nd 8ern! 'Tke MS Trwst really is a lartt4sti¢ <kAri+y •4d i am S• glad to be welcomd as a Ar•4iSer. I will witkw+ aw6+ carry on raisiy as rrtmck as I possibly cam 1 a IoKfji 108 h"Me. You fjuys are the bes+l' _ 323 Active Volunteers Our volunteers help us in o variety ofwoys. WhÈ¢hÈr .&heering ot eveftts. reading &reviewing our publtct7tions, or lendin9 theirvoice to our ¢7mpoigns, volunteershelp s a¢hi¢v¢ mor¢1

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

The Vision of the Multiple Sclerosis Trust, a national charity, is for people with MS to live their lives to the full.

Our Mission is to;

Provide the best and most trusted information
Secure the future of MS Specialist services
Improve the understanding of the needs of people with MS.

The Hertfordshire-based charity was founded by Chris Jones and Jill Holt in 1993 meaning that it is our 30[th] anniversary in 2023.

We are the only charity that pays for and trains additional MS specialist nurses for the NHS in the areas of greatest need
We provide Advanced MS Champions to support and guide some of the 40,000 people living with advanced multiple sclerosis
We train and support a wide range of MS health professionals
We answer questions about MS through our helpline
We deliver the UK’s biggest MS conference
We provide evidence-based information
We speak up for the MS community.

Last year we supported over 920,000 people with our expert MS information through our website, publications and helpline.

The MS Trust is here for everyone affected by MS, from the moment of diagnosis and throughout their journey. We're here for the 130,000 people living with MS today, tomorrow and every day after, making sure a life with MS isn't a life defined by MS.

The activities of the MS Trust are overseen by the Board of Trustees.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

The Trustees present their report (including Directors’ report as required by company law) and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2023. Reference and administrative information, set out on page 18, forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Trust’s memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

What the MS Trust achieved against its objectives in 2022/23

In spite of a challenging context, the MS Trust has once again delivered on many of its key organisational objectives over the past 12 months. The charity responded quickly and effectively to the challenges faced by MS services across the NHS, meeting the increased demands for advice for people with MS and proactively reacting to a difficult fundraising environment.

We strive to continually improve our organisation management, with an increased focus on leadership competencies, and have further strengthened our financial robustness, building on last year’s progress in this area. We continue to build sustainability into our work, and we continue to influencing and shape the national MS agenda where we can.

Health Professionals Programmes

Specialist Nurse Programme (SNP)

An additional Redbridge Specialist MS Nurse funded by the charity has been in post since October 2022. She has completed and passed her master's level development module in MS and continues to collate data and case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of the role.

The additional Plymouth Specialist MS Nurse started in April 2023; this new post is a newstyle training position, evolving from a less senior band six role into a band seven. It is a hybrid role of combining MS nursing and infusion; this appointment is also supported by recruitment and training in this geographical area. She is attending her master’s development module training in October 2023. Data and case studies are underway to evidence the value of this role and new approach. The Plymouth appointment is in one of the areas of unmet need identified by our Nurse Mapping report. We will continue to address other areas of real unmet need for 23/24 as well as gleaning insights into the services people with MS are receiving and the unmet need across the UK for future planning.

Advanced MS Champion (AMSC) pilot report and launch

The launch of the September 2023 report for the pilot conducted across six sites during 2018-2020 revealed significant insights. Among the key findings was the remarkable cost reduction of more than £465,000 per year for each site in reduced emergency admissions expenses for individuals with advanced MS, thanks to the implementation of an AMSC. Additionally, an average reduction of 115 GP appointments per area was observed due to the presence of each AMSC.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Advanced MS Champions programme

In April 2023 we recruited our first AMSC in Scotland in Tayside. This role includes a palliative care team to support earlier intervention of palliative care services to manage advanced MS with the key aim to improve quality of life with stable care.

Annual conference

In March 2023, the MS Trust successfully hosted its 26th annual conference, coinciding with the organisation's 30th anniversary celebrations. The event attracted a total of 339 health professional attendees along with MS Trust personnel, trustees, and exhibitors. The three-day event was thoroughly enjoyed by all the delegates, as evidenced by participant feedback such as, "An excellent and enlightening conference. Pertinent and captivating subjects, presented exceptionally well." The central focus of the conference revolved around the theme of "journeys", covering patient experiences, treatment trajectories, and professional pathways.

Foundation Development Module

Two Foundation Development Module courses for new MS nurses were run during 2022/23 – both face-to-face. Both were fully subscribed. The existing waitlist persists due to NHS pressures and will be resolved during the 2023/24 period through the introduction of three hybrid courses. Each module's capacity has been augmented by 25% to accommodate more students.

Advanced Development Modules

Addressing the increased demand for higher-level specialist education among MS healthcare professionals, we have been developing a comprehensive programme in collaboration with Birmingham City University. This initiative will enhance the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) pre-requisites for specialised health practitioners in the field of MS, aiming for a scheduled start in September 2024.

The content has been meticulously curated and is presently undergoing a thorough assessment to ensure its alignment with university accreditation and academic standards to guarantee the launch date together with a robust marketing plan.

Information and Engagement

In 2022/3, we supported over 920,000 million people with our expert MS information and helpline. This includes our online and print information content, podcasts, video and webinar views and enquiries answered by our helpline. In total we had over 2.6m information interactions during the year:

Our helpline answered 4,372 enquiries received via phone, email and social media. User satisfaction for the speed and quality of our helpline service remain high. Most enquiries were about symptoms, treatment options and MS services.
We had 1,433,528 visits to our website in 2022/3, with our most popular pages being Worried you have MS, MS Signs and Symptoms, and our A-Z of MS. We are committed to ensuring that people at any stage of their MS journey have access to evidence-based information.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

We redeveloped 67 information web pages in depth following our successful website relaunch and created 78 new health information pages. 20 new podcasts and 64 new films helped us reach and support more than one million people.
We extensively revised and reprinted our influential Disease Modifying Drug book and added a companion DMD chart to improve clarity for this complex topic. Both new titles which are also available online have been very popular, with around 6,000 copies sent out this year. A further four publications were also reviewed and reprinted.
We expanded our Listening Project and surveyed 2068 people on the relationship between MS and their mental health, generating a report: Life changing; MS and mental health that received widespread attention.
The insights gained from our report enabled us to make a significant contribution to a wider MS community joint project on mental health, culminating in a round table with Ministers and policy makers in government.

Fundraising

There can be no doubt that many charities have found 2022/23 an incredibly difficult year for fundraising – with many activities not having fully recovered from the impact of the pandemic, along with the cost-of-living crisis squeezing the money in everybody’s pocket. Whilst the MS Trust was no different and found the year an extremely challenging one, we were able to deliver strong fundraising results - a testament to both the generosity and commitment of our supporters and their trust in the value of our work.

Fundraised income for the year was £1.9m, significantly higher than the previous year - placing us back at pre-pandemic levels. Clearer patterns have now started to emerge in terms of behaviours and interests that have changed since the pandemic, and we are better placed to adapt our fundraising strategies accordingly.

In 2022/23 we discovered:

People are struggling financially – there can be no doubt, and it is harder for each and every person who raises funds for us to reach their targets. However, people may support fewer charities, and raise less each time, but they continue to support the causes that matter to them and those charities that they trust – the MS Trust is fortunate to be valued by an incredibly loyal and supportive community.
We had a strong year for legacies, with some supporters who have been part of the MS Trust for much of its 30-year journey, making the ultimate gift and leaving a legacy to us. Without this generosity and foresight, we could not deliver many of the vital services that we do. With no funding from government and backlogs in the NHS meaning the need for support for people with MS is greater than ever before – we hope many more people will consider planning for a gift in their will to the MS Trust.
With two London marathons falling into one financial year, we were amazed by the dedication and resilience shown by our teams of brilliant runners, raising an astonishing total of over £230,000 for the Trust.
We are incredibly grateful to all those who have set up regular monthly gifts to the charity over the past year and for those existing regular givers who have continued

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

to support us, despite the need to tighten finances. Every penny really does count and regular monthly gifts help us to plan for our future activities in a sustainable way.

Whilst we know that many can no longer afford to give – we remain committed to our loyal supporters and have worked hard to keep sharing with everyone the news and developments from the MS Trust. It is important to us we continue to work on our processes so that our supporters have the best possible experience of engaging with the Trust. We hope that when the economic situation improves, people will continue to support the work that we do.

Influencing health policy

The Trust has increased its external influence in the MS sector.

CEO David Martin is the active Chair of the influential Neurological Alliance, an umbrella organisation made up of more than 100 neurological charities.

We set up a new Advisory Group of MS specialists to provide expert scientific and medical advice to inform the work of the MS Trust.

The MS Trust took part in six new drug appraisals for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC); members of the MS community acted as expert patients to help shape our responses by sharing their views and experiences of new and existing treatments. We participated in the review of the NICE MS Clinical Guidelines. Collaborating with other MS charities, we explored the impact that MS has on mental health and wellbeing.

Plans for the future

The Trust is now stronger than at any time since the pandemic, ambitious for the future, well-placed to deliver its highly valued and unique services for people with MS and the many health professionals who care for them. Detailed objectives for each of the main activity areas are presented below.

Key priorities for the Health Professionals Programmes in 2023/24

We will deliver three Development modules in 2023/24, responding to increased demand.
We will deliver a pipeline of potential sites for additional nurses and therapists including:
Two additional nurses in post through the Specialist Nurse Programme.
Three additional nurse or therapist in post through the AMSC programme
Continuing to support the NHS to achieve successful business cases for additional resources.
We will publish the biennial nurse mapping report and use the findings to influence our work in the future.
We will hold a face-to-face annual conference in March 2024, with an emphasis on the significance of meaningful interactions for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis,

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

ensuring every contact with health professionals counts whilst incorporating sustainability as a guiding principle throughout the curriculum.

We will increase our educational offer to include a module in advanced MS and symptom management with an awards-based programme to earn points for a PG certificate, Diploma or MSc in MS.

Key priorities for Information and Engagement in 2023/24

We will continue to make trusted, evidence-based information on MS widely accessible to people through our helpline, online and print information.
We will centre the person with MS at the heart of all our work, focusing on their holistic needs and improving the way we co-produce with beneficiaries and represent the diversity of lived experience with MS.
We will develop more extensive support for people with progressive and advanced MS and the people who care for them.

Key priorities for Fundraising and Marketing in 2023/24

We will continue to focus on our fundraisers and donors – ensuring that we give them as much support as we can to fundraise in a difficult climate and making the process of donating as simple as possible.
We will support those who are thinking about leaving a gift to us in their will, giving them trusted information and being sensitive to their needs and wishes at all times.
We look forward to having our biggest ever team in the London Marathon in 2024, and we know that our brilliant runners will continue to go to extraordinary lengths to raise funds to support our work. We are also starting to offer a wider range of running opportunities, including places in the Berlin Marathon for the first time.
We will continue to celebrate our 30th Birthday throughout 2023, with some great events and Thir-tea parties raising funds for us across the country.
Support from the brilliant MS gaming community is expected to grow even stronger, as they Stream for MS and raise money at the same time in 2023/24.
We know we can make a bigger difference together in our work to highlight MS and the impact is has amongst the wider community – so we will continue to work collaboratively with other MS Charities, particularly during MS awareness week 2024 in April.

Raising funds from the public

The MS Trust is registered with the Fundraising Regulator as part of our commitment to good practice and ethical fundraising and in line with the charity’s values. We act in accordance with the Code of Fundraising Practice at all times and do not work with third party fundraisers. All staff who fundraise on behalf of the MS Trust are aware of, and work to, the Code of Fundraising Practice.

The organisation has a complaints policy in place and is committed to handling complaints according to the Fundraising Regulator policies and procedures. The Executive report on any complaints to the Trustees through formalised governance procedures and closely

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

monitor any issues affecting the charity notified by the Fundraising Preference Service. The level of issues is minimal (regularly reported as zero).

As a charity we are acutely aware of the need to protect vulnerable people and other members of the public from unacceptable behaviours and the scope our Safeguarding Policy extends to fundraising activities by staff and volunteers acting on behalf of the MS Trust. The charity has a designated Fundraising Deputy Safeguarding Officer. All fundraising staff are trained in safeguarding and regularly review fundraising practice and activities against our safeguarding policy.

Public benefit

The MS Trust continues to operate as an independent, nationally recognised charity working with the relevant charitable bodies and professional organisations to support the 130,000 people living with MS and to develop the specialist health services they need.

The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

Subsidiaries

The charity has two subsidiaries:

1) MS Trust (Trading) Ltd sells Christmas cards and merchandise to raise funds for the charity.
2) MS Trust (Education) Ltd provides professional education for nurses and allied Health Professionals including the Conference and the Development Modules to improve the care provided to people living with MS.

Working with other charities and organisations

We are proud to work closely with colleagues in other MS charities, in the NHS and in the pharmaceutical industry to ensure the voices of people with MS were heard in a fastchanging environment.

The MS Trust part-funds the UK MS Specialist Nurse Association (UKMSSNA). The charity is also an active supporter and funder of the Therapists in MS Group (TiMS), providing the secretariat and hosting their website.

The Trust collaborates with a number of voluntary and professional bodies to secure and influence high-quality health care for people with MS including;

The MS Society, MS-UK, Shift MS, the UK MS Therapy Centres and Overcoming MS.
The Neurological Alliance – the collective voice of over 100 neurology organisations helping shape health policy and services (CEO David Martin is a Trustee and Chair of their Board).
Rehabilitation in MS (RIMS).
International Organisation of MS Nurses (IOMSN).

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Donors and fundraisers acknowledgement

This year, more than ever, the Multiple Sclerosis Trust would like to acknowledge and thank all its donors, fundraisers, charitable trusts and corporate partners for their ongoing and generous support. Special thanks go to the many individuals who support the charity with regular gifts and to everyone who has fundraised for the charity’s work throughout the year, despite the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic and world events.

Volunteers

We have continued to grow our amazing team of volunteers, with over 300 volunteers generously donating their time to the Trust in 2022/23. This includes Trustees who are committed to ensuring strong governance of the MS Trust.

We hope to build our volunteer team to over 400 in 2023/24 - in roles as varied as building our digital image library, Facebook signposting, office and database administration and leadership development support. Our volunteers who come along for a few hours at a time, to support events and one-off activities, are just as important and help us build a diverse and enthusiastic community as part of team MS Trust.

We want to make volunteering for the MS Trust as positive an experience as we can, so we will continue to seek and act upon their feedback received through our volunteer surveys in 2023/24. We are incredibly grateful for all the time, skills and experience our volunteers give so generously and want to thank them for their support.

Structure, governance and management

The MS Trust is a company limited by guarantee, governed by its Articles of Association and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. Members comprise the Board of Trustees. The Charity was established in 1993 as the Multiple Sclerosis (Research) Charitable Trust and incorporated in July 2001 as the Multiple Sclerosis Trust. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association that established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association.

The charity is governed by its Board of Trustees, appointed by an ordinary resolution following external recruitment. On joining the Board, new Trustees undertake a tailored induction programme.

Approximately one third of the Board retires by rotation at the Annual Retirement Meeting (ARM) as part of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and may offer themselves for reelection. The following Trustees were due to retire at the 2022 ARM and were re-elected to the Board:

Laura Chapman
Dawn Langdon
Sarah Joiner.

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note eight to the accounts.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

The Trustees monitored the impact of the external environment on the charity whilst reviewing the activities of the charity and set its future direction. The CEO and Senior Management Team (SMT) attend for relevant agenda items. The SMT provide full reports to the Trustees in advance of these meetings. Day to day operations of the Trust are delegated to the CEO and the SMT.

There are two committees of the Board: Risk, Audit and Finance (RAFT) and Remuneration.

The RAFT is responsible for overseeing the performance of the internal controls, management of risk and scrutiny of finances. The RAFT is also responsible for the review of the Trustees’ annual report and accounts and the external audit. The RAFT reports regularly to the main Board.

The Remuneration Committee meets annually to review all staff rewards. The Committee benchmarks against other charities where possible taking into account market rates for similar jobs, as well as individual and charity performance and the general financial outlook.

The MS Trust senior management team (SMT)

The MS Trust is managed under the leadership of its CEO, David Martin, and a Senior Management Team. The performance of the Charity is reviewed regularly by reference to the Key Performance Indicators and is reported monthly to the Board of Trustees.

Around half of the Trust’s policies and procedures were reviewed, updated and approved by Trustees during the year, as part of a cyclical review schedule.

Risk management

Management of risk is an integral part of the charity’s business planning and project management processes. Strategic risks are regularly monitored by the Senior Management Team, reviewed quarterly by the Risk, Audit and Finance Committee (RAFT) and considered annually by the full Board. Operational risks are within the control of the Senior Management Team and reported to RAFT for information and annual review.

The Committee considered the following to be key risks from their reviews during 2022/23:

There is a risk of higher-than-normal staff turnover if market factors including salary inflation make recruitment and retention more difficult.
There is a risk of attrition of MS Specialist nurses due to retirement.
There is a risk to delivery of MS Nurses and AMSCs if funds cannot be replaced.
Engaging with the NHS during a period of significant landscape changes - as 42 newly formed Integrated Care Systems are formed, replacing clinical commissioning groups, the risk of not achieving a common ground and triangulating needs for people with MS is increased.
Fundraising income may fall because of the state of the economy, increased cost of living impacting donors’ ability to give, and increased competition. The Trust will not be able to deliver a full range of MS Nurses and AMSCs if financial support for MS

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Nurses or AMSCs cannot be maintained, which would impact adversely on the lives of people with MS.

There is a risk of loss or breach of data due to a hack or system failure, causing significant cost and disruption, as well as a breach of the law.

Financial review

Financial position

At 31 July 2023, the MS Trust held funds of £2,983,210 (2022: £3,092,741). Of these funds, £409,063 (2022: £435,283) is held as restricted funds, £722,140 (2022: £1,078,084) is held as designated funds, and £1,852,007 (2022: £1,579,374) consists of unrestricted general reserves.

Income

Income amounted to £2,301,326 in 2023 (2022: £1,840,979). This increase of 25% is mainly due to higher legacies received during 2022/23.

Donations and legacies income amounted to £1,838,867 (2022: £1,313,284), an increase of 40%, which includes the legacies mentioned above. Whilst the charity sector continued to feel the impact of the struggling economy and cost of living crisis on fundraising income, MS Trust performed well. Although legacies played a role in this improved performance, fundraising sources across the board delivered good results. Lower level giving proved a challenge and Trusts and Foundations reported increased competition, but other areas compensated for this, including higher level giving, high profile events and in memory gifts. This was in part due to the recruitment and retention of a strong team, along with some specific factors, including two London marathons falling into one financial year.

Summary income figures are as follows: donations and legacies of £1,084,141 (2022: 585,883), fundraising of £631,858 (2022: £498,206), Health Professionals of £85,942 (2022: £183,358), and Information and Engagement of £36,926 (2022: 45,837). Commercial trading turnover at £71,877 (2022: £129,510) decreased due to lower sales of Christmas cards, through no longer selling cards through an agent.

Expenditure

Overall expenditure of £2,410,857 (2022: £2,488,204) has decreased by 3%. The charity’s core costs (including governance costs and support costs) for 2022/23 totalled £632,189 (2022: £590,731).

Result for the year

The year generated a deficit of £109,531, compared to a deficit of £647,225 in 2022. The deficit consists of an unrestricted and designated fund deficit of £83,311 and a restricted deficit of £26,220. A deficit £403,129 had been planned for. The improved result against budget resulted from better fundraising performance than anticipated, particularly from legacies, which are hard to predict.

Review of the activities of the subsidiaries

During the year ended 31 July 2023, MS Trust had two active trading subsidiaries:

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

MS Trust (Education) Ltd (company registration number 05105344). The total income for the year ended 31 July 2023 was £375,011 (2022: £397,121) and the net profit on ordinary activities, before taxation and gift aid was £4,938 (2022: £95,886). Gift aid totalling £4,938 is to be paid to the Trust (2022: £95,886). All after-tax profits are paid to the Trust as gift aid.

MS Trust (Trading) Ltd (company registration number 02838516). The total income for the year ended 31 July 2023 was £71,876 (2022: £129,510) and the profit before taking into account the amount to be gifted to the MS Trust was £12,861 (2022: £5,736). All aftertax profits are paid to the MS Trust as gift aid. Gift aid totalling £12,861 is to be paid to the Trust (2022: £5,736).

Some of the unpaid Directors of the two companies are also members of the Board of Trustees of the MS Trust as marked (e) or (t) on page 18.

Reserves policy

The Trust’s reserves policy focuses on the level of free reserves, defined as net assets excluding restricted funds and designated funds.

The Trustees take a risk-based approach to reserves and therefore aim to retain sufficient free reserves to;

Meet working capital requirements.
Manage the risks that the charity is exposed to in the course of its business (including safeguarding activities funded by volatile voluntary income streams).
Respond to unplanned opportunities that arise to develop new initiatives in line with the charity’s aims and objectives.

Trustees aim to retain four to six months of planned unrestricted expenditure as free reserves, recognising the unpredictable nature of many of the funding sources.

At 31 July 2023, free reserves totalled £1,852,007, covering 10.6 months of unrestricted budgeted expenditure (2022: £1,579,374, covering 9.2 months of planned unrestricted expenditure). Therefore, free reserves fall above the target level as set out above. The Trustees are planning to reduce free reserves to the level of four to six months of planned unrestricted expenditure during 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Legacy income is highly volatile, with £522,538 received in 2023 compared to £198,072 in 2022, £1,144,698 in 2021 and £171,216 in 2020. In order to smooth the flow, the Trustees have established a Legacy Equalisation Reserve into which £450,000 has been transferred to provide cover against a low level of this type of income. This fund can be utilised with the agreement of the Trustees. The current plan is to top up the legacy income where required from the Legacy Equalisation Reserve if legacy income is below the projected budget. No transfers in or out of the Legacy Equalisation Reserve took place in 2022/23.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Other designated funds include the nurse sustainability fund totalling £133,286 (for funding MS nurses), the Priest research fund of £75,000 (for research work), the fixed asset fund totalling £13,854 (reflecting the value of fixed assets held which is not readily expendable), and the Alison Carew-Cox bursary fund of £150,000 (for funding health professionals to attend the Development Module and Conference educational programmes).

In the current economic climate, the Trustees have agreed to adopt a flexible approach and review the reserves policy annually.

Monies from the pharmaceutical industry

The MS Trust has a policy position on working with the pharmaceutical industry, which is available on the charity’s website. In brief, the policy states that the Trust will not endorse any specific product or service and will not accept any attempts to influence its policy in any way. The following table shows amounts donated by pharmaceutical companies.

	Year to 31 July 2023 £	Year to 31 July 2022 £
Accora	-	3,650
Biogen Idec Ltd	18,640	27,260
Celgene / Bristol Myers Squibb	-	32,000
Coloplast	5,790	4,045
Dorset Orthopaedic	-	2,310
Flexicare	-	250
Genzyme, a Sanofi Company	32,000	78,000
GW Pharma	-	20,000
Hollister	4,380	3,915
Janssen	32,140	32,000
MacGregor	4,950	3,715
Medtronic	2,500	4,600
Merck Serono Ltd	33,463	72,441
Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd	81,123	71,214
Odstock	2,500	2,260
Ottobok	2,640	2,570
Roche Products Ltd	71,127	32,836
Rokshaw	4,350	2,350
Sandoz	32,130	-

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Teva UK Ltd	4,370	3,970
Theo Davis and Sons	-	3,650
Wellspect	3,160	2,550

A number of companies also exhibit at the charity’s annual conference.

Going concern

The MS Trust believes that that there are no material uncertainties that call into doubt the charity’s ability to continue its activities. The accounts have therefore been prepared on the basis that the charity is a going concern.

Investment policy

The MS Trust’s investment policy is to maximise the return on its reserves as this is consistent with ensuring they are both readily accessible and invested in low-risk instruments. The current policy of the charity is to invest in cash and liquid assets and not to invest in equities, bonds and related asset classes. The reasons for this are the possibility of needing more of the reserves in the short term to deal with income and expenditure risks and the volatility of world stock markets.

Any funds not needed immediately are placed on deposit (subject to limits agreed with the Board). Where the MS Trust receives non-cash investments, these are held until they can be realised to optimise the benefit to the charity. There are no specific restrictions on investment powers contained in the Multiple Sclerosis Trust’s governing document.

Statement of responsibilities of the Trustees

The Trustees (who are also Directors of the MS Trust 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 Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company and group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to;

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP.
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

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

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware.
The Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Trustees are the members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. They have no beneficial interest in the charity. Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 July 2023 is thirteen (2022 - fourteen).

Auditors

A retender for the audit contract was undertaken during the previous year, with Azets appointed. Azets was reappointed as the charitable company's auditors during the year and has expressed its willingness to act in this capacity.

Approved by the Trustees on 4 December 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Caitlin Sorrell Chair of Trustees

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Reference and administrative information

For theyear ended	31 July 2023	31 July 2023
Company number		04247766
Charity number		1088353
Registered office and		Spirella Building, Bridge Road, Letchworth Garden City,
Operational address		Hertfordshire, SG6 4ET
Contact		T: 01462 476700, E:info@mstrust.org.uk,
		W: www.mstrust.org.uk
Country of		England & Wales
registration
Country of		United Kingdom
incorporation
Trustees		Trustees, who are also members and directors under company
		law, who served during the year and up to the date of this
		report were as follows:
		Caitlin Sorrell(3,4) Chair of Trustees
		Hon. Sarah Joiner(2) Vice Chair
		Rachel Balchin(t,1)
		Laura Chapman(e,3)
		Declan Chard
		Joanne Hudson
		Professor Dawn Langdon(e,2)
		Rebecca Law(1)
		Jenny Ousbey (resigned 2 December 2022)
		Sally-Anne Owen
		Michael Penny(1,3)
		David Philpot(1,3)
		Christine Singleton(e,1,3)
		Sarah White
Company Secretary		David Martin
Note		(e) Director of Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Education) Ltd
		(t) Director of Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Trading) Ltd
		(1) Member of the Risk, Audit & Finance Committee
		(2) Member of the Research Committee
		(3) Member of the Remuneration Committee
		(4) Attends Risk, Audit & Finance Committee as Chair
Principal staff	David Martin Chief Executive
	Alexandra Gear Director of Finance and Operations
	Lucy Taylor(t) Director of Fundraising and Marketing

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Reference and administrative information

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Paru Naik Director of Services Lucy Harmer Director of Information and Engagement (to December 2022) Bankers NatWest Bank plc 12 High St, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG5 1BH Solicitors Bates, Wells & Braithwaite 10 Queen Street Place, London, EC4R 1BE Auditors Azets Audit Services, Ruthlyn House, 90 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 2SP

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Multiple Sclerosis Trust

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Opinion

We have audited the accounts of Multiple Sclerosis Trust (the ‘charity’) and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 July 2023 which comprise the Group Statement of Financial Activities, the Group and Parent Charitable Company Balance Sheets, the Group Cash Flow Statements and the notes to the accounts, 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:

give a true and fair view of the state of the Group and Parent charitable company's affairs as at 31 July 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

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 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.

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 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.

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

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Multiple Sclerosis Trust

For the year ended 31 July 2023

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.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

the information given in the trustees' report, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and Parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in 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:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose 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 charity’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

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Multiple Sclerosis Trust

For the year ended 31 July 2023

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.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://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 design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above and on the Financial Reporting Council’s website, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud.

We obtain and update our understanding of the entity, its activities, its control environment, and likely future developments, including in relation to the legal and regulatory framework applicable and how the entity is complying with that framework. Based on this understanding, we identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. This includes consideration of the risk of acts by the entity that were contrary to applicable laws and regulations, including fraud.

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, we designed procedures which included:

Enquiry of management and those charged with governance around actual and potential litigation and claims as well as actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
Assessing the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations considered to have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the entity through enquiry and inspection;
Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
Performing audit work over the risk of management bias and override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Multiple Sclerosis Trust

For the year ended 31 July 2023

course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for indicators of potential bias.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.

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 auditors' 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.

Tracey Richardson BSc (Hons) FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Azets Audit Services

Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor Ruthlyn House 90 Lincoln Road Peterborough United Kingdom PE1 2SP

Dated: 22 December 2023

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Consolidated statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Unrestricted Note £ Income from: 2 1,581,166 3 287,903 4 85,838 5 82,901 5,817 2,043,625 6 687,977 6 258,518 365,477 749,121 1,668 149,681 2,212,442 Net income (expenditure) for the year (168,817) Transfers between funds 85,506 Net movement in funds (83,311) Reconciliation of funds: 2,657,458 2,574,147 Interest received Other Total income Expenditure on: Donations and legacies Charitable activities Other trading activities Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward Raising funds Total expenditure Charitable activities Education Information and engagement Research funding Health professionals Marketing and communications	Restricted £ 257,701 - - - -	2023 Total £ 1,838,867 287,903 85,838 82,901 5,817	Unrestricted £ 1,024,128 322,781 143,767 34,644 26,503	Restricted £ 289,156 - - - -	2022 Total £ 1,313,284 322,781 143,767 34,644 26,503
2,043,625	257,701	2,301,326	1,551,823	289,156	1,840,979
687,977 258,518 365,477 749,121 1,668 149,681	- 6,784 - - 4,869 186,762	687,977 265,302 365,477 749,121 6,537 336,443	691,882 242,020 297,279 767,699 1,642 38,705	- 21,898 2,256 103,743 11,770 309,310	691,882 263,918 299,535 871,442 13,412 348,015
2,212,442	198,415	2,410,857	2,039,227	448,977	2,488,204
(168,817) 85,506 (83,311) 2,657,458	59,286 (85,506) (26,220) 435,283	(109,531) - (109,531) 3,092,741	(487,404) 39,613 (447,791) 3,105,249	(159,821) (39,613) (199,434) 634,717	(647,225) - (647,225) 3,739,966
2,574,147	409,063	2,983,210	2,657,458	435,283	3,092,741

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 21a to the financial statements.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Company no. 04247766

Balance sheets

As at 31 July 2023

2023 2022 Note £ £ Fixed assets: 12 13,854 20,767 13 - - 13,854 20,767 Current assets: 15 11,018 18,042 16 234,650 275,167 2,586,707 3,080,230 731,935 378,944 3,564,310 3,752,383 Liabilities: 17 (594,954) (680,409) 2,969,356 3,071,974 2,983,210 3,092,741 21a 409,063 435,283 722,140 1,078,084 1,852,007 1,579,374 Total unrestricted funds 2,574,147 2,657,458 2,983,210 3,092,741 Total funds Cash at bank and in hand Short term deposits Tangible assets The group Designated funds General funds Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets Total assets Investments in subsidiaries Stock Debtors Funds: Restricted income funds Unrestricted income funds:	2023 2022 Note £ £ Fixed assets: 12 13,854 20,767 13 - - 13,854 20,767 Current assets: 15 11,018 18,042 16 234,650 275,167 2,586,707 3,080,230 731,935 378,944 3,564,310 3,752,383 Liabilities: 17 (594,954) (680,409) 2,969,356 3,071,974 2,983,210 3,092,741 21a 409,063 435,283 722,140 1,078,084 1,852,007 1,579,374 Total unrestricted funds 2,574,147 2,657,458 2,983,210 3,092,741 Total funds Cash at bank and in hand Short term deposits Tangible assets The group Designated funds General funds Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets Total assets Investments in subsidiaries Stock Debtors Funds: Restricted income funds Unrestricted income funds:	2023 2022 £ £ 13,854 20,767 101 101 13,955 20,868 - - 281,738 310,227 2,570,586 3,064,373 652,749 204,868 3,505,073 3,579,468 (553,963) (609,560) 2,951,110 2,969,908 2,965,065 2,990,776 409,063 435,283 722,140 1,078,084 1,833,862 1,477,409 2,556,002 2,555,493 2,965,065 2,990,776 The charity	2023 2022 £ £ 13,854 20,767 101 101 13,955 20,868 - - 281,738 310,227 2,570,586 3,064,373 652,749 204,868 3,505,073 3,579,468 (553,963) (609,560) 2,951,110 2,969,908 2,965,065 2,990,776 409,063 435,283 722,140 1,078,084 1,833,862 1,477,409 2,556,002 2,555,493 2,965,065 2,990,776 The charity
13,854 11,018 234,650 2,586,707 731,935	20,767 18,042 275,167 3,080,230 378,944	13,955 - 281,738 2,570,586 652,749	20,868 - 310,227 3,064,373 204,868
3,564,310 (594,954)	3,752,383 (680,409)	3,505,073 (553,963)	3,579,468 (609,560)
2,969,356	3,071,974	2,951,110	2,969,908
2,983,210	3,092,741	2,965,065	2,990,776
409,063 722,140 1,852,007	435,283 1,078,084 1,579,374	409,063 722,140 1,833,862	435,283 1,078,084 1,477,409
2,574,147	2,657,458	2,556,002	2,555,493
2,983,210	3,092,741	2,965,065	2,990,776

Approved by the trustees on 14 December 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Caitlin Sorrell Chair of Trustees

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Consolidated statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Note 22 23 Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year Cash flows from operating activities Net cash provided by investing activities Net cash (used in) / provided by operating activities Cash flows from investing activities: Interest received Purchase of fixed assets	£ £ (217,051) 82,901 (6,382) 76,519 (140,532) 3,459,174 3,318,642 2023	£ £ (217,051) 82,901 (6,382) 76,519 (140,532) 3,459,174 3,318,642 2023	£ £ (388,163) 34,644 (4,725) 29,919 (358,244) 3,817,418 3,459,174 2022	£ £ (388,163) 34,644 (4,725) 29,919 (358,244) 3,817,418 3,459,174 2022

		(140,532) 3,459,174		(358,244) 3,817,418
		3,318,642		3,459,174

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

1 Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

Multiple Sclerosis Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office address is Spirella Building, Bridge Road, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire SG6 4ET.

b) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charitable company's governing document, 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) (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

These financial statements consolidate the results of the charitable company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Trading) Limited and Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Education) Limited on a line by line basis. Transactions and balances between the charitable company and its subsidiary have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements. Balances between the two companies are disclosed in the notes of the charitable company's balance sheet. A separate statement of financial activities, or income and expenditure account, for the charitable company itself is not presented because the charitable company has taken advantage of the exemptions afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.

c) Public benefit entity

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

d) Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

e) Income

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

Income from grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ 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 and is not deferred.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

1 Accounting policies (continued)

f) Interest receivable

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

g) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

h) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

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 is classified under the following activity headings:

Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charitable company in inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose
Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of delivering services, exhibitions and other educational activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs
Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

i) Allocation of support costs

Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. The cost of overall direction and administration of each activity (the support costs), comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned on the following basis which are an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity.

	Fundraising and trading	31%
	Marketing and communications	11%
	Education	7%
	Information and engagement	39%
	Health Professionals	12%

Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity. These costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities.

Where information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is provided to potential beneficiaries, the costs associated with this publicity are allocated to charitable expenditure.

Where such information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is also provided to potential donors, activity costs are apportioned between fundraising and charitable activities on the basis of area of literature occupied by each activity.

j) Operating leases

Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

1 Accounting policies (continued)
k) Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £250. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Where fixed assets have been revalued, any excess between the revalued amount and the historic cost of the asset will be shown as a revaluation reserve in the balance sheet.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

Computer equipment 3 years
Fixtures and fittings 4 years  Leasehold improvements 5 years

l) Investments in subsidiaries

Investments in subsidiaries are at cost.

m) Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. In general, cost is determined on a first in first out basis and includes transport and handling costs. Net realisable value is the price at which stocks can be sold in the normal course of business after allowing for the costs of realisation. Provision is made where necessary for obsolete, slow moving and defective stocks.

n) Debtors

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

o) Short term deposits

Short term deposits includes cash balances that are invested in accounts with a maturity date of between 1 and 12 months.

p) Cash at bank and in hand

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

q) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

r) 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 with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

1 Accounting policies (continued)

s) Pensions

The Trust makes 5% of salary payments to defined contribution pension schemes on behalf of employees. The assets of the schemes are held separately from those of the Trust in independently administered funds. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable to the funds during the year. The Trust has no liability under the schemes other than the payment of those contributions.

t) 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.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Unrestricted £ 435,443 621,077 1,313 - - 795 522,538	Restricted £ 126,160 10,781 8,740 21,763 54,126 36,131 -	2023 Total £ 561,603 631,858 10,053 21,763 54,126 36,926 522,538	Unrestricted £ 339,556 486,500 - - - - 198,072	Restricted £ 48,255 11,706 10,469 130,173 42,716 45,837 -	2022 Total £ 387,811 498,206 10,469 130,173 42,716 45,837 198,072
1,581,166	257,701	1,838,867	1,024,128	289,156	1,313,284
Unrestricted £	Restricted £	2023 Total £	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	2022 Total £
287,903	-	287,903	322,781	-	322,781
Unrestricted £ 71,877 13,961	Restricted £ - -	2023 Total £ 71,877 13,961	Unrestricted £ 129,510 14,257	Restricted £ - -	2022 Total £ 129,510 14,257
85,838	-	85,838	143,767	-	143,767
Unrestricted £	Restricted £	2023 Total £	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	2022 Total £
82,901	-	82,901	34,644	-	34,644

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

6 Analysis of expenditure (current year)

Cost of raising funds £ 314,877 - - - 40,831 114,595 - - 6,919 - 2,667 1,575 - - 3,120 2,577		Charitable activities	Charitable activities			Governance costs £ 74,475 - - - - - - - 5,125 48 1,224 - 11,680 - - 60	Support costs £ 207,578 - - - - - - - 5,347 - 241,974 8,047 - 12,996 5,280 58,355	2023 Total £ 1,373,691 260,377 66,460 1,668 40,831 144,466 78,859 - 30,721 48 295,294 9,983 11,680 13,294 10,307 73,178	2022 Total £ 1,288,158 229,457 135,532 1,642 87,448 143,352 101,579 2,257 47,522 - 304,838 33,938 11,000 14,029 9,876 77,576
	Marketing and communications £ 119,938 - - - - 29,871 - - 1,123 - 39,523 - - 298 - 5,197	Education £ 60,464 260,377 - - - - - - 751 - 756 73 - - 1,907 -	Information and engagement £ 422,847 - 66,460 - - - - - 1,354 - 8,617 - - - - 4,866	Research £ 3,122 - - 1,668 - - - - - - - - - - - -	Health Professionals £ 170,390 - - - - - 78,859 - 10,102 - 533 288 - - - 2,123
487,161 171,432 29,384	195,950 59,202 10,150	324,328 35,014 6,135	504,144 209,149 35,828	4,790 1,502 245	262,295 63,278 10,870	92,612 - (92,612)	539,577 (539,577)	2,410,857 - -	2,488,204 - -
687,977	265,302	365,477	749,121	6,537	336,443	-	-	2,410,857	2,488,204
691,882	263,918	299,535	871,442	13,412	348,015	-	-

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

7 Net (expenditure) / income for the year

This is stated after charging:

This is stated after charging:
	2023	2022
	£	£
Depreciation	13,295	14,029
Loss on disposal of fixed assets	-	-
Operating lease rentals:
Property	76,500	76,500
Other	3,080	3,080
Auditors' remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit	11,500	11,000
Other services - corporation tax services to group companies	1,000	1,000

8 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:

Staff costs were as follows:
Redundancy and termination costs Social security costs Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes Salaries and wages	2023 £ 1,189,492 - 125,416 58,783	2022 £ 1,117,351 - 117,912 52,895
	1,373,691	1,288,158

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs and employer's national insurance) during the year between:

		2023	2022
		No.	No.
£60,000	- £69,999	2	-
£70,000	- £79,999	1	1
£80,000	- £89,999	-	-
£90,000	- £99,999	1	1

The total remuneration of the key management personnel including employer's pension and employer's National Insurance was £375,305 (2022: £380,695). There were no other benefits.

The charity's Trustees were neither paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2022: £nil). No Trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2022: £nil).

Trustees' expenses represents the payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs totalling £48 (2022: £nil) incurred by one Trustee (2022: no Trustees) relating to attendance at meetings of the Trustees.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

9 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was 34 (2022: 34).

Education Health Professionals Governance Raising funds Information Support Staff are split across the activities of the charitable company as follows (headcount based on number of staff employed):	2023 No. 11 1 12 6 1 3	2022 No. 11 1 12 6 1 3
	34	34

10 Related party transactions

Nine (2022: six) Trustees made donations to the MS Trust totalling £5,408 (2022: £2,980). These donations were for general purposes and were not restricted to a specific purpose.

The two wholly owned subsidiaries (MS Trust (Education) Limited and MS Trust (Trading) Limited) will gift aid profits of £17,799 to the charity (2022: £101,622).

At 31 July 2023, MS Trust (Education) Limited owed an amount of £38,652 to the MS Trust and MS Trust (Trading) Limited owed an amount of £25,721 to the MS Trust.

11 Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes. The charity's trading subsidiaries Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Trading) Limited and Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Education) Limited gift aid available profits to the parent charity.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Fixtures and fittings £ 6,880 - -	Computer equipment £ 73,918 6,382 (25,129)	Leashold improvements £ 7,000 - -	Total £ 87,798 6,382 (25,129)
6,880	55,171	7,000	69,051
6,353 502 -	58,345 10,793 (25,129)	2,333 2,000 -	67,031 13,295 (25,129)
6,855	44,009	4,333	55,197
25	11,162	2,667	13,854
527	15,573	4,667	20,767
Fixtures and fittings £ 6,880 - -	Computer equipment £ 73,918 6,382 (25,129)	Leashold improvements £ 7,000 - -	Total £ 87,798 6,382 (25,129)
6,880	55,171	7,000	69,051
6,353 502 -	58,345 10,793 (25,129)	2,333 2,000 -	67,031 13,295 (25,129)
6,855	44,009	4,333	55,197
25	11,162	2,667	13,854
527	15,573	4,667	20,767

All of the group and charity's assets are used for charitable purposes.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

13 Subsidiary undertakings

The charitable company owns the whole of the issued ordinary share capital of Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Trading) Limited company number 2835816 and Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Education) Limited company number 5105344, both companies registered in England. MS Trust (Trading) Limited is used for non-primary purpose trading activities. All activities have been consolidated on a line by line basis in the statement of financial activities. Available profits are gift aided to the charitable company. A summary of the results of the subsidiaries are shown below:

2023 2022 £ £ 71,876 129,510 (40,831) (87,448) 31,045 42,062 (18,186) (36,326) 12,859 5,736 2 - - - 12,861 5,736 - - 12,861 5,736 5,736 11,095 12,861 5,736 (5,736) (11,095) 12,861 5,736 39,203 67,135 (26,242) (61,299) 12,961 5,836 Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Trading) Ltd	2023 2022 £ £ 71,876 129,510 (40,831) (87,448) 31,045 42,062 (18,186) (36,326) 12,859 5,736 2 - - - 12,861 5,736 - - 12,861 5,736 5,736 11,095 12,861 5,736 (5,736) (11,095) 12,861 5,736 39,203 67,135 (26,242) (61,299) 12,961 5,836 Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Trading) Ltd	2023 2022 £ £ 375,011 397,121 (260,377) (229,457) 114,634 167,664 (110,071) (71,824) 4,563 95,840 375 46 - - 4,938 95,886 - - 4,938 95,886 96,232 131,082 4,938 95,886 (95,886) (130,736) 5,284 96,232 84,408 213,959 (79,123) (117,726) 5,285 96,233 Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Education) Ltd	2023 2022 £ £ 375,011 397,121 (260,377) (229,457) 114,634 167,664 (110,071) (71,824) 4,563 95,840 375 46 - - 4,938 95,886 - - 4,938 95,886 96,232 131,082 4,938 95,886 (95,886) (130,736) 5,284 96,232 84,408 213,959 (79,123) (117,726) 5,285 96,233 Multiple Sclerosis Trust (Education) Ltd
31,045 (18,186)	42,062 (36,326)	114,634 (110,071)	167,664 (71,824)
12,859 2 -	5,736 - -	4,563 375 -	95,840 46 -
12,861 -	5,736 -	4,938 -	95,886 -
12,861	5,736	4,938	95,886
5,736 12,861 (5,736)	11,095 5,736 (11,095)	96,232 4,938 (95,886)	131,082 95,886 (130,736)
12,861	5,736	5,284	96,232
39,203 (26,242)	67,135 (61,299)	84,408 (79,123)	213,959 (117,726)
12,961	5,836	5,285	96,233

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

14 Parent charity

The parent charity's gross income and the results for the year are disclosed as follows:

15 16 VAT reclaim Finished goods Amounts due from group undertakings Other debtors Prepayments and accrued income Gross income Result for the year Stock Trade debtors Debtors	2023 2022 £ £ 11,018 18,042 2023 2022 £ £ 20,309 67,277 - - 1,864 1,509 203,906 198,933 8,571 7,448 234,650 275,167 The group The group	2023 2022 £ £ 11,018 18,042 2023 2022 £ £ 20,309 67,277 - - 1,864 1,509 203,906 198,933 8,571 7,448 234,650 275,167 The group The group	2023 £ 2,048,453 (25,711)	2022 £ 1,536,046 (607,014)
	234,650	275,167	281,738	310,227

The charity has been notified of legacies with an estimated value of £351,600 which have not been recognised as income at 31 July 2023 because no notification of impending distribution or approval of estate accounts has been received.

17 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors Taxation and social security Deferred income (note 18) Accruals Other creditors Provisions	2023 2022 £ £ 51,754 100,081 32,986 31,914 57,645 102,016 192,197 168,757 238,372 255,641 22,000 22,000 594,954 680,409 The group		2023 2022 £ £ 49,535 80,827 32,986 31,914 19,910 74,016 191,330 158,119 238,202 242,684 22,000 22,000 553,963 609,560 The charity
	594,954	680,409	553,963	609,560

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

18 Deferred income

Deferred income comprises:

Balance at the beginning of the year Amount released to income in the year Amount deferred in the year Balance at the end of the year	2023 2022 £ £ 102,016 114,242 (74,517) (215,585) 30,146 203,359 57,645 102,016 The group	2023 2022 £ £ 102,016 114,242 (74,517) (215,585) 30,146 203,359 57,645 102,016 The group	2023 2022 £ £ 74,016 86,242 (74,016) (82,585) 19,910 70,359 19,910 74,016 The charity	2023 2022 £ £ 74,016 86,242 (74,016) (82,585) 19,910 70,359 19,910 74,016 The charity
	57,645	102,016	19,910	74,016

Deferred income consists of income received in advance of the provision of a specified service or event. Income is released from deferred income and recognised when that service or event has occurred.

19 Pension scheme

The Trust makes payments to defined contribution pension schemes on behalf of employees. The assets of the schemes are held separately from those of the Trust in independently administered funds. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable to the funds during the year.

The Trust has no liabilty under the schemes other than the payment of those contributions.

20a Analysis of group net assets between funds (current year)

Analysis of group net assets between funds (current year)	t year)
General unrestricted £ - 1,852,007 1,852,007 General unrestricted £ - 1,579,374 1,579,374 Net current assets Net current assets Tangible fixed assets Net assets at 31 July 2022 Net assets at 31 July 2023 Analysis of group net assets between funds (prior year) Tangible fixed assets	General unrestricted £ - 1,852,007	£ 13,854 708,286 Designated funds	Restricted funds £ - 409,063	Total funds £ 13,854 2,969,356
	1,852,007	722,140	409,063	2,983,210
		£ 20,767 1,057,317 Designated funds	Restricted funds £ - 435,283	Total funds £ 20,767 3,071,974
	1,579,374	1,078,084	435,283	3,092,741

20b Analysis of group net assets between funds (prior year)

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

21a Movements in funds (current year)

£ 50,840 10,348 27,342 30,187 2,283 56,935 42,470 62,778 15,129 112,146 5,693 19,132 At 1 August 2022	£ 121,000 26,780 13,587 8,740 6,545 5,160 21,763 54,126 - - - - Income & gains	£ - - (6,784) - (4,869) - (61,953) (109,680) (15,129) - - - Expenditure & losses	£ (40,206) - - - - (29,263) (2,280) - - (4,963) (5,000) (3,794) Transfers	£ 131,634 37,128 34,145 38,927 3,959 32,832 - 7,224 - 107,183 693 15,338 At 31 July 2023
435,283	257,701	(198,415)	(85,506)	409,063
20,767 - 195,162 75,000 337,155 450,000	6,382 50,000 - - - -	(13,295) - (61,876) - (71,395) -	- - - - (265,760) -	13,854 50,000 133,286 75,000 - 450,000
1,078,084	56,382	(146,566)	(265,760)	722,140
1,579,374	1,987,243	(2,065,876)	351,266	1,852,007
2,657,458	2,043,625	(2,212,442)	85,506	2,574,147
3,092,741	2,301,326	(2,410,857)	-	2,983,210

The narrative to explain the purpose of each fund is given at the foot of the note below.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

£ 60,077 56,990 56,148 40,838 6,702 38,680 45,391 101,534 78,140 114,021 10,693 25,503 At 31 July 2021	£ 30,000 29,632 20,561 10,469 7,351 18,255 130,172 42,716 - - - - Income	£ (606) (76,274) (49,367) - (11,770) - (164,827) (81,472) (63,011) - - (1,650) Expenditure	£ (38,631) - - (21,120) - - 31,734 - - (1,875) (5,000) (4,721) Transfers	£ 50,840 10,348 27,342 30,187 2,283 56,935 42,470 62,778 15,129 112,146 5,693 19,132 At 31 July 2022
634,717	289,156	(448,977)	(39,613)	435,283
30,071 572 228,661 75,000 512,000 450,000	4,725 - - - - -	(14,029) - - - (174,845) -	- (572) (33,499) - - -	20,767 - 195,162 75,000 337,155 450,000
1,296,304	4,725	(188,874)	(34,071)	1,078,084
1,808,945	1,547,098	(1,850,353)	` 73,684	1,579,374
3,105,249	1,551,823	(2,039,227)	39,613	2,657,458
3,739,966	1,840,979	(2,488,204)	-	3,092,741

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

21 Movement in funds - continued

Purposes of restricted funds

Bursary funds RT Therapists' Bursary Fund Anonymous Bursary Fund Helen Ley Bursary Fund Enquiry service Information and engagement Education Specialist Nurse Programme Advanced MS Champions Programme Health Professionals services MS nurse support Helen Ley Advanced MS Programme

General research Fundraising support

Donations for educational grants for allied health professionals Donations for educational grants for allied health professionals Donations for specific educational projects for health professionals Donations for educational grants for nurses working with advanced MS Donations for the work of the enquiry service Donations for the work of the information and engagement projects Donations for the Health Professionals Programme Donations to fund MS specialist nurse posts Donations to fund champions for people with Advanced MS Donations to fund healthcare and evaluation programmes Donations to fund resources to support MS nurses Funding to run training events focusing on issues relating to people with advanced MS Donations for research work Restricted funding for fundraising support

Purposes of designated funds

Fixed assets fund Alison Carew-Cox bursary fund Therapists' Bursary Fund Nurse sustainability fund Priest research fund Voice project fund

Legacy equalisation reserve

MS Trust investment in fixed assets funding the depreciation costs Donations for educational grants for allied health professionals Donations for educational grants for allied health professionals Funding for MS nurses Donations for research work Funding for a new project to build how we listen to and act on voices from the MS community Fund to smooth the flow of legacy income

Transfers between funds

Transfers of £85,506 were made from various restricted funds to unrestricted funds to represent the outflow of funds that were eliminated on consolidation of the group accounts.

Transfers of £265,760 were made from Voice project funds (designated funds) to unrestricted general funds to release funds from the designation, to represent mainstreaming of this project.

22 Reconciliation of net (expenditure) / income to net cash flow from operating activities

Net income / (expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the statement of financial activities) Depreciation charges Interest receivable Loss on the disposal of fixed assets (Increase)/decrease in stocks (Increase)/decrease in debtors Increase/(decrease) in creditors Net cash (used in) / provided by operating activities	2023 £ (109,531) 13,295 (82,901) - 7,024 40,517 (85,455)	2022 £ (647,225) 14,029 (34,644) - 2,190 192,622 84,865
	(217,051)	(388,163)

Multiple Sclerosis Trust

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 July 2023

23 Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank and in hand Short-term deposits 1 to 3 months Short-term deposits between 3 and 12 months Short-term deposits over 12 months Total cash and cash equivalents	£ 378,944 542,750 2,537,480 - At 1 August 2022	£ 352,991 (340,308) (388,215) 235,000 Cash flows	£ 731,935 202,442 2,149,265 235,000 At 31 July 2023
	3,459,174	(140,532)	3,318,642

24 Operating lease commitments

The group and charity's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods:

for each of the following periods:
Less than one year One to five years	2023 2022 £ £ 76,500 76,500 38,250 114,750 114,750 191,250 Property		2023 2022 £ £ 385 3,080 - 385 385 3,465 Equipment
	114,750	191,250	385	3,465

25 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

Multiple Sclerosis Trust and its subsidiary undertakings

Contents

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Letter from the Chair

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Letter from the Chair

For the year ended 31 July 2023

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

What the MS Trust achieved against its objectives in 2022/23

Health Professionals Programmes

Specialist Nurse Programme (SNP)

Advanced MS Champion (AMSC) pilot report and launch

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Advanced MS Champions programme

Annual conference

Foundation Development Module

Advanced Development Modules

Information and Engagement

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Fundraising

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Influencing health policy

Plans for the future

Key priorities for the Health Professionals Programmes in 2023/24

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Key priorities for Information and Engagement in 2023/24

Key priorities for Fundraising and Marketing in 2023/24

Raising funds from the public

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Public benefit

Subsidiaries

Working with other charities and organisations

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Donors and fundraisers acknowledgement

Volunteers

Structure, governance and management

For the year ended 31 July 2023

The MS Trust senior management team (SMT)

Risk management

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Financial review

Financial position

Income

Expenditure

Result for the year

Review of the activities of the subsidiaries

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Reserves policy

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Monies from the pharmaceutical industry

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Going concern

Investment policy

Statement of responsibilities of the Trustees

Trustees’ report

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Auditors

Reference and administrative information

Reference and administrative information

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Multiple Sclerosis Trust

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Opinion

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

Other information

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Multiple Sclerosis Trust

For the year ended 31 July 2023

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Responsibilities of trustees

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Multiple Sclerosis Trust

For the year ended 31 July 2023