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← The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

2024-03-31-accounts

Company registration number: 05174065 Charity registration number: 1107539 Charity number (Scotland): SC049810

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

(A company limited by guarantee) Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

KM Chartered Accountants 1st Floor, Block C The Wharf Manchester Road Burnley Lancashire BB11 1JG

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Contents

Reference and Administrative Details 1
Trustees' Report 2 to 11
Independent Examiner's Report 12 to 13
Statement of Financial Activities 14
Balance Sheet 15
Notes to the Financial Statements 16 to 22

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Reference and Administrative Details

Chair A Conquy
Trustees J Beart
A Conquy
J L Cozens
S Gilbert
S Oliver
T Stephenson
C Tempest
J Williamson
Secretary S L Tyler
Principal Office 1st Floor, Block C
The Wharf
Manchester Road
Burnley
Lancashire
BB11 1JG
Company Registration Number 05174065
Charity Registration Number 1107539
Charity Registration Number SC049810
Scotland
Bankers CAF Bank Ltd
25 Kings Hill Avenue
Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent
ME19 5JQ
Independent Examiner KM
Chartered Accountants
1st Floor, Block C
The Wharf
Manchester Road
Burnley
Lancashire
BB11 1JG

Page 1

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Trustees' Report

The trustees, who are directors for the purposes of company law, present the annual report together with the financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Trustees

J Beart

A Conquy

J L Cozens

S Gilbert

S Oliver

T Stephenson

C Tempest

J Williamson

Introduction

This has been a year of embedding processes and systems delivery for The Aplastic Anaemia Trust. Despite tough economic times, the organisation was able to hit the revised fundraising target of £150k. We are very grateful for the efforts of our community in continuing to fundraise and support us during these difficult times.

We implemented a new structure for our online support groups, by treatment type and stage which has led to more engaged and bigger groups.

The cost of living crisis and the current strain on health services has exacerbated many of the difficulties of living with an ultra-rare condition, with our community reporting longer waiting times and more challenges accessing benefits support. We remain grateful for our strategic partnership with Maggie’s Cancer Care, through whom we are able to offer welfare benefits advice.

The Better Together For Healthy Marrow Partnership has been a huge benefit for the AAT community and is now approaching the half way point of its three year funding.

We work together to deliver improved support for our communities - people affected by a range of related rare bone marrow failures that are not caused by cancer.

The six small but mighty organisations in this partnership are:

This year we have focused on providing excellent psychological and emotional support in the form of courses, as well as 1-1 provision.

As a small charity who strive always to punch above our weight, strong partnerships are key to our organisational strategy. This approach is enabling us to deliver both support and research more effectively and at a higher quality than we could achieve alone.

Page 2

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Trustees' Report

This year we have developed signposting and information sharing partnerships with Young Lives vs Cancer and Teenage Cancer Trust. We have also worked with Leukaemia Care, who have retired their Aplastic Anaemia leaflet after contacting us about how impressive our information services are and that they no longer need to fill this gap.

Underpinning the core aims in our strategy is the aim to better understand the needs of people affected by aplastic anaemia. We took great strides this year, with the launch of our Rare Voices Report, which is the publication of the results of our National Community Survey. and put a real focus on improving the monitoring and evaluation of the work that we deliver. Through the Better Together for Healthy Bone Marrow project, funded by The National Lottery, we are now working with Consultant Emma Insley to track the impact of our work on the lives of people affected by aplastic anaemia.

Objectives and Activities

What is Aplastic Anaemia?

Aplastic anaemia is a rare and life-threatening form of bone marrow failure. It can affect people of any age, but it is most common in children and older people. The majority of cases are acquired, but many of our community are also diagnosed with inherited types of aplastic anaemia. The Aplastic Anaemia Trust is the only UK charity working at grassroots to support every person diagnosed with aplastic anaemia and their loved ones, to help relieve the immense disease burden. We estimate 150 to 250 people per year are diagnosed with AA - there is no registry collecting this information at the moment so it is impossible to give an accurate number. However we know from our clinical networks that this figure is on the rise in adults and children. The AAT has ambitions to fund the first AA registry in 2024.

Our Mission, Vision and Objectives

The objects of the charity as defined in its Articles of Association are to relieve the sickness of those people suffering from bone marrow disease.

Vision

Everyone affected by aplastic anaemia in the UK should feel empowered, and have access to the best possible treatment, care and support. And one day, everyone with rare bone marrow failure will be able to lead a full and healthy life.

Mission

We deliver our vision though two key strategies:

  1. Enabling research into aplastic anaemia and other rare bone marrow failures to understand the cause, improve treatments and eventually eradicate it altogether.

  2. Empowering people affected by aplastic anaemia to lead healthy and fulfilling lives through support, advocacy and improvements to health and social care systems.

Page 3

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Trustees' Report

Our strategic objectives

A. Ensure everyone affected by aplastic anaemia has the informational, practical, and emotional support they need to lead healthy and fulfilling lives.

B. Improve the knowledge and understanding of aplastic anaemia through education, campaigning, community outreach, leveraging partnerships, advocacy, and system change.

C. Enable ground-breaking research partnerships which lead to improved treatments and better outcomes. D. Underpinning the above, build and hold an evidence base on our community, their experiences and the needs they have.

Our fundraising acts as an enabler in our strategy, ensuring we have the resources to deliver these objectives.

Challenges of 2023/24

This year we have put a focus on creating our wonderful Rare Voices report, the first national survey of rare bone marrow failures and the needs and experiences of those affected. Over four hundred people participated, giving us a clear view of their needs. We took the first steps in responding to these needs.

The key themes were and continue to be:

An overstretched NHS and uncertainty about Rare Disease Strategy

Aplastic anaemia is an ultra-rare condition, and as the UK health system faced a turbulent year, with services overstretched, our work to support patients and their families has never been more important. Pressures of particular concern for aplastic anaemia patients include the widely-reported rise in the length of time that patients have been waiting for emergency, routine and cancer treatments which we hear frequently applies to our community too. For example, while we do not have access to data for aplastic anaemia specifically, we know that the number of patients seen by a specialist consultant within two weeks of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer remains well below target. The 93% performance target for patients to be seen within that time frame has not been met since May 2020. In May 2023, this stood at 80.8%

Whilst we welcome the launch of the Rare Disease Framework and the opportunity to participate in discussions around the future of care commissioning, we remain concerned about the move away from centralised care to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and what these mean for accessing expertise for rare diseases. As part of our work with Better Together, we have been writing to key NHS and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) members inviting them to discuss this with us.

What did people affected by Aplastic Anaemia need in 2023?

We have seen a significant increase in the number of people contacting us for support, whether by phone, email, or interacting via our private Facebook Support Group. In 2023-24, we provided support to 312 individuals, compared to 268 individuals in 2022-23. This represents a 16% increase in demand for and access to the support that we offer.

Page 4

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Trustees' Report

Regardless of the stage in their treatment journey at which a person affected by aplastic anaemia reaches out to us, we are often in contact with our community members on numerous occasions throughout their journey - indeed, it is very unusual for a person to only reach out to us for support on one occasion. In 2023-24, we recorded a total of 867 support ‘interactions’ with people that reached out to us, whether that be answering a question via email or phone or signposting them to a specialist to support them with their financial or emotional wellbeing. In 2022-23, the total number of ‘interactions’ recorded was 597, which shows, once again, that we have seen a significant increase in demand for our services this year, and that we are fostering long-term relationships, enabling us to support people in the longer-term through their diagnosis and treatment. These figures show that we have seen a 45% increase this year in the number of interactions we have with those that we support, compared to 2022-23.

A diagnosis of aplastic anaemia can be incredibly debilitating and impacts every aspect of daily life. In these challenging times, our patient community continues to experience financial challenges, whether related to the ongoing cost of living crisis, or difficulties in accessing, or navigating the welfare benefits system. Although we have seen fewer requests for support around benefits this year (21 requests for benefits consultations in 2023-24, compared to 23 requests made in 2022-23), we frequently hear from our community about the financial issues and pressures that they face, often exacerbated by issues in applying for benefits such as PIP, where claims are frequently rejected, with our community members having to go through the mandatory consideration and tribunal processes in order to access the benefits that they are entitled to. In turn, this creates an additional practical and psychological burden for those affected by aplastic anaemia, further exacerbating an already difficult situation.

Difficult times for fundraising

The cost of living crisis has potential to significantly impact the quality of life and mental wellbeing of members of our community, and also poses a risk to our organisation’s income - as we are proud to receive over a third of our funding from community fundraising.

Achievements and performance highlights

How The AAT delivered public benefit in 2023/2024

The Board of Trustees confirm they have had regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and have complied with their duty under section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in implementing current and planning future activities.

In line with the governing document, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, our performance highlights for the last year in relation to the Charity's aims are set out below.

Delivering support

Our small and agile Support and Outreach team are swift to adapt to the evolving needs of aplastic anaemia patients in a rapidly changing world. Investment in the project management of this team has seen these abilities strengthened, as the online services we developed during lockdown are iterated and expanded into in-person support.

This year our support team and small group of dedicated volunteers:

• Delivered 9 informative webinars. These webinars connected people affected by aplastic anaemia with global experts speaking about specific aspects of living with the condition, or they were delivered by a psychologist with the intention of offering emotional wellbeing support to those living with the conditions or those supporting people who are living with the conditions.

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The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Trustees' Report

• Streamlined the provision of our support packs for children in hospitals and their siblings left at home, in collaboration with our Youth Board. These include a handmade blanket, a tablet to enable them to access our online resources and a bespoke activity book designed by our Youth Board to support a child’s mental wellbeing.

• Continued and extended our bespoke service to provide our expert support to even more families, including parents, children, siblings, grandparents and wider family networks.

• Launched a new Mindfulness for Stress Course to sit alongside the popular Managing Stress Course, designed and delivered by Maggie's psychologists to deliver expert mental health and resilience support to small groups.

• In collaboration with our community reference group (our volunteer patient feedback group) and Maggie's psychologists, co-designed a new course entitled 'Moving Forward: Living the life that matters to you' designed specifically for those people moving on from active treatment. This will be launched during the next financial year.

• Delivered our Winter Wellness programme offering our community various support options to help them through the specific challenges of the winter season including making seasonal befriending calls to more isolated members of our community.

• Continued to facilitate and moderate daily discussion in our active Patient Support Facebook Group.

• Held coffee mornings in Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and a plan for expanding this to Birmingham is also underway.

• Delivered our 6 popular monthly online meet-ups which are focused on specific journey stages, enabling patients and their famililes to connect with others at the same stage of their journey.

• Delivered our AAT online book club, to help bring our community together in a fun and engaging activity, without the focus being on illness.

• Continued to offer one to one support via messenger, email, support line calls and WhatsApp as preferred by the individual community member.

• Arranged in-person visits with patients either in hospital or otherwise unable to attend the in-person coffee mornings

• Held a Sepsis Awareness Campaign in collaboration with the UK Sepsis Trust with regular orders of the co-designed sepsis alert cards being made and one of our Youth Board members sharing their experience of sepsis with aplastic anaemia with the UK Sepsis Trust.

• Our Youth Board has evolved with three new members joining, bringing new insights and valuable perspectives, with an older member retiring. The Youth Board continued to offer their voice to ensure that the Support & Outreach team always considers the needs of young people with aplastic anaemia.

• Built on our organisational connections, working with Maggie's, the Teenage Cancer Trust, Young Lives vs Cancer, Anthony Nolan, Over the Wall and our Better Together partners.

• Mapped our customer journeys and identified key 'touchpoints' to allow us to offer our community more personalised support.

Page 6

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Trustees' Report

Building partnerships and Better Together for Healthy Marrow

Building successful partnerships is at the heart of our organisational strategy, and this year has seen very positive results from this approach. We are now halfway though the three-year National Lottery Community Fund project ‘Better Together for Healthy Bone Marrow’.

Our most significant progress has been in relation to our emotional wellbeing framework, which is now delivering an ongoing programme of webinars and courses as well as tailored one-to-one support from our Psychology Team. Across our six communities, 219 people have accessed these provisions so far.

Better Together has so far delivered:

Our collaborative fundraising campaign has raised £56,860 across our six charities. We have created a comprehensive social media campaign, building on our Rare Voices report findings, shining a spotlight on community identified needs.

Our partnership with Maggie’s remains a vital and powerful one. At Leeds Hospital, a key hub of expertise for aplastic anaemia, we have now established weekly face-to-face aplastic anaemia coffee mornings at the Maggie’s centre there. Zoe from our team is working with Maggie’s to provide joined up support that ensures people diagnosed with aplastic anaemia in Leeds have the same access to the warm, expert Maggie’s support provided to cancer patients - plus the connection to other aplastic anaemia patients and rare disease understanding, direct from the AAT. In 24/25 we intend to develop this model in Scotland and Birmingham .

We are working with Contact, a charity for families with disabled children, to use funding from the Pears Foundation to deliver a specific support programme for families affected by aplastic anaemia. We are proud to report that 140 people have benefitted from the Family Support Project this year. This figure includes children, siblings, cousins, a grandparent, carers and parents.

Research Highlights

Trialling new treatment

The TIARA Trial at King’s, which The Aplastic Anaemia Trust is co-funding with LifeArc, experienced delays during the pandemic, so it was fantastic news this year to see the first aplastic anaemia patients in the world receive T regulatory cells as a potential new treatment for the condition.

Key findings:

King’s College Hospital showed that the Treg cells are reduced in aplastic anaemia. Furthermore, outside the patient’s body these cells are expandable and functionally competent in suppressing cellular responses that are directly or indirectly associated with the destruction of bone marrow stem cells.

This led the Kings team to devise a world first Phase 1 MHRA approved trial that involves taking the T cells from specific patients with AA, identifying and expanding the Tregs under good manufacturing practices and infusing two doses, two weeks apart of these cells. Thus far 6 patients have received both doses of expanded Treg cells. The treatment appears to be extremely well tolerated and there have not been any safety concerns.

Response signals are currently being evaluated in detail using clinical and translational research criteria. It is hoped the data will be mature for presentation at the American Society of Haematology 2024 meeting in San Diego.

Page 7

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Trustees' Report

Building a registry for children with AA

Following commitment of funding by The AAT for a three year period, recruitment for our paediatric UK bone marrow failure registry and biobank was completed in June. 45 children with idiopathic Severe Aplastic Anaemia have been recruited over a three-year period, in a project led by Dr Sujith Samarasinghe, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.

This project has now closed.

We are pleased to announce that the registry came in under cost by £30k. This has allowed us to reinvest the money in other clinical research projects (see below).

Genomic Sequencing to understand Mutation timing and clonal trajectories in aplastic anaemia.

We funded a portion of the costs for a study into Mutation timing and clonal trajectories in aplastic anaemia. This research project brings together researchers from Leeds, Cambridge and the Sangar Institute working in partnership to investigate the genes of people with aplastic anaemia as a first step to find ways to better predict treatment responses and later complications, such as cancer.

Funding new research

This year, because of the underspend on the paediatric bone marrow registry project, we were able to commit £36k to funding the first bone marrow registry for people with AA, for those who receive transplants and those who don't. This is in collaboration with EBMT and BSBMTCT. We hope to get the project kicked off Summer 2024. This is a vital piece of work because we currently have no clinical data on how many people are newly diagnosed each year, and what proportion of those people receive transplants vs therapeutic or drug therapies. It also limits the kind of research than can be done to understand this condition, for example the long term health outcomes or whether it leads to other diseases or co-morbidities later in life.

Fundraising Highlights

This was the second year of running our annual Super Rare campaign, with the six other small organisations in the Better Together partnership fundraising alongside us. Despite the challenging fundraising environment, our community stepped up - and Super Rare hit target for The Aplastic Anaemia Trust, raising £24,038 against a target of £20,000 for our charity, making March our most successful month of the year. A total of £56,870 was raised across all the charity partners during Super Rare 2024.

2023 was a tough climate for fundraising, with more economic uncertainty and people feeling the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis. We are so proud of our supporters, who managed to maintain their level of fundraising and generosity of giving, with the individual giving coming in at the same average amount as in previous years. The tough fundraising conditions’ impact was felt more keenly by us this year as it was compounded by the lack of a large single event, or single large gift, during the period.

• Our Santa Splash event is going from strength to strength, with 130 people in 4 locations for 2023, and £5300 raised.

• The Great North Run is proving to be our biggest running event, where 17 people took part raising £9,500 • Our walking events remain vital chances for our community to meet up, with the Peak District Walk having 53 people attend, and raising £3100.

• The Big Give was trialled for the first time, where we raised £2,500 in pledges and which was matched by a further £2,500 during the appeal. This was then doubled. A big success.

Page 8

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Trustees' Report

We thank the following Trusts, Foundations and organisations for their funding and support this year:

The Stafford Trust The Meikle Foundation The National Lottery Community Fund The David and Rosemary Philips Trust Contact a Family and the Pears Foundation The Hospital Saturday Fund via the Big Give

Risk management

The Trustees have a duty to identify, assess and regularly scrutinise the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. The Trustees have mapped significant risks that may have an adverse effect on the AAT’s charitable activities.

A robust risk management framework is in place and remains effective in enabling the Trustees to oversee and monitor strategic risks, reviewing progress against specific action plans quarterly.

Going Concern

The Trustees consider there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The review of the financial position and future plans gives Trustees confidence that the charity remains a going concern for the foreseeable future.

Financial Review

How our income and expenditure changed in 2023/2024

Unrestricted income for the year totalled £196,609 (22/23: £193,950) and expenditure amounted to £224,875 (22/23: £307,484) resulting in a net deficit on unrestricted funds for the year of £28,267 (22/23: £113,534). Restricted income of £282,161 was received in the year (22/23: £280,350). Expenditure incurred and charged against restricted income funds amounted to £275,449 (22/23: £173,921), leaving balances on restricted funds totalling £116,712 at 31 March 2024 (22/23: £110,000).

Managing our income across a range of rare bone marrow failures

As we move into the second year of funding complex partnership projects, it is useful to note with these accounts that the grant income from The National Lottery Community Fund represents budget which is managed by The Aplastic Anaemia Trust to deliver work that is designed to benefit our Better Together partnership of six small organisations (listed above), and the communities of people that all seven organisations represent. This project falls within The Aplastic Anaemia Trust’s charitable objectives of supporting people suffering from bone marrow disease and by working collaboratively with partnership organisations who are expert in their specific conditions, we can replicate benefits and learning across all our organisations and speak with one voice.

This demonstrates a strategic and forward-thinking approach to having impact in the field of bone marrow failure as per our charitable purpose.

Page 9

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Trustees' Report

Our reserves position and policy update

The ongoing challenge we face is how to be sure of sustainable funding for these essential support services, while also being able to invest in research.

In response, our reserves policy remains as 22/23 - to ensure we hold 9 months core operating costs in unrestricted reserves, so that the charity will be able to maintain vital services and re-establish our income, should one source of income drop unexpectedly. Our reasoning, method of calculating required funds, and the purpose for retaining these reserves is outlined in our reserves policy.

The nine months of core operating costs will be recalculated annually. As at March 2024 we calculated that the target figure should be £217k and unrestricted reserves stand at £302k (£85k above target). Our unrestricted reserves position has allowed us to invest and grow our Support & Outreach offer, and now we need to ensure that our annual income allows the offer to be sustainable. We took the decision reduce reserves over two years, to allow time for the income growth we expect and to manage the current financial uncertainty, and by March 2026 expect to have reduced unrestricted reserves to our target.

Our priority for the next financial year is to continue to seek funding to cover the costs of work delivered by our support team, which will provide confidence that our current level of support is sustainable and enable us to invest future income raised by community fundraising in research partnership projects. This budget does not include investment in new research projects; however we will be investing in some expert fundraising resource to run a feasibility study on the research funding landscape, and to establish whether the AAT should be investing in this area of fundraising as an additional budgeted income stream over and above the current financial framework.

Pharmaceutical Industry income in 2023/2024

Following the excellent relationship building we did in 22/23, where we received support from Sobi, Roche and Alexion AstraZeneca Rare Disease to fund the National Community Survey, we have been able to use the Rare Voices report to open further conversations about how to support the needs of our community going forward. In the last year we were pleased to receive sponsorship from Sobi, Alexion AstraZeneca Rare Disease, Roche and Pfizer towards the Rare Voices report and campaign.

Sobi also provided grant funding for our Winter Wellness programme, enabling us to deliver enhanced support to our communities over winter, a time when the isolation and anxiety experienced by many of our community are exacerbated by heightened worries about seasonal infections among those who are immunocompromised, and missing out on seasonal festivities.

This support forms part of our balanced income portfolio, limiting the total income from pharmaceutical companies to one third.

Structure, Governance and Management

Embedding our board

Following our board skills audit and the subsequent expansion of the board in 22/23 we have focused on embedding the trustees into the organisation through offering training and attendance at staff conferences. Jane Cozens became our Vice Chair and we have highly functioning finance sub-committees supporting the governance of the AAT. We feel well placed to support the bigger and more complex organisation it has become.

Page 10

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Trustees' Report

Research and Clinical Advisory Panel and Youth Board

Our Research and Clinical Advisory Panel welcomed Professor Rod Skinner into his role as Vice Chair. The rest of the board remains the same and we thank them for their ongoing service.

There were also changes to our Youth Board. Ashleigh Kennedy left the board during this year, having simply reached too great an age (i.e. over 25 years old) to sit on the panel. We were pleased to welcome three new members, India Wyldbore-Smith, Sophie Ouzman and Daisy Hall which brings the Youth Board membership up to a total of seven at the end of the year. The Youth Board members are working on developing a strategy for the next three years, and we thank all Youth Board Members, retired and current, for their insight and ideas which have been extremely valuable.

Chief Executive

Our Chief Executive, Stevie Tyler, returned from Maternity Leave on November 2023. Our Head of Comms and Fundraising, Ellie Dawes, stepped up as Acting CEO while Stevie is away, and did an excellent job of managing the running of the organisation.

The Trustees have delegated day-to-day management of the Trust’s affairs to Stevie Tyler

Small companies provision statement

The accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on 31 October 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

......................................... Ann A Conquy L. yy Trustee

Type text here

Page 11

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024 which are set out on pages 14 to 22.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

As the company's trustees (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 ('the 2005 Act'), the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act'). You are satisfied that the accounts of the company are not required by charity or company law to be audited and have chosen instead to have an independent examination.

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the company's accounts as carried out under section 44 (1) (c) of the 2005 Act and section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the '2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the requirements of Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

Since The Aplastic Anaemia Trust's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charitable company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records with the accounting requirements of Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Page 12

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

==> picture [34 x 40] intentionally omitted <==

...................................... Mark Heaton FCCA FCIE DChA KM 1st Floor, Block C The Wharf Manchester Road Burnley Lancashire BB11 1JG

31 October 2024

Page 13

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

(Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)

Note
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
Grants receivable
4
Fund-raising events
5
Investment income
6
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
7
Charitable activities
8
Total expenditure
Net (expenditure)/income
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
18		 Unrestricted
funds
£
146,207
19,940
22,779
7,683
196,609
(34,539)
(190,337)
(224,876)
(28,267)
(28,267)
330,118
301,851		 Restricted
funds
£
70,150
212,011
-
-
282,161
-
(275,449)
(275,449)
6,712
6,712
110,000
116,712		 Total
2024
£
216,357
231,951
22,779
7,683
478,770
(34,539)
(465,786)
(500,325)
(21,555)
(21,555)
440,118
418,563		 Unrestricted
funds
£
147,763
-
43,450
2,737
193,950
(26,047)
(281,437)
(307,484)
(113,534)
(113,534)
443,652
330,118		 Restricted
funds
£
70,000
210,350
-
-
280,350
-
(173,921)
(173,921)
106,429
106,429
3,571
110,000		 Total
2023
£
217,763
210,350
43,450
2,737
474,300
(26,047)
(455,358)
(481,405)
(7,105)
(7,105)
447,223
440,118

All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The funds breakdown for 2023 is shown in note 18.

Page 14

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

(Registration number: 05174065) Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024

2024 2023
Note £ £
Current assets
Debtors 14 21,686 19,122
Cash at bank and in hand 522,970 614,950
544,656 634,072
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 15 (73,193) (145,709)
Total assets less current liabilities 471,463 488,363
Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year 16 (52,900) (48,245)
Net assets 418,563 440,118
Funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
Restricted funds 116,712 110,000
Unrestricted income funds
Unrestricted funds 301,851 330,118
Total funds 18 418,563 440,118

For the financial year ending 31 March 2024 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibilities:

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements on pages 14 to 22 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 31 October 2024 and signed on their behalf by: ......................................... AnnL. oy A Conquy Trustee

Page 15

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

1 Charity status

The charity is limited by guarantee, incorporated in England, and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the trustees is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £100 towards the assets of the charity in the event of liquidation.

The address of its registered office is: 1st Floor, Block C The Wharf Manchester Road Burnley Lancashire BB11 1JG

These financial statements were authorised for issue by the trustees on 31 October 2024.

2 Accounting policies

Summary of significant accounting policies and key accounting estimates

The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.

Statement of compliance

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, on a going concern basis, in accordance with the Charity Commissioners' "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" (effective January 2019) ("the SORP (FRS 102)"), FRS 102, the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, the Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006.

Basis of preparation

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern nor any significant areas of uncertainty that affect the carrying value of assets held by the charity.

Exemption from preparing a cash flow statement

The charity is exempt from preparing a cash flow statement.

Income

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

Page 16

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Grants receivable

Grants are recognised when the charity has an entitlement to the funds and any conditions linked to the grants have been met. Where performance conditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be met, the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferred income to be released.

Expenditure

All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Governance costs

These include the costs attributable to the charity’s compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

Fund structure

Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees's discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.

Restricted income funds are those donated for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose.

Pensions and other post retirement obligations

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme which is a pension plan under which fixed contributions are paid into a pension fund and the charity has no legal or constructive obligation to pay further contributions even if the fund does not hold sufficient assets to pay all employees the benefits relating to employee service in the current and prior periods.

Contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when they are due. If contribution payments exceed the contribution due for service, the excess is recognised as a prepayment.

3 Income from donations

Donations and legacies Unrestricted
funds
General
£
146,207
146,207		 Restricted
funds
£
70,150
70,150		 Total
2024
£
216,357
216,357		 Total
2023
£
217,763
217,763

Page 17

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

4 Income from charitable activities

Grants receivable
5
Income from fund-raising
Fund-raising events
6
Investment income
Interest receivable and similar income;
Interest receivable on bank deposits
7
Expenditure on raising funds
Fundraising staff costs		 Unrestricted
funds
General
£
19,940
19,940		 Restricted
funds
£
212,011
212,011
Unrestricted
funds
General
£
22,779
22,779
Unrestricted
funds
General
£
7,683
Unrestricted
funds
General
£
34,539
34,539		 Total
2024
£
231,951
231,951
Total
2024
£
22,779
22,779
Total
2024
£
7,683
Total
2024
£
34,539
34,539		 Total
2023
£
210,350
210,350
Total
2023
£
43,450
43,450
Total
2023
£
2,737
Total
2023
£
26,047
26,047

Page 18

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

8 Expenditure on charitable activities

Note
Patient Information,
outreach & support
Research & grants
Governance costs
9		 Unrestricted
funds
General
£
188,487
-
1,850
190,337		 Restricted
funds
£
275,449
-
-
275,449		 Total
2024
£
463,936
-
1,850
465,786		 Total
2023
£
397,662
55,946
1,750
455,358

9 Analysis of governance and support costs

Governance costs

Independent Examiner’s remuneration Unrestricted
funds
General
£
1,850
1,850		 Total
2024
£
1,850
1,850		 Total
2023
£
1,750
1,750

10 Trustees remuneration and expenses

No trustees, nor any persons connected with them, have received any remuneration from the charity during the year.

No trustees have received any reimbursed expenses or any other benefits from the charity during the year.

Page 19

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

11 Staff costs

The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:

Staff costs during the year were:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2024
£
258,488
18,881
7,739
285,108		 2023
£
207,524
19,037
4,816
231,377

The monthly average number of persons (including senior management team) employed by the charity during the year expressed as full time equivalents was as follows:

Charitable activites
The number of employees whose emoluments fell within the following bands
£60,001 - £70,000
12 Independent examiner's remuneration
Examination of the financial statements		 2024
No
10
was:
2024
No
1
2024
£
1,850		 2023
No
9
2023
No
1
2023
£
1,750

13 Taxation

The charity is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from taxation.

14 Debtors

Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income		 2024
£
159
7,677
13,850
21,686		 2023
£
-
-
19,122
19,122

Page 20

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

15 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Research grant commitments
Pension scheme creditor
Accruals		 2024
£
68,542
1,005
3,646
73,193		 2023
£
135,198
-
10,511
145,709

16 Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

Research grant commitments 2024
£
52,900		 2023
£
48,245

17 Pension and other schemes

Defined contribution pension scheme

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The pension cost charge for the year represents contributions payable by the charity to the scheme and amounted to £7,739 (2023 - £4,816).

Contributions totalling £1,005 (2023 - £Nil) were payable to the scheme at the end of the year and are included in creditors.

18 Funds

Unrestricted funds
General
Restricted funds
National Community Survey
National Lottery - Better Together
Contact a Family
Total funds		 Balance at 1
April 2023
£
330,118
330,118
-
105,674
4,326
110,000
440,118		 Incoming
resources
£
196,609
196,609
70,000
203,661
8,500
282,161
478,770		 Resources
expended
£
(224,876)
(224,876)
(70,000)
(197,146)
(8,303)
(275,449)
(500,325)		 Balance at 31
March 2024
£
301,851
301,851
-
112,189
4,523
116,712
418,563

Page 21

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Unrestricted funds
General
Restricted funds
National Lottery - Better Together
Contact a family
Awards For All
Winter Wellness Project
National Community Survey
Total funds		 Balance at 1
April 2022
£
443,652
443,652
-
-
3,571
-
-
3,571
447,223		 Incoming
resources
£
193,950
193,950
191,906
8,500
-
19,944
60,000
280,350
474,300		 Resources
expended
£
(307,484)
(307,484)
(86,232)
(4,174)
(3,571)
(19,944)
(60,000)
(173,921)
(481,405)		 Balance at 31
March 2023
£
330,118
330,118
105,674
4,326
-
-
-
110,000
440,118

19 Analysis of net assets between funds

Current assets
Current liabilities
Creditors over 1 year
Total net assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Creditors over 1 year
Total net assets		 Unrestricted
funds
General
£
427,944
(73,193)
(52,900)
301,851
Unrestricted
funds
General
£
524,072
(145,709)
(48,245)
330,118		 Restricted
funds
£
116,712
-
-
116,712
Restricted
funds
£
110,000
-
-
110,000		 2024 Total
funds
£
544,656
(73,193)
(52,900)
418,563
2023 Total
funds
£
634,072
(145,709)
(48,245)
440,118

Page 22