2022-03-31-accounts

2021-22

TRUSTEES' REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

CHARITY NUMBER 1123224 COMPANY NUMBER 06226595

CONTENTS

CONTENTS
Trustee Report
Introduction	03
Delivering Against Our Objectives	05
Voice
Impact	13
Sustainable	18
Future Plans	21
Financial review	22
Reserves Policy	23
Governance	24
Governance and management structure	25
Environmental Impact	27
Risk management	28
Setting Pay	30
Fundraising	31
Statement of Trustees' Responsibility	32
Independent Auditor's Report	33
Financial Statements
Statement of Financial Activities	37
Balance Sheet	38
Statement of Cash Flows	39
Notes to the Accounts	40

INTRODUCTION

Founded in 1948 as the National Youth Council of the UK, The British Youth Council believes that young people have the power and the potential to take action and make positive change for themselves and others.

Our vision

A world in which every young person is empowered to create social and political change.

Our mission

As the national youth council of the UK, the British Youth Council brings young people together to find their voice and use it to improve the lives of young people. We work with others to amplify young people’s voices to create an environment in which young people's views are valued, sought and acted upon.

Our values

Youth led – young people are agents of change and will always be at the forefront of our work. As a youth-led charity, young people are our leadership through our governance structures. They lead and shape our work, and we support them to define their own action for change. We champion youth leadership across all sections of society, evidencing the benefits of engaging young people in decision making and delivery and supporting that to happen.

Collaborative – we actively seek to collaborate with others to make positive change happen. We seek to work with relevant partners to add value to our campaigns and activity, and to be more creative in our approach to making change happen with and for young people. And we recognise the skills, knowledge and experience of young people, volunteers, staff and partners, and strive to achieve more by maximising the opportunities that collaboration provides.

Inclusive – we respect and value diversity and act in a way that includes all. We ensure that all our activities our inclusive, recognising the needs of young people across different communities, and bring young people and partners together to learn from each other.

Charitable objects

The objects of the charity are “to advance the spiritual, educational and physical welfare of young people in any manner which is now, or may be hereinafter deemed by law to be charitable, including maintaining contact with similar bodies working in the same field overseas.” We do this through:

• providing a voice for young people;

• promoting equality for young people;

• helping young people be more involved in decisions that affect their lives; advancing young people’s participation in society and civil life.

This produces a public benefit through the empowering, educating and supporting of young people to play an active role in society, both directly or through the improvement to public services, locally and nationally, as a result of their increased scrutiny of, or participation in, local and national democracy and services.

Public Benefit

The British Youth Council’s work benefits the following public groups:

• all young people aged 25 and under, who take part in our activities, or are impacted

• by them;

• our member organisations including national and local youth organisations which are predominately youth-led or influenced;

• charitable, third and public sector organisations who work with young people;

• a network of local youth councils/vehicles based in local authorities;

• local and national Government where the views of young people are shared in developing and improving public policy and services.

We benefit young people directly in the provision of education and skills training through our programme of activities, representation opportunities and volunteering. We work to benefit young people in general through the promotion of intercultural dialogue, representation and volunteering opportunities overseas.

The trustees have given due consideration to the Charity Commission's published guidance on the Public Benefit requirement under the Charities Act 2011.

The trustees have considered this matter and concluded:

• that the aims of the organisation continue to be charitable;

• that the aims and the work done give identifiable benefits to the charitable sector and both indirectly and directly to individuals in need;

• that the benefits are for the public, are not unreasonably restricted in any way and certainly not by ability to pay;

• that there is no detriment or harm arising from the aims or activities

Volunteers

Most of those taking part in our activities do so voluntarily in their spare time ranging from those voting, standing, and campaigning, to those volunteering in our office. The number of volunteers throughout the year is over 700:

• 12 UK Youth Parliament Steering Group members;

• Over 400 MYPs and those deputising;

• over 80 young people directly involved in national youth forums and working groups;

• Four UK Young Ambassadors including representatives to Europe and the Commonwealth; 13 Trustees also volunteer as Ambassadors and spokespeople.

DELIVERING AGAINST OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

VOICE

Representation

Through 2021-22 we continued to ensure young people were being heard in the responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. The NHS Youth Forum facilitated a roundtable with Nadhim Zahawi MP as Vaccines Minister to discuss vaccine hesitancy in young people, involving young people from the wider NHS Youth Forum as well as the #iwill health and social care network. We supported young people to engage with a ‘lessons learned’ session on the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Youth Covid Support fund grant system that they had been involved with in the previous year. We engaged with a consultation session between young people and DCMS on 2021 summer activities to engage and support young people as we emerged from Covid.

I n May 2021 the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Youth Affairs, supported by the British Youth Council and YMCA, published their report Generation Covid: The economic impact of Covid-19 on young people in the United Kingdom . This presented the findings of the inquiry launched the previous year, which gathered the voices of young people, practitioners and academics. The report highlighted the reduced or lost work, the knock-on effect of financial pressures on mental health, and the uncertain economic future which has long lasting impacts on young people’s employment prospects. The report was launched at a virtual APPG session involving Parliamentarians, young people, and practitioners.

The NHS Youth Forum have conducted a survey of, to my knowledge, unparalleled success amongst young people around Children and Young People's Mental Health Services with around 1000 responses. What makes this even more remarkable is that this is as close as we have got to a true piece of co-production. It was youth initiated and led with [NHS staff and] the British Youth Council working as equal partners to support them during the course of their work. Jamie-Lee Keen, Children and Young People's Mental Health Team, NHS England

Our work in partnership with DCMS continued,

with roundtables between the youth steering group and decision makers. The young people in the group would feed in views from young people in their networks alongside consultation data sourced via Instagram, reaching young people who were not involved in formal youth engagement structures. Alongside the Covid-19 specific engagements included above, the group held roundtables on topics including Domestic Violence and Net Zero. They also fed into the thinking about the delayed Youth Investment Fund as well as the Department’s review of their youth voice and youth engagement programmes. Sadly this programme of work ended in August 2021 and a new model was taken forward by an alternative delivery partner.

Despite the challenges of Covid and the reduced access locally, almost half of all Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) met with their local MP. In addition meetings were held with other decision makers in their areas, including Directors of Children’s services, Leaders of the Council, Local Councillors, Mayors, MPs, Police and Crime Commissioners and local transport providers. As representatives of their young constituents, MYPs advocate on a range of issues that are relevant locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. These ranged from the environment, mental health, local facilities and opportunities for young people, homelessness and transport.

Issues worked on by Members of Youth Parliament

Make Your Mark has been a long-standing annual consultation of young people aged 11-18 across the UK. In 2020, due to the pandemic, the consultation was delivered purely digitally, and reached just over 185,000 young people. We are proud that in 2022 434,492 young people cast a vote in the Make Your Mark consultation, a 134% increase on our figures from the previous year whilst still navigating the pandemic. This was a challenge as contacts and priorities within schools had changed and it was delivered at a different time of year. We will continue to rebuild this important outreach and consultation mechanism in coming years.

The Bank of England Youth Forum followed up on the data received in the survey that they launched at the end of the previous year covering three key areas; communications, financial education and the labour market. The financial education and labour market groups went on to hold focus groups with young people in order to explore the findings further before producing their findings and recommendations. The Communications group worked in close partnership with the Bank and the British Youth Council communications teams to develop content for the new social media channels which they launched in August 2021. The groups gave a virtual presentation of their work and recommendations to senior members of the Bank, including James Bell, Director of Communications. The Forum finished their term with a visit to the Bank in which they presented their work to relevant staff members, had a tour of the bank and took time to really evaluate their experience on the Forum and recommend improvements for the following cohort.

The Careers and Enterprise Company’s Youth Advisory Group reached its one year milestone in March 2022. The YAG, made up of 19 14-25 year olds, have focused on careers education, learning about the structures, systems and support that the CEC provides in colleges, schools and careers hubs across England. With support from the British Youth Council, the group have increased their skills in areas such as leadership, blog writing, storytelling, youth voice, advocacy, public speaking and policy making.

Most recently, the Inclusion Subgroup have been supporting the commissioning of a large fund. The Hub Incubation Projects (HIPS) will be granted to Careers Hubs situated across England for innovative ways to deliver careers education. The Inclusion Subgroup provided feedback on all proposals, discussing and providing high-quality feedback and counter questions, with a focus on inclusion and accessibility. The feedback of the group ensured that effective, impactful and inclusive projects were offered funding. In addition to their feedback influencing the funding decisions, all stakeholders, including Careers and Enterprise Company staff, were able to learn from the perspectives and lived-experiences of the young people.

The current cohort of Future Voices Group have achieved a remarkable amount in their short tenure. After an induction, with skills development and masterclasses delivered from both partners, the Future Voices Group was split into subgroups, aligning with Youth Futures Foundation's pillars: Invest, Identify and Ignite. Each subgroup has consulted and advised on a

variety of projects, whilst representing young people at high-importance engagements, speaking directly to decision-makers. Examples include, the House of Lords Committee Meeting on Youth Unemployment, Roundtables with the Skills Minister and Department for Education, internal Board Meetings and Employer Advisory Board Meetings. FVG have spoken on various barriers in gaining meaningful employment, namely inclusion and support for young people with Autism, regional disparities in opportunities, foreign name bias, application process accessibility, alternative career pathways access such as apprenticeships and social mobility for those from low socio-economic areas.

Honorary Presidents

The Annual Council meeting elects three Honorary Presidents, one from each of the largest parties represented in UK Parliament. The role of Honorary Presidents is to champion the British

Youth Council’s work to other parliamentarians, and to highlight the British Youth Council’s work and young people’s voices to decision makers and the Government. At the start of the financial year these were David Linden MP (SNP), Sara Britcliffe MP (Con) and Nadia Whittome MP (Lab). At the Annual Council Meeting in September 2021 Kirsty Blackman (SNP) and Victoria Atkins MP (Con) were elected and Nadia Whittome MP was re-elected. We are incredibly grateful to all five Members of Parliament who have each supported our work and championed youth voice in decision making.

Over 114 of young people on our of young people on our programmes have a mental health condition programmes live with a disability 10.5% have a cognitive or learning disability 18 young people have o visual or hearing Impairment I've suffered with depression and low moods for quite a long time too and in all honesty. it's really helped my motivation in my personal life and always gives me something to look fO￿ard tol. Future Volces Group partlclpanl 17 young people have a physical disability 1.3/10 have received or receive free school meals 2.2/10 have grown up or live in a low-income household 2.5/10 have experienced bullying 63°k of applicants record intersectional" life experiences 'Intersectionality Is the comblnationol of socbl categorisatrions such as race. class. ond ender, which could act as o ressive barriers.

63.60h 51.6% of participants identify as female, of those on our programmes identified with an ethnic group other than English/Welsh/ Scottish or Northern Irish 41.5% identify as male. 3.7% identify as non-binary 2.3 % identify as gender flui Ethnlc group Employment and educatlon status 7. 14 Falth Sexuallty 24 • &"gex • plEknr￿ *> • 14¢4 ••• Sex same as asslgned at blrth Gender •v Y4

Membership Development

Our member network is one of our core strengths; it directly enables us to live our core values of being youth-led, inclusive and collaborative. In the past year we were delighted to welcome new members including Whizz Kids, Onside Youth Zones, The National House Project, ReachOut2All and Global Education & Development CIC into our network, alongside a number of local councils and charities. To mitigate the impacts of COVID on our work with members and young people, we continued to employ and adapt our suite of online engagement events with members, including Spotlight events for members to showcase their work, and our Annual Council Meeting. This ensured that we were able to continue working uninterrupted, and ensure accessible, inclusive membership engagement activities throughout the year.

We were also proud to launch our new Membership Engagement & Diversification Strategy, an ambitious call to action which focuses our work around three core themes: "If the future is in your engagement, enhancement, and integration. We are in an hands, then I think we'll excellent position with a solid network of 160+ member be okay." organisations. However, to ensure we are effectively amplifying Bishop Libby Lane, the voice of all young people across the UK, particularly those from House of Lords . seldom-heard communities, we have placed expanding our membership in a targeted way at the heart of the strategy. We are delighted to now work with The Rebel With A Cause who support African and Caribbean communities, and The Traveller Movement who work with young people from Roma, Gypsy and Traveller communities. We have also committed to developing the way in which our membership work is integrated across teams at the British Youth Council, to ensure maximum benefit for our member organisations and the young people we engage.

Our membership CURRENT MEMBERSTHAT AcfivELY ENGAGE OR CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORTTHE FOLLOWING GROUPS BLACK AND MINORITISED ETHNIC COMMUNITIES 35 DISABILITIES 31 LGBTQ+ 27 IMPOVERISHED COMMUNITIES 23 EQUALITY FOR WOME 18 YOUNG PEOPLE IN CARE 16 HOMELESSNESS 11

Throughout my year in the Future Voices Group (FVG), the one thing that really stood out to me was how accessible the programme was. Compared to the other volunteering that I had done FVG has been absolutely platinum standard accessibility. I don’t get judged if I can’t complete something because of anxiety, I don’t get the feeling of being in trouble if I need to prioritise my own wellbeing. I’m really grateful for it because I wouldn’t be able to do the job without it. I honestly thought no one would be that accessible – I had assumed that because no one was doing it that it was really difficult to do.

I’ve learnt about public speaking and it’s upped my confidence in trying to get a job in the future. I’ve found it really good to learn about other people's lived experiences, like Isha’s Ramadan talk. I was really grateful for that because while it wasn’t required of her, she educated me on what it’s like for those fasting and practising Ramadan. It was really awesome, I feel like I’ve had lots of awesome opportunities to educate myself. I’ve also met more people who were genuinely nice and not ableist, so with that I’ve felt better about putting myself out there. In my life, I have had to

come to terms with the fact that some people are going to be ableist, and I don’t doubt that I’ll encounter that in the future, but being around the group and with the people I have met has helped me a lot. It’s been a really positive experience with the British Youth Council.

Ed Chaplin - Future Voices Group member

In April 2021, the House of Lords Committee for Youth Unemployment issued a call for evidence. The Youth Futures Foundation Future Voices Group, supported by the British Youth Council, held a focus group where the young people identified challenges for job seekers, gaps in the national curriculum to equip young people with skills, exploring opportunities, and work experience as their key issues they wanted to raise.

Following submitting written evidence, one member of the group was invited to an oral evidence session. Lauren Aird joined young people from other organisations to give evidence to the Committee. Nominated for her advocacy for young people experiencing homelessness and for her articulate public speaking skills, Lauren did a fantastic job of covering youth unemployment areas that were close to her heart, such as the lack of careers' guidance at Pupil Referral Units, and representing the group.

The Committee published their report in November 2021, which drew heavily on the input of the young people who gave evidence. This could be significantly seen in the recommendations about young people facing disadvantage and the importance of additional investment in this area.

IMPACT

With thanks to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, we have continued our programme of work to define our theory of change in relation to impactful youth leadership. In January 2022, we expanded to recruitment of our Youth Leadership Collective development team, continuing work with 11 young people who are supporting the development of the new Young Leaders Collective. Members of the development team have been recruited from Ambitious About Autism, Anna Freud, Centrepoint, Eastside Young Leaders’ Academy, St John’s Ambulance, Scouts, The Kite Trust, The Roots Foundation Wales, and Woodcraft Folk.

Alongside the Development Team, we have piloted a Young Leaders Collective Network, which will launch in July 2022. 40 young people from within our membership will be recruited to join the network where they can access trainings, workshops, Q & A events and discussions with other young leaders. They will also have access to leadership opportunities from within our membership organisations and beyond, encouraging them to put their skills into action by joining or leading social action campaigns both regionally and nationally. Each young person will be able to self-direct their own learning, shaping their own personal leadership journey at a flexible pace. Once they feel confident in their abilities and have undertaken 10 hours of ASDAN accredited training, they will become Ambassadors of the Collective; engaging other young people in the network whilst feeding back into the Young Leaders Collective.

I remember in my early/mid 20s trying to engage in a political chat with someone younger than me, I didn’t know what to say and I was embarrassed I had little knowledge of current affairs. I grew up in a family bubble that didn’t talk politics, kept their head down and cracked on with the day to day and I’m ashamed to admit I never bothered voting. But this chat made me realise, especially as a woman, how important having a voice is. I started to research opportunities that could fast track my knowledge and came across the European Youth Parliament (EYP) and the European Youth Event held in Strasbourg. The British Youth Council were funding a selection of young people to attend the event and engage in political discussions/debates that affected young people. Ever since that experience I have actively voted and pushed myself to have a better understanding of our current affairs and I am forever thankful for the opportunity. BYC Alumni

Impact of the British Youth Council 85% By the end of our programmes, 98°/o of young people felt that they could advocate for the voices of others ol young people lelt our progrommos were Collaborative 82% of young people felt our wogrammes were IiILiubive 81% each of ours racked skills. young people recorded an improvement at the end of the ol young people fett our programmes were Youth-led Beginning of programme End of programme 10 programme y the end of our programmes, half of all young people gave themselves the highest score possible In 'self belief,

The Kite Trust approached me with a number of things to see if I’d like to be involved - the British Youth Council programme went hand in hand with becoming a volunteer and working towards becoming a young leader / leading a youth group for 18+. I was really keen to learn more about being a young leader and meeting other young people from different backgrounds.

I’ve learnt that I come across a lot more confident than I believe I am. No idea is a silly idea, and working together is a great way to help ideas grow and involve. I’ve been able to feel more comfortable speaking up with what I believe in within our British Youth Council group, and I’ve been able to transfer this across into my leadership roles outside of the group. I’ve really enjoyed hearing about other young people’s experiences and how they use their own skills in their own leadership roles. It has been both inspiring and motivating. I’ve learnt how to interact better in a group setting and how to change my perspective. Rather than thinking my idea is bad, I take a look and think what could be changed or what could inspire the next step.

I love the idea of the Young Leaders Collective - all young people deserve a safe space where they can thrive. This is a chance for them to learn new skills in an environment rich with resources and like-minded people. I would love the Young Leaders Collective to inspire a generation of leaders in all areas. Whether that be activism, youth work or even in careers such as film making. I think it is key to continue to target all young people - regardless of where they sit in the young person age bracket, location, gender, race etc. I hope for a world where educating, through leaders for example, is the way to tackle hate and discrimination.

Riley Millar - Development Team Member, Young Leaders Collective

The NHS Youth Forum identified an opportunity to combine two of the key NHS England priorities - digital services and mental health. They designed a research study - “A review of digital mental health services: What works? What doesn’t? What next?” As part of the project, the group designed a survey for children and young people aged between 11-25 years old . The survey targeted those who had used a digital service for mental health support and those who had not, to understand what works, and what doesn't . The survey had a good response and good representation across gender, age and geographic location.

The group were invited to deliver two presentations - a high-level presentation to the Children and Young People's Mental Health team and another during an ‘NHS Youth Forum Takeover’ of a national clinical network meeting with by over 40 NHS staff. Both events were a success and sparked lots of conversations. Sarah Brown, Deputy Head of Mental Health and CYPMH Programme Lead asked how more partnership working could be facilitated between the forum / young people and the department, which was followed up by colleagues in the NHS Public Participation team.

“We were so happy with our response and the opportunity to share our findings with powerful decision makers. I'd like to continue to push our suggestions and follow up on some of the leads we were presented with.”

Impact highlights Youth Voice 72.5% strongly felt that they had developed the ability to engage with those in power 83.6 % strongly felt that they had developed the skills to advocate for others 82.2% strongly felt that they had developed the ability to get involved with decision making 93.3°/. of 176 participants on the Youth Voice programme felt that their work with the British Youth Council has improved their skills and knowledge 70% young people told us that the programme had changed their view of the world and what ,they want to do In the future "A great opportunity to learn how to have your voice heard and develop your own skills" Youth Voice Participant

Hi, my name is Lia-Anjali Lazarus and I've just finished my term as Member of Youth Parliament for Bristol. My term was from 2020 to 2022, so it was all pretty much online, but in reflection, it’s quite amazing how much I gained from the term despite there being a digital barrier between every encounter.

The events on Zoom were always great. They were very interactive and I always felt like I could participate. I listened to a lot of cool people speak. In particular, I remember listening to Larissa Kennedy, who is the President of the National Union of Students. She's a great role model and an amazing speaker. And listening to other people speak inspired me to participate.

Overall, I've learned so much from UK Youth Parliament and it has affirmed for me that I would like to go onto have a career in politics in the future. I've learned how to campaign, how to write and how to communicate. I've learned how to chair meetings, take minutes and build agendas. I think that these skills I've gained from UK Youth Parliament I would not have learned elsewhere. I feel like I've been given a political education and I'm really grateful for that. I've also made connections from all over the country and meet other young people that share my passion.

And lastly, I feel like I've been empowered and I now have the confidence to always raise my voice as I believe it is heard. I think it's such a valuable thing to be listened to and I'm so grateful for the platform that UK Youth Parliament has given me and I hope that many other young people can benefit from it in the future.

The UK Youth Parliament partnered with Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth to campaign to address climate change at the UK level, with a particular focus on making sure that we stop nonessential single-use plastics by 2025.

When 16 Members of Parliament (MPs) tabled a plastic pollution reduction amendment in the Environment Bill, Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) focused on pushing for this to go through as a way to make change. MYPs launched a letter writing campaign to their local MPs calling for them to back the introduction of a single-use plastic ban by 2025 in the Environment Bill. MYPs also wrote an open letter to the Rt Hon Lord Goldsmith, Minister for Pacific and the Environment, to do the same. MYPs attended our COP26 Autumn Series Workshops to build and strengthen their campaigns and ensure their voices were heard at this historic event.

At least 20 MPs and 81 Lords backed our call and pledged to vote in favour of a plastic reduction amendment in the Environment Bill. Lord Goldsmith replied to our open letter in record timing (only 10 days), highlighting the political power of young people’s voices. Whilst our single-use plastic amendment didn't go through, an amendment was introduced to introduce a charge for new single use plastics.

SUSTAINABLE

Income Maximisation

2021/22 has seen us continue to implement our fundraising strategy, which aims to create a culture of fundraising at The British Youth Council, ensure we have the resources necessary to run, diversify income across the income spectrum, and generate a sustainable income model.

Covid-19 has continued to have a wide spread impact across the voluntary sector. Many funders have had oversubscribed grant programmes, or are having to rethink their funding strategies after the emergency response to the pandemic. This has made fundraising from this income stream more competitive than ever.

We are incredibly grateful for the continued support of The Blagrave Trust, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Garfield Weston Foundation, who have provided significant financial support. We would also like to recognise grants from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, National Lottery Community Fund and the Mills & Reeve Charitable Trust.

We have also been delighted to have the continued support of The Jack Petchey Foundation, as another promising young intern spent the 2021/22 financial year with our fundraising team. Committed to investing in young people, the Foundation’s support in recruiting this paid intern has enabled us to increase our donor care, significantly increase our community fundraising, and release capacity from operational to strategic fundraising. We also continued working with Kings College London Civic Leadership Academy to provide a placement for a student looking for experience in the non-profit sector.

With continued restrictions on social distancing at times throughout the year, we encouraged our supporters to raise money for us in new and different ways – this included a virtual 100km walking challenge, our Run31 Challenge and BYC’s Big Clear Out campaign, as well as the return to mass participation events in the ASICS London 10k. We want to thank our fundraisers for their time, dedication and support, as well as those generous enough to support them in their fundraising. The money raised is in this way is vital for our charity, and we are truly grateful.

We also want to thank our one-off donors and BYC Empower members, who give a monthly gift to our charity to provide much need ongoing support. At a time when we understand that events in the world are squeezing everyone’s pockets, we are indebted to them for their commitment.

We received brilliant support and advice from the British Youth Council when it came to setting up Youth Focus Groups to co-produce a new resource to support LGBTQ+ young people getting into education, training or work. BYC were flexible when it came to timelines and budget, and our consultant’s advice was invaluable. We ran through our plans for the focus groups, and we learnt from our consultant’s extensive experience of facilitating with young people in a wide range of scenarios and contexts. Thanks to this support, we established and delivered successful focus groups, working collaboratively with young people to produce a youth-focused

resource.

Nick Slater, Stonewall Young Futures Manager

As mentioned in last year’s Trustees' report, the British Youth Council was awarded a place on the Enterprise Development Programme, funded by the Access Foundation and delivered by the Social Investment Business. In 2021/22 we received a grant and additional support to help us develop our consultancy and training offer.

This enabled us to recruit a dedicated Business Development Manager, who has been working to develop our social enterprise and grow our unrestricted income whilst delivering mission-supporting activities. We’ve delivered expert consultancy work for companies

looking to increase the level of youth engagement and youth voice in their companies, and we have developed a number of ASDAN accredited training awards which will give young people the skills they need to become confident leaders of social and political change.

This exciting endeavour for the British Youth Council has already begun to fulfil our aims of strengthening the diversification of our income streams and rebuilding our reserves position. We have a strong strategy in place to see this growth continue over the next few financial years, strengthening our position as the go-to organisation for youth engagement consultancy and youth voice training.

BYC were brilliant from start to finish in facilitating a meaningful, inclusive, and incredibly valuable session with a great group of young people who were really enthusiastic and engaged with our work and subject matter. Tamar and Maria were extremely helpful, relaxed and accessible, responded to our needs throughout the process and translated our highly technical subject matter well for young audiences.

IMPRESS

A Great Organisation

Behind the scenes we have continued to work on our policies and processes that enable our team to do a brilliant job. This year we reviewed and updated key policies including Bullying & Harassment, Grievance and Performance Improvement. We were also constantly reviewing the latest guidance for employers and the youth sector to ensure that our risk assessments and guidance were keeping staff and young people safe through the Covid pandemic. We were delighted to be able to hold an in-person staff meeting in August 2021 to bring our whole team together for the first time in many months and reconnect as people as well as colleagues. Following the closure of our office in January 2021 we also started to plan for a return to an office, which happened in March 2022.

Following the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, we reflected on our own practice and how we wanted to do better to be an anti-racist charity – to move beyond being non-racist and actively take steps to ensure that we are identifying and breaking down any structural and systemic barriers within our own work and practice to ensure effective inclusion and representation. We became members of Inclusive Employers and undertook team training in inclusion and anti-racism. A small working group was formed to identify how we could do better and the kind of place of work we wanted to be and work was started on an inclusive language guide, a review of our data collection and usage, and our recruitment practices. This continues to be a priority and is ongoing work.

Concerns about the environment and the climate crisis have been a top priority for young people for a number of years and as a charity that supports young people to have a voice we have supported many young people to be heard by decision makers on this topic. However, we identified that as a charity we had not looked at ourselves and our own impact on the environment. A small ‘Green Team’ working group was formed who undertook consultation with staff and young people within our programmes and drafted a policy that sets out our ambitions as a charity and the action we will start to take to limit and reduce our environmental impact. The policy was approved in March 2022 and will begin implementation from April 2022.

FUTURE PLANS

• In 2022/23 will be particularly focusing on the following activities in helping us to achieve our strategy:

• Strategic Communications - promote the diversity and importance of youth

• voice using the right methods to better connect and activate our stakeholders Membership Development – utilise our unique place as a membership

• organisation and recognising the role of our members

• Theory of Change – articulate what we do and why we do it, mapping this across

• our programmes and processes

• Quality Improvement - use the evidence we collect to enhance and refine our offer

• and practice

• Income Maximisation – strengthen our commitment to sensible spending and our

• culture of fundraising with entrepreneurial approaches to how we work. A Great Organisation – improve the systems and processes that enable our work and enhance our expertise.

We will also be reviewing our progress and consulting on a new strategy to help us level up our activity, financial stability and impact with and for young people in future years.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 2 and comply with the charity’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, applicable laws, the requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice, and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

The income for the year was £825,671 (2021: £758,052) of which £584,242 (2021: £564,231) was restricted income and £241,429 (2021: £193,821) of unrestricted income. The total expenditure for the year was £830,314 (2021: £756,567).

The Board had approved a break-even budget for 2021/22 based on the continued uncertainty around Covid and the length of funding agreed for existing programmes of work. The changing environment in which we operated impacted on our ability to deliver against the planned budget. We continued to monitor spend and reduced costs where we could, including delaying a return to a physical working environment following consultation with relevant staff. We continued to make use of the Government Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (commonly referred to as ‘furlough’) where relevant to retain staff in employment whilst managing the financial impact on the charity. Through judicious decision making and negotiation with funders, we were able to deliver a close to break even budget. We continue to be grateful to our existing funders who offered flexibility in the application of existing grants where activities and budgets had to change due to Covid restrictions.

We continue to be grateful for the support of The Blagrave Trust and Paul Hamlyn Foundation who recognise the importance of investing in charities such as The British Youth Council and the importance of youth voice within our society.

Overall, the Board are content with the financial performance of the charity considering the challenges that have been faced in this year. There is continued scrutiny from staff and trustees over the charity’s finances, which is enabling the charity to better identify potential challenges and take corrective action to ensure the stability of the charity.

We give young people hope in hopeless situations. One of those young people was me – and for that I will be always grateful BYC alumni

Reserves Policy

The British Youth Council continues to recognise the need to diversify the funding base and raise unrestricted income. This is a long term strategy to ensure the financial sustainability of the charity by being able to make an allocation towards its reserves from unrestricted income each year.

Total funds as at 31 March 2022 were £174,451 (2021:£179,094), of which £87,474 (2021: £88,326) were restricted. At 31 March 2022, the British Youth Council had free reserves (excluding fixed assets) of £83,388 (2021: £87,327).

Our reserves policy is to hold enough money to cover closure - a minimum reserves target based on maintaining a minimum complement of staff and infrastructure for a period in the event of unpredicted cessation of committed income. This target is calculated to cover three months (12 weeks) of running costs to cover overheads, staffing costs including redundancy and project closure. On this basis, the British Youth Council requires £308k for 2022/23 (2022: £188k).

Our current reserves position is below our target and is currently around four weeks’ operating costs. The Board have been closely reviewing the financial position of the charity throughout the year, using the quarterly forecasts along with monthly management account reviews. These include a stronger emphasis on the movement on restricted and unrestricted funds so that the Board has a clear view of this and can make more proactive decisions. The Board have agreed a strategic priority of income maximisation, to ensure the sustainability of the charity into the future and are being proactive in creating a culture of fundraising across the charity. Having continued on the journey of our fundraising strategy, we now have significantly improved our understanding of what works and what does not work for our charity in terms of potential funders and partners, and the time it takes to develop different types of support. This has helped us to create realistic yet stretching targets for the

2021/22 budget that continues to focus on increasing the proportion of unrestricted funds we are bringing in to the charity, including a focus on our enterprise activity to bring in unrestricted funding.

Whilst the budget in 2022/23 will not increase the reserves position to the policy expectation of 12 weeks, the aim is to rebuild the reserves over the following five years in a sustainable manner. In particular, the new programme of work focusing on our consultancy and training offer, supported by an external mentor and training through the Enterprise Development Programme, will start to make a significant contribution to this over the next few years. The Finance Committee will also be reviewing our reserves policy to ensure that it continues to be fit for purpose for our current operating model.

GOVERNANCE

TRUSTEES 2021/22

END DATE

START DATE

Zaienab Alghofari Katie Burke Aimee Castle Thomas Clark (Treasurer) Ali Gibson Natasha Johnson Zara Khan Kira Lewis Morgan McArthur (Treasurer) Rebecca Moore Osaro Otobo Cormac Savage Joe Seddon Sarah Staples (Chair from October 2020) Ollie Taylor T Jay Turner Sila Ugurlu

October 2021 October 2021 October 2018 October 2021 October 2019 October 2021 October 2021 October 2020 October 2019 January 2019 October 2021 October 2019 October 2020 October 2020 October 2021 October 2020 September 2016

October 2021 May 2022 October 2018 October 2021 October 2020*

*In line with the British Youth Council’s values, we are committed to ensuring that young people have a voice and are leaders within our work. Charity Commission regulations prevent those under 18 from being trustees, therefore Sila, Zaienab and Cormac were Directors under the Companies Act and registered as Trustees upon turning 18.

Governance and

management structure

There are a maximum of 13 trustees (who act as company directors), who can be aged between 16 and 25 at the date of election or appointment. The offices of Chair and Treasurer are elected biennially, on alternate years to ensure consistency of leadership within the Board.

The Board has a model where at least six ordinary trustees are elected by the membership and the remaining are appointed by the Board, ensuring a good balance of skills and experience within the Board. Elections take place at the Annual Council Meeting by delegates from The British Youth Council member organisations. Prospective candidates are required to submit applications and take part in an interview with a subgroup of the People Committee to ensure a pool of suitable candidates exist for elections. Appointed trustees are recruited based on skills, with key areas of skills and experience that the Board would like to improve identified. They are interviewed by a sub-group of the People Committee and appointed by the Board.

All trustees attend a training and induction day. This covers their roles and responsibilities as trustees, financial stewardship and an induction to The British Youth Council’s strategic plan and operational procedures. The Board are all encouraged to continue their learning outside of the Board, both by accessing online learning for trustees and through membership of the relevant membership bodies for the Officers.

The charity is managed by a Chief Executive. Operational decisions are made by a senior staff team within agreed strategic objectives and scheme of delegated authority set by the Board. This Team consists of the Chief Executive Officer, Head of Programmes and the Head of Fundraising.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT

Chief Executive Jo Hobbs MBE Head of Fundraising Victoria Hayden Ward (until July 2022, on maternity leave from August 2021) Rosie Milsom (from August 2021) Head of Programmes Magda Conway (until May 2021)

Sophie Richardson (Interim from June 2021 to January 2022, then from July 2022) Andy Irwin (from January to July 2022)

Those past six years [Working within and around the British Youth Council] have been quite a wild ride – graduating, unemployment, flirting with homelessness, and lots more – but the constant has been the incredible support, development, and time the British Youth Council has offered me. Former BYC Trustee

It has been an absolute honour to be a trustee of this charity, the one that took me from a confused and anxious 14 year old, suspended from school and depressed about the future, to where I am now.

Former BYC Trustee

The Board delegates tasks to three committees. These are:

Finance Committee - the aim of the group is to develop financial and fundraising strategy, monitor financial performance, and consider any other finance issues on behalf of the Board.

People Committee – responsible for developing and reviewing the charity’s policies relating to human resources, recruitment, and volunteer management, managing the process of trustee recruitment, selection and development, and the recruitment and appraisal of the Chief Executive.

Risk Committee – responsible for developing and reviewing the charity’s strategic risk register, policies relating to risk management, business continuity, information compliance, serious incident reporting and safeguarding.

I have a passion for long-term housing and the labour market and I wanted an opportunity where I could pursue this. With the Bank of England Youth Forum I have learnt how to effectively interact with other people and how to adapt to different people’s working styles. Moreover, I have really enjoyed the skills development sessions where I learned leadership skills and further developed my communication and presentation skills. My communication has improved as I’ve had to work within a subgroup. Additionally, I also feel my project work has improved since joining the forum.

I really enjoyed the Masterclass session about central banks and digital currencies. In addition, I have enjoyed trying to drive change and looking at how best to achieve this. I think to achieve change you need more young people involved and as a result, our subgroup have increased the voice of the young person where applicable.

Since joining the Bank of England Youth Forum I have obtained a position on the Advisory Board for the Welsh Government with the Minister of Economy. We meet once a month and I have an opportunity to feedback on my thoughts. I am the youngest person that attends every month and I feel young people should be better represented. This has been something that I really enjoy and feel passionate about.

Peredur - Bank of England Youth Forum member

Environmental Impact

As the national youth council of the UK, the British Youth Council has a responsibility to work with and on behalf of young people on the issues that matter to young people the most. Environmental, climate and sustainability issues are key areas of concern for young people. 74,500 young people from across the UK told us the Environment is their most important issue in our Make Your Mark consultation in 2022. Furthermore, as the generation whose lives will most closely overlap with current policy- and decision-making outcomes, today’s young people will experience the impacts of environmental degradation and climate breakdown more than any generation alive at present. Recognising the severity of the situation, and that it affects different groups of people and communities differently, we are committed to assessing and minimising our negative impact on the environment and climate change. We aim to do our bit to address environmental degradation, including biodiversity loss and climate breakdown, based on core principles of climate justice and a just transition to net-zero.

The board of trustees:

• Recognises that the intertwining problems of environmental degradation and climate breakdown are strategic and systemic and poses a significant risk to the charity’s ability to meet its objectives in the long term;

• Recognises that the issues of environmental degradation and climate breakdown pose a significant threat to the futures of today’s young people and future generations globally, and have been identified by young people and our members as a priority issue; Support senior management and the wider staff team in addressing environmental degradation and climate breakdown.

In 2021/22 a small team of staff did a brilliant job in moving forward our ambitions to recognise our own role in the environmental crisis by leading consultation sessions with the wider staff team and undertaking consultation with young people within our work about how we can reduce our impact on the environment.The policy was approved in March 2022. The Board are clear that the policy sets out our ambitions and to achieve these will be a journey of change.

In 2022/23 we will be looking at our governance commitments to making a change to our behaviours, including an examination of our risk register in relation to the climate crisis. We will also develop a staff engagement plan to help shift behaviours and practices to be aligned with our policy ambitions. We will trial some new approaches within our event delivery that will reduce our consumption of single use items, as well as revising our travel guidance for participants at our events.

Risk Management

Within the charity, risk management is maintained and monitored by the Risk Committee. The committee meets regularly throughout the year and is responsible for the maintenance of the risk register which is the charity’s main tool for managing its risk profile. Risks are categorised as either governance, external, regulatory and compliance, financial or operational risks. Throughout the year, the committee has continued to support The Board of Trustees in recognising risks managed through other committees (Finance and People) with the support of Senior Management and key members of staff.

When considering the risk profile Trustees consider:

• inherent risks as identified in the categories above based on their likelihood and their

• impact.

• risk mitigation through internal controls to reduce the inherent risk. This includes

• policies and procedures, delegated authority and risk management through a subcommittee structure.

• residual risks are considered against target risks. Any outstanding actions are tracked on

• the register.

Risks are allocated to individuals, groups or committees for ongoing maintenance outside of the annual review by The Board of Trustees.

Major risks are those which have a significant impact and likelihood to disrupt the operations, governance or reputation of the Charity. Having examined the major risks, the trustees are satisfied that the actions and mitigations of the Charity have reduced the risks to an appropriate level which is within the risk appetite of The Board of Trustees. The following risks are designated as our major risks for the current financial year.

Adverse drop in overall income: long-term (3 years) and short-term (1 year)

This is an ongoing major risk which the trustees review throughout the year. Mitigation of these risks have continued throughout the year which have included:

• further diversification of our income streams

• through new partnerships, such as The Body Shop supporting our Votes at 16 Campaign,

• our consultancy offer and the development of Corporate Partnerships.

• the development of the fundraising department through the employment of three fundraising interns to support our individual giving and challenge event programme;

• continued development of the Charity’s fundraising strategy which is in its third year. This has led to further development of the fundraising culture within the charity, both for the members of staff, volunteers and trustees.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, there are a number of challenges in the progression of this risk, however we have considered the impact of COVID-19 separately below.

Contravention of Child Protection Standards

The trustees have continued to ensure the charity complies with regulatory guidelines and maintains best practice with regards to child protection standards. This risk is mitigated through:

• all adult volunteers and staff members having appropriate checks (i.e. DBS,

• PVG or equivalent) and required safeguarding training;

• a designated safeguarding lead within the senior management and The Board

• of Trustees;

• a safeguarding policy and a digital safeguarding policy which is utilised by staff

• members, volunteers and programme users;

• establishing a safeguarding culture within the charity’s senior management and

• Board of Trustees, with ongoing reflection on safeguarding best practice; any serious incidents that require reporting to the Charity Commission have been

• reported in accordance with the reporting procedures outlined in the charity’s Safeguarding Policy.

The impact of COVID-19 has led to changes in the safeguarding environment within which our programme delivery takes place and we have considered the risks on this separately below.

The Impact of COVID-19 on charity finances and work

In March 2020, the World Health Organisation designated the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic. The implications of this virus on the UK economy has led to uncertainty in the charity sector. On 31 March 2021, the UK Government published a roadmap out of lockdown, including how restrictions would be eased in England. The impact on the charity sector was people continuing to work from home where they could and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was extended to the end of September 2021. Similar policies were enacted also in the devolved nations, albeit at different times and with differing limitations.

The Board of Trustees continue to monitor the risks associated with COVID-19 through:

• ongoing discussions at trustee meetings regarding the impact of the virus on the organisation; and

• senior trustees engaging with core members of staff on a regular basis to discuss the ongoing implications on the charity which include financial, regulatory and operational implications.

There are three major risks for the British Youth Council associated with the impact of COVID19, which are:

• financial uncertainty on short term funding and income streams which have been disrupted due to a transition away from in-person events - and the associated funding for these events - caused by the need for social distancing;

• operational challenges as a result of rapid changes to our engagement with young people, moving away from face-to-face and onto online platforms;

• ensuring appropriate and adequate safeguarding procedures are in place due to changes in our operating model to online engagement. This poses unique challenges outside of our traditional engagement model.

These have been mitigated in a number of ways including:

• training has been completed for staff members to refresh safeguarding

• understanding and guidance on safeguarding in a virtual context was developed using resources and support from across the sector; development of a digital safeguarding policy to ensure staff and volunteers

• are clear on how to best protect young people and support their participation in the digital environment;

• briefings and practice sessions to learn new online tools and to adapt our

• delivery to online programmes and engaging with young people in virtual spaces; grant applications have been focused on short term COVID-19 relief where

• possible to support the required immediate expenditure; a task and finish group was assembled within the staff team to support the review

• of ongoing events for the calendar year to create an individual plan to support online programmes;

• whilst challenge events have been impacted as a result of restrictions, a number of innovative fundraising opportunities have been utilised such as the Abseil, Spring Clear

• Out and our annual Big Give.

The trustees will continue to review the risks associated with COVID-19 on the operations and financial resilience of the charity with the support of senior and key members of staff.

Setting Pay

All salaries at the British Youth Council are linked to the NJC pay scale, a local government scale used extensively in the public and voluntary sector, which is a result of negotiations between trade unions and the Local Government Association. The Chief Executive’s pay is set by the board of trustees, also using this scale. All jobs including that of the CEO are placed in a salary band. Salary progression is linked to length of service and each year staff move on to a higher salary step within their band provided that their performance is satisfactory and that the charity can afford to do so.

Fundraising

Over the past few years, The British Youth Council has been successfully delivering on a fundraising strategy which focused on sustainability by diversifying income. This has enabled the charity to move away from reliance on a small number of income sources, including European funding.

We have seen good amounts of growth in individual fundraising and challenge event fundraising. We have also benefited from our first major corporate partnership for many years. Whilst fundraising through Trusts & Foundations remains competitive, the income generated through our consultancy and training social enterprise trust is growing exponentially, now that we have a role dedicated to the development of our business model.

We have seen a great amount of success in this new approach to fundraising and moving forwards, our focus will be based on our learning and experience and will be regularly reviewed in line with the organisational strategy. All of our fundraising supports the British Youth Council to empower young people to find their voices and be heard on issues they care about.

All fundraising at the British Youth Council is currently undertaken within the organisation, with the involvement and oversight of the qualified Head of Fundraising. Their work has at times, included the support of a paid intern through the Jack Petchey Foundation internship scheme, and an intern in place as part of Kings College London’s Civic Leadership scheme. No person from the charity, or acting on behalf of the charity was subject to an undertaking to be bound by any voluntary scheme for regulating fund-raising, or any voluntary standard of fundraising, in respect of activities on behalf of the charity.

The British Youth Council conducts all fundraising in line with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Code of Fundraising Practice. Throughout the FY 2021/22 the British Youth Council complied fully with the Code of Fundraising Practice in its approach to fundraising. The British Youth Council had a number of supporters fundraise for the charity in this financial year. All fundraising took place via sponsorship platforms and all income was monitored and recorded by the charity.

There were no complaints regarding the British Youth Council’s approach to fundraising in the FY 2021/22.

The British Youth Council ensures the protection of vulnerable people and other members of the general public from behaviour outlined in subsection 2 by following the Code of Fundraising Practice. The British Youth Council does not use third party fundraising companies and only contacts those who have expressed an interest in supporting the charity. The British Youth Council provides opportunities at every interaction for potential supporters to no longer receive such contact. The British Youth Council does not buy lists of contact details, nor will the charity sell details of our donors to other organisations. The British Youth Council takes relationship development seriously when it comes to individual fundraising and this in turn means that we are able to identify case by case the potential for exploitation of vulnerable people. Appropriate action will always be taken to avoid any such exploitation now and into the future.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' REPONSIBILITIES

The trustees, who are also the directors of The British Youth Council for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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

In preparing these accounts, 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;

• prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the accounts 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.

Disclosure of information to auditor

Each of the trustees confirms that so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity’s auditor is unaware. They have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s auditor are aware of that information.

Approved by the Board on 6 August 2022 and signed on their behalf by:

Sarah Staples Chair

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH YOUTH COUNCIL

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The British Youth Council (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31st March 2022 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the cash flow statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31st March 2022 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its result, 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 Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH YOUTH COUNCIL

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

• the information given in the Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the Report of the Trustees 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 charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where 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 take advantage of the small companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report or in preparing the Report of the Trustees.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our 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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH YOUTH COUNCIL

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.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Based on our understanding of the entity and industries in which it operates, we identified the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to Charities Act 2011 and data protection. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006, tax legislation and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement and how fraud might occur, including through discussions with the directors, discussions within our audit team planning meeting, updating our record of internal controls, and ensuring these controls operated as intended. We determined the principal risks were related to posting journal entries to manipulate profits, and management bias in accounting estimates, especially deferred income, accruals, and bad debts.

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

• Performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships. Identified and tested journal entries and identified any significant transactions that were unusual or outside the normal course of business.

• Investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.

• Challenged assumptions and judgements made by management in determining significant accounting estimates, in particular in relation to deferred income, accruals and bad debts.

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed audit procedures which included, but were not limited to:

• Agreeing financial statements disclosures to underlying supporting documentation.

• Discussions with management of known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations.

• Reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

• Reviewing correspondence with HMRC, relevant regulators including Charities Act 2011, and the company’s legal advisors.

At the completion stage of the audit, the engagement partner’s review included ensuring that the team had approached their work with appropriate professional scepticism and thus the capacity to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed non-compliance of laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement relating to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment.

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH YOUTH COUNCIL

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.

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.

Christopher Darwin (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Thomas Coombs Limited Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants 3365 The Pentagon Century Way Thorpe Park Leeds West Yorkshire LS15 8ZB

Date: 6th August 2022

The British Youth Council

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Charity Number 1123224

Company Number 06226595

(Incorporating Income and Expenditure account)

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. See note 17 for prior year comparatives.

The notes form part of the financial statements

BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2022

The British Youth Council Charity Number 1123224 Company Number 06226595

The accounts were approved by the Board on 6 August 2022

Sarah Staples Morgan McArthur Chair Treasurer

The notes form part of the financial statements

The British Youth Council

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Charity Number 1123224 Company Number 06226595

The notes form part of the financial statements

The British Youth Council

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Charity Number 1123224 Company Number 06226595

1 Charity information

The British Youth Council is a private limited company (registered number 06226595) which is incorporated and domiciled in the UK. The address of the registered office is Unit N201a Vox Studios, 1-45 Durham Street, London, SE11 5JH.

2 Accounting policies

There are no significant judgements that have been made in the process of applying the accounting policies. The principal accounting policies adopted are as follows:

2.1 Basis of preparation

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).”

The British Youth Council 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 accounting policies notes.

2.2 Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

In March 2020, The World Health Organisation designated the outbreak of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Subsequent to this designation a number of

government restrictions have adversely impacted the charity sector which in turn disrupts our operations. Fundraising income streams such as challenge events have been affected, and additional operational challenges on external gatherings of large groups have been seen as a result of social distancing measures introduced by the UK government.

Adaptations to the model the charity operates under have been taken within the appropriate parameters to continue generating income and to provide our members and young people with opportunities within the Charity’s programs. The current and unknown future restrictions as a result of the pandemic are likely to cause additional disruption to the Charity’s operations but at the date of the approval of these accounts, the extent and quantum of the disruption remains uncertain.

The Trustees have considered the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the basis on which these accounts have been prepared. The Trustees consider that the pandemic and its subsequent impact on society is likely to cause disruption to the Charity’s funding pipeline and operations in both the short and long term. Our considerations of these risks are outlined in additional detail in the risk management section of our Trustees’ Report. Having considered these risks and subsequent mitigations, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future. Thus, the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.

The notes form part of the financial statements

The British Youth Council

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

2.3 Functional currency

The functional currency of the British Youth Council is considered to be pounds sterling because that is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the charity operates. The accounts are also presented in pounds sterling.

2.4 Income

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

Membership contributions, training and consultancy income are included as they are receivable, except where they relate to future periods, in which case they are deferred.

Grants, including those for the purchase of fixed assets, are recognised in full in the Statement of Financial Activities in the year when they are receivable.

Government grants are accounted for under the accrual model and are recognised at the fair value of the amount received or receivable when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received. Government grants are being received under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme designed to compensate for staff costs. Amounts received or receivable are recognised in the statement of financial activities over the same period as the costs to which they relate.

Charity Number Charitable expenditure 1123224 comprises the costs actually incurred in delivering charitable activities. Costs are allocated to Company each activity where the cost relates Number directly to the activity. Central 06226595 functions costs are apportioned to activities on a basis explained in Note 4. In common with many small charities, some of the central functions costs are covered by grant agreements which also provide for charitable activity; however for the purpose of reporting these costs have been separated and apportioned.

2.6 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows: Computer equipment 5 years Office equipment 5 years Assets costing £500 or more are capitalised.

2.7 Financial Instruments

The company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments. Financial instruments are recognised in the company's balance sheet when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the accounts, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

2.5 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised in the period in which it is incurred.

Fundraising and publicity costs comprise the costs actually incurred in producing materials for promotional and fundraising purposes.

With the exceptions of prepayments and deferred income all other debtor and creditor balances are considered to be basic financial instruments under FRS 102. See notes 8 and 9 for the debtor and creditor notes.

The notes form part of the financial statements

The British Youth Council

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

2.8 Debtors

Short term debtors are measured at transaction price, less any impairment.

2.9 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents in the balance sheet comprise cash at banks and in hand and short term deposits with an original maturity date of three months or less. For the purpose of the cash flow statement, cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and cash equivalents as defined above.

2.10 Creditors

Short term trade creditors are measured at the transaction price. Other financial liabilities, including bank loans, are measured initially at fair value, net of transaction costs, and are measured subsequently at amortised cost using the effective interest method. Deferred income represents membership contributions, training and consultancy where they relate to future periods.

2.11 Leasing and hire purchase commitments

Rental payable under operating leases, where substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership remain with the lessor, are charged in the Statement of Financial Activities in the period in which they fall due

Charity Number 1123224

2.13 Accumulated Funds

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes laid Company down by the donor. Expenditure Number which meets these criteria is 06226595 charged to the fund, together with a fair allocation of central function costs, often specified in the fund criteria.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other income received or generated for the objects of the charity without further specified purposes and are available as general funds.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the Board for particular purposes and include a fund representing the value of fixed assets.

2.14 Taxation

Income received by the charity is exempt from Corporation Tax under s505 of the Income & Corporation Taxes Act 1988. The charity is not registered for VAT. VAT incurred on transactions is charged to the relevant cost.

2.12 Pensions

Contributions to defined contribution pension schemes are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period in which they are due.

The notes form part of the financial statements

The British Youth Council

Charity Number 1123224

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

3 Income

Company Number 06226595

The notes form part of the financial statements

The BritishThe British Youth CouncilYouth Council

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

4 Analysis of total expenditure

Charity Number Charity Number1123224 1123224 Company Number Company06226595 Number 06226595

The notes form part of the financial statements

The BritishThe British Youth CouncilYouth Council Charity Number Charity Number1123224 1123224 Company Number Company06226595 Number 06226595

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

5 Net income / (expenditure)

6 Trustee expenses

None of the trustees (or any other person connected with them) received any remuneration in connection with their role as a trustee. No trustees received remuneration in connection with their role as an ambassador (2021: None). During the year three trustees (2021: None) were reimbursed £213 for travel and expenses (2021: £Nil). This sum includes reimbursement in connection with participation in British Youth Council activities as well as in their governance role.

7 Employees

The notes form part of the financial statements

The BritishThe British Youth CouncilYouth Council Charity Number Charity Number1123224 1123224 Company Number Company06226595 Number 06226595

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

7 Employees cont.

One individual employee received remuneration of £60,000 - £70,000, with employer pension contributions of £1,751 (2021: One individual employee received remuneration of £60,000 - £70,000, with employer pension contributions of £1,751).

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees, the Chief Executive, Head of Fundraising and the Head of Programmes. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £134,490 (2021: £152,113).

The charity operates a defined contribution pension plan for its employees. The amount recognised as an expense in the period was £15,869 (2021: £14,585).

8 Tangible fixed assets

9 Debtors

The notes form part of the financial statements

The BritishThe British Youth CouncilYouth Council

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

10 Creditors

Charity Number Charity Number1123224 1123224 Company Number Company06226595 Number 06226595

11 Analysis of deferred income

12 Financial commitments

At 31 March 2022 the charity had the following minimum lease commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as set out below:

13 Analysis of net assets between funds

The notes form part of the financial statements

The BritishThe British Youth CouncilYouth Council

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

14 Movement in funds

Charity Number Charity Number1123224 1123224 Company Number Company06226595 Number 06226595

15 Related party Transactions

Trustee donations amounted to £492 (2021: £1,369). In addition Trustees give a significant amount of their time for their governance role and to act as Ambassadors for the charity and young people. Aside from these and those transactions noted in note 6 there were no other related party transactions (2021: None).

16 Restricted Funds

Access Foundation Grant - a grant administered by the Social Investment Business to kick-start our enterprise function. The grant was mainly towards the salary of a new post.

Awards for All – National Lottery Community Fund Awards For All grants supported our activity in Northern Ireland and Wales as part of the Youth Voice programme.

Bank of England Youth Forum – a grant from the Bank of England to pilot a youth forum, putting youth engagement in the heart of the Bank.

The notes form part of the financial statements

The BritishThe BritishThe British Youth CouncilYouth Council Youth Council Charity Number Charity Number1123224 1123224 Charity NumberCompany 1123224Company06226595Number Number 06226595 dialogue and consultation. The final Company installment of the grant was not confirmed Number until after the start of this financial year. 06226595 The Erasmus+ funding supported our youth voice leadership work, delivering a residential and then online workshops during the pandemic.The final installment of the grant was not confirmed until after the start of this financial year.

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

16 Restricted Funds

Careers and Enterprise Company – a grant from CEC to deliver a Youth Advisory Board, putting youth engagement at the heart of their work.

DCMS Youth Voice UK – This programme, funded via the Office for Civil Society (previously within the Cabinet Office and now within the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), included the UK Youth Parliament programme, plus support to other democratic structures, campaigning and support for youth representation. The funding complements funding from other sources which make up the whole Youth Voice initiative.

Jack Petchey – part of their internship programme, a grant that contributes to the salary of an intern, providing the opportunity for a young person to learn on the job.

DCMS Youth Voice Groups – a pilot to establish a group of young people to work across government to bring youth voice to policy making, along with proposals for digital solutions to engage a wider range of young people and trialing a national young inspectors programme.

Esmée Fairbairn – A three-year grant to support our development of a youth voice theory of leadership to be implemented across our work alongside a new approach to impact monitoring and improvement.

European funding - was a mixed programme of works funded by the European Union Erasmus+ programme, both directly from the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Union and via the UK National Agency. These funds support young people to play an active role in decision making, citizenship, and connecting young people and representatives within the UK and European policy development. Access to these grants has now ended.

The EACEA National Working Group funding was a grant for the calendar years 2019-2020 to deliver the European Structured Dialogue on youth. Through this funding UK Young Ambassadors were recruited to represent the UK to European forums through structured

Member Bursaries – these are donations given to enable the British Youth Council to provide limited membership bursaries.

National Health Service (NHS) England Youth Forum – a programme of works centred around the recruitment training and engagement of a youth forum to work with health professionals in England.

Participation Works – a coalition whose budget was transferred to the British Youth Council for management during 2013/14 when the project ended, is dedicated to promoting youth participation through awareness and training. This residual balance of funding is being used to review and update the legacy resources so that they can continue to benefit society.

Paul Hamlyn Foundation (YVPI) – a grant to widen the outreach of the Make Your mark ballot and to deepen the understanding of what young people are saying, as part of a wider piece of work in partnership with the Centre For Youth Impact.

Youth Futures Foundation - a grant from YFF to deliver the Future Voices Group, putting youth engagement at the heart of their work.

The notes form part of the financial statements

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED

17 Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

The BritishThe BritishThe British Youth CouncilYouth Council Youth Council Charity Number Charity Number1123224 1123224 Charity NumberCompany 1123224Company06226595Number Number 06226595 Company Number 06226595

The notes form part of the financial statements

E: [e-mail] W : www.byc.org.uk T: 020 4529 5927

Charity Number 1123224 Company Number 06226595

Principal address

Unit N201A Vox Studios

1-45 Durham Street London SE11 5JH

Auditors

Thomas Coombs Ltd 3365 The Pentagon Century Way Thorpe Park Leeds LS15 8ZB

bycLIVE britishyouthcouncil BritishYouthCouncil The British Youth Council

Bankers

The Co-operative Bank plc P.O. Box 101 1 Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP