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2021-03-31-accounts

THE LEADERSHIP CENTRE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT

(A company limited by guarantee)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Company Registration Number 05467557 Charity Number 1123234

The Leadership Centre for Local Government Year ended 31st March 2021

Contents

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2021

CONTENTS Page
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS 3
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES 4
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES 15
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE
LEADERSHIP CENTRE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT 17
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 20
BALANCE SHEET 21
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS 22
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 23

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The Leadership Centre for Local Government Report of the Trustees Year ended 31st March 2021

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Name The Leadership Centre for Local Government Charity number: 1123234 Company number: 05467557 Registered office: 18 Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ Statutory Auditors: PKF Littlejohn LLP, 15 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London E14 4HD Bankers: Barclays, UK Banking, 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP Solicitors: Bates Wells London LLP 2-6 Cannon Street, London, EC4M 6YH

Directors and Trustees

The Directors of the charitable company (the charity) are its Trustees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees.

The Trustees serving during the year and up to the date of approval of the financial statements were:

Attendance – possible
4 Board Meetings
H Bailey 4
K Ryley 4
Lord P R C Smith (Chair) deceased 4
J Sobieraj 4
David Lloyd 4
Cllr Keith House 3
Tamara Finklestein 2
Lord Gary Porter 4
Chief Executive Joe Simpson
Secretary and Chief Operating Officer John Jarvis

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REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees present their report and audited financial statements of The Leadership Centre for Local Government (“the Leadership Centre”) for the year from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (“FRS 102 SORP”) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and relevant Accounting Standards. The Trustees have considered the likely impact of Covid-19 on the operational activities of the Centre and are of the view that there is a material impact. However, the Trustees consider that the current level of the Centre’s unrestricted funds and with the continuing likelihood of securing funding for periods beyond April 2021, the Centre has sufficient resources to continue as a going concern.

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing document

The Leadership Centre was established to help local government in England improve its political and managerial leadership. Its principal source of funding at the time was the Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) - as part of the Capacity Building Fund. The Centre was originally set up as a limited company and became a registered charity on 1st April 2008.

The Leadership Centre for Local Government is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated of 13 June 2005, amended on 3 September 2007, 5 March 2008, 20 May 2009 and 12 February 2014 to improve its governance arrangements.

Appointment of Trustees

As set out in the Articles and Memorandum of Association, new Trustees are nominated and appointed by the existing Trustees. There is no formally constituted nomination committee and nomination matters are reported and taken at ordinary meetings. The Board of Trustees will invite suitable candidates as well as advertise to find suitable Trustees that can bring in a full range of expertise to the Board.

Trustee induction and training

New Trustees have a one to one meeting with the Chair and receive a full information pack comprising the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Charity Commission guidelines for Trustees, agendas, papers and minutes of the last year’s board meetings, a blank register of interests form and the list of dates for future meetings.

Organisation

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the strategic direction of the Leadership Centre and is concerned with ensuring sound stewardship of the organisation, including overseeing its financial and business performance and agreeing related policies. The Board met four times in the year. The role of the Chair is paid, as set up in the Memorandum and Articles of Association and approved by the Charities Commission. There is no formally constituted audit committee and audit matters are reported and taken at ordinary meetings of the Board.

The Chair works closely with the Leadership Centre’s Chief Executive and the Company Secretary and they have delegated authority from the Trustees to manage all the day to day running of the charity and delivery of its objectives in accordance with the agreed business plan and budget, including operational management of the Centre, finance and employment matters.

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Peter Smith, our longstanding chair sadly died over the summer. Peter had a long and distinguished career in local government and has not only left a lasting legacy in the modern history of Wigan Borough, but also across The North West region and in public service nationally. As chair of the Leadership Centre Peter was thoughtful and sought contributions from all. Peter’s commitment and passion will live long with the Leadership Centre board and staff.

Related parties

Trustees and senior officers verbally declare any potential conflict of interest at the beginning of each Board meeting. In addition, a register of interests is completed by Trustees and senior officers every year. Details of any transactions with related parties are fully disclosed in the Annual Report and Accounts in compliance with the charities regulatory framework.

Public benefit statement

The Leadership Centre confirms that the Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers or duties.

How our activities deliver public benefit

The main objectives of the charity, as set out in the Memorandum and Articles, are described below. All our activities focus on these objectives and are undertaken to further our charitable purposes for the public benefit:

  1. The advancement of education for the public benefit, in particular (without prejudice to the generality) by promoting, improving and developing leadership amongst public servants and, in particular, local authority employees and councillors.

  2. To promote for the public benefit the efficient public administration of government and public services by the provision of education and training in the organisation and practice of the administration of government and the development of leadership skills for public servants, in particular, local authority employees and councillors.

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL REVIEW

‘Great Leaders, Great Places’

Our mission is to nurture leadership through new ways of thinking, behaving and being, to make lasting positive change for the benefit of citizens and society.

We develop public service leaders so that they can create shifts in cultures to produce a different set of results: transforming their organisations to meet the needs and ambitions of citizens where traditional approaches have not worked. We have always emphasised the importance of ‘place’; operating across sectors, geographic, organisational and professional boundaries rather than within traditional service silos.

Over the past year we have worked with many different people, places and politicians, developing leadership capabilities and exploring new approaches to the big challenges facing our communities. From reducing physical inactivity to responding to Coronavirus, from domestic violence to confronting health inequalities, we’ve supported senior public service leaders to tackle the challenges we face, together.

The following report details our achievement in 2020-21 and highlights our plans for 2021-22.

The global Covid-19 pandemic has clearly impacted all governments, businesses and communities, and we are not immune to this. The effects of the pandemic will be a thread running throughout this report and our plans for 2021-22 are necessarily emerging.

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Background:

Strategy

The Leadership Centre aims to identify new opportunities to a) support leaders adapting to new challenges during and after the pandemic and b) ensure it continues to be financially sustainable.

Throughout 2020 & into 2021 the Leadership Centre team reviewed and developed a strategy which responds to the impact of Covid-19 across public services and society. The strategy emerged from a series of conversations with alumni, clients, trustees, enablers and staff.

Three core challenges or enquiries surfaced as our focus:

Shaping the future whilst dealing with now: The challenge of dealing with the crisis now whilst simultaneously navigating and innovating in a way that supports the creation of a better future. Therefore, our challenge is - how might we support leaders to build the personal and systemic resilience to respond to complex situations like covid-19 and create a viable strategy when everything keeps changing?

The future of local place leadership: There are challenges and worries around the future of high streets, the environment, community physical and mental health, local economies, senior leaders retiring, to name a few. Therefore, how might we develop the future of place leadership - reinvigorating places, developing new leaders and facilitating new ways of participating, enabling community mobilisation, stretching the net of who’s involved, working with statutory and non-statutory, voluntary & community orgs, entrepreneurs, citizens?

Working between and across spatial levels: the challenges of indecision, power and lack of action in the middles spaces where hierarchy and networks meet and legitimacy to act, policy and procedures are fuzzy. Therefore, how might we develop more collaborative, purposeful leadership between and across spatial levels - national / regional / local / hyperlocal, that harnesses the unique role each actor can play?

Operating philosophy:

The strategy shapes Leadership Centre activity across three timeframes:

The charity is dependent on attracting specific income (be it grants, contracts or financial support from the private sector) to cover its activities. The charity is not in receipt of general grant, nor has it the ability to undertake general charitable fundraising. We therefore continue to keep core staffing to the minimum, whilst engaging with specialists to help in the delivery of specific programmes.

The Leadership Centre has a well-developed network of specialists, who provide the bulk of the contracted people resource to design and deliver leadership development interventions, whilst also having the central capacity to support those programmes. This model gives us both quality control (through the contracting arrangements we expect our facilitators/enablers to partake in shared learning experiences) and the ability to expand/contract our commitments according to the resource available.

2020–21 Achievements

Throughout the last financial year the Leadership Centre created and delivered a variety of projects and programmes aligned with its core priorities and ambitious outcomes.

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In response to the Covid-19 crisis, and as part of our charitable endeavours, the Leadership Centre:

Developing Agile Responsive Leadership

If nothing else, Covid-19 has taught us the need to be responsive and agile. It is crucial to expand the number of, and capabilities of, leaders able to diagnose and intervene in complex, constantly shifting situations. Our work with local and national organisations, government departments, arms-length bodies and charities, to support leaders to develop their systemic thinking, tools and behaviours, has given them the platform to operate in way that empowers change and leadership, responding to the unique context at a local level.

The impact of our support has been magnified through the Covid-19 crisis. Local teams are reporting being able to respond to the crisis in a more agile and collaborative way due to the relationship and learning infrastructure created through our work together.

The next section details activity within the Centre’s core programmes as well as numerous bespoke commissioned projects. The summary highlights how the Leadership Centre has created and shared learning, increased our national influence, and assisted in securing better outcomes for citizens, through leadership development & whole system change interventions.

Key leadership development activities in 2020-21

Cohort Based Programmes:

Future Vision

Future Vision is the Leadership Centre’s flagship national leadership development programme for senior figures from across public services who are operating in an increasingly interdependent world. We have evolved the programme to include a partnership with the Birmingham Leadership Institute at the University of Birmingham.

Future Vision has been developed using our experience and success of delivering political and managerial leadership development programmes for local government combined with input from our private sector partners. The year-long programme, totally re-designed for an online setting, has a clear and uncompromising objective of enabling system change through leadership development.

Future Vision is designed for senior figures from across the UK public services, such as:

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The participants of past cohorts rate the experience extremely highly, so much so that in fact that they have been keen to extend their work beyond the core programme, emphasising the creation of the positive, lasting relationships.

Short interviews with participants from the Future Vision programme can be found on the Leadership Centre website. https://www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/ourwork/future-vision/

London Leadership Programme

Commissioned by London Councils, the Leadership Centre is designing and delivering the ‘London Leadership Programme’ for senior officers from across the 32 London boroughs. Core to the programme is the recognition that the world has changed, and London needs leaders who can navigate this and transform public service organisations.

Face-to-face and online modules will be complemented by real work on specific leadership challenges, each sponsored by a London Local Authority Chief Executive.

Master Practitioner Programme

New for 2021. The initiative is a very practical leadership programme with the aim of helping the most experienced leaders in the public, private and third sector to make progress on a big and intractable challenge facing their organisation, place or system. The benefits include: benefits include:

Networks:

Leadership Centre Alumni

The Leadership Centre Alumni includes over 300 of the most senior leaders across the public, voluntary and private sectors. This is an exceptional network which can be a powerful stimulus and catalyst for change in the public sector and in civic society in the round.

The Leadership Centres’ ambition for the Alumni network is to create a space where they can:

During 2020-21 considerable effort has been deployed to develop the Alumni activity. This has included:

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academia, to help to shape the Alumni work.

All networks event: Leadership and Resilience

Periodically we offer the opportunity of coming together to all those we work with to explore issues and share experiences. One such event was the ‘Leadership & Resilience’ session. The discussion was broadly structured around three dimensions:

Prompted by contributions from three participants, two periods of group discussion provided a forum for what proved to be constructive and illuminating exchanges. Below is a visual capture of the conversations.

The Centre committed to taking forward the outcomes from the session and to building a programme of activities and events around these. They feature heavily in the Centres strategy.

Place-based leadership and change

The Leadership Centre supports leaders in places to delve deeper into multi-faceted, complex issues facing their communities. We foster ways to listen differently, build new relationships with residents and develop their leadership & innovation capability in order to operate in complexity and co-create better outcomes with communities.

The Leadership Centre’s locality work often involves:

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To tackle complex issues effectively means asking people to learn, lead and think differently. We support local leaders to listen deeply to residents & communities, learn how to diagnose complex system dynamics collaboratively, build relationships with others to make the space for true learning, experimentation and meaningful action.

During 2020-21 the Leadership Centre has supported teams to develop place-based approaches to; physical inactivity, domestic violence, health inequalities, social isolation and homelessness to name a few. In each case we have provided a platform to develop leadership practice and open new possibilities which infect a whole set of growing relationships. Below are just a few expanded examples:

Violence reduction unit

Through designing community, place-based interventions and by working closely with professionals in both the criminal justice and sports systems, we have supported the VRU to mobilise and commission sport- based activities to ensure that young people who are at risk of being involved in violence are supported.

Health Equality Partnership Programme

The Leadership Centre has deployed all its knowledge and experience to design and deliver the first nationwide support programme for Integrated Care Systems, directly impacting outcomes for communities. Through a series of local and national workshops the Centre has supported Integrated Care Systems around the country to address aspects of health inequalities - these could relate to inequalities in access to healthcare, or poorer health outcomes amongst particular groups.

Let’s Go Southall

Through a uniquely designed programme, the Leadership Centre has been developing members of the community, and supporting public services to connect with, listen to, and work alongside those they serve, surfacing lived experience as insight in order to create the change they want to see. By supporting conditions for a collaborative leadership & learning system, we have helped to shift power, harness & release the energies and expertise of a diverse set of people.

The work of shifting power has resulted in community leads creating park exercise sessions, online Bhangra courses, community workouts, bike repair and ride sessions to mobilise residents. Members of the Southall community have joined the council based core leadership team to support wider systems change at all levels, working together to strategically collaborate, prioritise, frame and resource workstreams.

2022 Commonwealth Games Legacy

We are supporting the West Midlands Common Wealth Games collaborative to develop their stewardship of the Commonwealth Games Legacy. Our support includes:

Domestic Violence

The demand for domestic abuse services is high. It is recognised that the number of incidents is under-reported, services are predominantly under-resourced and fragmented and the situation exacerbated by Covid-19.

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In one locality, together with local statutory and non-statutory leaders and those passionate about making a difference the Leadership Centre co-designed a programme of learning that supported them to develop a deeper understanding of an ideal system from the perspective of people at risk of or living with domestic abuse.

With a multi-organisational and multi-disciplinary team together we:

As a result of the work, victim support and preventative services are changing. New strands of work to make the issue more visible are underway, and it has galvanised a movement locally to make positive change

Place based Health

In numerous localities the Leadership Centre has provided support for teams of leaders involved with Public Health, Integrated Care Systems and Primary Care Networks.

With Covid-19 as the crisis and latterly the backdrop, the work has been to help multiorganisational collaborations to build deep relationships with each other, and those they serve, to understand better what is going on, the challenges residents face, how life is for them.

This has made action & better outcomes possible.

Quotes from participants and place programmes:

“For anyone that’s thinking about investing in their own personal leadership capability, capacity, vision and effectiveness I would highly recommend this programme.”

Chief Executive of large national Charity

“If we stand still as an organisation, we actually atrophy and go backwards. The world is moving on, so the ability to understand innovation and future facing challenges of public service and the joined-up approach of place-based has enabled me to bring some of that people centred future facing approach into my own organisation”.

A Chief Constable

“I do think the Leadership Centre has already helped our [Covid-19] response. We are now putting System Leadership principles into practice on a scale never imagined. Unless we think and work as a system, we will not be able to support our people, communities and workforce. Sharing staff and resources is rapidly becoming the norm. Will definitely be some positives and learning through this”

Council Strategic Director

Challenges faced in 2020-21

Covid-19

Towards the end of the 2019-20 financial year the coronavirus crisis hit and in mid-March the Leadership Centre had to rapidly adapt its ways of working. All staff transitioned to remote working and redesigned leadership development support where possible, from face-to-face to online.

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Public Service leaders have led through the most testing of times; changes in working patterns and other routines impacting the economy, workspaces and retail in town and city centres; the revealing and magnification by Covid-19 of the deep social, health and economic inequalities that exist across the country; and the deepening financial pressures on public services. The nationwide societal impact is likely to be lengthy and multifaceted in nature. The ongoing impact of Covid-19 heavily shapes the Leadership Centre’s operating environment for 2020-21 onwards. Everything we do is likely to be through the lens of Covid19, from supporting leaders to tackle inequalities to the difficulties of running large organisations in a hybrid way.

Increasing awareness

The Leadership Centre continues to grow its brand awareness through live events, social media, publications and its networks, set against a cacophony of competing demands for people’s time & attention.

Delivery Capacity

From the outset the Leadership Centre adopted a specific approach to staffing. We did not seek to establish a large in-house permanent staff. We believed that such an approach would be both inflexible and costly. Neither did we opt for a pure commissioning model (with its reliance often on large suppliers). Instead we aimed to create a pool of individuals, with whom we would work on a regular basis, but always offering local places choice so places had a stake in the decision. By using the pool, we were also able to get some quality control, but also capture shared learning (otherwise the communal learning would be lost). A key challenge for 2020-21 was to expand the pool of enablers. We have had limited success in this area and a small number of individuals in the network continue to shoulder much of the responsibility.

Pushing the boundaries of place-based working

The Leadership Centre’s interest is in developing leadership & learning, so sustainable progress is made which creates public value. Creating the conditions for experimental coinvestment during times of crisis response is an ongoing challenge.

2021-22 Overall financial performance

Notwithstanding the effects of the pandemic the financial position of the Leadership Centre has been maintained over the last year. We initially budgeted for a near breakeven position, and results were a small deficit of £23k (an improvement from the £156k deficit the previous year). Income for the year increased to £1,425k (from £1,244k the previous year) but did not include any sponsorship or conference income this year. Close attention to costs led to support costs decreasing by £18k and overall staff costs decreasing by £47k resulting in a higher comparative expenditure of only £1,449k (up from £1,400k the previous year). As a result, the reserves figure at the year-end decreased to £155k (down from £178k the previous year).

2021-22 Operational Priorities and Objectives: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous!

It is impossible for any organisation to plan with any certainty for the future as we live through a global pandemic.

The Leadership Centre’s operating environment and future activities are informed by the complex interaction of many factors including:

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In response the Leadership Centre needs to be connected, innovative, flexible, resilient, and relevant. The Leadership Centre has started a process of identifying its unique contribution in the changing world. As a result, the Leadership Centre will nimbly adapt to provide support to leaders as well as investing in developing future offers.

As the strategy is enacted it will provide the platform for generative connections, collaborations, bespoke leadership development delivery, creation and sharing of learning both supporting leaders and creating positive impact for citizens.

The Leadership Centre’s work is arguably even more important now than ever before.

Priorities in 2021-22

  1. Support the wellbeing of the Leadership Centre’s assets, our staff, networks, alumni, enablers, trustees and change makers as the innovation and strategy engine of the Leadership Centre.

  2. In the context of place, recognise and respond to the interconnection between, mental & physical health, economy, climate, housing, transport and education to help create better and fairer outcomes.

  3. Convene local and national coalitions of the willing around the emerging crucial ‘postCovid’ leadership challenges to foster radical ideas & activity.

  4. Design cutting edge online leadership development practice - enabling leadership development and place-based change online.

  5. Help leaders and their organisations to shape the future whilst dealing with now.

Challenges in 2021-22

  1. Ever greater collaboration - The Leadership Centre has always sought collaborations. With public funding getting ever tighter, and challenges more complex, collaborative and co-produced interventions and knowledge creation has never been more important. The challenge is identifying organisations that live their values in a way that resonates with ours, who are able to collaborate in this complex space.

  2. Delivery capacity - The delivery of the Leadership Centre’s mission relies on its talented and motivated people. The 2021-22 challenge will be maintaining a balance between maximising impact, maintaining excellence, growing revenue, minimising expenditure and finding top talent to keep us at the cutting edge.

3. Impact of Covid-19 - The crisis has highlighted the need for investment in people. Practical challenges of face-to-face vs online can be overcome. The challenges will likely be bandwidth and financial ones as public sector leaders time and finances are squeezed.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The Leadership Centre has reviewed its arrangements for risk management with clear responsibilities assigned to named senior officers for the management of the principal risks. The Trustees consider these risks are being effectively mitigated.

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Reserves

During 2020-21 the Leadership Centre has continued to utilise its reserves to support its charitable activities and reduce the overall holding.

The Leadership Centre is no longer reliant on direct general subsidy. Instead each initiative needs to secure specific funding. The Leadership Centre has managed to attract some private sector support, as well as significant specific funding from public sources.

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on the Leadership Centre’s reserves. Steps have been taken to maintain the viability of the Leadership Centre and reduce the overheads. The Leadership Centre has more actively managed its debtors and adopted a cautious approach to spending.

The reserve policy requires the retention of adequate funds to support about a half year of operating of the Leadership Centre and this should be in the order of £200,000. Taking account of current costs and operational circumstances, the retention to cover at least three months of full staff costs and accommodation, including facilities and IT would be £100,000 (although this base has reduced). The policy is reviewed regularly, is considered adequate at the present time, and will be looked at again, in the light of changing economic, funding circumstances and timing. The Leadership Centre has utilised some government support and will continue to do so whilst available and is needed. At 31[st] March 2021 the balance of available unrestricted reserves was £154,959.

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The Leadership Centre for Local Government Year ended 31st March 2021 Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees (who are also directors of the Leadership Centre for Local Government for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Under Company law the Trustees are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the Trustees have prepared the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard Applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Under company law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the excess of income over expenditure for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the charitable company and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

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

Provision of information to Auditors

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

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

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The Leadership Centre for Local Government Year ended 31st March 2021 Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of section 414 of the Companies Act 2006.

Auditors

A tendering process is in progress in relation to the appointment of the role of Statutory Auditor. A resolution for the appointment of the auditors of the Company is to be proposed at a forthcoming Board Meeting.

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 29[th] September 2021 and signed on their behalf by

David Lloyd

29[th] September 2021

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The Leadership Centre for Local Government Independent Auditors Report Year ended 31st March 2021

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE LEADERSHIP CENTRE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Leadership Centre for Local Government (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the 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 other information comprises the information included in the Report of the Trustees, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Report of the Trustees. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

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Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

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 directors’ report included within the Report of the Trustees.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the 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.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

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:

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The Leadership Centre for Local Government Independent Auditors Report Year ended 31st March 2021

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone, other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Nicky Whitehead (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of PKF Littlejohn LLP Statutory Auditor

15 Westferry Circus Canary Wharf London E14 4HD

Date: 18 October 2021

19 of 27

The Leadership Centre for Local Government Statement of Financial Activities Year ended 31st March 2021

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (Incorporating an INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) For the year ended 31 March 2021

Notes
Income from:
Grants
2
Charitable Activities
2
Investment income
3
Sponsorship and conferences
2
Total income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
7
Other Costs
9
Total Expenditure
Net (expenditure)
4
Reconciliation of Funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
14
Unrestricted
funds
Total
funds
2021
2021
£
£

24,862
24,862
1,400,100
1,400,100
470
470
-
-
Total funds
2020
£
35,000
1,187,976
525
20,608
1,425,432
1,425,432
1,428,069
1,428,069
20,670
20,670
1,448,739
1,448,739
(23,307)
(23,307)

178,266
178,266
154,959
154,959
1,244,109
1,378,956
21,258
1,400,214
(156,105)
334,371
178,266

There are no recognised gains or losses other than those disclosed above.

All of the above results derive from continuing activities

The notes on pages 23 to 27 form part of these financial statements.

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The Leadership Centre for Local Government Year ended 31st March 2021

Balance Sheet

Company Registration number 05467557

BALANCE SHEET As at 31 March 2021

2021 2020
Notes £ £
Current assets
Debtors 10 479,860 480,684
Short term Investments 3 166,087 61,572
Cash at bank and in hand 10,000 10,000
655,947 552,256
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year
Creditors falling due within
one year 11 500,988 373,990
500,988 373,990
Net current assets 154,959 178,266
Total assets less current
Liabilities 154,959 178,266
Funds
Restricted Funds 14 - -
Unrestricted Funds 14 154,959 178,266
154,959 178,266

These financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 29[th] September 2021 and are signed and authorised for issue on their behalf by:

David Lloyd Trustee

The notes on pages 23 to 27 form part of these financial statements.

21 of 27

The Leadership Centre for Local Government Statement of Cash Flows Year ended 31st March 2021

Company Registration number 05467557

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS As at 31 March 2021

Note
Cash flow from operating activities
12
Net cash flow (used in)/provided by operating activities
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March
Cash and cash equivalents consists of:
Cash at bank and in hand
Short term deposits
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March
2021
£
104,515
104,515
71,572
176,087
10,000
166,087
176,087
2020
£
(9,810)
(9,810)
81,382
71,572
10,000
61,572
71,572

The notes on pages 23 to 27 form part of these financial statements.

22 of 27

The Leadership Centre for Local Government Notes to the Financial Statements Year ended 31st March 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

BASIS OF ACCOUNTING

The Leadership Centre is a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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) issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, The Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Practice as it applies from 1 January 2019.

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

GOING CONCERN

The Trustees (who are also the directors of The Leadership Centre for Local Government (‘the Centre’) for purposes of company law) have prepared the accounts on a going concern basis. As described in the Report of the Trustees, during 2020/21 the Centre worked closely with the LGA and various public/privately funded specified bodies. The Trustees have considered the likely impact of Covid-19 on the operational activities of the Centre and are of the view that there is a material impact. However, the Trustees consider that given the current level of the Centre’s unrestricted funds and, given the likelihood of secured and securing funding for periods beyond April 2021, the Centre has sufficient resources to continue as a going concern.

FUNDS

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

INCOME POLICY

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income, after any performance conditions have been met, when the amount can be measured reliably and when it is probable that the income will be received.

Income from donations is recognised on receipt, unless there are conditions attached to the donation that require a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained. In this case income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the Centre and it is probable that they will be fulfilled.

Government and other grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred.

Investment income comprising only bank interest on short term deposits is recognised on a receivable basis.

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The Leadership Centre for Local Government Notes to the Financial Statements Year ended 31st March 2021

RESOURCES EXPENDED

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis. This occurs when a legal or constructive obligation commits the Centre to the expenditure.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended from which it is incurred.

Any costs of generating funds comprise the costs associated with attracting voluntary income.

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the Centre in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both the costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Grants payable to third parties are included in expenditure on charitable activities. Where unconditional grants are made, these amounts are recognised when a constructive obligation is created, typically when the recipient is notified that a grant will be made to them. Where grants are conditional on performance, then the grant is only recognised once any unfulfilled conditions are outside of the control of the charity.

All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the Statement of Financial Activities on a basis designed to reflect the use of the resource. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly: others are apportioned on an appropriate basis.

ALLOCATION OF SUPPORT COSTS

Support costs are those that assist the work of the Centre but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs, and project management costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to those activities on a consistent pro rata to the level of direct costs incurred.

The analysis of these costs is included in notes 7 and 8.

TAX

The charity is an exempt charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010. It therefore meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes.

2. INCOME

2. INCOME
Income from donations and grants
Voluntary Income and Grants
Sponsorship and Conferences

Income from charitable activities
Services recharged
2021
£
24,862
-
1,400,100
**1,424,962 **
2020
£
35,000
20,608
1,187,976
**1,243,584 **

Voluntary income and grants mainly relate to funding from other public sector bodies. It is allocated to the main activities of the charity. Services recharged include events and conferences, publications and consultancy. £nil (2020 £nil) of the above income was attributable to restricted funds and £1,424,962 (2020 £1,243,584) to unrestricted funds.

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The Leadership Centre for Local Government Notes to the Financial Statements Year ended 31st March 2021

3. INVESTMENT INCOME

All of the investment income arises from interest bearing deposits. The Centre participates in arrangements in which surplus cash balances are deposited with borrowers on the LGA’s approved list. The Centre’s investments are pooled with those of other entities that have adopted the LGA Group Investment Strategy. Investments are typically for periods of up to six months and as such the loan amount is a reasonable assessment of fair value. The LGA Group Investment Strategy strictly applies credit limits for all of the financial institutions to ensure that deposits are spread across a number of its approved counterparties. No credit limits were exceeded during the year and the Centre does not expect any losses on short term investments. The difference between carrying value and fair value is immaterial.

4. AUDITORS REMUNERATION

The auditor’s remuneration amounts to an audit fee of

2021 2020
£ £
Audit fees 3,500 3,500

No non-audit fees were paid in the year to the auditor (2020 nil).

5. EMOLUMENTS

During 2020-21 total remuneration of £17,160 (2019/20; £16,689) was paid to the Chair for work done in this capacity in accordance with a written agreement approved by the Trustees under clause 5.9 of the Memorandum of Association. Reimbursement of expenses to one (2019/20; two) Trustees for travel costs totalled £10.00 (2019/20; £990.84).

6. EMPLOYEES

Staff, agency and secondments
Staff
Agency staff fees
Total staffing costs
2021
£
327,063
36,184
363,247
2020
£
320,561
89,392
409,953

The aggregate employee benefits of key management personnel were £258,264 (2019: £248,352). The average number of senior staff employed directly during the year was 3 with employee benefits, excluding employer pension costs, in the ranges of £40k to £100k (2020 3 persons in the range £40,000 - £90,000).

Range £k 2021 2020
90-100
80-90
70-80
60-70
50-60
1
1
-
-
-
-

2
-
-
-
1
40-50 1

The average number of persons employed (including agency staff) was 4.2 (2020 5.3 persons).

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The Leadership Centre for Local Government Notes to the Financial Statements Year ended 31st March 2021

7. EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Delivery Areas
Future Vision
Centre Projects
Accident and Emergency
Specific Location Support for Leaders
Lets Go Southall
Nursing Talent
Sport England
Public Health Leadership
Total
2021
2021
2021
2020
Activities
Support
Total
Total
undertaken
Costs
Costs
Costs
Directly
£
£
£
£
85,363
8,942
94,305
249,660
268,179 28,094
296,273
395,599
100,910 10,571
111,481
181,331
12,462 1,305
13,767
43,401
640,515
67,100
707,615
101,562
10,987
1,151
12,138
20,623
121,027
12,678
133,705
102,988
53,211
5,574
58,785
283,792
1,292,654 135,415
1,428,069
1,378,956

£0 (2020 £0) of the above costs were attributable to restricted funds and £1,428,069 (2020 £1,378,956) to unrestricted funds.

8. BREAKDOWN OF SUPPORT COSTS

Finance support
Direction
General Office Costs
IT
Staff Costs
2021
£
10,300
34,405
31,810
29,504
29,396
135,415
2020
£
10,300
35,962
51,221
25,972
29,892
153,347

Support costs are based on staff time spent on different activities.

9. EXPENDITURE ON OTHER COSTS

9. EXPENDITURE ON OTHER COSTS
Trustees Emoluments (see note 5)
Meeting costs
Trustee's expenses
Statutory Audit fees
10. DEBTORS
Trade debtors
Other Debtors
VAT
Accrued Income
2021
£
17,160
-
10
3,500
20,670
2021
£
353,883
1,968
39,574
84,435
479,860
2020
£
16,689
78
991
3,500
21,258
2020
£
379,438
9,762
72,224
19,260
480,684

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The Leadership Centre for Local Government Notes to the Financial Statements Year ended 31st March 2021

11. CREDITORS

Trade creditors
Accruals
Other taxes and PAYE
VAT
Earned Leave Liability
Provision for Bad and Doubtful Debt
2021
£
10,000
242,002
9,999
230,284
8,703
-
500,988
2020
£
59,449
141,171
9,593
141,905
3,872
18,000
373,990

12. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME / (EXPENDITURE) TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Net expenditure for year
Decrease / (Increase) in debtors
Increase / (Decrease) in creditors
Net cash flow from operating activities
2021
£
(23,307)
824
126,998
104,515
2020
£
(156,105)
(55,489)
201,784
(9,810)

13. MEMBERS’ LIABILITY

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

14. FUNDS ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS at 31st March 2021

The balance of Net assets and liabilities fall under unrestricted funds.

UNRESTRICTED
Unrestricted Funds
Total
As Current
Assets
Current
Liabilities
Funds
Total
£
£
£
655,947
500,988
154,959
655,947
500,988
154,959
at 1 April
2020
£
Income
£
Expenditure
£
As at 31 March
2021
£
178,266
1,425,432
1,448,739
154,959
178,266
1,425,432
1,448,739
154,959

15. POST BALANCE SHEET EVENTS

The directors are not aware of any post balance sheet events.

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