## Leeds Youth Opera
Charity number 1139608
A company limited by guarantee number 07302032
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 August 2020
## Leeds Youth Opera
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the period ended 31 August 2020
|**Contents**|**Page**|
|---|---|
|Trustees' report|2 to 6|
|Examiner's report|7|
|Statement of financial activities|8|
|Balance sheet|9|
|Notes to the accounts|10 to 13|
**Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accounting Service**
1
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Trustees' report for the period ended 31 August 2020
## **Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors**
The trustees during the financial period and up to and including the date the report was approved were: **Name Position Dates** Malcolm Lynch Chair Paul Staniland Appointed 24 February 2020 Steve Limb Kevin Paynes Christine Limb Sarah Rushton David Ward David Rose Resigned 7 October 2019 Richard Pascoe Resigned 7 May 2019 Nicholas Wayne Resigned 7 September 2020 **Music Director and Conductor** John Lyon Appointed August 2019 **Artistic Director** Austin Gunn Appointed August 2019 **Patrons** Jim Holmes Paul Nilon **Charity number** 1139608 Registered in England and Wales **Company number** 07302032 Registered in England and Wales **Registered and principal address Bankers** c/o Wrigleys Solicitors The Co-operative Bank Plc 19 Cookridge Street PO Box 101 Leeds 1 Balloon Street LS2 3AG Manchester M60 4EP
## **Independent examiner**
Claire Welling **West Yorkshire Community Accounting Service** Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
## **Structure, governance and management**
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and was formed on 1 July 2010. It is governed by a memorandum and articles of association as amended by special resolution on 15 December 2010. The liability of the members in the event of the company being wound up is limited to a sum not exceeding £10.
The trustees hold monthly board meetings. At these meetings the Trustees discuss and agree the strategy for the year and the programme of events in which the Charity will engage.
## **Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees**
The trustees of the charity are also the directors for the purposes of company law and are appointed by the trustees of the charity.
The Trustees have a skills matrix and are currently seeking to add further marketing experience, administration and music education skill gaps among the trustees.
2
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Trustees' report (continued) for the period ended 31 August 2020
## **Objectives and activities**
## **The charity's objects**
The objects are specifically for the public benefit and restricted to the following:
To educate the public and in particular young people within the city of Leeds and elsewhere in the dramatic and operatic arts;
To further the development of public appreciation and taste in the said arts;
In furtherance of these objects but not otherwise
- (a) to promote interest in and knowledge of opera repertoire and tradition,
- (b) to promote the training of young people in opera craft,
- (c) to promote the production of suitable works for young people, and
- (d) to promote occasional participation with adult professional and amateur opera groups.
## **The charity's main activities**
The objective of the Charity is to create a learning environment for young people in Leeds who are interested in vocal, dramatic and orchestral arts and to provide opportunities to learn theatre craft and musicianship through the medium of opera and associated genres.
The Charity draws its students, between the ages of 12 and 25 on joining, following auditions from singers in Leeds and surrounding areas and who wish to combine their love of singing and engage in drama through the dramatic art of opera. Its students come from schools, colleges and universities from across the region and are also drawn from people working in Leeds who wish to continue singing for pleasure at a semi-professional level as with Leeds Festival Chorus and Leeds Philharmonic Chorus. All principal parts are double cast to provide more opportunity and to rest the young voices of the company.
Its activities are therefore quite different from many open access youth song and drama groups in Leeds and surrounding areas.
It combines the talent of these young people with excellent young musicians, predominantly from Leeds, including members of Leeds Youth Orchestra, who audition to play in each operatic production. Younger orchestra members are led by seniors, many of whom are undergraduates or graduates from Leeds University, Royal Northern College of Music, Leeds Conservatoire or other music colleges. In this way university level students obtain experience of being section leaders mentoring the younger players. The Charity seeks to develop future conducting and artistic direction and production talent by providing opportunities for young people in the early stages of their careers to support the Music Director and Artistic Director as assistants or act as deputy stage managers, sound engineers, make-up or in other production roles for performances.
Some students with the charity have gone on to develop high profile careers in opera, musical theatre and music administration.
## **Public benefit statement**
The Trustees are aware of the Charity Commission’s advice on Charities and Public Benefit. The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities. LYO's aims are to enhance musical and dramatic development of young people between the ages of 8 and 25 through the medium of opera and musical theatre. LYO's primary focus is on singing, dramatic and musical development of young people between the ages of 11 and 18 but in order to deliver rounded performances engages young people up to the age of 25 for more mature principal and music section positions. It also provides opportunities for undergraduates and graduates to engage in artistic and musical direction. There was participation from undergraduates from the Royal Northern College of Music, University of Huddersfield and Leeds College of Music. LYO has run a successful open access Summer School in 2019 which led young people into the main company.
3
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Trustees' report (continued) for the period ended 31 August 2020
## **Achievements and performance**
The July 2019 production was a production of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss under the Artistic Direction of Madeleine O’Reilly and with conductor Tom Newall.
The production for February 2020 was Mozart’s Don Giovanni. This was the first assignment for a new conductor John Lyon together with a new artistic director Austin Gunn (also the Artistic Director for Rocket Opera) and assistant Rosie Kat. The opera Don Giovanni deals with adult themes as does much opera and Leeds Youth Opera takes especial care to ensure in rehearsals that such themes are developed with a proper understanding for the different age groups who make up the students.
The planned production for July 2020 was The Enchanted Pig by Jonathan Dove with conductor John Lyon and Artistic director Rosie Kat. However, Covid meant that after initial rehearsals it was necessary to cease meeting in person and the performances were cancelled. The 2020 Summer School was also cancelled.
The company has been particularly pleased with the larger engagement of BAME students in the company in this period.
## **Future Activities**
The charity operates in an environment where the provision of music education in Leeds schools has declined and there are more organisations providing opportunities for musical theatre activities which are also attractive to many of the young cohort which LYO seeks to engage. Opera North also has in recent years developed extensive outreach to children in Leeds and students can be more mobile between the different companies depending on what is on offer.
The charity will have to review the location of performances because of increased venue costs. The removal of funding for a repetiteur by Leeds City Council on the retirement of the charity's long serving repetiteur in July 2019 has added significantly to expenditure and the charity has been grateful to funding from the Emerald Foundation for transition funding over three years towards the costs of the repetiteur.
The charity has been informed that its rehearsal space at Leeds Church Institute will no longer be available and new rehearsal space will be required. The charity is very grateful to the support which Leeds Church Institute has provided since Leeds City Council closed the major rehearsal space for amateur music organisations in Leeds.
The trustees were very pleased to have recruited an experienced new artistic director and opera singer in Austin Gunn and a dynamic young music director John Lyon for the season which started in September 2019 who share the trustees' focus on encouraging the education of the young people of Leeds through song and drama.
The charity has approached its fiftieth anniversary year by commissioning a new opera for young people composed by Lewis Murphy with a libretto by Laura Attridge around the theme of climate. It was originally intended that it would be performed in July 2021 but it is now the intention to perform it in July 2022. It is the intention of the trustees that alumni will be contacted in the course of the fiftieth year to celebrate the anniversary and be encouraged to donate to the charity.
4
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Trustees' report (continued) for the period ended 31 August 2020
## **Financial review**
The net expenditure for the period was £8,286, including net expenditure of £8,619 on unrestricted funds and net income of £333 on restricted funds.
The charity has been affected by the restrictions required by the Covid pandemic. The charity refunded some membership fees for the March-July 2020 period owing to the cancellation of rehearsals and the production of the Enchanted Pig.
The artistic teams from the Autumn of 2018 have been less successful in engaging and retaining Leeds students in the company’s activities which has had an impact on membership subscriptions and show income from the families attending performances and the cancellation of the Summer School in 2020 and the Covid pandemic has reduced the number of students engaged with Leeds Youth Opera. Going forward the Trustees are planning to raise additional funds from donors and are reviewing the trust's eligibility for Theatre Tax Relief. The end of period financial position has improved and the reserves are growing towards the reserves policy objective.
The Trustees will be seeking to re-engage students with a Summer School in 2021 and the 50th anniversary operatic commission.
## **Reserves policy**
The charity's free reserves, excluding fixed assets, at the year end were £2,491.
The trustees aim to maintain sufficient reserve funds to cover between 3 and 6 months operating expenditure.
5
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Trustees' report (continued) for the period ended 31 August 2020
## **Statement of trustees' responsibilities**
The trustees (who are also the directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees report and the financial statements in accordance with the applicable law and UK Accounting Standards.
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial 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 the year. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the accounts on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (Charities SORP (FRS102)), and in accordance with the special provisions of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Signed on behalf of the board of trustees:
Signed: Malcolm Lynch (Trustee)
Name: Malcolm Lynch
Date: 21/5/21
6
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Leeds Youth Opera
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charitable company for the period ended 31 August 2020, which are set out on pages 8 to 13.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity's trustees of the charitable company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
## **Independent examiner's statement**
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
- 1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2 the accounts do not accord with those records; or
- 3 the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
- 4 the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities [applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)].
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed: C.Welling Name: Claire Welling
Date: 21/5/21
## **West Yorkshire Community Accounting Service**
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
7
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Statement of Financial Activities
## (including summary income and expenditure account) for the period ended 31 August 2020
|Notes
2020
2020
2020
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
funds
£
£
£
**Income from:**
Grants and donations
(2)
4,555
23,000
27,555
Income from productions
5,246
-
5,246
Memberships and subscriptions
9,090
-
9,090
Summer school fees
1,004
-
1,004
**Total income**
19,895
23,000
42,895
**Expenditure on:**
Artistic director
2,533
3,417
5,950
Musical director
120
4,450
4,570
Sound engineer
654
-
654
Orchestra
2,628
6,872
9,500
Costumes, props and scores
1,601
1,117
2,718
Theatre costs
6,285
3,691
9,976
Royalties and licences
4,011
-
4,011
Administrator
-
-
-
Facilitators and trainers
-
3,120
3,120
Insurance
1,196
-
1,196
Promotion
1,688
-
1,688
Memberships and subscriptions
1,749
-
1,749
Phone, internet and web hosting
2,301
-
2,301
Independent examination
475
-
475
Room hire
1,437
-
1,437
Other costs
449
-
449
Other production costs
1,387
-
1,387
**Total expenditure**
28,514
22,667
51,181
**Net income / (expenditure)**
(8,619)
333
(8,286)
**Fund balances brought forward**
11,615
4,000
15,615
**Fund balances carried forward**
(3)
2,996
4,333
7,329
17 month period|2019
Total
funds
£
22,185
15,830
7,972
1,820
47,807
7,575
7,788
-
8,950
2,962
14,483
(775)
985
1,832
825
1,863
4,370
144
462
1,706
283
883
54,336
(6,529)
22,144
15,615|
|---|---|
All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.
8
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Balance sheet
|as at 31 August 2020
2020
Unrestricted
£
**Fixed assets**
Tangible assets
(4)
505
**Total fixed assets**
505
**Current assets**
Debtors and prepayments
(5)
656
Cash at bank and in hand
(6)
3,424
**Total current assets**
4,080
**Current liabilities:**
**amounts falling due within one year**
Creditors and accruals
(7)
1,589
Deferred income
-
**Total current liabilities**
1,589
**Net assets**
2,996
**Funds**
Unrestricted funds
2,996
Restricted funds
-
**Total funds**
2,996|2020
Restricted
£
-
-
-
7,333
7,333
-
3,000
3,000
4,333
-
4,333
4,333|2020
Total
£
505
505
656
10,757
11,413
1,589
3,000
4,589
7,329
2,996
4,333
7,329|2019
Total
£
-
-
11,715
11,077
22,792
7,177
-
7,177
15,615
11,615
4,000
15,615|
|---|---|---|---|
For the year ending 31 August 2020 the charitable company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
The members have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476. The trustees (who also the directors for the purposes of company law) acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime and with FRS 102 (effective January 2019).
The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on
Date: 21/5/21
Signed: Malcolm Lynch (Trustee)
Name: Malcolm Lynch
9
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Notes to the accounts
## for the period ended 31 August 2020
## **1 Accounting policies**
## **Basis of accounting**
These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by 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) and with the Charities Act 2011.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year. No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
## **Going concern**
The trustees are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.
## **Incoming resources**
All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the charity becomes entitled to the resources, it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
## **Grants and donations**
Grants and donations are only included in the SOFA when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the resources.
Where grants are related to performance and specific deliverables, they are accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance.
## **Expenditure and liabilities**
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out the resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.
## **Taxation**
As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.
## **Tangible fixed assets**
Tangible fixed assets costing more than £500 are capitalised and included at cost including any incidental expenses of acquisition. Gifted assets are shown at the value to the charity on receipt. Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the cost on a straight line basis over their expected useful economic lives as follows:
## **Fund accounting**
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
10
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Notes to the accounts continued
## for the period ended 31 August 2020
|**2 Grants and donations**
2020
2020
2020
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
funds
£
£
£
Leeds Music Education Partnership (LMEP)
-
20,000
20,000
Friends of Leeds Youth Opera
2,305
-
2,305
Leeds Community Foundation
2,250
-
2,250
Harewood Trust
-
-
-
Hitachi Capital (UK)
-
-
-
Emerald Foundation
-
3,000
3,000
Other donations
-
-
-
4,555
23,000
27,555
**3 Restricted funds**
Balance b/f
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers
£
£
£
£
LCC LMEP
4,000
20,000
19,667
-
Emerald Foundation
-
3,000
3,000
-
4,000
23,000
22,667
-
**Fund name**
**Purpose of restriction**
LCC LMEP
Emerald Foundation
Towards the costs of the repetiteur
Funding from the LMEP to provide young people up to the age
opportunity to learn singing and drama.|2019
Total
funds
£
20,000
-
-
1,000
435
-
750
22,185
Balance c/f
£
4,333
-
4,333
of 18 with the|
|---|---|
|**4 **
**5 **
**6 **|**Tangible assets**
**Cost**
At 1 April 2019
Additions
At 31 March 2020
At 31 March 2020
At 31 March 2019
**Debtors and prepayments**
Debtors
Prepayments
**Cash at bank and in hand**
The Co-operative Bank account
Cash in hand|£
-
505
505
505
-
2020
£
-
656
656
2020
£
10,412
345
10,757
Musical
equipment|Total
£
-
505
505
505
-
2019
£
11,651
64
11,715
2019
£
11,077
-
11,077|
|---|---|---|---|
11
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Notes to the accounts continued
## for the period ended 31 August 2020
|**7 Creditors and accruals**
Creditors
Accruals|2020
£
1,114
475
1,589|2019
£
325
6,852
7,177|
|---|---|---|
## **8 Trustee expenses**
No trustee received any expenses during this year or the previous year.
## **9 Trustee remuneration and benefits**
No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.
12
## Leeds Youth Opera
## Statement of Financial Activities including comparatives for all funds (including summary income and expenditure account) for the period ended 31 August 2020
|2020
2019
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds
funds
£
£
**Income**
Grants and donations
4,555
2,185
Income from productions
5,246
15,830
Memberships and subscriptions
9,090
7,972
Summer school fees
1,004
1,820
**Total income**
19,895
27,807
**Expenditure**
Artistic director
2,533
1,000
Musical director
120
-
Sound engineer
654
-
Orchestra
2,628
8,950
Costumes, props and scores
1,601
2,173
Theatre costs
6,285
14,483
Royalties and licences
4,011
(775)
Administrator
-
-
Facilitators and trainers
-
-
Insurance
1,196
-
Promotion
1,688
1,863
Memberships and subscriptions
1,749
4,363
Phone, internet and web hosting
2,301
-
Independent examination
475
462
Room hire
1,437
706
Other costs
449
228
Other production costs
1,387
883
**Total expenditure**
28,514
34,336
**Net income / (expenditure)**
(8,619)
(6,529)
**Fund balances brought forward**
11,615
18,144
**Fund balances carried forward**
2,996
11,615|2020
Restricted
funds
£
23,000
-
-
-
23,000
3,417
4,450
-
6,872
1,117
3,691
-
-
3,120
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
22,667
333
4,000
4,333|2019
Restricted
funds
£
20,000
-
-
-
20,000
6,575
7,788
-
-
789
-
-
985
1,832
825
-
7
144
-
1,000
55
-
20,000
-
4,000
4,000|2020
Total
funds
£
27,555
5,246
9,090
1,004
42,895
5,950
4,570
654
9,500
2,718
9,976
4,011
-
3,120
1,196
1,688
1,749
2,301
475
1,437
449
1,387
51,181
(8,286)
15,615
7,329|2019
Total
funds
£
22,185
15,830
7,972
1,820
47,807
7,575
7,788
-
8,950
2,962
14,483
(775)
985
1,832
825
1,863
4,370
144
462
1,706
283
883
54,336
(6,529)
22,144
15,615|
|---|---|---|---|---|
13