**COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 02438534 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1140150**
**The Road Operators' Safety Council Company Limited by Guarantee Unaudited Financial Statements 31 December 2023**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Financial Statements**
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
||**Page**|
|---|---|
|Trustees' annual report (incorporating the director's report)|**1**|
|Independent examiner's report to the trustees|**5**|
|Statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure||
|account)|**6**|
|Balance sheet|**7**|
|Notes to the financial statements|**8**|
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report)**
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023.
## **Reference and administrative details**
**Registered charity name** The Road Operators' Safety Council **Charity registration number** 1140150 **Company registration number** 02438534 **Principal office and registered** 6 Corunna Court **office** Corunna Road Warwick CV34 5HQ **The trustees** J E H Miller – Chairman Independent J Mackie - Treasurer Independent C S Heaps Independent M G Oliver (resigned 21 October 2023) Independent Trans Law P C Smith CPT UK Ltd Mr J Carney (appointed 3 August 2023) Independent **Company secretary** A M Edmondson, Director of Transport Partners Ltd **Independent examiner** Mr K C Varney - ACMA of Varney Barfield & Co. 6 Corunna Court Corunna Road Warwick CV34 5HQ
**- 1 -**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report)** _**(continued)**_
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
## **Structure, governance and management**
The Road Operators' Safety Council is managed by a Board of Directors, five of whom are also the Trustees under Charity Law. The make-up of the Board is as follows, with not less than three but no more than ten:
- Four members appointed by the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK
- Three members appointed by the Trade Union Unite
- One member appointed by the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (Cymru)
- One member appointed by the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (Scotland)
- One member appointed by the Association of Local Bus Managers (ALBUM)
Each Director holds their appointment for three years.
Additionally, the Board may appoint independent members of the Board, up to a maximum of ten. At 31 December 2023, there were five members in total, five of whom are also appointed as trustees. There were four independent members who hold their appointment for one year.
At the end of 2023 there was no representation from Unite the Union, CPT Cymru, CPT Scotland, or ALBUM.
The Company Secretary is Allan Edmondson, who is a Director of Transport Partners Ltd.
Transport Partners Ltd is the contracted organisation to provide administration and management services to the charity and also provides the services of the Executive Officer, Gillian Edmondson. The charity is situated at permanent offices at Cara House, Fagra Road, Dundrennan, Dumfries and Galloway. The registered office of the company is 6 Corunna Court, Corunna Road, Warwick, CV34 5HQ.
The Charity is governed and managed as follows:
There are two main Board meetings each year: one in the early spring and the other early autumn. The autumn meeting also forms the Annual General Meeting at which the statutory accounts and Trustees Report can be formally approved. In addition there is a meeting of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Treasurer, with a representative from the external accountants in the spring to review the accounts from the previous year.
Meetings are convened either by using virtual meeting software in accordance with the Articles of Association, or in person at various locations, or a mix of both to ensure all members of the board are able to attend.
The Treasurer and Chairman of the Trustees assist with the financial management of the charity supporting the existing management team and provide an assurance role to the Board in addition to liaising with the external accountants.
The preparation of the statutory accounts of the charity and their Independent Examination is undertaken by Varney Barfield & Co.
**- 2 -**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report)** _**(continued)**_
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
## **Objectives and activities**
## **Charitable objects**
The objectives of the charity are as follows:
(a) Advance public health and safety in particular by promoting and advancing safety on public and private roads within the United Kingdom;
(b) Advance public education and training of persons who are or who may seek engagement in the road transport and any associated industry and the public in all aspects of road safety including safe driving of all forms of motor vehicles on public or private roads; and
(c) Conduct or carry on research into road safety and to disseminate the useful results of that research.
The principal methods used are:
- education / training
- the advancement of health and saving of lives The principal services are provided to the general public by:
- providing human resources
- providing service
- providing sponsorships or grants to undertake research
## **Activities**
The activities for the reporting year against these objectives are:
- Continuation of the 'safe driver' scheme for professional drivers employed in the bus and coach industry. The scheme provides recognition and rewards for safe driving on an annual basis. The definition of safe driving being that the driver concerned has not been involved in a blameworthy accident, nor been prosecuted for any traffic offence in the preceding twelve month period.
- The production of posters depicting potentially hazardous driving situations which can be used by members of the public, user groups such as schools and by operators with the purpose of educating drivers. These posters are distributed free of charge and in 2023 continue to be available on the Charity's website with the ability to download and print off as required.
- Sponsoring of industry events to promote the safe driving awards was reinstated during 2022 and continued in 2023. As a result the charity provided grants to a scheme aimed at promoting the bus industry and in particular safe driving, namely the Bus Driver of the Year.
## **Public benefit**
All these activities are designed to encourage safe driving for the public benefit of reducing accidents, injuries and deaths on the roads. In addition, safe driving produces health benefits for the general public by means of reducing fuel usage and emissions.
## **Strategic report**
The following sections for achievements and performance and financial review form the strategic report of the charity.
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## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report)** _**(continued)**_
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
## **Achievements and performance**
The charity had to continue to review its activities during 2023 as it became evident that longer term industry confidence would continue to impact the business activities of the operator members. However, there are clear signs of activity returning to normality and the steady numbers of drivers entering the safe driver scheme reflects that.
Following the disruption of the Covid pandemic the performance of the charity improved during the year, with entries for the safe driver scheme returning to reasonable and sustainable levels. The board further notes that the continuing pressures on the industry, both structurally and financially, together with workforce reductions, still represent risk for the charity for the forthcoming year. With prudent financial management and reductions in overheads such as management fees the charity has returned to surplus in 2023.
The charity has continued to manage its activity within a revised budget and its financial capability, and the Trustees have no cause for concern as to the continuing viability of the Charity.
## **Financial review**
In the year ended 2023 the charity has made a significant improvement on financial performance compared to the year ended 2022. This was largely due to operating companies entering drivers on a similar scale to previous years, and a reduction in administration and overhead costs.
Having made prudent decisions on the budget for 2023 including the significant reduction of costs, the charity has been able to continue to operate through the year with a modest surplus of £7,931 accrued from the safe driver award scheme. Statutory accounts have been prepared and show satisfactory performance notwithstanding the above points. Assets of the charity, namely the safe driving badges and medals have been stocked and recorded and are kept in a safe place in accordance with requirements.
## **Plans for future periods**
The charity will continue to provide the core services of the safe driver scheme and will endeavour to expand into other areas:
- Extend the scheme to other professional drivers wherever possible
- Engage with the relevant organisations involved with the health and safety in the workplace
- Enhance and improve driver awareness programmes
- Provide grants for awards that recognise the benefits of safe driving to the public, such as the Bus Driver of the Year competition
- Work closely with other stakeholders and safety organisations such as the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
The trustees' annual report and the strategic report were approved on 20 May 2024 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by:
J E H Miller - Chairman Independent Trustee
**- 4 -**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The Road Operators' Safety Council ('the charity') for the year ended 31 December 2023.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act’).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the 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 the charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘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 matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
2. the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
3. the financial statements 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 financial statements 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.
Mr K C Varney - ACMA of Varney Barfield & Co. Independent Examiner
6 Corunna Court Corunna Road Warwick CV34 5HQ
20 May 2024
**- 5 -**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account)**
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
|||**2023**|**2023**|2022|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Unrestricted|||
|||funds|**Total funds**|Total funds|
||**Note**|**£**|**£**|£|
|**Income and endowments**|||||
|Charitable activities|**5**|55,994|**55,994**|52,664|
|Investment income|**6**|–|**–**|25|
|||----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
|**Total income**||55,994|**55,994**|52,689|
|||============================|============================|============================|
|**Expenditure**|||||
|Expenditure on charitable activities|**7**|48,063|**48,063**|62,892|
|||----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
|**Total expenditure**||48,063|**48,063**|62,892|
|||============================|============================|============================|
|||----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
|**Net income/(expenditure) and net movement in funds**||7,931|**7,931**|(10,203)|
|||============================|============================|============================|
|**Reconciliation of funds**|||||
|Total funds brought forward||94,810|**94,810**|105,013|
|||--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|**Total funds carried forward**||102,741|**102,741**|94,810|
|||================================|================================|================================|
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
**The notes on pages 8 to 12 form part of these financial statements.**
**- 6 -**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Balance Sheet**
||**31 December**|**31 December**|**2023**||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||**2023**||2022||
||**Note**|**£**||**£**|£|£|
|**Current assets**|||||||
|Stocks||**13,965**|||15,736||
|Debtors|**12**|**18,347**|||27,652||
|Cash at bank and in hand||**73,829**|||55,975||
|||--------------------------------|||----------------------------||
|||**106,141**|||99,363||
|**Creditors: amounts falling due within**|||||||
|**one year**|**13**|**3,400**|||4,553||
|||--------------------------------|||----------------------------||
|**Net current assets**||||**102,741**||94,810|
|||||--------------------------------||----------------------------|
|**Total assets less current liabilities**||||**102,741**||94,810|
|||||--------------------------------||----------------------------|
|**Net assets**||||**102,741**||94,810|
|||||================================||============================|
|**Funds of the charity**|||||||
|Unrestricted funds||||**102,741**||94,810|
|||||--------------------------------||----------------------------|
|**Total charity funds**|**14**|||**102,741**||94,810|
|||||================================||============================|
For the year ending 31 December 2023 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Directors' responsibilities:
- The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476;
- The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.
These financial statements were approved by the board of trustees and authorised for issue on 20 May 2024, and are signed on behalf of the board by:
J E H Miller - Chairman Independent Trustee
**The notes on pages 8 to 12 form part of these financial statements.**
**- 7 -**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements**
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
## **1. General information**
The charity is a public benefit entity and a private company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales and a registered charity in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is 6 Corunna Court, Corunna Road, Warwick, CV34 5HQ.
## **2. Statement of compliance**
These financial statements have been prepared in compliance with FRS 102, 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland', the 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) (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Companies Act 2006.
## **3. Accounting policies**
## **Basis of preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the entity.
## **Going concern**
There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.
## **Disclosure exemptions**
Under the criteria in FRS 102 this charity is a small entity. As such no statement of cashflows has been presented.
The charity is a public benefit entity
## **Fund accounting**
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees to further any of the charity's purposes. Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular future projects or commitments.
## **Incoming resources**
All income is included in the statement of financial activities when entitlement has passed to the charity, it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the charity and the amount can be reliably measured. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:
- income from contracts for the supply of services is recognised with the delivery of the contracted service. This is classified as unrestricted funds unless there is a contractual requirement for it to be spent on a particular purpose and returned if unspent, in which case it may be regarded as restricted.
**- 8 -**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements** _**(continued)**_
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
## **3. Accounting policies** _**(continued)**_
## **Resources expended**
Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is classified under headings of the statement of financial activities to which it relates:
- expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs incurred by the charity in undertaking activities that further its charitable aims for the benefit of its beneficiaries, including those support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.
All costs are allocated to expenditure categories or individual charitable activities reflecting the use of the resource. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs are apportioned between the activities they contribute to on a reasonable, justifiable and consistent basis.
## **Tangible fixed assets**
Tangible assets are initially recorded at cost, and subsequently stated at cost less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. No tangible assets are carried at revalued amounts.
## **Depreciation**
Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost or valuation of an asset, less its residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:
Office equipment - 25% straight line
## **Stocks**
Stocks are measured at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost includes all costs of purchase, costs of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing the stock to its present location and condition.
## **4. Limited by guarantee**
The Road Operators' Safety Council is a company limited by guarantee and accordingly does not have any share capital. Every member of the company undertakes to contribute such amount as may be required not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charitable company in the event of its being wound up while he or she is a member, or within one year after he or she ceases to be a member.
## **5. Income from Charitable activities**
||Unrestricted|**Total Funds**|Unrestricted|Total Funds|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Funds|**2023**|Funds|2022|
||£|**£**|£|£|
|Safe driver awards entry fees|55,994|**55,994**|52,664|52,664|
||============================|============================|============================|============================|
**- 9 -**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements** _**(continued)**_
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
## **6. Investment income**
|||Unrestricted|**Total Funds**|Unrestricted|Total Funds|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Funds|**2023**|Funds|2022|
|||£|**£**|£|£|
||Bank interest|–|**–**|25|25|
|||==============|==============|==============|==============|
|**7.**|**Expenditure on charitable activities**|**by activity type**||||
|||Activities||||
|||undertaken||**Total funds**|Total fund|
|||directly|Support costs|**2023**|2022|
|||£|£|**£**|£|
||Safe driver awards|6,725|–|**6,725**|5,674|
||Promotion of road safety|3,714|–|**3,714**|5,390|
||Governance costs|–|37,624|**37,624**|51,828|
|||----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
|||10,439|37,624|**48,063**|62,892|
|||============================|============================|============================|============================|
|**8.**|**Analysis of support costs**|||||
||||Analysis of|||
||||support costs|**Total 2023**|Total 2022|
||||£|**£**|£|
||Accountancy fees||3,400|**3,400**|3,400|
||Insurance||607|**607**|1,417|
||Administration costs||31,420|**31,420**|45,500|
||Board meetings||2,197|**2,197**|1,511|
||||----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
||||37,624|**37,624**|51,828|
||||============================|============================|============================|
|**9.**|**Independent examination fees**|||||
|||||**2023**|2022|
|||||**£**|£|
||Fees payable to the independent examiner for:|||||
||Independent examination of the financial statements|||**3,400**|3,400|
|||||=======================|=======================|
## **10. Trustee remuneration and expenses**
No salaries or wages have been paid to employees, including members of the board, during the year. 6 directors served during the year (2022: 6)
During the year 4 (2022: 4) Directors were reimbursed expenses totalling £1,488 (2022: £958) in relation to travel and subsistence costs incurred whilst carrying out duties on behalf of the charity.
**- 10 -**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements** _**(continued)**_
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
## **11. Tangible fixed assets**
|||Office||
|---|---|---|---|
|||equipment|**Total**|
|||£|**£**|
||**Cost**|||
||**At 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023**|3,888|**3,888**|
|||=======================|=======================|
||**Depreciation**|||
||**At 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023**|3,888|**3,888**|
|||=======================|=======================|
||**Carrying amount**|||
||**At 31 December 2023**|–|**–**|
|||=======================|=======================|
||At 31 December 2022|–|–|
|||=======================|=======================|
|**12.**|**Debtors**|||
|||**2023**|2022|
|||**£**|£|
||Trade debtors|**17,243**|24,923|
||Prepayments and accrued income|**75**|418|
||Other debtors|**1,029**|2,311|
|||----------------------------|----------------------------|
|||**18,347**|27,652|
|||============================|============================|
|**13.**|**Creditors:** **amounts falling due within one year**|||
|||**2023**|2022|
|||**£**|£|
||Trade creditors|**–**|1,153|
||Accruals and deferred income|**3,400**|3,400|
|||-----------------------|-----------------------|
|||**3,400**|4,553|
|||=======================|=======================|
**- 11 -**
## **The Road Operators' Safety Council**
## **Company Limited by Guarantee**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements** _**(continued)**_
## **Year ended 31 December 2023**
## **14. Analysis of charitable funds**
## **Unrestricted funds**
|||||**31 December**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||1 January 2023|Income|Expenditure|**2023**|
||£|£|£|**£**|
|General funds|62,310|55,994|(48,063)|
**70,241**|
|Award fund|32,500|–|–|**32,500**|
||----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|--------------------------------|
||94,810|55,994|(48,063)|
**102,741**|
||============================|============================|============================|================================|
|||||31 December|
||1 January 2022|Income|Expenditure|2022|
||£|£|£|£|
|General funds|72,513|52,689|(62,892)|
62,310|
|Award fund|32,500|–|–|32,500|
||--------------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
||105,013|52,689|(62,892)|
94,810|
||================================|============================|============================|============================|
## **15. Fund description**
The Award fund relates to reserves retained by the charity so as to cover the cost of long service awards issued under the safe driver scheme. This fund will only be required if the charity ceases to exist because long service awards are issued in the year after the driver becomes entitled to the award. As such the cost of these awards is usually covered by income in that following year. If the charity were to cease there would be no following year and no income, so the Award fund would be utilised.
## **16. Related parties**
During the year, Transport Partners Ltd invoiced the charity £37,070 (2022: £52,035) in respect of administration support work and other expenses incurred on behalf of the charity. Mr A Edmondson, secretary of the charity, is the sole director of Transport Partners Ltd. At the end of the year £0 (2022: £1,086) was owed to Transport Partners Ltd.
As part of the relationship, Transport Partners Ltd also holds a cash float amounting to £500. This is used for expenses incurred on behalf of the charity which are then recharged as part of the invoicing process, thus returning the float balance to £500. This amount is included within other debtors.
**- 12 -**