2020-07-31-accounts

Registered Charity No. 1141998

Students’ Union Royal Holloway University of London

Annual Report and Accounts

For the Year Ending 31 July 2020

STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

CONTENTS	PAGE
Report of the Trustees	1 – 25
Independent Auditors' Report to the Members	26 – 28
Statement of Financial Activities	29
Balance Sheet	30
Cash Flow Statement	31
Notes to the Financial Statements	32 - 43

STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

1. Trustees & Students’ Union Information

Charitable Status

Students’ Union Royal Holloway University of London (known as Royal Holloway Students’ Union ‘RHSU’) is an unincorporated charity established under the Education Act 1994 and registered with the Charity Commission (No. 1141998) since 19th May 2011, when Students’ Union connected with exempt higher/further education institutions were removed by section 11(9), Charities Act 2006, from the list of exempt charities in Schedule 2 to the Charities Act 1993.

Principal Address

Students’ Union Royal Holloway University of London

Egham Hill Egham Surrey TW20 0EX

The Trustee Board 2019/20:

President (Chair) Vice-President Education Vice-President Welfare & Diversity Vice-President Societies & Media Vice-President Sports & Development

Jack O’Neill Kate Roberts Lucy Simpson Sophia Bolton Dominic Brown

Student Trustee Student Trustee Student Trustee External Trustee External Trustee External Trustee External Trustee External Trustee

Niamh Smith Milo Dack Hammad Jehangir

Andrew McMenamin Kirsten Daswani Zhoufang Wei Peter Elliot Jane Broadbent

The Trustee Board 2020/21:

President (Chair) Vice-President Education Vice-President Wellbeing & Diversity Vice-President Societies & Sport

Kate Roberts Alissa Chohan Henn Warwick Lucy Brown

Student Trustee Student Trustee Student Trustee External Trustee External Trustee External Trustee External Trustee External Trustee

Niamh Smith Milo Dack Thomas Ridge

Andrew McMenamin Kirsten Daswani Zhoufang Wei Peter Elliot Jane Broadbent

Auditors

Crowe LLP Aquis House 49-51 Blagrave Street Reading Berkshire RG11 1PL

Bankers

Barclays Bank PLC 46 High Street Egham Surrey TW20 9EP

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

RHSU employed a Chief Executive Officer to work closely with the Trustee Board and ensure effective management of the charity as head of a senior management team, listed below:

Chief Executive Tom Flynn (Resigned 04.09.20) Head of Trading Services Max Ross (Appointed 01.08.20) (Joint Interim Chief Executive) Head of Membership Support & Engagement Abi Jesson (Appointed 01.08.20) (Joint Interim Chief Executive) Head of Finance & Business Reporting Katie Marriner Head of Marketing & Communications Michael Bailey

External Affiliations

Under the Education Act 1994, the Union is required to report to its members, on an annual basis, all current external affiliations. As at 31 July 2020, the Union was affiliated to the following organisations:

• The National Union of Students

• British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS)

• London Universities Sport Leagues (LUSL)

• National Council of Volunteer Organisations (NCVO)

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

2. Purpose, Structure, Governance & Management

The Trustees submit their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2020. In preparing this report, the Trustees have complied with the Charities Act 2006, the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (revised 2005) ('the Charity SORP') and the constitution of RHSU. The Trustee Board present their Annual Report for the year ended 31 July 2020, which includes the administrative information set out on page 1, together with the audited accounts for that year.

Charitable Purpose

Royal Holloway Students’ Union’s (RHSU) charitable objects are the advancement of education of students at Royal Holloway, University of London for the public benefit. RHSU’s mission is to make life better for students at Royal Holloway by:

• Promoting their interests during their course of study by representing, supporting and advising them.

• Being the recognised representative channel between them and Royal Holloway University of London, and any other external bodies.

• Providing social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities and forums for discussions and debate, for their personal development.

Structure of RHSU

RHSU is an unincorporated association and a registered charity, registration number 1141998. RHSU is a membership organisation that is governed by a written constitution and via democratic structures detailed in its constitution. Students of the Royal Holloway University of London automatically become members of RHSU as soon as they enrol at the University. Students have the right (under the Education Act 1994) to opt-out of Union membership; once their student status at the Royal Holloway ends they lose their membership of RHSU. The Union's constitution is reviewed at least every five years and any changes approved by the membership, through All Student Meeting or Referendum, and by Royal Holloway, University of London, through its College Council. The constitution was revised and approved most recently in July 2019. The new constitution took effect on 1 August 2019.

Decisions over the Policy and Plans of the Students’ Union shall always be made with due regard to student interests and involvement. The Union's constitution provides for the following democratic structures and mechanisms which enable formal decisions to be made:

• Referenda and elections

• Policy Inquiry

• Student Executives (representing a variety of different student groups and subjects)

• 4 elected trustees (out of 12)

Governance

The Union's Board of Trustees consists of four Sabbatical Officers, three Student Trustees and five External Trustees. The Sabbatical Officers are elected by and from the Union's membership on an annual basis, serving from 1 July to the following 30 June. The Sabbatical Officers work full-time for the Union, receiving a salary and completing a portfolio of duties, alongside their role as trustee of the Union. External and Student Trustees do not receive any allowance. Sabbatical Officers may stand for re-election for a second year but, under the Education Act 1994, may only serve for two years in total.

The Student Trustees are appointed by the Appointments & Remuneration Committee (a subcommittee of Board) following an open recruitment process. The Student Trustees are not employed by the Union and do not receive an allowance; they serve a one year term of office. The External Trustees are appointed via an open recruitment process and serve a three year term of office, and can be reappointed for a further term subject to Board of Trustees approval.

The Student Trustees receive a comprehensive induction during July and August each year, co-ordinated internally by the Chief Executive Officer. The programme includes internal training and courses as well as attendance on courses run by the National Union of Students. The Board meets at least four times a year, with the Chief Executive Officer in attendance acting as Secretary and chief advisor. The Board of Trustees works to ensure that the resources of RHSU are best used to deliver the vision, mission and values.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Management

The trustees are responsible for ensuring that the Union is working towards its mission and delivering its charitable purpose. The trustees are responsible for approving the strategy, major plans (including the annual budget and long-term financial goals) and policies of the Union and for ensuring that these are implemented. The trustees delegate much of the day-to-day running of the Union to the Chief Executive and Senior Management Team, who oversee the Union's approximately 400 individual staff. At 31 July 2020 the Management Structure of the Union was based around four 'departments', each headed by a head of department who reports to the Chief Executive Officer.

In 2019/20 the trustees utilised a number of formal subcommittees of the Board:

• Finance, Staffing & Risk Committee: responsible for detailed scrutiny of the Union’s finances and HR performance, and taking delegated responsibility for the management of major risk items.

• Appointments & Remuneration Committee: responsible for making appointments to the Board, and for performance managing (and agreeing the remuneration) of the Chief Executive.

• Management Committee: responsible for the day to day operation of the Students’ Union.

The Union also has further scrutiny committees, for example Health and Safety committee, but as part of the management arrangements of the Union rather than as part of its governance arrangements. These committees operate to terms of reference, approved by the Board of Trustees.

Risk Management

The Board of Trustees has examined the major strategic and operational risks faced by RHSU. A risk register is maintained to identify principle risks, which are considered to be as follows:

• Higher Education sector; a considerable amount of our annual funding comes directly from the University in the form of a block grant. Increasing financial pressure on the University after reductions in funding and tuition fee freezes put the level of funding that will be made available to the Students’ Union in the future at risk.

• Surplus generation from commercial activities; due to increasing pressure on the Universities finances, we aim to generate considerable surplus from our commercial activities to supplement awarded grants. As with many commercial operations, the ability to generate a surplus is influenced by a range of factors, some of which we are unable to mitigate in full.

• Staff Retention; is a challenge across the charities sector due to the difficulty in offering comparative salaries and employment benefit packages on par with those available in the private sector. We actively address this with both inflationary and spinal point wage increases.

• Multifunctional spaces; over the past two years there has been considerable capital investment to improve the range of multifunctional spaces on offer, with the aim of enhancing our membership experience whilst also ensuring the appropriate facilities are in place to support the commercial operation. We continue to use one temporary space; ‘Room 2’ of Medicine. While the area is essential in terms of meeting and rehearsal space for staff and members, and expanding the capacity on club nights, a permanent solution is required that will be a better fit for this dual purpose.

Impact Report 2019/20: How we’re making student life better at Royal Holloway

Royal Holloway Students’ Union exists for one reason, to make student life better for our members. Our mission statement reflects this, but more importantly, so should our work. That’s why we produce an annual impact report. This document gives an insight into what we’ve been up to, and how far along we are in achieving the goals we set out in our strategy. As a formal report to the College’s governing body, it also serves to satisfy one of the requirements of the Education Act 1994 – to demonstrate how we use our funding – and forms the basis of our statutory return (alongside our annual accounts) to the Charity Commission.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

This year represented four full years’ operating under the strategy and operating model we implemented after our transformation programme in 2016. But it also represented the most challenging operating environment of our history, as the Union, the University and wider society grappled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. For consistency with previous years, we’re following broadly the same structure for the report – with the final section looking specifically at the steps we took during the government enforced lockdown, and what impact this had on the organisation. In this final section, we also set out our approach to 2020/21.

• i. Section A: Overall Results

• ii. Section B: Looking Out (the impact we’ve had on students)

• iii. Section C: Looking In (the changes we’ve made internally to be more effective)

• iv. Section D: Responding to COVID-19 and future planning

We hope you enjoy reading about our year, and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact.

Kate Roberts

Students’ Union President & Chair of Trustees

Abi Jesson and Max Ross Joint Chief Executive

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

SECTION A: OVERALL RESULTS

The Strategic Plan

The Students’ Union’s strategy clearly sets out what we want to achieve, how we mean to get there, and what type of organisation we want to become. Our mission is simple: we’re here to make student life better at Royal Holloway. And there are five key aims setting out how we’ll do this:

• i. Improve students’ education

• ii. Make campus fun

• iii. Look after students’ wellbeing

• iv. Make students more employable

• v. Empower students to change the world around them

Our KPIs for all these aims are measured using a combination of two different data sources. Firstly, participation and engagement levels, which we measure for all our services and activities. Secondly, we also measure attitudinal data through our annual membership satisfaction survey Rate Your Union conducted in May (742 responses this year). It probably goes without saying, but in a year where nearly one third of our activities were impacted by the global pandemic, the data is inevitably skewed by this context. That said, it is still important that the organisation understands our performance, and what more we can do to improve.

Our Overall Goals

For our two overall KPIs, we measure both the impact on and satisfaction of students with the organisation. This year we have seen a mixture of slight decreases in overall satisfaction, but increases in overall impact – unsurprising when you consider the timing of the satisfaction survey (in the middle of the government mandated closure of university campuses).

Target: 80% of students are satisfied with the Students’Union at Royal Holloway	Target: 80% of students are satisfied with the Students’Union at Royal Holloway	Target: 80% of students are satisfied with the Students’Union at Royal Holloway
Year	% Agree	% Definitely/Mostly Agree
2020 (COVID-19)	88.8	73.8
2019	90.9	77.1
2018	88.0	69.6
2017	84.6	65.0
2016	81.6	60.0
Target: 80% of students agree we have a positive impact on their life at Royal Holloway
Year	% Agree	% Definitely/Mostly Agree
2020 (COVID-19)	84.5	66.9
2019	85.1	66.3
2018	80.5	61.5
2017	80.0	59.4
2016	73.7	51.4

As with previous years, an interesting area of interrogation is the obvious difference between the two measures: but impact continues to lag slightly behind satisfaction. It is worth restating that two years ago we undertook a piece of formal statistical analysis (using logistical regression) to understand this better, where three results were identified:

• i. There is a positive correlative relationship between ‘level of participation’ within the Students’ Union, and a more positive score on both overall measures of satisfaction and impact. The more a student interacts with the Union, the happier they are with us, and the bigger impact we have on their lives.

• ii. Although certain services or activities have a larger effect than others, the data does not indicate that a particular type of service or activity has a notably larger effect than any other. The model shows that a mixture of our trading, membership and transactional activity types statistically significantly effects on overall satisfaction and impact.

• iii. Levels of satisfaction with our membership engagement activities are higher than those with our trading services, driven by a combination of factors, but shaped most clearly by perceptions of value and price.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Our Trustees and senior team continually keep this under review and have again made the explicit choice to focus on maximising resources to increase our engagement (and therefore impact) over potential reductions to the prices charged by our trading services (which would positively affect only satisfaction).

Our Year in Numbers

To give you a brief snapshot of what we’ve been up to, here are a few of our key numbers:

£1.5m spent on delivering our charitable services, activities and representation for students

£897,000 in block grant funding provided by the College

675,032 visits to our website

£550,000 paid to student staff in salaries, with £240,000 of furlough pay accessed for student staff

£300,000 in funding for the charity that was self-generated

98,828 meal deals sold in the Union Shop

55,190 tickets sold for events in our venues

27,562 Facebook likes across all our different pages

14,558 votes cast in our student group elections

3628 voters in the main SU elections representing a record turnout of 30.6%

2096 Royal Hideaway members (our Facebook group set up in response to the pandemic) 1260 unique students engaged through our Give It A Go programme of events and trips 2146 students involved in at least one society or media group

628 applications for student jobs

1500 + student cases dealt with by our Advice Centre

1437 students involved in at least one sports club on campus

617 students attended our annual housing fair

542 Student group committee members elected

337 Course Reps elected, inducted and trained

388 students employed by the Union

290 members of our 8 Student Collectives

252 individual student group committee members virtually trained, reaching 104 groups 137 active and ratified student groups

111 values awards given out to student and permanent staff for exceptional performance

77 Give it a Go events run on campus and online

101 different active student societies on campus

48 different candidates standing for election in March

36 sports clubs representing Royal Holloway

31% average read rate of our weekly all student newsletter

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

SECTION B: LOOKING OUT

First and foremost, we’re a membership organisation. That means it’s essential that we’re focused on supporting and engaging students, providing services and opportunities in line with our five aims. In this section we’ll give a bit more detail of our activities.

Theme 1: Improve students’ education

Over the past three years we have made it very clear that improving the educational experience of students at Royal Holloway would be the aim we focussed most heavily on. The results of this investment have been substantial. Over the five-year period or running Rate Your Union, we have seen an improvement of over 20 points – clearly demonstrating that the Union is now viewed by students and staff alike as a key partner in this area. The slight increase this year, again, must be viewed through the COVID-19 lens, although it is extremely positive to see satisfaction levels continue to rise.

Target: 80% of students agree we play a positive role in improving the quality of their education	Target: 80% of students agree we play a positive role in improving the quality of their education	Target: 80% of students agree we play a positive role in improving the quality of their education
Year	% Agree	% Definitely/Mostly Agree
2020 (COVID-19)	82.3	66.4
2019	81.2	66.2
2018	78.9	60.0
2017	73.1	52.5
2016	67.0	45.1

To deliver impact in this area, we have continued to undertake a number of key projects and activities, which includes the following.

Published a wide-ranging and comprehensive student voice report looking at the experience of Black, Asian and Ethnic minority students on campus

Across the sector, BAME students perform comparably worse in their studies than their white equivalents. This is also true at Royal Holloway, where the attainment gap is roughly 10%. We successfully gained a place on a national research project, led by The Student Engagement Partnership (TSEP), looking specifically at how universities can respond to this challenge and make progress for BAME students. As part of this project we recruited, trained and paid three student researchers from within the BAME community to interview circa 100 students on their campus engagement, to look at what changes we can lobby for, or make ourselves, to improve their specific experience at Royal Holloway. After discussion, deliberation and final approval, the report details 25 individual recommendations within 10 different themes, ranging from data and diversifying the curriculum, to employability and the staff population. Some of these include:

• The University should implement a coherent and easily accessible reporting platform, including different levels of action, for students to report abuse.

• The Students’ Union should work alongside local police and other relevant authorities to support a piece of work around hate crime reporting in the local area.

• The Students’ Union and the University should undertake work to understand why people of colour do not apply in equal proportion for positions and consider action to reduce the BAME recruitment gap.

• The Students’ Union and the University should implement targeted careers advice, internships and support for BAME students.

• The University should breakdown the data on student ethnicities into smaller groups where possible. Data should be collected and analysed on a module, course and departmental level.

You can read the full report on our website here: www.su.rhul.ac.uk/voice/policyinquiry/bame-report

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Published a wide-ranging and comprehensive student voice report looking at the experience of postgraduate research students at Royal Holloway

In May 2019, the Students’ Union launched a Policy Inquiry into the postgraduate research student experience at Royal Holloway. The resulting Student Voice Report marks the culmination of significant efforts to engage with the postgraduate research community over the past 12 months. It presents an in-depth analysis of our ongoing discussions with students, and highlights both their positive and negative experiences at Royal Holloway while undertaking a research degree. The report lists 31 recommendations framed around issues of key importance for both the University and the Students’ Union, all directly related to improving their overall academic experience. Some of these suggestions include:

• The Students’ Union should host a greater number of mature events for postgraduate research students, and should contribute towards a more coordinated events programme between the University, departments and the Doctoral School

• The Students’ Union should expand opening hours on services out of the traditional undergraduate term time.

• The University should provide clarification and enable an understanding about the difference between a supervisor and an advisor.

• The University should provide full transparency on where the £400 writing-up fee is spent and provide an official document which clarifies this information to students.

• The University should conduct a full, comprehensive review of the PGR space on both the Egham and Bedford Square campus.

You can read the full report on our website here: www.su.rhul.ac.uk/voice/policyinquiry/pgr-report

Delivered the academic representation system in partnership with the College

In 2018 we undertook a high-profile review of academic representation at Royal Holloway, bringing in an external consultant to analyse the current approach and work with all stakeholders to develop a new vision for the system. Over the past 24 months we have continued to work through a comprehensive action plan of over 30 recommendations, which has included:

• An agreed purpose for academic representation shared by all stakeholders, with more clarity for the structure and the levels at which academic representation takes place

• A defined partnership agreement between the College and the Union for the delivery of all support activities, including the formal identification in every academic department of an academic and professional services staff lead

• A substantial change in how we recognise representatives and staff, celebrating their success, and the introduction of a year-long training and development programme for representatives

Trained and supported more Academic Reps (and College staff) than ever before…

Alongside improvements to how representatives have been recruited, we have also invested heavily in improving the training and continual support we offer. This has included further development of a central online hub, with specific sections written for students, representatives and staff. This year we elected, trained and supported 337 different academic reps across the College.

…who have in turn created significant positive change for students.

A substantial element of the impact delivered by the Union is through the work of elected reps. This year over 45 examples of change were submitted by students and staff over the course of the academic year. Some examples of this include:

• A third year PIR course rep creating a YouTube video explaining how to tackle research for assignments for the two years below. The video received over 200 views.

• A Management course rep worked with the department to accommodate deadline changes and key information following the passing of a lecturer.

• Several English course reps worked with their department to improve the department’s website for use by both current and future students.

• An Information Security course rep worked with the department’s admin team to clear up confusion around module registration deadlines.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

• The Media Arts department rep worked with the university to fix timetabling issues for a cohort and worked with the Head of Department to ensure that those affected were not impacted by the disruption.

Reshaped our Academic Representation conference

As with previous years, we continued to run our annual academic representation conference, bringing students and staff together to discuss and debate key topics – with this year’s focus on how we can make the system more inclusive. Debates ranged from topics including the BAME attainment gap at Royal Holloway, to what more support we can offer students who commute to campus rather than reside in the local area.

Delivered the new You’re Valued awards to recognise great staff

In order to champion best practice, we delivered our student-led recognition scheme that allows individuals to nominate staff who consistently go above and beyond to make their life better, and who embody the values that the Students’ Union and the College promotes. Students are able to submit an online form which asks four simple questions:

• What did the person do to warrant getting one of our coveted mugs of appreciation?

• How has this impacted you/others?

• What values have they displayed?

• How have they impacted you and your experience?

Awards are decided by a panel of Union Officers and staff, and presented publicly with a certificate, coffee mug and accompanying news story. This year, some of the staff who won an award include:

• David Yuratich, Senior Lecturer in Law and Criminology

“…he has been such a supportive lecturer over the years, and you can just tell that he loves what he does and wants to be helpful to all students. It was so lovely to present the award to David as you could see the happiness he felt, particularly because I was able to do it with others who have a similar relationship with him.”

• Denise Keable, Head of International Support & Advisory

“Denise has always been an incredible support system for students, she is a clear point of contact for those that feel unsure or uneasy when away from home. Specifically, Denise has always been on hand in wanting to provide support for students when unexpected events arise; recently there was a phishing email that caused multiple students problems. Denise ensured that all of these students received the support that they needed - really prioritising student needs!”

• Katie Willis, Professor in Geography

“…they took time out of their day to ensure that full trigger warnings were included in their lecture series. For someone like myself or my friend who both suffer with post-traumatic stress, this can make the world of difference. Katie even took time to explain trigger warnings thoroughly at the start of the course as well as spending some time with my friend to go through the entire lecture series and pull out parts which could be traumatic for them.”

Grew our academic advice service further

Our Advice Centre continues to thrive, with another rise in cases specifically related to academic issues this year (335 unique academic cases). This again represents the impact of our recent changes to our staffing model – to focus our efforts in this area. We have supported students on a range of matters ranging from academic integrity, appeals and mitigating circumstances guidance.

Continued our programme of academic advice outreach

We have continued the development of an academic outreach programme, helping to prevent students making well known mistakes in their studies. This included increasing our communication with students via targeted news stories and blogs, as well as putting on a number of roadshow type events at key periods. It has also included increasing our visibility with each of the School offices, creating better awareness of the support we can offer to students.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

- Worked with the College to mitigate the impact of COVID 19 [where possible]

Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our work with the College to ensure the educational impact on students was minimised became crucial. Elected students and staff were more involved than ever in the work in this area, as we lobbied hard for things like:

• A safety net policy that ensured no students were unfairly disadvantaged during assessments because of the pandemic.

• Clearer guidance on what levels of teaching could be expected, and minimum digital services for students.

• Changes to appeals and mitigating circumstances processes to make them simpler and more appropriate for the current climate.

Lastly, we also conducted a high-quality piece of student insight research, looking at the experience of students with their digital education over the final term, producing a report that the College have then used to guide future planning for the 2020/21 academic year.

Theme 2: Make campus fun

Our second theme focuses on bringing a bit of fun on to campus, and making sure students enjoy their time at Royal Holloway. When asked to describe the Union in one word during Rate Your Union 2020, the second top answer (for the fifth year running) from students was ‘fun’ – reflecting our continued strength in delivering this aim. We have seen a slight decrease this year in the overall results for our KPI question – but again, this is highly skewed by the fact that our entertainment venues, Summer Ball, Give it a Go programme and associated club and society activities were paused for most of the second half of the year.

Target: 80% of students agree we provide services, events and activities that are entertaining and fun	Target: 80% of students agree we provide services, events and activities that are entertaining and fun	Target: 80% of students agree we provide services, events and activities that are entertaining and fun
Year	% Agree	% Definitely/Mostly Agree
2020 (COVID-19)	90.3	75.4
2019	91.2	77.5
2018	90.2	71.6
2017	87.8	68.4
2016	85.3	63.1

To deliver impact in this area, we have continued to undertake a number of key projects and activities, which includes the following.

Continued to ensure students loved their first few weeks on campus

Working in partnership with the College, we again played a crucial role in the first few weeks of the academic year, running a range of events, trips and activities to help students settle in. This included the usual range of late-night entertainment events, but also some popular new additions including an inflatable laser tag, a movie night and slumber party, and our biggest Freshers’ Ball to date.

Won a gold at the NUS Best Bar None awards

Best Bar None is an accreditation scheme supported by the Home Office and the drinks industry. It is aimed primarily at promoting responsible management and operation of alcohol licensed premises. For the Students' Union, the scheme shows our commitment to ensuring all students have access to licensed premises that promote responsible alcohol retailing and provide a safe venue to visit. We improved our score from 2019 and joined a small number of other Students’ Unions around the UK with a 100% compliance mark.

Further developed the events programme in our venues

Focusing on quality, we continued to develop our entertainment offer across campus, both in the main Students’ Union building and Medicine, as well as our pub The Packhorse. In total, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we sold over 55,190 tickets to our club nights. Some acts we attracted this year include:

• Chase and Status ▪ Rage

• ▪ Deno ▪ Becky Hill ▪ Big Narstie ▪ RuPaul’s Drag Race ▪ Two Door Cinema Club ▪ Jaykae

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Further grew our daytime events and Give it a Go programme on the back of student feedback Our Give it a Go programme is based on the following core streams of work:

• The introduction and support of taster sessions for students to try out clubs and societies.

• The creation of a new programme of events and trips focused on inclusion, widening participation, and not tied to our venues.

• The support of students to run their own events on campus.

This year we delivered 77 different events, the vast majority of them were non-alcoholic and designed to bring communities of students together in a low-pressure environment. These ranged from our popular Colour Runs, to ‘crafternoons’, to 5-week beginner classes in British sign language.

- Supported more student led groups than ever before

Our amazing clubs and societies continued to provide students with the opportunity to represent the College across a wide range of sports and socialise with like-minded individuals in different societies. This year we supported 137 ratified and active groups, 2146 members of at least one society or media group and 1437 sports club members. Some newly formed groups this year include:

• Brazilian

• Skate

• Make A Kid Smile

Further professionalised our support for committee members of clubs and societies

Responding directly to feedback from students via Rate Your Union, we continued to professionalise how we support student-led groups. This year we concentrated on reviewing our approach to how we provide grant funding to support different student-led activities. This involved a wide-ranging consultation on both the process and principles that govern it, resulting in significant positive changes for students. We also rolled out our dedicated Customer Relationship Management programme for all communication with all committee members. This has created a one stop portal for all enquiries, requests and communication, and allows the team to share work, prioritise tasks, and crucially, for committee members to see what is happening in real time with their request.

Recognised outstanding student participation with our Colours and Societies Balls

We continued to host our Colours Ball in the De Vere Beaumont Estate, and moved our Socs Ball on to campus on the back of student feedback. Both events took place in the middle of the spring term (shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit), and celebrated amazing achievements of clubs, societies, media groups, their committees and their wider membership. Across both events we welcomed over 800 students and recognised over 100 different students and over 20 different groups with awards for a mixture of commitment, impact and performance.

Supported student groups and the wider College with their own large events

We continued to support student groups in the planning and running of large-scale events on campus. This year these ranged from:

• A Night at the Theatre

• Rhino Media awards

• Computing Society Hackaway

Theme 3: Look after students’ wellbeing

The third strand of our plan focuses on the work we play in the wider College community regarding improving students’ wellbeing, focussed around the health (both mental and physical) of students, their housing choices, and their financial context whilst studying. This area represents one of our toughest KPIs, as more often than not, only students who directly engage with our Advice Centre recognise the work we do.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

This year we have seen another positive rise in both categories of agree, driven by a combination of both increased engagement with our services, and a higher profile communication campaign around the positive impact we have in this area. It is also highly likely that our communication regarding student safety, and steps we took to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown, have positively affected this score.

Target: 80% of students agree we have a positive impact on their general wellbeing, housing or finances	Target: 80% of students agree we have a positive impact on their general wellbeing, housing or finances	Target: 80% of students agree we have a positive impact on their general wellbeing, housing or finances
Year	% Agree	% Definitely/Mostly Agree
2020 (COVID-19)	73.4	53.3
2019	72.0	50.8
2018	66.6	45.5
2017	64.8	44.8
2016	60.0	37.2

To deliver impact in this area, we have continued to undertake a number of key projects and activities, which includes the following.

Lobbied successfully for the College to implement a formal Student Wellbeing Strategy

The Student Wellbeing Strategy sets out the direction for how Royal Holloway should continuously adapt, not only providing direct support for students but also embedding wellbeing priorities into all aspects of life at Royal Holloway. In order to support students, we should be alleviating unnecessary stress as well as providing necessary support. This strategy is holistic in its approach, outlining the ways in which we can ensure that student wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do at Royal Holloway.

Lobbied successfully for the College to adopt a rent guarantor scheme

There are many students who come to university without an external financial support – which can be a big challenge when private housing providers require either large deposits or upfront down payments where no guarantor can be provided. Working with the College, we developed and implemented a process whereby the College have agreed to act as the guarantor for students in specific circumstances, helping those who are more vulnerable.

Continued to improve the engagement, reach and impact of our Advice Centre

Demand for advice and support in the Students’ Union has once again increased - a trend we have seen for the past four years. We had 1366 visits and cases opened. Our support has again ranged from academic advice, housing support and other general signposting/guidance. Some examples of the positive outcomes we’ve secured include:

• Case Study One - Housing An international student returned to their home country at the end of their course and the landlord started ignoring their communications regarding the refund of their security deposit. We were able to explain the deposit protection system to the student and guided them to start the formal adjudication process online. The landlord then started proposing unfair deposit deductions and started intimidating the student. We reported this and the landlord’s behaviour improved. A week later, the landlord returned the whole deposit to the student and her housemate, with no deductions.

• Case Study Two - Academic

• A first year undergraduate student came to us during the summer assessment period. Their campus connect had told them they had not passed the year and to speak to their department about next steps. The student was passed between university services for one month with no answers about resits or next steps in terms of progression. They contacted us desperate for help as it was also then too late to be entered into the resits which were already happening. With support from us in contacting Student Administration, as well as the student’s department, the student was progressed to part 2.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

• Case Study Three - Academic

• A student who was repeating (final attempt) some courses contacted us after they were missed off the email list for the year. An important update changing a closed book exam to an open book exam was sent out and he was not sent this update and turned up to complete the exam without any resources. We helped him appeal his grade received based on procedural irregularity. This was not upheld. We helped him request a review of the appeal, which was upheld and accepted. The student was granted an exceptional third attempt and permitted to continue his studies.

Continued to work with the Trussel Trust to issue foodbank vouchers

For most students, holidays are a time to look forward to, a time of relaxation away from the stresses of university. Unfortunately, some students aren’t able to go back to a family home and the breaks can be pretty tough with no student loan to fall back on. Last year at the SU Advice Centre we saw students who at times didn’t have enough to eat and were frustrated at how little help is available and how out of reach it is. This year we continued to issue vouchers to help those in need, providing short term, emergency food to individual students and students with families in crisis.

Worked with the College to administer the Patient Participation Groups with the GP Surgery

Acting on some high-profile student feedback from previous years, we have continued to work with the College to examine the current performance of the campus GP Surgery, to understand where students are dissatisfied and where improvements can be made. A major change from this has been the introduction of regular Patient Participation Groups, facilitated by the Union, to enable students to directly feedback and request changes to the operation.

Rolled out mental health first aid training to club and society leaders

Part of our campaign aimed at improving the mental wellbeing of students, a group of Students’ Union staff and officers participated in the certified Mental Health First Aid programme, delivered on campus by Mental Health First Aid England. As well as upskilling our front-line staff in this area, we have now rolled out an abridged version of the training to student leaders on campus, helping them support each other when needed (with c.40 trained in the year).

Continued to administer our HouseSearch portal

We have continued to administer the HouseSearch portal, which gives students and private landlords the ability to search and advertise properties respectively. In light of a fall demand for the service, a decision has been made to review its long term sustainability given likely changes to the housing market, as the College looks to expand its campus accommodation offer.

• Developed our second hand academic book sale to be bigger than ever

Responding directly to student feedback, and part of our aim to support students financially through their studies, we continued to expand our second-hand academic book sale – giving students the opportunity to sell unwanted items or buy them at a cheaper price than brand new. The event was a huge success, with over £5,000 being put back directly into students’ pockets.

Helped even more students than ever earn money to supplement their income whilst studying

We continued to operate a policy that prioritises employing our members, ensuring as much money as possible is put back into their pockets. This year we employed over 400 students in range of different roles, ensuring over £790,000 stayed within our membership (including payments accessed via the government’s furlough scheme).

Continued to develop our wellbeing support alongside our evening entertainment programme

Having undertaken a review in 2018, we continued to implement some key changes to the operation of our security and steward team, who keep students safe in our venues on nights out. Part of this change included training a specific group of staff in additional areas including a greater focus on welfare and support. In addition to this, we’ve continued to operate the late-night minibus service that helps students get home from campus late at night, with core routes serving both Egham and Englefield Green. Both services were in the middle of more wide-ranging review at the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Theme 4: Make students more employable

Our fourth goal is significantly linked with the College, and we make it clear our intention is not to duplicate the service: but rather to ensure our own activities contribute to this shared aim. Our particular focus remains on those students involved through leadership or staff roles in the organisation – helping them to understand how their activities contribute to their graduate prospects.

Target: 80% of students in leadership roles within the Students’ Union agree it has made them more employable	Target: 80% of students in leadership roles within the Students’ Union agree it has made them more employable	Target: 80% of students in leadership roles within the Students’ Union agree it has made them more employable
Year	% Agree	% Definitely/Mostly Agree
2020 (COVID-19)	64.2	47.5
2019	63.9	47.0
2018	62.2	45.6
2017	61.0	42.1
2016	60.0	42.0

We have seen another modest increase in satisfaction scores within this aim, although it is important to recognise this is broadly within the margin of error. This remains a theme we have yet to be able to resource and is an area we are looking to focus on in the next two years. That said, this year we have made a number of large steps forward that will have lasting impact on both the Union and the College.

Published a wide-ranging and comprehensive student voice report looking at improving the employability and recruitability of students at Royal Holloway

The third Student Voice report we published this year examined the current provision of careers support at Royal Holloway across professional services, academic departments, the Careers & Employability Service, and the Students’ Union. Beginning in May 2019, our research and deliberative engagement with students directly shaped the recommendations included in this report.

The report lists 37 recommendations framed around issues of key importance for both the University and the Students’ Union. Some of these suggestions include:

• The Careers & Employability Service should establish a greater distinction between introductory beginner’s events with ones that are more advanced.

• The Careers & Employability Service should introduce a separate Careers Fair for postgraduate taught and research students.

• The Careers & Employability Service should offer personalised support during the job application process.

• All academic departments should conduct a review of all modules which relate to professional skills development.

• The Students’ Union should expand their leadership support with new development opportunities for students in leadership positions.

You can read the full report on our website here: www.su.rhul.ac.uk/voice/policyinquiry/careers-report.

Commissioned the development of key training sessions as part of our work to launch a Student Leadership Academy

In line with our commitment to the eventual launch of a comprehensive Student Leadership Academy, we worked with a trusted third-party specialist to develop three targeted training sessions for students based around the core topics of inclusivity, leadership, and personal reflection. These are now being rolled out across the organisation.

Employed more students in more specific roles with a professional development angle

Providing jobs for students is not only important from a finance perspective, but we’ve also continued with our decision to try and provide more jobs with a clear professional development angle. As with previous years, this year we introduced a number of new roles, each of which provide students with significant skills directly relevant to a chosen career path.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Continued to employ more graduate roles in our staff team

We have continued to roll out an approach to our full-time staffing team that prioritises recent Royal Holloway graduates, and individuals who have progressed through our student staff team. This year alone we have filled three vacancies in our career staff team with graduates from the institution, all of whom came through an open competitive field to gain full time employment.

Trained and developed student leaders… via Zoom

As well as helping students to run their activity groups effectively, the training and support we supply provides our student leaders with a range of skills and experiences directly related to their employability. We continued to run events such as our annual committee members training conference, as well as a host of other sessions over the course of the year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year we moved the entire training programme online, delivered via a number of interactive video-based sessions. More students and more student groups than ever engaged with the process (526 students attended sessions), demonstrating the need to consider this change for future years.

Theme 5: Empower students to change the world around them

The final aim in our plan involves the role we play on campus helping students to become engaged, active citizens. Some of this involves participation in our own democratic structures, while some of it concerns how we work with and support the College’s central volunteering team. Our two KPIs in this area, as measured by Rate Your Union, show an increase in one KPI with a slight decrease in another.

Target: 80% agree that we represent students effectively and	Target: 80% agree that we represent students effectively and	campaign on the right issues
Year	% Agree	% Definitely/Mostly Agree
2020 (COVID-19)	70.1	48.2
2019	67.9	46.1
2018	65.8	42.2
2017	63.5	40.1
2016	54.9	30.4
Target: 80% agree they know	how the Students’Union works	and how decisions are made
Year	% Agree	% Definitely/Mostly Agree
2020 (COVID-19)	62.5	40.0
2019	64.5	40.7
2018	61.7	37.5
2017	53.8	30.2
2016	49.0	28.4

To deliver impact in this area, we have continued to undertake a number of key projects and activities, which includes the following.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Ran our biggest ever elections for Officer Trustees[1]

This year marked another successful year for the Students’ Union’s elections with good progression towards the ambitious targets we set ourselves in our strategy.

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
% Turnout	24.6%	25.35%	28%	28.4%	30.6
Number of voters	2327	2556	2919	3073	3628
Number of votes cast	11,893	14,632	20,001	20,506	18,114
Number of candidates	23	18	29	39	48

The 1.2 percentage point increase in turnout from 2019 to 2020 represents the first time in the Union’s history that is has broken the 30% turnout figure and puts the organisation in the top 10 for students’ unions in the UK. This year also attracted the most diverse range of candidates in our history, with students from across the institution who have previously not engaged with the process getting involved. Additionally this year we made the following changes:

• Six School Rep roles (which were introduced to the organisation last year following the democracy review) were included in the main elections period. While voting for these roles was contained to school cohorts, the promotion of these roles at this time gave the roles more gravitas within the student body and therefore better student engagement.

• A decision was made by Board of Trustees in September 2019 to remove the three Student Trustee positions from the elections due to both a lack of understanding about the role via this process in addition to repeated poor engagement over the years. This has proven to be the right decision as we have received 9 applications for the roles this year, when ordinarily when elected we receive three nominations at most.

• Due to the continuous growth in the number of candidates year on year we reformatted elections results night this year, removing it from a standard club night format and giving it a specific and enhanced focus as an event in its own right, aimed at candidates and their campaign teams. This was primarily driven by concern for the wellbeing of candidates in a nightclub environment. This reformatted event achieved wide engagement with approximately 200 students in attendance.

Ran our Student Group election period online for the third year Student group elections were run separately from the Union-wide elections for the fourth consecutive year, taking place wholly online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year nearly 1,000 student group committee positions were available for election, with 542 being filled in the first round of elections with plans for the remaining roles to be co-opted. The voting statistics were as follows:

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Number of voters	1,416	1,562	1,348	1,455	1,473
Number of votes cast	12,785	14,816	12,834	13,474	14,558

Engaged students in a wide range of campaigns on campus

As with previous years, we continued to plan and run a range of diverse campaigns across the year, working with student leaders to choose topics, and then support activities including themed movie screenings, public lectures and information stalls. These themed weeks and months included:

1 NB. For compliance with section 22(2) (e) of the Code of Practice: A total of 12 official complaints were received this year (in comparison to three received last year). Seven complaints were upheld by the Deputy Returning Officer, with a first warning being issued for five of these and a final warning being issued for two. Five complaints were not upheld. No appeals were made to the Returning Officer.

The increase in complaints can mainly be attributed to the increased number of candidates and, by association, campaign teams. While all candidates had to attend a physical briefing on the rules and regulations, we relied on them to disseminate the information to their campaign teams. It is evident that this didn’t always happen as a number of complaints related to the conduct of campaign team members rather than individual candidates.

The elections were confirmed as free and fair by our Trustees, the NUS appointed external Returning Officer Peter Robertson, and Deputy Returning Officer Abi Jesson.

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• LGBT History Month

• Black History Month

• Disability Awareness Week & Sports Day

• ▪ Women’s History Month

Facilitated a debate on campus regarding the limits of free speech

On the back of a student group choosing to invite a controversial speaker on to campus, the Union facilitated a debate and cross campus referendum on whether to adopt a ‘not platform to hate speech’ policy. In total, there were 1018 eligible student votes – 554 voted for the policy (54.42%) and 464 voted against (45.58%).

Supported our student groups to volunteer in the local community

Working with Royal Holloway Volunteering, a significant number of our student groups volunteered their time working in the local community, helping to build better relationships with both Egham and Englefield Green residents. Some examples of this are:

• Love in a box campaign

• Women’s Rugby coaching with a Parasports club

• Women’s Football tournament for primary school girls

SECTION C: LOOKING IN

We also recognise that as a charity, there are also a number of internal areas that we need to be great at – without which we won’t be able to deliver any of our aims. The 2019/20 academic year continued to be one of incremental positive change, rather than one of wholescale transformation.

Good Democracy & Governance

The main focus in this area has been the implementation of the democracy review undertaken by the organisation in 2018/19. Key changes for this review include:

• We changed the Full Time Student Officer structure to a President and three Vice Presidents, spending slightly less on Officers so we can spend more on direct support for students and student groups.

• We replaced our student Council meetings with three smaller Student Executives to look after Education; Wellbeing, Community and Diversity; and Societies, Sports & Opportunities. These helped student leaders collaborate more effectively on key issues, and made sure Officers directly engaged with a wider range of students when planning their work.

• We introduced the role of School Reps, making them key members of the new Education Executive, and supported them to effectively lead activities in their School.

• We abolished General Meetings and created “Policy Inquiries” that enabled students to direct what the SU should do about a complex, or controversial issue. We ran three of these in the first year which all involved quality research, deliberation and consultation.

• We launched the ‘Union Workshop’ that helped students engage directly in changes to our commercial services, looking at topics such as late night security and our events programme.

• We created nine funded “Student Collectives” for groups of underrepresented students with specific needs (i.e. postgraduates) to increase our engagement with these students.

In addition to these changes, our Board of Trustees continued to function effectively, with a number of formal subcommittees used to deal with issues in between these quarterly meetings:

• Steering Committee: met termly to manage the agenda for All Student Meetings

• Management Committee: met monthly to consider organisation wide decisions

• Finance, Staffing & Risk: met quarterly to provide scrutiny of financial decisions

• Appointments & Remuneration: met to receive and conduct the CEO performance review

• Student Groups Grants Committee: met to allocate grant funding to our student groups

We continue to affiliate to the National Union of Students, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, London Universities Sport, London Nightline and BUCS.[2]

2 NB. this is included for compliance with section 22(2) (k) of the Code of Practice.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Sustainable Resources

Although legally the Union operates as a unitary unincorporated association, we continue to manage the organisation’s finances in a way that separates out our trading operation from our core charitable services. The latter is funded by the combination of a core grant from the College and the surplus generated from our bars, shops and other fundraising events. We remain one of very few Students’ Unions in the UK who operate on this model, which gives us flexibility and freedom to amend our services in light of changing student demand. Before COVID-19 hit, the Union was again on track to meet its budget. The closure of the venues and reduction in trade within the shop of around 90% had a significant impact on the organisation’s finance. Some of this was offset via the government’s furlough scheme, whilst the College also provided additional grant to ensure the Union finished the year in a comfortable financial position. More information is included in the ‘financial review’ section of the annual accounts.

Lastly, mindful that the Students’ Union’s financial model is rather complex, we continued to promote our website to help students better understand our income and expenditure – and in particular, the link between our trading operation, the surplus it generates, and our charitable services. This includes an interactive section that allows students to make decisions regarding the prices of the certain items and see how it then impacts on what the Union provides. This was promoted heavily to students via a number of channels – www.su.rhul.ac.uk/valueformoney.

Our quarterly management accounts continue to be considered at regular Joint Executive Committee meetings, and our budget and financial statements are considered by the College’s Finance Committee as part of their routine calendar of business.

Great People and Culture

The single biggest resource we have as an organisation is our people. As with previous years, we have continued to focus our efforts around our five organisational values:

• Student Focused ▪ Brave

• ▪ High Quality ▪ Trustworthy ▪ Inclusive

We have continued to embed these formally into the recruitment process for all new staff, and have deployed a popular reward scheme that gives immediate recognition for colleagues when they display behaviour characteristic of one or more of them. This year 111 different awards have been made, across all levels in the organisation.

Instead of running our annual staff engagement survey alongside other students’ unions, the year we participated in a national award run by Third Sector - the UK’ s leading publication for the charity and voluntary sector - and Best Companies Group, an independent workplace excellence. The programme was open to all UK-registered charities with more than 15 employees and consisted of an Employer Questionnaire (25%) combined with an Engagement & Satisfaction Survey (75%) completed by permanent staff members. In April we were delighted to find that we placed 7th in the rankings, which identifies and recognises employers in the sector that have created outstanding workplaces. We were the only Students’ Union to make the top 50 and placed well above some high profile national organisation.

Digital First Ambition

Digital systems remain an area of continual focus, as we look to adapt our working in line with changing student habits. This year we have further refined our use of our central digital engagement platform – Membership Solutions Limited – making use of a number of additional modules to deliver our services. This included a change to the software we use for case management in our Advice Centre, moving to a bespoke built package for Students’ Unions that has enabled faster and more accurate reporting of data.

In addition to this, the COVID-19 pandemic also required the organisation to implement a range of other digital transformation projects (outlined in the next section).

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Effective Communication

Our marketing and communication function remains one of the most in-demand internal services within the organisation, with an increasing workload a direct result of increasing levels of activity and engagement. We have seen a mixed year within this area, largely driven by the closure of services and relocation of students away from campus due to the pandemic.

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20
Website hits	425,418	655,541	676,078	675,032
Facebook likes	23,600	25,130	26,760	27,562
Twitter followers	4,649	5,375	5,527	5,983
Instagram followers	1,241	2,152	3,029	5,219
Email open rate (average)	37%	39%	39.4%	31%

The main focus of our communication this year has continued to be the production and dissemination of highquality news stories, championing the work of students, student groups, and student representatives alike. This year we have again published over 250 articles on our website covering content ranging from advice and guidance on essay mills, to blogs by leaders of sports clubs on their successes, to an update on how the organisation is rolling our mental health first training to all student leaders on campus. Click through rates on these pieces strongly demonstrate a desire from students to understand the Union’s activities through different narratives – and it is important we continue to cover the broad work that the organisation is engaged in.

In addition to this, our Students’ Union on Tour initiative is embedded as a crucial part of the Union’s communication and engagement, where we host stalls around different parts of campus on regular days to talk face-to-face with students on key issues. Led by the Officers and supported by our staff, these have again communicated directly with over 1,000 unique students this year – 10% of our entire population – and have been received extremely positively. Lastly, our central Helpdesk continues to develop, and after the website/email, is our next most popular area for student interaction / communication.

All these initiatives, alongside our regular marketing activities, have again led to a third successive increase in our KPI measure – though it should be viewed through the COVID-19 lens.

Target: 80% of students agree they are kept well informed about what the Students’Union does	Target: 80% of students agree they are kept well informed about what the Students’Union does	Target: 80% of students agree they are kept well informed about what the Students’Union does
Year	% Agree	% Definitely/Mostly Agree
2020 (COVID-19)	82.4	62.0
2019	79.5	57.2
2018	78.4	54.8
2017	74.4	49.7
2016	67.0	44.3

Comprehensive Insight

For the Students’ Union to be the legitimate voice of students, a key requirement is the ability to produce and disseminate high quality research that demonstrates insight into the Royal Holloway experience. Over the past three years we have made good progress in this, working with a number of external companies to commission and publish pieces looking at issues including teaching excellence and value for money. In 2019/20 we significantly transformed this work on the basis of our democracy review, publishing three high profile Student Voice Reports, and one Student Insight Report (details above).

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

SECTION D: RESPONDING TO COVID-19

Our Immediate Response

As with all other organisations, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in late February, the organisation was required to make significant and far reaching changes to how it operated. These can be most succinctly summarised under the following seven headings.

We closed the main office building in line with government guidance

This required us to transition our entire permanent staff team (other than those working in retail) to remote working in little over five days. We moved key infrastructure that previously relied on paper systems (for example finance and human resources) to digital systems and made use of wider technology to keep the team engaged and working together.

We moved student services online to ensure we continued to support students

But we also knew that we couldn’t simply ‘batten down the hatches’ and wait for the pandemic to pass. We moved many of our student support services online – supporting clubs and societies remotely and delivering previously physical activities such as our annual training conference via video. Our Advice Centre also continued to function via appointments over telephone and video conferencing, and Officers and staff continued to represent students in College committee work. Staff whose workload reduced inevitably due to service changes were then furloughed as part of the coronavirus job retention scheme.

We created a virtual Royal Holloway community

Mindful that the campus community is one of the features of the Royal Holloway experience, we acted quickly to build a virtual community for students to interact and support each other. Using a range of popular social media platforms, we hosted a series of social events, and facilitated student groups to run their own. This proved extremely popular, and has continued into the next year.

We ensure students were kept up to date with our Coronavirus Hub

We also made sure students were kept up to date with changes to our services, and work we were doing to keep them safe and supported during the lockdown period. Our online hub attracted over 11,890 page views over this period.

We had to close all our food, drink and entertainment venues

In line with government guidance, we closed all our food, drink and entertainment venues to ensure campus operated under strict social distance rules. All staff employed in this area were then furloughed as part of the coronavirus job retention scheme – including over 400 student staff.

But we continued to operate the Union Shop as a vital campus service

The Union Shop operated effectively over the entire period, providing a crucial service to c300 students and staff who remained living on campus over the period. We also launched a brand new online click and collect service to ensure safety for those residents who were shielding.

Our Bridging Strategy

The 2020/21 academic year is likely to look significantly different to previous years, and indeed have more in common with the latter half of 2019/20 due to continued impact of social distancing measures. Mindful of this, and looking forward, the Board has agreed a bridging strategy for the organisation that is based on the following five propositions:

• i. We must to get to safety: to ensure that RHSU is in the best financial health possible by August 2021, in order to deliver long-term strategic change that will benefit students for years to come.

• ii. We must make tactical changes where they make sense: when opportunities arise, or when circumstances demand, we need to consider making improvements even without a clear picture of our end goal. The guiding principles should be to create maximum flexibility for the organisation to change course if needed, balancing short-term gain with long-term consequences.

• iii. We must build a shared purpose and positive culture: that gives all the staff, officers and students a common reference point for their work over the course of the year, and a clear narrative that directs and frames decisions. This should take the form of a ‘bridging strategy’ that applies the COVID-19 lens to the current plan, and should be in place for the year.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

• iv. We must continue effectively representing and delivering services for students: who will still rely on RHSU to play a crucial role in making their experience at Royal Holloway the best that it can be. This will be even more crucial in a year of so much uncertainty and change.

• v. We must proactively work in partnership with the College: who will be working their way through their own challenges in the short and medium term.

We have then applied the COVID-19 ‘prism’ to our current strategy for the next 12 months and have set the following broad objectives for the organisation.

Mission

To make student life better at Royal Holloway. This is considered still appropriate and entirely fit for purpose in a COVID-19 environment.

Aims

The five aims outlined in the plan are all still appropriate and fit for purpose in a COVID-19 environment. However, the focus of each will change slightly for the next academic year.

Improve your education : we will need to ensure that the Union plays an active role in both shaping the University’s overall approach to a blended teaching model, and that all students from all backgrounds have an effective route to influence their own courses and modes of delivery. Academic Reps will be more important than ever and must be supported to engage their fellow students digitally.

Look after students’ wellbeing : we will need to significantly increase our signposting for key support and wellbeing services, and run different campaigns focussed on loneliness and anxiety associated with studying in a new environment. Our advice centre will be more important than ever, with the launch of our ‘digital advice centre’ ready for September.

Make students more employable : we will need to launch out our Student Leadership Academy in a new operating context, making it clearer than ever why participation is beneficial. We will also need to work closely with the University to help students access part time work (where available) and high-quality volunteering opportunities in order to enhance their CVs as they enter the most competitive graduate job market in a generation.

Make campus fun : we will need to offer bespoke support to student clubs, societies and communities that helps them run safely and effectively under social distancing rules. We will also need to significantly shift our own events and entertainment programme, creating new ways for students to socialise digitally, in our venues, and on the wider campus.

Empower students to change the world around them : we will need to change the way we support student representatives, giving them different training and tools to be successful in the new environment. Our democracy must become even more digital, with technology used to facilitate effective deliberation and virtual ‘face to face’ contact.

Values

These are considered still appropriate and entirely fit for purpose in a COVID-19 environment.

Enablers

The implications of the COVID-19 are expected to be slightly different for each enabler, and the impact will obviously change as the pandemic continues. The Senior Management Team of the Union plan to keep this under continuous review.

Sustainable resources: with the significant contraction of the commercial operation (and elimination of the surplus it generates), the Union must work closely with the University in order to ensure the financial viability of the organisation for the next 12 months. A financial recovery plan must be adopted that ties into the University’s own approach, including a range of tactics such as cost reduction and a request for one-off additional financial support. All efforts should be made to improve on this position over the course of the year.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Reducing our environmental impact: there will be an inevitable reduction in the environmental impact of the organisation as it runs reduced services over the next 12 months and does not require staff to work from the office. A return to business as usual should consider how some of these positive changes might be continued.

Great people and culture : the Union will need to ensure that staff continue to be highly engaged and feel part of the team – particularly under social distancing rules that will prevent the physical return to campus for many. Regular communication via video conferencing, and structured one-to-one sessions will be more critical than ever, keeping all staff up to date with changes as the pandemic unfolds.

Good democracy and governance : the Union will need to adapt its governance structure to become more agile and to enable the trustees to have more regular oversight over how it responds to the pandemic. It will also need to significantly increase its communication with members on key issues regarding changes to its operation and enable democratic forums such as Executives and Collectives to operate in a virtual environment – securing student input on major changes.

Digital first ambition : the Union has moved quickly to operate in a virtual environment, however, it must now consider what this should look like for the medium term, and what platforms should be integrated more widely into the organisation. It will need to work closely with the IT department in the University to ensure we have the support we need and have a voice in shaping any institution-wide development or investment.

Effective communication : the Union has an effective digital communication operation that has continued to keep all stakeholders engaged during the first phases of the pandemic. This will need to be developed with more sophisticated segmentation over the next 12 months, as the pandemic impacts different students in different ways.

Comprehensive insight : the Union has developed its capacity over the past year, and now has the resource to undertake high quality primary and secondary research. Planned pieces of important longer term insight will need to be balanced with a requirement to respond quickly to short term urgent requests to understand what students think about potential changes due to the pandemic.

Page 23

STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

4. Trustees’ Report: Financial Review

Overall Result

The operating result as per the Statement of Financial Activity is a surplus of £103k on unrestricted funds (2018/19: surplus of £58k). Depreciation of the fixed asset portfolio is fully funded from the fixed asset designated fund, as presented in the Statement of Financial Activity. Due to this, we take a dual approach to financial planning and budget simultaneously for an operating surplus (taking all operational income and expenditure in to account, but excluding depreciation charges) and a final carried forward deficit (once depreciation has been charged to the fixed asset designated fund).

The final result as per the Statement of Financial Activity is a deficit of £52k after depreciation charges (2018/19: Deficit of £42k). These results when compared to earlier financial years appear as expected, and do not present clearly the impact that the COVID 19 pandemic has had on the organisation and its finances.

It is important to view these figures with a bit context; from March 2020 onwards, a freeze on all non-business critical expenditure was put in place to generate in year savings. Alongside this, the Students’ Union worked closely with Royal Holloway University to secure additional financial support: £365k of additional funding was received and is shown in the financial statements. This, paired with further financial support from the UK government via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme successfully mitigated the impact of the pandemic on the organisation’s carried forward fund position.

Reserve Policy & Funds Management

As a charity with significant turnover, it is important that the Students’ Union carries an appropriate level of free reserves to maintain cash flows, continue to cover the costs of our charitable activities and to allow for investment to deliver the long term strategy of the Union. Our reserve policy is underpinned by a risk based approach, in which we prudently considered the nature of our funding sources and the variations in associated risk, and determined that our budgeted commercial trading contribution is most susceptible to fluctuations. As such, the free reserve target is set at 50% of the budgeted contribution from trading operations. For 2019/20 the target balance was £340k which has been met, as the free reserve balance carried forward is £341k. Due to the adverse effect of the pandemic on commercial services, for 2020/21 there is no budgeted contribution from the Students’ Union trading services, instead the expectation is that these services together as a business unit will reach breakeven by year end. Therefore, there is no specific target increase for the free reserve this year.

We have a strong balance sheet, represented by funds that fully cover our future depreciation schedule, include a free reserve for risk management in line with internal policy, and also include a capacity for future strategic and capital investment as held in our unrestricted designated fund. This, places the Students’ Union well to face the continued financial challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic, as they permeate in to the 20-21 financial year.

Fundraising

RHSU does not undertake a significant level of fundraising activity throughout the year, as most of our funding comes from RHUL in terms of grant or is generated through trading activity. The annual fundraising event (Summer Ball) was sadly impacted by Covid 19 restrictions and could not go ahead. We remain hopeful that it will return in summer 2021.

Future Funding

The Trustee Board confirms that SURHUL has sufficient funds to meet all its obligations. The Block Grant for 2020/21 has been confirmed and paid in full (Aug 20) at £908k, with funding in addition to this made available to the Students’ Union should the impacts of Covid 19 require further mitigation. The Senior Management team will continue to work closely with Royal Holloway University to protect the financial sustainability of the organisation.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Trustee Board’s Responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards).

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions, disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the charity’s constitution. 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 was approved by the Trustee Board on 4 February 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

Kate Roberts President 2020/2021 Chair of Trustees Students’ Union Royal Holloway University of London

Page 25

Crowe U.K. LLP

Chartered Accountants Member of Crowe Global Aquis House 49-51 Blagrave Street Reading Berkshire RG1 1PL, UK Tel [phone] Fax [phone] www.crowe.co.uk

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Students’ Union Royal Holloway University of London for the year ended 31 July 2020 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 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:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the charity’s affairs as at 31 July 2020 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.

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 charity 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

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

• the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or

• the trustees have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the charity’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Crowe U.K. LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC307043. The registered office is at 55 Ludgate Hill, London EC4M 7JW. A list of the LLP’s members is available at the registered office. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. All insolvency practitioners in the firm are licensed in the UK by the Insolvency Practitioners Association. Crowe U.K. LLP is a member of Crowe Global, a Swiss verein. Each member firm of Crowe Global is a separate and independent legal entity. Crowe U.K. LLP and its affiliates are not responsible or liable for any acts or omissions of Crowe Global or any other member of Crowe Global.

Page 26

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020 (CONTINUED)

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees’ report; or

• sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 25 the trustees 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 charity’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 charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Page 27

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020 (CONTINUED)

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

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.

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 charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees 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 charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor Reading

8 February 2021

Crowe U.K. LLP is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

Page 28

STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR

(INCORPORATING THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Note Income and endowments from: Donations: - Grants and Donations 10 - Restricted Donations - Other College grants 10 - Grant of serviced accommodation 1c) Other trading activities: - Commercial marketing/sponsorship Investment income: Charitable activities: - Retail - Bars, Café & Entertainments - Amusement, Reception, Misc. - Constitution - Student Activities - Student groups - Bus Service Other income Government CJRS grant Total income Expenditure on: Raising Funds: - Commercial activities Charitable activities: -Retail - Bars, Café & Entertainments - Amusements, Reception, Misc. - Constitution and Representation - Welfare - Communications & Campaigns - Student Activities - Student groups - Bus Service Total expenditure 3-5 Net income/(expenditure) Transfer between funds 12 Net movement in funds Fund balances brought forward Fund balances carried forward	Unrestricted Funds General Designated Fixed Asset Designation £ £ £ 897,057 - - - - - 365,000 2,342 - 25,000 - - 14,846 - - 1,863,254 - - 1,670,393 - - - - - 1,304 - - 86,150 - - - - - 8,645 - - 43,535 - - 448,737 - - 5,423,921 2,342 - 35,011 - 12,279 2,065,231 - 44,000 2,009,835 - 44,000 23,341 - 8,186 40,846 - 14,326 29,176 - 10,233 636,308 - 16,372 367,679 - 28,651 - - - 113,410 - 26,605 5,320,837 - 204,652 103,084 2,342 (204,652) (98,763) (194,755) 58,763 4,321 (192,413) (145,889) 337,118 314,786 1,483,043 341,439 122,373 1,337,154	Restricted Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - 456,291 - - - 456,291 - - - - - - - - 409,783 - 409,783 46,508 234,755 281,263 21,394 302,657	2020 £ 897,057 - 367,342 25,000 14,846 1,863,254 1,670,393 - 1,304 86,150 456,291 8,645 43,535 448,737 5,882,554 47,290 2,109,231 2,053,835 31,527 55,172 39,409 652,680 396,330 409,783 140,015 5,935,272 (52,718) - (52,718) 2,156,341 2,103,623	2019 £ 890,154 870 5,419 25,000 48,721 2,635,160 2,487,981 - 5,470 111,263 478,278 13,700 35,800 - 6,737,816 44,041 2,529,717 2,480,926 29,360 51,381 36,701 623,385 359,303 480,594 144,665 6,780,073
				(42,257) - (42,257) 2,198,598 2,156,341

The notes on pages 32 to 43 form part of these accounts

Page 29

STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 JULY 2020

Notes Fixed assets Tangible fixed assets 6 Current assets Stocks in bars, shops & other outlets 7 Debtors & prepayments 8 Cash at bank & in hand Current liabilities Creditors: Amounts due within one year 9 Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Union Funds:- Restricted Funds 11 Unrestricted Funds - Designated 12 Unrestricted Funds – Fixed Asset Designated Unrestricted Funds - General 12 Total Funds

2020 2019 £ £ £ £ 1,337,154 1,483,043 159,858 172,585 195,139 157,390 642,656 618,066 997,653 948,041 (231,184) (274,743) 766,469 673,298 2,103,623 2,156,341 302,657 21,394 122,373 314,786 1,337,154 1,483,043 341,439 337,118 £2,103,623 £2,156,341

These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees and were signed on their behalf on 4 February 2021:-

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kate Roberts – Chair of Trustee Board

The notes on pages 32 to 43 form part of these accounts.

Page 30

STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

Cash flows from operating activities Net movement in funds Depreciation Decrease/(increase) in stock (Increase)/decrease in debtors Decrease in creditors Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities Cash flows from investing activities Purchase of tangible fixed assets Net cash (used in) investing activities Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year Cash at bank and in hand Analysis of changes in net funds At 1 August 2019 £ Cash 618,066 618,066	Total 2020 £ (52,718) 204,652 12,727 (37,749) (43,559) 83,353 (58,763) (58,763) 24,590 618,066 £ 642,656 2020 £ £ 642,656 Cash flow £ 24,590 24,590	Total 2019 £ (42,257) 104,620 (49,780) 62,215 (252,616) (177,818) (273,814) (273,814) (451,632) 1,069,698 £ 618,066 2019 £ £ 618,066 At 31 July 2020 £ 642,656 642,656
		£
		£

The notes on pages 32 to 43 form part of these accounts

Page 31

STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

1 Accounting Policies

• (a) Accounting convention

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) (effective 1 January 2015) – Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

The Students’ Union Royal Holloway University of London (RHSU) meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

(b) Going concern

Royal Holloway Students Union has resources in the form of unrestricted funds and a close and supportive working relationship with Royal Holloway University which together provide assurance that the charity is a going concern. Budgets, forecasts and management accounting data are reviewed in the context of COVID 19 and the potential impact of this on the revenue generation of the organisation. As a result, the Board of Trustees consider there to be sufficient reserves at 31 July 2020 to manage foreseeable challenges, and adequate commitment from Royal Holloway University to ensure that the charity remains operational. For this reason, the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the annual financial statements.

• (c) Income

All income and capital resources are recognised in the accounts when the Charity is legally entitled to the income, receipt is probable and the amount can be quantified with reasonable certainty. The College grant of free serviced accommodation on the campus is accounted for as income and expenditure of the year at an estimated value to RHSU by reference to the alternatives available on the commercial market.

(d) Expenditure

Expenditure includes irrecoverable VAT. Charitable expenditure comprises the direct and indirect costs of delivering public benefit. Governance costs are those incurred for compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, such as the annual audit, annual elections and training for sabbatical officers. The value of free serviced campus accommodation is apportioned on estimated floor space occupied. Other central overhead costs are apportioned to charitable and other projects/activities on a usage basis, pro rata to the total costs of each project or activity undertaken.

(e) Tangible fixed assets

Individual items, or groups of items related to the same addition, less than £3,000 are written off as an expense on acquisition.

Fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided in the Financial Statements on a straight line basis over 3 or 5 years as per below, unless there is a known fixed useful life that is different:-

Freehold Buildings - 50 years Building improvements (major) - 10 years Building improvements (minor) - 5 years Fixtures & Fittings - 5 years IT Equipment - 3 years Leases – over the duration of the lease period

Page 32

STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

1. Accounting Policies (continued)

• (f) Pension costs

• RHSU provides access and makes contributions to Personal and Stakeholder Pension plans for some of its employees.

• (g) Leased assets

• Rentals payable under operating leases are charged as expenditure on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

• (h) Stock

• Stock is valued at the lower of the cost and its net realisable value.

• (i) Financial Instruments Basic financial instruments include debtors and creditors. Debtors and creditors are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost. Note 18 provides more information on financial instruments where future cash flows are anticipated, with financial assets referring to trade debtors, other debtors and cash equivalents, and financial liabilities referring to all creditor balances excluding deferred income.

• (j) Fund accounting

RHSU administers and accounts for a number of charitable funds, as follows:-

• (i) Unrestricted Funds representing unspent income which may be used for any activity/purpose; these funds include designations made at the trustees discretion;

• (ii) Restricted funds raised and administered by RHSU for specific purposes as determined by students, such as Club and Societies Accounts, as well as revenue received for purposes specified by the donor and also (if not material enough to require a separate column in the SoFA) any small capital grants received from the College.

• (ii) Custodian Funds entrusted to RHSU for safekeeping, but not under its management control, such as the annual RAG. Such custodian activities are disclosed in the Annual Report, but as the funds are not managed by RHSU they cannot be included in the accounts.

(k) Government grants

Grants are accounted for under the performance model as permitted by the Charity SORP. CJRS grant income is therefore recognised on a straight line basis over the furlough period for each relevant employee.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

2. JUDGEMENTS IN APPLYING ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND KEY SOURCES OF ESTIMATION UNCERTAINTY

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, which are described in note 1, Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects the current and future periods.

The trustees consider that there are no material judgements in applying accounting policies or key sources of estimation uncertainty.

3. Expenditure

Raising funds Commercial activities Charitable activities Retail Bars, Café & Entertainments Amusements, Reception, Misc. Constitution Welfare Communications & Campaigns Student Activities Clubs & Societies Bus Service Total costs	Supplies £ - 1,296,407 400,857 - - - - - - - £ 1,697,264	Staff costs £ 22,337 604,783 1,007,446 14,891 26,060 18,614 531,907 209,343 - 60,424 £ 2,495,805	Other costs £ 24,953 208,041 645,532 16,636 29,112 20,795 120,773 186,987 409,783 79,591 £ 1,742,203	2020 Total £ 47,290 2,109,231 2,053,835 31,527 55,172 39,409 652,680 396,330 409,783 140,015 £ 5,935,272	2019 Total £ 44,041 2,529,717 2,480,926 29,360 51,381 36,701 623,385 359,303 480,594 144,665 £ 6,780,073

Included in other costs are governance costs of £19,185 (2019: £17,970) and this includes the annual audit fee of £13,525 (2019: £13,130).

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

4. Central Overhead Costs included in Note 3

Staff Usage Staff Rent Other Total £ £ £ £ Raising funds Commercial activities 6% 22,337 1,500 23,453 47,290 Charitable activities Retail 22% 80,041 5,375 84,039 169,455 Bars, Café & Entertainments 22% 80,041 5,375 84,039 169,455 Amusements, Reception, Misc. 3% 14,891 1,000 15,635 31,526 Constitution 7% 26,060 1,750 27,362 55,172 Welfare 5% 18,614 1,250 19,544 39,408 Communications & Campaigns 8% 29,783 2,000 31,270 63,053 Student Activities 14% 52,120 3,500 54,723 110,343 Bus Service 13% 48,397 3,250 50,814 102,461 Totals 100% 372,284 25,000 390,879 788,163 £ Other Costs comprised:- IT Costs & Service Provision 19,972 Repairs & Cleaning 30,594 Insurances 36,513 Depreciation 204,652 Sundry Administration 99,148 390,879 taff Costs and Trustees Remuneration 2020 2019 £ £ Wages and salaries 2,320,284 2,158,275 Social security 136,625 124,437 Pension costs 38,896 29,806 £2,495,805 £2,312,518 he number of employees whose emoluments exceeded £60,000 were: 2020 2019 No. No. £60,000 - £70,000 - 1 £70,000 - £80,000 1 - 1 1		Total £ 47,290 169,455 169,455 31,526 55,172 39,408 63,053 110,343 102,461
		788,163

5. Staff Costs and Trustees Remuneration

The number of employees whose emoluments exceeded £60,000 were:

In connection with the higher paid employees, retirement benefits are accruing under money purchase schemes for 1 ( 2019: 1) . The total employer contributions in the year to the schemes were £1,315 (2019: £976).

Key management personnel received remuneration (including employers’ national insurance and employers’ pension contributions) of £460,850 (2019: £436,900) . This relates to the Trustees and senior management personnel as listed in page 1.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

5. Staff Costs and Trustees Remuneration (continued)

The Trustees who received remuneration (in their staff and/or representative roles) were as follows:

L Simpson S Bolton K Roberts J Robins CS Jones YT Wong J O’Neill H Hughes DA Brown A Chohan H Warwick L Brown T Ridge N M Smithtt	2020 £ 23,547 23,547 24,854 - - - 23,547 - 23,547 2,262 2,262 2,262 3,395 1,510 £ 130,733	2019 £ 2,007 2,007 2,007 1,144 23,003 23,003 24,084 23,003 24,084 - - - - -
		£ 124,342

The average number of employees during the year was:

Professional Staff Student Staff	2020 No. 59 320 379	2019 No. 53 274
		327

The Sabbatical Officers and the Trustee Board were reimbursed a total of £Nil (2019: £116) in respect of travel and other expenses incurred on behalf of the Students’ Union. Elected sabbatical officers are remunerated for their representative role and are ex officio Trustees, as per our constitution. Elected sabbatical officers are remunerated for their representative role and are ex officio Trustees, as per our constitution. Elected student Trustees may also be members of casual staff in an unrelated capacity to their role as Trustees. No Trustee is remunerated for the performance of their duties as a Trustee.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

6. Tangible Fixed Assets

Cost At 1 August 2019 Additions At 31 July 2020 Depreciation At 1 August 2019 Charge for the year At 31 July 2020 NET BOOK VALUE - at 31 July 2020 - at 31 July 2019 7. Stock Bars and cafe Shops and other outlets		Fixtures, Buildings, Fittings & Equipment £ 1,779,473 58,763 1,838,236 296,430 204,652 501,082 1,337,154 1,483,043 2020 £ 103,397 56,461 £ 159,858	Total £ 1,779,473 58,763 1,838,236 296,430 204,652 £ 501,082 £ 1,337,154 £ 1,483,043 2019 £ 85,219 87,366 £ 172,585
	£
	£
	£

Page 37

STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

8. Debtors

Trade debtors Other debtors Prepayments and accrual income Creditors: Amounts due within one year Trade creditors Social security & other taxes Other creditors Accruals and deferred income

9. Creditors: Amounts due within one year

10. Related Party Transactions

The following are considered to be related parties for the reasons stated in the Trustees Report. The transactions with these related parties are set out below:-

Royal Holloway University of London

The Union is in receipt of a recurrent grant from the University of £897,057 (2019: £890,154). Other grants from the University received in the year amounted to £367,342 ( 2019: £5,419).

Transactions throughout the year resulted in a trading balance as at 31 July 2020 of £685 (2019: £7,202) due to the University and £991 ( 2019: £22,342) due from the University.

Page 38

STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

11. Restricted Funds

2020 Student groups Student Leadership programme Total restricted funds 2019 Student groups Student Leadership programme Total restricted funds	Brought forward £ 18,094 3,300 21,394 Brought forward £ 19,540 3,300 22,840	Income £ 456,291 - 456,291 Income £ 479,148 - 479,148	Expenditure £ (409,783) - (409,783) Expenditure £ (480,594) - (480,594)	Transfer between funds £ 234,755 - 234,755 Transfer between funds £ - - -	Carried forward £ 299,357 3,300 302,657 Carried forward £ 18,094 3,300 21,394

Student group funds represent amounts raised by the clubs and societies of the Union for their own use.

The Student Leadership fund represents and can be used by successful applicants submitted to Alumni to spend on projects and equipment for clubs and societies.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

12. Unrestricted Funds

2020 General Designated Fixed Asset Designated	Brought Forward £ 337,118 314,786 1,483,043 £ 2,134,947	Income £ 5,423,921 2,342 - £ 5,426,263	Expenditure £ (5,320,837) - (204,652) £ (5,525,489)	Transfer between funds £ (98,763)) (194,755) 58,763 **£ (234,755) **	Carried Forward £ 341,439 122,373 1,337,154
					£ 1,800,966

The transfer of £99k comprises of £40k from general funds to designated funds which is to be used for outdoor spaces and safety measures in relation to Covid-19 and £59k for fixed assets additions from general funds to Fixed asset designated funds, and the transfer of £235k from designated to restricted funds relates to Student groups.

The designated fund represents monies towards a strategic investment fund and for future medium term capital projects aligned to the Union’s strategy.

2019

General Designated Fixed Asset Designated	Brought Forward £ 1,866,391 309,367 - £ 2,175,758	Income £ 6,253,249 5,419 - £ 6,258,668	Expenditure £ (6,194,859) - (104,620) £ (6,299,479)	Transfer between funds £ (1,587,663) - 1,587,663 £ -	Carried Forward £ 337,118 314,786 1,483,043 £ 2,134,947

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

13. Analysis of net assets between Funds

2020 Tangible fixed assets Net current assets 2019 Tangible fixed assets Net current assets	General Fund Unrestricted Designated Fund £ £ - - 341,439 122,373 £ 337,118 £ 122,373 Unrestricted General Fund Designated Fund £ £ - - 337,118 314,786 £ 337,118 £ 314,786	Fixed Asset Designated Fund £ 1,337,154 - £ 1,337,154 Restricted Fund £ 1,483,043 - £ 1,483,043	Restricted Fund £ - 302,657 £ 302,657 Capital Grant Fund £ - 21,394 £ 21,394	Total £ 1,337,154 766,469 £ 2,103,623 Total £ 1,483,043 673,298 £ 2,156,341

14. Leasing Commitments

At 31 July 2020 RHSU had future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as detailed below:-

s detailed below:-
Within one year Between two and five years	2020 £ 3,036 29,371 £ 32,407	2019 £ 71,198 88,603
		£ 159,801

The amount paid during the year in respect of operating leases for was £52,198 (2019: £71,198).

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

15. Capital Commitments

At 31 July 2020 there were £Nil capital commitments (2019: £Nil) contracted for but not yet provided.

16. Pension Costs

RHSU provides access and makes contributions to Personal & Stakeholder Pension (Defined Contribution) for all its eligible employees. There are currently 64 employees in such schemes (2019: 51) . RHSU makes contributions of either 3% or 6.25% of earnings in addition to scheme members’ contributions of 5%, depending on the scheme.

RHSU made Contributions of £38,896 (2019: £29,806) to these schemes in 2019-20.

17. Control Relationship

Ultimate control of RHSU rests with the membership.

18. Financial Instruments

Financial assets measured at amortised cost Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost	2020 £ 784,975 182,923	2019 £ 692,195 193,201

Financial assets measured at amortised cost comprise trade debtors, other debtors, accrued income and cash and cash equivalents.

Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost comprise trade creditors, other creditors and accruals.

19. Contingent Liability

HMRC is currently challenging the application of the catering concession by Students Unions if they consider the establishment to be a pub or bar. Whilst the Union believes it has complied with the concession in good faith, the subjective nature of the interpretation of the concession could mean that HMRC take a different view. No contingent liability has been quantified.

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STUDENTS’ UNION ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020

20. Prior year comparatives

Income and endowments from: Donations: - Grants and Donations - Restricted Donations - Other College grants - Grant of serviced accommodation Other trading activities: - Commercial marketing/sponsorship Investment income: Charitable activities: - Retail - Bars, Café & Entertainments - Amusement, Reception, Misc. - Constitution - Student Activities - Student groups - Bus Service Other income Total income Expenditure on: Raising Funds: - Commercial activities Charitable activities: - Retail - Bars, Café & Entertainments - Amusements, Reception, Misc. - Constitution and Representation - Welfare - Communications & Campaigns - Student Activities - Student groups - Bus Service Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) Transfer between funds Net movement in funds Fund balances brought forward Fund balances carried forward	Unrestricted Funds General Designated Fixed Asset Designation £ £ £ 890,154 - - - - - - 5,419 - 25,000 - - 48,721 - - 2,635,160 - - 2,487,981 - - - - - 5,470 - - 111,263 - - - - - 13,700 - - 35,800 - - 6,253,249 5,419 - 37,764 - 6,277 2,507,224 - 22,493 2,458,433 - 22,493 25,175 - 4,185 44,058 - 7,323 31,470 - 5,231 615,015 - 8,370 344,656 - 14,647 - - - 131,064 - 13,601 6,194,859 - 104,620 58,390 5,419 (104,620) (1,587,663) - 1,587,663 (1,529,273) 5,419 1,483,043 1,866,391 309,367 - 337,118 314,786 1,483,043	Restricted Funds £ - 870 - - - - - - - - 478,278 - - 479,148 - - - - - - - - 480,594 - 480,594 (1,446) - (1,446) 22,840 21,394	2019 £ 890,154 870 5,419 25,000 48,721 2,635,160 2,487,981 - 5,470 111,263 478,278 13,700 35,800 6,737,816 44,041 2,529,717 2,480,926 29,360 51,381 36,701 623,385 359,303 480,594 144,665 6,780,073 (42,257) - (42,257) 2,198,598 2,156,341

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