2021-10-31-accounts

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REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 07805796 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1144097

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021 FOR WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

	Page
Report of the Trustees (including directors’ report)	5 - 19
Report of the Independent Auditors	20 - 23
Group Statement of Financial Activities	24
Group Statement of Financial Position	25 – 26
Charity Statement of Financial Position	27 – 28
Group Statement of Cash Flows	29 – 30
Charity Statement of Cash Flows	31 – 32
Notes to the Financial Statements	33 - 55

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

President	Richard Youens
Board of Trustees	Chris Lear (Chairman)
	Anna Cole (Vice Chair)
	Mike Fellows
	Rob Kevan
	James Phipps
	Philip Shepherd QC
Company Secretary	Create Balance Limited (appointed 23/7/2021)
Executive Management Team	David Philpott (Chief Executive)
	Giorgio Bendoni (Director of Aviation)
	Danielle Friend (Director of Finance &
	Infrastructure)
	Barbara Gray (Director of Income Generation &
	Communications)
Company reg. no.	07805796
Charity reg. no.	1144097
Registered Office	Outmarsh
	Semington
	Wiltshire
	BA14 6JX
Auditors	Haines Watts
	Newport Street
	Swindon
	Wiltshire
	SN1 3DU
Bankers	Lloyds Bank
	38 Market Street
	Devizes
	Wiltshire
	SN10 1JD
Solicitors	Goughs Solicitors
	The Strand
	Calne
	Wiltshire
	SN11 0JU

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Investment Managers

Brewin Dolphin Woodstock Court Blenheim Road Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 4AN

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

The Trustees, who are also directors of the Company for the purposes of company law, submit their annual report and the financial statements of Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust for the year ended 31 October 2021. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the notes to the accounts and comply with the Charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland published on 16 July 2014 (as amended by Update Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016).

Objectives and activities

Charitable Objects and Aims

The Charity's governing document states that its charitable objective is "the relief of sickness and injury and protection of human life by raising sufficient funds to finance the provision and support of an Air Ambulance service for the County of Wiltshire and adjacent counties".

Public Benefit

The Trustees have had due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit.

The public benefit provided by the Charity is the relief of injury or sickness through rapid treatment and/or transport to a hospital or other care facility as appropriate. This benefit is available to anyone and everyone in Wiltshire and neighboring counties, resident or visitor, on the grounds of a fixed set of criteria, which take account of factors including clinical need, urgency, accessibility and distance to hospital. The use of these criteria in deploying the aircraft is regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure they are rigorously applied. No private benefit is given to anyone.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Main Objectives for the Year 2020/2021

In its tenth year as an independent charity and 31[st] year operating the air ambulance service in Wiltshire, the aims of the organisations were identified at a board and executive management team strategy day in April 2021 (later than usual – owing to the Covid lockdown which made meetings difficult).

These agreed aims were modest and reflected the fact that we were emerging from a global pandemic. The priority was to get the organisation back on an even keel and specifically focus on the following four objectives:

Following a number of voluntary redundancies, to plan a restructure of the charity, especially the fundraising department, so that it is in the best possible position to emerge successfully from the pandemic. This will be effective from November 2021 (the period immediately following that covered by this review) consequential to the approval of the 2021/22 budget.

A new structure was adopted by the board and recruitment to key roles was ongoing throughout the ensuing period in sync with the easing of covid restrictions. This process will continue into the 2 years following that covered by this report.

To agree and implement a new Strategic Plan for the next period.

A Strategic Plan was proposed to the board in April 2021 and following vigorous discussion, refined and adopted. This was published and circulated to stakeholders in August 2021

3 To continually modify and adapt the Income Generation Plan so as to maximize opportunities in the ever-changing fundraising landscape, with a special emphasis on digital platforms.

The Director of Income Generation and Communications held a workshop with her senior line reports and following scrutiny with the Director of Finance and Infrastructure updated the Plan and adapted priorities in December 2020.

4 Further to changes to the NHS commissioning arrangements and ambulance service localities protocols, together with the fact that we are consistently the most often deployed air ambulance service to Bath and its environs, we will from early 2021 onwards, expand our fundraising activities into include that area.

A full marketing strategy was created and commissioned, commencing early 2021 with door to door mailing in Bath and its surrounding area. This was followed up by proactive fundraising and communication engagements including radio and billboard advertising.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Achievements and performance

Operational Development Activities and Achievement:

Activities Funded - The Charity continued to fund the loan servicing and repayments along with the operating cost for the aircraft and maintains a Charity Services Team which includes all non-operational staff, consisting, at 31st October 2021, of twenty-four members of staff together with four contracted experts. Many of the Charity staff work part time or flexible hours so as to foster a supportive working environment. Five Pilots are employed by the charity, whereas the paramedics are seconded from the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWAST).

Operational Statistics

We now record annual deployment statistics from January to December each year so as to conform with the national standard of all other air ambulance charities. This allows for like for like benchmarking in the analysis of data. In previous years we have reflected the tasking from 1st November to 31st October each year so as to align with the period covered in the annual report.

The consequence of this change is that the numbers stated in the following figure 1 relate to the period January to December 2021 (therefore including 2 months after the period covered in this report) and so in ensuing years we will be able to map percentage increases or decreases in overall tasking and specific types of tasking.

We now also capture more reliable data on the locality of our missions, as illustrated in figure 2

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Figure 1 Figure 2

Operational Availability & Costs:

During the period under review, the Charity funded all the operational costs of the helicopter, including pilots. The NHS provided and paid the salaries of 7.2 whole time equivalent of our allocated paramedic cohort – totaling 12. One paramedic is of Operations Officer rank (OO) and this person is responsible for ensuring Ambulance Service Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) are adhered to and acts as a link between the charity and the SWAST. Clinical governance and paramedic competencies and upskilling is overseen by Dr Maria Smith of Addenbrooke’s Hospital who attends the airbase regularly. Her cost is met by the charity by way of a cross-charge by her employing hospital. We are also supported by a minimum of 3 volunteer emergency medicine doctors and in late 2021 (the period immediately following the time covered in this report) began to “buy” regular time from their individual employing NHS hospitals so as to have doctors on board more frequently.

A variation to the original SLA with SWAST was agreed and signed in May 2021 to standardise the contribution SWAST makes to each Air Ambulance under their jurisdiction.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

SWAST will provide the following:

7.2 WTE Qualified SP-CC’s including unsocial hours and on-cost payments
Fuel, insurance and driver training for all Rapid Response Vehicles
Standard issue (green) uniforms
PPE for all operational crew

Only the pay costs have been included in the financial statements as a donation received and associated helicopter costs. This amount has been included as £401,445 representing only the pay element, all additional costs are met by the charity.

The Charity is responsible for defining the strategic direction of the service, taking into account the expert opinions of the crew. Day to day mission activities are defined by the SOPs, which are agreed jointly.

Outcome and Impact

The charity attends patients at the scene of an accident or other medical emergency, stabilising them at scene and then often transfers them by air into the care of an emergency hospital. From the point of handover, it is difficult to follow the entire patient journey and document outcomes because of patient confidentiality safeguards and data protection laws. However, when the patient or their family contact us afterwards, we have received some very strong and often moving anecdotal evidence of the impact which the service has had, not only for the patients but also their families, friends and wider communities. Where patients give us their permission, their stories are featured in our newsletters, films, websites and other media to demonstrate to the public the real difference their fundraising makes.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Financial review

Fundraising, Income Generation Activities and Achievements

The financial performance of the main income streams is covered in more detail in the Finance Review below, but the trustees report that in its tenth year as an independent charity, the income of the charity was £ 4.35 million. During the year under review the charity announced that its operating costs would rise from £3.75 million pa to £4 million pa, so it is encouraging that this target was met; indeed it was exceeded. Given the extraordinary challenges the charity, along with all other charities, faced in the year under review, namely the ongoing impacts on all fundraising and fundraising events on account of the global Covid pandemic, this must we welcomed an as incredible achievement.

The cost of fundraising was 16p in every £ spent and for every £1 spent on fundraising the charity raised £6.34. Expenditure directly on the operation of the service was 70%.

Performance Review

Overall income in 2020/21 – including a modest government covid-related grant of £33k - was £4,346,541. This continues to be most encouraging in view of the fact that less than three quarters of a million people live in Wiltshire and Swindon, giving us a small population from which to raise funds. We also raise funds in a county where population density is only 1.4 persons per hectare as compared to 4.1 per hectare which is the figure for England as a whole.

Key items:

The Lottery , (which along with legacies is one of our two largest income streams), held its own during the period of Covid lockdowns and as in 2019/20 generated £1.3 million of income.
[After a dip in ] [Grant and Trust Income][ in 2019/20, it is encouraging that we saw an 18% ] recovery in 2020/21 rising to £105,869 from £89,521. Much of this improvement will be down to our continued use of an expert external grants and trusts researcher.
[After being disappointed in 2018/19 by the fall in our ] [Legacy Income][, it was pleasing to ] report last year that this had recovered to £844,320. This upward trend has continued and in the year under review we saw a very pleasing further increase of 46% to £1,230,943. The board remains mindful of the fact that legacies cannot be forecast or predicted and that we will always have good years and not so good years.
[It was disappointing that both ] [Community Fundraising][ and ] [Recycling Income][ were down ] in the year under review by 27% and 49% respectively. However, the fall in both income streams is easily explained by the Covid lockdowns which led to the cancellation of most fundraising events and participation hesitancy because of lingering apprehensions about public gatherings and a temporary suspension by our recycling partners.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

[Notwithstanding the lockdown impacts on Community Fundraising, it is pleasing to see ] that Corporate Donations increased as did (rather surprisingly) Events organized directly by the charity.

Volunteers

When volunteers are recruited, following a Basic DBS check, a full induction process is given as part of their training, along with training meetings and any additional upskilling as and when required. Upon recruitment, each volunteer will receive an official ID badge, lanyard and polo shirt. Wiltshire Air Ambulance cannot function without its cohort of dedicated volunteers who support the charity in various ways. Such support includes speaking to clubs and groups, selling branded merchandise at events, helping with office administration, or serving in our charity shop in Devizes to mention but a few examples. At the present time we have 101 active volunteers . During lockdown, we were able to continue to keep in touch via Zoom meetings and deliver any updates, so our volunteers felt valued even though we were not able to see them face to face. Since restriction have been lifted, we have seen an increase of interest to volunteer for Wiltshire Air Ambulance. Our volunteer list is reviewed annually.

Investment Powers and Policy

Under the Charity's Memorandum & Articles of Association, the Trustees are given investment powers, subject to the restrictions imposed by the Trustee Act 2000.

Our approach to risk is cautious and the board has adopted an ethical investment policy to ensure that its investments do not conflict with its aims. This policy precludes direct or indirect investment in companies that generate more than 10% of revenues from alcohol or tobacco. We will not invest any monies in Government Bonds or companies trading in countries where there are oppressive regimes, which do not uphold basic human rights.

Reserves policy:

The current Reserves Policy is to hold twelve months of planned expenditure which we calculate to be £4 million. Additionally, the board has made a designation of £1 million towards the purchase of a replacement helicopter circa 2025 and other mission critical projects. There are surplus funds which are mainly managed on a discretionary basis by Brewin Dolphin.

As at 31 October 2021, the total funds held by the group were £9,764,753, of which £3,972 was represented by restricted funds, £1,646,511 by designated funds and general unrestricted funds of £9,038,601. £75,669 of the general unrestricted funds belong to the trading subsidiary.

Free Reserves at year end were £3,684,503 which is just below the target policy level.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Plans for 2021/22

During the period under review the trustees consulted on a new 3 year Strategic Plan which was subsequently adopted in August 2021. This plan not only sets out broad objectives but some specific priorities which are as follow:

SPECIFIC STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.

1. Clinical Upskilling

We will enhance and improve clinical delivery for the people of Wiltshire, Bath and surrounding areas, continuously advancing rapid response critical care services to patients. We will be recognised as a leading provider of pre-hospital care.

2. Succession Planning

We will ensure robust succession planning. The charity will have in place an effective succession plan for the appointment of the next Chief Executive and Chair of trustees. Similarly, a succession plan will be developed with regards to other senior post holders and trustees.

3. Digital Culture

We will develop and implement a digital culture to fit the new ways of working. This will see an expansion of income opportunities through digital platforms, while assisting our aspirations to become a paperless organisation.

4. Income Generation

We aspire to grow income so that it is consistently above £4 million per annum to support our services.

5. Education

We aim to educate every child in Wiltshire, Bath and surrounding areas, through our Emergency Awareness Training programme. We see this as an essential part of our wider mission in helping to save lives.

5. Aircraft

We will investigate replacing our existing aircraft over the next three to five years.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

6. Environment

The charity will champion an environmentally conscious culture to preserve resources and seek to utilise alternative fuels and reduce any environmental impact of our facilities and operations.

Principal Risk and Uncertainties facing the charity

The Trustees have in place a formal risk management process to assess Strategic and Operational Risks and implement risk management strategies. This involves identifying the types of risks the charity faces, prioritising them in terms of potential impact and likelihood of occurrence and identifying means of mitigating the risks. The Executive Management Team keeps all Risks under review, focusing on risk areas in each EMT meeting. Every board member has an overseeing responsibility for allocated areas of risk and any changes to the risk profile as recommended by the EMT are notified to the risk holder and wider board for comment and amendment. The Risk Register is an agenda item at every board meeting.

The charity has clear internal procedures for preventing fraud and theft and protecting the Charity and the public and it has a policy of zero tolerance of the same.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Structure, governance and management

Governing document

The Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust was formed in 2011 in order to raise and receive funds to provide an emergency response ambulance helicopter service primarily in the county of Wiltshire. It is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 11th October 2011. These were revised in June 2015 and also in December 2019.

Appointment of Trustees

The Board is aware of the need for a broad mix of skills and experience. It has in the past undertaken a skills audit to ascertain criteria for the recruitment of Trustees. In accordance with the Charity's Scheme of Delegation, either the Chairman, a serving Trustee or the CEO can nominate Trustees, whose subsequent appointment must be approved by the Board. Trustees are appointed by the Board having first met with the Chair, Vice Chair and Chief Executive, circulated a personal statement in support of their nomination and attended an informal gathering with the remainder of the Board.

Trustee Induction and Training

An induction process has been developed and formal governance training is provided from time to time. A Trustee Handbook (The Good Trustee Guide) is presented to each new Trustee together with a complete folder of all legal papers, policy documents, budgets and the up-to-date risk register. New Trustees have an orientation briefing including a visit to the Airbase. During the induction, they also meet key employees and, where possible, key volunteers. Trustees are encouraged to attend appropriate external training events to facilitate the undertaking of their role.

Structure of the Organisation

The Board meets at least 6 times a year and additional specific board meetings are convened as needed.

Term of Office

Trustees are appointed for an initial term of one year and may be re-appointed for a further four consecutive terms; the first of those terms to be for two years, the second, third and fourth of those terms to be for three years thus giving greater continuity.

Currently, no person may hold office as a Director of the Charity for a combined term of more than Twelve years.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Roles & Responsibilities:

Trustees’ roles and responsibilities are clearly defined within a Scheme of Delegation. A Chief Executive is appointed by the Trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the Charity. To facilitate efficient management of the Organisation, the Chief Executive has delegated authority, within limits set by the Trustees, for matters including finance, fundraising, public relations and marketing and employment. The parameters of the Chief Executive's authority are clearly defined within the Scheme of Delegation referred to above. The Charity has enshrined, within its Memorandum and Articles, clear rules with regards to Trustee’s interaction and involvement with staff.

The Charity employs professional staff for managing the Charity and fundraising. The staff are accountable to the Chief Executive who is accountable to the Trustees. Everyone within the Charity understands that ultimate accountability is to the people, businesses and community groups of Wiltshire who make the Charity's activities and achievements possible through their ongoing support.

Arrangements for setting the pay and remuneration of key management personnel

The rate of pay of the Chief Executive is set by the board. The board also reviews on an annual basis an organisation-wide annual percentage increment and increases pay if appropriate and affordable. The Chief Executive, under delegated powers through a Scheme of Delegation, sets the pay and conditions of members of the Executive Management Team within the boundaries of the annual pay budget as agreed by the board each year.

Related Parties

The helicopter is part of an integrated response to medical sickness and emergencies provided by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWAST). SWAST deploy the helicopter from an Emergency Control Centre and also fund some of the paramedics who serve on the helicopter.

The helicopter is located at the Wiltshire Air Ambulance airbase in Semington. The associated aviation management is undertaken by the Director of Aviation and supported by the Chief Pilot and third party organisations providing maintenance and continuing airworthiness services.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Information on fundraising practices

The charity follows the Fundraising Regulators Code of Practice and complies with the key principles embodied in the Code. As such, we are committed to high standards. We strive to be honest, open, transparent, respectful, fair, reasonable and accountable as more fully explained overleaf.

[We do all we can to ensure that fundraisers, volunteers and fundraising contractors working with us ] to raise funds comply with the Code.
[We comply with the law including those that apply to data protection, health and safety and the ] environment
[We tell the truth and do not exaggerate ]
[We do what we say we are going to do ]
[We answer all reasonable questions about our fundraising activities and costs ]
[We are clear about who we are, what we do and how your gift is used ]
[Where we have a promotional agreement with a commercial company, we make clear how much of ] the purchase price we receive
[We give a clear explanation of how people can make a gift and amend a regular commitment ]
[We respect the rights, dignities and privacy of our supporters and beneficiaries ]
[We will not put undue pressure on anyone to make a gift and if they do not want to give or wish to ] cease giving, we will respect their decision
[If people tell us that they don’t want us to contact them in a particular way, we will not do so ]
[We take care not to use any images or words that cause unjustifiable distress or offence ]
[We take care not to cause unreasonable nuisance or disruption ]
[If someone is unhappy with anything we have done whilst fundraising, they can contact us to make ] a complaint.
[We have a complaints procedure, a copy of which is available on request. If we cannot resolve a ] complaint, we accept the authority of the Fundraising Regulator to make a final adjudication

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Tower Lotteries

Administration of our lottery (including canvassing) is managed on the charity’s behalf by Tower Lottery Partnership (Tower), an experienced Gambling Commission accredited External Lottery Manager specialising in air ambulance lotteries. Whilst neither Wiltshire Air Ambulance nor Tower discriminates on the basis of age or disability, the ethos and policies of both organisations is reflected in the extensive social responsibility training and dementia awareness guidance that has taken place over the past few years. The canvassers are expected to adhere to a very clear Code of Conduct. Tower has an extensive training programme, and issues canvasser guidelines, which include the following;

[Not allowing canvassers to enter people’s homes. ]
[Not knocking on doors with no cold-calling stickers. ]
[Leaving the property if somebody does not wish to discuss the issue further. ]
[In the case of store bookings, ensuring that once a person has moved away from the canvasser, ] that the canvasser does not attempt to continue the conversation
[In no circumstances, should a canvasser attempt to make a person feel guilty by suggesting that the ] charity will suffer harm without the individual’s support.
[Canvassers always state that the potential supporter should only spend what they can afford. ]

Tower also conducts feedback calls to ensure that these standards are being maintained.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Wiltshire Air Ambulance is registered with the Gambling Commission, is a member of the Lotteries Council and Air Ambulances UK (AA/UK). Some key staff involved in fundraising are also members of The Institute of Fundraising.

During the year under review the charity had no cause to monitor the fundraising activities of any of its staff or volunteers.

The charity receives regular feedback and enquiries, both via traditional channels and, increasingly, social media. Managing these during the pandemic and resultant lockdowns, with charity staff working remotely, posed additional challenges for the team, however only seven complaints were escalated beyond the initial contact, and all were resolved without full escalation to the Board of Trustees. No issues were referred to the Fundraising Regulator or Charity Commission.

Failure to respond to initial enquiry during stated timeframe – 3
Aviation related complaints (noise/disturbance) – 2
Complaints about lottery canvasser - 2

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law 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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these 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 2015 (FRS 102).
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the detection and prevention of fraud and other irregularities.

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

Statement of disclosure of information to auditors

We, as the directors of the company who held office at the date of approval of these financial statements as set out on page 1 each confirm, so far as we are aware, that:

there is no relevant audit information of which the company's auditors are unaware; and
we have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken as directors in order to make ourselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of this information.

Preparation of the report

This report has been prepared taking advantage of the small companies’ exemption of section 415A of the Companies Act 2006.

AUDITORS

The auditors, Haines Watts, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Report of the trustees approved by order of the board of trustees, as the company directors, on ............................................. and signed on the board's behalf by:

............................................. Chris Lear Chair of the Trustees

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust (the 'parent charitable company') at its subsidiary for the year ended 31 October 2021 which comprise the group Statement of Financial Activities, the group and parent Statement of Financial Position, group and parent Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'.

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and the parent charitable company's affairs as at 31 October 2021 and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland'; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and 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 Auditors responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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.

However, not all future events or conditions can be predicted. The COVID-19 viral pandemic is one of the most significant global economic events with unprecedented levels of uncertainty of outcomes. It is therefore difficult to evaluate all of the potential implications on the charity’s trade, funders, suppliers and wider economy. The Trustees’ view on the impact of COVID-19 is disclosed in the accounting policies note on page 36.

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

Other information

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

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

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

the information given in the Report of the Trustees (incorporating the directors’ report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the Report of the Trustees (incorporating the directors’ report) has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.

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

Adequate and sufficient accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the parent charitable company’s financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees are not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies exemption in preparing the directors’ report and take advantage of the small companies exemption for the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

Responsibilities of trustees

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

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

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always 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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to both the group itself and the industry in which it operates. We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our sector experience and through discussion with the trustees and other management. The most significant were identified as the Companies Act 2006, UK GAAP (FRS102) and relevant tax legislation.

We considered the extent of compliance with those laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statements. Our audit procedures included:

making enquires of trustees and management as to where they consider there to be a susceptibility to fraud and whether they have any knowledge or suspicion of fraud;
obtaining an understanding of the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or noncompliance with laws and regulations;
assessing the design effectiveness of the controls in place to prevent and detect fraud;
assessing the risk of management override including identifying and testing journal entries;
challenging the assumptions and judgements made by management in its significant accounting estimates.

Despite the audit being planned and conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) there remains an unavoidable risk that material misstatements in the financial statements may not be detected owing to inherent limitations of the audit, and that by their very nature, any such instances of fraud or irregularity likely involve collusion,

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

forgery, intentional misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Auditors.

Use of our report

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

Susan Plumb ACA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Haines Watts Chartered Accountants & Statutory Auditors Old Station House Station Approach Newport Street Swindon Wiltshire SN1 3DU

Date: .............................................

WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE CHARITABLE TRUST

GROUP STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

(including Income and Expenditure account) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

Unrestricted
funds
Notes
£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
3
2,761,766
Other trading activities
4
1,518,550
Investment income
5
50,012
Total
4,330,328
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds
6
685,419
Charitable activities
7-9
Helicopter operating costs
2,914,265
Operation of charity
562,540
Total
4,162,224
Net gains/(losses) on investments
501,650
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
669,754
Transfers between funds
20
10,162
Net movement in funds
679,916
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
9,080,865
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
9,760,781

2021
2020
Restricted
funds
Total funds Total funds
£
£
£
16,213
2,777,979
2,871,946
-
1,518,550
1,509,424
-
50,012
52,190
16,213
4,346,541
4,433,560
-
685,419
680,497
5,903
2,920,168
2,703,188
562,540
600,991
5,903
4,168,127
3,984,676
-
501,650
(116,700)
10,310
680,064
332,184
(10,162)
-
-
148
680,064
332,184
3,824
9,084,689
8,752,505
3,972
9,764,753
9,084,689

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure is derived from continuing activities.