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2021-08-31-accounts

THE MARRIAGE FOUNDATION

Annual Report and Financial Statements

31 AUGUST 2021

Company Limited by Guarantee Registration Number 08002851 (England and Wales)

Charity Registration Number 1150453

CONTENTS PAGE
Members of the Board and professional advisers 1
Summary of Vision, Aims and Activities 2
Chairman’s Statement 3
Trustees’ Annual Report 5
Independent examiner's report to the members 10
Statement of financial activities (incorporating the
income and expenditure account) 11
Balance sheet 12
Notes to the financial statements 13

Page 1

THE MARRIAGE FOUNDATION COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS

Registered charity name The Marriage Foundation
Charity number 1150453
Company registration number 08002851
Registered office Queen Elizabeth Building
Temple
London
EC4Y 9BS
Business Address PO Box 3014
Romford
RM7 1TX
Tel: 07916 697531
Email: info@marriagefoundation.org.uk
Web: www.marriagefoundation.org.uk
Trustees Sir Paul Coleridge
Sir Mark Hedley
Edward Coleridge
(resigned November
2020)
William Coleridge
Pamela Collis
Executive Director Michaela Hyde
Independent examiner Siobhan Temple CA(SA), ACMA
277 Sheen Lane
London
SW14 8RN
Bankers National Westminster Bank Plc
56 St. Andrews Street
Cambridge
CB2 3DA
Patrons Baroness Butler-Sloss
Baroness Deech
Baroness Shackleton
Lady Toulson

Page 2

The Marriage Foundation

Summary of Vision, Aims and Activities

Our Vision

We want to see fewer relationships breaking down and more people forming healthy stable relationships. This would mean:

We believe that marriage is the key constituent to more stable relationships, and that marriages can be strengthened and supported to survive difficult times. That’s why our mission is to be the national champion for marriage.

Our core aims and objectives

Our charitable objects and activities are set out in full in the Trustees’ annual report. In summary our core aims, objectives and activities are

To be a powerful independent voice restoring confidence in marriage. Using the best and latest research, we:

Our aims

  1. To see the aspiration of a life-long, fulfilling marriage as an attainable goal for all, especially our young people

  2. To see a society that thrives because stable marriage (or formal commitment) becomes the first choice for all couples

  3. To halt the current declining marriage rate because marriage is the single most effective key to reducing family breakdown

What do we do?

  1. Marriage Foundation confronts and challenges the status quo. By undertaking, publishing and broadcasting ground-breaking research we heighten public, media and government awareness and understanding of the scale of the national tragedy of family breakdown and its causes.

  2. Through collaboration and partnering with a wide range of like-minded organisations we advocate effective remedies and signpost people to them.

  3. We coordinate national projects such as UK Marriage Week.

Page 3

The Marriage Foundation

Chairman’s Statement

Chairman’s Statement for the Year 2020/2021

Last year I bemoaned the fact that our work had been blighted by the restrictions imposed by government anti- covid measures. In a word the lockdown. Little did I realise that this year would be the same if not worse! By July/August 2020. The beginning of this accounting year, we all thought the storm had passed and we would return swiftly to reasonable normality. Not so, Lockdown No 2 began at the end of October 2020 and, although there was a brief respite over Christmas, January 2021 saw lockdown 3 implemented and carrying on in one form or another (national or local) until July 2021. As I write this, it all already seems a distant memory and I hope we are now back in calmer waters as we approach, with excitement, our 10[th] (sic) Anniversary year.

However, although, as with last year, our face to face meetings and activities have been severely curtailed our core research and media work has carried on as strongly as ever.

Original Polling

Perhaps our single most significant innovation this year has been our commissioning of original polling research as opposed to analysing existing government and other data sets, stats and surveys. I will mention the precise polling fields a little later, but the experiment overall has been very successful, yielding as it has, entirely new findings in a whole range of areas not covered by other data collections. The great advantage of commissioning our own polls is that we can target research areas we believe to be of special interest both to the public and especially to the media. But of course, this innovation comes at a significant cost to our finances. Although we design the shape of each survey and the actual questions (in collaboration with the polling companies) the questions are actually answered, and the figures provided by the companies via their standing inventories of members of the public divided up into differing cross sections of society. The more questions we ask and the more people who are interrogated the greater the expense. But unless these surveys are carefully designed and carried out by experienced companies and, the actual panels are of sufficient size, the raw data which we analyse can be weak and flawed and liable to attack from our eagle-eyed critics constantly on the lookout to undermine our findings and our work. Let me now look at some of the year’s highlights starting with the new surveys;

Surveys

In May 2021 we commissioned a new survey via OnePoll of 2,000 young unmarried UK adults for Marriage Week 2021. According to the survey almost one in three young unmarried UK adults aged 18-30 say they would be more likely to get married if the typical wedding was ‘cheaper, smaller, and didn’t have to include a big meal’. This has provided compelling evidence of an anti-marriage factor which we have always strongly suspected, namely that the cost of the wedding – and not lack of desire to marry – is a serious barrier to marriage for all except the most well off.

In July 2021 we instigated a poll via Savanta ComRes who surveyed 2,027 ever married UK adults over 30 leading to our report: One in five weddings now start with a ‘prenup’ . This entirely original research found that one in five UK weddings now involve prenups and that Prenups neither increase nor reduce the risk of divorce. There has been much anecdotal comment on this subject ever since the Supreme Court changed the law in this area in 2005. Now we know that prenups are far more common than was suspected but not necessarily detrimental to stability. Indeed, I strongly suspect that some now marry who would not otherwise have done so because they can now consider in advance of their wedding and provide for, the financial fall out if it all goes wrong.

Page 4

The Marriage Foundation

Chairman’s Statement

Other Research highlights from last year

November 2020 - Has lockdown strengthened marriages?

Contrary to claims in the media, lockdown has been good news for most married parents. Speculation about a coming ‘divorce boom’ is misplaced. Twice as many marriages improved (20%) during lockdown compared to those that worsened (9%).

December 2020 - Get married for the sake of the children

Marriage boosts stability for parents and acts as a buffer against problems for children. This is especially true now that divorce rates are at their lowest level in 50 years.

January 2021 - Will cheaper weddings bridge the marriage gap?

The ‘marriage gap’ between rich and poor has doubled in 30 years from 22% to 41%. This is an area of special interest to us as we think ahead.

February 2021 - No ‘divorce boom’ in sight

Our survey data showed that those seriously considering divorce were still well down on pre-COVID levels; the proportion of parents actively considering divorce was down by two thirds on pre-COVID levels (Benson & McKay 2020). Up to the end of the 20/21 year, despite media speculation, there was no sign of a pending ‘divorce boom’.

February 2021 - Swipe Right for Love

Contrary to the image of Tinder and Grinder app users only looking for casual short term “hook ups”, a new poll finds that 9 in 10, who say they are in a relationship, in fact want to marry.

May 2021 - TikTok generation say “I want to get married”

A further finding from our original OnePoll polling: more than 8 out of 10 young unmarried women and men want to get married, according to our survey of 2,000 adults aged 18-30, 941 of whom were in a relationship.

As always, I end with a heartfelt “thank you” to our wonderful and loyal supporters and our ever faithful and constantly enthusiastic team. And it really is a team of like-minded, passionate individuals who are determined to put marriage back at the heart and centre of UK family life. We all, supporters and team, remain convinced that the well-known social problems of our age will never be brought under proper control until everyone (and especially government and politicians ) not only embrace marriage for themselves as the single best protective factor for the stability of their family and so their children’s mental health (they do) but also broadcast its advantages unashamedly in the public arena (they don’t) .

Next year, as I say is, our tenth birthday. Lots to look forward to. Watch this space!

Sir Paul Coleridge

Founder and Chairman

Page 5

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 August 2021

The Trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2021.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Reference and administrative details are shown in the schedule of members of the board and professional advisers on page 1 of the financial statements.

THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees who served the charity during the period were as follows:

Sir Paul Coleridge Sir Mark Hedley Edward Coleridge (resigned November 2020) William Coleridge Pamela Collis

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document and Constitution

The Marriage Foundation was incorporated under and is regulated by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 22 March 2012 and amended by special resolution registered at Companies House on 11 January 2013. The company limited by guarantee was registered as a charity by the Charity Commission on 11 January 2013.

Governance , Structure and Management

The charity is governed, on a day-to-day basis, by the Executive Director, who meets frequently with the chair of Trustees to discuss the issues affecting the charity. In establishing governance policies and procedures for the charity the Trustees have been guided by the Charity Commission’s published advice and guidance. In the past an Advisory Board has also met up to twice a year. Unfortunately, one of the casualties of the covid pandemic has been the ability to hold our Advisory board meetings. The Board brought together people with significant professional experience of marriage and relationships, family law and the media to advice on strategy and the development of programmes. The members were:

Sarah Abell is a life and relationships coach and author.

Edmund P Adamus is Professional Adviser to the Episcopal Vicar for Education in the Diocese of Portsmouth.

Rehna Azim is a family law barrister specializing in childcare law.

Catherine Barker is a former Project Director for FASTN, The Family Stability Network.

Mark Daniel , along with his wife Christine, is a co-Director of FamilyLifeUK

Rachel Gardner is the founder of Romance Academy.

Katharine Hill is UK Director for the charity Care for the Family.

Deborah Jeff is head of the Family Department and a partner at the law firm Seddons.

Nola Leach is CEO of CARE.

Nicky and Sila Lee are the founders of Relationships Central

Mark Molden is Chief Executive of Marriage Care.

Dave Percival founded and runs 2-in-2-1

Philippa Taylor is Head of Public Policy at the Christian Medical Fellowship.

Frank Young is Head of the Family Policy Unit at the Centre for Social Justice.

Page 6

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 August 2021

During the year we decided to disband the Board and replace it with a few special “consultants”. The board has been informed and the identity of the new consultants is under consideration and will be put in place next year.

Reserves Policy

It is the policy of the Trustees to hold an amount in free reserves equivalent to 3 month’s costs. The free reserves as at 31 August 2021 were £26,773.

Recruitment, Appointment and Induction of Trustees

Invitations will be extended from time to time by the existing body of Trustees to suitable qualified and experienced men and women to become new trustees. Newly appointed Trustees are provided with induction materials, including a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company and the Trust Deed.

Internal Controls and Risk Management

The systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute assurance against misstatement and loss. They include:

An annual review of the risks facing the Foundation will be conducted and considered by Trustees. They agree the strategic risks facing the organisation and measures to be adopted to mitigate those risks.

Associated Bodies

Marriage Foundation was publicly launched in May 2012 and operated as a project of The Relationships Foundation (Registered charity number 1106460) until independent charity registration was achieved on 11 January 2013. The role of the Relationships Foundation in the management of the affairs of The Marriage Foundation ceased with effect from September 2018.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT

Objectives

The objects of Marriage Foundation, as stated in the Memorandum and Articles of Association, are:

  1. To safeguard and protect the physical and mental health of adults and children, and to prevent hardship poverty and distress, by raising awareness of the means by which successful relationships (including but not limited to married relationships) can be developed and strengthened and the breakdown of relationships avoided.

  2. To promote research into all aspects of the establishment, maintenance and development of successful relationships (including but not limited to married relationships) and to publish the useful results thereof.

  3. To promote the effectiveness and efficiency of charities concerned with the creation and maintenance of successful relationships (including but not limited to married relationships), for the benefit of the public, in particular, but not exclusively, by organising conferences and disseminating the results of relevant research.

Page 7

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 August 2021

Having had regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, the Trustees believe that the activities of Marriage Foundation deliver public benefit through:

We believe that increasing the number of healthy marriages (as opposed to less stable cohabitation) and reducing the rate of breakdown is key to this. We seek to promote better understanding of marriage in public debate, tackling the myths that discourage marriage; improve access to relationships support and education, particularly in the early stages of relationships; and tackle the marriage gap, especially for disadvantaged young people who are more likely to opt for less stable cohabitation.

Our work is intended to assist partner organisations and their effectiveness. We are not a direct provider of services but work closely with both local and national relationships educators, seeking to change the cultural environment within which they operate to enable far greater impact.

Activities

During the year, we continued our programme of research, media engagement and development of practical initiatives. Full details of all of these, papers and press releases, are on our constantly updated website (www.marriagefoundation.org.uk) . These are the headlines:

Research and media engagement

We continued to produce a stream of low-cost and clearly defined pieces of research making the case for marriage. Our analysis has been supported by staff at both Lincoln and Brigham Young Universities. This year for the first time we commissioned original polling for research purposes which is set out in the Chairman’s annual statement on pages 4 and 5.

Other media

Apart from the specific, nationally publicised items of research set out in the Chairman’s statement (page 4), our media reach goes from strength to strength. We are, as always regularly consulted by media outlets of all types to comment on marriage-related matters often giving rise to appearances on TV and radio (local and national).

Over the past year we have had 66 pieces of national level media coverage and numerous local news articles and interviews on top (i.e., more than five a month). This includes 6 prime interviews with the new GB News TV channel, as well as 11 articles, interviews or mentions in the Daily Mail, 6 in the Sunday Express, 5 each in the Times and Telegraph, 5 in the Sunday Times, 4 in the Mail on Sunday, 2 in the Sun, 2 in the Evening Standard, and a single appearance in each of Vogue, Glamour Magazine, Daily Mirror, LBC radio, BBC Radio 4 You and Yours, Today USA, Huffington Post, Newstalk Ireland and Metro.

Social media

We have continued regularly to maintain a presence across the various social media platforms for both Marriage Foundation and Marriage Week.

Page 8

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 August 2021

PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS

We will continue our programme of research with input from both the University of Lincoln and Brigham Young University where necessary. Key areas of focus include a major analysis of how lockdown has affected relationships and an update on our database of celebrity marriages and divorces.

We will continue to work with family lawyers, and marriage and relationships support organisations to promote reform of family law through parliament to strengthen marriage and promote intentional commitment. Also as “Meeting Online” is now the most popular route to marriage representing 28% of first weddings since 2017 we will conduct research next year to understand the effect on family stability of the increase in couples meeting in this way.

Marriage Week

UK National Marriage Week May 2021 – ‘Naked Marriage’

This year’s theme of ‘Naked Marriage’ emphasised the essentials of marriage and highlighted the simple, stripped-back, small, and highly personal weddings which couples had been forced to devise during the COVID lockdown. Building on the social media presence established the previous year, the creation of a well-populated website packed with resources and our Marriage Week focussed research, there was plenty of engagement despite the challenges of the pandemic.

After five years of being in charge of promoting Marriage Week we have decided that this campaign is too labour intensive and financially expensive for its publicity return. Accordingly, this will be our last full involvement with the annual festival and although we will continue to fully support its aims and purposes we will no longer be the principal promoters.

Family Stability Network

In accordance with our stated intention last year Sir Paul Coleridge has resigned from the board of FASTN. This is a voluntary and entirely mutual decision of both charities.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The financial outturn for the year was a surplus of £6,536 (2020: £4,797). Free reserves at 31 August 2021 were £26,773 (2020: £20,237).

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees (who are also the directors of Marriage Foundation for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual 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:

Page 9

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 August 2021

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that 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. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Siobhan Temple CA(SA), ACMA has been appointed as independent examiner for the ensuing year.

SMALL COMPANY PROVISIONS

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.

Registered office:

Signed on behalf of the Trustees

Queen Elizabeth Building Temple London EC4Y 9BS Paul Coleridge Trustee

Page 10

The Marriage Foundation

Independent Examiner’s Report

Year Ended 31 August 2021

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 August 2021.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF REPORT

As the charity's trustees of the company (who are also the directors of The Marriage Foundation for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”). In carrying out my examination I have followed the directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a “true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Siobhan Temple CA(SA) Independent Examiner 277 Sheen Lane London SW14 8RN

Page 11

The Marriage Foundation

Statement of Financial Activities (Incorporating the Income and Expenditure Account) Year Ended 31 August 2021

Note
INCOME
Donations & Legacies
1
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Charitable activity
2
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET EXPENDITURE/INCOME FOR
THE YEAR
ACCUMULATED FUNDS B/F
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED
FORWARD
4		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total
Funds
2021
£
Total Funds
2020
£
100,936
-
100,936
75,844
100,936
-
100,936
75,844
94,399
-
94,399
71,047
94,399
-
94,399
71,047
6,536
-
6,536
4,797
20,237
-
20,237
15,440
26,773
-
26,773
20,237

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses in the year and therefore a statement of total recognised gains and losses has not been prepared.

All of the above amounts relate to continuing activities.

The notes on pages 13 to 17 form part of these financial statements.

Page 12

The Marriage Foundation

Balance Sheet

Year Ended 31 August 2021

BALANCE SHEET 31 AUGUST 2021

CURRENT ASSETS
Note
Cash at Bank
CREDITORS amounts falling due within one year
3
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
NET TOTAL ASSETS
FUNDS
Unrestricted Income Funds
4
TOTAL FUNDS		 2021
£
31,773
31,773
5,000
26,773
26,773
26,773
26,773
26,773		 2020
£
24,177
24,177
3,940
20,237
20,237
20,237
20,237
20,237

For the financial year ended 31 August 2021 the charity was entitled to the exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

The members have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.

These financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on the 25 May 2022 and are signed on their behalf by:

SIR PAUL COLERIDGE PAMELA COLLIS

Company Registration Number: 08002851

The notes on pages 13 to 17 form part of these financial statements.

Page 13

The Marriage Foundation

Notes to the Financial Activities Statements Year Ended 31 August 2021

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of accounting

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 (FRS102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2021 are prepared in accordance with FRS 102, The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Going Concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as, after making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future at the time of approving the financial statements.

Income

Fund accounting

Unrestricted general funds

The charity maintains a general unrestricted fund, which represents funds which are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity. Such funds may be held to finance both working capital and capital investment.

Restricted funds

Restricted funds have been provided to the charity for particular purposes and it is the policy of the board of Trustees to carefully monitor the application of those funds in accordance with the restrictions placed upon them.

Expenditure

Page 15

The Marriage Foundation

Notes to the Financial Activities Statements Year Ended 31 August 2021

1. DONATIONS & LEGACIES

1. DONATIONS & LEGACIES
Donations
Tax Reclaimed		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total Funds
2021
£
Total
Unrestricted
Funds
2020
£
96,135
-
96,135
64,376
4,801
-
4,801
11,166
100,936
-
100,936
75,844

2. COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Office costs
Consultancy costs
Research		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total Funds
2021
£
Total
Unrestricted
Funds
2020
£
4,543
-
4,543
4,086
80,856
-
80,856
61,122
9,000
-
9,000
5,839
94,399
-
94,399
71,047

All expenses directly incurred by The Marriage Foundation are paid by The Marriage Foundation. Consultancy costs cover The Marriage Foundation’s research and media work.

Particulars of employees

There were no employees during the period.

3. CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year

Accruals 2020
£
2019
£
5,000
3,940
5,000
7,496

4. UNRESTRICTED INCOME FUNDS

General Funds
Total unrestricted income
funds		 Balance at
01-09-20
£
Incoming
resources
£
Outgoing
resources
£
Balance at
31-08-20
£
20,237
100,936
94,399
26,773
20,237
100,936
94,399
26,773

Page 17

The Marriage Foundation

Notes to the Financial Activities Statements

Year Ended 31 August 2021

5. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION

None of the members of the Board of Trustees received any remuneration during this year.

During the year, no Trustees received reimbursements of personal travel and subsistence expenditure.

6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

During the year donations totalling £4,800 (2020 - £4,500) were received from Sir Paul Coleridge a Trustee of the charity.

7. COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

In the event of a winding-up of the company, the liability of the members is restricted to £1.