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← The Marriage Foundation

2023-08-31-accounts

THE MARRIAGE FOUNDATION

Annual Report and Financial Statements

31 AUGUST 2023

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 9
Statement of financial activities (incorporating the
income and expenditure account) 10
Balance sheet 11
Notes to the financial statements 12

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 (stepped down June 2023)
William Coleridge
Pamela Collis
Alice Coleridge
Dr Andrea Taylor-Cummings
Jonathan Taylor-Cummings
Lady Elionor Bailey (appointed June 2023)
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.

Page 3

The Marriage Foundation

Chairman’s Statement

Chairman’s Statement for the Year 2022/2023

As our faithful supporters know well, our research department is constantly on the look out for exciting new angles to promote our campaign championing marriage for the benefit of children, families and society. Harry Benson, our research director, spends hours, or even days, combing through the big government statistical surveys, like the Millenium Cohort study, on the hunt for trends in the data to elucidate and corroborate our campaign messages. And this process regularly throws up exciting new, often counter intuitive, insights which engage serious media interest.

However, important as this hunt for new angles is, we never neglect research into our original, core messages namely that marriage is the gold standard for couple relationships, that if you marry today you will probably stay together for life whilst if you don’t you probably wont. And, of course, so far as children are concerned, the huge advantages marriage bestows in terms of protection from the fallout from family breakdown and enhanced child development.

This year has been no exception. These are just three 2023 research projects expanding on older research findings:

  1. We have known since day 1 that married couples are three times more likely than unmarried couples to stay together. However that statistic was affirmed by our further research exploring the precise make up of family breakdown. We were able to show via data from 4,476 first born children in the Millennium Cohort Study, that, strikingly, by the age of 14, as many as 46% of UK children are not living with both natural parents. But of that 46%, less than one third are from broken marriages whilst the majority, more than 2/3rds , are from the breakup of unmarried couples. Put another way, where natural parent s of teens are still together, the overwhelming majority of parents are married (84%) with only a small minority unmarried (16%).

  2. Our new research into Marriage and GCSE results: We have been aware from earlier research that marriage, and family relationships, play a part in the educational outcomes of our teenagers. So when new data was released from the Millennium Cohort study on GCSEs, Harry Benson (with Professor Steve McKay from the University of Lincoln) determined to uncover the precise extent of this influence. We were able to show that for girls, marriage was a key indicator for predicting GCSE Maths and English results, and, for boys, quality of relationship with mother and mother’s education were primary influencers of their GCSE grades .

  3. Continuing research into the “Marriage Gap” showed that “Now among newborns in 2021, 71% of parents in high-earning families were married compared to 34% in low-earning families . However, among parents ‘not classified’, marriage rates were even more worryingly low; only 18% marry. In other words “The marriage gap” between high and low earners is 37%, but for the very poorest it is 53%.” Going forward into an election year we suggest this clear social injustice has to be confronted and addressed by any political party aspiring to confront such issues.

These are just three of this years core research projects . As usual all our research reports are on our website (marriagefoundation.org.uk)

So looking forward, what in particular is in the pipeline?

Page 4

The Marriage Foundation

Chairman’s Statement

Previous MF research has shown clearly that, whilst marriage rates are falling the majority of young people still aspire to marry. So why the gap between aspiration and achievement? We are exploring this vital issue with the production of a stand-alone publication (in hard copy and electronic) on marriage especially responding to the often identified barriers around the cost of weddings. We will be combining our existing research with practical solutions to promote marriage as being both affordable and good for your long term wellbeing. We intend this to be a very practical and userfriendly guide for young couples who are uncertain about the rationale for taking this vital step in their lives.

So once again a full on year with lots more to come . Despite our small permanent team (supplemented from time to time by outside expert help) we end another year during which we have “mined” some further fascinating, ground breaking findings entirely through the graft of the team and the financial help of our supporters. Meanwhile Harry Benson goes into his final PHD year at Bristol Uni. We are confident that this academic accolade will not only enhance MF’s overall standing in this field but his own existing, huge reputation and prior research.

After a show stopping tenth anniversary in 2022 (NB. Sean Bailey is now Lord Bailey) we press forward into our second decade with renewed confidence and implacable dedication to the cause.

Sir Paul Coleridge

Founder and Chairman of the trustees

Page 5

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 August 2023

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 2023.

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.

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 June 2022, the previous Marriage Foundation Advisory Board were officially replaced with a smaller collection of Honorary Advisors, a highly skilled, dedicated, and experienced group of individuals who act in a personal capacity to support the work of the charity. The following advisors make themselves available to the charity when their support or advise is sought. These small group of individuals are as follows:

Alex Le Vey is the Director of Philanthropy and Veteran’s Health at King Edward VII’s hospital.

Dr Eli Gardner is a Clinical Child Psychologist, and the Co-founder & Executive Director of the charity Kids Matter.

Frank Young is Editorial Director at the Civitas think tank.

Nola Leach was the Chief Executive of UK Charity CARE for 17 years. She stepped down from this role in 2021 and now concentrates her time serving on several boards and mentoring women leaders across Europe.

Philippa Taylor is Director of the Institute of Faith and Culture, a graduate leadership training scheme at CARE.

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 2023 were £26,362.

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.

Page 6

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 August 2023

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.

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

Page 7

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 August 2023

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

As well as commenting widely on the latest family statistics, we continued to produce a stream of lowcost and clearly defined pieces of research making the case for marriage. We also made use of the dataset that Harry Benson has built for his PhD on the timing of marriage. More papers will follow from this.

Responding to media often results in our biggest media successes. This year it was two quotes on the front page of the Times. The first was a response to the Children Commissioner’s report that included the scale of family breakdown. The second was also a response to Office for National Statistics findings that the married share of the adult population has fallen below half.

We also continue to feed stories to the media proactively. The first of our five research papers for the year was the last of several findings from our survey of 2,000 ever married adults commissioned through Savanta ComRes. We showed that couples who ‘slide into marriage’ because of family pressure are more likely to divorce than those who marry for love. This was reported in the Telegraph and several Christian media outlets. We then ran again our updated analysis of celebrity marriages, who generally don’t do very well. This was reported in the Mail on Sunday and Sunday Express. Highlighting the marriage gap between rich and poor is one of our biggest USPs. Our update on this made several national papers including our own article in the Sunday Express. Finally we ran two analyses based on Harry’s PhD dataset showing the connection between family and GCSE results and also looking at the source of family breakdown. These were reported in respectively several national Sunday and several weekday papers.

Overall, during the course of the year, we achieved some 78 pieces of national level media coverage and numerous local news articles and interviews on top (i.e., more than six a month). This is slightly up on last year. This included our two front page quotes in the Times, as well as several other articles in the Times. We were featured in articles in the Telegraph, Sun, Mail, ipaper, and main Sunday papers. We were interviewed by BBC Radio 5 live, LBC several times, GB news, Talk TV, and other radio stations. Finally we featured in a range of publications as diverse as the Spectator, the Week, New Statesman, Breitbart news and Tatler, with Harry’s regular articles in Sorted magazine.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The financial outturn for the year was a profit of £5,782 (2022: deficit of £6,193). Free reserves at 31 August 2023 were £26,362 (2022: £20,580).

Page 8

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 August 2023

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:

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: Queen Elizabeth Building Temple London EC4Y 9BS

Signed on behalf of the Trustees

Paul Coleridge Trustee

Page 9

The Marriage Foundation

Independent Examiner’s Report

Year Ended 31 August 2023

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 August 2023.

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 10

The Marriage Foundation

Statement of Financial Activities (Incorporating the Income and Expenditure Account) Year Ended 31 August 2023

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
2023
£
Total Funds
2022
£
98,294
-
98,294
94,789
98,294
-
98,294
94,789
92,512
-
92,512
100,982
92,512
-
92,512
100,982
5,782
-
5,782
(6,193)
20,580
-
20,580
26,773
26,362
-
26,362
20,580

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 12 to 14 form part of these financial statements.

Page 11

The Marriage Foundation

Balance Sheet

Year Ended 31 August 2023

BALANCE SHEET 31 AUGUST 2023

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		 2023
£
31,362
31,362
5,000
26,362
26,362
26,362
26,362
26,362		 2022
£
20,580
20,580
-
20,580
20,580
20,580
20,580
20,580

For the financial year ended 31 August 2023 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 27 May 2023 and are signed on their behalf by:

SIR PAUL COLERIDGE PAMELA COLLIS

Company Registration Number: 08002851

The notes on pages 12 to 14 form part of these financial statements.

Page 12

The Marriage Foundation

Notes to the Financial Activities Statements Year Ended 31 August 2023

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 2023 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 13

The Marriage Foundation

Notes to the Financial Activities Statements Year Ended 31 August 2023

1. DONATIONS & LEGACIES

Donations
Tax Reclaimed		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total Funds
2023
£
Total
Unrestricted
Funds
2022
£
94,026
-
94,026
91,577
4,268
-
4,268
3,212
98,294
-
98,294
94,789

2. COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Office costs
Consultancy costs
Acquisition of original data
for research		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total Funds
2023
£
Total
Unrestricted
Funds
2022
£
1,509
-
1,509
3,723
90,643
-
90,643
90,591
360
-
360
6,668
92,512
-
92,512
100,982

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 2023
£
2022
£
5,000
-
5,000
-

4. UNRESTRICTED INCOME FUNDS

General Funds
Total unrestricted income
funds		 Balance at
01-09-22
£
Incoming
resources
£
Outgoing
resources
£
Balance at
31-08-23
£
20,580
98,294
92,512
26,362
20,580
98,294
92,512
26,362

The Marriage Foundation

Page 14

Notes to the Financial Activities Statements

Year Ended 31 August 2022

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 £5,500 (2022 - £12,600) were received from Sir Paul Coleridge a Trustee of the charity.

Donations of £1,900 (2022 - £2,400) were received from Pamela Collis also 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.