OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2021-03-31-accounts

Charity no. 1151152

Birthrights

Report and Unaudited Financial Statements

31 March 2021

Birthrights

Reference and administrative details

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Charity number 1151152
Registered office Birthrights
Union House
111 New Union Street
Coventry
CV1 2NT
Trustees The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report
were as follows:
Alix-Louise Anderson Appointed 28 January 2021
Tara Arnold Appointed 26 July 2021
Sarah Cooke Resigned 28 January 2021
Rachel Crasnow QC
Deborah Crewe Resigned 22 October 2020
Inderjit Cross Appointed 28 January 2021
John Davis (Treasurer)
Julie Frohlich
Carolyn Johnston
Marcia Lord Appointed 28 January 2021
Simon Mehigan
Sandra Nneoma Igwe Appointed 28 January 2021
Elizabeth Prochaska (Chair)
Catharina Schram Resigned 3 November 2020
Rebecca Schiller
Chief executive officer Amy Gibbs
Angela Style (interim CEO - until October 2020)
Patron Nadine Montgomery
Bankers The Co-operative Bank
Olympic House
6 Olympic Court
Montford Street
Salford
M5 2QP
Independent Godfrey Wilson Limited
examiners Chartered accountants and statutory auditors
5th Floor Mariner House
62 Prince Street
Bristol
BS1 4QD

1

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Introduction

COVID-19 brought human rights in childbirth to the fore, with restrictions in maternity services leading to women hearing devastating news or even giving birth alone, parents being separated from babies, and severe limitations on birth choices. We saw demand for advice shoot up, moved our whole training programme online, and campaigned nationally and locally to safeguard basic rights in maternity care. We are incredibly proud of how our small staff team stepped up to respond to multiple challenges and work with the NHS nationally and locally to reverse damaging decisions.

Our ongoing dialogue with government, NHS England and the Royal Colleges influenced national guidance for Trusts making clear that partners are not visitors and clarification that women and birthing people should not wear face masks during labour. We launched legal action in partnership with Leigh Day to achieve exemptions to self-isolation rules for birth partners and with Irwin Mitchell to challenge blanket policies banning partners from attending scans remotely.

Beyond COVID-19, we launched our new national inquiry to investigate racial injustice in maternity care, spearheaded by a formidable expert panel of people with lived experience, doctors and midwives, lawyers and activists. We continued our policy and research work on consent, mental capacity and multiple disadvantage, and finally secured a reversal of Oxford’s ban on maternal request caesareans, following years of our campaigning and legal action.

We prioritised internal and external work on inclusion – training staff, trustees and trainers on LGBTQ+ competency and adopting inclusive language across our work. Our public inclusion statement made clear our commitment to anti-racism and to our services being an accessible, safe space for everyone who needs us – women, trans men and non-binary people. Working with people with a range of needs and lived experiences, we fully reviewed and refreshed our suite of factsheets. Changing our recruitment approach helped us to appoint exceptional new trustees and staff with a diverse range of lived and professional experiences.

Despite the challenges of lockdown and home-schooling, Birthrights has helped more women and birthing people than ever before, educated thousands of healthcare professionals and birth workers, achieved numerous policy changes, and vastly increased our media and digital reach. We look forward to building on this strong platform in 2021-22, as we develop our future strategy.

None of these achievements would have been possible without our dedicated team and trustees, campaign partners, supporters and volunteers, donors and funders. We are deeply grateful to the Baring and Esmée Fairbairn Foundations for their extra flexibility and COVID funding. We were also thrilled to secure new funding from Thirty Percy Foundation, John Ellerman Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. We welcomed Bolt Burdon Kemp as a new corporate partner alongside Leigh Day and Irwin Mitchell. Big thanks to Angela Style, interim CEO, who steered the ship through such challenging times until Amy returned from maternity leave in October 2020.

Birthrights is at an exciting point, as we set our new strategy for 2022 onwards and determine how best to scale our programmes and impact. We look forward to continuing our vital work and strengthening our internal and external focus on anti-racist, inclusive, rights-respecting practice.

Elizabeth Prochaska

Elizabeth Prochaska (Chair) and Amy Gibbs (Chief Executive)

2

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021.

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Constitution and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective from January 2019).

Structure, governance and management

Birthrights is a charitable incorporated organisation and is registered with the Charity Commission with charity number 1151152.

The method of recruitment and appointment of trustees is set out in its governing document: the constitution. Three trustees resigned between 1 April 2020 and the date this report was approved – Deborah Crewe, Rineke Schram and Sarah Cooke. Four new trustees were appointed in January 2021, with a fifth joining us in July 2021, taking the Board up to its maximum of 12 members.

The current trustees comprise two senior lawyers, a consultant midwife, a Director of Midwifery, a consultant anaesthetist / Deputy Medical Director, a finance and business expert, experienced charity leaders, communications and fundraising specialists, doulas and anti-racism campaigners. Most new trustees have recent lived experience and four are Black and Brown women.

The trustees are responsible for making decisions on the management of all the affairs of Birthrights including deciding on how the funds of the charity are to be spent. The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

The full Board of trustees met four times during 2020-21, with an average level of attendance via Zoom of 73%. This reflects resignations and new appointments between October and January.

Objectives and activities

About

Birthrights launched in January 2013. We are the UK charity that champions respectful care during pregnancy and childbirth by protecting human rights. We believe that everyone is entitled to respectful maternity care that protects their fundamental rights to dignity, autonomy, privacy and equality. We provide free advice and legal information to women and birthing people, train healthcare professionals and birth workers to deliver rights-respecting care and campaign to change maternity policy and systems. Our research shines a spotlight on those most at risk of human rights violations in pregnancy and birth due to structural disadvantage and discrimination.

Our vision is to ensure everyone receives the respect and dignity they deserve in pregnancy and childbirth. Our mission is to become the authority on human rights in pregnancy and childbirth in the UK and use that influence to improve services and practice throughout the maternity system.

Birthrights promotes legal rights to receive evidence-based care that conforms to the best medical and midwifery standards. We do not promote any particular clinical perspectives in maternity care.

3

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Aims

The aim of Birthrights is to promote the human rights of child-bearing people in England and Wales. These rights are set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and subsequent United Nations conventions and declarations, and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Activities

Birthrights is committed to:

When planning our activities for the year, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the promotion of human rights.

As set out in the financial statements, our major activities in 2020-21 have been:

4

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Achievements and performance

Advice and resources

Our first strategic goal is to empower and support women to know and advocate for their rights through free advice and resources, reaching those most at risk through our partnerships.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on human rights in maternity care has been profound, reflected in a sharp increase in the number of women reached through our direct advice and online resources.

This year, we gave advice to 1,080 people on their rights, nearly three times as many as the year before. We saw the depth of our interventions grow alongside the breadth of our reach, with more complex cases requiring multiple emails from our small team. The most common concerns were the distressing impact of COVID restrictions on partners, limitations on choice – home birth services or birth centres closing, water births or caesareans being denied – and complaints about poor care. Some concrete outcomes we secured for individuals were:

In addition to direct support, our online Q&A “Coronavirus – how will it affect my rights to maternity care?” was viewed over 20,000 times and kept regularly updated throughout the pandemic. Our factsheet on right to a c-section was the second most frequently viewed page this year. We worked with a diverse group of people with lived experience and an external copy-writer to fully review and refresh our suite of factsheets – the new simplified set will be published in summer 2021, including a basic birth rights factsheet translated into Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Kurdish Sorani, Punjabi, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya and Urdu.

We escalated numerous advice cases to Trusts to change local policies that contravene basic rights, writing formally to 31 Trusts and emailing many more. This led to positive policy change or exceptions being made in at least 15 cases. Some examples include:

We are grateful to the Baring Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Hollick Family Foundation, The National Lottery Community Fund and major donors for supporting the development of our advice service and resources in the face of significantly increased demand.

5

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Training and education

Our second strategic goal is to change culture and practice in maternity care through training for healthcare professionals and other caregivers.

Pre-pandemic, our core training model was based on in-person, interactive workshops to explore human rights legal principles and practical scenarios applying this learning to common issues in maternity care – provided in-house for NHS Trusts and local maternity systems, and as standalone ticketed events. Birthrights training has looked very different because of COVID-19.

After initially pausing our training in light of limited capacity and appetite within the NHS, we successfully moved the whole programme online, supporting our associate trainers to swiftly adapt delivery of the material and facilitate discussion effectively. Despite concerns that this would mean a fall in demand and a potential drop in quality, feedback from these training sessions has been overwhelmingly positive.

This year, our speaking engagements reached around 4,000 people at 14 events. These included webinars on Conversations on Consent (MediLaw), with Irwin Mitchell, the British Intrapartum Care Society and the Midwifery Unit Network, as well as keynote talks to the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) AGM and the Northern Ireland All Party Group on Women’s Health.

We ran 12 in-depth training events with 366 participants, above our revised pandemic target of 6 in person or online training sessions with 300 participants. This included two NHS Trusts (Barnsley and Royal Berkshire) and training 48 specialty trainee doctors at NHS North West. While this is a drop in the number of Trusts we have trained compared to past years, we understand most training in NHS Trusts was paused during the pandemic.

Overall, despite the pandemic, we have reached significantly more people through our training and speaking events - a total of 4,366 compared to 1,623 in 2019-20. The audiences for our training have been more diverse compared to previous years.

One of the training sessions with the largest reach was delivered to the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch with 100 attendees. This captures a key audience of system-changers, with significant influence on the work to improve safety in maternity care. Feedback from attendees highlighted that prior to the training, they had little to no knowledge around human rights and consent and would now be using this knowledge to inform their investigations.

Another big audience this year was birth workers – we trained with Yogabirth Study Weekend, Amma Birth Companions, Bradford Doulas and the Doula Association. We also ran two ticketed short courses online and continued to reach midwives and doctors through Trust training. We are reviewing our training model post-COVID, especially how we build demand for multi-disciplinary training within Trusts, to drive much-needed culture change.

According to our evaluation in 2020-21, 89% of participants surveyed said our training impacted the way they planned to practise. The average quality rating was 4.8 (scale of 1-5, where 5 is excellent). Both legal and healthcare professional trainers achieved consistently excellent scores – an average of 4.7. 98% of participants said they would recommend Birthrights’ training to others.

Training continued to be an important source of unrestricted income this year, bringing in over £10,000 despite reduced demand from NHS Trusts due to COVID pressures.

6

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Campaigns and influencing

Our third strategic goal is to change policy and systems through research, influencing, campaigns and legal interventions – with a focus on women and birthing people most at risk of poor, disrespectful, or unsafe care. We are grateful to the Baring Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for making our influencing work possible, and to John Ellerman Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust for investing in our new focus on racial injustice.

COVID campaigning: Much of our work this year focused on influencing national guidance related to COVID-19 restrictions in maternity care, drawing on the intelligence from our advice service and our human rights legal knowledge. We maintained a constructive, robust dialogue with Government, NHS England (NHSE), the Royal Colleges of Midwives (RCM) and of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) throughout the pandemic. This led to positive outcomes including:

Thanks to specific funding from the Baring Foundation, we also took forward legal action which led to national media coverage and supported our lobbying work. This included:

Research and policy interventions: we maintained our high-profile engagement on a range of core human rights in childbirth topics, including:

7

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Campaigns and communications: thanks to new funding from John Ellerman and Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, we established our new national inquiry into racial injustice in maternity care. This was launched with an exclusive in The Observer, which then achieved blanket media coverage including on ITV and Channel 4 News and BBC Radio 4. We are proud to have set up a formidable inquiry panel chaired by Shaheen Rahman QC, with two co-chairs – Sandra Igwe, founder of The Motherhood Group, and Benash Nazmeen, specialist cultural liaison midwife and Director of the Association of South Asian Midwives – and other experts spanning lived experience, midwifery and obstetrics, equalities and healthcare law, qualitative research, and anti-racism. The panel held its first meeting in February and launched the call for evidence in March.

After nearly four years of campaigning, including legal action and numerous meetings, Oxford University Hospitals Trust finally reversed their ban on maternal request caesareans. We were interviewed on BBC Radio Oxford and for regional TV news on this topic.

Our joint survey with Mumsnet on consent and informed decision-making (conducted before the pandemic) was published in September and covered widely, including by BBC News, The Independent and Standard Issue podcast. Our concerns about the foetal alcohol spectrum disorder quality standards also achieved national coverage, including the Guardian and the Times.

Our COVID campaigning was featured in national press over 40 times, including on ITV and Channel 4 news, BBC Radio 4 and across national outlets including the Guardian, Independent, Telegraph and Marie Claire. We firmly established our position as the “go to” organisation on rights in childbirth during the pandemic, with numerous requests for reactive comment. We also built important new partnerships, with the But Not Maternity alliance, with MPs and particularly with Pregnant then Screwed, securing joint coverage in the Mail on Sunday on partner restrictions.

This year we saw our social media profile grow to over 16,400 followers on Twitter and 14,200 on Facebook. We launched our brand new Instagram account in April 2020, building up to 7,000 followers, and ran a digital awareness campaign on Basic Birth Rights in February 2021 to counter misleading messaging from some Trusts about the impact of restrictions on birth choices.

We also commissioned brand work to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of our public communications and materials, including our factsheets, colours and illustrations.

We are grateful to Thirty Percy Foundation for enabling us to invest in communications capacity inhouse for the first time, to build our profile and reach with more women and birthing people.

Strengthening our organisation

The Board and CEO have continued to prioritise organisational development and sustainability, with fundraising a particular focus throughout the year. New funding from John Ellerman and Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust enabled us to create a Participation Officer post, taking our part-time team up to six. We used other income to invest in existing staff posts (salaries and support) and recruit three additional posts in Q4, with an Engagement Director, Training Officer and Kickstart Communications Coordinator joining the team from April 2021. Our CEO, Amy Gibbs, returned from maternity leave in October 2020 and we are grateful to Angela Style, interim CEO, for all her hard work to secure short and long-term funding.

8

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

While the team already worked remotely pre-pandemic, given the challenges of increased advice volumes and home-schooling during repeated lockdowns, we introduced new ways to strengthen relationships and embed daily communications channels for task management and wellbeing support. We continued to prioritise management support and invest in staff development, including training on LGBTQ+ competency. We adopted best practice in inclusive recruitment which led to the appointment of new staff and trustees with more diverse lived and professional experiences.

We adopted a more agile planning approach given the uncertainties of the pandemic, while maintaining a focus on strategic priorities such as the racial injustice inquiry. The Board continued to monitor performance through our quarterly KPI dashboard and the team surpassed their targets across all metrics. We commissioned NCVO to deliver an Impact Study across our core work, involving all staff and trustees in a workshop to revise our Theory of Change and devising tools to measure the impact of our advice service and training programme. This continues in 2021-22.

Fundraising and income generation was a major priority, particularly in Q1-2. We focused on applying for new core funding to replace the Baring Foundation grant, which was due to end in August 2020, though Baring awarded us 6 months’ continuation funding plus a COVID grant.

Given the uncertainties of the pandemic and prospects for funding at the start of the year, the Board and interim CEO were cautious about expenditure throughout Q1-3. In Q4, we worked with our accountants to strengthen our annual budgeting and monthly management accounts, to improve oversight and ensure timely expenditure of charitable funds. We also decided to invest in staff salaries and support given the significant pressures the team faced during the pandemic.

Work during 2020-21 that has led to funding for future years includes securing:

Safeguarding

Birthrights has a safeguarding policy and procedure in place which was reviewed within the year by staff and strengthened operationally to ensure it was fit for purpose for the race inquiry participation work. We also invested in training for key staff – the CEO as designated safeguarding lead (took place in August 2021), and the Participation Officer who is undertaking most work with potentially vulnerable adults (May 2021). To build a safer culture, we commissioned training on trauma-informed practice for the whole team (July 2021) and continued to invest in the offer of ongoing debriefing support for staff by a trained counsellor and birth debriefs for all new employees.

The inquiry was supported by a psychotherapist who co-designed and co-facilitated focus groups to ensure we kept participants and staff safe. There were no safeguarding incidents but any potential concerns were escalated to the CEO and Chair e.g. a complaint about us not monitoring Facebook over a weekend when transphobic content was posted, causing distress and harm (we blocked/deleted material immediately when we became aware, apologised and offered support).

9

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

We had regard to potentially vulnerable donors, signposting to support as appropriate. The trustees discussed safeguarding at Board meetings in response to specific activities – such as the impact of the inquiry findings on staff who may have experienced birth and/or racial trauma themselves, and team wellbeing in response to social media trolling. In 2021-22, the safeguarding policy and procedure will be formally reviewed by the Board of Trustees. Given the increase in our direct work with women and birthing people with lived experience, we will review the need for DBS checks for relevant staff and build safeguarding into all inductions.

Financial review

Summary of income and expenditure

This year has seen significant growth in our overall income from £158,080 in 2019-20 to £361,703 in 2020-21 – more than double the previous financial year. However, this includes £90,000 of one-off funding related to COVID, so this level of growth will not necessarily be sustained year on year.

Restricted income grew from £107,730 in 2019-20 to £215,992 in 2020-21 and unrestricted income from £50,350 in 2019-20 to £145,711 in 2020-21. Both unrestricted and restricted income outperformed expectations at the start of the pandemic, thanks to the hard work of staff and tremendous support from both existing and new funders. The CEO and Treasurer agreed to designate £95,000 of unrestricted funds for specific purposes, such as staff posts and projects.

Total expenditure was £193,951. This was lower than originally budgeted due to very little travel, no inperson training or team meetings, staff turnover, and delayed activity due to the pandemic.

At the end of 2019-20, £93,563 of funds were brought forward, of which £49,068 was restricted funds from the Baring and Esmée Fairbairn Foundations, for planned activity in 2020-21 (due to projects being phased across multiple financial years).

Taking this into account, of the £261,315 carried forward at 1 April 2021, £107,427 relates to restricted funds from the Baring Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, John Ellerman Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, for planned activity in 2021-22. £95,000 relates to funds from Esmée, Thirty Percy Foundation and a major donor (Peabody) which have been designated for specific staff posts or activities in 2021-22.

10

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Highlights from the 2020-21 accounts include:

Reserves policy

At the end of 2020-21, we hold £58,888 in unrestricted general reserves, up from £34,495 in 2019-20. In addition, £95,000 of core funding from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Thirty Percy Foundation has been designated by the trustees, but could be reallocated if required.

Our reserves policy states that Birthrights will hold reserves to cover 3 months of operating costs. A 3- month reserve would allow Birthrights the opportunity, if necessary, to wind down its programme of support in an orderly and managed fashion, including paying our staff reasonable notice. The trustees believe this is the appropriate level of reserves to balance prudence and risk management against maximising the benefits the charity can deliver by not tying up too much of our funds in our reserves.

11

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

For 2020-21, three months of operating costs equates to a sum of £46,000. For 2021-22, this rises to £87,500, based on our planned income and expenditure budget. Given at least £75,000 of designated funds are for staff posts, operations and other core costs, the trustees are confident Birthrights meets the three month target for available reserves.

Covid-19

Birthrights has successfully fundraised throughout 2020-21 and is in a stronger position than ever, despite the challenges to income generation posed by the pandemic. The trustees consider that the charity will continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date on which these financial statements are approved for the following reasons:

The trustees therefore consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis for the preparation of the accounts, as detailed in note 1(b) to the financial statements.

Fundraising will continue to be a major priority for the CEO and senior team, to ensure sustainability and growth from autumn 2022 into the future.

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and the incoming resources and application of resources, including the net income or expenditure, of the charity for the year. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the constitution. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

12

Birthrights

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

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

The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Independent examiners

Godfrey Wilson Limited were re-appointed as independent examiners to the charity during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

Approved by the trustees on 2 November 2021 and signed on their behalf by

J A Davis

John Davis - Treasurer

13

Independent examiner's report

To the trustees of

Birthrights

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Birthrights (the CIO) for the year ended 31 March 2021, which are set out on pages 15 to 28.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the CIO you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the CIO’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

Since the CIO’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which is one of the listed bodies.

Godfrey Wilson Limited also provides payroll and bookkeeping services to the CIO. I confirm that as a member of the ICAEW I am subject to the FRC’s Revised Ethical Standard 2016, which I have applied with respect to this engagement.

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

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.

Alison Godfrey

Date: 4 November 2021 Alison Godfrey FCA Member of the ICAEW For and on behalf of: Godfrey Wilson Limited Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

14

Birthrights

Statement of financial activities

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Note
Income from:
Donations
3
Charitable activities
4
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Total expenditure
5
6
Transfers between funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Net income and net movement in
funds		 Restricted Unrestricted
£
£
214,492
132,835
1,500
12,612
-
264
215,992
145,711
6,122
11,994
151,729
24,106
157,851
36,100
58,141
109,611
218
(218)
49,068
44,495
107,427
153,888		 2021
Total
£
347,327
14,112
264
361,703
18,116
175,835
193,951
167,752
-
93,563
261,315		 2020
Total
£
147,497
10,583
-
158,080
18,424
127,126
145,550
12,530
-
81,033
93,563

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 14 to the accounts.

15

Birthrights

Balance sheet

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Note
Current assets
Debtors
9
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year
10
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due after 1 year
11
Net assets
13
Funds
14
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds
General funds
Total charity funds		 £
10,306
261,015
271,321
(10,006)		 2021
£
261,315
261,315
-
261,315
107,427
95,000
58,888
261,315		 2020
£
1,997
109,487
111,484
(12,921)
98,563
98,563
(5,000)
93,563
49,068
10,000
34,495
93,563

Approved by the trustees on 2 November 2021 and signed on their behalf by

J A Davis

John Davis - Treasurer

16

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

1. Accounting policies

a) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Birthrights meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

b) Going concern basis of accounting

The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern, which the trustees consider to be appropriate having regard to the current level of unrestricted reserves and future confirmed funding. Whilst the trustees acknowledge the impact of the Covid pandemic, there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

c) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from the government and other grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income received under contracts, sponsorship agreements or in advance of provision of training is deferred and recognised when services are delivered.

d) Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item, is probable and the economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

e) Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity: this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

17

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

1. Accounting policies (continued)

f) Funds accounting

g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

h) Allocation of support and governance costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on the basis of staff time:

2021 2020
Raising funds 12% 13%
Charitable activities 88% 87%

i) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

j) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

k) Creditors

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

l) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently recognised at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

18

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

1. Accounting policies (continued)

m) Pension costs

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. There are no further liabilities other than that already recognised in the SOFA.

n) Accounting estimates and key judgements

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

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

There are no sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements.

2. Prior period comparatives

Income from:
Donations
Charitable activities
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Total expenditure
Net income and net movement in funds		 Restricted
£
£
106,230
41,267
1,500
9,083
107,730
50,350
5,334
13,090
100,092
27,034
105,426
40,124
2,304
10,226
Unrestricted		 2020
Total
£
147,497
10,583
158,080
18,424
127,126
145,550
12,530

19

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

3. Income from donations

Donations and grants > £5,000
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The Baring Foundation
John Ellerman Foundation
Thirty Percy Foundation
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
National Lottery Community Fund
Donations and grants < £5,000
Gifts in kind
Total income from donations
Prior year comparative
Donations and grants > £5,000
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The Baring Foundation
Esmée Fairbairn Grants Plus
Hollick Foundation
Donations and grants < £5,000
Gifts in kind
Total income from donations		 Restricted
£
£
50,000
25,000
75,000
-
50,000
-
-
50,000
29,500
-
9,992
-
-
45,960
-
11,875
214,492
132,835
Restricted
£
£
50,000
-
49,750
-
6,480
-
-
10,000
-
24,251
-
7,016
106,230
41,267
Unrestricted
Unrestricted		 2021
Total
£
75,000
75,000
50,000
50,000
29,500
9,992
45,960
11,875
347,327
2020
Total
£
50,000
49,750
6,480
10,000
24,251
7,016
147,497

*Gifts in kind relate to pro bono legal advice, training, stationery, printed materials and room hire.

The charity receives government grants, defined as funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to fund charitable activities. The total value of such grants in the year ending 31 March 2021 was £9,992 (2020: £nil). There are no unfulfilled conditions or contingencies attaching to these grants.

20

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

4. Income from charitable activities

Income from charitable activities
Training, conferences and events
Other
Prior year comparative
Training, conferences and events
Other		 Restricted
£
£
-
12,312
1,500
300
1,500
12,612
Restricted
£
£
-
9,083
1,500
-
1,500
9,083
Unrestricted
Unrestricted		 2021
Total
£
12,312
1,800
14,112
2020
Total
£
9,083
1,500
10,583

21

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

5. Total expenditure

Staff costs (note 7)
Staff recruitment and training
Travel and subsistence
Office costs
IT equipment and software
Research participation
Marketing and communications
Insurance
Accountancy
Legal and professional fees
Sub-total
Total expenditure
Prior year comparative
Staff costs (note 7)
Staff recruitment and training
Travel and subsistence
Office costs
IT equipment and software
Marketing and communications
Insurance
Accountancy
Legal and professional fees
Fundraising costs
Sub-total
Total expenditure
Allocation of support and
governance costs
Allocation of support and
governance costs		 £
11,078
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
11,078
7,038
18,116
£
9,776
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
906
10,682
7,742
18,424
Raising
funds
Raising
funds		 £
80,530
197
-
-
1,749
6,861
8,740
-
-
26,594
124,671
51,164
175,835
£
66,422
77
3,887
511
-
2,223
-
-
1,400
-
74,520
52,606
127,126
Charitable
activities
Charitable
activities		 £
32,371
5,315
1,227
654
379
-
2,947
160
7,252
7,897
58,202
(58,202)
-
£
30,365
1,785
1,719
5,001
3,577
8,689
454
2,337
6,421
-
60,348
(60,348)
-
Support
and
governance
Support
and
governance		 2021
Total
£
123,979
5,512
1,227
654
2,128
6,861
11,687
160
7,252
34,491
193,951
-
193,951
2020
Total
£
106,563
1,862
5,606
5,512
3,577
10,912
454
2,337
7,821
906
145,550
-
145,550

Total governance costs were £5,102 (2020: £2,082).

22

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

6. Net movement in funds

This is stated after charging:

Trustees' remuneration
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
Independent examiners' remuneration:
Independent examination (including VAT)		 2021
£
Nil
Nil
1,680		 2020
£
Nil
Nil
1,080

2 trustees received payment for their participation in an advisory panel, along with 14 external contributors. They received £700 in compensation, at the same rate as any other contributor.

7. Staff costs and numbers

Staff costs were as follows:

Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs
Freelancers		 2021
£
104,654
4,651
2,277
12,397
123,979		 2020
£
99,287
5,109
2,167
-
106,563

No employee earned more than £60,000 during the year.

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees, Chief Executive Officer, and Programmes Director. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £77,532 (2020: £63,708).

Average head count
Average full time equivalent		 2021
No.
6.00
3.50		 2020
No.
5.00
2.60

23

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

8. Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

9.
Debtors
Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
Other debtors
10. Creditors: amounts due within 1 year
Accruals
Trade creditors
Deferred income (note 12)
Other creditors
11. Creditors: amounts due after 1 year
Deferred income (note 12)
12. Deferred income
At 1 April 2020
Released during the year
At 31 March 2021		 2021
£
5,485
3,321
1,500
-
10,306
2021
£
2,530
1,688
5,000
788
10,006
2021
£
-
2021
£
10,000
(5,000)
5,000		 2020
£
-
-
900
1,097
1,997
2020
£
1,080
6,366
5,000
475
12,921
2020
£
5,000
2020
£
15,000
(5,000)
10,000

Deferred income relates to corporate partnership income from Leigh Day.

24

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

13. Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 31 March 2021
Prior year comparative
Current assets
Current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Net assets at 31 March 2020		 Restricted
funds
£
107,427
-
107,427
Restricted
funds
£
49,068
-
-
49,068		 £
95,000
-
95,000
£
10,000
-
-
10,000
Designated
funds
Designated
funds		 £
68,894
(10,006)
58,888
£
52,416
(12,921)
(5,000)
34,495
General
funds
General
funds		 Total
funds
£
271,321
(10,006)
261,315
Total
funds
£
111,484
(12,921)
(5,000)
93,563

25

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

14. Movements in funds

Movements in funds
At 1 April
2020
£
Restricted funds
Baring Foundation, Peer Partners
19,765
Baring Foundation, COVID
-
Baring Foundation, Legal Action
-
John Ellerman Foundation
-
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
29,303
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
-
National Lottery Community Fund
-
King's College London
-
Total restricted funds
49,068
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Hollick Family Foundation
10,000
Esmée Fairbairn, COVID
-
Peabody
-
Thirty Percy Foundation
-
Total designated funds
10,000
General funds
34,495
Total unrestricted funds
44,495
Total funds
93,563		 Income
£
£
30,000
(49,765)
5,000
(5,000)
40,000
(16,532)
50,000
(17,113)
50,000
(48,164)
29,500
(9,567)
9,992
(9,992)
1,500
(1,718)
215,992
(157,851)
-
(10,000)
25,000
-
20,000
-
50,000
-
95,000
(10,000)
50,711
(26,100)
145,711
(36,100)
361,703
(193,951)
Expenditure		 Transfers
between
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
218
218
-
-
-
-
-
(218)
(218)
-		 At 31
March
2021
£
-
-
23,468
32,887
31,139
19,933
-
-
107,427
-
25,000
20,000
50,000
95,000
58,888
153,888
261,315

Purposes of restricted funds Baring Foundation, Peer Partners

Continuation funding to build on our Peer Partners project focussed on those most at risk of discrimination in maternity care, to establish our new work on racial injustice and build partnerships with relevant organisations and individuals with lived experience.

Baring Foundation, COVID

Funding towards operational support and staff capacity to help us meet increased demand for upto-date information about human rights in maternity care during COVID-19.

Baring Foundation, Legal Action

12-month grant for legal costs and increased staff capacity to challenge human rights violations in maternity care due to COVID-19, through strategic litigation and other legal campaigning tactics.

26

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

14. Movements in funds (continued) Purposes of restricted funds

John Ellerman Foundation

Two-year grant for Birthrights to convene a national inquiry into racial injustice in maternity care, towards delivery and staff costs, including a new post to ensure the inquiry is co-produced by Black, Brown and mixed ethnicity women and birthing people.

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

Funding for two staff posts and other operational costs to support Birthrights to achieve better care for women and birthing people by promoting safe, respectful maternity care, through our core activities of advice, training, research and influencing systems change.

Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust

Two-year grant for Birthrights to convene a national inquiry into racial injustice in maternity care, towards delivery and staff costs, including a new post to ensure the inquiry is co-produced by Black, Brown and mixed ethnicity women and birthing people.

National Lottery Community Fund

Funding towards Birthrights’ internal, participation and communications work on racial injustice in maternity care, including staff costs, participation payments for people with lived experience and anti-racism training for staff and trustees.

King's College London

Funding for Birthrights' contribution to a research study, looking at strengthening the disclosure of harm with women and families under NHS maternity care.

Purposes of designated funds

Hollick Family Foundation

Funding designated towards a full review of our online factsheets and information on rights in pregnancy and birth, including copywriting and design consultancy to improve accessibility and coproduction payments for people with lived experience (including Black and Brown women, LGBTQ+, disabled and neurodiverse people) who shaped this work throughout.

Esmée Fairbairn, COVID

Additional unrestricted funding to support staff and operational costs during the pandemic, designated for a new post to boost capacity to deliver our training programme for healthcare professionals and birth workers, including reviewing future delivery models.

Peabody

Major donation designated for campaigning on COVID restrictions and to create a new video on making complaints in maternity care, co-produced by people with lived experience.

Thirty Percy Foundation

Three-year unrestricted grant designated for staff and operational costs, including a new senior post to lead and develop our communications and engagement work, to reach and support more women and birthing people with a diverse range of needs and experiences.

Transfers between funds

Transfers relate to the top up of restricted funds from unrestricted funds.

27

Birthrights

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

14. Movements in funds (continued)

Prior year comparative
Restricted funds
The Baring Foundation
Trust for London
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Esmée Fairbairn Grants Plus
Kings College London
Total restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Hollick Family Foundation
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds		 At 6 April
2019
£
15,967
6,120
24,677
-
-
46,764
-
34,269
34,269
81,033		 Income
£
£
49,750
(45,952)
-
(6,120)
50,000
(45,374)
6,480
(6,480)
1,500
(1,500)
107,730
(105,426)
10,000
-
40,350
(40,124)
50,350
(40,124)
158,080
(145,550)
Expenditure		 Transfers
between
funds
£
£
-
19,765
-
-
-
29,303
-
-
-
-
-
49,068
-
10,000
-
34,495
-
44,495
-
93,563
At 31 March
2020		 Transfers
between
funds
£
£
-
19,765
-
-
-
29,303
-
-
-
-
-
49,068
-
10,000
-
34,495
-
44,495
-
93,563
At 31 March
2020
49,068
10,000
34,495
44,495
93,563

15. Related party transactions

Pro bono services were provided by the trustees during the year of £5,125 (2020: £3,220) in relation to waived fees for training sessions and legal advice.

28