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2022-12-31-accounts

Trustees, Report and Accounts 2022 PHARMACIST SUPPORT

Contents

Our Impact & Achievements

Our Impact &
Achievements
Welcome 4 – 5
Why we exist 6 – 7
Our Values 10 – 11
Why our support is needed 12 – 13
How we help 14 – 17
2022 achievements and impact 20 – 31
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion 32 – 33
Our commitment to
environmental sustainability 34
We can’t do it alone 35 – 39
What’s next 40 – 41

Our Year in Figures

Our Year in Figures
Public beneft 46
Financial review 46
Key policies 47
Structure, management, and governance 49
Statement of responsibilities of the Trustees 52
Independent auditor’s report 53
Statement of fnancial activities 57
Balance sheet 58
Statement of cash fows 59
Notes to the fnancial statements 60
Reference and administrative details 75

Welcome

2022 proved to be a pivotal year for Pharmacist Support. As we move into the post-pandemic era, we have taken the learnings from the challenging times our profession faced, strengthened our existing relationships with professional bodies and continued to build connections that will both support and enhance the services we offer. Pharmacists continue to play a crucial role in meeting the demands of a stretched NHS and remain a key ‘face to face’ point of contact for patients. It is recognised that our pharmacy family’s wellbeing is linked to the safety of patients and, as our Workplace Wellbeing Survey held jointly with the RPS indicated, there is still much that could be done to support this.

As Trustees we are immensely proud of the support that the charity has provided during 2022 and how the charity has used the challenging circumstances of the last 2 years to adapt and grow. As examples, individuals are now able to apply for financial assistance directly through the website which expedites the overall process, and the number of beneficiaries receiving support from our counselling service has tripled compared to 2021; an increase which is likely to continue during 2023. As a board we have continued to evolve and, following some end of term departures, we welcomed 5 new trustees that have strengthened our skill base and brought diversity as well as refreshing new insights to our team. (A 6th new trustee also began his term in January 2023.)

This year the board took the opportunity to consider the question around Pharmacy Technicians potentially becoming part of our beneficiary pool in the future. This is not a new consideration for the charity, but given significant planned changes that will impact the role of the Pharmacist and further increase in the professional autonomy of the Pharmacy Technician, we felt it appropriate to revisit this question at this time. Our next steps will be guided by and aligned to the outcome of the UK Commission’s report on the future for Pharmacy Professional Leadership including that of the prospective Pharmacy Leadership Council.

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In the spirit of good governance, we took the opportunity this year to review our investment manager, Investec. An independent partner reviewed the performance of our investments under Investec and we were reassured that they were aligned with our strategy. This review aligned well with our discussions about the charity’s approach to responsible investment and we have now retained Investec as our investment managers and divested from all producers of fossil fuels.

Our investment portfolio exists to fund the day-to-day operational costs of the charity and combined with our fundraising efforts, funds the services and financial assistance we deliver. We want to ensure we will always be there for our beneficiaries, so our objective is to at least maintain the portfolio’s real term value after management expenses. In common with many charities this has been a real challenge over the last 12 months, and we recognised that our fundraising strategy needed to evolve. Building on our approach which focuses on marketing, communication

and partnership, we will focus on enabling individuals and organisations to support us more easily. We will do this by creating new fundraising campaigns, redeveloping our fundraising pack and developing a new corporate supporter pack. We believe this will help us meet a fundraising goal of raising £1m over the next 4 years, so the real term value of our portfolio enables Pharmacist Support to exist in perpetuity.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, thank you for your interest in the charity and we hope we can count on your continued support in the future.

Esther Sadler-Williams Chair of Trustees Pharmacist Support

Anita Cawley Vice-Chair of Trustees Pharmacist Support

5

Why we exist

The charity’s connection to the profession is deep. Existing as an independent charity since 2006, we were initially established by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 1841, and thus we have spent more than 180 years supporting members of our pharmacy family through difficult times. We’ve evolved from a small benevolent fund, mainly providing financial assistance to those in the profession who had fallen on hard times, into a modernday independent charity. Today, as well as providing monetary support, we are focused on championing the wellbeing of our pharmacy family through the provision of a wide range of confidential services. We continue to be responsive and proactive, adapting to the profession’s needs, and we listen carefully to individuals across the profession to understand and empathise with the issues affecting pharmacy today.

Pharmacist Support champions the wellbeing of our pharmacy family. Our vision is that no one in our pharmacy family will face challenging times without us by their side!

As the profession’s independent, trusted charity, we exist to support the health and wellbeing of our pharmacy family by providing a wide variety of support services to current and former pharmacists and their families as well as students and trainees who are working towards registration as a pharmacist. Our support aims to meet their wellbeing needs, whether those be financial, physical, mental or social.

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Our legal Objects define ‘our pharmacy family’ and are specifically restricted to the relief of financial need or other distress, and the advancement of general health and wellbeing of:

any individual whose name is or ever has been on the Register of Pharmacists maintained by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) (formerly maintained by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain), and their dependents;

any Trainees* in Great Britain; or

any Pharmacy Students** in Great Britain.

We’re proud to be able to support people from such a caring profession, and we’ll never give up on what we like to call our pharmacy ‘family’.

* A Trainee is defined as a person in Great Britain who has successfully completed a course accredited by the GPhC, is eligible to enter training to become a pharmacist, and intends to seek registration as a pharmacist.

** A Pharmacy Student is defined as a person undertaking a GPhC accredited course in Great Britain leading to eligibility to enter accredited foundation training and register as a pharmacist.

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C A S E S T U D Y

“I genuinely don’t know if I would be sitting here writing this if it wasn’t for the counselling sessions and financial support”

Imani* is an overseas qualified pharmacist enrolled at one of the universities offering the Overseas Pharmacists Assessment Programme (OSPAP) course in the UK. Imani shares their story and experience of using the Pharmacist Support services.

“Outside the UK, apart from working as a licensed pharmacist in a busy community pharmacy, I’ve worked in the pharmaceutical sales industry and the health insurance industry. During one of my monthly virtual meetings with my RPS mentor, I broke down crying when she asked how I was coping with my OSPAP course, my part time job at a hospital pharmacy and my personal life. I wasn’t attending lectures, I had stopped going in to work and did not want to leave my bed. It was also the first time in my life when I was living by myself and wouldn’t see anyone for days.

“I was clearly not managing stress very well and looked like I needed professional help. My RPS mentor asked me to look into counselling sessions but, being a student, I wasn’t making enough money to

afford therapy and NHS services had a long waiting list. My mentor suggested I approach Pharmacist Support since they were offering free counselling sessions to people working and studying in pharmacy.

“I was a bit hesitant at first since, in my experience, most organisations aren’t aware that OSPAP students are just like MPharm students. However, I was desperate for help and decided to contact the charity. Accessing support from Pharmacist Support was straight forward. Their website had all the information I needed to access the counselling service. After giving my availability, I was matched with a counsellor and started my sessions within a few weeks. The counselling sessions were extremely focused and helped me deal with my problems at hand.

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“My counsellor created a safe space for me where I could talk to her and come up with a solution for everything by myself. It was a very cathartic experience. I felt in control of my own life for the first time and felt confident to live my life in the way I wanted. I cannot put into words how much the weekly sessions have helped me. My thought process has changed. I am more positive, I am prioritising myself, I am making a conscious effort to look after my mental health and to assess my emotions instead of ignoring them and letting them build up as I used to before.

“Additionally, I was going through a difficult time in my personal life and was dependent on someone financially who was affecting my mental wellbeing. I wanted to remove

that person from my life but was financially tied to them. Through their Financial Assistance service, Pharmacist Support helped me pay a month’s worth of rent so I could start my foundation training year without worrying about where to live. It gave me the peace of mind that I needed to start a new chapter of my life.

“I genuinely don’t know if I would be sitting here writing this if it wasn’t for the counselling sessions and financial support. It’s true to say I was in a dark place and didn’t see a way out. I will be forever grateful to Pharmacist Support for being there in my time of need”.

*We have used a pseudonym to protect Imani’s identity.

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Our values

Wellbeing is embedded into everyday activities at Pharmacist Support. Our services put people first, create positive impact and deliver on our aspiration as a charity for an empowered and resilient pharmacy workforce.

As a charity, our values are important to us and guide the way we work. If and when a beneficiary contacts us for support, they can expect to be treated in a compassionate and empathetic way.

People First

We are compassionate. We listen. We are empathetic. We bring people together.

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Empowerment

We make good things happen. We encourage and build resilience. We create positive impact.

Positivity

We believe in better. We champion our pharmacy family. We never give up.

Fairness

We are non-judgemental. We are independent. We work with integrity.

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Why our support is needed

To ensure that our support meets the needs of those we are here to help, each year we collaborate with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to carry out an annual Workforce Wellbeing Survey. A total of 1,496 responses were received from those working within pharmacy, with 1,295 of those responding within our beneficiary pool (89%). Whilst this is a snapshot, it provides a good indication of the issues facing the pharmacy workforce and our beneficiaries.

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88%

OF ALL RESPONDENTS at high risk of burnout.*

96% 37% OF RESPONDENTS OF RESPONDENTS

working in community pharmacy at high risk of burnout.*

stated that their mental health was poor or very poor.

The top issues identified as having a negative impact on respondents’ mental health and wellbeing in the last year were:

70% Inadequate staffing

48% Lack of protected learning time

42% Long working hours

53% Lack of worklife balance

47% Lack of colleague or senior support

41% Lack of rest breaks

17%

16%

OF RESPONDENTS

reported that they had taken time off work or study in the past year due to the impact of their work on their mental health and wellbeing; 27% had wanted to take time-off but had not felt able to.

OF RESPONDENTS

were concerned about addiction or addictive behaviours including increased alcohol consumption, drug use, an unhealthy relationship with food, and gambling, but none had sought support.

Read the full report of our joint 2022 workforce wellbeing survey findings.

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How we help

Throughout our history it has been critical that we listen to the profession to evolve our services. We continue to develop and adjust our services to meet the changing needs of the profession through seeking regular feedback from not only our beneficiaries but the wider profession, which in turn informs any developments to our services. This process has designed the suite of services we offer today.

Information & Enquiries

Financial Assistance

Counselling & Peer Support

Specialist Advice

Wardley Wellbeing Service

Addiction Support

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Counselling & Peer Support

Through our counselling service, we provide timely access to direct psychological support for those who are experiencing mental health issues. The counsellors are there to help our beneficiaries cope with a variety of issues. Counselling sessions can be accessed via phone, online or face-to-face and are available in several different languages including Urdu, Punjabi, and Hindi. The counselling service sits alongside the well-established Listening Friends service. Our Listening Friends service provides the opportunity to speak over the phone and in confidence to a trained volunteer pharmacist who understands the pressures of the profession and can provide a listening ear.

Information and Enquiries

We provide a host of information and resources on our website covering a range of topics, including mental health and wellbeing, physical health, family and personal life, finances and work life. In each section we provide guidance, resources and tips on topics ranging from managing stress and anxiety, help with sleep, and coping with bereavement or bullying, right through to building positive workplace relationships. The enquiries part of the service is delivered by team members with expert knowledge of the sector and is open every weekday (except Bank Holidays) between 9am and 5pm.

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Specialist Advice

The Charity partners with Citizens Advice Manchester to provide the specialist advice service. This accelerates beneficiary access to advisors for tailored high-quality advice and information on employment, welfare benefits, debt, housing issues and immigration.

Financial Assistance

We offer financial support to those experiencing financial difficulty. For example, we can help with a one-off cost linked to an unexpected bill or minor household repair or support those who are struggling on a reduced income. Once a year the charity opens its national bursary scheme to all fully accredited pharmacy schools in Great Britain. Bursaries of between £3,000 and £5,000 are awarded to help MPharm students entering their final year of study. To apply, students must demonstrate financial hardship as a result of unexpected or life changing events outside of the applicant’s control; outstanding or exceptional qualities to overcome an ongoing adversity, and an expectation by the applicant’s school of pharmacy that they will make a positive contribution to pharmacy in Great Britain.

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Addiction Support

Our addiction support assists and supports individuals and their families experiencing problems with a range of dependency issues including alcohol, drugs, gambling, and eating disorders. This service provides access to a fully qualified addiction specialist, and we can facilitate and support access to residential treatment where appropriate. We provide ongoing support through an ‘Addiction Recovery Group’ comprising a small group of pharmacists who have benefited from this service and are in advanced long-term recovery. In December 2022, we launched a pilot for a peer support service that will run to September 2023. This pilot service offers those who may be uncertain about contacting the addiction support helpline, the option, prior to talking to a qualified addiction specialist, to speak anonymously and in confidence with one of our trained pharmacist volunteers from the ‘Addiction Recovery Group’ who have been through addiction themselves.

Wardley Wellbeing Service

The Wardley Wellbeing service provides evidence-based, practical information and guidance on wellbeing. We provide a range of free resources including videos, workshops and printable posters on topics such as managing stress, anxiety and developing skills such as assertiveness, resilience and time management. Our Wellbeing Learning Platform, launched in 2021, enables individuals to access online learning related to wellbeing.

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C A S E S T U D Y

“I am in an incredibly good position in my life which would have been markedly more difficult to achieve without this bursary.”

Natasha was a student pharmacist studying at Liverpool John Moores University when she received a bursary from the charity. Natasha shares how receiving this financial support positively impacted her.

“I have been financially independent since I moved out of home at 18, I am now 24. During these years there have been times when I have been completely homeless, having to move in with amazing friends who had the heart to take me in when I was at my lowest. Alongside not having a place to call home, I had to work multiple jobs to be able to afford and put myself through university.

In 2017 I was accepted into Liverpool John Moores University and after explaining the situation I was in, I wasn’t eligible for extra funding. Meaning I had to continue to work a part-time job alongside my studies to keep a roof over my head and pay the bills. Doing this caused my disability, chronic fatigue syndrome, to badly relapse. Flare-ups can leave me collapsing whilst I am at work or I am bed-bound for days, two things I couldn’t afford to happen as I needed to work to live.

In my second year of university, my friends and I were targets of a brutal attack outside of my flat. Not only was I hospitalised, but I suffered for two weeks with a concussion unable to work or attend university. I was also petrified to leave my flat after dark which sent my wellbeing into a downward spiral. Even though this was all during exam season, I managed to pass all my exams and come out of second year with a first. This year taught me I am a very resilient person and no matter what I am going through, I will keep doing the right things to steer my career in the right direction.

With the support from my friends and university tutors, I was encouraged to apply for the Pharmacist Support Bursary. After being turned down for university funding through my academia, I had limited hopes about anything coming from the application.

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To me, the Pharmacist Support bursary means an active facilitation of the future pharmacist workforce. The bursary assists in providing a level playing field for students who have had a more challenging route to achieving their pharmacy degree. I received the bursary in my final year which provided stability both inside and outside of university. I was able to reduce my hours at work which had a positive impact on my wellbeing and made sure I was able to get my disability into a more manageable position. I was able to attend all university classes and allow more time for revision. By providing me with financial stability, I was able to achieve what I wanted in my ORIEL exam and accept a trainee pharmacist position at Leeds Hospital which was my 1st choice in ORIEL. I also achieved a 1st class masters in pharmacy.

Receiving the bursary also meant I could afford to start wearing contact lenses, improving the quality of my life in all aspects. I was previously wearing out-ofdate prescription glasses because I couldn’t afford to update them, which meant I had to strain to see and in turn, gave me constant headaches. These have now subsided as I was able to afford my new prescription. Another part of my life the bursary has helped me with is that I am now able to afford driving lessons, which will open opportunities throughout my career, and when I make the move to Leeds in the following months, the bursary will facilitate the logistics of moving across the country and setting up there.

I am in an incredibly good position in my life which would have been markedly more difficult to achieve without the financial support from the charity. This bursary has been life changing!”

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Summary of 2022 achievement and impact

One of eight charities recognised at the 2022 Association of Charitable Organisations Annual Awards.

49% increase in sign-ups to our annual ACTNow wellbeing campaigns.

911 counselling sessions funded increase compared to 2021.[214%] during 2022, a

44%

114

GRANTS AWARDED

increase in the number of grants awarded compared to 2021, with

T O T A L L I N G

£107,901 during 2022.

£

20

100%

SATISFACTION

50 applications received for the charity’s student bursary with £27k

awarded to

SEVEN applicants.

USER-GRADUATE USER-GRADUATE USER-GRADUATE USER-GRADUATE USER-GRADUATE USER-GRADUATE USER-GRADUATE

Over 2,000 new likes/followers on social media.

OF RESPONDENTS TO THE CHARITY’S SERVICES SURVEY

83%

stated that they felt they could not access the support they needed elsewhere.

with the charity’s services according to respondents of the charity’s services survey with 75% of respondents very satisfied and 25% of respondents with the service received. satisfied

Increased awareness of the charity, with

70%

of student, trainee and pharmacist respondents to our joint workforce wellbeing survey with the RPS saying that they were aware of Pharmacist Support.

36% increase in the value of our corporate donations.

OF RESPONDENTS TO THE CHARITY’S SERVICES SURVEY

100%

stated that the service had a positive impact on their level of knowledge.

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C A S E S T U D Y

“I felt a mental and emotional block with my work situation and concerned about future career opportunities. I felt extremely stuck.”

Chi is a pharmacist currently working as a university lecturer. After COVID challenged his mental health, making him feel anxiety over his future, he decided to contact Pharmacist Support.

“I was fortunate enough to do a PhD in clinical pharmacy and in August 2016 began my career as a lecturer in pharmacy. Everything was going very well until 2020 when COVID hit. Having to push all the in-person sessions into just a few weeks because of the imminent lockdown and implement the many changes to initial education and training (IET), my anxiety was significantly heightened. I managed to put on a brave face and continued as normal for as long as I could as I knew everyone was in the same position. During lockdown I decided to stay in Birmingham by myself, which ended up in me feeling deeply isolated. January 2022 came around and I just could not cope any longer. I felt a mental and emotional block with my work situation and concerned about future career opportunities. I felt extremely stuck.

“After contacting the relevant support services, I decided to seek emergency support to protect my mental health and decided to take some time off work. In February, with the encouragement of my local mental health team, I plucked up the courage to ask Pharmacist Support for extra help.

“My initial thoughts were ‘Surely the support available would just be for those pharmacists working in hospital or community pharmacies’. However, when I reached out, a member of the Pharmacist Support team contacted me and provided me with great tailored advice. They also put me in touch with a Listening Friend – someone who may not understand all my situation, but having worked in an academic environment themselves, was able to offer a listening ear.”

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1

Strategic objective

Raise awareness of Pharmacist Support.

Why? So that more potential beneficiaries are aware of who we are and what we do - enabling more people within our pharmacy family to seek support.

What we achieved during 2022

Building on the last two years, we continued to focus on raising awareness and developing strong partner relationships to increase our reach. We continued to adopt a coordinated approach to our marketing and communications activities, using a mix of promotional tools such as PR, social media, digital marketing, direct marketing, events, and partnerships to reach our specific audiences with targeted information. Towards the end of the year, we focused our activity on highlighting the support available via the charity and elsewhere in the face of the cost of living crisis. We provided information on managing energy bills, money management and self-care and showcased the support available via the charity.

2022 saw us further utilise our partner networks to reach, interact and engage with our pharmacy family, attending a variety of events and delivering several face-to-face and online presentations

and workshops. Events attended included the Clinical Pharmacy Congress and Pharmacy Show, at which we held charity partner status. Across these two events thousands of people had the opportunity to find out more about the charity by visiting our stand or attending one of our wellbeing focused presentations. At the Pharmacy Show we also hosted a panel chat with representatives from Teva UK and the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) focused on workplace culture and wellbeing.

In November 2022 we attended the RPS conference which had a dedicated Pharmacist Support wellbeing zone where we were able to showcase our wellbeing support and deliver wellbeing focused activity including breathing workshops. We also presented a new Mental Health Champion Award at the Day Lewis Conference and Awards. Recognising that not everyone was able to attend the face-to-face events

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The impact this had:

70% AWARENESS OF THE CHARITY WITHIN THE PROFESSION.

144 MENTIONS

of the charity across pharmacy and charity press– taking the total to 420 since 2020.

held across the year, we delivered several online presentations and workshops, the most successful being wellbeing workshops held online in conjunction with the PDA.

We continued to invest in digital development, completing phase two of the charity’s new website, that saw the integration of our wellbeing hub into the main site. The website is now a ‘one stop shop’ of information and resources which can be accessed 24/7. Significant developments in our online information and signposting, have enabled our beneficiaries to make informed choices. This has been very successful, with high levels of traffic to the newly developed ‘I need help managing my….’ area of the website and a reduction in enquiries to our Information and Enquiries team.

20% decrease

in direct enquiries to the charity compared to 2021 as information is now available on the website.

AN INCREASE IN WEBSITE SESSION DURATION AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS.

9% increase in e-newsletter subscribers in the last year.

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Strategic objective

2

Enable pharmacists to manage their wellbeing.

Why? So that pharmacists are empowered to improve their wellbeing, creating a more resilient pharmacy workforce.

What we achieved during 2022

Considerable development was undertaken in this area during 2022 which focused on both proactive wellbeing support and development of our services. Our mental health and wellbeing support continues to grow, with many individuals and teams benefitting from the abundance of guidance and resources available on our website, team training through our Wellbeing Workshops, and individual training through the Wellbeing Learning Platform. Thanks to funding from the COVID-19 Health Support Appeal, the charity was able to respond to high demand and continue to provide free direct psychological support through our counselling partnership, for those experiencing mental health issues. We also invested in additional training for our Listening Friends to bolster our capacity to support those in need of a listening ear. In addition, we carried out a large piece of research focused on building a workplace culture which supports positive mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. This has

resulted in development of a new training course for managers and leaders which will launch in 2023.

During the year, we reviewed our Addiction Support Service. The review concluded that this long-standing service was highly impactful, unique and extremely valuable. However, it highlighted that more needs to be done by the charity to reiterate its independence so that more people feel able to reach out for support. The review of this area led to the launch of the addiction peer support pilot. This is a volunteer-led service offering individuals who may not be ready to contact the addiction support helpline a safe space to speak anonymously and in confidence to one of our trained volunteer

pharmacists who has been through addiction themselves and experienced the journey. The charity also started to review its Financial Assistance service, with a view to identifying any potential barriers to support and ensuring that the charity is supporting people in the best way possible.

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The impact this had:

133 people were referred for counselling during 2022,

with 1,201 sessions of counselling funded since the service launched in April 2021.

65 support calls provided

by the charity’s addictions counsellor to

13 people

via the addiction support service.

£64,155

was accessed by our beneficiaries through claiming benefits and successfully appealing against DWP decisions (£35,412 confirmed financial gains and a further £28,743 projected gains).

£382,135

in gains were achieved for our beneficiaries as a result of our specialist employment advice. Gains included where discrimination practices were changed, harassment or bullying was stopped and retention of salaries where dismissal was averted. (£372,000 estimated gains and £10,135 actual gains).

963

enquiries were received which resulted in

support 1,704 outcomes.

31 individuals

were provided with a Listening Friend, delivering

51 hours of peer support.

170 SPECIALIST ADVICE REFERRALS

were made supporting individuals with employment, benefits, debt and immigration advice. (73 Employment, 29 Debt, 36 Welfare benefits, 1 Housing and 31 Immigration).

78% of respondents

to the charity’s services survey stated that the support received via our services had a positive impact on their sense of wellbeing.

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3 Strategic objective

Increase awareness of the issues impacting our pharmacy family’s wellbeing.

Why? To see our sector is actively working together to improve the wellbeing of our pharmacy family.

What we achieved during 2022

Pharmacist Support collaborated with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to run our fourth joint annual workforce wellbeing survey. This, alongside our own data, has provided a wealth of information giving us a deep understanding of the challenges faced by those studying and working in pharmacy. We’ve used this to continue to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing issues within the profession and promote the importance of investment in wellbeing sector-wide. To influence change, we continued to provide data to key organisations on trends within the sector and responded to several consultations. We successfully influenced a positive change to the foundation training manual, highlighting to the GPhC that specific wording around

contracts had caused stress and anxiety to several of our trainee enquirers.

Following its launch in 2020, this year saw the success of the charity’s ACTNow wellbeing campaign continue to grow. For the second year running, the ACTNow campaign was segmented into three targeted and tailored campaigns aimed at our main audiences: students, trainees and pharmacists. The student campaign ran from the 30th March – 6th April and the trainee ACTNow campaign ran from 25th May – 1st June. Both focused on the needs of these individual groups with the trainee campaign split into three key categories: assessment resources; transition to pharmacy resources; and general mental health and wellbeing resources.

“Great timing coming up to the exam and it’s nice to have a campaign directly aimed at trainees, feels like the charity is really rooting for us”

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The impact this had:

2,135

sign-ups to the

wellbeing campaigns, including 1,646 pharmacists.

197% overall increase

The Pharmacist ACTNow campaign ran from 25th September – 22nd October and was the longest of the three campaigns. Week one “Breaking the silence” focused on personal stories of mental health and wellbeing from across the pharmacy sector with huge engagement. The following weeks provided practical support and resources on workplace culture, developing teams and prioritising individual wellbeing.

“I think I’m much better at prioritising as a direct consequence of this campaign”

in social media engagement with the campaign compared to 2021.

of survey respondents reporting that the ACTNow campaign had supported them to prioritise their wellbeing.

86%

increase in trainee sign ups for the ACTNow campaign (from 2021), with 95% of survey respondents saying a similar campaign would be useful in the future.

98%

of respondents stated that they were more resilient because of our workshops/using the wellbeing learning platform.

100%

55

mentions of wellbeing in the pharmacy press.

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4

Strategic objective

Manage the charity effectively to ensure we meet current and future demand.

Why? So that we increase our impact as a charity whilst ensuring long term financial sustainability.

What we achieved during 2022

Digital development was highlighted as a key priority within our strategy to enable us to manage increased demand and meet the changing needs of our pharmacy family including that that of a 24/7 society. During 2022 we have launched phase two of our website and customer relationship management system enabling us to reach and support more individuals. The new customer relationship management system has enabled the charity to improve and streamline delivery of its support, data collection, and monitoring and evaluation. The impact of this development has been clear to see within the charity and on our beneficiaries. Thanks to our digital development, our beneficiaries can now:

During 2022, to manage growing demand, the charity has focused on increasing income and developing our volunteer base. The way in which we fundraise has changed significantly since 2020, as we are now focussed on working with key partners across the profession. In a similar way, we have been developing new ways of engaging volunteers to support our work. We carried out a review of the ambassador programme during the year, identifying areas to redevelop the role and target areas of underrepresentation in our volunteer pool.

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The impact this had:

Following changes in working arrangements because of COVID-19, the charity implemented a new hybrid working policy and started to review its Manchester office requirements, as the lease is due to expire in late 2023. The charity also carried out a review of its investment managers in line with best practice and updated its investment policy to include the exclusion of direct investment in fossil fuel producers. This forms part of a wider environmental plan developed during 2022.

INCREASE IN FUNDRAISING FROM CORPORATE DONORS.

Recognised by the Association of Charitable Organisations annual awards with the 2022 digital transformation award.

DIVESTMENT IN FOSSIL FUEL PRODUCERS AHEAD OF 31ST DECEMBER 2022 TARGET DATE.

Five new Trustees recruited and supported in their new roles.

SEVEN new Listening Friends volunteers inducted and trained, taking the total to 14.

Two addiction peer support volunteers recruited and trained.

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and Inclusion

Pharmacist Support is committed to promoting equality, valuing diversity, and creating an inclusive environment for all who work with or access its services. We want to ensure people are treated fairly, equitably and are offered equal access and opportunities. This applies to our beneficiaries and supporters as well as our staff, volunteers and Trustees.

During 2022, we implemented an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

strategy and action plan. We recognise that we still have a lot to learn, and it will take time to apply that learning. However, we are committed to continually improving our practices and listening to those we are here to help. As a charity we put people at the centre of all that we do. We are particularly mindful of the diverse needs of the people we are here to support and are committed to understanding and responding to their needs.

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The EDI strategy has three objectives:

Objective one:

To develop and deliver services that are inclusive, accessible and free from discrimination and bias.

Objective two:

To develop organisational policies and practices that encourage diversity, equality, and inclusion and which proactively help tackle discrimination.

Objective three:

To attract and retain a diverse group of staff, Trustees and volunteers who reflect the beneficiaries we serve and put them at the centre of our decision-making processes.

What we have done so far:

We will continue this journey over the coming years and are committed to ensuring all voices are heard and to the continuous improvement and development of our services to meet our beneficiary’s diverse needs.

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Our commitment to environmental sustainability

Pharmacist Support exists to support our pharmacy family now and into the future. We recognise that the climate crisis is a global threat, impacting the health of our pharmacy family and the whole of humanity. Tackling this threat will require significant change and we believe we have a duty to do all we can to support the global effort that is required. As a charity, we believe we have a responsibility to act on climate change and during 2022 joined others across the profession to make a commitment to consider environmental sustainability across our work. Our commitment includes:

Strategy

We formally acknowledge there is a climate crisis and have committed to consider the impact of the decisions we make on the climate in line with Pharmacist Support’s charitable objectives.

social and governance investment polices align with our values and commitment. A key part of our commitment was to divest in fossil fuel producers by 31st December 2022. This was achieved ahead of schedule.

Working practices

Investments

We are conscious of the impact our investment portfolio can have and we have put in place measures to achieve a more socially and environmentally responsible investment portfolio. We continue to work with our investment managers to measure the impact of our investments against several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ensure that their environmental,

We recognise that as well as our investments, other aspects of how we operate (such as our offices, IT, meetings and events) affect the environment. We have committed to reviewing our internal processes and have produced an environmental policy which will seek to reduce our environmental impact. The implementation of the policy will embed the consideration of sustainability within our working practices and operational decisions.

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We can’t do it alone…..

Volunteers

Volunteers play a crucial role at Pharmacist Support and help us to increase our reach and impact. Our volunteers are based across the country and are supported by our staff. Regular updates and learning and development opportunities are delivered to all volunteers to ensure that they are kept abreast of any changes within the charity, to facilitate peer support activities and to enhance knowledge and skills in relevant areas so that they can carry out their roles effectively.

Our main groups of volunteers are Trustees, Listening Friends and Ambassadors. During 2022 we also launched a small ‘Addiction Peer Support’ pilot delivered by two pharmacist volunteers.

Trustees are also volunteers and are accountable for ensuring that the charity continues to thrive. Pharmacist Support has 11 Trustees, each appointed for an initial term of three years. Trustees may only serve a maximum of nine years consecutively, which provides an opportunity for fresh perspectives, skills and experience to be included on a regular basis. In line with our aim to have a Board that reflects the diversity of the pharmacy profession, following a successful recruitment process we recruited six new Trustees, five of whom were appointed and inducted during 2022

and one who was appointed on 1st January 2023. The Board is currently made up of eight pharmacist Trustees and three lay Trustees. Our lay Trustees are not pharmacists and bring a viewpoint gathered from outside the profession.

Listening Friends are current or retired pharmacists, and because of this shared professional background they are uniquely able to understand the specific pressures affecting pharmacists and their families as well as pharmacy students. The Listening Friends peer support has been available for 26 years.

Charity Ambassadors champion our work within their local pharmacy communities, such as at their place of work/study, local networks and organisations. This role is vital to Pharmacist Support’s work and helps ensure that people who are eligible for support are aware of our charity and how to access our services. Another key part of the role is to help raise valuable funds so that the charity’s support continues long into the future. A comprehensive review of the current make-up of Ambassadors was carried out during 2022, which will guide a focused recruitment drive during 2023.

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Fundraising and Partnerships

As the profession’s charity, we recognise that collaboration across the sector is key to supporting our pharmacy family to ensure it is well-equipped to face any challenges people may have. Our charity partnerships enable us to deliver much needed support to our pharmacy family. Our partners help us to raise awareness of the charity and our support services, champion the importance of wellbeing in pharmacy, deliver our support services and meet our strategic objectives and raise valuable income.

Our high-level partners during 2022

We have been working in partnership with the Pharmacists’ Defence Association since

  1. The PDA and their members donate a minimum of £1 each year to the charity. As well as this financial support, the PDA helps us raise charity awareness through their vast network and develop charitable activities. Without their continued partnership, vital support and activities such as our ACTNow campaign, wouldn’t be possible. Since launching this partnership, the PDA has provided more than £200,000 in donations.

“The PDA and our members donate more than £30,000 per year to Pharmacist Support to help fund activities that support pharmacists when they need it. We are delighted to be able to help the charity to help pharmacists improve and maintain their wellbeing.”

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In 2020, Teva UK committed to sponsoring our first ever ACTNow campaign. In 2022, we

worked even more closely with the team to raise awareness of the charity and our free and confidential support services amongst their vast networks. This included delivering live online wellbeing workshops to their Teva One members. They were also a headline sponsor for our 2022 Pharmacist ACTNow campaign and were involved with numerous ACTNow activities, including a panel chat on transforming workplace culture.

“Teva UK is proud to be partnering with Pharmacist Support. It’s important to us to endorse the great work the charity does in supporting the pharmacy community, particularly around mental health and wellbeing, which are more invaluable now than ever. As a front-line service, pharmacy felt the full force of the pandemic, continuing to provide a valuable service in extremely challenging circumstances. And that is why, now more than ever, support from organisations like Pharmacist Support is needed.”

Other 2022 partnerships

We would also like to recognise and thank the following organisations for their support and funding across the year:

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How can you help?

As demands upon the profession increase, the demand for our assistance continues to grow. As an independent, non-membership organisation, we rely on the support of individuals and organisations to continue our important work. If you are an organisation, there are lots of ways to support our work. Opportunities range from raising money on

behalf of the charity, making a donation on behalf of your organisation right through to campaign sponsorship and high level mutually beneficial partnerships. If you are an organisation keen to support the profession’s independent charity please get in touch with us via our website.

Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)

At the end of 2022, the RPS committed to facilitating donations from their members. RPS President Professor Claire Anderson said “We work closely with the charity to better understand the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce, particularly through joint events and our annual workforce wellbeing survey. We’ve now made donating even easier by

providing an option of giving when you join or renew your membership of RPS. Your donation could help change the life of a colleague facing difficulty. I urge you to support the profession’s charity which does such great work offering a helping hand at times of need and is needed now more than ever before.”

“Many of our members have benefitted from services provided by Pharmacist Support, which relies solely on donations from individuals and organisations.”

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Core Prescribing Solutions

The team at Core Prescribing Solutions donated £1,000 to us in order to show their support and give back to the profession. Co-founders Sohail Ahmed, Layequr Rahman and Adeem Azhar said that ”Being pharmacists ourselves, assisting pharmacy colleagues at such

challenging times through Pharmacist Support was a natural choice. The charity has been doing great work in helping our pharmacist colleagues over the years, so we would like to support their altruistic efforts and be part of the amazing journey in helping our profession”.

If you are an individual there are a number of ways you can help us support more people in need:

Whichever route you choose and no matter how large or small your donation, it will make a real difference to the lives of our pharmacy family in their times of need.

Your legacy could help us to change lives!

Joy Wingfield was one of the UK’s leading figures in Pharmacy Law and Ethics, a former deputy superintendent for Boots and honorary professor at Nottingham Pharmacy school. She gave immense support to her profession during her life and continued to support her

peers through leaving a legacy to Pharmacist Support in her will. Thanks to Joy’s legacy, during 2022 we have been better able to meet increasing demand for wellbeing support. Leaving a gift in your will will help us support our pharmacy family now and into the future.

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What’s next?

As we head into year four of the charity’s five-year strategy, Trustees have taken time to reflect on the current approach and consider any changes within the internal and external environment.

As with many charities, our income took a considerable hit during the pandemic which was further impacted by the war in Ukraine and the knock-on effects on the cost of living. We operate at a deficit and rely on our investment portfolio to provide funds for the ongoing operational costs of the charity. Over the long term, this means that our investments must provide us the necessary returns to enable us to continue to deliver our activities annually whilst at least maintaining the portfolio’s real term value (after management expenses) to ensure the financial viability of the charity. However, the charity has continued to see an increase in demand for its services, and therefore must

increase its income from other sources to meet this demand. The charity will therefore implement a new fundraising strategy during 2023 to secure the longterm future of the charity.

Timely adjustment of our fundraising strategy becomes even more crucial when we think about the direction of travel for the future profession. We have been increasingly asked to consider supporting Pharmacy Technicians and, as part of our strategic review cycle, we began a process during 2022 to review options around Pharmacy Technicians potentially becoming part of our beneficiary pool in the future. In light of the recent publication of the UK

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Commission’s report, on the future for Pharmacy Professional Leadership, the Board of Pharmacist Support has agreed during 2023 to re-evaluate our next steps so that the potential impact of the report, including that of the prospective Pharmacy Leadership Council, can be considered.

Since the launch of the strategy in 2020, we have seen a shift in the type of support required by our beneficiaries and a change in the needs of the profession, most of this as a result of Covid-19. Our plans for 2023 focus on continuing to examine our existing support to ensure it is fit for purpose and accessible to all in our pharmacy family, making use of our

improved equality, diversity and inclusion data to inform developments. This will include the reframing of the addiction service in line with the recommendations set out in the 2022 review and the conclusion of the financial assistance service review.

We will continue to raise awareness of the important work of the charity and the wellbeing agenda via the ACTNow campaign and through the recruitment of new charity ambassador volunteers. We’re also launching a new training course for managers and leaders which will look at how to build a culture which supports positive mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

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What our users say...

“It was a reminder that I won’t perform at my best in the exam without feeling at my best”.

“I was in serious financial crisis after I finished my training year and my exams in July. I’ve tried everything possible to aid myself but failed. Finally, I decided I should seek assistance and that’s when I contacted Pharmacist Support. The financial assistance I got from them will help me with the cost of living (food, bills, and rent). I was seriously depressed and anxious that I was going to be homeless. The financial support will help me massively until I find a job. The relief I have now is indescribable. I’m so grateful!”

“Before being offered support I had pretty much nothing in my bank account. Meanwhile, I had numerous bills and expenses coming up which were causing me a lot of stress, so the support helped alleviate my financial burden.”

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“The charity helped me find information I could not obtain elsewhere. It was not easy finding out the steps to get back to work. This service was very useful.”

“I started counselling for a few reasons, however while undergoing counselling, I found myself in the middle of a crisis at work. Counselling so far has helped me to find a new job and move from the bullying environment that has been affecting my mental health and wellbeing and has helped me move on with both my crisis but also my emotional wellbeing. I communicate my emotions better and I stand up for myself better.”

“I have less mental/physical stress and am able to continue with my course.”

“A sympathetic ear and timely referral to Citizens Advice.”

“The ACTNow campaign empowered me to speak up and seek help regarding a current workplace difficulty.”

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O U R Y E A R I N F I G U R E S

Financial Report

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Public benefit UBLIC BENEFIT

charitable activities to beneficiaries and to deliver

our activity. Although the value of our portfolio Charities have a duty under section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s Charities have a duty under section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s duty under section 17 of the returned to pre-pandemic levels, during 2021 we general guidance on public benefit. As Trustees, we aim and work to fulfil our Objects in line with the general guidance on public benefit. AsCharities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Trustees, we aim and work to fulfil our Objects in line with the continued to experience a decrease in income requirements for demonstrating public benefit. The beneficiaries we aim to assist are clearly identifiable and requ rements for demonstrating public benefit. The beneficiaries we aim to assist are clearly identifiable and Char i ty Commission’s general guidance on public from our investment portfolio. General related to these Objects. related to these Objects. benefit. As Trustees, we aim and work to fulfil our fundraising also continued to be a challenge. We

Objects in line with the requirements for

are fortunate in having a substantial level of We make every effort to ensure that all potential beneficiaries in need have access to our services and We make every effort to ensurdemonstrating public benefit. Th e beneficiaries that all potential beneficiaries in need have access to our services and reserves – over £15m – meaning that we can be maintain clomaintain close links with professional bodies across the profession. We support the health and wellbeing of we aim to as s e links with professional bodies across the profession. We support the health and wellbeing of ist are clearly identifiable and confident of being able to continue to serve our our pharmacy family through the provision of grants to individuals and the provision of a broad range of our pharmacy family through the provision of grants to individuals and the provision of a broad range of related to these Objects. pharmacy family. Our reserves policy can be services with our partner organisations. We aim to direct our financial assistance and services towards those found below. people who apeople who are in the greatest need and unable to help themselves. We have a clear grants policy that is used We make eve r e in the greatest need and unable to help themselves. We have a clear grants policy that is used y effort to ensure that all potential to form decisioto form decisions on grant eligibility. We have evolved from our beginnings as a traditional “benevolent” beneficiaries in n s on grant eligibility. We have evolved from our beginnings as a traditional “benevolent” eed have access to our As a result of the direct impact of COVID-19 on charity and now provide a range of wellbeing services and support to our beneficiaries. char ty and now provide a range of wellbeing services and support to our beneficiaries. serv i ces. We maintain close links with our beneficiaries, we needed to focus on

increased mental health support. Thanks to the

organisations across the profession including the

COVID-19 Health Support Appeal we were able to

FINANCIAL REVIEW regulator, the professional body and the union.

We support the health and wellbeing of our address this need. As our systems are cloudThe Charity’s financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 are set out on The Charity’s financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 are set out on pages 57 to 74. They pages X to X. They pharmacy family through the provision of grants based, our team have continued to be able to have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 60 to 63. pages X to X. to individuals and the provision of a broad range work remotely when required. During 2021, we

of services with our partner organisations. We aim invested in digital, including the development of a Total income for the year was £506,369, compared with £712,637 in 2021. The main reason for the decrease Total income for the year was £506,369, compared with £712,637 in 2021. The main reason for the decrease to direct our financial assistance and services new website and new CRM and are reviewing the was the substantial legacy that was notified to us in 2021. We are pleased to report that income from our was the substantial legacy that was notified to us in 2021. We are pleased to report that income from our towards those people who are in the greatest benefits of hybrid working, both in relation to corporate supporters increased from £57,396 in 2021 to £78,024 in 2022, a rise of 36%. corporate supporters increased from £57,396 in 2021 to £78,024 in 2022, a rise of 36%. need and unable to help themselves. We have a staff morale and potential future cost savings in

Like many charities across the world, we have had to find new ways to deliver our support to ensure that the Like many charities across the world, we have had to find new ways to deliver our support to ensure that the clear grants policy that is used to form decisions relation to office space. people who need us are not cut off from help when they need it most. In 2022 we continued to invest in digital people who need us are not cut off from help when they need it most. In 2022 we continued to invest in digital on grant eligibility. We have evolved from our development, including our Wellbeing Learning Platform, website, and CRM. beginnings as a traditional “benevolent” charity development, including our Wellbeing Learning Platform, website, and CRM. Financial review and now provide a range of wellbeing services and Our total charitable expenditure increased from £758,002 in 2021 to £870,899 – an increase of 14.9% - while Our total charitable expenditure increased from £758,002 in 2021 to £870,899 – an increase of 14.9% - while support to our beneficiaries. The Charity’s financial statements for the year fundraising expenditure was virtually unchanged at £109,238 (2021 - £109,936). fundraising expenditure was virtually unchanged at £109,238 (2021 - £109,936). ended 31 December 2021 are set out on pages 51 Charitable expenditure across our activities was as follows: Charitable expenditure across our activities was as follows: Impact of the COVID-19 to 68. They have been prepared in accordance

----- Start of picture text -----
with the accounting policies set out on pages 54
pandemic to 57.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Total income for the year was £712,637,
Pharmacist Support continued to be significant in
compared with £458,254 in 2020. The main
2021, both in terms of financial position of the £182,123 182,123 £235,549 235,549 drivers of the increase were legacy income and
Charity and the impact on our pharmacy family.
the receipt of the CHSA grant. Like many charities
Many of the profession have been at the front line Awareness raisingAwareness raising
across the world, we have had to find new ways
in helping protect people against COVID-19 by 194,800 £194,800 Financial assistanceFinancial assistance
to deliver our support to ensure that the people
being vaccinators, and of course the first port of Information & adviceInformation & advice
call for many other health conditions. The £258,427 258,427 who need us are not cut off from help when they WellbeingWellbeing
need it most. During 2021 we invested in digital
difficulties they have encountered in ensuring
development including a new Wellbeing Learning
continuity of service, despite staffing shortages,
stock shortages and the risk to health of being in Platform, new website and new CRM.
the front line has taken its toll.
----- End of picture text -----

As a charity, we are significantly reliant on income

from our investment portfolio to fund our

Page 1 of 30

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KEY POLICIES

Risk management

The Trustees are ultimately responsible for risk at Pharmacist Support, though they delegate day-to-day management of it to the Senior Management Team. All significant activities undertaken are subject to a risk review as part of the initial activity assessment and implementation. Major risks are identified and ranked in terms of their potential impact and likelihood using the Charity Commission’s guidelines. Major risks, for this purpose, are those that may have a significant effect on:

The Senior Management Team reviews the risks on a regular basis and presents updates to the Trustees at the Finance Sub-committee (FSC) and Staff and Remuneration Sub-committee (SRSC) meetings. The risk register is also a standing item on every board meeting agenda to ensure that the predominant risks are monitored, managed and mitigated. Where appropriate, risks are covered by insurance policies, but this is only one aspect of mitigation and management and not a standalone approach.

The Charity is predominantly reliant on investment returns to fund its work. Trustees recognise that this is one of the principal risks for the Charity and have taken a long-term view as to how effectively to manage and mitigate this risk through a commitment to fundraising activities and to diversifying income streams.

Investment performance and policy

The main objective of the portfolio is to provide funds for the ongoing operational costs of the charity to enable the delivery of its activities, which include service delivery and grant making activity. Over the long term, this means providing the charity with a steady stream of funding to enable it to continue to deliver its activities annually, whilst at least maintaining the portfolio’s real term value after management expenses. To achieve this, during 2022 the overall objective for investment performance was to achieve an average annual total return of at least CPI+3.5%, measured over five to ten years. This was updated in March 2023 to a target of CPI+3%.

The charity recognises this is a long-term target that can only be fully assessed over the long term. However, the annual returns are considered as part of the continual monitoring of investment performance. Comparisons are made against set benchmarks, which include the Asset Risk Consultants peer group comparator. During 2022, Asset Risk Consultants carried out a full independent review of investment performance. Pharmacist Support reviews its investment policy annually to ensure that it continues to dovetail with the Charity’s objectives. Pharmacist Support’s investment strategy can be summarised as follows:

Standard Criteria
Objective Balanced return between income and capital
Risk Medium
Mandate Discretionary
Time horizon Five to ten years

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Like many charities, Pharmacist Support had investment losses in 2022. The value of the portfolio fell in the year, closing at £14,499,663 (2021 - £16,767,801). Factors such as the persistence of higher inflation, supply chain issues, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other geopolitical shifts all impacted our portfolio.

Trustees consider our ethical responsibility to make investments that meet environmental, social and governance standards. Currently we exclude companies that generate 25% or more in turnover from fossil fuel producers, tobacco, armaments, alcohol, and high risk (high-rate charging) debt and gambling from our portfolio.

We are working with our investment managers to measure the impact of our investments against several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ensure that their environmental, social and governance investment polices align with our values and commitment. A key part of our commitment was to divest in fossil fuel producers by the end of 2022. This was achieved ahead of schedule. We are now monitoring our portfolio against recognised ESG benchmarks:

Sustainalytic’s MSCI UK Index (Morgan Stanley Capital International) – where lower is better

Year Our score MSCI UK Index average
Up to March 2023 18.9 22.3
2022 20.0 21.4

Carbon footprint:

As submitted to the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) – higher is better

Year Our score UK equity benchmark
Up to March 2023 5.9 5.7
2022 6.3 5.7

UN Sustainable Development Goals – higher is better

Year Our score MSCI UK Index average
Up to March 2023 +3.3 +1.3
2022 +2.7 +1.2

On 12 April 2023, Investec announced that it had reached an agreement with Rathbones Group plc for an allshare combination of Rathbones with Investec Wealth & Investment Limited.

Reserves

The Charity is fortunate to have been able to build a substantial investment portfolio over its lifetime. The charity hold reserves to ensure that it can meet the needs if future beneficiaries as well as to fund operational expenditure by using the reserves to generate income.

The Trustees’ reserves policy aims to preserve free reserves, which is monies not tied up in operating activities, at a minimum level of £10m, in order to be able to use the returns generated from investments for the

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Charity’s annual expenditure. This reserves level is set to ensure that the investment provides the level of income and growth required to sustain operational activities now and into the future.

At 31 December 2022 the Charity had total reserves of £14,702,292, (2021 - £17,172,235) all of which are considered to be ‘free reserves’, that is funds that are not tied up in fixed assets or otherwise designated. At 31 December 2021, the charity had a restricted reserve of £14,700 to account for the use of the COVID-19 Health Support Appeal (CHSA) grant. We received a further £31,500 from the CHSA in 2022. This was spent down in 2022, along with the 2021 balance, and the reserve closed. Details are given in note 5 to the financial statements.

The Trustees take a long-term view of their obligations to the pharmacy community. A large proportion of the reserves (£14.5m at 31 December 2022) represents investments held to generate income and secure the longterm funding of the Charity. The Trustees recognise that the value of these reserves may vary significantly from year to year because of investment market price movements, and that such variations do not in themselves necessarily affect the portfolio’s potential to generate income. These reserves historically have represented the Charity’s principal source of funds for annual expenditure. Investing them in this way, rather than liquidating the reserves for short-term spending, ensures an income stream for the long-term to enable us to support our beneficiaries and achieve our charitable objectives.

STRUCTURE, MANAGEMENT, AND GOVERNANCE

Governing document

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 27 September 2014, and registered as a charity on 27 October 2014. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association that established the Objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association.

The company is sole corporate trustee of Pharmacist Support, the dormant Charitable Trust from which the company was created in 2014. The Charity number for the dormant Trust is 221438. The Trust remains in existence to ensure legacies left to the former charitable trust do not fail. A resolution has been passed giving the Charity automatic entitlement to any income due to the Trust.

Trustees

Our Trustees are responsible for setting the Charity’s strategy and are responsible in law for the governance of Pharmacist Support. All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the Charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the Charity are set out in note 13 to the accounts. The names of the Trustees who served during the year and beyond are set out on page 75.

Charity Governance Code

The Trustees take charity governance seriously and aim to apply the Charity Governance Code in all of the Charity’s activities. Further details on how the Board ensures it is effective and how it delegates authority can be found under “Organisational Structure” below.

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The Board reviews the purpose of the Charity and its longer-term strategy at least every five years. By monitoring activities and performance, the Trustees review the progress towards strategic objectives on a regular basis and make decisions at least annually to update operational plans to achieve those goals.

The Trustees recognise the importance of public trust and confidence and have established systems for all Trustees, staff, and volunteers for reporting potential interests in transactions, conflicts of interest and inappropriate behaviours. Systems are in place for the proper investigation and resolution of complaints from any source, including members of the public.

Further information on how the Board manages risk can be found in the section “Risk Management” above. All decisions are taken after receiving reports from senior management and/or taking advice from persons with appropriate expertise, be this suitably qualified members of the Board, senior managers, or advisers. All decisions are set out in minutes of meetings and action plans are drawn up, delegated, and monitored to ensure implementation.

Pharmacy is a diverse profession, with pharmacists coming from many walks of life and nationalities. In line with the breadth of its beneficiaries, the Board has implemented policies that encourage diversity in recruitment practices for Trustees, staff, and volunteers alike. The Charity also has operational policies that work to actively prevent discrimination of any kind and encourage non- judgemental support for all our service users. In line with our equality, diversity, and inclusion plan, Trustees and staff members attend an array of training on equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Organisational structure

When a vacancy occurs on the Board of Trustees, the Board will take the opportunity to review the skills matrix of Trustees to identify specific skill sets that would strengthen the Board’s overall effectiveness. In addition, consideration is given to whether there is a need for any specific community or stakeholder group that needs to be represented by a new Trustee. The Board operates an equal opportunities recruitment policy and new Trustees are required to have demonstrable experience in the areas identified by the skills review.

On appointment new Trustees are given a formal induction to the work of the Charity, introduced to the staff, and provided with the information they need to fulfil their roles. This includes information about the role of the Trustees within Pharmacist Support, the Charity’s policies, and their role within the context of charity law generally. Trustees are provided with a copy of the Charity Trustee’s Handbook, given information relating to the legal framework within which the Charity operates and provided with governance training underlining their responsibilities within the company law context.

Regular training opportunities are offered to Trustees and group training sessions on relevant topics to support the Trustees’ role are provided within board meetings during the year. New Trustees are provided with a ‘buddy,’ an experienced Trustee, as an additional support mechanism.

The Staff and Remuneration Sub-committee oversees the Trustee appraisal process. At the end of a Trustee’s first year, they undergo a review of the contribution they have made to determine any further support that may be beneficial. The review is conducted by the new Trustee’s buddy on behalf of the Board. At the end of a Trustee’s three-year term, they will be asked by the Chair to confirm whether they wish to be considered for reappointment, provided that they have not reached the maximum of three terms. Trustees who wish to be considered for reappointment will take part in a formal appraisal review. The appraiser will be the Chair or

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Vice Chair and the review will seek general input from all Trustees and detailed input from a select group of Trustees and the Chief Executive.

Board effectiveness is reviewed after each board meeting. In additional, an annual, comprehensive survey is circulated to all Trustees to assess performance against the Charity Governance Code.

There are four Board meetings a year. Trustees work together to set the strategic direction and monitor the operational activity of the Charity. Trustees are also involved with developing and or monitoring the Charity’s activities in specific areas, by engaging in sub-committee and working group activities.

Day-to-day operations and management are delegated to the Chief Executive and Senior Management Team, who provide regular reports to the Trustees on performance and operations.

The Charity has three sub-committees, established to advise on key areas of activity and with terms of reference that are reviewed regularly. The three sub-committees are as follows:

Other ad hoc groups focussing on specific projects or service areas are set up as required.

Related parties

There were no related party transactions other than Trustees’ expenses and key management personnel remuneration. The Charity operates independently of other bodies, although we have developed close working relationships across the sector to ensure that we can raise concerns where necessary to benefit our beneficiaries and other members of the pharmacy family.

Liability of members

Members of the Charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the Charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 December 2022 was ten. The Trustees are members of the Charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The Trustees have no beneficial interest in the Charity but hold overall responsibility for it.

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STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees (who are also directors of Pharmacist Support 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. They 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.

As far as the Trustees are aware:

Auditors

Crowe U.K. LLP were re-appointed as the charitable company's auditors during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity. This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime of the Companies Act 2006.

The Trustees’ annual report has been approved by the Trustees on 22 June 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Esther Sadler-Williams (Chair)

Paul Johnson (Trustee)

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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF PHARMACIST SUPPORT

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Pharmacist Support (‘the charitable company’) for the year ended 31 December 2022 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

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

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

53

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF PHARMACIST SUPPORT (continued)

financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report.

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

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 52, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

54

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF PHARMACIST SUPPORT (continued)

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Details of the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations are set out below.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charitable company operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011 together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charitable company’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company for fraud.

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within income and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, designing audit procedures over income, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as

55

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF PHARMACIST SUPPORT (continued)

these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect noncompliance with all laws and regulations.

Use of our report

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

Date: 26 June 2023 Vicky Szulist Senior Statutory Auditor For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor The Lexicon, Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NT

56

PHARMACIST SUPPORT STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022

Income from:
note
Donations & legacies
4
Grants
5
Other
Investments
6
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8
Charitable activities
Awareness raising
8
Financial assistance
8
Information & advice
8
Wellbeing
8
Total expenditure
Net expenditure before
gains/(losses) on investments
(Losses)/gains on investments
Net income/(expenditure) for the year
Transfer between funds
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
funds
funds
funds
funds
2022
2022
2022
2021
£
£
£
£
123,834
-
123,834
275,371
-
31,500
31,500
43,575
600
-
600
905
350,435
-
350,435
392,786
474,869
31,500
506,369
712,637
109,238
-
109,238
109,936
235,549
-
235,549
211,109
258,427
-
258,427
225,642
194,800
-
194,800
184,449
136,623
45,500
182,123
136,802
934,637
45,500
980,137
867,938
(459,768)
(14,000)
(473,768)
(155,301)
(1,996,175)
-
(1,996,175)
1,649,081
(2,455,943)
(14,000)
(2,469,943)
1,493,780
700
(700)
-
-
(2,455,243)
(14,700)
(2,469,943)
1,493,780
17,157,535
14,700
17,172,235
15,678,455
14,702,292
-
14,702,292
17,172,235

The notes on pages 60 to 74 form part of these accounts.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

57

PHARMACIST SUPPORT

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022

2022 2021
note £ £
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 16a 86,213 39,500
Tangible assets 16b 5,364 10,127
Investments 18 14,499,663 16,767,801
Social or programme-related investments 19 600 600
14,591,840 16,818,028
Current assets
Debtors 20 75,182 214,545
Short term cash investments 21 78,493 174,181
Cash at bank and in hand 21 50,089 50,106
203,764 438,832
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 22 (93,312) (84,625)
Net current assets 110,452 354,207
Total assets less current liabilities 14,702,292 17,172,235
Unrestricted funds 14,702,292 17,157,535
Restricted funds - 14,700
Total funds of the Charity 23 14,702,292 17,172,235

These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members of the company.

The notes on pages 60 to 74 form part of these accounts.

The accounts are approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 22 June 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Esther Sadler-Williams (Chair)

Paul Johnson (Trustee)

58

PHARMACIST SUPPORT STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022

note
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents
26
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
RECONCILIATION OF CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING
ACTIVITIES
Net movement in funds for the year as per the
statement of financial activities
Amortisation and depreciation charges
Loss on disposal of fixed assets
(Gains)/losses on investments
Dividends and interest from investments
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Movement in social or programme related
investments
Net cash used in operating activities
RECONCILIATION OF CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING
ACTIVITIES
Dividends and interest from investments
Purchase of fixed assets
Proceeds from sale of investments
Purchase of investments
Cash withdrawn from portfolio
Net cash used provided by investing activities		 2022
£
(651,327)
555,622
(95,705)
224,287
128,582
(2,469,943)
23,186
1,640
1,996,175
(350,435)
139,363
8,687
-
(651,327)
350,435
(66,779)
4,829,567
(4,738,648)
181,047
555,622		 2021
£
(694,559)
648,197
(46,362)
270,649
224,287
1,493,780
12,489
167
(1,649,081)
(392,786)
(147,313)
(11,510)
(305)
(694,559)
392,786
(46,254)
2,507,922
(1,972,723)
(233,534)
648,197

The notes on pages 60 to 74 form part of these accounts.

59

PHARMACIST SUPPORT NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgments and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

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 preparing their accounts and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2021) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Pharmacist Support meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.

b. Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The Trustees have assessed the use of going concern and have considered possible events or conditions that might cast significant doubt on the ability of the Charity to continue as a going concern, including the impact of COVID-19. The Trustees have made this assessment for a period of at least one year from the date of the approval of these financial statements. The Trustees have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Charity therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these financial statements.

Trustees believe that the Charity’s financial resources and contingency planning are sufficient to ensure its ability to continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future, being at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements and have therefore prepared the accounts on a going concern basis.

There are no key judgments that the Trustees have made that have a significant effect on the accounts.

The Trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

60

PHARMACIST SUPPORT NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

c. Income

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

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the Charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the Charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably, and the Charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the Charity, or the Charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

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. Information about the contribution of volunteers is given in the Trustees’ annual report and in note 14.

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. Details of such donations are given in note 4.

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.

f. Fund 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. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

61

PHARMACIST SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

g. Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT (continued)

Applications for grant assistance are considered on their merits and assessed to ensure that they comply with the Charity’s objectives and adhere to the policies and guidance issued by the Trustees. There is no outright, automatic entitlement to financial assistance and applications are subject to assessment. The liability is recognised when the payment is made.

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

h. Allocation of support costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the Charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. These costs, which include office costs, finance, personnel and payroll, support the Charity's programs and activities and have been allocated between the cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on the basis of the total staff time (FTE) spent in each area.

Governance costs are those costs which relate to the strategic management of the Charity and legal obligations for accountability. They include support costs, audit fees, legal expenses, trustee expenses and meeting costs. These costs have been allocated between the cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on the basis of the total staff time (FTE) spent in each area.

i. Operating leases

Operating leases are leases in which the title to the assets, and the risks and rewards of ownership, remain with the lessor. Rental charges are charged on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

j. Fixed assets

Intangible and tangible fixed assets costing in excess of £200 are capitalised and included at cost, including any associated costs of bringing the assets into use.

Amortisation and depreciation are calculated to write off the costs of the assets, less their estimated residual values, in equal annual instalments over their expected useful economic lives. The principal annual rates and nominal value in use are as follows:

Software amortisation between 3-5 years
Leasehold Improvements depreciation over the remaining lease period
Fixtures and fittings depreciation 5 years
IT equipment depreciation between 2-5 years

62

PHARMACIST SUPPORT NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

k. Fixed asset investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. The statement of financial activities includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluation and disposals throughout the year.

The Charity does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

The main form of financial risk faced by the Charity is that of volatility in equity markets and investment markets due to wider economic conditions, the attitude of investors to investment risk, and changes in sentiment concerning equities and within particular sectors or sub sectors.

l. Social or programme-related investments

Social or programme-related investments represent the interest-free unsecured loans provided to beneficiaries (from the dormant charitable trust) prior to April 2014.

m. 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.

n. 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.

o. Creditors and provisions

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.

p. Foreign exchange

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate ruling at the Balance Sheet date. Foreign exchange differences are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which they arise.

q. 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 measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

r. Pensions

Employees of the Charity are entitled to join a defined contribution “money purchase” scheme. The Charity’s contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 12. The costs of the defined contribution scheme are included in staff remuneration and allocated to the funds of the Charity using the methodology used in note 8.

63

PHARMACIST SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

2. Corporation tax

The Charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within Chapter 3 of Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No tax charges have arisen in the Charity.

3. Legal status of the Charity

The Charity is a company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales and has no share capital. In the event of the Charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the Charity. The registered office address is disclosed on page 75.

4. Income from donations and legacies

Donations
Legacies		 2022
2021
unrestricted restricted
TOTAL
TOTAL
£
£
£
£
116,334
- 116,334
92,214
7,500
-
7,500
183,157
123,834
- 123,834
275,371

Included in Donations is £14,772 (2021: £8,167) gift in kind income that relates to meeting room space, exhibition stands and services gifted to the charity.

Included in Legacies for 2021 was a gift of £150,000 due from the estate of the late Joy Wingfield.

5. Grant income

COVID-19 Healthcare Support Appeal 2022
2021
unrestricted restricted
TOTAL
TOTAL
£
£
£
£
-
31,500
31,500
43,575

6. Investment income

From UK listed investments
From short-term cash investments		 2022
2021
2022
2021
unrestricted restricted
TOTAL
TOTAL
£
£
£
£
350,351
- 350,351
392,769
84
-
84
17
350,435
- 350,435
392,786

64

PHARMACIST SUPPORT NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

7. Net expenditure

This is stated after charging:

2022 2021
unrestricted restricted TOTAL TOTAL
£ £ £ £
Audit fees 11,796 - 11,796 10,776
Operating lease rentals – property 35,642 - 35,642 35,642
Operating lease rentals – other 2,526 - 2,526 2,528
Amortisation & depreciation 23,186 - 23,186 12,489

8. Analysis of expenditure

Staff
costs		 Direct
costs		 Direct
costs		 Support
costs		 Governance
costs		 2022
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Awareness raising
Financial assistance
Information & advice
Wellbeing		 £
37,288
150,485
84,316
112,243
89,213		 £
58,541
31,038
144,974
41,269
61,064		 £
11,697
47,129
25,417
36,017
27,780		 £
1,712
6,897
3,720
5,271
4,066




£
109,238
235,549
258,427
194,800
182,123
473,545 336,886 148,040 21,666 980,137
Staff
costs		 Direct
costs		 Support
costs		 Governance
costs		 2021
£
Raising funds
33,581
Charitable activities
Awareness raising
138,674
Financial assistance
68,927
Information & advice
106,176
Wellbeing
83,204
430,562
9. Analysis of Wellbeing costs
Staff costs
Direct costs		 £
33,581
138,674
68,927
106,176
83,204		 £
65,533
28,126
135,190
42,749
25,361		 £
9,289
38,034
18,477
30,493
24,238		 £
1,533
6,275
3,048
5,031
3,999




£
109,936
211,109
225,642
184,449
136,802
430,562 296,959 120,531 19,886 867,938
2022
unrestricted restricted
TOTAL
£
£
£
89,213
-
89,213
15,564
45,500
61,064		 2021
TOTAL
£
83,204
25,361
104,777
45,500
150,277		 108,565

65

PHARMACIST SUPPORT NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

10. Analysis of direct expenditure

Raising
funds
Awareness
raising
Financial
assistance
Information
& advice
Wellbeing
2022
Other staff costs
Volunteers
Service delivery
Grants
Marketing and
publicity
Investment
management
Legal &
professional
Office costs
Other costs		 £
£
£
£
£
863
3,659
528
1,312
2,118
8,480
-
121
-
-
3,520
3,641
-
-
11,264
39,661
53,959
104,884
-
-
133,069
-
-
133,069
4,257
25,352
-
-
229
29,838
53,181
-
-
-
-
53,181
-
150
-
-
58
208
190
1,756
113
296
1,180
3,535
50
-
-
-
-
50
58,541
31,038
144,974
41,269
61,064
336,886
Raising
funds
Awareness
raising
Financial
assistance
Information
& advice
Wellbeing
2021
£
£
£
£
£
Other staff costs
Volunteers
Service delivery
Grants
Marketing and
publicity
Investment
management
Legal &
professional
Office costs
Other costs		 1,037
3,179
143
596
901
5,856
-
10
28
-
813
851
-
-
9,444
38,506
18,599
66,549
-
-
121,367
-
-
121,367
4,510
21,080
-
-
2,106
27,696
58,455
-
-
-
-
58,455
-
1,200
-
-
77
1,277
1,381
2,483
4,208
3,647
2,865
14,584
150
174
-
-
-
324
65,533
28,126
135,190
42,749
25,361
296,959

66

PHARMACIST SUPPORT NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

10 Analysis of direct expenditure (continued)

Grant expenditure may be analysed as follows:

General Grants disbursed
Addiction Support
Training Bursaries		 2022
2021
£
£
99,609
86,227
6,460
9,640
27,000
25,500
133,069
121,367

General grants of £107,901 (2021: £87,582) were awarded in the year. The difference between awards and the amount disclosed above is due to the timing of disbursements.

11 Analysis of support and governance expenditure

2022
2021
Support
Gov.
Support
Gov
£
£
£
£
Other staff costs
Trustees
Legal & professional
Office costs
Other costs		 5,833
-
3,819
-
-
9,689
-
9,000
14,522
11,797
12,034
10,777
126,015
77
103,110
6
1,670
103
1,568
103
148,040
21,666
120,531
19,886

12 Staff costs

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension contributions
Other benefits		 2022
2021
£
£
383,149
348,793
33,085
28,366
54,912
51,809
2,401
1,594
473,547
430,562

The average number of staff employed in the year was 13 (2021: 13). Full-time equivalents (FTEs) were 11.8 (2021: 11.7). The key management personnel comprise the Chief Executive, Finance Manager, Marketing & Communications Manager and Service Support Manager. They received total remuneration and benefits of £246,049 (2021: £187,207), included in the costs above. Key management personnel represented 4.7 FTEs in 2022 (2021: 3.7 FTEs).

Included in pension contributions above is an amount of £18,045 (2021: £17,090) sacrificed by employees from their salary to pay into the pension scheme.

67

PHARMACIST SUPPORT NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

12 Staff costs (continued)

Higher paid employees were as follows:

paid employees were as follows:
Number of employees
2022
2021
£60-£70k -
1
£70-£80k 1
-

The Charity provides a defined contribution pension scheme for employees that meets the requirements of Part 1 of the Pensions Act 2008 for auto-enrolment. Employer contributions are paid at rates between 6% and 13%.

13 Trustee remuneration and expenses

No trustee nor any persons connected with them received any remuneration during the year (2021: £Nil). Nine trustees were reimbursed for expenses, totalling £1,722. (2021: Nine trustees, £1,530). These expenses were for travel, hotel accommodation and subsistence. Management liability insurance that also covers the Trustees, costing £1,275 (2021: £1,058), was purchased during the year.

14 Volunteers

The Charity uses volunteers to provide its Listening Friends service, make home visits to annual beneficiaries and to provide support for marketing and fundraising activities. Total expenses and training costs for volunteers in 2022 were £3,641 (2021: £851). The Charity had 20 volunteers in 2022 (2021: 14).

Volunteers gave their time as follows:
Listening Friends
Addiction Support
Ambassadors		 2022
2021
hours
hours
50
108
19
-
-
14
69
122

15 Related party transactions

There were no transactions with related parties in 2022 (2021: £nil).

68

PHARMACIST SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

16a Fixed assets: intangible assets

Cost or valuation
At 1 January
Additions
Disposals
At 31 December
Amortisation
At 1 January
Charge for the year
Disposals
At 31 December
Net book value
Used for charitable purposes
Used for support activities
At 31 December 2022
At 31 December 2021		 Software
2022
Total
2021
Total
£
£
52,854
29,322
63,090
41,748
(1,746)
(18,216)		 Software
2022
Total
2021
Total
£
£
52,854
29,322
63,090
41,748
(1,746)
(18,216)
114,198 52,854
13,354
16,377
(1,746)		 26,691
4,879
(18,216)
27,985 13,354
86,213
-		 39,500
-
86,213 39,500
39,500 2,631

The disposal relates to the discontinuance of a software package no longer in use.

69

PHARMACIST SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

16b Fixed assets: tangible assets

16bFixed assets : tangible asse ts
Leasehold
imp’mts
£		 Fixtures,
Fittings
&
Equip’t
£		 IT
Equip’t
£		 2022
Total
£		 2021
Total
£
Cost or valuation
At 1 January
Additions
Disposals
At 31 December
Depreciation
At 1 January
Charge for the year
Disposals
At 31 December
Net book value
Used for charitable
purposes
Used for support
activities
At 31 December
2022
At 31 December
2021		 67,273
-
-		 9,253
-
-		 31,229
3,689
(14,018)		 107,755
3,689
(14,018)		 104,109
4,506
(860)
67,273 9,253 20,900 97,426 107,755
65,153
1,106
-		 8,959
161
-		 23,516
5,542
(12,375)		 97,628
6,809
(12,375)		 90,711
7,610
(693)
66,259 9,120 16,683 92,062 97,628
-
1,014		 -
133		 2,895
1,322		 2,895
2,469		 2,987
7,140
1,014 133 4,217 5,364 10,127
2,120 294 7,713 10,127

17 Capital commitments

At 31 December 2022 the Charity had capital commitments totalling £9,252 (2021: £38,232). These were for software and website development.

70

PHARMACIST SUPPORT NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

18 Fixed assets: investments

Market value at 1 January
Additions at cost - purchases
Disposals at fair value
Net investment (losses)/gains
Net cash (withdrawn from)/paid into portfolio
Market value at 31 December
Historic cost at 31 December		 2022
£
16,767,801
4,738,648
(4,829,567)
(1,996,172)
(181,047)		 2021
£
15,420,385
1,972,723
(2,507,922)
1,649,081
233,534
14,499,663 16,767,801
11,470,031 10,607,228

An analysis of the market value of the Charity’s investments is as follows:

UK equities
UK fixed interest securities
Overseas equities
Overseas fixed interest securities
Property
Alternative investments
Money market funds
Cash held for investment		 2022
2021
£
£
4,209,227
6,271,894
1,458,115
1,535,584
5,353,832
6,096,122
955,104
307,044
561,579
613,187
1,349,583
1,117,718
370,000
400,000
242,221
426,252
14,499,663
16,767,801

All investments are carried at fair value and traded in quoted public markets.

19 Social or programme-related investments

Social or programme related investments represent interest free unsecured loans made to beneficiaries prior to April 2014.

At 1 January
Repaid
Provision for doubtful debts
At 31 December		 2022
2021
£
£
4,690
5,290
(600)
(600)
(3,490)
(4,090)
600
600

Of the loans remaining, £nil is due after more than one year (2021: £nil).

71

PHARMACIST SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

20 Debtors
Accrued Income
Prepayments
Rent deposit
Other debtors		 2022
2021
£
£
30,433
177,914
35,171
27,133
7,925
7,925
1,653
1,573
75,182
214,545

Included in Accrued Income for 2021 was a legacy of £150,000 due from the estate of the late Joy Wingfield.

21 Cash and cash equivalents
Deposit and notice accounts
Cash at bank and in hand
22 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Taxation and social security
Accruals and deferred income
Other creditors		 2022
£
78,493
50,089		 2021
£
174,181
50,106
128,582 224,287
2022
£
15,194
13,822
56,934
7,362		 2021
£
7,469
8,343
62,011
6,802
93,312 84,625
23 Funds
At 1 January
Net expenditure
Transfer
At 31 December		 2022
General
fund
Restricted
fund
Total
funds
£
£
£
17,157,535
14,700
17,172,235
(2,455,943)
(14,000)
(2,469,943)
700
(700)
-
14,702,292
-
14,702,292

72

PHARMACIST SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

23 Funds (continued)

23Funds (continued)
2021
At 1 January
Net income
Transfer
At 31 December		 General
fund
Restricted
fund
Total
funds
£
£
£
15,678,455
-
15,678,455
1,477,005
16,775
1,493,780
2,075
(2,075)
-
17,157,535
14,700
17,172,235

24 Operating lease commitments

The Charity had annual commitments, under non-cancellable operating leases, as set out below:

2022
2021
Property
Other
Total
Property
Other
Total
£
£
£
£
£
£
Within one year
In two to five years
After five years
At 31 December		 38,348
2,478
40,826
44,577
2,478
47,055
-
2,477
2,477
38,348
4,955
43,303
-
-
-
-
-
-
38,348
4,955
43,303
82,925
7,433
90,358

25 Financial instruments

Financial assets
Financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss
Financial assets measured at amortised cost
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost		 2022
2021
£
£
14,499,663
16,767,801
168,593
411,699
14,668,256
17,179,500

89,617
84,625

Financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss comprise investments. Financial assets measured at amortised cost comprise trade debtors, accrued income and other debtors. Financial liabilities at amortised cost comprise trade creditors, other creditors and accruals.

73

PHARMACIST SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

26 Analysis of change in net debt

1 Jan 2022
Cash
flows
31 Dec
2022
1 Jan
2021
Cash
flows
31 Dec
2021
£
£
£
£
£
£
Deposit and notice
accounts
Cash at bank and in
hand		 174,181
(95,688)
78,493
220,461
(46,280)
174,181
50,106
(17)
50,089
50,188
(82)
50,106
224,287
(95,705)
128,582
270,649
(46,362)
224,287

27 Statement Of Financial Activities For The Year Ended 31 December 2021

Income from:
Donations & legacies
Grants
Other
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8
Charitable activities
Awareness raising
8
Financial assistance
8
Information & advice
8
Wellbeing
8
Total expenditure
Net expenditure before
gains/(losses) on investments
Gains/(losses) on investments
Net income/(expenditure) for the year
Transfer between funds
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
funds
funds
funds
funds
2021
2021
2021
2020
£
£
£
£
275,371
-
275,371
90,244
-
43,575
43,575
-
905
-
905
-
392,786
-
392,786
368,010
669,062
43,575
712,637
458,254
109,936
-
109,936
110,090
211,109
-
211,109
182,004
225,642
-
225,642
229,636
184,449
-
184,449
155,236
110,002
26,800
136,802
103,974
841,138
26,800
867,938
780,940
(172,076)
16,775
(155,301)
(322,686)
1,649,081
-
1,649,081
(216,234)
1,477,005
16,775
1,493,780
(538,920)
2,075
(2,075)
-
-
1,479,080
14,700
1,493,780
(538,920)
15,678,455
-
15,678,455
16,217,375
17,157,535
14,700
17,172,235
15,678,455

74

PHARMACIST SUPPORT

Reference and Administrative Details

Company number Charity number Registered and principal office

9237609 1158974 5[th] Floor, 196 Deansgate Manchester M3 3WF Tel: 0808 168 2233 Web: www.pharmacistsupport.org

Trustees

The Trustees, who are also Directors under company law, who served during the year and since year end were as follows:

Esther Sadler-Williams – Chair

Anita Cawley – Vice Chair Paul Day (appointed 1 January 2023) David Downham (appointed 1 January 2022) Catherine Harper (resigned 8 August 2022) Karen Harrowing (appointed 1 January 2022) Mohammed Hussain (appointed 1 January 2022)

Paul Johnson

Mala Khiroya (appointed 1 June 2022) Stephen Lutener (resigned 25 May 2022) Alison Scowcroft (appointed 1 June 2022) Mark Sweeney Sarah Willis

Key management personnel

Danielle Hunt Chief Executive Kate Westbrook Marketing & Communications Manager Gill Darling Finance Manager Jo Gahan Service Support Manager Melissa Cochrane Wellbeing Development Manager Principal bankers Lloyds Bank plc 42-46 Market Street Manchester, M1 1PW Investment managers Investec Wealth & Investment Ltd 30 Gresham Street London, EC2V 7QP Solicitors ShakespeareMartineau Waterfront House, Waterfront Plaza, 35 Station Street Nottingham, NG2 3DQ Auditors Crowe U.K. LLP The Lexicon Mount Street Manchester, M2 5NT

75

Get in touch.

Visit: pharmacistsupport.org Email: info@pharmacistsupport.org Call: 0808 168 2233 Connect: TWITTER FACEBOOK-F INSTAGRAM YOUTUBE LINKEDIN-IN

Pharmacist Support is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales, company no 9237609 & charity no 1158974