2021-12-31-accounts

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COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2020

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT 2021 AND AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS COVERING THE PERIOD FROM 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2021

College of Paramedics, The Exchange, Express Park, Bristol Road, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 4RR Registered Charity Number: 1164445 Registered Company Number: 05062387 1

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Reports

Reports
Reference and administrative information	3
Trustees’ report	11
Auditor’s report	31
Accounts
Statement of financial activities	35
Balance sheet	36
Statement of cash flows	37
Principal accounting policies	38
Notes to the financial statements	41

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Company registration number 05062387 (England and Wales)

Charity registration number 1164445

Principal and registered office

The Exchange Express Park Bristol Road Bridgwater Somerset TA6 4RR

Trustees

Dr John Martin (President) Mr Paul Younger (Vice President) Mr Rory O’Connor (Chair of Paramedic Council) (appointed 14.09.2021) Mr Timothy Gerhard (Treasurer) Mr William Martin Broughton Mr Richard Webber Dr Vince Clarke Ms Georgette Eaton Mr Paul Aitken-Fell

Member Representatives Mr Graham Clark Mr James Stubley Mr James Gardner Mr Nicholas Groom Mr Jonathan Street Mr Darran Griffiths (Appointed 14.09.2021) Mr David Huckin (Appointed 14.09.2021) Mr Scott Howie (Appointed 14.09.2021) Mr Jon Price (Appointed 14.09.2021) Mr Daniel Irvine (Appointed 15.11.2021) Mr Adrian McGrath (Appointed 15.11.2021) Ms Gema Mee (Appointed 15.11.2021) Mr Paul Thomson-Elliott (Appointed 15.11.2021) Mr Richard Scott (Resigned 14.09.2021) Mr Stuart Vallance (Resigned 14.09.2021) Ms Vicky Kypta (Resigned 14.09.2021) Mrs Isobel Donaldson (Resigned 14.09.2021) Mr Lewis Bowler (Resigned 14.09.2021) Mr James Gough (Resigned 14.09.2021) Mr Shane Woodhouse (Resigned 14.09.2021)

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Student Member Representatives

Mr Ben Vickars (Chair) Ms Stella Branthonne-Foster (Vice-chair)

Mr Marcus McDonagh Mr Simon Thompson Mr Matthew McCartney Ms Eleanor Tanner Ms Rhys Sycamore Ms Emma Wainwright Mr Jack Richardson Mr Ashley Corrigan Ms Amy Hobbs Ms Chloe Keeping

Chief Executive Officer

Mrs Tracy Nicholls

Auditor Buzzacott LLP 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

Bankers Santander plc 2 Triton Square Regent’s Place London NW1 3AN

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT

Dr John Martin, FCPara

Welcome to the College of Paramedics Annual Report for 2021. Looking back through our report for 2020, I recounted that it was “a year we had not anticipated”; well, this report covers 2021, a slightly more predictable one in which the College celebrated turning 20 years old. It has been a year where the profession has again been at the forefront of delivering care for patients, including treatment of Covid-19 in multiple practice settings. This annual report covers what happened in those 12 months, and I encourage you to read and be proud of what we have delivered together as a profession. There are now 8% more of us than when we started the year, growing from 20,525 to 22,212 members, including 4,710 student members. Our vision statement remains at the heart of what we have been striving to achieve, and more so now than ever, in a world continuing to adapt to a global pandemic, does this vision endure.

To inspire and enable all paramedics to participate in the profession within an environment based on safety, collegiality, inclusiveness, mental and physical wellbeing and innovation.

A key development in 2021 was the completion of the governance review we set out in 2020. With wide membership engagement and a full member vote on changes to the Articles of Association we now have a structure consisting of a Chief Executive Group, a newly formed Paramedic Council chaired by Rory O’Conner, a Student Council chaired by Ben Vickars, and the board of Trustees in a new format. This set-up, as you will read, has allowed us to continue to develop, engage with membership and strengthen the governance of the organisation. Thank you to all of you for participating in constructing these changes and especially to those who stood and have been elected in to positions for this next phase of the College’s journey.

As a charity the College has continued to focus on meeting its broad charitable objectives, including developing the scope and practice of paramedic science, providing Continuous Professional Development (CPD), promoting education and encouraging good clinical practice through research and leadership. We are pleased to report that during this year, through continued implementation of the five-year strategy we set out in 2019, we are meeting these objectives. I would encourage you to read all of this report, especially our new work on clinical development in both the primary and urgent care and the emergency and critical care domains. One advantage of the pandemic has been how the world has come together more through the use of technology. This year we ran a seven-day education conference and a 24-hour research conference, both internationally. We have supported 48 CPD events and co-sponsored four doctoral students as we continue to develop the paramedic-led evidence base.

The Kings Fund noted in their report into the pandemic, that it was a disaster without precedent, in which the workforce was centre stage. The toll of this pandemic has affected everyone across the profession, and as such our renewed focus on mental health and wellbeing is of primary importance and we are pleased, this year, to have appointed a lead in Jo Mildenhall.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Thank you to the staff team, the Council and Student Council and the Trustees, who continue to work tirelessly to create a brilliant College for us all, especially through what has yet again been an extraordinary year.

As we close 2021 the Trustees commend the annual report to you and we look forward to 2022, where the College will be turning 21 years old and submitting our application for Royal Charter.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Tracy Nicholls, FCPara

Welcome to our latest Annual Report, which outlines another extraordinary year for our profession. Firstly, may I say thank you to our members for their continued commitment to those who use the services of paramedics everywhere. The public have an enormous amount of trust and faith in us and our capabilities, which continues to be expressed across social media and through employers’ feedback systems. I am aware that many members don’t stop there, and thousands volunteer to help in other ways, which is exceptional and reflective of the desire to make life better for people. The health and care system has been under sustained and mounting pressure over the past two years, but our members, wherever they have worked, have shown continued compassionate care and professionalism throughout. These challenges are unlikely to disappear soon, so it is even more important that the College can provide help and support to all through these difficult times.

We maintain our focus on one of our five strategic aims in supporting the health and wellbeing of our members through working with employers, stakeholders and third sector organisations. Through this work the College has taken on Jo Mildenhall to lead some important mental health support work in providing help for those who need it most. Aligned to this, the College has also been working closely with Health Education England (HEE) on several educational and transformational projects, which will continue this year. These include embedding aspects of mental health in our curricula, strengthening our diversity, belonging and inclusion within our profession, enhancing our Diploma in Primary and Urgent Care and creating educational material that can be widely disseminated to ensure we can encourage more people to join this unique profession of ours.

This year has seen the first international, 24-hour research conference, drawn together by the indomitable Dr Julia Williams. This event was the first of its kind and showcased the best of paramedic-led research, which proved that our future is in safe hands with such talented people in our midst.

On another positive note, we were able to celebrate a milestone in the College’s history this year with our INSIGHT supplement on our 20th anniversary as a professional body. This is a great achievement, and it has been wonderful to hear so many stories about the birth of the College and those who have shaped and influenced it.

The College now has over 22,000 members and it is important that we make sure the College is fit for purpose and fit for future. With this in mind, we adapted our governance to ensure we can provide our members with an agile and flexible organisation that they continue to support. We also aim to improve our membership benefits and do more for our Associate and Student members next year.

My thanks must also go to the team in Bridgwater for keeping the wheels turning so seamlessly and who have dealt with the changes of home and office working with grace and compassion. Both my executive team and I thank them all for their adaptability. It goes without saying that the executive team themselves have taken on work that is over and above their own portfolios to make sure members views are represented at national

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stakeholder meetings and that the paramedic voice continues to be heard wherever it is needed.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

FROM THE CHAIR OF THE PARAMEDIC COUNCIL

Rory O’Connor, MCPara

It would be an understatement to describe 2021 as a challenging year for those who work in healthcare, and I want to pay tribute to all our members, who work across the whole health system, for their work and commitment in 2021. This has been a year with unique challenges, and I have no doubt that our health system continues to function largely due to the dedication of those working within it.

I took up my role as the inaugural Chair of the Paramedic Council this year, as we adapted our governance to make us more modern and fit for purpose as a membership organisation.

My belief is that, while we have a remit as the professional body for the paramedic profession in the UK, we only exist because at the moment over 22,000 individuals have chosen to be members of our organisation. As a membership organisation, our aim is to represent the wishes of our members.

Our new governance structure aims to ensure that members are at the heart of everything we do. I intend that, with 2021 being a year of new beginnings for our governance, we will be able to build on our new structure and deliver an organisation that is responsive to its members’ wishes.

I want to pay tribute to all those who have dedicated their time to making the College, and in particular the Paramedic Council, a success over the course of 2021 and to Richard Scott, Stuart Vallance, Vicky Kypta, Isobel Donaldson, Lewis Bowler, James Gough and Shane Woodhouse, all of whom stepped away from their roles this year. Each of them contributed significantly to the College, and I am personally thankful for their help and support.

With this has come significant renewal and change in membership at a senior level in the College. I feel that as a representative organisation, this change and renewal can bring its own benefit and allow us to glean new perspectives at a senior level within the College. I welcome Darran Griffiths (Wales), David Huckin (East Midlands), Scott Howie (Military and Overseas), Daniel Irvine (Scotland), Adrian McGrath (Northern Ireland), Gema Mee (West Midlands) and Paul Thomson-Elliott (North East), who together with Nick Groom (South East), Jon Price (North West), Graham Clark (Eastern), Jonathan Street (London), James Gardner (South West) and James Stubley (Yorkshire) will continue to strengthen the organisation as representatives on the Paramedic Council. Each of them has already contributed significantly and I am sure they will all continue in 2022 and beyond.

My thanks to all those members of the Paramedic Council who have contributed to important work that the College is undertaking on a national level, offering both their expertise and a member-focused view to ensure that the work we undertake has a member perspective at its heart.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

FROM THE CHAIR OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL

Ben Vickars

In 2021 the College of Paramedics embarked on what is arguably the biggest change in student representation since 2011, when the first student paramedic representative sat on the Board of Trustees as a non-voting member, by starting the Student Council.

Since then the inaugural Student Council has worked throughout the year to represent the nearly 5,000 student paramedics throughout all four nations. We not only held our regular

meetings, discussing issues raised in each region and responding as necessary, we also worked within the College, sending representatives to different working groups, task and finish groups, and spoke up wherever the voice of students was needed.

The Student Council worked with universities to ensure that student member representatives reached as many pre-registration education courses as possible, so that we could explain the Student Council to them and what support we would be able to offer. Our excellent Wales and South East member representatives (Emma Wainwright and Ellie Tanner, respectively) have built a new official Student Council Instagram account, which has attracted over 1,700 followers within the year. They hold regular mini CPD sessions and quizzes, and provide helpful information. Their work is one of the most public elements of the Student Council, and we are incredibly grateful for their endeavours.

Individually, the student member representatives have all been working hard to establish and build relationships with the ambulance trusts, universities and other parties within their region, ensuring that all voices are heard.

At the end of the year, three members of the Student Council said goodbye as they graduated from their courses and took on paramedic registration, namely Marcus McDonagh (Scotland), Stella Branthonne-Foster (London and Vice-Chair) and me (Chair and Paramedic Council member). Amy Hobbs took over the chair role from her previous position as Eastern student member representative, we gained new representatives in the London and Scotland seats and had our first elected student member representative for Northern Ireland. All roles changed over on 1st January 2022.

While the Student Council is new and still finding its feet, its work is already being seen in the College with new student representation continuing into the new year. Under a new chair and with new members, we are all excited to see where the Student Council goes in the new year.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

The Trustees, who are also Directors of the Charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, now present their report with the financial statements of the Charity for the year ending 31 December 2021. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Charities SORP (FRS 102): ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with Financial Reporting standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)’.

THE COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS

The College of Paramedics was established in 2001, first as the British Paramedic Association, and by the end of 2021 had grown to a membership of 22,212. It is the professional body for paramedics in the UK, and while its membership is primarily comprised of full members, who are registered health professionals, it also has student and associate members.

The College employs a workforce of 23 and relies on its membership to undertake a wide range of responsibilities, from becoming Trustees of the Board to taking leading roles in various projects, all within in a voluntary capacity.

The purpose of the College of Paramedics

Paramedics in the United Kingdom (UK) are health professionals who must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as the statutory regulator. As the professional body for paramedics, the College represents the interests of paramedics and works to develop the paramedic profession in the interests of service to the public.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Tim Gerhard FCA, MCPara

Finance Review

The results for the College are detailed on pages 35 to 48. For the year ended 31 December 2021 the College generated a deficit of £220,373 (2020 – surplus of £281,321).

The principal source of funding in the year was membership income of £1,808,944 (2020 - £1,624,695).

Total income during the period remained in line with 2020, at £2,057,936 (2020 - £1,977,037). Membership numbers continued to see a growth; in full members from 13,963 to 15,657 and associate and student members reduced slightly, from 6,562 to 6,555. Expenditure for the same period grew from £1,695,716 to £2,278,309.

Retained funds amounted to £1,039,718 at 31 December 2021 (2020 - £1,260,091) with the College having cash amounting to £1,581,671 (2020 - £1,369,117) and current liabilities of £734,575 (2020 - £330,463). The cash balance at the year end included advance project funding of £533,035 (2020 - £511,360).

The Trustees consider that the College has sufficient resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and, for this reason, they continue to adopt the goingconcern basis in preparing the accounts.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Reserves policy

The Trustees operate a reserves policy which aims to maintain a level of free reserves that will enable the College to ensure a continuity of activity and give the Trustees the ability to adjust the College’s overhead base in a measured way to significant changes in the external economic environment and demands on services provided by the charity. In addition, the College self-insures its Fitness to Practice scheme and therefore retains cash cover to meet the projected claims on this scheme. The College aims to maintain reserves of between 4 and 12 weeks of expected expenditure, with additional reference to single instalment annual payments such as insurance premium and account taken for project funding received in advance of the related expenditure.

At 31 December 2021 the College had unrestricted reserves (excluding fixed assets) of £506,683 (2020 - £748,731) representing 12 weeks (2020 – 23 weeks) of expected expenditure.

Any reserves generated in excess of the reserves policy are expected to be applied to the continued funding of step-changes in the Colleges’ transition from a small business to a larger more complex one. In particular with the increase in size and influence of the College it is anticipated that the strategic thrust of the College towards supporting the increased availability of evidence based literature underpinning the increasing diversity of Paramedic involvement throughout the social and healthcare systems will involve significant investment not all of which will be initially funded from the current membership but will become supportable in the near future.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The College of Paramedics is a Company limited by guarantee, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. It is registered as a Charity (Registered Number: 1164445) with the Charity Commission in England and Wales.

Recruitment and appointment of new Trustees

In 2021 the College completed a comprehensive governance structure review, driven by the Board of Trustees, involving member engagement and resulting in the structure described below. Trustees either hold specific positions within the Board or have oversight of specific portfolios related to the College Directorates. New Trustees are appointed from the full membership through election by Congress. The appointment process is laid out in the College Articles of Association and bylaws.

Members are now represented by members of the Paramedic Council who are full members of the College (apart from the member representative for students) and are elected by the College members residing or working within the region or sector they represent. The election process is laid out in the College Articles of Association and bylaws.

Both Trustees and member representatives are in post for a two-year term and are eligible to stand to be elected to one further term of two years. Trustees cannot also be employees of the College.

There is no formal process for the induction and training of Trustees, or member representatives, and one of the objectives for Congress is to put a formal process in place.

Congress is the body that is made up of Trustees and Paramedic Council members, which will receive, and represent to members at the Annual General Meeting, the annual accounts

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and Trustee report. Congress will also elect candidates from the voting membership to Trustee positions.

The proceedings of Congress shall be governed in accordance with rules or bylaws made by the Trustees and approved by Congress.

Organisational structure

The new governance structure was approved by the membership at an Extraordinary General Meeting in June 2021 and implemented at the Annual General Meeting in September 2021. The Board of Trustees now comprises the President, Vice President (Honorary Secretary), Chair of Paramedic Council and Honorary Treasurer plus five Trustees with specific responsibilities for membership and communication, education, professional standards, clinical development and research. The Board’s focus is on overseeing the charity’s strategy within a robust policy, governance and financial framework.

The new Paramedic Council comprises member representatives elected from each of 12 geographical areas in the UK and one representative each for military and overseas members and student members (who is also the Chair of the Student Council). All positions are elected for two years, with eligibility (excluding the Student Representative) to be elected to one further term of two years.

The Paramedic Council forms part of a stronger, more inclusive, membership focus within the College. The Council is to play an instrumental part in ensuring that strategy is developed and delivered with membership interests at its centre. The Council will be supported by Head Office staff to develop connections with members within their region or sector and build effective groups and networks.

The College has seen significant growth over recent years and has continued to adjust management and administrative resources, adapting capacity to ensure alignment with the growth of the organisation. The Chief Executive and her team, the Chief Executive Group (CEG), are responsible for the daily management of the College. They deliver the strategy on behalf of the Board, within time restrictions, reporting regularly on progress. The day-today administrative business of the College, previously conducted solely from its office in Bridgwater, Somerset, has been continued by an expanding staff, who now work within a hybrid or home working model.

Working together, the Board of Trustees, Paramedic Council and Chief Executive Group provide the collective leadership for the College of Paramedics and ensure the effective running of the charity, delivery of strategy and active membership representation.

The new governance structure has enabled the introduction of a Student Council for the paramedics and full members of the future, which mirrors the Paramedic Council. The Chair of the Student Council is a voting member of the Paramedic Council, within the member representative seat for student members.

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

The College of Paramedics vision is:

To inspire and enable all paramedics to participate in the profession within an environment based on safety, collegiality, inclusiveness, mental and physical wellbeing and innovation.

With a commitment to:

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Diversity – the presence, recognition and celebration of difference within the organisation and the profession.
Equity – identifying and working to eliminate barriers to fair treatment in access, opportunity and advancement for all, through systematic changes within the organisation.
Belonging – every individual is welcomed and feels they are an integral part of our profession and that they are represented at all levels of the organisation.
Wellbeing – physical, mental, social, spiritual, intellectual and economic wellness for all.

In 2021 our member-led Diversity Steering Group (DSG) recruited more members, and continued to work in an advisory role to the College and its Board of Trustees on EDI within both the College and the profession. The Group contributed to the workshops run by the government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, and provided the basis for the College response to that Commissions report, Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (collegeofparamedics.co.uk). In the autumn, the DSG response to the government consultation on making vaccination a condition of deployment in the health and social care sector was invaluable in helping inform the College response and was published on the website, Statements and Consultations (collegeofparamedics.co.uk).

Other DSG activities in 2021 have included the creation of the disability and race, ethnicity and cultural heritage strand groups that report into the DSG, the contribution to College member engagement through articles in Paramedic INSIGHT, and the organisation of a ‘Leader to Leader conversation’ on disability for International Day of People with Disabilities 2021 (collegeofparamedics.co.uk).

There is, of course, still much to do and the College has started 2022 with the recruitment of an EDI Manager, who will drive the delivery of our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy launched in 2021. This details tangible actions for the College, embedded in the five Strategic Aims of the College: Leadership, Excellence, Membership, Wellbeing and Strength. Due to the impetus to make a significant difference in a short timeframe, this is a 12-month action-based strategy. The EDI Manager will continue the yearly review of achievements and set objectives for the following 12 months.

Related parties

The College of Paramedics has formal working relationships with organisations both in the UK and overseas, all of which are under memoranda of understanding.

In addition, the charity has a subsidiary, the College of Paramedics Learning and Education Limited (COPLE). These accounts do not incorporate the subsidiary company, as the results of the subsidiary are immaterial in the context of the group accounts.

CHARITABLE OBJECTS

The charitable objects of the College of Paramedics are aimed at providing benefit to the public by enhancing healthcare and improving and saving lives. Advancing paramedic education, offering Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities, and promoting leadership and research within the paramedic profession are achieved through:

developing the scope and practice of paramedic science and related subjects in the paramedic profession for the benefit of the general public and practitioners;
managing a CPD process for the profession;
promoting education and training in paramedicine and related areas within the profession;

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encouraging and sharing good clinical practice and high standards of care through research and leadership.

Previous sections in this report have described some of the challenges faced during the pandemic. As previously noted, while the great majority of resources and effort during 2021 have been focused on supporting members and representing their needs on issues relating to their mental health and wellbeing, other business has continued to progress, albeit not at the pace to be expected under normal circumstances. The College has, however, refocused on the delivery of its five-year strategic aims.

The internet and its associated technologies have played an important role in most aspects of business, particularly in CPD where offerings were delivered virtually through a range of learning and engagement events online.

Podcasts and webinars became invaluable modalities for learning and updating opportunities where numerous collaborations were formed that added value to CPD, for example working with eLearning for Health to develop short clinically focussed modules for those in or returning to practice. The highlight of the year for online CPD was the first International Research Conference held over a 24-hour period and crossed through Canada and Australasia. This attracted a consistently high number of delegates, including attendees from many different countries around the world. After successful webinars for student paramedics, others are planned for primary care – an area of clinical practice that employs significant numbers of paramedics. Public health restrictions due to the pandemic caused the College of Paramedics’ 2021 National Conference to be held virtually, but it was a successful and well-attended event nonetheless.

The College has engaged heavily in education and research in 2021, and will maintain this momentum to make sure the paramedic profession is ‘fit for future’ and can support the inevitable growth required for the future workforce.

ACTIVITIES

To fulfil the objects set out above, the College has engaged in a range of activities during 2020, each of which fall within six categories:

Membership and communication
Education
Clinical development
Professional standards
Research
Administrative services.

Membership and communication

Despite the continued pandemic and the limited opportunities to reach non-members at face-to-face events, membership continued to grow during 2021.

During the year, the College of Paramedics:

attracted both members and non-members at a series of successful online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) events;
continued to target student members during the first year of their paramedic courses with presentations given by Student and Paramedic Council members as well as members of the Chief Executive Group;

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continued to use established communication channels, such as social media, the News Digest and Paramedic INSIGHT, to increase awareness of the benefits of membership and the work the College of Paramedics undertakes;
celebrated its 20th anniversary with a special anniversary supplement in Paramedic INSIGHT;
exhibited at and ran a series of CPD sessions at the Emergency Services Show;
exhibited at the Urgent Care Conference;
continued to increase engagement with College Liaisons.

Throughout 2021, the College was once again a focal point for the media. At the start of the year, we were inundated with requests from all over the world, with journalists wanting to know about the pressure on ambulance services as a result of Covid-19, and the subsequent impact this was having on paramedics in the UK. This issue in particular was the dominant media request we had throughout January, and was covered by many national newspapers, TV channels here and abroad, radio and online platforms.

As the year continued, our team of spokespeople were also asked to comment on other subjects, such as the use of body-worn cameras, mental health, handover delays and patient safety as a result of increased response times.

The responses to our UK-wide membership survey, carried out in July, also garnered significant regional press coverage with almost half of respondents reporting experience of physical violence at work and fear for their own safety.

In addition to the ongoing media interest, we have continued to collaborate well on communications with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) by developing joint press releases and providing a united front on the specific issue of hospital admissions and handover delays.

Over the course of 2021, the College has issued a number of news statements to members on a variety of subjects including our intention to seek royal charter status, our position on mandatory vaccination, the new chair of the Paramedic Council, the 50th anniversary of the inception of paramedics and the College’s own 20th birthday.

Further beneficial membership engagement has also been achieved via our monthly survey questions, the results of which continue to inform workstreams and the future direction of the College.

Education

The directorate is led by Bob Fellows and is actively supported by Dr Vince Clarke (Trustee for Education) and additionally by Gary Strong on CPD and several Post Registration topics.

The Education Directorate was previously ably supported by Business Administrator Sue Russel before she left the College in the summer of 2021 to undertake work closer to her home.

Working hard in the background is Kirsty Lowery-Richardson, our Vice-chair of the Education Advisory Group, and Graham Harris in his temporary role as Head of Endorsements. Paul Jones, in this endorsement role at the start of the year, has taken a sabbatical.

The COVID-19 pandemic continued with various challenges. The Education Directorate continued to support our members especially student paramedics as the pressures

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mounted; including from the reduction of both in-person study and placement opportunities. The College worked hard to advocate strongly for these students, working closely with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) and individual ambulance services to keep track of how many students were being employed, in what roles, and from which university programmes and which year. The College issued advice and guidance for these students. During 2021, the placement situation was monitored on a weekly basis, with ongoing discussions with Health Education England (HEE) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The College communicated closely with AACE, NHS Ambulance Trusts and other professional bodies, as well as the HEIs and students themselves.

HEE are undertaking a full review and a possible rebuild of the current newly qualified paramedic (NQP) pathway programme (in collaboration with the College and other stakeholders) into a 2-year foundation preceptorship to allow new registrants to be consistently supported in both ambulance and non-ambulance workplaces. The full impact will be seen in 2022/3. Ben Vickars, the outgoing Chair of Student Council, has joined the Education Advisory Group (EAG) as the link to those full members who are on the NQP pathway, and we know Ben will be a vital cog to link that lived experience into developing something very meaningful to all new paramedics.

Other key activities commenced in 2021 are as follows:

Development of a downloadable app for prospective students to better gain answers to questions when applying for Paramedic courses approved by the HCPC is underway in collaboration with our Student Council, which is now under the leadership of Amy Hobbs. This app is expected to be completed in late summer 2022.
The College successfully sought and received funding to film and make a new Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) film to encourage a better balance of our future workforce from underrepresented communities. This will be concluded in 2022.
Attendance at National Education Network for Ambulance Services (NENAS) meeting.
Digital visits undertaken to review various university programmes across the UK as part of the endorsement process.
Talking to new students (usually online) regarding joining the College as student members.
Regular interaction with AHP representatives, including education and policy leads.
FHEPS Committee, chaired by the Head of Education of the College of Paramedics. Much of this work involved giving national perspectives from the College and hearing the HEIs as they worked hard to maintain positive education links with students, many of whom were employed in clinical roles supporting the pandemic.
Discussions continue in relation to student finance and equity of funding possibilities, particularly related to exclusion from second degree funding, and as a result no access for learning support funding worth £3,000–5,000; we will not give up the fight for fair and equitable action.

Clinical development

At the end of 2020, the College of Paramedics invested in the Clinical Development Directorate by recruiting Helen Beaumont-Waters MCPara (Head of Clinical Development –

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Primary and Urgent Care) and Tony Stone MCPara (Head of Clinical Development – Emergency and Critical Care). Paul Aitken-Fell also joined the Board as Trustee for Clinical Development. This injection of capacity into the directorate cemented the College’s commitment to developing our members and the wider paramedic profession.

Primary and Urgent Care

Since the publication in January 2021 of Health Education England’s (HEE) Roadmap to Practice for paramedics employed in First Contact Practitioner (FCP) roles, the College continues to work hard to support paramedics moving into primary care. During 2021 the College also ran monthly sessions for employers of FCPs, aiming to facilitate a smooth transition for paramedics recruited into these roles. This included those working in ambulance trust rotation models, those recruited by a Primary Care Network (PCN) or directly employed. In addition to organising Roadmap Supervision courses, the College also facilitates support forums for Roadmap Supervisors, and for paramedic ambassadors in both ambulance trust and HEE posts, paramedics working in the justice system and those in palliative roles or hospice settings.

To better represent our members working in urgent care roles, the Primary and Urgent Care Special Interest Group (PUCSIG) recruited more urgent care paramedic members into the group, and a second PUCSIG was established to represent members from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The PUCSIGs are working on key projects that include updating the Employers’ Guide to paramedics in primary and urgent care, new skills acquisition in primary and urgent care settings and exploring indemnity arrangements for locum paramedics. They are also planning to launch a College Primary Care conference.

Emergency and Critical Care

The College has continued to represent the paramedic profession and champion clinical development by responding to several consultation requests from key stakeholders. These include the Resuscitation Council UK’s Anaphylaxis and Advanced Life Support guidelines, the Intercollegiate Board for Training in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine (IBTPHEM) Curriculum, Syllabus and Assessment System, the British Association of Perinatal Medicine’s Pre-Hospital Management of the Baby Born at Extreme Preterm Gestation , and NHS England’s Transformation of Urgent and Emergency Care: Models of Care and Measurement , amongst others. Furthermore, the College continues to represent members on multiple external committees, including the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) Credentialing Sub-Committee, RCEM PreHospital Emergency Medicine Professional Advisory Group, IBTPHEM Curriculum Committee, the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care (FPHC) Faculty Advisory Board, and the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC).

The College of Paramedics Critical Care Special Interest Group (CCSIG) met virtually several times throughout the year, with representation from across the UK. Key topics, such as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and formation of a national career development framework for paramedics working in pre-hospital critical care have been discussed. The CCSIG look forward to developing these ideas as we move into 2022 and onwards. Finally, the end of 2021 saw the International Critical Care Group revive with representation from the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The group looks to expand membership going forward to share research and models of working, and to support paramedic development globally.

Continuing Professional Development

CPD events are the most effective and interactive way for the College to engage with its members, and 2021 has been another bumper year for College of Paramedics events. Our small CPD team has once again ‘punched above its weight’ in the provision of an accessible

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programme of high-quality, low-cost learning events, in line with the strategic aims to ‘promote excellence in paramedic practice and grow an engaged membership’.

This year featured a blend of large national and international events, alongside smaller webinars. With the exception of the Emergency Services Show, all events were delivered online. Two events – the National Conference and the Research Conference – were hosted by an external company. All others, including the week-long International Education Conference, were hosted by the College using Zoom. This included a programme of shared events with the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, notably the JRCALC update conference, which is now an annual feature of the events calendar.

All planning, publicity, technical support and follow up for these events were delivered and facilitated by the College’s part time CPD Events Officer, Soma Eatwell, supported by the National CPD Lead and a Paramedic Advisor.

The College’s member-only CPD Hub now has over 400 videos covering a wide range of topics. Members are able to upload reflections to their personal member profile, which can be used to create their portfolio of evidence of CPD.

The 2021 Membership Engagement Survey found that CPD provision is the most valued member benefit, as ranked by 73% of respondents – and 74% said the College did it well. Plans are in place to strengthen the CPD Events Team to ensure that we have the capacity and resources to build on these successes, in line with the strategic aim to strengthen the organisation.

Professional standards

Two major projects to fulfil our strategic aim to Support Paramedic Health and Wellbeing were successfully launched in 2021. The first, which was funded by the Covid Healthcare Support Appeal, recruited Jo Mildenhall as the Enhancing the Mental Health of Paramedics project lead. The aims of this project are to implement a range of evidence-based support opportunities and services for our membership to address current unmet psychological needs. The second project that got underway, led by our two Academic Leads, Emma Geis and Katie Pavoni, was the Future Workforce Mental Health Project. Its three key aims are to develop specific curriculum guidance around personal mental health and wellbeing for preregistration students, the production of a wellbeing support tool and the development of a learning package for preceptorship supervisors.

The College continues to work collaboratively on employee wellbeing and suicide prevention in the NHS ambulance sector by being part of the national working group. This group was responsible for production of a suite of documents in 2021 on suicide prevention in the ambulance service, including a postvention toolkit for use following an ambulance service employee suicide.

Our CEO, Tracy Nicholls was joined by Liz Harris, Head of Professional Standards at the Royal Foundation Emergency Services Mental Health Symposium in London. The Symposium brought together 200 leaders from across fire, ambulance, police and search and rescue, as well as the Health Secretary Sajid Javid. At the event, HRH The Duke of Cambridge announced a UK first, an unprecedented agreement, declaring that mental health is, and will remain, a strategic priority for all UK emergency services, which means for the first time a uniform set of standards for supporting the mental health of emergency responder staff will be adopted and integrated into workplaces.

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The Head of Professional Standards continued to provide support for several key business as usual areas of College work, including our National Conference and other CPD events, new student welcome talks, press and media enquiries and ongoing social media activities.

Attendance at the AHP Federation, Policy Officers Group was passed to Professional Standards during 2021; this will remain an ongoing activity until the College recruits into a specific Policy Officer role. Two further national groups attended under the NHS People Plan workstream: the People Plan Advisory Group and the AHP Workforce and Education Strategic Oversight Forum.

During 2021, in preparation for our submission to the Department of Health and Social Care ‘Making vaccination a condition of deployment in the health and wider social care sector’ consultation, we ran a survey to offer our members the opportunity to share their opinions with us and contribute to that response. A detailed report of the results from this survey was presented to Congress in October 2021.

Research

The activities within the College of Paramedics’ Centre for Research and Development escalated significantly in 2021. Having a focal point in the form of a Research and Development Centre has enabled the College to raise the profile of the work that the College is doing in relation to research, which in turn:

provides developmental opportunities for members, thus increasing engagement from members;
ensures the promotion, development and execution of paramedic related research, which ultimately promotes excellence in paramedic practice;
ensures that other external organisations are aware of the research that is being undertaken relevant to the paramedic profession and the potential that the CoP has within its membership to support, develop and undertake future research. This is being escalated through the College of Paramedics’ Centre for Research and Development, which brings together all of our eclectic research activities and is key to our external and internal visibility;
ensures that research is afforded equal standing within the structure of the organisation, and again this is being led via the College of Paramedics’ Centre for Research and Development.

Administrative services

Following recruitment and selection processes, a number of new roles were filled within the administrative team to increase the capacity as the organisation continues to grow. These appointments were Teifion Swift as IT Manager, Yvonne Cooze, as Head of Business Continuity, Helen Lumber as Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive, Lily Collins as Finance Assistant and Tallulah Stinger as Intern.

To accommodate the increase in Head Office staff the College has expanded its current office, by leasing additional space for the use of staff as well as the Board, Council and Executive, providing for both working and meeting functions.

The Paramedic and Student Council election took place in accordance with the Articles of Association and Bylaws.

The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system has continued to be developed and upgrade projects are undertaken to improve the member experience, the collection of membership data and the management of membership fees. An upgrade to our existing

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GoCardless system was completed in October 2021, enabling improvements to the administration of membership fees collected by direct debit.

Throughout 2021, a full review of the Company Health and Safety requirements was undertaken, supported by Croner, including risk assessments, Health and Safety Policy and staff Health and Safety training. This culminated in our first Health and Safety audit being undertaken in June.

Following on from a review of the College Honour Awards in 2020, the College Competitive Awards were reviewed and refreshed during 2021 and newly launched in January of 2022.

In 2021 the College has again provided members with access to specialist legal assistance under the ‘Fitness to Practise’ scheme, with 77 enquiries to the College this year. This has continued to be a very important and valuable benefit to members. Since December 2018 over 80 members have been supported by Brabners Solicitors at an Investigating Committee Hearing and/or Final Hearing.

Public benefit

Under more normal circumstances, when describing how the professional body for paramedics in the UK brings benefit to the public, the Board of Trustees of the College of Paramedics would be reaffirming the central importance of the development and advancement of its membership as registered paramedics who are individually accountable for their actions. While that statement continues to be relevant, 2021 has been another exceptional year, one in which the efforts of the College of Paramedics have been largely focused on supporting its members during the most challenging and sustained time or pressure on the NHS in living memory.

As the effects of the pandemic on health and care services remains, the focus of the College of Paramedics has been on ensuring that its members on the frontline were properly protected and supported and that student paramedics were given clear and supportive guidance for the decisions they were faced with throughout their learning.

There is still extensive lobbying on the issue of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline members, with many more important and hugely beneficial relationships being established, which will continue to provide benefit to the paramedic profession and the people it serves well after the pandemic. Throughout 2021, the College of Paramedics strengthened its support and wellbeing processes for members, specifically in mental health and for those from diverse backgrounds, many of whom were much more vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 virus.

Caring for and supporting student paramedics remains an important investment. They are the future of the paramedic profession; they need to qualify and register in significant numbers to ensure care for patients is maintained to the levels expected in years to come. The quality of their education and the consistency of their experiences are key facets in producing individuals with the knowledge, skills and the necessary professionalism to deliver public or private services as paramedics. Throughout 2021, the College of Paramedics has been in discussions with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), Health Education England (HEE), employers and the independent regulator, over provisions for student paramedics, and simultaneously provided the students with clear guidance and access to support.

This has been a very different year in the way in which the College, as a professional body for paramedics, delivered public benefit. It has predominantly been about supporting

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members to be physically and mentally fit and well enough to do their jobs and to be there for the public as a first point of contact. Many of our members have had to self-isolate, others became ill, and some have required help themselves, but throughout the pandemic, the paramedic profession has maintained services and support to the usual exceptional standard, and every effort has been made to preserve care for the future.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Membership and communication

The table below shows the membership figures for 2021. Full membership increased by 12 per cent, student members decreased by 3 per cent and associate members increased by 8 per cent, with a total membership increase of 8 per cent. Importantly, the percentage of paramedics who are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and who are members of the College of Paramedics increased from 45.9 to 48.9 per cent.

REGISTRANTS	MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY	1 JANUARY 2021	31 DECEMBER 2021	% (+/-)
HCPC registrants		30,422	31,988	5
	Full members	13,963	15,657	12
	Student members	4,855	4,710	-3
	Associate members	1,707	1,845	8
	TOTAL membership	20,525	22,212	8
Full membership as a percentage of HCPC registrants		45.9%	48.9%

Member engagement through the College social media platforms increased further in 2021 with successful campaigns around the Paramedic and Student Council elections and Honour Awards recipients. This is set to develop further in 2022 with the appointment of a Digital and Social Media Marketing Assistant in January.

The fact that the College was able to successfully respond to and work with the press and media on the vast majority of requests that came into the College, in these times of constant challenge for the profession, has been instrumental in further boosting the College’s profile and cementing its reputation as a trusted, representative, media-friendly organisation.

Education

Education activities undertaken by the members of the Education directorate resulted in several achievements in 2021:

One very clear success was the International Education conference held online for seven days over three different time zones to get a full international impact of participation and learning. Vince Clarke and Kirsty Lowery-Richardson were the driving force, supported by Soma Eatwell from the events team.
Regular Education Committee (EC) and Education Advisory Group (EAG) meetings, held four times a year.
Promotion of the three videos aimed at student paramedics to join the College, which can be viewed on our website.
The Paramedic Practice Educator Guidance book (edited by Dr Vince Clarke) was distributed to every practice educator in the UK.

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Endorsements for HEIs has increased significantly under the guidance of Graham Harris, with five successfully conducted. These included three pre-registration programmes within newly HCPC approved Higher Education Institutions (two at BSc (Hons) and one at MSc level), one new pre-registration programme within an existing university and a reendorsement of an existing course.

A total of 15 of the 46 UK universities (33%) are now endorsed by the College of Paramedics and new endorsements will continue at pace into 2022, when we expect to have over half of all paramedic education degree programmes approved by the College.

Clinical development

During 2021, engaging with the College membership has been key in shaping the Directorate’s workstream priorities. The beginning of the year saw great success with the respective Primary and Urgent Care and Emergency and Critical Care membership surveys. Further engagement included attendance at the Emergency Services Show, the Trauma Care conference, the Urgent Care Conference, and the College of Paramedics National Conference. Finally, the ‘Sharing our Vision’ roadshow visited Northern Ireland in autumn 2021. The College’s Heads of Clinical Development look forward to visiting Scotland in spring 2022, with Wales and England to follow. The Directorate has also amplified the member voice among external stakeholders through engagement with various stakeholder groups.

As a prosperous beginning to the Student Council’s support of issues facing paramedic students, vital conversations on the experiences of female students in the paramedic profession have led to the creation of a series of webinars. These webinars, in partnership with Brabners LLP, covered how to spot when something is wrong, tackle those difficult conversations, promote safe working spaces and more, providing all paramedics with the tools to recognise sexual harassment and to feel empowered to challenge and report it in the most effective and appropriate way.

Professional standards

The Professional Standards Directorate continued with its commitment to reduce the number of inappropriate self-referrals to the HCPC by co-hosting a webinar on this subject with the HCPC’s Professional Liaison team. The webinar took delegates through a series of case

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studies to improve understanding around when self-referral is necessary and also how the new guidance on Health and Character might impact on a registrant’s self-referral decisions. Our Head of Professional Standards also delivered a presentation at the Emergency Services Show on ‘Registration, renewal and referral’. An additional collaboration with the HCPC was another webinar called ‘Professionalism in practice: Joining the UK workforce’, aimed at international registrants.

The Clinical Supervision: A Framework for UK Ambulance Services document was completed and launched in 2021. The College was a key contributor to this piece of work, led by representatives from the Association of Ambulance Chiefs Executives (AACE). The aim of the document is to provide a common, safe and structured clinical supervision approach that can be adopted by all UK Ambulance Services for any member of staff who has contact with patients. Other collaborative work continues with AACE, with the continuation of the ‘Uncomfortable conversations’ series of joint webinars. The subjects covered this year include ‘equality and inclusion’ and ‘abuse of positions of trust’.

The Professional Standards team submitted responses to the following consultations in 2021: The HCPC Revised Guidance on Health and Character consultation, the Professional Standards Authority Performance review of the HCPC 2021/2, and three Department of Health and Social Care consultations, (1) Reforming the Mental Health Act White Paper, (2) Regulating Healthcare Professionals, Protecting the Public and (3) Mandatory Vaccination of Covid19 and Flu for Health and Social Care Workers. All our consultation responses can be found on our website.

To begin our increased offer to improve support for paramedic mental health and wellbeing we ran two ‘Reflective Spaces’ support groups, facilitated by Doctors in Distress. These comprised an eight-week programme of regular facilitated safe spaces for paramedics to share experiences within small groups, offering the opportunity to decompress, and allowing them to be heard and recognised, reflect and chat. These programmes evaluated well, and we will build upon them in 2022.

Our support for national mental health awareness week, world suicide prevention day, time to talk day, and the ‘Every Mind Matters’ campaign was continued in 2021 through all our communication channels.

Our Wellbeing App was also launched in 2021. This free app, available for all our members, helps individuals get an accurate picture of their mental wellbeing, increases their selfawareness and enables the user to track their progress over time, all supporting healthy habits. Ongoing promotion of this valuable member benefit will continue alongside analysis of data and feedback.

Research

Some of the achievements for 2021 include the following:

Delivery of a 24-hour International Research Conference, working collaboratively with other paramedic professional bodies and organisations in north America, northern Europe and Australasia.
Completion of COVID-19 Ambulance Response Assessment, with three papers in submission for publication.
Initiation of four full-time PhD studentships, with a UK-based university investing £249,000 in total, and the College contributing £29,000 in total over three years.
The annual Research Small Grant Awards were advertised, reviewed and managed. Three awards were made in 2021.
Leading on research projects such as BADGERS; analysis of the NETS study administered throughout 2021 externally funded by HEE.

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Successful joint application with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine to the National Institute Health Research to develop educational resources for research. Awarded £90,000. Work has commenced on the development of these resources.
Continued development of collaborative opportunities to promote research with various other organisations including:
Council for Allied Health Professions Research
Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RECM) – including shared webinar presentation with Incubator for Emergency Medicine
999 Research Forum.
Advising and supporting members when applying for research grant applications, including NIHR-funded clinical research programmes of study in order to increase capacity and capability in research from within the paramedic profession.
Awarding the College of Paramedics Annual Award at the 999 Research Forum’s conference for ‘Research Most Likely to Influence Practice’.
RDAC have reviewed and advised on 23 studies this year, helping to support development of research and research grant applications.
Representation on various national committees and organisations including:
National Ambulance Research Steering Group
999 Research Forum
Royal College of Emergency Medicine
Incubator for Emergency Medicine
Association of Ambulance Chief Executives and JRCALC
National Trauma group
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
Clinical Research Network
Trauma and Emergencies National Group
Royal College of GPs
AGP Alliance.
Development of a national register for research studies hosted by the College of Paramedics.

Administrative services

In 2021 the College completed a two-year, comprehensive, governance structure review, driven by the Board of Trustees and involving member engagement. The accompanying governing document, the Articles of Association, were approved by members at an Extraordinary General Meeting in June.

To allow for continuity of knowledge and experience, five of the Representative Trustees transferred to being Member Representatives on the new Paramedic Council. This left eight vacancies to be filled in 2021. This was accomplished through an election and by election process, with three contested seats across both elections and all available positions filled.

Additionally, our first Chair of Council election was held, with four excellent candidates being voted on by Congress.

The second Student Council election was also completed, with two of the five seats contested and all available positions filled. These seats included the position of Chair of the Student Council.

The names of College Trustees and member representatives can be found on page 3 and page 4 of this report.

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In February 2021 the College introduced our first Membership Policy, and this was issued to all existing members in March 2021 and all new members joining since this date. This policy details the terms and conditions of membership, including membership categories, members responsibilities, and the payment of membership fees. The Policy provides the framework for the management of memberships, for the benefit of members and employees alike.

Risk management

During this year, our risk management methods allowed us to continue monitoring existing and potential operational risks, identify new risks and monitor the impact of existing risks.

The alignment of our identified major risks encompassed the key aspects of the impact of the virus:

Financial and economic risk – additional income streams for the future.
Reputational risk – decision-making and communication to members.
Membership risk – loss of membership growth.
Technological and cyber risk – cyber threats or malicious hacking of data.

The College of Paramedics made several appointments last year that have been instrumental in the mitigation of risk throughout 2021. The IT Manager has enabled the College to be much more agile in terms of cyber risks, and a new strategy will be designed to lead us into the next phase of the College’s growth, with greater security for our members’ data and for our own business.

The changes in the governance structure in 2021 strengthened the College’s ability to review and manage risk across both the Board of Trustees, the Council and the Student Council. Risks are now discussed across the organisation, which gives greater oversight and assurance. The Chief Executive Group are able to address risks aligned to the Board Assurance Framework (BAF), and this is reviewed regularly at the Finance, Risk and Assurance Committee (FRAC).

The Board recognises that with a small operational team, COVID-19 continues to pose a threat to the continuity of the organisation in transacting its day-to-day business and the resilience of strategic and tactical decision-making. Much of this has been mitigated through remote working, the use of video conferencing and, when absolutely needed, the use of appropriate personal protective equipment and social distancing if a face-to-face meeting has been strictly necessary. Regular executive team meetings ensure that the organisation retains sufficient resilience to safeguard the continued operation of the charity if key individuals become incapacitated.

We continue to improve our internal controls where possible, and the Board regularly reviews the Board Assurance Framework.

Key management personnel

The key management personnel are considered to be the Trustees, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Executive Group. Trustees are not remunerated for their roles as Trustees. Decisions on staff remuneration (including senior management) are made by the Remuneration Committee. The Remuneration Committee meet annually to review staff remuneration, which is benchmarked against other organisations.

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Future developments

The College continued delivery of the 2019-2024 five-year strategy throughout 2021, with all objectives and aims being tracked in a strategic implementation plan. The five strategic aims are:

Support paramedic health and wellbeing.
Shape the future of the paramedic profession.
Promote excellence in paramedic practice.
Grow an engaged membership.
Strengthen the organisation.

Continuing to engage with members will be essential in working with them to shape the future together and allowing the profession to reach its potential and in supporting member health and wellbeing. The Paramedic and Student Councils will play a vital role in increasing direct member involvement with the College, at a local, regional and national level.

The strategy sets out to build on developing the voice of the paramedic profession as it continues to mature and is recognised for its unique contribution to delivering care in a wider range of practice settings. Developing a stronger organisation is the cornerstone of achieving this and will be a specific priority as we head towards becoming the Royal College of Paramedics.

During the second year within a global pandemic, and ongoing up to the time of the publication of this report, the College is taking a ‘business as usual’ approach, with normal functions being adapted as and when to the changing Covid risk. The College will continue to maintain vigilance with regard to new variants of the virus, which have the potential to interrupt the normal business mechanisms further.

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FURTHER HIGHLIGHTS AND CELEBRATIONS FROM 2021

On July 17 Tracy Nichols, our Chief Executive, joined forces with Anna Parry of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), Kerry Gulliver of East Midlands Ambulance Service and Will Hancock of South Central Ambulance Services for the ultimate challenge to raise money for The Ambulance Staff Charity (TASC).

This involved completing the fastest zipline in the world and climbing Mount Snowdon at night, which they successfully completed, raising £5,000 for TASC. This charity helps care for the mental, physical and financial wellbeing of the UK’s ambulance community.

In January 2021 COLLEGE KNOWLEDGE was launched, which aims to provide members with ongoing knowledge of the College’s activities all in one place. Regularly updated, you will find brief outlines of developments, publications and workstreams, and updates on national groups that the College’s staff are involved with or leading on.

In April 2021 the College of Paramedics joined the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC), which represents over 650,000 health professionals working across the NHS, including GPs, surgeons and nurses, to advocate for responses to climate change that simultaneously protect and promote public health. Chair of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, Dr Richard Smith said:

We are delighted to have the paramedics join us. They are an increasingly important group within healthcare, and countering the climate crisis requires action from every group of health professionals.

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THE ROLL OF HONOUR OF THE COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS

The College of Paramedics Honour Awards recognise and celebrate outstanding work and contributions to the development of the paramedic profession and the furtherance of the College of Paramedics’ objectives and growth.

The two Honour Awards are the Fellowship and the Honorary Fellowship:

The conferment of Fellow of the College of Paramedics is made to paramedics who are full members of the College, and is represented by the post-nominal of FCPara.
The conferment of Honorary Fellow of the College of Paramedics can be made to individuals, regardless of professional background or qualification. Honorary Fellows are not entitled to use a post-nominal and cannot be members of the College Honours and Awards Committee.

In addition to fellowships and on rare occasions, the College may confer a Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is made to individuals, regardless of professional background, in recognition of an outstanding career, during which significant contributions have been made to the development and standing of the paramedic profession.

The College Competitive Awards provide our members and colleagues the opportunity to showcase their clinical or reflective abilities through the submission of a case study, and also highlight the outstanding efforts of a final year student. The Award will be given to just one nominee or entry each year. These awards include Paramedic Student of the Year, the John Hinds Scholarship Award and the Carol Furber Award.

Listed below are those recipients awarded in 2021. Previous recipients are listed on the College website. For a number of reasons, the Paramedic Student of the Year and the Carol Furber Award were not run in 2021. A fresh launch of these two awards for student members, along with a Roland Furber Award that all members of the College can enter, will be made in 2022.

Award Recipients

Fellows

Aimee Yarrington Els Freshwater Graham McClelland Kirsty Lowery-Richardson Rhian Monteith Will Broughton

Companions

Harrison Young

Honorary Fellows Andrea James Bo Escritt

John Hinds Scholarship Award 2021

Edel Morrow

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STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees (who are also directors of the College for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ report and 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 income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice , applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102);
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records 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.

Each of the Trustees confirms that:

so far as the Trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware;
the Trustee has taken all the steps that he/she ought to have taken as a Trustee in order to make himself/herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charitable company’s auditor is aware of that information.

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of §418 of the Companies Act 2006.

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

On behalf of the Board:

Tim Gerhard, Trustee:

Date: 14 July 2022

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of College of Paramedics (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 December 2021 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, and statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and notes to the financial statements. 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:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 December 2021 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

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, who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the

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Other information (continued)

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.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

the information given in the trustees’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the trustees’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in 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:

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

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, 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.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

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

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.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
We identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charity through discussions with key management and from our knowledge and experience of the charity sector; and
We focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements of the charity. These included but were not limited to the Charities Act 2011, Companies Act 2006, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

making enquiries of management as to their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and
considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements (continued)

performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimate for the provision for bad debts were indicative of potential bias; and
investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

review of minutes of trustee meetings;
assessment of correspondence with legal representatives;
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims;
agreeing financial statements disclosures to underlying supporting documentation

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

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, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Hugh Swainson (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

19 July 2022

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Statement of financial activities year to 31 December 2021

Notes	Unrestricted funds £	Restricted funds £	2021 Total funds £	2020 Total funds £
Income from: Other trading activities 1 Charitable activities 1 Other income Total income Expenditure on: Charitable activities 2 Total expenditure Net (expenditure) income and net movement in funds 4 Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	38,652 1,836,858 2,286	— 180,140 —	38,652 2,016,998 2,286	12,824 1,962,245 1,968
	1,877,796	180,140	2,057,936	1,977,037
	2,119,844	158,465	2,278,309	1,695,716
	2,119,844	158,465	2,278,309	1,695,716
	(242,048) 748,731	21,675 511,360	(220,373) 1,260,091	281,321 978,770
	506,683	533,035	1,039,718	1,260,091

All recognised gains and losses arising in the year are included in the above Statement of Financial Activities.

All amounts relate to continued activities.

The notes on pages 41 to 48 form part of the financial statements.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Balance sheet as at 31 December 2021

Notes	2021 Total funds £	2020 Total funds £
Fixed assets Intangible assets 9 Tangible assets 10 Investments 11 Total fixed assets Current assets Stock Debtors 12 Cash at bank and in hand Total current assets Liabilities Amounts falling due within one year Creditors 13 Provisions for liabilities 14 Total current liabilities Net current assets Total net assets The funds of the Charity: 16 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total Charity funds	62,935 8,282 1	73,321 8,316 1
	71,218 12,562 108,842 1,581,671	81,638 12,364 127,435 1,369,117
	1,703,075 (246,156) (488,419)	1,508,916 (166,663) (163,800)
	(734,575)	(330,463)
	968,500	1,178,453
	1,039,718	1,260,091
	506,683 533,035	748,731 511,360
	1,039,718	1,260,091

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 14 July 2022 and were signed on its behalf by:

Tim Gerhard, Trustee

College of Paramedics: A company limited by guarantee, Company Registration No. 05062387 (England and Wales)

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Statement of cash flows Year to 31 December 2021

Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 December 2021

A Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities

Notes	2021 £	2020 £
Cash flows from operating activities: Net cash provided by operating activities A Cash flows from investing activities: Purchase of intangible & tangible fixed assets Increase in cash and cash equivalents in the year Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year B Cash and cash equivalents at the end of theyear B	242,652 (30,098)	545,104 (40,693)
	212,554 1,369,117	504,411 864,706
	1,581,671	1,369,117
	2021 £	2020 £
Net (expenditure) income for the reporting period (as per the statement of financial activities) Adjustments for: Increase in stock Depreciation and amortisation Decrease in debtors Increase in creditors Net cashprovided by operating activities	(220,373) (198) 40,518 18,593 404,112	281,321 (3,420) 24,474 838 241,891
	242,652	545,104

B Analysis of changes in net debt

Analysis of changes in net debt
	2020 £	Cash flows £	2021 £
Cash at bank Cash in hand Total cash and cash equivalents	1,369,077 40	212,554 —	1,581,631 40
	1,369,117	212,554	1,581,671

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Principal accounting policies 31 December 2021

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the accounts are laid out below.

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard 102, the Companies Act 2006 and the requirements of the Charities SORP (FRS 102): 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)'.

College of Paramedics meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

These financial statements have been prepared for the year to 31 December 2021, presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest pound.

Group financial statements

Consolidated financial statements are not produced on the basis that the results of the trading subsidiary are immaterial in the context of the overall group position.

Going concern

The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these financial statements. The trustees have made this assessment in respect to a period of one year from the date of approval of these accounts. This is based on budgets and cashflow forecasts to December 2022 and projections beyond.

The trustees of the charity have concluded that there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees are of the opinion that the charity will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due. The most significant areas of judgement that affect items in the accounts are detailed below.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Preparation of the financial statements requires the trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates.

The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

determining the stage of progress of grant programmes covering more than one financial year for income recognition purposes;
determining whether funding agreements in substance are restricted grant funding or a contract for services;

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement (continued)

estimation of future obligations in relation to legal costs with respect to Fitness to Practise cases brought against members where the claim relates to events taking place prior to the end of the reporting period;
estimating the useful economic life of tangible and intangible fixed assets; and
estimating expected future income and expenditure and the timing of cash flows for the purpose of determining going concern.

Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specified purposes laid down by the donor. Expenditure for those purposes is charged to the fund, together with a fair allocation of overheads and support costs where appropriate.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other income received or generated for expenditure on the general objectives of the Charity.

Income recognition

Voluntary income is received by way of grants, donations and gifts and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Grants, where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the Charity, are recognised when the Charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant. Where grant funding is provided to support a programme of work to be delivered over a period of time, these are considered timerelated performance conditions and the income is spread over the life of the grant agreement. Expenditure is used as a proxy for calculating the time-related adjustment to income.

Membership income is recognised in accordance with the period of membership. Memberships received in advance are deferred and are included within creditors.

Investment income is recognised when receivable.

Expenditure recognition

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Allocation of support costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the Charity's programmes and activities.

Support costs have been allocated to charitable activities.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Tangible fixed assets

Individual assets with an expected useful life exceeding one year are capitalised at cost. Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Plant and machinery etc.

20-33% on a straight line basis

Intangible fixed assets

Amortisation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off the cost of each asset over its estimated useful life, amortisation is charged from the date the asset comes into use:

Database and website

33% on a straight line basis

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition.

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt.

Operating leases

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the income and expenditure account on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

Stock

Stock represents goods purchased for resale and is held at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

Financial instruments

The charity only holds basic financial instruments as defined in FRS 102. The financial assets and financial liabilities of the charity and their measurement basis are as follows:

Financial assets – other debtors are basic financial instruments and are debt instruments measured at amortised cost. Listed investments are a basic financial instrument as detailed above. Prepayments are not financial instruments.

Cash at bank – classified as a basic financial instrument and is measured at face value.

Financial liabilities – accruals and other creditors are financial instruments, and are measured at amortised cost.

Pension costs

Contributions in connection with the charity’s defined contribution scheme are charged to the statement of financial activities in the period in which they become payable to the scheme.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Notes to the financial statements 31 December 2021

1 Income

Income
	2021 £	2020 £
Other trading activities Advertising income Sale of merchandise Charitable activities Subscriptions Membership income Course endorsement Sponsorship Conference and course income Paramedic Practitioner exam Research Other Grants: eLearning project Health Education England CHSA Bridgepoint	13,698 24,954	10,020 2,804
	38,652	12,824
	9,275 1,808,944 9,750 3,000 13,821 (14,900) 5,000 1,968 — 180,140 — —	3,937 1,624,695 — 8,000 2,408 15,725 — — 137,680 19,800 100,000 50,000
	2,016,998	1,962,245

Included in the above is £180,140 restricted income from the Health Education England.

2 Expenditure on charitable activities

Expenditure on charitable activities
Activity Cost	2021 £	2020 £
Direct costs Funded projects-grant – Staff costs Funded projects-grant-Other direct costs John Hinds Scholarship Paramedic Practitioner Exam Independent prescribing project Membership Member insurance Membership FTP Representation Membership Newsletter costs Membership Bank and card charges Membership Other direct costs Grants Research grants given Conferences, travel and courses Event and conference costs Course endorsements Approval visitors expenses eLearning project-Staff costs eLearning project-Other direct costs Staff and other costs Support costs (see note 3)	26,413 91,664 827 693 — 186,708 702,919 69,974 81,898 123,681 6,886 41,905 9,250 13,125 26,466 746,027 149,873	— — 460 — 4,470 176,110 522,731 62,965 62,461 119,539 — 29,612 — — 46,452 583,640 87,276
	2,278,309	1,695,716

Research grants

Research grants were given to individuals in relation to projects related to the objectives of the Charity.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Notes to the financial statements 31 December 2021

3 Support costs

Support costs
	2021 £	2020 £
Management Governance costs Depreciation and amortisation	98,735 10,620 40,518	52,782 10,020 24,474
	149,873	87,276

4 Net income

Net income is stated after charging:

	2021 £	2020 £
Depreciation and amortisation – owned assets Auditor’s fees Operating lease rentals – property Operatinglease rentals – other	40,518 10,620 24,893 2,627	24,474 10,020 15,708 2,292

5 Trustees’ remuneration and benefits

No remuneration was paid to the trustees during the year (2020 - £nil).

Trustees’ Expenses

Trustees’ expenses to the value of £2,081 were paid to 6 trustees (2020 - £4,133 to 8 trustees) by the Charity in relation to travel and subsistence expenses.

6 Staff costs

Staff costs
	2021 £	2020 £
Wages and salaries Social security costs Employer contributions to defined contribution pension	627,259 58,722 11,356	495,814 42,186 8,189
	697,337	546,189

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

	2021	2020
Management and administration Project staff	24 1	19 —
	25	19

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Notes to the financial statements 31 December 2021

6 Staff costs (continued)

One employee was remunerated in the banding £80,001 - £90,000 (2020 – one employee remunerated in the banding £80,001 - £90,000). No other employees were paid in excess of £60,000 during 2021 and 2020.

The key management personnel of the Charity comprise the Trustee Executives and the Chief Executive Officer. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the Charity (including employer’s social security and pension costs) were £100,729 (2020 - £99,518).

7 Corporation tax

The College of Paramedics is a registered charity and therefore is not liable to income tax or corporation tax on income derived from its charitable activities, as it falls within the various exemptions available to registered charities.

8 Comparative Statement of Financial Activities for year ended 31 December 2020

Notes	Unrestricted funds £	Restricted funds £	2020 Total funds £	2019 Total funds £
Income from: Donations and legacies 1 Other trading activities 1 Charitable activities 1 Other income Total income Expenditure on: Charitable activities 2 Total expenditure Net income and net movement in funds 4 Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	— 12,824 1,654,765 1,968	— — 307,480 —	— 12,824 1,962,245 1,968	2,544 30,629 1,965,594 1,718
	1,669,557	307,480	1,977,037	2,000,485
	1,648,804	46,912	1,695,716	1,511,815
	1,648,804	46,912	1,695,716	1,511,815
	20,753 727,978	260,568 250,792	281,321 978,770	488,670 490,100
	748,731	511,360	1,260,091	978,770

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Notes to the financial statements 31 December 2021

9 Intangible fixed assets

Intangible fixed assets
	Database £
Cost At 1 January 2021 Additions At 31 December 2021 Amortisation At 1 January 2021 Charge for year At 31 December 2021 Net book value At 31 December 2021 At 31 December 2020	93,591 24,960
	118,551
	20,270 35,346
	55,616
	62,935
	73,321

Intangible fixed assets relate to costs incurred on the development of bespoke Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database.

10 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets
	Plant and equipment £
Cost At 1 January 2021 Additions At 31 December 2021 Depreciation At 1 January 2021 Charge for year At 31 December 2021 Net book value At 31 December 2021 At 31 December 2020	41,837 5,138
	46,975
	33,521 5,172
	38,693
	8,282
	8,316

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Notes to the financial statements 31 December 2021

11 Fixed asset investment

					Shares in
					group under-
					takings
					£
At	1	Januaryand	31	December	1

The investment at the balance sheet date in the share capital of companies comprise the following:

College of Paramedics Learning and Education Limited

Nature of business:	Education
Class of shares:	% holding
Ordinary	100%

	2021 £	2020 £
Aggregate capital and reserves	1	1

12 Debtors: amounts falling due within one year

Debtors: amounts falling due within one year
	2021 £	2020 £
Trade debtors Prepayments Other debtors	2,576 104,668 1,598	14,524 99,572 13,339
	108,842	127,435

13 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
	2021 £	2020 £
Trade creditors Accruals and deferred income Taxation and social security Other creditors	33,486 171,361 2,968 38,341	2,494 148,510 13,791 1,868
	246,156	166,663

Included within the above is deferred income as set out below:

Included within the above is deferred income as set out below:
	2021 £
Deferred income brought forward at 1 January Additional income deferred during the year Brought forward funds released in the year Deferred income carried forward at 31 December	52,778 89,121 (46,611)
	95,288

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Notes to the financial statements 31 December 2021

14 Provisions for liabilities

As at the end of the financial period, a number of the membership of the College were engaged in ongoing Fitness to Practise claims. Under the terms of the support provided to members by the College, these costs are to be underwritten by the College on the members behalf. The College has provided as a provision the estimated total cost of legal representation in respect of ongoing cases as at 31 December 2021, in excess of amounts already invoiced. These estimated costs are likely to crystalise over the next 18 months to 2 years.

Since the membership of the College has increased in recent years, and the support scheme is relatively new, the current annual movement in provision remains significant. It is anticipated that once the scheme has reached maturity, the movement in provision should be more stable.

	2021 £
Amount as at 1 January Increase in provision Amount as at 31 December	163,800 324,619
	488,419

15 Contingent liability

The College of Paramedics undertake a variety of projects on behalf of Health Education England in furtherance of the profession and for the benefit of the membership of the College.

The College has assessed the funding received for these projects in substance to constitute restricted grant funding. Due to the nature of the agreements, a degree of subjectivity is required in arriving at this assessment. As such, that there is a possibility that an assessment from HMRC could conclude that a taxable supply has been provided by the College.

The Trustees consider that, should a HMRC assessment conclude that this income would be subject to VAT, any net liability on supplies made by the College would not be material to the financial statements.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Notes to the financial statements 31 December 2021

16 Movement in funds

Movement in funds
	At 1 January 2021 £	Income £	Expenditure £	At 31 December 2021 £
Unrestricted funds General fund Restricted funds Health education John Hinds Scholarship HEE/Grant/Bridgepoint Restricted funds total Total funds	748,731 339,697 1,863 169,800	1,877,796 — — 180,140	(2,119,844) (39,561) (827) (118,077)	506,683 300,136 1,036 231,863
	511,360	180,140	(158,465)	533,035

	1,260,091	2,057,936	(2,278,309)	1,039,718
	At 1 January 2020 £	Income £	Expenditure £	At 31 December 2020 £
Unrestricted funds General fund Restricted funds Health education John Hinds Scholarship HEE/Grant/Bridgepoint Restricted funds total Total funds	727,978 248,469 2,323 —	1,669,557 137,680 — 169,800	(1,648,804) (46,452) (460) —	748,731 339,697 1,863 169,800
	250,792	307,480	(46,912)	511,360

	978,770	1,977,037	(1,695,716)	1,260,091

Net movement in funds, included in the above, are as follows:

The restricted income and expenditure relates primarily to the Health education grants that the charitable company has received in the year. These funds are restricted to use on specific projects in line with the terms of the grant agreements with the funders.

COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS | TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2021

Notes to the financial statements 31 December 2021

17 Analysis of net assets between funds

	Fixed assets £	Current assets £	Current liabilities £ (734,575) — (734,575)	2021 Total £
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds	71,218 —	1,170,040 533,035		506,683 533,035
	71,218	1,703,075		1,039,718

	Fixed assets £	Current assets £	Current liabilities £ (330,463) — (330,463)	*2020* *Total* £
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds	81,638 —	997,556 511,360		*748,731* *511,360*
	81,638	1,508,916		*1,260,091*

18 Operating lease commitments

The charity had commitments under operating leases at the year end as follows:

	2021 £	2020 £
Land and buildings Expiring: Within one year Between 1-2 years Total commitments	15,708 —	15,708 15,708
	15,708	31,416
	2021 £	2020 £
Other Expiring: Within one year Between 1-2 years Between 2-5 years Total commitments	2,338 1,522 1,522	2,485 1,763 1,522
	5,382	5,770

19 Related party transactions

At the year-end, College of Paramedics Learning and Education Limited owed £1,598 (2020 - £1,598) to the Charity. The College of Paramedics Learning and Education is now dormant.

20 Ultimate controlling party

The Trustees consider that there is no ultimate controlling party.

CONTENTS

Reports

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Principal and registered office

Trustees

Student Member Representatives

Chief Executive Officer

FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT

Dr John Martin, FCPara

FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Tracy Nicholls, FCPara

FROM THE CHAIR OF THE PARAMEDIC COUNCIL

Rory O’Connor, MCPara

FROM THE CHAIR OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL

Ben Vickars

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

THE COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS

The purpose of the College of Paramedics

TREASURER’S REPORT

Finance Review

Reserves policy

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

Recruitment and appointment of new Trustees

Organisational structure

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

Related parties

CHARITABLE OBJECTS

ACTIVITIES

Membership and communication

Education

Clinical development

Primary and Urgent Care

Emergency and Critical Care

Continuing Professional Development

Professional standards

Research

Administrative services

Public benefit

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Membership and communication

Education

Clinical development

Professional standards

Research

Administrative services

Risk management

Key management personnel

Future developments

FURTHER HIGHLIGHTS AND CELEBRATIONS FROM 2021

THE ROLL OF HONOUR OF THE COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS

Award Recipients

Fellows

Companions

John Hinds Scholarship Award 2021

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS

Opinion

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

Other information

Other information (continued)

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Responsibilities of trustees

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements (continued)

Use of our report

Statement of financial activities year to 31 December 2021

Balance sheet as at 31 December 2021

Statement of cash flows Year to 31 December 2021

Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 December 2021

A Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities

B Analysis of changes in net debt

Basis of preparation

Group financial statements

Going concern

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement (continued)