OpenCharities

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

2021-09-30-accounts

Charity Number: 1174898 Company Number: 7284602

The John Smith Trust

Annual Report and Accounts

For the year ended 30 September 2021

The John Smith Trust

Reference and administrative details

Trustees The Rt Hon. Lord Alderdice David Charters Stephen Gethins MP Alex Just Craig Oliphant Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill The Hon. Catherine Smith Senior management Maija Paasiaro, Director Company number 06648679 Charity number 1126222 Bankers Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS Registered office 22 Bramshill Gardens London NW5 1JH Independent examiner Narges Cyroos Sterling Partners Limited 2nd Floor, Grove House 774-780 Wilmslow Road Manchester M20 2DR

1

The John Smith Trust

Trustees’ report for the year ended 30 September 2021

The trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 September 2021.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the Charity’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ (revised 2015).

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing Document

The John Smith Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 15 June 2010 and registered as a charity on 29 September 2017. The company is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Organisational Structure

The directors of the charitable company are its trustees for the purpose of charity law and the members of the company limited by guarantee. Throughout this report they are collectively referred to as the trustees.

The following individuals served as trustees during the year:

The Rt Hon. Lord Alderdice David Charters Stephen Gethins MP Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill The Hon. Catherine Smith Alex Just Craig Oliphant

All trustees served for the full period unless otherwise stated above.

No trustees had any beneficial interest in the charity and no remuneration of trustees is paid by the charity.

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the strategic direction, policy and overall governance of the charity.

The implementation of strategy once agreed and the day to day running and management of the charity’s activities is delegated to the secretariat, led by the Director.

The charitable company started trading on 24 October 2016. Prior to this, the Trust’s fellowship programmes were delivered through an unincorporated charitable trust (The John Smith Trust constituted as a charitable trust under English law on 27 August 1996 and registered with the Charity Commission as charity number 1057885). After a period of in-activity the Trustees decided to re-constitute the charity's governance arrangements incorporating as a charitable company limited by guarantee. The directors of the charitable company were also the Trustees of the pre-existing charitable trust, until that trust was formally dissolved on 20 February 2019.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

New Trustees are recruited by the Board who consider the skills currently available and then identify the requirements of any additional or replacement trustee. Potential trustees are invited to preliminary discussions with at least two current trustees and the Director. On successful appointment of a trustee, the Director provides documentary and verbal induction material to introduce the trustee to the workings and objectives of the charity.

Objectives and principal activities

The Trust works to advance the education of the public in political sciences, in particular in relation to democratic systems of government and the rule of law.

2

The John Smith Trust

Trustees’ report for the year ended 30 September 2021

In furtherance of its charitable objectives, the Trust carries out a range of activities which are summarised below.

Activities and Achievements

The John Smith Trust contributes to the development of sustainable, fair and inclusive societies in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Through our fellowship programmes and network activities, we inspire and nurture a collaborative community of leaders and change-makers working on governance, social justice and climate action to improve the well-being of their societies.

Through its fellowship programmes the Trust has developed a highly successful model for building leadership capacity and a network where good governance and public service are key values. Candidates are only selected if they have demonstrated that they have the ability or are in positions where there is the potential for them to effect change through the implementation of year-long action plans/projects. This is assessed by examining the type of organisation within which they work (and its commitment to the public good), their ability to influence change within that organisation or across society more broadly and their openness to reflect on new ideas and benefit from the fellowship.

The traditional John Smith fellowship involves a year-long engagement with a four week UK based residential programme at its heart. This offers participants the chance to explore collectively and individually how politics, business, public administration and culture work (or fail) in another national environment. UK experience is a major focus yet many of the speakers (who represent all sectors of UK society) have international expertise. Crucially, each of the participants submits an Action plan – or project – which they have the chance to develop and explore during their 4 weeks in the UK. These plans are then implemented on their return. The majority of plans have a direct relevance to helping build rules-based, people-focused policy and practices.

Until 2011 the programme drew its fellows exclusively from the former Soviet Union (FSU). From 20122015 the Trust also worked in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region on a programme funded by the UK Government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). From 2017 to 2019, the Trust ran two annual fellowship programmes for 12 FSU countries with the support of the FCO: one for 25 fellows from Wider Europe (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine); and one for 25 fellows from Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan).

This steady stream of approximately 50 new fellows per year reinvigorated the Trust’s Alumni network. Since 2018, the Trust has also launched a programme of alumni events to harness and develop this renewed engagement. ‘Alumni Ideas Exchange’ events took place in Tbilisi in 2018, Bishkek in 2019 and (although originally planned to take place in Kyiv) online in March 2020. JST has put great effort into building the means for its Alumni network to connect, share and collaborate outside formal events. The intention has been to allow for greater connectivity between JST fellows, staff and the JST’s wider network of supporters, to increase JST’s ‘offer’ to its fellows and to allow JST to sustain its work and impact outside of programme periods.

During the 2020-2021 pandemic (the period under review), the Trust focused its efforts solely on developing an online community of programme alumni in the FSU region by offering webinars with UK experts, practical thematic online discussions and informal networking opportunities. Through the JST’s online network activities, fellows were able to access practical support, share skills, ideas and knowledge and exchange reliable information across the FSU region and the UK. The network has proved an effective platform for support and communication during the early months of the pandemic and was put to good use during further crises and instability in the region. The connections built online over the last couple of years have enabled the Trust to re-establish contact with many of its past programme participants and provided a solid foundation for collaboration and joint projects addressing governance, rule of law and social justice challenges in the region. The Trust has further built upon these achievements through online and face-toface engagement in 2021, including by supporting smaller-scale alumni ideas exchange events proposed by groups of fellows. The new opportunities for network activities and collaborative online communitybuilding will be incorporated into future residential fellowship programmes. These are anticipated to commence in 2022.

3

The John Smith Trust

Trustees’ report for the year ended 30 September 2021

As discussed under Organisational Structure above this is the fifth period of trading for the charitable company having replaced a pre-existing charitable trust of the same name. The decision to incorporate the Trust followed a period of uncertainty that saw the charitable trust close its office and release its staff team in response to a lull in funding. Subsequent programmes were managed initially by Trustees supported by a team of freelance staff, in 2018 the Trust started to re-build a core team of employed staff and this trajectory has continued in the current reporting period. The Trust now has five permanent staff. The Trustees remain acutely aware of the funding risks faced by the new charitable company, especially as the charity is now in start-up mode with a single project fully funded by one donor, but wish to balance that risk with commitment to the new staff team.

Public Benefit

The Trust carries out a range of activities in furtherance of its charitable objectives, as detailed under Activities and Achievements above. Having reviewed the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, the Trustees consider that these activities provide benefit both to the charity’s direct beneficiaries, the John Smith fellows, and to the wider public both in the UK and abroad.

Risk Management

The Trustees regularly review the risks the charity faces and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate their exposure to the major risks.

Future Plans

The Trustees have agreed a ‘direction of travel’ for the coming years including:

Financial review

In financial terms this was another challenging year for the charity. The FCO’s funding of our flagship fellowship programme was paused halfway through the previous year leaving the charity with no income except the furlough grant for four months of that year. In the year under review funding was received for a series of short-term projects as we developed the new virtual approach discussed above, but at a level significantly lower than the previous year. This means that income having fell by 45% / £190k to £235k (2020, £425k). This represents just 24% of the £968k income we received in the year to 30 September 2019.

Spend also fell, by 51% or £257k to £250k (2020, £507k) due mainly to the move to online delivery of programmes and partially to an ever more careful management of spend necessitated by the fall in income.

The combined effect was a loss of £15k in year (2020, £82k). which meant that for a second successive year the charity had to dig into its reserves to maintain operations, albeit at a more sustainable level than was required last year.

The Trustees are aware that this investment of reserves has reduced their room for manoeuvre in future years. Negotiations with FCDO are ongoing for a return to annual funding from 2022 which if successful will give the charity much greater certainty in the period ahead however events in Ukraine have added a major degree of uncertainty to the process.

Reserves

The charity's income in the period was exclusively short-term project-based funding. To manage the uncertainty this causes, the Trustees’ policy is to maintain reserves at a level sufficient to cover 6 months of management, administration and support costs. Based on the spend in these accounts this is equivalent to £125k.

4

The John Smith Trust Trustees, report for the year ended 30 September 2021 At the balance sheet date, the charity's resepies {which aro $tMxvn as unr6stri¢ted funds In the ba18nce sheet) stood at £93k. The Trustees nole that after 2 years of significant investment of reseNes, the amunt held has fallen below their target but in broad terms contlnues lo be in line with tho charity's p)licy given the reduction in core spendirvJ. Responslbllltles of the Trustees In relatlon to the financial statements The trustees (who are also the directors of The John Smith Trust for the purposes of eompany law) a responsible for prepariTWJ the RepN)rt of the Trustees arml the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and Uniled Kingjom Accounting Standar(ts (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accountin9 Practice). Company law requires the truslees lo prepare financial slalements for each financi81 year which give a true and fair view of the slate of affairs of the charitable company and of the incomiro resources aTid application of TesouTces, including the income and exFerKJilure. of Ihe charitable company forthat period. In preparing those financial stalements. the truste&8 are required lo: select suitsble accounting poliaes and then appty consislenuy: observe the methods and principles in Ihe Charity SORP,. make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudenl and prepare the financial statements on the going concem ba$is unless it is inappropriate to assume that the Charity will conlinue in operation. The trustees are reswnsible for keepiTrJ proper accountiNJ records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial ￿sitIOn of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the ffinancial statements comply with the Companies Act 2LX)6. They are also reswnsible for safeguarding Ihe assets of the charitable company and hence for takiThJ reasonable steps for the p￿Vention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In $0 far as the trustees are aware: the￿ is no relevant audit inforniation of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware: and Ihe trustees have tsken all steps thal Ihey ou9ht to have tsken to make themselves aware of any relevant avdil infofrnation and to establish thal the auditors are aware of that infomation. This report was approved by the Board of Trustees 5 May 2022 and s•Jned on its behalf by.. David Charters Trustee

Report of the independent examiner to the members of The John Smith Trust for the year ended 30 September 2021

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 30 September 2021.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').

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

Independent examiner's statement

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

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

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

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

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

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

Narges Cyroos BSc FCA Sterling Partners Limited Chartered Accountants 2nd Floor Grove House 774-780 Wilmslow Road Manchester M20 2DR

Date: 31 May 2022....................

6

The John Smith Trust Statement of Financial Activities

for the year ended 30 September 2021

Notes
Income
Grants
Donations and legacies
Total Income
2
Expenditure
Charitable activities
2021
Unrestricted
Funds
£
16,901
-
16,901
31,765
2021
Restricted
Funds
£
218,040
-
218,040
218,040
2021
Total
Funds
£
234,941
-
234,941
249,805
2020
Total
Funds
£
424,345
323
424,668
506,930
Total expenditure
3
31,765 218,040 249,805 506,930
Net income / (expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
7
(14,864)
-
(14,864)
108,148
93,284
-
-
-
-
-
(14,864)
-
(14,864)
108,148
93,284
(82,262)
-
(82,262)
190,410
108,148

7

The John Smith Trust Balance Sheet a• at 30 Septemb•r 2021 2021 2020 Flx•d a¥s•ts Tangible asseis 2.212 679 2.212 679 ¢urnnt •M•ts Debtors Cosh al bank and In hand 73.869 271.921 49.786 317,59) 345,S 387.378 Cr•dllOrn'. 8mounts falling duo ilhin cth 1254.5181 1259,9071 N•t ¢urr•nt 4$uts 91,072 107,469 93,284 108.148 N•l aM•ts Fund• un￿$1￿Cted fur￿5 Rostride(l fvnds 93.284 108,148 1W,410 Totsl fund• 93.284 The charilable ￿MpanY Is enlllled to ex•mplx frrffi) audit under Section 477 of tho Companies Act 2006 lor th¥ year ended 30 Septemb8r 2020. and the Mam￿rS hav• noi r8quired the company to oblain an audit of its finanual for tho year in accirdance wilh scl￿n 476 01 thg Act. The Trusleos ackn￿edge their responwbilities for.. (il ensuring thal the company ke•ps proper accounting rwd$ ¢ornply ￿th soc 386 of Ihe Acl, and li1} preparing finonch41 statements which give a true and lair view of the ststo ol affairs of thè company as at th¥ end of Ihe finan¢ial year and of its profrt oi loss for the finanual year In accO￿anCe wth th8 fequirements oi seCti￿S 394 and 395, and vthich othemso ¢￿PIY with thè requiiements oflhe A¢t rn18ting to finan￿1 $t8tem¢nts, 30 lar as applicable to the company. The$8 financial statements have been prepared Sn a¢¢￿th￿¢8 the SFetyal pn)visions of Part 1 ol the Companies A¢t 20(￿ relating to ¢harilable small c*)fflpanies arn1 wth the Flnancial Roportlni Standard for Smaller Entities lèffecbve January 20191. The notes on page 10 ￿ 14 lom part ol these ftnanoal siatements. Approved by the BOo￿ on 5 May 2022 and signed ￿ thglr ￿hall by David Charters Trustes

The John Smith Trust

Statement of Cash Flows

for the year ended 30 September 2021

2021
£
2020
£
(82,262)
339
226,624
(81,620)
Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the
Statement of Financial Activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
(lncrease)/decrease in debtors
lncrease/(decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of fixed assets
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year
(14,864)
1,275
(23,883)
(5,389)
(42,861)
(2,808)
63,081
(1,018)
(2,808) (1,018)
62,063
255,527
(45,669)
317,590
271,921 317,590

9

The John Smith Trust Notes to the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2021

1 Principal accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are set out below;

(a) Basis of accounting

These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ effective January 2019 (the Charities SORP (FRS 102)), UK accounting standards, including 'Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006. The charity is a public benefit entity and has therefore applied the relevant public benefit requirements of FRS 102.

The financial statements are prepared in Sterling which is the functional currency of the charity.

(b) Fund accounting

(c) Income

All income is included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to it and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income.

(d) Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred, and includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered.

(e) Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets costing over £500 (including any incidental expenses of acquisition) are capitalized. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost on a straight line basis over their expected useful economic life. The rate of depreciation is 33.33% per annum for all assets.

(f) Foreign currency

Transactions in foreign currencies are initially recorded in the entity’s functional currency, which is pound sterling, by applying the spot exchange rate on the date of the transaction.

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rate of exchange on the balance sheet date. All differences are taken to the statement of financial activities.

10

The John Smith Trust

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2021

2
Income
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
HMRC JRS grants
Donations
Total
3
Expenditure
Charitable activities
Staff
Freelance staff
Fellows travel & accomodation costs
Online events
Other direct programme costs
Support costs
Total charitable activities
Total expenditure
funds
£
-
16,901
-
16,901
funds
£
-
-
-
-
31,765
31,765
31,765
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
£
218,040
-
-
218,040
Restricted
funds
£
140,900
37,691
-
13,358
12,849
13,242
218,040
218,040
Total
2021
£
218,040
16,901
-
234,941
Total
2021
£
140,900
37,691
-
13,358
12,849
45,007
249,805
249,805
Total
2020
£
403,641
20,704
323
424,668
Total
2020
£
134,235
61,123
80,426
-
126,244
104,902
506,930
506,930

Support costs, as detailed below, relate to the staff and running costs of the Trust's London secretariat and are allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Support costs
Staff
Freelance staff
Board meetings
Independent examination fee
IT & office costs
Other
function
£
-
2,000
18
2,000
-
-
4,018
Governance
General
support
£
19,533
9,071
-
-
9,033
3,352
40,989
Total
2021
£
19,533
11,071
18
2,000
9,033
3,352
45,007
Total
2020
£
43,344
23,468
-
2,000
3,395
32,695
104,902

11

The John Smith Trust

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2021

4
Tangible fixed assets
Cost
At 30 September 2020
Additions in year
At 30 September 2021
Depreciation
At 30 September 2020
Charge for the period
At 30 September 2021
Net Book Value
At 30 September 2021
At 30 September 2020
5
Debtors:amounts falling due within one year
Trade debtors
2021
£
66,399
Computer
equipment
£
3,474
2,808
6,282
2,795
1,275
4,070
2,212
679
2020
£
-
Prepayments & accrued income 7,270 44,712
Other debtors
Total
6
Creditors:amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Deferred Income
Accruals & other creditors
Total
-
73,669
2021
£
1,676
250,000
2,842
254,518
5,074
49,786
2020
£
7,767
250,000
2,140
259,907
Summary of movements in year on deferred income
Balance at 1 October
Released in year
Deferred in year
Balance at 30 September
2021
£
250,000
-
-
250,000
2020
£
250,000
-
-
250,000

7 Movements in funds

12

The John Smith Trust

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2021

Restricted Funds Balance at
30-Sep-20
£
Incoming
£
Outgoing
£
Transfers
in / (out)
£
Balance at
30-Sep-21
£
Wider Europe & Central Asia Programme - 66,399 (66,399) - -
Covid Response
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Total funds
Restricted Funds
-
-
108,148
108,148
108,148
Balance at
01-Oct-19
£
151,641
218,040
16,901
16,901
234,941
Incoming
£
(151,641)
(218,040)
(31,765)
(31,765)
(249,805)
Outgoing
£
-
-
-
-
-
Transfers
in / (out)
£
-
-
93,284
93,284
93,284
Balance at
30-Sep-20
£
Wider Europe & Central Asia Programme - 332,075 (332,075) - -
Covid Response
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Total funds
Wider Europe & Central Asia Programme
Covid Response
-
38,359
(38,359)
-
-
-
370,434
(370,434)
-
-
190,410
54,234
(136,496)
-
108,148
190,410
54,234
(136,496)
-
108,148
190,410
424,668
(506,930)
-
108,148
A fellowship programme featuring fellows from 12 FSU countries (7 in Europe and 5 in
the Central Asia region). The programme ran as a traditional fellowship from October
2016 to March 2020 with funding and logistic support from the FCO. After a hiatus due to
Covid the programme restarted in June 2021 adopting an online format developed as
part of the Covid response project.
A series of online events involving JST fellows from across the FSU region with funding
from the FCO. By discussing the pandemic and society's response to it, the project
encouraged sharing of information and ideas across the region. The programme ran from
July 2020 to March 2021.
-
-
108,148
108,148
108,148

13

The John Smith Trust

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2021

8 Staff costs and numbers

2021
2020
£
£
Gross wages and salaries
138,914
153,033
Social security costs
10,406
12,304
Pension
11,113
12,243
160,433
177,579
The average number of staff employed during the period was
4
4
Staff costs have been analysed as:
2021
2020
£
£
The total compensation to key management personnel (see Senior Management - page 1 of these accounts) was
£43,155 (2020, £48,986).
2021
2020
£
£
Gross wages and salaries
138,914
153,033
Social security costs
10,406
12,304
Pension
11,113
12,243
160,433
177,579
The average number of staff employed during the period was
4
4
Staff costs have been analysed as:
2021
2020
£
£
The total compensation to key management personnel (see Senior Management - page 1 of these accounts) was
£43,155 (2020, £48,986).
2021
2020
£
£
Gross wages and salaries
138,914
153,033
Social security costs
10,406
12,304
Pension
11,113
12,243
160,433
177,579
The average number of staff employed during the period was
4
4
Staff costs have been analysed as:
2021
2020
£
£
The total compensation to key management personnel (see Senior Management - page 1 of these accounts) was
£43,155 (2020, £48,986).
Direct charitable expenditure 140,900 134,235
Support 19,533 43,344
160,433 177,579

9 Trustees' remuneration and expenses

The charity did not pay to its trustees any remuneration during the year (2020, £nil) and did not reimburse any trustee expenses. In 2020, 2 trustees received a combined total of £495 for travel expenses incurred in carrying out their duties as trustees.

10 Analysis of net assets between funds

Fixed Assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 30 September 2021
General
Funds
£
2,212
95,590
(4,518)
93,284
Restricted
funds
£
-
250,000
(250,000)
-
Total
funds
£
2,212
345,590
(254,518)
93,284

11 Pensions

The charity operates an auto-enrolment pension scheme with The Peoples Pension. All employees are eligible, and the charity pays an 8% employer's contribution. Pension costs stated in note 8 and charged in the statement of Financial Activities represent the total contributions payable by the charity in the year.

14