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2023-09-30-accounts

Charity Number: 1174898 Company Number: 7284602

The John Smith Trust

Annual Report and Accounts

For the year ended 30 September 2023

The John Smith Trust

Reference and administrative details

Trustees The Rt Hon. Lord Alderdice David Charters Baron Duncan of Springbank Stephen Gethins Alex Just Craig Oliphant Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill The Hon. Catherine Smith Baroness Suttie Senior management Maija Paasiaro, Director Company number 07284602 Charity number 1174898 Bankers Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS Registered office 3rd Floor Suite 207 Regent Street London W1B 3HH 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 2023

The trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 September 2023.

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 and since the year end:

The Rt Hon. Lord Alderdice David Charters Baron Duncan of Springbank Stephen Gethins Alex Just Craig Oliphant Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill The Hon. Catherine Smith Baroness Suttie (appointed 10 May 2023)

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 2023

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, Russia, the South 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/FCDO). 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 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 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.

In the post-pandemic period 2021-22, the Trust built upon these achievements further through online and face-to-face engagement, including by supporting smaller-scale alumni ideas exchange events proposed by groups of fellows, with the intention of creating new opportunities for network activities and collaborative

3

The John Smith Trust

Trustees’ report for the year ended 30 September 2023

online community-building being incorporated into future residential fellowship programmes. These were anticipated to commence in 2022. However, these plans were disrupted by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the consequent re-direction of FCDO resources in support of Ukraine. Instead, the Trust implemented several in-person activities to develop its network further, including building on its existing Ideas Exchange format by bringing programme alumni back to the UK.

During the period under review, the Trust was finally able to re-launch its traditional regional Fellowship Programme with certain adaptations in format and participant numbers which reflect the reduced level of funding available from the FCDO. A hybrid programme was developed and implementation commenced during the reporting period with lessons learned from online activities developed during the pandemic, incorporating alumni community network building into the programme and responding to the tensions within the geopolitical context. The re-launched programme received a record number of applicants from target countries and a high level of interest from UK stakeholders.

As discussed under Organisational Structure above this is the sixth 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 only has short-term project-based funding from one donor, but wish to balance that risk with commitment to the 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

Trustees held a strategic planning meeting in February 2023 to review the organisational strategy in light of geopolitical developments and agreed to focus on the following:

Financial review

In financial terms this was another challenging but ultimately successful year for the charity. The charity’s income grew significantly in year up 48% to £368k (2022, £249k). This followed 4 years of decline and stagnation due to factors including the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on the charity’s operating model and the fact our main donor FCO/FCDO underwent structural changes and budget cuts. The trustees remain cautiously optimistic that the new department, FCDO, will eventually provide long-term funding of our flagship fellowship programme although for now support remains short term and project-based. At the same time expenditure also increased by £125k / 55% to £351k (2022, £226k) with the main driver of increased costs the Oxford Ideas Exchange in March 2023, a welcome return to UK events featuring fellows from across the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region albeit on a smaller scale than previous years. Overall, the charity enjoyed a small surplus of £17k in year, slightly down on the previous year’s £22k.

4

The John Smith Trust

Trustees’ report for the year ended 30 September 2023

We expect a similar situation in the immediate future. Building on the income increase in the year under review we expect a further increase in the year ahead, and new funding for the government financial year starting April 2024 to March 2025 has been verbally agreed at a level sufficient to sustain the hybrid delivery model developed in recent years. In response to this the Trustees are looking to develop new leadership programmes building on our FSU geographical specialism to broaden the appeal of the trust and draw in support from other potential donors.

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 at least 6 months of salary and support costs. Based on the spend in these accounts this is equivalent to £97k.

At the balance sheet date, the charity’s reserves (which are shown as unrestricted funds in the balance sheet) stood at £133k. The Trustees are pleased to note that after reducing our core spending commitments over recent years reserves are now above the target figure.

Responsibilities of the Trustees in relation to the financial statements

The trustees (who are also the directors of The John Smith Trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to 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.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 25 June 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

David Charters Trustee

5

Report of the independent examiner to the members of The John Smith Trust for the year ended 30 September 2022

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 30 September 2023.

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

Since the Company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of abody listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies. 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: .25 June 2024

6

The John Smith Trust Statement of Financial Activities

for the year ended 30 September 2023

Notes
Income
Grants
Total Income
2
Expenditure
Charitable activities
2023
Unrestricted
Funds
£
27,987
27,987
10,943
2023
Restricted
Funds
£
340,484
340,484
340,484
2023
Total
Funds
£
368,471
368,471
351,427
2022
Total
Funds
£
248,569
248,569
226,075
Total expenditure
3
10,943 340,484 351,427 226,075
Net income / (expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
7
17,044
-
17,044
115,778
132,822
-
-
-
-
-
17,044
-
17,044
115,778
132,822
22,494
-
22,494
93,284
115,778

7

The John Smith Trust Balance Sheet

as at 30 September 2023

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
4
Current assets
Debtors
5
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors:amounts falling due within one year
6
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds
Unrestricted funds
7
Restricted funds
Total funds
2023
£
1,043
1,043
59,226
183,079
242,305
(110,526)
131,779
132,822
132,822
-
132,822
2022
£
936
936
3,017
277,883
280,900
(166,058)
114,842
115,778
115,778
-
115,778

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 30 September 2023, and the members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in accordance with Section 476 of the Act.

The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for:

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to charitable small companies and with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective January 2019).

The notes on page 10 to 14 form part of these financial statements.

Approved by the Board on 25 June 2024 and signed on their behalf by

David Charters Trustee

8

The John Smith Trust Statement of Cash Flows

for the year ended 30 September 2023

2023
£
2022
£
22,494
1,276
70,652
(88,460)
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
17,044
1,457
(56,209)
(55,532)
(93,240)
(1,564)
5,962
-
(1,564) -
5,962
271,921
(94,804)
277,883
183,079 277,883

9

The John Smith Trust Notes to the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2023

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 2023

2
Income
funds
£
Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
£
Total
2023
£
Total
2022
£
FCDO 27,987 340,484 368,471 248,569
Total
3
Expenditure
Charitable activities
Salaried staff
Freelance staff
Fellows travel & accomodation costs
Event staging costs
Other direct programme costs
Support costs
Total charitable activities
Total expenditure
27,987
funds
£
-
-
-
349
10,594
10,943
10,943
Unrestricted
340,484
Restricted
funds
£
148,625
9,538
63,574
39,322
44,832
34,593
340,484
340,484
368,471
Total
2023
£
148,625
9,538
63,574
39,322
45,181
45,187
351,427
351,427
248,569
Total
2022
£
134,193
9,643
-
16,265
24,007
41,967
226,075
226,075

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
IT & office costs
Board meetings
Independent examination fee
Legal & professional
Other
function
£
2,984
2,000
-
60
2,400
-
-
7,444
Governance
General
support
£
14,455
12,766
9,310
-
-
411
801
37,743
Total
2023
£
17,439
14,766
9,310
60
2,400
411
801
45,187
Total
2022
£
18,379
11,237
6,549
-
2,200
3,352
250
41,967

11

The John Smith Trust

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2023

4
Tangible fixed assets
Cost
At 30 September 2022
Additions in year
At 30 September 2023
Depreciation
At 30 September 2022
Charge for the period
At 30 September 2023
Net Book Value
At 30 September 2023
At 30 September 2022
5
Debtors:amounts falling due within one year
2023
£
Computer
equipment
£
6,282
1,564
7,846
5,346
1,457
6,803
1,043
936
2022
£
Prepayments & accrued income 59,166 #REF!
Other debtors
Total
6
Creditors:amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Deferred Income
Accruals & other creditors
Total
Summary of movements in year on deferred income
Balance at 1 October
Released in year
Deferred in year
Balance at 30 September
60
59,226
2023
£
3,569
103,555
3,402
110,526
2023
£
162,860
(59,305)
-
103,555
3,017
3,017
2022
£
-
165,060
998
166,058
2022
£
250,000
(87,140)
-
162,860

Deferred income stated above relates to income received from donors which has been used to cover time-specific programme costs (primarily staff salaries plus on costs) during the period under review.

12

The John Smith Trust

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2023

7
Movements in funds
Restricted Funds
EECA
Wider Europe & Central Asia Programme
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Total funds
Restricted Funds
Balance at
01-Oct-22
£
-
-
-
115,778
115,778
115,778
Balance at
01-Oct-21
£
Incoming
£
286,570
53,914
340,484
27,987
27,987
368,471
Incoming
£
Outgoing
£
(286,570)
(53,914)
(340,484)
(10,943)
(10,943)
(351,427)
Outgoing
£
Transfers
in / (out)
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
Transfers
in / (out)
£
Balance at
30-Sep-23
£
-
-
-
132,822
132,822
132,822
Balance at
30-Sep-22
£
Wider Europe & Central Asia Programme - 225,418 (225,418) - -
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Total funds
-
93,284
93,284
93,284
225,418
23,151
23,151
248,569
(225,418)
(657)
(657)
(226,075)
-
-
-
-
-
115,778
115,778
115,778
EECA A hybrid fellowship programme designed to nurture a collaborative community of leaders
and change-makers working on governance, social justice and climate action across
Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECA) and the UK. A pilot programme
was run between November 2022 and March 2023 with funding from the FCDO and
toward the end of the year a further round of funding from the FCDO was confirmed.
Wider Europe & Central Asia Programme 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 initially adopting an online format developed
as part of the Covid response project.

13

The John Smith Trust

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2023

8 Staff costs and numbers

2023
2022
£
£
Gross wages and salaries
146,312
132,000
Social security costs
8,249
8,844
Pension
11,504
11,728
166,065
152,572
The average number of staff employed during the period was
5
5
Staff costs have been analysed as:
2023
2022
£
£
The total compensation to key management personnel (see Senior Management - page 1 of these accounts) was
£54,000 (2022, £48,600).
2023
2022
£
£
Gross wages and salaries
146,312
132,000
Social security costs
8,249
8,844
Pension
11,504
11,728
166,065
152,572
The average number of staff employed during the period was
5
5
Staff costs have been analysed as:
2023
2022
£
£
The total compensation to key management personnel (see Senior Management - page 1 of these accounts) was
£54,000 (2022, £48,600).
2023
2022
£
£
Gross wages and salaries
146,312
132,000
Social security costs
8,249
8,844
Pension
11,504
11,728
166,065
152,572
The average number of staff employed during the period was
5
5
Staff costs have been analysed as:
2023
2022
£
£
The total compensation to key management personnel (see Senior Management - page 1 of these accounts) was
£54,000 (2022, £48,600).
Direct charitable expenditure 148,625 134,193
Support 17,439 18,379
166,064 152,572

9 Trustees' remuneration and expenses

The charity did not pay to its trustees any remuneration during the year (2022, £nil) and reimbursed 3 trustees a total of £1,486 expenses in relation to the charities activities (2022, £nil).

10 Analysis of net assets between funds

Fixed Assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 30 September 2023
General
Funds
£
1,043
138,750
(6,971)
132,822
Restricted
funds
£
-
103,555
(103,555)
-
Total
funds
£
1,043
242,305
(110,526)
132,822

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