Charity Registration No. 1188637 NORTHUMBERLAND ARCHIVES CHARITABLE TRUST ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIALSTATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 NORTHUMBERLAND ARCHIVES CHARITABLE TRUST LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Trustees: Stuart Bankier (Appointed 22 September 2020 for 3 years) (Appointed IS February 2021 for 3 years) (Appointed 26, May 2020 for 4 year51 (Appointed 26 May 2020 for 2 years) IAppointed 26" May 2020 for 3 years) IAppointed 26 May 2020 for 4 years) (Appointed 22- September 2020 for 3 year51 Morag Boyes William Browne-swinburne John Carr-Ellison Sir Philip Mawer Susan Shaw Prof. Annie Tindley Charity Number- 1188637 Principal Address: clo Northumberland Arthive5 QEII Country Park hington Northumberland NE63 9YF Independent Examiner: Leanne Mason Bankers: Unity Tru5L 8ank PO Box 7193 Planetary Road Wi15enhall WVI 9DG NORTHUMBERLAND ARCHIVES CHARITABLE TRUST TRUSTEES, REPORT For the Year ended 31 March 2021 We are pleased to present our report on the first year of the charitys existence. Setting up charity in the midst of a global pandemic- with all the restrictions this has imposed on normal face-to-face interartion and on delivering usually Straightforward objectives. such as establishing a bank account- has been particularly challenging. However. we believe our report shows that we are making good progress and hope that those reading it will find it encouraging- Objerts and Establishment of the Trust Our purpose is set out in our charitable objects-. o advonce the education of the general public by promoting, supporting ond 05515ting in the restoration, preservation and maintenance of the Archives ond Archive Services provided in Northumberland-. It is summed up in our short strapline: Presetving our Pastfor the Sake of our Future. The Trust was set up as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation ICIO}, with a constitution dated 16 March 2020 and approved by the Charity Commission on 19 March 2020. The founding Trustee5, of whom there were four, first met virtually on 26 May 2020 to review their task and to plan the Trust's initial programme of work. The Trust and the Archives se￿iCe We want at the outset to record our thanks for the support we have received and continue to receive from the Northumberland Archives se￿ICe. its manager. its Senior archivists based at Ashington and Berwick-upon-Tweed, and from councillors and officers of Northumberland County Council. Given our charitable objects. a close working relationship with the Archives Service is essential. Inevitably a good deal of our early work has focussed on defining key aspects of the governance of the Trust. including understanding the needs and opportunities facing the Service and the proper nature of the Trusys relationship with it. We are clear that the Trust's role is not to manage the Service, nor is it to raise fund5 and gi￿ grants for work which is properly the responsibility of the County Council itself. However, there are many valuable archives in Northumberland not yet held by the county Archives Service which need to be saved from destruction, and many of those which have been gathered in have yet to be catalogued, preserved and, in the longer term, digitised. While the County Council does its best to help people to acce55 the archives in its care, like other local authorities it struggles adequately to fund all its seNices. So much more could and needs to be done. The Trust's central aim is to improve access for everyone to Northumberland's Archives. It does this by raising fund5 to ensure that primary source material is collected, catalogued and digit15ed, and thus made available for use by people both in the county and far beyond it. The Trust also works with the Archives Service to prornote knowledge and understanding of the varied and colourful source material which is available, not just to academics and students but to interested people everywhere. As we have gone about our task. we have also had in mind that there are well-established charities in other counties, such as Dorset and Hampshire. which have a similar mission in relation to their county archives. We have drawn on some of their experience as we have carried forward our own work. Progress and Achievements in Our First Year Reviewing our progress at the end of 2020. we identified the following goals we had achieved since the first meeting of Trustees on 26 May 2020. In that time. we had.. 11 Assembled a skilled body of Trustees and othervolunteer help from acros5 the countv. having first assessed our skills requirements as a trustee body. 21 Gained an initial understanding of the needs of the Archives Service and of the gaps in its funding provision. 31 In the light of that, defined the role of the Trust and its relationship to Northumberland County Council. 41 Identified the initial audiences wrth which we wished to communicate and produced agreed written descriptions of our purpose, etc. for use in printed and online media. 51 Agreed the basis on which we will assess projects put forward for funding and identified the first two Such projects along with potential funding sources for them. 61 Set up the essential infra5trutture of the Trust, filling key roles {e.g. those of Secretary and Treasurer); establishing a bank account- with the help of the Archives Service, creating an initial web page and email facility: and producing a specification for the establishment of the Trusvs own website, with associated functionality. 71 Agreed key governance policies. particularly in terms of our Expectations of Trustees, the management of Conflitts of Interest and Safeguarding. 81 Begun to build relationships with interested parties, including staff in universities and schools (both in the county and more widely in the North East): potential sources of funding,. and other organisations with an interest in archives and the heritage of Northumberland. Between January and the end of March 2021, we: Commissioned a designer to undertake a branding exercise for the Trust and help us develop hard copy material promoting and explaining the work of the Trust. Also identified a website provider with whom we and the designer have since worked to develop the charivs website. The website is expected to go live by October 2021. Both the designer and the website provider were commissioned following a competitive tender. Undertook a small survey of users of the Archives Service, which confirmed the great value they attach to the rich archival material available in the county. their concern for the welfare of the archives and their wish to help the Trust, and which has given us insight into improvement5 which, with the Trusys help, they think could be made to the Service. The survey particularly underlined the contribution Northumberland's archives can make in local schools. as a resource in helping teachers to meet OFSTED'S 35pirations for the development of a broadly-based. enquiry-led curriculum with an emphasis on evidence. research and discussion. and to help teachers immerse children in learning and build up 'cultural capital, This sits well with the Archives Service's digital LEARN platform and, opening as it does the riches of the archives to new generations, is a theme we are especially lookingto develop through the projetts we will fund. Began to map out arrangements for developing a body of supporters of the Trust, induding regular as well as occasional donors. Enrolled the Trust for Gift Aid and established its tax account with HM Revenue and Customs. Our First Projects Following consultation with the Archives Service. the Trust also confirmed two projects which are providing the initial focus for its fund-raising. These are: 11 Healthcare in Northumberland - A partnership with the Bright Trust, thi5 project will look at healthcare in Northumberland prior to the establishment of the NHS in 1948. It will have two main strands- al An oral history project. Inte￿iewIng Northumberland residents who recall receiving healthcare, or recall their parents speaking about receiving healthcare. prior to 1948. bl A study of maternity care in Northumberland focussing on Castle Hills Maternity Home in Berwick, Mona Taylor Maternity Home in Stannington and Ashington Hospital in south-east Northumberland. 21 The Photocentre Collection- The Benvick Record Office and the Friends of Be￿ick & Distritt Museum and Archives jointly purchased this collection in 2012. It contains over a million negatives which document all aspects of life in North Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. It covers the period from 1951 when David Smith founded his photojournalism business until 2012 when his son. lan, retired. To provide greater acce5S to the collertion. this project will: al Create catalogue entries for CALM lan online electronic catalogue) of images already scanned bl Append watermarked images to the electronic catalogue cl Undertake additional scanning and cataloguing of the collection dl Repackage the negatives in acid free materials el Promote the collection via social media and the Berwick Photo Centre website I www.berwick hotocentre.co.uk I to help identify additional information about the images and the events they record. Since the end of the period covered by this report, the Trustees have continued to work on the development of these projects and others. details of which are being posted on the Trust's website. The projects we support reflert our strong desire to engage with non- traditional groups of users of the Archives Service and to build partnerships with cognate sectors in education and beyond. Our Funding We have been greatly assisted in beginning to deliver our charitable objects by a grant of £IO.000 from Northumberland County Council. for which we wish to record warm thanks. Our expenditure in the first ten months of the Trusvs existence was very modest-just £63 but our costs are inevitably increasing as we create the organisational arrangements necessary to raise funds and support projects. Happily. our income too has begun to grow as news of our establishment spreads. The Year Ahead If the first year of the Trust'5 life has inevttably focussed on putting in place fundamental aspects of the Trusys govemance and administration, the second year is seeing a shift towards greater emphasis on raising the profile of the Trust and its work. While Covid-19 and its aftermath continue to present challenges, work on the Trusys website and ensuring the functionality it needs to support donors and their gifts to the Trust is proceeding apace. We are a150 continuing to develop the range of projects we hope to support and building our relationships with users and potential users of the Archives Service, 35 well a5 Wlth the Service itself. Our aim (the pandemic permitting) is to launch the Trust's website and, by this and other means. graduallyto raise the Trusys profile well before the end of 2021. Conclusion While the first year of the Trusvs existence has presented its challenges. the Tru5tee5 are confident that tt has enabled them to establish a sound basis for the charitws further development. Above all, it has strengthened their collettive belief in the value of Northumberland's historic records to the people of the county and in the strong attachment many communities feel to their care and preservation. If the Trust can help to make the riches of the Archives known and available to more people in ftjture. including younger and less advantaged groups. it will largely have achieved the aims of those who founded it. Financial Review In the first year of its operation a grant from Northumberland County Council provided the initial funding for the Trust and although it has only been in operation for a short period of time it has been successful in attrarting further funding from both individuals and charitable trusts. The funds held by the Trust at the year- end continue to be held for future use in connection with the Trust's objective5. Structure, Govemance and Management The CIO wa5 established by a constitution dated 16 March 2020 The Trust currently has eight Trustees (John Webster was appointed as a Trustee after the period covered by this report) and this is judged to be an appropriate number to meet the present demands of the organisation. The Trustees have a wide range of backgrounds and their combined skill set is a valuable asset to the Trust. The minimum number of Trustees required by the constitution is three and the maximum is twelve. All the Trustees act in a voluntary capacity and they do not receive any remuneration. Trustees are appointed in accordance with the terms of the constitution. No Trustees resigned during the year covered by this report. This Trustees. report has been approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on behalf of the Board by- Stuart Bankier Trustee Dated.. 11 November 2021 Sir Philip Mawer Trustee Dated: I l November 2021 Northumberland Archives Charitable Trust Independent Examinerfs Report to the Trustees of the Northumberland Archives Charitable Trust I have examined the accounts of the Northumberland Archives Charitable Trust for the year ended 31" March 2021 and, in my opinion, they represent a true reflertion of the financial position of the Trust at that date. There are no matters which I need to drawto the attention of the Trustees. signed...&￿..1Y￿................................. Full name...kf 4NNE..m.Av￿.Il........................... Dated......Qk.ILI.I..￿.II......................................... Northumberland Archives Charitable Trust Statement of Financial Attivities foi the Year Ending 3tst March 2021 Year Ending 3tst March 2021 Incoming Resources Grants io.o(x) Voluntary Income Total Income 10.000 Resources Expended Administration Costs Charitable Activities Governance Costs Totsl Expenditure 63 63 Surplus for the Year 9.937 Year Ending 31st March 2021 Northumberland Archive5 Charitable Trust Balance Sheet Current Assets Cash at Bank 9.937 Current Liabilities Creditors Totsl Assets 9,937 Represented by Unrestrirted Funds 9,937 Restricted Funds Totsl Funds 9,937 io