REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 12036812 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1190484
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021
FOR
OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
Maxwell & Co 9 Abbey Business Park Monks Walk Farnham Surrey GU9 8HT
OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021
| Page | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 1 | to | 3 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 4 | ||
| Balance Sheet | 5 | ||
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 6 | to | 8 |
| Detailed Statement of Financial Activities | 9 |
OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 June 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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) (effective 1 January 2019).
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and aims
Open Cages exists to create a world free from animal suffering. We campaign primarily against the systemic and widespread cruelty within British factory farming: the intensive breeding, rearing and slaughtering of animals for food. We seek to significantly improve the welfare of animals on British factory farms, to eliminate cruel practices inflicted upon them, and to influence a shift towards a more sustainable future where animals are no longer abused for food. Our charitable aims are:
(a) to promote humane behaviour towards animals and the welfare of farmed animals;
(b) to advance the education of the public in matters pertaining to animal welfare in general, and in particular (but not exclusively) the rearing, husbandry and general farming practices relating to the treatment of farm animals; and
(c) the prevention of cruelty and suffering among animals.
Therefore, our primary goals in this financial period were to; raise awareness of the reality of factory farming in Britain; convince food businesses and the UK Government to improve their animal welfare policies and; grow the organization to be able to campaign for animals more effectively.
Gaining mainstream media coverage for FrankenChickens
Our primary activity is to conduct undercover investigations to document the reality of animals on factory farms. We published a widely seen exposé revealing the reality of Tesco's "Frankenchickens" - animals bred to grow unnaturally big, unnaturally fast to produce cheap supermarket meat. We helped inform millions of people and decision makers with the footage, securing coverage with The Times, BBC News, BBC Landward, Channel 4 and more.
We successfully worked with dozens of public figures and animal welfare experts such as Chris Packham to call for change for British chickens on factory farms. Most notably, we worked closely with Chris and several animal advocacy groups to launch a petition urging UK supermarkets to take action for chickens. We secured coverage on Sky News and broadcasted our investigation images to the mainstream public.
Better Chicken Commitment
Through our investigations and campaigning, in this period we helped secure commitments from dozens of major food businesses to adopt the Better Chicken Commitment: an initiative to phase out the use of FrankenChickens, overcrowded conditions for chickens, and 'water bath' slaughter.
We worked behind the scenes meeting regularly with representatives from the largest supermarket chains in Britain to ensure progress is being made, and to provide them with the latest scientific and documentary evidence on chicken welfare.
In response to this campaign, UK Government insiders announced that they will phase out the use of Frankenchickens through subsidies.
Fur import ban
We helped make progress on the #FurFreeBritain campaign to ban the sale of fur, culminating in a call for evidence from the UK Government. We published undercover footage from the largest fur farm in Europe, and with other animal advocacy groups handed in one million petition signatures to Downing Street.
Growth
In this period we increased our amount of monthly donation income - our primary means of funds - by 68%. We also secured nearly £35,000 in major donations and grants to ensure our undercover investigations and campaigning activities are well resourced.
So far, our work has been carried out primarily by one employee and a small group of volunteers. We aim to continue significantly increasing our capacity to campaign for animals by increasing our numbers of monthly donations, grants, volunteers and by growing our team of full time employees.
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OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Financial position
Open Cages is funded through philanthropic gifts. We collect donations in the form of monthly donation payments and one off donation payments, and we apply for and receive funds in the form of grants. We also collect a small amount of funds from merchandise sold on our behalf by a third party.
Our policy on reserves
We retain reserves to ensure that the charity has a safety net of funds in the event of major opportunities or challenges. We have no fixed targets on how much we aim to retain in reserves as needs can change on a regular basis. Instead, we naturally retain a comfortable amount of reserves from only spending funds when we believe doing so would be more effective for animals than keeping the funds for future circumstances.
We have no deficits to report.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
Open Cages (Open Cages Advocacy Ltd) is a CIO (Charitable incorporated organization) and a company limited by guarantee which governs according to our Articles Of Association.
Open Cages is generally managed by our Chief Executive Officer and single employee Connor Jackson, who, as the Co-founder of Open Cages was also appointed as a Trustee. As a Trustee, he is employed according to the rules set out in our Articles of Association, see "Benefits and Payments to Charity Directors and Connected Persons" sub-clause (2), (4).
The board of Trustees chooses to act primarily as an accountability mechanism in the event of impassable disagreement or misconduct. On both a day to day and long term basis, the board delegates decision making power to the CEO and any relevant employees or volunteers in the charity that are deemed appropriate. It is our belief that the "people on the ground" are best placed to make such decisions for the organization. This trust will generally be extended to future employees upon appointment and it is a goal of this board to increase the number of staff employed by Open Cages. Decisions for the organization which are of particular significance, such as recruitment of employees, are made by Open Cages leadership in close collaboration with the board due to the knowledge and experience of its members. We seek to allow decisions to be made by those best placed to make them to achieve the best results for animals whilst ensuring the proper and effective operation of Open Cages.
Trustee recruitment and appointment
Open Cages is part of a coalition of animal advocacy organizations called Anima International, which is also an organization in itself set up to facilitate and coordinate the national groups from an international level. Anima International has been part of Open Cages' inception through funding and sharing of knowledge and resources. Due to this close relationship and shared values, our board is made up of individuals from both Open Cages and Anima International.
In this financial year we have had three changes to our board:
- Kirsty Henderson - Executive Director of Anima International - was appointed as a Trustee of Open Cages on January 5th 2021. - Karri Heikkinen resigned as a Trustee of Open Cages on February 8th 2021 due to decreased availability. We generally select individuals who are within Open Cages or Anima International; who have an ongoing and active knowledge of and interest in our work; who have a history of trustworthiness and; who we believe are capable of making objective decisions taking into account the best interests of the organization. We accept Trustee applications as far as the law requires however we are currently very unlikely to accept applications from individuals from outside the organization.
It is worth nothing that for logistical reasons, Open Cages employs staff members on behalf of Anima International when those employees reside in the UK. The funds are transferred to Open Cages in the form of grants, with the funds being used exclusively on the aforementioned employment. These employees work full time for Anima International but as Open Cages is part of Anima International, they naturally devote some of their time to Open Cages in the form of assistance.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Company number
12036812 (England and Wales)
Registered Charity number
1190484
Page 2
OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021
Registered office 18 Knights Court Knights Park Kingston Upon Thames Surrey KT1 2QL
Trustees
C Jackson Mr K Heikkinen (resigned 8.2.21) J S Stencel Ms K Henderson (appointed 12.1.21)
Company Secretary
Approved by order of the board of trustees on ............................................. and signed on its behalf by:
........................................................................ C Jackson - Trustee
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OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021
| Year Ended 30.6.21 Unrestricted fund Notes £ INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 60,647 EXPENDITURE ON Other 99,858 NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) (39,211) RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward 74,469 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 35,258 |
Period 6.6.19 to 30.6.20 Total funds £ 150,025 75,556 |
|---|---|
| 74,469 - |
|
| 74,469 |
The notes form part of these financial statements
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OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
BALANCE SHEET 30 JUNE 2021
| 2021 Unrestricted fund Notes £ CURRENT ASSETS Cash at bank 47,164 CREDITORS Amounts falling due within one year 5 (11,906) NET CURRENT ASSETS 35,258 TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 35,258 NET ASSETS 35,258 FUNDS 6 Unrestricted funds 35,258 TOTAL FUNDS 35,258 |
2020 Total funds £ 83,587 (9,118) 74,469 74,469 74,469 74,469 74,469 |
|---|---|
The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 30 June 2021.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2021 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for
-
(a) ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and
-
(b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on ............................................. and were signed on its behalf by:
............................................. C Jackson - Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
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OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparing the financial statements
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost 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.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.
Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
2. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
| Period | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.19 | ||
| Year Ended | to | |
| 30.6.21 | 30.6.20 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Trustees' salaries | 18,667 | 16,800 |
| Trustees' social security | 966 | 236 |
| Trustees' pensions paid | 373 | 266 |
| 20,006 | 17,302 |
Trustees' expenses
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 30 June 2021 nor for the period ended 30 June 2020.
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continued...
OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021
3. STAFF COSTS
The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:
| Period | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.6.19 | ||||
| Year Ended | to | |||
| 30.6.21 | 30.6.20 | |||
| Administration | 2 | 2 | ||
| No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000. | ||||
| 4. | COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES | |||
| Unrestricted | ||||
| fund | ||||
| £ | ||||
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM | ||||
| Donations and legacies | 150,025 | |||
| EXPENDITURE ON | ||||
| Other | 75,556 | |||
| NET INCOME | 74,469 | |||
| TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 74,469 | |||
| 5. | CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR | |||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| Trade creditors | 786 | 168 | ||
| Social security and other taxes | 3,986 | 1,621 | ||
| Other creditors | 4,914 | 6,129 | ||
| Accrued expenses | 2,220 | 1,200 | ||
| 11,906 | 9,118 | |||
| 6. | MOVEMENT IN FUNDS | |||
| Net | ||||
| movement | At | |||
| At 1.7.20 | in funds | 30.6.21 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Unrestricted funds | ||||
| General fund | 74,469 | (39,211) | 35,258 | |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 74,469 | (39,211) | 35,258 |
continued...
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OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021
6. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Incoming | Resources | Movement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| resources | expended | in funds | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General fund | 60,647 | (99,858) | (39,211) |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 60,647 | (99,858) | (39,211) |
Comparatives for movement in funds
| Unrestricted funds General fund TOTAL FUNDS Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: Incoming resources £ Unrestricted funds General fund 150,025 TOTAL FUNDS 150,025 |
Net movement At in funds 30.6.20 £ £ 74,469 74,469 74,469 74,469 Resources Movement expended in funds £ £ (75,556) 74,469 (75,556) 74,469 |
|---|---|
7. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
There were no related party transactions for the year ended 30 June 2021.
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OPEN CAGES ADVOCACY LTD
DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021
| Period | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.19 | ||
| Year Ended | to | |
| 30.6.21 | 30.6.20 | |
| £ | £ | |
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS | ||
| Donations and legacies | ||
| Gifts | 60,647 | 150,025 |
| Total incoming resources | 60,647 | 150,025 |
| EXPENDITURE | ||
| Other | ||
| Use of Home as Office | 288 | 244 |
| Support costs | ||
| Management | ||
| Trustees' salaries | 18,667 | 16,800 |
| Trustees' social security | 966 | 236 |
| Trustees' pensions paid | 373 | 266 |
| Wages | 47,661 | 46,098 |
| Social security | 1,590 | 684 |
| Pensions | 1,146 | 1,086 |
| Insurance | 257 | 251 |
| Postage and stationery | 5 | 188 |
| Advertising | 2,872 | 689 |
| Travelling | - | 2,904 |
| 73,537 | 69,202 | |
| Information technology | ||
| Repairs and renewals | 1,642 | 707 |
| Governance costs | ||
| Sundries | 289 | 897 |
| Accountancy and legal fees | 2,262 | 1,476 |
| Consultancy fees | 21,840 | 3,030 |
| 24,391 | 5,403 | |
| Total resources expended | 99,858 | 75,556 |
| Net (expenditure)/income | (39,211) | 74,469 |
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements
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