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2025-10-31-accounts

Company registration number: 14391671 Charity registration number: 1202130 Charity registration number- Scotland: SC054003

MEAction UK

(A company limited by guarantee) Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 October 2025

Community Accounting Plus Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL

MEAction UK

Contents

Reference and Administrative Details 1 Trustees' Report 2 to 7 Independent Examiner's Report 8 to 9 Statement of Financial Activities 10 to 11 Balance Sheet 12 Notes to the Financial Statements 13 to 18

MEAction UK

Reference and Administrative Details

Trustees Denise Spreag, Chair

Janet Sylvester Malcolm Bailey SC054003 Scotland

Charity Registration Number 1202130 England and Wales

Company Registration Number 14391671

Registered Office 10 Belsize Park Mews London NW3 5BL Independent Examiner Eva Stevens, employee of Community Accounting Plus Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL

Page 1 MEAction UK

Trustees' Report

The trustees, who are directors for the purposes of company law, present the annual report together with the financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 31 October 2025.

Trustees and officers

The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:

Trustees: Denise Spreag, Chair

Janet Sylvester Malcolm Bailey

Structure, governance and management

Nature of governing document

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and registered charity. It is operated under the rules of its memorandum and articles of association dated 02/10/2022 and most recently amended 21/10/2024. It has no

share capital and the liability of each member in the event of winding-up is limited to £1.

Objectives and activities

Objects and aims

The objects of the charity are, for the benefit of the public, the provision of relief, the Advancement of health, and the advancement and promotion of education in connection with myalgic encephalomyelitis ("me") (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome) and other complex, chronic illnesses including post infectious illnesses in particular but not exclusively by: (a) raising awareness and public understanding of me and other complex, chronic illnesses (including but not limited to long covid); (b) providing information, advice and support; and (c) advancing research into me and other complex, chronic illnesses (provided that the useful results of any such research are disseminated to the general public). Nothing in this constitution shall authorise an application of the property of the charity for the purposes which are not charitable in accordance with section 7 of the charities and trustee investment (Scotland) act 2005 and section 2 of the charities act (Northern Ireland) 2008.

Our work centres around empowering/enabling people with ME and other complex, chronic illnesses (including post infectious illnesses). At present, the focus is on supporting people with ME but we may also focus on other complex, chronic illnesses in future. We carry out activities that improve the understanding of ME and help to relieve sickness through better treatment and public understanding.

Public benefit

We carry out activities that improve the understanding of ME and help to relieve sickness through better treatment and public understanding.

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Page 2

MEAction UK

Trustees' Report

Achievements and performance

Overview

MEAction UK is a UK charity and our work centres around empowering/enabling people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and other complex, chronic illnesses (including post infectious illnesses). We carry out activities that improve the understanding of ME and help to relieve sickness through better treatment and public understanding. We are volunteer run by people with ME, families and allies.

Parliament

We have concentrated our Parliamentary work in Scotland this year as, despite committing to do so in 2022, the Scottish Government has not implemented the NICE guideline. There is only one specialist service in Scotland and no specialist nurses.

MEAction Scotland volunteers met with Jenni Minto MSP, Minister for Public Health and Women's Health,

along with staff from the Scottish Government's Clinical Priorities team. Jenni Minto was appointed as Minister in March 2023. The aim was to brief her on the key issues for people living with ME, and ask her to take urgent action to implement the NICE guideline in Scotland and fund training and education for healthcare professionals based on its recommendations. The urgent need for support for people with ME, including children and young people was also discussed. We are meeting again in April to discuss the budget funding and implementation of NICE.

Due to our campaigning ME was mentioned in the Scottish Budget for 2025-2026 for the first time and £4.5m allocated to services for people with ME/LC and similar conditions.

We also contributed to 6 Consultations:

We enlisted the support of MSPs to chase Health Boards about gaps in data in the Scottish Government 2022 survey of ME services in Scotland, and as a result the SG reran the survey and published an updated report.

We held a successful Information Stand in the Scottish Parliament in January 2025 and engaged with 63 MSPs over 3 days. #MEAction Scotland and ME were mentioned in debate in the Women's Health Plan.

A successful Parliamentary Question campaign resulted in 17 PQs asked about ME by eight different MSPs.

Page 3

MEAction UK

Trustees' Report

We asked Wes Streeting and Andrew Gwynne MP if they would commit to challenge and change the neglect of people with ME and push the Department of Health and Social Care - DHSC to publish a plan that contains more than warm wishes and good intentions and the National Institute for Health and Care Research to commit significant research funds.

In February 2025, in a statement to parliament, Ashley Dalton MP minister for public health and replacement for Andrew Gwynne MP, said: “There are currently no plans to allocate additional funding towards the myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue final delivery plan.” This is a blow for all those with ME, especially the severe and very severely affected. This is an unacceptable outcome to a process that started in August 2023 and has demanded a great deal of input from the ME community who now feel abandoned. We will continue to campaign until the government and research funders commit to funding ME research in parity with other diseases.

In July 2025 we published our response to the DHSC’s ME/CFS Delivery Plan. MEAction UK are very disappointed by the content of the Plan. Minimal sums of money have been committed to ME research. £1.4 million and a competitive award do not replace the millions of pounds missing from ME research and care.

Awareness and Public Understanding

In March 2025 we took a stand at the #RCPCH25 conference for Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health talking to paediatricians and explaining how they can help children and young people with ME.

In May 2025 our response to the recent opinion piece, 'Patients with severe ME/CFS need hope and expert multidisciplinary care' in the BMJ was published.

We are disappointed by the BMJ’s commissioning and publication of this opinion piece which advances a biopsychosocial framework for ME that is outdated, unscientific, and potentially harmful, especially for those with severe and very severe illness.

https://ow.ly/vsOE50VVoEx

MillionsMissing

#MEAction UK

Every year we run #MillionsMissing campaign on behalf of people with ME.

May 12th is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Awareness Day. On this day, the #MillionsMissing with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) gather to demand an increase in research and care for people with ME. In the UK people with ME finally had the possibility of significant research funding from the government through the ME/CFS Delivery Plan. With no money allocated to date in the Delivery Plan hopes of progress are dwindling. Now we want to make sure that people with ME get the money desperately needed to fund research.

In the UK we are concentrating on getting research into ME fully funded in the ME/CFS Delivery Plan. We asked people to use all our tools and their own imagination to craft an SOS that can’t be ignored and send an SOS to the government, the Medical Research Council (MRC), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) using the addresses below.

Page 4 MEAction UK

Trustees' Report

#MEAction Scotland

The Scottish Government included £4.5m in the Scottish Budget to deliver specialist support for ME, Long Covid and other similar conditions. #MEAction Scotland's rally outside the Scottish Parliament put pressure on the Scottish Government to set out how they will make the pledged funding a reality.

Paul Sweeney MSP, Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, Ben Macpherson MSP, Sue Webber MSP, Brian Whittle MSP, Alexander Burnett MSP, Foysol Choudhury MSP, Katy Clark MSP, Murdo Fraser MSP, Christine Grahame MSP, Rachael Hamilton MSP, Monica Lennon MSP, Michael Marra MSP, Oliver Mundell MSP, Alex Rowley MSP, Colin Smyth MSP, Alexander Stewart MSP and Tess White MSP were all part of the day.

The Minister for Public Health and Women's Health, Jenni Minto MSP, also joined to speak and confirmed that their government is discussing with Scottish Health Boards how the allocated funding could be spent and highlighting that the NICE Guideline needs to be followed over the, now outdated, Scottish Good Practice Statement.

NHS Education for Scotland published the CPD module on ME for GPs which we have been campaigning for since 2018, Groups of GPs, General Practice Nurses and Pharmacists/Technicians have studied the module since publishing the Practice Based Small Group Learning (PBSGL) module in May 2024.

We ran 3 clinical awareness sessions: a GP study group, a GP practice in East Lothian, a Medical English group for refugee doctors. We promoted Learn about ME podcasts, including one where an #MEAction Scotland volunteered as a guest.

Community

We continue to support the campaign to highlight the flaws in Cochrane’s stance on reassessing its exercise therapy review for ME/CFS. We are supporting a petition to request an update of the description of ME/CFS in Kumar and Clark’s Clinical Medicine textbook. The next edition of Kumar and Clark’s Clinical Medicine is due in 2025 and forms part of medical education so it's vital the text is correct.

In January 2025 the original analysis, with its methodological flaws and omission of key data, remained entirely unchanged - except for its publication date. Cochrane edited it to read 2024: a decade after any of the peer-reviewed sources cited. This undermines public trust in research and highlights the need for a more ethical and inclusive approach to systematic review.

Page 5 MEAction UK

Trustees' Report

We’re delighted to be one of 15 organisations backing a new policy brief calling on the government to commit to an NHS that’s there for Long Covid & ME. The policy brief is part of #ThereForME, a new campaign calling for an NHS that’s there for people with ME and Long Covid. We’re asking the government to: Commit to an NHS that is there for people with ME and Long Covid and put this into action by prioritising publication of the cross-government delivery plan on ME/CFS.

We shared the call to the ME Community to help gather more signatures on this petition for Urgent Call for the Creation of an NHS Protocol for Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.).

We continued to campaign for Millie and Karen, ME patients in hospital who are at risk of starvation due to lack of total parenteral nutrition or tube feeding.

Promoting Research

We appealed to the UK community to sign an urgent letter to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), demanding that the NIH fund the ME/CFS Research Roadmap. The roadmap was developed by a working group of foremost experts on ME and community members (including #MEAction). The roadmap outlines how to advance ME/CFS research with a focus on delivering clinical trials. However, the NIH has dedicated no money to fund this critical roadmap.

Financial review

The Trustees were pleased to receive a major donation which has enabled them to employ professional management tools and plan significant actions. They are satisfied with the financial position of the charity.

Policy on reserves

We would like to keep reserves to cover 3 months of activities.

Page 6 MEAction UK

Trustees' Report

Small companies provision statement

This report has been prepared in accordance with the small companies regime under the Companies Act 2006.

Statement of Responsibilities

The trustees (who are also the directors of MEAction UK for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland". The report and accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions in the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they 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 its income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that can 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.

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

The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on .................... and signed on its behalf by:

......................................... Janet Sylvester Trustee

Page 7 MEAction UK

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of MEAction UK ('the Company')

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of MEAction UK ('the Company') I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 October 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees of the Company (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 Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (‘the 2005 Act’), the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’). You are satisfied that the accounts of the Company are not required by charity or company law to be audited and have chosen instead to have an independent examination.

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 the Company’s accounts carried out under section 44 (1) (c) of the 2005 Act and section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the requirements of Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

Since MEAction UK is required by company law to prepare its accounts on an accruals basis and is registered as a charity in Scotland your examiner must be a member of a body listed in Regulation 11(2) of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the

examination because I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) , 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 that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records with the accounting requirements of Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006; 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)].

Page 8 MEAction UK

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of MEAction UK ('the Company')

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.

......................................

Eva Stevens, BSc, CPFA, employee of Community Accounting Plus member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)

Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL

Date:.............................

Page 9 MEAction UK

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 October 2025 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses) Unrestricted funds Total 2025 £ Income and £ Total 2024 £ Endowments from: Restricted funds £

Note

Donations and legacies 2 28,043 - 28,043 1,179 Charitable activities 3 352 2,000 2,352 - Investment income 5 2 - 2 -

Total income 28,397 2,000 30,397 1,179

Expenditure on:

Charitable activities 6 (2,663) (2,010) (4,673) (244) Total expenditure (2,663) (2,010) (4,673) (244)

Net income/(expenditure) 25,734 (10) 25,724 935 Transfers between funds (10) 10 - -

Net movement in funds 25,724 - 25,724 935 Reconciliation of funds

All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods.

The funds breakdown for the period is shown in note 9.

The notes on pages 13 to 18 form an integral part of these financial statements.

Page 10 MEAction UK

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 October 2025 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)

These are the figures for the previous accounting period and are included for comparative purposes

Total Income and Endowments from: 2024 Unrestricted funds Note £ £

Donations and legacies 2 1,179 1,179 Total income 1,179 1,179

Expenditure on:

Charitable activities 6 (244) (244) Total expenditure (244) (244) Net income 935 935 Net movement in funds

935 935 Reconciliation of funds

Total funds brought forward 545 545 Total funds carried forward 9 1,480 1,480

The notes on pages 13 to 18 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 11

(Registration number: 14391671) Balance Sheet as at 31 October 2025

2024 £ Note 2025 £ Current assets MEAction UK

Cash at bank and in hand 7 28,260 1,480 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 8 (1,056) - Net assets 27,204 1,480 Funds of the charity:

Unrestricted income funds

Unrestricted funds 27,204 1,480 Total funds 9 27,204 1,480

For the financial year ending 31 October 2025 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibilities:

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements on pages 10 to 18 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on .................... and signed on their behalf by:

......................................... Janet Sylvester Trustee

The notes on pages 13 to 18 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 12 MEAction UK

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 October 2025

1 Accounting policies

Summary of significant accounting policies and key accounting estimates

The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.

Statement of compliance

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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)) (issued in October 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Basis of preparation

MEAction UK 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.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.

The trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any 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 make this assessment in respect of a period of one year from the date of approval of the financial statements.

Exemption from preparing a cash flow statement

Under the exemption available to smaller charities the Board of Trustees has chosen not to include a Statement of Cash Flows within the financial statements.

Expenditure

All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, with central staff costs allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Other support costs are allocated based on the spread of staff costs.

Charitable activities

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

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MEAction UK

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 October 2025

Taxation

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.

Fund structure

Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees' discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside for specific purposes at the discretion of the trustees. Page 14

MEAction UK

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 October 2025

2 Income from donations and legacies

Unrestricted

funds Total Total 2024 Donations and legacies; 2025 £ £ General £

Donations from individuals 3,043 3,043 1,179 Grants, including capital grants; Grants from other charities 25,000 25,000 - 28,043 28,043 1,179

3 Income from charitable activities

Unrestricted

Designated £ funds £

funds Restricted Total Total 2025 £ 2024 £

Grants & donations - 2,000 2,000 - Sales & fees 352 - 352 -

4 Grants & donations

£ £ Unrestricted Restricted funds funds Total £

The Clear Foundation 25,000 - 25,000 General Donations 3,043 2,000 5,043

28,043 2,000 30,043

5 Investment income

Unrestricted

funds Total Total 2024 Interest receivable and similar General £ £ income; 2025 £

Interest receivable on bank deposits 2 2 - Page 15

MEAction UK

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 October 2025

6 Expenditure on charitable activities

Unrestricted funds Restricted Total Total Designated £ General £ funds £ 2025 £ 2024 £

Travel - 322 - 322 244 Activities & trips 628 195 1,657 2,480 - Legal & professional - 1,090 250 1,340 - Printing, posting & stationery - 151 19 170 - Sundry payments 40 - - 40 - Volunteer training - 216 - 216 - IT Costs - 21 - 21 - Insurance - - 84 84 -

7 Cash and cash equivalents

----- Start of picture text -----
202
202
4 £
5 £
Cash at bank 28,260 1,480 8 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
202 202
5 £ 4 £
----- End of picture text -----

668 1,995 2,010 4,673 244

Accruals 1,056 - Page 16

MEAction UK

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 October 2025

9 Funds

Balance at Balance at 1
31 October Unrestricted funds November 2024 Incoming resources Resources expended
2025 General £ £ £
£ Transfers £
General Fund - 28,045 (1,995) (10) 26,040

Designated

MEAction Scotland Designated Fund 1,480 352 (668) - 1,164 Total unrestricted funds 1,480 28,397 (2,663) (10) 27,204

Restricted funds

MEAction Scotland Fund - 2,000 (2,010) 10 - Total funds 1,480 30,397 (4,673) - 27,204

The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:

MEAction Scotland Fund- This is funding to support #MEAction Scotland activites and campaigns.

MEAction Scotland Designated Fund- This is funding for activities that only take place in Scotland.

The transfer from the General fund to the MEAction Scotland Fund is to cover the deficit on this activity.

Balance at 1

Balance at 31 MEAction Scotland £ Unrestricted funds October 2024 Designated Incoming resources £ £ Designated November 2023 Resources expended £

Fund 545 1,179 (244) 1,480 Page 17

MEAction UK

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 October 2025

10 Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted

2025 General £ Designated £ Total funds £

Current assets 27,096 1,164 28,260 Current liabilities (1,056) - (1,056)

Total net assets 26,040 1,164 27,204

Unrestricted 2024 General £ Total funds £

Current assets 1,480 1,480

11 Fees payable to independent examiner

During the period, the fees payable (excluding VAT) to the charity’s independent examiner Community Accounting Plus are analysed as follows:

202 202 4 £ 5 £

Independent examination 880 - 880 -

12 Taxation

The charity is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from corporation taxation.

13 Trustees remuneration and expenses

No trustees, nor any persons connected with them, have received any remuneration from the charity during the year.

14 Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions in the year.

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