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2024-03-31-accounts

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1203244

Report of the Trustees and

Unaudited Financial Statements for the Period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

for

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

WR Partners Chartered Accountants Belmont House Shrewsbury Business Park Shrewsbury Shropshire SY2 6LG

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Contents of the Financial Statements for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

Page
Report of the Trustees 1 to 8
Independent Examiner's Report 9
Statement of Financial Activities 10
Balance Sheet 11
Notes to the Financial Statements 12 to 16
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities 17 to 18

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Report of the Trustees for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024. 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).

Introduction by the Board of Trustees

History

For the first twelve years the work of GSF was hosted within the National Health Service, largely funded by a Department of Health grant. At the end of the grant, this work was then transferred to the Gold Standards Framework Centre CIC. The company was incorporated in 2010. GSF Centre CIC received commissions from NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups, Local Authorities, training providers and other organisations for delivery of training to large groups, as well as directly from individual or corporate organisations. In May 2023 the GSF Centre became a registered charity.

The National Skills for Care for Social Care awarded GSF Centre CIC Recognised status and was recognised as a Centre of Excellence in Adult Social Care training in March 2011 and this has been repeated every year since.

GSF Hospital accreditation has been recognised by Care Quality Commission as the only End of Life Care accredited scheme for hospitals to be included as CQC's information source.

Page 1

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Report of the Trustees for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objectives and aims

Charitable Object, core purpose and aims

The object of the Gold Standards Framework CIO is to advance the health and wellbeing of people in last years of life and their families and carers through education of the public in general (particularly amongst the workforce responsible for providing care for people in the last years of life) on the subject of care for people in the last years of life, including by providing training to enable the delivery of improved and appropriate care for people in the last years of life.

We believe that "Everyone deserves 'gold standard care' at the end of their life".

The Gold Standards Framework (GSF) has been the UK's leading training provider for generalist frontline staff caring for people in the last years of life for over 25 years. It was founded by Prof. Keri Thomas in 1998 to improve the care for people nearing the end of life given by generalist frontline providers.

GSF is a practical systematic evidence-based approach to optimising care for people nearing the end of life, given by generalist frontline care professionals in health and social care. Our aim is to enable a 'gold standard' of care for all people in the last years of life, supporting them to live well until they die. This includes people with any condition, in any setting, given by any care provider, at any time in a person's last years of life.

GSF has been shown to improve the quality of care, confidence of staff, coordination, team working, and documentation and reduce hospital deaths, in many cases halving the numbers of people admitted to and dying in hospitals, enabling more to live and die at home, leading to significant cost savings.

Training is based on quality improvement principles and is delivered through interactive workshops, accompanied by supporting training materials customised for teams within the particular organisations. Currently there are 6 training programmes running in primary care, care homes, acute hospitals and community hospitals, domiciliary care organisations, retirement villages, prisons etc

Page 2

Public benefit

The work of the Gold Standards Framework is of great benefit to all those in the last years of life and their families and carers, to enable them to live well and to die well in the place and manner of their choosing. GSF is also of great benefit to health and care workforce who grow in confidence and job satisfaction as they are trained and enabled with the necessary skills to ensure that they are delivering the best quality 'gold standard' end of life care to all patients and residents. This work also supports their families and friends, reducing distress and supporting them in bereavement.

The wider impact of this work affects extensive numbers involved in care for people nearing the end of life in all areas. There is considerable public benefit in the provision of high quality proactive end of life care to people in line with their wishes enabling more to live and die at home as it reduces the use of primary care and community services, emergency services and hospitals, thereby effecting the care of many in the wider population.

During the year, we achieved our target numbers of teams trained and accredited, meaning that even more people were helped delivering a greater benefit to the general public by empowering the workforce.

Page 3

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Report of the Trustees for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

We provide free resources on our website to further enhance learning and offer free webinars for a variety of different health care sectors, these take place regularly throughout the year. Most organisations pay for the training programmes directly , but we are seeking fundraised income to be able to offer subsidised programmes to reach more organisations who wish to improve their end of life care but are currently unable to pay.

Page 4

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Report of the Trustees for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Review of the Year

2024 was our first year as a Charity (established 2023). We have begun the process of fundraising, having applied to various trusts and organisations to enable us to reach more of the population in the last stages of life. For the year to 31st March 2024, our income was derived predominantly from the training programmes and accreditation procedures.

Activity levels

During the financial year to 31st March 2024 The Gold Standards Framework Trained 224 Organisations over 21 cohorts. The average number of attendees from each organisation was 4, meaning that an average of 896 Heath and Social care workers have improved the care for the population in the last years of life.

The breakdown of this training is:

Care Home - 176 Organisations Domiciliary Care - 14 Hospitals - 33 Retirement Villages - 1

At our conference in September 2023, 117 organisations achieved accreditation, broken down as follows:

Care Home - Organisations - 76 Domiciliary Care - 11 Hospitals - 17 Retirement Villages - 9 Primary Care - 4

Seven of these organisations were 3rd time accredited, eight were 4th time accredited and one was 5th time accredited. 5th time accredited means that they had followed the GSF programme for 15 years.

During this financial year, we developed a new 'Champions' programme in response to customer feedback and began delivering this in January. This enables one individual within an organisation to become a Champion in end of life care and be able to support their peers. This programme is shorter and is more accessible to the busy workforce.

Staffing was reassessed during the year, and the permanent clinical team was increased from 7 days per week to 10 days per week, to offer more support on a regular basis to deliver training. This also released the Chief Operating Officer from operational delivery work.

The administrative team was also restructured, dividing the function into more specialist areas to cover the three core functions of the organisation - Training, Accreditation and Marketing.

We began our fundraising campaign, appointing a specialist to develop our case for support and produce 10 applications, which were submitted after year end.

More recently, The Gold Standards Framework has become a member of the Coalition of Frontline Care - for people nearing the end of life. The coalition is made up of seven members who campaign for improvement in end of life care across all sectors.

Page 5

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Report of the Trustees

for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial position

The statement of financial activities for the first year as a charity shows the total incoming resources for the year of £533K.

£80K of this was donated income, of which £74k related to the assets transferred at book value from the previous CIC, and the remainder earned through trading, mainly through the sale of training programs and for organisation completing accreditation.

The primary expense of the charity is Salaries, accounting for 78% of costs.

The surplus for the year was £223K, and this being the first year of the CIO is reflected in the balance sheet position at the end of the financial year.

Deferred income is £670K, being the training/accreditation paid for in advance by organisations.

Investment policy and objectives

The investment assets are marketable financial instruments, which are considered to be low risk. The structure of the portfolio aims at generating capital growth in the long term.

Reserves policy

The board of directors/trustees consider it prudent that unrestricted reserves should be sufficient:

1) to cover three - six months income from care homes (our main source of income) 2) To cover three - six months of governance and support costs

3) To cover potential redundancy costs

The level of reserves is monitored every two months at board meetings or at a frequency considered prudent by the board and the reserves policy is reviewed annually.

Short-term working capital does not represent an operating difficultly due to the funding model for the training programmes, whereby all training and accreditation is paid for up front, the accreditation typically takes place 12-24 months after start of training and therefore represents a large cash balance but remains on the balance sheet as a liability.

Given that working capital does not become an issue, the reserves policy is primarily in place to ensure continuation of service during times of low income and to provide a dissolution fund in the event of closure.

Minimum reserves are set at £75k with a maximum of £126k, all unrestricted.

Page 6

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Report of the Trustees for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Legal and Administrative

The charity is governed by its constitution and forms a charitable incorporated organisation as defined by the Charities Act 2011.

Transfer from CIC - The Gold Standards Framework operated as a CIC from April 2010 until it converted to a CIO in May 2023.

The day to day management of The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO is in the care of the Chief Operating Officer who acts in accordance with the directives of the Board of Trustees.

Information about the charity can be found on its website at www.goldstandardsframework.org.uk.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Charity number

1203244

Principal address

71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden London WC2H 9JQ

Trustees

Professor K Thomas (appointed 24.5.23) Reverend M Thomas (appointed 24.5.23) Dr J L Kennedy (appointed 22.7.24) J C M Lamirel (appointed 22.7.24) D Motyka (appointed 22.7.24) J Mackenzie (appointed 24.5.23) (resigned 14.5.24) A Rosenbach (appointed 24.5.23) (resigned 13.1.24) S A H Richards (appointed 24.5.23) (resigned 14.5.24) L Sutton (appointed 24.5.23) (resigned 31.7.24) Dr L Pain (appointed 24.5.23) (resigned 1.8.24) L Nicoll (appointed 23.7.24, resigned 1.10.24)

5 Trustees were previously non-executive directors of the CIC and they have been transferred over - some on 2-3 year agreements.

Independent Examiner

H M Pierce WR Partners Chartered Accountants Belmont House Shrewsbury Business Park Shrewsbury Shropshire SY2 6LG

Page 7

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Report of the Trustees for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 6[th] January 2025 and signed on its behalf on 22[nd] January 2025 by:

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

J C M Lamirel - Trustee

Page 8

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO (the Trust) for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under Section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

Since your charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a listed body. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am 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 material 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 in respect of the Trust as required by Section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  2. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.

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.

H M Pierce

WR Partners Chartered Accountants Belmont House Shrewsbury Business Park Shrewsbury Shropshire SY2 6LG

Date: 22[nd] January 2025

Page 9

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Statement of Financial Activities for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

Unrestricted
fund
Notes £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies 80,492
Other trading activities 2 442,607
Investment income 3 9,729
Total 532,828
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds 4 2,435
Other 314,601
Total 317,036
Net gains on investments 7,671
NET INCOME 223,463
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 223,463

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 10

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Balance Sheet 31 March 2024

Unrestricted
fund
Notes £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 7 3,996
Investments 8 355,927
359,923
CURRENT ASSETS
Stocks 9 1,407
Debtors 10 96,076
Cash at bank 491,626
589,109
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year 11 (725,569)
NET CURRENT ASSETS (136,460)
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 223,463
NET ASSETS 223,463
FUNDS 12
Unrestricted funds 223,463
TOTAL FUNDS 223,463

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 6[th] January 2025 and were signed on its behalf on 22[nd] January 2025 by:

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

Dr J L Kennedy - Trustee J C M Lamirel - Trustee

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 11

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Notes to the Financial Statements for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charity, 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 Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value, as modified by the revaluation of certain assets.

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.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life – Fixtures & Fittings 25% reducing balance, IT equipment 33.3% straight line.

Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from 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.

Hire purchase and leasing commitments

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

continued...

Page 12

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charity's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

2. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

Training
Conferences
Accreditation
3.
INVESTMENT INCOME
Other fixed asset invest - FII
Curr asset inv income
£
220,615
28,095
193,897
£
220,615
28,095
193,897
442,607
£
9,613
116
9,729

4. RAISING FUNDS

Investment management costs
£
Support costs 2,435

5. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

Service fees relating to writing of an article amounting to £350 were paid to Professor Keri Thomas during the period ended 31 March 2024.

Trustees' expenses

The above trustee member was reimbursed £465 as follows:- £203 stationery, £170 equipment and £92 travel costs during the year ended 31 March 2024.

continued...

Page 13

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

6. STAFF COSTS

The average monthly number of employees during the period was as follows:

Executive team
Clinical staff
Administrative staff
2
4
4
10

One employee received on a pro-rate basis emoluments in excess of £60,000.

7. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

7. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Fixtures
and
fittings
£
COST
Additions 5,335
DEPRECIATION
Charge for year 1,339
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 March 2024 3,996
8. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS
Listed
investments
£
MARKET VALUE
Additions 416,056
Disposals (76,412)
Revaluations 16,283
At 31 March 2024 355,927
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 March 2024 355,927

There were no investment assets outside the UK.

continued...

Page 14

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

8. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS - continued

Cost or valuation at 31 March 2024 is represented by:

Valuation in 2024
Cost
Revaluations
Realised gains/(losses) on disposal of investments
Movement on unrealised gains/(losses) on value of investments
9.
STOCKS
Stocks
10.
DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
Listed
investments
£
16,283
339,644
355,927
£
(8,612)
16,283
7,671
£
1,407
£
80,993
15,083
96,076
Listed
investments
£
16,283
339,644
355,927
£
(8,612)
16,283
7,671
£
1,407
£
80,993
15,083
96,076
Listed
investments
£
16,283
339,644
355,927
£
(8,612)
16,283
7,671
£
1,407
£
80,993
15,083
96,076

continued...

Page 15

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

11. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade creditors
Taxation and social security
Other creditors
£
5,843
43,186
676,540
725,569

12. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Unrestricted funds
General fund
TOTAL FUNDS
Net
movement
in funds
£
223,463
223,463
At
31.3.24
£
223,463
223,463

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
TOTAL FUNDS
Incoming
resources
£
532,828
532,828
Resources
expended
£
(317,036)
(317,036)
Gains and
Movement
losses
in funds
£
£
7,671
223,463
7,671
223,463

13. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the period ended 31 March 2024.

Page 16

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS
Donations and legacies
Donations
Other trading activities
Training
Conferences
Accreditation
Investment income
Other fixed asset invest - FII
Curr asset inv income
Total incoming resources
EXPENDITURE
Support costs
Management
Wages
Finance
Wages
Social security
Pensions
Sundries
Travel expenses
Conferences
Training costs
Computer costs
Marketing
Telephone
Subscriptions
Other
Other operating leases
Carried forward
£
80,492
220,615
28,095
193,897
442,607
9,613
116
9,729
532,828
139,994
92,656
7,768
3,826
373
4,746
19,743
7,433
12,374
13,201
875
265
163,260
824
824

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements

Page 17

The Gold Standards Framework Centre CIO

Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the period 24 May 2023 to 31 March 2024

Other
Brought forward
Insurance
Postage and stationery
Sundries
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets
Governance costs
Accountancy and legal fees
Total resources expended
Net income before gains and losses
Realised recognised gains and losses
Realised gains/(losses) on fixed asset
investments
Net income
£
824
1,775
1,084
2,019
1,339
7,041
6,741
317,036
215,792
(8,612)
207,180

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements

Page 18