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2022-12-31-accounts

~~ANNUAL REPORT 2022~~

~~TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022~~

~~PRINCIPALS, TRUSTEES AND EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM~~

~~PATRON~~

~~COUNCIL~~

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (until 8 September 2022)

Chair

Richard Daniel BSc (Hons) FRAeS[1]

Deputy Chair

~~PRESIDENT~~

The Viscount Trenchard of Wolfeton DL

HRH The Duke of Kent KG GCMG GCVO ADC(P)

Honorary Treasurer Alastair Irvine BA (Hons) MCSI

~~LIFE VICE-PRESIDENTS~~

Members as at 27 June 2023 (date report approved) Wing Commander Sarah Davis MBA MSc FCIPD[2]

Marshal of the Royal Air Force The Lord Craig of Radley GCB OBE MA DSc FRAeS

Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Graydon GCB CBE ADC FRAeS

Lady Elaine Hillier[2]

Wing Commander Marie-Noelle Orzel OBE QVRM MSc PGDE RGN RSCN[3]

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier GCB CBE DFC MA

Alison Benjamin BA (Hons)[4]

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Johns GCB KCVO CBE FRAeS

Rachel Prendergast BA (Hons) MA[4]

Air Chief Marshal Sir Roger Palin KCB OBE MA FRAeS FIPD

Graeme Craig MA[5]

Air Marshal Richard Maddison OBE MA[6]

Lady Elaine Hillier

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton KCB FREng[7]

~~VICE-PRESIDENT~~

Stepped down during reporting period

John Isabel

Lawrie Haynes CBE DEng BA (Hons) FCILTR FRSA (28 Jan 2022)

Air Marshal Andrew Turner CB CBE MA MSc BA FRAeS CCMI RAF (11 Mar 2022)

Frances Brindle MSc BSc (Hons) (28 Sept 2022)

Air Vice-Marshal John Cliffe CB OBE (23 Oct 2022)

David Cheyne MA (Cantab) (31 Mar 2023) Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Wigston KCB CBE ADC RAF (2 June 2023)

1 Appointed 1 Feb 2022

2 Appointed 24 Jan 2022

3 Served until 30 Nov 2022. Reappointed 12 Dec 2022

5 Appointed 1 Apr 2023 6 Appointed 4 May 2023 7 Appointed 2 June 2023

~~BOARD OF TRUSTEES~~

Chair

Richard Daniel BSc (Hons) FRAeS[1]

Honorary Treasurer Alastair Irvine BA (Hons) MCSI

Trustees as at 27 June 2023 (date report approved) Allyson Arnold MSc BScN (Hons)

Patrick Aylmer FCA

Alison Benjamin BA (Hons)

Richard Cryer MA (Cantab) FCA Wing Commander Sarah Davis MBA MSc FCIPD

Wing Commander Dr Sophie Allen MBChB MRCGP DRCOG DFSRH DOccMed DAvMed PGCME[2 3]

Squadron Leader Clive Martland MBE[2] Lady Meri Mayhew BA (Hons)[2] Rachel Prendergast BA (Hons) MA[2] Peggy Walters MA[2] Graeme Craig MA[4]

Stepped down during reporting period

Lawrie Haynes CBE DEng BA (Hons) FCILTR FRSA (28 Jan 2022)

Frances Brindle MSc BSc (Hons) (28 Sept 2022)

Sarah Casemore MBA (25 Feb 2022) Air Vice-Marshal Elaine West CBE (23 Apr 2022)

Wing Commander Marie-Noelle Orzel OBE QVRM MSc PGDE RGN RSCN[5] (30 Nov 2022) David Cheyne MA (Cantab)[6] (31 Mar 2023)

1 Appointed 1 Feb 2022 2 Appointed 30 Sept 2022

3 Safeguarding Lead Trustee from 1 Dec 2022

4 Senior Independent Trustee from 1 Apr 2023

5 Safeguarding Lead Trustee until 30 Nov 2022

6 Senior Independent Trustee until 31 Mar 2023

~~EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM~~

Controller

Air Vice-Marshal Chris Elliot CB CBE DL

Director of Resources

Victoria Akinboro BSc (Hons) ACMA CGMA

Director of Fundraising

Jason Shauness BEc (Hons) Grad Dip REM[1]

Director of Grants, Services and Programmes Air Commodore Simon Harper OBE[2]

Director of Strategy and Impact Alison Wyman MSc BSc (Hons) CG (Affiliated)

1 Resigned 17 Mar 2023. From 27 Mar to 15 June 2023, this role was undertaken by Air Commodore Paul Hughesdon MA.

2 Appointed 9 Mar 2023. Air Commodore Paul Hughesdon MA undertook this role until he resigned on 8 Mar 2023.

Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund Principal and Registered Office 67 Portland Place, London W1B 1AR

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

~~CONTENTS~~

~~TRUSTEES’ REPORT~~

~~RUSTEES’ REPORT~~
Foreword 5
About us 6
Progress against our strategic aims 8
2022: Our key statistics 12
Progress against our key welfare goals for the RAF Family 14
Support for stations 19
Working in partnership 20
Fundraising 21
Financial highlights 25
Financial review 26
Structure, management, governance and risk 32
Principal professional advisers 36
Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities 37

~~INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES 38 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 42~~

~~THERE FOR THE RAF FAMILY, NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE~~

2022 was a very challenging year for the RAF, the country and the world.

Together with the whole nation, I was deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty The Queen. The late Queen showed an inspirational sense of duty during her reign and, as the RAF Benevolent Fund’s Patron from 1952, provided endless support for those who served her country.

Those serving in the RAF in 2022 found themselves operationally busier than they have been for more than 40 years and were at the forefront of support to the Ukraine government. Britain also faced the challenges of the cost-of-living crisis, while the legacy of Covid-19 continued to cast a shadow.

Through all these challenges, the RAF Benevolent Fund in 2022 stood shoulder to shoulder with more than 40,700 RAF veterans, serving personnel and their families, offering financial, practical and emotional support. Demand for assistance of all kinds was higher than ever.

At the beginning of the year the Fund launched its new five-year Shaping The Future strategy. This provides a robust foundation to meet the RAF Family’s needs today and beyond. Its first year saw strong achievements, including distribution of £7.1M in grants to RAF Family members to pay for essentials such as energy bills and disability equipment.

As we go forward into 2023, the Fund, inspired by the late Queen’s example of duty and devotion, stands ready to support anyone in the RAF Family in need, no matter what difficulties they face.

HRH The Duke of Kent President, RAF Benevolent Fund KG GCMG GCVO ADC(P)

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Photo: Rory Lewis
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

~~ABOUT US~~

~~OUR VISION~~

~~OUR PURPOSE~~

Our vision is that everyone in our RAF Family – veterans, serving personnel and their families – gets support in their hour of need.

Our purpose is to be here for every member of the RAF Family in need – listening, understanding and providing life-changing practical, emotional and financial support.

~~OUR KEY WELFARE GOALS FOR THE RAF FAMILY 2022–2026~~

Improved Improved access to quality of personalised living support

Increased Enhanced independence wellbeing

~~OUR VALUES~~

Empathetic PeopleResponsive We listen focused We do what and seek to We put people we say we understand, at the heart of will do, and standing everything we use evidence side-by-side do. and insight with the to adapt to RAF Family. changing needs.

Inclusive Innovative We work hard We are to ensure forwardeveryone feels leaning and valued and encourage supported, new ideas and and make approaches ourselves to remain accessible. relevant.

The support the Fund has provided has been second to none, including converting my bathroom into a wetroom and providing me with an orthopaedic bed. I wouldn’t have been able to get this far without it.”

Former RAF Sergeant Leroy Francis, who has multiple sclerosis, explains the difference equipment we provided has made to his life

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

~~PROGRESS AGAINST OUR STRATEGIC AIMS~~

over the next few years. The pandemic’s economic impact has also contributed to financial difficulties for people of all ages and in many cases has reduced the availability of local support services.

In 2022 we were pleased to launch our new strategy, Shaping The Future, which will run through until 2026.

Our new strategy responds to the immense challenges and changes the RAF Family has faced in recent years, resetting our direction to make sure we can support veterans, serving personnel and their families for years to come. It builds on our previous short-term strategy which allowed us to be there for the RAF Family through the toughest times of 2020 and 2021.

y Digital. Covid-19 greatly accelerated the trend towards delivering services digitally. This gives us opportunities to increase our use of data to make sure our services exactly meet the RAF Family’s needs, to adapt our services to make them digitally accessible, and to use digital to make our organisation more effective and efficient.

Based on a review of data, research and analysis, plus the views of our staff and the people we help, Shaping The Future identifies the RAF Family’s key needs and opportunities for us to meet them over the next five years, so we can continue to provide life-changing support.

y The need to continue to work together with other organisations. There are other military charities that support the RAF Family. We want to collaborate more with them and other partners within and outside the charity sector, where it helps us provide the best possible support for the RAF Family.

~~THE CONTEXT FOR SHAPING THE FUTURE~~

y Financial sustainability. In recent years we made a deliberate decision to increase our spending and draw on reserves to reach and support older veterans before they pass on. However, consistently spending more than we are able to raise is unsustainable. Ensuring our future financial sustainability has become a top priority.

The context for our new strategy includes:

y The changing shape and needs of the RAF Family. The RAF Family is both ageing and reducing in number, as many members get older and pass on. As people age, the complexity of their needs often increases. At the same time, the current economic climate is making life particularly challenging for working-age people. We know that in the coming years, the RAF Family will be a younger and more diverse community. Over the next few years, we have an opportunity to continue our focus on supporting older veterans, while helping everyone who needs our support.

y The need to improve the RAF Family’s journey to getting support. Our research showed we could do more to help people navigate through their journey to getting support from us.

~~PROGRESS IN 2022~~

Our strategy sets out five areas we want to focus on between 2022 and 2026. We are delighted to have made significant progress in each of them this year. However, our ambition runs deep and we look forward to achieving even more in the years to come.

y Covid-19. The pandemic had a huge impact on mental wellbeing and social isolation. These will likely be two of the most significant areas of need for the RAF Family

Focus 1: Providing more hands-on, tailored support to the RAF Family to help them through the journey to support

This year we supported more than 40,700 members of the RAF Family to improve their quality of living, increase their independence and enhance their wellbeing. 88% of people surveyed who we helped said our services were excellent or they were very satisfied.

These high rates of satisfaction link to our work in 2022 to increase access to personalised, tailor-made support for veterans, serving personnel and their families, no matter how complex their needs are. Throughout 2021 and 2022, we recruited six Welfare Navigators and six Welfare Support Executives. They are making the journey from contacting us initially to getting comprehensive support smoother and easier, and making sure we can meet even the most complex needs.

Our data shows our new approach is reaping rewards – read more about our achievements on page 14.

Focus 2: Strengthening our community engagement to be present in more communities and engage locally more effectively, including developing a volunteering framework and building a regional support capability

We know that our presence on the ground, in communities, helps us encourage more RAF Family members to come to us for support. It also allows us to closely monitor the needs of serving personnel, veterans and their families, so we can tailor our services to make sure they have the most impact on people’s lives.

In 2022 we increased our team of Welfare Support Executives (WSEs), based across the UK, from three to six, with two new WSEs taking up posts in Scotland and one

in North West England. Part of their role is to work with RAF Family members to assess their needs and put in place personalised support plans. While volunteer caseworkers from the RAF Association (RAFA) and SSAFA still do much of this work, our WSEs deal with more complicated and complex cases. They also give us more capacity to support the RAF Family, and help people get support more quickly.

Our Community Engagement Workers (CEWs) are another crucial part of meeting this aim. They help RAF Family members to re-connect into meaningful and regular social activities, reducing loneliness and isolation. In 2022 with Covid-19 restrictions fully lifted, our CEWs were able to work at full pace again. We grew our team, adding posts in Kent and Nottinghamshire. Our CEWs began offering new social activities for isolated veterans and their families, including a group for carers at Imperial War Museum Duxford, jointly managed with the Royal British Legion, and a monthly lunch club in Bognor Regis, set up with RAFA.

60% of people who used the CEW service are now engaged in a regular, meaningful social activity – up significantly on 47% at the end of 2021. We are now working on implementing a new way of measuring our CEWs’ impact, looking at their effect on levels of loneliness, not just numbers of people engaged in activities.

Our group wellbeing breaks are another way we connect with RAF Family members out in the community. Our welfare services team held three breaks in 2022 offering retired RAF Family members the chance to get away, meet new, likeminded people from RAF backgrounds, relax and improve their mental and physical health. 88% of people surveyed who took part said the break made a positive difference to their life.

In 2022 we also began to look at how we can use volunteers more effectively to complement our work. We have recruited a volunteer manager to lead on this.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

Focus 3: Increasing fundraising income by investing in building our donor database through direct marketing, as well as building longterm, committed relationships with a portfolio of higher value corporate partnerships and philanthropists

We are aiming to grow our fundraising income from £16.3M in 2021 to £20.1M by 2026, to make sure we can continue to support the RAF Family when they need it most, and to make the Fund sustainable for the future.

In 2022 we developed our plans to increase our income, although our delivery was weakened by difficulties in recruiting staff. This means that we are little behind where we wanted to be. However, we raised £16.7M from donations and legacies to improve the lives of the RAF Family. This was up £0.4M on our fundraising total in 2021. You can read more about our fundraising in 2022 from page 21.

To help us raise money, we focused on raising awareness of the Fund. We were mentioned more than 2,100 times in newspapers, magazines and in digital and broadcast media in 2022. We also produced podcasts and films to showcase our work, while our garden at the 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, funded by Project Giving Back, helped raise our profile too.

Focus 4: Placing a greater emphasis

on insight, impact and innovation so we can make effective, evidencebased decisions at the right time and be proactive about adapting our strategy

We want all our decisions about how we support the RAF Family now and in the future to be based on solid evidence and data, so we know we are doing our best to meet their needs.

In 2022 we made good progress in achieving this. For example, we worked with RAF stations and units all over the UK to do an analysis of their needs, giving us more insight into the serving community.

We used insights and data to improve many of our services, including what we offer through the Disabled Holiday Trust and the process for serving personnel to apply for our support. We also commissioned an external consultancy to review how our Housing Trust works.

We released an important new piece of research too. Our Gambling and Wellbeing in the RAF report showed a heightened risk of gambling problems among serving RAF personnel. This research led us to work in partnership with the RAF on an important campaign to raise awareness among serving personnel of problem gambling. A project is now underway to comprehensively survey awareness of safer gambling across the Armed Forces and to better identify opportunities for help and support.

Also new for 2022 were Airbreaks – residential breaks for children taking part in our Airplay clubs on RAF bases. We ran two breaks as a pilot for around 190 children, who thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We completed research during the breaks, were impressed by the results and have agreed to roll out Airbreaks in 2023.

Focus 5: Developing greater collaboration and partnership working so we reduce duplication and achieve our aim of being sustainable for the future

We worked hard in 2022 to partner and collaborate with other organisations, where this benefits the RAF Family and makes us more efficient.

We made a successful joint bid with RAFA to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust for funding to provide events to support comradeship, mental health and wellbeing for veterans of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. We carried out research into the best format for these events in 2022 and will launch pilot events in 2023.

We strived to make sure other organisations, including SSAFA, RAFA, Haig Housing, housing provider Stoll and the RAF HIVE Service, were fully informed about what the Fund offers and able to refer RAF Family members to us. Attending regional events and giving presentations to veterans’ associations also helped spread the word about how we can help the RAF Family.

Sharing knowledge and insights with other service charities helps us all cut costs and provide better support for everyone in the Armed Forces community. In 2022 we developed and launched our new online application portal with the Royal British Legion. It allows people applying for our support to manage their own application, so they can get help more quickly and easily. We then supported the Royal Naval Benevolent Trust (RNBT) to adopt the same system.

We also shared our processes for and

experience of giving out grants with RNBT to help them review their own grants process. In addition, we shared learning with the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity about how we can best support people leaving RAF service. We also set up a working group for military charities to share knowledge about benefits advice. We joined the Department for Work and Pensions’ Operational Stakeholders Engagement Forum to ensure the RAF Family’s voice is heard in policy around benefits too.

To streamline costs, we share the platform we use to record information about the people we help with other service charities. We worked with them to update this system in 2022.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT
2022: OUR KEY STATISTICS
We gave
We supported
6,900+
4,500+
£5.3M people financial
people by giving
assistance to help
spent reaching them information
them through tough
£17.5M or answering their times
24,000+
enquiry
spent reaching serving personnel
and their families
40 [,] 700+
We gave
members of the £12.2M
Our wellbeing 2,000+
spent reaching services supported
people advice and
RAF Family
advocated for them
16,700+ 13,800+
veterans and their people on issues including
benefits and care,
families
alongside legal advice
We helped
96% 88% We helped
3,600+
said we said our services 10,100+
people through
improved were excellent or people through
grants we
their quality they were very grants we gave
of life gave to other to RAF stations
satisfied
organisations
46% 52%
£16.7M 81%
raised from said we met increase in rise in people
legacies and all or most of enquiries using our
donations their needs about financial Listening and
assistance Counselling
Service
12 13
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT
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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

~~PROGRESS AGAINST OUR WELFARE GOALS~~

~~WELFARE GOAL 1~~

Offering better access to personalised support

based across the UK, ready to help people with multiple and more complex problems, including serious debts, homelessness and mental health issues, to create tailored, holistic support plans. We still rely on and are grateful for volunteer caseworkers from RAFA and SSAFA to do much of this work. However, having our own specialist caseworkers in the form of WSEs has boosted our capacity to support the RAF Family.

We want every member of the RAF Family in need to be able to get tailor-made support from us quickly and efficiently. Ensuring this is a key part of our new strategy – and we have achieved a lot in our first year.

In 2021 our research showed opportunities for us to make it smoother and simpler for people to access the right support for them. We have been striving since to seize these. At the heart of this work are our six Welfare Navigators, three recruited in 2021 and three in 2022. They focus on giving anyone who gets in touch with the Fund a smooth journey to support.

WSEs are also helping RAF Family members receive support more quickly, taking an average of 30 days to turn an initial enquiry into an application for support. 97% of people surveyed who received support from a WSE between October and December 2022 said they were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’.

In 2022 we started to see the fruits of their work. 76% of people surveyed who contacted the Fund about support said they were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with their initial contact, up from 53% in 2019. Before our new strategy, only 33% of people who enquired about and were eligible for support from the Fund ended up receiving it. In 2022 we had increased this to 72%, thanks in part to our Welfare Navigators’ work.

Our work to increase access to personalised support has meant we are meeting more of the RAF Family’s needs, more quickly and increasing their satisfaction. In 2022 96% of people surveyed who we helped said their quality of life had improved ‘a lot’ or ‘quite a bit’. 81% said we had met all or most of their needs.

Our six Welfare Support Executives (WSEs), again all recruited in 2021 and 2022, are

~~WELFARE GOAL 2~~

Improving the RAF Family’s quality of living

is topping up care home fees, so RAF Family members can live in comfort in the best home possible. We spent £374K on this in 2022.

Times are tough. As the cost-of-living crisis hit hard in 2022 we were there for veterans, serving personnel and their families with grants and advice to help pay for essentials and relieve stress.

Many people looked to the welfare benefits system for support through the cost-of-living crisis in 2022. Our Benefits Advice Service was on hand with help to navigate this sometimes-tricky area. Our team identified £2.5M in unclaimed benefits – up 20% on 2021. 90% of people surveyed who used the service said it was ‘excellent’ or they were ‘very satisfied’ with it. 71% were able to make a benefits claim thanks to the advice they received.

Demand from the RAF Family for our financial support grew sharply in 2022 with enquiries about this up 46% compared to 2021. We were ready to respond, giving over 4,800 individual grants totalling £4.1M to veterans, serving members of the RAF and their families to support them through financial crises. These included spending £312K on our new home fuel grants scheme, which we introduced in April as energy prices rocketed.

We also supported the RAF Family with our free legal advice helpline, which offers guidance on issues from employment to family law. 84% of people surveyed who used the service said they were ‘very satisfied’ or thought the service was ‘excellent’.

With serving personnel not immune to the cost-of-living crisis, we helped 7% more working-age members of the RAF Family with grants compared to 2021. 96% of people who received a financial assistance grant said it improved their quality of life.

Through our Housing Trust, we provide suitable housing for veterans and serving RAF personnel who have experienced life-changing injuries and need to leave the service early. In 2022 more than 400 RAF Family members were living in our Housing Trust properties.

We also offer grants to help RAF Family members with house repairs and to pay for essentials like a new boiler or handrails. 97% of people surveyed who received a housingrelated grant in 2022 said it improved their day-to-day living. Another area we help with

t

76% ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with their initial contact with the Fund – up from 53% in 2019

97%

supported by our Welfare Support Executives ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’

£5.3M spent to improve 5,700+ RAF Family members’ quality of living

96%

of people said their financial assistance grant improved their quality of life

£2.5M identified in unclaimed benefits – up 21% on 2021

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

~~WELFARE GOAL 3~~

Increasing independence

Our spend on care at home was 42% lower than in 2021, largely due to the national shortage of carers. This has led to people having to make do with care from family or friends, or move into care homes or sheltered accommodation.

We don’t believe anyone who has served their country should have to struggle due to disability, injury, advancing years or leaving the service. We enable RAF Family members to cope with these challenges, and have lives that are as full, independent and happy as possible.

We specialise in providing advocacy in a number of areas too, including care services issues. We can act on behalf and argue in favour of RAF Family members facing problems including getting a care assessment, funding for care and more. We supported over 300 people in 2022 helping them save or access £689K in statutory support. 92% of those surveyed said our help had benefited them or a member of their family, while 54% said they got the result they wanted thanks to speaking to our service.

In 2022 we spent £3.1M supporting more than 2,100 members of the RAF Family to increase their independence.

A key part of this work is paying for mobility and care equipment, so people can safely and comfortably stay in their homes as long as possible. We spent £1.7M on this in 2022, and 95% of people surveyed who received equipment said it contributed to their comfort, while 87% reported that they used the equipment every day or most days.

Another key area of work for us is providing grants to help RAF personnel leaving the service find employment and to support children who have lost a serving parent. In 2022 we spent £99K to help more than 110 people in these ways.

We can also help pay for care at home and for respite breaks so RAF Family members can remain in their homes. This year we gave £127K and £19K respectively so RAF Family members could benefit from these.

£640K spent to repair and adapt housing

95% said mobility and care equipment we provided contributed to their comfort

£3.1M

spent on increasing 2,100+ RAF Family members’ independence

~~WELFARE GOAL 4~~

Enhancing wellbeing

For serving personnel and their partners, we offer free membership of Headspace, the meditation and mindfulness app. It provides practical tips and exercises to relieve stress – helping to stop more serious mental health problems developing. More than 7,000 RAF Family members enjoyed Headspace in 2022, an increase of over 1,200 on 2021. 96% of users surveyed said the app had improved their quality of life, while 97% said it had a positive effect on their stress levels.

From our Listening and Counselling Service to relationship support, our Telephone Friendship Groups to our Airplay programme for children and young people, enhancing the wellbeing of the RAF Family is at the heart of what we do – especially in these turbulent times.

In 2022 we supported more than 13,800 veterans, serving personnel and their families (2,000 more than in 2021) to improve their mental wellbeing, find friendships and connections and improve their relationships.

~~SUPPORTING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES~~

Our Airplay and Ben Clubs provide

interesting and exciting activities for children and young people on RAF stations, working with new partners RAF Community Support and One YMCA. We are delighted with the progress this new partnership is making. The number of children taking part in 2022 rose 14% compared to 2021 to over 2,300 across 25 RAF stations, significantly above our target of 1,500.

~~IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH~~

Our Listening and Counselling Service helped more than 2,200 people over the year to work through their problems, a 52% rise on 2021. 92% of those surveyed said the counselling had a positive impact on their life, while 69% showed a reliable clinical improvement in their mental health.

We also enabled over 1,200 people to receive relationship support through Relate, 17% more than in 2021. 83% said their situation was ‘much better’ or ‘better’ thanks to this support. In addition, our specialist counselling service for children and young people aged 5-18 supported more than 200 people. 70% of those helped felt the service had positively changed things for them.

Members enjoyed over 6,000 hours of fun activities, with parents giving Airplay 4.7 out of five stars. Our surveys showed 93% of Airplay members feel they belong in the group, 96% feel Airplay provides a good range of activities, and 93% of parents feel Airplay is helping their child be more confident.

52% 84% rise in people of children who using our attend our Airplay Listening and clubs feel good Counselling about themselves Service

£3.7M spent on enhancing the wellbeing of 13,800+ RAF Family members

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

We also continued our Thrive workshops for partners of serving RAF personnel to improve their wellbeing, resilience, employability and, ultimately, quality of life. 72% of attendees showed an improvement in their wellbeing, according to an emotional needs audit we did before and after the course.

Lincolnshire, West Sussex, Hampshire, Kent and Nottinghamshire. 60% of people supported by CEWs now take part in regular meaningful social activity, a significant rise from 47% in 2021.

~~PROVIDING BREAKS~~

When life gets difficult, a spell away from home can help enormously. We offered serving families discounted or free UK breaks in 2022 giving them the chance to relax and recover from the stresses of everyday life. 88% said they were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with their holiday. Some of these families enjoyed a break at The Folly, our new holiday bungalow in the seaside town of Bridlington, opened in 2022.

~~BUILDING CONNECTIONS~~

Our previous research showed that at least 85,000 members of the RAF Family could be experiencing loneliness or isolation. Against the backdrop of the pandemic, we worked hard in 2022 to help veterans, serving personnel and their families build friendships and connections.

Our Telephone Friendship Groups are weekly calls between RAF veterans or their partners, facilitated by trained volunteers, helping people to connect with others and feel less lonely. In 2022 over 220 veterans took part in more than 1,500 calls, with 78% of participants surveyed saying it improved their happiness.

We also organised three group wellbeing breaks in 2022, bringing retired members of the RAF Family together for some time away to make new friends and relax. 100% of participants surveyed said they were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with their break, and 88% reported a significant or somewhat significant improvement to their emotional wellbeing.

With the Covid-19 crisis receding, our Community Engagement Workers (CEWs) managed to support more than twice as many people in 2022 compared to 2021. They introduced over 260 RAF Family members to meaningful, regular social activities. We now have CEWs in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk,

Our Disabled Holiday Trust offers accessible holiday accommodation for people with physical disabilities. 99% of people who enjoyed a break through the Trust in 2022 felt it had benefited an area of their life.

1,200+ more RAF Family members benefiting from Headspace membership vs 2021

88% said they were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with our free or subsidised breaks

83% said their situation was ‘much better’ or ‘better’ thanks to relationship support

~~SUPPORT FOR STATIONS~~

In 2022 we supported 10,100+ serving personnel and their families by giving £4.5M through RAF stations to fund facilities, activities, programmes like Airplay and individual grants

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CYPRUS
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~~RAF AKROTIRI: £1K~~

~~RAF LOSSIEMOUTH: £66K 603 (CITY OF EDINBURGH) SQUADRON RAUXAF: £1K~~

~~RAF GIBRALTAR: £3K~~

~~RAF SPADEADAM: £2K~~

~~RAF BOULMER: £52K~~

~~RAF LEEMING: £85K JHC RAF ALDERGROVE: £10K RAF WADDINGTON: £888K £888K RAF COLLEGE CRANWELL: £69K RAF VALLEY: £63K £63K RAF SHAWBURY: £45K £45K RAF COSFORD: £53K £53K RAF BRIZE NORTON: £255K £255K MOD ST ATHAN: £3K MOD ABBEY WOOD: £4K £4K MOD BOSCOMBE DOWN: £44K £44K~~

~~RAF FYLINGDALES: £1K £10K RAF SCAMPTON: £47K RAF DIGBY: £141K RAF WADDINGTON: £888K £888K RAF CONINGSBY: £142K £69K RAF VALLEY: £63K £63K RAF WITTERING: £157K RAF SHAWBURY: £45K £45K RAF MARHAM: £60K RAF COSFORD: £53K £53K RAF HONINGTON: £73K RAF WYTON: £43K RAF BRIZE NORTON: £255K £255K RAF HENLOW: £47K £3K RAF HALTON: £68K MOD ABBEY WOOD: £4K £4K MOD BOSCOMBE DOWN: £44K £44K NORTHWOOD HQ: £2K MOD WORTHY DOWN: £4K RAF NORTHOLT: £58K RAF HIGH WYCOMBE: £625K RAF(U) SWANWICK: £1K RAF ODIHAM: £51K RAF ST MAWGAN: £62K RAF BENSON: £112K~~

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

Working in partnership

~~OUR CASEWORKING PARTNERS~~

~~EXTERNAL GRANTS~~

Every year we give grants to charities and other organisations who provide direct and targeted assistance to the RAF Family, including support with employment, homelessness and substance misuse.

To supplement our own caseworking capability, we work with several organisations that investigate cases and distribute grants to the RAF Family on our behalf.

In 2022 we gave In 2022 we approved £476K £8.6M to 29 organisations, including:

in grants for our caseworking partners to distribute. The following partners distributed grants over £60K, which in total made up 71% of the distribution:

Care for Veterans £18K
The Poppy Factory £15K
Defence Medical Welfare Service £13K
Forces Employment Charity £50K
Fighting With Pride £17K
Poppy Scotland (Armed
Services Advice Project)		 £15K
We Are With You £10K
Walking With The Wounded £10K
RAF Widows’ Association £34K
Veterans Outreach Support £9K
Broughton House £18K
Combat Stress £88K

Royal Air Forces Association

Royal Air Forces Association £4M
SSAFA £1.4M
The Royal British Legion £394K
Royal Commonwealth £162K
Ex-Services League
The Royal Canadian Legion £107K
Age in Spain £62K

“It’s been life-changing for me and my family, and it’s given me a lot more self-esteem.”

Tony, one of the almost 30 wounded, sick or injured RAF veterans The Poppy Factory supported to find employment in 2022 thanks to a £15K grant we provided to the organisation

Fundraising

With generous backing from other sponsors, including Lockheed Martin, our 2022 Awards gave us the opportunity to thank supporters, fundraisers, stations and youth workers for their amazing achievements in supporting our work.

In 2022 we raised £16.7M to support RAF Family members in need – £0.4M more than in 2021. It was only thanks to this incredible generosity from our supporters that we were able to offer life-changing financial, practical and emotional support to more than 40,700 veterans, serving personnel and their families throughout the year.

~~TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS~~

In 2022 we were extremely fortunate to receive over £800K from grant-making trusts and foundations.

While the waves from the Covid-19 pandemic began to subside in 2022 other challenges arrived in its wake, including the cost-ofliving crisis and war in Ukraine. We continued to respond and adapt quickly to the changing fundraising landscape and are very grateful to our supporters for digging deep to support us and the RAF Family during these difficult times.

For example, the Wimbledon Foundation continued to generously support Airplay, our flagship youth support programme, awarding £50K, ensuring that RAF children and young people have a safe, supportive and fun space in which to thrive.

~~SUPPORT FROM THE SERVING RAF~~

~~CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS~~

Serving personnel continued the tradition of looking after their own, recognising the support we can offer to them in their time of need. 70% made a monthly gift to us through the Service Day’s Pay Giving scheme, contributing an amazing £1.6M in 2022.

We were proud to have continued support from a number of long-term supporters in 2022 including MBDA UK, BAE Systems and Midshires Mobility Group. Our new corporate partner, Exolum, sponsored our annual Bomber Command Memorial Service, where we paid tribute to the brave air crews who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Second World War.

Despite the continued Covid-19 restrictions and busy operational tempo, serving personnel at RAF stations across the UK went above and beyond to raise funds to support those in need. This included bucket collections at the RAF Odiham Families Day and 92 runners taking part in the RAF

£11.6M £1.6M received from legacies

£16.7M total raised

received from the Service Day’s Pay Giving scheme

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

Waddington Jubilee 10K. We are incredibly grateful to every single member of our serving RAF Family who supported and promoted the Fund in 2022.

~~FUNDRAISING COMPLIANCE AND SUPPORTER PROMISE~~

When fundraising we comply with all relevant laws and regulations including the Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. Our Board of Trustees closely monitors our fundraising activity and performance alongside the fundraising management team.

~~INDIVIDUALS~~

Thank you to the thousands of supporters who made donations to the Fund or raised sponsorship from a wide range of events this year. We greatly appreciated the continued generosity of our long-standing supporters such as Mr and Mrs C Blowers, Mr Duncan Barber and Melissa John, and every one of the 2,000 supporters who contributed a total of £112K to our Christmas Appeal.

We also comply with the regulatory standards for fundraising, including guidance published by the Charity Commission. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and are committed to the Fundraising Promise, compliance with the Fundraising Preference Service and adherence to the Code of Fundraising Practice. In 2022 we paid the Fundraising Regulator’s Fundraising Levy, a voluntary payment to help fund the organisation to regulate the charity sector’s fundraising activities.

We are also very thankful to the 2,500 people who started to support the Fund at this difficult time, for the first time, after they requested one of our pin badges or limitededition window stickers.

~~LEGACIES~~

In 2022 we were extremely grateful to receive £11.6M in legacies, up from £11.5M in 2021. This represents the largest form of income for us and we are deeply indebted to the people who choose to support us in this selfless way, helping to ensure we are here to look after the RAF Family for generations to come.

We are fully committed to the principles we lay out in our fundraising promise:

We believe in being transparent in how we raise money and spend donations, and the impact this makes on the RAF Family. We take this responsibility very seriously.

In all that we do, we aim to meet the highest standards, so that supporters and volunteers are able to give to and fundraise for us with confidence and trust that their hard work will make a difference.

£1.8M received from other donations

£0.2M received from fundraising events and trading activities

£1.5M received from partners, trusts and major donors

We are open, honest and transparent

We promise to be open, honest and transparent in relation to our fundraising and, as importantly, in how accurately we represent members of the RAF Family in the materials we produce. We engage them in planning and ensure we have sign-off before the materials are made available to supporters or the public.

We are respectful

In our fundraising materials, or in conversation, we show respect and we promise never to pressurise anyone to make a donation. We are particularly sensitive when engaging with vulnerable people, including those who are elderly.

Importantly, we do not and never have shared our supporters’ details with any other charity or business. Following the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation in 2018, we only communicate with supporters who have given us express permission to maintain contact with them. We keep supporters up to date with our work in a way and at times that suit them. If any supporter prefers a reduced level of contact, they only have to let us know and we will respond to their wishes.

We are accessible

We want to make it easy for anyone to get in touch with our fundraising team. Whether they want to update their contact preferences or ask a question about our work or how we spend their donation, we welcome their phone call, email or letter.

We have a complaints procedure should a supporter be unhappy or have concerns about any of our fundraising activities. This is available on our website or by contacting the fundraising team at hello@rafbf.org.uk .

We will help supporters to take their complaint to the Fundraising Regulator if they feel we haven’t responded suitably. We record all complaints we receive in response to our fundraising. During 2022 we received three complaints (2021: 11) of which two were of a minor nature and quickly resolved. The other complaint, also minor in nature, was rejected. There were no instances we referred to the Fundraising Regulator in 2022.

~~RELATIONSHIPS WITH FUNDRAISING SUPPLIERS~~

We employ external agencies to add additional expertise or capacity when and where needed. This is more cost-effective than trying to do everything ourselves. We appoint these agencies through a competitive tendering process. We also put in place a contract and an agreed Service Level Agreement for the work they will carry out for us, carefully ensuring they provide the same high standards as our in-house team.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

~~THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS~~

We are extremely grateful to the following trusts, companies and committed individuals who gave us significant levels of support in 2022:

2Excel Aviation (The Blades)

Loppylugs and Barbara Morrison Charitable Trust

Ada Hillard Charitable Trust Adrian Swire Charitable Trust

Knight Sportswear

Lockheed Martin UK

The April Fools’ Club

MBDA UK

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust

Donagh McCullagh

Babcock International Group

Medlock Charitable Trust

BAE Systems B and Q Foundation Duncan Barber and Jane Burrows

The Mercury Foundation

Midshires Mobility Group

Mrs Mary Stephanie Warren-Coleman Charitable Trust

The Beaujolais Run® Bill Brown’s 1989 Charitable Trust Mr and Mrs Colin Blowers

National Lottery Community Fund, Young Start programme

Dr Michael Oliver OBE DL

Bradbury Family Trust Charles Burrell 2016 Charitable Settlement

Pilkington Charity Fund

Proludic Ltd

Coysh Family Charitable Trust

RAF Habbaniya Association

Ray Daniels Grayson Ditchfield

Red Arrows Trust

Schroders Personal Wealth

Dyers’ Company

Scottish Government Armed Forces Third Sector Resilience Fund

Exolum International UK

Pascal Fournier

Sir Donald and Lady Edna Wilson Charitable Trust

Identity Group

The Inter-Livery Target Rifle Shoot

Thales Charitable Trust

John Isabel

Westwood Charitable Trust

James Weir Foundation

Wimbledon Foundation

J H Bartlett Charity Trust John James Bristol Foundation

Laurence Masters Will Trust

~~FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS~~ Total income: £23.9M (2021: £25.5M) ~~LEGACIES:~~ ~~£11.6M/49%~~ (2021: £11.5M/45%) ~~DONATIONS, OTHER FUNDRAISING AND TRADING:~~ ~~£5.1M/21%~~ (2021: £4.8M/19%) ~~INVESTMENT INCOME:~~ ~~£2.7M/11%~~ (2021: £2.5M/10%) ~~CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES:~~ ~~£1.2M/5%~~ (2021: £1M/4%) ~~OTHER INCOME:~~ ~~£3.3M/14%~~ (2021: £5.7M/22%) Income from legacies and fundraising was £16.7M, 70% of total income generated. £22.5M (2021: £22.4M) Total expenditure:

~~DIRECT SUPPORT TO INDIVIDUALS:~~ ~~£9.1M/40%~~ (2021: £9.5M/42%)

~~WELFARE PROGRAMMES AND GRANTS:~~ ~~£4.6M/21%~~ (2021: £4.5M/20%) ~~RESPITE CARE:~~ ~~£1.3M/6%~~ (2021: £1.3M/6%) ~~HOUSING TRUST PROVISION:~~ ~~£2.5M/11%~~ (2021: £2.4M/11%) ~~GENERATING INCOME:~~ ~~£5M/22%~~ (2021: £4.7M/21%)

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

Financial review

~~OVERVIEW~~

One of the aims of our new five-year Shaping The Future strategy is being sustainable for the future. As we reported last year, we are determined to have a financially sustainable model that will allow us to continue supporting the RAF Family for many years to come.

We entered 2022 aware of some major risks that could make a significant impact on our financial outcomes in the year. These included high energy prices, rising inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, higher interest rates, a challenging labour market and volatility on the investment markets. These factors had the potential to drive up demand for our support and services on one hand while inhibiting our ability to generate income on the other.

Despite the challenging environment we were able to generate total income of £23.9M (2021: £25.5M) in 2022. Total income in 2021 included £4.2M received from the disposal of Princess Marina House and when this is taken into account, we saw an overall increase in income from normal activity. Key contributors included legacy income and property disposals. Our legacy income performance is reflective of a successful year for legacy bequests in the charity sector.

We saw a significant increase in demand for some of our core welfare support, such as wellbeing services and grants. The former saw the single largest increase in demand. The cost-of-living crisis led to an increase in the number of working-age RAF Family members we supported through grants compared to 2021. Total expenditure at £22.5M was 1% higher than the previous year. While we saw significant increases driven by more demand and higher costs, we offset these with lower expenditure in other areas.

Our overall net income before investment market losses was £1.4M (2021: £3.2M). The value of our investments fell by £8.7M (2021: increased by £6.6M).

~~INCOME~~

Our total income in 2022 was £23.9M, £1.6M (6.6%) lower than the £25.5M generated in 2021. The income generated included £3.1M (2021: £5.5M) of profit from the disposal of fixed assets. Before the profit on disposal of assets is taken into account, income was £20.8M (2021: £20.0M), a 3.9% increase year-on-year.

Fundraised income was £16.7M (2021: £16.3M). As mentioned above, 2022 was another good year for legacy income, raising £11.6M (2021: £11.5M), a 1.3% increase on the previous year. Legacy income made up 49% (2021: 45%) of total income in 2022.

Donation income was £4.7M (2021: £4.2M) an 11.0% increase. This included £1.6M (2021: £1.6M) income from serving RAF personnel, through our Service Day’s Pay Giving scheme. As in 2021, we saw mixed performances in the different aspects of our fundraising when compared to the previous year. We were able to recover some of the ground lost in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we did face some challenges, such as difficulty in recruiting for fundraising roles because of labour market conditions. Trading activities generated £0.4M (2021: £0.6M).

In 2022 we used 81p in every pound raised from donations and legacies for charitable activities (2021: 81p). In addition, we invested 91% (2021: 100%) of the £1.2M (2021: £1.1M) generated from our charitable activities back into supporting the RAF Family. Most of this was rental income.

£22.7M/95% (2021: £24.6M/96%) of our total income was unrestricted, meaning our Trustees could decide how best to use resources and direct them where they were most needed.

Following careful consideration, we decided to sell our office property in Edinburgh, with a view to moving into modern, purposebuilt, Equality Act 2010-compliant premises. We completed the sale during the year and

----- Start of picture text -----
INCOME £23.9M
25
2021
20
2022
15
£M 25.5
23.9
10
21.4
11.6 11.5
5
5.1 4.8 5.7
2.7 2.5 3.3
1.2 1.0
0
Total Legacies Donations Investment Charitable Other
and other income activities income
income
fundraising
have put the £0.9M net proceeds into a The £17.5M included expenditure on direct
designated fund to use when we determine support to individuals (2022: £9.1M/2021:
the best way to fulfil the requirement for £9.5M), welfare programmes and external
our presence in Scotland and when property grants (2022: £4.6M/2021: £4.5M), housing
market conditions are favourable. support (2022: £2.5M/2021: £2.4M) and
respite care (2022: £1.3M/2021: £1.3M).
We were able to maintain investment
income, despite 2022 being a particularly Wellbeing was the area that saw the
difficult year for investors globally. Soaring largest single increase in support, with
inflation, the war in Ukraine, lockdown the main drivers being our Listening and
measures in China and monetary policy of Counselling Service and Headspace. Our
central banks all resulted in negative returns. wellbeing services, available to both serving
However, the investment managers for personnel and veterans and delivered
our long-term funds were able to maintain through contracts with other organisations,
income distributions. Our medium-term cost £1.1M (2021: £888K). Grant funding to
investment strategy to invest in low-risk, support the veteran community was £476K
quality, short-dated bonds also worked (2021: £399K) and grant funding to the
well, and gross income yield was £2.7M serving RAF was £255K (2021: £197K).
(2021: £2.5M).
The cost-of-living crisis drove an increase
in the number of working-age RAF Family
members we supported financially in
EXPENDITURE
the year. Through our subsidiary the
Total expenditure in 2022 was £22.5M Dependants Fund, we paid £360K (2021:
(2021: £22.4M) a £0.1M/1% increase on the £280K) in death grants.
previous year.
Our charitable activities undertaken to provide
welfare support and services to the RAF Family
cost £17.5M (2021: £17.7M). This total includes
support costs of £3.2M (2021: £3.3M).
----- End of picture text -----

Wellbeing was the area that saw the largest single increase in support, with the main drivers being our Listening and Counselling Service and Headspace. Our wellbeing services, available to both serving personnel and veterans and delivered through contracts with other organisations, cost £1.1M (2021: £888K). Grant funding to support the veteran community was £476K (2021: £399K) and grant funding to the serving RAF was £255K (2021: £197K).

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

~~EXPENDITURE £22.5M~~

----- Start of picture text -----
30
2021
25
2022
20
£M
15
22.5 22.4
10
5 9.1 9.5
4.6 4.5 5.0 4.7
1.3 1.3 2.5 2.4
0
Total Direct Welfare Respite Housing Generating
expenditure support to programmes care Trust income
individuals and grants provision
----- End of picture text -----

In 2021 housing support expenditure increased to £2.4M from £1.6M in 2020 due to Covid-related backlogs driving up demand for assistance and the shortage of building materials driving up costs. In 2022 the high volume and costs of property repairs continued to have an impact and housing support cost us £2.5M. In addition, we invested £0.9M in property purchases and adaptations. In providing this support we continued to focus on RAF Family members with the highest needs.

recruitment challenges, created vacancies and curtailed activity. For every £1 we spent on fundraising we received £3.54 in the year (2021: £3.66).

Support costs cover expenditure on management, IT, facilities, finance, HR, governance and information security. They also include the depreciation of fixed assets. This expenditure, which was allocated as mentioned above, came to £4.7M (2021: £4.8M), representing 21% of total expenditure and a 2% decrease from the previous year.

On the whole, our welfare support continues to be more complex than our expenditure shows.

~~HOUSING AND LOANS~~

Our ability to raise funds is critical to ensuring we are sustainable for the future. Three main areas of focus for us in 2022 were to increase our number of active donors, to grow our corporate and individual relationships, and to receive an optimum return on our investment in fundraising.

Through our subsidiary the RAF Benevolent Fund Housing Trust Limited, we provide bespoke housing solutions, at affordable rents, for service personnel who are medically discharged from the RAF and are unable to secure suitable accommodation. The rent we received in 2022 equated to just under 55% of the open market rent of these properties. We consider the income forgone to be a charitable expenditure, supporting the RAF Family members most in need. This effectively amounts to a subsidy of around £0.8M based on the £1M rent received. The Housing Trust owned 193 properties on 31

Income generation cost us £5.0M (2021: £4.7M), a £0.3M/7% increase on the previous year. The amount spent includes £1.5M support costs (2021: £1.4M). While we spent more year-on-year on raising funds, our 2022 expenditure was less than we planned. Staffing issues, mainly connected with

December 2022 (2021: 203). We purchased and adapted two new properties (2021: six) in the year, at a cost of £0.9M (2021: £2.1M) and sold 12 properties (2021: eight) realising £3.8M (2021: £2.2M) in sales proceeds and £2.1M (2021: £1.3M) in net gain.

We awarded £333K (2021: £131K) in new secured loans to RAF Family members. The interest we charge is much below market rates and we determine repayments on the basis of ability to repay the loan. We received £819K in loan repayments in 2022 (2021: £815K). The total value of loans to beneficiaries at the end of the year was £7.5M (2021: £7.9M). We proactively review our loan book to ensure that the value is not impaired, and we assess and report the recoverability of balances fairly.

~~INVESTMENTS~~

We invest to preserve the real value of funds we hold and to generate income that helps us support the RAF Family. We do so by adopting a managed, diversified portfolio that generates an appropriate return at acceptable levels of risk.

Our primary investment objectives are:

BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited and CCLA Investment Management Limited have managed our long-term portfolios since 2016. In 2019 we appointed Close Brothers Asset Management to

manage a bespoke portfolio invested in quality short-dated bonds to match our short- to medium-term cash requirements. Our primary medium-term objective is to ensure our cash requirements are met without undue exposure to investment risk, while still achieving good returns.

In 2022 assets held with fund managers were valued at £71.1M (2021: £82.6M). Income yield from these investments was £2.3M (2021: £2.2M).

2022 proved to be one of the most challenging market environments for investments in many years, leading to significant negative returns. The key challenges were high inflation, restrictive central bank policies, geopolitical tensions, a potential European energy crisis and the impact of all these on economic growth.

Our funds managed by BlackRock are held in the Armed Forces Charities Growth and Income Fund, a Charity Authorised Investment Fund (CAIF). This fund aims to provide a net return on investment over a period of five or more consecutive years beginning at the point of investment, generated through an increase to the value of the assets held by the Fund and income received from those assets. The value of our investments in this fund on 31 December 2022 was £19.2M (2021: £22.3M). The fall in value was due to market losses.

Over the year a net negative return of -10.6% (2021: 13.1%) was achieved compared to the benchmark negative return of -8.3% (2021: 12.9%). Total return over the five years to 2022 was 4.0%, compared to the benchmark return of 3.4%. Dividend yield in the 12 months to 31 December 2022 was 3.8% (2021: 3.2%).

Our funds managed by CCLA are held in COIF Charities Investment Fund. This fund is designed to provide capital growth and rising income over time. The portfolio is invested mainly in equities but also includes other asset classes and aims to provide a return that is even-handed between present and future beneficiaries.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

The value of our investments in this fund on 31 December 2022 was £41.7M (2021: £47.2M). The fall in value was due to market losses.

Over the year, a negative net return of -9.0% (2021: 17.4%) was achieved against a negative return benchmark of -10.1% (2021: 17.0%). Total return annualised over the five years to 2022 was 7.5%, compared to the benchmark return of 4.3%. Dividend yield in the 12 months to 31 December 2022 was 3.0% (2021: 2.7%).

Assets held and performance indicators of our two long-term portfolios are summarised in the table below:

----- Start of picture text -----
BlackRock CCLA
----- End of picture text -----

Value of assets £19.2M £41.7M
invested
2022 income yield 3.8% 3.0%
2022 total return -10.6% -9.0%
2022 benchmark -8.3% -10.1%
Five-year total return 4.0% 7.5%
Five-year benchmark 3.4% 4.3%

Asset class breakdown as at 31 December 2022:

----- Start of picture text -----
CCLA BlackRock
% %
Global equities 59.2 29.0
UK equities 9.2 26.8
Fixed income 4.9 16.6
Property 3.3 7.9
Cash and near cash 10.2 -
Infrastructure and 8.4 -
operating assets
Private equity and 2.7 -
others
Contractual and other 2.1 -
income
Alternatives - 19.7
100.0 100.0
----- End of picture text -----

Our funds managed by Close Brothers Asset Management are invested in a lowrisk bespoke portfolio of short-dated, highquality corporate bonds with a maturity profile to meet liquidity requirements. The time horizon of the portfolio (the length of time money is expected to be invested) based on when and how much money is needed has determined the investment strategy. Since the inception of this portfolio all maturities have been met and the income paid in line with original expectations and requirements. By the end of 2022, the three-year time horizon of the portfolio was nearing its end. The value of the portfolio on 31 December 2022 was £10.2M (2021: £13.1M). The net yield on this portfolio in the year was 1.2% (2021: 0.4%).

The RAF Benevolent Fund is the sole Trustee of The Royal Air Force Disabled Holiday Trust (DHT). The DHT held property investments valued at £552K at the year end (2021: £546K). These assets are used to provide affordable breaks to DHT members.

Unrealised market losses on investments at the year end were £8.7M (2021: gains of £6.6M).

~~PENSION DEFICIT~~

Under FRS 102 the closed defined benefit pension scheme had a deficit of £3.1M (2021: £13.5M). The actuarial valuation of the scheme, updated to reflect funding progress, as at 31 October 2021 revealed a funding shortfall (Technical Provisions minus value of assets) of £8.6M. To eliminate this updated funding shortfall, the Staff Pension Fund Trustee and the Fund agreed that the Fund would pay deficit funding contributions to the scheme of £100K per month from 1 January 2021 until 31 October 2028. £1.2M was paid in 2022. The next triennial valuation will be as at 31 December 2023.

~~RESERVES~~

Total funds as at 31 December 2022 were £124.1M (2021: £122.0M). These comprised of unrestricted funds of £113.0M (2021: £109.2M), while restricted and endowment funds were £11.1M (2021: £12.8M).

Unrestricted reserves included operational assets of £34.6M (2021: £36.8M), designated funds of £27.9M (2021: £29.1M) and free reserves of £50.5M (2021: £43.3M).

Our commitment to support the RAF Family is a long-term one. It remains as firm today as it was in 1919. We will continue to stand beside the RAF Family for the next 100 years, through all of life’s challenges and hardships. To honour this, we continue to take a risk-based approach to determining our free reserves minimum requirement. We must ensure funds are available to meet the demand for our welfare services and to secure, as far as possible, future financial viability. We continue to manage the risks associated with our 2022-2026 Shaping The Future strategy. These include the uncertainty of future income, particularly where we have realistic but ambitious targets, the timing of cash receipts from legacies and increasing welfare demand. We have also factored in our discretionary commitment to the Dependants Fund.

Free reserves as of 31 December 2022 were £50.5M (2021: £43.3M). The main reason for this increase is the £10M reduction in the pension deficit based on the FRS 102 valuation at the end of 2022. Trustees have determined that at this time, we should hold a minimum of £40M in free reserves to be assured that we are able to sustain the support we provide to the RAF Family in these unprecedented times and in the long term, as well as meet other obligations, irrespective of fluctuations in income and market conditions.

Designated funds were £27.9M (2021: £29.1M). £12.8M of this is funds to be spent on bringing forward welfare services included in our 2022–2026 strategic plan, so we can help beneficiaries earlier and

augment our core welfare offer, including respite, in response to identified need. Setting funds aside for our welfare provision continues to be important as we implement our strategy and achieve its goals in the current economic context of increased costs and a possible recession. This level of reassurance helped us move quickly to develop and launch our initiative offering up to £520 towards energy bills to RAF Family members in need during 2022.

£1.2M of the fund set aside for pension deficit recovery contributions up until October 2028 was paid out in the year, leaving a balance of £7.0M at the end of 2022 (2021: £8.2M).

£7.2M (2021: £8.1M) reserves of the Dependants Fund are set aside to meet our commitment to support RAF personnel who are subscribers to the Fund. The Dependants Fund reserves fell by £886K (2021: £1.1M gain) due to the £893K (2021: £958K gain) decline in the market value of investments and a £7.6K operating surplus (2021: £131K).

Restricted funds representing the unspent balance of funds received for specific charitable activities were £5.1M (2021: £5.9M). The largest single restricted fund of £2.8M (2021: £3.0M) is for the maintenance and upkeep of the Bomber Command Memorial.

Endowment funds include both permanent and expendable funds and were £6.0M (2021: £6.9M). These funds represent income donated to the Fund, but subject to the condition that the capital remains unspent. The decrease in the value of the fund was due to the £972K investment market loss at the end of the year (2021: £611K gain).

The Trustees are assured that we have adequate resources to continue to operate for the foreseeable future and we therefore continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing our financial statements.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

~~STRUCTURE, MANAGEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND RISK~~

if we had any gaps in skills, background or experience we needed to fill to help us meet our strategic and operational goals.

~~REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS~~

The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund has the Charity Commission registration number 1081009. As we own/lease land and properties in Scotland, we are also registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) to comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. Our registration number is SCO38109. Our restricted and endowed funds have a separate registration number, 207327.

Following this, and after a series of open selection campaigns, a selection panel (convened by our Nominations Committee) interviewed and recommended five new Trustees to join us in September 2022. Alongside our existing Trustees who have backgrounds, skills and experience in industry, law, commerce and other sectors, our five new Trustees include a serving Trustee, Trustees with lived RAF experience, a new Safeguarding Lead Trustee and a communications Trustee. Our Council (Advisory) formally elected these new Trustees in December 2022.

In accordance with Section 96 of the Charities Act 1993 (now replaced by Section 20 of the Charities Act 2011), the Charity Commission has stipulated that the two charities, having the same charity Trustees, are to be treated as a single charity.

Throughout 2022, our Board (either as a whole or via its committees) continued to receive ongoing briefings and training from senior management and external advisers in critical areas such as risk management, reserves, fundraising practices, safeguarding and data protection.

We are also registered as a Royal Charter Company with the Companies House registration numbers ZC000201/RC000773.

The RAF Benevolent Fund Group also encompasses other entities – you can find details of these at the back of this report. We carry out some of our activities through these organisations.

We reviewed the terms of reference for our Safeguarding Lead Trustee (who changed during the year) in 2022. This Trustee advises our Board on all safeguarding matters and ensures that we comply with all legal and good practice requirements around safeguarding. We also reviewed the terms of reference for our Senior Independent Trustee (who also changed on 1 April 2023).

~~STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE~~

The Fund, which was set up in 1919, was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1999. Trustees are appointed by our Council for a four-year term. They are then eligible for re-election for up to a further four-year term. Trustees may not hold office for a continuous period of more than eight years without the consent of our Board.

Our Board of Trustees is responsible for setting our strategy and policies so we can achieve our charitable objectives, as set out in our Royal Charter. It is also responsible, through its committees, for monitoring the activities of our Executive Leadership Team, led by our Controller. It does this by reviewing our progress against our strategic and business plans and receiving reports from the committees and the Executive

Our Board of Trustees is made up of no fewer than 10 and no more than 15 Trustees. In 2022 we undertook a skills audit of our existing Trustees so we could understand

Leadership Team. Our Board also conducts annual performance reviews of our Controller and the Chair of the Board, and undergoes its own periodic Board appraisal. Our Controller, as our Chief Executive, is responsible for the day-to-day management of our affairs.

Our Board met four times in full session in 2022. It also met separately for an away-day strategy session.

During the year our Board Committees were:

y Finance, Audit and Investments Committee

y Welfare and Safeguarding Committee.

We would like to say thank you to all our committee members for their advice and guidance during the year.

~~MANAGING RISK~~

Our Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for managing the risks the charity and its subsidiary entities face. Our Board delegates this responsibility, in part, to its committees. They receive regular reports and provide recommendations and updates to the Board about risks within their remit.

Our Board discusses strategic risk each time it meets. Our Executive Leadership Team also regularly assesses and manages risk. We undertook a fundamental review of our management of risk in 2022. The review has given us the resilience and agility to effectively manage uncertainty, make informed decisions, understand and minimise threats, seize opportunities and, most importantly, make the maximum possible positive impact on the RAF Family.

The strategic risks we face are:

Income and financial sustainability

We acknowledge we may be unable to raise sufficient income to cover what we need to fund the RAF Family’s current and future welfare needs. We also acknowledge that the current economic climate and cost-of-living pressures could impact our fundraising in the short term.

We are mitigating this risk by focusing on growing our supporter database and developing our individual and corporate relationships.

We aim to deliver our core and augmented welfare offering within affordable budgets ensuring that all our work aligns with our strategic aims. We also have a robust riskbased reserves policy which we monitor regularly and review as appropriate.

Meeting the needs of the RAF Family

Our ability to continue to meet the RAF Family’s needs could be affected by the performance of the third-party organisations we rely on to provide services, our own failure to deliver effective and timely support, a rise in demand for our welfare services, or a lack of understanding of the RAF Family affecting our ability to deliver services that meet their needs.

We mitigate this risk by continuing to strengthen our local community engagement and focusing on making the journey to receiving our support smoother through our Welfare Navigator and Welfare Support Executive programmes. We now have greater direct involvement with caseworking and have introduced an online application system to speed up the process for making small financial assistance applications. When awarding contracts to third-party suppliers we only work with those who share our values and have built in regular oversight of performance.

We use data and analysis to understand the needs of the RAF Family and the environment we work in. We also continue to engage closely with our sister charities to avoid overlap and competition as well

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

as promote collaboration and partnership working where possible.

Safeguarding and duty of care

We are committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for everyone who engages with us, whether it is the RAF Family, supporters, employees, contractors or volunteers. A failure in our safeguarding processes could result in harm and significant damage to our reputation.

We recognise that our new strategy includes getting closer to the people we support, which inherently increases the risk of a safeguarding concern.

We mitigate this risk by making sure we have a robust safeguarding policy in place, which is crossed referenced with our other policies and independently audited every three years. Safeguarding training for staff and Trustees is mandatory and we have a Safeguarding Lead Trustee on our Board.

Information and data security

The nature of our work means we process large volumes of personal data. There are risks inherent in doing this, including human error, failure to ensure secure data transfer, inadequate storage or inappropriate retention of data, ineffective business continuity and disaster recovery, and cyberattacks.

We mitigate these risks by making sure our policies and procedures are up-todate, compliant with legislation and the Information Commissioner’s requirements and embedded with our staff. In 2022 we achieved Cyber Essentials Plus certification. Our staff all have to undertake annual mandatory training on data protection and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Governance and compliance with regulatory requirements

Our risks here include failure to comply with necessary legal requirements, apply best practice, adopt the Charity Governance Code or keep up-to-date with changes in legislation.

We mitigate these risks through training and development, including inductions for new Trustees. Our Head of Governance keeps abreast of changes and implications for the Fund, as do a number of other subject matter experts among our staff.

Fund capability: people, leadership and culture

Staff turnover, recruitment and retention were key risks for the Fund in 2022. We mitigated these by keeping abreast of employment market conditions and reacting accordingly, including monitoring salaries and making sure our renumeration policy remained relevant and was complied with. We ensure our recruitment processes were effective, from advertising to selection and job offers and remain committed to developing our staff. We have a comprehensive benefits package in place and review this annually.

~~REMUNERATION POLICY AND REVIEW~~

We continue to be strongly committed to recruiting, developing and retaining staff with the right skills and knowledge to deliver our objectives and with the ability to make a positive contribution. We believe making effective decisions around remuneration and reward is crucial to achieving our overall aims.

Our remuneration policy centres on rewarding employees in a fair, equitable and transparent way, and aiming to pay competitively against our relevant competitors in the third sector.

We focus on a ‘total reward’ approach, recognising that broader aspects of employment offers including non-financial benefits such as flexible working and development opportunities, as well as the values we uphold as an organisation, are of increasing value to employees.

Our Remuneration Committee reviews our remuneration policy each year to make sure we are adhering to its principles and that

those principles are still appropriate. The committee also reviews our pension and broader reward provision and considers an annual pay award. The committee uses external expert analytics and benchmarks to make its recommendations, which it then submits to our Board of Trustees for approval.

We aim to match, where appropriate and affordable, competitive salaries based on current market conditions for any role.

In August 2022 our Remuneration Committee met to consider a one-off costof-living payment for eligible staff. This was subsequently approved by our Board in August 2022.

In reviewing salary recommendations for 2023, our Trustees considered the impact of a number of factors on staff, including the ongoing economic climate and rising inflation. As a result a 3% annual pay award was agreed alongside a further one-off costof-living award, both of which were paid in January 2023.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

~~PRINCIPAL PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS~~

Independent external auditor Saffery Champness LLP 71 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4BE

Solicitors

Charles Russell Speechlys LLP 5 Fleet Place London EC4M 7RD

Independent internal auditor (appointed 6 March 2023)

Investment managers

BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited 12 Throgmorton Avenue London EC2N 2DL

MHA MacIntyre Hudson 6th floor, 2 London Wall Place London EC2Y 5AU

Bankers

CCLA Investment Management Limited Senator House 85 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4ET

Barclays Bank plc 1 Churchill Place London E14 5HP

Close Brothers Asset Management 55 Grosvenor Street London W1K 3HY

Actuary

Broadstone Corporate Benefits Limited 55 Baker Street London W1U 7EU

~~STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES~~

Our Trustees are responsible for preparing our Trustees’ Report and our financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the provisions of its Royal Charter.

They are also responsible for safeguarding our assets and, hence, for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In so far as the Trustees are aware:

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires our Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the Fund and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the Fund for that period. In preparing these financial statements, our Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Fund’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

~~TRUSTEE DECLARATION~~

Trustees hereby approve the 2022 Annual Report on 27 June 2023.

Our Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time our financial position and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Acts 2011 and 2022, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act

Richard Daniel BSc (Hons) FRAeS

Chair, Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

~~INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES~~

~~OPINION~~

~~BASIS FOR OPINION~~

We have audited the financial statements of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (the ‘parent charity’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 December 2022 which comprise of the consolidated statement of financial activities, the consolidated and charity balance sheets, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

In our opinion the financial statements:

~~CONCLUSIONS RELATING TO GOING CONCERN~~

y Give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the group and the parent charity at 31 December 2022 and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources for the year then ended;

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group or the parent charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

~~OTHER INFORMATION~~

The Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

~~MATTERS ON WHICH WE ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT BY EXCEPTION~~

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in respect of which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

~~RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES~~

As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees’ responsibilities set out on page 37, the Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the group and the parent charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the group or the parent charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

~~AUDITOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE AUDIT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS~~

We have been appointed as auditors under the Charities Act 2011 and the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and report in accordance with regulations made under those Acts.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the group and parent charity financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, are detailed below.

Identifying and assessing risks related to irregularities:

We assessed the susceptibility of the group and parent charity’s financial statements to material misstatement and how fraud might occur, including through discussions with the Trustees, discussions within our audit team planning meeting, updating our record of internal controls and ensuring these controls operated as intended. We evaluated possible incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements. We identified laws and regulations that are of significance in the context of the group and parent charity by discussions with informed management and updating our understanding of the sector in which the group and parent charity operates.

Laws and regulations of direct significance in the context of the group and parent charity include the Charities Act 2011, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and guidance issued by the Charity Commission for England and Wales and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

Audit response to risks identified:

We considered the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items including a review of financial statement disclosures. We reviewed the parent charity’s records of breaches of laws and regulations, minutes of meetings and correspondence with relevant authorities to identify potential material misstatements arising. We discussed the parent charity’s policies and procedures for compliance with laws and regulations with members of management responsible for compliance.

During the planning meeting with the audit team, the engagement partner drew attention to the key areas which might involve non-compliance with laws and regulations or fraud. We enquired of management whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations or had knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud. We addressed the risk of fraud through management override of controls by testing the appropriateness of journal entries and identifying any significant transactions that were unusual or outside the normal course of business. We assessed whether judgements made in making accounting estimates gave rise to a possible indication of management bias. At the completion stage of the audit, the engagement partner’s review included ensuring that the team had approached their work with appropriate professional scepticism and thus the capacity to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting

from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/ auditorsresponsibilities . This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

~~USE OF OUR REPORT~~

This report is made solely to the parent charity’s Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the parent charity’s Trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the parent charity and the parent charity’s Trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Saffery Champness LLP

Chartered Accountants

Statutory Auditors

71 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4BE

Date: 24 July 2023

Saffery Champness LLP is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of Section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

~~FINANCIAL STATEMENTS~~

Consolidated statement of financial activities

For the year ended 31 December 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Income and endowments from
Donations and legacies 15,430 901 - 16,331 15,028 685 - 15,713
Charitable activities 1,134 - - 1,134 1,030 20 - 1,050
Other trading activities 399 - - 399 547 19 - 566
Investments 2,480 225 - 2,705 2,268 216 - 2,484
Other income 3,284 - - 3,284 5,715 - - 5,715
Total income 2 22,727 1,126 - 23,853 24,588 940 - 25,528
Expenditure on raising funds 5,000 13 - 5,013 4,683 19 - 4,702
Expenditure on charitable activities
Direct support to individuals 8,541 512 - 9,053 8,970 513 - 9,483
Welfare programmes and grants 4,111 449 - 4,560 4,199 312 - 4,511
Respite care 1,104 217 - 1,321 1,163 114 - 1,277
Housing Trust support 2,256 281 - 2,537 2,318 68 - 2,386
16,012 1,459 - 17,471 16,650 1,007 - 17,657
Total expenditure 3 21,012 1,472 - 22,484 21,333 1,026 - 22,359
Net income/(expenditure) before 1,715 (346) - 1,369 3,255 (86) - 3,169
gains on investments
Transfers between funds 47 (47) - - 4 (4) - -
Net (losses)/gains on investments 11 (7,358) (322) (972) (8,652) 5,790 221 611 6,622
Net income/(expenditure) (5,596) (715) (972) (7,283) 9,049 131 611 9,791
Other recognised gains and losses:
Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined 15 9,441 - - 9,441 2,266 - - 2,266
benefit pension scheme
Net movement in funds 3,845 (715) (972) 2,158 11,315 131 611 12,057
Total funds brought forward 109,174 5,859 6,930 121,963 97,859 5,728 6,319 109,906
Total funds carried forward 23 113,019 5,144 5,958 124,121 109,174 5,859 6,930 121,963
Note Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowed funds Total Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowed funds Total
----- End of picture text -----

The notes on pages 45 to 77 form part of the financial statements. All amounts relate to continuing operations. All gains and losses recognised in the year are included in the statement of financial activities.

Consolidated and charity balance sheets As at 31 December 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group Charity Charity
Note 2022 2021 2022 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 9 35 187 35 187
Tangible assets 10 27,073 28,663 4,630 4,878
Investments 11 71,639 83,114 64,847 75,429
Loans to beneficiaries 12 7,486 7,948 7,486 7,948
106,233 119,912 76,998 88,442
Current assets
Stock 5 3 - -
Debtors and prepayments 13 10,027 10,623 19,409 21,763
Cash at bank and in hand 13,494 7,449 10,936 5,633
23,526 18,075 30,345 27,396
Current liabilities
Creditors and accrued charges: 14 (2,582) (2,559) (2,164) (2,101)
amounts falling due within one year
Net current assets 20,944 15,516 28,181 25,295
Net assets excluding long-term 127,177 135,428 105,179 113,737
liabilities and pension liability
Defined benefit pensions liability 15 (3,056) (13,465) (3,056) (13,465)
Total net assets 124,121 121,963 102,123 100,272
Funds
Endowment funds 5,958 6,930 5,958 6,930
Restricted funds 5,144 5,859 5,144 5,859
Designated funds 27,911 29,062 20,735 21,000
General funds 88,164 93,577 73,342 79,948
Pension reserve (3,056) (13,465) (3,056) (13,465)
23 124,121 121,963 102,123 100,272
----- End of picture text -----

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 27 June 2023 and signed on its behalf by

Richard Daniel BSc (Hons) FRAeS

Chair, Board of Trustees

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Consolidated statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 December 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£’000 £’000
Net cash used in operating activities (3,764) (8,829)
Cash flows from investing activities
Dividends and interest from investments 2,705 2,484
Proceeds from the sale of property 4,735 10,097
Purchase of property and equipment (940) (2,143)
Net proceeds from sale of investments 2,823 1,763
Net cash provided by investing activities 9,323 12,201
Cash flows from financing activities
Loans awarded (333) (131)
Loan repayments 819 815
Net cash provided by financing activities 486 684
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year 6,045 4,056
Cash and cash equivalents as at 1 January 7,449 3,393
Cash and cash equivalents as at 31 December 13,494 7,449
Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities
Net income/(expenditure) for the year ended 31 December (7,283) 9,791
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges and amortisation 1,000 1,031
Gains on investments 8,652 (6,622)
Income attributable from joint venture - -
Dividends and interest from investments (2,705) (2,484)
Profit on the sale of fixed assets (3,053) (5,502)
Loan interest (96) (43)
Loans converted to grants 15 4
Loans written off less provision 57 -
Decrease/(increase) in stock (2) 3
(Increase)/decrease in debtors 596 (3,350)
(Decrease)/increase in creditors 23 (857)
Pension interest expense 232 200
Pension fund costs (1,200) (1,000)
Net cash used in operating activities (3,764) (8,829)
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Current accounts 13,494 7,449
Total cash and cash equivalents 13,494 7,449
----- End of picture text -----

Analysis of changes in net debt

----- Start of picture text -----
At 1 January Cash flows At 31 December
2022 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000
Cash – current accounts 7,449 6,045 13,494
At 1 January Cash flows At 31 December
2021 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000
Cash – current accounts 3,393 4,056 7,449
----- End of picture text -----

~~NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS~~

1 Principal accounting policies

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022

These are the financial statements of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund and its related entities. The Charity was incorporated by Royal Charter in England and Wales on 24 November 1999. Our Trustees are named on page 3. Our registered office is 67 Portland Place, London W1B 1AR.

~~ACCOUNTING CONVENTION~~

These financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value, and in accordance with applicable accounting standards.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

~~BASIS OF PREPARATION~~

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared to give a true and fair view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102) rather than Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (revised 2005) which has been withdrawn.

The Charity is a public benefit entity for the purposes of FRS 102 and therefore the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the 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 (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Charities Act 2011 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 as amended

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

by the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2014.

The statement of financial activities (SOFA) and balance sheet consolidate the financial statements of the Charity and its subsidiary undertakings. The results of the subsidiary entities are consolidated on a line by line basis. A summary of the results of the subsidiary entities is shown in Note 27.

~~FUNCTIONAL CURRENCY~~

The Charity’s functional and presentational currency is GBP and is shown as £’000s in the financial statements.

~~GOING CONCERN~~

The Trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern basis is appropriate. They have reassessed the business plans, income and expenditure projections, and taken the Charity’s reserves levels into account. Their conclusion is that there is no doubt about the Charity’s ability to continue operating as a going concern.

The Trustees have made this assessment for a period of at least one year from the date of approving the financial statements and are assured that the Charity has adequate resources to continue to operate for the foreseeable future.

The Charity therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.

~~FUND ACCOUNTING~~

General funds are unrestricted funds that are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objects of the Charity and that have not been designated by the Trustees for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim

and use of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are funds that are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or that have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against specific funds. The aim and use of the larger restricted funds is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Endowment funds are either permanent or expendable. Permanent funds are normally held indefinitely, while Trustees have the power to convert expendable funds into income. These funds are set out in Note 26. The return on endowment investments is made up of income earned and gains or losses in the market value of the investments.

Income generated from endowment funds is spent on charitable activities. Investment income and gains are allocated to the appropriate fund.

~~RECOGNITION OF INCOME~~

Income is recognised in the SOFA when the Charity becomes entitled to it, it is more likely than not that the income will be received, and the monetary value of the income can be estimated with sufficient accuracy. Entitlement to legacy income is assumed when there is sufficient evidence that a gift has been left to the Charity, usually through the notification of a Will. Receipt of legacy income is deemed probable when there has been a grant of probate, and it has been established that there are sufficient assets in the estate to pay the legacy and there are no conditions attached to the legacy that are outside the control of the Charity or uncertainty around receipt of this gift. Income from pecuniary legacies is recognised upon notification or receipt if earlier.

Gifts donated for resale are included as income when they are sold. No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers.

~~RECOGNITION OF EXPENDITURE~~

Expenditure is recognised in the SOFA on an accrual basis when an obligation that can be measured or reliably estimated exists at the reporting date and it is more than likely that payment will be paid in settlement.

Two main categories of expenditure shown in the SOFA are expenditure on raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities. Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure incurred to raise voluntary income to spend on charitable purposes as well as investment management fees. Expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs incurred by the Charity in carrying out its charitable aims to support the beneficiaries of the RAF Benevolent Fund.

~~SUPPORT COSTS~~

Support costs have been classified as: information technology and facilities, depreciation, general management and administration, finance and payroll, HR and governance. These costs have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources, and indirect costs have been apportioned on a headcount basis or in proportion to direct costs or income.

~~GRANT COMMITMENTS~~

Grants awarded are expensed in the SOFA in the year in which they are approved by the Trustees and the offer is conveyed to the recipient. Grants awarded but not paid are recorded as a liability within the balance sheet.

~~DEPRECIATION~~

Tangible fixed assets costing more than £1K

(£5K in the RAF Benevolent Fund Housing Trust Ltd) are capitalised and included at cost, including any incidental expense of acquisition.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the cost on a straight-line basis over their expected useful economic lives as follows:

A full year’s depreciation is provided in the year of asset acquisition, and none in the year of disposal.

~~INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS AND AMORTISATION~~

Software is classified as an intangible fixed asset and is capitalised where the cost plus incidental expenses incurred in acquisition is more than £1K.

Amortisation is provided on intangible fixed assets to write off the capitalised value on a straight-line basis over three years. A full year’s amortisation is provided in the year of asset acquisition, and none in the year of disposal.

~~FOREIGN CURRENCIES~~

Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities are retranslated at the exchange rate ruling at the balance sheet date. All differences are taken to the SOFA.

~~RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES~~

The Charity has made the required disclosures in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102).

46

47

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Transactions with group undertakings are eliminated on consolidation.

~~INVESTMENTS~~

Investments are stated at market value at the balance sheet date. The SOFA includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluation and disposals throughout the year. Income receivable on investments is recognised in the SOFA on the accruals basis.

~~JOINT VENTURE~~

The RAF100 Appeal (Registered Charity 1167398; Company Registration: 9977273) was formed to bring the four major RAF charities and the RAF itself together to mark the centenary of the RAF with a programme of events. To assist with providing initial working capital, the Fund and the other RAF charities each provided a £25K short-term interest-free loan to the RAF100 Appeal which has been subsequently repaid. On completion of the joint venture project any surplus reserves have been distributed as agreed among the joint venture partners.

This company was dissolved on 4 April 2023, having served its purpose.

~~STOCK~~

Stock consists of purchased goods for resale. Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Items donated for resale or distribution are not included in the financial statements until they are sold or distributed.

~~PENSION COSTS~~

Pensions are accounted for in accordance with FRS 102 Section 28, with a valuation undertaken by an independent actuary for the defined benefit scheme, the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund Staff Pension Fund, which is closed to future accrual. Net pension finance income or costs are included

immediately in other income or employee costs as appropriate.

Actuarial gains and losses are recognised immediately on the face of the SOFA. The scheme deficit is included as a liability in the balance sheet. Details of the pension scheme are included in Note 15 to the accounts.

The amounts charged to the SOFA for defined contribution schemes represent the contributions payable in the period.

~~FINANCE AND OPERATING LEASES~~

The Charity does not have any finance leases. Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the SOFA over the period in which the cost is incurred on a straight-line basis.

~~LOANS~~

Loans are awarded to beneficiaries in furtherance of charitable activities. The particular circumstances of each case will determine whether or not the loan is awarded free of interest. When interest is charged the rate is considerably lower than prevailing market rates. Loans are recognised as assets at the value of the award. Accrued interest, where applicable, is recognised as income and added to the balance of the loan. Repayments are made as provided in the loan agreement. To facilitate the relief of hardship and distress, the commencement of repayments can be deferred.

~~FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS~~

The Charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments. Financial instruments are recognised in the Charity’s balance sheet when the Charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets and liabilities are offset,

with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

With the exceptions of prepayments and deferred income all other debtor and creditor balances are considered to be basic financial instruments under FRS 102. See Notes 13 and 14 to the accounts.

~~JUDGEMENTS AND KEY SOURCES OF ESTIMATION UNCERTAINTY~~

In the application of the Charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

The most significant estimates and assumptions which affect the carrying amount of assets and liabilities in the accounts relate to:

Useful economic lives – The annual depreciation charge for property and equipment is sensitive to change in the estimated useful economic lives and residual value of assets. These are reassessed annually and amended where necessary to reflect current circumstances.

Loans – Specific provision has been made against five loans where there is a high risk of non repayment.

Pension scheme deficit – The underlying

assumptions used by the actuary in valuing the scheme are in accordance with FRS 102 and based on assumptions recommended by the actuary.

48

49

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2 Income and endowments

----- Start of picture text -----
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Donations and legacies
Royal Air Force service personnel 1,588 - 1,588 1,576 - 1,576
General donations 2,549 511 3,060 2,419 198 2,617
Government grants (Job - 43 43 34 - 34
Retention Scheme, DFG)
Legacy income 11,293 347 11,640 10,999 487 11,486
15,430 901 16,331 15,028 685 15,713
Charitable activities
Housing 1,024 - 1,024 964 20 984
Respite care 14 - 14 23 - 23
Loan interest 96 - 96 43 - 43
1,134 - 1,134 1,030 20 1,050
Other trading activities
Income from fundraising events 252 - 252 400 19 419
Trading income 147 - 147 147 - 147
399 - 399 547 19 566
Investment income
Dividends from pooled funds 2,379 225 2,604 2,268 216 2,484
Interest earned 101 - 101 - - -
2,480 225 2,705 2,268 216 2,484
Other income
Profit on the sale of fixed assets 3,053 - 3,053 5,502 - 5,502
Pension interest income 215 - 215 213 - 213
RAF100 distribution 16 - 16 - - -
3,284 - 3,284 5,715 - 5,715
Total income 22,727 1,126 23,853 24,588 940 25,528
Unrestricted Restricted Total 2022 Unrestricted Restricted Total 2021
----- End of picture text -----

The profit on the sale of fixed assets in 2021 included the profit on the sale of Princess Marina House of £4.2M. The 2022 figure includes profit on sale of £0.9M for disposal of our Edinburgh office.

3 Analysis of expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
Direct External Support Total Direct External Support Total
costs grants costs 2022 costs grants costs 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Raising funds
Donations and legacies 2,841 - 1,485 4,326 2,378 - 1,405 3,783
Regional engagement 317 - - 317 495 - - 495
Other trading activities 32 - - 32 121 - - 121
Investment management 338 - - 338 303 - - 303
fees
3,528 - 1,485 5,013 3,297 - 1,405 4,702
Charitable activities
Direct support to individuals 8,146 - 907 9,053 8,013 - 1,470 9,483
Welfare programmes and 865 2,814 881 4,560 751 2,956 804 4,511
grants
Respite care 879 - 442 1,321 1,105 - 172 1,277
Housing Trust support 1,599 - 938 2,537 1,487 - 899 2,386
11,489 2,814 3,168 17,471 11,356 2,956 3,345 17,657
Total expenditure 15,017 2,814 4,653 22,484 14,653 2,956 4,750 22,359
----- End of picture text -----

See Note 22 for analysis of welfare programmes and grants relating to external grants.

50

51

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

4 Analysis of support costs

----- Start of picture text -----
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Information technology and 598 375 364 182 135 1,654
facilities
Depreciation and amortisation 144 86 84 42 642 998
General management and 160 96 93 47 35 431
administration
Finance 355 213 207 104 77 956
HR 126 76 74 37 27 340
Governance 102 61 59 30 22 274
Total 1,485 907 881 442 938 4,653
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Information technology and 507 505 297 84 102 1,495
facilities
Depreciation and amortisation 136 109 82 40 663 1,030
General management and 129 125 74 22 26 376
administration
Finance and payroll 274 319 152 10 47 802
HR 139 161 77 5 23 405
Governance 220 251 122 11 38 642
Total 1,405 1,470 804 172 899 4,750
Raising funds Direct support to individuals Welfare programmes and grants Respite care Housing Trust support Total 2022
Raising funds Direct support to individuals Welfare programmes and grants Respite care Housing Trust support Total 2021
----- End of picture text -----

5 Staff costs

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£’000 £’000
Wages and salaries 4,864 5,155
Social security costs 557 576
Pension costs 649 509
Termination and redundancy costs 9 172
6,079 6,412
----- End of picture text -----

Prior year staff costs include termination and redundancy costs for 100 employees who worked at Princess Marina House.

The number of employees whose pay and benefits (excluding pension contributions) amounted to more than £60,000 in the year was as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2022|2021| |No.|No.| |£60,001–£70,000|4|6| |£70,001–£80,000|4|4| |£80,001–£90,000|1|1| |£90,001–£100,000|-|-| |£100,001–£110,000|1|1| |£110,001–£120,000|1|2| |£120,001–£130,000|-|2| |£130,001–£140,000|1|-| |12|16|

----- End of picture text -----

11 employees (2021: 15) whose pay and benefits amounted to more than £60,000 in the year were members of the Group Personal Pension Plan, a money purchase scheme.

The Fund introduced a salary sacrifice scheme in 2022 which has increased the pension contributions in comparison with 2021.

The average number of employees, calculated on a headcount basis, analysed by function was:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2022|2021| |No.|No.| |Charitable activities|64|56| |Cost of generating funds|24|36| |Governance, administration and support|21|25| |109|117|

----- End of picture text -----

52

53

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

6 Key management personnel

The key management personnel of the RAF Benevolent Fund are the Trustees and the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The ELT comprises of the Controller, the Director of Resources, the Director of Grants, Services and Programmes, the Director of Fundraising and the Director of Strategy and Impact. Total employee pay and benefits received by ELT for services to the Charity in 2022 were £583K (2021: £601K).

7 Net expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£’000 £’000
Net expenditure for the year is stated after charging:
----- End of picture text -----

Net expenditure for theyear is stated after charging:
Amountspaid for audit services(includingVAT):
Audit fees(currentyear) 74 64
Audit fees(prioryear under accruals)
Corporation tax services
Investment management fees
Amortisation of intangible assets		 12
2
338
161		 -
1
303
168
Depreciation
Operating leases
(Proft)on disposal of fxed assets		 839
57
(3,053)		 863
48
(5,502)

8 Trustees’ remuneration

The Trustees neither received nor waived any emoluments during 2022 (2021: £nil).

Out-of-pocket expenses were reimbursed to Trustees as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021 2022 2021
No. No. £ £
Travel and accommodation 9 5 5,413 1,209
9 Intangible assets
Group Charity
2022 2021 2022 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Software costs
Cost on 1 January 2,533 3,457 2,533 3,457
Additions during the year 9 81 9 81
Disposals during the year - (1,005) - (1,005)
Cost at 31 December 2,542 2,533 2,542 2,533
Amortisation at 1 January (2,346) (3,183) (2,346) (3,183)
Amortisation for the year (161) (168) (161) (168)
Depreciation on disposals during the year - 1,005 - 1,005
Accumulated amortisation at 31 December (2,507) (2,346) (2,507) (2,346)
----- End of picture text -----

10 Tangible fixed assets

----- Start of picture text -----
Group 2022 Charity 2022
Property Equipment Total Property Equipment Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost on 1 January 38,903 362 39,265 7,267 362 7,629
Additions during the year 931 - 931 47 - 47
Disposals during the year (2,106) - (2,106) (160) - (160)
Cost at 31 December 37,728 362 38,090 7,154 362 7,516
Depreciation at 1 January (10,240) (362) (10,602) (2,389) (362) (2,751)
Depreciation for the year (839) - (839) (228) - (228)
Depreciation on disposals during the year 424 - 424 93 - 93
Accumulated depreciation (10,655) (362) (11,017) (2,524) (362) (2,886)
at 31 December
Net book value 31 December 2022 27,073 - 27,073 4,630 - 4,630
----- End of picture text -----

Group 2021
Charity 2021
Property Equipment
Total
Property Equipment
Total
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Cost on 1 January
43,565
2,340
45,905
12,703
2,340
15,043
Additions during the year
2,062
-
2,062
5
-
5
Disposals duringtheyear
(6,724)
(1,978)
(8,702)
(5,441)
(1,978)
(7,419)
Cost at 31 December
38,903
362
39,265
7,267
362
7,629
Depreciation at 1 January
(11,528)
(2,318)
(13,846)
(3,920)
(2,318)
(6,238)
Depreciation for the year
(863)
-
(863)
(230)
-
(230)
Depreciation on disposals duringtheyear
2,151
1,956
4,107
1,761
1,956
3,717
Accumulated depreciation at 31
December
(10,240)
(362) (10,602)
(2,389)
(362)
(2,751)
Net book value 31 December 2021
28,663
0
28,663
4,878
0
4,878

Net book value 31 December 35

35

187

187

54

55

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

10 Tangible fixed assets (cont)

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Property Equipment Total Property Equipment Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Net book value at 31 December is analysed as follows:
Gulf Trust Fund (restricted fund) 124 - 124 129 - 129
RAFBF respite homes 441 - 441 403 - 403
Headquarters – London 4,065 - 4,065 4,346 - 4,346
Charity 4,630 - 4,630 4,878 0 4,878
RAFBF Housing Trust Ltd 22,443 - 22,443 23,785 - 23,785
Group 27,073 - 27,073 28,663 - 28,663
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |The net book value of properties comprises:| |Freehold|26,680|28,269| |Long leasehold|393|394| |27,073|28,663|

----- End of picture text -----

Properties held by the RAF Benevolent Fund Housing Trust Ltd support charitable activities. Properties are held so that beneficiaries including wounded, injured or sick personnel who have been medically discharged from the RAF can live in suitable, usually heavily adapted accommodation. Properties are stated at historical cost and depreciated as per the policy stated in Note 1.

11 Fixed asset investments

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Charity
2022 2021 2022 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Market value as at 1 January 83,114 78,255 75,429 71,528
Additions 514 8,547 514 8,547
Withdrawals (3,337) (10,310) (3,295) (10,256)
Net investment gains (8,652) 6,622 (7,801) 5,610
Market value at 31 December 71,639 83,114 64,847 75,429
Total fixed asset investments 71,639 83,114 64,847 75,429
Investments are represented by:
Listed investments 63,201 79,797 56,409 72,112
Cash holdings in investments 7,886 2,771 7,886 2,771
RAF Disabled Holiday Trust Bonds 552 546 552 546
Total 71,639 83,114 64,847 75,429
----- End of picture text -----

The Charity is the only Trustee of the RAF Disabled Holiday Trust whose net assets to the value of £552K are included within investments. Also included is the Charity’s share capital in the RAFBF Trading Co Ltd of £1, the results of this subsidiary entity are shown in Note 26.

56

57

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

12 Loans to beneficiaries

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Charity
2022 2021 2022 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 1 January 7,948 8,593 7,948 8,593
New loans 333 131 333 131
Interest charged 96 43 96 43
8,377 8,767 8,377 8,767
Repayments (819) (815) (819) (815)
Loans converted to grants (15) (4) (15) (4)
Bad debts written off (5) - (5) -
Provision for loan conversion (52) - (52) -
Balance at 31 December 7,486 7,948 7,486 7,948
----- End of picture text -----

The Fund offers loans in cases where grant assistance is not appropriate or not possible. They enable asset-rich but cash-poor beneficiaries to remain in their homes. Loan interest is charged depending on the nature of the case at a rate substantially below commercial rates. All but £70K (2021: £91K) of the Fund’s loans are secured by legal charges on the properties of the beneficiaries. The majority of loans have no fixed repayment date and are normally repayable from the beneficiary’s estate. A specific provision for loan conversion has been allowed for where there is a high risk of non repayment.

13 Debtors

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Group|Charity| |2022|2021|2022|2021| |£’000|£’000|£’000|£’000| |Legacies|9,214|9,901|9,167|9,901| |Inter company balance|-|-|9,559|11,253| |Other debtors|626|576|537|462| |Prepayments|187|146|146|147| |10,027|10,623|19,409|21,763|

----- End of picture text -----

14 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Group|Charity| |2022|2021|2022|2021| |£’000|£’000|£’000|£’000| |Trade creditors|485|628|479|612| |Taxation and social security costs|265|191|258|184| |Accruals for grants payable|1,324|1,471|1,068|1,159| |Other creditors|508|269|359|146| |2,582|2,559|2,164|2,101|

----- End of picture text -----

15 Pension commitments

The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund pension arrangements are as follows:

A Group Personal Pension Scheme made up of a collection of individual pension plans arranged by the Fund is provided by an insurance provider. This service has been provided by Royal London since November 2016. The liability of the employer is limited to the contributions it makes which amounted to £649K (2021: £509K) of which £56K remained payable at the year end (2021: £nil).

The RAF Benevolent Fund Staff Pension Fund is a defined benefit scheme. The scheme was closed to new members on 31 August 2005 and was closed to future accrual on 1 April 2014. The most recent actuarial valuation was carried out as at 31 December 2021. Under the schedule of contributions agreed as part of the actuarial valuation as at 31 December 2021, the employer paid £1.2M during 2022 (2021: £1M). The new deficit contribution plan agreed that the employer would make contributions at the rate of £100K per month until 31 October 2028.

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£’000 £’000
Reconciliation of funded status to balance sheet
Defined benefit obligation (27,338) (39,680)
Fair value of plan assets 24,282 26,215
Net defined benefit liability (3,056) (13,465)
The amounts recognised in the SOFA are as follows:
Net interest expense on net defined benefit liability 232 200
Total pension expense recognised in the SOFA 232 200
Reconciliation of defined benefit obligation over the year
Defined benefit obligation as at 1 January (39,680) (41,561)
Interest expenses on defined benefit obligation (703) (511)
Remeasurement – effect of experience adjustments gain (2,113) 317
Remeasurement – effect of changes in assumptions loss 13,875 762
Benefits paid 1,283 1,313
Defined benefit obligation as at 31 December (27,338) (39,680)
Changes in the fair value of plan assets over the year:
Fair value of plan assets as at 1 January 26,215 25,030
Interest income on plan assets 471 311
Remeasurement – return on plan assets excluding interest income gain (2,321) 1,187
Contributions by employer 1,200 1,000
Benefits paid (1,283) (1,313)
Fair value of plan assets as at 31 December 24,282 26,215
Return on plan assets (1,850) 1,498
----- End of picture text -----

58

59

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

15 Pension commitments (cont)

----- Start of picture text -----
Remeasurements recognised in SOFA
Remeasurement – effect of experience adjustments gain (2,113) 317
Remeasurement – effect of changes in assumptions gain/(loss) 13,875 762
Remeasurement – return on plan assets excluding interest income gain (2,321) 1,187
Total remeasurement gain/(loss) recognised in SOFA 9,441 2,266
2022 2021
£’000 % £’000 %
Assets:
Target Return Fund 23,472 96.7% 25,744 98.2%
Cash/other 810 3.3% 471 1.8%
24,282 100% 26,215 100%
2022 2021
Principal actuarial assumptions at the balance sheet date :
Discount rate 4.6% 1.8%
RPI inflation rate 3.2% 3.5%
CPI inflation rate 2.6% 2.9%
Increases to pensions in deferment (CPI max 5%) 2.6% 2.9%
Increases to pensions in payment (CPI max 5%) 2.6% 2.8%
Commutation (% of pension) 25% 25%
Mortality – base table S3PA S3PA
Mortality – allowance for future improvements CMI CMI
2021 2020
1.0% LTR 1.0% LTR
Life expectancies from age 63:
Male currently aged 63 86.6 86.6
Female currently aged 63 89.1 89.0
Male currently aged 43 87.7 87.6
Female currently aged 43 90.2 90.2
----- End of picture text -----

Amounts for current and previous four periods are as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |2022|2021|2020|2019|2018| |£’000|£’000|£’000|£’000|£’000| |Defined benefit obligation|(27,338)|(39,680)|(41,561)|(37,767)|(34,526)| |Fair value of plan assets|24,282|26,215|25,030|24,039|22,231| |Deficit|(3,056)|(13,465)|(16,531)|(13,728)|(12,295)|

----- End of picture text -----

16 Related party disclosure

Donations to the value of £1,025 (2021: £505) were received from individual Trustees in the year. Details of all inter-company transactions are shown in Note 27 on subsidiary entitities. There were no other related party transactions.

17 Ultimate controlling party

The Trustees do not consider there to be an ultimate controlling party.

18 Capital commitments

There are no major planned capital commitments for 2023.

19 Analysis of group net assets between funds

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds funds
2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Fund balances at 31 December are represented by:
Tangible, intangible fixed 26,984 28,721 124 129 - - 27,108 28,850
assets
Investments 63,067 73,248 2,600 2,922 5,972 6,944 71,639 83,114
Loans to beneficiaries 7,486 7,948 - - - - 7,486 7,948
Current assets 20,601 14,807 2,420 2,808 505 460 23,526 18,075
Current liabilities (2,063) (2,085) - - (519) (474) (2,582) (2,559)
Pension liability (3,056) (13,465) - - - - (3,056) (13,465)
Total net assets 113,019 109,174 5,144 5,859 5,958 6,930 124,121 121,963
----- End of picture text -----

20 Operating leases

At 31 December 2022 the group had total annual commitments under non-cancellable operating leases, all for office equipment and vehicles as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Payments due: office equipment and vehicles
Within one year 36,388 61,629
Within two to five years 47,740 47,468
Total 84,128 109,097
----- End of picture text -----

60

61

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

21 Contingent liability

The last triennial valuation of the Staff Pension Fund (SPF) identified a deficit of £12.275M as at 31 December 2021, on an agreed prudent funding basis. The Charity is required to enter into a Recovery Plan to extinguish the deficit. The plan commits the Charity to making annual payments of £1.2M until the earlier of 31 October 2028 or such date as when the deficit is extinguished.

The Trustees of the RAF Benevolent Fund have granted a legal mortgage over the Charity’s head office at 67 Portland Place and 45 Devonshire Close, London, in favour of the Trustees of the SPF.

This charge is to secure future payments from the Charity to the SPF to extinguish the deficit. The obligation secured by the mortgage is in accordance with applicable statutory requirements. The Trustees have also complied with the requirements of Section 124 of the Charities Act 2011 to obtain and consider proper advice.

A formal valuation of the property which is held on a long lease (virtual freehold) interest, was carried out in August 2019 and the market value was placed at £11M. This property is shown at a net book value of £4.0M in the balance sheet.

22 Welfare programmes and external grants

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
GRANT FUNDING TO THE SERVING ROYAL AIR FORCE
----- End of picture text -----

GRANT FUNDING TO THE SERVING ROYAL AIR FORCE
Stationgrants
603(Cityof Edinburgh)Squadron RAuxAF 1,100 500
RAF Akrotiri 600 35,500
JHC FS Aldergrove 9,800 -
RAF Benson - 500
RAF Boulmer 600 -
MOD Boscombe Down 1,000 500
RAF Brize Norton 54,620 26,694
CheltenhamJSSU 500 -
RAF Coningsby 13,520 500
RAF Cosford 6,000 500
RAF College Cranwell 1,400 6,500
Defence Animal TrainingRegiment - 4,739
RAF Digby 3,700 250
RAF Episkopi - 3,416
BFSAI Falklands 500 -
RAF Fylingdales 1,000 500
RAF Gibraltar 3,312 -
Grantown-on-SpeyRRC 300 -
RAF Halton 3,200 4,974
RAF Henlow 3,500 500
RAF High Wycombe 1,700 500
RAF Honington 12,802 79,541
RAF Leeming 7,000 -
RAF Lossiemouth 1,700 500
RAF Marham 900 500
RAF Northolt 9,400 14,008

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
RAF Odiham 1,700 500
RAF Scampton 4,536 500
RAF Shawbury 1,000 -
MOD St Athan 1,000 -
RAF St Mawgan 10,500 -
RAF Valley 19,500 9,994
RAF Waddington 16,495 500
DMS Whittington 300 -
RAF Wittering 51,100 2,000
MOD Worthy Down 3,970 3,000
Worthy Down DCLPA 300 -
RAF(U) Swanwick 500 -
41 Op REIMAGE & 103 Op ILKANE 2,960 -
One YMCA for three RAF stations 3,000 -
255,015 197,116
TOTAL GRANT FUNDING TO THE SERVING ROYAL AIR FORCE 255,015 197,116
CONTRACTED SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE SERVING ROYAL AIR FORCE
Airplay programme
RAF stations – youth support programme 1,066,201 1,250,497
RAF stations – Ben Play parenting and play parks - 58,621
1,066,201 1,309,118
General support
RAF Families Federation 15,000 15,000
Relate – Building Stronger Families - 3,000
15,000 18,000
Grant refund (RAF Shawbury) (348,000) -
TOTAL CONTRACTED SERVICES TO THE SERVING ROYAL AIR 733,201 1,327,118
FORCE
TOTAL GRANTS AND CONTRACTED SERVICES TO SUPPORT 988,216 1,524,234
THE SERVING ROYAL AIR FORCE
CONTRACTED SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE SERVING AND VETERANS’ COMMUNITIES
Wellbeing partnerships
Headspace (mental wellbeing) 72,675 67,511
Silver Line/Age UK 137,705 144,419
Work Stress Management (listening and counselling) 539,999 335,889
Manage Health (listening and counselling) 228,435 272,532
Relate (young people listening and counselling) 65,658 43,130
PAM (listening and counselling) 93,411 -
GamCare (gambling support) - 2,400
Workshop and coaching 12,000 22,300
1,149,883 888,181
----- End of picture text -----

62

63

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Relationship support
Relate – relationship counselling/mediation 199,792 144,665
TOTAL CONTRACTED SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE SERVING 1,349,675 1,032,846
AND VETERANS’ COMMUNITIES
----- End of picture text -----
GRANTS FUNDING TO THE VETERANS’ COMMUNITIES
AFCFTgrant(OpUnite) 42,708 -
Age Concern Spain – ACASA 5,000 10,000
Alabare Christian Care Centres - 13,000
Bridge For Heroes 4,000 -
British EmbassySlovakia - 3,120
British Nuclear Tests Veterans Association - 3,000
Care After Combat 5,000 -
Combat Stress 87,813 76,000
Czech Veterans - -
Defence Medical Welfare Service 13,000 13,000
Fares4Free 5,000 -
Farm-Able Foundation - 4,000
FightingWith Pride 17,000 17,000
Goodwill Solutions – The LearningAcademy - -
ILM Highland - -
ImprovingLives Plymouth 5,000 -
International Bomber Command Memorial - 150
Medical EmergencyResponse Team(MERT)Club - 6,000
MilitaryWives Choir Foundation 7,500 -
National Gulf Veterans and Families Association 5,000 7,500
Not Forgotten Association - 7,500
On Course Foundation 2,500 3,000
PAFA - 750
Polish Veterans - 4,680
PoppyScotland – ASAP 15,000 20,000
Project Propeller (5,000) -
RAF Widows’ Association 34,015 -
Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League (includes support 38,214 20,000
towards caseworkingcosts)
Save The Skymaster - 3,500
Scotty’s Little Soldiers 8,000 -
Slovak Western Front ArmyVeterans Widows 1,560 -
Spinal Injuries Association - -
SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity (includes support towards 20,550 30,720
caseworkingcosts)
Stoll - 12,000
Team Endeavour Racing - -
The Gwennili Trust - -
The Ripple Pond - -
Turn To Starboard 5,000 -
Veterans Outreach Support 9,000 -

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Waterloo Uncovered 1,800 1,800
We Are With You 10,000 -
Widows Association of Great Britain - -
Workplace Chaplaincy Scotland - 2,500
337,660 259,220
Employment support
The Poppy Factory 15,000 -
HighGround - -
Regular Forces Employment Association 50,000 62,436
Walking With The Wounded 10,000 7,000
The Warrior Programme 5,000 8,000
80,000 77,436
Housing support
Broughton House 18,000 18,000
Lord Kitchener’s Memorial Holiday Centre 7,000 -
Royal British Legion Industries - 2,000
Veterans Aid 15,000 15,000
-
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Hospital Charity 10,000
– Fisher House
40,000 45,000
Residential and respite care
Care for Veterans 18,000 15,000
The Curphey Home - 2,000
18,000 17,000
TOTAL GRANT FUNDING TO THE VETERANS’ COMMUNITY 475,660 398,656
TOTAL GRANT AND CONTRACTED SERVICES PAYMENTS TO 2,813,551 2,955,736
THIRD PARTIES
Total contracted services 2,082,876 2,359,964
Total discretionary grants 730,675 595,772
TOTAL COST OF SUPPORT THROUGH GRANT AND 2,813,551 2,955,736
CONTRACTED SERVICES
----- End of picture text -----

64

65

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

23 Statement of funds

----- Start of picture text -----
Charity
At 1 Net Group at 31 at 31
January gains/ December December
2022 Income Expenditure (losses) Transfers 2022 2022
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
General reserve 93,577 21,383 (19,178) (6,465) (1,153) 88,164 73,342
Designated funds 29,062 1,344 (1,602) (893) - 27,911 20,735
– see Note 24
Pension reserve (13,465) - (232) 9,441 1,200 (3,056) (3,056)
Total unrestricted funds 109,174 22,727 (21,012) 2,083 47 113,019 91,021
Restricted income funds 5,859 1,126 (1,472) (322) (47) 5,144 5,144
– see Note 25
Endowment funds 6,930 - - (972) - 5,958 5,958
– see Note 26
Total funds 121,963 23,853 (22,484) 789 - 124,121 102,123
Charity
At 1 Net Group at 31 at 31
January gains/ December December
2021 Income Expenditure (losses) Transfers 2021 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
General reserve 96,986 24,193 (19,329) 4,832 (13,105) 93,577 79,948
Designated funds 17,404 395 (1,804) 958 12,109 29,062 21,000
– see Note 24
Pension reserve (16,531) - (200) 2,266 1,000 (13,465) (13,465)
Total unrestricted funds 97,859 24,588 (21,333) 8,056 4 109,174 87,483
Restricted income funds 5,728 940 (1,026) 221 (4) 5,859 5,859
– see Note 25
Endowment funds 6,319 - - 611 - 6,930 6,930
– see Note 26
Total funds 109,906 25,528 (22,359) 8,888 - 121,963 100,272
----- End of picture text -----

Unrestricted funds

The sum of £27.9M (2021: £29.1M) is included in unrestricted funds and relates to the following designated reserves: £7.2M (2021: £8.1M) Reserves held by the RAF Dependants Fund to relieve immediate

£7.2M (2021: £8.1M) Reserves held by the RAF Dependants Fund to relieve immediate financial distress in the event of the death of a subscriber by giving a tax-free grant, payable at the discretion of the Fund £7.0M (2021: £8.2M) Pension deficit recovery contributions based on a revised recovery plan to pay £100K per month up to October 2028 £12.8M (2021: £12.8M) Enhanced welfare provison to (1) advance our stategic ambitions (2) enhance our welfare delivery and (3) build on our success £935K (2021: nil) Property fund to be used to maintain the Fund’s presence in Scotland as required The transfer of £1.2M (2021: £1M) from general reserves to the pension reserve represents the Fund’s contribution paid into the defined benefit pension scheme in the year. In addition £47K was transferred into general reserves representing capital works for the Bridlington holiday cottage, which was completed from restricted reserves.

Restricted income funds – Over £100K
Bomber Command Memorial
Gulf Trust		 Maintenance of the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park,
Piccadilly
The funds are held in a ring-fenced fund for the beneft of RAF Gulf War
veterans
Lowe Trust Supports Battle of Britain veterans and their descendants
RAF Disabled Holiday Trust Providing holidays to severely disabled serving and ex-RAF personnel
Afghan Brain Injury
Armed Forces Covenant Fund
Trust(Operation Unite)		 and their immediate dependants
Support to veterans of Afghanistan who have sustained a brain injury
To support Afghanistan and Iraq veterans’ mental health
Endowment funds – Over £100K
E HJubb Fund		 For the beneft of aircrew, their widows and dependants
Newton Driver Memorial Fund For the maintenance and upkeep of property used as a home for
members of the RAF and their dependants who are convalescent or
disabled. If the income cannot be used for this purpose it can be applied
Viscount Nufeld Endowment
Hector PillingMemorial Fund
RAF Prize Trust		 forgeneralpurposes of the Fund.
Income used forgeneralpurposes
Toprovide fnancial assistance for foundationers at the Duke of Kent School
To be used for the assistance or beneft, including education, of former
or futurepilots and navigators and their dependants
RAFBF Educational Endowment
Fund
RAFBF Educational Expendable		 To promote the education of the children of members of the Royal Air
Force
To promote the education of the children of members of the Royal Air
Fund Force
Peter Henry Slater-Eiggert For the beneft of ex-members and dependants of 83 Squadron
Memorial Fund
The Revd. James Edmund For the use of general purposes of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund
Strickland Memorial Fund
Douglas Turner Benefaction To be used for the assistance or beneft, including education, of former
or futurepilots and navigators and their dependants

66

67

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

24Designated funds FINANCIAL ST
At 1
January
2022
Income Expenditure		 Net gains
Transfers
At 31
December
2022
£’000
£’000
£’000		 £’000
£’000
£’000
Pension defcit recoverycontributions
8,200
-
(1,200)		 -
-
7,000
Enhanced welfareprovision
12,800
-
-
 -
-
12,800
Propertyfund for the Scotland ofce
-
935
-		 -
-
935
Total designated funds – Charity
21,000
935
(1,200)		 -
-
20,735
RAF Dependants Fund
8,062
409
(1,295)		 -
-
7,176
Total designated funds – Group
29,062
1,344
(2,495)		 -
-
27,911
At 1 January
2021
Income Expenditure		 Net gains
Transfers At 31 December
2021
£’000
£’000
£’000		 £’000
£’000
£’000
Fundraisingdevelopment and systems upgrade
1,209
-
(391)		 -
(818)
-
Investment in Airplay programmes
2,692
-
(1,059)		 -
(1,633)
-
New and enhanced welfare services
6,486
-
(46)
 -
(6,440)
-
Pension defcit recoverycontributions
-
-
-		 -
8,200
8,200
Enhanced welfareprovision
-
-
-		 -
12,800
12,800
Total designated funds – Charity
10,387
-
(1,496)		 -
12,109
21,000
RAF Dependants Fund
7,017
395
(308)		 958
-
8,062
Total designated funds – Group
17,404
395
(1,804)		 958
12,109
29,062

68

69

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

25Restricted funds FINANCIAL S
As at
1 January
2022
Income
Expenditure
/transfer		 As at 31
December
2022
As at
1 January
2021
Income Expenditure
As at 31
December
2021
£
£
£		 £
£
£
£
£
Education
GroupCaptain W E Purdain Memorial Fund
-
105
(78)		 27
100
101
(201)
-
RAF Prize Trust
-
9,221
(6,860)		 2,361
-
8,884
(8,884)
-
RAFBF Educational Endowment Fund
19,999
20,759
(19,999)		 20,759
-
19,999
-
19,999
RAFBF Educational Expendable Fund
-
5,717
(270)		 5,447
2,011
5,518
(7,529)
-
RAFBF Education
-
24,129
(8,435)		 15,694
-
23,247
(23,247)
-
Douglas Turner Benefaction
-
4,941
(3,676)		 1,265
4,700
4,760
(9,460)
-
19,999
64,872
(39,318)		 45,553
6,811
62,509
(49,321)
19,999
Princess Marina House and respite care
Princess Marina House Amenities Fund
-
-
-		 -
-
-
-
-
Princess Marina House Shencot/Seacot House
-
1,075
(1,075)		 -
-
1,030
(1,030)
-
The April Fools’ Club – servingrespite care
-
-
-		 -
-
-
-
-
-
1,075
(1,075)		 -
-
1,030
(1,030)
-
Housing
HousingTrust General Restricted Fund
78,975
256,010
(253,110)		 81,875
-
108,156
(29,181)
78,975
Housingadaptations(Lincoln)
-
-
-		 -
-
5,000
(5,000)
-
78,975
256,010
(253,110)		 81,875
-
113,156
(34,181)
78,975
Other
Bomber Command Memorial
2,955,897
223,708
(394,321)		 2,785,284
2,652,758
361,867
(58,728)
2,955,897
Trustee General
-
1,000
(1,000)		 -
-
-
-
-
Gulf Trust
450,255
-
-		 450,255
430,001
20,254
-
450,255
3,406,152
224,708
(395,321)		 3,235,539
3,082,759
382,121
(58,728)
3,406,152
Welfareprogrammes
Aged Veteran Fund
-
-
-		 -
230
125
(355)
-
Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust(Operation Unite)
-
258,916
(55,416)		 203,500
-
-
-
-
Airplay
-
85,605
(70,399)		 15,206
-
31,000
(31,000)
-
Thrive
9,120
480
(9,600)		 -
-
9,120
-
9,120
Mrs H MJerham Memorial Fund
4,025
1,139
-		 5,164
2,928
1,097
-
4,025
RAF stations
-
-
-		 -
-
100
(100)
-
Mental health services
-
-
-		 -
104
832
(936)
-
The Red Arrows Trust ServingFamilyBreaks
-
10,000
-		 10,000
-
-
-
-
Youth mental health(Lossiemouth)
15,907
14,907
(30,814)		 -
-
15,907
-
15,907
MBDA Fund
-
-
-		 -
-
-
-
-
Restricted to RAF Valley
32,684
-
(19,000)		 13,684
-
42,678
(9,994)
32,684
61,736
371,047
(185,229)		 247,554
3,262
100,859
(42,385)
61,736
Individual welfare
Advice and Advocacy
-
8,081
(8,081)		 -
-
8,966
(8,966)
-
Afghan Brain Injury
227,223
-
-		 227,223
226,728
495
-
227,223
Afghan: LIBOR
-
-
-
 -
366
-
(366)
-
Various legacies – benefciaries in Lossiemouth
10,000
-
(775)
 9,225
-
10,000
-
10,000
Various legacies – benefciaries in Scotland
46,846
70,098
(116,944)		 -
-
293,131
(246,285)
46,846
RAF Disabled HolidayTrust
569,635
6,134
-		 575,769
554,312
15,323
-
569,635
Fulmer Fund
66,102
-
(15,596)		 50,506
211,278
-
(145,176)
66,102
Garden maintenance
-
-
-		 -
-
-
-
-
General welfare(individual)
-
-
-		 -
-
6,600
(6,600)
-

70

71

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

----- Start of picture text -----
25 Restricted funds (cont)
As at As at 31 As at As at 31
1 January Expenditure December 1 January December
2022 Income /transfer 2022 2021 Income Expenditure 2021
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
General welfare (mobility aid) - - - - - 1,500 (1,500) -
General welfare (respite and care) 11,505 - (11,505) - - 15,000 (3,495) 11,505
General welfare – Devon, Cornwall and Somerset - - - - 300 3,600 (3,900) -
Lowe Trust 572,209 - - 572,209 572,209 - - 572,209
Restricted to UK Regions 7,928 600 (8,528) - 65,030 51,050 (108,152) 7,928
Restricted to UK Regions – veterans 65+ - 37,000 (37,000) - - - -
Financial assistance restricted to UK Regions - 9,500 (9,500) - - - - -
All general Scotland - 34,000 (34,000) - - - - -
All general Yorkshire - 500 (500) - - - - -
Podcast Battle of Britain - 1,500 - 1,500 - - - -
Veteran independent living Scotland - 2,000 (2,000) - - - - -
Veterans and family in Jamaica - 1,000 (1,000) - - - - -
Social isolation (veterans) - 15,000 (15,000) - - - - -
Care home top-up fees Kent - 1,000 (1,000) - - - - -
Older veterans Norfolk - 3,000 (3,000) - - - - -
Older veterans and dependants Bristol - 5,000 (2,780) 2,220 - - - -
Elderly veterans and dependants North East - 2,500 (2,500) - - - - -
Financial assistance Sunderland and Co Durham - 3,000 (3,000) - - - - -
(veterans)
Mobility equipment North East - 1,500 (1,500) - - - - -
Financial assistance Berkshire - 1,000 (1,000) - - - - -
RAF Family – financial assistance within Oxfordshire - 500 (500) - - - - -
All general Tayside - 2,000 (2,000) - - - - -
Older veterans Birmingham - 1,000 (1,000) - - - - -
Care home top-up fees Yorkshire (veterans) - 2,000 (2,000) - - - - -
Veterans Berkshire - 1,000 (1,000) - - - - -
Independent living Fife (veterans) - 5,000 (5,000) - - - - -
Aged veterans home respite - 120 (120) - - - - -
Independent living (veterans) - 1,000 (1,000) - - - -
Financial assistance Cumbria - 300 (300) - - - -
Improving social isolation veterans Scotland 12,974 - (12,974) - - 19,974 (7,000) 12,974
Royal Observer Corps 111,516 - (16,459) 95,057 58,640 75,000 (22,124) 111,516
Stafford Trust - - - - 15,120 - (15,120) -
1,635,938 215,333 (317,562) 1,533,709 1,703,983 500,639 (568,684) 1,635,938
Respite care – LIBOR Funds
Respite care lunch clubs - - - - - - - -
Respite care property 128,574 (35,245) (93,329) - 135,433 - (6,859) 128,574
Respite breaks and care hotels 254,413 (184,413) (70,000) - 280,324 - (25,911) 254,413
Contribution to community engagement workers 212,498 111,200 (323,698) - 431,847 - (219,349) 212,498
Domiciliary care regular - 109,298 (109,298) - - -
Management support 60,472 (840) (59,632) - 85,684 - (25,212) 60,472
655,957 - (655,957) - 933,288 - (277,331) 655,957
Total restricted funds 5,858,757 1,133,045 (1,847,572) 5,144,230 5,730,103 1,160,314 (1,031,660) 5,858,757
----- End of picture text -----

72

73

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

26Endowment funds
The purpose of funds exceeding £100K is set out under Note 23.
As at
1 January
2022
Unrealised
(loss)		 As at 31
December
2022
As at
1 January 2021
Unrealised
gain
As at 31
December
2021
£
£		 £
£
£
£
Permanent endowment funds with unrestricted income
Pilot OfcerJP L Branson Memorial Fund
56,475
(7,917)
 48,558
51,494
4,981
56,475
Pilot OfcerJames Erskine CunningMemorial Fund
53,149
(7,451)
 45,698
48,461
4,688
53,149
FlyingOfcer L S DelaneyTrust
15,438
(2,164)		 13,274
14,076
1,362
15,438
PaddyFinucane Memorial Fund
23,001
(3,224)		 19,777
20,972
2,029
23,001
Louise Alice KayMemorial Fund
47,515
(6,661)		 40,854
43,324
4,191
47,515
Mosquito Memorial Fund
13,352
(1,872)
 11,480
12,174
1,178
13,352
FlyingOfcer Douglas Frank Newsham Memorial Fund
42,421
(5,947)
 36,474
38,680
3,741
42,421
Viscount Nufeld Endowment
1,228,074
(172,155)		 1,055,919
1,119,759
108,315
1,228,074
Helen MaryRenton Fund
50,128
(7,027)		 43,101
45,707
4,421
50,128
RAF RugbyUnion Fund
58,952
(8,264)		 50,688
53,753
5,199
58,952
Peter HenrySlater-Eiggert Memorial Fund
169,160
(23,713)		 145,447
154,240
14,920
169,160
The Revd.James Edmund Strickland Memorial Fund
121,845
(17,080)		 104,765
111,098
10,747
121,845
1,879,510
(263,475)		 1,616,035
1,713,738
165,772
1,879,510
Expendable endowment funds with unrestricted income
FlyingOfcer William Dron Memorial Fund
2,849
(399)		 2,450
2,598
251
2,849
Frederick EleyFund
5,490
(770)		 4,720
5,006
484
5,490
WingCommanderJHigginson Fund
11,213
(1,572)		 9,641
10,224
989
11,213
Peter Grattan Holt Memorial Fund
58,436
(8,191)		 50,245
53,282
5,154
58,436
E HJubb Fund
389,211
(54,561)		 334,650
354,883
34,328
389,211
Middle East Relief Fund
49,707
(6,968)		 42,739
45,323
4,384
49,707
MorleyFund
8,148
(1,142)		 7,006
7,429
719
8,148
Orlebar Memorial Fund
9,220
(1,293)		 7,927
8,407
813
9,220
Shattock Memorial ScholarshipFund
13,845
(1,941)		 11,904
12,624
1,221
13,845
WoodingMemorial Fund
9,877
(1,385)		 8,492
9,006
871
9,877
557,996
(78,222)		 479,774
508,782
49,214
557,996
Permanent endowment funds where the use of the income is restricted
Newton Driver Memorial Fund
2,493,582
(349,558)		 2,144,024
2,273,650
219,932
2,493,582
GroupCaptain W E Purdain Memorial Fund
3,184
(446)		 2,738
2,903
281
3,184
RAFBF Educational Endowment Fund
631,452
(88,519)		 542,933
575,758
55,694
631,452
Douglas Turner Benefaction
150,307
(21,070)		 129,237
137,050
13,257
150,307
3,278,525
(459,593)		 2,818,932
2,989,361
289,164
3,278,525
Expendable endowment funds where the use of the income is restricted
Mrs H MJerham Memorial Fund
34,641
(4,856)		 29,785
31,586
3,055
34,641
Hector PillingMemorial Fund
733,992
(102,893)		 631,099
669,254
64,738
733,992
RAF Prize Trust
280,499
(39,321)		 241,178
255,759
24,740
280,499
RAFBF Educational Expendable Fund
165,697
(23,228)		 142,469
151,083
14,614
165,697
1,214,829
(170,298)		 1,044,531
1,107,682
107,147
1,214,829
Total endowment funds
6,930,860
(971,588)		 5,959,272
6,319,563
611,297
6,930,860

74

75

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

27Subsidiary entities 27Subsidiary entities
The results of the Fund’s wholly owned subsidiary entities are included within
the consolidated SOFA as follows:
RAFBF
Trading Ltd
RAF Dependants
Fund
RAF Dependants
Income Trust Ltd
2022
2021
2022
2021
2022
2021
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000		 RAFBF Housing
Trust Ltd
2022
2021
£’000
£’000
RAF Disabled
Holiday Trust
Subsidiary
entities
2022
2021
2022
2021
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
Income from:
Donations -
-
 6
44
-
-		 118
115
1
2
125
161
Investments 1
-
224
213
1
-		 19
-
-		 -
245
213
Other tradingactivities 147
143		 -
-
-
-		 -
-
-		 -
147
143
Charitable activities
Proft on sale ofproperties		 -
-
-
-		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 998
964
2,140
1,297		 -
-		 -
998
964
-
2,140
1,297
Subscriptions -
-
179
182
35
31		 -
-
-		 -
214
213
148
143
409
439
36
31		 3,275
2,376		 1
2
3,869
2,991
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities 110
101
360
280
-
-		 1,986
1,687		 31 24
2,487
2,092
Other tradingactivities 31
34		 -
-
-		 -
-		 - -
31
34
Management and administration 7
8
42
28
36
31		 -
-		 - -
85
67
148
143
402
308
36
31		 1,986
1,687		 31 24
2,603
2,193
Netgains/(loss)on investment assets
-
-
(893)
958
-
-		 -
-		 6 14
(887)
972
Net result of subsidiary -
-
(886)
1,089
-
-		 1,289
689		 (24) (8)
379
1,770
RAFBF Trading Limited RAF Dependants Fund RAF Dependants Income RAF Benevolent Fund RAF Disabled Holiday Trust
Company number: 07768120 Charity number: 253492 Trust Limited Housing Trust Limited Charity number: 286019
A company set up for the
RAF Benevolent Fund to
conduct trading in support of
its charitable objectives. The
Company donated £109,528		 A charity with the RAF
Benevolent Fund as custodian
Trustee. Set up to promote
the efciency of the RAF
through relieving dependants
Company number: 01285364
A company set up for
RAF Dependants Fund
subscribers to make further
fnancial provision for their		 Company number: 1058896
Charity number: 264636
Scottish registered number:
SCO38218
A wholly owned subsidiary		 A wholly owned subsidiary
of the RAF Benevolent Fund.
Its sole activity is to provide
holidays to disabled serving
and former members of the
to the Fund in 2022 (2021:
£101,300). The inter-company		 of deceased serving
personnel from fnancial		 dependants in the event
of their death in service.		 of the RAF Benevolent
Fund. Its sole activity		 RAF and their dependants.
The Trust purchases holiday
balance owed to the Fund at
year end was £159,578 (2021:
£132,542). The net assets at		 distress. There were 19
deaths in 2022 (2021: 16). The
death grant was increased		 There were 10 member
deaths in 2022 (2021: 7)
and benefciaries received		 is to hold and operate
properties of benefciaries
of the RAF Benevolent		 bonds which entitles it to
book holidays in the UK for
its benefciaries. The inter-
year end were £1 (2021: £1). from £17,500 to £20,000 in payments made on behalf of Fund. The inter-company company balance owed by
May 2022 in each case. The the Trust by the underwriters balance owed to the Fund the Charity at year end was
inter-company balance owed Aviva. The company donated at year end was £9,497,644 £49,750 (2021: £19,531). The
to the Charity at year end £nil to the Charity in 2022 (2021: £11,366,322). The net assets at year end were
was £5,864 (2021: £3,926). (2021: £nil). The inter- net assets at year end £521,779 (2021: £546,124).
The net assets at year end company balance owed to were £14,662,567 (2021: RAF Benevolent Fund Gift
were £7,220,769 (2021: the Charity at year end was £13,373,342). in Kind amounted to £nil
£8,106,464). £5,864 (2021: £5,103). The (2021: £nil).
net assets at year end were
£3,339 (2021: £3,339).

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~~SUBSIDIARY ORGANISATIONS~~

~~RAF BENEVOLENT FUND HOUSING TRUST LIMITED~~

~~RAF DEPENDANTS INCOME TRUST LIMITED~~

Companies House: 01058896 Charity Commission: 264636 OSCR: SC038218

Companies House: 01285364 Directors:

Air Vice-Marshal Chris Elliot (Chair) Victoria Akinboro Sarah Casemore (until 25 Feb 2022) Richard Cryer Air Commodore Simon Harper (from 28 Mar 2023) Air Commodore Paul Hughesdon (from 28 Mar 2023 until 15 June 2023) Squadron Leader Clive Martland (from 30 Sept 2022) Group Captain Dawn Murty (from 18 July 2022)

Directors/Trustees:

Air Vice-Marshal Chris Elliot (Chair) Victoria Akinboro Patrick Aylmer Wing Commander Sarah Davis Air Commodore Simon Harper (from 28 Mar 2023) Air Commodore Paul Hughesdon (until 28 Mar 2023) Emrys Rogers

~~RAFBF TRADING LIMITED~~

~~RAF DEPENDANTS FUND~~

Companies House: 07768120 Directors:

Charity Commission: 253492 Trustee: Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (Reg Charity: 1081009)

Air Vice-Marshal Chris Elliot (Chair) Victoria Akinboro Alison Benjamin Graeme Craig (until 28 Mar 2023) James Dooley Air Commodore Paul Hughesdon (from 28 Mar 2023 until 15 June 2023) Jason Shauness (until 17 Mar 2023)

Management Committee members:

Air Vice-Marshal Chris Elliot (Chair) Victoria Akinboro Sarah Casemore (until 25 Feb 2022) Richard Cryer Wing Commander Stuart Graham (from 1 Jan 2022 to 17 Jul 2022) Air Commodore Simon Harper (from 28 Mar 2023) Air Commodore Paul Hughesdon (until 28 Mar 2023) Squadron Leader Clive Alan Martland (from 30 May 2023) Group Captain Dawn Murty (from 18 Jul 2022)

~~RAF DISABLED HOLIDAY TRUST~~

Charity Commission: 286019

Trustee:

Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (Reg Charity: 1081009)

Scheme Manager:

Andy Cairns (until 21 Apr 2023)

~~RAF BENEVOLENT FUND TRUSTEES LIMITED (DORMANT)~~

Companies House: 00945083 Directors:

Air Vice-Marshal Chris Elliot (Chair) Victoria Akinboro Patrick Aylmer Wing Commander Sarah Davis Air Commodore Simon Harper (from 28 Mar 2023) Air Commodore Paul Hughesdon (until 28 Mar 2023) Emrys Rogers

~~ROYAL OBSERVER CORPS BENEVOLENT FUND (DORMANT)~~

Charity Commission: 209640 OSCR: SCO37659

Trustee:

Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (Reg Charity: 1081009)

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Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund 67 Portland Place London W1B 1AR

The RAF Benevolent Fund is a registered charity in England and Wales (1081009) and Scotland (SCO38109)