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2024-12-31-accounts

Charity registration number: 212151

Arthur McDougall Fund

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

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

Arthur McDougall Fund

Contents (continued)

Reference and Administrative Details 1
Trustees' Report 2 to 6
Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities 7
Independent Examiner's Report 8
Statement of Financial Activities 9
Balance Sheet 10
Notes to the Financial Statements 11 to 16

Arthur McDougall Fund

Reference and Administrative Details

Trustees Nigel Siederer Dr Christopher Prosser Hon Professor Tom Walsh Elizabeth Collingridge Derek McAuley John Cartledge Dr Laura Sudulich Charity Registration Number 212151 Principal Office McDougall Trust 61 Bridge Street Kington Herefordshire HR5 3DJ Independent Examiner John O'Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL

Page 1

Arthur McDougall Fund

Trustees' Report

The trustees present the annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Structure, governance and management

Nature of governing document

The charity is operated under the rules of its trust deed adopted 6th July 1959 and most recently amended 1st September 2014.

Objectives and activities

Objects and aims

To advance knowledge of and to encourage the study of and research

(a) in political or economic science and functions of government and the services provided to the community by public and voluntary organisations

(b) into methods of election of and the selection and government of representative organisations whether national civic commercial industrial or social.

In pursuing its purposes and strategies to advance knowledge and understanding of, and research into, the forms, functions and development of electoral democracy, McDougall Trust has developed a long standing focus on representative institutions, voting systems and elections.

Public benefit

The main activities through which McDougall’s purposes and strategies are carried out, either directly or through arrangements with others, are:

• Maintaining its reference collections of historic archives, pamphlets, books and other materials on representative democracy (including the Lakeman electoral studies library collections). The Trust’s archive collection is deposited at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick.

• Ensuring the publication and development of its quarterly peer-reviewed journal REPRESENTATION Journal of Representative Democracy.

In planning and implementing McDougall’s activities in pursuit of its charitable purposes, the Trustees have regard to current Charity Commission guidance on public benefit. It does this through encouraging research into and participation in representative democracy around the world. Through its journal, REPRESENTATION Journal of Representative Democracy it provides a forum for academic research and debate into a wide range of issues and factors that contribute to more effective models and forms of democracy.

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

Page 2

Arthur McDougall Fund

Trustees' Report (continued)

Achievements and performance

CHARITY GOVERNANCE

In late 2024 the Trust undertook an open recruitment process for new trustees resulting in the appointment of Dr Laura Sudulich and Dr Chris Prosser as trustees in February 2025.

Chair of Trustees, Derek McAuley, said “It’s a real pleasure to welcome Laura and Chris whose knowledge and expertise in politics and democratic engagement and current academic roles will really strengthen the board and help McDougall push forward its mission in promoting electoral democracy.”

Dr Laura Sudulich is a Reader in Public Policy at the University of Essex. As a Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) Fellow she is leading a project titled ‘Mapping Parliamentary Engagement Across the World’. Her research interests include elections, public opinion and political communication.

Dr Chris Prosser is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at Royal Holloway, University of London and is Co-director of the British Election Study (BES) and has worked as a psephologist for ITV’s election night coverage since 2015.

McDOUGALL TRUST COLLECTIONS

McDougall's historic reference collections include important archives, books, pamphlets, press cuttings and other material from the mid-19th century onwards, relating to voting systems, elections, electoral reform, proportional representation, suffrage and related constitutional issues (including the Lakeman electoral studies library collections).

After a significant period in storage the Trust’s valuable and extensive archive collection was deposited in late-2023 at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick (MRC). This included the earliest records of the Proportional Representation Society and the Electoral Reform Society, plus the personal papers of Enid Lakeman OBE, which had been donated to the Trust via her estate. During 2024 an initial assessment was made of the collection, including some conservation work that will be undertaken in 2025. The trustees are in the process of exploring in partnership with the MRC potential avenues and grant funding for cataloguing the entire collection with a view to making it available to the public.

The remaining contents of the library, which totals over 4,000 items, were also consolidated in a single lower-cost storage location in late-2023 and discussions are underway with like-minded bodies to whom all or part may be of interest.

Page 3

Arthur McDougall Fund

Trustees' Report (continued)

QUARTERLY JOURNAL

McDougall Trust’s journal REPRESENTATION Journal of Representative Democracy [print ISSN 0034-4893 online 1749-4001] aims to assist the study and understanding of electoral systems and forms of government by publishing articles on topical and practical issues. The editors of this widely respected quarterly academic journal aim:

o to publish cutting edge articles about elections and voting systems throughout the world; o to encourage debate on democratic practices; o to explore critically the interface between democratic practice and theory; o to produce special issues devoted to questions of democracy; and o to attract an audience of academics and students, journalists, election practitioners and informed lay readers.

The McDougall Trustees are responsible for appointing the editorial team, and membership of the editorial advisory board is subject to approval by McDougall. The long-serving lead Editors Dr Stephen Elstub (Newcastle University, UK) and Dr Maarja Lühiste (Newcastle University, UK) had indicated their intention to step down from the end of 2023 and in March 2024 handed over to Dr Simona Guerra (University of Surrey) and Dr Javier Sajuria (Queen Mary University of London) as new lead editors. This handover proceeded smoothly, reflecting the strong pipeline of submissions, with no resultant impact on publications during 2024. The trustees are grateful to the outgoing and incoming lead editors for this and also to Dr Ruth Puttick who continues to provide excellent editorial assistance.

The content of the Journal is the responsibility of the editors, and the appointment of Dr Guerra and Dr Sajuria has provided the opportunity for the trustees to engage with them on ongoing priorities for content and style. All articles are subject to peer-review ('double blind') by independent anonymous expert referees. The journal is published through external publisher Taylor & Francis Group (Informa UK) under the Routledge imprint. See: Representation | Taylor & Francis Online (tandfonline.com)

The Journal’s reach has continued to grow. As well as the print and online versions, demand continues to increase for one-off downloads of individual articles. The 14% year-on-year increase in article downloads from 2022 to 2023 was followed by an additional 19% increase between 2023 and 2024. Considering downloads by region, the UK and Europe continued as the number one source of demand, followed by North America, Asia, Australasia, Africa, and Other Americas.

The issues of REPRESENTATION for 2024 were 1 to 4 of Volume 60. Issue 2 was a special edition The Voter Experience Around the World with articles examining the picture worldwide alongside those focusing specifically on situations in Nigeria, the USA and the UK.

Page 4

Arthur McDougall Fund

Trustees' Report (continued)

OTHER SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

McDougall Trust has had a long history of providing grants for specific research or information dissemination projects in the field of electoral democracy. Projects that have been supported by McDougall Trust grants are listed at www.mcdougall.org.uk/Research/Grants.

McDougall has provided grant funding to the Political Studies Association (PSA) to sponsor the annual McDougall Trust postgraduate dissertation prize on the theme of elections, electoral systems or representation. In 2024 the grant was paid to PSA in respect of the prize awarded to the 2023 winner, Dr Laura Serra, Royal Holloway University of London, for her dissertation “The widening age gap at UK elections”.

The 2024 the prize was awarded to Daniel Casey, Australian National University. His dissertation title was ‘The Opinion-Agenda Linkage: How Letters From the Public to the Prime Minister Impact the Policy Agenda’ McDougall's website, www.mcdougall.org.uk, provides a range of resources, including signposting and access to workshop and seminar films (including short excerpts) available on YouTube, and details of other publications and funded projects. These resources include historic reprints and more recent papers on preferential voting systems in the Voting matters online resource, See: McDougall Trust - Voting matters - online resources on preferential voting systems.

Financial review

At year end 31 December 2024, McDougall’s holds accumulated income funds (all unrestricted) of £345,472 (2023: £337,016) including the expendable capital portfolio. Income for the year ended 31 December 2024 from usual sources totalled £34,216 (2023: £27,834) Expenditure for the 2024 year totalled £45,360 (2023: £105,691). The outturn for the 2024 year was a surplus totalling £8,456 (2023: Deficit £68,404) after investment losses/gains. This was funded from usual income funds including allocations of capital to income funds.

As can be seen above, before investment gains, the Trust experienced a continued deficit during 2024, which was much reduced from 2023 as a result of the hard work undertaken during both years. The trustees are therefore confident that despite this deficit during 2024 McDougall’s financial stability and sustainability for the foreseeable future has been greatly enhanced by the work undertaken to resolve numerous historical issues and improve financial systems and controls. The Trust benefited from increased royalty income from REPRESENTATION – a combination of higher sales and implementation of a new Publishing Agreement which has increased the royalty from 22% of sales to 25%. This increased income, greater control of costs and more effective cash management meant that for the first time in several years the Trust did not need to liquidate any of its investment portfolio.

The investment environment for McDougall’s capital portfolio has seen considerable volatility. The market value of the Endowment Investment portfolio at 31 December 2024 was £336,893 (2023: £321,271) but this continues to be affected by ongoing market volatility and general global economic uncertainty in early 2025. The Board is continuing its strategic review to inform the development of ongoing programmes and plans, and uses of available funds. Meanwhile, bearing in mind global uncertainties, the Board considers the Trust’s financial position at the approval date to be satisfactory.

The majority of expenditure on charitable activities during 2024 was with regard to maintaining the archive collection and publishing the Trust’s journal, REPRESENTATION Journal of Representative Democracy. A summary of the financial results for the 2024 year is given on page 9 of the Accounts.

Page 5

Arthur McDou£all Fund Tn￿te¢s, Report (¢o•tiD•ed) Pollcy on resmvs McDoug&ll's re8¢rves ￿lIlY is ￿ maintain re5eTres sUtri(4¢nt to cover the TTUA'S c<mmitm¢nts (including any r¢slri¥trd fvnds held) and wojcded JKWMAI (yerdling eX￿L￿ for ai 1¢gst one year. iti order 9ustsin McDougall's activiiics in the event of unforeseen circu￿5￿1￿c* Su¢h operaling reserves includc sumg translcrable as appropriate from the expendable Endowin¢th fund. Accumula(ed Income fu￿15 and expendabl¢ EndoThin¢nt funds othcr than Wing r¢s¢tv¢s held wwards longer4erm development plans. nie annual report was approved bv th¢ mLstec5 ofthc chariry On.... . 25 . sipKd on its behalf by: r)e￿k MeAuley Trtsst¢¢ PMgL 6

Arthur M¢Doug¥ll Fund Statement of Trustees, Responsibilities The trustL"cs are rLwonsiblc fw JKrpariDg thL tntstets. tewt yrtd the fmancial statemenL8 in accordan￿. with the Uniled Kingdom AcLout)tsng Sthndards (Ullitrd Kingdom Gcrterall) Acceoed AcuMm(ing Prxlice) and aw11￿{e law and rLgulatI(￿s. The law 8rvli¢able to bhgriiie8 requi￿$ the tnLSlres io financial 4aiements for f)nwKial year whictrl give a mic fair vi¢w ofthe staiL" of affairs of ¢lwity' of ihe tncoming resourc¢s and appliLa(kOD of resources orth¢ charity for that puiod. In prew4￿ these fmancial y[at¢M￿ts. trUSt¢es aTe requircd to: select suiuble a￿￿￿1]ng policies and thcn apply thern c(￿LSten￿. obseryc th¢ medmmls and prillciple% in ￿ Char&lies SORP: make judBcm¢tsts and estimai¢S thw are te&sonable 8t￿ Fwkni; sthte whether applicabl¢ XCOWLtill8 sthndJrd5 have tt£n followrf subject lo any m8t¢rial depamires dtsclosed and explainfxl in the fm8n¢ial statements: prepare the filtsnciul statements on the going ¢ortc¢rn bAsis unkss it is ingppropriate ￿ ryesume th•t lh¢ charity will cfjniinue in b￿¥Ine&s. The t￿SLee$ are respoTbsibl¢ fff keeping PTV acc(rtmting rffords that diseiose with Te&sonAble accurncy ai a lime di¢ financial position of th¢ charity and rttable thal the filwiciai 5th¢￿ettI￿ comply with the Lharities Aci 2011. the c.harities (A￿Ou￿L4 ReiM]rtsl Rcgul•ions 2￿8, ¥nd th£ proviskons of the nsti¢utinn. The trnstees arc also rcw15ihl¢ for safc¥uardin¥ the asse(s of th¢ charity and hence for tskiDs reasonable steps fof thc prevenli(m and dclection o( fraud and other irregulatiiies. The are r¢%punsiblc the rnaiM¢Dan¢¢ 4hnd bnlegiitw of thL' cvrpof8te Jnd finAncial infonnaiion inLluded (m the GharitthlL comp8ny's w¢byiie. L¥¥islati(x) govemkng th¢ rrtparattoo dis$emination vr lllwi¢ial swcrn¥nts may differ fram le￿1￿1￿10￿ in jwiyJiaim4. 13 jf125 Approved by the truste¢s nfthe charity on ..... .. Wbd siBoed on its IKhalfby'. Derek McAul¢y Trustee P28e 7

Arthur McDougall Fund

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of Arthur McDougall Fund

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Arthur McDougall Fund

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Arthur McDougall Fund (the Charity) for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

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

I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

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

John O’Brien MSc, FAIA, FCIE, employee of Community Accounting Plus Fellow of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners

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

24/09/2025 Date:.............................

Page 8

Arthur McDougall Fund

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Note
Income and Endowments from:
Charitable activities
Investment income
3
Total Income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
Total Expenditure
Gains/losses on investment assets
Net income/(expenditure)
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
The funds breakdown for the period is shown in note 3
Unrestricted
funds
General
£
24,370
9,846
34,216
(45,360)
(45,360)
19,600
8,456
8,456
337,016
345,472
Total
2024
£
24,370
9,846
34,216
(45,360)
(45,360)
19,600
8,456
8,456
337,016
345,472
Total
2023
£
16,595
11,239
27,834
(105,691)
(105,691)
9,453
(68,404)
(68,404)
405,420
337,016

The notes on pages 11 to 16 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 9

Arthur MeDougall Fund (Regi8tratioD Dumber 212151) Balauce Sheet ¥s at 31 Decrmber 2024 2024 2023 Fixed asttts Invoglmcnts 12 321.271 Cwrr¢xe u¢ts r)¢htors Cth ai bank artd in hand 3,305 8.694 21,2011 11,999 25..?45 Total 8Mets Itm turreot lbiliti¢s 348.892 .146.616 Crediloré: Amouufs fAIIIDg due After JRore tha• ooe yo*r (9,600) N¢1 345.472 337.016 FyDds of tbe charlty: Unre$lrlcled incom¢ UnrL51ricied funds J45,472 337.016 Total hnd$ 345 472 337.016 Thc linancial stuicrn￿LS ￿ pa¥es 9 ￿ 16 Kye a￿￿0Ved by the tnjsttts. and auth￿ fur issue on .I,,¥..Iff/.)0 5jBned on their bchaif by: ikr¢k McAuley The tKrt¢s on Wdges I I to 16 f(xm an inlwal part olthose Gn8llcial stakrnent5. Page 10

Arthur McDougall Fund

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

1 Accounting policies

Statement of compliance

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the second edition of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

Basis of preparation

Arthur McDougall Fund meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

Exemption from preparing a cash flow statement

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

Going concern

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

The trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees make this assessment in respect of a period of one year from the date of approval of the financial statements.

Income and endowments

Investment income

Dividends are recognised once the dividend has been declared and notification has been received of the dividend due.

Expenditure

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

Charitable activities

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

Page 11

Arthur McDougall Fund

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024 (continued)

Taxation

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

Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments, other than programme related investments, are included at market value at the balance sheet date. Realised gains and losses on investments are calculated as the difference between sales proceeds and their market value at the start of the year, or their subsequent cost, and are charged or credited to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period of disposal.

Unrealised gains and losses represent the movement in market values during the year and are credited or charged to the Statement of Financial Activities based on the market value at the year end.

Trade debtors

Trade debtors are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business.

Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for the impairment of debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables.

Cash and cash equivalents

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

Borrowings

Interest-bearing borrowings are initially recorded at fair value, net of transaction costs. Interest-bearing borrowings are subsequently carried at amortised cost, with the difference between the proceeds, net of transaction costs, and the amount due on redemption being recognised as a charge to the over the period of the relevant borrowing.

Interest expense is recognised on the basis of the effective interest method and is included in interest payable and similar charges.

Borrowings are classified as current liabilities unless the has an unconditional right to defer settlement of the liability for at least twelve months after the reporting date.

Page 12

Arthur McDougall Fund

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024 (continued)

Fund structure

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

ARTHUR McDOUGALL FUND ENDOWMENT

The Arthur McDougall Fund Endowment are funds which had been given to the Charity and were under the governing Scheme until 31 August 2014 meaning that the Trustees were required to retain the fund intact as capital

(although its constituent assets may change from time to time), using it to generate income. Following Charity Commission concurrence, the Trustees obtained the power available under section 282 of the Charities Act 2011 to enable the endowment to be freed from existing restrictions with regard to the expenditure of any or all the capital.

2 Income from charitable activities

Editorial cost contribution
Representation royalties
Publications and other income
3
Investment income
Interest receivable and similar income;
Interest receivable on bank deposits
Other investment income
Unrestricted
funds
General
£
7,500
16,870
-
24,370
Unrestricted
funds
General
£
-
9,846
9,846
Total
2024
£
7,500
16,870
-
24,370
Total
2024
£
-
9,846
9,846
Total
2023
£
-
-
16,595
16,595
Total
2023
£
71
11,168
11,239

Page 13

Arthur McDougall Fund

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024 (continued)

4 Expenditure on charitable activities

Storage
Management
Editorial Assistant
Editors - expenses
Independent Examination
Insurance
IT/website costs
Archive collection costs
Library dispersal costs
Misc costs
Investment management fees
Legal and other professional costs
Trustees expense
Direct (non-staff) costs of activities
Other costs allocated
Charitable activities
Unrestricted
funds
General
£
7,115
12,680
6,497
5,209
1,020
577
1,041
4,970
1,408
865
3,978
-
-
-
-
-
45,360
Total
2024
£
7,115
12,680
6,497
5,209
1,020
577
1,041
4,970
1,408
865
3,978
-
-
-
-
-
45,360
Total
2023
£
-
-
-
-
2,400
-
-
-
-
-
3,487
4,320
93
52,862
41,879
650
105,691

Page 14

Arthur McDougall Fund

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024 (continued)

5 Independent examiner's fees

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

Independent examination 2024
£
1,020
1,020
2023
£
2,000
2,000

6 Taxation

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

7 Debtors

7
Debtors
Trade debtors
Prepayments
Other debtors
8
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank
9
Creditors: amounts falling due after one year
Other creditors
2024
£
566
2,739
-
3,305
2024
£
8,694
2024
£
3,420
2023
£
223
2,484
1,430
4,137
2023
£
21,208
2023
£
9,600

10 Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions in the year.

11 Trustees remuneration and expenses

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

Page 15

Arthur McDougall Fund

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024 (continued)

12 Fixed asset investments

12 Fixed asset investments
Other investments
Other investments
Cost or Valuation
At 1 January 2024
Revaluation
Additions
Disposals
At 31 December 2024
Net book value
At 31 December 2024
At 31 December 2023
2024
£
336,893
Listed
investments
£
321,271
10,897
77,140
(72,415)
336,893
336,893
321,271
2023
£
321,271
Total
£
321,271
10,897
77,140
(72,415)
336,893
336,893
321,271

Page 16