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2025-03-31-accounts

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Design Council colleagues and
Experts at the Expert Refresh
Launch July 2024.
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Contents

3 4 5 About the Design Council Foreword from the CEO

Charitable objects

Foreword from the CEO & Chair of the Board of Trustees

7 8 9 What we do Fundraising statement Our impact and achievements

6

Our vision and mission

32 Financial statements & Auditor’s report

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About the Design Council

The Design Council is the UK’s national champion for the effective use of design for the benefit of the economy, society and the environment. It is an independent and not for profit organisation incorporated by Royal Charter.

The Design Council uniquely works across all design sectors and delivers programmes with business, government, public bodies and the third sector. The work encompasses thought leadership, tools and resources, showcasing excellence and research to evidence the value of design and influence policy. Our Design for Planet mission was introduced in 2021 to galvanise and support the 1.97 million people who work in the UK’s design economy to help achieve net zero and beyond.

The Trustees submit this Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025 along with the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025, which comply with the current statutory requirements and which have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

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Foreword

As we mark our 80th year, the Design Council stands at a moment of historic opportunity and responsibility. Founded during a time of national renewal, we are once again called upon to help shape a better future, this time amidst the pressing challenge of the climate and nature crisis.

Over the past year, our work has continued to champion design as an essential skill for the green transition, and a driver of opportunities and growth. This has included launching an ambitious mission to upskill one million designers in green design skills by 2030.

Our Design for Planet momentum is building. We created a refreshed network of Design Council Experts, selected for their Design for Planet knowledge and practice. Our fourth Design for Planet Festival, held in Manchester, brought together practitioners, businesses, and community leaders around

the theme of Planet Positive Business. We announced an impressive cohort of Ambassadors and Design for Planet Trailblazers, remarkable individuals shaping the future of sustainable design, featured in the Financial Times and Observer as part of our countdown to the World Design Congress, which we are set to host later in 2025.

The Congress is set to be a catalytic moment not only for the UK but for the global design community. It has already begun to galvanise support and collaboration. This year we welcomed major partners including Kearney, Zaha Hadid Architects, and Decathlon, whose commitment to our shared mission is enabling us to deliver a Congress with ambition and global relevance.

We’ve been working to ensure design’s influence reaches the highest levels. From

convening a Homes Taskforce to champion sustainable, human-centred housing, to celebrating design leadership at the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, we are strengthening the voice of design in

public life.

The road to the World Design Congress and beyond will involve deep collaboration, new partnerships, and an unwavering commitment to designing for planet. We are ready. And we know there is a growing movement alongside us.

Minnie Moll Chief Executive

William Eccleshare Chair of the Board of Trustees

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Charitable objects

The Design Council is a charity incorporated by Royal Charter. We are guided by four key objectives.

1 2 The advancement of British industry and public services by the improvement of design in their processes, products and services. 3 4

The protection, enhancement, improvement and revitalisation of the natural and built environment (including architecture).

3

The advancement of the education of the public in subjects relating to sustainable development and sustainable living.

To promote the study of and research into the value of design and to actively disseminate the results to the public at large.

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Our vision and mission

We are hopeful that, as part of a global design community, we can truly drive the change we want to see in the world.

Design had a role in getting us to the point when we are taking more from the planet than it has to give, and now design must play a critical and potentially transformative role in the creation of a positive future.

We have published our 5-year strategy as our roadmap for accelerating a societal transition from a consumer economy to a regenerative society.

Design for Planet is not just our mission, it’s a call to action, a practice, a movement and a definition of good design.

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Vision
Regenerative world for all
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Mission
Design for Planet
Purpose
Make life better by design
Values
Powerful Together
Boundless Curiosity
Inspire Possibility
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What we do

At Design Council we commission pioneering evidence-based research, develop groundbreaking programmes and deliver influencing and policy work to demonstrate the power of design.

We bring together non-designers and designers from grassroots to government and share with them our design expertise to transform the way they work.

Research & Evidence Thought Skills & Leadership Tools

Championing Design Policy & Capability Advocacy Building

Strategic Advice

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Fundraising statement

Section 162a of the Charities Act 2011 requires charities to make a statement regarding fundraising activities. Although we do not undertake fundraising from the general public, the legislation defines fundraising as “soliciting or otherwise procuring money or other property for charitable purposes”. In relation to the above we confirm that all solicitations are managed internally, without involvement of commercial participators, professional fundraisers, or third parties.

The day-to-day management of all income generation is delegated to the key management personnel as described within the Structure, governance and management section, who are accountable to the Trustees.

We have received no complaints in relation to solicitations. Our terms of employment require staff to behave reasonably at all times; as we do not approach individuals for funds we do not consider it necessary to design specific procedures to monitor such activities.

Public benefit The Trustees confirm that in exercising their powers and duties they have had due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. The Design Council exists for the benefit of people and our purpose is to make life better by design. The Trustees have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in planning its future activities.

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Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burham with Minnie Moll on stage of the Design for Planet Festival 2024 at Manchester Metropolitan, Manchester School of Art.

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In numbers

50 21 Government 103 ambassadors engaged Speaker platforms Curated events 174 31 Expert speakers at Design 40 for Planet Festival 2024 Experts engaged Workshops

Expert speakers at Design for Planet Festival 2024

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Raising awareness of design

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1,904,330
Social media
reach
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73
Press 372,060
mentions
Social media
followers
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Achieving our charitable object of educating and promoting the value of design.

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417,496
Website visitors
33,694
Newsletter
subscribers
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In the press

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Taking our mission around the world

We have worked hard to engage stakeholders and audiences from across the four nations of the UK through events, design festivals, round tables, steering groups and our UK wide Experts network. We have extended our global reach though a combination of Design for Planet Festival online attendees (from 113 countries worldwide) and speaking at international events.

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113
countries
worldwide
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Design for Planet Festival 2024

The 4th edition of the Design Council’s flagship event, was held at Manchester School of Art, Manchester Met University to bring together designers, businesses, and policy makers to connect, inspire and help make this year’s theme of Planet Positive Business a reality.

29 speakers, delivered insightful talks and workshops including opening remarks from Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, BBC Sewing Bee’s Patrick Grant, Sophie Thomas, B Corp, Faith in Nature and many more. Site visits to SUEZ repair centre and a Purcell retrofit site brought the topic to life for in-person attendees.

162

5000 online registrations from 113 countries

in person attendees

96%

of post-event survey respondents said the event increased their Design for Planet knowledges

96%

of event production materials were recycled or reused

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Student banners made with designer and BBC presenter Patrick Grant at Design for Planet Festival 2024.

We should only make stuff from materials we understand the and provenance performance of.

Patrick Grant, founder, Community Clothing at Design for Planet Festival 2024

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Making the case for design to government

In June, we published Blueprint for Renewal,

a collective call to government from leading design education voices including the D&TA, Institution for Engineering and Technology, Creative Education Manifesto, Save Our Subjects, and EngineeringUK. The report outlined urgent recommendations to

reverse the 68% decline in GCSE design subject uptake over the past decade and garnered cross-party support from senior parliamentarians including Lord Jo Johnson, Lord Jim Knight, Alex Sobel MP, Lord Hampton, and Lord Watson of Invergowrie.

The Blueprint helped shape the Government’s independent curriculum review. The Design Council led a coordinated response from over 10 organisations across industry, education, and academia, and continues to play a key role in shaping the review’s recommendations, expected in Autumn 2025.

sector in the Modern Industrial Strategy. In response, we convened nearly 100 sector leaders to inform our submission to the Industrial Strategy Review and delivered tailored departmental responses aligned with ministerial priorities.

In recognition of our leadership in championing design for green growth, the UK Government invited us to join the relaunched Net Zero Council in January 2025. Our role on this cross-sector body supports strategic direction for the Clean Energy Superpower Mission and reflects our ongoing advocacy for design’s role in achieving net zero.

We also remained an influential voice through the Creative Industries Council, co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, supporting its Taskforce to shape a strong Creative Industries Sector Plan.

Following the July 2024 general election, the new Government reaffirmed design’s value, naming the Creative Industries as a key growth

Lord Jo Johnson speaking at the Blueprint for Renewal launch.

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Upskilling 1 million designers in green design by 2030

In June 2024, the Design Council launched its Skills for Planet mission, an ambitious call to equip designers with the skills needed to tackle the climate crisis.

We are looking to publish the first in a series of resources, the Skills for Planet Blueprint, as a tool for identifying the green design skill areas and announcing the next phase of initiatives in 2025.

The mission aims to upskill 1 million

designers in green design skills by 2030

at every level, from the classroom to the

C-suite.

In the lead up to the World Design Congress we have convened partners such as the Design Museum, Creative Industries Council, DBA, AHRC, Innovate UK, and leading universities RCA, Westminster University and the University of Greenwich to co- design how to achieve the mission.

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Blueprint for Renewal Samsung campaign

In December 2024, the Design Council partnered with Samsung UK’s Solve for Tomorrow initiative and the Design & Technology Association (D&TA) to call for urgent reform of the Design & Technology (D&T) curriculum in schools.

This collaboration built on our earlier advocacy, including our report the . Blueprint for Renewal

As part of Samsung’s campaign, we co-authored an open letter to the Secretary of State for Education and Curriculum Review lead, Professor Becky Francis, making a strong case for a modernised D&T curriculum. The Design Council ensured green design skills were central to the case, framing them as critical not only to future employment, but also to the UK’s wider goals around innovation, digital transformation and net zero. The Government’s Curriculum Review, concluding in October 2025, is expected to reflect this agenda.

To amplify the message, we also co-hosted a Skills for Planet broadcast on London Live Radio and BBC Norfolk, which reaches an average audience of 3.7 million.

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Improving design in nationally significant infrastructure projects

In the past year, we have reviewed:

The Design Council pioneered the use of Design Review, establishing it as a trusted methodology for improving the quality of the built environment for public benefit. Over the years, we’ve applied Design Review across a wide range of places and building types. Today, our focus is on supporting Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), where our input is helping shape the future of sustainable infrastructure in the UK.

As government prioritises infrastructure to drive growth and prosperity, our impartial and expert Design Review process continues to play a vital role, enhancing design quality,reducing environmental impact, and shaping a more resilient built and natural environment.

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Building design capability through our Academy proposition

The Design Council has long supported organisations to strengthen their in-house design capability. Building on the success of our Design in the Public Sector (DIPS) programme, we continued to expand our Design Academy offer this year.

studies and foundational theory. Action Learning Sets help participants translate theory into practice through peer-based problem solving.

In partnership with Network Rail, we launched the Buildings and Architecture Academy (B&AA) in 2022. After piloting the programme that year, we delivered a second cohort in 2023, and significantly scaled up in 2024 with three additional cohorts, delivered in person in London and Leeds.

We also convened Network Rail’s Executive Team for a full-day strategic design training session, supporting leadership as the organisation transitions to Great British Railways.

The training combines classroom-based learning, interactive activities, field visits, and e-learning modules featuring case

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Building our partnerships with UK research councils

Design partnership for innovation

This year, we were commissioned by Innovate UK Business Connect to identify and scale impactful design support, building the case for more effective innovation at Innovate UK.

Shift left

Act earlier

We conducted an audit to assess how design is understood, valued, and embedded across the Research Councils and Innovate UK’s portfolio. Our work was grounded in four design principles:

Think long

Plan for the long term

In September 2022, the Design Council entered into a new framework agreement with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Since then, we’ve deepened our support across AHRC, Innovate UK, and other Research Councils to embed design and design thinking more effectively into research and innovation systems.

We also analysed current design support mechanisms, identifying barriers and opportunities to improve how they connect and function. Through stakeholder interviews and a review of design support typologies, we’re developing a new framework for deploying streamlined and effective design approaches in current and future programmes.

Look wide

Take a broad perspective

This work marks a step change in the adoption of design thinking across UKRI and is helping to embed design more strategically at scale.

Act fast with care Respond quickly but responsibly

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UKRI environmental sustainability strategy

UKRI is a major funder and producer of worldleading science and social science, with significant influence over the environmental impact of the UK’s research ecosystem.

As part of its refresh of the Environmental Sustainability Strategy for 2025–2030, UKRI commissioned Design Council to lead a cross-council consultation to shape the direction of the new strategy.

environmental sustainability across all aspects of UKRI’s operations and research activity.

We convened over 200 participants from across all Research Councils, uncovering key barriers and codeveloping a shared set of ambitions to guide UKRI’s sustainability efforts over the next five years.

Acting as impartial and experienced facilitators, the Design Council delivered a robust and inclusive engagement process designed to embed

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Net zero living programme

The transition to net zero is one of the greatest challenges of our time, demanding innovation, collaboration, and a deep understanding of user needs. While businesses are developing new products, services, and supply chains to lead this transition, real impact depends on adoption, usability, and behaviour change. That’s where design is essential.

provided tailored 1-to-1 coaching to help businesses understand user needs and barriers to adoption, embedding design thinking to strengthen innovation in the net zero market.

Building on our legacy as the UK’s champion for design, and aligned with our Design for Planet mission, we developed the programme blueprint, delivered expert design support, and evaluated its impact, demonstrating how design can accelerate the path to a low-carbon future.

From November 2023 to March 2025, the Design Council partnered with Innovate UK on the Net Zero Living programme, supporting 47 businesses through our UserFocused Design initiative. Our Experts

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Design Council Experts

Over the past year, we engaged 174 different Design Council Experts (71% of our network) across 372 opportunities. Their contributions have been central to our work, from delivering 10 Design Reviews and co-creating the Skills for Planet Blueprint, to shaping Innovate UK’s sustainability strategy, supporting the Design for Planet Festival, and upskilling Network Rail staff.

(from 93 Experts in 2023–24 to 174 in 2024– 25) ensuring broader perspectives and expertise are embedded in all we do.

We also convened the network through two all-Expert events, bringing together 141 participants to align around our mission. We co- hosted two Design for Planet Collectives, engaging 75 widersector designers regionally, and reinstated our Community of Practice workshops (four held in 2025 alone) where 77 Experts collaborated to shape key programmes and strengthen community ties.

To strengthen and diversify our engagements, we introduced a new process and EDI matrix for Expert selection, running 17 open calls across the year. This resulted in a significant increase in participation

174 Experts engaged Across 372 opportunities

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Royal Garden Party

The Design Council was tasked by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to nominate 100 key figures from the UK’s design ecosystem to invite to Buckingham Palace for the first Creative Industry Royal Garden Party. The event gave us the opportunity to connect, convene and champion a range of organisations including the London Design Festival, Design Museum, V&A, DBA and D&TA as well as high profile designers such as Margaret Calvert, Morag Myerscough, Dick Powell and Yinka Illori, and design media Dezeen, Design Week, It’s Nice That, Wallpaper, the Guardian and Financial Times.

British designers Yinka Ilori, Morag Myerscough and Margaret Calvert celebrating at the Creative Industries Royal Garden Party.

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Design Council Homes Taskforce

In response to the Labour government’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million homes by 2030, the Design Council convened the Homes Taskforce, a group of eight leading voices in architecture and design, including Sadie Morgan OBE and Sunand Prasad OBE. The Taskforce set out to shape policy that ensures new housing is not only delivered at scale, but is well-designed, climate-resilient, inclusive, and built for long-term value.

Through a series of roundtables with over 50 experts, MPs, and local leaders, the Taskforce explored policy and design solutions for urban extensions, regeneration, and new towns. Three key themes emerged: the need to prioritise both new builds and refurbishment, the importance of design quality in housing delivery, and the case for neighbourhood-led approaches.

These insights informed Design for Neighbourhoods, a report outlining ten policy recommendations for high-quality, sustainable housing, along with five key questions for future research. Launched in partnership with ING Media at a highprofile event with design and policy leaders, the report has already begun shaping national conversations.

Taskforce ambassadors continue to support our engagement with government and the design sector, informing Design Council’s wider work on green skills, design quality, and research-led innovation.

Homes Taskforce New Towns Roundtable, joined by Architect George Clark.

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Design for Neighbourhoods
publication February 2025.
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The Design Council’s Homes Taskforce members outside the Houses of Parliament for the New Towns Roundtable October 2024.

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Design Economy

Design Economy is the Design Council’s flagship research programme, exploring how design drives growth, innovation, and sustainability.

This year, we published two major reports, collectively read over 6,000 times, that expanded the conversation beyond economic impact to include social and environmental value.

The Environmental and Social Value of Design revealed that 66% of designers are working on environmental challenges, and 60% on social ones, yet only 19% measure the impact of their work. While 71% anticipate rising demand for green design skills, just 43% feel prepared to meet it. These findings have directly shaped our Skills for Planet mission.

Our research is also influencing national policy. It underpins the government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan, contributes to the Circular Economy Taskforce, and helped secure our seat on the Net Zero Council, where we advocate for design’s role in putting people at the centre of climate action.

Public Design Beyond Central Government draws on our deep experience in the public sector. The report informed the UK Civil Service’s 2025 Public Design Evidence Review, a landmark Cabinet Office study, and helped drive momentum for embedding design capability into the heart of government. We supported the review’s launch and contributed to the expert panel.

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The road to World Design Congress

In the year ahead of the Design Council hosting the World Design Council in September 2025, we laid the foundations for harnessing the event as a catalytic moment for the design sector with early bird tickets selling quickly.

We confirmed the Barbican Centre as our venue partner, situating the event in one of London’s most iconic architectural locations and aligning with them on the Congress Design for Planet theme as they undergo their Renewal project to retrofit the building (with Design Council design review support).

We brought on major financial partners including global management consultancy group Kearney, Decathlon and Zaha Hadid Architects, and convened programme, education and marketing steering

groups to gather insight from partnering organisations and experts in delivering a world class event. This helped us in confirming big name speakers including Brian Eno, Thomas Heatherwick, Marianna Mazzucato and Indy Johar.

To build a brand and drive excitement, we formed a panel of World Design Congress Ambassadors as leading voices from across the sector (Tom Dixon, Es Devlin, Foday Dumbuya, Dr Lesley Lokko and Suhair Khan) who nominated 20 “Design for Planet Trailblazers as champions for the Congress messaging which was announced by The Observer.

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World Design Congress Ambassadors Foday Dumbuya, Es Devlin, Suhair Khan, Tom Dixon, Prof. Lesley Lokko at the Barbican Centre, featured in the Financial Times who dubbed the upcoming event the “Olympics of Design”.

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A Design Council fit for the future

Towards the end of our 80th year, we undertook a wide-ranging review of our role as well as the commercial model that underpins it to ensure the Design Council remains relevant and continues to thrive for the next 80 years.

In addition to this, the organisation has spent the last 12 months focusing on initiatives to reduce cost and improve operational excellence, through a mixture of restructuring of support functions to make them more efficient and effective as well as focusing on maximising value for money from external service providers.

The review concluded we need to diversify our revenue base as well as be sharper and more focused on describing our impact, in order to align our programme delivery with potential new funders. The 2025/26 business plan incorporates the first stages of these recommendations which will continue to evolve over the next few years.

This builds on the work already undertaken over the last 2 years to standardise our systems and processes, all with the objective of making the organisation more agile, operationally and financially resilient and fit for the future.

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The National Champion for Design – Annual Report 24/25

The Design Council

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Preface

This version contains only the financial statements, trustee report and auditor’s opinion for review and approval by the Finance & Assurance Committee on 21 October 2025.

This information will be added to and combined with the other information required for the Annual Report to be approved by the Board and filed with the Charity Commission.

About the Design Council

The Design Council is the UK’s national champion for the effective use of design for the benefit of the economy, society and the environment. It is an independent and not for profit organisation incorporated by Royal Charter.

The Trustees submit this Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025 along with the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025, which comply with the current statutory requirements and which have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The Design Council uniquely works across all design sectors and delivers programmes with business, government, public bodies and the third sector. The work encompasses thought leadership, tools and resources, showcasing excellence and research to evidence the value of design and influence policy. Our Design for Planet mission was introduced in 2021 to galvanise and support the 1.97 million people who work in the UK’s design economy to help achieve net zero and beyond.

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The Design Council

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Financial review

Review of the period

The results for the Design Council for the year ended 31 March 2025 are set out in the financial statements from page 49 onwards.

The results for the financial year 2024/25 show a surplus of £128k compared to a planned surplus of £100k.

Total income for the year amounted to £3.7m (£3.64m in 2023/24) including a grant of £2m from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (£2m in 2023/24). The remaining income of £1.7m (£1.64m in 2023/24) was raised from a variety of sources including event sponsorship and paid project and programme work.

Total costs for the year were £3.49m (£3.95m in 2023/24).

Cash and short-term deposit balances amounted to £1.2m as at 31 March 2025 (£1.3m as at 31 March 2024).

Reserves Policy

Total funds held by the Design Council at the end of the year were £0.86m (£0.64m in 2023/24). Of this, none were restricted funds (£0.19m in 2023/24).

The Trustees have reviewed the level of

reserves required to sustain on-going operations. Accordingly, the Design Council has adopted a reserves policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets (the “free reserves”) should be between three and six months of overheads.

At 31 March 2025, free reserves were £0.79m (£0.35m in 2023/24). Given the current external context and delivery plans for 2024/25, the Trustees are comfortable that the free reserves at 31 March 2025 are sitting just above the upper limit of the reserves policy range of £0.35m to £0.75m.

Free Reserves

Free Reserves
2025
2024
£000 £000
Total Unrestricted Funds 847 456
Less Tangible Fixed Assets (59) (104)
Free Reserves 788 352

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The Design Council

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Going Concern

The Trustees have reviewed the financial position of Design Council and its subsidiary, its forecast cash flows, liquidity position and potential funding commitments for the foreseeable future.

Design Council operates as an independent charity with part of its revenue coming from an annual grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the rest generated from various other sources, mostly commercial client projects.

The AHRC grant agreement was renewed in March 2025 for another 3 years, so this provides a degree of stability and certainty in terms of core funding. However, the Trustees recognised the need for Design Council to diversify its income base and therefore the organisation launched a revised commercial model in early 2025 with the objective of growing overall income and making it less reliant on having to secure multiple individual short term commercial projects.

This means 2025 into 2026 is a

transition period and there remains a degree of uncertainty about the level of total income that can be secured. Consequently, the Trustees have used prudent assumptions in assessing the likely size and scale of income opportunities and will only commit funds to charitable activities when they are certain that obligations can be met.

However, despite this conservative outlook, the Trustees believe that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. As a result, they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the Annual Report and Accounts.

Subsidiary undertaking and related parties

The Charity wholly owns a subsidiary Design Council Enterprises Limited, a company registered in England and Wales. The subsidiary is used for fundraising activities that are non-primary purposes trading. The subsidiary is currently dormant.

As such, the results of Design Council Enterprises Limited have not been presented separately and consolidated accounts have not been prepared.

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The Design Council

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Plans for the future

During 2025/26, as the UK’s National Champion for design, we will drive the third year of our 2023-28 mission, Design for Planet, ensuring the effective use of design delivers real benefits for the UK’s economy, society, and environment.

What we deliver to achieve our impact is:

Celebrate design impact Advocacy | Research | Events | Exhibitions

Create good conditions for design Advocacy | Policy | Education & skills

Convene the design sector Convening | Programmes | Partnerships

Priorities for 2025/26 include

Delivering an outstanding World Design Congress in September 2025 which is set to be a catalytic moment not only for the UK but for the global design community.

Launching a Green Design Skills Blueprint and building a coalition of support to underpin our mission to upskills 1 million designers by 2030.

Widening our capability building work

through upskilling commissioners of design in business and the public sector.

Championing the value of design and design skills in accelerating

green growth through our latest Design Economy value of the design sector research.

Maximising the value and impact of our people through our People and Culture Strategy initiatives.

Ensuring we remain a thriving organisation that is resilient and financially and operationally

sustainable, including building new commercial and strategic partnerships.

Whilst we have seen progress in terms of demand for Design for Planet-

orientated client projects as well as new opportunities to raise our profile such as hosting the World Design Congress, there are still a number of challenges that the organisation is facing such as:

Nonetheless, we remain confident and excited by our Design for Planet mission and what we can achieve in 2025/26.

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The Design Council

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Structure, governance and management

Governing document

The Design Council is a charity incorporated by Royal Charter that works for public benefit. The Royal Charter was originally granted on 9 May 1976 and amended on 1 April 2011 to reflect the Design Council’s change in status from being a public body to being a charity and the transfer in of certain activities and assets of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).

The Design Council and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have had a grant framework agreement since 2022 for the common objective of furthering the role of design within the UK. An observer from AHRC is invited to attend Design Council board meetings.

The Design Council registered as a charity on 13 October 1976 and the registered charity number is 272099. Our registered address is Design Council c/o Sayer Vincent, 110 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TG.

Structure of the organisation and decision making

The Board of Trustees is responsible under the Design Council’s Royal Charter for:

• Developing strategy to achieve the Charity’s Objects, and monitoring performance.

• Ensuring that the charity seeks the views of current and future beneficiaries and that these are considered in developing strategy and delivering services.

• Safeguarding the assets of the charity to ensure these assets and resources are used only in furtherance of the charitable objects.

• Ensuring that the charity’s governance is of the highest possible standard.

The Board of Trustees takes

into consideration the Charity Commission’s requirements including guidance on public benefit. Trustees must at all times act in the best

interests of the charity and must avoid any conflict between their personal or outside interests and those of the charity. The responsibilities of the Board of Trustees and its committees are set out in terms of reference.

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The Design Council

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The Board of Trustees delegates day to day responsibility for managing the charity to the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive is accountable to the Board of Trustees for achieving the mission and goals, for ensuring the organisation is well run and meets its charitable objects and for ensuring that the Design Council remains relevant, contemporary and sustainable in the future. The Chief Executive reports to the Chair of the Board of Trustees and leads an Executive Team.

The Board of Trustees formally met six times during the year and additionally for other briefings and strategy discussions.

Sub committees

During the year the Board held the following two sub committees: the Finance & Assurance Committee and the People Committee. The Chair of each committee reports back to the Board of Trustees after it meets.

Finance & Assurance Committee :

meets quarterly or more frequently as needed to support the Board of Trustees in ensuring effective:

: People Committee

meets quarterly or more frequently as needed to support the Board of Trustees in ensuring effective:

In December 2024, the Board agreed to temporarily absorb the People Committee’s remit into the main Board until the new Trustees had been

appointed in the summer 2025, when its remit and membership would be reviewed, and the committee reinstated in the autumn.

The Team

The Design Council had 32 colleagues employed at the end of the year.

Additionally, we draw on the expertise of our Design Council Experts, a network of design pioneers who work with us to advocate for design, share knowledge about best practice and help us deliver advice and programmes.

The cohort was selected by the Design Council with an external steering committee to represent a full spectrum of design disciplines, regional and demographic diversity, and skills that will help accelerate our Design for Planet mission. During the year we engaged 174 different Design Council Experts (71% of our network) across 372 opportunities.

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Recruitment, induction and training of Trustees

New Trustees are recruited through an open process and are appointed by the Board of Trustees. Trustees may serve up to two consecutive three-year terms, and in exceptional circumstances a third term may be approved, up to a maximum of nine years.

On appointment, new Trustees are provided with an induction pack and have meetings with key management personnel to brief them on the activities of the Design Council and their responsibilities as a Trustee. Periodically, a survey is used to identify skills gaps and development priorities. Briefings and training are provided for Trustees as necessary.

During 2024/25 two Trustees completed their final terms. One Trustee renewed for another term and three Trustees each renewed for another one-year term.

The Board started recruitment for five new Trustees in December 2024 particularly looking for skills

and expertise in design, finance and sustainability. Following an open campaign five Trustees were appointed in March 2025 and took up their positions in April 2025. Inductions were provided between April to July including opportunities for the Trustees to meet with members of the wider team.

Pay and renumeration of key management personnel The remuneration of key management personnel is reviewed and approved annually by the People Committee. Remuneration is benchmarked periodically against pay for similar roles in the sector.

Trustees are not remunerated for their role as Trustees, other than reimbursement of reasonable expenses which are described in the Note 5.

A small number of Trustees may also deliver design advice services in their capacity as the Design Council experts. Any remuneration for these services is at the same rate as paid to other built environment practitioners for equivalent services.

Risk management

We believe that sound risk management is integral to both good management and good governance practice. Risk management forms an integral part of the charity’s decision–making and is incorporated within strategic and operational planning.

As part of annual business planning the Board reviews risk appetite and more frequently as required. A risk register covering key strategic risks is reviewed regularly by the Finance & Assurance Committee on behalf of the Board and updated as deemed necessary in response to known and potential risks, especially during times of volatility. and more frequently where risks are known to be volatile. Risk registers are maintained for individual core programmes and new activities and projects are reviewed to ensure they are in line with the charity’s objectives and mission. Any risks or opportunities arising will be identified, analysed and reported at an appropriate level.

The Board will commission expert advisers to provide independent assessments and assurance on a case by case to address specific business needs.

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The Board considers that the key risks facing the Design Council are as set out below:

Risk/challenge area We will mitigate this by:
Financial •Diversify our sources of income by exploring the potential of philanthropic fundraising
•Make the case for increasing our level of Government funding for our National Champion role
•Grow our fee base especially by partnering with AHRC/UKRI on key projects
•Control costs to achieve a fnancial surplus
•Produce regular and timely fnancial reporting and forecasting, including quarterly business reviews and clear
ownership of budgets
Operational •Continue to work on improving employee value proposition and experience to reduce turnover
and associated operational disruption
•Stabilise and embed new ERP system and implement common project management life cycle approach and tool
•Focus on building operational excellence
•Continue to strive for improvement through accredited systems (ISO 90001, Cyber Essentials)
Reputational •Successfully demonstrate the impact of our work, especially the Design for Planet strategy
•Deliver a successful and impactful Design for Planet festival, as well as secure key sponsors for
World Design Congress in 2025
•Increase our voice and reach by promoting the outcomes of our research and skills programmes
•Ensure we embed and live our values and code of behaviours
•Make use of external reputational advisory frm when required
Legal / Commercial •Appointed new legal advisors to support across commercial/contract and employment law
•Roll out of new standard framework agreements
•Use of standard project management tool to manage contracting and document management
•Provide training for new starters on GDPR requirements

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Reference and administrative details

----- Start of picture text -----
Board of Trustees
Trustee Date appointed Role and Committees Notes
----- End of picture text -----

More information on each of our
Trustees can be foundhere.Trustees
who served during 2024/25 and
meeting attendance is listed below.
The Board of Trustees is overseen
by the Chair, William Eccleshare.
Jonquil Hackenberg succeeded
Anne Boddington as Deputy Chair
from January 2025.
We thank Anne Boddington and
Beatrice Fraenkel who completed
their terms during the year. Paul
Monaghan renewed for another
three-year term. Wiliam Eccleshare,
Chris Naylor and Jonquil Hackenberg
renewed for another one-year term.
The Board appointed fve new
Trustees in March 2025 who took
up their positions in April 2025:
Ben Ramalingam, Elena Marco,
Patrick Bellew, Sadaf Hosseini and
Tom Crawford.		 1 William Eccleshare
29.07.22
Chair, Board of Trustees
Finance & Assurance Committee
People Committee
Second term until 29.07.26
2 Anne Boddington
10.09.15
Deputy Chair, Board of Trustees
People Committee
Completed term on 31.12.24
3 Ben Ramalingam
17.04.25
First term until 17.04.28
4 Jonquil Hackenberg
26.05.22
Deputy Chair from 01.01.25
People Committee
Second term until 26.05.25
5 Beatrice Fraenkel
13.12.18
People Committee
Completed term on 13.12.24
6 Biljana Savic
26.05.22
First term until 26.05.25
7 Chris Naylor
26.05.22
Finance & Assurance Committee
Second term until 26.05.26
8 Elena Marco
01.04.25
First term until 01.04.28
9 Keith Morgan CBE
04.10.18
Chair of Finance & Assurance Committee
Third term until 31.03.26
10 Patrick Bellew
01.04.25
First term until 01.04.28
11 Paul Monaghan
17.03.22
Second term until 17.03.28
12 Sadaf Hosseini
01.04.25
First term until 01.04.28
13 Tom Crawford
01.04.25
First term until 01.04.28
14 Tendai Chetse
26.05.22
Chair of People Committee
First term until 26.05.25

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----- Start of picture text -----
Attendance record Board Finance & Assurance People
Committee Committee
----- End of picture text -----

William Eccleshare (Chair) 6/6 7/7 1/1
Anne Boddington (D Chair) 4/4 1/1
Jonquil Hackenberg (D Chair) 5/6 1/1
Beatrice Fraenkel 2/4 1/1
Biljana Savic 6/6
Chris Naylor 2/6 2/7
Keith Morgan CBE 6/6 7/7
Paul Monaghan 6/6
Tendai Chetse 2/6 0/1

Key management personnel

Aside from the Trustees the key management personnel during the period were:

Minnie Moll Chief Executive (joined 1 March 2021)

Cat Drew

Chief Design Officer (joined 1 July 2019, maternity leave August 2024 – April 2025)

Edward Hobson

Director of Place (joined 1 November 2021)

Robert Holmes

Director of Finance and Operations (joined 23 November 2023)

Sarah Booth

Director of Impact (joined 1 November 2023, left 30 August 2024)

Rachel Moriarty

Executive Lead for Skills – Maternity Cover (joined 5 August 2024)

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Administrative details

Registered name and address Advisory and legal Design Council TLT LLP c/o Sayer Vincent 20 Gresham Street 110 Golden Lane London EC2V 7JE London EC1Y 0TG Auditors Charity Commission number Sayer Vincent 272099 110 Golden Lane London EC1Y 0TG

Bankers Lloyds Bank Villiers House 48-49 The Strand London WC2N 5LL

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Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of the Design Council for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 March

2025 was 7 (2024: 9). The Trustees

are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The Trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Approved and authorised by the Trustees on 21 October 2025 and signed on their behalf.

William Eccleshare

Chair of the Design Council Board of Trustees

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Opinion We have audited the financial statements of the Design Council (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise of the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, 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 FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice

Basis for opinion

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 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.

Conclusions relating to going concern 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 Design Council’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve 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.

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Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. 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

Responsibilities of Trustees As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees’ responsibilities set out in the Trustees’ annual report, 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.

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 relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• The information given in the Trustees’ Annual Report is In preparing the financial statements, inconsistent in any material respect the Trustees are responsible for with the financial statements; assessing the charity’s ability • Sufficient accounting records have to continue as a going concern, not been kept; or disclosing, as applicable, matters • The financial statements are not related to going concern and using in agreement with the accounting the going concern basis of accounting records and returns; or unless the Trustees either intend • We have not received all the to liquidate the charity or to cease information and explanations we operations, or have no realistic require for our audit alternative but to do so.

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Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with regulations made under section 154 of that Act.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the 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 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 extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below.

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

• We enquired of management, which included obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning the charity’s policies and procedures relating to:

˚[Identifying, evaluating, and complying ] with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;

˚[Detecting and responding to the ] risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud;

• We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and tested these to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments, assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias and tested significant transactions that are unusual or those outside the normal course of business.

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Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or noncompliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

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.

Charities Act 2011 and regulations made under section 154 of that Act. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the 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 charity and the charity’s Trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Jonathan Orchard

Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor 11 November 2025

110 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TG

Sayer Vincent LLP is eligible to act as auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s Trustees as a body, in accordance with section 144 of the

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Statement of Financial Activities

For the year ended 31 March 2025

For the year ended 31 March 2025
Note
Unrestricted
Restricted
Designated
2025
Unrestricted
Restricted
2024
Total Total
£000 £000 £000
£000
£000		 £000 £000
Income from
Charitable activities
2		 2,131 1,575 3,706
1,037		 2,599 3,636
Total income 2,131 1,575 3,706
1,037		 2,599 3,636
Expenditure on
Charitable activities
3 & 6		 1,864 1,624 3,488
1,056		 2,890 3,946
Total expenditure 1,864 1,624 3,488
1,056		 2,890 3,946
Net income / (expenditure) for the year 267 (48) 218
(19)		 (291) (310)
Transfer between funds 124 (140) 16
-
(21)		 21 -
Net movement in funds 391 (189) 16
218
(40)		 (270) (310)
Reconciliation of Funds
Total funds brought forward 456 189 645
496		 458 955
Total funds carried forward
12		 847 16
863
456		 188 645

Notes:

a. All operations of the Design Council are continuing.

b. There are no recognised gains and losses in the year other than those shown above. c. The notes, numbered 1 - 14, form part of these accounts.

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Balance Sheet

As at 31 March 2025

Note 2025
£000
2024
£000
Fixed assets
Tangible fxed assets
8		 59 104
Total fxed assets 59 104
Current assets
Debtors
9		 364 195
Cash at bank and in hand 1,198 1,322
Total current assets 1,562 1,517
Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
10		 758 975
Net current assets 804 541
Net assets 863 645
Funds
12
Restricted funds - 189
Unrestricted funds 847 456
Designated Funds 16 -
Total funds 863 645

The notes at page 53 to page 66 form part of these accounts. Approved and authorised by the Trustees on 21 October 2025 and signed on their behalf.

William Eccleshare

Chair of the Design Council Board of Trustees 31 October 2025

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Statement of Cash Flows

For the year ended 31 March 2025

For the year ended 31 March 2025
Note £000
2025
£000
£000		 2024
£000
Cash fows from operating activities:
Net cash provided/ (used in) operating activities a (124) 22
Cash fows from investing activities:
Purchase of property, plant and equipment - -
Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities - -
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year (124) 22
Cash and cash equivalents brought forward 1,321 1,299
Cash and cash equivalents carried forward 1,198 1,321

Note to the statement of cash flows: a: Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities

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2025
£000
2024
£000
Net income / (expenditure) for the year 218 (310)
Interest received - -
Depreciation charges 44 50
Loss on the disposal of fxed assets - -
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (169) 286
(Decrease)/increase in creditors (217) (3)
Net cash provided by/ (used in) operating activities (124) 22

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Notes to the Design Council Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2025

  1. Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows.

a) Basis of preparation The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The Charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis which assumes that the Charity will continue in operational existence for twelve months from the date of approval of the Financial Statements.

The Trustees have applied the going concern basis to the financial statements. As outlined within the trustees’ report the Charity has been managing financial risk and the continuing uncertainty around the Charity’s long term funding arrangements. The Trustees are confident in the Charities ability to manage these risks and do not consider that these represent any material uncertainty around the Charities ability to continue as a going concern.

In preparing financial statements it is necessary to make certain judgements, estimates and

assumptions that affect the amounts recognised in the financial statements.

The accounting policies below include estimates relating to provisions and the recoverability of debtors and stage of completion of contract delivery for programme fees.

b) Income recognition

All income is recognised once the Charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably. In particular:

• Grants are accounted for once a

formal offer of funding is received, subject to satisfying any performancerelated conditions. In the event that a grant is subject to conditions that require a level of performance before the Charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the

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fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the Charity and it is probable that those conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period;

• Programme fees income are accounted for on an accruals basis. As services are delivered in accordance with any milestones set out in these contracts income is recognised. Any part of the service not delivered at the balance sheet date is deferred;

c) Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis, and allocated to the appropriate heading in the Financial Statements. Charitable activities’ expenditures enable the Design Council to meet its charitable aims and objectives, consistent with good governance.

In note 3 costs are attributable to the categories of charitable expenditure on an actual basis with the exception of support costs which are allocated as a proportion of total directly attributable costs.

Support costs in note 6 costs are attributed to the categories detailed on an actual basis. The

basis of apportionment to charitable expenditure is as a proportion of total directly attributable costs.

Grants are paid to approved beneficiaries. Grant expenditure is recognised in the period in which eligible activity creates an entitlement in line with the terms and conditions of the grant. Accrued grants are charged to the SOFA and included as part of the accruals within the balance sheet.

The Design Council reclaims from HMRC VAT incurred in goods and services in line with the standard method of partial exemption. Irrecoverable VAT is treated as a central cost and allocated with other support costs to the relevant activities on the SOFA.

d) Liquid resources

The Design Council’s liquid resources are a combination of cash, and short term deposits.

e) Funds accounting Funds held by the Design Council are either:

Restricted Funds: These are the grant funds received from government, charities, and other public bodies where the use of the funds is restricted to a specific purpose.

Designated Funds: These are funds which have been allocated by the Design Council Board of Trustees for activities in the following financial year

Unrestricted Funds: These are funds which have been received from all other programmes.

f) Fixed assets and depreciation Tangible Fixed Assets costing less than £1k are not capitalised and are written off in the year of purchase. Assets are capitalised at cost and are kept under review for any impairment.

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All fixed assets are written off on a straight-line basis over the assets’ expected useful lives as follows:

Leasehold improvements 10 years, or over the period of the lease

Furniture and fittings 5 years

Computer equipment 2 - 5 years

g) Pensions The Charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme on behalf of its employees. The amount charged to the SOFA in respect of pension costs and other post-retirement benefits is the contributions payable in the period. Differences between contributions payable in the year and contributions actually paid are shown as either accruals or prepayments in the balance sheet.

basis over the life of the lease

i) Provisions

Provisions are made when the Design Council has a legal or constructive financial obligation, that can be reliably estimated and for which there is an expectation that payment will be made. The obligation is recognised as a liability once the obligation has crystallised.

j) Design Council Enterprises Limited The Charity owns the whole of the share capital of Design Council Enterprises Limited. Its trading subsidiary was dormant during the year and therefore consolidated accounts are not prepared.

h) Leases

All leases are accounted for as operating leases and rentals are charged to the income and expenditure account on a straight-line

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2. Income from charitable activities

Income from charitable activities 2024-25

2025
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£000 £000 £000
Grants from AHRC 500 1,500 2,000
Other grants from government and public bodies 75 75
Programme fees and other income 1,631 - 1,631
Total income from charitable activities 2,131 1,575 3,706
Note:
Change to recognition of AHRC grant compared with previous years following
review of the grant terms agreement stipulating 25% is unrestricted and 75% is restricted
Income from charitable activities 2023-24
2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£000 £000 £000
Grants from AHRC 2,000 2,000
Other grants from government and public bodies (73) 599 526
Programme fees and other income 1,110 - 1,110
Total income from charitable activities 1,037 2,599 3,636

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3. Expenditure

Expenditure 2024-25

Expenditure 2023-24

Grants
payable
£000
Staff
costs
£000
Other
direct
costs
£000
Total
direct
costs
£000
Support
costs
(note 6)
£000
2025
Total
£000
Charitable activities
Impact (note a)
-6
515
278
887
-
887
Knowledge
-
335
271
605
-
605
Partnerships
-
216
2
218
-
218
Comms
-
318
36
354
-
354
Congress
-
33
243
277
-
277
Operations
-
-
79
79
1,068
1,147
Total 2025
-6
1,417
1,009
2,420
1,068
3,488		 Grants
payable
£000
Staff
costs
£000
Other
direct
costs
£000
Total
direct
costs
£000
Support
costs
(note 6)
£000
2024
Total
£000
Charitable activities
Impact
-128
503
545
921
-
921
Knowledge
-
235
165
400
-
400
Partnerships
-
112
43
155
-
155
Comms
-
674
25
699
-
699
Operations
-
362
31
394
0
394
Total 2024
-128
1,886
809
2,568
1,291
3,860

Grants payable

a. The negative £6k figure in Grants Payable column is a returned unused grant from the legacy Spark programme.

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4. Staff costs and numbers

4. Staff costs and numbers
Staff costs were as follows: 2025
£000
2024
£000
Salaries and wages 1,727 1,859
Social security costs 198 215
Pension contributions 104 119
Staff benefts 4 5
Redundancy costs 47 62
Total payroll staff costs 2,079 2,260
Total temporary and contract staff costs - -
Total staff costs 2,079 2,260

Redundancy payments are £47k (2023/24: £62k). These payments are based on continuous length of service and include accruals. Amounts paid excluded pension contributions or benefits in kind.

The number of employees, whose emoluments were over £60k (including salary and taxable benefit in kind costs but not including pension) falls within the ranges shown below.

Band 2025 2024
£60,000 - £69,999 3 -
£70,000 - £79,999 1 1
£80,000 - £89,999 2 1
£90,000 - £99,999 1 -
£100,000 - £109,999 - 1
£130,000 - £139,999 - -
£140,000 - £149,999 1 1

The total costs of key management personnel including gross salary, NI Contributions and Employer’s pension contributions are £584.5k (2023/24: £557k). These relate to 6 staff (2023/24: 6) as specified in the Trustees Report within the Structure, governance and management section.

The average number of employees based 2025
2024
on headcount during the year was as follows: No. No.
Permanent (payroll) 34 36
Other staff (other) 0.7 0.5
35 37

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5. Net income/(expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging: 2025
£000
2024
£000
Depreciation 44 50
Auditors’ remuneration:
Audit 14 15
Other services - 2
Operating lease rentals:
Plant and machinery - -
Land and buildings - -

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6. Support Costs

Support costs 2024/25

Support costs 2023/24

Support costs are allocated to charitable activities as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2025 2024
Notes Staff costs Other costs Total Notes Staff costs Other costs Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
-
Executive 209 36 245 Executive 194 194
125 100 225 72 125 197
Office Office
- -
Governance costs a 71 71 Governance costs a 60 60
Human resources 103 52 155 Human resources 51 44 95
IT 49 62 111 IT 88 218 306
Finance b 103 115 218 Finance b 214 175 389
- -
Depreciation 44 44 Depreciation 50 50
Total support costs 659 409 1,068 Total support costs 678 613 1,291
----- End of picture text -----

Notes:

Notes:

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7. Taxation

The Design Council is a Charity within the meaning Para 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010. Accordingly the charity is potentially exempt from taxation is respect of income or capital gains within categories covered by Chapter 3 of 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. No tax charge arose in the period.

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8. Tangible fixed assets 2024-25

Leasehold
Furniture
Computer
Total
Improvements
and fttings
equipment
2025
£000 £000 £000 £000
Cost
At the start of the year - - 202 202
Additions in year - - - -
Disposals in year - - - -
At the end of the year - - 202 202
Depreciation
At the start of the year - - (99) (99)
Charge for the year - (0.1) (44.2) (44)
Disposals in year - - - -
At the end of the year - (0.1) (142.7) (143)
Net book value
At the end of the year - - 59 59
At the start of the year - - 103 103

Tangible fixed assets 2023-24

Tangible fxed assets 2023-24
Leasehold
Furniture
Computer
Total
Improvements
and fttings
equipment
2024
£000 £000 £000 £000
Cost
At the start of the year - 7 202 209
Additions in year - - - -
Disposals in year - - - -
At the end of the year - 7 202 209
Depreciation
At the start of the year - (6) (50) (56)
Charge for the year - (1) (49) (50)
Disposals in year - - - -
At the end of the year - (7) (99) (105)
Net book value
At the end of the year - 103 104
At the start of the year - 1 152 153

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9. Debtors 2024-25

9. Debtors 2024-25
2025
£000
2024
£000
Trade debtors 106 158
Other debtors - -
Prepayments and accrued income 258 37
364 195

Note:

Prepayments and accrued income total of £258k is made up of £218k Prepayments and £40k Accrued Income; Accrued Income £40k is Spark Income relating to 2024-25 invoiced in May25; Prepayments are higher than last year (£37k in 2023-24) because they include £24.7k 80th Anniversary Book production expenses to be recognised as unit costs against book sales expected in 2025-26, plus £140k World Design Congress venue hire costs paid in 2024-25 but to be recognised in September 2025

10. Creditors 2024-25: amounts due within one year

2025
£000
2024
£000
Trade creditors 22 144
Tax and social security 50 60
VAT payable 79 70
Other creditors 46 113
Other accruals - 74
Deferred income 560 515
758 975

Note: £500k of £560k deferred income represents 2025-26 Q1 grant which was received in advance in March 2025

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11. Analysis of group net assets between funds

Analysis of group net assets between funds 2024/25 Analysis of group net assets between funds 2024/25 Analysis of group net assets between funds 2024/25 2025
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
funds
£000 £000 £000
Tangible fxed assets 59 - 59
Net Assets 804 - 804
Net assets at the end of the year 863 - 863
Analysis of group net assets between funds 2023/24 2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
funds
£000 £000 £000
Tangible fxed assets 104 - 104
Net Assets 353 189 541
Net assets at the end of the year 456
189		 645

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12. Movements in funds during 2024/25

2024 2025
Note At the start
Income
Expenditure
Transfer to
At the end
of the year Unrestricted
of the year
£000 £000 £000 £000
£000
Restricted funds:
AHRC Grant a - 1,500 (1,500) -
-
DLUHC Programme b 33 75 (108) -
-
Public Design Reviews c
16		 - (16) -
-
AHRC & CD Scoping Project d
140		 - - (140)
-
Other funds - - - -
-
Total restricted funds 189 1,575 (1,624) (140)
-
Unrestricted Funds:
Designated e - - - 16
16
Unrestricted General Funds 456 2,131 (1,864) 124
847
Total unrestricted funds 456 2,131 (1,864) 140
863
Total funds 645 3,706 (3,488) -
863

a. Arts and Humanities Research

b. Design Council recognised a

with 25 local authorities and neighbourhood planning groups

in producing design codes for their local areas.

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13. Contingent liabilities

There are no contingent liabilities to declare.

14. Related parties transactions

The Design Council Trustees are drawn from among its key stakeholders, and staff may at times have links to stakeholder organisations. Therefore, it is in the nature of the Design Council’s business to have transactions which are classified as related. All transactions entered into are as part of the ordinary course of business and on an arm’s length basis, consistent with the Design Council’s policy on potential conflicts of interest. During the year, the Design Council entered into the following transactions with related parties as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
Name Position at Note Related Party Income Expense
Design Council £ £
----- End of picture text -----

Paul Monaghan Trustee a Founder of AHMM Architecture Company - 1,800
Anne Boddington Deputy Chair & Trustee b Trustee at Design Council - 516
Beatrice Fraenkel Trustee c Trustee at Design Council - 188
Jonquil Hackenberg Trustee d Trustee at Design Council - 245

Notes:

a. Design Council rented space in AHMM’s Old Street offices for 3 months of 2024-25 b. Expenses paid to Anne Boddington incurred in her role as Trustee

Design Council info@designcouncil.org.uk designcouncil.org.uk September 2025