2021-07-31-accounts

THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE ANIMAL CARE TRUST

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2020-21

Registered Charity Number: 281571

The Royal Veterinary College Animal Care Trust

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2021

CONTENTS

Officers and Advisors	3
Trustee’s Report	4
Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustee of the Royal Veterinary College
Animal Care Trust	10
Statement of Financial Activities	14
Balance Sheet	15
Statement of Accounting Policies	16
Notes to the Accounts	19

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

2

OFFICERS AND ADVISORS

Trustee:	Royal Veterinary College
Secretary to the Trust:	Nadja Hale
	Head of Fundraising
Auditor:	BDO LLP
	Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
	2 City Place
	Beehive Ring Road
	Gatwick
	West Sussex RH6 0PA
Accountant:	Royal Veterinary College
	Finance Department
	Royal College Street
	London NW1 0TU
Solicitor:	Mills and Reeve
	Botanic House
	100 Hills Road
	Cambridge CB2 1PH
	(DX 122891 Cambridge 4)
Banker:	Royal Bank of Scotland
	PO Box 66892
	London E1W 9FR
Principal address:	The Royal Veterinary College
	Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms,
	Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA
Web site:	www.rvc.ac.uk/act

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

3

TRUSTEE’S REPORT for the year ended 31 July 2021

The Trustee presents the annual report for the year ended 31 July 2021 prepared in compliance with the Charities Act 2011, together with the audited financial statements for the year and confirms that this report complies with the requirements of the Trust Deed and the Charities SORP.

Objectives and Activities

The Trust’s objectives as stated in the Trust Deed are:

'the advancement of education and of veterinary science medicine and surgery, the undertaking of research and the dissemination of the results thereof and such other charitable purposes for the relief of suffering among animals as the Trustee shall, from time to time, in its absolute discretion determine…’

In pursuit of these objectives, the Trust seeks to promote the welfare of animals through supporting:

• the education and training of veterinary practitioners and the support and assistance of students through the award of prizes, bursaries and scholarships and through improving facilities for students;

• research (including into disease and effective clinical treatments for injured and sick animals);

• • the provision of clinical services; and • the development of a suitable estate, equipment and facilities at the Royal Veterinary College.

In these ways the Trust seeks to advance knowledge and to help develop and strengthen the veterinary professions which deliver care to animals, nationally and internationally. Moreover, the Trust provides funding for clinical excellence by supporting the provision of the best possible clinical facilities with the most advanced equipment.

Public Benefit

The Trustee confirms that it has referred to, and complies with, the guidance contained in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, concerning public benefit and incorporates appropriate considerations of public benefit when making decisions concerning the operations and expenditures of the charity.

The Trust’s principal activity during the year has been to raise and distribute funds to support the work of the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and, in so doing, to promote excellence in veterinary education, the welfare of animals, and research into the causes of (and treatments for) disease. The RVC is not only the UK’s oldest and largest veterinary educational and research establishment but its work is widely considered to be delivered to the highest of scientific, clinical and educational standards. It is, therefore, the belief of the Trustee that providing support to the College across the range of its endeavours represents the best possible use of the Trust’s charitable resources in applying them for the benefit of society in general, for animal-owners and for students pursuing veterinary and scientific careers who require education and training. The Trustee considers all of these benefits to arise directly from implementation of activities pursuant to the Trust’s objectives.

Achievements and Performance

The Trust’s work is funded by the general public, alumni of the RVC, charitable trusts and foundations, companies, clients of the College’s clinical facilities, participants in fundraising challenge events such as the London Marathon and many others. The Trust’s work is entirely dependent on this income.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

4

TRUSTEE’S REPORT (CONTINUED)

Achievements and Performance continued

Each year a substantial income is derived from legacies. The Trust is enormously grateful to those who leave part of their estate to benefit our work and, where legacies are restricted to specific purposes, we honour the wishes of the donor to the full. We often work with supporters to help shape their future legacies ensuring their wishes are carried out and that they have strategic impact for the College, the people we educate and the animals we seek to help.

During the year, the Trust distributed 57 grants, awards and transfers which totalled £551k covering the following purposes:

• £226k in support of education and research activities; and

• £325k in support of clinical facilities.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020, the ACT Management Committee has adopted a more cautious approach in its assessment of new grant applications considering the level of investment return, the future call on funds due to the pandemic and the potential impact on fundraising income in the short to medium term.

Financial Review

Overall ACT income increased by 39% to £1,365k (2020: £979k) largely due to a significant increase in legacy income to £594k (2020: £299k). There was also an encouraging increase of 14% in donation income to £584k (2020: £512k). In total, unrestricted income generated by our fundraising activities increased by 51% from £519k to £782k whilst restricted income generated to support specific projects, for which we were fundraising, increased by 27% from 460k to £582k.

We are very grateful to all our supporters – individuals, companies and charitable trusts and foundations – who have continued to support us in these turbulent times.

Investment income increased from £90k to £101k. Income from other trading activities comprised mainly shop income and a small amount of bank deposit interest.

In common with other charities, the main risks and uncertainties relate to future income and potential increases in costs. Changes in expenditure are monitored by the provision of regular budget reports to management. The reserves position is healthy with unrestricted funds standing at £1,599k at 31 July 2021 compared to staff costs of £196k and directly incurred non-grant costs of £56k. The Trust is, therefore, in a position to manage its expenditure within the combination of unrestricted reserves and funds raised each year.

The Trust benefits from the close relationship with the RVC’s clinical facilities with whom the Trust works to raise funds from hospital clients. In addition, the risk of income reducing is mitigated by increasing engagement with alumni and regular donors.

The Trust holds restricted funds whose purpose is circumscribed by the terms of the original donation. The Trust's policy in regard to these funds is to invest them so as to secure sufficient income to satisfy the purpose of the donation and, thereafter, to achieve capital growth. In terms of their expenditure, the Trust operates a grant application process whereby individuals can apply to the Trust for funding for projects relating to animal health and care, education and research. Applications are assessed against the Trust’s charitable objects and, if approved, are funded from the most appropriate restricted fund, adhering to the purposes and restrictions of that fund. During the pandemic, the Trust has adopted a more cautious approach to its assessments of all applications.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

5

TRUSTEE’S REPORT (CONTINUED)

Financial Review continued

The Trust also holds funds which it applies to specific projects. Some of these projects take several years to come to fruition and, from time to time, the Trust may hold significant funds on a short term basis. Surplus cash is transferred to the RVC for deposit with its bankers and through its investment fund managers, UBS AG. Income is credited to restricted funds based on the returns achieved by the overall RVC portfolio. At the 31 July 2021, a net (unrealised) gain of £561k (2020: £236k loss) was reported in relation to the Trust’s share of the portfolio, reflecting a recovery in the economic markets following the previous year’s downturn.

With the exceptions noted above, the Trust has no specific policy in respect of general reserves other than that, on a year-on-year basis, the Trust's resources should be sufficient to meet its operational costs. The current level of general reserve balances satisfies this requirement.

Fundraising at the ACT

Our supporters are at the heart of everything we achieve, and our fundraised income makes a real difference to animal health and care. We have a diverse range of fundraising activities, from legacies, which usually represent over half of our fundraised income, through to events, individual giving and volunteer fundraising. We are proud to be registered with the Fundraising Regulator and carry out regular checks of our fundraising systems and processes in order to ensure we are fully compliant with the Fundraising Code of Practice. We also have processes in place to ensure we adhere to the Fundraising Preference Service. We did not receive any requests to discontinue communications via the Service this year.

Following the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulations, we have moved to an opt-in model to capture consent for future marketing. Currently we utilise a mixture of consent and legitimate interest as our legal basis for processing supporters’ personal data for marketing purposes. When we rely on legitimate interest as a legal basis for contacting our supporters, we only do so having considered and balanced any potential impact on the supporter and their rights under data protection laws.

Fundraising activity is reported to the ACT Management Committee on a quarterly basis. The Management Committee is responsible for oversight of the day to day running of the ACT as delegated by the ACT’s sole trustee, RVC Council. Reports are also submitted to the RVC’s Finance and General Purposes Committee in order to ensure significant risks are monitored and are being properly addressed.

Third party fundraisers

The ACT does not currently employ third party companies to fundraise on its behalf.

Vulnerable people

The ACT aims to fundraise appropriately with all of our supporters and we are particularly conscious of our responsibilities to vulnerable people. Anyone fundraising on behalf of the ACT must ensure they communicate clearly and do not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge, or vulnerable circumstances of any member of the public at any point in time. Where any member of ACT staff or a volunteer is fundraising for the ACT and is concerned about an individual’s capacity to understand their actions and the consequence of those actions, they must cease the fundraising activity immediately and report the situation to the Head of Fundraising. If a vulnerability is confirmed subsequent to a donation being made, and the donor or their representative requires the donation to be returned, this will be reported to the Management Committee and effected as soon as is practicable.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

6

TRUSTEE’S REPORT (CONTINUED)

Complaints

From the many thousands of communications we have had with supporters this year, we received no complaints about our fundraising practices. We take complaints very seriously and would respond according to our complaints policy.

Data Protection

The ACT has a Privacy Policy which is available to all on our website (https://www.rvc.ac.uk/act/policy). We only contact individuals who have either opted into communications with us and/or there is a genuine and legitimate reason for our communication and we are not harming the rights and interests of those individuals.

Plans for Future Periods and the COVID-19 pandemic

The ACT’s fundraising activity supports the RVC’s ongoing strategic objectives. The College has embarked on a significant programme of investment in its estate, facilities and equipment, across both campuses. The ACT will continue to focus on projects which benefit animals through the provision and development of outstanding veterinary medicine largely through supporting the RVC’s hospitals.

We are fortunate to have received donations and legacies from alumni and other supporters specifically to help our students, particularly those who experience financial difficulties. The COVID19 pandemic has caused additional difficulties for a number of students, particularly those who seek to support their educational costs through part-time work often in the hospitality industry and those whose personal IT equipment has been insufficient to support their online learning and examinations. We continue to liaise closely with the RVC Student Support Team to ensure funds are available to help students who find themselves unable to work or who experience financial problems due to other issues related to the pandemic.

The ACT Team adapted well to working from home during the pandemic and we continue to be touched and encouraged by the support of our donors. Our day-to-day fundraising activities have been largely unaffected although there has been an increased focus on online communications and fundraising. Whilst events like the London Marathon and other third party events have either not taken place or have been postponed or reimagined, this has not had a significant impact on the ACT thus far partly because our wonderful fundraisers have continued in their efforts to fundraise for us but also because the ACT uses a variety of fundraising methods and is not overly reliant on events’ income. We have also focused on regular giving, reviewing our existing schemes and launching a new scheme called Tailwaggers to encourage supporters to donate on a regular and sustained basis.

Legacy income has been affected by the pandemic because of a backlog in the probate system and a temporary halt to house sales; however, these issues started to improve by the beginning of 2021 and legacy income increased as a result. The pandemic has caused uncertainty in many ways and this has affected how charitable trusts are dealing with grants (in terms of what subjects they are supporting and what funds they have available to donate) and how companies are organising their philanthropy. The situation is being closely monitored and our plans altered accordingly.

The Trust will continue to support projects across the RVC through its main and small grants’ schemes and projects to support students and their activities.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

7

TRUSTEE’S REPORT (CONTINUED)

Structure, Governance and Management

The Royal Veterinary College Animal Care Trust is a trust established on 21 November 1980 and registered as a charity on 15 December 1980. The Charity Commission registration number is 281571. The charity is governed by its Trust Deed which established the objects and powers of the Trust. The charity is also known as the Animal Care Trust and the ACT. It was formerly known as the Royal Veterinary College Animal Welfare Trust and changed its name to the Royal Veterinary College

Structure, Governance and Management continued

Animal Care Trust on 12 October 1982. The Trust has a single Trustee, the Council of the RVC which has devolved responsibility for general management of the Trust to the ACT Management Committee.

The Head of Fundraising is responsible for operating the Trust's policies and for the preparation of budgets and plans and works closely with the Director of External Relations. At the date of this report the Trust has three full time equivalent staff members and three part-time staff members (two at 80%FTE and one at 60%FTE). All staff members are seconded to the Trust by the RVC. Members of staff manage the following functions: major gifts, appeals and fundraising events, trusts and legacies, fundraising administration and management of the charity’s grant application process.

Financial management and investment management services are provided by the RVC through its Finance Department and the Trust pools its assets with those of the College for investment purposes, with the funds managed by UBS AG. The RVC also provides office accommodation and storage space for the Trust at its Hawkshead campus.

Policy and Procedure for Recruitment, Induction and Training

The Trust has a sole Trustee which is an institution: the RVC. Accordingly, the Trustee has appointed a Management Committee of individuals to act as its proper officers and so fulfil its obligations. There are eight positions on the Management Committee appointed by the Trustee through the RVC Council, all of which were occupied during the year. Each of the members of the ACT Management Committee is either a member of senior RVC staff or of RVC Council. The members of the Management Committee during the year were Professor Stephen A May (Chair), Professor David B Church, Mr Adrian Laycock, Mr Ian Darker, Professor Jonathan Elliott, Dr Imelda McGonnell, Professor Adrian Boswood and Professor Stuart WJ Reid. The Head of Fundraising and Secretary to the Animal Care Trust, the Director of External Relations, and the Royal Veterinary College's Finance Director are in attendance at the Management Committee’s meetings.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis which the Trustee considers to be appropriate for the following reasons.

The Trustee has assessed the Trust’s finances for a period of 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements and, taking account of reasonably possible downsides, has concluded that it has sufficient funds to meet its liabilities as they fall due for that period. The Trust’s discretionary spend is completely under the control of the Trustee and is such that the Trust’s fixed financial commitments (which are relatively limited) could be met comfortably within the Trust’s current net assets.

Consequently, the Trustee is confident that the Trust will have sufficient funds to continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements and consequently has prepared the financial statements on a going concern basis.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

8

TRUSTEE’S REPORT (CONTINUED)

Statement of Trustee’s responsibilities in respect of the Trustee’s annual report and the financial statements

Under charity law, the Trustee is responsible for preparing a Trustee Annual Report and financial statements for each financial year which show a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the excess of income over expenditure for that period. The Trustee has elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with UK Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Statement of Trustee’s responsibilities in respect of the Trustee’s annual report and the financial statements continued

In preparing these financial statements, generally accepted accounting practice entails that the Trustee:

• selects suitable accounting policies and then applies them consistently;

• makes judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• states whether the recommendations of the Statement of Recommended Practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• states whether the financial statements comply with the trust deed subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• assesses the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern; and

• uses the going concern basis of accounting unless it either intends to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.

The Trustee is required to act in accordance with the trust deed of the charity, within the framework of trust law. It is responsible for keeping proper accounting records, sufficient to disclose at any time, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the charity at that time, and to enable the Trustee to ensure that, where any statements of accounts are prepared by it under section 132(1) of the Charities Act 2011, those statements of accounts comply with the requirements of regulations under that provision. It is responsible for such internal control as it determines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and has general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to it to safeguard the assets of the charity and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustee is responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the financial and other information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Statement of Disclosure to the Auditors

• a) so far as the Trustee is aware, there is no relevant information that has not been disclosed to the Trust’s auditors; and

• b) the Trustee believes that all steps have been taken that ought to have been taken to make them aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Trust’s auditors have been made aware of that information.

Approved by the Trustee on 24 November 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

Professor Stuart W J Reid Professor David B Church Member, Council, Royal Veterinary College Members, ACT Management Committee Acting Chair, ACT Management Committee

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

9

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEE OF THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE ANIMAL CARE TRUST

Opinion on the financial statements

In our opinion, the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the Charity’s affairs as at 31 July 2021 and of its incoming resources and application of resources for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.

We have audited the financial statements of The Royal Veterinary College Animal Care Trust (“the Charity”) for the year ended 31 July 2021 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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 believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Independence

We remain 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.

Conclusions related to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustee’s 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 Charity’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 Trustee with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

10

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEE OF THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE ANIMAL CARE TRUST (CONTINUED)

Other information

The Trustee is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The other information comprises the Trustee’s 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 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 Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion;

• the information contained in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Trustee’s Annual Report; or

• adequate accounting records have not been kept; or

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of Trustee

As explained more fully in the Trustee’s responsibilities statement, the Trustee is 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 Trustee determines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

11

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEE OF THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE ANIMAL CARE TRUST (CONTINUED)

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

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.

Extent to which the audit was capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

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 is detailed below:

Based on our understanding of the Charity and the industry in which it operates, we identified that the principal laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements to be the Charities Act 2011 and relevant tax legislation. In addition the Charity is subject to many other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance through the imposition of fines or litigation. We identified the following areas as those most likely to have such an effect: Employments Law, Data Protection and Health and Safety Legislation. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify noncompliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Board and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence if any. We assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items.

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls), and determined that the principal risks were related to posting inappropriate journal entries to manipulate financial results and management bias in accounting estimates.

The audit procedures to address the risks identified included:

• Performing analytical procedures to identify unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud. Areas of identified risk are then tested substantively;

• Identifying and testing journal entries, in particular any journal entries posted from staff members with privilege access rights, journals posted by key management, journals posted and journals posted after the year end.

• Reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance, reviewing internal audit reports and reviewing correspondence with HMRC and relevant regulators to identify any actual or potential frauds or any potential weaknesses in internal control which could result in fraud susceptibility.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

12

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEE OF THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE ANIMAL CARE TRUST (CONTINUED)

Our audit procedures were designed to respond to risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery, misrepresentations or through collusion. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we are to become aware of it.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located at the Financial Reporting Council’s (“FRC’s”) website at:

https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the Charity’s Trustee, as a body, in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charity’s Trustee 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 Trustee as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

James Aston MBE (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of BDO LLP, statutory auditor Gatwick, UK

Date: 17 December 2021

BDO LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (with registered number OC305127).

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

13

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

for the year ended 31 July 2021

	Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowment	2021	2020
	Funds	Funds	Funds	Total	Total
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Income and endowments from:
Donations	138	446	-	584	512
Legacies	552	42	-	594	299
Donated services and facilities	84	-	-	84	73
Other trading activities	2	-	-	2	5
Investments	6	94	1	101	90
Total income	782	582	1	1,365	979
Expenditure on:
Raising voluntary income	(252)	(1)	-	(253)	(258)
Charitable activities	(20)	(532)	-	(552)	(397)
Investment management costs	(1)	(13)	-	(14)	(13)
Donated services and facilities	(84)	-	-	(84)	(73)
Total expenditure	(357)	(546)	-	(903)	(741)
Net gains/(losses) on investments	34	524	3	561	(236)
Net income	459	560	4	1,023	2
Net movement in funds for the	459	560	4	1,023	2
year
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward	1,140	2,521	14	3,675	3,673
Total funds carried forward	1,599	3,081	18	4,698	3,675

All activities derive from continuing operations.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

14

BALANCE SHEET

at 31 July 2021

		Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowment	2021	2020
	Note	Funds	Funds	Funds	Total	Total
		£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Fixed assets
Investments	3	511	3,081	18	3,610	2,972
Current assets
Debtors and accrued income - less	4	361	-	-	361	570
than one year
Cash at bank and in hand		950	-	-	950	182
Current liabilities
Creditors: Amounts due in less than	5	(178)	-	-	(178)	(6)
one year
Net current assets		1,133	-	-	1,133	746
Total assets less current liabilities		1,644	3,081	18	4,743	3,718
Provisions for pensions liabilities	10	(45)	-	-	(45)	(43)
Total net assets		1,599	3,081	18	4,698	3,675
The funds of the charity:
Endowment funds	7	-	-	18	18	14
Restricted income funds	7	-	3,081	-	3,081	2,521
Unrestricted funds	8	1,599	-	-	1,599	1,140
Total charity funds		1,599	3,081	18	4,698	3,675

These financial statements were approved by the Trustee on 24 November 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

Professor Stuart W J Reid Member, Council, Royal Veterinary College Acting Chair, ACT Management Committee

Professor David B Church Member, ACT Management Committee

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

15

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES for the year ended 31 July 2021

1. ACCOUNTING CONVENTION

The accounts (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 and UK Generally Accepted Practice as it applies from 1 January 2015.

In preparing these financial statements the Charity has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemption conferred by FRS102:

• Exemption from the requirements of Section 7 Statement of Cash Flows and paragraph 3.17(d)

This information is included in the consolidated financial statements of the Royal Veterinary College as at 31 July 2021 and these financial statements can be obtained from Royal Veterinary College, 4 Royal College Street, London NW1 0TU or from https://www.rvc.ac.uk/about/the-rvc/financialinformation/annual-report-and-financial-statements

2. GOING CONCERN

The Royal Veterinary College Animal Care Trust (ACT) operates a bid-based approach to grants with applications sought from students and staff at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) several times each year. As bids and grants are made in the same financial year, the Trust has no forward commitments at the end of each financial year. The Trust is not dependent on external investment income or donations to continue grant making activities, given the balances held at 31 July 2021. Although COVID-19 has presented challenges in terms of investment returns and ongoing giving by donors, these have eased and the Trustee does not assess them as being material uncertainties that would threaten the ability of the Trust to continue as a going concern. There are sufficient unrestricted reserves to cover the Trust’s direct costs for more than a period of 12 months from the date of the signature of these accounts.

In making this assessment, the Trustee has taken into account all available information regarding the future of the Animal Care Trust.

3. FUND ACCOUNTING

The charity maintains three types of funds:

• i. Unrestricted funds represent income which is expendable at the discretion of the Trustee in the furtherance of the objects of the charity. Such funds may be held in order to finance both working capital and capital investment. The Trustee may designate unrestricted funds for specific charitable purposes.

• ii. Restricted funds represent grants, donations and legacies received which are allocated by the donor for specific purposes.

• iii. Endowment funds are funds which are classified as either:

• a. permanent endowments where the Trustee can only spend the unapplied income generated by capital; or

• b. expendable endowments where the Trustee may expend the capital providing that all unapplied income has been spent.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

16

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES

for the year ended 31 July 2021 – Continued

4. INVESTMENT POLICY

Opening fund balances represent monies donated through the ACT in prior years. Unless donors specifically reference the RVC in their gifts, general philanthropy is channelled through the ACT and these funds are recorded in the ACT accounts. Fund-raising campaigns for specific purposes are generally undertaken under the ACT banner although specific campaigns may be run in support of the RVC, particularly where the link to the direct benefit to animals is less obvious. ACT and RVC funds are pooled and invested with a fund manager and investment returns are attributed to the individual fund balances on an annual basis in proportion to their share of the total portfolio.

5. INCOME

General cash donations, gifts, legacies and collections are recognised when the Trust has entitlement to the funds. Legacies are only recognised when the Trust has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution and the amount can be measured reliably. Income from investments, including appropriate tax credits, is accounted for on a receivable basis. The Trust receives trading income from the sale of branded greeting cards, clothing, and gifts.

6. EXPENDITURE

All revenue expenditure is accounted for when incurred. Charitable donations made by the Trust are accounted for when payment is made.

Costs of generating voluntary funds mostly relate to expenditure incurred in motivating individual supporters and trusts to donate to the work of the Trust and consist principally of the salary and related costs of the fundraising department.

Charitable activities consist of funding College hospitals, scholarships and academic posts and publicising the Trust’s objectives by newsletters. Governance costs relate to expenditure incurred in the management of the Trust’s assets, organisational administration and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

Direct attribution is used to allocate expenditure to activities. Staff cost and non-attributable costs are apportioned by time.

7. DONATED SERVICES AND FACILITIES

Donated services are provided by the RVC and valuations are based on actual costs. The Trust also occupies space owned by the RVC and the notional value of this is based on market rent, along with an allocation of running costs.

8. TAXATION STATUS

The Trust is a registered charity and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010. It, therefore, meets the definition of a charitable trust for UK income tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Part 10 Income Tax Act 2007 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.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

17

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES

for the year ended 31 July 2021 – Continued

9. PENSION COSTS

Staff are employed by the College and their costs are charged to the Trust. This includes contributions to USS and SAUL's hybrid benefit pension schemes. The charges to the Statement of Financial Activities include the actual contributions paid as well as any costs of maintaining a provision to fund pension deficit recovery plans.

10. CASH AT BANK AND IN HAND

This includes cash held in the Trust’s current account and in currency accounts with UBS AG, which can be withdrawn with no penalties or notice.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

18

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS for the year ended 31 July 2021

1. CHARITY INFORMATION

The Royal Veterinary College Animal Care Trust (ACT) is a charity established by charitable trust deed and registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (registered charity number 281571). The address of the registered office is The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead House, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, AL9 7TA.

2. EXPENDITURE

EXPENDITURE
	Direct	Allocated	Total	Total
	costs	Staff Costs	2021	2020
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Cost of generating voluntary income	56	150	206	204
Fundraising trading	-	-	-	-
Investment management costs	14	-	14	13
Donated services and facilities	84	-	84	73
Support for education and research	226	14	240	210
Support for veterinary clinics	325	-	325	198
Charitable activities - publicity and newsletters	-	32	32	41
Unrestricted fund to RVC	2	-	2	2
TOTAL EXPENDITURE	707	196	903	741

Staff costs are apportioned by time. Non-staff costs are directly attributed to activities. Shared costs are apportioned based on usage. The audit fee for the year is £4,963 (2020: £4,104).

Donated services and facilities refer to premises-related costs incurred, and professional services provided, by the RVC in support of the ACT.

Support for education and research and for veterinary activities is funded by transfers to the RVC from both restricted and unrestricted income.

Funds are raised through a variety of means including appeals to alumni of the College and to the wider database of Trust supporters, sponsored fundraising events and the promotion of legacies.

Charitable activities are supporting the College’s veterinary clinics, the provision of studentships and scholarships, student support, expanding participation in the veterinary profession through widening participation activities and community engagement, the provision of support for research and teaching, publishing of information and maintaining a dedicated office to facilitate all of this work. Expenditure through the grants programme is recorded in this line.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

19

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) for the year ended 31 July 2021

2. EXPENDITURE continued

Staff Costs

	2021	2020
	£’000	£’000
Salaries	153	190
Social security costs	15	17
Pension costs	28	(6)
TOTAL STAFF COSTS	196	201

The movement on the pension provision included in the pension costs is £2k during the year (2020: (£39k)). The average number of staff, all administrative, during the year was 5 (2020: 5).

Staff are employed by the RVC and their costs are charged to the Trust. The number of staff to whom retirement benefits are accruing under hybrid benefit schemes is 5 (2020: 6).

1 employee was paid between £60,000 and £70,000 in the current year (2020: 1).

No member of the ACT Management Committee, or person related or connected by business to it has received any remuneration from the Trust during the year. No expenses were reimbursed to members of the RVC Council or the ACT Management Committee during the year (2020: £Nil).

3. INVESTMENTS

	2021	2020
	£’000	£’000
Investments held with Investment Manager	3,610	2,972
TOTAL INVESTMENTS	3,610	2,972
Investments includes cash held within the investment portfolio managed by UBS AG.
DEBTORS
	2021	2020
	£’000	£’000
Current account with the College	-	390
Other debtors and accrued income - less than oneyear	361	180
TOTAL DEBTORS	361	570
Other debtors includes accrued legacy income.

4. DEBTORS

Deposit held by the College for Trust

Restricted funds are held in trust by the College for the ACT and interest on cash instruments held within the RVC investment portfolio is credited to restricted funds.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

20

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) for the year ended 31 July 2021

5. CREDITORS

	2021	2020
	£’000	£’000
Current account with the College	170	-
Accruals – due within one year	8	6
TOTAL CREDITORS	178	6

6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The Trust has taken advantage of the exemption conferred under FRS 102 to not disclose transactions with the parent, The Royal Veterinary College.

7. MOVEMENTS IN ENDOWMENT AND RESTRICTED FUNDS

	Opening	Income	Net gain on	Expenditure	Closing
	Balance	during	investment	during year	Balance
		year
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Hospitals	1,279	380	264	(345)	1,578
Scholarship and Hardship Funds	257	10	54	(76)	245
Support for Education and	999	193	209	(125)	1,276
Research
	2,535	583	527	(546)	3,099

All funds are for the same overall purpose of the promotion of animal care and welfare. They are used for hospital or research equipment, scholarship, student support, academic chairs and other facilities.

Legacies notified but not meeting the recognition criteria set out in the Trust’s Accounting Policies (and therefore not included in the Statement of Financial Activities), are estimated at £nil (2020: £70,000).

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

21

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) for the year ended 31 July 2021

8. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

	2021 2020 £’000 £’000 Endowment and restricted funds Scholarships and Fellowships 1,521 1,256 Equipment and other restricted funds 1,578 1,279
	3,099 2,535 Unrestricted funds 1,599 1,140
	TOTAL FUNDS 4,698 3,675

9. ULTIMATE PARENT ENTITY

The ultimate parent and controlling entity of the Trust is the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), an exempt charity incorporated by Royal Charter. Copies of the financial statements of the RVC are available from the Royal Veterinary College, Royal College Street, London NW1 0TU.

10. PENSION SCHEMES

The RVC, which employs the staff seconded to the Trust, participates in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), and the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL), and the costs of pension contributions to these schemes, relating to seconded staff, are, therefore, recharged to the company. Contributions to the schemes for the period were USS: £15,980 (2020: £19,582) and SAUL: £9,236 (2020: £12,782). The agreed employer’s contribution rates for USS and SAUL were 21.1% and 16% respectively.

The pension provision relates to the Trust’s liability under the deficit recovery plan for the USS pension scheme. The liability is in respect of the Trust’s seconded staff. The provision is based on the 2018 valuation and has increased by £2k compared to the prior year. A valuation as at 31 March 2020 is underway but not yet complete. No provision is held in respect of the SAUL pension scheme.

ACT Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

22