2021-03-31-accounts

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN

(A charity and company limited by guarantee and not having share capital, registered in England)

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Company Number 1566925 Charity Number 283771 (England and Wales) SC050396 (Scotland)

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

CONTENTS		PAGES
	Report of the Trustees	2-10
Independent	Examiner’s Report	11
Statement of Financial Activities (including		12
Income	and Expenditure
account)
	Balance Sheet	13
	Notes to the Financial	14-20
Statements

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925)

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

CHAIR’S REPORT FOR ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The 2020-21 financial year has been nothing like we could have expected. Just before it began, the Covid-19 pandemic began, and almost overnight we were moved abruptly into a “new normal”. Face to face breastfeeding support has always been at the heart of our work, and suddenly our groups could no longer meet and our Leaders could no longer see mothers and families.

What’s been truly remarkable is our response, as a whole charity made up of its volunteers. We had a steep learning curve as we all experimented with online tools that would let us keep up a continuous service: after all, babies did not stop being born. This process was easier for some of us than others, but we did it: we kept functioning, our groups ran online, our Leaders offered support by phone, video, social media, and everything except face to face contact.

Even our antenatal courses moved almost seamlessly online, and we took the decision to offer these courses at no charge during the pandemic. They were remarkably successful, with well over 100 courses running during the year, each with 8-12 families attending.

While our volunteer Leaders were juggling a new set of commitments, perhaps with children suddenly at home, or trying to perform paid work from a sofa, they still found the time and emotional resources to keep giving of themselves to mothers and families, often at considerable cost to themselves and we’re rightly proud of ourselves.

Of course the pandemic gave us other challenges too. Financially, many families have been hit hard and are having to look carefully at their spending, meaning that both donations and memberships are down. We have had lower costs too, without needing to pay to hire meeting venues, but even providing online meetings comes at a cost, and we’ve been so grateful to those who have been able to continue supporting us, including the ongoing support from the Scottish Government to our groups in Scotland. Careful financial management in past years means we have remained financially stable, and we will be taking care to remain that way, using our funds responsibly and in line with our goals.

As we move through to the other side of the pandemic, we’ll cling to the lessons we’ve learned about our own flexibility and resilience as volunteers and as a charity, and we’ll cautiously start to rebuild our face to face presence while keeping up the online offerings that have been a lifeline to so many.

Our focus now has to be on inclusion and reach, as we ask ourselves hard questions about which mothers, parents and families we’re not reaching. We can congratulate ourselves on what we have done, but we need to look at what’s next, and to find out what barriers are in place that are getting in the way of our providing truly equitable breastfeeding support. It’s going to be an ongoing journey which is completely necessary, and we’re very committed to it.

This is my first annual report as Chair, and it’s been an exciting and challenging first year. We’re building on our common values as Leaders, and on the strength we’ve all shown in the last year, and next year should be even better.

Helen Lloyd

Chair of La Leche League Great Britain Council of Directors

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925)

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY

The principal activity of the company is the provision of breastfeeding help, information and education.

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Name of company: LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN The company is incorporated under the 2006 Companies Act (No. 1566925).

La Leche League Great Britain is a registered charity (No. 283771 England and Wales, SC050396 Scotland)

DIRECTORS

The directors of the charitable company are its trustees for the purposes of charity law. The following persons have served during the year.

Helen Lloyd	(chair)
Eden Anderson	(retired October 2020)
Rebecca Coyle
Clare Davidson
Susan Dowling	(resigned May 2021)
Justine Fieth
Helen Marriott	(resigned May 2020)
Louise Moran
Eva Natali Williams
Alisha Okoroafo	(resigned May 2021)
Claire Wells	(resigned April 2020)
Maria Yasnova
Nicola Coles-Carr	(appointed October 2020)
Kerrie-Louise Goodman	(appointed October 2020)

SECRETARY
Helen Butler
REGISTERED OFFICE	18 St Christophers Way, Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8JY
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER	Mrs K Seagrave FCA, Fouetté Accountancy Solutions Limited
	White Rose House, 5 Walnut Grove
	Nottingham, NG12 3AU
BANKERS	Lloyds TSB Bank plc
	Tudor Square, West Bridgford
	Nottingham NG2 5JD

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LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH, 2021

PURPOSES AND AIMS

OUR PURPOSES

Our purposes as set out in objects of the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association are:

• to promote the physical and psychological health of mothers and children through education in the technique of breastfeeding, and

• to advance the education of the public and especially those concerned with the care of children, in the health benefits both immediate and long-term of breastfeeding.

OUR AIMS

Our aims are to help mothers to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and the mother. Our aims fully reflect the purposes the charity was set up to further.

OUR OBJECTIVES

Our objectives for the year continued to be the provision of information and support in diverse formats to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and their families, and the provision of specialist training to health professionals who work with breastfeeding women.

The strategies employed to achieve the charity’s objectives are through:

• Training and supporting La Leche League Leaders

• Encouraging and supporting Leaders in forming local groups

• Supporting Leaders in delivering support and information to mothers and others

• Developing breastfeeding courses

• Maintaining a membership of mothers and health professionals and providing them with information and support

• Producing and purchasing publications for Leaders, members, health professionals and the general public

• Raising public awareness of breastfeeding and of La Leche League.

In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the Trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

ENSURING OUR WORK DELIVERS OUR AIMS

We review our aims, objectives and activities on a regular basis. The main objectives for the year continued to be the provision of information and support in diverse formats to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and their families, in addition to achieving significant cost savings and raising money in order to secure our financial future. This review looks at the success of each activity we have undertaken, and the benefits they have brought to each group. We have referred to the guidance given in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives, and in planning future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and activities they have set.

The strategies employed to achieve the charity’s objectives are to:

• focus on meeting the needs of breastfeeding mothers and babies for information and support;

• enable families throughout the UK to access our information and services easily (e.g. with a baby in arms and older child(ren) at their knee);

• provide healthcare professionals with tools to enable them to help mothers/families

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

effectively in their local communities.

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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

GOVERNING DOCUMENT

La Leche League Great Britain (LLLGB) is an Affiliate of La Leche League International (LLLI), a world-wide not-for-profit organisation and internationally recognised authority on breastfeeding. La Leche League GB is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission and is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England, incorporated under the 2006 Companies Act, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association, dated 9 June 1981 and amended to allow for current governance arrangements on 23 October 2004, 22 November 2008, 12 October 2013, 25 May 2014, 12 October 2014 and 10 October 2015.The members of the Company are those who have been accredited by La Leche League International as competent to offer breastfeeding information to the best of their ability in the advancement of the objectives of La Leche League Great Britain (“La Leche League Leaders”) and who have paid their annual Leader fee. Non-Leader members of the Company may only become voting members if appointed to serve on the Council of Directors. There were 236 Leader members at 31 March 2021 (240 Leader-members at 31 March 2020, 218 at 31 March 2019) each of whom agreed to contribute £1 in the event of the charity winding up.

APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEES

As set out in the Articles of Association, the Chair of the Trustees is elected by the Council of Directors (the Trustee board). Each year, at the Annual General Meeting (usually held in October) attended by the members of the charitable company, one third (or the nearest number to a third) of Trustees shall retire, but shall be eligible for re-election, subject to restrictions placed on the re-election of Departmental Directors. Departmental Directors are Trustees who have been elected by the membership to take responsibility for designated areas of the company’s business and who may not serve more than two three-year terms in such a position. All voting members are circulated with invitations prior to the AGM advising them of the retiring Trustees and requesting them to nominate Trustees for election at the AGM. The Trustee board has the power to co-opt other Trustees during the year, subject to such persons then standing for election at the next AGM. When considering co-opting Trustees, the board has regard to the requirement for any specialist skills needed.

TRUSTEE INDUCTION AND TRAINING

New Trustees receive an orientation pack (revised and updated as necessary) to brief them on their legal obligations under charity and company law, a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the charity’s policies and procedures, the department structure and decisionmaking processes, the recent financial statements of the charity and the current strategic plan. Opportunities are given to new Trustees to meet key employees and other Trustees. Trustees are encouraged to attend appropriate external training events where these will facilitate the undertaking of their role.

ORGANISATION

The Council of Directors, which administers the charity, can have up to 13 members (the majority of whom must be appointed from amongst the Leader-members of the company). In normal times, the Council meets three times a year; in exceptional pandemic-related circumstances this is replaced with more regular and shorter online meetings, reflecting current difficulties in arranging travel and managing risk.

The Trustees manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To facilitate effective operations, authority is delegated to staff and volunteers, within terms of delegation approved by the Trustees, for operational matters including finance, volunteer training and support, publications and training activities.

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 15669251 IA Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925)

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

RISK MANAGEMENT

Risks facing the organisation are reassessed on an ongoing basis and plans put in place to mitigate them, with these plans carefully monitored and adjusted as necessary. These risks have been/are being addressed in the following ways:

Risks associated with the costs of our infrastructure : we moved a few years ago to a new database which has enabled much efficiency, particularly in the way we process memberships. In addition to annual memberships we now offer monthly memberships payable by direct debit. The new website has further increased efficiency of administration.

Risks associated with the economic links between the trading subsidiary (LLL (Books) Ltd.) and LLLGB: these risks have been mitigated by cost containment and improved trading conditions as detailed in this report.

Risks associated with the links to La Leche League International (LLLI), our parent organisation: Trustees take part in discussions about LLLI’s management and details of bylaws and other revisions, considering the effects on LLLGB of decisions taken internationally, and ensuring that GB Leaders have their voices heard at the highest level.

Risks associated with lack of general funds from memberships and donations : some fundraising has been undertaken, including online donations and encouraging membership. The charity is increasingly working on obtaining grant funding for specific tailored projects and the provision of CPD to our volunteer Leaders, through local and national grants which can also be used to support local LLL Groups with the costs of running meetings. In times of economic pressure across Great Britain, the charity cannot place significant reliance on income from donations, so one focus is on managing costs to ensure that our committed costs are not high, and that spending decisions and plans are based on available funds not on expectation of future income.

Risks relating to compliance with laws and regulations: LLLGB needs to ensure compliance with both company law and charity law and guidance, with the risks of noncompliance being both reputational and financial. These risks are managed by ensuring the trustee body includes those with knowledge and experience of relevant regulations and supporting trustees and our Company Secretary in attending training where appropriate. The implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation and ensuring ongoing compliance with relevant data protection legislation is a focus of trustee risk management. We take legal and professional advice where necessary, recognising this as part of our trustee responsibility.

Risks relating to the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic : The effects of the pandemic on the charity’s operations were widespread, as one of the core pieces of our work has always been providing face to face support.

Breastfeeding support is helped by close physical proximity. Our guidelines for Leaders running face to face meetings or providing individual in-person support have continually tracked the changing regulations in each relevant part of Great Britain, always asking Leaders to ensure they comply with the law and are mindful of individual and group risks.

As we move into the post-pandemic period there are risks associated with re-opening groups and we encourage our volunteers only to provide services with which they are comfortable. This is balanced with the need to show we are still present and to maintain our reputation as providers of uniquely supportive and welcoming groups.

MAIN AREAS OF OPERATION AND HOW THEY DELIVER PUBLIC BENEFIT

Our main activities providing information and support are described below; these are undertaken to further our charitable purposes for public benefit. We deliver services to many areas of the UK, and are working to increase our outreach further, as for example with project funding in Scotland.

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 15669251 IA Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925)

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

SUPPORT

Mother-to-mother support - We support mothers, parents and families through LLLGB Local Groups, our telephone helpline, online helpforms, online chat facility, website and a range of social media channels.

Volunteer support - The process to become accredited as an LLL Leader may take months or years and applicants are supported throughout the process by their local Leaders and a remote supporter. Once accredited, Leaders are supported by a locally based District Co-ordinator and our Leader Department Director; there are also significant levels of informal mutual support.

INFORMATION

We share breastfeeding information through our paper publications, website, professional liaison, public relations, and trading subsidiary LLL (Books) Limited. We are also actively pursuing closer cooperation with other breastfeeding support organisations in the UK, for instance through our work with the Breastfeeding Alliance and our shared messaging at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.

EDUCATION and DEVELOPMENT

Our Education and Development Department run a programme of antenatal breastfeeding courses, which in the current financial year have all been provided online under the title of “Beginning Breastfeeding”. This innovative offering, provided at no charge to families, has contributed significantly to our reputation and to wide awareness of the support we offer, and 140 instances of the course ran in the financial year.

ADMINISTRATION and FINANCE

Our only paid staff are our part-time administration manager and bookkeeper. Further information on our financial position is set out in the Finance Director’s report.

MOTHER-TO-MOTHER SUPPORT

Local Groups

Our Leaders report summary statistics with us each quarter, which are summarised below:

Total attendances at meetings: 9,936

1,624 Telephone calls received or returned through our helpline and callback services

3,470 calls made directly to local LLL Leaders

1,352 Online helpforms responded to in writing

12,271 contacts through public or private social media 244 video calls

Public Relations and Media

LLLGB has been working to raise awareness of who we are and what we do at both a local and a GB level. We aim to increase awareness and accessibility of our GB-wide provision of breastfeeding support at our LLL groups and by Leaders in their communities. We have continued to explore and expand our social media presence as a way of reaching new and existing audiences, and of raising the profile and awareness of LLLGB in general. The year has been very focussed on how the Covid-19 pandemic was affecting breastfeeding mothers and families, and the implications for the support LLLGB provided.

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LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 15669251 IA Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925)

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

Social Media

The social media team co-ordinates posts, memes, and information sharing via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. We promote the information available on our website, raise awareness of the presence of LLLGB groups across the country, and encourage membership and donations. We also aim to encourage interaction and peer support and encouragement across our channels.

Our social media presence and activity became even more important as the Covid-19 pandemic impacted all our lives: we increased our social media content aiming to provide information and support that families needed via posts. All our groups also moved their support to online: much of which was on social media and or communicated via social media.

Media

La Leche League GB has received numerous media enquiries in the last year asking for our response to various news stories about breastfeeding. LLL Leaders have taken part in several radio discussions on local radio and national media, and TV interviews. LLLGB has been quoted in articles on the national print media, as well as online media channels.

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT

Leader Accreditation Department (LAD)

The Leader Accreditation Department continues to work to secure the future of LLLGB by working with Leader Applicants. This year there have continued to be many changes to LLLI documents and procedures requiring us to continually update our GB documentation and keep up with the global changes.

Thirteen Co-ordinators of Leader Accreditation in Great Britain (and five ACLA-at-large helping from abroad) are supporting 107 Leader Applicants. LLLGB accredited 24 new Leaders in the last year - many who worked entirely remotely through the pandemic.

The LAD department responds to mothers interested in leadership via our website, sometimes leading to applications.

LLLGB has accepted 38 new applications in 2020-2021 most of them supported by Leaders in a group. Our LLLGB Applicants Facebook group remains active.

Internationally, LAD is involved in twice monthly meetings with the LAD council and with the LLLI Board. Sharing their views on policy changes at Board level to ensure decisions are relevant to our work here in GB. We continue to be represented at every international LAD meeting and participate in many discussions online.

Scottish Government Breastfeeding Programme for Government 2018-2021

In 2020-2021 La Leche League GB received its third year of funding from Scottish Government for two projects: LLL Group Development in Scotland, and Peer Support Training with Breastfeeding LENs Ltd.

When the coronavirus pandemic lockdown began in March 2020, LLL in Scotland continued to support mothers and families digitally via national and local websites and by moving in-person meetings online. One-to-one helping increased, via local telephone calls, video calls, email and social media. Fourteen online meetings per month were offered by LLL Groups in Scotland and Leaders undertook active social media engagement with the Scottish public. The popular 'Beginning Breastfeeding Online' course was run free of charge in Scotland 24 times in the year. The number of Leaders-in-training and LLL Groups in Scotland has increased.

The Peer Support Project with Breastfeeding LENs trains local mothers to support each other and promote breastfeeding in East Lothian. 17 active peer supporters have been trained and are supporting women in an area which previously did not have mother-to-mother breastfeeding support. Project oversight is provided by Breastfeeding LENs in cooperation with LLLGB.

With these projects LLLGB aims to contribute to the Scottish Government objective of reducing the breastfeeding attrition rate at the 6-8 week infant review.

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

LLL in Scotland is also proud to continue to be a part of the Scottish Government Breastfeeding Advocacy and Culture Change Group, along with BfN, NCT and representatives from each of the 14 health boards in Scotland.

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INFORMATION

Publications

Breastfeeding Matters

Breastfeeding Matters, LLLGB's bi-monthly newsletter, is produced by a team of dedicated Leaders and is a terrific resource for our members who can choose to receive it in paper form or electronically. It is full of information and wonderful stories shared by mothers and families, which provide encouragement and tips for breastfeeding parents finding themselves in similar situations. Breastfeeding Matters articles are often referred to by our breastfeeding counsellors during our local group meetings, whether in person or online, and they can be a useful resource to promote LLLGB membership. Breastfeeding Matters is read around the world, although its circulation is especially wide across Britain, Ireland and France. Articles of particular interest are also made available on the LLLGB website, making Breastfeeding Matters' reach truly global.

Feedback

Feedback is our in-house publication for Leaders and Leader Applicants which can be accessed exclusively online. It provides information on LLLGB activities, such as national and local workshop sessions, to help our breastfeeding counsellors stay up to date.

Leaflets Team: Booklets & Information Sheets

LLLGB publishes over fifty different information sheets and booklets. These are for sale in the LLLGB Shop as single copies and bulk pads and packs, and are popular with parents, Leaders, breastfeeding supporters and health professionals in the UK and beyond. The text of many leaflets can also be read on the LLLGB website. Our Positioning and Attachment leaflet is available for sale in Kindle format. Also available is the popular Full Sample Set of all LLLGB published leaflets, along with a Complete Reference Set, comprising the contents of the Full Sample Set ready filed for easy reference. Parents attending LLLGB Beginning Breastfeeding Antenatal Courses receive a pack of specially selected leaflets as part of their course. LLL Ireland purchase and sell our leaflets and LLL New Zealand continue to print many of our titles under licence.

Leaflets are written and updated on a rolling basis by the Leaflets Coordinator, working closely with other Leaders who act as editorial consultants, proof readers and reviewers, coordinated using a Facebook group. Leaflet layout and graphic design services have been performed by Bronwyn Davies (leaflets coordinator) and Roy Nadin (professional printer of leaflets and Breastfeeding Matters magazine).

This year the following leaflets were updated with the latest research:

• My baby needs more milk

• Starting solids

• Allergy and food intolerance

• Safer sleep

A new leaflet has been developed this year: Using donor milk and formula to support breastfeeding , based on the recent website article.

Note: no leaflets have been printed in the last 12 months due to reduced demand for printed leaflets in the LLLGB shop and issues dealing with the warehouse (where the leaflets are delivered). However, leaflet printing will resume in October 2021.

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 15669251 IA Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

Website

From 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021, our national website (www.laleche.org.uk) had 5.1m page views from 2.5m visitors.

Our 20 most popular pages were viewed 2.7m times: these included our page on Too much milk and oversupply, Fussy evenings with a newborn, information on thrush, and our page on alcohol and breastfeeding.

Over 75% of our visitors are from the UK or United States, and the rest of our reach is geographically very wide, with visits from all over the world.

Keeping the breastfeeding information on our website up to date and accurate is an ongoing priority for the website team, ahead even of generating new content. We continue to monitor our use of images and language to ensure they represent the full diverse range of families we support.

Behind the scenes, we continue to develop our website-based resources for our Leaders so they can record their work securely online which also improves our internal record keeping. In the 2020-21 year, pressures of the pandemic meant we made little progress on our project to allow our future Leaders to perform more of their application work using online resources and we hope to resume work on this as times return to normal.

LLLGB LEADER ALUMNAE

We value our alumnae and are grateful to them for the service they have provided to LLLGB and their continued support.

LLLGB Shop (LLL Books Ltd – the trading arm of LLLGB)

The 2020-21 tax year brought a turnover of £19,416, unsurprisingly substantially lower than the previous year (£23,522). We were concerned we might not break even. However, tight control of expenses has generated a surplus of £2,894 for donation to LLLGB through Gift Aid.

As we moved in and out of lockdowns we were still able to continue selling via our online shop. LLLGB online Beginning Breastfeeding antenatal courses helped generate sales of our two key books, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and Sweet Sleep. Sales of leaflets were down due to lack of face-to-face support taking place in all organisations. Online conferences did not generate sales in the same way as normal in-person events although they still provided opportunities to promote LLLGB.

Our commercial fulfilment company (used to store stock and dispatch most orders) was hugely affected by the pandemic, and became overwhelmingly busy juggling increased sales from their multiple clients with the challenges of the winter wave of COVID-19. They moved our stock onto a new system in autumn 2020 but did not complete the job. This meant that a lot of the LLLGB stock was ‘lost’ somewhere in their warehouse, and we were unable to sell it. To get around this, one of the directors ordered additional stocks of books to her home and sent out many orders herself. All our missing books have now been found. A lot of the leaflets are still to be located, but we have been assured that these final items will reappear in the next month or two. We have been grateful for the patience and understanding of customers who were willing to support us and wait longer than expected for their orders to arrive.

We keep a close eye on pricing and make adjustments (both up and down) when necessary, but remain committed to offering a good deal on our products any time a customer needs to order.

We use a self-employed book-keeper. The remaining bookshop admin tasks are shared on a voluntary basis between the three company directors working from home. More Leader volunteers are needed urgently to join this team in order to keep the shop running smoothly and ensure it can remain viable for the future. Company directors Sue Upstone, Kate Wootton-Beard and Heather Birt would like to thank Sally Harris and Suzanne Cohen for their ongoing contributions and all the Leaders who encourage people to buy from the LLLGB Shop.

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 15669251 IA Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

RELATED PARTIES

La Leche League GB is affiliated with La Leche League International, though there is no legal ownership and the only financial link is the quarterly cost-sharing payments made under our current affiliate agreement, which sets out certain contractual commitments for both parties relating to use of the LLL name and logo, and contributions to shared central costs.

External Organisations

LLLGB is part of the Breastfeeding Alliance, a cooperative group made of representatives of breastfeeding organisations and other interested parties.

ADMINISTRATION and FINANCE

Some of the charity’s main sources of income were: Donations £20,612 (£27,645 in 2020) LLLGB Books Donation £6,066 (£7,214 in 2020)

Grants such as the Scottish Government Funding and Awards For All applications, and, as usual, the bulk of our income is in Subscriptions of various forms (around £49,000 this year). Despite the economic effects of Covid-19 and furlough, we have been grateful to receive a very similar rate of subscriptions to that of last year, and this has allowed our Leaders to fund new and innovative ways of supporting families.

The expected Gift Aid claim for 2020-21 is £4,009, down very slightly from last year’s £4,296, reflecting our continued stable membership and donation income.

The accounts show total incoming resources for the year of £115,738 which is down from the 2020 figure of £161,094. This decrease has been not only matched but surpassed by a drop in outgoings (£133,305 to £78,350), as costs of providing services have reduced during the period where face to face helping was not in operation, and the alternative options the charity worked to provide in general cost less but also raised less money for the organisation. We continue to add to our robust reserves and as we move to reopen more in person activities, we expect to see a resultant rise in both figures over the coming year and will use our surplus as needed to support this return to face to face work alongside a continued virtual offering wherever possible.

Donations have fallen this year, which reflects the lack of group meetings with potential for cash donations. As we move to reopening, we will be paying close attention to whether this trend reverses.

We are, as always, grateful for the support of the various local funders and for grants to groups as well as donations from individuals. We are also very grateful for those people who felt able to make a contribution to our work, large or small, and to those volunteers who have invested time and energy in obtaining grant funding to support their work.

During the year LLLGB’s balance sheet included £69,808 cash held by groups. This has stayed fairly constant since last year, as we would expect with local groups unable to hire venues or share physical resources with attendees (around 1% increase). The number of groups holding funds has increased again by 1%, with the vast majority of our groups holding funds for local use.

La Leche League Great Britain will aim to maintain reserves in order to provide continuity of service provision. Unrestricted funds will be held in reserve for amounts of up to six months annual running costs to provide for any unexpected shortfall in funding. The current level of reserves is considered adequate.

The balance of restricted funds represents the unspent portion of the amount received from funders which is specifically earmarked for the completion of fund projects. As was the case last year, these funds may take longer than expected to clear due to the venue restrictions from Covid-19 management, and so may remain in our account for longer than originally planned, but will be redirected or reserved for completion of these projects as soon as circumstances allow.

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925)

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

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During the year there was again a net increase in total funds, in this case of £37,388 (2020: £26,809). This leaves us in a strong position to not only fund our return to previous levels of support but also look to combine those previous settings with the new innovations the last year has triggered and build something offering even more support to the babies and families we support next year and further into the future.

TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity at the end of the financial year and of its surplus or deficit for the financial year. In doing so the Trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and

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

The Trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enables them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Mrs K Seagrave FCA of Fouetté Accountancy Solutions Limited will be in office as independent examiner for the ensuing year.

SMALL COMPANY PROVISIONS

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

Helen Lloyd

Chair of the La Leche League Great Britain Council of Directors

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LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925)

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN

I report on the accounts of the Charitable Company for the year ended March 31, 2021, which are set out on pages 12 to 20.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES AND EXAMINER

The Charity’s Trustees (who are also directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. Even though the charity’s gross income did not exceed £250,000 its governing document requires an independent examination and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the ICAEW.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility:

• to examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;

• to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by

• the Charity Commission under section 145 (5) (b) of the 2011 Act; and

• to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

• which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the

• requirements

  • (a) to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and

• (b) to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and

• principles of the

requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and

• Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102): Accounting and Reporting

• by Charities have not been met; or

• to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper

• understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Mrs K Seagrave FCA Fouetté Accountancy Solutions Limited White Rose House, 5 Walnut Grove Nottingham, NG12 3AU

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 15669251 IA Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital) Date 23 October 2021 -li-

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

INCOMING AND ENDOWMENTS		Unrestricte	Restricte	31.03.21	31.03.20
		d	d
				Total
	Note	£	£	£	£
	s
Income and endowments from
generated funds:
Voluntary income		79,925	-	79,925	110,05
					5
Activities for generating funds		5,981	-	5,981	5,975
Investment income		668	-	668	1,453
Income and endowments from charitable		2,356	26,808	29,164	43,611
activities		───────	──────	───────	───────
Total income and endowments	1/2	88,930	26,808	115,738	161,09
		═══════	══════	═══════	4═══════
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Cost of generating funds:
Cost of generating voluntary income	3	-	-	-	-
Fundraising trading: cost of goods sold	3	17,152	-	17,152	19,092
& other goods
Charitable activities	3	46,697	12,894	59,591	104,610
Governance costs	3	1,607	-	1,607	9,603
		───────	──────	───────	───────
Total Resources Expended	3	65,456	12,894	78,350	133,305
		═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════
NET INCOMING RESOURCES FOR THE
YEAR		23,474	13,914	37,388	27,789
net (expenditure)/income for the year
Transfer between funds			(20,471	-	-
		20,471	)
Fund balances at 1 April,2020	11	228,440	20,563	249,003	221,214
		───────	──────	───────	───────
Fund balances at 31 March,2021	11	272,385	14,006	286,391	249,003
		═══════	══════	═══════	═══════

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

The notes on pages 14 to 20 form part of these accounts

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 15669251 IA Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital) -12-

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925)

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

COMPANY NUMBER 1566925 BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2021

			2021	2020
FIXED ASSETS	Note		£	£
	s
Tangible	5		-	-
Investment in subsidiary	4		10,000	10,000
			───────	───────
			10,000	10,000
CURRENT ASSETS
Stock			2,379	2,379
Sundry debtors and prepayments	6		19,809	15,421
Balance at Charities Ofcial Investment			79,615	79,615
Fund
Cash in bank			204,510	174,585
			───────	───────
			306,313	272,000
CURRENT LIABILITIES-CREDITORS:
Amounts falling due within one year	7		29,922	32,997
				───────
		──────
NET CURRENT ASSETS			276,391	239,003
			───────	───────
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES			286,391	249,003
			═══════	═══════
REPRESENTED BY:
RESERVES:
Unrestricted funds
Designated fund	8		-	-
General funds	8		272,385	228,440
			───────	───────
			272,385	228,440
Restricted funds	8		14,006	20,563
			───────	───────
	11		286,391	249,003
			═══════	═══════

The Trustees are satisfied that the charitable company is entitled to exemption from the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (the Act) relating to the audit of the accounts for the year by virtue of section 477 and that no member or members have requested an audit pursuant to section 476 of the Act.

The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for:

• (i) ensuring that the charitable company keeps proper accounting records which comply with section 386 of the Act, and

• (ii) preparing accounts which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of the financial year and of its surplus or deficiency for the financial year in accordance with the requirements of sections 394 and 395, and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions for small companies under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective April 2008). These financial statements were approved by the board of Trustees on 23 October 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

_____ ____ HELEN LLOYD – TRUSTEE/DIRECTOR LOUISE MORAN - TRUSTEE/DIRECTOR

The notes on pages 14 to 20 form part of these accounts

-13-

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the provisions of Section 1A “Small Entities” of Financial Reporting Standard 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland”, the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice: “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102).

DONATIONS AND GRANTS

Income from donations and grants, including capital grants, is included in incoming resources when these are receivable, except as follows:

• When donors specify that donations and grants given to the charity must be used in

• future accounting periods, the income is deferred until those periods.  When donors impose conditions, which have to be fulfilled before the charity becomes

• entitled to use such income, the income is deferred and not included in incoming resources until the pre-conditions for use have been met.  When donors specify that donations and grants, including capital grants, are for particular restricted purposes, which do not amount to pre-conditions regarding entitlement, this income is included in incoming resources of restricted funds receivable.

RESOURCES EXPENDED

Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis, inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered.

Certain expenditure is directly attributable to specific activities and has been included in those cost categories. Certain other costs, which are attributable to more than one activity, are apportioned across cost categories on the basis of an estimate of the proportion of time spent on those activities.

Charitable activities include expenditure associated with the provision of information, advice and support, and include both the direct costs and support costs relating to these activities.

Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.

CONSOLIDATION

The Company is exempt from the requirements to prepare group accounts under 398 of the Companies Act 2006 as the group qualifies as a small size group and thus group accounts have not been prepared.

FIXED ASSETS

Fixed assets are included in the balance sheet at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided to write off the cost of fixed assets over their estimated useful life of four years on a straight-line basis. Assets costing under £50 are not normally capitalised.

STOCKS

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. It is not possible to value the goods that are donated to the shops and these are therefore carried at a £Nil valuation within the year end stocks.

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925)

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

-14-

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 (CONTINUED)

PENSIONS

Pensions are accounted for in accordance with FRS 102.

Pension costs and the pension provision for the defined benefit scheme are calculated on the basis of actuarial advice and are charged to the statement of financial activities on a basis to spread the costs over the employees’ working lives.

Pension costs for the defined contribution scheme are charged to the accounts on an accruals basis in the period in which they occur.

A pension provision has been created within unrestricted funds in compliance with the requirements of the SORP.

FUND ACCOUNTING

Funds held by the charity are either:

• Unrestricted general funds – these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the Trustees.

• Restricted funds – these are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

BRANCHES

The operating results and net assets of branches of La Leche League Great Britain have been included in the Statement

of Financial Activities and Balance Sheet.

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

-15- NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 (CONTINUED)

2. INCOMING RESOURCES

2. INCOMING RESOURCES
	Unrestrict	Restricte
	ed	d
	Funds	Funds	Total	Total
			31.03.21	31.03.20
INCOMING RESOURCES	£	£	£	£
Voluntary income
Grants receivable	10,169	-	10,169	32,608
Others	341	-	341	178
Subscriptions	48,803	-	48,803	49,624
Donations	20,612	-	20,612	27,645
	───────	──────	───────	───────
	79,925	-	79,925	110,055
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════
Investment income
Interest receivable	668	-	668	1,403
Rent receivable	-	-	-	-
Sale of assets	-	-	-	-
Compensation	-	-	-	50
	──────	──────	──────	───────
	668	-	668	1,453
	══════	══════	══════	═══════
Incoming resources from
charitable activities
Scottish government grants	-	21,675	21,675	5,525
Lens income	-	1,500	1,500	16,500
Conference	1,854	-	1,854	6,402
Others	502	3,633	4,135	15,184
	──────	──────	──────	───────
	2,356	26,808	29,164	43,611
	══════	══════	══════	═══════

3. ANALYSIS OF TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED:

	Costs of	Fundraisi	Informati	Governanc	2021	2020
		ng	on	e
	Generatin	Trading	advice		Total	Total
	g		and
	Funds		support
Costs directly	£	£	£	£	£	£
allocated to
activities
Salaries	-	-	20,263	-	20,263	20,937
Direct costs and	-	4,588	22,856	-	27,444	54,996
materials
Publications and	-	12,564	-	-	12,564	14,840
leafets
Travel and	-	-	-	227	227	5,623
accommodation
Communications	-	-	2,566	-	2,566	2,918

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

Training and	-		-		4,122		-		4,122	11,53
conferences										0
Depreciation	-		-		-	-			-	-
Premises costs	-		-		274	-			274	304
Other costs	-				9,510			1,380	10,890	22,157
		───		───────	───────			──────	───────	───────
		-		17,152	59,591			1,607	78,350	133,305
		═══		═══════	═══════			══════	═══════	═══════

-16-

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 (CONTINUED)

TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

	2021	2020
	£	£
Depreciation	-	-
Management Committee remuneration	-	-
Auditors’ remuneration – audit services	-	-
Management Committee expenses reimbursed:
- Travel and incidental expenses of Trustees	227	5,623
	═════	═════
Staf costs
	£	£
Salaries and wages	20,263	20,937
Social Security costs	-	-
	──────	──────
	20,263	20,937
	══════	══════

The average number of employees during the year was 2 (2020: 2). No employee earned in excess of £60,000 (2020: £60,000)

	ANALYSIS OF GOVERNANCE COSTS:	2021	2020
		£	£
	Independent Examination fees	1,020	1,020
	Legal and professional fees	-	-
	Costs of Trustee travel and subsistence	227	5,623
	Annual report	-	-
	LLLGB International conference and meetings	-	2,642
	Bad debts	-	-
	Other costs	360	318
		──────	──────
		1,607	9,603
		══════	══════
4.	INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARY
		2021	2020
		£	£
	10,000 £1 Ordinary Shares in LLL (Books) Ltd	10,000	10,000
		══════	══════

The Company owns 100% of the ordinary share capital of LLL (Books) Ltd., a company incorporated in England. LLL (Books) Ltd. is a trading company selling books on breastfeeding, child care and family life to La Leche League Leaders, members and the general public. Profits not needed for development are donated to the charity.

-17-

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 (CONTINUED)

At 31 March 2021 the aggregate capital and reserves of LLL (Books) Ltd. were as follows:

	£
Aggregate capital	10,000
Reserves	25,497
	──────
	35,497
	══════
The net assets of LLL (Books) Ltd at 31 March 2021 comprise:
Tangible fxed assets	128
Stock	17,893
Debtors	7,243
Cash at Bank	14,593
	──────
	39,857
	══════
Less Creditors (including amounts due to group undertakings as
below)
Amounts owed to the group	2,091
Other creditors	2,269
	──────
	4,360
	══════

LLL (Books) Ltd made a loss of £32 (2020: £40), after taxation in the year ended 31 March 2021.

**5. **	FIXED ASSETS
	COST	Ofce
		equipment
		£
	Balance at 1 April,2020	1,394
	Additions	-
	Disposals	-
		─────
	Balance at 31 March,2021	1,394
		═════
	DEPRECIATION
	Balance at 1 April,2020	1,394
	Provision in year	-
	Disposals	-
		─────
	Balance at 31 March,2021	1,394
		═════
	NET BOOK VALUE
	At 1 April, 2020	-
		═════
	At 31 March, 2021	-
		═════

-18-

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925) (A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 (CONTINUED)

6.	DEBTORS
				2021		2020
					£	£
	Amounts due for Peer Counsellor Programme			-		-
	Sundry debtors			19,809		15,421
				──────		──────
				19,809		15,421
				══════		══════
7.	CREDITORS
				2021		2020
					£	£
	Amounts falling due within	one year:
	Peer Counsellor Programme Income in advance			-		-
	Other income in advance			28,207		29,967
	Trade creditors			472		1,958
	Other creditors and accruals			1,243		1,072
				───────		───────
				29,922		32,997
				═══════		═══════
8.	ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS
			Net
		Fixed	current	2021		2020
		Assets	Assets	Total		Total
		£	£	£		£
	Unrestricted
	Designated fund	-	-	-		-
	General funds	10,000	262,385	272,385		228,440
	Restricted	-	14,006	14,006		20,563
		──────	───────	───────		───────
	Total	10,000	276,391	286,391		249,003
		══════	═══════	═══════		═══════

9. RESERVE CAPITAL

The Company is limited by guarantee with no authorised share capital. The amounts guaranteed in the nature of reserve capital are £236. These amounts are only capable of being called up for the purposes of winding up the Company.

10. RESTRICTED FUNDS

Restricted funds relate to the following programmes:

• Scottish government grants.

• Lens income.

• Café La Leche grants.

-19-

LA LECHE LEAGUE GREAT BRITAIN (company number 1566925)

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 (CONTINUED)

11.	MOVEMENTS IN FUNDS
		Balance	Incoming	Resource	Transfers	Balance
		at		s		at
		01.04.20	resources	used		31.03.21
		£	£	£	£	£
RESTRICTED FUNDS:
	‘Awards for All’ and other
	grants to groups	12,488	3,633	(3,993)	(12,128)	-
Lens	Project	-	1,500	-	(1,500)	-
	Scottish Government Grant	8,075	21,675	(8,901)	(6,843)	14,006
		______	__	──────	─────	──────
	Total restricted funds	20,563	26,808	(12,894)	(20,471)	14,006
		══════	══════	══════	═════	══════
UNRESTRICTED FUNDS:
	General funds	228,440	88,930	(65,456)	20,471	272,385
		───────	───────	───────	──────	───────
	Total unrestricted funds	228,440	88,930	(65,456)	20,471	272,385
		═══════	═══════	═══════	══════	═══════
	TOTAL FUNDS	249,003	115,738	(78,350)	-	286,391
		═══════	═══════	═══════	══════	═══════

-20-