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2020-12-31-accounts

THE ROYAL LIFE SAVING SOCIETY Annual Report and Accounts For the year ended December 2020

Registered Charity (Charity Commission for England and Wales, Charity Number 306094) Accredited Commonwealth Organisation Incorporated by Royal Charter

Registered with the Fundraising Regulator

: Drowning The process of experiencing respiratory impairment from immersion/submersion in liquid

Contents

Contents
Page
Message from the Commonwealth President
HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO 1
Message from the Deputy Commonwealth President
Mr Clive Holland 2
Trustees’ Report
Charity Information and Overview 3-4
Governance 5
Members 6
Our Charitable Purpose, Mission, Vision, Motto, Scope and Values 7
Our Strategic Priorities 2020-2023 8
Our Achievements 2020 9-16
Our Plans for 2021 17
Review of Fundraising and Finances 18
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities 19
Accounts
Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees of Royal Life Saving Society 21
Accounts to the year ended 31stDecember 2019 22-23

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KENSINGTON PALACE When I Pinned my message for last years. report. we were entering the global COVID-19 pandeniic and l expressLd the hope that when I n¢xl wrote. we would be experiencinb mlicli mor¥ P0511ive limes. Alihough the global vaccine rollout provides a way oiit of th¢ eri5iS. It will b¢ some time before we are back io an). kind of normality. The Pdndlmic h¢iS imp41CtL7d on our organi%aiion. like so many oth¥rs. l am deli8ht¢d 10 hiJr how No many of OilT member organisaiions have adapted thLif ULliviiie% diirinbr IhL lJs1 y¥ur to ¢nsure (hat vilal training and M'ater safely messag¢s continue io b¢ d¢liv¢r¢d. DespilL biingp unable lo laiinch oiir Fat¢11 Drow'ning in Commonw¢alih Coiintrils laclsl'.e¢l Is pl<iiinid in April in London. WL feli it impoTlani for this information 10 bL d¥'dilable, and IhLrefor¢ the ¢le¢ironi¢ Idunch look place in July. The repon has been well received dnd ni)w prok id¥s ili£. Socieiy wilh a valiiable means of highligihiing the unnecessary loss of lifL IhroLlg?h drowninb. li is sad lo l¢am ihai in som¢ common￿,￿￿1¢h nations the rdles ol. dr0￿.n1nb hclVL increased during th¢ Pdnd¥mi¢ so this fa¢ibh¢Li will be useful when adv￿.￿ling for drowning pr¢v¢nlion a¢tiviii¢s. I WOLild likL lo exl¢nd my Ih:Inks lo #ll ihc volunlcers and members ￿,hO haire supported Ihl ciclivilils of the Royal Life Sai'ing SOL i¢iy around the C"onin)oniYedlih Ihroiigh this dI￿lL[lIt lim¢ and wish you all a i'¢ry 51f¢ ?0? l. HRH Prince Michael of Keni GCVO Commonwealth President

Message from Clive Holland, Deputy Commonwealth President

At the start of the pandemic in 2020, I am not sure any of us realised the impact it would have on us, or the organisations we support through employment, volunteering and membership. The situation in many countries is still very serious but it is pleasing to see that many of our member organisations are coming out of the pandemic stronger with many having discovered new and innovative ways to deliver their activities. The closure of swimming pools for long periods of time has had a devastating impact on the teaching of lifesaving skills. It is important that as a global community we ensure the re-establishment of teaching of water safety and survival swimming skills to ensure all, especially children, remain safe in and around water.

We had hoped that 2021 would see us resuming our projects and hosting various events but we believe we are still some way off from returning to a normal way of life so although it was the right decision, it was with great sadness that we announced the postponement of our Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships taking place in Windsor, Ontario, Canada from 2021 to 2023.

2020 saw the expiry of the first term of our Board of Trustees under the 2018 Supplemental Charter. I was delighted that so many Trustees wished to continue for a second term and to welcome Cavell Burchell (Trustee for RLSS UK) and Motlatsi Mokala (Youth Trustee from Lesotho) to the Board. I would like to thank all the Trustees, including those who retired, for their support during the last two years.

Details of the activities we undertook during 2020 are contained in this Annual Report. Aside from the launch of the Fatal Drowning in Commonwealth Countries factsheet, one of our main priorities during the last year has been to keep in regular contact with our members and to offer support and assistance to help them through the pandemic. We believe this has enabled us to develop better relationships with some branches and this will be enhanced with the membership review that we commenced during 2020 as part of our Strategic Action Plan.

Clive Holland Deputy Commonwealth President

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Charity Information and Overview

Registered Name: The Royal Life Saving Society Working Names: RLSS, RLSS Commonwealth, Commonwealth Lifesaving, Commonwealth Drowning Prevention Registered Charity: Charity Commission England and Wales, Charity Number 306094. Accredited Commonwealth Organisation Registered with the Fundraising Regulator

Registered Address: Red Hill House, 227 London Road, Worcester, WR5 2JG, United Kingdom

Patron

HM Queen Elizabeth II

Commonwealth President

HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO

Deputy Commonwealth President Clive Holland

Treasurer

Clive Patrickson PhD

Portfolio Directors

Norman Farmer AM ESM – Executive Director Anne-Maree Gardiner – Director of Lifesaving Sport Development Dr Aminur Rahman DCM PhD – Director for Drowning Prevention Dr Shayne Baker OAM DProf – Director of Organisational Development Doug Ferguson – Director of Lifeguard Programmes

Operations Manager

Emma Harrison

Operations Assistant

Jo Hepburn

Society Bankers

Lloyds Bank, PO Box 1000, BX1 1LT

Independent Financial Examiner

Richard Oddy FCA

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RLSS Board of Trustees

Chair Clive Holland

Treasurer

Clive Patrickson PhD

Honorary Legal Advisor Alastair Collett

Elected Trustees Asia Pacific

Pene Snashall Australia

Sanath Wijayaratne

Sri Lanka

Lim Chien Ch’eng Malaysia

Elected Trustees Europe & Africa

Cavell Burchell United Kingdom

Dylan Tommy South Africa

Job Kania Kenya

Elected Trustees Appointed Canada & Caribbean Trustees

Robert Clark Canada

Dr Stephen Beerman

Canada

John MacFarlane Jamaica

Motlatsi Mokala Lesotho

John Bruce St Lucia

Trustees are appointed or elected in accordance with our Regulations to be representative of the range of our Network. All Trustees have participated in an induction programme to acquaint them with the responsibilities of trustees and update them on current aspects of our work.

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Governance

----- Start of picture text -----
RLSS
Commonwealth Council
Officers
Commonwealth President
Deputy Commonwealth President
RLSS Board of Trustees
Treasurer
Officers
Regional Trustees
RLSS Headquarters
Additional Trustees (incl. Youth)
Secretariat
Operations & Administration
Business Development Committee
Honours Committee Advocacy
Medals Committees
RLSS Network/Friends
Heritage Committee
(Mountbatten & Russell)
Communications
Drowning Lifesaving Drowning Prevention Organisational Executive Lifeguard
Prevention Sport Development through Development Director Programmes
Director Director Sport Project Leader Director
Sport Development
Commonwealth Committee Organisational Director and
Fatal Drowning Development Administration
Fact Sheet Projects Co-ordination
Working Group
Commonwealth Youth Engagement Strategic Plan
Review and
Drowning Championships
Reporting
Prevention Project Organising Committee
Working Groups Diploma
Committee Governance co-
ordination
Pool Lifeguard
Committee
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Members

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ASIA PACIFIC AFRICA & EUROPE
Australia Botswana
Bangladesh Cameroon
Brunei Cyprus
Hong Kong Ghana
India RLSS Gibraltar
Malaysia Lesotho
(Commonwealth
New Zealand Kenya
Drowning Prevention)
Pakistan Malawi
Singapor e Malta
Sri Lanka Mauritius
Nigeria
South Africa
Tanzania
AMERICAS Uganda
Barbados United Kingdom
Canada
Jamaica
St Lucia
Trinidad & Tobago
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Our Charitable Purpose

The Royal Life Saving Society provides public benefit as a charity through reducing drownings and the impact of drownings in the community across the Commonwealth.

Our Trustees have complied with their duty in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 to follow the Charity Commission’s guidance on the operation of this public benefit.

Our Mission

Commonwealth Drowning Prevention

Our Vision

No person in the Commonwealth should drown

Our Motto

Whomsoever you see in distress, recognise in them a fellow human being

Quemcunque Miserum Videris Hominem Scias

Our Scope

“Drowning Prevention”

All activities that contribute to the saving of life in, on and near the water

“Commonwealth”

All nations that are recognised at any given time by the Commonwealth Secretariat including overseas territories, protectorates and dependencies that are recognised at any given time by the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Our Values

Consistent with the principles outlined in its Royal Charter, Mission, Vision and Motto, and the Charter of the Commonwealth, the RLSS shall undertake its activities in accordance with the following Values:

Family

We are a Family with common heritage and values that works to achieve our mission through a common drowning prevention bond.

Working Together

The Society is ‘Our’ organisation, and our strength comes from sharing and working together.

Mutual Respect

We will embark on our tasks with honesty and mutual respect for the skills, knowledge and experience that we all bring.

Learning

We will foster a commitment to curiosity and continual learning to help us in achieving our tasks.

Inclusion

We will include and embrace organisations and personnel throughout the Commonwealth in achieving our mission.

RLSS Positioning Statement

RLSS will facilitate drowning prevention, lifesaving and lifesaving sport activity under the brand of The Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS). The RLSS will also foster and facilitate exchanges and sharing between RLSS Members and Companion Organisations.

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Strategic Priorities 2020-23

Active Membership

Member Relations

We will coordinate information and data on the activities of all member organisations We will facilitate the building of capacity in those member organisations seeking assistance We will facilitate engagement with youth from all RLSS member organisations

Drowning Prevention Development through Sport

We will implement a lifesaving “sport for all” programme which facilitates broad participation for all Commonwealth nations. This will be a pathway towards Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships participation.

Virtual International Lifesaving Sport for Development

We will implement a sustainable lifesaving sport opportunity that focuses on inter-organisational level pool competitions held locally and with international comparability of results.

Pool Lifeguarding

We will implement a Commonwealth wide qualification reciprocity program for pool lifeguards in enrolled Commonwealth countries. This program will provide a membership program of benefits for lifeguards that comes as standard with pool lifeguard qualifications

Advocacy, Partnerships and Collaboration

Drowning Prevention Advocacy

With a clear consistent message, we will position drowning prevention to a range of decision makers throughout the Commonwealth, including the Commonwealth Secretariat, governments and international organisations.

Drowning Data, Information and Evidence

We will understand drowning burden in the Commonwealth as the foundation for our advocacy and capacity building actions.

Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships

We will organize Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships biennially that enables inclusiveness and engagement.

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Our Achievements 2020

Impact of COVID-19 on the RLSS and its Member Organisations

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID) had a huge impact on the work of the Society and our Member Organisations. Much of our project work was postponed as highlighted in the section below. In accordance with UK Government Directives, our staff worked from home meaning operations were disrupted as little as possible. We investigated but did not take advantage of any Government or other support schemes. We monitored health advisories and travel restrictions and linked our Members to World Health Organization, Commonwealth Secretariat and in-country Government advice. We closely monitored the financial impact on the Society and its Member Organisations.

For our Member Organisations, the impact of the pandemic varied from nation to nation with full or partial lockdowns happening at different places and different times. Pools, beaches and other facilities were closed with many activities cancelled. Re-certification of vocational awards were delayed and official sanctioning of extended certification periods obtained. Some, but not many, Governments came to the aid of charities and many relaxed rules about terms of office of officials and the holding of meetings. Those Organisations with commercial activities were especially impacted financially

Sadly, some of our Member Organisations lost volunteers to the pandemic.

Many volunteers from our Member Organisations supported their local communities by helping, in a variety of ways, health and other services in coping with the pandemic.

Despite the closure of facilities in many countries around the World. Courses have been adapted so that skills can still be taught and there has been a growth in innovation and online courses especially int eh areas of water safety, resuscitation and first aid. It was gratifying to see a high level of willingness amongst our Member Organisations to share resources and best practice.

Undoubtedly, the impact of COVID will continue well into 2021 and possibly beyond. It is possible the absence of swimming lessons and lifeguard training may ultimately impact drowning figures. These are areas that some of our Member Organisations have lobbied over.

Commonwealth Drowning Data

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In February 2020, the Fatal Drowning in Commonwealth Countries factsheet was completed which provides detailed analysis on the issue of fatal drowning across the Commonwealth, with additional information on both strategic and practical, achievable preventative measures . The factsheet, led by Dr Aminur Rahman, our Drowning Prevention Director, based with the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research Bangladesh (CIPRB), the RLSS Member in Bangladesh, provides an evidence-based estimate of fatal drownings in Commonwealth nations. This data provides a better understanding of the mortality burden in Commonwealth countries, ultimately leading to more effective prevention actions.

A launch event to release the Fatal Drowning in Commonwealth Countries factsheet was arranged for April 2020 at Marlbourgh House, home of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London but due to the COVID pandemic this was postponed. By early summer it was evident that a launch event would not be possible, so we therefore decided to launch the report electronically in July.

The most recent global drowning morality estimate was produced by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME Global Burden of Disease Study 2017) which estimated that 110,000 people died from drowning in the Commonwealth. This data was used to produce the Fatal Drowning in Commonwealth Countries factsheet as it is the only data set that covered all 54 Commonwealth Countries.

Strategic Action Plan

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Our revised Strategic Action Plan was approved at the end of 2019 but given the COVID pandemic and the impact it had on much of our activity detailed in the plan, some minor adjustments were made to the plan in late 2020 which were approved by our Board of Trustees at their meeting in December. The main change was to extend the end date for the Plan from 2020 to 2023 to allow our activities to recommence once restrictions are lifted.

Pool Lifeguard Programme

Our Strategic Action Plan states that we will implement a Commonwealth wide qualification reciprocity programme for pool lifeguards in enrolled Commonwealth countries. This programme will provide a membership programme of benefits for lifeguards that comes as standard with pool lifeguard qualifications.

In early March 2020, a working group made up of personnel from our Member Organisations in Australia, Canada, South Africa and the UK met in London to start the initial planning for this project. As these meetings took place just before the UK and many other countries around the world went into national lockdowns much of this work went on hold as priorities for those at the meetings for obvious reasons became focused on adapting their branch activities and training programmes. In the latter stages of 2020, a RLSS Lifeguard Committee was formed to ensure the project continued under the chairperson from Canada. It is hoped that this activity will recommence in the first quarter of 2021.

Member Relations

During the COVID pandemic much of our work has been to maintain contact with our member organisations, to offer support when needed and guidance in adapting their activities.

We commenced our Membership Review by issuing questionnaires to several of our member branches. After reviewing the completed questionnaires, the second stage is to conduct interviews with the member organisations to get a better understanding to certain areas of their operations. By the end of 2020 a quarter of our Member Organisations had received their questionnaires.

Also, as part of our member relations, we held virtual meetings with our Advisory Council of Presidents in August. Due to the time zone challenges Commonwealth organisations face, we had to host the meetings on a regional basis but having smaller groups allowed each member to provide an update on how their activities had been affected by the pandemic and the challenges they are facing. The meetings were well received and a proposal to host these meetings twice a year was approved by our Board of Trustees. Meetings in April 2021 have been scheduled.

Drowning Prevention Development through Sport

Another important project outlined in our Strategic Plan was commenced in the second half of 2020. The aim of this project is to investigate, develop and implement a lifesaving “sport for all” programme which facilitates broad participation for all Commonwealth nations. The project lead from our Branch in Canada is Ms Nathalie Vallieres Martin who commenced in the role in December and has already made branch contacts to collect relevant information to advance the project.

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Other notable achievements

The funding for the two-year agreement with Speedo International continued during 2020 despite the planned projects being postponed until it is safe for them to be delivered. We continued to promote our Small Grants Programme and in 2020 award grants to:

Botswana – to provide the emerging organisation with essential equipment to carry out their lifesaving training.

Lesotho – to deliver a water safety awareness programme to children using lakes for recreational purposes during lockdown

A grant was also awarded to India to run a Swim’n’Survive programme to underprivileged children in Pune and Nagpur but this was postponed due to the pandemic. Funding will be provided once the project can commence

Having secured some funding at the end of 2019 from the National Archives we appointed a consultant to obtain a professional evaluation of our archive collection. The objective of this review was to understand the value and relevance of our collection and its context; obtain archival advice and ‘best practice’ advice to strategically manage and develop the collection; to engender wider internal support and engagement from Trustees and Members; and to enable the allocation and attractions of funding to support our collection.

We were fortunate that the consultant was able to visit our offices at the beginning of February, prior to lockdown and was able to deliver their report by June. Froom the report we have a far better understanding of our collection and, more importantly, ideas for its use and preservation and strategic direction and development

A direct result of the report is that our Board approved that the existing Heritage Working Group should become a formal Committee and at the end of 2020 we recruited a volunteer archivist to this Committee

RLSS Diploma

The RLSS Diploma recognises significant contributions to our life saving knowledge. It is one of the Society’s oldest and most prestigious international awards. The RLSS Diploma is awarded to individuals and teams, who have added to our knowledge in ways that can save lives and prevent drowning.

The Chair of our Diploma Committee since 2016, Susan Glover-Takahashi from our branch in Canada ended her term at the end of 2020. We would like to extend our thanks to Susan for her leadership of this group over the last 4 years. We were delighted that Dr Colleen Saunders who represented our branch in South Africa on the Committee agreed to become the Chair as of 2021.

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RLSS Honours

The Society has a wide range of Honours to recognise the significant contribution of volunteers. The following Higher Society Honours were awarded in 2020.

Commonwealth Life Member Rozlynn Grey OAM – Australia Kenn Little – Canada Len Manuel – Canada

RLSS Awards and Medals

The King Edward VII Cup is presented to an individual from an RLSS Member Organisation who has made an outstanding contribution to lifesaving and is awarded every two years.

In 2020 the King Edward VII Cup was awarded to Dr Stephen Beerman from Canada:

Dr Stephen Beerman has provided outstanding national and international leadership in the drowning prevention field for over four decades. Since 1986, he has served the Canadian and Commonwealth Royal Life Saving Societies and the International Life Saving Federation (ILS) in many roles and offices including Chair of their respective Medical Committees and President of the Lifesaving Society Canada and ILS.

Dr Beerman has been and remains a prime mover in the Canadian and international field of drowning prevention. His leadership is visionary, and he has raised the profile of drowning as a serious public health issue.

As Chair of its Medical Committee and later as its President, Dr Beerman successfully broadened the water rescue and lifesaving sport focus of the International Life Saving Federation into drowning research and drowning prevention education.

Dr Beerman’s proactive liaison with the World Health Organization stimulated WHO’s focus on drowning as a major public health issue and led to the first comprehensive WHO report on drowning.

Acting on one of the WHO recommendations for national action, Dr Beerman played a key role in the formation of the multi-sectoral Canadian Drowning Prevention Coalition and is largely responsible for the development of its first Canadian Drowning Prevention Plan. He continues to provide guidance as co-chair of the coalition.

Dr Beerman continues to consult with WHO on drowning research, most recently on achieving international consensus on a definition of “non-fatal drowning”.

Dr Beerman continues to advance the field of drowning prevention through research, by motivating and empowering agents for change and by focusing on research that will have the greatest practical impacts on the ground --- especially in low-and-middle income nations where the need is the greatest. He is an articulate advocate for the drowning prevention cause and is an exceptional and persuasive ambassador to governments, NGO’s and funding bodies.

For his dedication to the Royal Life Saving Society and the wider drowning prevention community, it is with great pleasure that Dr Beerman is awarded the King Edward VII Cup for 2020.

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The Mountbatten Medal is awarded annually for the most gallant rescue or attempted rescue undertaken in the previous calendar year. In 2019 the recipient was Clifford Coombe from South Africa:

On the afternoon of Sunday 1[st] September 2019, RLSS Award holder Clifford Coombe was walking along the beach at Herold's Bay, Southern Cape in South Africa. Cliff and his wife were taking in some gentle exercise while he was recovering from a hernia operation 10 days before.

When Cliff arrived at the beach, he noted a group of children, some of whom were swimming in the shallow water. He noticed there were three teenage boys who were slightly separated from the group and further out in the sea and commented to his wife that it would only take a couple of big waves to make them lose their footing and push them into a nearby rip tide. Exactly this happened a few moments later, and Cliff could tell they were in trouble. He ran to collect a Torpedo buoys that had been placed along the shore, and after removing his shoes and handing his phone to his wife and asking her to call for help, he entered the water and began to swim out to the boys.

After a few moments, the rip took over and carried him to the first two boys (by this time the group had separated, and the third boy was on his own further out). The first two boys were gripping on to the torpedo buoy and the third boy was now screaming for help. At this point, another man using a bodyboard approached Cliff and offered to get the two boys back to shore but Cliff said he would stay with the boys and shouted to the man to go and save the third boy. He did just that, having to pull him up from under the water, and then made his way back to Cliff and the other boys.

By this point Cliff was feeling the effects of his recent surgery. Both men made the decision to go with the rip towards the nearby rocks and try to get out of the water at the edge of the rocks. One of the boys was very panicky and Cliff needed to and reassure him constantly, as the rip tide pulled the group under the water several more times. It wasn’t long before Cliff could touch the seabed and they were able to get the boys out of the water where they were met by rescuers who had arrived at the scene. All the boys were safe and well, if not a little shaken after the experience.

The Russell Medal is awarded annually for the most outstanding resuscitation or attempted resuscitation performed in the previous calendar year by a person under 18 years of age. In 2019 the recipient was Megan Larmour from Australia:

On the morning of 15th March 2019, Megan Larmour, an RLSS Lifesaving Award holder, was having breakfast at a café in Mandurah, Western Australia, when she was alerted to an emergency unfolding nearby. A man had suffered a heart attack in the shopping centre carpark and collapsed. A staff member from a nearby business noticed the unconscious victim, phoned emergency services, then ran to the café and asked if anyone knew first aid. Trained as a lifeguard and in first aid, Megan immediately ran to the carpark where she took the phone to talk to emergency services.

She checked the man's condition and could not detect a pulse, or any breathing so began performing CPR on the victim. The staff member returned with a defibrillator and Megan cut the man’s clothing and applied the defibrillator, shocking him twice while continuing to perform compressions with the help of another bystander, until the emergency services arrived.

The man was taken to hospital where he was revived and placed into an induced coma. Sadly after 48 hours he was declared brain dead and his family made the decision to turn off his life support.

However, the prompt application of CPR and the AED meant his family was able to say goodbye, and also ensured that his organs remained viable, so his family was able to donate them to save the lives of others.

At just 16 years old, Megan responded with great courage in a very difficult situation. She took the lead in attempting to save the man’s life and displayed quick thinking and admirable persistence.

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RLSS Headquarters, Governance and Administration

We have continued to develop our internal processes and policies, have moved to a simpler online accounting platform and continually monitor our risk management.

During 2020 the RLSS continued to improve its governance and systems by reviewing and updating our Regulations and reviewing quarterly the Risk Register and a range of policies that has included the following.

The Board of Trustees is populated by individuals representing a wide spread of our members and includes a Youth Trustee. During 2020, the first term of the Board of Trustees under the new Supplemental Charter came to an end. In early 2020 we sought nominations to our Board and in May 2020 the new Board was appointed. We were delighted that so many of our existing Board were appointed for a second term with Cavell Burchell taking over from Janet Wilson in the UK and Motlatsi Mokala from Lesotho becoming our Youth Trustee taking over from Courtney Domoney from Canada. Our Membership Committee continued to meet quarterly to review various membership issues and consider new membership applications.

Collaboration

Drowning is a complex public health problem which goes without recognition or attention in many areas of greatest need. Indeed, it has been called a hidden epidemic. There are more ‘at risk’ populations in the world needing drowning prevention assistance than there are organisations focused on providing help. The RLSS Commonwealth drowning prevention mission needs collaboration from all national, regional and international organisations and governments to be most effective – cooperating fully for the benefit of people worldwide to reduce the global burden of drowning. Strong partnerships are key to achieving our aim of eliminating drowning in the Commonwealth and have enabled us to support our Member Branches in low resourced settings.

In 2020, key partnerships for RLSS included:

The Commonwealth - the Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 independent countries that are united by values enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter. Whilst the Commonwealth’s roots go back to the days of the British Empire, membership of the Commonwealth today is based on free and equal voluntary co-operation. The Commonwealth Secretariat implements the decisions and plans of Commonwealth leaders.

The launch of our Fatal Drowning in Commonwealth Countries Factsheet was funded by the Commonwealth Secretariat under its ‘Commonwealth@70’ project.

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Our 30 RLSS Member Branches who continue to work at the national and community level to reduce drowning through:

The International Life Saving Federation (ILS). Both RLSS and RLSS Member Branches are represented on the ILS Board and on the ILS Commissions and Committees, strengthening opportunities for effective collaboration.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). We continue to collaborate with the RNLI and maintain regular dialogue on matters of mutual interest.

Having signed a two-year agreement in late 2019 with Speedo International, we continue to work closely with them delivering our Small Grants Programme and a larger annual project. COVID-19 has had an impact on the delivery of this work, but we remain in regular communication with the team at Speedo

Acknowledgements

The Society’s achievements would not have been possible without the support of and contribution from the following persons who gave of their time and experience.

Portfolio Directors

Committee and Working Group Chairs

Our Committees and Working Groups are composed of members from Australia, Canada, India, Lesotho, Malaysia, Malta, South Africa, St Lucia and the UK and we are extremely grateful to all the members for their valuable contributions.

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Our Plans for 2021

We will have effective and efficient administrative systems that support the Society’s operations and activities. This will be achieved through:

Specific plans for 2021 are:

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Structure and Governance

RLSS is a registered Charity (Charity Commission England and Wales, Charity Number 306094), an Accredited Commonwealth Organisation and a Recognised Civil Society Organisation. HM Queen Elizabeth II is Patron of RLSS and HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO is President of RLSS.

RLSS is incorporated by Royal Charter dated 1924 and governed by a Supplemental Charter dated May 2018, which acts as our constitution and governing document. RLSS is governed by the RLSS Trustee Board. Our RLSS volunteer network consists of our Trustees, Officers, Committees and Working Groups.

RLSS supports and is supported by 30 Member Branches across three Commonwealth regions (Europe/Africa; Asia Pacific; Americas), all working collaboratively to deliver community-led and community-based drowning prevention programmes in nations across the Commonwealth.

RLSS maintains a formal Risk Management Policy and Register which is reviewed on a regular basis by the Board of Trustees and the Officers of the Society.

RLSS is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and is committed to ensuring all RLSS fundraising is legal, honest, open, transparent and accountable.

Financial Summary

Income

2020 total income (£87,094) was up on the 2019 total income (£72,814) by £14,280.

As with previous years, much of RLSS’ income is currently member payments from the three largest member branches (UK, Canada and Australia). We also received sponsorship from Speedo International as part of a two-year agreement, but this income is restricted for project work. We continue to look at diversifying income streams. The Member Branches have made commitments to continue to support the administration of the Society, allowing any raised funds to be spent on programmatic activity.

Donors and Funders 2020

The Royal Life Saving Society wishes to thank the following individuals and organisations for their most generous donations, sponsorship and grants during 2020.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Laerdal Medical
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh Speedo International
The Lifesaving Society Canada Mr James McClelland
Royal Life Saving Society Australia Commonwealth@70
The Royal Life Saving Society UK

Expenditure

Most RLSS expenditure finances the valuable work of RLSS Headquarters (staff costs and running costs). With the COVID-19 pandemic our expenditure has been at a minimum with much of our activity postponed. Our overall expenditure was £32.537 for 2020 down by £26,260 from 2019.

Reserves Policy

RLSS has a Reserves Policy aimed at ensuring the financial sustainability of the Society. As at the end of 2020, we had £86,158 of general reserves which is £14,000 short of our aim to achieve unrestricted reserves of two years expenditure.

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2021 Membership Fees

Given the difficult times our Member Branches are going through during the COVID pandemic, our Trustees approved a proposal to offer members a discount on their 2021 membership contributions of up to 50%. In addition, in 2020 Branches that were under extreme hardship were offered the opportunity to contact the Treasurer to request hardship relief from any fees or debt, this offer of support will continue for 2021.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

In relation to the following financial statements of the Royal Life Saving Society to year end 31 December 2020

In accordance with the Charities Act 2011 the Trustees have prepared the following Financial Statements which give a true and fair view of this Charity's financial activities during the year 2018 and of its financial position as at 31 December 2020. In preparing these Financial Statements best practice has been followed and suitable accounting policies have been consistently applied.

Applicable accounting standards and the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” 2005 have been followed.

The Financial Statements have been independently examined by Richard Oddy FCA after he was given access to all relevant financial documents, general correspondence and Minutes of all Society Committee and Sub-Committee meetings.

Signed on behalf of the Society's Trustees

Clive Holland Clive Patrickson PhD Deputy Commonwealth President Honorary Commonwealth Treasurer June 2021 June 2021

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Financial Statements For the year ended 31[st] December 2020

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Report to the trustees of The Royal Life Saving Society and to the Commonjvealth Council On accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020 I report to the trustees on my exarnination of the accounts of the above charity ('*he Trust") for the year ended 31 Dcccrnbcr 2020 as sct out on pagcs 3 and 4. Responsibilities and ba515 of As th¢ charity t￿￿te¢S of thc T￿￿[ you arc [￿pOnSIble for thc prcparation of thc accounts in report accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act"). I rcport in Icsp¢ct of my ¢xamination olthc Trust's accounts cairicd out undcr scction 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act Independent examiner's I havc complcted my examination. l confirm that no matciial matters havc comc to my statement attention in comection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that iry any makiial r¢spKCt. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or th¢ accounts do not accord with thc accounting Fccords I haye no conccrns and have corne across no othcr mattcrs in connection with thc cxamination to whLch attention should be dra￿ll m order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to bc rcach¢d. Signed.. chard Oddy FCA Date.. 02 June 2021 Page 121

Royal Life Saving Society Receipts and payments accounts For OliOli2020 3111212020 SeLtion,'l RcLI'ipts an(1 pAI'mcnts L nrestrlcted funds Re$trkteil lunds 1.otal lunds La5l Al Recel M￿liber$I) 43.726 43.726 12,500 4.O44 284 45.891 Don￿￿ 044 Re￿￿te Irttonit 264 1191 1.254 eDse Gth Aid GenLYd Dvrfel 223 846 Afi￿￿}%,0￿sh Medpjs 4.14 Le￿ers Iv0￿Sh crdo &n811 Gr￿15 623 5,180 2O,UOD 2,80 2U.OVO 170 Divlthnthqnt￿p VATN 21 Sub tolrtl {IKcomeforARJ 61914 23,18 87.094 72,814 A2 Assèt I￿￿t￿È￿t see table . Total recetpts 63,914 23,180 87.094 72,814 A3Pa ts 21344 23.344 4.418 4,320 24.601 CoMnIo￿valh Dei'tlopn￿l Commonweabh He￿￿￿terC0St5 4320 193-, CoMniillts MeMb￿￿hIp Development 8uiiiJDrt kn'ite Lh&3ts L4¥Tr1 & Profp%$ionaiCos1 e&191￿ta￿e¥eIOP1lIEfftI edo Attirawotkshop 173 l.V59 1.026 6.vu Wod(shop 1.043 6,949 Sub lot(d 31537 6,026 38.563 64.823 A4 A$$Èt and see lable Sub tot Tota1p￿￿￿t8 32,537 6,D26 58J63 64,823 Nét ofrec•pts/QJaynténts) A5 TransfeTS ljehspen funds A6 Cashkndg knstyear end C&xshfv*&s thlsyÉoy ertd 31,378 17,154 48,S32 7,991 S4.?811 15.197 67,978 S9.y87 86,158 ,351 116,509 67,978 Page 122
Clive Holland 16/06/2021
W Clive Patrickson 16/06/2021

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The Royal Life Saving Society Commonwealth Headquarters Red Hill House 227 London Road Worcester WR5 2JG United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0) 1789 774229 Email: commonwealth@rlss.org.uk Website: www.rlsscommonwealth.org

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