Gottlng chlldrnn r•udlng Annual Report 2022/23 Start Contents Letter from the chair 03 Introduction 05 The future 13 Our funders and supporters Equolity, Diversity and Inclusion 15 17 Sustainability 18 Financial Review 19 Key risks and uncertainties 23 Legal and administrative information 24 Structure, governance and management Statement of Trustees, responsibilities 25 27 Independ8nt auditor's report to the members of BookTrust Stcrtement of flnancial activities 29 33 Balance sheet 34 Cash Flow Statement 35 Notes to tha Account 36 How to use thls PDF Return to contents Print document Next page r8vious page Lpttpr from thÉ chcjir Children and families sharing storles can be life-changing. A familiar part of childhood experlence for so many. shared reading brings joy and strengthens relationships, embeds routine and helps children learn. And the positive benefits last throughout childhood and beyond. The past y8ar has been another challenging one for the children and families BookTrust supports. The cost of living crisis has seen many more families with young children finding themselves in poverty. Children who missed out on critical development opportunities during the pandemic have fallen behind in terms of languog8 development and communication skills. Their social and emotional well-being hos been aff8Cted. In this challenging context our work is more vital than ever and the need for our support is growing. 2022-3 hos been a critical year in BookTrust's journey and evolution. Over the past 12 months, our programmes and support have reached 2.4 million children and their families and we are deliberately targeting more children in poverty. And building on our fantastic network of partnerships with all local authorities in England and Wales, and Trusts and the Education Authority in Northern Ireland, we delivered the first year of our new targeted early years programmes, Bookstart Toddler and Pre-schooler, working with 6,000 new partners and reaching over 343,000 families. l om delighted that we hove taken this critical step in the delivery of our new strategv it lays strong foundations for the future so that alongside the thousands of practitioners and partners we support, and with the help of our friends and funders, we con continue to expand our impact for the families that have most to gain from reading regularly and by choice. l am also proud to say that eorly impact evidence shows our new Bookstart programmes are populor with practitioners and most importantly are creating new interest and engagement with reading by many families. As well as new partnerships and programmes there has been much continuity for all children.. books and resources for all new babies and their families; a second successful year of our Storytime programme in public libraries,. more vulnerable children support8d with our Letterbox Club programme," a quarter of a million 11-13 year olds taking part in Bookbuzz and choosing a book to keep,. thousands of children enjoying author visits by diverse authors and kT L•tt•r from th• Chalr illustrators,. ond lost but not least our support for the Waterstones Children's Laureate, Joseph Coelho. We have continued to deepen our research with children and famili8s, building our understanding of families, lives and reading behoviours. This year we have been able to see the first early signs of real impact in behaviour change, and this new insight will be invaluable in the future design and improvement of our work. We have settled into our new home in Leeds, enjoying the benefits of this new proximity to our mony partners in the North as we look to embed partnerships and ways of ploce-based working that will help us reach more fomilies in ways that are right for them. We are delighted that Arts Council England have recognised our work, and the important role of reading for children and families, by selecting BookTrust os a Notional Portfolio Organisation. We are grateful for their continued support, and for the support of our Patron, Her Majesty the Queen, who is such a tremendous champion of readingi and to all our other fundersi partners, donors and friends, who moke our mission possible. As I reflect on the past year and how much we have achieved l om struck too by how much more we need to do. Many more children in the early years could benefit from our support. Reading holds huge potential for th8 most vulnerobla children in the hardest of circumstances. They are children who otherwise ore being denied a life-changing right. Looking forwards we will continue to innovate and test new approaches, build new partnerships and seek new funding.. at a time of such critical need across the country this feels imperative. Thank you fortaklng tlme to read this and for your support of Booktrust. We look forward to worklng with you In the y•ar ahead on behalf of th• nation's chlldron. Chair of Trustees AHOUSE! ch -?r) l- Introduction Why? Because reading has the power to change lives. Children who choose to read and who read regularly are happier ond healthier, they form stronger bonds and relationships, they do better at school and are more creative and enjoy more success in life. We work with families across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, supporting them to start shoring stories and books together from the earliest possible age. Thanks to our extensive network of enthusiastic and loyal partners, our programmes, resources and advice bring the magic of reading to children in every town, village, city arid community where we work. Each year we get millions of children reading. especially those from low- income families or vulnerable backgrounds. Introdu¢tion This yeor has seen us take o significant step forward in the implementation of our five-year strategy, with the roll out of Bookstort Toddler and Bookstart Pre- Schooler progrommes for low-income families. Here are some highlights from our yeor: Helping low-income children and families to become readers Reading in the eorly years helps children reach a wide range of early development goals and do well across the curriculum, closing the gap batween low-income children and their more advantaged peers. This year we made great strides forward with our new Earlv Years programme - Bookstart Toddler and Bookstart Pre-schooler- designed for low-income families and reaching an estimated 343,000 families by the end of March 2023, working wlth thousands of settings including nurseries, family hubs and community groups. Moving forwards this programme will reach over 400,000 familles annually. 840/0 of low-income families say these packs prompted them to read and share stories more with their child. We partnered with 2.512 libraries in England and Northern Ireland ,72%of library workers We concluded the second year of delivery of our new storytime progromme. Through this exciting library- based experience we partnered with 2,512 libraries in England and Northern Ireland, supporting lower income fomilies to engoge with their local libraries. 72/a of library workers responding to our survey said they really enjoyed working on this programme. really enjoyed working on this programme ££ We had a couple of books (at home). but I'veactually learn•d from comlng h•r• how to •nJoy r•ading books to hor a lot more. It's sométhing I probably wouldn't hav• done an awful lot of. Before tha( it would be a once-a- week kind of thing. Now IVS every nighL YY Aine in Northern Ireland who is exploring 8ookstart Toddler with hertwo-year-old daughter at a local Sure Start centre Introduetion 10/ increase in children, ', registered ' Supporting children from vulnerable family backgrounds to enjoy the benefits of readlng During 2022-23 we saw 0 100/0 increase in children registered for Letterbox Club, with more than 13.000 ¢hildr•n receiving Letterbox Club parcels. Designed for childr8n aged 3-13 who are looked-after, these parcels put high-quality books and associated materials in the hands ond homes of children at most in need. 95/0 of children in care who receive a Letterbox Club parcel tell us they 'like' or 'love' it. We are ambitious to reach more children from vulnerable family backgrounds and during the second half of the year we began exploring new partnerships to do this. Over the coming year we will betestin9 new prototypes and programmes to support children who are looked-after, previously looked after, vulnerable or on the edge of care. for Letterbox Club ££ The books that you choose are really hlgh quallty What I love about BookTrust Is that you havon't assumed that ov•ryon• has a poncll at home that's BookTru$t thlnklng outsld• th• box and r•ally und•rstandlng. YY Primary School teacher using Letterbox Club Learnlng more about the famllles we work with We completed our second extenslve survey of 2,148 low-income families with children aged 0-7 years living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Findings reveal overwhelming support amongst families for reading and sharing stories in the early years- with 95Yo seeing reading as important for their child. Introductlon However, we also discovered that more than 1 in 4 porents find reading with their child chollenging and a lack of confidence was affecting 21D/o of fomili8s. We will be sharing these insights through a series of thematic briefings during 2023 ond using the information gathered to develop our programmes going forward. In addition, we conducted an extonsive ethnographlc dlscovery project to leorn more about fomllles with children aged 0-5 years to understand thelr exporiences, needs, motivations and barriers to reading. This work wlth families has helped us to identify new opportunities to support chlldren and families in the early years and will shape the development of programmes in future years. We carry out our learning with a dlverse range of families In our target group, helping US to ensure that we design ond develop programmes ond support that are supportive and Inclusive of all needs, backgrounds and circumstances. Helping all familles start their reading journey We know that sharing books, stories and rhymes with children from an 8arly age can help them to become lifelong readers. For more than 30 years, Bookstart Baby has been guiding families as they storttheir child's reading journey. Thonks to the wonderful support of our partners, during 2022-23 we distributed more than half a mllllon Book#tart Baby packs, reaching 93 /0 of the target audience across England, North8rn Ireland and Wales. Baby reaches families with children under1 in every community across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, which is an extraordinary level of reach. In Wales, the Big Welsh Rhyme Time returned to libraries, schools and nurseri8s for the fifth year. The week-long event was enjoyed by more than 24,000 children aged 0-5, with 530 oarly Y￿rS settlngs taking part. While nearly 34,500 reception-aged children took part in our exciting bilingual literacy and numeracy programme, Pori Drwy Stori, funded by the Welsh Government. , 34.500 reception , -aged children took part in our exciting bilingual literacy and numeracy i programme Introdu¢tion Bulldlng new partnerships During 2022123 we have transformed how we work with our partners. Thanks to our n8w expanded and strength8ned partnerships team we have worked with more partners than ev8r, including more than 6,300 organisations involved in the early years sector. Our partners include every local authority in England and Wales, trusts and Education Authority in Northern Ireland, health visitors, teachers, library workers, social workers, housing associations, childr8n's centres, foodbanks, prisons and early yeors practitioners all of whom are helping us to reach children and families wh8r8ver they are. 90/0 of our early yaars practition8r partners give BookTrust Storyteller resources a rating of 4 or 5 out of 5. New partnerships estobllshed this year Include the Neonatal Unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary who helped to get Bookstart Baby packs to the hospital's youngest patients. In Northern Ireland a partnership with Children's Books Ireland has seen libraries at eight primary schools on either side of the border stocked with a diverse range of inspiring new books. We have worked with more than , 6.300 organisations involved in the early vears sector ££ We often saythat books act both as mirrors and windows. so that a chlld can see their own lived expori•nces refl•ctad backto them as well as being able to step into another person's shoes and s•• things from th•ir point of view. Not only are these books a joy to read, they can help to build up children's self-worth and their ability to empathise with others. Y? Kirsty Andrews, Principal at Tullygate Primary School, beneficiary of our partnership with Children's Books Ireland Introdurtion We continued to promote children's authors and illustrators of colour, introducing nearly Ensuring books and stories represent children and the world they live in Books play an important role in helping children to feel occepted and to build empathy and understanding. During the yeor we continued to use our book selection and curcrtion to support and promote books by a div8rse range of outhors and illustrators. 49.000 children at almost In November we released three reports exploring representation in children's books. This new res8arch highlighted the critical impact that representation has on a child's motivation and desire to read. , 1.700 primary schools We continued to promote children's authors and illustrotors of colour through our BookTrust Represents project, introducing nearly 49,000 children at almost 1,700 primary schools to a creator of colour. to a creator of colour. We have also collaborated with an extensive range of children's outhors, illustrators and publishers to ensure we ore oble to share the best resources with children and families, encouroging and inspiring them on their reading journey. ££ I Ilke In thls book that It makes m• feel happy when I read It. It makes me feel b•tt•r when I road It and I can s•• som•thlng Ilko mo. and I can und•r8tand that Is not only m• Ilk• thaL YY Primary school child followlng a BookTrust Represents author vislt. 10 Introductlon Encouraging children to keep reading Enjoyment of reading declines as children hit teenoge years. Through Bookbuzz we are encouraging 11 to 13 year olds to keep reading for pleasure. Bookbuzz gives young people the chance to choose from carefully selected books that are written specifically for young adults. This year we saw an 8% increase in young people taking the opportunity to choose a Bookbuzz book with more than 272,000 puplls reached. We distributed our School Library Pack and Sp8cial School Librory pack to ov•r 3.000 s•condary schools and sp•clal schools. Our Great Books Guide, developed to help teachers choose diverse and inclusive new books for chlldren of oll ages, was once ogain distributed to 17.000 schools in England, Northern Ireland ond Wales. 705,000 4 to 5-year-old children took part in our Time to Read programme, receiving o pack containing an oxciting book ond informotion for parents to encourage them to continue reading together when their child starts school. 8/0 increase in young people taking the opportunity to choose a Bookbuzz book 705.000 4t05 -year-old children took part in our Timeto Read programme ££ To get books Into hands of students who may not have books at home was tho best part about B4x>kbuzz. To soo children hug a book after you hav• told them that It Is thelrs to keep was a special mom•n< It mad? the programme worthwhile. YY Charlie Hield, English teacher at Sidestrand Hall School, Bookbuzz user 11 | Introdu¢tlon Building a community of champions to promote the benefits of reading The support of independent advocates and influences 15 essential in amplifying our voice and making sure the benefits of reading are understood far and wide. We said a grateful farewell to Cressida Cowell after an amazing three years with her as Waterstones Children's Laureate. During her tenure she established her Life-chonging Libraries project and launched the Laureate Reading Charterto ensure all children have access to books. We gave a worm welcom8 to Joseph Coelho, award- winning performance poet, playwright and children's outhor, as Waterstones Children's Laureate 2022- 24. In June 2022 Joseph set out his ambitions for his Laureate period - to celebrate the power of poetrv, showcase new authors and illustrators ond champion the role public libraries play in communities today. During his first nine months, Joseph has r8corded 26 Poetry Prompts videos and continued his 'library marathon,, visiting and joining o library in every region of the UK. In September 2022, we were thrilled to have Nick Sharratt, one of the nation's favourite children's author- illustrators, join us as our Writer-lllustrator in Residence. Nick used his time as Writer-lllustrator in Residence to champion the extraordinary power of pictures and visual images in children's books and the crucial role they play in enriching a child's experience when it comes to reading. ££ I'm passionate about how pictur•s and Images encourage and enrich children's reading experiences and how fr•quently they can take us on wonderful journeys independent of the word& Pictures can be incredibly freeing and empow•ringp particularly forthoso children who aren't blg readers. So many chlldren •nJoy sharing books by focusing on the Imagery rathèr than the t•xL YY Nick Sharratt, Writer- Illustrator in Residence 12 •*'J The future - Over the coming year we will continue to work towords our ambition of bringin9 the benefits of reading to children in the greatest need. We will continue to learn about and understand the lives of families as they respond and adapt to the pressures of the cost of living, technological changes, and advoncements. This insight will inform how we innovate and adapt our progrommes and resources, so we are giving children and families the best support possible. Our central focus will continue to be on helping low- income families and children from vulnerable family backgrounds to read regularly and share stories together from the earliest possible moment. Today. millions of children are facing disadvantage and inequalities that will persist throughout their lives. Reading is a way of breaking thls cycle. 13 ' Th• fvtur• Through helping children and families read regularly and by choice our work will help to achieve.. More children having stronger bonds and relationships with their families. More children having o stronger sense of wellbeing and achieving strong educational outcomes. More children from disadvantaged backgrounds having a stronger sense of the possibilities open to them in life. ore people leading wide-ranging creative and cultural lives. 14 Our funders and supporters We are very grateful to the Individuals. companies. foundations. trusts and governments who have supported our efforts to inspire. encourage and support families and children on their reading journey over the past year. We would particularly like to thank: Her Majesty the Queen, for her ongoing Potronage and support for the cause of reading more widely. Arts Council England for their ongoing ond significant support and awarding us regularfunding status through selecting BookTrust as a Notional Portfolio Organisation - as one of the top 10 funded organisations in their portfolio we reflect Arts Council England's commitment to the early years and children os readers. In Wales, the Welsh Government and in Northern Ireland, the Department for Education and Education Authority, for recognising the power of reading to transform lives through their funding for Book Trust programmes. The Mohn Westlake Foundation for their ongoing and generous support to our work with disadvantaged and vulnerabla children. Waterstones, as we mark ten years of working together: a special partnership supported by Woterstones staff and customers, which over tha past decade has raised £2 million for BookTrust to support disadvantaged and vulnerable children, and has supported the Waterstones Children's Laureote. 15 Our fund•r8 and supporters The Build o Bear Foundation for their generous support of our Christmas fundraising campaign and helping us to send festive book parcels to vulnerable children and children in care ot Christmas. Our 8,600 Friends and supporters who collectively roised over £750,000 for BookTrust last y8ar. The overwhelming generosity of the supporters of our Christmas Appeol. Against the back-drop of the cost- of-living crisis they donated £337,000 to send over 16,000 book parcels to children in need. Children, familles, teachors and staff from 1,600 schools and nurseries who spent a day in their pyjomas reading and shoring stories for our annual Pyjamarama fundraiser. We also want to thank our partners in libraries, community organisations, local authorities, early years settings, health visiting and schools, without whom our work would simply not be possible. With their support more families ore able to access our books and resources and more childr8n have the chance to become lifelong readers. Finally we are grateful for the support of publishers, outhors and illustrators, whose work and support for us is at the heort of what we do. ££ Itean plant o seed. It Is a giftthat can have a domino effect. For many of theso kids, thoydon't own many or any books. By giving these books, It's often a starting polnt for th•m. It could instll a new •njoyment of r•adingi and they could go on to Invest thems•lves in reading. YY Active Communities Network, one of our gifting partners for our Christmas Appeal 16 IJ Equality. Diversity and Inclusion Promoting equallty. diversity and inclusion remains a critical commitment for BookTrust across all our activity• as well as part of our strategic approach to the delivery of our mission. Children from excluded groups are over-represented in our torget oudience groups of low-income families and children from vulneroble family bockgrounds.. for exomple 31 % of children in poverty are from minority ethnic backgrounds. Over the past year we selected, recommended and distributed thousands of inclusive books with stories and illustrations that are representative of a diverse range of different lives and cultures. We included diverse perspectives in our research and design activities, and explored new ways to ensure a wide range of voices contribute to our research, design and development. We successfully extended our early years partnership network to improve our access to families in diverse and excluded commur)ities across the UK. We published research into representation of people of colour among children's book authors and illustrators. We supported new creators of colour and we arranged face to face and virtual events for creators of colour to visit primary and secondary schools to inspire children with their work. And we joined the University of Edinburgh's 'Neurodiversity and Narrative Fiction, project, working with a group of neurodivergent young people to understand their own perceptions on the representation of neurodiver9ence in narrative fiction. 17 l• Sustainability Mindful of the impact that our activities can have, we regularly review how we work. our supply chain, procurement practices and logistics. We hove introduced changes to our book packs which have reduced weight and size, which going forward will decrease our impact on the environment with regard to production and transportation. We continued to promote environmontal understanding amongst children by identifying appropriate books ond producing ossociated booklists to guide families and teachers. We also joined a partnership led by the University of Exeter and the National Trust, aimed at promoting biodiversity renewal across the UK. Over the next three years this will be an exciting platform to explore the role that books can play in supporting greater understanding of biodiversity, and how nature can inspire children to read. 18 Financial review 2022123 saw a planned utilisation of Our fundraising income from corporate reserves resulting in an operating deficit sponsorship and individual giving (before loss on investments) of £1.9m (2022.. remained consistent with prior year. deficit of £0.5m). We continued to receive Trusts and Foundations income increased £5.8m of funding as part of our controct eightfold, predominantly as a result of with Arts Council England (now extended £0.4m of r8Stricted funds from the Mohn for a further thraa years) - we are very Westlake Foundation being recognised grateful for ACE'S continued support, whilst under the terms of th8 grant. also continuing to diversify our income. We were also successful in securing £0.8m Our Traded progrommes, Bookbuzz and 12022: £1.1ml of funding from the Education Letter Box Club, continue to be a material Directorate of the Welsh Government to source of income. support our work in Wales, whilst being able to release £0.3m of deferred income from the prior year. Overall, our total Income increased by £0.8m to £11.9m (2022: £11.1) wlth a further total of £1.9m deferred to 2023124 (2022: £2.Om). 2022123 Total income of £11.9m Individual Giving 11.3% Corporate Partnerships 82% Trust ond Foundations 5.9% Traded 20.9% Northern Ireland 1.2% Wales 8.9•A Arts Council England 48.3% Other 0.3% 2022123 2021122 Total income of ￿l.1rn Individual Giving 11.6% Corporate Partnerships 3.8Y• Trust and Foundations 0.8°A Traded 23.6% Northern Ireland 0.6% Wales 7.7Ya Arts Council England 51.7% other 0.2% 2021/22 19 nqn¢lal r•vl•w Overall expenditure increased by £2.2m to £13.8m 12022: £11.6m), supported by the higher use of reserves, as part of our planned strategy: 2022123 Travel ond subsistence 268.000 Professional fees £141000 IT £360.000 Establishment and office £402.000 Research, publicity and engogement £717.000 Distributionlworehousing £1.74&000 Books and resources £4.903.000 Staffi ng Costs £5N34000 Expenditure of £13.8m 2022123 Travel and subsistence £14.000 Professional fees M84000 IT £269.000 Establishment and office £385.000 Research, publicity and engagement £761.000 Eiistribution/warehousing £1.606.000 Books and resources £3.959,000 staffi ng Costs £4474.000 2021122 Expendlture of ￿l.6M 2021122 Our spend ogainst strategic objectives (shown below) demonstrates our focus on low-income families in the early years as a key part of our strategy, with spend in this orea increasing by 4.5/.. Our work on S04 is still in the development phase and investment in 22123 has been mainly via staff time and inexpensive pilot work and prototyping. We expect this to increase in future years. All octivity that is delivered by school based partners is now included within SO3, which accounts for the rise in expenditure In this area. Other has declined as overthe post year we have reviewed all activity that was not strategically aligned and redirected our focus in accordonce with our strategy. Strateglc Objectives Initiate shared reading S02 Supporting disadvantaged families in their early years to get reading S03 Encouraging children and families to continue on their reading journeys S04 Supporting children from vulnerable backgroundsto enjoythe benefits of reading S05 Building a community of advocates for reading 20 FIna￿la1 r•vi•w strotegic Objective 116.1Y• strategic Objective 2 29.0/• Strategic Objective 3 17.7°A strategic Objective 4 12.6/0 Strategic Objective 5 3.8Y. Fundraising 6.1% Other 0.0/0 Overheads 14.7° 2022123 Exper)diture of £13.8m 2022/23 Strategic Objective 119.7Y. Strategic Objective 2 24.6°A Strategic Objective 3 11.5/• Strategic Objective 4 14.6Yo Strategic Objective 5 2.2% Fundroising 6.5°A other 8.OY• Overheads 13.0% 2021122 Expenditure of £11.6m 2021122 BookTrust's funds are divided into two cotegories: R•strl¢t•d - Restricted funds are funds that can only be used for particular purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes, aligned to the development of our strategic objectives. The specific amounts ond objectives of restricted funds are set OLrt in the notes to these accounts. R•s•rv• Poll¢y - this sets out a minimum level of unrestricted funds to enable the charity to address foreseeable scenarios. It further sets out limits forth8 liquld portlon of these funds to ensure that all curr8nt financial obligations to partners, suppliers and staff can be met in a timely manner. Unr•strlct•d R•s•rv•s - the Trustees have considered a worst-case scenario of an orderly winding up of the charity, together with a scenorio of the loss of up to half of our income and restructuring of the charity as a smoller more tightly focussed organisation. In reviewing these scenarios, the Trustees have agreed that a minimum level of £2.5m of unrestricted funds should be retained across the next four years. This recognises our commitments, for example Unr••trlctsd - These funds hove not been designated, and support working capital requirements, cover for risk monagement and ar8 availoble for use otthe discretion of tho directors in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. inan¢lal r•vigW to leases, to staff and to committed traded activity, and also takes into account workin9 capital requirements which are driven by advance purchasing {typicolly in the Far East) to support a six-to-nin8- month production and distribution cycle that enables us to deliver large scale national interventions. Account hos olso been token of possible mitigating actions to manage our funding requirements under Investment policy these scenarios. BookTrust's investments portfolio con be broken down into two main categories: managed funds and cash on deposit. Our primary objective is to increase the real value of our investments while managing our risk. With respect to our managed funds, we wont to invest in a way that provides a hlgh level of diversification, flexibility and liquidity (with limited exposure to market movements). We work closely with our investment managers to monitor performance against agreed market benchmarks and our investment objectives. reserve requirements. Free reserves stand at ￿.8M 12022: £1.6m>, again well in excess of minimum free reserve requirements. The trustees arg satisfied that the approved plans for the next three years ensure that funds above the minimum policy requirement will b8 deployed effectivelv against the chority's objectives. Fr•• R•$•NK - The Trustees recognise the obligation of the charity to pay its staff, suppliers and others in full In a timelv manner, against seasonal patterns of Cash flow. In order to ensure that this is possible the Trustees have determined that minmum free reserves should be maintained such that all current liabilities Can be met in the event of a short delay in receipt of income from grants, etc. Based on present projections of expenditure this level has been set to maintain average free reserves of £1.2m, drawing down from investments when required to maintain this level. These policies will be reviewed annually by the Trustees to ensure an appropriate allocation of reserves to the achievement of the charity's strategic aims and purpose. The total value of all funds at 31 March 2023 was £6.1m (2022.. £8.3m) of which £4.8m (2022: £6.7m) wos held as investments and the balance of £1.8m 12022: £1.6m) in working copital. Of the £6.1m, £0.2m (2022: £2.5m) was restricted for specific purposes. This leaves £5.9m (2022.. £5.8m) in unrestricted funds which is £3.4m (2022.. £3.3m) obove our minimum 22 Key risks and uncertainties Our wider landscape - We recognise risks within our wider londscape with a cost of living crisis, significant inflation, increasing global financial pressures and on unstable geopolitical situation which has creatsd more uncertainty, risk and instability across our funders, portners and supporters. Managlng rlsk - We continue to work closelv with our partners to understand their challenges and how we can support them to deliver. We have invested heavily in our partnership and place-bosed approach, increasing resources and extending our relationships, and our more targeted approoch makes us voluable to partners in the current circumstances. We are very focussed on developing new opportunities and generoting increased income, and have detailed five year financial ond Income planning models to support the organlsation. We do not foresee a significant risk to our financiol sustainability or a loss or significant delay in our funding. We were successful in our application to be an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisotion and have a funding agreement in place until March 2026. Our risk management is reviewed regularly and is supported by strong governance to ensure compliance with the regulatory framework within which we operate. Partn•rnhip and d•llvery mod•l - BookTrust receives support from a wide ran9e of partners who are facing increasing demands for their services and limited resources, alongside the impact of rising costs to deliver. This strain has put pressure on our current and potentially new local delivery partners. In¢om• - BookTrust receives support from a wide range of donors, some of whom may be experiencing financial difficultles in a challenging economic environment of high inflation and significant cost of living pressures. We will need to seek to retain as many of our existing donors as possible, as well os attracting new supporters and income sources to ensure that we are able to grow and diversify our income overtime. Cort pr•MurM - Cost pressures have,i- increased through our supply chain across books, resources and through our logistics. We seek to manage this through focussed cost-optimisation and efficiency gains. 23 Legal and administrative information Charity Name BookTrust Charity Registration Number 313343 Company Registrotion Number 00210012 Patron Pro5id•nt Her Majesty the Queen Sir Michael Morpurgo Board of Trusttss The Trustees of BookTrust Ithe charity) are its Trustees forthe purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees. John Coughlan CBE Choir Radha Chakrabortv Vice Chair Professor Matthew Cripps Gautam Dalal Harpal Dhillon Michoel Hudack Professor Anthony Kessel Nigel Langstaff Hilary Murroy Hill June O'sullivan MBE Victorio Sellick MBE Professor Stephen Scott CBE Honorary Treasurer (Resigned 31 May 2023) IAppointed 3 May 2022) (Resigned 1 October 2022> Chl•f Exe¢utlv• Company Secr•tsry Diana Gerald MBE Jennifer Rachael 8ailey R•gISter￿ Offic• 1 Aire Street, Leeds, Englond, LS14PR Ifrom 14 April 2022) Our Advis•rs Auditors Sayer Vincènt LLP, Invicta House,108-114 Golden Lane, London ECIY OTL Natwest, 111-117 Putney High Street, London SW15 2LL Russell-cooke, 2 Putney Hill, London SW15 6AB Epoch Consultin9, Queen Square House. queen Square Place, Bath BAI 2LL Bank Solicitors Investm8nt Managers 24 Structure. governance ana managemenr BookTrust is a private Company limited equality ond diversity, people and culturo. by guarantee without share capital and This year, we have established a new lead a charitable company limited by guarantee role for environmentol sustainability. having no share capital incorporated on 28 November 1925 and registered as a Trustee recruitment is informed by charity on 1 July 1963. It was established skills needs. Skills audits of Trustees ar8 under a Memorandum of Association which undertaken pariodically to ensure that estoblish8d its objects of the charitable we have the right balance of skills and company and is governed under its Articles experienc8 and to identify areas for of Association. BookTrust operates under focus in future Trustee recruitment. We the Articles of Association adopted by also review the make-up of our Board to special resolution on 2 July 2019. ensure that wo have sufficient diversity. In 2022 we appoint8d one new Trustee to Governance and bring additional skills and 8xpertise to the management leadership of BookTrust. Under the terms of the Articles of All new Trustees ore provided with a Association as adopted in July 2019, comprehensive induction programm8 management of 8ookTrust's affairs is with information provided on their role, vested in a Board of not less than four the organisation and its operating context Trustees. Trustees ore appointed for an in addition to meeting with key staff. The initial period of three years. They may b8 Board holds ot least one away day for reappointed for a further term of three Trustees each year as well as regular years and, in exceptional circumstances, briefings. In addition, all Board members for a single further term of no more than are provided with regular updates and are one year. The Articles of Association are encouraged to ottend events and training. currently being reviewed and one planned The Trustees have agreed a Charity Code amendment is for trustees to be able to of Governance action plan which is being serve a final third term of up to three years implemented with progress reviewed on and a maximum term of nine years. at least an annual basis by the Board. The Board of Trustees administers the Thare is an annual review of Board charity and exercises its scrutiny role effectiveness. We commissioned an through Board meetings, held at least external review of governance in 2020 and quart8rly, and standing committees. since then have conducted annual internal We have three main committees: (i) reviews led by the Chair of the Board. Finance, Risk & Audit, (li) Nominations Informed by these reviews, we continue and (iii) Equality, Diversityi Inclusion to toke steps to strengthen BookTrust's & Remuneration. The Board has also governance. We plan to commission a established a Donations, Acceptance further external review of governonce & Refusal Committee which meets as in 2023124. required. Trustees toke lead roles for kev areas, notably safeguarding, governance, 25 StNctur•. gov•rnanc• and manag•m•nt A Chief Executive is oppointed by the Trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To focilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive has delegated authority for operational matters including finance, employment and other programme and delivery related octivities. We have been developing our leadership team to ensure that our senior staff bring us sufficient diversity ond also the breadth of expertise ond skills that we need to manage BookTrust's activityi both the range of work and also our geographical reach working with an extensive range of partners. Our previous Senior Leadership Team structure has evolved and been developed into an Executive Leadership Team. Members of the Executive Leadership Team have leadership roles as well os delivery/operationol responsibilities. We have previously only listed our Senior Leadership Team Iwho report to the CEO) but forthis report we have listed all members of our Executive Leadership Team lincluding those who report to the Deputy CEO) and plan to continue this opproach going forward. The Executive Lead•rship Team (ELT) comprises: Dlana G•rald MBE Chief Executive Offi'cer Ann1• Crombl• Deputy CEO Colln Atkln$ Chief Operating Officer B•n•dl¢t Arora Director of Communications lappolnted 1 November 2022) All personnel aside from the CEO and members of the Executive L8adership Team are remunerated within a pay framework set using job evaluation and analysis ond, where relevant, externol benchmarking. We have moved to a new pay policy which increases the focus on staff performance against job-related targets and assessments. There is olso an annual cost of living review. Changes to the pay policy as w811 asto the annual cost of living award are decided upon by the Board on the recommendation of the Equality, Diversityi Inclusion & Remuneration Committee. Remuneration of the CEO Is agreed by Trustees based on a formal performance evaluation and periodic e)rternal benchmarking. In addition, trustees set annual salary ranges for members ofthe Executive Leadership Team. In 2022123, in light of the exceptional circumstances with regard to increases in the cost of living and energy, the Board decided to award a one-off payment for stafF. Mik• Buos Finance Director (oppointed 3 January 2023) Llzzl• Cotford Director of Children's Books (appointed 3 October 2022) Jlll Col•man Director of Children's Books (resigned 30 April 20221 Claire Ooodall Director of Design, Development & strategic Planning Juli• Hayward Associate Director of Partnerships (appointed 1 May 2023) Ruthann Hughes Director of Research & Impact Lee Groen Director of Income (resigned 14 October 2022) 26 Statement of I rusrees- responsiDiiiiies The Trustees (who are olso directors of BookTrust for the purposes of companv law) ore responsible for preparing the Trustees, Report and the financial statements in accordonce with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Stondards (United Kingdom Generolly Accepted Accounting Proctice). Company law requlres the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial yearwhich give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of BookTrust and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of BookTru5t for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to: The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of BookTrust ond enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of BookTrust and therefore taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on BookTrust's website. Public Benefit Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistentlv BookTrust hos referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing its aims and objectives and in Make judgements and estimates that planning future activities. In particular, the are reasonable and prudent Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims ond obj8Ctives State whether applicable UK Accounting they have set. Stondards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the fi'nancial statements Prepare the financial statements on th8 going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that BookTrust will continue in business. Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 27 Statsm•nt of TNst••s' r•$ponslbllltles Statement as to Disclosure of Inft>rmation to the Auditor The Trustees who were In office on the date of approval of these financial statements have confirmed, as far as they are aware, thot there is no relevant audit informotion of which the auditor is unaware. Each of the Trustees have confirmed that they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that it has been communicated to the auditor. Trustees, annual report, incorporating the Strategic Report, approved by order of the Trustees. Approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Directors and signed on their behalf by: John Coughlan Chair Date.. 09n0123 Gautam Dalal Director Date.. 09M0123 28 Independent auditor's report to rhe memDers of t500k I rust Opinion in accordance with the ethical requirements thot ore relevantto our audit of the financial We have audited the financial statements statements in the UK, including the FRC'S of BookTrust (the 'charitable company,) Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our for the year ended 31 March 2023 which other ethical responsibilities In accordance comprise the statement of financial with these requirements. We believe that activities, balance sheet, statement of cosh th8 audit evidence we have obtained flows and notes to the financial statements, is sufficient and appropriate to provide including significant accounting policies. a basis for our opinion. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable low and United Kingdom Accounting Stondards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard opplicoble in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion, the financial statements.. Give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 March 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended Have been properly prepared In accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 Conclusions relating to going concern In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees, use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financiol statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast Slgnificant doubt on BookTrust's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financiol statements are authorised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. Basis for opinlon We conducted our audit In accordance with Internatlonal Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAS (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company Other Information The other information comprises the information included in the trustees, annual report, including the strategie report, other than the frnancial statements and our ouditorfs report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other informatlon contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial Tr 29 knd•p•nd•nt auditors r•port to th• m•mb•rs ot BookTruit statements does not cover the other misstatements in the truste8s' annual information and, except to the extent report including the strat8gic report. We otherwise explicitly stated in our report, have nothing to report in respect of the we do not express any form of assurance following matters in relation to which the conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to Companies Act 2006 requires us to report read the other information and, in doing so, to you if, in our opinion: consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial Adequate accounting records have stotements or our knowledge obtained not been kept, or returns adequate for in the cours8 of the audit, or otherwise our oudit have not been received from app8ars to be materially misstated. If we branches not visited by us,. or identify such material inconsistencies The financial stotements ore not in or apparent material misstotements, we agreement with the accounting records are required to determine whetherthis and returns,. or gives rise to a materiol misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we hove performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. Opinlons on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 Certain dlsclosures of trustees, remuneration specified by law are not made,. or We have not received all tha information and explanations we require for our audit Responsibilities of trustoes As explained more fully in the statement of trust8es' responsibilities s8t out in the trustees, onnual report, the trustees Iwho are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internol control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of finoncial stotements that are free from material misstatement whether due to fraud or error. In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in th8 course of the audit: The information given in the trustees, onnual repo¢ including the strategic report, for the finoncial year for which tho financial statemonts are prepared is consistent with the financial statements,. and The trustees, onnual report, including the strategic report, has been prepared in accordonce with applicable legal requirements. In preporing the financial stotements, the trustees are responsible for ossessing the choritoble company's obility to continue as a going concern, disclosingi os opplicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitoble company or to ceose operations, or have no realistic alternotive but to do so. Matters on which we are required to report by exceptlon In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtoined in the course of the audit we have not identified materiol 30 Ind•p•nd•nt auditsrf• r•port to th• m•rnhrs of BookTru•t Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whetherthe financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to froud or error, and to issue an ouditor's reportthat includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAS (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the oggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. Identifyin9, evaluating, and complying Wlth laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance,. Detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud,. The internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations. We inspected the minutes of meetings of those charg8d with governanc8. We obtained an understanding ofthe legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a material effect on tho financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the chority from our professional and sector experience. We communicated opplicable laws and regu5ations throughout the audit team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit. We reviewed any reports made to regulators. We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and tested these to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations. We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud. Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregulorities, including fraud are set out below. Capability of the audit In detecting irregularities In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non- compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following.. We enquired of manogement, the finance, oudit and risk committee, which included obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning the charity'5 policies and procedures relating to- In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we tested the approprioteness of journal entries and other adjustments, 31 Ind•pendent audltor's report to the memb•rs Of BookTru8t assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of o potential bias and tested significant transactions that are unusual or those outside the normal course of business. Use of our report This report is made solely to the charitabl8 company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Port 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To th8 fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable compony and the charitable company's members as o bodyi for our audit worl for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregu larities, including those leading to a material misstat8ment in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events ond transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk Is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather thon error, as fraud involves intentionol concealmenL forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council's website at.. .or Oudttor￿$. This description forms part of our auditor's report. Jonathan 0￿hard (Senior statutory auditor) Dote.. 08 November 2023 for and on behalf of Say•r Vlnc•nt LLP Statutory Auditor Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y OTL 32 Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account for the year ended 31 March 2023) Unre#trlcted fundg 2023 <£) R•strl¢t•d fun 2023 (£) Totql funds 2023 <£) Total funds 2022 <£) £'ooo É'ooo Incom• from: Statutory fundlng Corporate partnership8 971 6,971 6,644 312 68 380 424 Individual giving Trust and Foundotion¥ 1,346 1,346 1,286 261 443 704 86 Traded activity Investm8nt dividènds ond Int•rost 2,494 2,494 2,617 29 14 4,442 7,482 11,924 11,07 Exp•ndltur• on: 2a Ralsin9 donations Charltable actlvitle8'. 984 984 863 InltlatSn9 shared reodin9 Supportlng dlsadvantaged famlllas In th•lr early yeors to get reodln9 Eneouroglng chlldren and famlllas to contlnu8 on their reoding journ•y$ Supportln9 children from vulnerable baokgrotjnds to anjoy th6 benefits of reoding Building o Community of odvocote$ ftjr reading Othor artlvitlès supportlng chlldren's reading 212 2,390 1602 2,611 310 4368 4,678 3258 1,144 1,706 2,850 1,531 1,472 S6S 1037 1,935 575 619 286 1,068 4,166 9,604 13,770 11,552 Net Inoom• b•for• goln• I IloM••> on Inv•stm•nt• 276 111221 11.8461 14811 Net 90Snl110581 on invèstmants N•t In¢om•l l•xpendltur•) Tronsfer between fund5 13111 13111 228 1351 12,1221 12,1571 12531 10a 135 11351 N•t movement in fund# 100 12,2571 12,1571 (2S31 Total funds brought fomard Total lund• ¢urrl•d lorward 5,775 1500 27S &528 5.875 243 6,118 8.27S Balance Sheet As at 31 March 2023 Not• 2023 2022 £'ooo £'ooo rooo £'ooo FIK•d A•••t$ Investments 2,SOO 2,500 Curr•nt AM•ts Investments 1,819 1,468 1,959 4,152 Stock 1,836 Debtors 2,386 Cash at bank and Sn hand 1,043 1,131 289 9,50S Cr•dltorv. omounts fallln9 du8 within onè yètsr 12,6ni 13,7301 N•t Curr•nt A•••t• 3,618 5,775 N•t A•••ts 118 8.276 Fund¥ Rostrietod Funds 10a 243 2,500 Unrostrlet8d.. General Funds 100 5,87S 4,603 1,172 276 Desl9nated Fund$ 100 Approved and authorised for issue by the board of directors on 09110123 and signed on their behalf by.. John Coughlan Director Qautam Dalal Treasurer 34 Cash Flow Statement A* a* ?1 ?n?? 2023 2022 000 £'ooo Cdih flow* trom op•ratlng a¢tlvltl¢s Net in¢om8 before investment goins I Ilossesl for the reporting pgrlod los per the statement of flnrjnciol octivitièg) Interest 11,846) 14811 14 Ilncreasel / decrease in $to¢k 368 14371 11,4471 1,466 Ilncreasel I decrease in debtors Increase / Idecreasel in creditors 11.059) 12,0961 N•t ¢a*h provld•d by op•vatlng a¢tlvltl 18991 Ca•h ftow• from inv••tlng aotlvltl•• Interest 114) Proceeds from sale of investment$ 2,572 3.872 Purehoge of Investments 11,1221 14,2131 391 N¢t ¢osh mov6ment in Snvestments S72 Chang• In +)o*h In v•portln9 p•rlod 1881 18491 Ahttly*l• afea•h and ca•h •qulval•nts Calh in hond Balance brought forward Increose I Ide¢reo$¢l In yoor Balanc• ¢arrl•d hrword 1,131 1881 1,980 18491 1,043 1,131 Ca#h In hand Bonk bolonca 1,048 1,043 1,131 1,131 35 Notes to the accounts 31 March 2023 Principal accounting policies (a) General Informatlon 8ookTrust is a UK registered charitab18 company limited by guarontee. Its registered offices are at1 Aire Street, Leeds, LS14PR. (b) Basls of accounting The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and R8POrting by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to chorities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financiol Reporting standord applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), and the Companies Act 2006. BookTrust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liobilities ore initially recognised at historical cost or tronsoction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant occounting policy notels). (c) Proparatlon of aeeounts on a golng conc•rn basis The Trustees consider there are no material uncertainties about the charity's obility to continue os a going concern. The review of our financial position, reserves levels and future plans gives Trustees confidence th6 Charity remains a going concern for th8 foreseeable future. (d) Fund Accountlng Unrestrlct•d: These funds supports working capltol requirements, cover for risk management and are available for use at the discretion of the directors In furtherance of the general objectlV8s of the charity and which has not been designated for other purposes. R•strict•d: Restricted funds are funds that can only be used for particular purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions orise when specified by the donor or when funds ore raised for particulor restricted purposes, as detailed in note 10. 36 Notes to the accounts (•) Income All income is included in the stotement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reosonoble occuracy. The following specific activities are applied to porticular cotegories of income: Unrestricted donations - are recognised os income when they are quantifiable, probable and entitlement is transferred to BookTrust. This is typically on receipt and accaptance of the donation. Income from any appeal for donatlons for a specific reason is treated as restricted income.and is recognised when the conditions of the appeal have been met Legacies are recognised when all three of the following criteria are met: Probable- the charity is aware that probate has been granted. Measurable - in practice this could come from final estate accounts, cash received or correspondence from executors/solicitors confirming an amount to be distributed. Entitlement - taken as the eorlier of the final estate accounts being approved or cash received. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criterio for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material. Grant income from Arts Council England is accounted for as income in the period to which it applies. Grant income from Arts Council England was accounted for as unrestricted income in 21122, but as restricted In 22123 Income from charitable activities is accounted for as income only when the conditions under the terms of the grant have been fulfilled and includes contributions from organisations for the supply of packs, books, promotions and prizes. To the extent that they are not subject to performonce-related conditions, income from grants, including government grants, for a specific purpose are accounted for as income os they are received and are accounted for as restricted funds. For relevant grants, income is accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance. Where the grant is received in advance of performance, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors. Where entitlement occurs before the grant is received, it is accrued in debtors. Investment income is included when receivable. 37 Notes to the accounts 31 March 2023 (f) Expondituro All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis os o liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and this is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates: Fundroising costs comprise the costs associated with attracting voluntary income and the costs of fundraising. Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking grants and include the cost of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities. Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by BookTrust in th8 delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly and those costs of an Indlrect nature nacessory to supportthem. Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and includes the audit fees and costs linked to the company secretary. Support costs include central functions and have b88n allocoted to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources. These are incorporated into the expenditure figures in the statement of financial octivities. (g) Stock Stock is valued at cost price if it is to be used in the programme the followlng year. Obsolete stock is written down to zero and stock held under contract is valued at the net realisable value. (h> Flxed a$$•ts Single assets over £10,000 are capitolised. (l) D•btors Trade and other debtors are recognised at the s8tt1ement amount due. Prepayments are valued atthe amount prepaid. ) Cr•ditors and provlslons Creditors and provisions are recognlsed where the charlty has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount. (k) Cash at bonk and in hand and eash equlvalents Cash at bank and in hand includes cash held in accounts. 38 Notes to the accounts (l) Hnancial Instruments With the exception of investment assets, the trust only has finoncial assets and financial liobilities of a kind that qualify os basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement valve. Investment assets are measured at fair value. (m) P•nslons Employees are eligible to join the stokeholder pension scheme operated by Scottish Widows. Employees join the stakehold8r pension controct directly with Scottish Widows. BookTrust makes o contribution to th@ pension scheme of 7Yo of employee salary and also acts as agent in collecting and paying over employee pension contributions. In) Inv•stmont8 Investments are valued at their market value ruling at the balance sheet dote, which gives rise to unrealised gains and lossos that are included in the statement of financial activities. The portion of the investments that are intended to be for the long term are shown as a fixed asset. ¢9) Slgnlflcant accountlng Judgem•nt• and sourc•s of •stlmatlon unc•rtalnty There are no areas in the accounts where management has been required to make significantjudgements or estimations due to uncertainty. Notes to the accounts 31 March 2023 2a Analysis of expenditure (current year) ¢hqrltqW•A¢tlvW £tooo 000 1,676 74 'ooo £iooo t¢OD rooo rooo BookBand r•wutC•B 160 1,177 699 16 4,908 8,9S9 Rea4ar¢h, publicty& •n9Q9omènt Dl4trlbLrtltsrnlwor•houBlng Poyroll co*t¥ Irbyts 41 othor •tolfino Colts Trav•1 arwj xubyittèfice Prof•$>lenal f••1 ond flt)on co8ts 178 187 781 $90 892 372 1745 4,897 541 1,506 481 S09 IN94 Te9 556 82 4046 43 89 47 32 63 14 142 184 Esta￿lIhrnO￿tand ofFSc•co 384 402 335 169 839 2,220 373 8,989 6n 1430 1,737 292 S28 S2 1975 13,770 89 Gtsv•rThane•owts T•tdl•xp•ndits*•2Q2J 1602 4rn 1097 1>.770 T•lal •xp*ndltuv•ZOZI Of the total expenditure, £4,166,000 was unrestricted12022: £10,114,000) and £9,604,000 was restricted (2022.. £1,438,000). 40 Notes to the accounts 31 mur￿11 2v£3 2b Analysis of expenditure (prior year) ¢harbbhA4tlvltl•A t¢>oo <￿00 £'ooo £'ooo tooo i'o00 £iooo vooo 501 3.959 Books and r•$ourc•J 140 970 1.125 403 783 37 publlclty & •no¢Jo•m•nt Di•tr1t>Lrtltsn l ¥￿￿•hOuS1ng Poyroll w$t$ (note41 Oth•r4tofflng COBts Tr0v•land ￿bal￿￿￿• Prof•i•ignolf••Aond flnanc• ¢o•t• 183 19 781 167 326 20 1,506 309 1.029 574 431 4,046 75 97 S2 90 428 14 36 109 184 E•t¢bll&hrn6ntand offlce cott* IT 3es 385 10 230 369 751 2,270 2,834 dos 1,392 1,682 249 929 1,436 Supptrrtcosti QovernOn￿ co•t T•tol •xp•ndltur•2022 107 %25 85 133 18 19 12 (691 1.061 41 Notes to the accounts 31 March 2023 3 Net incoming/(outgoing) resources 2023 2022 £'ooo £'ooo Thls 1$ *tat•d aft•r ¢Jharglng th• follgwing: Dlreet ¢93ts ond other op8rating churges Includg.. Opèratin9 leases Hire of equlprngnt Rents poyable Audltors r•munotation 276 237 Audlt servleas 16 14 Non-audit s•rvic•$ 42 Notes to the accounts r4•b• 4 Staff costs 2022 £'ooo £'ooo Solorlas So¢iol setturity costs Pension costs 4,056 429 3.370 352 367 298 Redundaney and terminotion poyments 45 31 4,897 4,046 Number of employees receiving total gross remuneration in the yeor in the range.. 2023 2022 Numb•r Numb•r £60,000 - £69,999 £70,000 - È79,999 £80,000- É89,999 £90,000- £99,999 00.000 - £109,999 £110,000 - £119,999 The key management personnel comprises the senior leadership team and the total cost of remuneration, benefits and pensions paid to them in the year was £536,000 (2022.. £489,000) Total employer pension contributions in the year for these staff Members were £31,000 (2022.. 225,000) 2023 2022 Numb•r Numb•v The average number of employees by fvnct5on, was- Charitabl• octivity 73 69 Fundraising Administratlon ond Support 17 1S 98 90 The trustees have not received any remuneration or benefits in kind during the year12022'. £Nil) 2023 2022 Numb•r Number Nurnbor of trustees reimbursed expenses during the year The Trustees received reimbursement of expenses during the year of less than £500 (2022.. <£500) 43 Notes to the accounts 31 March 2023 5 Taxation As a registered Charity Booktrust is exempt from taxation on income arising from its charitable activities. 6 Investments Quot•d Irw•gtm•nts 2020 2022 £'ooo Falr value atth• stort of the y$¢r Addltions 6,652 1,122 12,5721 6,474 4.X3 Disposal proceeds Net galn/ Il¢$sl on chang8 In Investments folr value ovement In ¢osh bolone• 13,8721 228 15721 4,319 13911 Folr value ot th8 end of tha yeor Hi$tori¢al cost 6,652 4.000 6,000 Investment management charges totalled £42,00012022: £64,000) 7 Debtors 2023 2022 £'ooo Amounts lalllng du• wlthln on• y•ar. Trad8 debtors 838 other debtors 200 172 Prepoymernts and accrued income 921 1,503 2,386 1,959 8 Creditors 2023 2022 £'ooo £'ooo Arnounts lalllng due withln on• y•ar: Trode Credrtors 343 1,356 106 othar tax8s and soclal s8curlty Accruols In 266 Deferred incomo (note 111 Other creditors 1,929 1,991 11 11 2,67 3,730 44 Notes to the accounts 9 Financial instruments 2029 2022 £'ooo £'ooo Flnunolal Ai*•ts Flnanclal assets measured gt arnortisod cost Financlal assets measured at folr volua through profit or loss 2,691 3,199 4,318 6,652 7,009 9,851 2023 2022 £'ooo £'ooo Flngnolql Llabllltl•• Financial liabilities meo$ured at amortised co8t 455 1,614 455 1.514 Financial assets measured at amortised cost include cash, trade receivables, other receivables excluding tax receivables, and accrued income. Financiol assets measured at fair value through profit or loss include investments in securities which are publicly traded. Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost include trade payables and accruals. 45 Notes to the accounts 31 March 2023 10a Funds 1 Aprll IncomSng R•*¢￿￿•* TranstevJ Inwstment 2022 re•ources gain*1 31 March 2023 lund• Vnr•strfrt•d Fund&. General funds 4,603 4,442 14,1661 1B07 1311> 6,875 D•si9not•d Fun Incomé Diversification 1.172 11,1721 135 &775 4,442 14,1661 5.875 R•strlot•d Fund&. Initlatlng sharèd reading Supportlng di5advontoged famlll8s in their early yaars tts get reading En¢ouraglng chlldren ond fornllles to continue on their raadlng journeys Supportln9 chSldren from vulnerable boek9rounds to enjoy the bènèfits of reodlng Bulldin9 0 communrfcy of advocott$ for reading Othar actlvlties Supportlng childr•n's readlng 2,390 12.3901 2,198 2,284 14,3681 109 307 1,668 11,7061 11351 134 565 15651 S75 16751 2,500 7,482 11,924 19,6041 113,7701 11351 243 8,27S 13nl 6,118 Income includes £5,763,000 from Arts Councll England restricted in 2022123 (2021122 £5,673,000 unrestricted). UnrestrSeted Funds The general fund stood ot £5,875,000 at 31st March 2023 (2022.. £5,775,000). This fund supports working capital requirements, provides cover for risk management and is availoble for use at the discretion of the directors in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which has not been designated for other purposes. RestrICt￿ Funds Restricted funds have been elassified by the purposes for which they were received, and include all grants and donations where the conditions for recognition have been satisfied at the balance sheet date. The Trustee5 have reviewed these funds and are satisfied that there are clear plans to deploy these funds for the purposes stipulated. 46 Notes to the accounts 10b Prior year funds In¢omlng R••our¢•• Tronsf•r$ Inv•rtm•nt r•sour¢•$ b•tweon 901n lund* 81 Mar¢h 2023 2022 Unvostricted Fund*" General funds 4,878 10,135 19,6681 19701 228 4,603 Design¢it•d Fund•: Income Divarslflcotlon 160 1,012 1,172 Research & Programme Development 488 14481 1421 5,526 10,135 110,1141 228 5,775 R••trlot•d Fundi: Initloting shorèd rèodSng Supportlng dlsadvantaged fomllle5 in their eorly yèorg to get readlng Encovrgging chlldran and famllies to ¢ontinu8 on their reading journeys Supportlng chlldren from vulneroble backgrounds to enjoy the bgnofits of r8odlng Bulldin9 a communlty of advocatos for readlng Other a¢tivitias supportlng childr*n'8 r¢odin9 232 12321 2,658 352 18171 2,193 307 305 24 1221 119 11S01 27 1271 28 182 3,002 986 11,4381 111,5521 2,500 8,276 8,528 11.071 228 47 Notes to the accounts 31 March 2023 11 Deferred incomo L•tt•rbax BookBuzz Orant Other sales fundlng Invol￿5 not v•td•llver¢d £'ooo 934 £'ooo 238 £'ooo 796 Balance at 1 Aprll 2022 23 1,991 Reloasèd to Ineoming resources Amount deferred in y80r Bolonc• a5 Qt 31 March 2023 17911 12381 17421 1231 11,794) 1,744 735 302 707 878 302 761 1,941 Prior year deferred Income L•tt•rbox Bt)ok8uzz Oraht Oth•r •al fundlng InvoS¢08 not y•t d•ll¥•v•d £'ooo £'ooo £'ooo eooo £'ooo 8olon¢¢ at1 Aprll 2021 992 218 37 1,247 ReleaBed to Incomin9 re8ource8 Amount deferred in y￿r Balance as at 31 Mar¢h 2022 19921 12181 1371 11,2471 1,991 934 238 796 23 934 238 796 23 1,991 Deferred Income for Letterbox and BookBuzz comprises pack sales in advance of delivery. 48 Notes to the accounts 12 Analysis of net assets between funds 2023 2022 Unr•rtrlct fund• R•*trl¢t tund6 Total Unr•strf¢t•d tund• R•strictsd funds T+)tal 'ooo £'ooo 2.000 £'ooo £'ooo Invg8trn8nts 2,257 248 2,500 4,154 1,621 1498 6,652 N9t ¢urrent assets 3,618 3,618 1,623 Net Assets 5,875 243 6,118 S.77S 2,500 8,275 13 Financial commitments Financial commitments under non-cancellable operating leases will result in the following payments falling due,. 2023 2022 Lond ond bulldlnq• Oth•r Ltsnd and bulldln91 oth•r £'ooo £'ooo £'ooo Lèe$as txplrlng In.. Less than one year I to S y&ars 15 3S7 61S 13 372 61S 13 49 Notes to the accounts 31 March 2023 14 Comparative statement of financial activity Unr6strl¢ted funds 2022 £'ooo R•#tri¢ted tund• 2022 Totql fundi 2022 £'ooo £'ooo In¢¢*m• Iron Statutory funding Corporcrto partngr8hSps $.726 918 &644 410 14 424 Individual giving Tru¥t ond Foundotions 1,285 1,286 83 86 Traded octivity Investment dividends and Int8r85t 2.617 2,617 14 14 10,135 936 11,On Exp•ndltur• on: Raising donatlon$ Churltubl• a¢tSvltl•• 863 863 Inltloting shorod readln9 Supporting disadvanta9od fomilles in th•ir •arly yèars to get rèoding En¢ouragln9 chlldren ond fomllles to eorntlnue on thelr rèodlng journeys Supportlng children from vulnoruble backgrounds to enjov the benefttg tsf rèadlng 2,379 232 2,611 2,440 818 3,258 1,508 23 1,531 1,807 128 1,935 BulldSng a community of advo¢ates for readlng 2S9 27 286 other actSvitles supporting chlldr8n'5 readin9 858 1,068 10,114 1,438 11,S52 N•t Incom• befor• oolng I (loM•s) Oh Inv•stm•nt• 15021 14811 Net goinl Ilossl on investmènts 228 228 N•t Inoom• 249 15021 12531 N•t mov•m•nt In fvnd• 249 15021 12531 Total funds brought forward Total fund* carrl•d forward 5,526 3,002 8.628 5,77S 2,SOO 8,27S 50 Notes to the accounts 15 Funds held as custodian truste• on behalf of others BookTrust is the so18 trustee of the Bassie Award Trust lestablished 1996) whose assets are held to support the Women's Prize for Fiction, one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, administered by the Women's Prize Trust, a registered charity (registered charity number 1181253). The objects for which the Women's Prize Trust exists relate to the advancement of the art of Ilterature for the public benefit. This relates to BookTrust's promotion of reading and advocacy for national and local policies to recognise the social and economic importance of reading. The assets held in this copacity were £250,000 plus accrued interest of £27,493. Since the rnaturity of the originally gifted long-term bond these funds were held in a separate deposit account with Natwest Bank, pending final details of transfer of the assets to the Women's Priz8 Trust. This has now all bean paid over and the account closed. Given that BookTrust has no beneficial interest in these funds, they are not included in our financial statements. 16 Mohn Westlake Foundation Diana Gerald, CEO of BookTrust, is also a Trustee for the Mohn Westlake Foundation. In 2021122 BookTrust was awarded o restricted grant with performance conditions from the Mohn Westlake Foundation for the periods 2022 to 2025 with a volue of £1.7m over the three years and an advance payment of 20.67m included in creditors. BookTrust also received an unrestricted gront of £62,000 in 2023 (2022.. £nil). Diana is also Co-chair/ Trustee of EURead, a non-profit association in Belgium. BookTrust poys an annual subscription of 2,500 euros. 51 bktrust.org.uk SupPurtpdu￿gVJbll£lu￿dlNtsbI 11 O X @booktru8t ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND 20¥J BookTruyL Chor 0.. &12843 Gettlng ¢hlldrnn reodin9 rr. Annual Report 2022/23 Start Contents Letter from the chair 03 Introduction 05 The future 13 Our funders and supporters Equalitys Diversity and Inclusion Sustainability Financial Review 15 17 18 19 Key risks and uncertainties Legal and administrative information 23 24 Structure, governonce and management Statement of Trustees, responsibilities Independent auditor's report to th8 members of BookTrust 25 27 29 Statement of flnancial activities 33 Bolonce sheet 34 Cash Flow Statement 35 Notes to the Account 36 How to use this PDF Return to contents Print document Next page revious page Letter from the chair Chlldren and families sharing stories can be life-changing. Afamiliar part of childhood experienc• for so many. shared reading brings joy and strengthens relationships, embeds routine and helps children learn. And the positive benefits last throughout childhood and beyond. The past year has been onother challenging one for the children and families BookTrust supports. The cost of living crisis has seen many more families with young children finding themselves in poverty. Children who missed out on critical development opportunities during the pandemic have fallen behind in t@rms of longuage development and communication skills. Their sociol and emotional well-being has been affected. In this challenging context our work is more vitol than ever and the need for our support is growing. 2022-3 has been a critical year in BookTrust's journey and evolution. Over the past 12 months, our programmes and support have reached 2.4 million children and their families and we ore deliberately targeting more children in poverty. And building on our fantastic network of partnerships with all local outhorities in England and Wales, and Trusts and the Education Authority in Northern Ireland, we delivered the first year of our new targeted early years progrommes, Bookstart Toddler and Pre-schooler, working with 6,000 new portners and reaching over 343,000 families. l am delighted thot we hove taken this critical step in the delivery of our new strategy it lays strong foundations for the future so that alongside the thousands of practitioners ond partners we support, and with the help of our friends ond funders, we con continue to expand our impact for the families that have mostto gain from reading regularly and by choice. l am also proud to say that early impact evidence shows our now 8ookstart programmes are popular with practitioners and most importantly are creoting new interest and engagement with reading by many families. As well as new partnerships and programmes there has been much continuity for all children.. books and resources for all new babies and their fomilies,. a second successful year of our Storytime programme in public libraries,. more vulnerable children supported with our Letterbox Club programme,. a quarter of a million 11-13 yearolds taking port in Bookbuzz and choosing a book to keep,. thousands of children enjoying author visits by diverse authors and L•tt•r from th• Chair illustrators- ond last but not least our support for the Waterstones Children's Laureate, Joseph Coelho. We have continued to deepen our research with children and families, building our understanding of families, lives and reading behaviours. This year we have been able to see the first early signs of real impcct in behaviour chonge, and this n8w insight will be invaluable in the future design and improvement of our work. We have settled into our new home in Leeds, enjoying the benefits of this new proximity to our many partners in the North as we look to embed portnerships and ways of place-based working that will help us reach more families in ways that ore right for them. We are delighted that Arts Council England have recognised our work, and the important role of raading for children and families, by selecting BookTrust as a Nationol Portfolio Organi5ation. We ore grateful fortheir continued support, and forthe support of our Patron, Her Mojesty the Queen, who is such a tr8mendous champion of reading, ond to all our other funders, partners, donors and friends, who make our mission possible. As I reflect on the post year and how much we have achieved l am struck too by how much more we need to do. Many more children in the early years could benefit from our support. Reading holds huge potential forthe most vulnerable children in the hordest of circumstances. They are children who otherwise are being denied a life-changing right. Looklng forwards we will continue to innovate and test new approachas, build new partnerships and seek new funding: at a time of such critical need across the country this feels imperative. Thank you for taking tlmo to read this and for your support of BooktrusL We look forward to worklng with you In the year ahead on behalf otthe natlon's children. Chair of Trustees AHOUSEI ch Ji Introduction Why? Because reading has the power to change lives. Children who choose to read and who read regularly ore happier and heolthier, they form stronger bonds and relationships, they do better at school and ore more creative and enjoy more success in life. We work with families across England, Northern Ireland ond Wales, supporting them to start sharing stories ond books together from the earliest possible age. Thanks to our extensive network of enthusiastic ond loyol partners, our programmes, resources and advice bring the magic of reading to children in every town, village, city and community where we work. Each year we get millions of children reading, especially those from low- income families or vulnerable backgrounds. This yeor has seen us take a significant step forward in the implementation of our five-year strategy, Wlth the roll out of Bookstart Toddler and Bookstart Pre- Schooler programmes for low-income families. Here are some highlights from our year.. Helping low-income chlldren and families to become readers Reading in the early years helps children reach o wide range of early development goals and do well across the curriculum, closing the gap between low-income children ond th8ir more advantaged peers. This year we made great strides forword with our new Early Years programme - Bookstart Toddler and Bookstart Pre-schooler- designed for low-income families ond reaching an estimated 343,000 families by the end of March 2023, working with thousands of settings including nurseries, family hubs and community groups. Moving forwards this programme will reach over 400,000 families annually. 84/0 of low-income families say these packs prompted th8m to read and share stories more with their child. We partnered with 2.512 libraries in England and Northern Ireland 72% of library , workers We concluded the second year of delivery of our new Storytime programme. Through this exciting library- based experience we partnered with 2,512 librories in England and Northern Irelond, supporting lower income families to engage with their local libraries. 72/0 of library workers responding to our survey said they really enjoyed working on this progromme. really enjoyed working on this programme ££ We had a couple of books (at home), but I've actually learn•d from Mmlng h•r• how to •njoy r•adlng books to ￿r a lot mor•. It's som•thing I probably wouldn't have done an awlul lot of. Before tha¢ It would be a onc•-a- week kind ot thlng. Now It's every nlghL YY Aine in Northern Ireland who is exploring Bookstart Toddler with her two-year-old daughter (rt a local Sure Start centre Introdu¢tion 10% increase in children, registered ' Supporting children from vulnerable family backgrounds to enjoy the benefits of reading During 2022-23 we saw a 10/0 increase in children registered for Letterbox Club, with more than 13,000 children receiving Letterbox Club parcels. Designed for children aged 3-13 who are looked-after, these parcels put high-quality books ond associated materials in the hands and homes of children at most in naed. 95% of children in core who receive a Letterbox Club porcel t811 us they'like, or'love, it. We are ambitious to reach more children from vulneroble family backgrounds ond during the second half of the year we began exploring new partnerships to do this. Over the coming year we will be testing new prototypes ond programmes to support children who are looked-afteri previously looked after, vulnerable or on the edge of care. for Letterbox Club ££ The books that you Choose are r•ally hlgh quallty What I love about BookTrust Isthat you haven't assumed that •v•ryon• has a poncll at hom• that's BookTrust thlnklng outsld• th• box and r•ally und•rstandlng. YY Primary School teacher using Letterbox Club Learning moro about the famllles we work with We completed our second extensive survey of 2,148 low-lncome families with children aged 0-7 years living In England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Findings reveal overwhelming support amongst families for reading and sharing stories in the early years - with 95Y• se8ing reading as Important for thelr chlld. introdu¢tion However, we also discovered that more than 1 in 4 parents find reading with their child challenging ond a lack of confidence was affecting 21Yo of families. We will be sharing thes8 insights through a seriés of thematic briefings during 2023 and using the information gathered to develop our programmes going forward. In addition, we conducted an extensive ethnogrophlc discovery project to learn more about famllies with chlldren aged O-S years to understand their experlences, needs, motivations and borriers to reading. Thls work wlth families has helped us to identlfy new opportunities to support children and families in the early yeors and will shape the developm8nt of programmes in future years. We carry out our learning with o diverse range of families in our target group, helping us to ensure that we deslgn and develop programmes and support that ore supportive and inclusive of oll needs, backgrounds and circumstances. Helping all families start their reading Journey We know that sharing books, stories and rhymes with children from an early ag8 can help them to become lifelong readers. For more than 30 years, Bookstart Baby has been guiding families as they start their child's reading journey. Thanks to the wonderful support of our partners, during 2022-23 we distributed more thon half a mllllon Bookstart Baby paeks, reaching 93/0 of the target audience across England, Northern Ireland and Walos. Boby reaches families with children under1 in every community across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, which is an extraordinary level of reoch. In Wales, the Big Welsh Rhyme Time returned to libraries, schools and nurseries for tha fifth year. The week-long event was enjoyed by more thon 24,000 childron aged 0-5, with 530 early years settin9Staking part. While nearly 34,500 reception-aged children took part in our exciting bilingual literacy and numeracy programme, Pori Drwy Stori, funded by the Welsh Government , 34.500 reception ' -aged children took part in our exciting bilingual literacy and numeracy programme Introductlon Bullding new partnerships During 2022123 we have transform8d how we work with our partners. Thanks to our new expanded and strengthened partnerships team we have worked with more partners than ever, including more thon 6,300 organisatlons involved in the early years sector. Our partners include every local outhority in England and Wales, trusts and Education Authority in Northern Ireland, health visitors, teachers, library work8rs, social workers, housing associations. children's centres, foodbanksi prisons and early years practitioners all of whom are helping us to reoch children and families wherever they are. 90Yo of our early years practitioner partners give BookTrust Storyt8118r resources a rating of 4 or 5 out of 5. New partnershlps establlshed this year include the Neonatal Unit ot Bradford Royol Infirmary who helped to get Bookstart Baby packs to the hospital's youngest patients. In Northern Ireland a partnership with Children's Books Irelond has seen libraries at eight primary schools on either side of the border stocked with a diverse range of inspiring new books. We have worked with more than , 6.300 organisations involved in the early vears sector W• often say thot books act both as mirrors and windows. so that a child can see their own lived exp•rionces refl•cted back to them as well os being abloto st8P into another person's shoes and see things from their polnt of view. Not only are these books a joy to read, they can help to bulld up children's self-worth and their ability to empathise with others. YY Kirsty Andrews, Principal at Tullygate Primary School, beneficiary of our partnership with Children's Books Ireland Introductlon We continued to prornote children's authors and illustrators of colour, introducing nearly Ensuring books and storles represent children and the world they live in Books play an important role in helping children to fe81 accepted and to build empathy and understonding. During the year we continued to use our book selection and curation to support and promote books by a diverse range of authors and Sllustrcrtors. 49.000 children at almost In November we released three reports exploring representation in children's books. This new res8arch highlighted the critical impact that representation has on a child's motivation and desire to read. , 1.700 ', primary schools We continued to promote children's authors and illustrators of colour through our BookTrust Represents project, introducing nearly 49,000 children at almost 1,700 primary schools to a creator of colour. to a creator of colour. We have also collaborated with on extensive range of children's authors, illustrators and publishers to ensure we ore able to share the best resources with children and families, encouraging and inspiring them on th8ir r80ding journey. ££ I Ilk• In thls book that It makes m• feel happy when I read It. It makes m• f••1 bett•r wh•n I read It and I can see somethlng like me, and I can understand that is not only m• like that YY Primary school child followlng a BookTrust Represents author visSt 10 Introduetlon Encouraging children to keep reading Enjoyment of reading declines os children hit teenage years. Through Bookbuzz we are encouraging 11 to 13 year olds to keep reading for pleasure. Bookbuzz gives young people the chance to choose from carefully selected books that are written specifically for young adults. This year we sow an 8/0 increase in young people taking the opportunity to choose a Bookbuzz book with more than 271000 puplls reached. We distributed our School Library Pack and Spacial School Library pack to ovor 3,000 secondary schoolg arKI sp•elal Schools. Our Great Books Guide, developed to help teachers choose diverse and inclusive new books for children of all ages, was once again distributed to 17,000 $chool$ in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. 705,000 4 to 5-yeor-old children took part in our Time to Read programme, receiving a pack containing an exciting book and information for parents to encourage th8m to continue reading together when their child starts school. 8/0 increase in young people taking the opportunity to choose a Bookbuzz book 705.000 4t05 -year-old children took port in our Time to Read programme ££ To get books into hands of students who may not have books at home was the best part about Bookbuzz. To see children hug a book after you have told them that It Is thelrs to keep was a special mom•nK It madetho programme worthwhile. YY Charlie Hield, English tgacher at Sidestrand Hall School, Bookbuzz user 11 Introduction Building a community of champions to promote the benefits of reading The support of independent advocates and influences is essential in amplifying our voice and making sure the benefits of reading are understood farand wide. W8 said a grateful farewell to Cressida Cowell after an amazing three years with her as Waterstones Children's Laureate. During hertenure she established her Life-changing Libraries project and launchad the Laureate Reoding Charter to ensure all children have access to books. We gave a warm welcome to Joseph Coelho, award- winning performance poet, playwright and children's author, as Waterstones Children's Laureate 2022- 24. In June 2022 Joseph set out his ambitions for his Laureate period - to celebrote the power of poetry, showcase new authors ond illustrators and champion the role public libraries play in communities today. During his first nine months, Joseph has r8corded 26 Poetry Prompts videos and continued his 'library marathon,, visiting and joining a library in every region ofthe UK. In September 2022, we were thrilled to have Nlck Sharratt, one of the nation's favourite children's author- illustratorss join us os our Writer-lllustrator in Residence. Nick used his time 05 Writer-lllustrotor in Residence to champion the extraordinary power of pictures and visual images in children's books and the crucial role they play in enriching a child's experience when it comes to reading. ££ I'm passlonate about how plctures and Images encourage and enrich chlldren's reading experiences and how frequently they can take us on wonderful Journoys Indop•ndent of th• word Plctur•s can bo incredlbly freeing and •mpowering. particularly for those chlldren who aren't blg read•rs. So many children onjoy sharing books by focuslng on the Imagery rather than the text. YY Nick Sharrat( Writer- Illustrator in Residence 12 The future - Today. millions of children are facing disadvantage and inequalities that will persist throughout their lives. Reading is a way of breaking this cycle. Over the coming year we will continue to work towards our ombition of bringing the benefits of reading to children in the greatest need. We will continue to learn about and understand the lives of families as they respond and adapt to the pressures of the cost of living, technological changes, and advancements. This insight will inform how we innovate and adapt our programmes and resources, so we are giving children and families the best support possibl8. Our central focus will continueto be on helping low- income families ond children from vulnerable family backgrounds to read regularly and share stories together from the earliest possible moment. 13 The futur• Through helping children and families read regularly and by choice our work will helpto achieve: More children having stronger bonds and relationships with their families. More children having a stronger sense of wellbeing ond achieving strong educational outcomes. More children from disadvantaged backgrounds having a stronger sense of the possibilities open to them in life. More people leading wide-ranging creative and cultural Ilves. 14 Our funders and supporters We are very grateful to the individuals. Companies. foundations. trusts and governments who have supported our efforts to inspire. encourage and support families and children on their reading journey over the past year. We would particularly like to thank: Her Majesty the Queen, for her ongoing Patronoge and support for the cause of reoding more widely. Arts Council EngSand for their ongoing and significant support and awarding us regular funding status through selecting BookTrust os a National Portfolio Organisation - as one of the top 10 funded orgonisations in their portfolio we reflect Arts Council England's commitment to the early years and children os readers. In Wales, the Welsh Government and in Northern Ireland, the Department for Education and Education Authority, for recognising the power of reading to transform lives through their funding for Book Trust programmes. The Mohn Westloke Foundation for their ongoing and generous support to our work with disadvantaged and vulnerable children. Waterstones, os we mark ten years of working together.. a special partnership supported by Waterstones staff and customers, which over the post decade has raised £2 million for BookTrust to support disadvantaged and vulnerable children, and has supported the Waterstones Children's Loureat8. 15 Our fund•rn ond 8upportor8 The Build a Bear Foundation for their generous support of our Christmas fundraising compaign and helping us to send festive book parcels to vulnerable childr8n and children in care at Christmas. Our 8,600 Friends and supporters who collectively raised over £750,000 for BookTrust last year. The overwhelming generosity of the supporters of our Christmas Appeal. Against the back-drop of the cost- of-living crisis they donated £337,000 to send over 16,000 book parcels to children in need. Children, families, teachers and staff from 1,600 schools and nurseries who spent o day in their pyjamas reading and sharing stories for our annual Pyjamaramo fundraiser. We also want to thank our partners in libraries, community organisations, local authorities, early years settings, health visiting and schools, without whom our work would simply not be possible. With their support more families ar8 able to access our books and resources and more children have the chance to become lifelong readers. Finally we are grateful for the support of publishers, authors and illustrotors, whose work and support for us is at the heart of what we do. It can plant a seed. It Is a gift thatean havo a domino effect. For many of these klds. thoy don't own many or any books. By giving theso books, IVS oft•n a starting point forthem. It could instil a new enjoyment of rnading. and they could go on to invest thems•lv•s In reading. YY Active Communities Network, one of our giftlng partners for our Christmas Appeal 16 Equality. Diversity and Inclusion Children from excluded groups are over-represented in our target audience groups of low-income families ond children from vulnerable family bockgrounds: for example 31 % of children in poverty are from minority ethnic bockgrounds. Over the past year we selected, recommended and distributed thousands of inclusive books with stories and illustrations that are representative of o diverse range of different lives and cultures. We included diverse perspectives in our research and design activities, and explored new ways to ensure a wide range of voices contribute to our research, design and development. We successfully extended our earlv vears partnership network to improve our access to families in diverse and excluded communities across the UK. We published research into representation of people of colour among children's book authors and illustrators. We supported new creators of colour and we arranged face to face and virtual events for creators of colour to visit primary and secondary schools to inspire children with their work. And we joined the University of Edinburgh's 'Neurodiversity and Narrative Fiction, project, working with 0 group of neurodivergent young people to understand their own perceptions on the representation of neurodivergence in narrative fiction. Promotlng equality. diversity and inclusion remains a critical commitment for BookTrust across all our activity. as well as part of our strategic approach to the delivery of our mission. 17 ..*ys Sustainability Mindful of the impact that our activities can have. we regularly review how w• work. our supply chain. procurement practices and logistics. We hove introduced changes to our book packs which have reduced weight and size, which going forward will decrease our impoct on the environment with regord to production and transportation. We continued to promote environmental understanding amongst children by identifying appropriote books and producing associated booklists to guide families and teachers. We also joined a partnership led by the University of Exeter and the Notional Trust aimed at promoting biodiversity renewol across the UK. Over the next three years this will be an exciting plotform to explore the role that books can play in supporting greater understanding of biodiversity, and how nature can inspir8 children to read. Finnncial revipw 2022123 saw a planned utilisation of Our fundraising income from corporate reserves resulting in an operating deficit sponsorship and individual giving (before loss on investments) of £1.9m (2022: remained consistent with prior year. deficit of £O.Sm). We continued to receive Trusts and Foundations income increased £5.8m of funding as part of our contract eightfold, predominantly as a result of with Arts Council England (now extended £0.4m of restricted funds from the Mohn for a further threa years) - we are v8ry Westlake Foundation being recognised grat8ful for ACE'S continu8d support, whilst under the terms of the grant. also continuing to diversify our income. We were also successful in securing 20.8m Our Traded programmes, Bookbuzz and 12022: £1.1m) of funding from the Educotion Letter Box Club, continue to be a material Directorate of th8 Welsh Government to source of income. support our work in Wa18s, whilst being able to release £0.3m of def8rred income from the prior yeor. Overall, our total income increased by £0.8m to ￿l.9rn (2022: ￿1.1} with a furthertotol of £1.9m deferred to 2023124 (2022.. £2.Om). 2022123 Total income of £11.9m Individual Giving 11.3% Corporate Partnerships 3.2% Trust and Foundations 5.9% Traded 20.9% Northern Ireland 1.2% Wales &9% Arts Council England ￿3% other 0.3% 2022123 2021122 Total income of £11.1m Individual Giving 11.6% Corporate Partnerships 3￿°￿ Trust and Foundations 0.8•A Traded 23.6% Northern Ireland 0.6% Woles 7.7% Arts Council England 51.70 Other 0.2% 2021122 19 nqnclal r•vi•w Overall expenditur8 increased by £2.2m to £13.8m 12022: £11.6m), supported by the higher use of reserves, as part of our planned strategy.. 2022123 Travel and subsistence £63.000 Professional fees £142,000 IT £360.000 Establishment and office £401000 Research, publicitv and engagement £717.000 Distribution/war8housing £1.745.000 Books and resou rces £4.903.000 staffi ng Costs £6.438.000 Expenditure of £13.8m 2022123 Travel and subsistence £14,000 Professional fees £184000 IT £269.000 Establishment and office £385.000 Research, publicity and engagement £761.000 Distributionlwarehousing £1.506.000 Books and resources £3.959.000 Stoffing Costs £4.474.000 2021122 Expenditure of £11.6m 2021122 Our spend against strategic objectives Ishown below) demonstrates our focus on low-income families in the early years as a key part of our strategyi Wlth spend in this areo increasing by 4.5Y.. All octivity that is delivered by school based partners is now included within SO3, which accounts for the rise in expenditure in this area. Our work on S04 is still in the development phase and investment in 22123 has been mainly vio staff time and inexpensive pilot work and prototyping. We expect this to increose in future years. Other has declined as over the past year we have reviewed all activity that was not strategically aligned and redirected our focus in accordance with our strategy. Strategic Objectives S01 Initiate shared reading S02 Supporting disadvantaged families in their early years to get reading S03 Encouraging children and families to continue on their reading journeys S04 Supporting children from vulnerable backgrounds to enjoy the benefits of reading S05 Building a community of advocates for reading 20 Fing￿la1 r•vl•w Strategic Objective 116.1% Strategic Objective 2 29.0Y. strategic Objective 3 17.7% Strategic Objective 4 12.6•/0 strategic Objective 5 3.8Y• Fundroising 6.1Y. Other O.O°A Overheads 1&7/• 2022123 Expenditure of £13.8m 2022123 Strategic Objective 119.7% strategic Objective 2 24.5Y• Strategic Objective 3 11.5/ Strategic Objective 4 14.6/• strategic Objective 5 2.2QA hundraising 6.5% other 8.0Y. Overheads 13.0°A 2021122 Expenditure of É11.6m 2021122 8ookTrust's funds are divided into two categories: R•s•rv• Polley - thls sets out a minimum level of unrestricted funds to enable the charity to address foreseeable scenarios. It further sets out limits for the liquid portion of these funds to ensure that all current financial obligations to partners, suppliers and staff can be met In a timely manner. Vnr6stri¢t•d R•servM - the Trustees hove considered a worst-cose scenario of an orderly winding up of the charity, together with o scenario of the loss of up to half of our income and restructuring of the charity as a smoller more tightly focussed organisation. In reviewing these scenarios, the Trustees have agreed that o minimum level of £2.5m of unrestricted funds should be retained across the next four years. This recognises our commitments, for example R•strl¢t•d - Restricted funds ore funds that can only be used for particular purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified bv the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes, oligned to the development of our strategic objectives. The specific amounts and objectives of restricted funds are set out in the notes to these accounts. Unr•strlct•d - These funds have not been designated, and support working capital requirements, cover for risk management and ara available for use at the discretion of the directors in furtherance of the gen8ral objectives of the charity. Flnancial r•vl•w to18ases, to staff and to committed traded reserve requirements. Free reserves stand activity, and also takes into account at £1.8m12022: £1.6m), again well in excess working capital requirements which are of minimum free reserve requirements. The driven by advance purchasing (typically trustees are satisfi8d thot the approved in the Far East) to support a six-to-nine- plans for the next three years ensure month production and distribution cycle that funds above the minimum policy thot enables us to deliver large scale requirement will b8 deployed effectively national inte￿entions. Account has also against the charity's objectives. been taken of possible mitigating actions to monage our funding requirements under Investment policy these scenarios. BookTrust's investments portfolio can be Frm R•8•rv•s - The Trustees recognise broken down into two moin cot8gories'. the obligation of the charity to pay its manoged funds and cash on deposit. Our staff, suppliers and others in full in a timely primary objective is to increase the real manner, against seasonal patterns of value of our investments while managing cash flow. In order to ensure that this is our risk. With respect to our managed funds, possible the Trustees have determined we want to invest in a way that provid8S that minmum free reserves should be a high level of diversificotion, flexibil ity maintained such that all current liabilities and liquidity (with limited exposure to can be met in the event of a short delay in market movements). We work closely receipt of Income from grants, etc, Based with our investment managers to monitor on present projections of expenditure this performance against ogreed market level has been setto maintain average benchmarks and our investment objectives. free reserves of £1.2m, drawing down from Investments when required to maintain this level. Thes8 pollcies wlll be revlewed annually by the Trustees to ensure an appropriate ollocatlon of resenies to the achievement of the charlty's strategic aims and purpose. Thetotal value of all funds at 31 March 2023 was £6.1m12022: £8.3m) of which £4.3m (2022: £6.7m) wos held as investments and the balance of £1.8m (2022.. £1.6m) in working capital. Of the £6.Im, £0.2m (2022: £2.5m) was restricted for spacific purposas. This leaves £5.9m (2022: £5.8m) in unrestricted funds which is £3.4m (2022: £3.3m) above our minimum 22 Key risks and uncertainties Our wider larMlscap• - We recognise risks within our wider landscape with o cost of living crisis, significant inflation, increasing globol financial pressures and an unstable geopoliticol situation which has created more uncertainty, risk and instability across our funders, partners and supporters. Partnorshlp and dollvory mod•l - BookTrust receives support from a wide range of portners who ore focing increasing demands for their services and limited resources, alongside the impoct of rising costs to deliver. This strain has put pressure on our current and potentially new local delivery partners. Ineom•- BookTrust receives support from a wide ronge of donors, some of whom may be experiencing financial difficultles in a challenging economic environment of high inflation and significant cost of living pressures. We will need to seek to retain as many of our existing donors as possible, as well as attrocting new supporters and income sources to ensure that we are able to grow and diversify our Income overtime. Cost pr••sur•s - Cost pressures have increased through our supply chain across books, resources and through our logistics. We seek to manage this through focussed cost-optimisotion and efficiency gains. Managlng risk- We continue to work closely with our partners to understand their challenges and how we can support them to deliver. We have invested heavily in our partnership and place-based approach, increasing resources and extending our relationships, and our more targeted approach mokes us valuable to partners in the current circumstances. We are very focussed on developing new opportunities and generoting increased income, and have detailed five year financial and income plonning models to support the organisotion. We do not foresee a signlftcant risk to our financial sustainability or a loss or significant delay in our funding. We were successful in our opplicotion to be an Arts Council England National PortFolio Orgonisation ond have o funding agreement in place until March 2026. Our risk management is reviewed regularly and is supported by strong governanc8 to ensure compliance with the regulatory framework within which we operate. 23 Legal and administrative information Charity Name BookTrust Charity Registration Number 813343 Company Registration Number 00210012 Patron Pr•sld•nt Her Majesty the Queen Sir Michael Morpurgo Board of Tru¥tMs The Trustaes of BookTrust (the charity) are its Trustees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees. John Coughlan CBE Chair Radha Chakraborty Vice Chair Professor Matthew Cripps Goutam Dolal Harpal Dhillon Mlchael Hudack Professor Anthony Kessel Nigel Langstoff Hilary Murray Hill June O'sullivan MBE Victoria Sellick MBE Professor Stephen Scott CBE Honorory Treasurer (Resigned 31 Mav 2023) IAppolnted 3 May 2022) (Resigned 1 October 2022) Chl•f ExKutlv• Company S•cr•tory Diana Gerald MBE Jennifer Rachael Bailey eglster•d Offic• 1 Aire Street, Leeds, England, LS14PR lfrom 14 April 2022) Our Advls•rs Auditors Sayer Vincent LLP, Invicta House,108-114 Golden Lane, London EC1Y OTL NatWest,111-117 Putney Hi9h Street, London SW1S 2LL Russell-cooke, 2 Putney Hill, London SW15 6AB Epoch Consultlng, Queen Square House, Queen Square Place, Both BA12LL Bank Solicitors Investment Managers 24 Structure. governance anci managemenr 8ookTrust is a private company limited equality and diversity, peop18 and culture. by guarantee without share capital and This year, we hove established a new lead a charitable company limited by guarontee role for environmental sustainability. having no share copital incorporated on 28 November1925 and registered as a Trustee recruitment is informed by charity on 1 July 1963. It was established skills n88ds. Skills audits of Trustees are undor a Memorandum of Association which undertaken p8riodically to ensur8 that established its objects of the charitable we have the right balance of skills and company and is governed under its Articles experience and to identify areas for of Association. BookTrust operates under focus in future Trustee recruitment. We the Articles of Association adopted by olso review the make-up of our Board to special resolution on 2 July 2019. ensure that we have sufficient diversity. In 2022 we appointed one new Trustee to Governance and bring additional skills and expertise to the management leadership of BookTrust Underthe terms of the Articles of Association as adoptod in July 2019, management of BookTrust's affairs is vested in a Board of not less than four Trustees. Trustees are oppointed for an initial period of three years. They may be reappointed for o further term of three vears ond, in exceptional circumstances, for a single further term of no more than one year. The Articles of Association are currently being r8viewed and one planned amendment is for trustees to be able to serve a final third term of up to three years and a moximum term of nine years. All new Trustees are provided with a comprehensive induction programme with information provided on their role, the organisation and its operating context in oddition to meeting with key staff. The Board holds at least one away day for Trustees each year as well as regular briefing5. In addition, all Board members ar8 provided with regular updates ond are encouraged to attend events and training. The Trustees hove agreed a Charity Code of Governonce action plon which is being implemented with progress reviewed on at least an annual basis by the Board. There is an annual review of Board effectiveness. We commissioned an external review of governance in 2020 and since then have conducted onnual internal reviews led by the Chair of the Board. Informed by these reviews, we continue to toke steps to strengthen BookTrust's governance. We plan to commission a further external review of governance In 2023124. Tho Board of Trustees administers the charity and exercises itg scrutiny role through Board meetings, held at least quarterly, ond standing committees. We have three main commlttees.. li) Finance, Risk & Audit, (li) Nominations and (iii) Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Remuneration. The Board has also established a Donations, Acceptance & Refusal Committee which meets as required. Trustees take lead roles for key areas, notably safeguarding, governance, 25 A Chief Executive is appointed by the Trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To facilitote effective operations, the Chi8f Executive has delegated authority for operational matters including finance, employment and other programme and delivery related activities. We have been developing our leadership team to ensure that our senior staff bring us sufficient diversity and also the breadth of expertise and skills that we need to manage BookTrust's octivity, both the range of work and olso our geographical reach working with on extensive range of partners. Our previous Senior Leadership Team structure has evolved and been developed into on Executive Leadership Team. Members ofthe Executive Leadership Team have leadership roles as well as deliveryloperational responsibilities. We have previously only listed our Senior Leadership Team (who report to the CEO) but for this report we have listed all members of our Executive Leadership Team (including those who report to the Deputy CEO) ond plon to continus this approach going forward. The Executive Leadership Team (ELT) comprises: Dlana G•rald MBE Chief Executive Officer Ann1• Crombl• Deputy CEO Colln Atklns Chief Operoting Officer B•n•dlct An>ra Director of Communications (appointed 1 November 2022) Mlk• Bu•s Finonce Director (oppointed 3 January 2023) Llzzi• Catford Director of Children's Books (oppointed 3 October 2022) Jlll Col•man Director of Children's Books (resigned 30 April 2022) Clalr• Goodall Director of Design, Development & strategic Planning Julie Hayward Associate Director of Partnerships lappointed 1 Moy 2023) Ruthann Hughe$ Director of Research & Impact Lee Green Director of Income (resigned 14 October 2022) All personnel aside from the CEO and members of the Executive Leadership Team ore remunerated within a pay fromework set using job evaluation and anolysis and, where relevont, externol benchmarking. We have moved to a new pay policy which increases the focus on staff performance ogainst job-rolated targets and assessments. There is also an annual cost of living review. Changes to the poy policy os well as tothe annual cost of living award are decided upon by the Board on the recommendation of the Equalityi Diversity, Inclusion & Remuneration Committee. R8munerotion of the CEO is agreed by Trustees based on a formal performance evaluation and periodic external benchmarking. In addition, trustees set annual salary ranges for members of the Executive Leadership Team. In 2022123, in light of the exceptional circumstances with regard to increases in the cost of living and energy, the Board decided to oward a one-off payment for staff. 26 Statement of Trustees. responsiDiiiries The Trustees (who ar8 also directors of BookTrust for the purposes of company low) are responsible for preparing the Trustees, Report and the financial stotements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Stondards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financiol statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of BookTrust and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income ond expenditure, of BookTrust for that period. In preparing these financiol statements, the Trustees are required to: Select suitable accounting policies and then applythem consistently Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP The Trusteas are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracv at any time the financial position of 8ookTrust and enable them to ensure that the fi'nancial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsiblefor safeguarding the assets of BookTrust ond therefore taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irre9ularities. The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrlty of the corporate and financial information included on BookTrust's webslte. Public Ben•fit BookTrust has referred to th8 guidonce contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing its aims and objectives and in Make judgements and estimates that planning future activities. In particular, the are reasonable and prudent Trustees consider how planned activitl8S will contribute to the aims and objectives State whether applicable UK Accounting they have set. stondards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the finoncial statements Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that BookTrust will continue in business. 27 stat•m•nt ot Tru•t••s' r•8ppnslbllltl•8 Statement as to Disclosure of Information to the Auditor The Trustees who were in office on the date of approval of these financial statements have confirmed, as far as they are aware, that there is no relevant audit information of which the ouditor is unaware. Each of the Trustees hove confirmed that they have taken all the steps that they oughtto have taken as directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to estoblish that it hos been communicated to the auditor. Trustees, annual report, incorporating the strategic Roport, approved by order of the Trustees. Approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Directors and signed on their behalf by.. John Coughlan Chair Date.. 09n0123 Gautam Dalal Director Date.. 09110123 28 Independent auditor's report to tne memi)ers OT tSOOK I rusr Opinion in accordance with the ethical requirements that ar8 relevant to our audit of the financial We have oudited the finoncial statements stotements in the UK, including the FRC'S of BookTrust (the 'choritable company,) Ethical Standard and we hove fulfilled our forthe year ended 31 March 2023 which other ethical responsibilities in occordance comprise the statement of financial with these requirements. We believe that activities, balance sheet, statement of cash the audit evidence we have obtained flows and notes to th8 financial statements, is sufficient and appropriate to provide including significant accounting policies. a basis for our opinion. The fi'nancial reporting framework that has been opplied in thelr preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standord applicable in the UK ond Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion, the financial stotements: Give a true and fair view of the state of the charitoble compony's affoirs as at 31 March 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and exp8nditur8 for the year then ended Have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 Conclusions relating to going concern In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees, use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work w8 have performed, we hove not identifiad any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on BookTrust's ability to continue as o going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsiblllties of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. Basis for opinion We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) IISAS (UK)) ond applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial stotements Sectlon of our report. We are independent of the charitable company Other Information The other information comprises the information included in the trustees, annual report including the strate9lC report other thon the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial 29 Ml•p•nd•nt auditoVs r•pgrt to th• m•mb•rn ot BookTrust statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing SO, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtoined in the course of the audit. or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or opporent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in th8 financial statements themselves. If, bosed on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is o material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact We havo nothing to report in this regard. Opinlons on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 misstatements in the trustees, annual report including the strategic report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion.. Adequate a¢¢ounting records have not been kept, or returns odequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or The financial statements are not In agreement with the accounting records and returns,. or Certain disclosures of trustees, remuneration specified by law ore not mode,. or We have not r8ceived all the Information and explanotions we require for our audit Responsibilities of trustees As explained more fully in the statement of trustees, responsibilities set out in the trustees, annual report, the trustees (who ore also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit.. The information given in the trustees, annual report including the strategic report, for the finoncial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial stotements,. and The trustees, annual report, including the strategic report, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for ossessing the charitable company's obility to continue as a going concern, disclosingi as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to ceose operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. Matters on which we are required to report by exception In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable componv ond its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified materiol 30 Independent audltorfs report to th• m•mb•rs ot BookTrurt Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not o guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAS (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstotements con orise from fraud or error and ore considered material if, individually or In the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. Identifying, evaluating, and complyin9 Wlth lows and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-complionce,. Detecting ond responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud,. The internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations, We inspected the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance. We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a material effect on th8 financial statements or that hod a fundamental effect on the operations of the chority from our professional and sector experience. We communicated applicable laws and regulations throughout the audit team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit. We reviewed any reports made to regulators. We revlew8d the financial statement disclosures and tested these to supporting documentation to ass8SS compliance with applicable laws and regulations. We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud. Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-complionce with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures ore capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below. Capability of the audlt In detecting irregularities In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non- compliance with laws ond regulations, our procedures included the following.. We enquired of management, the finance, audit ond risk committee, which included obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning the charity's policies and procedures relating to- In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments, 31 Ind•p•nd•nt audltorfs r•port to th• m•mb•r# ot BookTn assessed whether th8 judgements made in making accounting estimates ore indicative of a potential bias and tested significant transactions that are unusual or those outside the normal course of business. Use of our report This report is made solely to the charitable company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitob18 company's members those motters we are required to state to them in an ouditor's report and for no oth8r purpose. To tha fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept orassume responsibilityto anyone other than the charitable company and the choritable company's members as a bodv, for our audit worl for this report, or for tha opinions we have formed. Because of the inherent limitations of an oudit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregu larities, including those leading to a material misstat8ment in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk Is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. Jonathan Orchard (Senior statutory auditor) Date: 09110123 A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council's website at.. This description forms part of our auditor's report. for and on behalf of Say•r Vlnc•nt LLP statutory Auditor Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lone, LONDON, EC1Y OTL Statement of Financial Activities funds 2022 (£> t'ooo £'ooo £'ooo £iooo Incorn• frorvK' statutory fund5ng Corporate portn8rships 6.97 6,971 6,644 312 68 380 424 Individual giving Trust tsnd Foundotions 1,346 1,346 1,286 261 443 704 86 Traded activity 2,494 2,494 2.817 Investment dividands and Interest 14 4,442 7,482 11,924 11,on 6xp•ndltsr• •n". 2a Raising donatlons Charltable actlvStle¥'. 984 984 863 Inltlatlng shared readlng Supportin9 disadvontogèd ftimllles Sn thelr eorlv veors to get reod5ng Encouraging ehlldren and famllies to contlnue on thèlr reoding journeys Supportlng ehlldren from vulnerable backgrounds to 8njoy thè bonefits of readlng 8ulldlng a communlty of odvocates for reodlng othèr oetlvitles supportlng children's readlng 212 1390 2.f 02 2,611 310 4,368 4,678 3,2S8 1,144 1,708 1850 1,581 1,472 565 2,037 1,935 S7S 619 286 1,068 4,166 9,604 13,770 11,552 N•t In¢•m• b•tOV• galns l ¢lo•w•) •n InvMtm•nt* 12,1221 11,8481 14811 276 Net galrnl Ilo$sl on Investments Nrt In¢om•l I•xp•rKlltur•) Transf$r between funds 13111 13111 228 1351 12,1221 12,1571 12531 log 135 113SI N•t movemerbt in fund$ 100 12.2571 12,1571 12531 Total funds brou9ht forward Total lundi carried hrward 5,775 1500 8275 8,528 5,875 243 6,118 8,275 33 Balance Sheet As at 31 March 2023 202a 2022 £'ooo £'ooo £'ooo rooo FIX￿ A$89ts Investments 1500 2,500 Curr•ntA•••ts Investments 1,819 1,468 4,152 1,836 Stock Dobtors 1,959 1,043 2,386 Cash at bank und Sn hand 1,131 9,SOS 6,289 12,6ni Cr•dltoY•: amounts fallSn9 due wlthln one year 13,7301 N•t Curr•nt A•Mts 3,618 5,775 N•tA#Mts 6.118 8,276 F•Jnd• Re$tri¢ted Funds 10a 243 2,SOO Vrnre8trlrted'. G¥neral Fund6 10a S,875 4,603 Do$l9nated Fund9 10a 1,172 275 6.118 Approved and authorSsed for issue by the board of directors on 09110123 and signed on their behalf by: John Coughlan Director Oautam Dalal Treasurer 34 Cash Flow Statement 2023 20T £'ooo £'•)00 Co$h flow8 from ￿￿￿tIng activit•88 Net income before investment gains I1108$$$1 for the reporting period las per the stotèm6nt of finonclal (JetlvStlgsl Interest 11B461 14811 14 Ilncreasel I decrease in stock 368 14371 11,4471 1,466 Ilneroasel I decrgasa in dabtors Increase I Idecreasel in erèdltors N•t ¢)*h pvovld•d by op•rotlng aotlvltl•• 427 11,OS91 12,0961 18991 Ca•h flow* from Inv••ting aotlvltl Intergst 1141 Procged8 from sale of Snvestments 2,S72 11.1221 3,8T2 Purchose of investmants 14,21S1 391 Net cash movemént in Investments 672 Chang• In oalh In r•portlng p•rlod 1881 18491 Analy•l• of ouih and ¢a•h •qulvol•nts Co•h In hand Balance brought forword Increase / Idaereosel in year Bolone• ¢arrl•d lonvord 1,131 1,980 1881 18491 1,043 C•*h In hand Bank bolane8 1,043 1,131 1,131 1,043 35 Notes to the accounts 31 March 2023 Princlpal accounting pollcies (o) G•noral Information BookTrust is a UK registered charitable company limited by guarant8e. Its re9lStered offices are at 1 Alre Street, Leeds, LSI 4PR. (b) Basls of accountlng The financial statements have been prepared in accordanc8 Wlth Accountin9 and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Irelond (FRS 102) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), and the Companies Act 2006. BookTrust meets the d8finition of a public beneflt entity under FRS 102. Assets and liobilities ore initially recognised ot historicol cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notels). ¢c) Pr•paratlon of ac¢ounts on a golng concern basil The Trustees consider there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. The review of our financial position, reserves levels and future plans gives Trustees confidence the charity remains a going concern for the foreseeable future. (d) Fund Aceountlng Unrestrleted: These funds supports working copital requirements, cover for rlsk management and are avoilable for use at the discretion of th8 directors in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which has not been designated for other purposes. Re8trlct•d: Restrict8d funds are funds that can only be used for particular purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes, as detailed in note 10. 36 Notes to the accounts (o) Incom• All income is included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount con be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific activities are applied to particular categories of income: Unrestricted donations - are recognised os income when they are quantifiable, probable and entitlement is transferred to BookTrust. This is typically on receipt and acceptance of the donation. Income from any appeal for donations for a specific reason is treated as restricted income,'and is recognised when the conditions of the appeal have been met. Legacies ore recognised when all three of the following criteria are met: Probable- the charity is aware that probate has been grant8d. Measurable- in practice thls could come from final estate accounts, cash received or correspondence from executors/sollcitors confirmlng an amount to be distributed. Entitlement - taken as the earlier of the final estate accounts being approved or cosh received. Where legacies have been notified to the charityi or the chority is aware of the granting of probate, ond the criteria for income recognition have not been mec then the legocv is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material. Gront income from Arts Council England is accounted for as income in the period to which it applies. Grant income from Arts Council England was account8d for as unrestricted income in 21122, but as restricted in 22123 Income from charitable activlties is accounted for as income only when the conditions underthe terms of the grant have been fulfilled ond includes contributions from organisations for the supply of packs, books, promotions and prizes. To the gxtent that they are not subject to performance-related conditions, income from grants, including government grants, for a specific purpose are accounted for as income as they are received and are accounted for as restricted funds. For relevant grants, income is accounted for as the charity eorns the right to consideration by its performance. Where the gront is received in advance of performance, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors. Where entitlement occurs before the grant is received, it is accrued in debtors. Investment income is included when receivable. 37 Notes to the accounts 31 March 2023 If) Expendlture All expenditure is accounted for on an accruols basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and this is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates: Fundraising costs comprise the costs associated with attracting voluntary income and the costs of fundraising. Fundraising costs ore those incurred in seeking grants and include the cost of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities. Charitable exp8nditure comprises those costs incurred by BookTrust in th8 dellvery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them. Governance costs include those costs associated wrth meeting the constitutional ond statutory requirements of the charity and includes the audit fees and costs linked to the company secretary. Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with tha use of resources. These ore incorporated into the expenditure figures in the statement of financial activities. (g) Stsck Stock Is valued at cost price if It is to be used In the programme the following year. Obsolete stock is written down to zero ond stock held under contract is valued at the net realisable value. (h) Flxed as8•ts Single assets over £10,000 are copitalised. Il) D•btors Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued atthe amount prepaid. (J) Cr•dltors and provisions Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation con be measured or estimated reliably. Credltors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount. (k) Cosh