**THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
**COMPANY NUMBER 02172518 REPORT AND ACCOUNTS**
_**YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020**_
**Charity Number 327571**
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **REPORT AND ACCOUNTS**
## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020**
|**Contents**|**Page**|
|---|---|
|Company information|1|
|Trustees’ report|2 - 8|
|Auditors’ report|9 - 11|
|Statement of financial activities|12|
|Balance sheet|13|
|Statement of cash flows|14|
|Notes to the accounts|15 - 21|
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **COMPANY INFORMATION at 31 December 2020**
## **PER COMPANIES HOUSE**
**DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES** Dame Jenny Abramsky (Chair) Dame Jennifer Gita Abramsky Prof Jon Agar Prof Jonathan Edward Agar Bob Boas Mr John Robert Sotheby Boas Dr Andrew Flinn Dr Andrew Flinn Amanda Game Mrs Julia Amanda Raven Roger Gavin Mr Roger John Gavin Bill Knight OBE Mr William John Knight Dr Robert Perks Dr Robert Brian Perks Dr Jo Reilly Dr Joanne Reilly Prof Paul Thompson Prof Paul Richard Thompson Dr Janet Topp Fargion Dr Janet Constance Topp Fargion Jennifer Wingate Mrs Jennifer Wingate **SECRETARY** Dr Robert Perks **TREASURER** Bob Boas **FINANCE COMMITTEE** Dame Jenny Abramsky Bob Boas (Chair) Roger Gavin Bill Knight Dr Robert Perks (Director) Ian Prideaux Mary Stewart (Deputy Director _ex officio_ ) **COMPANY NUMBER** 02172518 (England and Wales) **CHARITY NUMBER** 327571 **REGISTERED OFFICE** British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB **BANKERS** Lloyds TSB Bank plc 39 Threadneedle Street London EC2R 8AU **AUDITORS** Parker Cavendish 28 Church Road Stanmore Middlesex HA7 4XR
1
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION (REGISTERED NUMBER 02172518)**
## **REPORT OF DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES**
The Trustees who are also directors of the charity present their report together with the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice’ applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT**
## Governing Document
The National Life Story Collection is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. Each of the members of the charity has undertaken to contribute an amount not exceeding £5 to the assets of the charity in the event of it being wound up while they are members, or within one year after they cease to be a member. The charity is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.
## Trustees
The Trustees, each of whom is a director of the charity, are listed below:
Dame Jenny Abramsky (Chair) Professor Jon Agar Bob Boas Dr Andrew Flinn Amanda Game Roger Gavin Bill Knight OBE Dr Robert Perks Dr Jo Reilly Professor Paul Thompson Dr Janet Topp Fargion Jennifer Wingate
_The following resigned as Trustees during 2020:_ Richard Ranft (resigned on 8 January 2020) Hodson Thornber (resigned on 13 May 2020)
Appointment of Trustees is governed by the articles of association of the charity. The Trustees are authorised to appoint new Trustees to fill vacancies arising until the next following annual general meeting when the new Trustees are eligible for election.
_The following was elected as a Trustee at the AGM on 16 July 2020:_
Dr Janet Topp Fargion
_The following Trustees retired by rotation and were re-elected at the AGM on 16 July 2020:_
Jon Agar, Amanda Game, and Bill Knight
_The following was elected as Advisor at the AGM on 16 July 2020:_
Harry Goulbourne
2
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)**
Record of trustee attendance at meetings during 2020 (comprising four full trustee meetings – the AGM and - three Board meetings in March, October and December plus four Finance Committee meetings in March, July, August and November, where applicable)
Dame Jenny Abramsky (Chair) 7 of 8 Professor Jon Agar 3 of 4 Bob Boas (Treasurer) 8 of 8 Andrew Flinn 4 of 4 Amanda Game 2 of 4 Roger Gavin 6 of 8 Bill Knight OBE 7 of 7 Dr Robert Perks 8 of 8 Dr Jo Reilly 4 of 4 Professor Paul Thompson 2 of 4 Dr Janet Topp Fargion 2 of 3 Jennifer Wingate 3 of 4
## Trustee Induction and Training
All new Trustees are already familiar with the practical work of the charity. They receive an induction pack containing the corporate governance document, a trustee role description, and copies of relevant minutes, policies and organisational information. They meet representatives of the Board to discuss and clarify their role.
## Risk Management
The Trustees actively review the major risks which the charity faces on a regular basis and believe that maintaining reserves at current levels, combined with a review of controls over key financial areas, will provide sufficient resources in the event of adverse conditions. The Trustees also examine other operational and business risks faced by the charity and have established systems to mitigate the significant risks. A risk register is maintained and reviewed annually.
## Organisational Structure and Related Parties
The charity operates from the offices of the British Library (BL) and there is close co-operation between the two organisations, governed by a collaborative agreement which was reviewed and renewed in October 2019 for a further three years. The Oral History Section, of which NLS is part, is within the Sound and Vision department in the BL’s Collections Directorate. The Trustees meet five times a year: four main meetings (of which one is a strategy meeting) and the AGM. The Director manages the work of the charity on a day-to-day basis supported by a Deputy Director, an Archivist, an Assistant Archivist/Administrator and a part-time Bookkeeper. A number of other staff, freelance staff, and individuals on unpaid placements also assist in the work of the charity. In 2003, the Trustees adopted a corporate governance document which regularised the business of the Charity and established an Audit Committee and a Remuneration Committee. In 2009 they established a Finance Sub-Committee, chaired by the Treasurer, which meets four times a year and also acts as the Audit and Remuneration Committee. At the 2017 AGM Trustees decided to merge the Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees. At the 2017 AGM it was also agreed that Trustees appointed from 2017 should serve for a fixed term of three years, renewable up to a maximum term of nine years. The term of service could be further extended if there was a particular business case to do so. In 2006 the charity adopted a trading name ‘National Life Stories’. A business plan covering a four-year planning period is prepared, updated and reviewed annually, dovetailed to BL strategic plans and an oral history strategy, similarly for a four-year period. In October 2020 the Trustees reviewed their ten-year strategy for the charity (2011-2021) and planned for a new five year strategic plan (2021-2026) agreed in March 2021.
3
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)**
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES**
The object of the charity as stated in its constitution is to advance the education of the public by the establishment of a national biography in sound consisting of a national collection of autobiographical and other life story records. The charity relies on the fundraising efforts of its Trustees, staff and advisory committee members, and on the support of the British Library, to obtain the resources to carry out the oral history fieldwork programmes that comprise its core activity. It works collaboratively with the British Library to ensure the collected materials are professionally recorded, documented, catalogued, archived and made accessible to as wide an audience as possible, both onsite and remotely via the internet. It also works in partnership with a variety of public and private organisations to document the unique life stories of a wide cross-section of people living in the UK.
## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE IN 2020**
The Covid-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to the work of the charity in 2020. All face-to-face interviews were paused between March and August 2020, when a small number of socially distanced recordings resumed. With the second phase of lockdown in autumn 2020 the NLS team pioneered the use of remote recording software to record high quality archival standard interviews, rolling out this technology to more of the team by December. This development allowed the recording programme to resume, but at nowhere near the pace projected in the 2020 budget. The drop in restricted income consequently impacted core funds, as there was little activity from which to draw the standard overhead contribution to unrestricted funds. Salary costs remained static, as all three full-time posts funded by NLS were hard at work throughout the year. NLS provided some alternative work to those of our interviewers and transcribers who work in a freelance capacity, and most additionally took advantage of the government Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
In our role as the national centre for oral history, the core NLS team has been at the heart of formulating and disseminating best-practice advice for oral history during the pandemic, and we thank the Oral History Society for publishing our guidance documents. This has further strengthened the importance of NLS within the UK oral history sector. Despite this very difficult year the charity has continued to interview across all our active projects and we have worked hard to engage the public with innovative dissemination schemes – several in conjunction with the British Library Learning team. Fieldwork was most active in the two time-limited funded projects: _An oral history of farming, land management and conservation in post-war Britain_ funded by the Arcadia Charitable Trust, and the Cartier UK- funded project _Voices of Cartier’s English Art Works Workshop_ .
Projects where NLS is archival partner have also continued despite the pandemic, and we were delighted to archive the University of Roehampton’s _Living Libraries_ project, and start work with project partners at the Pinnacle Club on the history of women climbers, on credit unions in the north of England, with disability charity Whizz-Kidz, and a project on petitioning based at Durham University. We were delighted that the law centres project led by Linda Mulcahy at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford University’s Law Faculty, was awarded substantial funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. This will start in April 2021.
2020-2021 NLS Goodison Fellow Suzanne Joinson’s fellowship has focused on three artist/craftswomen interviewed for _Crafts Lives_ and _Artists’ Lives_ and resulted in one publication and other outreach activities. More will follow in 2021.
The NLS Patrons scheme had a successful year, greatly assisted by Christine Buccella from Craigmyle Fundraising Consultants – work generously supported by Hodson and Luanne Thornber.
We continue to enhance our social media profile through blogs and twitter and oral history web page views totalled 1.19 million page views on British Library web platforms.
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## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)**
The charity continues to work with the Oral History Society to organise and administer a programme of oral history training courses. The pandemic initially disrupted the training programme and no courses ran between mid-March and June. The training programme was then re-designed to run via Zoom video conferencing and by the end of 2020 sixty courses had been held involving 480 people, including 35 courses tailored for individual projects.
Staff and freelance contracts were also reviewed, revised and renegotiated, with support from external HR and legal advisors to meet new legislation.
## **PUBLIC BENEFIT**
We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set. The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011.
The charity works with a variety of partners, organisations, individuals and users to create a unique national collection of life stories accessible to all via the British Library. It delivers services ranging from information about oral history and life story methodology to archival advice. As the leading charity of its kind in the UK it acts as a centre of excellence, offering best-practice advice on a daily basis to many organisations, individuals, charities, groups, funders and policy-makers.
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
The Statement of Financial Activities shows total income for the year of £231,355 and total expenditure of £218,697. This expenditure total includes restricted income raised in previous years and now spent on project activity. Donations for specific projects are shown as income in the year of receipt whereas the related expenditure is shown when incurred which is often in a subsequent year. As regards activities not related to specific projects, unrestricted expenditure exceeded unrestricted income by £33,961. The reserves at the yearend amounted to £1,029,451. Of this total, £381,001 is restricted to expenditure committed to ongoing projects, and a further £200,000 is the Founders Donation.
## Principal Funding Sources
Donations included £86,723 from the Arcadia Trust – the second instalment of the grant for _An oral history of farming, land management and conservation in post-war Britain_ ; £29,287 from Cartier UK for _Voices of Cartier’s English Art Works Workshop_ ; and £4,067 from the Yale Center for British Art, and £10,000 from the Jerwood Foundation, for _Artists’ Lives_ . An anonymous donation was received via Goldman Sachs Gives to assist with funding for _Architects’ Lives_ , and Ruth & Stuart Lipton donated £4,000. ISA Architects contributed £1,500 towards an interview for _Design Lives_ . The Linbury Trust gave £20,000 to fund the ‘Voices of British Theatre Design’ web resource; and the Jocelyn Herbert Foundation gave £3,000 to fund the production of audio clips for the web. Our new Patrons scheme raised £15,500 through the support of Chris and Gilda Haskins, Hodson and Luanne Thornber, Sir Nicholas Goodison, Lesley Knox, Dame Jenny Abramsky, Bill Knight and Jonathan Taylor.
## Investment Policy
Having considered the options available, the Trustees continued to hold the charity’s funds in a mixture of bank deposit accounts and Investment Funds.
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## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)**
## Reserves Policy
The charity maintains two funds. Restricted funds are to be used for the purpose specified by the donor. Unrestricted funds are intended to provide sufficient resources to maintain the general activities of the charity. The Founder’s Donation is the establishing donation given to NLS to contribute to the support of general activities. The Trustees carry out an annual review of the charity’s reserves policy in the light of known risks and future plans to try and maximise the funds it can generate itself from the reserves.
## **PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS**
On 31 March 2021, after 32 years, Dr Robert Perks retired from the British Library as Lead Curator of Oral History and also from his position as the Director of NLS (which he held from 1996). He remains as Trustee and a Board Director of NLS. His sterling service was recognised with a signature book and a leaving gift raised by contributions from NLS staff past and present, British Library colleagues and NLS. His successor is Mary Stewart, who had held the role of Deputy Director since 2009. Mary also assumed Rob’s previous role as the Library’s Lead Curator of Oral History.
Over the next year the current projects with funding in-hand will continue, catching up with interviewing plans that were delayed due to the pandemic. Our _Authors’ Lives_ project will pause to allow us to commission an independent evaluation before deciding how to proceed.
_An oral history of farming, land management and conservation in post-war Britain_ will continue into 2022, with the aim of capturing the experience of farmers and landowners engaged in food production and stewardship of land; and scientists involved in the development of new knowledge and technologies.
As part of our dissemination plan for _Theatre Design_ we will launch a new web resource supported by the grant from the Linbury Foundation. We will also conclude our successful partnership with Cartier UK, for which the charity has collected interviews to contribute to the centenary celebrations of the English Art Works Workshop in autumn 2021.
We remain committed to fundraising to take forward _City Lives Revisited_ and interviews relating to Broadgate. We will continue to develop our ideas around an initiative documenting British design.
The 2020-21 Fellow Suzanne Joinson will deliver several outputs focusing on three artist/craftswomen interviewed for _Crafts Lives_ and _Artists’ Lives_ .
We will consolidate the NLS Patrons’ scheme with a target of recruiting fifteen Patrons, and we will further develop our legacies campaign.
The new 2021-2026 strategic plan will refocus our communication strategy to develop more regular reporting to stakeholders, Patrons and Trustees, and we will seek to re-work the NLS pages on the British Library website. The Trustees have considered how to ensure diversity within the collections, the NLS staff team and the Trustee Board, and these important issues are integral to the 2021-2016 strategy.
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## **NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)**
## **STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES**
The trustees (who are also the directors of The National Life Story Collection for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the report of the trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In so far as the trustees are aware:
- there is no relevant audit information of which the charity's auditors are unaware; and - the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.
## **STATEMENT AS TO DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO AUDITORS**
So far as the trustees are aware, there is no relevant information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the charity's auditors are unaware, and each trustee has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make them aware of any audit information and to establish that the charity's auditors are aware of that information.
## **COVID 19**
In common with many other organisations, Covid-19 has affected the charity’s activities. All staff have been working remotely since the British Library closed due to the lockdown. Self-employed contractors have been able to take advantage of the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The charity has received few donations during this difficult period but has reserves from earlier project specific donations, general core donations and an endowment fund. Expenditure has reduced as interview projects have been paused and these will not re-commence until it is safe and feasible to do so. The trustees consider that the charity has sufficient reserves to continue its activities for the foreseeable future and, accordingly, the financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis. The trustees continue to monitor the situation closely and will implement further changes as required.
7
## **NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)**
## **AUDITORS**
The auditors, Parker Cavendish, will be proposed for re-appointment at the Annual General Meeting.
Approved by the Board of Trustees on 20 September 2021 and signed on its behalf.
Dame Jenny Abramsky Chair of Trustees
8
## **REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of The National Life Story Collection (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 December 2020 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Statement of Financial Position, the Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'.
In our opinion the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 December 2020 and
- of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its result, for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting
- Practice, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis for opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **Other information**
The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.
Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.
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## **REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- the information given in the Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial
- statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the Report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate 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 are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
- - the trustees were not entitled to take advantage of the small companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report or in preparing the Report of the Trustees.
## **Responsibilities of trustees**
As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who 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 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 preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our 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 a Report of the Independent Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
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## **REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
- identification of laws and regulations applicable to the company which may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011, taxation legislation, data protection, anti-bribery, employment and health & safety legislation;
- assessing the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management, inspecting relevant correspondence and reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
- discussions with the management on consideration of known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud;
- evaluation of internal controls designed to prevent and detect irregularities;
- performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
- testing journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
- assessing whether there was evidence of bias by the management in relation to accounting estimates;
- investigating the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions;
- agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation; and
- enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.
## **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 charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Raymond Rubenstein (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Parker Cavendish Chartered Accountants Registered Auditors 28 Church Road Stanmore Middlesex HA7 4XR
Date: 20 September 2021
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## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020**
||**Notes**|**Restricted**|**Unrestricted Total**|**Unrestricted Total**|**Unrestricted Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Fund**|**Fund**|**2020**|**2019**|
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**INCOME:**||||||
|Donations and legacies|2|161,841|20,750|182,591|237,245|
|Investment income|3|3,554|14,073|17,627|32,266|
|Other incoming resources|4|-|31,137|31,137|39,813|
|||______|______|______|______|
|**TOTAL INCOME**||165,395|65,960
|231,355|309,324|
|**EXPENDITURE**||||||
|Raising funds|5|-|13,719|13,719|11,713|
|Charitable activities|6|118,776|86,202|204,978|269,814|
|||______|______|______|______|
|**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**||118,776|99,921|218,697|281,527|
|||_______|_______|_______|_______|
|Net (losses) / gains on investments|9|(2,622)|(31,514)|(34,136)|94,180|
|||______|______|______|______|
|**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) and**||||||
|**net movement in funds for the year**||43,997|(65,475)|(21,478)|121,977|
|Reconciliation of Funds:||||||
|Total funds brought forward||337,004|713,925|1,050,929|928,652|
|||_______|_______|________|________|
|Total funds carried forward|12|381,001|648,450|1,029,451|1,050,929|
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses in the year. All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.
The notes on pages 15 to 21 form part of these accounts.
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## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSTION AT 31 DECEMBER 2020**
||||**2020**||**2019**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Notes**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**FIXED ASSETS**||||||
|Investments|9||839,679||873,815|
||||_______||______|
|**Total Fixed assets**|||**839,679**||873,815|
|**CURRENT ASSETS**||||||
|Debtors|10|7,484||10,747||
|Cash at bank and in hand||205,722||205,732||
|||______||______||
|**Total Current Assets**||**213,206**||**216,479**||
|**LIABILITIES**||||||
|**Creditors falling due within**||||||
|**one year**|11|(23,434)||(39,365)||
|||______||______||
|**Net Current Assets**|||189,772||177,114|
||||________||________|
|**NET ASSETS**|||1,029,451
|
|1,050,929
|
|**THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY:**||||||
|Founder’s donation|12||200,000||200,000|
|Unrestricted fund|12||448,450||513,925|
|Restricted fund|12||381,001||337,004|
||||________||________|
|**TOTAL CHARITY FUNDS**|13||1,029,451||1,050,929|
The notes on pages 15 to 21 form part of these accounts.
The accounts were approved by the Board on 20 September 2021 and signed on its behalf by:
Dame Jenny Abramsky Chair of Trustees
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## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS**
## **YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020**
|
**Cash flows from operating activities:**
Net cash used in operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Investment Income
Proceeds from sale of investments
Purchase of investments
Net cash provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
**Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year**
**Reconciliation of net expenditure to net cash flow**
**from operating activities**
Net (expenditure) / income for reporting period per SOFA
Adjustments for:
Loss / (Gain) on investments
Investment income
Decrease in debtors
(Decrease) / increase in creditors
**Net cash used in operating activities**
**Analysis of cash & cash equivalents**
Cash at bank and in hand
Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year|**2020**
**£**
(17,637)
_______
17,627
245,000
(245,000)
_______
17,627
(10)
205,732
_______
205,722
(21,478)
34,136
(17,627)
3,263
(15,931)
______
(17,637)
205,722
_______
205,722|
|---|---|
14
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **NOTES TO THE 2020 ACCOUNTS**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES**
The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key resources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:
## **1.1 Basis of preparation of accounts**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) – (charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
The National Life Story collection meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.
Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).
## **1.2 Fund accounting**
Restricted funds 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.
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
## **1.3 Incoming resources**
All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular income:
- Voluntary income is received by way of grants, donations and gifts and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Grants, where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the charity, are recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant.
- Incoming resources from grants, where related to performance and specific deliverables, are accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance.
- Donated services and facilities and the value of services provided by volunteers are acknowledged but have not been included in these accounts.
- Investment income is included when receivable.
- Other income including training income is included when receivable.
## **1.4 Resources expended**
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the SOFA on a basis to reflect the use of the resource. Costs relating to particular activity are allocated directly, others are apportioned on an appropriate basis consistent with the use of resources.
- Expenditure relating to generating income.
- Expenditure on charitable activities comprise those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them, as well as governance costs.
15
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **NOTES TO THE 2020 ACCOUNTS**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)**
## **1.5 Resources expended**
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the SOFA on a basis to reflect the use of the resource. Costs relating to particular activity are allocated directly, others are apportioned on an appropriate basis consistent with the use of resources.
## - Expenditure relating to generating income.
- Expenditure on charitable activities comprise those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them, as well as governance costs.
## **1.6 Fixed assets and depreciation**
Small items of recording equipment are not capitalised and are written off in the income and expenditure account in the year of purchase.
## **1.7 Investments**
Fixed asset investments are stated at market value at the balance sheet date. Realised and unrealised gains and losses on investments are dealt with in the Statement of Financial Activities.
## **1.8 Financial instruments**
The charity only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.
## **Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents include cash at banks and in hand and short term deposits with a maturity date of twelve months or less.
## **Debtors and creditors**
Debtors and creditors receivable or payable within one year of the reporting date are carried at their transaction price.
## **1.9 Taxation**
The charity is exempt from taxation in respect of income and capital gains to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
## **1.10 Going Concern**
In common with many other organisations, Covid-19 has affected the charity’s activities. All staff have been working remotely since the British Library closed due to the lockdown. Self-employed contractors have been able to take advantage of the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The charity has received few donations during this difficult period but has reserves from earlier project specific donations, general core donations and an endowment fund. Expenditure has reduced as interview projects have been paused and these will not re-commence until it is safe and feasible to do so. The trustees consider that the charity has sufficient reserves to continue its activities for the foreseeable future and, accordingly, the financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis. The trustees continue to monitor the situation closely and will implement further changes as required.
16
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **NOTES TO THE 2020 ACCOUNTS**
## **2. DONATIONS**
|**2.**
**DONATIONS**||
|---|---|
|**Restricted**
**Unrestricted**
**£ £**
Arcadia Land
86,723
-
Artists’ Lives
14,067
-
Artists’ – Rootstein Hopkins
-
-
Architects’ Lives
5,534
-
Cartier 29,528 -
Craft
489
-
Design
2,500
-
General
-
-
Theatre Design
20,000
-
Web Resources 3,000 -
Unrestricted donations -
(individual and gift aid)
-
20,750
_______
_______
161,841
20,750
**3.**
**INVESTMENT INCOME**
**Restricted Unrestricted**
**£ £**
Bank interest received
-
748
UK Charifund
-
8,904
UK Charifund (RH) 3,011
2,792
UK Managed funds - Ruffer LLP
543
1,629
______
______
3,554
14,073
**4.**
**MISCELLANEOUS INCOME**
**Restricted Unrestricted**
**£ £**
Training courses income
-
26,891
Sundry income
-
4,246
______ ______
-
31,137
|**Total**
**2020**
**2019**
**£ £**
86,723
93,382
14,067
3,799
-
3,350
5,534
34,891
29,528 -
489
-
2,500
3,125
-
7,500
20,000
-
3,000 -
20,750
91,198
_______
_______
182,591
237,245
**2020**
**2019**
**£ £**
748
1,226
8,904
17,099
5,803
7,189
2,172
6,752
______
______
17,627
32,266
**2020**
**2019**
**£ £**
26,891
36,070
4,246
3,743
______ ______
31,137
39,813
|
||
|
||
|
17
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **NOTES TO THE 2020 ACCOUNTS**
|**5. EXPENDITURE ON RAISING FUNDS**
**Restricted**
**Fund**
**Costs of generating funds £**
Trainer’s fees and travel
-
Training expenses
-
______
-
______
**6. EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES**
**Restricted**
**Fund**
**£**
**Charitable activities**
Salary and pension costs
36,574
Interviewing expenses and travel
3,272
Consultancy
37,498
Staff training, conferences & recruitment
351
Transcription costs
10,021
Printing, postage and stationery
112
Hospitality
6
Insurance
-
Equipment, repairs and renewals
794
Publications and subscriptions
237
Audit
-
Accountancy
-
Sundry expenses
Legal fees
-
______
88,865
Overhead allocation
29,911
______
118,776
Year ended 31 December 2019
181,072|**Unrestricted**
**Fund**
**£**
9,938
3,781
______
13,719
______
**Unrestricted**
**Fund**
**£**
74,590
671
13,757
410
2,565
4,416
318
773
2,316
266
3,330
7,550
1,013
4,138
______
116,113
(29,911)
______
86,202
88,742
|**Total**
**Total**
**2020**
**2019**
**£ £**
9,938
8,388
3,781
3,325
______
______
13,719
11,713
______
______
**Total**
**Total**
**2020**
**2019**
**£ £**
111,164
104,948
3,943
14,749
51,255
110,407
761
2,582
12,586
5,860
4,528
4,517
324
4,213
773
1,408
3,110
991
503
735
3,330
3,330
7,550
8,323
1,013
168
4,138
7,583
______
______
204,978
269,814
-
-
______
______
204,978
269,814
269,814
|
|---|---|---|
All expenditure incurred is directly related to the charitable activity of establishing a national collection of autobiographical and other life story records.
18
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **NOTES TO THE 2020 ACCOUNTS**
## **7. ANALYSIS OF STAFF COST, TRUSTEE REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES, AND COST OF KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL**
|**OF KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2020**|**2019**|
||**£**|**£**|
|Wages and salaries|98,774|89,375|
|Social security costs|3,381|5,984|
|Pension costs|9,009|9,589|
||______|______|
||111,164|104,948|
There are no employees whose emoluments exceed £60,000 during the year. The key management personnel of the charity, in the current and prior year, are the trustees.
## **Trustee remuneration and expenses**
No trustee received any remuneration during the year. Expenses were reimbursed to one trustee totalling £1,048 during the year (2019: £3,218).
## **8. STAFF NUMBERS**
The average monthly number of staff employed by the charity during the year was as follows:
|**2020**
**Number**
Charitable
3
**9.**
**INVESTMENTS**
**2020**
**£**
**Market value**
At 1 January
873,815
Disposals
(245,000)
Additions
245,000
Net (loss)/gain on revaluation
(34,136)
______
At 31 December
839,679
**Made up of:**
Listed investments
- UK Unit Trust (Charifund)
301,294
- UK Ruffer LLP (Managed fund)
283,695
- UK Sanlam
254,690
______
839,679
|**2019**
**Number**
3
**2019**
**£**
803,995
(24,260)
-
94,180
______
873,815
485,967
387,848
-
______
873,815
|
|---|---|
Included in the above is £191,229 (2019: £209,832) relating to the restricted funds.
The historic cost of listed investments on 31 December 2020 was £678,053 (2019: £602,717).
19
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **NOTES TO THE 2020 ACCOUNTS**
|**10.**
**DEBTORS**||||**2020**||**2019**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**£**||**£**||
|Debtors||||6,879|10,352|||
|Prepayments and accrued income||||605||395||
|||||______||_____||
|||||7,484
|10,747
|||
|||||**2020**||**2019**||
|||||**£**||**£**||
|**11.**
**CREDITORS: Amounts falling due**||||||||
|**within one year**||||||||
|Accruals and deferred income||||23,434|39,365
|||
|**12.**
**MOVEMENTS IN FUNDS**||||||||
||**At 1**|**January**|**Incoming**|**Outgoing**|**Loss on**|**At**|**31 December**|
||**2020**||**resources**|**resources**
|**investments**||**2020**|
|**Restricted Funds:**||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**||**£**|
|Arcadia Land||24,265|86,723|(65,515)
|-||45,473|
|Architects||20,555|5,534|(5,951)|-||20,138|
|Artists||8,117|14,067|(1,341)|-||20,843|
|Artists (Mellon)||10,579|-|(620)|-||9,959|
|Artists – Rootstein Hopkins||209,832|3,554|(25,855)|(2,622)|
|184,909|
|Artists - Henry Moore||77|-|-|-||77|
|Britain Building the World||3,504|-|-|-||3,504|
|Crafts||2,329|489|(399)|-||2,419|
|Cartier||-|29,528|(4,594)|-||24,934|
|Design Lives||1,850|2,500|(993)|-||3,357|
|Authors’ Lives||37,398|-|(8,035)|-||29,363|
|City Lives||1,316|-|-|-||1,316|
|Royal Court||1,951|-|-|-||1,951|
|Science||661|-|(51)|-||610|
|Science – Templeton||2,072|-|(1,299)|-||773|
|Electricity||389|-|-|-||389|
|General||6,943||(1,241)|-||5,702|
|Talking Therapist||2,500|-|-|-||2,500|
|Theatre Design||-|20,000|(2,436)|-||17,564|
|Web Resources||-|3,000|-|-||3,000|
|Welcome Trust||2,666|-|(446)|-||2,220|
|||337,004|165,395|(118,776)|(2,622)||381,001|
|**Unrestricted funds:**||||||||
|Founders donation||200,000|-|-|-||200,000|
|General funds||513,925|65,960|(99,921)
|(31,514)|
|448,450|
|||713,925|65,960|(99,921)
|(31,514)|
|648,450|
|Total funds|1,050,929||231,355|(218,697)
|(34,136)|1,029,451||
20
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **NOTES TO THE 2020 ACCOUNTS**
## **12. MOVEMENTS IN FUNDS (comparatives)**
|**Restricted Funds:**
Arcadia Land
Architects
Artists
Artists (Mellon)
Artists – Rootstein Hopkins
Artists - Henry Moore
Britain Building the World
Crafts
Design Lives
Authors’ Lives
City Lives
Royal Court
Science
Science – Templeton
Electricity
General
Wellcome Trust
Talking Therapists
**Unrestricted funds:**
Founders donation
General funds
Total funds|**At 1 January**
**Incoming**
**Outgoing**
**Profit on**
**At 31 December**
**2019**
**resources**
**resources**
**investments**
**2019**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**-**
93,382
(69,117)
- 24,265
12,465
34,891
(26,801)
-
20,555
7,364
3,799
(3,046)
-
8,117
13,290
-
(2,711)
-
10,579
229,750
10,767
(53,535)
22,850
209,832
77
-
-
-
77
13,312
-
(9,808)
-
3,504
3,578
-
(1,249)
-
2,329
-
3,125
(1,275)
-
1,850
48,641
-
(11,243)
-
37,398
1,462
-
(146)
-
1,316
1,951
-
-
-
1,951
1,353
-
(692)
-
661
2,330
-
(258)
-
2,072
440
-
(51)
-
389
-
7,500
(557)
-
6,943
3,249
-
(583) -
2,666
2,500
-
-
-
2,500|
|---|---|
||341,762
153,464
(181,072)
22,850
337,004|
||200,000
-
-
-
200,000
387,190
155,860
(100,455)
71,330
513,925|
||587,190
155,860
(100,455)
71,330
713,925|
||928,952
309,324
(281,527)
94,180
1,050,929|
Restricted funds are limited to expenditure on specific projects and the restricted funds balance represents donations received, the expenditure of which has not yet been incurred. Unrestricted funds have no such limitations. The Founder’s Donation is the establishing donation given to NLS, the income from which contributes to the support of general activities including administration.
## **13. ANALYSIS OF NET FUNDS**
||**Restricted**|**Unrestricted**|**2020**|**2019**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Fixed assets|191,229|648,450|839,679|873,815|
|Net current assets|189,772|
-|189,772|177,114|
||________|_________|________|_________|
||381,001|648,450|1,029,451|1,050,929|
## **14. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS**
There were no related party transactions in the current or prior year.
21
## **THE NATIONAL LIFE STORY COLLECTION**
## **INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT**
## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020**
||**2020**|**2019**||
|---|---|---|---|
||**£**
**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**INCOME**||||
|Donations|182,591|237,245||
|Bank interest receivable|748|1,226||
|Investment income|16,879|31,040||
|Miscellaneous income|31,137|39,813||
||______|______||
||231,355|309,324||
|**EXPENDITURE**||||
|Salaries|98,774|89,375||
|Employer’s National Insurance|3,381|5,984||
|Pension costs|9,009|9,589||
|Travel and subsistence|3,943|14,749||
|Consultancy|51,255|110,407||
|Trainer’s fees and travel|9,938|8,388||
|Training expenses|3,781|3,325||
|Staff training, conferences & recruitment
|761|2,582||
|Transcription costs|12,586|5,860||
|Printing, postage and stationery|4,528|4,517||
|Hospitality|324|4,213||
|Insurance|773|1,408||
|Equipment, repairs and renewals|3,110|991||
|Publication and subscriptions|503|735||
|Audit fees|3,330|3,330||
|Accountancy|7,550|8,323||
|Sundry expenses|1,013|168||
|Legal fees|4,138|7,583||
||______|______||
||218,697||281,527|
||_______||______|
|
**NET INCOME FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR**|**12,658**||**27,797**|
This page does not form part of the statutory accounts.
22