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Charity Number: 511288 Company Registration Number: 01535327

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND

TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE (A company limited by guarantee)

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

CONTENTS	CONTENTS
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	Pages
Charity reference and administrative details	1
Trustees’ report (including directors’ report)	2-20
Statement of trustees’ responsibilities	21
Independent Examiner’s report	22-23
Statement of financial activities	24
Balance sheet	25-26
Cash flow statement	27
Notes to the financial statements	28-50

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

CHARITY REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Legal and administrative information

Charity registration number 511288 Company Registration Number 01535327

Trustees

F Dale K Dear (Appointed 4 November 2020) L Ellis (Appointed 4 November 2020) M Evans (Treasurer) J Fisher (Chair) L Jones S Kauser (Appointed 25 November 2020) K Skill (Appointed 4 November 2020) G Stapleton A Youatt B Flanagan (Resigned 4 November 2020) M Sheppard (Resigned 4 November 2020)

Company secretary M J Conroy

President

L Jackson OBE

Registered office

10 – 12 Carlton Street Nottingham NG1 1NN

Independent examiner

Bankers

UHY Hacker Young 14 Park Row Nottingham NG1 6GR National Westminster Bank plc 16 South Parade Nottingham NG1 2JX HSBC Bank plc 26 Clumber Street Nottingham NG1 3GA Mansfield Building Society Regent House, Regent Street Nottingham NG18 1SS

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and 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 published on 16 July 2014, as amended by Update Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016, and Update Bulletin 2 affecting reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019.

Trustees of the charity

The directors of the charitable company are its trustees for the purposes of charity law. The trustees who have served during the year and since the year end were as follows:

F Dale K Dear L Ellis M Evans J Fisher B Flanagan L Jones K Skill G Stapleton M Sheppard A Youatt

Structure, governance and management

Legal status and governing documents

My Sight Nottinghamshire (“My Sight Notts”) is the working name for Nottinghamshire Royal Society for the Blind, and is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Articles of Association. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission.

Anyone over the age of 16 who is visually impaired (or the parent or guardian of a visually impaired child under the age of 16) can become a member of the Company. At all times the number of members shall not be less than ten. In July 2017 the charity abolished the subscription fee for membership and all service users on our database who wished to become members did so.

My Sight Notts is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital and governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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The charity has obtained, under section 30 of the Companies Act 1985, license to omit the word ''Limited'' from its name.

Appointment of trustees

The Chair of the trustees is nominated by the Board of trustees. The full capacity of the board is twelve trustees. One quarter of the trustees are subject to retire by rotation annually. If one quarter of the number of trustees is not a whole number, the number will be rounded.

If there is only one trustee who is subject to retirement by rotation, they shall retire. The trustees to retire by rotation are those who have been the longest in office since their last appointment or reappointment, but between persons who became or were last re-appointed trustees on the same day, those to retire shall (unless they otherwise agree amongst themselves) be determined by lot.

No person other than a trustee retiring by rotation shall be appointed or re-appointed as a trustee at any general meeting unless:

They are recommended by the trustees; or
Not less than fourteen nor more than thirty-five clear days before the date for the meeting, notice has been executed by a member qualified to vote at the meeting to the Charity of the intention to propose that person for appointment; and
Receives a majority vote from members eligible to vote.

Trustee recruitment, induction and training

The Trustees’ skills base is reviewed by a Governance Working Group (which includes the Chair and the CEO) and the Board’s skills need, gender balance and percentage of visually impaired trustees is assessed. New trustees are sought based on the needs identified by the Governance Working Group (and later discussed at the trustees Board meeting). The charity then advertises, sends mailings to appropriate sectors and petitions existing contacts for candidates to apply to join the Board. Selected candidates will have the opportunity to stand for election onto the Board by the membership at the next AGM. A candidate may be co-opted onto the Board in advance of the vote if there is a need for their skills to be utilised in the interim. New trustees have access to information intended to brief them on their legal obligations under charity and company law, the content of the Memorandum of Association, the committee and decision making processes, the business plan and recent financial performance of the charity. They are given the opportunity to meet employees and other trustees prior to appointment. Once elected to the board, all trustees receive training on their roles and responsibilities as a trustee and trustees are encouraged to attend an internal vision impairment awareness training day to familiarise themselves with some of the issues facing our client group and to attend other external training events, where these will facilitate the undertaking of their role.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Organisation

The board of trustees, which shall not be less than six in number (unless determined otherwise by ordinary resolution) and shall not exceed twelve in number, administers the charity. The Board meets bi-monthly and there are sub-committees and working groups covering Services, Finance & Fundraising and Governance which meet regularly.

A Chief Executive is appointed by the trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To facilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive has delegated authority, within terms of delegation approved by the trustees, for operational matters including finance, employment and service related activity.

Regular Subcommittees, comprising of a number of trustees, CEO and a manager, meet regularly to identify and recommend changes to strategy around finance, fundraising, development of services and policies. Recommendations are made to the full Board for approval. Recommendations are implemented by the CEO and his management team.

Management team

The management team consists of: M Spouge (Finance); L Fenton (Fundraising); E Lucas (Services); J Scarle (Marketing).

Remuneration of key management personnel

The remuneration policy for key management personnel is decided between the trustees and CEO when a new employee is appointed. For the CEO remuneration, the board of trustees will decide this on an as and when basis. No bonuses are paid to any key management personnel. The criteria for setting the remuneration level relates to the previous experience of the new employee.

Umbrella body

My Sight Notts is a member of Visionary – Linking Local Sight Loss Charities, providing valuable resource and support to local vision impairment charities. My Sight Nottinghamshire’s CEO is currently Vice Chair of Visionary.

Related parties

The charity has several areas of activity that involve joint working initiatives with other parties which share their aims in respect of the development of accessible support services for visually impaired people. This includes other local and national charities and community associations in addition to local authorities and health bodies.

My Sight Notts currently has an ongoing partnership with The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association to deliver the My Guide Service; a service which was developed by Guide Dogs in partnership with local vision impairment charities.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Risk management

The trustees have a risk management strategy comprising of:

An annual review of all the risks the charity may face;
The establishment of systems and procedures to mitigate those risks identified; and
The implementation of procedures designed to minimise any potential impact on the charity should those risks materialise.

This work has identified risks which have resulted in better emergency procedures and contingency plans and have given the impetus for better planning. Particular attention has been focused on non-financial risks arising from fire, health and safety of service users, visitors, volunteers, staff and event participants.

A key element in the management of financial risk is the development, and monitoring by the Finance Department, of a rolling eighteen month forecast (in addition to the existing fixed forecast and managed accounts) and the setting and regular review of the reserves policy by the trustees. Due to financial concerns in recent years, the Finance Subcommittee has risk review as a standing agenda item and continues to meet bi-monthly, until such time as our finances are on a more stable footing.

The potential for a drop in legacy income has been identified as a significant risk and to mitigate this, the charity is applying for more trust and grant income, looking at new ways of developing community and corporate fundraising activities and monitoring the profitability of its charity shops.

Fundraising events are also risk assessed both financially and with regard to the health and safety of participants and the general public. My Sight Nottinghamshire have now adopted the same risk assessment criteria for the implementation of its social events, activities and day trips for visually impaired people.

We have identified that there are some risks in matters relating to safeguarding of vulnerable adults. To mitigate this, all service delivery staff receive updated safeguarding training and our Services Manager is trained as Safeguarding Lead for the charity.

Objectives and activities

The objects of the charity are:

For blind and partially sighted people of all ages in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to have the same life opportunities as everyone else;
To provide opportunities for blind and partially sighted people living in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to achieve their own unique goals and enjoy a full and independent life beyond sight loss;

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To improve the lives of people living with sight loss locally by providing support services, training, information, advice, social and leisure opportunities for visually impaired people with the aim of enhancing their quality of life and increasing their independence.

The trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission’s published guidance on the Public Benefit requirement under the Charities Act 2011 when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in the commissioning and continuation of services and activities.

My Sight Nottinghamshire updated its Vision, Statement of Purpose and Strategy in June 2010 to reflect the priorities of its service users as indicated through the charity’s IMPACT Consultation Project as well as incorporating initiatives such as the Outcomes of the UK Vision Strategy and it’s ten Seeing It My Way objectives which help to highlight the issues that matter most to visually impaired people today.

Vision

Our Vision is for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to become fully accessible to visually impaired people and to be recognised as an area where visually impaired people have the same life opportunities as everyone else.

Statement of purpose

To enable visually impaired people to have equal opportunities by providing access to the support needed to enable them to lead full and independent lives.

To give the visually impaired people of Nottinghamshire a voice which will enable them to affect change and help develop a city and county that is completely accessible to visually impaired people.

Strategy

My Sight Nottinghamshire’s Strategy is based around the aims and outcomes arising from our ongoing consultation with local visually impaired people and the strategic outcomes of the UK Vision Strategy.

The key principles of My Sight Notts’ strategy are as follows:

To deliver services and activities that help to implement the strategic objectives of the refreshed UK Vision Strategy in Nottinghamshire, which are:
a. Everyone looks after their eyes and their sight
b. Everyone with an eye condition receives timely treatment and, if permanent sight loss occurs, early and appropriate services and support are available and accessible to all
c. A society in which people with sight loss can fully participate
To develop and deliver services in consultation with local visually impaired people through My Sight Nottinghamshire’s Service User Member Involvement Team and through the development of a number of increased opportunities for service user feedback.

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To identify gaps in service provision, provide services where need is greatest and use our influence to improve the provision of public services for visually impaired people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
To work in partnership with other organisations providing services for our client group, including local authorities, those charities providing services for visually impaired people as well as organisations serving a wider demographic, who are likely to include visually impaired people amongst their recipients such as Age UK Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and Diabetes UK.
To commit to a Finance and Fundraising Strategy that provides the best services for visually impaired people, whilst maintaining the stability of the organisation.

My Sight Notts’ Services

Our services include: Equipment Advice and Guidance; Befriending Service, My Guide Service, Hospital Information Services (Eye Clinic Liaison), Facilitated Peer Support sessions, and IT and Assistive Technology Training in group and home based one to one settings. We provide a range of leisure services including Events and Activities (for Children and Adults), Sports and Healthy Lifestyles Activities (including team sports), Social and Activity Groups, Trips and Outings, Arts and Crafts and our VI Choir. We also raise awareness of avoidable sight loss and eye health matters, raising awareness of the prevalence of sight loss conditions in a number of communities.

My Sight Nottinghamshire provides a range of information and support services aimed at people with a visual impairment, their support networks and external agencies. Our Service Team’s aims are to limit social exclusion and empower people through providing information, knowledge and support. The team works closely to motivate clients and their networks and strive to break down barriers and raise awareness of the challenges often faced by people living with a visual impairment.

Information and Support Services include:

Support Centre and Mobile Equipment Advice and Support Service

We are equipped with high and low-tech accessibility products and a range of magnifiers. This enables a ‘hands on’ experience where a Support Officer can offer advice, information and demonstrations of equipment to assist visually impaired people in their day-to-day activities. Products include talking clocks, magnifiers, liquid level indicators, canes, diaries, calendars and games. Additionally the service provides information about other My Sight Nottinghamshire services as well as a wide range of leaflets and information about eye conditions, product catalogues, social services and other organisations providing support for visually impaired people. We also stage exhibitions of equipment, advice and information at our hubs in Worksop, Newark, Mansfield and Nottingham. This service is essential in giving visually impaired people the opportunity to discover and try the wide range of products available to help them to be independent and safe at home and whilst they are out and about, as well as enabling independence and confidence with communications.

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This service is delivered by a full time member of staff, with support from volunteers. We would like to recruit more volunteers to help increase capacity and develop this service.

Low Vision Advice

Magnification and appropriate lighting are vital to clients living with Low Vision. We are often aware that people struggle to use their magnifiers effectively, so have decided to run specialist days to support visually impaired people in using their magnifiers and assess whether their magnification strength needs to change. We also discuss Eccentric Viewing Technique where appropriate and provide teaching sessions on this skill for reading and seeing. For many people, good lighting is another way of maximising their remaining vision. We have a variety of task lights that we can demonstrate and we also stock daylight bulbs which can be effective in enhancing vision. This service enables people with vision impairments to make the best use of the sight they have, retain and often regain a level of independence in their communications and leisure activities.

Befriending and My Guide Services

For those visually impaired people who are unable to get out and about, we provide home visits to reduce social isolation and improve mental well-being. Volunteers help with simple tasks such as regular visits to the service users’ homes for a cup of tea and a chat, reading mail and newspapers. We match a suitable volunteer with a service user for weekly visits. Priority is given to those most in need, for example those who have little or no contact with family, neighbours or friends.

Also working alongside our partners at Guide Dogs, My Sight Nottinghamshire delivers the My Guide Service which aims to reduce the isolation that many people with sight loss experience, helping people rebuild their confidence and regain their independence. As part of the scheme, visually impaired people are matched with a My Guide volunteer who has received My Guide training endorsed by VISION 2020. Volunteers are able to: guide their partner to social, retail and leisure activities; help people establish lasting relationships with community members who can, in turn, help them get out more; work with each visually impaired person to set clear goals to help them become more independent by providing a bridge to the community in which they live.

Volunteers are essential for the delivery of our My Guide and Befriending Services. 22 volunteers helped deliver this service throughout the year, reducing the loneliness and isolation often experienced by visually impaired people and helping people to regain their confidence and enabling them to go out into the world again. The My Guide Service also helps to raise awareness of the needs of visually impaired people in the local community by engaging with local shop keepers and providers of other amenities, regarding the needs of their service user.

Information and support at Queens Medical Centre Ophthalmology Dept

Our Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO) and volunteers, based in the Eye Clinics at the Queens Medical Centre Campus of Nottingham University Hospital, enable us to be available at the point of most need for the majority of newly diagnosed visually impaired people.

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Our ECLO and his volunteers are available to visit within the waiting areas and wards of the hospital to provide information, guidance, emotional support, referrals and sign posting, but most importantly, a listening ear to newly diagnosed and treated patients.

When patients are first diagnosed with a permanent sight loss condition, they are often devastated by this news and don’t know which way to turn. The ECLO Service is often a lifeline to helping people come to terms with the emotional impact of their sight loss. It also helps eye patients understand what is happening to them; what happens next; the range of support available to them and how they can access this support.

Technology classes and home tuition

Our Technology Classes enable visually impaired people (regardless of their level of sight loss) to achieve far greater independence. Using accessible software in computers, tablets and smart phones and apps, service users are enabled to achieve greater independence in personal communication, shopping, managing personal finances and employment prospects, and activities which the majority of visually impaired people would otherwise require assistance to undertake. As new apps are developed technology is increasingly becoming an essential daily living aid, providing all sorts of support to enable visually impaired people to live more independently. We also offer this service in the community via home visits.

There is so much that technology can do to improve the lives of people living with sight loss. Accessibility is built into nearly all devices now and additional apps can supplement that accessibility in a variety of increasingly creative ways. As technology solutions become ever more inventive and artificial intelligence comes into the mix, understanding technology becomes an essential aid to people living with sight loss and the demand for this service increases.

We now have a team of “Tech Befriending” volunteers who are trained up and paired with visually impaired people who feel they need someone they can turn to when they need tech support, which enables access to this increasingly vital service by far greater numbers of visually impaired people.

Leisure services

My Sight Nottinghamshire recognises that many leisure activities are not always accessible to visually impaired people in Nottinghamshire. We aim to ensure that visually impaired people have the same leisure opportunities as sighted people by providing a wide range of adapted events and activities suitable for all ages. The team also strives to work with other providers to ensure that more public services are accessible to our client group. We find that through taking part in activities such as sports or arts and crafts, visually impaired people are often given the confidence boost they need to get out and about and integrate with society. Our Leisure Services include:

Social groups and activities

Social, activity-based services for visually impaired people are provided at our hubs in city and county. Hubs in Nottingham, Mansfield, Newark and Bassetlaw provide an opportunity for

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visually impaired people to get together, reduce isolation and loneliness, enjoy accessible leisure activities and share valuable support amongst peers going through similar experiences. Peer support gives visually impaired people knowledge, solutions, ideas and most of all confidence that they can cope, live their life with sight loss and the knowledge that they are not going through their journey alone. The social groups are supported by 33 volunteers who help with driving, guiding, planning and running activities.

Sports and healthy lifestyle services

Social groups and counselling/emotional support are not suitable for everyone. Through this service, we offer sporting opportunities, which bring people together, facilitate peer support and build confidence through sport and exercise. This service also raises awareness of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, with particular emphasis on the benefits to sight.

Specifically, we deliver swimming, rambling and gym classes as well as coordinating the Nottingham Sheriffs Goalball Teams in association with Nottingham University and Nottingham Knights, a Blind Cricket Team in partnership with Nottinghamshire Cricket Board. All of our sports and healthy lifestyle services are supported by eleven volunteers.

Arts and Choir

We deliver a variety of arts activities in the city centre and from our hubs in the county by our Arts Officer. These sessions are equally suitable to visually impaired people who wish to become more creative and may wish to develop their artistic skills as well as those who just wish to try a new activity and enjoy the social aspect of the groups. Attendees also have the opportunity to attend a number of arts related trips and talks.

The My Sight Notts Choir meets fortnightly in the city centre. We provide audio CDs and large print song sheets to make the choir accessible for visually impaired people. They frequently attend a range of venues where they perform to a variety of audiences.

Our arts groups gain confidence by creating and exhibiting their work; through peer support in the groups and from working together in the choir. Creating and singing help to engender a positive outlook and improve the mental health of people who are living with sight loss. We are able to deliver the arts and choir activities thanks to the additional assistance of fifteen arts volunteers.

Communication services

Communication is a key to the quality of life of blind and partially sighted people. At My Sight Nottinghamshire, we aim to ensure that people have access to the same information as their sighted peers through our quarterly newsletters, accessible website and the following services:

Talking newspapers

The Nottingham and District Talking Newspaper record stories of interest, news and information onto CD format. A dedicated team of nine volunteers undertake various tasks from recording

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CDs to mailing the completed material. Visually impaired people who access the Talking Newspaper service rely heavily on this service to remain in touch with current affairs and place great value on the efficiency and quality by which the service is constantly delivered.

Touch transcriptions

This project offers transcription of text to Braille, audio and large print. The service also offers volunteering opportunities for visually impaired people with the aim of teaching transferable skills that will benefit their long term employment prospects.

Volunteering

Our charity is heavily dependent on voluntary help to deliver our services. In addition to those directly delivering services outlined above, we have an additional 24 volunteers who help to run our charity shops, with a further 10 volunteers serving as trustees; 13 working on our Service User and Member Involvement Team (SUMIT); and 26 supporting in admin and fundraising.

We currently have 35 volunteers who are blind and partially sighted serving as Trustees, Reception, Admin and SUMIT volunteers, as well as a number volunteering in service delivery. In total we have 185 volunteers who donate their time and knowledge to assisting with the delivery of our charitable objectives.

The trustees and management acknowledge that without this volunteer help many activities, services and events, which are currently undertaken, would not be possible.

Service development

This was an unprecedented year as we fought against the challenges of lockdown isolation which affected visually impaired people disproportionately during the Covid 19 pandemic. All services have had to adapt and innovate to develop new ways of delivery.

The challenge began in March 2020, when a team of staff and 27 volunteers took on the notinsignificant task of calling every visually impaired person on our charity’s database during two rounds of telephone calls. Our small team endeavored to speak to over 1,500 visually impaired people to find out how they were coping with lockdown and what support they needed from My Sight Notts. We also made 16 extra phone calls to support visually impaired people isolated at home alone on Christmas Day.

Our services team worked closely with marketing and fundraising colleagues, creating and editing around 45 videos, which enabled many of our services to be accessed online from people’s homes. Throughout the first lockdown, we delivered exercise classes, eye health advice, IT support, equipment advice, peer support and social groups all online or by telephone.

Many visually impaired people had difficulty accessing our services online, as many did not have the skills or confidence to use technology like Zoom independently and were at serious risk of becoming even more marginalised by the pandemic. So we set about re-inventing our services, changing our fundraising strategy, seeking out new communication channels and creating new partnerships to shape our vision for the future.

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We invested in our technology services to make sure we were in a strong position to support local visually impaired people to master the skills that would help them stay connected, remain independent and enjoy life. We recruited new technology staff; Tech Befriending volunteers; and supported existing staff to broaden their roles, creating a team of Sight Loss Advisors able to deliver holistic support for people with sight loss.

Unable to deliver face-to-face services, 24 of our My Guide volunteers and other new and existing volunteers, adapted the role, with support from our Volunteer Coordinator to become telephone befrienders, offering phone-based support to blind and partially sighted people during lockdown.

During a pandemic people continue to be diagnosed with sight loss and the suspension and cutting back of support services has had a huge impact on what is already a devastating experience for people and their families. Our Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO), based at QMC, continued to work throughout the pandemic, developing remote appointments during April and June 2020, a period in which eye clinics were primarily offering virtual appointments.

Our Equipment Advice and Support service adapted to the new challenges, offering telephone support and posting out equipment that enabled visually impaired people to maintain their independence during the pandemic.

As our team of Talking News volunteers were unable to attend recording sessions during lockdown, staff took on the task of reading and recording; we also took the opportunity to broaden our recordings to include not just local news but also news about My Sight Notts and features of local historical interest.

We adapted our provision of Sports and Healthy Lifestyles, creating video exercise classes for people who preferred gentle chair-based exercise and for those able to benefit from a more robust standing exercise. We took the opportunity presented by periods of lockdown to plan a safe return for our “Walkie Talkie Wednesday” gentle walks; our Goalball teams; and to work on a development plan for a range of new and exciting healthy lifestyle initiatives, including the relaunch of blind cricket in conjunction with our partners at Notts CCC.

Delivering arts for visually impaired people has proved challenging during the pandemic, nevertheless we have maintained arts activities for 32 local visually impaired people, ranging from posting out Christmas craft packs and kits for springtime herb growing and plant pot decorating. With support from our team of Sight Loss Advisors and Tech Befriending volunteers, we supported local visually impaired people to master Zoom and take part in online art sessions.

During the pandemic we supported our social groups and their volunteers to use telephone conferencing facilities to keep in touch. 15 members of our Newark Group and four volunteers have successfully used telephone conferencing to keep in touch and support each other throughout the pandemic. Volunteers from our Nottingham, Mansfield and Bassetlaw social groups were telephoned regularly by volunteers and some met in pubs and outdoor venues between periods of lockdown.

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Towards the end of the year we remodeled our peer support groups, which re-launched as Shared Vision, an extensive programme of support for people struggling with their emotional and mental health as a result of sight loss. Due to ongoing lockdowns and shielding we also developed a remote delivery model to ensure people could access this essential support at a time when they needed it more than ever.

Volunteering

Volunteers remain the life-blood of our charity and we are committed to attracting volunteers to support our new services, whilst supporting our existing volunteers to deliver current services with innovative new approaches. This year we moved our training programme for volunteers online and so, despite lockdowns, we were able to continue recruiting and training new volunteers throughout the year.

During the pandemic our amazing team of volunteers have stepped up for local visually impaired people, working with us to innovate the way they deliver services and going the extra mile for people living with sight loss.

Supporting our staff

Staff at My Sight Notts have demonstrated unprecedented levels of commitment and flexibility during the pandemic and we are very proud of what they have been able to deliver for local visually impaired people during the pandemic.

We furloughed four Sight Loss Advisors from March 2020 – three returned August 2020 (one subsequently went back on furlough in January, returning in March 2021).

We continued to keep in touch with our team through monthly staff meetings via Zoom, staff What’s App groups, Zoom coffee breaks and a weekly online ‘tea dance’ to support staff who were isolated and working from home.

We took the opportunity presented during periods of lockdown to develop and improve our appraisal system with peer reviews and development plans, offering staff structure and direction during this time of change and upheaval. We also used the time to create our Values and Behaviors Policy.

Whilst our charity has been challenged by the corona virus pandemic, with a significant impact on our service delivery; due to the resilience of our trustees, staff and volunteers we have risen to the challenge and come through the crisis with confidence.

Achievements and performance

Over the year, our Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO) undertook 260 Certificates of Visual Impairment (CVI), developing a new and improved CVI monitoring system, which has been instrumental in taking QMC’s CVI compliance from just 8% (one of the worst in the country) to a staggering 80%, one of the best in the country. This is hugely important as a registration of vision impairment (following a CVI) unlocks access to a range of support and concessions for people with sight loss.

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The ECLO was able to support 943 patients remotely during April to June when the majority of hospital appointments were virtual. He also produced a number of videos designed to explain a number of different eye conditions, which people could access online. He also helped develop the new OKKA Macular Monitoring smart phone app, for monitoring Macular Disease in older people; ensuring the app was accessible and suitable for use by visually impaired patients.

We produced 45 videos, which enabled many of our services to be accessed online from people’s homes and created 68 telephone befriending partnerships.

Our Sight Loss Advisors delivered 150 remote IT and technology support appointments We launched our Tech Befriending Project; recruiting and training 16 new Tech Befriending Volunteers who helped us support 86 visually impaired people to use accessible technology with confidence.

In addition, we made 60 tech support calls, helping visually impaired people master video conferencing technology like Zoom to access our arts activities, social groups and peer support groups. Between periods of lockdown we were also able to hold 23 IT group sessions with 64 attendances.

We supplied 170 pieces of vital equipment, such as magnifiers, talking time pieces and daily living aids and between periods of lockdown hosted 128 one to one appointments, incorporating social distancing and other Covid secure procedures. With many re-enablement services unable to work at full capacity during 2020-2021, this was a real lifeline for many people.

24 My Guide volunteers adapted the support they offered to visually impaired people becoming telephone befrienders during periods of lockdown and we now have 68 telephone befriending partnerships offering a friendly listening ear to visually impaired people isolated at home. 27 volunteers helped us telephone our entire database twice during lockdown and we recruited and trained 16 volunteers to the new role of Tech Befrienders who now play a pivotal role in our mission.

One volunteer, phoned 30 plus members of our Nottingham Group every week during lockdown, doing shopping for some and even arranging the funeral for one group member who sadly died during the pandemic and had no family to take on the task.

We moved our volunteer training programme online and so, despite lockdowns, we were able to deliver 10 training sessions during 2020-2021, which attracted 41 participants. We also sent out over 180 tea bags to invite volunteers to enjoy a ‘cup of tea with us’ remotely.

Fundraising and marketing

Our small team of fundraising and marketing staff and volunteers work hard to raise the profile of our charity and generate the funds which pay for the services we deliver and support our services to grow. Fundraising and Marketing work together to ensure the long-term sustainability of our services and help to increase the profile of our charity.

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions on social contact that have been in place throughout the year, created a unique set of challenges for our fundraising team. With enforced closure of our Charity shops, cancellation of events and little opportunity for

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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community fundraising the financial picture looked fairly bleak at the start of the 2020/2021 year. However, thankfully funders were quick to respond and we were able to access some fairly substantial grants to support both our crisis response to the pandemic and to help mitigate loss of income from other sources.

Our ROI in terms of fundraising increased again this year meaning that for every pound spent we have raised £4.71.

We received £61,500 from the National Lottery Community Fund to launch a ‘Tech Befriending’ Project as part of our response to the Covid 19 crisis to help enable visually impaired people to access digital technology and get online in order to help them stay connected and remain independent.

We also received the following grants as a specific response to the pandemic: £10,000 Thomas Pocklington Trust £5,000 Tesco bags for life £2,000 Nottinghamshire County Council £1,000 Persimmons Homes

Other grants received this year included: £10,000 Boots Charitable Trust £5,000 Jesse Spencer Trust £3,000 Charles Littlewood Hill £3,000 Skerritt Trust £2,000 JN Derbyshire £1,000 Ecclesiastical insurance £500 Forman Hardy £500 Poyser Fund

We sincerely thank all of our funders for their valuable contributions.

Fundraising and Community Events

Sadly, all events, including our annual Firework event had to be cancelled this year.

Nottingham County Councils – Chairman’s Charity

We were fortunate to be selected by Councilor Wallace as his charity of the year, during his tenure as County Council Chair. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic many of the planned events were unable to go ahead, however this did not deter his efforts, with council staff getting behind the campaign and raising £3,464 from a range of fundraising activities including a recycling pledge campaign that was match funded by Veolia.

We also were awarded £3,000 from the Councilor’s divisional fund to help fund accessibility equipment for our new Smart kitchen and living area.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Donations

We are extremely grateful for all of the donations and gifts received this year, totaling £44,840 and we would like to thank all of the individuals, organisations and companies who contributed to this.

Charity shops

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic meant that, in line with government restrictions and national lockdown, our charity shops were closed at the start of the 2020-2021 financial year.

The lease at our Stapleford shop also expired during this period and given the uncertain retail climate that we were facing, coupled with declining sales over recent years, the decision was made not to renew the lease. The Stapleford Charity shop traded for 26 years and generated well over £1 million income; our sincerest thanks goes out to all the wonderful volunteers and customers who supported the shop over the years.

Our Mapperley shop re-opened for trade in June and our City Centre Shop reopened in August. Due to safety guidelines both shops have been operating on reduced trading hours, with limits on the number of people allowed in-store at any given time. Despite these limitations both shops adapted well to new regulations and have performed relatively well against the odds. We also saw an influx of stock donations following lockdown periods which helped bolster sales.

We managed to secure business grants in relation to both shops which helped mitigate the financial loss caused by closures.

Communicating through the pandemic

Marketing and services have worked closely during the pandemic to keep the lines of communications open and to adapt to the changing circumstances in which we operate. This has often required setting up new channels of communication, including the increased use of videos, blogs and social media to keep connected with our supporters, volunteers and the visually impaired community.

Maintaining our profile

Marketing helped develop videos for social media and created opportunities to appear in the local media with six BBC TV appearances and six stories in the local newspaper. We also worked on a new, more accessible website alongside our panel of visually impaired accessibility testers. We plan to launch the website in the next financial year.

Financial review

Year ending March 31[st] 2021 has been a difficult year for everyone; the Covid-19 pandemic has had a direct impact on the charity’s usual sources of income. Government restrictions forced charity shop closures for a large part of the year, resulting in a 72% reduction in shop income. We also had to suspend face to face services, which led to reduced income from donations and

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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contributions, however as a consequence; expenditure on delivering services was also reduced by a similar amount.

Fortunately, the charity was eligible for a number of Government Covid Relief Grants and was also able to claim up to 80% of salary contributions for furloughed employees through the Government Job Retention Scheme. These grants, together with legacy income, resulted in the charity finishing the year in a healthy financial position with a surplus of £161,025 (£163,216 in 2020).

Overall, total incoming resources decreased this year by £64,929 to £698,951 and total resources expended decreased by £62,738 to £537,926.

Income from grant applications amounts to £130,375 this year (2020: £146,251). An additional £88,919 was received in Covid Relief grants and £73,247 from Job Retention Scheme grants.

Income from donations and gifts decreased this year to £53,726 (2020: £72,418), legacy income also decreased to £306,789 (2020: £377,289) however this was another good year for legacies and is much higher than our historical averages.

Our charity shops were closed for 7 months therefore income decreased significantly this year to £31,972 (2020: £116,294). We also took the difficult decision to permanently close our Stapleford charity shop as it was no longer financially viable following the closures.

Total resources expended have decreased by 10.45% to £537,926 (2020: £600,664) however, the reinstatement of face-to-face services next year will see a return to usual expenditure levels.

At the year end the charity had unrestricted funds of £532,013 (2020: £374,585) an increase of £157,428. There is an amount of £283,224 included as designated funds.

At the year end, the charity had restricted funds of £98,220 (2020: £94,623), an increase of £3,597. This is largely made up of unspent grants relating to the Big Lotteries Building Connections and Peoples Projects and Health Education East Midlands, these funds were scheduled for spending in 2021 and 2022 but have been carried forward to 2022 and 2023 due to service closures and delays to new services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Plans for future periods

We know that visually impaired people have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic as the world around them has shifted and become more visual. Increasing reliance on visual technologies such as video conferencing technologies like Zoom and Teams, new smart phone apps and the exponential increase in online services have forced us all to adapt how we live our lives.

For the blind and partially sighted people we support, the changes of the past year have been extremely difficult and threaten to marginalise people with sight loss. We are determined this will

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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not happen to them and will continue to adapt our services to make sure that visually impaired people remain included and connected, so that they can thrive and lead fulfilled and independent lives.

In the coming year we will continue to find new ways of delivering services remotely as well as face to face, as we adapt to living with Covid 19. This will include launching our new Smart Space at our Heathcoat Street centre, showcasing independence through technology; and continuing to teach and support visually impaired people to access new accessible smart technologies.

2021/2022 will see the first of our Shared Vision groups begin to meet, providing practical and emotional support for people struggling with the impact of sight loss. Groups of 8 to 12 visually impaired people will meet in facilitated sessions over a period of 8 weeks to learn about support available to them and to develop techniques on adapting to a life with sight loss. Bringing people with sight loss together for shared learning adds an essential element of peer support which helps build confidence and self esteem.

We are developing opportunities to assist visually impaired people to speak out about the impact of the pandemic on their lives, through video and other media. We are also planning an exciting quilting project, which we hope will see people use a variety of art forms to articulate their experiences not only improving people’s creative skills but also improving their mental health, whilst also raising awareness of the impact living through the Covid 19 pandemic has had on visually impaired people.

We will continue to work with the local authorities and health bodies such as the ICS and CCGs to develop better eye health pathways and ensure support is available and offered to everyone living with sight loss in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. We will also explore partnerships with other sight loss organisations to improve the opportunities available to visually impaired people locally.

Our Fundraising and Marketing department will continue look for new and regular trust and grant income and explore opportunities for income generation to replace the community and event fundraising activity that has declined as a result of the pandemic. They will also engage more with our fundraising supporters to learn more about what motivates them to support us.

Fundraising and Marketing will concentrate efforts on one of our most essential sources of income as they develop a Legacy Marketing pack, designed to make it easier for our supporters to leave money to My Sight Notts in their Wills; securing essential services for future generations of visually impaired people.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Pension liabilities

The charity participates in The Pensions Trust’s Growth Plan. Until 30 September 2013, all contributions to the scheme were on a defined benefit basis. From 1 October 2013, contributions are made on a defined contribution basis. The scheme has been in deficit for a number of years and all participating employers are making yearly repayments as part of the recovery plan in place.

At the year end the charity’s estimated additional contributions to the recovery plan amount to £40,624, including inflationary increases, over the remaining six years to 31 January 2025. A liability of £40,624 has been recognised in this year’s financial statements. More information on this is included in note 19.

From 1 February 2017 the charity joined National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) Workplace Pension Scheme as part of the Government workplace pension reform. NEST is a trust-based defined contribution scheme and all eligible employees are auto enrolled.

Reserves policy

The committee has considered the reserves held by My Sight Nottinghamshire as at 31 March 2021 and continues to monitor this closely. The charity needs reserves to enable it to develop its long term aims as well as to ensure the continuation of its current activities. In order to meet their responsibilities and to ensure that the charity continues to operate on a going concern basis, the committee has reviewed the requirements and risks faced by the charity in both the short and medium term. The trustees have agreed that the charity should endeavour to maintain a level of free reserves which is no less than 6 months and no more than 12 months running costs.

The free reserves of the charity at the balance sheet date stood at £248,789 (2020 – £106,361). Total funds at the year-end were £630,233 (2020 – £469,208). Unrestricted funds at the yearend were £532,013 (2020 – £374,585) while restricted funds were £98,220 (2020 – £94,623). Included within the unrestricted funds are designated funds totalling £283,224 (2020 – £268,224).

The committee assessed the needs and risks that the charity faces, and continues to closely monitor income and expenditure and explore new opportunities for income generation to help us achieve greater sustainability. The committee believes the charity’s free reserves and known forecast income are adequate to meet the obligations of the organisation in the short term. It recognises the continued need for close monitoring of income and expenditure and to this end the management and trustees continue to convene Finance Sub Committee meetings on a bimonthly basis and monitor cash flow with our rolling forecast.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Financial review

The charity has been extremely fortunate with legacy income this year and has made use of the available Covid-19 grant funding, leading to a surplus of £161,025 this year compared to a surplus of £163,216 in 2020. Total incoming resources have decreased by £64,929 to £698,951 and total resources expended have decreased by £62,738 to £537,926.

Income from grant applications amounts to £292,544 (2020 – £146,251) this year and income from donations and gifts has decreased slightly from the prior year to £53,726 (2020 – £72,418), showing another strong performance by the fundraising team in a tough economic environment. Legacy income has decreased to £306,789 (2020 – £377,289) with legacy income coming from a range individuals this year compared to two large legacies received in 2020. Charity shop income has unfortunately decreased by 73% this year to £31,972 (2020 – £116,294) due to shop closures and Covid-19 restrictions.

Total resources expended have decreased by 10% to £537,926 (2020 – £600,664). Management and trustees work together to regularly review the expenditure that the charity incurs and work at implementing policies to help reduce overall costs.

At the year end the charity had unrestricted funds of £532,013 (2020 – £374,585) an increase of £157,428. There is an amount of £283,224 included in designated funds (2020 - £268,224).

At the year end, the charity had restricted funds of £98,220 (2020 – £94,623), an increase of £3,597. This is largely due to unspent grants relating to the Big Lotteries Reaching Communities, and Big Lotteries Peoples Project, and Health Education East Midlands and Peer Support.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Statement of trustees’ responsibilities

The trustees (who are directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Annual Report 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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP (FRS 102);
Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as we are aware:

There is no relevant information of which the charitable company’s Independent Examiners are unaware; and
We have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken in order to make ourselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charitable company’s Independent Examiners are aware of that information.

Signed on behalf of the trustees:

…………………….. M Conroy Company Secretary

Date: ……………………..

Charity registration number: 511288 Company registration number: 01535327

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2021 which are set out on pages 20 to 46.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your company’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent Examiner's statement

Since the company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

Accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
The accounts do not accord with those records; or
The accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
The accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

…………………….. David Allum FCCA UHY Hacker Young Chartered Accountants

14 Park Row Nottingham NG1 6GR

Date: ……………………..

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Note Income and endowments from: Donations and legacies 2 Charitable activities 3 Other trading activities 4 Investments 5 Total income and endowments Expenditure on: Raising funds 6 Charitable activities 7 Total expenditure Net income/ (expenditure) Transfers between funds 26 Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward 26 Total funds carried forward 26	2021 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 515,615 137,444 - 653,059 8,082 - - 8,082 34,981 - - 34,981 2,829 - - 2,829 561,507 137,444 - 698,951 146,419 - - 146,419 257,660 133,847 - 391,507 404,079 133,847 - 537,926 157,428 3,597 - 161,025 - - - - 157,428 3,597 - 161,025 374,585 94,623 - 469,208 532,013 98,220 - 630,233	2020 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 470,048 125,910 - 595,958 22,968 - - 22,968 138,466 3,120 - 141,586 3,368 - - 3,368
		634,850 129,030 - 763,880 182,375 - - 182,375 311,851 106,438 - 418,289
		494,226 106,438 - 600,664
		140,624 22,592 - 163,216 9,520 (8,974) (546) -
		150,144 13,618 (546) 163,216 224,441 81,005 546 305,992
		374,585 94,623 - 469,208

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. The charity has not recognised gains or losses other than the net movement in funds for the year.

The notes on pages 28 to 50 form part of these financial statements.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

BALANCE SHEET FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

____ £ 7,149 19,453 608,459	_____ £ 6,292 39,796 427,020	___ 2020 £ 73,584 443,758
635,061 (25,782)	473,108 (29,350)

		517,342 (48,134)
		469,208
		374,585 94,623 -
		469,208

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

BALANCE SHEET (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

For the year ended 31 March 2021, the charitable company was entitled to audit exemption from an audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit for its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Act.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and preparation of the accounts.

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue at the Annual General Meeting and were signed on its behalf on ……………………...

Signed on behalf of the board of trustees:

……………………..

J Fisher Chair

Date: ……………………..

Charity registration number: 511288 Company registration number: 01535327

The notes on page 28 to 50 form part of these financial statements.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

___________ Note Cash flow from operating activities Cash generated from operations 22 Net cash flow from operating activities Cash flow from investing activities Payments to acquire tangible fixed assets Receipts from sales of tangible fixed assets Interest received Net cash flow from investing activities Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year Cash and cash equivalents consists of: Cash at bank and in hand Total cash and cash equivalents	____ £ 178,260 - 350 2,829	_______ 2021 £ 178,260 3,179 181,439 427,020 608,459 608,459 608,459	____ £ 152,134 (13,965) 500 3,368	____ 2020 £ 152,134 (10,097) 142,037 284,983 427,020 427,020 427,020

The notes on page 28 to 50 form part of these financial statements.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

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

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1 Summary of significant accounting policies

(a) General information and basis of preparation

Nottinghamshire Royal Society for the Blind (My Sight Nottinghamshire) is a registered charity in England. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 1 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are promoting greater independence for visually impaired people of all ages throughout the county by providing emotional support, practical advice, information and training together with a huge range of adapted leisure activities.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and 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) published in October 2019 affecting reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice as it applies from 1 January 2015.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below.

(b) Funds

Unrestricted funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

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

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(b) Funds (continued)

Endowment funds

Endowment funds represent those assets which must be held permanently by the charity. Income arising on the endowment funds can be used in accordance with the objects of the charity and is included as unrestricted income. Any capital gains or losses arising on the investments form part of the fund. Investment management charges and legal advice relating to the fund are charged against the fund.

(c) Income recognition

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

For donations to be recognised the charity will have been notified of the amounts and the settlement date. If there are conditions attached to the donation and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained then income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable that they will be fulfilled.

No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP (FRS 102). Further detail is given in the Trustees’ Annual Report.

Where practicable, gifts in kind donated for distribution to the beneficiaries of the charity are included in donations in the financial statements upon receipt. If it is impracticable to assess the fair value at receipt or if the costs to undertake such a valuation outweigh any benefits, then the fair value is recognised as a component of donations when it is distributed and an equivalent amount recognised as charitable expenditure.

Income from trading activities includes income earned from fundraising events and trading activities to raise funds for the charity. Income is received in exchange for supplying goods and services in order to raise funds and is recognised when entitlement has occurred.

Income from government and other grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred.

Investment income is earned through holding assets for investment purposes such as shares and property. It includes dividends, interest and rent. It is included when the amount can be measured reliably. Interest income is recognised using the effective interest method and dividend and rent income is recognised as the charity’s right to receive payment is established.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

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

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(d) Expenditure recognition

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under the following headings:

Costs of raising funds includes of those costs which are incurred while carrying out activities to generate monies for the charity and its activities; and
Expenditure on charitable activities includes those costs which are incurred while carrying out the charity activities. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them; and
Other expenditure represents those items not falling into the category above.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense in the Statement of Financial Activities.

(e) Support costs allocation

Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs, administrative payroll costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity and include project management carried out at Headquarters. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

Fund-raising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities.

The analysis of these costs is included in note 10.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

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

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(f) Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost (or deemed cost) or valuation less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Cost includes costs directly attributable to making the asset capable of operating as intended.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets, at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset on a systematic basis over its expected useful life as follows:

Short term leasehold 10% straight line basis property improvements Fixtures and fittings 25% straight line basis or 10% reducing balance basis or 15% reducing balance basis Motor vehicles 25% straight line basis Computer equipment 33.33% straight line basis

Land and buildings were valued using the life of the leasehold agreement.

(g) Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost includes all costs of purchase, costs of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing stock to its present location and condition. Cost is calculated using the average cost formula. Provision is made for damaged, obsolete and slow-moving stock where appropriate.

(h) Debtors and creditors receivable / payable within one year

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.

(i) Provisions

Provisions are recognised when the charity has an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount can be reliably estimated.

(j) Leases

Assets acquired under finance leases are capitalised and depreciated over the shorter of the lease term and the expected useful life of the asset. Minimum lease payments are apportioned between the finance charge and the reduction of the outstanding lease liability using the effective interest method. The related obligations, net of future finance charges, are included in creditors.

Rentals payable and receivable under operating leases are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

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(k) Employee benefits

When employees have rendered service to the charity, short-term employee benefits to which the employees are entitled are recognised at the undiscounted amount expected to be paid in exchange for that service.

Until 30 September 2013, pension contributions were to a multi-employer defined benefit pension scheme. The charity is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the scheme on a consistent and reasonable Contributions are expensed as they become payable.

From 1 October 2013, the company operated a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions are recognised when they become payable in accordance with the rules of the scheme.

A liability for the charity’s obligations under the plan is recognised net of plan assets. The net change in the net defined benefit liability is recognised as the cost of the defined benefit plan during the period. Pension plan assets are measured at fair value and the defined benefit obligation is measured on an actuarial basis using the projected unit method. Actuarial valuations are obtained at least triennially and are updated at each balance sheet date.

(l) Tax

The charity is an exempt charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes.

(m) Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, trustees have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. In the first several months of 2020, the virus, SARS-CoV-2, and resulting disease COVID-19, spread to the United Kingdom.

On 23 March 2020 the government introduced various restrictions and social distancing rules which resulted in the company’s shops closing. However, due to the timing of the pandemic in the United Kingdom, the trustees do not believe it to have a direct impact on the 31 March 2020 reporting period.

The trustees are actively working with staff to manage and mitigate the impact to COVID-19 on the company’s operations. On review currently the trustees do not consider there to be a significant impact on their ability to continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future. The company is continually reviewing and monitoring the expected impact of COVID-19 and should it have any impact on the value of their assets and liabilities this will be recognised in the accounting period to which it relates.

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

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2 Income from donations and legacies

Donations and gifts Legacies Grants	2021 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 49,735 3,991 - 53,726 306,789 - - 306,789 159,091 133,453 - 292,544 515,615 137,444 - 653,059	2020 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 70,709 1,709 - 72,418 377,289 - - 377,289 22,050 124,201 - 146,251
		470,048 125,910 - 595,958

3 Income from charitable activities

Sale of visual aids and equipment Sale of transcription services	2021 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 7,915 - - 7,915 167 - - 167 8,082 - - 8,082	2020 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 21,625 - - 21,625 1,343 - - 1,343
		22,968 - - 22,968

4 Income from other trading activities

Fundraising events Shop income Café income Other	2021 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 3,009 - - 3,009 31,972 - - 31,972 - - - - - - - - 34,981 - - 34,981	2020 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 15,833 3,120 - 18,953 116,294 - - 116,294 1,725 - - 1,725 4,614 - - 4,614
		138,466 3,120 - 141,586

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

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5 Income from investments

Bank interest received	2021 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 2,829 - - 2,829 2,829 - - 2,829	2020 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 3,368 - - 3,368
		3,368 - - 3,368

6 Expenditure on raising funds

Note Motor and travel Sundry expenses Computer costs Insurance Light, heat and power Rates Rent Water rates Repairs and maintenance Telephone and fax Advertising and publicity Wages and salaries 12 Social security costs 12 Staff pensions 12 Printing, postage and stationery Legal and professional	2021 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 184 - - 184 2,990 - - 2,990 1,000 - - 1,000 2,003 - - 2,003 2,742 - - 2,742 - - - - 25,923 - - 25,923 527 - - 527 115 - - 115 735 - - 735 - - - - 97,873 - - 97,873 8,163 - - 8,163 3,569 - - 3,569 95 - - 95 500 - - 500 146,419 - - 146,419	2020 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 189 - - 189 4,727 - - 4,727 989 - - 989 2,060 - - 2,060 6,593 - - 6,593 6,235 - - 6,235 36,011 - - 36,011 1,619 - - 1,619 31 - - 31 817 - - 817 1,418 - - 1,418 107,651 - - 107,651 9,751 - - 9,751 4,273 - - 4,273 11 - - 11
		182,375 - - 182,375

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

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7 Expenditure on charitable activities

Note Staff training Motor and travel Sundry expenses Computer costs Insurance Light, heat and power Rates Rent Water rates Repairs and maintenance Telephone and fax Advertising and publicity Purchases Wages and salaries 12 Social security costs 12 Staff pensions 12 Printing, postage and stationery Bank charges Depreciation 16 (Profit) or loss on disposal of fixed assets Governance costs 11 Irrecoverable VAT Bad and doubtful debts	2021 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 983 1,029 - 2,012 4,189 73 - 4,262 4,133 8,665 - 12,798 2,019 2,719 - 4,738 15,458 - - 15,458 1,833 1,992 - 3,825 - - - - 13,618 15,094 - 28,712 344 292 - 636 3,289 - - 3,289 9,734 298 - 10,032 3,737 289 - 4,026 7,746 - - 7,746 150,086 98,286 - 248,372 12,682 1,600 - 14,282 10,749 3,491 - 14,240 3,735 19 - 3,754 934 - - 934 9,257 - - 9,257 (100) - - (100) 3,234 - - 3,234 - - - - - - - - 257,660 133,847 - 391,507	2020 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 110 340 - 450 23,905 8,036 - 31,941 7,786 3,785 - 11,571 2,154 454 - 2,608 14,713 - - 14,713 4,807 1,540 - 6,347 786 - - 786 20,717 6,045 - 26,762 390 126 - 516 2,181 5,215 - 7,396 7,222 242 - 7,464 446 859 - 1,305 21,168 - - 21,168 170,587 75,505 - 246,092 11,411 2,596 - 14,007 4,953 1,278 - 6,231 1,064 - - 1,064 2,218 - - 2,218 10,297 417 - 10,714 (500) - - (500) 1,550 - - 1,550 3,468 - - 3,468 418 - - 418
		311,851 106,438 - 418,289

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

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8 Analysis of expenditure

Note Raising funds 6 Charitable activities 7	2021 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 146,419 - - 146,419 257,660 133,847 - 391,507 404,079 133,847 - 537,926	2020 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total £ £ £ £ 182,375 - - 182,375 311,851 106,438 - 418,289
		494,226 106,438 - 600,664

Split into direct and support costs:

Note Direct costs 9 Support costs 10	2021 Raising funds Charitable activities Total £ £ £ 36,219 97,534 133,753 110,200 293,973 404,173 146,419 391,507 537,926	2020 Raising funds Charitable activities Total £ £ £ 60,689 136,913 197,602 121,686 281,376 403,062
		182,375 418,289 600,664

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

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9 Direct costs

Staff training Motor and travel Sundry expenses Computer costs Insurance Light, heat and power Rates Rent Water rates Repairs and maintenance Telephone and fax Advertising and publicity Purchases Irrecoverable VAT Bad and doubtful debts	2021 Raising funds Charitable activities Total £ £ £ - 2,012 2,012 184 4,262 4,446 2,990 12,798 15,788 1,000 4,738 5,738 2,003 15,458 17,461 2,742 3,825 6,567 - - - 25,923 28,712 54,635 527 636 1,163 115 3,289 3,404 735 10,032 10,767 - 4,026 4,026 - 7,746 7,746 - - - - - - 36,219 97,534 133,753	2020 Raising funds Charitable activities Total £ £ £ - 450 450 189 31,941 32,130 4,727 11,571 16,298 989 2,608 3,597 2,060 14,713 16,773 6,593 6,347 12,940 6,235 786 7,021 36,011 26,762 62,773 1,619 516 2,135 31 7,396 7,427 817 7,464 8,281 1,418 1,305 2,723 - 21,168 21,168 - 3,468 3,468 - 418 418
		60,689 136,913 197,602

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

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10 Support costs

Note Wages and salaries 12 Social security costs 12 Staff pensions 12 Printing, postage and stationery Legal and professional Bank charges Depreciation Profit/loss on disposal of fixed assets Governance costs 11	2021 Raising funds Charitable activities Total £ £ £ 97,873 248,372 346,245 8,163 14,282 22,445 3,569 14,240 17,809 95 3,754 3,849 500 - 500 - 934 934 - 9,257 9,257 - (100) (100) - 3,234 3,234 110,200 293,973 404,173	2020 Raising funds Charitable activities Total £ £ £ 107,651 246,092 353,743 9,751 14,007 23,758 4,273 6,231 10,504 11 1,064 1,075 - - - - 2,218 2,218 - 10,714 10,714 - (500) (500) - 1,550 1,550
		121,686 281,376 403,062

11 Governance costs

Independent examiner’s fees	2021 £ 3,234 3,234	2020 £ 1,550
		1,550

12 Staff costs and employee benefits

The average number of persons employed by the charity (including trustees) during the year, analysed by category, was as follows:

Administration Services Fundraising	2021 Number FTE 4 4 10 7 4 3 18 14	2020 Number FTE 5 5 9 6 5 4
		19 15

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

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12 Staff costs and employee benefits (continued)

The aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows:

Wages and salaries Social security Defined contribution pension costs	2021 £ 346,245 22,445 17,809 386,499	2020 £ 353,743 23,758 10,504
		388,005

No employees received total employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) of more than £60,000.

13 Trustees’ and key management personnel remuneration and expenses

No trustees received any remuneration or had expenses reimbursed during the year (2020 – £nil).

The total amount of employee benefits received by key management personnel is £120,671 (2020 – £119,861).

The charity considers its key management personnel to comprise of the Chief Executive, the Finance and Administrative Manager and the Fundraising Manager.

14 Independent Examiner’s remuneration

The independent examiner’s remuneration includes an independent examination fee of £3,234 (2020 – £1,550).

15 Net income/(expenditure) for the year

	Note	2021	2020
		£	£
Net income/(expenditure) for the year is stated after charging:
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets	16	11,756	10,714
(Profit) or loss on sale of tangible fixed assets		(100)	(500)
Operating lease rentals	20	57,624	63,458
Independent examiner’s remuneration	11	3,234	1,550

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

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16 Tangible fixed assets

Cost or valuation: At 1 April 2020 Additions Disposals At 31 March 2021 Depreciation: At 1 April 2020 Charge for the year Eliminated on disposals At 31 March 2021 Net book value: At 31 March 2021 At 31 March 2020 17 Debtors Other debtors Prepayments and accrued income	Short term leasehold improvements Fixtures, fittings and equipment Computer equipment £ £ £ 56,740 72,231 5,724 - - - - (347) -	Motor vehicles £ 32,802 - - 32,802 23,221 2,499 - 25,720 7,082 9,581 2021 £ 5,873 13,580 19,453	Total £ 167,497 - (347)
	56,740 71,884 5,724		167,150
	10,521 56,841 3,330 5,674 2,301 1,282 - (97) -		93,913 11,756 (97)
	16,195 59,045 4,612		105,572
	40,545 12,839 1,112		61,578
	46,219 15,390 2,394		73,584
			2020 £ 7,551 32,245
			39,796

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

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18 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors Taxation and social security Other creditors Accruals and deferred income	2021 £ 6,906 6,412 2,482 9,982 25,782	2020 £ 8,108 6,655 2,456 12,131
		29,350

19 Provisions for liabilities

Provision brought forward Interest expense Deficit contributions paid Re-measurement adjustment Provision carried forward	2021 Defined benefit pension Total £ £ 48,134 48,134 1,082 1,082 (9,981) (9,981) 1,389 1,389 40,624 40,624	2020 Defined benefit pension Total £ £ 62,684 62,684 739 739 (9,690) (9,690) (5,599) (5,599)
		48,134 48,134

The charity participates in a multi-employer scheme which provides benefits to some 950 nonassociated participating employers. The scheme is a defined benefit scheme in the UK. It is not possible for the company to obtain sufficient information to enable it to account for the scheme as a defined benefit scheme. Therefore it accounts for the scheme as a defined contribution scheme.

The scheme is subject to the funding legislation outlined in the Pensions Act 2004 which came into force on 30 December 2005. This, together with documents issued by the Pensions Regulator and Technical Actuarial Standards issued by the Financial Reporting Council, set out the framework for funding defined benefit occupational pension schemes in the UK.

The scheme is classified as a 'last-man standing arrangement'. Therefore the charity is potentially liable for other participating employers' obligations if those employers are unable to meet their share of the scheme deficit following withdrawal from the scheme. Participating employers are legally required to meet their share of the scheme deficit on an annuity purchase basis on withdrawal from the scheme.

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19 Provisions for liabilities (continued)

A full actuarial valuation for the scheme was carried out in 30 September 2017. This valuation showed assets of £794.9m, liabilities of £926.4m and a deficit of £131.5m. To eliminate this funding shortfall, the trustees have asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme of £11,243,000 per annum from 1 April 2019 to 31 January 2025. The contributions are payable monthly and increase by 3% each 1 April.

20 Operating lease commitments

Total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

Due within one year Due within two to five years Due after five years	2021 £ 40,958 113,617 66,667 221,242	2020 £ 57,624 129,575 91,667
		278,866

21 Pensions and other post-retirement benefits

Defined contribution plans

The charity operates a defined contribution pension plan for its employees. The amount recognised as an expense in the period was £17,659 (2020 – £15,412).

At the year end the balance owing was £2,471 (2020 – £2,442).

22 Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities

Net (expenditure) for the year Interest receivable Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets (Profit)/loss on disposal of tangible fixed assets (Increase)/decrease in stock (Increase)/decrease in debtors Increase/(decrease) in creditors Increase/(decrease) in provisions Net cash flow from operating activities	2021 £ 169,648 (2,829) 12,146 (100) (857) 20,343 (3,568) (7,510) 187,273	2020 £ 163,216 (3,368) 10,714 (500) 1,428 (11,376) 6,570 (14,550)
		152,134

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

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23 Change in net debt

Current year Cash Loans falling due within one year Loans falling due after more than one year Comparative year Cash Loans falling due within one year Loans falling due after more than one year	1 April 2020 Cash flows Other non- cash changes 31 March 2021 £ £ £ £ 427,020 181,439 - 608,459
	427,020 181,439 - 608,459 - - - - - - - -
	427,020 181,439 - 608,459
	1 April 2019 Cash flows Other non- cash changes 31 March 2020 £ £ £ £ 284,983 142,037 - 427,020
	284,983 142,037 - 427,020 - - - - - - - -
	284,983 142,037 - 427,020

24 Related party transactions

A director of the charity is a director of Requisite Investments Limited. During the year the charity incurred rental and insurance costs of £8,772 (2020 – £12,244) with the company. At the year end the balance owing was £nil (2020 – £nil).

25 Company limited by guarantee

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and as such does not have a share capital. The liability of the members is limited.

Every member of the company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of the same being wound up while he is a member, or within one year after he ceases to be a member, for payment of the debts and liabilities of the company contracted before he ceased to be a member, and of the costs, charges and expenses of winding up, and for the adjustment of the rights of the contributories among themselves, such amount as may be required, not exceeding £1.

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

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26 Movement in funds

Designated funds – Investments

The trustees have designated a value equal to the proceeds from the sale of Ortzen Street which have been invested in order to earn annual income for the charity.

Designated funds – Heathcoat Street reinstatement

The trustees have designated £5,000 per annum starting from 2018/19 for the potential costs of reinstating the Heathcoat Street premises to its former condition. A further £5,000 will continue to be designated annually until the estimated £50,000 has been designated. The transfers between the designated and unrestricted funds are in order to reflect this.

Designated funds – IT support for Nottinghamshire

The trustees have designated money for IT support for Nottinghamshire from an old restricted fund which had the purpose of providing equipment to Broxtowe, an area within Nottinghamshire.

Designated funds – Counselling service

The trustees have agreed to commit up to £10,000 from reserves to run a 12 month pilot project. £10,000 expenditure has been forecast from reserves to provide a basic service but the charity will be looking to secure additional funding to expand this service.

Restricted funds – Thursday Group

Thursday Group includes grants, donations and service user contributions toward the cost of running Thursday social groups including day trips and other communal outings.

Restricted funds – Talking Newspaper

Talking Newspaper represents funds received for the provision of upgrading equipment.

Restricted funds – Sight Matters

The Sight Matters fund consists of grant and service user contributions towards the cost of running this group.

Restricted funds – Big Lotteries – Reaching Communities

The Big Lotteries Reaching Communities fund consists of grants that are used towards the cost of serving the community.

Restricted funds – Emotional and Peer Support

The Emotional and Peer Support fund consists of grant income contributing towards the equipment, transport and salary costs of employees.

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

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Restricted funds – Befriending My Guide

Befriending My Guide represents grant income contribution towards the home visit and mobile support services which are part of the charity’s outreach work.

Restricted funds – Big Lotteries – Building Connections

Project will tackle loneliness and isolation experienced by many of the local VI community by creating opportunities for groups of individuals to share experiences. My Sight will provide a wide range of accessible activities, workshops, support and social opportunities that bring together groups of VI people over a positive experience. Activities will focus on building selfconfidence and well-being and facilitating people to do things they enjoy. We need to be able to offer a range of social activities in order to have broad spectrum appeal. Most of the things we hope to deliver have been ‘tried and tested’ either by us or other groups and organisations we have learnt from.

This project will:

Offer twice monthly drop in coffee mornings for visually impaired people, their friends and carers at our Nottingham City Hub.
Develop our group and team focused sporting activities.
Develop our choir and singing sessions.
Deliver more arts workshops in different areas of the county.
Offer peer support sessions in different areas of the county for VI people, their families and carers.
We will develop peer support sessions that are specific to individual sight loss conditions. Sight loss conditions are quite diverse and affect people in different ways.

Restricted funds – Big Lotteries – Peoples Project

A Community Cafe at our Support Centre in Nottingham offering work experience and training to visually impaired visually impaired people, to work in and run the cafe as well as creating a friendly social space for visually impaired people to be able to get together, meet people and build connections.

The purpose of the cafe is therefore two-fold:

It will offer a safe accessible training environment where visually impaired people can gain work experience in catering, customer service, cash handling, stock control and administration as well as learning important skills such as teamwork and communication. It will aim to build people’s confidence and independence and provide a stepping stone in to employment.
The cafe will also provide a space for visually impaired people to get together, socialise and share experiences. A destination where people with sight loss feel safe, understood and part of a community. Many of the visually impaired people we work with feel lonely and socially isolated by their disability. We want to create a welcoming and accessible space where there is always someone to chat to.

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

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Restricted funds – HEEM ELCO and Peer Support

Eye Clinic Liaison Officer provision for mid-Notts hospitals offering advice and support to visually impaired people during eye clinic visits and to deliver a sight loss educational project.

Restricted funds – Big Lotteries Covid Tech Project

Funding from Big Lotteries for a 6 month project to provide equipment and technical support to enable isolated visually impaired people to access platforms such as Zoom to keep in touch with family and friends during Covid lockdowns and to use online shopping, banking etc.

Restricted funds – Newark Group

Funding from Active Partners Trust Tackling Inequalities awarded to our Newark Social Group to provide technology to enable visually impaired members to keep in touch during the Covid lockdown and to provide individual chair based exercise equipment to be used in the home to help members stay active.

Restricted funds – Building Accessibility / Smart Room

Funding from Counsellor Wallace at Nottinghamshire County Council to spend on Heathcoat Street accessibility alterations, including accessible signage, audible signage, sound baffling etc.

Restricted funds – IT and Equipment

The JN Derbyshire Trust provided £2,000 for IT and equipment.

Restricted funds – ECLO

The Charles Littlewood Hill Trust provided £3,000 for an Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO).

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

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26 Movement in funds (continued)	26 Movement in funds (continued)
Current year		Incoming	Outgoing
	At 1 April 2020	resources	resources	Transfers	At 31 March 2021
	£	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds:
General fund (“free reserves”)	106,361	561,507	(404,079)	(15,000)	248,789
Designated funds
Investments	250,000	-	-	-	250,000
Heathcoat Street reinstatement	10,000	-	-	5,000	15,000
IT support for Nottinghamshire	8,224	-	-	-	8,224
Counselling service	-	-	-	10,000	10,000
Total unrestricted funds 2021	374,585	561,507	(404,079)	-	532,013
Restricted funds:
Thursday Group	1,478	50	-	-	1,528
Talking Newspaper	2,053	-	(245)	-	1,808
Sight Matters	1,355	-	-	-	1,355
Big Lotteries – Reaching Communities	11,588	-	-	-	11,588
Emotional and Peer Support	-	10,000	(2,986)	-	7,014
Befriending My Guide	5,979	8,000	(5,446)	-	8,533
Big Lotteries – Building Connections	12,388	39,579	(43,952)	-	8,015
Big Lotteries – Peoples Project	27,782	5,725	(13,944)	-	19,563
HEEM ELCO and Peer Support	32,000	-	-	-	32,000
Big Lotteries Covid Tech Project	-	61,500	(60,319)	-	1,181
Newark Group	-	3,649	(1,955)	-	1,694
Building Acccessibility / Smart Room	-	3,941	-	-	3,941
IT and Equipment	-	2,000	(2,000)	-	-
ECLO	-	3,000	(3,000)	-	-
Total restricted funds 2021	94,623	137,444	(133,847)	-	98,220
Endowment funds:
	-	-	-	-	-
Total endowment funds 2021	-	-	-	-	-
Total funds 2021	469,208	698,951	(537,926)	-	630,233

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

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26 Movement in funds (continued)	26 Movement in funds (continued)
Current year			Incoming	Outgoing		At 31 March
	At 1	April 2019	resources	resources	Transfers	2020
		£	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds:
General fund (“free reserves”)	(25,559)		634,850	(494,226)	(8,704)	106,361
Designated funds
Investments	250,000		-	-	-	250,000
Heathcoat Street
reinstatement		-	-	-	10,000	10,000
IT support for
Nottinghamshire		-	-	-	8,224	8,224
Total unrestricted funds 2020	224,441		634,850	(494,226)	9,520	374,585
Restricted funds:
HLC Project		8,224	-	-	(8,224)	-
Thursday Group		1,375	498	(395)	-	1,478
Talking Newspaper		2,184	502	(633)	-	2,053
Sight Matters		1,902	-	(547)	-	1,355
Big Lotteries – Reaching
Communities		26,748	-	(15,160)	-	11,588
BAME Project		25,459	-	(24,959)	(500)	-
Emotional and Peer Support		6,658	-	(6,408)	(250)	-
Choir		4,117	1,211	(5,328)	-	-
Befriending My Guide		4,338	10,120	(8,479)	-	5,979
Big Lotteries – Building
Connections		-	39,999	(27,611)	-	12,388
Big Lotteries – Peoples Project		-	44,700	(16,918)	-	27,782
HEEM ELCO and Peer Support		-	32,000	-	-	32,000
Total restricted funds 2020		81,005	129,030	(106,438)	(8,974)	94,623
Endowment funds:
S A Tomlinson		546	-	-	(546)	-
Total endowment funds 2020		546	-	-	-	-
Total funds 2020	305,992		763,880	(600,664)	(546)	469,208

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

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

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27 Description of funds

Restricted funds – HLC Project

The HLC project represents funds for the provision of computer equipment in the Broxtowe area. The fund was transferred to unrestricted funds during the 2019/20 financial year.

Restricted funds – BAME Project

The BAME project consists of grants for a two year project on awareness of sight loss problems in black and minority ethnic groups.

Restricted funds – Choir

The Choir fund represents monies receive towards the cost trips for the My Sight visually impaired choir.

Endowment funds – S A Tomlinson

This fund represented funding for children’s holidays. The fund was transferred to unrestricted funds during the financial year.

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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

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

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28 Analysis of funds

Current year Fixed assets Cash and current investments Other current liabilities Provisions	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total 2021 £ £ £ £ 54,497 7,081 - 61,578 536,841 98,220 - 635,061 (18,701) (7,081) - (25,782) (40,624) - - (40,624)
	532,013 98,220 - 630,233

Comparative year Fixed assets Cash and current investments Other current liabilities Provisions	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total 2020 £ £ £ £ 64,003 9,581 - 73,584 378,485 94,623 - 473,108 (19,769) (9,581) - (29,350) (48,134) - - (48,134)
	374,585 94,623 - 469,208

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50 -

2021-03-31-accounts

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

CONTENTS

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND TRADING AS MY SIGHT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

CHARITY REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Legal and administrative information

Independent examiner

Bankers

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Trustees of the charity

Structure, governance and management

Legal status and governing documents

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Appointment of trustees

Trustee recruitment, induction and training

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Organisation

Management team

Remuneration of key management personnel

Umbrella body

Related parties

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Risk management

Objectives and activities

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Vision

Statement of purpose

Strategy

The key principles of My Sight Notts’ strategy are as follows:

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

My Sight Notts’ Services

Information and Support Services include:

Support Centre and Mobile Equipment Advice and Support Service

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Low Vision Advice

Befriending and My Guide Services

Information and support at Queens Medical Centre Ophthalmology Dept

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Technology classes and home tuition

Leisure services

Social groups and activities

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Sports and healthy lifestyle services

Arts and Choir

Communication services

Talking newspapers

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Touch transcriptions

Volunteering

The trustees and management acknowledge that without this volunteer help many activities, services and events, which are currently undertaken, would not be possible.

Service development

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Volunteering

Supporting our staff

Achievements and performance

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Fundraising and marketing

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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Fundraising and Community Events

Nottingham County Councils – Chairman’s Charity

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Donations

Charity shops

Communicating through the pandemic

Maintaining our profile

Financial review

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Plans for future periods

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Pension liabilities

Reserves policy

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS’ REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021