OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2024-12-31-accounts

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

CHARITY NUMBER: NIC100743

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Contents
Trustees and other information
Trustees Report
Income and Expenditure Account
Balance Sheet
Notes to the Financial Statements
Independent Examiner’s Report		 Page
1-2
3-11
12
13
14-15
16

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Trustees and other information

TRUSTEES Wilson Lambe (President) Heather McKinstry (Vice President) (appointed Feb 2024) Wendy Beatty (Chairperson) Wendy Moore (Vice-Chairperson) Jimmy Fenton (PRO) Ashleigh Birkett (Immediate Past Chair) Ernie Spence (Treasurer) Nicola McCracken (Secretary) Priscilla Woods Mandy Nelson Ian McIlveen Declan McLogan John Thompson Will Johnston Jim Hegarty John Murray (appointed Feb 2024) Tom Stephenson (Co-opted Mar 2024) David Cooke (Co-opted Mar 2024) PATRON Louise Armstrong (ARCO) REGISTERED ADDRESS Northern Ireland Safety Group Room J805 Ulster University Cromore Road Coleraine BT52 1SA

Page 1

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

BANKERS

ACCOUNTANTS

Ulster Bank Limited Connswater Branch Arches Retail Park Belfast BT5 4AF Hopper & Co Chartered Accountants 6 Doagh Road Ballyclare BT39 9BG

Page 2

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Trustees Report for year ended 31 December 2024

The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024

Reference and Administrative Details

Northern Ireland Safety Group Room J805 Ulster University Cromore Road Coleraine BT52 1SA

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC 100743)

Charity Trustees/Dircetors

The Charity Trustees who served during the year or who were trustees at the date of this report were

Wilson Lambe (President) Heather McKinstry (Vice President) Wendy Beatty (Chairperson) Wendy Moore (Vice-Chairperson) Jimmy Fenton (PRO) Ashleigh Birkett (Immediate Past Chair) Ernie Spence (Treasurer) Nicola McCracken (Secretary) Priscilla Woods Mandy Nelson Ian McIlveen Declan McLogan John Thompson Will Johnston Jim Hegarty John Murray Tom Stephenson David Cooke

Status

The Charity is registered with the NI Charities Commission under reference NIC100743

Page 3

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

The Charity has also been accepted as a charity by HMRC under UTR number 0115305845 and as such no provision for taxation has been made.

Structure & Management

Northern Ireland Safety Group is a charity which is governed by its Constitution.

The organisation is primarily managed by an Executive Committee made up of the Office bearers, 8 other committee members and 4 technical advisors on the committee.

There are no employees. However, 2 members of the Executive Committee function as Secretaries and tender for their services on a 3-year contract.

Through the period the payments to the two Executive Committee members were:-

Nicola McCracken £26,783.29 Ernie Spence £17,780.15

Description & Purpose

The principal aim and objective of the Charity is to promote occupational health and safety amongst all people in the workplace and as such raise awareness of the reduction of work-related fatalities, workplace incidents and cases of ill health in Northern Ireland for the public benefit.

Activities & Objectives

This is carried out by running monthly meetings which allow health and safety practitioners (and other interested parties) to network together, share ideas and in general strive to improve the overall health and safety of and for the workforce and those who come into contact with them.

The Trustees are greatly appreciative of all their funders and the continued support of their members, without whose help the charity could not fulfil its charitable aims and objectives.

Page 4

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Other activities carried out by the Group include the running of seminars, running of a safety quiz, running of a Safety Conference, management of a Safety Awards scheme (in conjunction with the National Irish Safety Organisation), and the promotion of health and safety to those in secondary education about to embark on work placement.

Achievements & Performance

The 2024 year continued with the work that began during our 70th anniversary year in 2023. Soon after the November 2023 conference it was agreed that there was a need to provide a programme of activity to focus on compliance with legal requirement. The realisation that many younger health and safety trainees and advisors had lost out on mentoring and networking with peers during the Covid years also led to planning for the majority of meetings to be in person during the 2024 year. Plans commenced for the annual November NISG Conference, with the theme of “Back to Safety Basics” to provide a reminder to all of specific areas of health and safety risk which organisations should have procedures in place to address.

Our Meetings sub committee also worked to provide a full programme of meetings and workshops throughout the year to compliment the conference theme and offer a signposting service to our membership. Our activities offer the membership an opportunity for interactive and practical learning, and we collaborated with various organisations to deliver relevant and useful content. A total of five meetings, two webinars and three workshops were held, and the stats below show the attendance numbers for each of these:

Month Meeting type Attendees:
In-person
or Online		 No of Webinar
Recording Views
Total views (Actual Attendees
plus Recording Views
Jan In-person 72 booked N/A Meeting Cancelled due to
Storm Isha and topic
postponed until Feb 24
Feb In-person 59 N/A- In Person 59
Mar In-person 44 N/A – In Person 44
April In-person
Workshop		 70 N/A – In Person 70
May Online Webinar 85 36 121
June In-person 61 N/A – In Person 61
July No Meeting– Summer Break
Aug In-person 42 N/A – In Person 42
Sept In person ½ day Workshop
(restricted numbers)		 17 N/A – In Person 17
Sept In person ½ day Workshop
(restricted numbers)		 30 N/A – In Person 30
Oct Online Webinar 137 5 (only uploaded
in Dec 24)		 142
Dec In-person 44 N/A – In Person 44

Page 5

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

All meeting presentation pdfs, along with the webinar recordings, are uploaded to the members area of our website, allowing members (both the member contact and any others within the organisation who request access to the NISG members area) to download them at their leisure and use the content to further their health and safety activity within their own organisations, which cascades the learning from each of our meetings and events.

Our PR sub committee has been extremely busy during 2024 and has focused on providing relevant information and also attracting new members. The following activity fell under this committee:

a. Ezine

Our e-zine has continued to be a successful communication tool, and our subscriber database saw continued growth in numbers (see below). A review on the number and type of ezines sent out was completed during the year, following some free advice on good ezine etiquette from a media specialist, and it was decided to reduce the frequency of ezines and focus on offering information on NISG core activity plus signposting to HSENI and other relevant health and safety platforms and publications.

Subscribers at start of
year		 988 Subscribers at
end ofyear		 1040 Net increase
of subscribers		 5.3%
The actual number of new subscribers was 72 but we had 20 un-subscriptions over the
year. Some of these came from retirees and others who moved outside the industry.
Note also that a full review of email sign ups was completed in 2024 and this resulted in a
number of historical and obsolete email addresses being removed from the database.

Ezine open rates remained high with an average of 257 opens over the 139 ezines sent out in the year. This is an increase in the open rate from 2024 and shows that the content is of real interest to our membership. Many subscribers will only open ezines that are of particular interest to them, and we do advise of sector content in the ezine subject line, which assists readers. We commenced a series of legal updates during the year with new Development Sponsor Carson McDowell, and these articles are also updated to our website for access by our membership.

Page 6

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

b. Social Media

Social media activity has also increased over the 2024 year. The focus has been on utilising Facebook and LinkedIn posts to market NISG, signposting both members and potential members to our activities, and this has proved to be very beneficial for our membership. The platform statistics have been monitored and recorded at our monthly Executive Committee meetings and show both platforms to be widely used by those in the health and safety field locally. We will continue to use both platforms in 2025.

c. Membership

There were 35 new member sign ups in the year and the total paid members registered increased from 294 to 316 (this nett increase also took into account members who did not renew in 2024. Some of these were due to retirements, job moves and organisations going into administration.

d. Website

There has been a review of the NISG website during the 2024 year and the sub committee advised the Executive Committee that the current website is now very outdated and not utilising modern technology. The Executive Committee has now agreed to set aside funds for a bespoke and up to date website, which will encompass a new platform for ezine send outs, allowing for photos and graphics to be included. A supplier tender was issued in the forth quarter of 2024 and the winning tenderer has been contracted to provide the new website. Work on the new design will commence at the beginning of 2025 and is programmed to take approximately 8 weeks to complete. Funding for this project has been mainly ringfenced from surplus made from the 2024 NISG conference and awards dinner.

The annual Occupational Health and Safety Quiz, took place in Ulster University Belfast in March. The quiz is sponsored by Safety Advice Centre and for the second year Ulster University also offered sponsorship for the event as it fits with their policy of offering lifelong learning for all. This was a very successful event with 18 teams competing – 12 novices and 6 previous entrants. The quiz also netted two new members for NISG. Winners were UU Students Union (Previous Entrants) and Lagan MEICA under LA&I membership (Novices) – Both teams attended the NISO / NISG All-Ireland Finals in Limerick in April and part of their prize from the NISG quiz win is free membership for the 2025 year.

Page 7

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Our annual NISO / NISG All Ireland Occupational Health & Safety Awards saw fifteen entries from NISG, an additional five from the 2023 awards, which is a 50% increase. Four of these were new entrants, again showcasing the interest our members have, and the fact that local organisations view them as being beneficial in showcasing their health and safety commitment. Five of the entrants achieved Category 1 awards, the top category, an increase on the 2023 total. For the first time in the 33 year history of the All-Ireland Awards a Northern Ireland company, RYOBI Aluminium Casting (UK) Ltd., received the Supreme Award. This achievement was celebrated at our Awards Dinner following the conference in November.

The John Gordon Safety Person of the Year Award, sponsored by Safety Advice Centre, received five entries this year, some of these submitted from organisations who have not previously entered. Two worthy nominees won overall, both from a non-H & S background, showing that good health and safety practice is active outside of the H &S professional who would be our main member contact within an organisation.

Our Farming sub committee was very active in 2024, and we had stands at three agricultural shows during the year - Clogher Valley Show, Antrim Show and the Winter Fair. We continued the collaboration with the Young Farmers Club which commenced in 2023, fielding Executive Committee member judges at the Young Farmers Annual Public Speaking Competition throughout the Province and at their Debating competition. We also continued our work as Affiliate Members of the Farm Safety Partnership in Northern Ireland, working alongside organisations such as HSENI; DAERA; UFU; FSF; NFUM and YFCU to promote farm safety throughout the province. Lakeland Dairies continued as our Farming sponsor for the 2024 year. We have continued to sponsor the 2025 HSENI Farm Safety calendar which is distributed to primary schools with a rural connection.

The NISG 2024 Conference entitled “Back to Safety Basics” was held at La Mon Hotel on 7th November. The Northern Ireland health and safety community came together, with over 250 delegates, over 30 health and safety related organisations exhibiting and 11 expert speakers who provided thought-provoking and informative presentations on topics such as electricity, work at height, management of dusts, collaborative working, workplace transport compliance, machinery guarding, hearing protection, safety barriers and fire and emergency evacuation. The event also offered attendees the opportunity to network, take part in lunch time demos and brainstorm with their peers. The 2024 Awards Dinner followed the conference and showcased the award winners from the year.

Page 8

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Our Development & Governance sub committee worked extensively during the year on updating the NISG Constitution and the amendments were approved by the Executive Committee at the December meeting. This will now be presented to the Group for approval at the AGM in January 2025. The amendments include updating of content deemed to require clarity and it also includes a user-friendly appendix listing the various Executive Committee roles, how each role is appointed, voting rights at Executive Committee meetings and voting rights at Group Meetings.

As members of Safety Groups UK we were delighted to attend the SGUK Awards at IOSH Headquarters in Leicester in September 2024 and we secured several major honours. The first of these was a Gold Level Award in the Excellence Awards Category, presented for our programme content during 2023. Next came the Alan Butler Plaque for being the overall winner in the Excellence Awards Category, marking NISG out as having the best programme of events in 2023 from all safety groups across the UK. This achievement cements our goal of ensuring that the programme we offer is relevant, provides signposting and allows the crucial networking opportunities to benefit NISG membership, which ultimately improves occupational health and safety across all sectors of the local workforce. The next achievement came for winning the Albert Porter Rose Bowl. This was awarded as NISG are the safety group associated with the Building Mental Health Alliance (BMHA), who won the Innovation Award for their “Mental Health in Construction Signposting Service" initiative. NISG are one of the founding organisations of BMHA and provide administrative support to the organisation. The fourth win for NISG came as our President, Wilson Lambe MBE, was awarded a Highly Commended Certificate in the Hero Category for his extensive work over the past sixty plus years in promoting occupational health and safety locally and also for mentoring many health and safety professionals along the way.

The sub committees of Occupational Health, Workplace Transport, and Education continued to meet during the course of the year and much of their activity assisted both the programme of meetings and workshops and also the conference.

Collaboration with others was strengthened with activity taking place with Workplace Health Leadership Group, Building Mental Health Alliance, Buildhealth, Electrical Networking Group and Electrical Training Trust to name a few.

As well as the sponsorships previously mentioned our Patron Arco has remained onboard and we also signed up Development Sponsor JMD Training and IT Sponsor Safety Lift to continue their sponsorships during the year.

Page 9

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

2024 has been a successful year for the organisation, and we now look forward to 2025 with the clear mission to promote occupational health and safety across all of Northern Ireland and continue to provide relevant knowledge and learning for all of our stakeholders.

Public Benefit Statement

The Northern Ireland Safety Group meets the public benefit requirement as follows:

The direct benefits which flow from the purpose are the improvement of safety and health knowledge in the workforce leading to the reduction of accidents/incidents and ill health at work. These benefits are evidenced through the increase in Group membership, the numbers who attend monthly meetings, feedback from Conferences and seminars that the organisation run, the growing number of subscribers to the organisation's e-zine, the increasing numbers who attend the Annual Safety Quiz and the increased numbers of organisations who enter the All Ireland Safety Awards. There is no harm from the activities pursued by the organisation. The Charity's beneficiaries are Safety Group members and the wider safety and health profession in

Northern Ireland and those people working for or with them be they employers, employees, self-employed or sub-contractors and young people who will be entering the workforce in the future.

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 4 of the Charities Act 2008 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

Financial Review

The Financial Statements show a surplus for the period of £25,720 (2023: deficit £3,978).

Reserves Policy

The Trustees of the charity have established a policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets ('the free reserves') held by the charity should amount to between 2 and 6 months’ worth of the resources expended which equates to between £17,807 and £53,423 in general funds. At this level, the Trustees feel that they would be able to continue the current activities of the charity in the event of a significant drop in funding; however, it would obviously be necessary to consider how the funding would be replaced or activities changed.

At present the free reserves (which exclude designated reserves), amount to £52,916 and are inside the Trustees' target range. The Trustees continue to work towards maintaining their free reserves target.

Page 10

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Designated reserves for Workplace Health (promotion) increased from £8,735 to £8,905

Designated reserve for a Building Mental Health Alliance project, decreased from £2,371 to £62

Plans for the future

The charity plans to continue the activities outlined above in the forthcoming years subject to satisfactory funding arrangements.

Statement of Trustees Responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for the preparation of Financial Statements for each financial period which give a true and fair view of the surplus or deficit arising in the period and of the assets and liabilities of the Charity as at the end of the financial period.

The Financial Statements are to be prepared on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the Charity will continue in operation for at least 12 months following the period end date.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance of proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the Charity at any given time.

They are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and for taking all necessary steps for the prevention or detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Signed on behalf of the Trustees:

………………………….. Wendy Beatty (Chairperson - Trustee)

Dated: 20 January 2025

………………………….. Dated: 20 January 2025 Ernie Spence (Treasurer - Trustee)

Page 11

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

Income:
Ulster Bank Interest
Subs
Safety award fees
Quiz Sponsorship
Patronage
Sponsorship
Conference fees
Conference Sponsorship & Exhibitors
Dinner Fees
BMHA Income
WHLG Income
Expenditure:
General Expenses
Printing & Stationery
Postage
Telephone
Insurance & Office Costs
Misc Expenses
Equipment & Maintenance
Secretary/Treasurer general admin hours
Bank Fees
Meeting & Events
Conference
Seminar/workshop costs
Safety Awards & John Gordon Award
Meetings Costs
Promotions/advertising
Quiz (NI)
Quiz (NISO)
Driving at Work NI
WHLG running costs
BMHA Expenditure
Farming Promotion Costs
Development & Governance costs
Web Site
Independent Examination
(Deficit)/Surplus for the period
Reserves Brought Forward
Reserves Carried Forward		 2024
2024
2024
£
£
£
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
198
198
55,780
55,780
7,725
7,725
2,500
2,500
4,000
4,000
3,750
2,734
6,484
19,120
19,120
20,505
20,505
5,721
5,721
12,462
12,462
600
600
132,360
2,734
135,094
892
892
237
237
321
321
1,108
1,108
396
396
960
960
20,784
20,784
567
567
32,526
32,526
1,251
1,251
4,112
4,112
3,801
3,801
9,605
9,605
4,459
4,459
6,103
6,103
500
-
500
4,837
4,837
10,374
10,374
2,529
2,529
2,448
2,448
1,263
1,263
300
300
106,845
2,529
109,373
25,515
205
25,720
36,368
3,585
39,953
61,883
3,790
65,673		 2023
£
Total
163
48,932
5,170
2,000
4,000
2,700
18,868
17,345
8,625
19,500
-
127,302
246
6
420
1,123
328
1,894
24,784
626
23,351
21,665
5,120
2,644
12,790
3,839
5,827
638
3,421
17,129
1,638
2,179
1,361
252
131,280
(3,978)
43,931
39,953

Page 12

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DEC EMBER 2024

Balance Sheet

Current assets:
Debtors
Ulster Bank Current account
Ulster Bank Reserve account
Paypal account
Current liabilities:
Creditors
VAT
Accruals
Nat West Credit Card
Net Assets
Charity Reserves:
At 1 January
(Deficit)/Surplus
At 31 December
Unrestricted Reserves:
Designated Reserves
Workplace Health (promotion)
Building Mental Health Alliance
Free Reserves
Restricted Reserves:
Farming Promotion
Safety Sam		 2024
£
6,928
48,965
13,850
-
69,744
3,393
377
301
-
4,071
65,673
39,953
25,720
65,673
8,905
62
52,916
834
2,956
65,673		 2023
£
5,087
22,104
13,652
181
41,023
32
774
253
11
1,071
39,953
43,931
(3,978)
39,953
8,743
2,371
25,254
-
862
2,722
39,953

Approved by the Trustees on 20 January 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

………………………….. Ernie Spence (Treasurer - Trustee)

Dated: 20 January 2025

Page 13

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2024

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.1 Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015.

Northern Ireland Safety Group meets the definition of a public benefit entity. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern nor any significant areas of uncertainty that affect the carrying value of assets held by the charity.

The charity opted to early adopt Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2017 and have therefore not included a cash flow statement in these financial statements.

1.2 Fund accounting

Incoming resources that may be applied for the Association’s general purposes are treated as ‘unrestricted’ incoming resources and are credited to the ‘unrestricted funds’. Funding for purposes designated for a specific purpose by Council is credited to ‘designated funds’. Where a donation or grant is required to be used for a specified purpose, the amount concerned is treated as a ‘restricted’ incoming resource and is credited to the appropriate ‘restricted fund’.

1.3 Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

Donated services and facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified.

Investment income is included when receivable.

Incoming resources from grants, where related to performance and specific deliverables, are accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance.

Page 14

NORTHERN IRELAND SAFETY GROUP YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1.4 Bank interest

Bank interest is recognised as an incoming resource when it is credited to the bank statement. All bank interest is treated as unrestricted income to the General Fund.

1.5 Resources Expended

Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT that cannot be fully recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates.

1.6 Fixed assets

All items of capital expenditure below £1,000 are written off as incurred.

Page 15

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

I report on the financial statements of the Northern Ireland Safety Group for the year ended 31st December 2024.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and independent examiner

Northern Ireland Safety Group's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.

Northern Ireland Safety Group's trustees consider that an audit is not required under section 65(2) (audit) of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 for the year and that an independent examination under section 64(1) of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 is required.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out under Section 65 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the financial statements.

Independent examiner's statement

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.

_______ S Hopper FCA Partner Hopper & Co

Date: 20 January 2025

Page 16