Policy Consultants Limited - Limited company accounts 23.2

REGISTERED NUMBER: 03412731 (England and Wales)

REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS AND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022

FOR

POLICY CONSULTANTS LIMITED

Page

Company Information

1

Report of the Directors

2

Report of the Independent Auditors

4

Income Statement

7

Balance Sheet

8

Statement of Changes in Equity

9

Notes to the Financial Statements

10

DIRECTORS:

Mr A W Waugh

Mr A F Gale

SECRETARY:

Mr C L Freedland

REGISTERED OFFICE:

21 Arlington Street

London

SW1A 1RN

REGISTERED NUMBER:

03412731 (England and Wales)

AUDITORS:

Raffingers LLP, Statutory Auditor

19-20 Bourne Court

Southend Road

Woodford Green

Essex

IG8 8HD

The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company for the year ended 31 December 2022.

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY

The principal activity of the company in the year under review was that of the provision of secretariat services.

DIRECTORS

Mr A W Waugh has held office during the whole of the period from 1 January 2022 to the date of this report.

Other changes in directors holding office are as follows:

Ms A Costigliola - appointed 1 July 2022

Mr N F Bennett - resigned 1 July 2022

Mr A F Gale was appointed as a director after 31 December 2022 but prior to the date of this report.

Ms A Costigliola ceased to be a director after 31 December 2022 but prior to the date of this report.

GOING CONCERN

The directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The company can meet its working capital requirements through continued support from its parent company during the period of 12 months from the date of signing these financial statements. For this reason the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the annual financial statements.

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES

The directors are responsible for preparing the Report of the Directors and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the surplus or deficit of the company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

-	select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

-	make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

-	prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the 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 company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

STATEMENT AS TO DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO AUDITORS

So far as the directors are aware, there is no relevant audit information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the company's auditors are unaware, and each director has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken as a director in order to make himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of that information.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

Mr C L Freedland - Secretary

22 September 2023

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Policy Consultants Limited (the 'company') for the year ended 31 December 2022 which comprise the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Statement of Changes in Equity and Notes to the Financial Statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

-	give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 December 2022 and of its deficit for the year then ended;

-	have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

-	have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and the provisions available for small entities, in the circumstances set out in note ten to the financial statements, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information in the Report of the Directors, but does not include the financial statements and our Report of the Auditors thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

-	the information given in the Report of the Directors for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

-	the Report of the Directors has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Directors.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

-	adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

-	the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

-	certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

-	we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

-	the directors were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemption from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report or in preparing the Report of the Directors.

Responsibilities of directors

As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities set out on page two, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We have identified the laws and regulations relevant to the company. We have designed procedures to confirm compliance with these laws and regulations including but not limited to enquiry of management, review of documentation and confirmation to external sources where possible.

With regards to risk fraud, the performance of the company is monitored closely by the finance department of the parent and discussed in the quarterly board meetings. The company's income streams are not complex and are not highly susceptible to fraud. The management has not identified any actual, suspected or alleged fraud during the year.

We have reviewed the accounts, agreed transactions to supporting documentation or group companies' accounts, reviewed disclosures in the financial statements and reviewed minutes of board meetings.

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Auditors.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company's members those matters we are required to state to them in a Report of the Auditors and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Mr Suda Ratnam (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Raffingers LLP, Statutory Auditor

19-20 Bourne Court

Southend Road

Woodford Green

Essex

IG8 8HD

25 September 2023

TURNOVER

40,018

40,024

Administrative expenses

(45,104

)

(47,302

)

OPERATING DEFICIT and

DEFICIT BEFORE TAXATION

(5,086

)

(7,278

)

Tax on deficit

6

-

DEFICIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR

(5,086

)

(7,278

)

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

7

75,462

64,535

Cash at bank

23,382

9,855

98,844

74,390

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

8

157,274

127,734

NET CURRENT LIABILITIES

(58,430

)

(53,344

)

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES

(58,430

)

(53,344

)

RESERVES

Income and expenditure account

(58,430

)

(53,344

)

(58,430

)

(53,344

)

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 22 September 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

Mr A F Gale - Director

Mr A W Waugh - Director

Retained

Total

earnings

equity

£

Balance at 1 January 2021

(46,066

)

(46,066

)

Changes in equity

Total comprehensive income

(7,278

)

(7,278

)

Balance at 31 December 2021

(53,344

)

(53,344

)

Changes in equity

Total comprehensive income

(5,086

)

(5,086

)

Balance at 31 December 2022

(58,430

)

(58,430

)

1.	STATUTORY INFORMATION

Policy Consultants Limited is a private company, limited by guarantee , registered in England and Wales. The company's registered number and registered office address can be found on the Company Information page.

The presentation currency of the financial statements is the Pound Sterling (£).

2.	STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" including the provisions of Section 1A "Small Entities" and the Companies Act 2006.

3.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Going concern

The directors have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these accounts. The directors have made this assessment in respect to a period of one year from the date of approval of these accounts.

The directors have concluded that there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the company to continue as a going concern. The directors are of the opinion that the company will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due with the continued support of its parent company.

Turnover

The turnover shown in the profit and loss account represents amounts receivable for services provided during the year in the normal course of business, net of trade discounts, VAT and other sales and related taxes.

Financial instruments

Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting all of its financial liabilities.

Where the contractual obligations of financial instruments (including share capital) are equivalent to a similar debt instrument, those financial instruments are classed as financial liabilities. Financial liabilities are presented as such in the balance sheet. Finance costs and gains or losses relating to financial liabilities are included in the profit and loss account. Finance costs are calculated so as to produce a constant rate of return on the outstanding liability.

Where the contractual terms of share capital do not have any terms meeting the definition of a financial liability then this is classed as an equity instrument. Dividends and distributions relating to equity instruments are debited direct to equity.

Taxation

Taxation for the year comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the Income Statement, except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity.

Current or deferred taxation assets and liabilities are not discounted.

Current tax is recognised at the amount of tax payable using the tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date.

Deferred tax

Deferred tax is recognised in respect of all timing differences that have originated but not reversed at the balance sheet date.

Timing differences arise from the inclusion of income and expenses in tax assessments in periods different from those in which they are recognised in financial statements. Deferred tax is measured using tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the year end and that are expected to apply to the reversal of the timing difference.

Unrelieved tax losses and other deferred tax assets are recognised only to the extent that it is probable that they will be recovered against the reversal of deferred tax liabilities or other future taxable profits.

4.	EMPLOYEES AND DIRECTORS

The average number of employees during the year was NIL (2021 - NIL).

5.	OPERATING DEFICIT

The operating deficit is stated after charging:

2022

2021

£

Auditors' remuneration

540

Taxation compliance services

470

6.

TAXATION

No liability to UK corporation tax arose on ordinary activities for the year ended 31 December 2022 nor for the year ended 31 December 2021.

7.

DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

2022

2021

£

Trade debtors

75,432

64,535

Other debtors

30

-

75,462

64,535

8.

CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

2022

2021

£

Trade creditors

3,364

946

Amounts owed to group undertakings

128,544

105,702

Taxation and social security

8,510

8,390

Other creditors

16,856

12,696

157,274

127,734

9.	RELATED PARTY EXEMPTION

The company has taken advantage of exemption, under the terms of Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland', not to disclose related party transactions with wholly owned subsidiaries within the group.

10.	FRC ETHICAL STANDARD - PROVISIONS AVAILABLE FOR SMALL ENTITIES

In common with many other businesses of our size and nature we use our auditors to prepare and submit returns to the tax authorities and assist with the preparation of the financial statements.

11.	ULTIMATE CONTROLLING PARTY

The ultimate controlling party is Incorporated National Association of British and Irish Millers Limited (The), a company incorporated in England and Wales.

12.	LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

The company is limited by guarantee and as such has no share capital.