REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 02869264 (England and Wales)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1032032

THE LIVING ARCHIVE PROJECT

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND

UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Page

Report of the Trustees

1

to

2

Independent Examiner's Report

3

Statement of Financial Activities

4

Balance Sheet

5

to

6

Notes to the Financial Statements

7

to

14

The trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The Living Archive Project ('Living Archive') was set up in 1984 'to advance public education by fostering, promoting and coordinating the development of the artistic and educational interpretation of documentary material'.

The objective is met by:-

1. Collecting historical and contemporary material (artefacts, images and oral history recordings) about Milton Keynes and the towns and villages that constitute it;

2. Making them available online as a resource to inform and educate the wider public; and

3. Partnering with individuals and organisations to create performances and exhibitions based on collected material to inform, educate and entertain the public.

The Trustees have had due regard to the public benefit requirement under section 2 of the Charities Act 2011 and the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

2024-25 was a landmark year for the Living Archive, marking its fortieth anniversary. The milestone was celebrated with two concerts of established and new songs by the Living Archive Band and Future Songwriters, illustrated by images and recordings from the archive, to tell the story of Milton Keynes from the earliest times.

Other achievements included:-

- Greenleys Estate 50th Anniversary. Living Archive interviewed past and current residents, held an exhibition and made a film to celebrate the occasion.

- The Milton Keynes Songbook II. A second collection of songs by the Living Archive Band was collected and scored as a resource for schools and choirs.

- Heritage Open Days. Living Archive co-ordinated a record 244 free events in 2024 (one of the largest participations in the country). 17,564 people attended talks, displays, activities and landmarks during its 10 days.

- MK Museum 50th Anniversary. Living Archive contributed six Down Memory Lane events, 80 interviews and 30 - digital stories to the project to mark the anniversary.

- Q:alliance MK LGBTQ+ Heritage Project. Living Archive provided oral history interview training as well as videoing the interviews, producing a film and presenting the archive online.

Over the year several significant collections were added to the online archive, including the Phillip Cowlishaw Collection, the Bletchley Youth Centre Collection and MK People's Stories - a Museum for a New City.

There were 30 volunteers (including the Trustees) who contributed invaluable service towards the performance of the charity: mainly scanning, transcribing, summarizing, cataloguing and publishing online, but also attending meetings and events

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The results for the year are set out on page 4 . Unrestricted funds at 31st March 2025 were £18,642 (2024 £14,972), which was in line with the policy set out below.

The charity's policy is to maintain a reserve of unrestricted funds equivalent to at least 12 weeks of expenditure (and not more than 24 weeks) in order to ensure an orderly close down in the event that incoming funding cannot maintain the charity's operations. This level of reserves was met throughout the year.

The Trustees assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and were satisfied that systems were in place to mitigate exposure

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The charity is a company limited by guarantee, having Charitable Status and not having a share capital. The liability of the members ( the Trustees ) is limited. In the event of a winding-up of the company, every member undertakes to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

The charity is governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association. The number of members on incorporation was 6, but the committee has registered an increase to 9. The minimum number of members shall be not less than 3.

New members are recruited by invitation or application and must be approved or rejected by the committee ( the Board ) . The committee has the right to terminate any membership for good and sufficient reason and may permit members to retire.

The charity is managed by a part-time General Manager - answerable to the committee - who is assisted by a Creative Co-ordinator and Administrator - both also part-time.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

The Living Archive Project Limited ('Living Archive') is registered in England and Wales as a charity (no. 1032032) and limited company (no. 02869264).

The principal and registered office is Milton Keynes Museum, McConnell Drive, Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5EL.

The Trustees, who are also the Directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

R Kitchen Chair

D Bruce Vice Chair (Archives) and Treasurer

V Holton Vice Chair (Artistic)

M Ferns

C Tricks

S Amoah

L Bedeau

T Hill

J Lloyd-Knibbs

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 4 December 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

R F Kitchen - Trustee

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Living Archive Project ('the Company')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's 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 charity'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

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:

1.	accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

2.	the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3.	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

4.

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)).

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.

Denise Balch

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

Thompson Balch Limited

Chartered Accountants

Sovereign House

15 Towcester Road

Old Stratford

Milton Keynes

MK19 6AN

4 December 2025

2025

2024

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

2

2,994

-

2,994

1,424

Charitable activities

4

Project delivery

-

107,107

107,107

76,267

Other trading activities

3

1,306

-

1,306

741

Other income

668

-

668

990

Total

4,968

107,107

112,075

79,422

EXPENDITURE ON

Raising funds

5

128

-

128

52

Charitable activities

6

Project delivery

17

116,622

116,639

86,106

Other

1,170

-

1,170

780

Total

1,315

116,622

117,937

86,938

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

3,653

(9,515

)

(5,862

)

(7,516

)

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

14,972

43,806

58,778

66,294

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

18,625

34,291

52,916

58,778

2025

2024

Notes

£

£

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets

12

334

17

CURRENT ASSETS

Cash at bank

54,478

59,511

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

13

(1,896

)

(750

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

52,582

58,761

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

52,916

58,778

NET ASSETS

52,916

58,778

FUNDS

15

Unrestricted funds

18,625

14,972

Restricted funds

34,291

43,806

TOTAL FUNDS

52,916

58,778

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2025.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

(a)	ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and

(b)

preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.

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

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 4 December 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

R F Kitchen - Trustee

1.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following rate to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Fixtures and fittings - straight line over three years.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

2.	DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

2025

2024

£

£

Donations

2,994

1,424

3.	OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

2025

2024

£

£

Fundraising events

1,306

741

4.	INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

2025

2024

Activity

£

£

Grants

Project delivery

107,107

76,267

The following amounts were received from Milton Keynes Council to fund the projects detailed below.

Heritage Open Days 19,000 18,000

Parks Trust Trail 5,000 -

Discover Milton Keynes 4,000 4,000

Zainabaya Mosque 3,000 -

Look Again 3,000 -

Bradwell Windmill 2,500 -

Organisation Grant - 8,660

Zerena Grant - 2,500

Small commissions - 3,048

36,500 36,208

5.	RAISING FUNDS

Raising donations and legacies

2025

2024

£

£

Costs of fundraising

128

52

6.	CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

Direct

Costs

£

Project delivery

116,639

7.	NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

2025

2024

£

£

Depreciation - owned assets

183

-

Independent Examination

1,170

780

8.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Trustees' expenses

There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.

9.	STAFF COSTS

2025

2024

£

£

Wages and salaries

71,110

52,313

Other pension costs

1,870

-

72,980

52,313

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

2025

2024

Charitable Activities

2

1

Raising Funds

1

1

3

2

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

10.	COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

fund

funds

funds

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

1,424

-

1,424

Charitable activities

Project delivery

-

76,267

76,267

Other trading activities

741

-

741

Other income

990

-

990

Total

3,155

76,267

79,422

EXPENDITURE ON

Raising funds

52

-

52

Charitable activities

Project delivery

22,990

63,116

86,106

Other

780

-

780

Total

23,822

63,116

86,938

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

(20,667

)

13,151

(7,516

)

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

35,639

30,655

66,294

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

14,972

43,806

58,778

11.	PRIOR YEAR ADJUSTMENT

Comparative figures have been re-stated to remove the transfer between funds line of £22,414 which should have been allocated to expenditure.

Expenditure on Charitable activities was amended to £23,770 ( previously £56,386 ) for unrestricted funds and £63,116 ( previously £30,050 ) for restricted funding.

The restricted funding balance was also re-stated by £10,653 to agree it to the Charity's records.

12.	TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Fixtures

and

fittings

£

COST

At 1 April 2024

26,450

Additions

500

At 31 March 2025

26,950

DEPRECIATION

At 1 April 2024

26,433

Charge for year

183

At 31 March 2025

26,616

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2025

334

At 31 March 2024

17

13.	CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

2025

2024

£

£

Social security and other taxes

756

-

Accrued expenses

1,140

750

1,896

750

14.	ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

2025

2024

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

funds

funds

funds

£

£

£

£

Fixed assets

-

334

334

17

Current assets

19,765

34,713

54,478

59,511

Current liabilities

(1,140

)

(756

)

(1,896

)

(750

)

18,625

34,291

52,916

58,778

15.	MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Net

movement

At

At 1/4/24

in funds

31/3/25

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

14,972

3,653

18,625

Restricted funds

Organisation Grant

13,017

(8,968

)

4,049

MK Museum

17,329

(16,995

)

334

Songwriting Projects

2,880

(1,312

)

1,568

Commissions

4,989

1,544

6,533

Pioneer Tales

305

(305

)

-

Point Film

5,000

(5,000

)

-

Songbook

286

2,125

2,411

Q:alliance

-

12,678

12,678

Bletchley Town Trail

-

3,748

3,748

Hip Hop Project

-

2,970

2,970

43,806

(9,515

)

34,291

TOTAL FUNDS

58,778

(5,862

)

52,916

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Movement

resources

expended

in funds

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

4,968

(1,315

)

3,653

Restricted funds

Organisation Grant

-

(8,968

)

(8,968

)

Heritage Open Days

19,000

(19,000

)

-

MK Museum

21,050

(38,045

)

(16,995

)

Songwriting Projects

7,257

(8,569

)

(1,312

)

Commissions

5,795

(4,251

)

1,544

Discover Milton Keynes

4,000

(4,000

)

-

Pioneer Tales

-

(305

)

(305

)

Point Film

-

(5,000

)

(5,000

)

Songbook

9,237

(7,112

)

2,125

Q:alliance

14,307

(1,629

)

12,678

Bletchley Town Trail

5,748

(2,000

)

3,748

Bradwell Windmill

2,700

(2,700

)

-

Hip Hop Project

3,000

(30

)

2,970

Look Again

3,000

(3,000

)

-

Zainabaya Mosque

3,000

(3,000

)

-

Parks Trust Trail

9,013

(9,013

)

-

107,107

(116,622

)

(9,515

)

TOTAL FUNDS

112,075

(117,937

)

(5,862

)

Comparatives for movement in funds

Net

movement

At

At 1/4/23

in funds

31/3/24

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

35,639

(20,667

)

14,972

Restricted funds

Organisation Grant

17,369

(4,352

)

13,017

Heritage Open Days

1,150

(1,150

)

-

MK Museum

417

16,912

17,329

Songwriting Projects

2,450

430

2,880

Commissions

5,234

(245

)

4,989

VE Day Project

82

(82

)

-

Zerena

3,953

(3,953

)

-

Pioneer Tales

-

305

305

Point Film

-

5,000

5,000

Songbook

-

286

286

30,655

13,151

43,806

TOTAL FUNDS

66,294

(7,516

)

58,778

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Movement

resources

expended

in funds

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

3,155

(23,822

)

(20,667

)

Restricted funds

Organisation Grant

8,660

(13,012

)

(4,352

)

Heritage Open Days

18,000

(19,150

)

(1,150

)

MK Museum

18,800

(1,888

)

16,912

Songwriting Projects

3,000

(2,570

)

430

Commissions

3,048

(3,293

)

(245

)

VE Day Project

-

(82

)

(82

)

Zerena

2,501

(6,454

)

(3,953

)

Discover Milton Keynes

4,229

(4,229

)

-

Fuller Slade Project

1,100

(1,100

)

-

Pioneer Tales

9,955

(9,650

)

305

Point Film

5,000

-

5,000

Songbook

1,974

(1,688

)

286

76,267

(63,116

)

13,151

TOTAL FUNDS

79,422

(86,938

)

(7,516

)