EPILEPSY SOCIETY
Registered charity 206186 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q5382979 · Wikipedia · also known as THE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR EPILEPSY
To enhance the quality of life of people affected by epilepsy by promoting public awareness and education, by undertaking research and by delivering specialist medical care and support services.
Objects
(A) TO PROVIDE BOTH NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY FOR THE MAINTENANCE, CARE, TREATMENT, EDUCATION, OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING, OCCUPATION AND EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY AND, TO THE EXTENT THAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE AFTER GIVING PRIORITY TO THE FOREGOING, FOR PEOPLE WITH OTHER PHYSICAL OR NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS OR HANDICAPS.(B) TO PROVIDE FACILITIES FOR RECREATION, BOTH INDOOR AND OUTDOOR, INCLUDING PLAYING FIELDS, LAWNS, BUILDINGS AND OTHER STRUCTURES AND ALL NECESSARY EQUIPMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY AND, TO THE EXTENT THAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE AFTER GIVING PRIORITY TO THE FOREGOING, FOR PEOPLE WITH OTHER PHYSICAL OR NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS OR HANDICAPS.(C) TO PROVIDE BOTH NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY BY ANY LAWFUL METHOD AS THE SOCIETY MAY CONSIDER PROPER SUPPORT, EDUCATION, TRAINING AND INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY, THEIR FAMILIES, CARERS, SUPPORT GROUPS AND BRANCHES AND OTHER PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE CONDITION.(D) TO CARRY OUT RESEARCH INTO THE CAUSES, TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF EPILEPSY.(E) TO CARRY ON AND EXTEND AND DEVELOP THE CHARITABLE WORK PREVIOUSLY CARRIED ON BY THE UNINCORPORATED SOCIETY KNOWN AS THE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR EPILEPSY (WHICH UNINCORPORATED SOCIETY IS HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS “THE UNINCORPORATED SOCIETY”) AT THE CHALFONT CENTRE FOR EPILEPSY AT CHALFONT ST. PETER, GERRARDS CROSS, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, SL9 0RJ.
Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED
The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.
Causes: Education/training · The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · Disability · Accommodation/housing · website · Get email alerts
Registered contact address: Buckinghamshire, South East, England (from the postcode on the register)
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that total income rose to £20.7m while total expenditure increased to £21.8m, resulting in a net deficit of £1.0m before pension adjustments. The charity holds unrestricted funds of £23.6m and free reserves of £12.0m, which the trustees confirm are sufficient to fund operations for the foreseeable future.
Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.
What the accounts disclose
Reserves policy: four months of total annual expenditure; nine months of expenditure excluding care and medical services (held: £23.6m)
“The policy states that the Society shall maintain a level of ‘free reserves’ that covers all the annual expenditure of the Society (based on current projected costs for the year excluding depreciation) for at least four months and expenditure of the Society excluding care and medical service costs (where there is an established flow of income) for at least nine months.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: Epilepsy Enterprises Limited
“Epilepsy Enterprises Limited is the Society’s trading company and it carries on commercial activities, such as merchandising, with a view to raising money for the charity.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by Crowe UK LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.
In its annual return the charity told the Commission it is also regulated by: Care Quality Commission. This is the charity’s own declaration; it is not a rating and has not been verified by the Commission or by this site.
Policies the charity declares
In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.
- Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
- Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
- Complaints handling
- Complaints policy and procedures
- Conflicting interests
- Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
- Financial reserves policy and procedures
- Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
- Internal risk management policy and procedures
- Investing charity funds policy and procedures
- Investment
- Paying staff
- Risk management
- Safeguarding policy and procedures
- Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
- Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
- Social media policy and procedures
- Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
- Trustee expenses policy and procedures
- Volunteer management
From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)
Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.
Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/03/2025
- Volunteers: 10
- Government income: £13,153,000 — contracts £13,153,000 (110); 64% of the £20,658,000 total gross income on the same return
- Employees paid over £60,000: 12 (£60,001–£70,000: 2; £70,001–£80,000: 5; £80,001–£90,000: 1; £90,001–£100,000: 1; £120,001–£130,000: 1; £140,001–£150,000: 1; £150,001–£200,000: 1)
- Has a trading subsidiary
Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/03/2024
- Volunteers: 10
- Government income: £13,308,409 — contracts £13,277,000 (111), grants £31,409 (2); 71% of the £18,860,000 total gross income on the same return
- Employees paid over £60,000: 10 (£60,001–£70,000: 2; £70,001–£80,000: 3; £80,001–£90,000: 2; £120,001–£130,000: 1; £140,001–£150,000: 1; £150,001–£200,000: 1)
- Has a trading subsidiary
Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/03/2023
- Volunteers: 15
- Government income: £12,264,000 — contracts £12,264,000 (112); 69% of the £17,899,000 total gross income on the same return
- Employees paid over £60,000: 7 (£60,001–£70,000: 2; £70,001–£80,000: 2; £90,001–£100,000: 1; £110,001–£120,000: 1; £140,001–£150,000: 1)
- Has a trading subsidiary
Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.
Corporate structure
Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Epilepsy Society (matched by registered charity number).
Company officers (Companies House)
Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.
- RAJANI, Rakhi Surendra — director, appointed 12/12/2025on trustee list
- AIREY, Paul — director, appointed 12/12/2025on trustee list
- OWEN, Penny — director, appointed 01/01/2025on trustee list
- MILLER, Sarah — director, appointed 01/01/2025on trustee list
- WOOLFSON, Robin Gideon, Dr — director, appointed 13/12/2023on trustee list
- AVATAR BARNETT, Rae — director, appointed 13/12/2023not on trustee list
- GRANT, Nikolas — director, appointed 13/12/2023on trustee list
- PURVES, Hannah Elizabeth — director, appointed 13/12/2023on trustee list
- SKINNER, Karen Ann, Dr — director, appointed 13/12/2023on trustee list
- SULLIVAN, Jacqueline Anne — director, appointed 08/03/2022on trustee list
- GRAY, Andrew John — director, appointed 14/12/2021on trustee list
- GOSLING, Andrew Thomas — director, appointed 14/12/2021on trustee list
- ALCOCK, Catherine Nina — director, appointed 02/12/2015not on trustee list
- LUMLEY, Anthony Richard — secretary, appointed 19/02/2024
Official officers record.
Public-sector contracts awarded
From the official Contracts Finder and Find a Tender notices (supplier matched by exact registered name). Contract income is distinct from grants.
CQC provider record: Epilepsy Society — Registered, 10 registered locations, 3 regulated activities, last inspected 22/01/2020.charity number confirmed by CQC CQC record
Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook (84,941 followers) · instagram (34K followers)
Advertised salaries (public job ads)
Roles this charity has advertised on CharityJob, matched on the exact employer name. A different source from the statutory pay bands above: these are asking salaries for vacancies, not what anyone was paid.
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)
Cost of raising funds
£833k
Reserves (reported)
£12.0m
Reported reserves equal ~6.6 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).
Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 4.0% of total income — above the median for charities its size (3.7%) (benchmarks).
Care Quality Commission ratings
CQC inspection ratings for services run by a provider matching this charity’s name (matched by name; verify provider identity on CQC’s site).
- Russell House: Requires improvement (27/11/2025) · CQC record
- Greene House: Good (14/02/2020) · CQC record
- Morton House: Good (27/02/2020) · CQC record
- Croft Cottage: Good (08/11/2019) · CQC record
- Supported Living and Domiciliary Care Service: Good (09/08/2019) · CQC record
- Micholl's House: Good (17/11/2017) · CQC record
- Queen Elizabeth House: Good (17/10/2018) · CQC record
Register events
- Received assets from another charity (05/09/2019) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (09/07/2014) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- CATHERINE ALCOCK DLchair
- Andrew Gray
- Andrew Thomas Gosling
- Dr Karen Skinner
- Dr Robin Woolfson · trustee of 1 other charity
- Hannah Purves
- Jacqueline Anne Sullivan
- Nikolas Grant
- Paul Airey
- Penny Owen
- Rae Avatar Barnett
- Rakhi Rajani
- Sarah miller · trustee of 1 other charity
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Throughout England And Wales
Income and spending
Common questions
Is EPILEPSY SOCIETY financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that total income rose to £20.7m while total expenditure increased to £21.8m, resulting in a net deficit of £1.0m before pension adjustments. The charity holds unrestricted funds of £23.6m and free reserves of £12.0m, which the trustees confirm are sufficient to fund operations for the foreseeable future. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Crowe UK LLP.
Who funds EPILEPSY SOCIETY?
Funders whose own accounts filings name EPILEPSY SOCIETY as a grant recipient include BERNARD LEWIS FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST, THE PETER STEBBINGS MEMORIAL CHARITY, THE WILLIE AND MABEL MORRIS CHARITABLE TRUST, THE CHAMPNISS CHARITABLE TRUST, GOWLING WLG (UK) CHARITABLE TRUST.
Known funders
Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.
Grants marked “Unverified read” were flagged by automated checks as possibly misread from the funder’s filed accounts. They are listed, but left out of the totals, counts and funder relationships this site computes.
Government & lottery funding
Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).
Funders of similar charities
Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.
Charities like this
Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with BRITISH EPILEPSY ASSOCIATION.
Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.