DESIGN COUNCIL

Registered charity 272099 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q5264257 · Wikipedia

Design Council's purpose is to make life better by design.We are an independent charity and the government's advisor on design. Our vision is a world where the role and value of design is recognised as a fundamental creator of value, enabling happier, healthier and safer lives for all. Through the power of design, we make better places, better products, better processes and better performance.

Objects

3.1 THE ADVANCEMENT OF BRITISH INDUSTRY AND PUBLIC SERVICES BY THE IMPROVEMENT OF DESIGN IN THEIR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES; 3.2 THE PROTECTION, ENHANCEMENT, IMPROVEMENT AND REVITALISATION OF THE NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT (INCLUDING ARCHITECTURE), AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC IN SUCH SUBJECTS AND IN SUBJECTS RELATING TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABLE LIVING, AND TO PROMOTE STUDY AND RESEARCH IN SUCH SUBJECTS PROVIDED THAT THE USEFUL RESULTS OF SUCH STUDY ARE DISSEMINATED TO THE PUBLIC AT LARGE; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MEANS “DEVELOPMENT WHICH MEETS THE NEEDS OF THE PRESENT WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE ABILITY OF FUTURE GENERATIONS TO MEET THEIR OWN NEEDS”.

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: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · Disability · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Accommodation/housing · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Islington, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a surplus of £218k for the year, with total unrestricted funds increasing to £847k. The trustees note that while the AHRC grant provides stability, there is uncertainty regarding future income levels, describing the period as a transition requiring prudent assumptions. Despite this, the trustees confirm the charity has adequate resources to continue operations.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Sayer Vincent LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

• Reserves position vs the charity's own policy moved from "within" (FY2024) to "above" (FY2025).
• Going concern: going-concern doubt noted (FY2024) → no going-concern doubt (FY2025).

Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed 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
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures

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.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram · linkedin

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~3.0 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (100% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Christopher William Ecclesharechair · trustee of 1 other charity
• Christopher David Naylor
• JONQUIL ELIZABETH HACKENBERG
• PAUL RAYMOND MONAGHAN
• Patrick Bellew
• Prathaban Ramalingam
• Professor Elena Marco
• Sadaf Hosseini
• Tom Crawford

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Throughout England

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

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 DESIGN IN MENTAL HEALTH LIMITED.

• DESIGN IN MENTAL HEALTH LIMITED income £129k
• THE DESIGN RESEARCH SOCIETY income £60k
• DESIGN FOR GOOD income £932k
• Design West income £998k
• URBAN DESIGN GROUP income £247k
• UNITED IN DESIGN CHARITABLE TRUST income £64k

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.