For over a century, Macmillan has worked with people living with cancer to
shape some of the most important improvements we've seen in cancer care in
the UK. But not everyone is benefiting equally from these improvements. Where
you live, or who you are, can make a big difference in the level of care you
get, and the divides are far too wide. We need to evolve to make sure we are
meeting the needs of everyone living with cancer, now and into the future.
In 2023 we launched an open call for ideas and challenges from people affected
by cancer, our colleagues, clinicians, supporters, partners and
many others, to define a new way for Macmillan to do the best work in
our next chapter. This is helping shape our next strategy which will launch later
in 2024.
We know that Macmillan's expertise and assets hold great potential; our
knowledge of what is happening in real time for patients and their clinicians;
our community of thousands of practitioners; our trusted relationship with
supporters and our resources and expertise. We are the only organisation in the
world that has all this at our fingertips, and we have an opportunity to partner
with others to make something special happen in the UK for people affected
by cancer. The question for our strategy is not whether it's possible to change
things significantly for the better, it's how we focus on the areas of greatest
impact for those who need us the most.
In 2018 it was agreed that Macmillan should focus on holding an appropriate
level of liquidity cover rather than targeted levels of reserves, which has
meant that we have been able to spend approximately £100 million more
than we've raised, providing support for people with cancer, and increasing
the impact we can make.
Like many organisations, Macmillan has felt the impact of a difficult financial
environment. It is getting harder to raise money, and inflation means it costs
more to do the same as we did a few years ago. This has meant taking the
difficult decision to reduce the size of the organisation and sadly means
we've had to make some valued colleagues redundant.
2024 will see us go through a year of transformation to ensure we are fit to
tackle the emerging challenges faced by people with cancer and will also see
us return to a balanced budget over the course of 2024 and 2025, which is likely
to result in some difficult decisions for the organisation in the coming months.
We're taking these difficult decisions, and are building a new strategy,
to ensure Macmillan is in the best possible position to provide the vital
support people living with cancer need now and long into the future.
I'd like to say a heart-felt thank you to everyone who has supported Macmillan
in 2023: from the supporters who continued to raise vital funds for people with
cancer, to those living with or affected by cancer who shared their experiences,
encouraging us to do better and go further than we have before. I'd also
like to say an enormous thank you to Macmillan's colleagues, volunteers and
healthcare professionals who are so dedicated to meeting the needs of people
with cancer. With this unwavering commitment, I am confident that 2024 will
continue to be a year of positive transformation for Macmillan.
Gemma Peters
Chief Executive Officer
Environmental, social
and governance review
Financial review
Strategic report
Overview
Financial statements Thank you 7