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	The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 269 No 7217 p438-439 28 September 2002	This page Reprint Photocopy
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The Society

Financial questions

From Mr I. M. Caldwell, FRPharmS

The report (PJ, 17 August, p228) on the costs of the President's new flat is somewhat simplistic in its understatement of the true cost to the balance sheet. As I have written in the past, the expenditure of some £600,000 on the purchase of a lease results in a loss of income to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of at least £30,000 per annum even in these days of abysmal interest rates. If this is added to the indicated running costs and the total set against the reported savings on 24-hour security of £40,000, the result is at best cost-neutral, not a saving.

I also find it unclear as to whether the reported saving on our museum activities is gross or is exclusive of the costs of packing, transport and storage on a secure site. I am intrigued by the suggestion that what I assumed was a "one-off" saving resulting from a cessation of a service to members will in future continue to generate an ever increasing saving, ie, next year we will save 13.5 per cent more, and that no account is given of the redundancy costs. I also understand that the Society will continue to be liable for storage charges on a unique collection which is no longer available for inspection.

Ian Caldwell
Larkhall,
South Lanarkshire

ANN LEWIS, Secretary and Registrar, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, replies:

The property owned by the Society in "Parliament View" provides a long-term capital investment. Given the current environment, property offers a reasonable return compared with the money markets. By removing the need for 24-hour security, the Society is saving some £40,000 a year. This has also allowed the President's and caretaker's former flats to be reassigned as office space that otherwise might have needed to be rented elsewhere.

The saving referred to for the museum represents the difference between the original projected budget and the actual budgets for a three-year period of 2002 to 2004. The need for controlled climate storage for the collection had been identified irrespective of the decision to close access to the general public. As before, displays featuring elements of the collection are available for pharmacists and other users of the building to view. Researchers continue to have access to stored parts of the collection by appointment.

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