WALSALL_COMMUNITY_TRANSPO - Accounts

The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the Charity's [governing document], the Companies Act 2006 and "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).

The principal activity of the charity is to provide accessible and affordable transport to other local agencies and community groups.

Public benefit

The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit and feel that this has been achieved by their efforts to maximise income and service delivery.

We are pleased to make this report to the Charity's Annual General Meeting on our performance to the end of March 2023.

It is with renewed enthusiasm after a turbulent couple of years that we approached this coming year. Having seen community services struggle to reemerge after Covid the support that our new 'Let's Chat' project would bring to community transport over the next 12 months would allow us to help develop services and groups. Unfortunately, however whilst the project start date was envisaged to be in the summer, due to delays with contracts and leases we weren't able to fully get going until January so the anticipated benefits from this project is likely to be seen in the next financial year rather than this one. On the plus side our partnership working with TfWM and other CT schemes in the region has grown over this 12-month period and allowed us to demonstrate we as a sector are capable of delivering a sizeable project and our new presence in Walsall Bus Station with the Let's Chat Information Hub has increased the profile of Community Transport in Walsall and turned an unused space into a now warm., welcoming place where passengers can access community information and share a drink and a chat with other people.

The Thrive project we are involved in with Public Health, Bloxwich Community Partnership and Manor Farm CA has continued to support residents' Health and Wellbeing post COVID and we now have a second minibus through the Let's Chat scheme to tackle loneliness in the community. We are also using and managing the Combined Authority's exhibition bus as a further asset for the project in the Wolverhampton area.

Group bookings are continuing to slowly increase and whilst we were hopeful at the beginning of the year that the Let's Chat project would support their recovery the delayed start of the scheme has impacted on what support we have been able to give them. We continue to offer a slightly subsidised rate for smaller organisations, but it is anticipated that the £40k allocated from the Let's Chat project's funding to subsidize transport for community groups will make a marked difference next year.

We have continued to provide regular transport for colleges and day centres in Walsall throughout the year however the contract with South Staffordshire College ended in July and wasn't renewed in September causing a slight drop in contract income for a couple of months until the gap in activity was filled. Over the course of this financial year, we provided approx. 29,000 regular journeys to colleges and day centres and transported just under 2500 people on day trips out.

With Transport for West Midlands, CT have operated a Door-to-Door Shopping Service across Walsall to support its elderly and disabled residents with their shopping for many years. Post covid with users continuing to be hesitant about shopping for themselves numbers have remailed lower than in previous years, but positively we have seen 60 new passengers register and provided 8390 passenger journeys this year.

This continued support we enjoy from Transport for West Midlands continues to be instrumental in confirming the ongoing stability of the charity, the financial support given to our bus services at pre COVID levels has continued throughout this year and passenger numbers have steadily grown as confidence in using public transport returns. The introduction of the Bus Fare Cap Grant from January 23 capping an adult single fare at £2 was welcomed by the sector and I'm pleased we were able to be involved in the scheme for the last 3 months of this financial year. Also, from January we were awarded a further contract bringing annual passenger numbers up to more than 170k this year an increase on the previous year of 28%. Our involvement in these routes has always been to support the older traveller who benefit from the expertise and experience our staff have from our CT services, in addition having regular staff offering support on and off the vehicle gives our passengers continued confidence to travel knowing they will be looked after.

As an operator in the West Midlands, we have been involved in the formation of the West Midlands Enhanced Partnership Scheme and whilst this has put additional pressures on us as a small operator to keep up with the required improvement in standards, we must acknowledge that without our involvement in the scheme and associated services we would struggle to support the organization.

One of the main financial pressures on the Charity currently is the need to upgrade our fleet to meet the region's air quality targets. With the support of Defra's Air Quality Grant Scheme, it was thought that those vehicles in the fleet not meeting the region's target could be upgraded retrospectively and with this in mind in December we worked with a manufacturer and sent one of our vehicles to Germany to be the first of its kind to be upgraded. Unfortunately, due to the coach-build modifications made to the vehicle this was unsuccessful and resulted in a rethink of our vehicle replacement strategy and further vehicles having to be purchased which stretched our day-to-day finances further than we would have liked. At the end of this financial year our fleet consisted of 23 minibuses & 1 staff car, we have continued to purchase low floor minibuses as this style of vehicle with its easy access has proved the most flexible in delivering our range of services currently on offer.

The dedication of staff towards the charity and its users is at the heart of its continued success. To this end we have continued to support staff where we could during what are financially challenging times however with what are labour intensive services and staffing costs continuing to account for 55% of our overall expenditure the pressure ever increasing wage levels bring to the charity is immense and difficult to absorb without passing some of the cost on to the end users which is not ideal. We will need to keep control over staffing levels in the future to ensure this continues to be manageable.

Finally, thanks are also extended to all trustees for their interest, time, and expertise. Community Transport is fortunate like many other voluntary organisations to have trustees who collectively bring together a rich mix of gender, outlooks, professional and personal skills.

Overall audited accounts show a surplus of £8,214 for 2022/23 with net assets of £198,760.

Income

Total income was £1,258,375 (2021/22 - £1,344,121). The detailed analysis is shown in notes 3 and 4 of the financial statements.

Expenditure

Total expenditure was £1,250,161 (2021/22 - £1,194,081). The detailed analysis is shown in notes 6 and 7 of the financial statements.

Reserves and Cash

Total reserves at 31 March 2023 were £198,760 (31 March 2022 - £190,546). The Committee continued its cautious risk policy, with reserves designated for future community services, core costs, working capital and potential redundancy costs in case of funding cuts.

At 31 March 2023 cash balances were £26,515 (31 March 2022 - £80,932).

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 26 February 1993 and registered as a charity on 14 February 1995.

The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. Under those articles, every member of the management committee must retire from office at each Annual General Meeting but are eligible for re-election.

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:

Recruitment of new trustees is done through nominations from the charity’s membership with elections made at the Charity’s AGM, there is no maximum number of officers however the minimum number of committee members must be three.

None of the Trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the Trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.

In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Edwards be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.

Each of the Trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information.

The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

The Trustees, who are also the directors of Walsall Community Transport Limited for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Walsall Community Transport Limited (the ‘Charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 March 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended;

have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Trustees' report; or

sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or

the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or

we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees' responsibilities, the Trustees, who are also the directors of the Charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Edwards is eligible for appointment as auditor of the Charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2023, although an audit has been carried out under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements under the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

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

Walsall Community Transport Limited is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is the Old Dairy, Pelsall Lane , Little Bloxwich, Walsall, West Midlands, WS3 3DH.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "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). The Charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

The directors have prepared profit and cash flow forecasts for the post accounting year end period based upon current expectations of activity levels and the directors' assessments of the likely level of demand from key customers.

The directors consider cash flow projections on a monthly basis and ensure that appropriate facilities are available to be drawn upon as necessary.

Based upon the activity levels forecast, the directors consider that the company will be able to maintain its cash at bank resources through the year that is twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements.

Therefore, after making the enquiries that they consider necessary the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate funding resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the annual report and financial statements.

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the Charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, 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 classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, 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 classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.

At each reporting end date, the Charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

The Charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the Charity's balance sheet when the Charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

Leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to the lessees. All other leases are classified as operating leases.

Assets held under finance leases are recognised as assets at the lower of the assets fair value at the date of inception and the present value of the minimum lease payments. The related liability is included in the balance sheet as a finance lease obligation. Lease payments are treated as consisting of capital and interest elements. The interest is charged to net income/(expenditure) for the year so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability.

In the application of the Charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

WMCA - Let's Chat Project Funding

Depreciation

Vehicle and fuel costs

Cleaning costs

Volunteer expenses

Uniform costs

Rent, rates and insurance

Light and heat

Repairs and renewals

Printing, stationery and advertising

Telephone and postage

HP interest and charges

Staff recruitment and training

Legal and professional fees

Audit and accountancy fees

Bank charges, interest and loan interest

Office sundries

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.

The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.

The net book value of tangible fixed assets includes £84,459 (2022 - £105,573) in respect of assets held under finance leases or hire purchase contracts. The depreciation charge in respect of such assets amounted to £21,114 (2022 - £25,810) for the year.

A Bounce Back Loan was received in the year ended 31 March 2021. No repayments or interest were due from the company for a period of one year, after which interest is charged at 2.5% and repayments are due over a period of five years. This is a Government backed loan with no security required on the Charity's part.

Net obligations under finance lease contracts are secured on the assets to which they relate.

At the reporting end date the Charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none).

Lloyds Bank plc holds a debenture dated 14 March 2006 over the undertaking and all property and assets present and future including goodwill, book debts, uncalled capital, buildings, fixtures, and fixed plant and machinery.

The company is limited by guarantee, not having a share capital and consequently the liability of members is limited, subject to an undertaking by each member to contribute to the net assets or liabilities of the company on winding up such amounts as may be required not exceeding £1.