**2021 - Annual Impact Report & Accounts 2022**
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## **Contents**
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|2|
|Introduction|3|
|A message from our Chair|3|
|A message from our Chief Executive|4|
|Our year in numbers|6|
|Ocean goals|8|
|1 For a better protected ocean|8|
|2 For a cleaner ocean|10|
|3 For a healthier ocean|12|
|4 One ocean for everyone|14|
|Operational goals|18|
|An engaged community of support|18|
|Powerful partnerships and philanthropy|22|
|3|An expert and professional organisation|24|
|Reflections|26|
|2021–2022|Unexpected challenges, unfulfilled objectives|26|
|2022–2023|Fresh determination, ambitious plans|27|
|Financial review|28|
|Structure, governance and management|32|
|Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees|
|of Marine Conservation Society|34|
|Financial statements|36|
|Principal accounting policies|39|
|Notes to the financial statements|42|
|Acknowledgements of financial and other support|56|
|4|
|Reference and administrative information|58|
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Spiny seahorse Georgie Bull; Litter collected at Swansea beach MCS | Billy Barraclough; Herring Elarteviveenti | Shutterstock; Education Roadshow, Isle of Mull MCS | Kirsty Crawford
## A message from our Chair **Climate... Nature... Ocean emergency!**
**This wasn’t a year to be timid. The challenges we face call for bravery and answers. I’m immensely proud of the progress we secured this year.**
At the UN Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, we were told ocean progress would be a step too far and that charities belong at fringe events. Undaunted, our team secured a position of influence in the negotiations. With skill and tenacity, we played our part in achieving a huge win – ocean issues are, at last, included in climate commitments.
education and youth work. Our volunteers logged 22,000 hours on land and over a thousand hours more on underwater surveys. The Great British Beach Clean, our flagship citizen science event, attracted almost 6,000 volunteers who took part in 465 beach cleans and surveys. The survey results attracted a lot of attention, being quoted by First Minister Mark Drakeford in the Welsh parliament and reported on in over 300 media articles.
Another big breakthrough was for protected areas. Following the launch of our Marine unProtected Areas report, the Marine Management Organisation began consulting on management measures for four offshore marine protected areas, including Dogger Bank, to come into force in June 2022. More positive moves followed. All those years of campaigning, amassing overwhelming evidence on the devastation caused by practices such as bottom trawling are, finally, achieving results.
Of course, these achievements sit within the context of grave and mounting challenges. Progress in some areas, such as deposit return schemes for bottles and cans, has been painfully slow. Sewage pollution has been shameful. The year end sees us facing the consequences of war in Ukraine and rises in the cost of living.
Motivated by urgency and by growing public demand for change, we have ambitious new plans, which you can read about in this report. As we embark on this uncertain period, our finances are strong. Our income for 2021-22 was £4.4million – 2% up on the previous year. We spent more on our ocean programmes, education and engagement activities and less on raising funds and administration than in the previous year. We considered it prudent to increase our reserves to 3.5 months’ worth of operating expenditure.
It's uplifting to see strides in our work to restore the health of our seas – sometimes by ourselves, and sometimes as valued partners in coalitions. In Scotland, the Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project reached a milestone with the 20,000th native oyster returned to Dornoch Firth, over a century since their extinction there due to overfishing. In Wales, we began working in partnership with nine organisations to deliver the Natur am Byth! project. Led by Natural Resources Wales, this initiative will help save threatened species and find solutions to the issues facing endangered marine life.
We are committed to being ambitious, inclusive and focused so that we can be effective in making change happen. We want you to feel that you can make a difference, working with and supporting us. Our ocean, indeed our planet, is calling for us to succeed.
None of this would be possible without you. Our amazing staff, Trustees, funders, influencers and parliamentary champions have rallied together like never before. Our wonderful supporters and volunteers, to whom we are indebted, continue to get behind our campaigning, citizen science,
**Amanda Nobbs** Chair of Trustees
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## 2021-2022
## A message from our Chief Executive **Good COP, bad COP**
**There’s no more time to plan for the future. The future is now. The legacy of Glasgow and beyond.**
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Fiona Crouch
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MCS
Twenty-eight years later, it is the words of youth climate activist and sustainability student from the Cayman Islands, Dejea Lyons, on Nature Day at COP26 in Glasgow, that remain a constant refrain in my head. “The environment is dying, and with it, parts of culture, heritage and history,” she said. “There’s no more time to plan for the future. The future is now.”
There’s no doubt that we are in the middle of an existential, inter-connected climate-nature emergency. We must act now – we know we have only eight years to reduce emissions by at least 45% if we are to reach net zero by 2050, which is the only way to avoid irreversible climate change, and with it, catastrophic impacts on the ocean.
We also know that the ocean is key to achieving this goal. After all, the ocean is a source of weather, climate, storms and floods – and it can help minimise damage caused by all of these; it provides us with oxygen, food, livelihoods, health and wellbeing, and helps to absorb carbon emissions.
## **We must act now**
It’s an extraordinary achievement that following efforts from the Marine Conservation Society and many others at COP26 last year, the Glasgow Climate Pact now recognises the key role of the ocean in combatting climate change, and an annual ‘Ocean Dialogue’ and other programmes are being put in place to strengthen ocean-based climate action.
We will also continue to ask our supporters to join us in calling on the UK, Westminster and devolved nation governments to show international leadership _and_ take action at home. They must follow through on their commitments to protect the UK’s seas, as well as the wider ocean.
It’s obvious that we have to look after it – for climate, nature and people. The situation is urgent, but it’s not too late. Yet.
I clearly remember how excited and hopeful I felt for nature and people as a student in 1994. The Earth Summit had just happened in Rio in 1992 and the Montreal Protocol was looking as if it might be a success in curbing ozone emissions.
The ocean is a climate change superhero. If we protect and restore the ocean and invest in it, it will play its part in addressing the climate and nature emergencies. We’ll continue in our efforts to make this happen.
And to really give strength to our efforts, we will, of course, continue to work with coastal communities through our Community Voice programme, with young people through our Youth Action Network, and with our amazing staff, members, volunteers and supporters – all of whom have been our blue heart and our most important ocean champions for so long.
As a 25-year-old, I attended part of the first ever Climate Change Conference of the Parties (or COP for short) in Berlin. A tiny affair compared to COP26, the enormous operation that we took part in last November.
Through the Ocean Dialogue, COP27 and beyond, we will continue to demand that world leaders honour their commitments and champion ocean-based climate solutions.
## **Sandy Luk**
Chief Executive
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**4 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
## **Our year in numbers**
Beach clean at Barry, Glamorgan MCS | Billy Barraclough; Good Fish Guide promo event at Brasserie Blanc MCS | Brendan Foster; School children at Great British Beach Clean in Sandbanks, Dorset MCS | Billy Barraclough; Blue Carbon Champions event materials MCS | Alice Watson; Weighing litter at Great British Beach Clean in Littlehampton, Sussex MCS | Billy Barraclough; Big Seaweed Search at Wembury, Devon MCS; Underwater seaweed Sam Mansfield; FatFace partnership event MCS | Billy Barraclough
**This year we re-emerged from the difficulties of the pandemic – back out meeting people, back out on the beach, back out in the parliaments, and back out spreading our messages. Here are some of the great numbers we’ve achieved in another busy year...**
**35%**
Our Great British Beach Clean 2021 results saw beach litter drop 35% compared to 2018, which leaves us even more determined to keep up the pressure and use the data our volunteers collect to drive change
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75
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**802**
Our Beachwatch volunteers spent 802 days cleaning beaches, removing a grand total of 468,157 items of litter weighing over 14 tonnes, and leaving 219 miles of coastline free of litter
Our volunteers conducted 2,087 citizen science surveys, providing evidence for decision makers and influencers to improve the health of our seas
We took our events and talks to 75 communities to help them take action to look after their seas
**2,087**
Our new ocean learning resources for primary and secondary schools were downloaded 2,412 times, helping the next generation understand why the ocean needs fighting for **2,412**
**22,000**
**229**
We ran 21 entry-level Seasearch Observer courses, training 229 volunteer divers to collect information about underwater marine habitats, plants, and animals. This data helps experts make informed decisions about marine protection and regulatory measures
Our volunteers donated 22,000 hours, engaging in conservation projects to support the health of our seas from technical research to citizen science projects
**17**
Our 17 Blue Carbon Champions at Westminster supported us in our blue carbon work, which was mentioned in parliamentary briefings and debates in the run up to COP26
We made 21 alliances and partnerships, educating business and industry on the importance of our ocean and how to invest and act responsibly
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**6 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
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## Ocean goals
## **For a better protected ocean**
**We’ll ensure our ocean is better protected and its value for biodiversity and climate change mitigation is recognised. We’ll improve marine management and secure well-managed protected areas to recover, nurture and protect species and habitats. And we’ll track the progress of ocean recovery.**
By 2030, we’re calling for a third of our ocean to be truly protected, so nature can recover.
## **Our achievements this year**
Seasearch divers and snorkellers returned to the water after COVID-19 restrictions. We produced two important reports based on data collected by our volunteer divers, which will help inform fisheries management for Cromer Shoals Chalk Beds and help track crawfish population recovery in Southwest England. Our work using Seasearch records to estimate population trends in animals and plants on the seabed will be included in the 2023 State of Nature report – an annual health check on how the UK's wildlife is faring using data from conservation organisations.
We’re very proud to say that our COP26 aim – for the role of the ocean in addressing climate change to be officially recognised – was achieved. In the lead-up to COP26, we published our Blue Carbon Report outlining the importance of our seas in helping the UK to reach net zero by 2050. We also instigated a cross-party 'Blue Carbon Champion’ group of parliamentarians in Westminster, and we raised awareness, educated, marched, informed and influenced to make the voice of the ocean heard in the climate debate.
In Scotland, we influenced party manifestoes ahead of the May 2021 Holyrood elections, securing a ground-breaking commitment from Scottish Government to designate at least 10% of Scotland's seas as Highly Protected Marine Areas by 2026. The Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project, which began in 2013, reached an enormous milestone with the 20,000th native oyster returned to Dornoch Firth, over a century since their extinction there due to overfishing, creating the conditions for purer water and healthier seas.
After our Marine unProtected Areas report last January was published, the Marine Management Organisation began consulting on management measures for four offshore marine protected areas, including Dogger Bank, due to come into force in June 2022, and former Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow, promised to implement byelaws to manage fishing activity in all English offshore marine protected areas by 2024.
Sap-sucking sea slug on seagrass in Portland, Dorset Georgie Bull
Amdeep Sanghera releasing a tagged hawksbill turtle in the Turks and Caicos Islands marine protected area Elizabeth Cunningham
**After a lengthy period of restricted travel, it has been just brilliant to get back out in the field this year, and reconnect with local communities and partners. With increasing success in securing funding for this work, it has been incredible to see our UKOTs programme flourish, and I'm immensely proud of the work we are delivering, in partnership with many local people and organisations.**
**Our UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) Conservation Programme in the Caribbean has gone from strength to strength.**
Through Westminster lobbying with the Great British Ocean coalition, we helped ensure that £1.6million of UK Government Blue Belt funding was set aside for ocean conservation in the five Caribbean UKOTs. With Darwin Plus funding we’re developing shark conservation with local partners in Anguilla and the University of Exeter, whilst in Montserrat we are delivering a Marine Turtle Conservation Action Plan, again in partnership with the local government and the university. After months of COVID-19 delays, we were finally able to start working with communities to develop a shared appreciation and deeper understanding of all the ways the ocean benefits them.
**Amdeep Sanghera**
UK Overseas Territories Conservation Officer
Amdeep Sanghera in Montserrat with Antwan Lee and Sheldon Carty Dr Peter Richardson
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A young volunteer collecting
litter on Barry beach, Glamorgan
MCS | Billy Barraclough
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## Ocean goals
**This year saw Grundig, with whom we’d been working closely, produce the world’s first domestic washing machine with a factoryfitted filter to capture microfibres. This is an incredible step forward in our efforts to prevent 9.4 trillion microfibres being released every week from UK clothes washes.**
## **For a cleaner ocean**
**We’ll measure the health of our seas, identify and prevent the main sources of pollution, and work with businesses and governments towards a cleaner ocean.**
**This success is the result of our holistic approach, working to activate multiple levers of change. We’ve continued to work with investment group First Sentier to influence washing machine manufacturers across the globe to commit to developing and installing factory-fitted filters.**
By 2030, we’re calling for ocean pollution levels to show a clear downward trend.
**Our work with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on microplastics contributed to a recommendation from the group for washing machine filters to be factory-fitted by all manufacturers by 1 January 2025. Further advisory work on the Microplastic Filters (Washing Machines) Bill contributed to Defra commissioning a ‘rapid evidence assessment’ this spring to inform government action. We’re pleased to see the issue gaining traction with MPs, with a growing number of parliamentary questions being raised.**
**Seeing the world’s first domestic washing machine produced with a microfibre filter is such an enormous step forward in reducing the flow of plastic into our ocean. It’s the result of years of hard work and shows that by engaging collaboratively with businesses and governments, alongside vocal public support, we really can achieve meaningful change.**
## **Our achievements this year**
Following years of determined advocacy with Scotland's Government, parliament, water provider and environmental regulator (SEPA), Scottish Water and SEPA committed to improving the monitoring of combined sewer overflows, which are a key source of water quality problems in Scotland. In addition, Scottish government proposals for a refreshed Marine Litter Strategy included a ban on wet wipes containing plastic.
Our Beachwatch data on the amount and types of litter on UK beaches led Scotland, in November, to become the first UK nation to publish legislation to ban a wide range of the most environmentally damaging single-use plastic items, from plastic cutlery to expanded polystyrene food containers, from 1 June 2022.
**Dr Laura Foster** Head of Clean Seas
Our Beachwatch data provided evidence for the need for action in relation to the Plastics (Wet Wipe) Bill for England, which had its first reading in Parliament on 2 November and received strong support from MPs across all parties and from the public. In February 2021, we surveyed 12 major high street retailers and found that only three had removed plastic from their own brand wipes. We asked the rest to follow suit and, by the end of 2022, expect this number to have increased to 10.
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Great British Beach Clean volunteers at Littlehampton, Sussex
MCS | Billy Barraclough
The first domestic washing machine with a
microfibre filter Grundig
Marine Conservation Society - mcsuk.org • 11
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We’ve collaborated with 30 other NGOs on a
statement and accompanying letter to UK ministers, calling for an urgent ban on all unnecessary uses of all PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’. Alongside this, we have encouraged several businesses to review and phase out their use of PFAS. We’ve raised the issue of chemical pollution at numerous stakeholder events such as the UK Chemical Stakeholder Forum. As a result, we've been invited to attend future meetings and engage on other workstreams, which will add impact to our advocacy and campaigns.
**10 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
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Lobster pots on the Isle of Benbecula, Scotland Melanie Hobson | Shutterstock
## Ocean goals
## **For a healthier ocean**
**We’ll aim for more fish in healthier seas, improve the way wild fisheries and seafood farms are managed, and help businesses and consumers to be more responsible in their buying choices.**
By 2030, we’re calling for our fish stocks to be at sustainable levels.
## **Our achievements this year**
Working with other environmental charities, we impacted decisions by the governments of the UK on the contents of the Joint Fisheries Statement. This key draft policy will outline the future of fishing in all four nations of the UK now that we’re not in the EU. We’ve talked to parliamentarians and ministers across the UK nations to make sure that topics such as the monitoring of fishing activity, future catching policies and the carbon footprint of our seafood are factored into the final Statement.
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Making an informed decision with our Good Fish Guide
MCS | Billy Barraclough
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In Scotland, we helped secure commitments from the Scottish Government for a cap on inshore fishing to limit it to current levels, and to then reduce activities that disrupt the seabed as new evidence becomes available.
On aquaculture, we contributed to the development of the Feed Mill Standard for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). The Standard will come into effect in late 2022 and improve the sustainability of about two million ASC-certified farmed fish.
**The whole team was delighted when our new Good Fish Guide website and app launched in April. It had been such a huge effort to transform this resource and I couldn’t be happier with the results.**
**The Guide is so much easier to use and understand, whilst keeping all the integrity and detailed research we have always valued, meaning that many more people are making sustainable seafood choices each day.**
**Charlotte Coombes** Good Fish Guide Manager
**April 2021 saw the launch of our** – **revamped Good Fish Guide one of the biggest changes to the Guide in 20 years. Buying sustainable seafood can be complicated, and our aim was to simplify this and explain how it is possible to eat more sustainably and help protect our seas.**
**After two years of careful planning, research, and development, the improved Guide is easier to search, giving people more useful information up-front. We’ve added extra features for businesses, too, because it’s not just consumers who are responsible for making the right choices.**
**Thanks to our user surveys, we can see that the Good Fish Guide has genuinely changed seafood buying habits for the better. It's also transformed our ability to help people and businesses make ocean-friendly choices.**
Shoal of sea bass, Cornwall Sam Mansfield
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**12 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
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## Ocean goals
Beach clean volunteers in Swansea MCS | Billy Barraclough
## **One ocean for everyone**
**We’ll work hard to ensure everyone is able to enjoy the ocean and what it has to offer, whilst fulfilling their responsibility to protect it.**
We’ll promote the value of the ocean for our health and wellbeing.
## **Our achievements this year**
We're committed to moving towards a fairer and more inclusive society which is able to enjoy and protect the ocean. To reflect this, we focused on better integrating equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) considerations in both our internal operations and organisational culture, and in the design and implementation of external projects.
We’ve increased community engagement with more diverse audiences and strengthened local delivery partnerships. Working as part of the Wild Coast Sussex initiative, we delivered a range of LGBTQ+ inclusive events for young people, including a clothes swap and beach clean in Hove. Our Source to Sea Litter Quest enabled inland audiences to contribute to vital litter datasets, and the simpler survey form makes this citizen science event more accessible and inclusive.
An EDI training session reached 88% of our team. We do Equality Impact Assessments on policies as they are renewed, using clear and straightforward language. We use blind hiring practices, with anonymised CVs and cover letters, and we offer additional support to interviewees where requested.
We’ve taken great strides forward in our engagement and communications activity, getting to know our volunteer-base better and ensuring our communication style is more informed, accessible, and inclusive. This has included translating more content into Welsh and ensuring more of our videos and online conferencing incorporate subtitles. Our website is now compatible with Windows high contrast mode and other assistive technologies, and we can carry out accessibility tests on every page.
Our growing programme of work in the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) has continued to take an inclusive and holistic approach to marine conservation, guided by our UKOT partners in determining which priority marine management work we target together. We ensure a gender sensitive approach whilst also aiming to give voice to marginalised people. Our methods of engagement are proven to empower all people – from fishers and policymakers to consumers and conservationists – to participate in honest dialogue about conservation solutions.
Students completing a litter survey of Troon Beach, South Ayrshire MCS | Katie Macfarlane
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Youngsters taking part in an inland clean
MCS | Catherine Gemmell
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Source to Sea litter clean in Glasgow
MCS | Kirsty Crawford
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Sustainability workshop with 16 to 30 year olds in partnership
with The Prince's Trust MCS | Katie Macfarlane
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**14 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
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## Ocean goals
## **One ocean for everyone**
In the run up to COP26, our Education and Engagement teams developed an exciting and topical project connecting four schools from the UK with four from the UK Overseas Territories. The goal was to develop a shared understanding of the role of the ocean and coastal habitats in our lives. The schools created videos that were shared at COP26 events.
Young people across Scotland have been taking part in a new marine-themed education experience roadshow called ‘Protecting Scotland’s Seas’. Our Volunteer and Community Engagement Manager has been visiting young people across the country and delivering handson workshops, school assemblies and immersive outdoor activities. We’ve directly engaged with 3,345 individuals aged 5–25 years across 74 education sessions in 12 Scottish Local Authority areas, and the online version was used by 2,813 youngsters. The project was made possible with funding from Crown Estate Scotland, The Britford Bridge Trust and others.
**Being part of the Youth Ocean Network gives me a platform to discuss ideas, raise awareness and contribute to a cause that is important to me. It has been great to meet and interact with other young people who have similar interests, and I believe we can support the Marine Conservation Society by providing a new and fresh perspective on issues affecting our ocean.**
## **Amelia, 22**
Youth Ocean Network Volunteer
**In November 2021, we welcomed the newest addition to our Education team – our Youth Engagement Officer. We are excited that our first ever youth engagement programme will co-create opportunities with young people to deepen engagement and give them a clear voice within the Marine Conservation Society.**
'Wave of Hope' artwork from Boddam Primary School, Aberdeen MCS | Kirsty Crawford
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Protecting Scotland’s Seas education roadshow
in Edinburgh Hope Cottage Nursery
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**The youth climate movement is a dynamic, powerful force within the UK and our youth engagement work helps to give young people the knowledge and confidence to influence friends, family, and leaders on the value of the ocean. In February, we launched our Youth Ocean Network, welcoming volunteers aged 13 –25 to help us move our youth engagement forward in an equitable, diverse, inclusive, and fun way. We’ve had a great response so far, including connecting staff with our young audience.**
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School children learning about beach litter at
Sandbanks, Dorset MCS | Billy Barraclough
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**16 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
## Operational goals
## **An engaged community of support**
We’ll build an engaged community of support, committed to protecting and restoring the health of our ocean. We will promote supporter involvement through giving, campaigning, and volunteering, and pursue wider, pro-ocean societal change.
## **Volunteers, community and engagement**
## **Our achievements this year**
Our Seasearch divers and snorkellers were delighted to be back in the water after a long lay-off due to COVID-19. They once again made an enormous impact on our data gathering, despite the ongoing challenges. During the 2021-22 financial year, the total survey time our volunteers stayed underwater was more than 1,083 hours.
We launched our new beach clean kits equipping 4,223 of our most loyal and committed beach volunteers. Building upon this, we initiated a project to equip a further 776 new volunteers in time for Great British Beach Clean 2022. Feedback from volunteers has been fantastic, with people impressed by the quality of the items and how practical the kit is. We hope that seeing all those Marine Conservation Society beach cleans out there will inspire many more volunteers to join in our efforts.
We started work to improve our digital volunteer recording and engagement tools, such as our wildlife sightings webpage, which is used to provide vital information about wildlife spotted at the coast and at sea. Since its re-launch, it has already recorded over 300 entries! The project continues until March 2023, but already more people understand the value of, and are helping us to work towards, a cleaner, healthier, better protected ocean.
In the Southwest and Southeast of England, our volunteers are playing a vital role in the Life Recreation ReMEDIES project. Led by Natural England and funded by EU LIFE, it looks at how sensitive seabed habitats are impacted by recreational activities. We directly engaged over 1,700 people in educational sessions, talks and events and 40 more people in training and restoration activities, such as seagrass seed bagging. Members of our Volunteer and Community Engagement Team will be continuing to support this work until 2024.
**With the support of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, we kick-started a project to significantly scale up our volunteering and engagement activity. Our focus is on making volunteering with the Marine Conservation Society relevant to everyone, to connect new audiences with our cause and empower everyone to take action to** – **protect our seas whether they live by the sea or many miles inland.**
**This year, we’ve made great strides forward in beginning to develop a portfolio of ‘anytime, anywhere’ resources, training and activities that will improve inclusivity and accessibility, ensuring volunteering with us is not limited by geography, transport, or finances.**
**From enabling many more people to be citizen scientists, education volunteers or youth champions, to welcoming skilled divers as part of our Seasearch volunteer dive project to monitor the seabed, we want there to be a volunteering role to suit everyone.**
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Diver exploring a rocky reef at Charmouth, Dorset Georgie Bull
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Volunteers and staff helping with beach clean training video production MCS | Billy Barraclough Seagrass restoration Esther Farrant
Seagrass seed bag Ocean Conservation Trust
**As a Seasearch diver you get introduced to dive sites that may not be common knowledge. Being able to dive somewhere new is always exciting. For me, it's not about who can see the most, it’s about increasing the knowledge of what’s under the sea and how it changes with time - every dive is a Seasearch dive!**
**Michael Southwood** Seasearch Surveyor, Cambridgeshire
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**18 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
## Operational goals
## **An engaged community of support**
## **Marketing and communications**
## **Our achievements this year**
Our Ocean Ambassadors had a real impact across the organisation. Our newest ambassador, comedian Zoe Lyons, donated her TV game show winnings to us and became the face of our Great British Beach Clean. Deborah Meaden was guest speaker at our AGM, whilst Paralympian, Susie Rodgers MBE, gave a presentation to our staff about incorporating diversity and inclusion into our work.
Our Marine Unprotected Areas report published in January 2021, had found that almost all of England’s marine protected areas created to safeguard offshore seabed habitats were being bottom trawled. Our campaign received strong media interest, providing 111 million opportunities to read or view our coverage in outlets such as the Times and Guardian, and a mention in MP Chris Grayling's 10-minute motion in parliament. The UK Government has since committed to introducing measures in 40 sites, with four entering into force in June 2022.
In May, we launched our Blue Carbon Report, outlining the importance of our seas in helping the UK to reach net zero by 2050. The report was featured in the media 324 times. Three blue carbon habitats in UK waters – saltmarsh, mudflats and sands – have been estimated to capture ‘between 10.5 and 60.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year’. This compares favourably with the total carbon sequestration from terrestrial habitats of 28 million tonnes per year.
Our September Great British Beach Clean results meant another successful year of media coverage of the event. We appeared in 302 outlets, providing the public with 580 million opportunities to read about or view the results, and we received over half a million social media impressions. There was a drop in litter on beaches which can, in part, be attributed to the work we’ve done in telling the single-use plastic story. Single-use plastic bans, and charges around the UK, were supported by our data in the media, driving positive change.
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Team England para surfer Charlotte Banfield featured
in our 'Sea and Me' series of short films
MCS | Billy Barraclough
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**In June, we featured as the BBC Radio 4 Appeal’s charity of the week, providing an excellent opportunity to raise vital funds and to inspire the public with our cause. We worked closely with the BBC to create an impactful script and messaging that resonated with listeners, focusing on the devastating impact of beach litter. Securing pledges of £15,000 in match funding from Saga and the FatFace Foundation was a great boost.**
**Our Ocean Ambassador, Simon Reeve, voiced the appeal for us. His moving, personal accounts of visiting a Hawaiian island littered with plastic, as well as seeing a female seal tangled in plastic fishing line on a Cornish beach, created a persuasive and compelling appeal.**
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Simon Reeve
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**It was such a pleasure to support the Plastic Free Seas Appeal. Having witnessed first-hand the impacts of plastic on the marine environment, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of so many wonderful people who donated. Helping to raise over £80,000 was unbelievable and knowing just how many people care about the need to protect our seas and marine wildlife is so reassuring.**
## **Simon Reeve**
TV presenter, bestselling author and Ocean Ambassador
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**20 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
## Operational goals
## **Powerful partnerships and philanthropy**
**I continue to be inspired by the team’s dedication, not only closing the year having met overall income needs, but helping start the 2022-23 year with over £2million committed, including via significant multi-year projects. This long-term income gives us enormous confidence to invest across the charity – delivering on our ocean goals and driving positive change.**
Good Fish Guide fundraising event with Chef Raymond Blanc and Doug Allan at Brasserie Blanc, London MCS | Brendan Foster
**The ocean is chronically underfunded, but with our blend of robust science and passion for our cause, we communicate a positive and inspirational message to funders.**
We’ll be the UK marine conservation charity of choice for funders and supporters, with a high profile and a large, diverse and sustainable income base. We’ll spend our money effectively, responsibly and transparently.
**Katherine Stephenson-Hall** Director of Fundraising
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This year, we have seen exciting
growth in our fundraising, and
particularly in securing long-
term grants, towards both core
unrestricted funds and vital project
work. This includes support from the
Green Recovery Challenge Fund,
launched to kickstart environmental
renewal whilst creating and retaining
jobs in England. The fund enabled us
to recruit three new staff members
to our Volunteer and Community
Engagement and Education teams
to expand our work with young
people, develop our citizen science
activities and increase accessibility
to volunteering opportunities across
England. The project continues until
March 2023.
FatFace partnered with us for a sustainably
sourced clothing range MCS | Billy Barraclough
Marine Conservation Society - mcsuk.org • 23
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## **Our achievements this year**
We've taken a big leap forward in raising income from trusts and grant-making bodies, exceeding our original target by 12%. We owe the players of Peoples Postcode Lottery a huge thank you; they are our biggest donors providing partnership funds of £750,000 in 2021-22 and committing continued support in 2022-23.
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Ocean Adventure seagrass restoration boat trip with our financial supporters MCS Green Recovery Challenge Fund,
launched to kickstart environmental
renewal whilst creating and retaining
jobs in England. The fund enabled us
to recruit three new staff members
to our Volunteer and Community
Engagement and Education teams
to expand our work with young
people, develop our citizen science
activities and increase accessibility
to volunteering opportunities across
England. The project continues until
March 2023.
**----- End of picture text -----**
We developed significant partnerships in key industries that can directly accelerate progress towards our ocean goals – fashion (FatFace), white goods (Beko/Grundig), cosmetics (Beiersdorf/ NIVEA), food and drink (Glenmorangie, St Austell’s Brewery, and Brasserie Blanc to name a few), and a national media partnership (News UK).
We ran our first Ocean Adventure boat trip since COVID-19, taking established and new supporters on a boat trip to see progress on seagrass restoration. Recommendations from existing supporters helped us engage with new major donors, for which we are extremely grateful.
Legacy giving exceeded our target by £68,000. Investment in developing our legacy giving strategy and appointing a Legacy and Fundraising Officer enabled us to build relationships with pledgers’ and legators’ families and understand their motivations for leaving us a gift.
**22 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
## Operational goals
## **An expert and professional organisation**
As an expert and professional organisation, we’ll deliver firstclass science and practical conservation that supports engaging, inclusive, and effective campaigns, outreach and education. All this will be based on strong finances, professional IT, and our valued team.
## **Our achievements this year**
Our programme of targeted workshops and highcalibre expert 1:1 coaching has showed positive impacts for personal effectiveness, with coaches providing insight and challenge, and giving a safe space for exploring new approaches. The programme of activity has been focused on managers who are contributors to our strategic leadership. We would not be able to offer this unparalleled level of support to our staff without LSP Leadership’s generous pro bono support, for which we are very grateful.
Our IT team has delivered further aspects of our cybersecurity strategy, where continual improvements in all areas are vital. Email security was improved to counter threats such as phishing attacks, social engineering and malware. Mobile device management will help our staff working remotely to access our IT systems safely whilst conducting activities such as beach cleans. The security improvements we've made will allow us to obtain the government-backed Cyber Essentials accreditation, demonstrating our commitment to keeping both staff and supporter data safe.
We have successfully launched a new Project Management Framework and have already identified improvements to ways of working, resource management, governance, and planning processes. As we continue to embed this framework through the organisation with a series of training sessions to be held in 2022-23, we hope to not only improve communication, decision making and project collaboration, but ultimately the efficiency and impact of all projects we deliver to support our Ocean Goals.
In response to an increase in our overall workload in the marine area we have grown from 83 staff at the start of the year to 103 by the end. This level of growth presents opportunities and challenges for managers working with remote teams and for new managers taking on online reports. With the support of an external consultant, we have delivered a series of eight impactful online sessions to 30 managers focused on communication and quality conversations – both vital skills in creating a sense of belonging and in support of our One Ocean: One Team culture.
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Goby Mark Kirkland
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**We were delighted to secure two paid work placements through the Kickstart programme, working with talented young people who have brought wonderful energy, skills and a fresh perspective to our organisation. We’ve already made one of these roles permanent and been able to extend the contract of the second, beyond the period of the initial placement.**
**The Kickstart placement was a fantastic opportunity and I developed new skills, improved my own, and was able to explore aspects of the environmental sector that I had not worked in previously. I'm thrilled to now be a permanent member of staff and to be able to continue to learn and grow within the Marine Conservation Society.**
**Sophia Pinheiro-Vergara** Project Support Officer
**The Kickstart scheme was**
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Dan Bolt
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**launched in 2021 to support young people aged 18 to 24 years who were receiving Universal Credit to access a six-month paid work placement. We decided to offer our placements through Race for Nature’s coalition, as we supported their ambition to make roles in environmental charities appealing and accessible to people of colour.**
**We adapted our recruitment processes to support young people who perhaps would not have existing work experience or job application skills. The learnings have informed our wider recruitment process and we’ve shared these with other partners we work with.**
**Marine Conservation Society -** mcsuk.org **• 25**
**24 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
2022-2023
2021-2022
## **Unexpected challenges, unfulfilled objectives**
**Given the turmoil of the last year, it's not surprising that we were unable to achieve everything we set out to do. The effects of Brexit and the pandemic on the economy and on legislative progress led to a slowdown in many of our initiatives and had a negative impact on our finances.**
## **Policy delays and threats to environmental standards**
## **We’re growing and changing**
As our overall workload to recover our seas increases and becomes more and more urgent, there’s growing pressure on staff capacity. Sadly, illness and staff moving on to jobs elsewhere has resulted in a larger than usual turnover of colleagues this year. Recruiting replacements has been tricky in some areas. Overall, one third of our growing team was new employees. Alongside the immense benefits of exciting new skills and talents, it has been a sizeable challenge seamlessly absorbing this number into the wider organisation. However, because we have a flexible remote working policy, we are now employing people from as far afield as Cornwall to Belfast, and Cardiff to the Scottish Highlands, meaning we have a wider – and high-quality – field of candidates to choose from.
There were further delays to long-promised government actions and policies, for example to planned Deposit Return Schemes, and the UK Chemicals Strategy. We'll need to work hard to ensure that commitments to crucial protection measures for marine protected areas are followed through. We expect some of these to be introduced in the next year. At the same time, changes to the laws that govern conservation, planning, judicial review, human rights and protest, threaten to significantly weaken future environmental and conservation standards and affect how we need to work to ensure a better protected, cleaner and healthier ocean.
## **Flexible working required**
## **Cost of living**
For a second year, the pandemic made it difficult to move forward with some of our planned activities. Our Education team had to put plans on hold due to school closures and pupil illness. We took this time to redesign and further develop our range of educational resources.
Like so many charities, our membership has undoubtedly suffered as supporters, both corporate and individual, have had to reduce their outgoings in the face of rising inflation and cost of living. We’ve seen a drop in regular individual giving resulting from a slight dip in membership numbers. Inflationary pressure on expenditure, including staff salaries, is also being felt.
We continue to adapt and improve the way we work. Since our offices closed in March 2020 we've offered a progressive, flexible approach to a post-pandemic return to offices. Many of our staff continue to utilise video-conferencing and we're committed to ensuring that creativity and team building can flourish when people are connecting virtually.
## **Fresh determination, ambitious plans**
**We face even more turmoil ahead in 2022-23, with a global energy crisis and ever worsening ocean and climate emergencies. This demands even greater efforts on our part. We have committed to an ambitious set of plans to speed up our ability to protect and restore the ocean, as well as improving our own sustainability and working with a wider group of volunteers, supporters and partners.**
## **Recovering Wales**
## **Widening the volunteer base**
With the backing of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Welsh Government, we’ve begun the ‘Natur am Byth!’ initiative. This partnership is Wales’ flagship Green Recovery project and unique in that it aims to integrate terrestrial and marine management issues, supporting vulnerable marine species such as the pink sea fan, native oyster and seagrass. 2022-23 will reveal the full extent of the Natur am Byth! project and we’ll be leading all marine activities.
With the removal of restrictions brought in during the pandemic, we can now focus on expanding the breadth and depth of our volunteering programme. We have plans to work towards a truly national volunteer presence, while offering a broader range of involvement options, including citizen science activities, parliamentary campaigning, and the delivery of school lessons and inspirational talks.
## **Chemicals – but not forever**
Our major campaign for next year will be to work to stop chemicals from poisoning the ocean, including through a ban on all non-essential uses of the harmful 'forever chemicals' (PFAS). These poisonous substances build up in our seas with devastating impacts on the health of the entire ocean. We’ll focus on legislative bans, raising public awareness and encouraging businesses to remove PFAS from their manufacturing processes and supply chains.
## **Aquaculture – a growing focus**
As part of our plans to expand our work on aquaculture, we have secured funding for a year-long project to explore the farming and wild harvest of seaweed in the UK. We aim to guide the development, regulation and environmental impacts of seaweed growing and harvesting at this early stage of the sector development.
## **Sustainability starts at home**
## **Socially scientific**
We’re planning to push further and harder on our own sustainability as an organisation. A project team will be focusing on two main areas – measuring, and improving our carbon emissions (initially focusing on our travel and energy use) – to refresh our Sustainability Policy and develop an Environmental Management System. We’ll monitor and report on improvements in our environmental impact and, in particular, work towards our net zero carbon impact.
We’ll complete the development of a five-year Social Science Strategy, which will see balanced social and ecological evidence integrated across the organisation, and will inform our work and accelerate progress towards achieving our ambitious goals.
**Marine Conservation Society -** mcsuk.org **• 27**
**26 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
## **Financial review**
## **Income Donations and legacies contributed a significant £3.4m**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
15 % Memberships £647,700
4 % Legacies £185,390
12 % Individual donations £533,495
Total Donations from trusts
45 % £1,939,142
and companies
£4,356,330
10 % Grants £420,525
4 % Beach cleans and education £155,722
Royalties, sponsorship,
11 % £474,356
sales and other income
**----- End of picture text -----**
- R We received generous donations from People’s Postcode Lottery for our core conservation work.
- R Membership subscriptions provided £0.6m – a decrease of 9% on last year.
- R Legacy income at £0.2m was a decrease of 19% after unusually high legacies in the previous year.
- R Grants to fund specific conservation projects increased to £0.4m, though grant income overall dropped by 15% as the government’s Job Retention Scheme came to an end.
- R Income from organised beach cleans and sponsorship of events remained low at £0.1m as COVID-19 uncertainty continued over the spring and summer.
- R Income from royalties and licences doubled as our corporate support began to recover post-pandemic.
– **Our income in 2021-22 was £4.4million 2% up on the previous year. We saw income from our corporate supporters begin to recover after a big hit during the pandemic, and income from individuals and trusts** – **remained strong. Spending increased by 15% to £4.8m in total £3.9m on our marine conservation programmes and £0.9m on raising income, as we sought to catch up after delays in our work caused by the pandemic. Our strong financial reserves stand us in good stead as we face the current economic challenges. Despite those challenges, with the continued help of our supporters we continue to plan for further growth to fight the ocean crisis.**
**Nicola Spencer** _Director of Finance and Resources_
## **Expenditure Our expenditure on charitable activities rose 19% to £3.9m**
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26 % Better protected £1,246,110
21 % Cleaner ocean £1,023,725
20 % Healthier ocean £959,347
Total
£4,766,803 14 % For everyone £662,291
5 % Memberships £252,239
11 % Fundraising £530,320
2 % Trading £92,771
**----- End of picture text -----**
- R We used £1.2m on working towards a better protected ocean – a 40% increase compared with the previous year. Project spend to improve marine conservation in the Caribbean UK Overseas Territories, and UK work such as the Seasearch programme and seagrass projects all increased after being hampered by COVID-19 restrictions in the previous year.
- R We used £1.0m on projects to create a cleaner ocean, consistent with last year. Whilst some activities, such as those of our Sea Champions, increased after COVID-19, the previous year had seen some one-off investments into digital campaign tools that were not repeated this year.
- R We spent £1.0m on our healthier ocean goal – a 9% increase. Significant funding received two years ago is being used over three years to transform our Good Fish Guide, to influence consumers and companies to make more sustainable seafood sourcing and buying choices.
- R With other sales and investment revenue, our total income was £4.4m.
- R We spent £0.7m on our education and engagement work promoting access to enjoying the ocean for everyone – an increase of a third for the second year running. Significant new work included the Inspiring Blue Recovery project funded by Defra’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund which is increasing our work with volunteers, growing our citizen science community, and creating new resources for young people to promote an understanding of marine issues.
**Marine Conservation Society -** mcsuk.org **• 29**
**28 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
## **Supporting our income growth**
J In total, the cost of raising funds decreased for a second year to £0.9m and represented 20% of income raised.
J We spent less than £0.3m administering our membership scheme and producing our membership magazine.
J Our fundraising income has been growing yearon-year, apart from a dip during the pandemic, and we intend to maintain this growth. We spent £0.5m administering our group of individual donors and fundraisers, companies, and other supporters and a further £0.1m on the cost of raising our trading income.
## **Funds**
## **At the end of the year, we had unrestricted funds of £1.6m**
It’s our policy to hold between three and four months’ unrestricted operating costs in a designated contingency fund to be able to maintain our conservation programmes in the event of a shortfall in income, until further funding can be secured. We review the level of this fund regularly. Currently, this fund holds £1.2m, representing 3.5 months’ worth of anticipated unrestricted expenditure. As the charity grows, our budgeted expenditure is increasing, so the size of the fund has increased to cover both expected growth and continued uncertainty in income generation, and the impacts of the cost of living crisis.
We are committed to putting our remaining income and financial reserves to work as soon as possible. As things began to open up after the pandemic, we rolled out a planned expansion of our conservation programmes. This will continue into the coming year, using most of the £0.4m in our general funds.
Our restricted funds, provided by funders for very specific purposes, decreased by £0.5m as we used funds provided to us at the start of projects.”
## **Approach to fundraising**
Our approach to fundraising is to connect with our supporters and encourage motivated individuals and companies to raise voluntary funds to support our aims and activities. We ensure that our
fundraising is not overly intrusive or persistent and doesn’t put members of the public under undue pressure to donate. We recognise that everyone has the right to support their favourite causes and charities and that we have an obligation to protect those who may be in vulnerable circumstances. We do this in a way which seeks to protect each person and their dignity whilst also being respectful of any desire they express to support us.”
**Katherine Stephenson-Hall** _Director of Fundraising_
- J We comply with UK data protection and are registered with the Fundraising Regulator.
- J We comply with the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice.
- J Complaints are monitored by senior
management and are reported to Trustees, and we encourage any supporters with questions or enquiries about our fundraising to contact us at any time.
## **Investments**
In 2019-20, the charity divested its investment portfolio to guarantee sufficient cash levels given the uncertain economic forecast as Brexit approached. We’d planned to re-invest but with the COVID-19 pandemic and then the war in Ukraine resulting in further market volatility and uncertain income forecasts, we haven’t done so. Cash levels remained high throughout the year; we review the appropriate levels of cash and risk regularly and next year we plan to invest into sustainable funds with Rathbone Greenbank.”
**Nicola Spencer** _Director of Finance and Resources_
## **Risk management**
The Trustees, through the Finance, Resources and Risk Committee, oversee a formal risk management process, regularly reviewing the risks the charity faces, prioritising them and, where possible, identifying means of mitigating them. We also consider external factors such as the impact of the pandemic, the economy, and the impact of new regulations.”
**Susan Ronaldson** _Treasurer and Chair of the Finance, Resources and Risk Committee_
J We ensure there’s a sound system of internal control to safeguard the charity’s assets and funds and ensure these assets and funds are used only in furtherance of the charity’s objectives.
J The systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material loss or misuse, and include delegation of authority and segregation of duties. J Trustees approve a three-year financial plan and an annual budget, then review progress regularly against the annual budget and relevant nonfinancial performance indicators.
**Susan Ronaldson** _Treasurer_
**Marine Conservation Society -** mcsuk.org **• 31**
**30 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
**Structure, governance and management**
## **Governing document**
The charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England and Wales on 23 October 1990, having previously been registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales as an unincorporated charity on 1 February 1984. It also registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator on 18 September 2006. It is governed by its Articles of Association, having been amended following approval by the members on 6 November 2018 and on 2 December 2021. In the event of the company being wound up, each member is required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.
## **Subsidiary companies**
Marine Conservation Society has two wholly owned subsidiary companies, Marine Biological Consultants Limited, which is dormant, and M C S Sales Limited. The purpose of M C S Sales is to raise funds for the charity through fundraising activities such as sponsorship and an online shop. All the profits of M C S Sales are donated to the charity each year under the Gift Aid scheme.
For more detailed information about either of the subsidiary companies, the individual company accounts are filed annually with Companies House, or they can be requested from the Company Secretary at the charity’s registered office (details at the back of this report).
In this report, the accounts include the income, expenditure, assets and liabilities of the charity and both subsidiaries whenever the statements are referred to as ‘consolidated’ or ‘group’.
## **Public benefit**
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 4, Charities Act 2011, to have due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission concerning public benefit. The objects of the charitable company are to conserve, protect and improve the marine environment for public benefit. We promote the protection of marine wildlife, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and clean seas and beaches, through projects, scientific research, education, and publication of scientific and educational works. Each of our programmes is aimed at improving the condition of the marine environment. A healthy marine environment will supply benefits to the public.
During 2021-22, the charity promoted interest and learning on the marine environment through its education outreach
(both online and face to face) and inspired action at the local level through its volunteer and community engagement programme and online campaign opportunities. Our Good Fish Guide website and app have reached many hundreds of thousands of customers interested in sustainability. Despite the impact of COVID-19, our annual flagship Great British Beach Clean event had over 500 events across the country, enabling us to continue to collect vital data on the litter plaguing our beaches.
## **Pay and remuneration of key management and personnel**
We operate a salaries and benefits policy that applies equally to all employees of the charity. Tests are conducted for bias, fairness and equality and a moderation process is undertaken to ensure a consistent approach to performance ratings. Each year, remuneration awards are recommended by the Finance, Resources and Risk Committee to the Board for approval.
## **Recruitment and appointment of Trustees**
Whilst the day-to-day management of the charity is delegated to the Senior Management Team, the Trustees are responsible for setting the charity’s strategic policies and objectives and for ensuring they are fulfilled. Trustees are volunteers, give freely of their time and have no beneficial interest in the charity. As set out in our Articles of Association, Trustees step down by rotation every three years. They may offer themselves for re-election at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, but the total duration of each Trustee’s tenure is limited in order to ensure there are opportunities for new Trustees to join the Board.
The Articles of Association states that, subject to the provisions of Companies Act 2006, every Trustee, secretary or other official of the charitable company shall be indemnified out of the assets of the charitable company against all losses or liabilities incurred by them in or about the execution and discharge of the duties of their office.
The Board of Trustees undertakes an annual review of its effectiveness. To ensure the Board is sufficiently skilled to carry out its responsibilities, we carry out skills analysis of existing members before seeking new Trustees with the appropriate skills through open advertisement or approaching individuals to suggest they might apply. Business and conservation skills are well represented amongst the Trustees.
## **Trustee induction and training**
Prior to appointment, new Trustees receive an induction to introduce them to the work of the charity and attend a Board meeting as an observer. Each Trustee is given a Trustee Handbook, which provides current good practice guidance on how they can contribute most effectively to the charity. All Trustees are required to sign up to a Trustees’ Code of Conduct.
## **Committees and subsidiary boards**
To assist the Board with detailed scrutiny of particular topics and to make recommendations on those topics to the Board, we operate a number of Trustee subcommittees. The committee structure, terms of reference and membership were reviewed during the year. The review included merging the Governance and Finance, Resources and Risk Committees into a Finance, Risk and Governance Committee on a trial basis that operated throughout 202122. The structure is now as follows:
J Conservation Committee
J Stakeholder Experience Committee J Fundraising and Partnerships Committee J Governance Committee J Finance, Resources and Risk Committee
Each subsidiary company has its own Board of Directors consisting of at least one of the charity’s Trustees and members of the Senior Management Team, which is responsible for the running of the company. The charity’s Treasurer is the Chair of each subsidiary Board.
## **Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to**
## **the financial statements**
The Trustees (who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual 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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- J Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
- J Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102)
- J Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
- J State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements
- J Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company 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 charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In so far as the Trustees are aware there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware and the Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
This Trustees’ Report and Strategic Impact Report have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
By order of the Board of Trustees.
**Susan Ronaldson Amanda Nobbs** _Treasurer Chair_ 28 September 2022
**Marine Conservation Society -** mcsuk.org **• 33**
**32 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
**Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees of Marine Conservation Society**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of Marine Conservation Society (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 March 2022, which comprises The Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of 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).
**----- Start of picture text -----**
J give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and parent
J have been properly prepared in accordance with United
J have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of
**----- End of picture text -----**
In our opinion the financial statements:
J give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and parent charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2022, and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended; J have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- J have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulations 6 and 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 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 group and parent charitable company 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.
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
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 group’s or parent charitable company’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 trustees are responsible for the other information. The 'other information' comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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.
## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- J the information given in the trustees’ report incorporating the director’s report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- J the directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the group and parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- J adequate and sufficient accounting records have not been kept by the parent charitable company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- J the parent charitable company’s financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- J certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- J we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
## **Responsibilities of Trustees**
As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes 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 group’s and parent charitable company’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 group or the parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements**
We have been appointed auditor under the Companies Act 2006, section 151 of the Charities Act 2011 and section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and report in accordance with those acts.
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.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, we have:
- J obtained an understanding of the nature of the industry and sector, including the legal and regulatory framework that the company operates in and how the company is complying with the legal and regulatory framework;
- J inquired of management, and those charged with governance, about their own identification and assessment of the risks and irregularities, including known actual, suspected, or alleged instances of fraud; and
- J discussed matters about non-compliance with laws and regulations and how fraud might occur including assessment of how and where the financial statements may be susceptible to fraud.
As a result of these procedures, we consider the most significant laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements are the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland', the Companies Act 2006 (and related legislation, including relevant Scottish legislation), the Charities Act 2011 (and related legislation, including relevant Scottish legislation), and laws and regulations relating to the employment and payment of staff including, but not limited to, the Employment Rights Act 1996, the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and the Pensions Act 2008. We performed audit procedures to detect non-compliances which may have a material impact on the financial statements, which included reviewing the financial statement disclosures. This includes sample testing of monthly payroll records for the calculation of gross wages, payroll taxes and pension costs. We identified the areas of the financial statements most susceptible to fraud to be management's judgement in allocating expenditure to individual restricted and unrestricted funds, including the allocation of wage costs and general staff overheads. Audit procedures performed included, but were not limited to, reviewing managements reasoning and workings behind these allocations of expenditure.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.
## **Use of our report**
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006, and to the charitable company’s Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and 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 charitable company, the charitable company’s members as a body and the charitable company’s Trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
## **Robert Iestyn Richards** _Senior Statutory Auditor_
For and on behalf of Richards Sandy Audit Services Limited (Statutory Auditor) Thorneloe House, 25 Barbourne Road, Worcester, WR1 1RU
Date:
- Richards Sandy Audit Services Ltd is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
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**34 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
**Financial statements**
## **Marine Conservation Society**
## **Consolidated statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2022**
## **Marine Conservation Society**
## **Statements of financial position at 31 March 2022**
(incorporating consolidated income and expenditure account)
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
Income and expenditure
Note Funds (£) Funds (£) 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Income from
Donations and legacies 1 2,889,231 483,903 3,373,134 3,411,257
Charitable activities 2 177,649 398,598 576,247 623,016
Other trading activities 3 17,201 - 17,201 28,671
Investments 4 821 - 821 2,859
Other 5 386,828 2,099 388,927 187,829
Total income 3,471,730 884,600 4,356,330 4,253,632
Expenditure on
Raising funds 6 849,715 25,615 875,330 885,262
Charitable activities:
Better protected 7 719,882 526,228 1,246,110 889,152
Cleaner ocean 7 797,317 226,408 1,023,725 1,008,817
Healthier ocean 7 521,133 438,214 959,347 882,082
For everyone 7 387,986 274,305 662,291 488,216
Total expenditure 3,276,033 1,490,770 4,766,803 4,153,529
Net income/(expenditure) and net movement
195,697 (606,170) (410,473) 100,103
in funds for the year before transfers
Transfers between funds 22 (81,965) 81,965 - -
Net income/(expenditure) and net movement
113,732 (524,205) (410,473) 100,103
in funds for the year
Funds at the start of the year 22 1,525,118 1,363,957 2,889,075 2,788,972
Funds at the end of the year 22 1,638,850 839,752 2,478,602 2,889,075
**----- End of picture text -----**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
The group The charity
Total Funds Total Funds Total Funds Total Funds
Note 2022 (£) 2021 (£) 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets 14 14,767 13,880 14,767 13,880
Investments 15 - - 200 200
14,767 13,880 14,967 14,080
Current assets
Stock 17 7,481 9,492 7,481 6,357
Debtors 18 884,443 770,332 1,169,501 1,124,557
Cash at bank and in hand 2,358,633 2,802,078 1,978,371 2,400,841
3,250,557 3,581,902 3,155,353 3,531,755
Creditors falling due within one year 19 (772,931) (695,087) (722,958) (658,505)
Net current assets 2,477,626 2,886,815 2,432,395 2,873,250
Total assets less current liabilities 2,492,393 2,900,695 2,447,362 2,887,330
Provisions for liabilities 21 (13,791) (11,620) (13,791) (11,620)
Net assets 2,478,602 2,889,075 2,433,571 2,875,710
Funds
Restricted funds 22 839,752 1,363,957 839,752 1,363,957
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds (contingency fund) 22 1,208,886 1,083,171 1,208,886 1,083,171
General funds 22 429,964 441,947 384,933 428,582
Total funds 2,478,602 2,889,075 2,433,571 2,875,710
**----- End of picture text -----**
## Company Number: 02550966
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.
The Trustees have prepared accounts in accordance with section 398 of the Companies Act 2006 and section 44 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act relating to small companies and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members of the company.
Approved by the Board of Trustees on 28 September 2022 and signed on its behalf by:
**Susan Ronaldson** _Treasurer_
**Amanda Nobbs** _Chair_
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**36 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
**Principal accounting policies**
## **Marine Conservation Society**
## **Consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 March 2022**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Total Funds Total Funds
Note 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash (used in) operations (435,545) (99,879)
Investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets 14 (7,900) (7,873)
Net (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (443,445) (107,752)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 2,802,078 2,909,830
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 2,358,633 2,802,078
Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Net (expenditure)/ income per statement of financial activities (410,473) 100,103
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets 7,013 6,476
Decrease in stock 2,011 9,717
(Increase) in debtors (114,111) (292,353)
Increase in creditors 77,844 89,143
Increase / (reduction) in provision for liabilities 2,171 (12,965)
Net cash (used in) operations (435,545) (99,879)
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank and cash in hand 2,358,633 2,802,078
Total cash and cash equivalents 2,358,633 2,802,078
Analysis of changes in net debt As at 1 April 2021 (£) Cash flows in year (£) As at 1 March 2022 (£)
Cash at bank and cash in hand 2,802,078 (443,445) 2,358,633
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **Basis of preparation**
Marine Conservation Society meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard FRS 102, the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). The Trustees are confident that the level of unrestricted reserves and income means that there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue. The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.
## **Basis of consolidation**
These financial statements consolidate the results of the charitable company and its wholly owned subsidiaries on a line-by-line basis. The financial performance of the charity is shown in note 24. The turnover and expenditure of the subsidiaries are included within the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities. The assets and liabilities of each subsidiary are included on a line-by-line basis in the Consolidated Balance Sheet in accordance with FRS 102. Further details of the subsidiaries are given in notes 15 and 16. Accounting policies detailed in these notes apply throughout the group and any surplus or deficit arising on intercompany transactions are eliminated in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities.
## **Incoming resources**
Income is recognised in the period in which the charitable company is entitled to receipt, receipt is probable, and the amount can be measured reliably. Income is deferred when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to use such income or where the donor has specified that the income is to be expended in a future period.
## R **Membership subscriptions**
Annual memberships are recognised across the year of the membership. Life membership subscriptions are accounted for in the year in which they are received.
## R **Donations and grants**
Donations from individuals and income from lotteries are recognised upon receipt. Income from donations and grants, including grants from the UK Government
and capital grants, is included in incoming resources when it is receivable, except as follows:
- J When donors specify that donations and grants given to the charity must be used in future accounting periods, the income is deferred until those periods.
- J When donors impose conditions which have to be qualified before the charity becomes entitled to use such income, the income is deferred and not included in incoming resources until the pre-conditions for use have been met.
When donors specify that donations and grants, including capital grants, are for particular restricted purposes, which do not amount to pre-conditions regarding entitlement, this income is included in incoming resources of restricted funds when receivable.
## R **Legacies**
Legacies are included when the charity is advised by the personal representative of an estate that payment will be made or property transferred and the amount involved can be quantified with reasonable certainty.
## R **Donated facilities and professional services**
Donated facilities and donated professional services are recognised in income at their fair value when their economic benefit is probable, it can be measured reliably, and the charity has control over the item. Fair value is determined on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity, for example the amount the charity would be willing to pay in the open market for such facilities and services. A corresponding amount is recognised in expenditure.
No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). Further detail is given in the Trustees’ Annual Report.
## R **Commercial trading activities**
Income from commercial activities is included in the period in which the charity is entitled to receipt.
## **Resources expended**
Expenditure is included when incurred on an accruals basis. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with use of resources.
## R **Costs of generating and servicing membership subscriptions**
These represent costs incurred in encouraging individuals to subscribe to the charity and the servicing of those individuals including provision of the members’ magazine.
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**38 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
## R **Costs of raising donations and legacies**
Fundraising expenditure comprises costs incurred in encouraging people and organisations to contribute financially to the charity’s work through donations and grants. This includes a proportion of salaries and overhead costs of the staff who promote fundraising.
## R **Commercial trading costs**
These represent costs incurred in raising funds through the online shop.
## R **Expenditure on charitable activities**
These represent costs incurred in activities aimed at achieving the charity’s four strategic outcomes of a better protected ocean, a cleaner ocean, a healthier ocean and an ocean for everyone. The costs include the salary costs of those working directly on these activities, other direct costs such as equipment and travel costs and a share of support costs. Where an activity is aimed at achieving more than one outcome, the costs are allocated out between the relevant outcomes.
## R **Staff costs**
The allocation of staff costs between individual unrestricted funds is based on the estimated split of staff time for each individual employee of the charity. The allocation of staff costs to restricted funds is based on the estimated split of staff time, up to the maximum amount that the funder will allow. Some funders do not cover all the staff costs of a project and so full staff costs cannot be allocated to those funds.
## R **Support costs (including governance)**
Support costs are those costs that, whilst necessary to deliver an activity, do not themselves constitute the output of the charitable activity. These include office costs, the cost of administration and governance such as the audit fee and insurance. These are allocated to all activities (charitable and raising funds) on the basis of the number of full-time equivalent staff employed within each activity. The allocation of general support costs to restricted funds is based on the full-time equivalent staff working on each project, up to the maximum amount that the funder will allow. Some funders do not allow overhead costs and so full costs cannot be allocated to those funds.
## **Tangible fixed assets**
All assets costing more than £1,000 are capitalised. Depreciation is provided at the following rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life:
R Fixtures and fittings: 15% to 20% on cost
R Computers and equipment: 25% to 33.3% on cost
## **Investments**
In the charitable company’s individual financial statements, investments in the charitable company’s subsidiaries are included at cost less any provisions for impairment.
## **Stocks**
Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost includes all costs of purchase, costs of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing stock to its present location and condition. Cost is calculated using the first-in, first-out formula. Provision is made for damaged, obsolete, and slow-moving stock where appropriate.
## **Financial instruments**
The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments such as trade debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year, which are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in the income statement in other operating expenses. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the exchange rate at the date of the transaction. Any assets and liabilities in a foreign currency are translated into sterling at the exchange rate on the date of reporting.
## **Debtors and cash**
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due. Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and demand deposits and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk to changes in value.
## **Creditors**
Trade and other creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
## **Provisions**
Provisions are recognised when the charity has a present obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits to a third party will be
required to settle the obligation and the amount can be measured reliably. By their nature, provisions are often based on estimates, but they are recognised only when they can be estimated reasonably reliably.
## **Operating leases**
Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.
## **Pensions**
Contributions in respect of the charity’s defined contribution pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities for the year in which they are payable to the scheme.
## **Tax**
Where applicable, income is recognised net of any output Value Added Tax and the cost of irrecoverable input Value Added Tax is accounted for in the same period as the expenditure on which it was incurred. In terms of corporation tax, the charity is usually an exempt charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Any corporation tax payable by the charity or one of its subsidiaries would be recognised in the period in which the taxable profit is generated. However, usually no corporation tax is payable because trading income is received by the subsidiary trading companies (not the charity) and the subsidiary companies distribute all the taxable profits to the charity in the following year as a Gift Aid donation.
## **Funds accounting**
Funds held by the charity are:
## R **Unrestricted general funds**
These are funds that can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the Trustees.
## R **Designated funds**
These are funds set aside by the Trustees out of unrestricted general funds for specific purposes or projects.
## R **Restricted funds**
These are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements (note 22).
## **Foreign currencies**
The consolidated financial statements are presented in pounds sterling (£), which is the charitable company’s functional and presentational currency.
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the exchange rate at the date of the transaction. Any assets and liabilities in a foreign currency are translated into sterling at the exchange rate on the date of reporting. Foreign exchange gains and losses incurred in respect of monetary assets are shown within expenditure. Foreign exchange gains and losses in respect of non-monetary assets are shown between net income/(expenditure) and net movement in funds before other recognised gains and transfers and net movement in funds.
## **Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty**
The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make some judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported for assets and liabilities as at the balance sheet date and the amounts reported for income and expenditure. However, the nature of estimation means that actual outcomes could differ from those estimates.
Significant judgement is applied when assessing whether grant funding received should be accounted for either as a donation grant or as a performance-related services grant. Whether a contract is accounted for either as a donation grant or as a performance-related grant has a material impact on the timing of when such income is recognised.
Grant income includes grants for single projects accounted for as performance-related grants using the percentage of completion method. Percentage of completion has been estimated based on the ratio of costs to date at the balance sheet date compared to total expected project costs (including future project costs). The use of the percentage of completion method is considered a critical judgement and the value for future project costs included in total project costs used in the calculation is considered a key estimation.
**Marine Conservation Society -** mcsuk.org **• 41**
**40 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
**Notes to the financial statements**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
1 Income from donations and legacies
funds (£) funds (£) 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Membership subscriptions and adoptions 647,700 - 647,700 715,243
Legacies 185,390 - 185,390 227,919
Donations - trusts and companies 1,475,588 463,554 1,939,142 1,924,961
Donations - individuals 513,146 20,349 533,495 434,970
Other fundraising income 67,407 - 67,407 108,164
2,889,231 483,903 3,373,134 3,411,257
For the year ended 31 March 2021 2,842,688 568,569 3,411,257
**----- End of picture text -----**
Donations from trusts and companies include £79,529 (2021: £183,074) of donated services or goods. This includes £29,274 advertisement space gifted by The Times and £27,643 film footage gifted by People’s Postcode Lottery. Not included are donated digital out-of-home advertising space from Ocean Outdoor; we are unable to measure reliably the value of these services. We are very grateful for all this support, enabling us to benefit from advice and services that the charity might otherwise not be able to afford.
|**2 Income from charitable activities**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**(£)
**Restricted**
**funds**(£)
**Total Funds**
**2022**(£)
**Total Funds**
**2021**(£)|**2 Income from charitable activities**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**(£)
**Restricted**
**funds**(£)
**Total Funds**
**2022**(£)
**Total Funds**
**2021**(£)|**Restricted**
**funds**(£)|**Total Funds**
**2022**(£)|**Total Funds**
**2021**(£)|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||
|Grants|21,927|398,598|420,525|497,252|
|Beach cleans|83,085|-|83,085|79,803|
|Education and sales|72,637|-|72,637|45,961|
||||||
|**177,649**
**398,598**
**576,247**
**623,016**
For the year ended 31 March 2021
282,066
340,950
623,016|||||
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Total Funds Total Funds
4 Income from investments
2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Bank interest received 821 2,859
All income from investments is unrestricted. 821 2,859
**----- End of picture text -----**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
5 Other Income
funds (£) funds (£) 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Royalties and licences 386,828 2,099 388,927 187,829
386,828 2,099 388,927 187,829
For the year ended 31 March 2021 185,582 2,247 187,829
**----- End of picture text -----**
|**6 Expenditure on raising funds**
**Direct staff**
**costs**(£)|**6 Expenditure on raising funds**
**Direct staff**
**costs**(£)|**Other direct**
**costs**(£)|**Support**
**costs**(£)|**Total**
**2022**(£)|**Total**
**2021**(£)|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||
|||||||
|Costs of generating and servicing memberships|119,185|94,645|38,409|252,239|260,056|
|Costs of raising other donations and legacies|333,148|88,233|108,939|530,320|540,473|
|Commercial trading costs|82,482|8,167|2,122|92,771|84,733|
|||||||
|**534,815**
**191,045**
**149,470**
**875,330**
**885,262**
For the year ended 31 March 2021
469,368
228,588
187,306
885,262||||||
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Total Funds Total Funds
3 Income from other trading activities
2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Sales 6,201 12,838
Sponsorship 11,000 15,833
All income from other trading activities is unrestricted. 17,201 28,671
**----- End of picture text -----**
|**7 Expenditure on charitable activities**
**Direct staff**
**costs**(£)|**7 Expenditure on charitable activities**
**Direct staff**
**costs**(£)|**Other direct**
**costs**(£)|**Support**
**costs**(£)|**Total**
**2022**(£)|**Total**
**2021**(£)|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||
|||||||
|Better protected|624,714|425,815|195,581|1,246,110|889,152|
|Cleaner ocean|543,113|294,437|186,175|1,023,725|1,008,817|
|Healthier ocean|556,574|274,945|127,828|959,347|882,082|
|For everyone|370,453|188,083|103,755|662,291|488,216|
|||||||
|**2,094,854**
**1,183,280**
**613,339**
**3,891,473**
**3,268,267**
For the year ended 31 March 2021
1,903,668
782,786
581,813
3,268,267||||||
**Marine Conservation Society -** mcsuk.org **• 43**
**42 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Admin Admin Govern-
8 Support costs Property staff other ance Total Total
costs (£) costs (£) costs (£) costs (£) 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Costs of generating and servicing
4,725 20,617 8,442 4,625 38,409 43,304
membership subscriptions
Costs of raising other donations
13,401 58,476 23,943 13,119 108,939 130,002
and legacies
Commercial trading costs - - 122 2,000 2,122 14,000
Better protected 24,060 104,984 42,985 23,552 195,581 170,649
Cleaner ocean 22,903 99,937 40,919 22,416 186,175 185,010
Healthier ocean 15,725 68,616 28,097 15,390 127,828 134,087
For everyone 12,764 55,693 22,802 12,496 103,755 92,067
93,578 408,323 167,310 93,598 762,809 769,119
Analysed between:
Raising funds 18,126 79,093 32,507 19,744 149,470 187,306
Charitable activities 75,452 329,230 134,803 73,854 613,339 581,813
93,578 408,323 167,310 93,598 762,809 769,119
**----- End of picture text -----**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Total Total
10 Staff costs and trustees’ remuneration
2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Salaries and wages 2,628,540 2,342,897
Employer’s national insurance contributions 253,809 223,904
Pension costs 152,155 135,398
Redundancy payments 5,712 -
Trustees’ remuneration - -
**----- End of picture text -----**
**3,040,216 2,702,199**
One employee received emoluments in the band £80,000 to £90,000 (2021 – one in the band £70,000 to £80,000). This employee had benefits accruing under an auto-enrolment scheme and contributions paid during the year totalled £4,804 (2021 - £4,622). One employee received emoluments in the band £60,000 to £70,000 (2021 – one). This employee had benefits accruing under an auto-enrolment scheme and contributions paid during the year totalled £3,654 (2021 - £3,636).
During the year key management received a combined total remuneration including the cost of employer pension and national insurance of £384,367 (2021 - £360,630).
No trustees received any remuneration in the year (2021: nil) and two trustees claimed expenses during the year for travel and subsistence (2021: none claimed expenses as all meetings were held online during the pandemic), amounting to £302 (2021: £nil).
Support costs are allocated to activities based on the FTE staff numbers working on those activities. Property costs include rent, rates, and utility costs for all our offices. Admin staff costs are the staff costs of the Finance, Human Resources, and IT teams. Other admin costs include postage, stationery, equipment, and depreciation of fixed assets (note 14). Governance costs include insurance, audit and legal fees, the cost of trustee meetings and the proportion of management and finance staff costs spent on the governance of the charity.
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Total Total
9 Net incoming resources for the year This is stated after charging:
2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Depreciation 7,013 6,476
Auditor’s remuneration:
audit fees 8,150 7,650
other services - -
Equipment rental 3,350 2,131
Trustees’ liability insurance 1,268 1,115
Property rental 82,700 82,849
Foreign exchange rate (gains) / loss (1,625) 5,735
**----- End of picture text -----**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2022 2021
11 Staff numbers
(average number) (average number)
Conservation and engagement programmes 57 49
Fundraising and servicing membership subscriptions 22 19
Administration and support 13 10
92 78
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **12 Pension costs**
The charity operates a defined contribution scheme for members of staff. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity, being invested with insurance companies. Pension costs charged in the Statement of Financial Activities represent the contributions payable by the charity in the year. There was £38,405 (2021 - £17,109) accrued at the end of the year representing pension costs payable. Where restricted income funds staff costs, the relevant proportion of pension costs is allocated to those funds.
## **13 Taxation**
The property rental cost above relates to the lease of the head office at Ross-on-Wye as well as licences to occupy small offices in London and Edinburgh.
The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes. The group’s tax liability is minimised by ensuring that any non-charitable income is received by the subsidiary company M C S Sales Limited, and the subsidiary donates the taxable profits from that income to the charity under the Gift Aid Scheme. Further details on M C S Sales Limited are provided in notes 15 and 16.
**Marine Conservation Society -** mcsuk.org **• 45**
**44 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Fixtures & Computers &
14 Tangible Fixed Assets (Group and charity)
fittings (£) equipment (£) Total (£)
Cost
At 1 April 2021 29,750 64,683 94,433
Additions at cost 2,718 5,182 7,900
-
Disposals (12,779) (12,779)
At 31 March 2022 19,689 69,865 89,554
Depreciation
At 1 April 2021 29,750 50,803 80,553
Charge for the year 340 6,673 7,013
Disposals (12,779) - (12,779)
At 31 March 2022 17,311 57,476 74,787
Net book value
At 31 March 2022 2,378 12,389 14,767
At 31 March 2021 - 13,880 13,880
15 Investments in subsidiaries (charity only) 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
M C S Sales Limited (company number 1766795) 100 100
Marine Biological Consultants Limited (company number 1777391) 100 100
200 200
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Investments in subsidiaries held by the charity represent the whole of the issued share capital of each of the companies above. Both companies are registered in England and Wales, with the registered office of Overross House, Ross Park, Ross-On-Wye, Herefordshire, United Kingdom, HR9 7US. The companies were established to carry out trades which were not in themselves charitable (and which could not, therefore, be conducted by the charity) but where all the profits were gifted to the charity, providing an additional income source to fund marine conservation.
Marine Biological Consultants Limited is not trading and is dormant.
M C S Sales Limited conducts corporate fundraising including sponsorship to raise money for the Marine Conservation Society and, from 2020-21, Marine Conservation Society online retail sales have been conducted through the subsidiary. A summary of the results of M C S Sales Limited is shown in note 16 and full accounts are filed with Companies House each year.
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Year ended Year ended
16 Performance of M C S Sales Limited
31 March 2022 (£) 31 March 2021 (£)
Statement of comprehensive income
Turnover 400,863 188,812
Cost of sales (95,754) (81,527)
Gross profit 305,109 107,285
Administrative costs (14,122) (13,999)
Operating profit 290,987 93,286
Tax on operating profit - -
Total comprehensive income for the year 290,987 93,286
Gift aid donation to parent charity relating to profits from previous year 13,643 26,573
Gift aid donation to parent charity from profits in current year 245,676 79,576
The assets and liabilities of the company were
Current assets 512,383 450,046
Current liabilities (466,971) (436,302)
Total net assets 45,412 13,744
Share capital 100 100
Retained profit (donated to parent charity in the following year) 45,312 13,644
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The above subsidiary accounts are before consolidation adjustments. Because all the profits are donated to the charity within the Gift Aid Scheme, no tax is owing.
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The group The charity
17 Stocks 2022 (£) 2021 (£) 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Stocks held for resale in online shop 7,481 9,492 7,481 6,357
7,481 9,492 7,481 6,357
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The charity holds stocks of Seasearch books and equipment for sale. The clothes sold online are sold through our partner Teemill, who holds the stock.
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The group The charity
18 Debtors 2022 (£) 2021 (£) 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Trade debtors 243,910 152,267 118,267 106,589
Amounts owed by subsidiary - - 417,185 399,907
Prepayments and accrued income 640,533 618,065 634,049 618,061
Other debtors - - - -
884,443 770,332 1,169,501 1,124,557
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**Marine Conservation Society -** mcsuk.org **• 47**
**46 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
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The group The charity
19 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 2022 (£) 2021 (£) 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
Trade creditors 119,301 162,272 119,301 160,848
Tax and social security 124,511 99,642 83,933 84,421
Accruals 198,974 137,723 196,973 135,723
Deferred income 292,452 267,594 285,244 249,842
Other creditors 37,693 27,856 37,507 27,671
772,931 695,087 722,958 658,505
Deferred income Income received that relates to a future period
Membership subscriptions 49,107 62,155 49,107 62,155
Corporate memberships and logo licensing 34,292 39,795 27,084 22,043
Grant income received for service delivery 188,467 152,869 188,467 152,869
Income received for events and training 20,586 12,775 20,586 12,775
292,452 267,594 285,244 249,842
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All of the deferred income as at 31 March 2021 was released into the SOFA in the current financial year.
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20 Operating lease commitments
2022 2021
As at 31 March 2022 the charity had total commitments under non-cancellable
(£) (£)
operating leases as below:
Land and buildings
Leases expiring within one year 56,394 65,208
Leases expiring within two to five years 25,909 57,802
82,303 123,010
2022 2021
21 Provision for liabilities (Group and charity)
(£) (£)
At the beginning of the year 11,620 24,585
Addition / (reduction) for dilapidations 2,171 (12,965)
At the end of the year 13,791 11,620
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At 1 April Income Expenditure Transfers At 31 March
22 Statement of group funds
2021 (£) (£) (£) (£) 2022 (£)
Unrestricted funds
General reserves 441,947 3,471,730 (3,276,033) (207,680) 429,964
Designated funds 1,083,171 - - 125,715 1,208,886
1,525,118 3,471,730 (3,276,033) (81,965) 1,638,850
Restricted funds
General conservation 4 61,667 (59,673) - 1,998
Sealife - 68,337 (67,379) (958) -
Blue Carbon - 18,312 (18,312) - -
Clean seas programme 8,046 - (8,046) - -
Fisheries programme
Good Fish Guide transformation 663,355 - (366,552) - 296,803
Other fisheries funds 1 23,500 (23,499) - 2
Ocean recovery programme
ReMEDIES - 29,841 (29,841) - -
Other seagrass projects 13,358 8,071 (21,104) 64,040 64,365
Fish INTEL - 12,593 (12,593) - -
National Seasearch 500 24,404 (24,804) - 100
British Virgin Islands Turtle Conservation 4,222 78,549 (80,517) (2,254) -
Anguilla Shark Conservation - 94,722 (94,722) - -
UK Overseas Territories 9,691 56,431 (65,209) 17,048 17,961
Other ocean recovery funds 45,895 19,095 (21,906) (15,790) 27,294
Social science programme
Agents of Change 55,939 - (26,608) - 29,331
Marine CoLab 50,291 3,450 (34,675) - 19,066
Wildcoast Sussex - 22,085 (22,085) - -
Sussex Nearshore Trawling Byelaw Research - 41,797 (13,788) - 28,009
Environmental Behaviours 54,880 - (20,450) - 34,430
Engagement programme
Inspiring Blue Recovery - 124,200 (85,502) 16,667 55,365
Sea Champions Bridlington 130,257 - (47,531) - 82,726
Volunteer & community engagement 90,499 50,131 (140,245) - 385
Education general funds 78,957 58,479 (63,608) - 73,828
Scottish Education Roadshow 26,000 5,000 (18,871) - 12,129
Other engagement funds 35,222 9,444 (9,444) - 35,222
Wales Programme 16,219 - (16,219) - -
Natur am Byth! - 20,219 (20,219) - -
Scotland programme
Restoration Forth - 54,273 (1,983) - 52,290
Website transformation 80,621 - (72,747) (7,874) -
Restricted assets depreciation fund - - (2,638) 11,086 8,448
1,363,957 884,600 (1,490,770) 81,965 839,752
Total funds 2,889,075 4,356,330 (4,766,803) - 2,478,602
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The provision relates to the lease of the office at Ross-on-Wye. During 2020-21 we negotiated a reduction in office space, hence the dilapidations provision decreased that year.
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**48 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
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22 Continued
At 1 April Income Expenditure Transfers At 31 March
Comparative statement of group funds
2020 (£) (£) (£) (£) 2021 (£)
for the year ended 31 March 2021
Unrestricted funds
General reserves 406,074 3,341,866 (2,931,822) (374,171) 441,947
Designated funds 709,000 - - 374,171 1,083,171
1,115,074 3,341,866 (2,931,822) - 1,525,118
Restricted funds
General conservation 17,019 80,000 (97,015) - 4
Clean seas programme
Microfibre campaign - 30,000 (30,000) - -
Other clean seas funds 8,046 - - - 8,046
Fisheries programme
Good Fish Guide Transformation 965,966 - (302,611) - 663,355
Other fisheries funds 6,638 5,833 (12,470) - 1
Ocean recovery programme
ReMEDIES (911) 11,721 (10,810) - -
Seagrass 17,871 18,301 (22,814) - 13,358
National Seasearch 20,370 27,312 (47,182) - 500
UK Overseas Territories 6,159 103,257 (95,503) - 13,913
Other ocean recovery funds 39,030 48,338 (41,473) - 45,895
Social science programme
Agents of Change 6,312 86,375 (36,748) - 55,939
Marine CoLab 18,300 76,050 (44,059) - 50,291
Wildcoast Sussex - 17,221 (17,221) - -
Environmental Behaviours - 54,880 - - 54,880
Engagement programme
Sea Champions Bridlington 117,203 50,000 (36,946) - 130,257
Volunteer & community engagement 69,499 21,000 - - 90,499
Education general funds 56,804 83,678 (61,525) - 78,957
Scottish Education Roadshow - 26,000 - - 26,000
Engagement & communication emergency support - 141,800 (141,800) - -
Other engagement funds 35,222 - - - 35,222
Wales Programme - 30,000 (13,781) - 16,219
Website Transformation 290,370 - (209,749) - 80,621
1,673,898 911,766 (1,221,707) - 1,363,957
Total funds 2,788,972 4,253,632 (4,153,529) - 2,889,075
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## **Unrestricted funds**
## **Designated funds**
## **General funds**
The general reserve represents the free funds of the charity that are not designated for particular purposes. The majority of these will be spent in 2022-23.
The designated reserves are those funds set aside by Trustees as a contingency in the event of future income shortfalls. The Trustees aim to maintain this fund at a level that will support between 3 and 4 months’ unrestricted expenditure, based on future plans.
## **Restricted funds**
All restricted funds are for specific conservation or educational projects in the UK and overseas. These funds are recorded and managed individually by project but, for ease, the smaller projects are broadly categorised in these accounts by type of activity.
## **General conservation**
This fund benefits all our conservation work and includes Esmée Fairbairn Foundation funding for the work of the Chief Executive.
- J **Sealife** – Funded by the European Commission LIFE programme, supporting the European Green Deal, the Sealife project aims to raise awareness of the links between marine protection and blue carbon sequestration, increase youth and coastal community engagement on blue carbon and MPAs and address the knowledge gap around the role of our marine environment in combatting climate change.
- J **Blue Carbon** – Funded by John Ellerman Foundation, a blue carbon economist has worked with us in determining the value of our seas for carbon capture and storage and the mechanisms to fund ocean recovery that this unlocks. This supported our input at COP26. The next phase of the project will look at the wider economic benefits of both carbon and biodiversity.
## **Clean seas programme**
Funds within this programme support our work to create a cleaner ocean, reducing pollution from chemicals, sewage, plastics, and other contaminants. Our work entails the collation of evidence, policy advocacy with governments across UK countries for legislation to reduce pollution at source and engagement with businesses to influence their supply chains and purchasing decisions. It also includes public campaigns on issues such as reducing the release of microfibres from clothing and the introduction of deposit return schemes for drinks containers.
## **Fisheries programme**
Funds within this programme support our work to create a healthier ocean, by promoting the development of sustainable wild-capture and farmed seafood production. Included within this programme is the Good Fish Guide Transformation fund, a three-year project funded by a £1 million donation from The Moondance Foundation, received in 2019-20. This funding is supporting the development of a completely new website and app for the Good Fish Guide and the expansion of our seafood ratings so that information on how to buy sustainable seafood is much more readily available and widely used.
## **Ocean recovery programme**
Achieving a better protected ocean is the primary focus of funds within this programme, promoting the laws and policies designed to protect our seas. Included within this programme are the following funds:
J **ReMEDIES** – This project, funded by LIFE and in partnership with Natural England and others, aims to reduce and mitigate damage to seabed habitats at Natura 2000 sites (Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)) in southern England. The project is focusing on seagrass recovery, including reducing pressure from boat moorings. It also includes extensive engagement and education with communities and schools on the importance of protecting the seabed for biodiversity and to help tackle climate change.
- J **Other seagrass projects** – Working with Princess Yachts and The Ocean Conservation Trust, Advanced Mooring Systems are being installed into seagrass beds to enable re-growth of seagrass at the base of the mooring chains, making beds denser and blades longer. Additional funding from a members’ appeal and corporate supporters Salcombe Distilling Co., The Travel Chapter, Bower Collective and Hamptons have funded our seagrass work.
- J **Fish INTEL** – Funded by EU Interreg II Seas Ocean Recovery and delivered in a partnership led by the University of Plymouth, Fish INTEL uses cutting edge technology to monitor key fish species and understand how they use different ecosystems within UK, French and Belgian seas. By tracking fish movements and studying their habitats, we hope to build a comprehensive picture that will inform commercial fishing policies and help marine life to thrive.
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**50 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
## **22 Continued**
J **National Seasearch** – This is a scientific partnership programme with a number of agencies and organisations to involve volunteer recreational divers in the survey of marine species and habitats – part of our work to provide an evidence base. This programme includes funding from NatureScot, Natural Resources Wales, The Crown Estate, and Natural England.
J **UK Overseas Territories** – John Ellerman Foundation is funding the development of our collaborative programme in the UK Overseas Territories to help improve management of marine protected areas across five Caribbean Territories. This programme includes work to monitor turtle migration in the Turks and Caicos, which has attracted funding from the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and The Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust. Funding from Darwin has enabled the establishment of new projects in the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Montserrat where, working closely with local partners, we are engaging with communities and governments to increase the understanding of and protection for their iconic marine species and the habitats on which they rely.
J **Other ocean recovery funds** – These include funds from Seas at Risk and others for work to increase protection for Marine Protected Areas.
## **Social science programme**
With the recognition that conservation social science is an essential part of the evidence and approach needed to respond to the ocean and climate crises, we have invested in a brand-new team to integrate and apply social science research and practice across the organisation in order to refine audience insight, apply best practice with regard to behaviour change and monitoring and evaluation, and to accelerate progress towards organisational objectives.Within this programme are the following funds:
- J **Agents of Change** – The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is funding a staff post to work towards improving community understanding and support for local marine protected areas (MPAs). An initiative from the Marine CoLAB, the project aims to address the fact that communities know little about their MPAs and works with all stakeholders to help recover their marine environment.
## J **Marine CoLAB** – Funded by the Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation, the Marine CoLABoration (CoLAB) group, provides time and resources for the marine conservation sector to build on what works, learn from other sectors and parts of the world, and develop tools and approaches with the potential to increase the scale and pace of beneficial change. This funding enables MCS to provide a Marine CoLAB coordinator and other staff resources for the group.
J **Wildcoast Sussex** – In partnership with Sussex Wildlife Trust and others, and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, this project (previously called Sussex by the Sea) aims to positively influence human behaviours that are contributing to the decline of marine life off the Sussex coast.
J **Environmental Behaviours** – Funds are allowing us to develop our social science programme; specifically, to carry out research in to the health and wellbeing benefits of the coast and to explore how best we inspire action from a wider range of people.
In addition to these specific funds, the team is contributing to qualitative research as part of other projects in the UK and the UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean.
## **Engagement programme**
These funds are supporting a range of projects focusing on our ‘for everyone’ goal.
J **Sea Champions Bridlington** – A generous donor has funded a project to deliver marine conservation engagement with volunteers, communities, and businesses in Bridlington and the wider Yorkshire area.
J **Volunteer and community engagement** – Initially, these funds focused on increasing our volunteer and community engagement in Northumbria to deliver more beach cleans and educate young people about their local marine environment; additional funds are now allowing this work to broaden to our work across the UK.
J **Education** – Funds supporting our Cool Seas education programme to increase the participation of young people in marine conservation and improving ocean literacy through education workshops, Cool Seas Investigator and other curriculum-linked resources, and the creation of Ocean Schools.
- J **Scottish Education Roadshow** – This tour of Scottish schools had to be delayed for a year due to COVID-19. Starting in August 2021, we have run face to face lessons and activities on marine conservation.
J **Engagement and communications emergency support** – Generous funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund supported two of our teams during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing our work to evolve from face to face to digital engagement.
J **Other engagement funds** – These include community engagement projects around the UK, including Blue Heart, funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. This Community Voice Method project took a storytelling approach to bring to life the relationship between people in the UK and the ocean.
## **Wales programme**
In 2020-21, The Garfield Weston Foundation supported the expansion of our policy and public affairs work within Wales. This enabled engagement with parliamentarians in the Senedd on priorities for recovery of the marine environment in Wales, which was particularly timely in the lead up to the 2021 elections. Seasearch in Wales is included within National Seasearch funds, not under the Wales programme.
- J **Natur am Byth!** – We are working in a partnership led by Natural Resources Wales with eight other environmental charities. With stage 1 funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we are working with our partners to develop the project to stage 2, which will deliver Wales’ largest natural heritage and outreach programme to save species from extinction and reconnect people to nature.
## **Scotland programme**
Generally, the activities within our Scottish programme have been supported by our unrestricted funds, but Seasearch in Scotland is included within National Seasearch funds, not under the Scottish programme and funding for a Scottish education roadshow is included within the engagement programme.
- J **Restoration Forth** – Working in a partnership led by WWF - UK with Heriot-Watt University and others, and funding from ScottishPower Foundation, Nature Scot's Nature Restoration Fund, WWF and Aviva, we are working to restore native oyster beds and empower coastal communities to help restore and sustainably manage their local marine natural heritage for a thriving Firth of Forth.
## **Website transformation**
A foundation that has asked to remain anonymous has funded a digital transformation, including the building of a new website. Built on the intuitive Wagtail content management system, our new website will allow us to engage and inspire our supporters with our conservation work, improved donation journeys, better volunteer management systems and an integrated education section. The funds were received in the year 2019-20, the project started in April 2020 and was completed in 2021-22.
## **Transfers between funds**
J In 2020-21 and again in 2021-22, a transfer was made from general to designated funds to increase the size of the contingency reserve. The charity’s reserves policy is to hold a contingency of between 3 and 4 months’ unrestricted expenditure. As the charity grows, our budgeted expenditure is increasing, so the size of the fund has increased to cover both expected growth and continued uncertainty in income generation.
- J Funds have been transferred from general funds into seagrass project funds where corporate supporters have paid us royalty payments that are unrestricted when received by M C S Sales but which they have asked us to direct to seagrass work.
- J Unrestricted funds have been transferred from the general fund into the Inspiring Blue Recovery fund as the restricted income is not covering the full cost of the project.
- J Transfers have been made from Sealife, British Virgin Islands Turtle Conservation and Website transformation into a restricted assets depreciation fund where project funds have paid for fixed assets that will be depreciated over the next few years as the assets are used.
- J Some UK Overseas Territories project funds were miscategorised as other ocean recovery projects in the previous year, and they have been moved.
**Marine Conservation Society -** mcsuk.org **• 53**
**52 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
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Restricted Designated General Total funds Total funds
23 Analysis of net assets between funds
funds (£) funds (£) funds (£) 2022 (£) 2021 (£)
2022
Tangible fixed assets 8,448 - 6,319 14,767 13,880
Net current assets 831,304 1,208,886 423,645 2,463,835 2,875,195
839,752 1,208,886 429,964 2,478,602 2,889,075
2021
Tangible fixed assets - - 13,880 13,880
Net current assets 1,363,957 1,083,171 428,067 2,875,195
1,363,957 1,083,171 441,947 2,889,075
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## **24 Financial performance of the charity**
The consolidated statement of financial activities includes the results of the sponsorship, other corporate fundraising and online retail sales conducted by M C S Sales Limited.
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The summary financial performance of the charity alone is:
2022 2021
(£) (£)
Income 3,955,467 4,064,819
Gift Aid donation and other income from subsidiary company 276,319 123,149
4,231,786 4,187,968
Expenditure (4,673,925) (4,075,004)
Net (expenditure)/income (442,139) 112,964
Total funds brought forward 2,875,710 2,762,746
Total funds carried forward 2,433,571 2,875,710
Represented by:
Restricted funds 839,752 1,363,957
Unrestricted funds 1,593,819 1,511,753
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## **25 Related party transactions**
In 2021, M C S Sales Limited received £18,000 sponsorship and payment from Rakuten EMEA - for which Mark Haviland, a Marine Conservation Society Trustee, was EVP Global Development & Sustainability - for delivering a talk and supplying beach clean kit to staff.
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Grey seal amongst thongweed, Isles of Scilly
Cathy Lewis
Marine Conservation Society - mcsuk.org • 55
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**54 •** Annual Impact Report & Accounts **2021-22**
## **Acknowledgements of financial and other support**
We would like to thank all the individuals and organisations who made our work this year possible.
## **Charitable trusts, foundations and grant funders giving £1,000 or more:**
Ocean Conservation Trust Oceans 5 P F Charitable Trust The Pamela Matthews Charitable Trust The Peacock Charitable Trust The Percy Hedley 1990 Charitable Trust Pilkington General Charity Postcode Planet Trust
10% for the Ocean Forum for the Future The A & R Woolf Charitable Trust The George A Moore Foundation Anson Charitable Trust The Golden Bottle Trust The Blair Foundation Green Recovery Challenge Fund The Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust Harris Freeman Foundation CAST The Helvellyn Foundation The Calleva Foundation The Hugh Fraser Foundation Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The Idris & Margaret Jones Charitable Trust Cecil Pilkington Charitable Trust The John Coates Charitable Trust Chapman Charitable Trust The John Cowan Foundation The Christopher Laing Foundation John Ellerman Foundation The Constance Travis Charitable Trust John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust The Darwin Initiative The Joseph Strong Frazer Trust The Lady Hind Trust The David Brooke Charity David Uri Memorial Trust Lady Yuen Peng McNeice Charitable Foundation David William Traill Cargill Fund The Leslie Mary Carter Charitable Trust The Diana Edgson Wright Charitable Trust Lighthouse Giving The Dulverton Trust Mabel Cooper Charitable Trust Marsh Charitable Trust EU Interreg II Seas EU LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES Miss A M Pilkington Charitable Trust EU Life 2020 NGO4GD The National Lottery Heritage Fund Erasmus Natural England Natural Resources Wales Esmée Fairbairn Foundation NatureScot FatFace Foundation Oak Foundation Fidra
The Princess Anne's Charities Trust The PwC Foundation R G Hills Charitable Trust
The Rainford Trust Reed Family Foundation The Ronald Miller Foundation
The Rubin Foundation Charitable Trust Ruth Smart Foundation Scottish Fishermen's Trust ScottishPower Foundation Seas At Risk
The Simon Gibson Charitable Trust Tisbury Telegraph Trust The Uncle Bill Trust WWF UK The Waterloo Foundation The Wildlife Trusts MPA Fighting Fund The William Haddon Charitable Trust
## **Organisations and companies contributing £5,000 or more towards our income and charitable objectives through donations and corporate partnership agreements:**
Accrol Papers Ltd (Oceans) FatFace Limited Aspen Phoenix Newco Limited, t/a Green People Ltd Paperchase Hamptons Beiersdorf UK Ltd John Lewis Partnership Beko PLC Joules Big Wild Thought Ltd Marks & Spencer Bourne Leisure Ltd Net Natives Ltd Bower Collective News Corp UK & Ireland Ltd Brasserie Bar Co Optimum Medical Bunzl PLC Princess Yachts Ltd Cargill Roja Parfums Ltd Crew Clothing Company The ROMO Group Ltd Earth Conscious Saga Group Ltd Edrington Salcombe Distilling Co Enterprise RAC UK Ltd Schroders plc
Silentnight Ltd Sodexo UK&I St Austell Brewery Company Ltd Susie & Peter – Masters of Wine Teemill Trading (Rapanui) The Travel Chapter Ltd Triton Showers Well Pharmacy Westgate Global Ltd Wild Nature Press Wolseley UK Limited Wrendale Designs
## **Organisations and companies contributing £1,000 or more from company memberships:**
Abel & Cole Ltd Mayflex UK Baylis & Harding Mocean Fitness CH & Co Catering Group Ltd Molesworth & Bird CanO Water OCEANTEE Golf Clarity Environmental Optical Express Coast Drinks PwC Deck Gear Ltd RX Architects Edgeo Rapesco Office Products plc Excel Networking Solutions Rudding Estate The Glenmorangie Company Ltd Shibui Tea The Happy Prawn Co Soul Hippy ISS Food Services Talomon Capital Ltd IT Naturally Ltd The Travel Chapter Ltd Matrix Platinum Ltd Zena Holloway
## **Individuals giving gifts of £5,000 or more:**
Timothy Garratt Xavier Menguy
Dimitrios Nikolakopoulos Paula Jones
## **Legacies and in memoriam donations:**
Adrian Holmes Lucinda Sky Andrew Dowden Lucy Mclean Andrew Dyke Lucy Tucker Brian Pitkin Luke Coles Chris Harvey Maria Hetherington Clarice Rostron Mary Rowlands Daniel Michael Finch Maureen Rowe David Griffiths Michelle Keeley David Groombridge Miss Delaneys David Leonard Moss Nanny Bet Derk And Nicola Hartman Nilifur Garrett Dilip Sharan Oskar Stuerzinger Donald Willats Pam Mitchell Edward Charles Hammond Patricia Anne Moss Ella Titova Patricia Timmons George Costa Paul Brecknell Gordon Rankin Paul Micalef Gwendoline & Gerard Reilly Paul Whelan J. Stirling-Gallacher Robert Ranscombe Jennifer Madge Celia Rice Roger Lankester Jo Cole Ronald Mitson John Anthony Chapman S Wright John Edgar Francis Sean Brierley John Jones Simon Mitchell Keith Peter Snare Stephen Bailey Ken Sullivan Stuart Tam Kevin Gauntlett Susan Annette Drawbridge Laura Corrigan Suzi Lyon Lochlan Peckham Valerie Eileen Nelson Lorena Sassman Vhairi Harding
**Patrons, supporters, members and groups:**
**Ocean Ambassadors**
Prof Ben Garrod Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL Deborah Meaden Doug Allan Fernando Montano Inka Cresswell Iolo Williams Lizzie Daly Miranda Krestovnikoff Simon Reeve Susie Rodgers MBE Tom 'The Blowfish' Hird Zoe Lyons
We would like to thank our members, local groups, and Sea Champion volunteers for their support of our conservation activities and fundraising efforts over the year. Thanks also to all the volunteers who supported our projects and/or gathered vital information through Beachwatch, the Great British Beach Clean, Seasearch, Jellyfish, Basking Shark and Turtle Watch.
Also, to the many individual and community participants, dive clubs, sports clubs, youth and member organisations and school and college students who raised money to support our work.
## **Pro bono support:**
We would like to thank the following supporters for their pro bono support during the last year:
Brasserie Bar Co Deloitte LLP IBM LSP Leadership Ltd Mayer Brown International LLP Nick Arding Ocean Outdoor People's Postcode Lottery The Times & The Sunday Times Westgate Global Ltd
_We would like to extend our thanks to our valued donors who wish to remain anonymous._
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56 • Annual Impact Report & Accounts 2021-22 Marine Conservation Society - mcsuk.org • 57
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## **Reference and administrative information**
## **Charity Name**
Marine Conservation Society
**Charity Registration Number** 1004005 (England & Wales) SC037480 (Scotland)
**Company Registration Number** 02550966
## **Trustees**
The Trustees listed below were Trustees for the whole of the year ended 31 March 2022 and until the date of this report unless stated otherwise:
Amanda Nobbs Chair
Mark Haviland Vice Chair _until end of first term on 2 December 2021 and then reappointed from 24 February 2022_
## Susan Ronaldson Treasurer
_until end of first term on 2 December 2021 and then reappointed from 24 February 2022_
## **Registered Office and**
**Operational Address** Overross House, Ross Park, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 7US
**London Operational Address** Metal Box Factory, 30 Great Guildford Street, Bankside, SE1 0HS
**Scottish Operational Address** Suite 7, CBC House, 24 Canning Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8EG
Emily Cunningham
Jonathan Hall
Joyce Lorigan Will Oulton
Seth Richardson
Helena Thernstrom Stefano Tiratelli
## **Senior Management Team**
The members of the Senior Management Team were in post for the whole of the year ended 31 March 2022 and until the date of this report unless stated otherwise:
## **Principal Professional Advisors**
## **Auditors**
The Richards Sandy Partnership Thorneloe House, 25 Barbourne Road, Worcester, WR1 1RU
## **Bankers**
Barclays Bank, Leicester, LE87 2BB Lloyds Bank, 8 High Town, Hereford, HR1 2AE
## **President**
The former Prince of Wales
Sandy Luk Chief Executive
Andrew Barnes Interim Director of Communications & Engagement _from 1 November 2021_
Tamsin Betti Director of Communications & Engagement _until 13 May 2022_
Jennifer Mitchell Director of Communications & Engagement _from 19 September 2022_
Nicola Spencer Director of Finance & Resources and Company Secretary _until 23 September 2022_
Katherine Stephenson-Hall Director of Fundraising
Jayne Tucker Interim Director of Finance & Resources _from 19 September 2022_ and Company Secretary _from 23 September 2022_
Chris Tuckett Director of Programmes
Email: info@mcsuk.org Head Office: Overross House, Ross Park, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 7US Telephone: 01989 566017
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mcsuk mcs_uk
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