2025-03-31-accounts - Wales Environment Link

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Environment Link

Trustees' report and financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Registered Charity Number: 1022675

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Contents of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025

	Page
Legal and Administrative Information	3
Chair's Foreword	4
Report of the Trustees	5
Independent Examiner's Report	27
Statement of Financial Activities	29
Balance Sheet	30
Notes to the Financial Statements	31
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities	46

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Legal and Administrative information

Charity number 1022675

Charity Offices Tramshed Tech Pendyris Street Cardiff CF22 6BH

Trustees Roger Thomas Chair Jen Anderson Treasurer Beverley Penney Open Spaces Society (Hon. Secretary) Rachel Sharp Wildlife Trusts Wales Natalie Buttriss Woodland Trust (until stepped down on 3[rd] October 2024)

President Post vacant

Director Karen Whitfield Independent Examiner Henry Lloyd Davies Bevan Buckland LLP Langdon House Langdon Road Swansea Waterfront SA1 8QY

Bankers Co-operative Bank P.O. Box 101 1 Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Chair’s Foreword

The last twelve months have been tumultuous, with global conflict and political change creating uncertainty over commitments worldwide to addressing the serious environmental issues that are of huge concern to our network’s members. Closer to home, the legacy of covid, Brexit’s adverse impact and loss of funding to the sector have made this a period of unprecedented challenge.

We have, nevertheless, secured sufficient financial backing to take us through in our current form until at least 2027, whilst also identifying and chasing new opportunities for support. Our new membership subscription model is delivering greater stability for core WEL functions, and we thank our members for their support with this.

Our small team has settled into the new operating structure on which we reported last year, collectively delivering significantly more than the sum of their parts. Together with staff drawn from our members, our working groups have continued to contribute effectively to the identification and resolution of issues affecting our ecosystems, and a recent review of our mission and strategic objectives with our key partners and stakeholders showed that WEL’s work is valued and recognised beyond its membership.

As we prepare for the election of the 7[th] Senedd, with an increase in the number of Senedd members, I am confident that our network will be resilient in its quest to achieve the best outcomes for the natural environment of Wales.

Roger Thomas Chair

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Trustees’ Report

The Trustees present their report and Wales Environment Link's financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Organisational Information

Charity name

Wales Environment Link is also known as WEL. Our main social media output is via Bluesky, and we also use LinkedIn and Toot Wales/Twt Cymru (the Wales server of Mastodon). In January 2025, we stopped posting on X (formerly known as Twitter) for ethical reasons, as misinformation continued to rise on the platform following the removal of fact checking.

Trustees

The Trustees, who are members of the Management Committee, have served throughout the year, unless otherwise stated.

Constitution of the Charity, Trustee selection and governance

Wales Environment Link's constitution was adopted on 1st November 1990 and amended on 8th May 1991, 5th May 1993, 18th June 1997, 10th September 1997, 3rd July 2002, 7th July 2004, 21st November 2012, 10th July 2013, 16th May 2017, 4th July 2018 and 14th November 2024.

Appointment to the Management Committee is governed by the Trust Deed of the charity, and appointments made either at the Annual General Meeting or, in the case of a vacancy, by agreement of a majority of the member organisations at a Council Meeting.

Council meets twice a year, principally to consider policy matters of relevance to the members. Decisions are made on the basis of consensus; however, where a formal vote is required, decisions are taken by a majority vote of the Full members of the Council.

The Management Committee manages the affairs of the charity and makes such decisions as may be required to ensure the continuing operation of the charity and to address any substantial matters arising in furtherance of the

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

charitable objectives of the charity.

Management Committee delegates the day-to-day responsibility for the organisation and line management of staff to the Director of Wales Environment Link.

Related bodies

There are four Link networks in the UK:

Wales Environment Link (WEL)
Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL, in England)
Scottish Environment LINK (SEL)
Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL)

Each Link is a coalition organisation, set up to complement and add value to the actions of individual member organisations. The Links work together on UK or European-level policy, forming 'Environment Links UK' (ELUK) statements and documents.

Charitable objects

WEL is established, for the benefit of the public, to promote and enhance the conservation, protection, sustainable management, and quiet and responsible enjoyment of the natural and cultural heritage of Wales.

Vision

A thriving Welsh environment for future generations[1]

1 For the purposes of interpretation, “environment” means terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments. It includes urban and rural environments and areas of importance for natural heritage, landscape and public access.

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Mission Statement

Our mission is for the WEL network to be the primary NGO sector influencer of environmental policy, legislation and practice in Wales, respected for our members' expertise and advice and at the centre of government decision making.

Strategic Objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Objective 1: A cohesive voice for the environment

Provide a cohesive voice for our members by enabling them to work effectively with governments and statutory sectors as a respected and influential independent advisory network.

KPIs:

WEL is the first point of contact for Government and statutory bodies when looking for representation from the environmental NGO sector.
WEL recommendations are taken up in Committee reports, and Government policy and legislation.
WEL provides timely, well-informed positions and recommendations that influence policy and legislative change.

Objective 2: Building trust, expertise and capacity

Support and nurture the environmental NGO sector by facilitating the development of partnerships, knowledge and expertise, increasing the sustainability of the sector, building mutual trust and enhancing capacity within the membership.

KPIs:

WEL members are provided with effective training on relevant topics to assist them with their collaborative work and influencing. Courses are sought after and members find them useful.
WEL is a valued partner to the other UK Links (collectively known as Environment Links UK / ELUK) and a key participant in other environmental and relevant third sector coalitions, such as Greener UK, Stop Climate Chaos Cymru, the SD Alliance and the Third Sector Partnership Council.
WEL has the capacity and tools to support at least one joint campaign per year on our members' collective key priorities, in a way that adds value to our members' individual campaigning and strengthens the ability to be heard.

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Objective 3: Supporting our members

Develop WEL's role as a key support mechanism for its members, clearly demonstrating the achievements and importance of the network to members, funders and partners

KPIs:

WEL is recognised as a champion for its members
WEL continues to attract new members, and funding from both the Welsh Government, and trusts and foundations.
WEL members value the network's role in keeping them informed about policy and legislative developments, opportunities for partnership working, support mechanisms and funding opportunities.

Objective 4: A strong public profile

Develop WEL's public profile in order to better promote its members' agreed collective priorities, messages and recommendations.

KPIs:

WEL's social media platforms continue to increase their followers and are valued by our members for promoting their work and raising awareness of environmental issues.
WEL's website is a useful resource for those looking for information about WEL, its members, and network positions on policy issues.
Politicians, government officials and staff from statutory bodies know the WEL network, who its members are, what it represents and what it can offer.

Objective 5: A viable network

Maintain a sustainable, efficient and effective network which is financially stable and overseen by sound governance procedures.

KPIs:

WEL members value the network as an important source of timely information, and are able to engage in joint work with the network in a variety of ways (e.g. through email, Basecamp, social media, video/teleconferencing and face to face meetings and events).
WEL continues to operate with a healthy funding reserve, diverse income streams and has confidence in its financial practices, organisational policies and risk management.

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

WEL has a high staff retention rate with staff members feeling valued and happy with their working conditions.
WEL attracts and retains skilled Trustees, who feel valued by the network.

Statement of Public Benefit

The Trustees of Wales Environment Link continue to pay due regard to Charity Commission guidance on public benefit in relation to our activities, thus complying with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011.

All of the objectives of the charity were devised to contribute to the overall purpose of safeguarding and improving the environment, countryside, heritage, habitats, wildlife and biodiversity of Wales. The act of safeguarding and improving these precious resources is intrinsically for the good of the people of Wales, visitors to Wales and also to global citizens. The Welsh environment and the natural and cultural resources it provides play a significant part in supporting peoples' health and well-being in a multitude of ways, from contributing to good mental and physical health, to reducing the impacts of climate change and helping people to adapt to its effects. WEL advocates for a prosperous, low carbon society which supports the sorts of jobs Wales needs for a just transition.

WEL provides a coordinating service for the environmental and heritage voluntary sector in Wales, increasing the sector’s efficiency so that scarce resources are used to greatest effect. The WEL website provides information about WEL's members and its work, including links to all member organisations' websites with their wide range of information available for the public relating to wildlife and countryside issues, including: recreation, health, sustainable development, education and biodiversity. WEL also promotes the work of its members using social media. WEL staff provide support to all member organisations and thus their members, helping to ensure their own objectives are also met, with wide-reaching public benefit.

Review of developments, activities and achievements over the past year

WEL staff supported 7 working groups this year. The groups were, Advocacy, Biodiversity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Land Use, National Park, Marine and Species Champions. Group key activities for the year are reported under the KPIs below. WEL members also coordinated two sub-groups: the Woodlands and Hedges Sub-Group and the Water Sub-Group.

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

All WEL and Environment Links UK consultation responses, position statements and briefings are available on the WEL website: www.waleslink.org.

Objective 1: A cohesive voice for the environment

WEL remains the first point of contact for environmental NGOs when Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), or other public or private bodies seek representation from a wide range of environmental NGOs in policy discussions and decision-making processes. In 2024 - 2025, WEL members represented the network on 20 stakeholder groups that were convened by the Welsh Government, NRW, third sector or private sector bodies. A full list of all stakeholder groups is included in Annex 1.

WEL regularly provides written and oral evidence to Senedd Committees on a range of environmental subjects. This year, WEL has provided written and oral evidence to inquiries on halting and reversing the loss of nature, the Welsh Government budget for 2025/26, (informing the Finance Committee’s expectations) and on Sustainable Investment Principles.

We continue to provide secretariat for the Senedd’s Cross Party Group on Biodiversity, giving a united front for the eNGO sector and making vital links with Senedd work on biodiversity. WEL members help decide themes, based on Senedd topical issues, upcoming legislation and Welsh Government developments. We also involve non-WEL members for events (such as the Royal Welsh Show or Senedd drop-in events) to increase our reach and collaboration.

Advocacy Working Group

The Advocacy Group arranged an online Cross Party Group meeting in April 2024, aligned with the last few weeks of consultation on the Environmental Governance Bill White Paper. WEL members, alongside Green Alliance colleagues, gave an overview of the proposals and gave a ‘compare and contrast’ with England’s, particularly the Office of Environmental Protection, with Q&A with MSs.

WEL arranged media training with an independent consultant in June, helping members who wanted to take up more commentary opportunities to prepare for media engagements.

Throughout the year, WEL staff consulted experts from each of the Working Groups to design the ‘Nature Rich / Nature Poor’ Graphics. These were finalised

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

in March 2025, ready for using in the WEL Manifesto, and to help guide future conversations with MSs on what a ‘nature positive Wales’ could look like. The graphics give an illustrative guide to the diverse policy issues our papers focus on.

After a First Minister contest resulted in only one candidate, we did not contact candidates in the same way as the previous year’s contest, but instead wrote a letter to Eluned Morgan, setting out environmental priorities.

We continued to coordinate WEL input into Natur Cymru’s regular policy section, and guest blogs to explain topics in an accessible way in more detail on our website, such as on the North East Wales National Park proposal and changes to the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

Over-arching across Working Groups, we also fed into both consultations on the Welsh Government budget for 2025/26, (informing the Finance Committee’s expectations) and on Sustainable Investment Principles.

Land Use Working Group

Due to the nature of the internal design of the Sustainable Farming Scheme during this reporting period, much of WEL’s input went direct to Welsh Government and was not made public. However, WEL members’ views were valued and promoted at the SFS Ministerial Roundtable, Officials Group and Carbon Panel, via WEL reps. We also submitted papers on the Code for Habitats (to guide farmers on the rule in the Universal Layer to manage 10% of their land for habitat); gave our views on the Carbon Panel’s report and assessments of the likely effectiveness of the carbon sequestration actions outlined in it; and a new trees and hedgerows target. WEL members also provided ad hoc responses to many other specific requests for information from Welsh Government during the year. WEL provided public comment on changes to tree planting targets, via a press release and public blog, and a couple of our members took up press opportunities to express these views.

In early 2025, we put together our views in a letter on our expectations of the Scheme and the Minister’s office invited us to have monthly meetings with him over the summer, starting in March 2025, which helped significantly in communicating our views directly.

In this year, the Land Use Group created two subgroups on Woodland and Water, to give more space for expert discussion whilst our meetings were

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

dominated by information sharing and input into the Sustainable Farming Scheme, with the Water Sub-group able then to give particular attention to agricultural pollution, feeding in evidence to the Independent Review of the regulations by Dr Susannah Bolton . WEL’s evidence on this was very well received by Dr Bolton and by Welsh Government officials and we felt that this positively influenced the recommendations that resulted from the review. The Woodland Subgroup put together a paper on Woodland Opportunities for Natural Colonization and Regeneration, to help civil servants redesign their tree planting grants and processes.

Biodiversity Working Group

In May 2024 WEL’s Biodiversity Working Group responded to the Welsh Government’s White Paper on Environmental Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets.

During the autumn/winter of 2024, the group prioritised work on the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill. This was an intense programme of work which included submissions regarding several Welsh Government amendments to the draft White Paper. WEL was procured to assist in gathering evidence for Welsh Government from WEL members on possible options for the framework to develop biodiversity targets, prioritising the GBF targets for use in Wales, and on action and outcome targets.

During this time, WEL, RSPB Cymru, and WWF Cymru were also making monthly submissions to the Environmental Principles and Governance Stakeholder Group, which was providing insight as to the drafting of Part 1 and 2 of the Environment Bill. WEL made two written submissions to the stakeholder group.

Over the course of January, February, and March of 2025, WEL had several meetings with the Welsh Government to discuss the framing of Part 3 of the Bill. These sessions were valuable in informing our thinking, enabling WEL to provide useful suggestions to strengthen the legislation.

In March, WEL was commissioned by the Welsh Government to provide evidence regarding the 6 priority biodiversity target areas. This work followed on from our submissions in the winter of 2024, where we prioritised the GBF biodiversity targets and discussed action and outcome targets. Over the following two months, WEL developed nine policy papers discussing five target areas, providing perspectives regarding the draft form and language of the target, which indicators could measure progress towards the target, and which

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

actions or short-term goals could contribute towards achieving the target. These were completed in May 2025.

In March, members of the Biodiversity and Marine Working Groups also began meeting with colleagues from ELUK to discuss the development of a UK wide report reflecting on progress towards the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework target to protect 30% of land and sea across the UK by 2030 (known as 30by30). This work was to be published during the next financial year.

In addition to our work on the Bill, in August 2024, WEL’s Biodiversity Working Group also provided evidence to the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee’s inquiry into Halting and Reversing the Loss of Nature.

The group also commissioned economist Matt Rayment to update the costs in WEL’s Pathways to 2030 report in September 2024, keeping in line with inflation and new land management estimates.

In October 2024, WEL drafted an open letter on COP 16 in October 2024, calling on the Welsh Government to “make peace with nature” and deliver on its Global Biodiversity Framework targets. Finally, in March 2025 WEL joined its sister Links in writing to the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Climate Change and Rural Affairs calling for an end to commercial peat sales ELUK Letter on peatland restoration (sent in March, posted on website 1[st] April).

Marine Working Group

The Marine Group did not meet during most of 2024 – February 2025, due to limited capacity amongst members of the group. However, following the appointment of new staff by WEL members, the group met again for the first time in February 2025, and the group is considering its work programme. During the period when the group didn’t meet, marine members were invited to join meetings of the Biodiversity Working Group and to input to the work on the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill.

National Park Task & Finish Group

This group continued, primarily on an information sharing basis, liaising between WEL members and the Natural Resources Wales team that is leading on the national park. In December 2024 we submitted a network response to the NRW consultation on the National Park’s proposed boundary area, focusing on

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

opportunities for nature. Individual members gave direct input to the NRW team putting together the Benefits to Nature report.

Species Champions Project

With the project and staff at capacity, it has been difficult to initiate any new Species Champion work this year. We did recruit a new Kingfisher Champion, Sarah Murphy MS, and switched two existing Champions to different at-risk species with time specific needs. Hannah Blythyn was switched from Arctic Tern to Little Tern, and Joyce Watson from Bottlenose Dolphin to Beaver, recruiting Wildlife Trust’s Welsh Beaver Project staff to assist in this, which has led to some great advocacy efforts.

Members have been liaising with the Natur am Byth project, with several Champions taken out to see those projects in partnership with NRW, and we sent out a new newsletter in autumn 2024. We decided to do more on speciesrelated policy issues, as well as reporting back on visits, so included articles on Bat Conservation Trust’s General Election manifesto asks for bats, risks to salmon and reintroduction of a plant species (again, as part of Natur am Byth).

MSs have continued to mention their species regularly in the Senedd, with the Minister himself repeatedly mentioning his ‘conflict of interest’ (in jest) in being the Salmon Champion, which ends up giving more focus to pollution’s impact on river wildlife.

With our group’s agreement, we have also engaged with NRW’s idea to create a form of ‘Nature Advocate’, inspired by our project, as part of Natur am Byth, and WEL staff have continued to share information with the parallel projects in England and Scotland. We also ensured that all previous newsletters are now available on our website.

Objective 2: Building trust, expertise and capacity

WEL’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group, met 3 times between April 2024 and March 2025. WEL EDI meetings are a space for organisations to share information about Welsh projects and work practices.

In January 2025 WEL provided in-depth Chairing and inclusive facilitation training for our Working Group Chairs. This was designed for experienced Chairs to give them further tools for building consensus within their Working Groups and ensuring that WEL meetings are as inclusive as possible. Chairs enjoyed the

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

day and found the content useful in building their chairing skills.

WEL continues to be a valued Environment Links UK (ELUK) partner with regular contact between the ELUK Directors, sharing information and expertise on Link governance and ideas for joint working and funding. WEL continues to work with ELUK on joint reports on wildlife crime and access to justice in the UK, as well as liaising on equality, diversity and inclusion.

WEL is also part of the Climate Cymru coalition and maintains links with Green Alliance, specifically working with them during this financial year to influence the development of the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill.

Objective 3: Supporting our members

WEL’s Director has continued to participate in the Enabling the Environment Sector stakeholder group, which also includes several WEL members and NRW staff (Chair and secretariat), Welsh Government officials and funders. This group has been considering its future format to better focus on bringing more funding opportunities to Wales.

WEL members regularly tell us how much they appreciate the weekly Newsdirect monitoring service, which provides a wealth of information on Government and Senedd developments, and upcoming Government consultations and Senedd inquiries. WEL's egroups continue to be very active and members also use Basecamp to share information directly with other members. We have also continued to provide advice on member events and advocacy with Welsh Government and the Senedd, particularly assisting members that have less advocacy capacity.

2024-25 was the third year of a four-year grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the second year of a two-year grant from The Waterloo Foundation which came to close at the end of October 2024, both hugely welcome. We also received funding via our two-year resilience grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which has allowed us to work on our financial resilience, internal governance and progress our Diversity Action Plan. We were grateful for the funding from WWF Cymru for developing the Pathways to 2030 Report and working on our nature rich/nature poor graphics for future use in WEL policy and the WEL Manifesto. We continued with the Welsh Government procurement of WEL’s services to engage the sector on work relating to the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill and

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Biodiversity Deep Dive. Our role was to provide evidence and expert advice on these issues from the sector. We also continued to receive funding from WCVA for our participation in the Third Sector Partnership Council, representing the environmental third sector.

RSPB Cymru donated funds to the network towards design services for WEL’s work on the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill.

Whilst WEL has improved its financial position during 2024-25 and we are in a stable position for the coming financial year, funding remains difficult to find across the sector and WEL is ineligible for many of the funding pots that are available in Wales. It is therefore essential that WEL grows and diversifies its funding. This year we were mid-way though the graduated approach we are taking towards increasing our income from WEL membership fees - working towards full implementation of our new, fairer subscription system for members. We are looking ahead to financial year 2026-27 when we will need to have secured further, substantial long-term funding sources if we are to be able to continue to support our members effectively.

Objective 4: A strong public profile

WEL continues to facilitate healthy relationships with journalists, providing opportunities for WEL members to comment on important areas of work, such as the Sustainable Farming Scheme, using WEL-agreed top lines supplemented with more detail from member organisations.

We secured some good ITV Wales coverage on our update of the Pathways to 2030 report in September, which was the crux of a nature-specific broadcast.

WEL staff also facilitated a new ‘Environment Connect’ initiative with the Seren Dwt charity, utilising the connections in the network, which was highlighted in a story about Brynau Farm on Nation Cymru. We have also provided training for members and staff on media interviews, so we can have a reliable body of experts ready and confident to give comment on issues as they arise.

WEL has delivered several public facing pieces of work regarding the Environment Bill, including a Cross-Party Group session on the 28[th] of March 2025 which was streamed on YouTube.

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Objective 5: A viable network

Council meetings were held in May and November 2024. Our May meeting was held online and included a discussion on a proposed change to WEL member eligibility for local organisations. We had a new member presentation from Tir Natur as well as presentation on the Wales Anti-Racist Action Plan: Environment Sector from Welsh Government and a presentation on ‘Supporting Great Ideas’ from The Community Fund.

In November we held a hybrid meeting which included a discussion session on the Future Generations Report 2025 led by Helen Nelson of the Future Generations Office. We then had a facilitated workshop (led by Co-Production Wales) to look at WEL’s next Strategic Plan.

Most members are now very used to online or hybrid meetings. Working group attendance from across Wales has continued to be good because of travel-free ways to engage with WEL’s work. Our Basecamp service is valued as a way of sharing information and initiating informal discussions directly between members. Our egroup service is used for staff to distribute information, with discussion mainly taking place on Basecamp. This year we have started to see an increase in the desire for face-to-face meetings where people have a greater opportunity to build relationships, though challenges remain in relation to travel, particularly where member organisations’ staff members cover four countries and may not necessarily live in Wales. WEL will continue to find ways to support staff to build relationships across the network.

WEL reserves are healthy at present and our operation has been aided by an increase in our staff capacity back up to 3.3 FTE with the recruitment of a new Policy Officer during the year.

Trustees look at projected finances at every meeting to identify and manage any risks to the organisation. WEL also maintains a Risk Register which is considered and updated regularly at Management Committee meetings.

Our three long-term members of staff have been in post for several years, demonstrating the network's appeal in providing interesting work and good working conditions despite financial pressures. Our flexible working policies, rewarding length of service with additional annual leave days, and encouraging input and ideas from all our staff, continue to make WEL a desirable place to work. Staff stay in regular contact through phone and videoconferencing, and staff also have the option to use our membership of a co-working space in

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Cardiff, which provides a pleasant shared modern space for meetings and opportunity to work alongside colleagues at key times. We understand the importance of keeping this use of office space and homeworking under review to balance the advantages of flexible working with the need to provide support and contact to staff.

Management Committee meetings were held on September 4[th] and November 11[th] 2024 and on February 11[th] 2025.

It is important that WEL further improves diversity on our Management Committee. Work has been taking place during the year on a revised recruitment procedure and we aim to have more diversity amongst our Trustees as a result of recruitment in the coming financial year.

The members of WEL in the network at the end of March 2025 are as follows:

Full Members (28)

Afonydd Cymru Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) Trust Bat Conservation Trust British Mountaineering Council British Ecological Society Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust Bumblebee Conservation Trust Butterfly Conservation Wales Campaign for National Parks Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Coed Lleol / Small Woods Coed Cadw / Woodland Trust Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales Freshwater Habitats Trust Keep Wales Tidy Llais y Goedwig Marine Conservation Society National Trust / Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol Open Spaces Society Plantlife Ramblers Cymru Rewilding Britain RSPB Cymru Soil Association

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Tir Natur

WildFish Wildlife Trusts Wales WWF Cymru

Associate Members* (3)

Elan Valley Trust Snowdonia Society / Cymdeithas Eryri YHA

Please note Associate membership is a historic category and is no longer open to new members

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Staffing

We have a small team of four members of staff in WEL. Karen Whitfield is the Director, Susan Evans is Business Manager, Liz Smith is Advocacy and Policy Lead and Tessa Marshall was recruited in August 2024 to the position of Policy Officer.

WEL involvement in the Third Sector Partnership Scheme

The Government of Wales Act placed a statutory duty on the newly devolved government to publish a Scheme setting out how it will promote the interests of the third sector.

The Third Sector Scheme is a statement of the Welsh Government’s intent in their relationship with the Third Sector. It identifies three areas of interest – stronger communities, better policy and better public services – as well as formal arrangements for engagement. It was adopted and published in September 2000. The Senedd has a statutory duty to set out the scheme to demonstrate how it would promote the interests of the voluntary sector.

The Third Sector Partnership Council (TSPC) is chaired by is chaired by the Minister responsible for the Third Sector Scheme, and is made up of representatives of third sector networks working across 25 areas of third sector activity along with the CEO of WCVA. Each of the 25 categories is represented by a third sector network, which is nominated or elected to their role by the organisations within the specific area of interest. Wales Environment Link is nominated to represent the environment sector.

The main purpose of the Third Sector Partnership Council is to make sure that the principles set out in the Third Sector Scheme are put into practice. It also provides an opportunity for the sector to raise issues of interest or concern. It generally does not discuss issues that relate to only one area of interest (these can be taken up through biannual ministerial meetings) and as a national body it is concerned with issues affecting all of Wales.

As well as being represented on the TSPC, WEL has representatives on the Ministerial meeting groups organised by the WCVA, which run under the auspices of the Scheme. WEL acts as the voice of the environment at these meetings.

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Support in kind for Wales Environment Link

All members of WEL make a significant and direct contribution of time, skills and resources to the activities of the network: that collaboration is critical to the development of a collective voice. Members’ time is critical to the functioning of the network. Staff from different organisations working together and sharing information greatly benefits the environment sector as a whole. The Trustees wish to acknowledge this contribution and thank the members for their continued support. Staff and volunteers of member organisations gave 5,709 hours of their time to aid the activities of the network during 2024 – 2025, as disclosed in note 9 to the accounts. The time and benefits in kind provided by members during 2024 – 2025 in furtherance of WEL’s work has been valued at £285,880.

Financial review of the year

The statement of financial activities shows that the total funds carried forward from 2024/25 to 2025/26 are £ 339,846. The Trustees consider this to be an appropriate amount to carry forward at this stage, given the uncertainty around future grant funding, looking ahead to year 2026/27 onwards, as well as the desirability of setting our staff complement norm at 4 FTE.

We are heading into the second year of our new subscription fee system, designed to improve WEL’s income from this vital and relatively stable source. The new system is fairer for members overall, given that subscription costs are now more closely aligned with each members’ individual annual income figure than previously. The full level of increase is coming into play over a transition period of 3 to 4 financial years.

WEL will be in a reasonable financial position for the next financial year. However, we need to continue to seek income from new sources to safeguard the future functioning of the organisation.

Funders of Wales Environment Link

The Trustees of WEL would like to thank all of our funders for their support.

We received the third payment of our current four-year funding agreement with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. We greatly appreciate the security and peace of mind that comes with having a longer grant commitment period.

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

We completed our two-year Waterloo Foundation grant period with funding very helpfully given towards WEL's work on post-Brexit environmental governance, agriculture, marine and biodiversity work.

We are grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for 2-year grant funds towards our work on ‘Developing a resilient and sustainable network’.

We appreciated grant funding received from WWF Cymru during the year which was used to develop the Pathways to 2030 Report and working on graphics for future use in WEL policy and the WEL Manifesto

RSPB kindly gave a donation towards having design work done for the network’s work on Nature Targets and the Environmental Governance Bill.

WCVA continued to provide funding through the Partnership Capacity Building Fund to assist WEL's participation in the Third Sector Partnership Council.

As always, a vital part of WEL's core funding came from the WEL members themselves, in the form of their subscription fees.

Procurement

WEL appreciated the opportunity to provide a procured service for Welsh Government this financial year, we were contracted to ensure effective engagement of the environment sector in the development of the Biodiversity Targets Bill.

Reserves and risk policy

WEL Trustees reviewed the organisation’s reserves policy during autumn 2024 in the context of the 2023 restructuring of the staff team, the continuing challenges of our funding context, and our budget projection to spring 2029.

The revised subscriptions structure adopted in late 2023 set the organisation on a path to our goal of raising 40% of annual income through subscriptions, as the single most reliable source of support for a membership network. WEL will continue to invest staff time in fundraising from a range of external sources for the balance of funding required to deliver network aims, and the post of Business Manager created in the restructure is key to this aspect of our work.

The figure which Trustees consider to be appropriate and reasonable for the

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

organisation to hold in reserve is between 12 to 18 months’ worth of running costs which equates to approximately £234,000 - £350,000 based on our current level of staffing.

The Trustees’ position on necessary reserves takes account of the uncertainty of future Welsh Government funding for the sector, the climate of restricted public spending combined with increased competition for charitable sources and the paucity of multi-year trust funding specifically targeting Welsh organisations. It also draws on WEL’s previous experience of losing multi-year support at short notice, consequently having to reduce its small staff and running costs by more than 50% and thus facing a major reduction in its ability to support the network of members and their work. This is a risk which Trustees have agreed should not be taken, given WEL’s significant contribution in Wales. Closure of WEL at that time was avoided only through reliance on a good reserve.

Trustees and Members recognise that a core staff of 4FTE will be important to serve the needs of WEL and that WEL may need to invest some reserves towards that goal in the coming years. We continue to maintain a 5-year forecast budget (including current year) and to monitor the 6-month reserve figure (see below) to manage challenges and track WEL’s actual funding need.

With the above factors in mind, Trustees aim to retain reserves at a level which ensures a modest degree of sustainability in a challenging and changing financial context.

Guidelines for monitoring critical levels of reserves describe how much capital is required to enable the charity to continue operating under extraordinary circumstances for 6 months, 3 months and 1 month. As employee commitments (including redundancy rights) change, the operating reserves statements are amended.

Going into financial year April 2025 – 2026, the critical reserve requirements are as follows. To operate for:

6 months: WEL would need to have £117,000 held in reserve.
3 months and to close the charity: WEL would need to have £90,000 held in reserve.
1 month and to close the charity: WEL would need to have £51,000 held in reserve.

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

These figures are used by the Trustees to assess any potential risk arising to the charity over time. If funds were to fall below the 6 months operations figure, the Trustees would assess whether there would be a need to take additional steps to curtail expenditure and obtain income, or whether it could be reasonably assumed that anticipated income would address any potential short-term cash flow issues.

The total funds carried forward at 31 March 2025 are £339,846. The Trustees consider this to be an appropriate figure to carry forward in the current circumstances, particularly considering the uncertainty hanging over future grant funding opportunities.

Future developments and risk assessment

A WEL Risk Register is maintained, monitored and updated regularly during the year.

Funding availability and capacity remains a very serious concern throughout the sector, with sources of core funding becoming even more increasingly rare. Unrestricted funding for the sector is vital, both to allow us to retain members, and for us to maintain long-term capacity and key policy staff at a level appropriate to demand. WEL will continue with plans to increase its membership base, identify any new sources of funding, and raise a greater percentage of its income from membership subscriptions.

Trustees continue to acknowledge the difficulties some of our members are experiencing in terms of financing their own organisations whilst working within the network. In addition to funding concerns, capacity within the sector is being stretched to the maximum. This should concern the Welsh Government and Senedd Members, as a robust environmental third sector is essential to provide good evidence and effective scrutiny for the development of environmental policy and legislation.

Despite operating with a minimal staffing level of just 3.3 FTE, WEL has much to celebrate again this year due to the dedication and hard work of our staff, Trustees and members. We look forward to facing the challenges of the coming year together within our active, productive and trusted network.

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Approved by order of the board of Trustees on 7[th] November 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

Roger Thomas (Chair)

Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru / Wales Environment Link Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Annex 1

WEL members were represented on the following stakeholder groups as at 31st March 2025:

Biodiversity Deep Dive Landscape Group
Budget Improvement and Impact Advisory Group (BIIAG)
Drought Liaison Group
Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water Independent Environmental Advisory Panel
Enabling the Environment Sector Group
National Access Forum for Wales
Nature Recovery Action Plan Implementation Group
NRW/WEL Biodiversity and Ecosystem Resilience Forum
Third Sector Partnership Council
Wales Coast and Seas Partnership
Wales Marine Planning Stakeholder Reference Group
Wales Land Management Forum
Wales Water Management Forum
Wales Sustainable Farming Scheme Stakeholder Policy Group
Ministerial Roundtable on the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS)
SFS Carbon Panel
Well-being of Future Generations Stakeholder Forum
WCVA Cabinet Secretary meetings:
Climate Change
Economy
Finance and Local Government

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF CYSWLLT AMGYLCHEDD CYMRU/WALES ENVIRONMENT LINK

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of Cyswllt Amgylchedd Cymru/ Wales Environment Link (the Trust) for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under Section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

Since your charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a listed body. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by Section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Henry Lloyd Davies

Bevan Buckland LLP Ground Floor Cardigan House Castle Court Swansea Enterprise Park Swansea SA7 9LA

Date: 7[th] November 2025

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

				2025	2024
		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
		funds	funds	funds	funds
	Notes	£	£	£	£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies	2	700	3,900	4,600	995
Charitable activities	4
Charitable activities		126,721	124,641	251,362	164,940
Investment income	3	5,938	-	5,938	4,769
Total		133,359	128,541	261,900	170,704
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds		3,708	-	3,708	2,901
Charitable activities	5
Charitable activities		64,526	130,091	194,617	152,331
Total		68,234	130,091	198,325	155,232
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)		65,125	(1,550)	63,575	15,472
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward		274,721	1,550	276,271	260,799
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		339,846	-	339,846	276,271

BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2025

				2025	2024
		Unrestricted Restricted	Unrestricted Restricted	Total	Total
		funds	funds	funds	funds
	Notes	£	£	£	£
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets	10	2,098	-	2,098	3,148
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors	11	4,894	48,195	53,089	4,842
Cash at bank		350,174	(48,195)	301,979	278,514
		355,068	-	355,068	283,356
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year	Amounts falling due within one year 12	(17,320)	-	(17,320)	(10,233)
NET CURRENT ASSETS		337,748	-	337,748	273,123
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES		339,846	-	339,846	276,271
NET ASSETS		339,846	-	339,846	276,271
FUNDS	13
Unrestricted funds				339,846	274,721
Restricted funds				-	1,550
TOTAL FUNDS				339,846	276,271

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 7[th] November and were signed on its behalf by:

J M Anderson (Treasurer) - Trustee

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparation and assessment of going concern

The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with 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' and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

Financial reporting standard 102 - reduced disclosure exemptions

The charity has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemption in preparing these financial statements, as permitted by FRS 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland':

the requirements of Section 7 Statement of Cash Flows.

Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of policies and reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis of making the judgments about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results in the future may differ from these estimates.

Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised and in any future periods affected.

Estimation Uncertainty

The charity makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results.

Management consider there to be no estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.

Income

All incoming resources are included on the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Subscription income is recognised when paid. When a payment is made for an extended period it is credited evenly over the period to the SOFA.

Donations and similar incoming resources represent monies received by the charity from charitable donations and gifts. These are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities upon receipt.

Grant income is accounted for on an accruals basis and is shown in the financial statements when the Charity earns the unconditional right to the funds. Grants received for a specific purpose are treated as restricted funds. Revenue grants are credited directly to the Statement of Financial Activities and Capital grants are released over the life of the asset in line with the depreciation policy.

Interest Receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

The cost of generating funds comprises those costs associated with attracting grant income. Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the Charity in the delivery of its activities, both costs directly attributable and indirect support costs. Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting constitutional and statutory requirements of the Charity.

All costs allocated between expenditure categories are on a basis designed to reflect their

resource usage. For some costs this means direct allocation to activities, other costs are apportioned, e.g. by staff time spent on the activity, or another equitable usage measure.

Joint delivery costs are recognised in the period which they are awarded to the extent that they have been expended in accordance with the funding terms and conditions.

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the charities programmes and activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities.

Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Fixtures and fittings - 25% on cost Computer equipment - 25% on cost

Tangible fixed assets are included at cost less depreciation and impairment. Indication of impairment is reviewed annually and an impairment review is undertaken where there is an indication of impairment.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds 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.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charity operates a defined benefit pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charity's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate. There is no past service deficit liability at the year end.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments held within a deposit or similar account.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any discounts due.

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions 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 and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any discounts due.

Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

Donations RSPB Wildlife Trusts Wales SEL contribution to EDI film NIEL contribution to EDI film WCL contribution to EDI film Shared voice interview WWF Cymru Total 3. INVESTMENT INCOME Bank Interest Receivable	2025 £ 4,600 2025 £ 600 100 - - - - 3,900 4,600 2025 £ 5,938	2024 £ 995 2024 £ 195 - 250 250 250 50 - 995 2024 £ 4,769

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES	INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
		2025	2024
	Activity	£	£
Partnership Capacity
Building Fund (PCBF)	Charitable activities	3,934	3,501
Subscriptions - Full and
Associate	Charitable activities	66,037	51,487
Contract Delivery	Charitable activities	67,519	-
Income
Grants	Charitable activities	113,872	109,952
		251,362	164,940
Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:
		2025	2024
		£	£
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation		55,000	55,000
Waterloo Foundation		-	40,000
Welsh Government grant, administered by National Lottery		58,872	14,952
Heritage Fund
		113,872	109,952

5. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS
	Direct	Support
	Costs	costs	Totals
	£	£	£
Charitable activities	175,225	19,392	194,617

6. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

7. STAFF COSTS

Wages and salaries Social security costs Other pension costs	2025 £ 140,613 9,648 11,100 161,361	2024 £ 109,999 6,380 8,725 125,104

The trustees consider the board and senior management team to comprise the charity’s key management personnel.

The total remuneration paid to key management personnel during the year was £65,438, which includes: Salary, Employer pension contributions and Employer National Insurance contributions

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

	2025	2024
Charitable activities	4	3

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES	COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
	funds	funds	funds
	£	£	£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies	995	-	995
Charitable activities
Charitable activities	164,940	-	164,940
Investment income	4,769	-	4,769
Total	170,704	-	170,704
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds	2,901	-	2,901
Charitable activities
Charitable activities	149,528	2,803	152,331
Total	152,429	2,803	155,232
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)	18,275	(2,803)	15,472
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward	256,446	4,353	260,799
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD	274,721	1,550	276,271

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

9. BENEFITS IN KIND

The value of services donated by members in the pursuit of co-operative activities during the year and not included in the Statement of Financial Activities is as follows:

Time and Travel contributed to working groups and meetings Time and Travel contributed to the management of the charity	2025 £ 272,505 13,375 285,880	2024 £ 213,550 22,175 235,275

The value of members' staff and volunteer time contributed to the network in 2024-2025 has been calculated using National Lottery Heritage Fund volunteer rate guideline figures.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

10. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

10.	TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
		Fixtures
			and		Computer
		fittings			equipment	Totals
		Totals
			£		£	£
	COST
	At 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025	10,305			7,037	17,342
	DEPRECIATION
	At 1 April 2024	10,305			3,889	14,194
	Charge for year			-	1,050	1,050
	At 31 March 2025	10,305			4,939	15,244
	NET BOOK VALUE
	At 31 March 2025			-	2,098	2,098
	At 31 March 2024			-	3,148	3,148
11.	DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
					2025	2024
					£	£
	Trade debtors				48,195	-
	Prepayments and accrued income				4,894	4,842
					53,089	4,842
12.	CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
					2025	2024
					£	£
	Social security and other taxes				4,024	-
	Accruals and deferred income				13,296	10,233
					17,320	10,233

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
			Net
			movement	At
	At 1.4.24		in funds	31.3.25
		£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General fund	274,721		65,125	339,846
Restricted funds
WWF Cymru Pathways to 2030		950	(950)	-
WWF Cymru Agriculture Bill Campaign		600	(600)	-
		1,550	(1,550)	-
TOTAL FUNDS	276,271		63,575	339,846

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

	Incoming	Resources	Movement	Movement
	resources	expended	in funds
	£	£		£
Unrestricted funds
General fund	133,359	(68,234)		65,125
Restricted funds
National Lottery Heritage Fund	58,872	(58,872)		-
WWF Cymru Pathways to 2030	3,900	(4,850)		(950)
WWF Cymru Agriculture Bill Campaign	-	(600)		(600)
Welsh Government procurement contract	65,769	(65,769)		-
	128,541	(130,091)		(1,550)
TOTAL FUNDS	261,900	(198,325)		63,575
Comparatives for movement in funds
		Net
		movement		At
	At 1.4.23	in funds		31.3.24
	£	£		£
Unrestricted funds
General fund	256,446	18,275	274,721
Restricted funds
WWF Cymru Pathways to 2030	3,753	(2,803)		950
WWF Cymru Agriculture Bill Campaign	600	-		600
	4,353	(2,803)		1,550
TOTAL FUNDS	260,799	15,472	276,271

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

	Incoming	Resources	Movement
	resources	expended	in funds
	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General fund	170,704	(152,429)	18,275
Restricted funds
WWF Cymru Pathways to 2030	-	(2,803)	(2,803)
TOTAL FUNDS	170,704	(155,232)	15,472

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows:

		Net
		movement	At
	At 1.4.23	in funds	31.3.25
	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General fund	256,446	83,400	339,846
Restricted funds
WWF Cymru Pathways to 2030	3,753	(3,753)	-
WWF Cymru Agriculture Bill Campaign	600	(600)	-
	4,353	(4,353)	-
TOTAL FUNDS	260,799	79,047	339,846

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

included in the above are as follows:
	Incoming	Resources	Movement
	resources	expended	in funds
	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General fund	304,063	(220,663)	83,400
Restricted funds
National Lottery Heritage Fund	58,872	(58,872)	-
WWF Cymru Pathways to 2030	3,900	(7,653)	(3,753)
WWF Cymru Agriculture Bill Campaign	-	(600)	(600)
Welsh Government procurement contract	65,769	(65,769)	-
	128,541	(132,894)	(4,353)
TOTAL FUNDS	432,604	(353,557)	79,047

Purpose of Restricted Funds

National Lottery Heritage Fund - grant towards work on ‘Developing a resilient and sustainable network'.

Welsh Government procurement contract - to ensure effective engagement of environment sector in development of Biodiversity Targets Bill

WWF Cymru - donation towards development of Pathways to 2030 Report.

WWF Cymru - donation towards work on graphics for future use in WEL policy and WEL Manifesto.

14. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2025 other than those disclosed in note 6, 7 and 9 of the financial statements.

DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

	2025	2024
	£	£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS
Donations and legacies
Donations	4,600	995
Investment income
Bank Interest Receivable	5,938	4,769
Charitable activities
Partnership Capacity Building Fund (PCBF)	3,934	3,501
Subscriptions - Full and Associate	66,037	51,487
Contract Delivery Income	67,519	-
Grants	113,872	109,952
	251,362	164,940
Total incoming resources	261,900	170,704
EXPENDITURE
Raising donations and legacies
Wages	3,276	2,563
Social security	432	338
	3,708	2,901
Charitable activities
Wages	126,396	96,495
Social security	9,216	6,042
Pensions	11,100	8,725
Sundries	250	70
Working Groups	15,387	15,214
Staff travel and subsistence	590	486
Membership costs	250	32
IT Costs	4,755	3,607
Translation and Publications	574	-

Meetings and AGM	698	566
Links Liaison	69	158
NLHF Project	4,890	1,518
Computer equipment	1,050	1,050
	175,225	133,963
Support costs
Management
Wages	10,941	10,941
Office Costs	20	7
Rent	3,000	3,000
Staff training and recruitment	1,753	673
	15,714	14,621
Management
Governance costs
Insurance	569	391
Accountancy	3,109	3,356
	3,678	3,747
Total resources expended	198,325	155,232
Net income	63,575	15,472