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2021-03-31-accounts

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Registered Company no. 03690881 Registered Charity no. 1074032

Report and Financial Statement for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021

Contents

Page
Officers and Professional Advisers 1
Trustees’ & Directors’ Report 2
Report of the Independent Auditors 11
Statement of Financial Activities 14
Balance Sheet 15
Statement of Cash Flows 16
Notes to the Accounts 17

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Cambridgeshire ACRE Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 OFFICERS AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS

PRESIDENT

The Right Reverend Stephen Conway, Bishop of Ely

VICE PRESIDENTS

Julie Spence OBE CStJ QPM, Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire

TRUSTEES

The Trustees, who are also Directors of the company, who served during the financial year are as follows: Ann Lesley Blair (Chairperson) David Gibbs Brian Wilfred Hayes Michael David Hellowell (Vice-Chairman and Treasurer) Terry Jordan (Vice-Chairman) Hugh Kyle McCurdy Elizabeth Ann Stazicker Robert Turner (Resigned on 15 April 2020) Hazel Williams MBE

COMPANY SECRETARY

Alison Catherine Brown

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Kirsten Jean Bennett

REGISTERED OFFICE

e-Space North, 181 Wisbech Road, Littleport, CB6 1RA

BANKERS

Unity Trust Bank PLC, PO Box 7193, Planetary Road, Willenhall, WV1 9DG

AUDITORS

Chater Allan LLP, 4a Newmarket Road, Cambridge, CB5 8DT

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DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE Annual Report

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

The trustees present their full report for the period ended 31 March 2021 to the Annual General Meeting of the charity held on 29 September 2021. This is also the directors’ report required of a small company by the Companies Act 2006.

Statement of the Trustees’ Responsibilities

Law applicable to incorporated charities in England and Wales requires the trustees who are also directors for the purpose of company law to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of its financial activities during the year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the charity and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the charity has appropriate system of controls, financial and otherwise to provide reasonable assurance that:

The systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss. They include:

Objects of the Charity

Our Vision

Thriving rural communities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Our Mission

To drive positive change and work with others to improve the lives of those that live and work in rural communities.

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Cambridgeshire ACRE Annual Report

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Public Benefit

It is a legal requirement of the Charities Act 2006 that charities must demonstrate they provide a public benefit. The two key principles identified by the Charity Commission to prove public benefit are

The benefits provided by Cambridgeshire ACRE are detailed in the ‘Review of Activities’ section included in this statement. The Review of Activities gives detailed information on the benefits provided as they relate to the three key areas of Cambridgeshire ACRE’s work; Social & Community Action Programmes; Environmental Programmes and Economic Programmes.

The main beneficiaries of Cambridgeshire ACRE’s work are the local communities of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, although on occasion beneficiaries come from beyond this immediate area.

Incorporation

The company is a registered charity incorporated under the Companies Act 1985 in December 1998. The governing document is the Articles of Association as amended on 25 September 2019.

Governance

Cambridgeshire ACRE is controlled by the Board of Trustees which meets at least four times a year. It delegates day-to-day management of the organisation to the Chief Executive. There are currently eight members of the Board.

Trustee Recruitment

Trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), when one third of all trustees retire and may put themselves forward for re-election for a period of three years. Cambridgeshire ACRE regularly reviews the need for new trustees and any areas of expertise that might need strengthening through further recruitment to the Board. The Board collectively considers prospective candidates and either recommends candidates for election at the AGM, or co-opts them until the next AGM, at which time they must retire and seek re-appointment.

Once elected by the AGM or co-opted by the Board, new trustees complete a declaration of eligibility to serve as a charity trustee and their appointment is notified to the Charity Commission. New trustees are sent a copy of the policy and procedure on Conflicts of Interest and asked to complete a declaration of interests which is reviewed each year.

Trustee Induction

New trustees are provided with a training session at which they are given an Induction Pack of key documents, such as Memorandum and Articles of Association, Charity Commission summary of responsibilities of charity trustees, the latest Annual Report and Financial Statement and the Strategy and Business Plan. The Chairperson and Chief Executive meet with a new trustee after 6 months to review how their induction has gone.

Trustee Training

Trustees’ training needs may emerge during the induction process but are more systematically assessed through periodic meetings with the Chairperson and Chief Executive. Identified needs are dealt with immediately where possible, or otherwise included in Cambridgeshire ACRE’s annual training plan alongside the training needs of staff. Trustees are encouraged to attend events run by Cambridgeshire ACRE and other conferences/meetings to develop their awareness of the working context, charity governance and key rural issues.

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Cambridgeshire ACRE Annual Report

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Reserves

The trustees have identified the need to retain a financial reserve as the charity’s income is uncertain and can fluctuate from year to year. Cambridgeshire ACRE aims to hold in reserve no less than three months’ unrestricted gross expenditure to ensure that it can meet its contractual obligations fully. The charity will continue its practice of budgeting prudently and actively seeking funds to finance its activities and maintain the reserve at the approved level. The Board reviews the reserves policy each year and monitors the level of the reserve at its quarterly meetings.

During the year the charity’s general reserve increased from £139,272 to £151,945. After deduction of potential redundancy liabilities, the current level of general reserve provides a buffer of just over three months of unrestricted fund expenditure. This is considered acceptable under the current reserves policy.

The charity has two designated funds which are represented by investments and fixed assets. The purpose of these funds is detailed in note 21 in the financial statements.

Investments

Cambridgeshire ACRE has an investment policy that is reviewed annually by the Board. The charity’s investments consist of cash deposits. The deposit accounts are kept under review to ensure that an adequate rate of interest is being paid on the charity’s deposits. The strategy is to hold funds with a high level of liquidity for ready access when required. The deposits are split between Cambridge & Counties Bank Ltd and United Trust Bank at the balance sheet date.

Pay policy for senior staff

The trustees consider the board of directors, who are the charity’s trustees, and the senior management team comprising the key management personnel of the charity, to be in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the charity on a day to day basis. All trustees give of their time freely and no trustee received remuneration in the year. The pay of the senior staff is set by the trustees, benchmarking against pay levels in other charities of a similar size and type

Risk Management

The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the organisation is exposed, particularly those related to finances and operations, these are documented on a risk register the trustees have put in place, together with a Business Continuity Plan which sets out actions to be taken in the case of serious business interruption. Cambridgeshire ACRE has a formal procedure on risk management and the procedure and risks identified are reviewed continuously by the senior management team and annually by the trustees, they remain satisfied that measures are in place to manage those risks

Review of Activities

The Review of Activities shows the impact and the achievements of our work. The Review covers the full year 2020/21 and the period in the current year (2021/22) to the date of writing (Jul-2021). Throughout this period, Cambridgeshire ACRE’s trustees have been mindful of the impacts of COVID-19, both short-term and longer-term, on the Organisation and on the charity sector more generally. Trustees met with greater frequency at the start of the pandemic to enable increased oversight of the Organisation’s resources including undertaking monthly financial assessments and taking proactive steps to manage the impacts on staff, including moving towards working more flexibly and undertaking risk assessments to ensure compliance with COVID-19 secure guidelines.

Despite the pandemic, Cambridgeshire ACRE has worked alongside communities through a wide range of programmes designed to target specific rural issues or specific community needs. Communities have benefitted from the dedicated support of our skilled and experienced team who are dedicated to helping improve rural life.

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Cambridgeshire ACRE Annual Report FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Social and Community Action Programmes

Cambridgeshire ACRE continued to work through the Support Cambridgeshire partnership, in collaboration with Hunts Forum and Cambridge CVS, to deliver infrastructure services across the County on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council. Cambridgeshire ACRE’s specific responsibilities under this contract relate to supporting those running Community Facilities and developing the Town and Parish Council sector.

Our Community Facilities Advice Service provided 635 cases of support to community buildings across the County in the year 2020/21. This was more than double the caseload for the previous year (309 cases in 2019/20). Keeping charity trustees informed and updated of emerging Government legislation and guidance, particularly around COVID-19, has been a critical aspect of our work over the last year. A key task was informing community buildings of the COVID-19-specific financial support available via local authorities. This financial support has been critical to ensuring the longer-term sustainability of this vital network of community hubs and we spent considerable time lobbying the local authorities to ensure community buildings were deemed eligible for this crucial support.

Trustees have responded well to attending our regular networking meetings online, where the topics covered have centred on COVID-related issues and recovery. These sessions have been complemented by regular blog and social media updates and e-newsletters. As guidance and legislative changes have occurred frequently, and at quite short notice, keeping everyone informed in a timely manner has been vital during these last few months.

As result of the additional work created through COVID-19, we applied to the Cambridgeshire Coronavirus Recovery Fund for additional funds to support community buildings as they emerge from lockdown. A sum of £13k was awarded and this is supporting a short-term project from April 2021 – March 2022 helping community buildings address reopening issues and supporting them to re-engage their communities as they resume normal community life following the pandemic.

Through our Town and Parish Council work we have continued to facilitate the delivery of the Cambridgeshire Local Council Development Plan 2017 – 2021. The key achievement over the past 12 months was the successful delivery of the Annual Local Councils Conference in October 2020 themed around supporting COVID-19 efforts and recovery. We used an online conferencing platform to provide a holistic conference experience that delivered as close to a real conference as possible, with an interactive exhibition space, a networking lounge and collaboration spaces for workshops. Workshops included ‘Making our lives better: the future of technology in our communities’; ‘Preparing for Emergencies’; ‘Strengthening your town or parish council’s offer to residents’; ‘Enabling and Supporting Volunteering’; ‘Improving collaborative working between Clerks and Councillors’ and ‘Developing, managing, maintaining and owning community assets’ were successfully delivered and recorded so they could be watched on demand by those not able to attend in person. The event was attended by 371 delegates (the largest ever audience) and achieved very positive feedback from attendees

We played a key role in the Cambridgeshire COVID-19 Community Resilience Group throughout the year. This has involved attending fortnightly online meetings and supporting efforts through collection of local data to ascertain how rural communities were supporting their residents. Key data was collected through a survey of Village Halls and Community Buildings (May 2020) and a survey of Parish Councils (June 2020). Information collected was shared with the ACRE Network and with Defra to help them understand the impacts of COVID-19 locally.

At the end of 2020/21, membership of the Organisation stands at 260 members and the membership services provided have, more than ever, given trustees and local councillors the reassurance and support they have needed (by phone and online) over this difficult year.

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Cambridgeshire ACRE Annual Report

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Social and Community Action Programmes continued…

We kicked off our Arts Council England-funded project to re-establish a rural touring scheme in the Cambridgeshire Fens area in April 2020. Working alongside our partners, Creative Arts East, we began working with community facilities to train them as event promoters. Unfortunately COVID-19 meant we eventually had to place this project on hold for a six month period at the end of September 2020. Work resumed from 1 April 2021 in re-engaging promoters and supporting them to feel confident enough to host live performances (either indoors or outdoors) or event film nights. We see this project as an important way for communities to begin to resume ‘normal’ community life again and we hope to have our first events scheduled for the Autumn.

In October 2020, we started a new project in partnership with PECT and funded through the Energy Savings Trust’s Energy Redress Scheme, the Cambridgeshire Home Energy Support Service. The project aims to support people on low incomes with maintaining a warm home. Our role has been to set up a volunteering scheme for volunteers and frontline workers who identify community members needing support and make referrals to the project. Colleagues at PECT provide help with resources to stay warm and healthy and cutting energy bills. The Cambridgeshire ACRE team then makes payments to energy suppliers to help alleviate existing debt. 58 payments totalling nearly £23k have been made so far (out of a total of £50k to be spent by 30-Sep-2022).

Environmental Programmes

Throughout the year we have continued development of the Biosphere Development project working towards nominating part of the Fens to UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve. Our focus has been on developing networks and partnerships with the 11 Local Authorities we need to support the UNESCO application. An online conference aimed at raising awareness of the Biosphere took place on 13 January 2021 which 174 delegates attended. Works continues on gaining the endorsements required from the Local Planning Authorities as a condition of the nomination.

Following a delay caused by COVID-19, we commenced delivery of a new project, ‘New Life on the Old West’, funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Following successful recruitment of an excellent project team, we are working with communities and landowners to undertake habitat improvement work within the 'Old West' area of the Cambridgeshire Fens to address ongoing decline and increase the resilience of fragile priority habitats and species, as well as delivering activities and creating interpretation to engage local communities. The project’s new website setting out what it hopes to achieve over the coming three years has just been launched and can be found at www.newlifeoldwest.org.uk.

Our Water Environment Grant-funded project ‘Trap the sediment before the water’s pumped: Cleaning up the Old West’ commenced in the Autumn. The project is seeking to address agricultural diffuse pollution and contribute to supporting improvements within the water body Water Framework Directive (WFD) status, by trapping the sediment that runs from the land through the installation of coir rolls along 2.2km of the drain network. So far, 1km of core rolls have been installed (with the remainder due to be installed in Spring 2022) and a landowner training event is planned for September 2021 to demonstrate to other landowners in the area what can be achieved.

We continued to lead the Water Catchment Partnership for the Old Bedford and Middle Level Catchment which aims to achieve better co-ordinated action by those who use water or influence land management as well as to gain great engagement of local people to tackle the significant pressures placed on the water environment. A key success was the submission of a successful funding application to Anglian Water for a project supporting the control of Floating Pennywort (an invasive non-native species) in the Middle Level water system. This project got underway in June 2021 and is being delivered in partnership with the Middle Level Commissioners.

Our Anglian Waterways Volunteering Scheme had to be suspended in June 2020 when the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. As measures to end lockdown were announced, we worked with the Environment Agency to explore ways for volunteering to resume safely. Volunteers were finally able to resume activities at two sites in June 2021 undertaking lock management and providing information to boaters.

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Cambridgeshire ACRE Annual Report

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Economic Programmes

We continued to lead the Cambridgeshire Rural Affordable Housing Partnership of Local Authorities and Registered Providers. The Partnership engages with local councils across the County to address the need for affordable homes in rural parishes. These parties entrust us with undertaking independent Housing Needs Surveys to establish hidden housing need. Seven Housing Needs Surveys were undertaken over the last 12 months (Tilbrook; Pampisford; Somersham; Comberton; Steeple Morden; Fowlmere and Alconbury Weston). There are currently potential rural exception sites identified in 14 parishes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no schemes started on site in 2020/21 but we hope to see schemes start on site during Q2 2021/22.

We continued to deliver a paid-for Neighbourhood Planning Service during 2020/21 with assistance from two associate planning consultants. However, COVID had a considerable impact on Neighbourhood Planning Groups during 2020/21 with most pausing their work. We took this time to review the direction for the service and work is now focused on producing new community support materials, offering more online support options, encouraging new groups to undertake a plan and engaging with existing groups to encourage them to commence neighbourhood planning again.

Cambridgeshire ACRE led and facilitated the set-up of Eastern Community Homes, the new community-led housing hub for the East of England. To date, 18 community-led housing groups have benefited from the hub’s support. Two further Housing Enablers completed the training to become accredited Community Led Housing Advisors. The brand and website continue to be valuable tools to promote important news, events and information. An offer to local authorities was distributed and, to date, 19 local authorities have pledged financial support to underpin the hub’s activities. A launch week was held in March 2021, where six events were held to promote the hub, encourage engagement and inform about the community led housing sector.

We continued to be the accountable body for the Cambridgeshire Fens LEADER programme which fully spent its available funding in the last financial year. Post-payment monitoring activity had to cease during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic but has now recommenced.

Cambridgeshire ACRE also continued its role as Accountable Body for the Wisbech Community Led Local Development (CLLD) programme. Taking a bottom up approach, the £2.1m CLLD programme is delivering a strategy to tackle the broad range of issues that currently present barriers to labour market participation. Grant funding agreements worth £703,080 to 11 projects with an overall value of £1.47m have now been issued. Our target was to reach 1,184 unemployed and inactive participants to move them closer to employment or education/training and projects are already working with 1,881 participants, with 76% of the funding available committed. The grant programme has now been extended until the end of 2022.

In May 2021, the Government issued a prospectus for a UK Community Renewal Fund to support local areas to pilot imaginative new approaches and programmes that unleash their potential, instil pride, and prepare them to take full advantage of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund when it launches in 2022. Managed locally by a ‘call’ from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Cambridgeshire ACRE facilitated a partnership bid for funding modelled on our CLLD / LEADER approach that was submitted in May-21. The outcome of this bid, called ‘Unleashing Fenland’s Potential’ is expected in August 2021.

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Cambridgeshire ACRE Annual Report

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Charity and Governance Activity

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cambridgeshire ACRE adopted a more flexible working policy and all staff moved to working from home. We took a decision not to renew the lease on our office unit at e-space North, Littleport meaning this is now a permanent way of working for the organisation. Once COVID-19 restrictions permitted, we resumed face-to-face staff meetings to re-engender our sense of team spirit and support.

Opportunities to provide consultancy support were fairly limited during 2020/21. St Neots Town Council commissioned us to undertake a review of the operations of the Priory Centre within the town and this was delivered over a five month period to August 2020. The report has been useful to the Town Council in making decisions on the future running of this important community facility for St Neots.

Our contract to support the Girton Town Charity with the running of the William Collyn Community Centre in Girton came to a successful conclusion in September 2020. Although the Centre had to temporarily close its doors due to the pandemic between March 2020 and August 2020, we worked to support the charity to re-open the facility in September, putting in place measures for safe resumption of activities. The staff team employed by Cambridgeshire ACRE to run the facility transferred their employment to the Town Charity, with effect from 1 October 2020, with sufficient capacity having been built for successful management of the facility to continue inhouse.

We continued our participation in Cirican LLP, the Limited Liability Partnership set up by the ACRE Network as a vehicle for undertaking joint consultancy work. Unfortunately, the impact of COVID-19 has meant that no contracts have been forthcoming so far.

We delivered our ACRE Network contract, funded by Defra, which requires us to engage with strategic stakeholders and local partnerships to support community led activity and develop solutions to rural challenges, including: digital infrastructure; digital skills and digital inclusion; rural life opportunities; social infrastructure; rural transport; renewable energy; housing and planning; and business support & social enterprise development. We continue to maintain strong links to Defra’s Rural Policy Unit through the ACRE Network and have fed back to them on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural communities.

Work commenced on developing a new digital marketing strategy for Cambridgeshire ACRE in March 2021. Following a review of current marketing activity, including hearing from staff, trustees and members, a new brand and strategy were delivered. From this, a new website was developed that we hope better conveys the services we are able to offer communities and our partners. Alongside this we have invested in a new customer relationship management and marketing system. This will allow us to better communicate with all our stakeholders and take a more proactive approach to letting people know how we are able to help them and meet their needs.

Financial Review (throughout this section comparable figures for the year 2019/20 are shown in brackets)

For the financial year 2020/21 incoming resources were £904,737 (£812,461). This represents an increase in income of 11.36%.

The end of the year saw a surplus of £12,673 on the Unrestricted fund. Nearly all costs were contained within approved budgets. Total Income exceeded expenditure by £177,033; this is largely attributable to an increase in the level of restricted funds from £133,057 to £297,939. The restricted fund is neutral for Cambridgeshire ACRE as the funds are held on behalf of the funders and are returned if not spent.

Designated and capital funds decreased from £194,917 to £194,395, a decrease of £522. The unrestricted general reserve showed an increase during the year from £139,272 to £151,945; an increase of 9.1%.

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Cambridgeshire ACRE Annual Report

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Plans for Future Periods

The trustees continue to consider how best to apply the organisation’s financial and staff resources, so they best meet the needs of rural communities. It is envisaged that, as well as continuing to deliver current programmes of activity, we will:

Statement as to Disclosure of Information to Auditors

So far as the trustees are aware, there is no relevant audit information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the company's auditors are unaware, and each trustee has taken all the steps that ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of that information.

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Cambridgeshire ACRE Annual Report

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

The Accounts

These accounts follow previous practice of the charity and have been compiled in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102), commonly known by the acronym SORP. The comparative figures have been extracted from the accounts for the year ending 31 March 2020. These were audited by the auditors, Chater Allan LLP of Cambridge, and filed with the Charity Commission. The auditor’s report on those accounts was unqualified. Figures shown in these accounts have been rounded to the nearest whole pound.

----- Start of picture text -----
Chairperson: …………………………………………………………..
Ann Lesley Blair
Company Secretary: ……………………………………………….
Alison Brown
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13 September 2021

Date: …………………………………………………………………

e-Space North, 181 Wisbech Road, Littleport, CB6 1RA

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE ACRE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

We have audited the financial statements of Cambridgeshire ACRE for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, (which also comprises the Summary Income and Expenditure Account), the Balance Sheets, 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 (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis of 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 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 directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate

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

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors 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.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE ACRE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Opinion on other matter prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purpose of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the 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 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

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. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the annual financial statements from our general commercial and charitable company specific experience, through discussion with the Trustees (as required by auditing standards), and from inspection of the charitable company's regulatory correspondence, and we discussed with the Trustees the policies and procedures regarding compliance with laws and regulations. We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our team and remained alert to any indication to non-compliance throughout the audit; the audit team are deemed both competent and capable of identifying non-compliance with rules and regulations.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE ACRE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements (continued)

The potential effect of these laws and regulations on the annual financial statements varies considerably. Firstly, the charitable company is subject to laws and regulations that directly affect the annual financial statements including financial reporting legislation and taxation legislation, and we assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related annual account items. Secondly, the charitable company is subject to other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on the amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance non-compliance with industry regulations. We assessed the risk of fraud in the financial statements through discussion with management and from our experience of the charitable company. We communicated identified fraud risk areas throughout our team and remained alert to any indication of fraud throughout the audit. In particular, we assessed the potential impact of the global pandemic known as Covid-19 on the risk of fraud. We did not identify any instances of fraud during the course of our audit.

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Through these procedures, we did not become aware of any actual or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations. Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Audit/Audit-and-assurance/Standards-andguidance/Standards-and-guidance-for-auditors/Auditors-responsibilities-for-audit/Description-of-auditorsresponsibilities-for-audit.aspx. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

This report is made solely to Cambridgeshire ACRE as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charity those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charity and the Charity’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Stuart Graham Berriman (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Chater Allan LLP Chartered Accountants & Statutory Auditors Beech House 4a Newmarket Road Cambridge CB5 8DT

Date: 26 October 2021

13

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021

Statement of Financial Activities and Income and Expenditure Account

Note
Income
Donations
2
Charitable activities
3
Other trading activities
5
Investments
6
Total income
Expenditure
Raising funds
Charitable activities
11
Total expenditure
7
Net gains/(losses) on investments
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfers between funds
12
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation in funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
23		 2020
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
44,180
-
12,259
56,439
40,174
22,863
-
772,565
795,428
590,527
49,624
-
717
50,341
178,734
2,529
-
-
2,529
3,026
119,196
-
785,541
904,737
812,461
3,620
-
-
3,620
8,954
198,179
2,340
523,565
724,084
705,757
201,799
2,340
523,565
727,704
714,711
-
-
-
-
-
(82,603)
(2,340)
261,976
177,033
97,750
95,276
1,818
(97,094)
-
-
12,673
(522)
164,882
177,033
97,750
139,272
194,917
133,057
467,246
369,496
151,945
194,395
297,939
644,279
467,246
Year ended 31 March 2021
Designated/
capital funds
Unrestricted
fund
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted funds

Continuing Operations

None of the charity's activities were acquired or discontinued during the current or previous year.

14

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Company registration number: 03690881

Cambridgeshire ACRE As at 31 March 2021

Statement of Financial Position

Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted 2021 2020
Unrestricted Designated/ funds Total Total
fund capital funds
Note £ £ £ £ £
Fixed assets:
Tangible assets 13 - 599 2,388 2,987 3,509
Investments 14 - 170,977 - 170,977 168,242
- 171,576 2,388 173,964 171,751
Current assets:
Debtors 15 151,038 - - 151,038 168,076
Cash at bank and in hand 34,546 22,819 295,551 352,916 185,964
185,584 22,819 295,551 503,954 354,040
Liabilities:
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one 16 33,639 - - 33,639 58,545
year
Net current assets 151,945 22,819 295,551 470,315 295,495
Total net assets 151,945 194,395 297,939 644,279 467,246
The funds of the charity:
Restricted funds 22 - - 297,939 297,939 133,057
Designated and capital funds 21 - 194,395 - 194,395 194,917
Unrestricted funds 151,945 - - 151,945 139,272
151,945 194,395 297,939 644,279 467,246

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

These financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 1 September 2021

Signed on behalf of the trustees:

12 September 2021

…………………………………………… …………………………………………… Ann Lesley Blair, Chairperson Date

15

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021

Statement of Cash Flows

Year ended Year ended
31 March 2021 31 March 2020
£ £
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 168,976 37,564
Cash flows from investing activities:
Interest and dividends from investments 2,529 3,026
Purchase of investments - (3,000)
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (1,818) (4,297)
711 (4,271)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period 169,687 33,293
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period 351,206 317,913
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period 520,893 351,206
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period held as:
Cash at bank and in hand 352,916 185,964
Investments 167,977 165,242
520,893 351,206
Reconciliation of net income/ (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities
Net income/ (expenditure) for the reporting period (as per 177,033 97,750
the statement of financial activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 2,340 1,734
Dividends, interest and rents from investments (2,529) (3,026)
(Increase) in debtors 17,038 (81,800)
Increase/ (decrease) in creditors (24,906) 22,906
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 168,976 37,564

16

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

1. Accounting Policies

The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) (2019) and the Charities Act 2011.

Legal Form Cambridgeshire ACRE is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.

Country of Incorporation Cambridgeshire ACRE is incorporated in the United Kingdom.

Address of Registered Office: e-Space North, 181 Wisbech Road, Littleport, CB6 1RA.

Currency These financial statements are presented in sterling which is a functional currency.

Principal Activities Cambridgeshire ACRE works alongside communities through a wide range of programmes designed to target specific rural issues or specific community needs.

Public Benefit Cambridgeshire ACRE meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

Income and Reserves All of the net income and assets are applied towards the objects of the charity.

Fund Accounting The charity's general funds consist of funds the charity may use for its purposes at its discretion.

The charity has designated certain funds for specific purposes. These are explained in more detail in note 21 below. The trustees have decided that setting aside funds in this way is a useful financial discipline which will help the charity to make the best use of its resources even though there is no legal force to these designations.

The charity's restricted funds are those where the donor has imposed restrictions on the use of the funds, which are legally binding, or are restricted income funds expendable at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of a particular aspect of the objects of the charity.

Details of the funds and of the restrictions are given in note 22 below.

Voluntary Income All voluntary income is included in income when it is virtually certain the income will be received. Where the donor requires the sum to be invested to provide income for the charity's purposes it is treated as an endowment.

Grant Income Grants not for a specific purpose are credited directly to income. Restricted funds are set up where grants are for a specific purpose. Any balance or shortfall of income in the year is credited to a specific restricted fund (see note 22). Any surplus arising on the ceasing of a specific purpose is dealt with in accordance with the wishes of the grant giver.

Grant Expenditure The charity makes grants from specific funds. These are included in expenditure for the year in which they are paid. Money passed through projects to other bodies are reported as grants.

Membership The charity’s Membership Scheme is run on an annual basis and includes parish councils, statutory authorities, charitable organisations and some individuals.

Investments The charity’s investments consist of cash deposits. The trustees keep the deposit accounts under review to ensure that an adequate rate of interest is being paid on the charity’s deposits.

Interest When receivable or payable interest is included when credited to the relevant account.

Taxation As Cambridgeshire ACRE is a registered charity, interest is included gross and no tax is payable on its activities.

17

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021

Notes to the accounts

1. Accounting Policies (continued)

Value Added Tax (VAT) The charity is registered for VAT.

Governance Expenditure This relates to costs incurred in running the charity and follows the apportionment ratio established in May 2017 (see note 9). Governance costs are allocated to costs of charitable activities.

Netting Off of Income and Expenditure Items of income and expenditure are netted off where income is a direct recharge of expenses to Cambridgeshire ACRE. No other items of income and expenditure have been netted off.

Fixed Assets and Depreciation Fixed assets costing more than £500 are included at actual cost, i.e. inclusive of irrecoverable VAT, less annual depreciation calculated on a straight line basis as follows:

Investments and Investment Income Investments are included in the accounts at market value. Credit is taken for interest when the interest is credited to the relevant account.

Capital Fund The capital fund represents the book value of equipment.

Designated Funds The designated funds are used to make annual provisions to cover otherwise uneven patterns of expenditure. The Project Development Fund is held to support the development of new projects (including the engagement of consultants to prepare plans or funding bids and the employment of staff beyond their funded contracts to develop further projects) to implement Cambridgeshire ACRE’s corporate strategy. The Property and Office Accommodation Fund was set-up to cover the risks in having a rented office. Although Cambridgeshire ACRE currently has no leased office space, this fund provides for that eventuality, should it become necessary.

Raising Funds The cost of raising funds heading on the statement of financial activities includes printing, publicity and marketing costs.

Going Concern The grant and project income of the charity continues at an acceptable level. The trustees are satisfied that available sources of finance and future funding income are sufficient to enable the charity to continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due. The trustees recognise the impact of COVID-19 on the charity could be significant and could resonate for several years. The trustees’ policy to manage costs and keep a level of reserves sufficient to cover no less than three months’ unrestricted gross expenditure gives confidence that the charity will continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future.

ns
Grants (Note 4)
Membership subscriptions		 31 March
Unrestricted Designated
Restricted
2020
Funds
capital
Funds
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
44,180
-
-
44,180
29,180
-
-
12,259
12,259
10,994
31 March 2021
44,180
-
12,259
56,439
40,174

2. Donations

18

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

31 March 2021 31 March
Unrestricted Designated Restricted 2020
Funds capital Funds Total Total
3. Charitable Activities £ £ £ £ £
Grants (Note 4) 3,000 - 762,400 765,400 583,389
Other charitable income 19,863 - 10,165 30,028 7,138
22,863 - 772,565 795,428 590,527

Income is recognised in accordance with the SORP (FRS 102). As a result, income to Restricted Funds is included in advance of expenditure being incurred and in some cases in advance of the commencement date of a particular project.

4. Analysis of Grants Received
Accent Nene Ltd
Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association
Cambridge Housing Society
Cambridge & County Developments
Cambridgeshire Community Foundation
Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire Culture
Chorus Homes (formerly Luminus Group)
Cross Keys Homes Ltd
DEFRA
Department for Work and Pensions
East Cambridgeshire District Council
ECH Local Authority Partnership
Energy Savings Trust (Via PECT)
Environment Agency
ESF
Fenland District Council
Hastoe Housing
Huntingdonshire District Council
Longhurst Group
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Norfolk and Norwich Festival Trust
Rural Payments Agency
South Cambridgeshire District Council
Wisbech Town Council
Other grants
Sources of Restricted Funds:
Grants to Cambridgeshire ACRE
Grants via Cambridgeshire ACRE		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Unrestricted
Restricted
£
£
£
£
-
3,000
-
3,000
-
3,000
-
3,000
-
3,000
-
-
-
-
-
3,000
-
-
-
1,800
-
74,134
-
63,690
-
-
-
28,748
-
3,000
-
3,000
-
3,000
-
3,000
44,180
14,163
29,180
21,045
-
129,144
-
117,347
-
3,000
-
3,000
-
68,135
-
-
-
6,490
-
-
-
56,511
-
58,718
-
90,961
-
-
-
12,700
-
12,700
-
3,000
-
3,000
-
2,000
-
2,000
-
3,000
-
3,000
-
56,000
-
93,920
-
171,362
-
109,900
-
-
-
779
-
36,222
-
39,588
-
3,000
-
3,000
-
3,539
-
4,539
3,000
14,039
-
1,615
47,180
762,400
29,180
583,389
604,843
513,841
157,557
69,548
762,400
583,389
31 March 2020
31 March 2021
47,180

Details of grants paid via Cambridgeshire ACRE are disclosed in note 10 of the accounts. Grants paid via Cambridgeshire ACRE are recognised as income because Cambridgeshire ACRE is responsible for the monitoring and allocation of the grant expenditure.

19

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

5. Other Trading Activities
Business Services, consultancy and training
Publications
6. Investment Income
Deposit interest received
7. Total Expenditure
Grants given (Note 10)
Staff costs (Note 8)
Consultancy
Premises
Office running costs
Operating lease rentals
Meetings & Workshops
Project delivery costs
Professional fees
Volunteer expenses
Housing Need Survey Costs
Neighbourhood Plan Costs
Depreciation
Publicity
Expensed equipment
Subscriptions
Miscellaneous expenditure
Audit fees
Non-audit fees
Total expenditure		 31 March
Unrestricted Designated Restricted
2020
Funds
capital
Funds
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
£
49,624
-
600
50,224
178,572
-
-
117
117
162
31 March 2021
49,624
-
717
50,341
178,734
2,529
-
-
2,529
3,026
2,529
-
-
2,529
3,026
-
-
157,557
157,557
69,548
155,802
-
236,582
392,384
451,463
-
-
6,697
6,697
32,580
4,335
-
-
4,335
17,364
3,414
-
1,949
5,363
19,284
6,073
-
-
6,073
6,073
210
-
28,539
28,749
29,120
-
-
53,680
53,680
10,712
-
-
22,548
22,548
8,939
41
-
-
41
2,193
4,298
-
-
4,298
15,520
10,674
-
-
10,674
20,718
-
2,340
-
2,340
1,734
3,620
-
14,805
18,425
12,941
168
-
995
1,163
311
5,777
-
199
5,976
6,507
970
-
14
984
3,074
4,618
-
-
4,618
4,510
1,799
-
-
1,799
2,120
201,799
2,340
523,565
727,704
714,711

A detailed description of the Restricted Fund activities, listed by individual project, is given in note 22.

20

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

8. Trustees and Staff costs Year ended Year ended
31 March 2021 31 March 2020
£ £
Wages and salaries 326,691 379,081
Accrued holiday pay movement 1,114 (2,278)
Employer's NI 30,877 32,027
Pension 24,699 28,185
Travel 622 12,079
Training 6,720 1,915
Recruitment 1,661 454
Total staff costs 392,384 451,463
Key personnel cost 141,541 139,315
No employee earned over £60,000.
Average number of employees: Number Number
Charity 10 13

The trustees, being directors of the company, are not paid for the time they spend on their duties. They receive out of pocket expenses in connection with those duties and a total of £0 (2020: £236 for 2 trustees) was claimed during the year by trustees. Professional indemnity insurance cover has been provided for trustees and staff at an estimated annual cost of £189

9. Governance
Governance Year ended Year ended
31 March 2021 31 March 2020
£ £
Audit fee 4,618 4,510
Non audit financial services 1,799 2,120
Annual General Meeting 1,335 1,100
Trustee meetings and expenses - 252
Indemnity insurance 189 339
Selected core staff salaries 4,693 4,617
Expenses 8,918 12,645
21,551 25,582

Figures represent the costs associated with constitutional and statutory requirements of administering the charity. Indirect costs or direct costs not wholly allocated are apportioned. The apportionment ratio of 4.5% is calculated on the number of days spent on governance expressed as a percentage of total days, the ratio was last updated in 2017.

10. Grants Given
Grants Given Year ended Year ended
31 March 2021 31 March 2020
Project Grant Recipient £ £
WCLLD CP Learning Trust 20,275 25,519
WCLLD LEADA Cambs CIC 18,419 17,744
WCLLD People & Animals UK 17,830 20,514
WCLLD Rosmini Centre Wisbech 20,919 5,771
WCLLD Rural Cambs CAB 3,703 -
WCLLD Ferry Project 61,909 -
Wisbech Reads 20Twenty Productions 3,055 -
CHESS Various individuals 11,447 -
Total Grants Given 157,557 69,548

21

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

11. Cost of Charitable Activities

Direct activities
Grant funding activity
Support costs
Total cost of activities 2021
Total costs in 2020		 Social &
Environmental
Economic
Total
Community
Programmes
Programmes
Action
Programmes
£
£
£
£
101,699
161,649
199,972
463,320
-
-
157,557
157,557
24,917
51,415
26,875
103,207
126,616
213,064
384,404
724,084
232,897
139,114
333,746
705,757

Allocation of Support Costs to Activities:

Allocation of Support Costs to Activities:
Management & HR
Finance & IT
Administration
Total support costs 2021
Total costs in 2020		 Social &
Environmental
Economic
Total
Community
Programmes
Programmes
Action
Programmes
£
£
£
£
17,116
35,318
18,461
70,895
3,978
8,208
4,290
16,476
3,823
7,889
4,124
15,836
24,917
51,415
26,875
103,207
61,943
39,028
44,896
145,867

The support costs shown in the table above have been allocated on an actual basis where possible. The management, finance and administration costs are a sub-division of the actual totals charged and have been apportioned on the basis of core staff salaries.

For the purposes of activity based costing the core and restricted fund projects have been allocated in the table below. Some projects cover more than one activity, Cambridgeshire Fens LEADER for example covers farming, tourism and an element of Economic Programmes, an accurate split of activity is not practical and projects have therefore been allocated wholly to their main activity.

A full list of the restricted fund projects and their purpose is given in note 22.

22

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

12. Fund transfers

Cambridgeshire Fens LEADER
Catchment Partnership
CHESS
Community Led Housing
EA Volunteers Extension
Fens Biosphere Development
Machinery and equipment
New Life on the Old West Development
Project Development Fund
Property & Office Accomodation Fund
Rural Affordable Housing
Rural Touring
Support Cambs – Community Facilities
Support Cambs – Local Councils
Wisbech CLLD Project
Wisbech Reads		 £
£
£
£
£
£
1,834
-
(1,834)
5,629
-
(5,629)
5,274
-
(5,274)
6,452
-
(6,452)
2,396
-
(2,396)
-
-
-
17,388
-
(17,388)
5,667
-
(5,667)
2,649
-
(2,649)
10,089
-
(10,089)
22,556
-
(22,556)
22,441
-
(22,441)
(1,818)
1,818
-
(769)
4,297
(3,528)
20,936
-
(20,936)
47
-
(47)
-
-
-
2,015
(2,015)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,200
-
(3,200)
6,859
-
(6,859)
424
-
(424)
-
-
-
14,061
-
(14,061)
11,955
-
(11,955)
2,091
-
(2,091)
9,312
-
(9,312)
4,285
-
(4,285)
9,593
-
(9,593)
-
-
-
5,861
-
(5,861)
95,276
1,818
(97,094)
95,151
2,282
(97,433)
Year ended 31 March 2021
Year ended 31 March 2020
Restricted
funds
Designated/
capital
Restricted
funds
Designated
/ capital
Unrestricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Unrestricted
fund
Unrestricted
fund

13. Tangible Fixed Assets

Cost
Beginning of the year
Additions
Disposals
At the end of the year
Depreciation
Beginning of the year
Charge for the year
Disposals
At the end of the year
Net Book Value
As at 31 March 2020
As at 31 March 2021
All fixed assets are used for charitable purposes.		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Equipment Equipment
£
£
£
13,561
9,582
23,143
-
1,818
1,818
-
-
-
13,561
11,400
24,961
12,404
7,230
19,634
558
1,782
2,340
-
-
-
12,962
9,012
21,974
1,157
2,352
3,509
599
2,388
2,987

23

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

14. Investments

Cambridge & Counties 120 Day Fund
United Trust
Cirican LLP
15. Sundry Debtors and Prepayments
Income Due
Accrued Income
Prepayments
16. Sundry Creditors and Accruals
Due within 1 year
Accruals
Accrued Holiday Pay
Payroll Liabilities
Sundry Creditors
VAT		 2021
2020
£
£
81,315
80,242
86,662
85,000
3,000
3,000
170,977
168,242
2021
2020
£
£
10,297
55,618
138,844
108,510
1,897
3,948
151,038
168,076
2021
2020
£
£
6,300
15,506
7,208
6,094
790
774
2,130
26,806
17,211
9,365
33,639
58,545

17. Contingent Liabilities

Certain donations and grants are potentially repayable should the aims and objectives of the charity not be achieved. The trustees, however, are of the opinion that this possibility is remote and therefore the income has been recognised within the accounts for the period under review.

In the event of its activities ceasing the charity would be liable to meet notice and redundancy payments to staff. The trustees are of the view that such liabilities could be met by the existing General Reserve.

24

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

18. Pension Scheme

All new eligible job holders are automatically enrolled to the NEST pension scheme. Staff make a contribution of 5% of salary and the charity adds an employer’s contribution of 5% (10% for staff employed before November 2012). Staff employed before June 2014 were able to take out their own schemes or join the Pension Trust Growth or Ethical Plans, these options were withdrawn following the introduction of auto enrolment in April 2017. At the balance sheet date there were 10 employees in pension schemes (equivalent figure for the previous year was 11).

At 31 March 2021 £790 was owed by Cambridgeshire ACRE to the various pension schemes, this represents the monthly payment due for March (apart from the two schemes that were paid before the end of March). The figure owing was paid in April 2021 and is shown in note 16 incorporated in the payroll liabilities figure.

19. Financial Commitments

As at 31 March, the charity had commitments under other operating leases (not land or property) that cannot be cancelled as follows:

Within 1 year
2 to 5 years		 2021
2020
£
£
-
3,036
-
-
-
3,036

20. Related Parties

No one individual controls the charity with all trustees having equal voting rights.

25

DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

21. Designated and Capital Funds
Capital funds
Equipment (Unrestricted)
Equipment (Restricted)
Total Capital Funds
Designated Funds
Project Development Fund
Property and Office Accommodation
Total Designated Funds
Total Capital & Designated Funds		 Value
Income/
Expenditure Transfers
Value
brought
Revaluation
carried
forward
forward
£
£
£
£
£
1,157
-
(558)
-
599
2,352
-
(1,782)
1,818
2,388
3,509
-
(2,340)
1,818
2,987
72,552
-
-
-
72,552
118,856
-
-
-
118,856
191,408
-
-
-
191,408
194,917
-
(2,340)
1,818
194,395

Equipment:

A capital fund to reflect the value of the tangible fixed assets held equal to the net book value of the assets. The equipment can be held in either unrestricted or restricted funds.

Project Development Fund:

A fund to be used to support the development of new programmes of work.

Property & Office Accommodation Fund:

The Property and Office Accommodation Fund was set-up to cover the risks in having a rented office. Although Cambridgeshire ACRE currently has no leased office space, this fund provides for that eventuality, should it become necessary.

22. Restricted Funds

Cambridgeshire Fens LEADER
Catchment Partnership
CHESS
CLH Chelmsford City Council
Community Led Housing
EA Volunteers Extension
Fens Biosphere Development
New Life on the Old West Development
Re-Opening Doors
Rural Affordable Housing
Rural Touring
Support Cambs - Community Facilities
Support Cambs - Local Councils
Water Environment Grant
WCLLD Projects
Wisbech CLLD
Wisbech Reads		 Value
Income
Expenditure Transfers
Value
brought
carried
forward
forward
£
£
£
£
£
32
14,163
(14,163)
-
32
498
15,000
(13,925)
-
1,573
-
23,441
(23,441)
-
-
-
38,135
-
-
38,135
55,707
86,600
(81,458)
-
60,849
24,109
39,520
(8,310)
-
55,319
23,317
110,000
(103,318)
-
29,999
-
34,572
(34,572)
-
-
-
13,853
-
-
13,853
-
31,000
(31,000)
-
-
-
49,238
(10,629)
-
38,609
-
33,604
(33,604)
-
-
-
24,906
(24,906)
-
-
-
38,213
(38,213)
-
-
6,088
168,273
(143,054)
-
31,307
16,598
65,023
(57,011)
-
24,610
6,708
-
(3,055)
-
3,653
133,057
785,541
(620,659)
-
297,939

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DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

22. Restricted Funds (continued)

Included in the expenditure total above are the projects’ share of central core costs. In accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102) (October 2019), the management fee element of these costs has been treated as a transfer in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Cambridgeshire Fens LEADER:

Provides investment for start-up or enhancement of local businesses in parts of Cambridgeshire and west Norfolk. EU grant. Project application made through Cambridgeshire ACRE but RPA make the payments directly to recipients. Total Project £2,100,000. Project was due to end 31/03/20 but an extension to 31/12/2021 has been agreed. Running Costs & Administration budget (RCA) £260,496 can be claimed up to 31/03/2022 to allow Cambridgeshire ACRE to carry out monitoring and evaluation of the programme on behalf of the Managing Authority.

Catchment Partnership:

Grant funded by the Environment Agency, this project engages local communities, groups, businesses and organisations and involves them in the decision-making and activities to improve the Old Bedford river’s water ecology. A further year of funding has been secured for 2021/22.

Cambridgeshire Home Energy Support Service (CHESS)

Funded by the Energy Industry Redress Scheme managed by the Energy Savings Trust, the grant is distributed to us by the Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT) to improve the health and well-being of 1,000 vulnerable households in Market Towns and Parishes across northern Cambridgeshire, who are suffering from or at risk of fuel poverty.

CLH Chelmsford City Council

As part of its work delivering Eastern Community Homes, the Community Led Housing hub for the East of England, the Hub may enter into bespoke support agreements with individual local authorities to deliver against specific objectives to increase the delivery of community-led housing within a specific local authority’s area. One such agreement has been entered into with Chelmsford City Council for a two year period, with work to commence from Apr-21.

Community Led Housing:

A project to develop a hub to improve housing supply in the East of England by increasing the number of additional affordable homes delivered by the community-led housing sector. This will be achieved through a regional Hub made up of trained advisers from across the ACRE Network members in the East of England who will provide essential support for communities who wish to develop community-led housing projects. Funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.

EA Volunteers

Since April 2016, the Environment Agency has contracted Cambridgeshire ACRE to run a volunteer scheme to help it manage its statutory navigation objectives within the Anglian Region. By using volunteers, the Environment Agency has engendered better engagement with local communities and gained local support to help deliver essential services. A contract extension was awarded for a further 2 years from 1 November 2019, but the project was temporarily halted as a result of COVID-19 in Jun-20. It recommenced in 2021 for the remaining contract duration.

Fens Biosphere Development

Grant funded by People's Postcode Lottery Dream Fund with monies being passed via the Wildlife Trust BCN this was originally a two year project, extended to three years. The project involves developing and submitting a UNESCO Biosphere nomination for the Cambridgeshire Fens.

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DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

22. Restricted Funds (continued)

New Life on the Old West Development:

A grant of £730k has been obtained from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver 88 wildlife habitat enhancements to the green spaces and surrounding countryside in areas around the Old West river. The project will also work with people living in the surrounding communities to increase their access to local nature and help a wide range of children and adults to develop new skills and learn about their unique fenland wildlife and natural heritage.

Re-Opening Doors

A recovery grant from Cambridgeshire Community Foundation’s Coronavirus Community Fund to support community volunteers to re-open the doors of Cambridgeshire’s community buildings and village halls, and offer activities for communities to come together as they recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project will run for a single year Apr-21 – Mar-22 and will include the development and delivery of a number of training sessions as well as an awareness-raising campaign to promote the use of village halls by rural communities.

Rural Affordable Housing

Grant funding is provided by district councils and housing associations, as members of the Cambridgeshire Rural Affordable Housing Partnership, to allow Cambridgeshire ACRE to facilitate the development of affordable housing schemes for people living in rural Cambridgeshire. Funding for 2021/22 has been secured.

Rural Touring

A grant from Arts Council England National Lottery funding to support the reintroduction of a rural touring scheme for the northern area of the County. The two-year project will identify and train village hall management committees to become ‘promoters’ of live performances and cinema screenings to be delivered from their community buildings making high quality arts experiences accessible to those who might not normally experience them. Commencing Apr-2020, the project was paused at the end of Sep-20 due to the pandemic but resumed delivery in Apr-2021. The hiatus period will be added to the end of the original delivery period.

Support Cambridgeshire (Community Facilities and Local Councils)

A project to enable all communities to take more responsibility in order to nurture strong and resilient communities focusing on community facilities. Grant funding provided by Cambridgeshire County Council with match funding contributions from DEFRA grant and Cambridgeshire ACRE.

Water Environment Grant

To address agricultural diffuse pollution and contribute to supporting improvements within the water body WFD status by trapping the sediment that runs from the land using coir rolls sown with a range of native marginal water plants. Funded by the Environment Agency.

William Collyn Community Centre Management

To undertake the management and running of the Centre on behalf of the Girton Town Charity. Project concluded on 30/09/2020 when staff employed on this project were TUPE’d from Cambridgeshire ACRE’s employment to that of GTC.

Wisbech CLLD:

A project to encourage local people to take the lead on activity that provides sustainable economic benefits to the Wisbech area. Focusing upon skills & employment and targeting deprivation. £1,050,000 ESF funding with match funding £177,000 from local authorities. Grant applicants match fund at 50%.

Wisbech Read Easy

Funds left over from our Wisbech Reads project which closed 31-Mar-2020. Closing balance was transferred to expenditure-only project 'Wisbech Read Easy' for 2020/21 but no activity took place due to COVID-19.

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DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

23. Analysis of Net Assets between Funds

Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Net current assets
Total		 Unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
£
£
£
£
-
599
2,388
2,987
-
170,977
-
170,977
151,945
22,819
295,551
470,315
151,945
194,395
297,939
644,279

24. Statement of financial activities - Comparative figures for 2020

Income
Donations
Charitable activities
Other trading activities
Investments
Total income
Expenditure
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Total expenditure
Net gains/(losses) on investments
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation in funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 Total
£
£
£
£
29,180
-
10,994
40,174
1,455
-
589,072
590,527
175,172
-
3,562
178,734
3,026
-
-
3,026
Year ended 31 March 2020
Unrestricted funds
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
fund
Designated/
capital funds
208,833
-
603,628
812,461
8,954
-
-
8,954
281,009
1,734
423,014
705,757
289,963
1,734
423,014
714,711
-
-
-
-
(81,130)
(1,734)
180,614
97,750
95,151
2,282
(97,433)
-
14,021
548
83,181
97,750
125,251
194,369
49,876
369,496
139,272
194,917
133,057
467,246

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DocuSign Envelope ID: AF6F33C6-6385-4B94-8E16-3EB8EAFE7AF6

Cambridgeshire ACRE For the year ended 31 March 2021 Notes to the accounts

Cambridgeshire ACRE wishes to thank the individuals, community groups, organisations and statutory partners who supported our work over the last year, in particular:

Central government

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department for Work & Pensions Environment Agency Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government Rural Payments Agency

Local Authorities

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Cambridgeshire County Council East Cambridgeshire District Council Fenland District Council Huntingdonshire District Council South Cambridgeshire District Council Wisbech Town Council

Local Authorities specifically funding Eastern Community Homes

Babergh and Mid Suffolk Council Breckland Council Cambridge City Council Chelmsford City Council Colchester Borough Council East Suffolk Council Epping Forest District Council Great Yarmouth Borough Council Maldon District Council North Norfolk District Council Norwich City Council South Cambridgeshire District Council Stevenage Borough Council Suffolk County Council Tendring District Council Uttlesford District Council West Suffolk Council

Housing Associations / Registered Social Landlords

Accent Group Ltd Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association CHS Group Chorus Homes Cross Keys Homes Ltd Hastoe Housing Association Ltd Longhurst Group

Lottery Distributors

Arts Council England National Lottery Heritage Fund People’s Postcode Lottery through the Postcode Community Trust Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire

Grant Makers, Trusts and Foundations

Cambridgeshire Community Foundation Energy Redress Fund through Energy Savings Trust Trinity Denoir

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