COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS CONTENTS Page Trustees. report Independent auditors report Statement of financial aCt[v￿eS Statement of financial positson 10 Statement of cash fl¢JWS 11 Notes to the financial statements 12-24 COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Trustees Paul James (Chair) Claire Thompson {resigned 3.12.24) Ajan Charfes Machin {resigned 3.12.24) Jacqueline Millar (TreaSU￿r) Bary Chapman (resigned 19.02.25) Sarah Rowan Sarah Whf(elock Geoffrey York Mark Jonathan Holliday (resigned 10.09.24) Edward Timothy Richard Tallents Tra￿Y Smart Victoria Atherstone (appointed 10.09.24) Graham Hewttt (appointed 29.04.25) Matthew Whrf(e (appointed 21.01.25) Charity number (England and Wales) 1119310 Company number 05880006 Registered office Suite 14 Bizspace Corinium House CoriniumAvenue Bamwood Point GIoU￿Ster GIoU￿sterShIre United lfjngdom GL4 3HX Auditor BK Plus Audtt Limited {StatutoryAudtior) 6 Manor Park Business Centre Mackenzie Way Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL519TX Bankers HSBC UK 2 The Promenade Chettenham GIoU￿sterShIre GL50 1LR Chief Executive Officer Paul Riddick COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS TRUSTEES. REPORT FOR THE YEAR EIVDED 31 MARCH 2025 The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of Ihe Companies Act 2006, present their report th the financial ststements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporttng by Charitses: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance wtth the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 1021 (effective 1 January 2019). Objectives and activities The objectives of the charity according to its Mernorandum and Arbcles of Association are to provide transport services and volunteering opportunities in the County of GIOU￿StershIre and surrounding areas {hereinafter called 'area of benefit,) and to promote any charitsble purpose for the benefft of the community in the area of benefit. The core acttvty of the chanty is the provision of transport for people with mobilty problems in the area of benefit, thereby tackling loneliness and social isolation and promoting Independen￿ and an improved quality of life. In planning the charity's activitses for the year, the trustees kept in mind the Charity Commissi(rJ's guidance on public benefit. The focus of the charity's activitses during the year. which explains the delivery by the charity of public benefit, is set out belaw under 'achievement and perfomiance.. Achievements and performance This financial year our total number of passenger trips has increased again, although in most categories has not reached pre-pandemic levels. The eX￿PtiOn being the number of passengers on our registered bus routes, which is good news. Our Robin services (Demand Responsive Transport run on behalf of Gloucestershire County Council) have been embedded wthin our organisation, wtth usage growing month on month across all three areas ewkesbury, South Cotswolds and Berkeley Vale). The Robin operates betsveen 7am and 7pm, six days a week. Durtng the year we have intrOdU￿d two new positions, a Volunteer Manager and a Business Development Manager. Wrthout volunteers Communty Connexions could not offer the service r( does to the most vulnerable in our communities. Our volunteers use their own cars to transport people who have no other means of travel - to health appointments. day centres, to visit loved ones or to get some essential shopping. The Volunt&r Manager. Ed Tumill, aims to increase the number of volunteer drivers so we can improve our offer to assist more people. The role of the Business Development Manager is to grow our partnerships wrth other charities and organisations and offer special trips basically days out to socialise, go somewhere different and have some fijn. This has a positive impact upon people's hearth and wellbeing, and an opportunity to sociali5e and experience something a bit different. Because of our organic growth, we had to move into larger offices at our e￿sting site in Bamwood, Gloucester. We now have SLrfficient space to operate effictently and effectively. We have been financially supported by several charitses through grants - National Lottery, Bamwood Trust, Thriving Communities, Health & Wellbeing fund, amongst others. We very much appreciate this assistsnce which has allowed us to provide essential transport for the most vulnerable in our communities. We have also continued our close working partnership with Gloucestershire County Council and we are grateful for their continued support. Governance The Board has met in person throughout this financial year, although there is an option to join on Teams if it is not convenient to travel. This year the AGM was an open event at GIOu￿ster Ruby Club {Kingsholml and was very well attended. It was chaired by Paul James. It was postttve to meet everyone fa￿ to face and was the ideal opportunity to thank our volunteer drivers, who assist the charity greatty. It was also a pleasure to introduce our Patron, Dr Cathy Stannard, to our guests. Dr Stannard is a fantastic asset to our chartty and has a great deal of strategic knowledge to guide us. All governan￿ cornplied wth Chartty Commission guidance. At the AGM of our most experien￿￿ Trustees stood down, due to tenure. Our thanks to Claire Thompson and Aan Machin for their valuable input over the years. In their place we have recruited new Trustees, all of whom possess signnlcant sknlls and experien￿ in their fields. COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 Our People We would like to thank our staff and volunteers for their commitment through the year. To accommodate the additional demand in the year we employed one addtbonal customer service assistant in the office. The biggest challenge during the year was recruittng new volunteer drivers to replace those who did not retum after lockdowns - this totalled about a third of volunteer numbers. It was evident that volunteer recruitment post-pandemic was much more difficutt than before (this phenomenon has been experienced across the third sector). and the charity has expended a great deal of effort and innovation in recruttment drives. This has been necessary because demand increased throughout Ihe year, not only from existing passengers but also from new Members. Largely demand was related to attendance at health appoinlments and at some points Membership was growing at be￿een five and eight a week. Obviously, this meant travel requests grew exponentially, InC￿asing the necessity to recruit more volunteer driver5. The recruitment process was partially successfijl. and numbers have grown. but will need to continue just to get back to pre-pandemic levels. Of course, even more volunteer drivers than that would be useful and welcomed. Our stsff and volunteers have again provided a qualty service in sometimes difficult circumstanc￿, and we are extremely grateful for their professionalism. dedication and enthusiasm. Financial review The financial resu]ts for the year 2024125 show a significant improvement on the prior years, driven by the winning of a new multiyear £740k a year contract that started part way through the financial year. The underfying business also grew revenues by 6%. During the year 2024125, the Charity generated an income of £1,676,499 and had a total expenditure of £1,473,944 resulting in a surplus of £202.555 for the year. The principal source of fijnding has continued to be from the core charitable acttvities promded through grants and fares for individual services. Expenditu￿ increased durtng the year. with the main pressure continlnng to relate to salaries as the minimum wage rises. All expenditure is closely monitored to ensure the charity athieves best value for money across all areas. Reserves policy The Trustees consider the financial integrity of the charity as part of their ongoing review of tIE risks facing the organisation. The aim of the Trustees is to increase the Charity's free reserves (being those unrestricted reserves that are not represented by the value of the fixed assets) to equate to gross budgeted expenditure for three months. The total reserves held at 31 Marth 2025 were £444.340, of which £398,499 were free reserves, £13,626 were part of the capttal reserve, and £32,215 were restricted reserves. Three months, gross budgeted expenditure currently equates to circa £428,578 {i.e., one quarter of the totsl expenditure of £1,714.313). Our free reserves at 31 March 2024 were £205,418. This position conb.nues to improve year on year, and our forecasts show we will reach this target in the near future. Plans for future periods Our vision 15 that everyone in Gloucestershire has the personalised transport services they need to lead fvll and active lives. During the financial year demand for our services has continued to increase. In order to try and meet that demand we will need more volunteer drivers (volunteer numbers decreased significandy during the pandemic and have not recovered)- To that end we recnjited a Volunteer Manager who wll recruit, train and be the point of contact for volunteers. Through our Business Development Manager, we wrll increase our partnership work across the wunty, both statutory and non-statutory, for the benefit of the most vulnerable people in our communities. COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 We also intend to cary out a strategic review of our l.T. systems to improve fiJncttonality. The review wll help identify the specific technology needs of our chartty. consider current and futu￿ business requirements, and emerging trends. This should improve the customer experien￿ and indude integration with our website and, hopefully, an app. These initiatives should enable the charity to expand its offer and move t¢)wards achieving its ambition. Structure? governance and management The charity is govemed by the Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 18 July 2006. as amended by special resolutions on 28 September 2006, 2 March 2007, 28 September 2009, 25 March 2014 and 2 October 2018 and a board resolution on 15 December 2009. On 19 June 2015 by Special Resolution, the charity changed its name from Third Sector Services to Community Connexions. Recruitment and appointment of trustees Power of appointment of new trustees is vested in the surviving or continuing trustees. Organisational structure In accordance wtth tts constttution the chartty is controlled by a Board of Trustees that meets at least quartedy. There are be￿een five and fifteen trustees at any one time, all of whom are elected every year at the Annual General Meeting. One third of the board must retire at each Annual General Meeting but in accordan￿ with the Memorandum and Articles of Association may be re-elected. The Board meets quarterfy but has four commrttees which report to the Board on their portfolios, The committees are Finance, Community Engagemerrt, Policy and HR, and Business Development and Operations. Each Committee is chaired by a Trustee (utilising their areas of experttsel, has at least one fiJrther Trustee as a member, together with the appropriate staff members. In this way the Trustees, knowtedge and expertence can be utilised to take the charity fotward. Pay for all staff is set by the fijll Board after taknng advi￿ from the Finance committee. That ommittee benchmarks salaries whilst remaining mindful of the charivs budget. Induction and training of trustees The charity has a structured trustee recruitment process. One of our most eXperIen￿d Trustees will step down at the AGM but the charity has suc￿sSfullY recruited several new excellent qualty Trustees. Their knowledge and experience has great]y contribLrted to the charity. One of our strengths is the quality and dynamism of our Board, utilising their skills through sutpcommittees to improve our Servi￿ and ensure compliance wth regulations. Trustees are appointed followng wrttten application and interview and upon receipt of satisfactory references. As part of the recruitment process, they meet with the Chief Executive, existing trustees and visit the office, to help them gain a detailed insight into the semces Communty Connexions offers as well as the role and responsibilities of a trustee. New trustees are supported by the Chair and Chief Executtve to understand their role and responsibilities. As part of their induction programme, they meet with key members of the staff and volunteer team, experience some of the transport services from the Servi￿ user perspective and are also given copies of all key charity documents and signposted to relevant Charity Commission guidan￿. Reniuneration policy Remuneration of the Senior Management Team is revIev￿d annually by the Board, vrith reference to benchmark figures against similar roles in the sector. Related parties The charity has no trading subsidiary undertakings or related organisations, save for tts dormant subsidiary company, Community conne￿On5 Trading Limited. COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 Risk management The Irustees acknowledge their responsibility to manage risk on behalf of the organisation. They have analysed risks be￿een. - govemance operations - finan - external factors intemal factors - compliance - road risk (wth regard to Communty Transport) The trustees monitor the charity's exposure to risk going forward. They are content that they identified and mitigated against the major risks faced by the organisation during the year. They are satisfied that systems are in place to manage exposure. In 2024125 the major risks were identtfied as; Further increases in N.1. and minimum wage would impact our business plan - Volunteer recruitment insufficient to meet growing demand. Business plan relies heavily on GCC contracts. Council devolution could affect funding. - Employment law changes could affect the business plan Through careful management none of those risks had any major impart upon the charity but. of course, some remain a risk going forward. Statement of trustees. responsibilities The trustees (who are also the directors of Communty Connexions for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance wth applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Ktngdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practtce). The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial ststements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that year. In preparing these financial ststements. the trustees are required to: select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistenuy, observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP., make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudenL stste whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements- and prepare the financial ststements on the going concem basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the chartty will continue in operation. The trustees are responsible for keeping sufficient accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for tsking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In so far as the trustees are aware.. - there is no relevant audit Info￿natiOn of which the charttable companvs auditors are unaware.. and the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information. COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR EIVDED 31 IlffARCH 2025 This report has been prepared in accordance with the special prowsions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to srrrall companies. Approved by order of the board of trustees on and signed on its beha￿ by. Paul James - Trustee 4 November 2025 COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS Opinion We have audited the financial statements of Communty conne￿On$ (the 'charity') for the year end8J 31 March 2025 which comprise the ststement of financial activities. the statement of financial position, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including signtficant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Finanaa/ Repothiig St8ndardapp/ic8ble in the UKand Republic 01 /reland(United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion, the financial statements- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitls affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of tts incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended- have been propedy prepared in accordance wtth United lfjngdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practi￿. and have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. Basis for opinion We conducted our audit in accordance with Intemational Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAS (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditorfs responsibilffjes for ihe audit 01 the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance wtth the ethical requirements that are ￿levant to our audit of the financial ststements in the UK, including the FRC'S Ethical Standard, and we have fijlfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtsined is SLfficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. Conclusions relating to going concern In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees, use of the going concem 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 chartty's ability to continue as a going concem for a period of at least hvelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsibiltties of the trustees respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. other information The other inforniation comprises the infomiation included in the annual report other than the fina￿la1 statements and our audilols report thereon. The trustee5 are responsible for the other infomation contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other infomation and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibilty is to read the other information and, in doing so. consider whether the other infomation is materially inconsistent with the financial ststements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or othewse appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements. we are required to deterynine whether this gives rise to a materol misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If. based on the work we have perfomed. we conclude that there is a matertal misstatement of this other infomiation, we a￿ required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. Matters on which we are requAred to report by exception We have nothing to report in respect of the followng matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you rf. in our opinion= the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect wth the trustees, port; or sufficient accounting records have not been kept., or the financial ststements are not in agreement WFth the accounting records; or we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audtL COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE TRUSTEES OF COMMUNITY CONNEXIONS Responsibilities of trustees As explained more fully in the ststement of trustees, responsibilities, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such intemal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity's abilty to continue as a going concem, disclosing, as applicable. matters related to going concem and using the going concem basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to ￿ase cperations, or have no realistic atternative but to do so. Auditovs responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial ststements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. and to issue an Auditorfs Report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but it is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAS (UK) wll always detect a material misststement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are conside￿d material if. individually or in the aggregate. they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users tsken on the basis of these financial statements. Owng to the inherent limitations of an audtt, there is an unavoidable risk that. despite us planning and perfoThing our audri in accordan￿ with the auditsng standards. one or more material misstatements in the financial statements may have gone undetected by our audit. As wth any audit, the￿ is a risk that irregularities and fraud will go undetected where they involve matters such as misrepresentations from management, collusion, deliberate ornissions and override of controls. It is not the role of the auditor to prevent non-compliance and we cannot be expected to detect every instance of non