OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2021-12-31-accounts

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd

(Registered Charity 1120494)

Trustees’ Report and Accounts

31 December 2021

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd 2021 Report and Accounts

Contents

Page

2

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Annual Report for year ended 31 December 2021

Legal and Administrative Details

Legal Status

Objects

The object of the Company is to provide a community bus and a community transport service, including private hire, for such of the inhabitants of East and West Sussex and the City of Brighton and Hove who are in need of such a service because of age, sickness or disability (mental or physical), or poverty, or because of a lack of availability of adequate and safe public passenger services.

Trustees/Directors

Philip Montague Ayers John Howard Bunce (to 24 June 2021) Andrew John Cottingham Susan Olave de Angeli

Stewart Colin Fuller Nicholas Brian Price (from 15 February 2021) Beryl Anne Smith

Principal Address

The Old Rectory Litlington Polegate East Sussex BN26 5RB

Bankers

Barclays Bank plc Co-operative Bank plc CCLA Fund Managers

Independent Examiner

Nigel Butten FCA

3

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Annual Review for year ended 31 December 2021

The Trustees, who are also Directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2021.

Review of Activities

Cuckmere Buses is the trading name for Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd (CCB), an incorporated charity based in Berwick, East Sussex. It has been running for 45 years supplementing existing bus services and providing bus links for village residents throughout the Cuckmere Valley area to their nearest towns for shopping, for appointments, or for social activities.

OUR VISION is being the Community Bus service of choice in our area, and OUR MISSION is providing a safe, reliable, and courteous local bus, serving those rural and urban communities in our part of East Sussex not served by commercial companies.

CCB is run entirely by volunteers; there are no employees. We have some 45 volunteer drivers and some 10 additional volunteers who all help run the fleet of 16-seater low-floor Mercedes mini-buses. The drivers are trained to MiDAS standards (Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme) and are reassessed every four years. They all have D1 classification on their licence. The value of volunteers to the organisation cannot be overestimated, in terms of community support and company viability. In addition to over 20 weekly timetabled services, requiring nearly twice as many half-day shifts, the company operates summer leisure services and offers private hire facilities. We also provide special annual services for the International Tennis in Eastbourne, and the Charleston festivals. CCB remains a busy voluntary organisation and always needs new volunteers. The recruitment programme scheduled for last year stalled owing to covid-19 but restarted at the end of this year and will continue into next.

2021 was again a difficult year owing to the coronavirus. The year started with covid related national restrictions, and we didn’t return to providing full services until April. Passenger numbers were understandably slow to recover and whilst the numbers were growing the Omicron variant of Covid hit and had a detrimental impact on the recovery. Passenger numbers had not recovered to 2019 prepandemic levels at the year-end, and it may be some time into 2022 before they do so. Buses continued to be regularly sanitised and face masks were required when travelling, in accordance with government guidelines. For the year, we ran 101,600 (2020, 67,600) miles and catered for some 38,700 (2020, 30,000) passenger journeys.

The charity sold two of its older vehicles during the year and took delivery of a new bus in June, all as part of a bus replacement programme. Additionally, a third vehicle was an insurance write off following an electrical fire in the engine compartment. A new bus was due for delivery at the end of the year but owing to the global shortage of semiconductor parts, this has been delayed until early 2022. The next acquisition on the replacement programme is in 2023 and with the current commitment to leasing it will need to be funded primarily by grant/donation receipts after an initial priming with available internal resources. At the end of the year the Trustees agreed to set up an

4

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Annual Review for year ended 31 December 2021 (cont)

unrestricted bus replacement reserve fund and to embark on a specific fundraising initiative early in 2022.

A significant amount of ongoing roadworks and road closures, particularly at Polegate, Drusillas roundabout, and Wilmington crossroads caused some major challenges during the year. These ranged from rescheduled and re-routed services, and related loss of revenue, to issues in transporting drivers to/from shift changeovers points. An extra support vehicle was acquired during the year to help with these changeover difficulties. Hopefully, once completed, the new road layouts will improve service times. National fuel shortages in September forced the cancellation of some afternoon and weekend leisure services in order to sustain at least a reliable weekly service to all the communities we serve; luckily this fuel shortage was short-lived.

The charity operates efficiently to a high standard under the control of the Board of Trustees who met formally on four occasions during the year, all remotely. They reviewed operations of the company, its financial position, and the outlook for the future. Covid-19 implications were a continuing focus item. In addition, two Stakeholder meetings consisting of representatives of parish and town councils and company officers were held, plus the AGM in April, all remotely. The usual annual social gathering of drivers was again cancelled owing to the pandemic, but regular remote meetings were held with drivers to monitor resource availability, passenger levels and services operated. Feedback and views from drivers are paramount as they provide the charity’s front-line contact with passengers.

The trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the charity commission's public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.

Financial Performance

The financial statements are included on pages 8 to 13. All income and expenditure are related to unrestricted funds; there are no restricted nor endowment funds.

Central and local government continued covid-related support for bus operators generally during the year by continuing to pay existing fuel rebate grants and concessionary travel fares based on pre-covid levels. The coronavirus support grant introduced by the Department for Transport in 2020 ended in August; a follow-on grant scheme was not taken up by CCB owing to deemed de minimis benefits. These government support initiatives, together with our volunteer capacity avoiding staff costs and related overheads, plus reduced maintenance costs owing to less mileage and the younger fleet, all helped the charity maintain a viable operating financial position.

With a gross income of £220,739 (2020, £176,946) and expenditure of £187,978 (2020, £177,008), the year ended with a surplus of £32,761 (2020, deficit £62). Year-end net assets amounted to £264,313 (2020, £231,552) including cash at bank of £149,005 (2020, £94,738). The charity operates a policy of holding cash reserves to meet projected cash outlays taking account of sourcing requirements for acquisitions under its bus replacement programme. Funds not required in the short term are held in

5

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Annual Review for year ended 31 December 2021 (cont)

an appropriate deposit account. At the end of the year the Trustees agreed to transfer £43,000 (2020, nil) to an unrestricted bus replacement reserve fund for future bus acquisitions.

A high-level five-year trend of finances, passengers and miles run is shown graphically on page 14.

The Trustees have not identified any uninsured major risks to which the charity is exposed.

Going Concern

The Trustees have considered the consequences of covid and other events and conditions, and have determined that, whilst significant, they do not create a material uncertainty that casts major doubt upon the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Forward View

In addition to maintaining a strong operational business base for the charity, our focus over the coming year will be threefold. First, to rebuild patronage numbers so we can provide support to the same or greater level of deserving passengers we helped pre-pandemic. Secondly, to build cash reserve for the outright purchase of a replacement bus in 2023, and thirdly, to continue with the recruitment programme to increase the overall number of volunteer drivers.

Acknowledgements

We are a successful business in meeting our mission and as always, thanks go to our volunteer drivers, our regular passengers, to everybody involved in the day to day running of the organisation, and to Berwick Service Station for keeping the buses well maintained. Particular thanks also go to the individuals and local authorities who made donations to the charity during a difficult year. A summary of donation support is listed on page 12 of this report. Thank you all.

And finally ….

It was with sadness we recorded the passing of John Bunce, Operations Director, in June. He was with CCB for over 20 years and his hard work and commitment helped grow the business to what it is today. He will be missed by us all.

Beryl Smith - Chairman 28 March 2022

6

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Independent Examiner’s Report

I report to the Board of Directors/Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd for the year ended 31 December 2021.

As the Trustees of the Charity, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act).

Independent examiner's statement

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

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

NA Butten Independent Examiner 28 February 2022

7

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Income & Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 December 2021

Notes
Income
Passenger Services
2
Grants & Donations
3
Private Hire & Special Events
Other income
4
Total Income
Expenditure
Servicing, Repairs & Cleaning
Depreciation
5/6
Licences & Insurance
Operations
Diesel (net of BSOG)
Administration
Total Expenditure
Surplus (Deficit) for the year
Opening reserves
Closing reserves(per Balance Sheet)		 £
2021
155,752
24,071
5,604
35,312
220,739
(49,549)
(60,360)
(22,610)
(27,329)
(15,956)
(12,174)
(187,978)
32,761
231,552
264,313		 2020
152,331
20,318
1,830
2,467
176,946
(52,446)
(45,577)
(29,604)
(28,688)
(5,924)
(14,769)
(177,008)
(62)
231,614
231,552

8

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Balance Sheet

at 31 December 2021

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd
Balance Sheet
at 31 December 2021
Notes
Tangible Fixed Assets
7
Current Assets
Debtors
8
Cash at Bank
9
Prepayments and Accrued Income
Total Current Assets
Creditors due within one year
Amounts falling due within one year
10
Accruals and deferred income
Unamortised grants for purchase of assets
6
Total Creditors due within one year
Net Current Assets (liabilities)
Total Assets less current liabilities
Creditors due after one year
10
Total net assets
Funds of the Charity
Unrestricted funds - general
Unrestricted funds - asset replacement
Total Unrestricted Funds		 2021
314,732
5,745
149,005
154,750
13,182
167,932
(47,291)
(64,660)
(36,412)
(148,363)
19,569
334,301
(69,988)
264,313
221,313
43,000
264,313		 £
2020
326,044
27,788
94,738
122,526
2,944
125,470
(37,015)
(60,605)
(58,804)
(156,424)
(30,954)
295,090
(63,538)
231,552
231,552
0
231,552

The Report and Accounts were approved by the Board on 28 March 2022

Beryl Smith Trustee/Director

Stewart Fuller Trustee/Director

9

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Funds Flow Statement

for year ended 31 December 2021

Notes
Surplus (Deficit) for the year
add back Depreciation (net)
5
less Other Income
4
Cash from Trading
Other Income
4
Movement in fixed assets
Acquisitions
7
Proceeds of disposal (NBV before surplus)
7
Movement in Working Capital
Debtors
Prepayments
Creditors
Movement in Loans
New debt
Interest
Payments
Movement in Funds in the Year
Cash at Bank
Opening
Movement in Funds (as above)
Closing (per Balance Sheet)		 2021
32,761
60,360
(35,312)
57,809
35,312
(101,700)
30,260
(71,440)
22,043
(10,238)
11,498
23,303
60,000
6,736
(57,453)
9,283
54,267
---------------------
94,738
54,267
149,005		 £
2020
(62)
45,577
(2,467)
43,048
2,467
(192,243)
50
(192,193)
(16,752)
11,517
18,905
13,670
87,434
8,483
(31,615)
64,302
(68,706)
--------------------------------
163,444
(68,706)
94,738

10

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Notes to the Accounts for year ended 31 December 2021

1. Accounting Policies

1.2 Income - is recognised in the accounts when the charity becomes entitled to the resources and is shown exclusive of VAT. The significant value of voluntary help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the trustees’ annual report. Debtors are measured at settlement amounts less any trade discounts.

1.3 Expenditure - liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources, and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty. Creditors are measured at settlement amounts less any trade discounts.

1.4 Tangible Fixed Assets - are recorded at cost and subsequently stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Depreciation is calculated to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value, over the prudent useful economic life of that asset on a straight-line basis. Capital grants supporting fixed asset acquisitions are released to revenue account on a straight-line basis over the life of the related asset class and reduce the annual total depreciation charge.

1.6 Fund Accounting - unrestricted funds (including designated funds) may be used in accordance with the charitable objectives of the charity at the discretion of the trustees.

11

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Notes to the Accounts

for year ended 31 December 2021 (cont)

2 Passengers Services
Concessionary Fares
Ticket Fares
Support from:
East Dean & Friston PC
ESCC/B&H
Hailsham Town Council
Polegate Town Council
3 Grants and Donations
Town and Parish Councils
Alfriston
Arlington
Berwick
Chalvington & Ripe
Cuckmere Valley
East Dean & Friston
Heathfield & Waldron
Herstmonceux
Long Man
Pevensey
Polegate
Seaford
Westham
Willingdon & Jevington
ESCC
Wealden District Council
Passenger donations
Other donations
4 Other Income
Covid Support from DfT
Surplus on disposal of fixed assets
Bank interest
5 Depreciation
Charge in year
less amortisation of grant in year (note 6)
6 Unamortised Grants
at start of year
released during year (note 5)
at end of year		 £
2021
2020
123,912
122,998
11,523
6,364
1,568
1,218
12,591
12,580
5,858
8,871
300
300
155,752
152,331
2021
2020
200
150
100
100
100
100
-
125
250
250
500
500
500
500
1,000
-
150
150
-
-
200
200
2,000
2,000
100
100
800
800
5,900
4,975
2,430
2,430
5,500
5,500
6,898
5,431
3,343
1,982
24,071
20,318
2021
2020
25,900
-
9,407
2,250
5
217
35,312
2,467
2021
2020
82,752
67,957
(22,392)
(22,380)
60,360
45,577
2021
2020
(58,804)
(81,184)
22,392
22,380
(36,412)
(58,804)

12

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd Notes to the Accounts for year ended 31 December 2021 (cont)

7 Tangible Fixed assets
Cost
at start of year
additions in the year
disposals in the year
at end of year
Cumulative Depreciation
at start of year
charges in the year (note 5)
disposals in the year
at end of year
Net Book Value
8 Debtors
Accounts receivable
VAT reclaimable
9 Cash at Bank
Barclays current account
Co-operative current account
Charities deposit account
Petty Cash
10 Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Hire purchase contracts
Amounts falling due after one year
Hire purchase contracts (1-5 years)		 £
2021
2020
660,828
545,554
101,700
192,243
(171,233)
(76,969)
591,295
660,828
334,784
343,746
82,752
67,957
(140,973)
(76,919)
276,563
334,784
314,732
326,044
2021
2020
2,694
7,867
3,051
19,921
5,745
27,788
2021
2020
96,058
61,449
9,288
9,502
43,579
23,576
80
211
149,005
94,738
2021
2020
(9,319)
(1,876)
(37,972)
(35,139)
(47,291)
(37,015)
(69,988)
(63,538)

11 Audit:

Expenditure is after charges for Independent Review £960 (2020, £960) and other professional services £300 (2020, £300)

12 Transactions with Directors: There were no transactions between the company and its Trustees/Directors

13

Cuckmere Community Bus Ltd

Graphs - 5 year trends

----- Start of picture text -----
Financials (£'000)
Income Expenditure
250
229
200 221 223 219
213 211
201
188
177 177
150
100
50
0
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Statistics ('000)
Miles Run Passenger Journeys
140
126 128 129
120
100 102
80 82 81 83
68
60
40 39
30
20
0
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Expenditure (£'000)
Servicing, etc Depreciation Licence & Ins Operations Diesel Admin
250
16
200 22 12
13 19
12
29 25
16 15 27
6
150 27 29 31 27 23
23 27
30
100 55 47
60 46 47
50
76 82
50 52 62
0
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
All-in Cost per Key Factor (£)
per Mile per Passenger Journey
7.00
6.00
5.90
5.00
4.86
4.00
3.00
2.80
2.00 2.62 2.47 2.55
1.85 1.81
1.00 1.58 1.63
0.00
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
----- End of picture text -----

14

Our Buses – Past & Present[#]

----- Start of picture text -----
CCB01 CCB02 CCB03 CCB04 CCB05 CCB06
CCB07 CCB08 CCB09 CCB10 CCB11 CCB12
CCB13 CCB14 CCB15 CCB16 CCB17 CCB18
CCB19 CCB20 [#] CCB21 CCB22 [#] CCB23 CCB24 [#]
Arriving March 2022 Planned for 2023
CCB25 [#] CCB26 [#] CCB27 [#] CCB28 CCB29
----- End of picture text -----

15