OpenCharities

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

← Trees And Design Action Group Trust

2024-03-31-accounts

Registered Company No. 08464590 (England and Wales) Registered Charity No. 1152960

Trees and Design Action Group Trust

Unaudited Financial Statements

Year Ended 31 March 2024

TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR END 31 MARCH 2024

INDEX

INDEX
Page
Report of the Trustees’ 1 - 4
Independent Examiner’s Report 5
Statement of financial activities 6
Balance sheet 7
Notes to the financial statements 8 - 10

TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR END 31 MARCH 2024

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 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practices (SORP) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ issued in January 2015.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISORS

The Trustees of the charity present their unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024.

TRUSTEES R M Kelly
K J Sacre
J Barrell
A G Hothersall
S E Illman
REGISTERED OFFICE 118 Cambridge Street
London
SW1V 4QF
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Ryan Hancock
Hazlewoods LLP
Staverton Court
Staverton
Cheltenham
GL51 0UX
REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1152960
REGISTERED COMPANY NO. 08464590 (England and Wales)

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

The Governance of the Trust is set out in the Articles of Association.

There are currently five Trustees: Mr. Keith Sacre, Mr. Martin Kelly (Chair), Mr. Jeremy Barrell, Mr. Anthony Hothersall and Ms. Susan Illman.

The Trustees held 4 meetings during the year on 24th May 2023, 14th September 2023, 13th December 2023 and 22nd February 2024.

Risk Management

The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

Appointment of Trustees

Trustees are appointed according to the Articles of Association and their selection is based on their professional standing.

Management

The 'TDAG' approach is not to create an 'organisation', but to develop and deliver its core aims and continue to build on the success which it has shown to date in creating a useful interface and dialogue between the needs of the natural and the built environment.

1

TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR END 31 MARCH 2024

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and Aims

The objectives of the Trees and Design Action Group (TDAG) as set out in the Articles of Association: to advance education, in particular by educating the public concerning the protection, planting, design, maintenance, management and other aspects of trees within the built environment and any other charitable purpose under English and Scottish Law.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Significant Activities for 2023-24

The Trust has followed its Business Plan for 2023-24

Publications

TDAG publications

Contributions to other publications

Online seminars and workshops

TDAG held a series of free online workshops which are recorded and freely available on the TDAG website.

TDAG Support for and partnering with other Organisations

TDAG has continued to work with other organisations including the Forestry Commission, Woodland Trust, National Trust, Institute of Chartered Foresters, Royal Town Planning Institute, Institute of Highways, Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, Landscape Institute, GI Partnership and the Town and Country Planning Association, Homes England to name a few.

Partnered and chaired the steering group for the forthcoming Trees, People and the Built Environment 5, a partner conference hosted by the Institute of Chartered Foresters.

Other activities in 2023-24

Other activities and achievement in the year include:

Public Benefit

In planning our activities for the year, we kept in mind the Charity Commissioners guidance on public benefit. The focus of our activities remains that of advancing the education of the public concerning the protection, planting, design, maintenance, management and other aspects of trees within the built environment.

2

TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR END 31 MARCH 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The Trust has maintained a positive cash position. The Trust's bank account with the Co-Operative for the trading period to 31 March 2024 stands at £42,284 credit.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

FUNDS

The funds held by the charity are detailed in note 7 to the accounts.

RESERVES POLICY

The charity does not maintain significant reserves as funds are made available for specific projects when required.

GOING CONCERN

The charity relies on donations and sponsorship to support its charitable activities for which the Trustees would like to acknowledge and thank those parties for their continued support.

The Trustees have prepared budgets that they believe are prudent and only include donations and sponsorship which are certain. Cost savings measures have also been made and included in those budgets. Based on those budgets they anticipate that the charity will be able to meet obligations as they fall due for the next 12 months from approval of these financial statements.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Board have, from time to time, discussed and assessed the major risks to which the company is exposed and considered the safeguards that have been and can be implemented to mitigate those risks. In accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice for Charities the Directors annually review and update the formal risk assessment.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the surplus or deficit of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:-

The trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the company has an appropriate system of controls, financial and otherwise. They are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for the taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

3

TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR END 31 MARCH 2024

SMALL COMPANY EXEMPTIONS

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions for small companies under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

ON BEHALF OF TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP

………………………………. R M Kelly - Trustee

17 October 2024 Date

4

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

YEAR END 31 MARCH 2024

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 March 2024, which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet and the related notes. These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and the accounting policies set out therein.

Responsibilities and basis of report

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

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that 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.

…………………………….

Ryan Hancock FCCA Hazlewoods LLP

Staverton Court Staverton Cheltenham GL51 0UX Date……………………… 18/10/2024

5

TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

YEAR END 31 MARCH 2024

Notes
INCOME
Income:
Donations
TOTAL INCOME
2
EXPENDITURE
Charitable activities:
Charitable activities
Governance costs
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
3
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Fund balances brought
forward
FUND BALANCES CARRIED
FOWARD
7		 Restricted
£
-
-
15,110
-
15,110
(15,110)
50,816
35,706		 Unrestricted
£
34,100
34,100
35,487
10,633
46,120
(12,020)
21,900
9,880		 Total
2024
£
34,100
34,100
50.597
10,633
61,230
(27,130)
72,716
45,586		 Total
2023
£
30,764
30,764
30,663
2,653
33,316
(2,552)
75,268
72,716

Income derives wholly from continuing operations.

There are no recognised gains or losses in the above financial year other than those passing through the Statement of Financial Activities.

6

TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2024

2024 2023
Notes £ £
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash at bank and in hand 42,284 72,721
Debtors 5 7,750 3,750
Creditors: Amounts falling due in
one year 6 (4,448) (3,755)
NET ASSETS 45,586 72,716
THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY:
Restricted funds 7 35,706 50,816
Unrestricted funds 7 9,880 21,900
TOTAL CHARITY FUNDS 45,586 72,716

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the period ended 31 March 2024.

The members have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the period ended 31 March 2024 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small charitable companies and with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland (effective January 2015).

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 17 October 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

…………………………………

R M Kelly - Trustee

7

TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to Trees and Design Action Group Trust financial statements.

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2015)', issued in January 2015, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

Income

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

Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributable to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Taxation

The Trees and Design Action Group Trust is exempt from Corporation Tax by reason of its charitable status to the extent that income and gains are applicable and applied to charitable purposes only. Income tax suffered on deeds of covenant and gift aid or investment income is reclaimed in full.

Fund accounting

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

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

2 INCOME

Donations for:
Seminars
Publications
Other
Total income		 Restricted
-
-
-
-		 Unrestricted
4,635
19,330
10,135
34,100		 2024
£
Total
4,635
19,330
10,135
34,100		 2023
£
Total
9,275
13,206
8,283
30,764

Income in 2023 comprised £nil of restricted funds and £30,764 of unrestricted funds.

8

TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

3 EXPENDITURE

EXPENDITURE
Charitable activities
Seminars
Publications
Organisation of activities and
research
Support costs
Accountancy
Other administrative costs		 Restricted
Unrestricted
-
11,209
15,110
20.585
-
3,693
-
10,620
-
13
15,110
46,120		 2024
£
Total
11,209
35,695
3,693
10,620
13
61,230		 2023
£
Total
-
23,223
7,440
2,640
13
33,316

Expenditure in 2023 comprised £8,100 from restricted funds and £25,216 from unrestricted funds.

4 TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees’ remuneration or other benefits for the period ended 31 March 2024.

Trustees’ expenses

During the year ended 31 March 2024, trustees were reimbursed in relation to expenses incurred of £nil (2023 - £nil).

5 Debtors

Other debtors
6
CREDITORS amounts falling due within one year
Other creditors		 2024
£
7,750
2024
£
4,448		 2023
£
3,750

2023
£
3,755

9

TREES AND DESIGN ACTION GROUP TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

7 MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Unrestricted funds
General funds
Restricted funds
Publications
Total funds		 Balance at
1 April
2023
£
21,900
50,816
72,716		 Income
£
34,100
-
34,100		 Expenditure
£
(46,120)
(15,110)
(61,230)		 Balance at 31
March
2024
£
9,880
35,706
45,586

Publications ( Trees, Planning and Development )

Restricted funds are available for the development of the publication Trees, Planning and Development.

8 CAPITAL COMMITMENTS

The Trustees had no capital commitments at the year end.

9 CONTROL

The Charity is controlled by the Board of Trustees/Director.

10