2022-07-31-accounts - Coleg Ceredigion

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COLEG CEREDIGION (a company limited by guarantee)

ANNUAL REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Company registration no: 08725643

Charity registration no: 154557

Coleg Ceredigion

Annual report for the year ended 31 July 2022

Annual report for the year ended 31 July 2022
		Page(s)
Public Benefit Statement	2
Strategic Report	3-14
Directors'Report	15-18
Statement of Corporate Governance and Internal Control	19-23
Independent auditor’s report to the member of Coleg Ceredigion	24-27
Statement of comprehensive income	28
Statement of Changes in Reserves	29
Balance sheet	30
Statement of Cash flows	31
Notes to the financial statements	32-49

Coleg Ceredigion

PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT

Charitable Objectives

The College's objective is to provide for the public benefit in the United Kingdom and elsewhere further and higher education and (subject to any consultation with any relevant local authority) secondary education (as defined in each case in section 18(1) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (or any replacement thereof).

In making decisions the trustees have had due regard to public benefit guidance.

Fulfilment of the charitable objectives

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries are appropriate to the aims as the students in the further, higher and secondary education sector (a sufficient sector of the public to meet the public benefit test) are the direct beneficiaries.

Admissions

The College operates an inclusive admissions policy. However, some programmes have specific entry requirements which are reviewed annually and published in the College prospectus.

Student Support/Bursaries/Scholarships

Students at the College are entitled to apply for various packages of support and funding in the same way as anyone studying in further or higher education in Wales.

Further education students between the ages of 16 and 19 can apply for the Education Maintenance Allowance and students who are 19 + can apply for an Assembly Learning Grant. Other bursaries are also available within the College for further and higher education students subject to eligibility.

Financial Contingency Funds are also available within the College which students can apply for to support their studies.

Widening Participation

The College has a broad range of academic and vocational education and training programmes. These range from pre-entry to level 5. It also provides for 14-16 school pupils who attend the College and adult learners. The College delivers across two campuses and in the workplace.

Community Engagement

The College offers other facilities that are available to staff, students and members of the public.

By order of the Board

S[.] ignature:

Date : 8[th] December 2022……………………………

Ms Maria Stedman

Director and Chair

Coleg Ceredigion STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

The directors present their strategic report for the year ended 31 July 2022.

Background

Coleg Ceredigion Further Education Corporation was established under the Further Education and Higher Education Act 1992 for the purpose of conducting education and training at Coleg Ceredigion, which is a bilingual further education college with campuses at Aberystwyth and Cardigan.

On 31 December 2013 the Coleg Ceredigion Further Education Corporation (Dissolution) Order 2013 came into force. This order dissolved the further education corporation previously established and transferred all of its properties, rights and liabilities to the new Coleg Ceredigion Company (incorporated on 9 October 2013). The Coleg Ceredigion (Designated Institutions in Further Education) Order 2013 came into force on the same day establishing a new College conducted by a registered company, limited by guarantee. This new Coleg Ceredigion company was a wholly owned subsidiary of University of Wales: Trinity Saint David up until the 1[st] of August 2017 when ownership transferred to Coleg Sir Gar, another subsidiary of University of Wales: Trinity Saint David

Principal activities

The principal activities of the College are the provision of conducting education and training, within a rural, bilingual further education college situated on campuses in Aberystwyth and Cardigan.

The distance between the two campuses is 40 miles. The college's main catchment area is the county of Ceredigion but the college also attracts a considerable number of students from parts of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Powys.

The College has an annual turnover of around £ 6m and employs circa 170 staff of whom around 70 are employed on a full-time basis. Each year, around 900 learners enrol at the college. This total includes circa 600 full-time learners, with the majority being school leavers from the ten secondary schools in the college’s catchment area (the seven secondary schools in Ceredigion together with the secondary schools located in Machynlleth, Newcastle Emlyn and Crymych).

Ceredigion's population, according to the 2011 census is 75,922. With 43 people per square kilometer, the area is less densely populated than Wales as a whole. In keeping with the rest of Wales 15.7% of the population in the area is of retirement age. The number of 16-19 year old’s in the county is projected to decrease significantly over the next 15 years. Consequently, the college takes careful account of this demographic trend in all its decision-making in relation to the college curriculum. According to the 2011 Census 47% of the population in Ceredigion are Welsh speakers, compared with 19% across Wales.

The County

The population is scattered throughout the small towns, villages and hamlets of the county. Aberystwyth is by far the largest town, with a resident population of over 18,000, which increases to approximately 25,000 during university term time. The next largest towns are Cardigan with a population of 4,000 and Lampeter with a resident population of 2,000, which also increases during university term time. The fourth largest town is Aberaeron with a population of 1,500. Coleg Ceredigion's campuses are therefore located in the two largest towns in the county.

Ceredigion is poorly served by public transport. Some main routes have an adequate bus service but public transport is a challenge for many communities. Many learners would not be able to attend Coleg Ceredigion were it not either for their own private transport or for the bus service.

Coleg Ceredigion STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Purpose

Values and Behaviours

Strategic Vision

Strategic Priorities

Coleg Ceredigion STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Financial Performance and Objectives

The College’s financial objectives are:

to achieve an annual operating surplus (defined as a surplus prior to FRS 102 non cash pension costs) and positive cash flow
to diversify income streams and reduce reliance on core funding
to generate sufficient levels of cash to support the asset base of the College
to ensure a healthy short-term liquidity position
to fund continued capital investment

The Statement of Comprehensive Income for the period is set out on page 28. The highlights for the period in relation to these are detailed below.

Total income for the period has decreased slightly to circa £ 6.4 million (2021: £6.5 million). Maintaining a significant level of turnover reflects the continued success of the College at further education. Fluctuations in turnover are inevitable, and can be greatly influenced by the level of project work undertaken.
Staff costs as a percentage of total income increased from 69.5 % to 71.8 %. The average number of staff by FTE employed is consistent to the previous year. Other operating expenses increased slightly as a percentage of total income from 19 % to 21 %.
The deficit for the year was £74,000 (2021: £196,000 surplus).
The liquidity position has improved from the previous year. The ratio of short-term assets to creditors falling due within one year stands at 2.00 (2021: 1.50).
Net assets have increased by £3.826 million to a positive £2.236 million (due to pension adjustments). Net assets, excluding defined benefit obligations have increased from £2.7 million to £3.0 million. For further details on the accounting standards under which these financial statements are prepared, see the Statement of Principal Accounting Policies and Estimation Techniques on page 30.
Specific capital grants were applied in line with the College’s Strategic Plan towards enhancing effectiveness and providing a quality learning environment.
The provision for enhanced pensions was reviewed during the period and the balance required at 31 July 2022 has been estimated at £316,000 (2021: £366,000).

Treasury policies and objectives

Treasury management is the management of the College’s cash flows, banking, money market and capital market transactions; the effective control of the risks associated with those activities; and the pursuit of optimum performance consistent with those risks.

The College has a separate treasury management policy in place.

Short term borrowing for temporary revenue purposes is authorised by the Accounting Officer. All other borrowing requires the authorisation of the Corporation and shall comply with the requirements of the Financial Memorandum.

Coleg Ceredigion

STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Cash flows, liquidity and reserves policy

The college operating cashflow position for the year is a negative amount of £0.468k .Overall cash balances decreased from £1.056m to £0.588m. The reduction in cash balances is off set by the increase in net current assets at year end. The College wishes to continue to accumulate cash balances to fund future planned capital developments. To achieve this, the College has continued its drive for efficiency in the education and training it delivers. This has been, and will be, achieved by thoroughly reviewing its curriculum provision, effective deployment of resources, and best value procurement of goods and services. In addition, the College continues to seek and develop other sources of income. Significant reinvestment into the College estate and plant and equipment ensures that learners have quality provision to aid in their educational process.

Curriculum Development and Enrichment

There is a wide-ranging curriculum that meets learners’ aspirations. The curriculum is broad, flexible, coherent, and facilitates progression. It is offered in a variety of modes to suit learners’ needs. There is a strong vocational focus and all Sector Subject Areas are represented at the College.

The curriculum is formulated and reviewed in partnership with the College’s stakeholders, the Regional Learning and Skills Partnership (RLSP), Sector Skills Councils, 14-19 networks, the ACL Group, University of Wales: Trinity Saint David, industry, business and local employers. This is supplemented using skills observatory data provided through the RLSP.

The College has a Curriculum and Quality Committee, reporting to the Board’s Advisory Body for Curriculum and Standards.This provides a focus for discussion on curriculum and quality policy and development matters.

A range of options are available at all levels which offer diversity and choice to learners. The County’s Youth Access programme also provides a partial full-time alternative curriculum for learners at the College who have had difficulty in, or have been excluded from, local schools. Almost the entire curriculum offered by the College is accredited, providing opportunities for learners to attain formal qualifications.

A range of further accredited provision is provided to learners to support learning. Learners also engage in a wide range of activities that enrich their study including work-related experiences, live projects, educational visits, overseas visits, environmental work, visiting speakers, community arts, voluntary work and fundraising.

Partnership and Transformation

The College has excellent partnership arrangements which contribute to an enhanced curriculum and learning experience.

From 31st December 2013, the College became part of the University of Wales: Trinity Saint David group, maximising opportunities for learners and sharing information, expertise and resources. On the 1st of August 2017, ownership was transferred to Coleg Sir Gar, also a subsidiary of University of Wales: Trinity Saint David

The college has played a leading role in developing Partnerships with a broad range of partners within Ceredigion and on a regional level. Some of this work is undertaken in networks such as the 14-19 Network, Growing Mid Wales Partnership, Regional Learning Partnership, and the Ceredigion ACL Partnership. Some work is with a range of FE and HE institutions, the B-WBL Work-based Learning Consortium, voluntary, statutory and specialist agencies, the local economic and the Regeneration Partnership.

Coleg Ceredigion

STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Quality and Standards

Note that the next section of the report that deals with quality performance, measures and statistics that reflect the combined data for both Coleg Sir Gâr and its subsidiary company Coleg Ceredigion. Coleg Sir Gâr is by far the largest proportion in terms of weighting, with a turnover of circa £ 45 m against £5m for Coleg Ceredigion (9000 students vs circa 1300 students respectively).

The College welcomed Estyn in May 2022 who undertook an inspection of its further education provision. The inspection framework covered 5 key areas: Learning; Well-being & Attitudes to Learning; Teaching & Learning Experiences; Care, Support & Guidance; and Leadership & Management. Whilst graded outcomes are no longer provided by Estyn, the overall outcome for the College was very positive. Good features identified within the report include:

“Most learners feel safe and well supported during their time at the college”.
“The college has successfully embedded a positive ethos based on the values of respect, unity and professionalism”.
“Most learners speak positively about their experiences at the college”.
“Most learners develop competent practical skills and many relate theory to practice successfully”.
• “The college has systems in place to support learners in their understanding of how to keep safe and safeguarding”.
“Nearly all teachers know their learners well and foster relationships that encourage and support learners to progress”.
“Most teachers skilfully develop learners' digital skills in their vocational or academic subjects”.
“Learners demonstrate high levels of competency using digital platforms to store, record, organise and track their own learning”.
“Where appropriate teachers support learners’ Welsh language skills by engaging them in conversation during classes”.
“The College has developed strong partnerships with local schools for 14-16 provision”.
“Across nearly all courses, learners benefit from clear progression routes to the next level or into work-based learning, higher education or employment”.
“The principal has set a vision that informs the college’s strategic priorities well”.
“Senior and middle managers show a clear understanding regarding how they support the college’s aim to deliver ‘‘inspirational learning experiences’’.
“During the pandemic, a particular strength of the college was its commitment to upskilling teaching and support staff to enable them to effectively support learners to develop strong digital skills and remain on their courses”.
“The college senior management team has been effective in improving the learning experiences and outcomes at an underperforming campus. They reacted quickly and put in place robust quality improvement procedures”.
“The college has comprehensive quality assurance systems and collects a wide range of data”.

Recommendations for continuous improvement include:

Make better use of the extensive data the college has to further refine the evaluation of the impact of provision and initiatives.
Strengthen strategies to improve learners’ understanding of radicalisation and extremism.
Ensure that learners’ numeracy skills and wider mathematical skills are developed fully to address their skills gaps.

Estyn Report May 2022 hiips://www.estyn.gov.wales/provider/f0009005

Coleg Ceredigion

STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Standards achieved by learners

Welsh Government has not published College-based performance measures over the three last academic years due to the alternative national arrangements put in place for centre determined and teacher assessed grading.

Further Education

Successful completion for all main academic and vocational qualifications for 2020-2021 is good at 83%, with completion and attainment rates of 91%. Successful outcomes for both COVID-19 years have remained constant at 83%, marginally below 85% for 2018-2019.

Outcomes for academic qualifications are good and provided in the tables below. It is noteworthy that centre determined grades were applied in lieu of examinations during in 2020 and 2021.

Work-Based Learning

In WBL, following the challenges of 2019/20, 2020/021 was a much better year with less disruption and significantly improved outcomes, with the exception perhaps to some areas of the Care sector that continued to work under restrictions.

During the period when restrictions were eased, apprentices were invited into College under strict Health and Safety conditions to complete assessments on campus. Faculties continued with their efforts to support apprentices achieve their frameworks.

----- Start of picture text -----
Work Based Learning Performnce 2019 - 2021
100%
87%
80% 81% 79%
80% 74% 74% 73%
68%
60% 56% 57% 54%
39%
40%
20%
0%
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Foundation Apprenticeships Apprenticeships Higher Apprenticeships Overall
----- End of picture text -----

Coleg Ceredigion

STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Higher Education

The College continues to monitor its trends in performance as it strives towards continuing to improve its standards at the higher education level. Historically, higher education learners have consistently performed very well. Similar to other areas of provision, 2019/20 was a particularly difficult year for staff and students having to adapt very quickly to online teaching, learning and assessment. Whilst some disruption to teaching and learning continued in 2020/21, a significant increase of 10% successful completion was achieved in full time provision this year.

----- Start of picture text -----
Higher Education Performance 2019 - 2021
100%
85% 86% 83% 87% 87%
78%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Full Time Part Time
----- End of picture text -----

Quality of Teaching and Learning

Despite the challenges faced by the College over the last three extraordinary years, continuous improvement of teaching and learning experiences and learner outcomes continues to be the College’s primary aim in its pursuit of excellence. This has remained a focus during the pandemic as staff adapted swiftly and successfully to the sudden shift to remote and blended teaching, learning and assessment.

Policies have focused on helping the College move from good to excellent. The significant emphasis on training, motivating and supporting staff was recognised in 2017 when Coleg Sir Gâr was awarded the Association of Colleges Beacon Award for excellence in staff development; in 2019 when it received a Princess Royal Training Award and more recently in 2022 when it again received a Princess Royal Training Award.

Nearly all staff have engaged well and benefited from the college’s strong commitment to continuous professional development and this positive impact is evident in the excellent learner success outcomes and improved learner survey results. Fundamental to the process is each teacher undertaking a selfassessment of their performance against key performance criteria. This in turn leads to a teaching profile that indicates bespoke areas for staff development. Attendance at staff development is high and after a period of implementation, self-assessment is undertaken once again.

The College’s Teaching and Learning Team provide excellent support and tailored training to new members of staff, PGCE students and those teaching staff who need support with aspects of their work. Excellence in teaching is highly valued and celebrated through an annual teaching and learning award ceremony.

In the autumn of 2021, a total of 107 formal teaching and learning observations were carried out by members of the teaching and learning team and Estyn peer inspectors. Particular strengths (>90%) included: the delivery of learner centred lessons; and the support provided by teachers and their responsiveness to learners’ needs. Furthermore, the management of learner behaviour; the progress learners make; teachers’ subject and technical knowledge; and the provision of quality teaching and learning resources were also very good.

Coleg Ceredigion

STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

In the 2021 learner voice survey (focusing on teaching and learning), nearly all learners on vocational programmes and many learners on academic programmes agreed or strongly agreed that their tutors ensure that their face-to-face lessons help them to learn, they are interesting, exciting and catch and keep their attention. Many learners also agreed or strongly agreed with this statement when referring to their experiences in online lessons. Most learners on academic programmes, and nearly all vocational learners also stated that their tutors use technology to support their lessons, demonstrating that teachers strive to transform their digital learning environments to meet the changing needs of their learners.

Health and Wellbeing of Learners

The College is committed to providing a healthy environment to improve the wellbeing of all students and staff and has raised the profile of wellbeing and mental health in response to growing demands.

Induction, tutorial and promotional activities have been effective in raising learners understanding of wellbeing, and have reflected the priority given to keeping learners safe including online safety.

Personal wellbeing and mental health specialist support is excellent within the college. A new referral and assessment procedure has been implemented, with an emphasis on ensuring that learners receive the right support at the right time. This improved referral and support mechanism has proved effective, with 90% of learners maintaining or improving their assessment categories.

Learners who face considerable barriers to learning are referred to effective mentoring and counselling services, and they receive good support from college mentors and counsellors. Feedback from learners is positive and the support provided by the wellbeing team enables learners to remain in education and to succeed despite often very significant personal barriers.

A strong emphasis is placed on equality and diversity to ensure all learners and staff are treated with respect. Awareness has effectively been raised among learners and staff through a wide range of media and activities that are prominently displayed throughout the campuses.

Effective arrangements are in place to safeguard children and vulnerable adults underpinned by clear policies and procedures. The college's ‘be safe’ message extends to the promotion of the rights of all learners to be free from bullying and harassment and clear actions are taken to prevent such behaviour. Online safety is well supported through promotion and tutorial activity. Safeguarding contacts are in place across all campuses and staff and students are aware of referral processes.

Learner Voice (Further Education)

In 2021/22, the focus of the further education annual learner voice survey was to gauge learner perception of teaching and learning. Overall, learners’ perception in relation to their teaching and learning experiences continues to be positive, despite some continued disruption due to the pandemic.

Coleg Ceredigion

STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Coleg Ceredigion

STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Learner Voice (Higher Education)

Higher education students in their final year of study have continued to respond to the National Student Survey (NSS), and excellent student satisfaction scores have historically been achieved in teaching, learning and overall experiences in College.

Students experienced significant disruption in 2019/20 and 2020/21 during the Covid pandemic, with the majority (if not all) of their teaching and learning being undertaken remotely and online. For the first time, this led to a fall in student satisfaction.

In 2022, the College achieved the lowest response rate and levels of student satisfaction across nearly all aspects of the NSS survey.

Student satisfaction with Learning Resources was an exception with a satisfaction score of 90%, and was significantly above the sector benchmarks.

The Welsh HEIs and the National HE sectors have also experienced significant decreases in student satisfaction of recent years

Capital Investment and Accommodation (Coleg Ceredigion only)

Building improvements totalling £106k have been made during 21/22. Improvements include installing gender neutral toilets in Aberystwyth and essential works to the lifts at Cardigan. Works to replace the roof at Aberystwyth campus were completed during the year. Funding of £250k had previously been received from WG

Coleg Ceredigion

STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

The Future

The College sees a strong future for itself as part of the FE Group, with Coleg Sir Gar, and part of the wider University of Wales: Trinity Saint David (“UWTSD”) Dual Sector University. It has made a commitment to continuing to offer a strong further education provision across the county.

A number of key challenges face the College over the next few years, including:

Continued integration of Coleg Ceredigion into Coleg Sir Gar
Continuing its improvement in learner outcomes
Improving teaching and learning
The development of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification
Developing more Welsh medium provision
Realising the benefits from merger for learners, staff and the wider community
Developing a diversified curriculum portfolio across a range of sectors
Developing more commercial training and international work
Developing strategies to cope with reductions in further education funding
Improving and developing its estate in partnership with UWTSD and the County Council

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The College operates a strong risk management and internal control framework as described in the corporate governance statement below. This is supported by a specific risk management programme.

The Audit and Risk Management committee undertakes a comprehensive review of all the potential risks facing the College, which are then recorded on the College’s risk register and scored in accordance with a set matrix which identifies the likelihood or probability of these risks occurring, and the potential impact on the College if they materialise. The committee must then identify systems, procedures and controls which can be put in place to mitigate the risks in order to reduce the risks to a manageable or acceptable level.

Risk management is a topic covered at each meeting of the Audit and Risk Management committee, which reports its findings periodically to the Board.

An annual review is undertaken to ensure the effectiveness of the risk management system and any weaknesses identified are corrected.

Outlined below are some of the principal risks facing the College for the foreseeable future. Not all of the factors are within the College’s control. Other factors besides those listed below may also adversely affect the College.

1. Reduction in real terms of government funding

The College relies on government funding, and the current climate is such that there are continuous pressures on this income stream.

Coleg Ceredigion

STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

This risk is mitigated in a number of ways:

Concerted effort, drive and focus on creating a more diversified income base;
Specific focus on quality to ensure a high standard of delivery in all education and training endeavours;
Working closely with Coleg Sir Gar and the UWTSD group to harmonise operations and remove duplication with a view to reducing costs;
The operation of a Business Development Unit which has a primary objective of building a sustainable commercial income stream that is not reliant on government funding;
Focusing on priority sectors which are likely to continue to attract public funds;
Growing and developing the College’s work-based learning provision; and
Building partnerships with schools and business

2. Failure to recruit and retain students

Demographics and a changing environment in which competition is perceived to be intensifying will invariably make it more difficult to recruit and maintain student numbers. This could have an impact on all areas of funding.

The risk is mitigated as follows:

Partnership working with schools;
Focused marketing effort;
Diversified income streams;
Partnership with local businesses and other relevant bodies;
Ensuring high quality delivery of education and training;
Learner support structures to ensure learners are supported for the whole journey;
• Focus on progression through the levels.

3. General economic conditions – Energy and the cost of living crisis

The college is actively addressing operations to ensure the smooth continuity of operations as well as working closely with Welsh Government during these continued challenging times.

Key Performance Indicators

The target of breakeven before defined benefit obligation costs has been achieved during this financial year with an actual surplus before non-cash defined benefit obligation costs of £297,000 (20/21: £601,000). The deficit for the year after defined benefit obligation costs is £74,000 (surplus of £196,000 in 20/21), with noncash adjustments being £371,000 (20/21: £405,000).

Student numbers remained relatively buoyant for the year, but total FE full time numbers were less than was achieved in the prior year. This was mainly due to local area demographics.

The College continues to achieve high standards of quality for its teaching and learning function.

This report was approved by the board on the 8[th] December 2022 and was signed on behalf of the board by:

Signature:

Date: 8[th] December 2022……………………………

Maria Stedman

Director

Coleg Ceredigion

DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

The directors present their report and the audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended 31st July 2022.

Results and future developments

The results for the year, strategy and future developments of the Company are set out in the Strategic Report on pages 3 to 14.

Dividends

The Company is limited by guarantee. No dividends have been paid or are recommended for the year ended 31st July 2022.

Professional advisers

External auditor: KPMG LLP, Cardiff Internal auditor : Mazars LLP, Bristol Banker: Barclays Bank Plc, Swansea Solicitor: Eversheds, Hepworth & Chadwick, Cardiff

Directors

The directors of the Company who were in office during the year and up to the date of signing the financial statements, unless otherwise stated, were as follows:

Directors

Mrs Maria Stedman # (Chair) Mr John Edge # Mr Eifion Griffiths # Ms Bryony Evett-Hackfort # - Resigned 25[th] February 2022 Mr Andrew Cornish *#

(* non – executive directors) (# Trustees)

Coleg Ceredigion

DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Directors' indemnities

The directors have the benefit of an indemnity which is a qualifying third party indemnity provision as defined by section 234 of the Companies Act 2006. The indemnity was in force throughout the last financial year, and remains in force as at the date of signing of these financial statements.

Payment performance

The College follows the Better Payments Practice Code in dealing with its suppliers. The four key principles of the code are:

agree payment terms at the outset of a deal and stick to them;
explain the payment procedures to suppliers;
pay bills in accordance with any contract agreed with the supplier, or as required by law; and
inform suppliers without delay when an invoice is contested and settle quickly on receiving a satisfactory response.

The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, which came into force on 1 November 1998, requires Colleges, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, to make payments to suppliers within 30 days of either the provision of goods or services or the date on which the invoice was received.

Estate developments

The College regularly invests in the maintenance of the estate with planned annual programmes of maintenance carried out during the summer months. Annual budgets include an allocation for such works.

Equal opportunities

The College is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all who learn and work here. We respect and value positively differences in race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief and age. We strive vigorously to remove conditions which place people at a disadvantage and we will actively combat bigotry. This policy is resourced, implemented and monitored on a planned basis.

The College’s Strategic Equality Plan, although applying generally to employees, has equal relevance to disabled persons as the College would provide training, career development and opportunities for promotion which are, as far as possible, identical to those for other employees.

Stakeholder relationships

The College has many stakeholders. These include, but are not limited to:

Students;
Education sector funding bodies;
Staff;
Local employers (with specific links);
Local authorities;
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs);
The local community;
Other FE institutions;
Trade unions; and
Professional bodies.

The College recognises the importance of these relationships and engages in regular communication with them through meetings and the College’s internet site.

Staff and student involvement

The College systematically provides employees and staff with information on matters of concern to them, consulting them or their representatives regularly, so that their views can be taken into account when making decisions that are likely to affect their interests The committee structure provides the formal

Coleg Ceredigion

DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

communication links with representation as appropriate from different staff employment categories and students. Employee and student involvement in the College is encouraged, as achieving a common awareness on the part of all employees and students of the financial and economic factors affecting the College plays a major role in the decision-making process.

Statement of directors’ responsibilities

The Directors are required to present audited financial statements for each financial year under company law. The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report, the Strategic Report, the Directors’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Within the terms and conditions of the Financial Memorandum between the Welsh Government and the Directors are required to prepare financial statements and an operating and financial review for each financial year in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting for Further and Higher Education , the Accounts Direction for Further Education Colleges in Wales and the UK’s Generally Accepted Accounting Principles including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the College and its profit or loss for that period

In preparing the financial statements, the Directors are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements
Assess the College’s ability to continue as a going concern, noting the key supporting assumptions or mitigating actions, as appropriate (which must be consistent with other disclosures in the accounts)
prepare financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the College will continue in operation.

The Directors are also required to prepare a Members’ Report which describes what it is trying to do and how it is going about it, including information about the legal and administrative status of the College.

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the College’s transactions and which disclose, with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the College and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements are prepared in accordance with relevant legislation including the Companies Act 2006, the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 and Charities Act 2011, and relevant accounting standards. They are responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. They are responsible for taking steps that are reasonably open to them to safeguard the College’s assets and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of its website(s); the work carried out by auditors does not involve consideration of these matters and, accordingly, auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the financial statements since they were initially presented on the website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

The Directors are responsible for ensuring that expenditure and income are applied for the purposes intended by the Welsh Government and that the financial transactions conform to the authorities that govern them. In addition, they are responsible for ensuring that funds from the Welsh Government, and any other public funds, are used only in accordance with the Financial Memorandum with the Welsh Government and any other conditions that may be prescribed from time to time by the

Coleg Ceredigion

DIRECTORS’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2022

Welsh Government or any other public funder. Members must ensure that there are appropriate financial and management controls in place to safeguard public and other funds and ensure they are used properly. In addition, Directors are responsible for securing economical, efficient and effective management of the College’s resources and expenditure so that the benefits that should be derived from the application of public funds from the Welsh Government and other public bodies are not put at risk.

Statement of disclosure of information to auditor

Each of the persons who were directors at the time when the Directors’ Report was approved has confirmed that, so far as the directors are aware, there is no relevant audit information (i.e. information needed by the company’s auditor in connection with preparing their report), of which the company’s auditors are unaware, and the directors have taken all steps that they ought to have taken in order to make themselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that the company’s auditor is aware of that information.

Independent auditor

Pursuant to Section 487 of the Companies Act 2006, the auditor will be deemed to be reappointed and KPMG LLP will therefore continue in office.

This report was approved by the Board on the 8[th] December2022 and was signed on behalf of the Board by:

Mrs Maria Stedman Registered address : Park Place, Cardigan, SA43 1AB Director

Date: 8[th] December 2022

Coleg Ceredigion CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT

The Company is committed to exhibiting best practice in all aspects of corporate governance. This summary describes the manner in which the Company has applied the principles set out in the Code of Good Governance for Colleges in Wales, as issued by Colegau Cymru (Colleges Wales). Its purpose is to aid users of the financial statements to understand how the principles have been applied.

In the opinion of the directors, the Company complies with all of the mandatory provisions of the code so far as they apply to the further education sector, and it has complied throughout the year ended 31 July 2022 and up to the date of this report.

The Board of Directors

The members of the Board of Directors are listed on page 14. It is the responsibility of the directors to bring independent judgement to issues of strategy, performance, resources and standards of conduct. The Company recognises that, as a body entrusted with both public and private funds, it has a particular duty to observe the highest standards of corporate governance at all times.

The Board is provided with regular and timely information on the overall financial performance of the Company, together with other information such as performance against funding targets, proposed capital expenditure, quality matters and personnel-related matters such as health and safety and environmental issues. The Board meets four times a year.

The Company conducts its business through a number of committees. Each committee has terms of reference which have been approved by the Board. These committees are Search and Governance (covers Remuneration); Learner Curriculum and Skills; Standards; Resources and Business Engagement; and Audit and Risk Management.

The committees are comprised of directors and other advisory body members chosen via the search and governance committee which is comprised entirely of directors - for the knowledge, skills and experience that they bring to the respective committee. For the avoidance of doubt, the advisory body members are not directors of the Company. All decisions taken by the committees have to be subsequently formally approved by the Board.

The committees serve on an advisory basis and report directly to the Board of Directors. As a minimum, the chair of each committee will be a serving director. Details of the composition of each committee are noted under the respective heading below. Formal agendas, papers and reports are supplied to committee members and directors in a timely manner, prior to meetings. Briefings are also provided on an ad-hoc basis.

The Board has a strong and independent non-executive element and no individual or group dominates its decision-making process. The Company considers that each of its non-executive members is independent of management and free from any business or other relationship, which could materially interfere with the exercise of their independent judgement.

There is a clear division of responsibility in that the roles of the Chairman (a non-executive director) and Principal (an executive director) are separate.

Appointments to the Board of Directors

Any new appointments to the Board are a matter for the consideration of the Board as a whole. The Search committee is responsible for the selection and nomination of any new member for the Board’s consideration. The Board is responsible for ensuring that appropriate training is provided as required.

Search and Governance committee

Throughout the year ended 31 July 2022, the Institution’s Search committee comprised four members of the Board of Directors. The committee’s responsibilities are to make recommendations to the Board on the selection of directors and advisory body committee members, and on matters of governance; and determines the remuneration and conditions of employment of senior post holders,

Coleg Ceredigion

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT (continued)

including the Principal. Details of remuneration for the year ended 31 July 2022 are set out in note 6 to the financial statements.

Audit and Risk Management committee

The Audit and Risk Management committee is comprised of seven members. The committee operates in accordance with written terms of reference approved by the Board.

The Audit and Risk Management committee meets on a termly basis and provides a forum for reporting by the Institution’s internal and financial statement auditors, who have access to the committee for independent discussion without the presence of Institution management. The committee also receives and considers reports from WG as they affect the Institution’s business.

The Company’s internal auditor monitors the systems of internal control, risk management controls and governance processes in accordance with an agreed plan of input, and report their findings to management and the Audit and Risk Management committee.

Management is responsible for the implementation of agreed audit recommendations, and internal audit undertake periodic follow-up reviews to ensure such recommendations have been implemented.

The Audit and Risk Management committee also advises the Company on the appointment of internal and financial statement auditors, and their remuneration for both audit and non-audit work.

Resources and Business Development committee

The Resources and Business Development committee is comprised of eight members. The committee operated in accordance with written terms of reference approved by the Board.

The committee meets on a termly basis to review all aspects of planning and resource utilisation in the Company. This would include budgeting, management and financial accounts, treasury and investments, human resources, and estates development and maintenance.

Learner, Curriculum and Skills (and Standards) committee .

The Learner, Curriculum and Skills along with the Standards committee is comprised of eight members. The committees operated in accordance with written terms of reference approved by the Board.

The committees meet on a termly basis to review all aspects of curriculum provision, delivery and performance in the Company.

Internal control

Scope of responsibility

The directors are ultimately responsible for the Institution’s system of internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness. However, such a system is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives, and can provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss.

The Board has delegated the day-to-day responsibility to the Principal for maintaining a sound system of internal control that supports the achievement of the Institution’s policies, aims and objectives, whilst safeguarding the public funds and assets for which they are personally responsible, in accordance with the responsibilities assigned to them in the Financial Memorandum between Coleg Ceredigion and WG. The Principal is also responsible for reporting to the Board any material weaknesses or breakdowns in internal control.

Coleg Ceredigion

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT (continued)

Internal control (continued)

The purpose of the system of internal control

The system of internal control is designed to manage risk to a reasonable level rather than to eliminate all risk of failure to achieve policies, aims and objectives; it can therefore only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance of effectiveness. The system of internal control is based on an ongoing process designed to identify and prioritise the risks to the achievement of Institution policies, aims and objectives, to evaluate the likelihood of those risks being realised and the impact should they be realised, and to manage them efficiently, effectively and economically. The system of internal control has been in place in Coleg Ceredigion for the year ended 31 July 2022 and up to the date of approval of the annual report and financial statements.

Capacity to handle risk

The Board reviewed the key risks to which the Institution is exposed together with the operating, financial and compliance controls that have been implemented to mitigate those risks. The Board is of the view that there is a formal ongoing process for identifying, evaluating and managing the Institution's significant risks that has been in place for the year ending 31 July 2022 and up to the date of approval of the annual report and financial statements. This process is regularly reviewed by the Board.

The risk and control framework

The system of internal control is based on a framework of regular management information, administrative procedures including the segregation of duties, and a system of delegation and accountability. In particular, it includes:

Comprehensive budgeting systems with an annual budget, which is reviewed and agreed by the Board;
Regular reviews by the advisory committee and board of periodic and annual financial reports, which indicate the financial performance against forecasts;
Setting targets to measure financial and other performance;
Clearly defined capital investment control guidelines; and
The adoption of formal project management disciplines, where appropriate.

Coleg Ceredigion engages a firm of professional auditors to provide an internal audit service, which operates in accordance with the requirements of WG. The work of the internal audit service is informed by an analysis of the risks to which the Institution is exposed and annual internal audit plans are based on this analysis. The analysis of risks and the internal audit plans are endorsed by the Board on the recommendation of the audit and risk management committee. The internal auditor provides the governing body with a report on internal audit activity in the institution at least once each year. The report includes the internal auditor’s independent opinion on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Institution’s system of risk management, controls and governance processes.

Coleg Ceredigion CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT (continued)

Review of effectiveness

The Principal has responsibility for reviewing the effectiveness of the system of internal control. His review of the effectiveness of the system of internal control is informed by:

the work of the internal auditor;
the work of the executive managers within the Institution, who have responsibility for the development and maintenance of the internal control framework; and
comments made by the Institution’s financial statements auditor and WG’s auditor in their management letters and other reports.

The Principal has been advised on the implications of the result of their review of the effectiveness of the system of internal control by the Audit and Risk Management committee, which oversees the work of the internal auditor, and a plan to address weaknesses and ensure continuous improvement of the system is in place.

The senior management team receives reports setting out key performance and risk indicators and considers possible control issues brought to their attention by early warning mechanisms, which are embedded within the departments and reinforced by risk awareness training. The senior management team and the Audit and Risk Management committee also receive regular reports from internal audit, which include recommendations for improvement. The Audit and Risk Management committee's role in this area is confined to a high level review of the arrangements for internal control. The Board’s agenda includes a regular item for consideration of risk and control and receives reports thereon from the senior management team and the Audit and Risk Management committee. The emphasis is on obtaining the relevant degree of assurance and not merely reporting by exception. At its December 2022 meeting, the Board carried out the annual assessment for the year ended 31 July 2022 by considering documentation from the senior management team and internal audit, and taking account of events since 31 July 2022.

Based on the advice of the Audit and Risk Management Committee and the Principal, the Board is of the opinion that the Company has an adequate and effective framework for governance, risk management and control, and has fulfilled its statutory responsibility for “the effective and efficient use of resources, the solvency of the institution and the body and the safeguarding of their assets”.

Statement on regularity, propriety and compliance

The Governing Body has considered its responsibility to notify the Welsh Government of material irregularity, impropriety and non-compliance with the terms and conditions of funding, under the financial memorandum and contracts in place between the College and the Welsh Government. As part of our consideration we have had due regard to the requirements of the financial memorandum and contracts with the Welsh Government.

We confirm on behalf of the Governing Body, that after due enquiry, and to the best of our knowledge, we are able to identify any material irregular or improper use of funds by the College, or material noncompliance with the terms and conditions of funding under the college’s financial memorandum and contracts with the Welsh Government.

We confirm that no instances of material irregularity, impropriety or funding non-compliance have been discovered to date. If any instances are identified after the date of this statement, these will be notified to the Welsh Government.

Going concern

The activities of the College, together with the factors likely to affect its future development and performance are set out in the Strategic Report. The financial position of the College, its cash flow, liquidity and borrowings are presented in the Financial Statements and accompanying notes.

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis which the directors consider to be appropriate for the following reasons.

Coleg Ceredigion

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT (continued)

account of severe but plausible downsides, including the anticipated impact of COVID-19, the College will have sufficient funds to meet its liabilities as they fall due over the period of 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements (the going concern assessment period).

Those forecasts are dependent on the College’s continued support from its immediate parent company, Coleg Sir Gar. As with any company placing reliance on other group entities for financial support, the directors acknowledge that there can be no certainty that this support will continue although, at the date of approval of these financial statements, they have no reason to believe that it will not do so. Consequently, the directors are confident that the College has adequate resources to continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements and therefore continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

Training and Development – Board of Directors and Heads of Governance

A number of in- house training sessions were undertaken during the year .

External Review – Governance

An external review of Governance is undertaken at least once every 3 years. The last review was carried out by the Internal Audit Team – Mazars LLP - in May 2022.

By order of the Board

………………………… Mrs Maria Stedman

Director Date: 8[th] December 2022……………………………

Coleg Ceredigion

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF COLEG CEREDIGION

REPORT ON THE AUDIT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Coleg Ceredigion (“the College”) for the year ended 31 July 2022 which comprise the Statement of Comprehensive Income, Statement of Changes in Reserves, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement and related notes, including the accounting policies in note 1.

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the College’s affairs as at 31 July 2022 and of its loss for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with UK accounting standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland ; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) and applicable law. Our responsibilities are described below. We have fulfilled our ethical responsibilities under, and are independent of the College in accordance with, UK ethical requirements including the FRC Ethical Standard. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is a sufficient and appropriate basis for our opinion.

Going concern

The directors have prepared the financial statements on the going concern basis as they do not intend to liquidate the College or to cease its operations, and as they have concluded that the College’s financial position means that this is realistic. They have also concluded that there are no material uncertainties that could have cast significant doubt over its ability to continue as a going concern for at least a year from the date of approval of the financial statements (“the going concern period”).

In our evaluation of the directors’ conclusions, we considered the inherent risks to the College’s business model and analysed how those risks might affect the College’s financial resources or ability to continue operations over the going concern period.

Our conclusions based on this work:

we consider that the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate;
we have not identified, and concur with the directors’ assessment that there is not, a material uncertainty related to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the College’s ability to continue as a going concern for the going concern period.

However, as we cannot predict all future events or conditions and as subsequent events may result in outcomes that are inconsistent with judgements that were reasonable at the time they were made, the above conclusions are not a guarantee that the College will continue in operation.

Fraud and breaches of laws and regulations – ability to detect

Identifying and responding to risks of material misstatement due to fraud

To identify risks of material misstatement due to fraud (“fraud risks”) we assessed events or conditions that could indicate an incentive or pressure to commit fraud or provide an opportunity to commit fraud. Our risk assessment procedures included:

Enquiring of directors, the Audit and Risk Committee, as well as whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud.
Reading Board of Directors and Audit and Risk Committee meeting minutes.
Using analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships.

We communicated identified fraud risks throughout the audit team and remained alert to any indications of fraud throughout the audit.

Coleg Ceredigion INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF COLEG CEREDIGION (Continued)

As required by auditing standards, we perform procedures to address the risk of management override of controls and the risk that management may be in a position to make inappropriate accounting entries. On this audit we did not identify a fraud risk related to revenue recognition due to the non-complex revenue recognition criteria, which limits the opportunity to fraudulently manipulate revenue.

We did not identify any additional fraud risks.

In determining the audit procedures we took into account the results of our evaluation and testing of the operating effectiveness of some of the College-wide fraud risk management controls.

We also performed procedures including:

Identifying journal entries to test based on risk criteria and comparing the identified entries to supporting documentation. These included journals posted by individuals who typically do not make journal entries, revenue or cash journals made to unrelated accounts and unbalanced journal entries.

Identifying and responding to risks of material misstatement related to compliance with laws and regulations

We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our general commercial and sector experience and through discussion with the directors (as required by auditing standards), and discussed with the directors the policies and procedures regarding compliance with laws and regulations.

We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.

The potential effect of these laws and regulations on the financial statements varies considerably.

Firstly, the College is subject to laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements including financial reporting legislation (including related companies legislation and further education related legislation, including the Accounts Direction for Further Education Colleges in Wales issued by Welsh Government), distributable profits legislation and pensions legislation and we assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items.

Secondly, the College is subject to many other laws and regulations where the consequences of noncompliance could have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance through the imposition of fines or litigation. We identified the following areas as those most likely to have such an effect: health and safety, data protection laws, employment law, recognising the nature of the College’s activities. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Therefore, if a breach of operational regulations is not disclosed to us or evident from relevant correspondence, an audit will not detect that breach.

Context of the ability of the audit to detect fraud or breaches of law or regulation

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. For example, the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it.

In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of fraud, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. Our audit procedures are designed to detect material misstatement. We are not responsible for preventing noncompliance or fraud and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

Other information

The directors are responsible for the other information, which comprises the strategic report, directors’ report, the Statement of Governance and Internal Control, Statement of Regularity, Propriety and Compliance. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except as explicitly stated below, any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Coleg Ceredigion INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF COLEG CEREDIGION (Continued)

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether, based on our financial statements audit work, the information therein is materially misstated or inconsistent with the financial statements or our audit knowledge. Based solely on that work:

we have not identified material misstatements in the other information;
in our opinion the information given in the Trustees' Annual Report, which constitutes the strategic report and the directors’ report for the financial year is consistent with the financial statements; and
in our opinion those reports have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept by the College, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the College financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

We have nothing to report in these respects.

Directors’ responsibilities

As explained more fully in their statement set out on page 19, the directors are responsible for: the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view; such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; assessing the College’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 they either intend to liquidate the College or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities

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 our opinion in an auditor’s report. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but does not 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 aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements.

A fuller description of our responsibilities is provided on the FRC’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities.

REPORT ON OTHER LEGAL AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

We are required to report on the following matters under the Further Education Audit Code of Practice 2015 (effective 1 August 2014) issued by the Welsh Government under the Learning and Skills Act 2000.

In our opinion, in all material respects:

monies expended out of Welsh Government grants and other funds from whatever source administered by the College for specific purposes have been properly applied to those purposes and, if appropriate, managed in compliance with all relevant legislation;
funding received from the Welsh Government (and other bodies and restricted funds where appropriate) has been applied in accordance with the Financial Memorandum between the Welsh Government and further education institutions; and

Coleg Ceredigion INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF COLEG CEREDIGION (Continued)

the financial statements meet the requirements of the Accounts Direction for Further Education Colleges in Wales 2021/22 issued by Welsh Government.

THE PURPOSE OF OUR AUDIT WORK AND TO WHOM WE OWE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

This report is made solely to the College’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and paragraph 56(b) of the College’s Articles of Association. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the College’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s 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 College and the College’s members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Rees Batley (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of KPMG LLP, Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants 66 Queen Square Bristol BS1 4BE 9 December 2022

Coleg Ceredigion

Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year ended 31 July 2022

Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year ended 31 July 2022
		2022	2021
	Notes	£000	£000
Income
Funding body grants	2	5,680	5,866
Tuition fees and education contracts	3	230	230
Other grants and contracts	4	142	184
Other income	5	325	259
Total income		6,377	6,539
Expenditure
Staff costs	6	4,585	4,544
Other operating expenses	7	1,349	1,231
Depreciation	9	450	487
Interest and other finance costs	8	67	81
Total expenditure		6,451	6,343
Surplus/(deficit) before other gains and losses		(74)	196
Surplus/(deficit) for the year		(74)	196
Actuarial gain(loss) in respect of pension scheme		3,900	1,251
Total Comprehensive income/(expense) for the year		3,826	1,447
Represented by:		3,826	1,447
Unrestricted comprehensive income/(expense)

All amounts are derived from continuing operations.

The accompanying notes on pages 32-49 form part of the financial statements.

Coleg Ceredigion

Statement of Changes in Reserves for the year ended 31 July 2022

Statement of Changesin Reserves for the year ended 31 July 2022
	Income and	Revaluation	Total
	Expenditure	reserve
	Account
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Balance as at 1 August 2020	(4,233)	1,196	(3,037)
Surplus from the income and expenditure account	196	-	196
Other comprehensive income	1,251	-	1,251
Transfers between revaluation and income and	43	(43)	-
expenditure reserves
	(2,743)	1,153	(1,590)
Balance as at 31 July 2021	(2,743)	1,153	(1,590)
Deficit from the income and expenditure account	(74)	-	(74)
Other comprehensive income	3,900	-	3,900
Transfers between revaluation and income and	43	(43)	-
expenditure reserves
	3,869	(43)	3,826

Balance as 31 July 2022	1,126	1,110	2,236

Coleg Ceredigion

Balance sheet as at 31 July 2022

Coleg Ceredigion Balance sheet as at 31 July 2022
		2022	2021
	Notes	£'000	£'000
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets	9	4,470	4,419
Current assets
Stocks		6	4
Trade and other receivables	10	885	171
Cash and cash equivalents	14	588	1,056
		1,479	1,231
Less: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	11	(772)	(806)
Net current assets/liabilities		707	425
Total assets		5,177	4,844
Less: Creditors - amounts falling due after more than one year	12	(1,801)	(1,715)
Provisions
Defined benefit obligations	16	(824)	(4,353)
Other provisions	13	(316)	(366)
Total net assets		2,236	(1,590)
Unrestricted reserves
Income and expenditure account		1,126	(2,743)
Revaluation reserve		1,110	1,153
Total unrestricted reserves, being total reserves		2,236	(1,590)

The financial statements on pages 28 to 48 were approved and authorised for issue by the Board on the 8[th] December 2022 and were signed on its behalf on that date by:

Chair: Director:

Date: 8[th] December 2022 Date: 8[th] December 2022

Mrs M Stedman Mr Andrew Cornish

Company registration no: 08725643

Charity registration no: 154557

Coleg Ceredigion

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 July 2022

	Notes	2022	2021
		£'000	£'000
Cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities
Surplus/(deficit) for the year		(74)	196
Adjustment for non-cash items
Depreciation		450	487
(Increase)/Decrease in debtors		(717)	666
Increase/(Decrease) in creditors due within one year		(6)	(946)
lncrease/(decrease) in creditors due after one year		(263)	(323)
Increase/(decrease) in provisions		(50)	(5)
Pensions costs less contributions payable		371	405
Adjustment for investing or financing activities
Interest received		(-)	(-)
Interest payable		-	-
Net cash flow from operating activities		(289)	480
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received		-	-
Payments made toacquire fixed assets		(501)	(618)
Grants received		322	533
		(179)	(85)
Increase in cash and cash equivalents in the year		(468)	395
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year	14	1,056	661
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year	14	588	1,056

Coleg Ceredigion Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 July 2022

1 Statement of accounting policies and estimation techniques

Coleg Ceredigion is a company limited by guarantee and incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom

The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the financial statements.

Basis of preparation

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act, the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting for Further and Higher Education 2019 (the 2019 FE HE SORP), the Accounts Direction for Further Education Colleges in Wales 2021/22 and in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102 - "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland" (FRS 102). The College is a public benefit entity and has therefore applied the relevant public benefit requirements of FRS 102.

The preparation of financial statements in compliance with FRS 102 requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to exercise judgement in applying the College's accounting policies.

Basis of accounting

The financial statements are prepared in accordance with the historical cost convention as modified by the use of previous valuations as deemed cost at transition to FRS 102 for certain non-current assets. The accounting rules set out below have been applied consistently.

Going concern

Total net assets were £2,236k as at 31 July 2022. The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis which the directors consider to be appropriate for the following reasons.

The Directors have prepared cash flow forecasts for a period of 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements. After reviewing these forecasts, the Directors are of the opinion that, taking account of severe but plausible downsides, including the anticipated impact of COVID-19, the College will have sufficient funds to meet its liabilities as they fall due over the period of 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements (the going concern assessment period).

Those forecasts are dependent on the College’s support from its immediate parent company, Coleg Sir Gar. As with any company placing reliance on other group entities for financial support, the directors acknowledge that there can be no certainty that this support will continue although, at the date of approval of these financial statements, they have no reason to believe that it will not do so.

Consequently, the directors are confident that the College has adequate resources to continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements and therefore continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

1 Statement of accounting policies and estimation techniques (continued)

Recognition of income

Government revenue grants include funding body recurrent grants and other grants and are accounted for under the accrual model as permitted by FRS 102. Funding body recurrent grants are measured in line with amounts received in year. Any under or over achievement is estimated, adjusted for and reflected in the level of recurrent grant recognised in the income and expenditure account.

Grants (including research grants) from non-government sources are recognised in income when the College is entitled to the income and performance related conditions have been met. Income received in advance of performance related conditions being met is recognised as deferred income within creditors on the balance sheet and released to income as the conditions are met.

Government capital grants are capitalised, held as deferred income and recognised in income over the expected useful life of the asset, under the accrual method as permitted by FRS 102. Other capital grants are recognised in income when the College is entitled to the funds subject to any performance related conditions being met.

Income from tuition fees is stated gross of any expenditure which is not a discount and is recognised in the period for which it is received.

Income from contracts and other services rendered is included to the extent of the completion of the contract or service concerned. This is generally equivalent to the sum of the relevant expenditure incurred during the year and any related contributions towards overhead costs

All income from short-term deposits is credited to the income and expenditure account in the period in which it is earned on a receivable basis.

Accounting for post-employment benefits

Post-employment benefits to employees of the College are principally provided by the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) and the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). These are defined benefit plans, which are externally funded and contracted out of the State Second Pension.

The TPS is an unfunded scheme. Contributions to the TPS are calculated so as to spread the cost of pensions over employees' working lives with the College in such a way that the pension cost is a substantially level percentage of current and future pensionable payroll. The contributions are determined by qualified actuaries on the basis of valuations using a prospective benefit method. The TPS is a multi-employer scheme and the College is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the scheme on a consistent and reasonable basis. The TPS is therefore treated as a defined contribution plan and the contributions recognised as an expense in the income statement in the periods during which services are rendered by employees.

The LGPS is a funded scheme. The assets of the LGPS are measured using closing fair values. LGPS liabilities are measured using the projected unit credit method and discounted at the current rate of return on a high quality corporate bond of equivalent term and currency to the liabilities. The actuarial valuations are obtained at least triennially and are updated at each balance sheet date. The amounts charged to operating surplus are the current service costs and the costs of scheme introductions, benefit changes, settlements and curtailments. They are included as part of staff costs as incurred. Net interest on the net defined benefit liability/asset is also recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income and comprises the interest cost on the defined benefit obligation and interest income on the scheme assets, calculated by multiplying the fair value of the scheme assets at the beginning of the period by the rate used to discount the benefit obligations. The difference between the interest income on the scheme assets and the actual return on the scheme assets is recognised in other comprehensive income.

Actuarial gains and losses are recognised immediately in other comprehensive income.

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

1 Statement of accounting policies and estimation techniques (continued)

Short term Employment benefits

Short term employment benefits such as salaries and compensated absences (holiday pay) are recognised as an expense in the year in which the employees render service to the College. Any unused benefits are accrued and measured as the additional amount the College expects to pay as a result of the unused entitlement.

Enhanced Pensions

The actual cost of any enhanced ongoing pension to a former member of staff is paid by the college annually. An estimate of the expected future cost of any enhancement to the ongoing pension of a former member of staff is charged in full to the College's income in the year that the member of staff retires. In subsequent years a charge is made to provisions in the balance sheet using the enhanced pension spreadsheet provided by the funding bodies.

Non-current Assets - Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost / deemed cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Certain items of fixed assets that had been revalued to fair value on or prior to the date of transition to the 2015 FE HE SORP, are measured on the basis of deemed cost, being the revalued amount at the date of that revaluation.

Land and buildings

Freehold buildings are depreciated on a straight line basis over their expected useful lives of 50 years. Freehold land is not depreciated. Where land and buildings are acquired with the aid of specific grants, they are capitalised and depreciated as above. Further building improvements have historically been depreciated over 10 years or over the useful economic life of the asset. The related grants are credited to a deferred income account within creditors, and are released to the income and expenditure account over the expected useful economic life of the related asset on a systematic basis consistent with the depreciation policy. The deferred income is allocated between creditors due within one year and those due after more than one year.

A review for impairment of a fixed asset is carried out if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of any fixed asset may not be recoverable.

On adoption of FRS 102, the College followed the transitional provision to retain the book value of land and buildings, which were revalued in 1996, as deemed cost but not to adopt a policy of revaluations of these properties in the future.

Assets under construction

Assets under construction are accounted for at cost, based on the value of architects' certificates and other direct costs, incurred to 31 July. They are not depreciated until they are brought into use.

Subsequent expenditure on existing fixed assets

Where significant expenditure is incurred on tangible fixed assets after initial purchase it is charged to income in the period it is incurred, unless it increases the future benefits to the College, in which case it is capitalised and depreciated on the relevant basis.

Equipment

Equipment costing less than £3,000 per individual item is written off to the income and expenditure account in the period of acquisition. Grouped items, which are in aggregate above the threshold but individually under, will be reviewed specifically to determine the approach. Capitalised equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over its remaining useful economic life as follows:

General equipment 5% - 25% per annum
• Computer equipment 20% - 33% per annum • Fixtures and fittings 10% - 25% per annum

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

1 Statement of accounting policies and estimation techniques (continued)

Leased assets

Costs in respect of operating leases are charged on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Leasing agreements which transfer to the College substantially all the benefits and risks of ownership of an asset are treated as finance leases.

Assets held under finance leases are recognised initially at the fair value of the leased asset (or, if lower, the present value of minimum lease payments) at the inception of the lease. The corresponding liability to the lessor is included in the balance sheet as a finance lease obligation. Assets held under finance leases are included in tangible fixed assets and depreciated and assessed for impairment losses in the same way as owned assets.

Minimum lease payments are apportioned between the finance charge and the reduction of the outstanding liability. The finance charges are allocated over the period of the lease in proportion to the capital element outstanding.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of their cost and net realisable value, being selling price less costs to complete and sell. Where necessary, provision is made for obsolete, slow-moving and defective items.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash includes cash in hand, deposits repayable on demand and overdrafts. Deposits are repayable on demand if they are in practice available within 24 hours without penalty.

Cash equivalents are short term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash with insignificant risk of change in value. An investment qualifies as a cash equivalent when it has maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition

Financial assets, liabilities and equity

Financial assets, liabilities and equity are classified according to the substance of the financial instrument's contractual obligations, rather than the financial instrument's legal form.

Any loans, investments and short term deposits held by the College are classified as basic financial instruments in accordance with FRS 102. These instruments are initially recorded at the transaction price less any transaction costs (historical cost). FRS 102 requires that basic financial instruments are subsequently measured at amortised cost.

Foreign currency translation

Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are recorded using the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rates of exchange ruling at the end of the financial period with all resulting exchange differences being taken to income in the period in which they arise.

Taxation

The College is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the College is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by sections 478-488 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

The College is partially exempt in respect of Value Added Tax. Irrecoverable VAT on inputs is included in the costs of such inputs and added to the cost of tangible fixed assets as appropriate, where the inputs themselves are tangible fixed assets by nature.

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

1 Statement of accounting policies and estimation techniques (continued)

Provisions and contingent liabilities

Provisions are recognised when the College has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required to settle the obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.

Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the amount expected to be required to settle the obligation is recognised at present value using a pre-tax discount rate. The unwinding of the discount is recognised as a finance cost in the statement of comprehensive income in the period it arises.

A contingent liability arises from a past event that gives the College a possible obligation whose existence will only be confirmed by the occurrence or otherwise of uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the College. Contingent liabilities also arise in circumstances where a provision would otherwise be made but either it is not probable that an outflow of resources will be required or the amount of the obligation cannot be measured reliably.

Contingent liabilities are not recognised in the balance sheet but are disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.

Agency arrangements

The College acts as an agent in the collection and payment of discretionary support funds. Related payments received from the funding bodies and subsequent disbursements to students are excluded from the income and expenditure of the College where the College is exposed to minimal risk or enjoys minimal economic benefit related to the transaction.

Judgements in applying accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In preparing these financial statements, management have made the following judgements:

Determine whether there are indicators of impairment of the College’s tangible assets. Factors taken into consideration in reaching such a decision include the economic viability and expected future financial performance of the asset and where it is a component of a larger cash-generating unit, the viability and expected future performance of that unit.

Other key sources of estimation uncertainty

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets, are depreciated over their useful lives taking into account residual values, where appropriate. The actual lives of the assets and residual values are assessed annually and may vary depending on a number of factors. In re-assessing asset lives, factors such as technological innovation and maintenance programmes are taken into account. Residual value assessments consider issues such as future market conditions, the remaining life of the asset and projected disposal values.

Local Government Pension Scheme

The present value of the Local Government Pension Scheme defined benefit liability depends on a number of factors that are determined on an actuarial basis using a variety of assumptions. The assumptions used in determining the net cost (income) for pensions include the discount rate. Any changes in these assumptions, which are disclosed in note 17, will impact the carrying amount of the pension liability. Furthermore, a roll forward approach which projects results from the latest full actuarial valuation performed at 31 March 2019 has been used by the actuary in valuing the pensions liability at 31 July 2022. Any differences between the figures derived from the roll forward approach and a full actuarial valuation would impact on the carrying amount of the pension liability.

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)
2 Funding body grants
	2022	2021
	£000	£000
Recurrent grant	4,935	5,100
Work based learning	292	150
Releases of deferred capital grant:
Buildings	62	120
Equipment	201	203
Other Revenue Grants	190	293
	5,680	5,866
3 Tuition fees and education contracts	2022	2021
	£000	£000
UK Further Education students	15	12
UK Higher Education students	-	-
Total fees paid by or on behalf of individual students	15	12
Higher Education contracts	-	-
Other contracts	215	218
	230	230
4 Other grants and contracts
	2022	2021
	£000	£000
European Commission	142	184
5 Other income
	2022	2021
	£000	£000
Catering and residences	114	29
Other income-generating activities	79	87
Miscellaneous income	131	143
Total	324	259

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

6 Staff costs

The average number of persons (including key management personal) employed by the College during the year, described as full-time equivalents, was:

	2022	2021
	Number	Number
Teaching staff	60	56
Non-Teaching	45	50
	105	106
Average number of staff by headcount
Teaching staff	84	76
Non- Teaching	70	69
Total	154	145
Staff costs for the above persons
	2022	2021
	£000	£000
Wages and salaries	3,295	3,298
Social security costs	296	278
Otherpensioncosts	994	968
	4,585	4,544
Staff Restructuring	-	-
	4,585	4,544

Key Management Personnel

Key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the College. Key management personnel represent the 4 members of the management team. This number reduced to 3 in November 2021 following a staff member retiring and not being replaced.

Number of Key management personnel, Accounting Officer and other higher paid staff

	2022	2021
	No	No
The number of key management personnel including the Accounting Officer	3	4
was:

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

6 Staff costs

The number of key management personnel and other staff who received annual emoluments, excluding pension contributions but including benefits in kind, in the following ranges was:

		Key		Other
		Management		staff
		Personnel
		2022	2021	2022	2021
		No	No	No	No
£45,001	to £50,000	1	1	-	-
£50,001	to £55,000	1	2	-	-
£55,001	to £60,000	1	1

There were no key management personnel paid in excess of £60,000.

Key management personnel emoluments are made up as follows: -

	2022	2021
	£'000	£'000
Salaries	179	211
Benefits in kind	-	-
	179	211
Pension contributions	40	44
Total emoluments	219	255

Emoluments paid to the highest paid staff member (included in above)

	2021	2020
	£'000	£'000
Salaries	60	58
Benefits in kind	-	-
	60	58
Pension contributions	14	14
Total emoluments	74	72

£300,000 was recharged by Coleg Sir Gar to recover an element of the Principal, Vice Principals and Directors, who are on the payroll of Coleg Sir Gar but who’s time is spent between Coleg Sir Gar and Coleg Ceredigion. The recharge includes £53,620 towards the payment of the Principal’s salary (not included in key personnel above). The Principal is also the Accountable officer. Further details of the Principal’s emoluments can be found in the disclosures within Coleg Sir Gar financial statements.

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

7 Other operating expenses
		2022	2021
		£'000	£'000
Teaching costs		290	263
Non-teaching costs		724	585
Premises		335	383
		1,349	1,231
Other operating expenses include:
		2021	2020
		£000	£000
Auditor’s remuneration:
Financial statements audit		26	29
Internal audit		-	-
Hire of assets under operatingleases		30	34
8 Interest and other finance costs
		2022	2021
		£000	£000
Pension finance costs (note 16)		67	81
9 Tangible fixed assets
	Land and	Equipment	Total
	buildings
	Freehold
	£000	£000	£000
Cost or valuation
At 1 August 2021	8,016	1,799	9,815
Additions	107	394	501
Disposals	(56)	(55)	(111)
At 31~~Jul~~2022	8,067	2,138	10,205
Depreciation
At 1 August 2021	3,835	1,561	5,396
Charge for the year	234	216	450
Eliminated on disposal	(56)	(55)	(111)
At 31~~Jul~~2022	4,013	1,722	5,735
Net book value at 31 July 2022	4,054	416	4,470
Net book value as at 31 July2021	4,181	238	4,419

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

	10 Trade and other receivables 2022 2021 £'000 £'000 Amounts falling due within one year:- Trade receivables 27 11 Amounts owed by group undertaking: 654 - Prepayments and accrued income 204 160
	Total 885 171
	The above is repayable on demand and interest free. 11 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 2022 2021 £'000 £'000 Trade payables 139 122 Other taxation and social security 72 74 Accruals and deferred income 298 287 Deferred income -government capitalgrants 263 323
	Total 772 806

12 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year

	2022	2021
	£'000	£'000
Deferred income-Government capital grants	1,801	1,715

13 Other Provisions

13 Other Provisions
	Enhanced Pensions
	£'000
At 1 August 2021	366
Expenditure in the year	(27)
Transferred from income and	(23)
expenditure account
At 31 July 2022	316

The enhanced pension provision relates to the cost of staff that have already left the College's employ and commitments for reorganisation costs from which the College cannot reasonably withdraw at the balance sheet date. This provision has been recalculated in accordance with guidance issued by the funding bodies.

The principal assumptions for this calculation are:

e principal assumptions for this calculation are:
	2022	2021
Price inflation	3.3%	2.2%
Discount rate	2.9%	1.6%

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

14
	At 1	Cash flows	At 31 July
	August		`2022`
	2021
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Cash	1,056	(468)	588

15 Lease Obligations

At 31 July the College had minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

llows:
	2022	2021
	£'000	£'000
Future minimum lease payments due
Other than land and buildings
Not later than one year	16	19
Later than one year and not later than five years	18	23
	34	42

16 Defined benefit obligations

The College's employees belong to two principal post-employment benefit plans: The Teachers' Pension Scheme England and Wales (TPS) for academic and related staff; and the Dyfed Pension Scheme (LGPS) for non-teaching staff, which is managed by Mercer Limited. Both are multiemployer defined-benefit plans.

Total pension cost for the year Teachers' Pension Scheme: contributions paid Local Government Pension Scheme: Contributions paid FRS 102 (28) charge Charge to the Statement of Comprehensive Income Enhanced pension charge to Statement of Comprehensive Income Total Pension Cost for Year	229 371	2022 £'000 461 600 (23)	215 405	2021 £'000 429 620 24

		1,038		1,073

The pension costs are assessed in accordance with the advice of independent qualified actuaries. The latest formal actuarial valuation of the TPS was 31 March 2016 and of the LGPS 31 March 2019.

Contributions amounting to £55,000 (2021: £53,000) were payable to the TPS scheme and £24,000 (2021: £Nil) were payable to the LGPS scheme at the year-end and are included in creditors.

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

16 Defined benefit obligations (continued)

Teachers' Pension Scheme

The Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) is a statutory, contributory, defined benefit scheme, governed by the Teachers' Pensions Regulations 2010, and, from 1 April 2014, by the Teachers' Pension Scheme Regulations 2014. These regulations apply to teachers in schools and other educational establishments, including academies, in England and Wales that are maintained by local authorities. In addition, teachers in many independent and voluntary-aided schools and teachers and lecturers in some establishments of further and higher education may be eligible for membership. Membership is automatic for full-time teachers and lecturers and, from 1 January 2007, automatic too for teachers and lecturers in part-time employment following appointment or a change of contract. Teachers and lecturers are able to opt out of the TPS.

The Teachers' Pension Budgeting and Valuation Account

Although teachers and lecturers are employed by various bodies, their retirement and other pension benefits, including annual increases payable under the Pensions (Increase) Acts are, as provided for in the Superannuation Act 1972, paid out of monies provided by Parliament. Under the unfunded TPS, teachers' contributions on a 'pay-as-you-go' basis, and employers' contributions, are credited to the Exchequer under arrangements governed by the above Act.

The Teachers' Pensions Regulations require an annual account, the Teachers' Pension Budgeting and Valuation Account, to be kept of receipts and expenditure (including the cost of pensions' increases). From 1 April 2001, the Account has been credited with a real rate of return which is equivalent to assuming that the balance in the Account is invested in notional investments that produce that real rate of return.

Valuation of the Teachers' Pension Scheme

This report sets out the results of the actuarial valuation of the combination of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (‘pre-2015 Scheme’) 6 and the 2015 Teachers' Pension Scheme (‘2015 Scheme’) 7 (Teachers' Pension Scheme or ‘the Scheme’). The Scheme provides pensions and other benefits to teachers who have worked in schools or other educational establishments in England and Wales. The Scheme is an unfunded statutory public service pension scheme with the benefits underwritten by the Government. The Scheme is financed by payments from the employer and from those current employees who are members of the Scheme, who pay contributions at different rates based on pay and as specified in the regulations

The latest actuarial valuation of the scheme was carried out as at 31 March 2016 and in accordance with The Public Service Pensions (Valuations and Employers Cost Cap) Directions 2014. The Government Actuary (GA) reported on the valuation of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme on 9 June 2014. The GA concluded that:

at the date of the valuation, the liabilities in the scheme were £196.1 bn and the value of the assets was £218.1 bn giving a notional past service deficit of £22 bn;
the total recommended rate of contribution payable by employers from 1 September 2019 is 23.6 % (previously 16.4%) of salary.

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

16 Defined benefit obligations (continued)

Scheme Changes

Following the Hutton report in March 2011 and the subsequent consultations with trade unions and other representative bodies on reform of the TPS, the Department published a Proposed Final Agreement, setting out the design for a reformed TPS to be implemented from 1 April 2015.

The key provisions of the reformed scheme include: a pension based on career average earnings; an accrual rate of 1/57th; and a Normal Pension Age equal to State Pension Age, but with options to enable members to retire earlier or later than their Normal Pension Age. Importantly, pension benefits built up before 1 April 2015 will be fully protected.

In addition, the Proposed Final Agreement includes a Government commitment that those within 10 years of Normal Pension Age on 1 April 2012 will see no change to the age at which they can retire, and no decrease in the amount of pension they receive when they retire. There will also be further transitional protection, tapered over a three and a half year period, for people who would fall up to three and a half years outside of the 10 year protection.

Regulations giving effect to a reformed Teachers' Pension Scheme came into force on 1 April 2014 and the reformed scheme commenced on 1 April 2015.

The pension costs paid to TPS in the year amounted to £461,000 (2021: £429,000).

FRS 102 (28)

Under the definitions set out in FRS 102 (28.11), the TPS is a multi-employer pension scheme. The College is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the scheme.

Accordingly, the College has taken advantage of the exemption in FRS 102 and has accounted for its contributions to the scheme as if it were a defined-contribution plan. The College has set out above the information available on the plan and the implications for the College in terms of the anticipated contribution rates.

Local Government Pension Scheme

The LGPS is a funded defined-benefit plan, with the assets held in separate funds administered by Carmarthenshire Local Authority. The total contribution made for the year ended 31 July 2022 was £300,000, of which employer's contributions totaled £231,000 and employees' contributions totaled £69,000. The agreed employer’s contribution rate for future years is19.7% Employee contributions range from 5.5% to 8.5% cent, depending on salary.

Principal Actuarial Assumptions

The following information is based upon a full actuarial valuation of the fund at 31 March 2019 updated to 31 July 2022 by a qualified independent actuary.

	2022	2021
Rate of increase in salaries	4.20%	4.10%
Future pensions increases	2.80%	2.70%
Discount rate for scheme liabilities	3.50%	1.60%
Inflation assumption (CPI)	2.70%	2.60%

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

16 Defined benefit obligations (continued)

The current mortality assumptions include sufficient allowance for future improvements in mortality rates. The assumed life expectations on retirement age 65 are:

tes. The assumed life expectations on retirement	age 65 are:
	2022	2021
	years	years
Retiring today
Males	23.00	23.10
Females	24.90	25.00
Retiring in 20 years’ time
Males	24.40	24.70
Females	27.10	27.20

The College's share of the assets in the plan and the expected rates of return were:

	Long-	Fair Value	Long-term	Fair Value
	term rate	at 31 July	rate of return	at 31 July
	of return	2022	expected at	2021
	expected		31 July 2021
	at 31 July
	2022
		£'000		£'000
Equities	70.40%	8,646	75.00%	9,378
Government Bonds	1.40%	172	1.80%	225
Other Bonds	7.30%	897	8.20%	1,025
Property	15.80%	1,941	10.40%	1,300
Cash/Other	5.10%	626	4.60%	576
Total market value of assets		12,282		12,504
Actual return on plan assets
		(112)		2,045

The amount included in the balance sheet in respect of the defined benefit pension plan is as follows:

ollows:
	2022	2021
	£'000	£'000
Fair value of plan assets	12,282	12,504
Present value ofplan liabilities	(13,106)	(16,857)
Netpensions(liability)	(824)	(4,353)

At 31 March 2020, in order to reflect the impact of proposals by the UK Chancellor and the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) to align RPI with CPIH (a variant of the Consumer Prices Index that includes an estimate of housing costs), the CPI assumption methodology was reassessed. In particular, the assumed long-term gap between RPI inflation and CPI inflation was reduced from 1.1% at the prior year end to 0.6% at this year-end.

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

16 Defined benefit obligations (continued)

Amounts recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income in respect of the plan are as follows:

follows:
	2022	2021
	£'000	£'000
Amounts included in staff costs
Current services cost	(530)	(536)
Administration charge	(5)	(5)
Curtailment cost	-	-
Operatingcost	(535)	(541)
Amounts included in interest and other finance
Net interest
	(67)	(81)
Amounts recognised in Other Comprehensive Income
Return on pension plan assets	199	167
Changes in assumptions underlying the present value of	3,701	1,084
plan liabilities
Amount recognised in Other Comprehensive income/(expense)	3,900	1,251
Movement in net defined benefit (liability)/asset during the year
	2022	2021
	£'000	£'000
Deficit in scheme at 1 August	(4,353)	(5,199)
Movement in year:
Current service cost	(530)	(536)
Employer contributions	231	217
Net interest on the defined (liability)/asset	(67)	(81)
Administration charge/curtailment fee	(5)	(5)
Actuarialgain(loss)	3,900	1,251
Net defined benefit pension liability asset at 31 July	(824)	(4,353)
Asset and liability reconciliation
	2022	2021
	£'000	£'000
Changes in the present value of defined benefit obligations
Defined benefit obligations at start of year	16,857	15,663
Current Service cost	530	536
Interest cost	266	248
Contributions by Scheme participants	69	75
Changes in financial assumptions	(4,211)	627
Estimated benefits paid	(405)	(292)
Past Service cost	-	-
Defined benefit obligations at end of year	13,106	16,857

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2022 (continued)

16 Defined benefit obligations (continued)

Reconciliation of assets

conciliation of assets
Fair value of plan assets at start of year Interest on plan assets Return on plan assets Employer contributions Administration Charge Contributions by Scheme participants Estimated benefits paid Assets at end of year	2022 £'000 12,504 199 (311) 231 (5) 69 (405) 12,282	2021 £'000 10,464 167 1,878 217 (5) 75 (292)
		12,504

Emerging inflation

Pension increases, deferred revaluations and increases to CARE benefits in the LGPS are awarded in April each year but based on the CPI index as measured at the preceding September. The April 2022 pension increase award was therefore based on September 2021 CPI. Over recent months, UK inflation has risen rapidly in comparison to recent years, leading to a c. 9% increase in the CPI index between September 2021 and July 2022. In previous years, the LGPS Actuaries have generally made no allowance for actual inflation experience between the reference month (September) and the accounting date (July) on the grounds that it was not significantly different to the forward-looking long-term CPI assumption used in its place.. However, making no allowance as at 31 July 2022 would lead to a c. 6% understatement of the gross defined benefit obligation. Therefore there has been a change in approach in allowing for inflation experience at 31 July 2022 to make allowance for the exceptionally high inflation over the period since September 2021. The defined benefit obligation as at 31 July 2022 now includes an allowance for the April 2022 pension increase and the impact of actual CPI since September 2021 as experience item.

Post balance sheet events

Markets have moved significantly since 31 July 2022: long-dated AA corporate bond yields (used to set the discount rate) have increased significantly during the period, which acts to reduce the defined benefit obligation. The reduction in defined benefit obligation will likely be partially offset by a reduction in the value of fixed interest and liability matching investments, and different Funds have different asset mixes so the impact on the net balance sheet position will depend on the specific assets held.

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 July 2022 (Continued)

17 Related party transactions

Owing to the nature of the College's operations and the composition of the board of governors being drawn from local public and private sector organisations, it is inevitable that transactions will take place with organisations in which a member of the board of governors may have an interest. All transactions involving such organisations are conducted at arm's length and in accordance with the College's financial regulations and normal procurement procedures.

The total expenses paid to or on behalf of the Governors during the year was £Nil; 4 governors (2021: £Nil; 4 governors). This represents travel and subsistence expenses and other out of pocket expenses incurred in attending Governor meetings and charity events in their official capacity.

No Governor has received any remuneration or waived payments from the College or its subsidiaries during the year (2021: None).

The following transactions were undertaken during the year and balances held with related parties at the year-end:

University of Wales: Trinity Saint David - Parent

Receivable £Nil (2021 £Nil) Payable £Nil (2021 £Nil)

Total Income for the year £505 (2021 £Nil) Total Purchases for the year £Nil (2021 £Nil)

Coleg Sir Gar - Group Member

Receivable £653,910 (2021 £Nil) Payable £Nil (2021 £Nil)

Total Income for the year £3,140 (2021 £230) Total Purchases for the year £Nil (2020 £Nil)

Fforwm Services Limited

Total income for the year £80,099 (2021 £Nil) Total purchases for the year £Nil (2021 £Nil)

Note: Transactions for group companies are for services rendered during the year

18 Amounts disbursed as agent

FINANCIAL CONTINGENCY FUND

FINANCIAL CONTINGENCY FUND
	2022	2021
	£'000	£'000
Balance b/f	19	9
Grant Received	95	107
	114	116
Disbursed to students	(89)	(94)
Administration costs	(3)	(3)
Balance unspent as at 31 July, included in creditors	22	19

Funding body grants are available solely for students. In the majority of instances, the College only acts as a paying agent. In these circumstances, the grants and related disbursements are therefore excluded from the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

Coleg Ceredigion

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 July 2022 (Continued)

19 Ultimate parent undertaking

The ultimate parent undertaking and controlling party is the University of Wales: Trinity Saint David, a Higher Education Corporation. The results of the Company have been incorporated in the University of Wales: Trinity Saint David consolidated financial statements, which form the largest and smallest group for which the Company’s statements are consolidated, copies of which are obtained from the following address:

University of Wales: Trinity Saint David

Carmarthen Campus Carmarthen SA31 3EP