## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 01 April 2022 To 31 March 2023**
**Charity name: Waterlife Recovery Trust**
## **Charity registration number: 1198223**
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|**To protect and conserve the water vole**
**and other native species for the**
**advancement of environmental**
**protection and improvement, for the**
**benefit of the public by, in particular but**
**not exclusively, advancing the control of**
**invasive alien species, notably the**
**American mink, in Great Britain.**|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or
services identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|**The activities of the charity are solely**
**focussed on controlling American mink,**
**and raising funds to enable this work.**
**They include recruiting and training**
**volunteers to manage traps, purchasing**
**mink trapping equipment and**
**distributing it to volunteers, carrying out**
**scientific analysis of captured mink, and**
**promoting the work via public talks,**
**meetings and media interviews.**|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|**We confirm that Trustees have had due**
**regard to the guidance issued by the**
**Charity Commission on public benefit.**|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|**N/A. The charity does not offer grants**|
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38||
|Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|**Volunteers are core to the work of this**
**charity, in that they provide the day-to-**
**day management of most of the mink**
**traps we operate. Without these Citizen**
**Conservationists, each of whom have a**|
**passion to improve their local environment, our effectiveness and beneficial impact would be profoundly reduced.** Other
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|**The main achievements of the charity to**
**date have been (a) to get set up and**
**fully functional as a registered charity,**
**(b) to raise substantial funds to allow**
**the work to continue and expand, and**
**(c) to bring about the recovery of**
**riverside native wildlife in most of East**
**Anglia, to the benefit of society as**
**whole.**|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||||
|---|---|---|
|Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41||
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41||
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41||
|Other|||
## **Financial Review**
|**Financial Review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|**The charity's financial position at the**
**end of its first (partial) year of operation**
**is excellent, with a healthy bank balance**
**and excellent prospects for further**
**income.**|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|**The charity currently has no employees,**
**and no financial commitments (other**
**than those required to service contracts**
**for which it has been paid, and for which**
**it retains adequate funds). No formal**
**reserves are currently held.**|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|**Zero**|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|**No financial commitments**|
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|**None.**|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|**No uncertainties. The charity is**
**performing strongly.**|
|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|where relevant about:|
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47|**Grants and local authority funding**|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|**The charity does not yet invest, because**
**it has not been operating long enough**
**to build up a long-term surplus.**|
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|**The risks facing Waterlife Recovery**
**Trust have been detailed (with**
**mitigation measures and contingency**
**plans) in a Risk Register. The primary**
**risk categories relate to Funding,**
**Planning, Volunteers, Biosecurity,**
**Strategy, Stakeholders and Volunteers.**|
|Other|||
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|Foundation Constitution|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|Apart from the first charity trustees, every
trustee must be appointed for a term of
three years by a resolution passed at a
properly convened meeting of the charity
trustees.
In selecting individuals for appointment as
charity trustees, the charity trustees must
have regard to the skills, knowledge and
experience needed for the effective
administration of the CIO.|
|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|where relevant about:|
|---|---|---|
|Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction
and training of trustees|Para 1.51|The charity trustees will make available to
each new charity trustee, on or before his
or her first appointment:
(a) a copy of the current version of the
constitution; and
(b) a copy of the CIO’s latest Trustees’
Annual Report and statement of accounts.|
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51|The charity is solely run by the board of
Trustees, and is not part of a wider
network. It currently has no employees, and
all management decisions are made by the
Trustees.|
|Relationship with any
related parties|Para 1.51|None.|
|Other|||
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|Waterlife Recovery Trust|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses||
|Registered charity number|1198223|
|Charity’s principal address|JOHNSTONE KEMP TOOLEY LTD
SOLO HOUSE
THE COURTYARD
LONDON ROAD
HORSHAM
RH12 1AT|
|---|---|
|||
## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||AnthonyMartin|Chair||WRT Trustees|
||Bennie van der
Berg|Treasurer||WRT Trustees|
||David Wege|Secretary||WRT Trustees|
||William Amos|||WRT Trustees|
||Simon Baker|||WRT Trustees|
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## – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved
**Director name N/A**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
|**Trustee name**|**Dates acted if not for whole year**||
|---|---|---|
|**N/A**|||
||||
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## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
Description of the assets None held in this capacity Name and objects of the N/A. charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for N/A safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
**Type of Name Address adviser**
**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
None in post.
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
**N/A**
## **Other optional information**
**Number of Board Meetings held = 3**
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
**Signature(s)** Bennie van der Berg **Full name(s)** Anthony Martin **Position (eg Secretary,** Chair Hon. Treasurer **Chair, etc) Date** 18/08/2023
## **Waterlife Recovery Trust**
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
Charity Number: 1198223
## **Waterlife Recovery Trust**
## Charity Information
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Trustees:** Professor Tony Martin (Chairman) Simon Baker Msc Barend van der Berg (Treasurer) David Wege Msc Professor Bill Amos
## **Registered Office:** Solo House
The Courtyard London Road Horsham West Sussex RH12 1AT
## **Waterlife Recovery Trust**
## TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
## **OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS**
To protect and conserve the water vole and other native species for the advancement of environmental protection and improvement, for the benefit of the public by, in particular but not exclusively, advancing the control of invasive alien species, notably the American mink, in Great Britain.
The activities of the charity are solely focussed on controlling American mink, and raising funds to enable this work. They include recruiting and training volunteers to manage traps, purchasing mink trapping equipment and distributing it to volunteers, carrying out scientific analysis of captured mink, and promoting the work via public talks, meetings and media interviews.
The main achievements of the charity to date have been (a) to get set up and fully functional as a registered charity, (b) to raise substantial funds to allow the work to continue and expand, and (c) to bring about the recovery of riverside native wildlife in most of East Anglia to the benefit of society as whole.
## **RISK ASSESSMENT**
The major risks faced by Waterlife Recovery Trust are identified on a risk register which is reviewed by the Board of Trustees as part of the 3 board meetings that were held during this financial year. We believe that maintaining reserves at current levels, combined with an annual review of the controls over key financial systems, will provide sufficient funds in the event of adverse conditions. The Trustees have also examined other operational risks faced by the charity, and we confirm that we have established systems to mitigate, where possible, any significant risks.
## **STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT**
In addition to the board of five Trustees, the charity is in the process of employing six paid employees in the next financial year. We also have a part time Account Assistant, twelve self-employed Project Officers and circa 800 volunteers.
## **PLANS FOR FUTURE**
Having established the charity and developed a robust management structure, the objective now is to increase its income, in order to be able to expand its work as rapidly as possible. Rapid growth has meant an increasing administrative burden for Trustees, and a priority must be to find funds to allow the employment of staff to assume much of this burden, allowing the Board to focus more on strategy, fund-raising and high-level management.
Having commenced operations in East Anglia, the aim now is to expand the charity's geographical reach to all parts of England, while also seeking partners in Wales and Scotland.
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
In its inaugural year ending 31 March 2023, 88% of income to the Charity was by means of Grants and the remaining 12% raised by individual donors and gift aid. Total income was £136,486 and expenditure was £78,018, hence the surplus for the year was £58,468. Closing reserves as at 31 March 2023 are at £58,468, entirely made up of the cash balance at the year-end. The accounts have been prepared on an accruals basis.
The Trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity’s trust deed, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK.
## **By Order of the Board**
------------------------------------------
## **Barend van der Berg Trustee and Treasurer**
Walnut Cottage, Pymoor Lane, Pymoor, CB6 2EF
Date: ……………………………………
## **Waterlife Recovery Trust**
Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**2022/23**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Incoming Resources**||||
|Donations|14,074.55|--
|14,074.55|
|Grants and Funding
|16,000.00|103,411.90|119,411.90|
|Gift Aid|3,000.00|--
|3,000.00|
||--------------------------------------------------------|||
|Total Income|33,074.55|103,411.90|**136,486.45**|
|**Resources Expended**||||
|Project Officer's Fees|1,720.32|19,243.34|20,963.66|
|Rafts and Traps
|1,975.17|15,798.09|17,773.26|
|Ecological Services (Cambridge University)|14,000.00|20,000.00|34,000.00|
|Consumables
|--|538.89|538.89|
|Travelling and Subsistence|--|2,582.32|2,582.32|
|Printing and Stationery|--|894.00|894.00|
|Advertising|--|118.80|118.80|
|IT Support|--|450.00|450.00|
|Professional Fees|--|650.00|650.00|
|Bank Charges|47.20||47.20|
||-------------------------------------------------------|||
|Total Resources Expended|17,742.69|
60,275.44|**78,018.13**|
|Net Income|15,331.86|43,136.46|**58,468.32**|
||=================================|||
## **Waterlife Recovery Trust**
## Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2023
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---|---|
||**Total**|
||**2022/23**|
||**£**|
|**Current Assets**||
|Cash at Bank|73,468.32|
|**Long Term Loans:**Tony Martin|(15,000.00)|
||----------------|
|**Net Current Assets**|**58,468.32**|
||**==========**|
|**Funds of the Charity**||
|Unrestricted Funds|15,331.86|
|Restricted Funds|43,136.46|
||----------------|
|**Total Funds**|**58,468.32**|
||**==========**|
i CHARITY COMMISSION
I FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examiner's
report on the accounts
Section A
Independent Examinerfs Report
Report to the trusteesl
members of
Waterlife Recovery Trust
On accounts for the year
ended
31 March 2023
Charity no
(if any)
1198223
Set out on pages
I reFK)rt to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above
chanty (Ihe Trusf) for the year ended 31103 12023.
ResponsibFlities and As the charity twstees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation
basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act
2011 fthe Acr).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I
have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
I have ¢ompleted my examination. I confimi that no matenal matters have
come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me
cause to believe that in. any material respect..
accounting records were not kept in accordan with section 130 of
the Act or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no cOnmS and have come ac¥oss no other matter5 in connection
with the examination to which attenb.on should be drawn in order to enable a
proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Independent
examiner's statement
Signed".
Date:
Name:
SArKJ rJ&p
ssf
Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body
(rfany):
l- QCA
Address:
UI c5)0 00 9QA
Section B
Disclosure
Only complete rf the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32,
Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guidance for
examiners).
IER
October 2018
Give here brief details of
any items that the
examinerwishes to
disclose.
IER
October 2018