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2021-03-31-accounts

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021 Connecting people and green spaces

Contents

Introductions from the Chair and Chief Executive ................. 2

2020-21 highlights ...............................4

Who we are .............................................6

Trustees’ and Directors’ report .... 10 Policies ......................................................14

Structure, governance and management ..........................................15

Trustees, Leadership Team and advisors ...........................................18

Independent auditor’s report to the Trustees of The Conservation Volunteers ..............................................21

Financial statements .........................24

Schedule of restricted grants ........39 Schedule of conditional grants ... 45

As for all of us throughout the world, the year under review in this annual report has been really challenging because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Like all UK charities we faced a number of difficult decisions in the light of diminished resources and constraints during lockdown conditions upon our ability to deliver our services to the communities we work with. Fortunately, with the help of the UK government’s job retention scheme and the willingness of many of our partners to continue financing us we weathered the financial storm and indeed, as these audited accounts confirm, have emerged with our reserves intact and in a financially resilient state.

This is important, not just from the point of view of retaining our financial good health (as vital as that is) but of enabling us to confront the post pandemic world with confidence as we envisage and believe that green volunteering charities such as The Conservation Volunteers have a key role to play as we emerge from lockdowns and rebuild our lives. We see our role in a green recovery as critical in helping communities thrive through their continuing commitment to green spaces and assisting our volunteers to develop new skills and support their physical and mental health.

In that context, we undertook a thorough review of our work. Our new strategy retains our existing vision and mission and puts in place new strategic goals. These include giving more emphasis to involving all members of our local communities in our work. We will do our best to ensure that our volunteers come from all walks of life and that our approach to projects embraces the full diversity of the communities in which they are located. We also renewed our commitment to the many local community groups we support and have brought our funding for them ‘in house’ following the excellent work our fellow charity, the Chestnut Fund, has done over a great many years. I pay tribute to the work the Fund has done and the contribution that Chestnut Find trustees have made during that time. We will build on this work with a new Chestnut Fund executive group distributing funds to community groups and on which two members of the former Chestnut Fund charity now sit. Our intention is to increase the numbers of community groups in our network and to increase our funding for them in the coming years.

Throughout the year we have focused on ensuring we use all our resources as effectively and as efficiently as possible. As examples, we have redesigned our central services which support our operational colleagues and taken the decision to relocate our main offices to smaller premises in Doncaster, enabling us to let out the whole of Sedum House, making a net positive financial contribution to our premises costs. And because the Board and its committees have met virtually throughout the year, we have saved on travelling and other Board expenses. We have learned the benefits of online meetings but missed the opportunities that face-to-face meetings give us of informal conversations outside of formal meeting schedules and the chances to meet more staff and visit projects. We intend in the future to blend online with face-to-face meetings.

That TCV has emerged so well from the pandemic is a tribute to the work of all our staff and the leadership of our CEO and his senior colleagues. We pay tribute to them all. I also pay tribute to the unstinting support of all my fellow Trustees but particularly to our Vice Chair, Simon Rennie, whose experience in conservation and in running charities has been immeasurably helpful in advising me and our CEO during this challenging year. Likewise, Neal Ransome, who chairs our Audit and Risk committee, and who brings a lifetime of professional experience in financing has been equally critical in ensuring that we have taken a sound approach to our funding and to managing the many risks before us. I thank them both for their help.

Prof ADH Crook CBE, Chair Board of Trustees

2 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

Welcome to The Conservation Volunteers’ annual report for 2020-21 – a year like no other. My overriding memory from this most challenging of years will be the remarkable generosity, shown by so many people and organisations, in support of our cause.

Our volunteers came flooding back at the first, safe opportunity and, before that was possible, turned their hand to supporting their local communities by new means – some by collecting or distributing food, others by just keeping in touch with those who were becoming increasingly isolated. Our partners and funders demonstrated flexibility, understanding and patience as we adapted our operations to enable vital work to take place while keeping those involved safe. The experience of our Trustees and sub-committee members, who gave up more of their time than ever, was invaluable. Our President and Vice-Presidents continued to support us and promote our work to connect people and green spaces. Our employees went truly over and above – some by selflessly agreeing to go on temporary furlough, others by working harder than ever in the face of adversity, and most by doing both. And I must thank my Leadership Team colleagues – who stuck together, grappled with new challenges and faced up to tough decisions – for leading The Conservation Volunteers with such drive and determination.

Despite all the challenges that came our way, we were still able deliver a significant amount of activity on the ground: working with more than 51,000 people to transform over 900 green spaces; and growing the TCV Community Network to 1,586 independent local groups supporting 31,720 volunteers. As the Network grows, so will the number of applications to the Chestnut Fund and so, in March, we brought this previously independent fund in house. Building on the excellent work of its long-serving trustees (some of whom kindly continue to serve on our new grants panel) we are now providing the administrative support and resource it needs to meet this growing demand.

Thanks to the flexibility and support from our funders, the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the willingness of so many employees to go on temporary furlough, we were able to maintain our reserves around the upper limit of our reserves policy (a limit that was set before the pandemic and is now under review).

2020-21 was the final year of our strategy, Connecting People and Green Spaces, during the life of which we achieved much to be proud of across our strategic goals: Inspire more people to make a difference; Secure more support for our work; and Use our resources to deliver the greatest impact. Our new strategy for 2021-25 will build on this and see us:

Our vision remains one of healthier, happier communities for everyone. I hope that reading through the events of 2020-21 inspires you to support The Conservation Volunteers to achieve it.

Darren York, Chief Executive

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 3

APRil

Connecting with nature at home

As the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic became clear, we took a step that was unprecedented in our history – ceasing our volunteering programmes in late March. Throughout April, all but essential site maintenance and safety activities – conducted by our employees – stopped. We carried out a rapid strategic review into the threats and opportunities presented by the pandemic. This led to a ‘reboot plan’ that, later in the year, supported the resumption of selected volunteering activities adhering to the law, to government guidance, and to our newly introduced Covid-secure guidance. In order to protect our future, we reluctantly asked a large proportion of our employees to go on temporary furlough and we were incredibly grateful that every single member of the team we asked agreed. In time, volunteers and employees would join the national effort to support local communities – collecting and distributing food, checking in with the most isolated of our volunteers, and sharing ideas and resources to help people stay connected with nature at home.

JulY

TCV joins iconic iCAP Charity Day

We received the fantastic news that TCV would be part of the iconic celebrity fundraising event, ICAP Charity Day, allowing us to engage and educate 15,000 schoolchildren in the great outdoors. Through the ICAP Fruit Tree Initiative – From the Ground Up! – children would later plant fruit trees, encouraging an understand of nature and healthy eating. The virtual fundraising day took place in December and the interdealer broker raised and donated £3.6m from their revenues and commissions to charities around the world.

AuguST

A hands-on approach to climate action

In Northern Ireland, we set up The Acorn Farm Project with support from The National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund, which helps UK communities to reduce their carbon footprint. This project supports 100 families in Derry/Londonderry and Strabane to tackle climate change hands-on by growing their own food and learning about how their food choices affect the environment.

MAY

Support for our growing Community network

Green spaces became a crucial part of daily life for many of us during lockdown. Thanks to funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, we extended our support to all our Community Network groups in Great Britain with free membership for the year. Thanks to players, this provided groups with support and guidance, funding information and discounts from trusted suppliers, allowing them to focus on protecting and caring for their local green spaces safely during challenging and uncertain times.

SEPTEMBER

Collaborating on The Massive get Together

JunE

Belfast volunteers recognised with Queen’s Award

Our Belfast team of volunteers discovered that they had received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, known as the MBE for volunteer groups. The award gives recognition to volunteer groups and their outstanding work to benefit local communities. A few months later, TCV in Belfast held a ceremony to receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Belfast. It was a fantastic celebration of the team’s projects, which include creating wildlife gardens, outdoor classrooms and food growing through our Green Gyms, supported by Public Health Agency.

TCV was part of The (inaugural) Massive Get Together, which saw 10 charities collaborate on an online fundraising event. The goal of the event was to respond to the impact of Covid-19 as critical funding and crucial fundraising events ceased, as well as highlight the essential support charities provide in crisis and beyond, and how they shape our society for the better. The evening was streamed live and comprised celebrity entertainment, prize draws and lots of laughs, all while raising more than £40,000 for good causes.

OCTOBER

Conservation during lockdown

As volunteering gradually resumed over the summer, we received a vital £140,800 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Emergency Fund. This supported the return of conservation groups from Hastings to Stirling thanks to National Lottery players. With parks and other green spaces proving so essential for so many people during lockdown, this helped us to keep sites open and safe, and minimised the disruption to important habitat creation and management.

JAnuARY

Another year of People’s Postcode lottery impact

2021 saw TCV pass a fantastic milestone – bringing the total funds awarded to us by the Postcode Green Trust to more than two million pounds since 2018, thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery. We invested the £550,000 awarded for 2021 to inspire more people to make a difference, secure more support for our work, use our resources to deliver the greatest impact, and provide WildSkills traineeships for young people.

nOVEMBER

We say goodbye to a friend of 35 years

It was with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of friend and supporter, Lady Dufferin, who hosted and supported our tree nursery on the Clandeboye Estate for so many years. Together, we grew over 1.5 million native trees from seed. Lady Dufferin was a TCV Vice President for 30 years and strong advocate for biodiversity and environmental education.

DECEMBER

largest mini urban forest in Europe planted

With 32,000 native trees, we planted the Forest of Thanks in Barking as a thank you to all the key front-line workers and NHS staff that have done so much for their communities during the pandemic. The forest was created using the Miyawaki method, which is designed to encourage tree growth that is up to 10 times faster than traditional methods, resulting in a plantation 30 times denser. The trees were donated by NatWest Group, who are a long-standing partner of ours with 30,000 of their employees volunteering with us since 2007, transforming over 200 community green spaces.

FEBRuARY

Wates smashed virtual fundraising target

We’ve been Wates Group’s Charity of the Year for two years running now and they never fail to impress with their incredible fundraising efforts. The pandemic might have halted their original plans this year, but that didn’t stop them conjuring up a virtual pole-to-pole walk. More than 300 Wates Group employees covered a whopping 43,139 miles (almost twice around the globe!) and raised over £25k for people and green spaces.

MARCH

Supporting the future of Social Prescribing

To highlight the positive and significant impact social prescribing can have on people’s health and wellbeing, we were thrilled to sponsor an award at the Social Prescribing Awards, together with the National Lottery. The Award for Best Community-Based Organisation in Social Prescribing was presented to Let’s Grow Preston, who are a network of community gardens. The judges were impressed by their incredible achievement of distributing packages of fresh vegetables to 2,400 people a week during the pandemic.

Who we are

We are The Conservation Volunteers. We connect people and green spaces to deliver lasting outcomes for both.

We do this by bringing people together to create, improve and care for green spaces: from local parks and community gardens to Local Nature Reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest; from school grounds and hospital grounds to waterways, wetlands and woodlands. We connect people to the green spaces that form a vital part of any healthy, happy community.

Our team of dedicated, passionate staff and volunteers work with communities across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland and, through our Community Network, we support local community groups across the UK.

OuR OuTCOMES AnD HOW WE DEliVER THEM:

COMMuniTiES

Communities are stronger, working together to improve the places where people live and tackle the issues that matter to them.

HEAlTH & WEllBEing

People improve their physical and mental health and wellbeing, by being outdoors, active and connected with others.

lEARning & SkillS

People improve their confidence, skills and prospects, through learning inspired by the outdoors.

EnViROnMEnT

Green spaces are created, protected and improved, for nature and for people.

Over the following pages, you can read about examples of TCV’s activities, each of which deliver one or more of the above outcomes.

6 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

Our impact

----- Start of picture text -----
Each
We have
year TCV
We transform over works with
12,580
We deliver regular
1,400 83,000
green spaces over people volunteers
and deliver over 65,000
62,000 workdays
days of green space
connections
through occasional
volunteering, training
courses, nature
engagement and
education
sessions 97% of our volunteers
rate their experience
as good (24%)
or excellent (72%)!
We represent diversity
23% of our
18% of our
16% of our registered
registered
registered volunteers are
volunteers are
volunteers have in the top 20%
from a BAME
a disability most deprived
community
uk areas
And our volunteers…
93% 91% 81% 93%
…are more connected …have learnt …feel more connected …feel their wellbeing
to nature new skills to their local community has improved
----- End of picture text -----

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 7

Over 1.5m carbon-busting trees through i Dig Trees

This was our sixth year of planting and distributing “We had a fantastic turnout of around trees with OVO Energy through our I Dig Trees 100 volunteers from our community. All programme. We’ve now surpassed the 1,500,000 trees mark, plus over 2,600 community groups and 1000 trees were planted, forming a small

volunteers have benefitted. copse, in just under 2 hours, a fantastic team effort. Thank you for the trees, Our partners, OVO Energy, are an energy supplier with I’m sure they will prosper and create a an aim to reach zero carbon. Trees planted through our programme absorb carbon dioxide, add to green peaceful place where people can go to

space coverage that creates homes for nature, and reflect.”

Our partners, OVO Energy, are an energy supplier with an aim to reach zero carbon. Trees planted through our programme absorb carbon dioxide, add to green space coverage that creates homes for nature, and bring communities together.

WE ARE HAlTOn – COMMuniTY gROuP, lEEDS

kickstarting an appreciation of nature and community

Outside is Fun is an exciting three-year project, supported by Natural England & Defra, working alongside 12 schools in South Yorkshire to make the local landscape a vital part of children’s education.

The project is run by our South Yorkshire Community Woodlands team who manage former coalfield sites for people and for nature, in partnership with the Land Trust, and deliver a wide-ranging programme of community engagement.

Through Outside is Fun, our team deliver bespoke programmes of outdoor activity where children connect with their local natural environment and learn about the history of the place they call home.

The project is part of the larger Children & Nature Programme that is funded by the Department for Education as part of the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.

“The quality of provision and resources is second to none and the preparation that goes into providing resources and communicating events and resources is exceptional. Overall I have been hugely impressed by the dedication of TCV staff and the enthusiasm and knowledge they bring to each session. Nothing is too much trouble and they go above and beyond to make things happen for the benefit of our young people and staff. Thank you. Our community is a better place thanks to your support!”

lAuRA ATkinSOn – HEAD OF SCHOOl, ST JOSEPH’S, ROTHERHAM

8 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

Healthy lifestyles in Birmingham communities

The group participants benefit from the time spent outdoors, meeting other people, getting fresh air, and learning new skills. The produce grown at the community gardens can be taken home by the group to use or is distributed to food banks or community food cooking programs in the area. TCV also runs free cookery classes for the community to learn how to prepare a healthy meal.

Health for Life is a community programme that has made a sustained difference to healthy lifestyles in local communities across Birmingham since 2012. It provides facilities and support to engage people in growing food, physical activity, healthy eating and cookery.

Funded by Mondelēz International, the programme supports Change4Life , the wellbeing campaign from Public Health England, and offers a range of opportunities to encourage families towards leading healthier lifestyles. We run community food growing spaces, supported by a healthy eating blog and the Facebook group ‘Grow Well, Eat Well’, which makes seasonal recipes and ideas accessible to more people digitally. TCV Green Gyms also feature in the programme, enhancing health and wellbeing through practical activities to create and care for green spaces.

“I would usually hesitate to join a new group due to mobility and mental health issues but every session is so welcoming and accessible and it really benefits my wellbeing. I’ve loved it!”

HealtH for life VOlunTEER

Developing skills and confidence through Citizen Science

TCV’s Scotland Counts project has been running for over ten years, supported by NatureScot along with partners including the Scottish Government, Forest and Land Scotland and SEPA. It uses Citizen Science to get people outdoors and develop new skills.

Scotland Counts supports school learning, with teacher training and factsheets, and helps marginalised groups, including people with disabilities and refugee families, to connect with nature and with others in their community.

“The Conservation Volunteers believe that our natural heritage is something for everyone to celebrate and enjoy. We aim to ensure that every individual and community in Scotland has the opportunity to develop skills and confidence to understand their local environment through Citizen Science.”

AMAnDA MAlCOlM – TEAM lEADER, glASgOW

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 9

Trustees’ and Directors’ report incorporating the Strategic Report

OUR OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The Charity’s objectives continue to be:

Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.

STRATEGIC REPORT: OUR OUTCOMES AND HOW WE DELIVER THEM

Communities

Communities are stronger, working together to improve the places where people live and tackle the issues that matter to them.

We bring residents and other stakeholders together and provide them with the practical expertise, resources and training they need to engage in sustained civic action that makes a positive difference. We draw upon our expertise as a national organisation and take a local approach, working with people and communities to design solutions that meet local needs. Through the TCV Community Network, we connect nearly 1,600 independent local groups with each other and provide access to a package of support including health and safety advice, a dedicated website, access to competitively priced insurance, discounts on training and merchandise, funding information, access to grants and much more.

Environment

Green spaces are created, protected and improved, for nature and for people.

We deliver practical volunteering programmes, providing people with the transport, tools, equipment and project leadership they need to play an active role in creating, protecting and improving green spaces. We work on a wide range of wildlife habitats including woodlands, hedgerows, grassland, waterways and wetlands. We plant trees, from single specimens to new woodlands and hedgerows, providing homes for wildlife and improving climate and air quality. From boardwalks and dipping platforms to fences and footpaths, we provide access improvements and on-site interpretation that balances the needs of nature and people.

Health & Wellbeing

People improve their physical and mental health and wellbeing, by being outdoors, active and connected with others.

A wide range of TCV activities provide opportunities to improve physical and mental health and wellbeing through physical activity and social interaction. Through our Green Gym programme, we provide an alternative to traditional gym or fitness activities. Green Gym is “group based physical activity with a purpose”, improving green spaces while enhancing health and wellbeing. The emphasis is very much on sustainable improvements to the health and wellbeing of those involved, while giving new purpose to their life and supporting the shared community environment.

learning & Skills

People improve their confidence, skills and prospects, through learning inspired by the outdoors.

We deliver a wide range of learning and skills through programmes of non-accredited and accredited training courses. These include practical skills training, project leadership, health and safety, volunteer recruitment and evaluation, community engagement, species identification and first aid. We train volunteers, community groups and other organisations. Through our Community Network we support community groups with access to free conservation miniguides and practical safety resources, along with discounted conservation handbooks and training. We run a range of programmes that offer people a chance to learn more about their natural environment and take part in scientific research and surveying.

Examples of activities delivered this year, which each contributed to one or more of these outcomes, can be found throughout the preceding pages of this document.

10 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

FINANCIAL REVIEW

TCV reported a deficit of £338k (2020: surplus of £253k), resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions on our activities in the year.

The charity closed the year with reserves of £3,720k (2020: £4,058), including unrestricted reserves of £1,808k (2020: £1,706k), representing 15 weeks of operational expenditure, which is marginally above the upper end of the range for reserves under our current reserves policy which is due for review in quarter 4, 2021-22.

income

income
2021 2020 Change
£’000 £’000 £’000
Charitable activities 6,272 8,402 (2,130)
Coronavirus Job Retention
Fund 769 - 769
Other trading activities 108 134 (26)
Donations and legacies 146 178 (32)
Investments 49 3 46
Other 7 42 (35)
Total income 7,351 8,759 (1,408)

Income decreased by £1,408k to £7,351k for the year as set out below.

In response to the pandemic and for the first time in its 60-year history, TCV suspended the majority of its activities with volunteers resulting in a £2,130k (25%) fall in core income from our health, conservation and community programmes.

Claims of £769k from the Coronavirus Job Retention Fund contributed significantly to the financial stability of TCV and retention of TCV employees during lockdown and through the subsequent easing of Government / Devolved Administration restrictions.

The reduction in income from other trading activities was driven by a reduction in tenant income from our Scotland office in Stirling due to tenants terminating their tenancies in response to the pandemic.

Overall donations and legacies income fell by £32k, driven in part by the reduction in charity of the year fundraising during the pandemic, after the highly successful Diamond Challenge in 2020. Overall donations from a range of different sources and campaigns increased from £48k to £89k in the year.

Investment income in 2021 related to the return on investment from our cash at bank holdings and a final disbursement of £40k received from the liquidation of TCV Employment & Training Services Limited, which was dissolved on 19 January 2021.

The fall in other income included a reduction in income from our Hollybush Café which was closed during the pandemic.

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

2021 2020 Change
£’000 £’000 £’000
Income 7,351 8,759 (1,408)
Expenditure:
Charitable expenditure:
Health, conservation and
community (6,197) (7,067) (870)
Training and employment (101) (116) (15)
Support costs (1,228) (1,194) 34
Fundraising costs (120) (86) 34
Grants awarded (43) (43) -
Total expenditure (7,689) (8,506) (817)
Net unrestricted income 102 169 (67)
Net restricted expenditure (440) 84 (525)
Total net (expenditure)
/income (338) 253 (591)

Expenditure decreased by £817k to £7,689k in the year as set out below.

The £870k reduction in charitable expenditure in the year arose predominantly from the reduction in TCV activity due to coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions.

Increases in support costs included the cost of restructuring the Finance Team, additional audit costs arising from the pandemic and costs associated with the development and roll-out of an electronic expense payment system.

Fundraising cost increases in 2021 arose from the investment in a dedicated fundraising role.

BALANCE SHEET

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Tangible fxed assets 1,512 1,478
Debtors 2,156 1,885
Cash and cash equivalents 1,875 2,720
Creditors (1,624) (1,486)
net current assets 2,407 3,119
Provisions for liabilities (199) (539)
net assets 3,720 4,058
Funds and reserves
Restricted income funds 1,912 2,352
Unrestricted funds 1,808 1,706
Total funds 3,720 4,058

The net asset value decreased by £338k in the year (2020: £253k increase) with net assets of £3,720k at 31 March 2021 (2020: £4,058k).

A further provision was made in the year in relation to legal costs for an historic legal claim made against the Charity.

The Charity had a net cash outflow of £845k for the year (2020: £96k inflow) arising from the deficit for the year, and an overall fall in net current assets, as a result.

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 11

STRATEGIC REPORT AND PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS

2020/21 was the final year of our strategy: Connecting People and Green Spaces 2018-21, which was inevitably affected by the pandemic, although continued progress was made against our three strategic goals below, and related action plans, for the year:

Goal 1 - Inspire more people to make a difference:

Goal 2 - Secure more support for our work:

Thanks’ to recognise the incredible work of all those that went above and beyond during the pandemic. The Forest is a mini-urban forest of 32,000 trees in Dagenham, which is the largest Miyawaki project in Europe, providing enhanced carbon absorption, increased biodiversity, improved air quality and noise reduction.

Our Community Network grew to 1,586 members over the course of the year, representing 31,720 community volunteers.

We reviewed our Central Services teams during the year, making changes to our Finance, IT and Marketing teams and identifying further priority development projects for delivery into 2021/22.

Goal 3 - Use our resources to deliver the greatest impact :

Despite the pandemic, TCV achieved a significant amount during 2020 (calendar year), working with 51k people (2019: 83k) and 3k volunteers (2019: 13k) delivering 31k volunteer workdays (2019: 65k) and transforming 919 green spaces (2019: 1,433). We also created a further 13k days of green space connections (2019: 63k) through occasional volunteering, training courses, nature engagement and education sessions.

Our volunteers reported; being more connected to nature (93%); having learnt new skills (91%), feeling more connected to their local community (81%); and feeling that their well-being had improved (93%).

We planted 50k trees, and distributed 339k trees for planting by community groups. We also planted 50k wildflower plugs.

We created, maintained and improved; 305km of footpaths, 245 hectares of woodland, and 136 hectares of wildflower meadows.

At the start of the pandemic the Trustees identified three key objectives for the charity; to protect the safety of staff, volunteers and other stakeholders; to ensure the survival of the Charity; and to ensure that the Charity emerges from the crisis in the best condition possible.

The primary objective during the pandemic has been to ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers and other stakeholders, which has required significant and multiple changes to the approach taken by the charity to its work during the year, as set out in more detail in the principal risks and uncertainties section below.

The 2020 I Dig Trees programme, funded by OVO Energy and delivered by TCV, was the most successful programme to date with 370k trees allocated to 700 local community groups for planting and subsequent maintenance.

Working with our partners NatWest and Barking and Dagenham Council, TCV helped to deliver a ‘Forest of

Our TCV values and behavioural framework had a delayed launch in March 2021 due to the pandemic, after their initial development in 2019-20.

Funding for a fourth year from Postcode Green Trust, thanks to the players of People’s Postcode Lottery, was key to enabling TCV to make several strategic investments across four key work streams:

  1. Inspire more people to make a difference

  2. Secure more support for our work

  3. Use our resources to deliver the greatest impact

  4. Responding to COVID-19

These investments enabled the growth in the TCV Community Network and support to members, including health and safety webinars in relation to volunteering post-UK lockdown. Further investment was made in the TCV marketing team, and despite one of the most challenging years, the charity celebrated the charity’s work by holding the annual TCV Heroes Awards online and through TCV involvement in two collaborative fundraising initiatives; The Massive Get Together, and ICAP Charity Day. Funding was also invested in Business Development Managers to secure additional funding for TCV’s work, and in updating our online learning resource OLLIE, and specialist team development for our senior leadership team. Funding was also used to develop a model, with supporting data, to better understand and improve the impact of TCV’s work, and to enable us to speak to our volunteers during the first UK-wide lockdown to understand how this had affected them, which informed how we supported their return to volunteering and improve our programmes.

Postcode Green Trust has continued to provide a flexible approach to their partnership with TCV during the pandemic, and their support to TCV could not have been improved during this period.

TCV continues to benefit from a broad pipeline of funding opportunities and strong partnerships with local and national organisations, providing financial resilience to the charity during the pandemic and into the future, notwithstanding the expected pressures to Government and Local Authority budgets in the coming years.

The charity is hopeful that both unrestricted and restricted funds will be maintained over the coming year, based on the latest 2021-22 forecast data.

12 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

The Trustees have reviewed forecasts to 31 March 2023 and based on those forecasts believe that the Charity will be able to meet its liabilities as they fall due. These forecasts have been prepared having regard to risks and sensitivities to anticipated financial performance, a review of actual performance compared to previous forecasts and consideration of financing facilities available. Mitigating actions available in the event of adverse circumstances or financial performance have also been considered.

Based on the information currently available in respect of the future, the Trustees consider that the Charity has the plans and resources to manage its business risks successfully. The Trustees have therefore prepared these financial statements on the going concern basis.

During the year the Trustees have refreshed the TCV strategy for the period 2021-25: ‘For people and green spaces: a thriving network for everyone,’ which will be implemented from 2021-22. The strategy responds to the challenging times in which we live including the climate and ecological emergency, the national mental health crisis, and increasing social isolation and inequalities. Our work is more relevant than ever in this context, and we have set three overarching goals that will drive our decision making to 2025, each with a specific pledge to demonstrate the scale of our ambition and make a clear commitment for change by 2025:

  1. We will deliver, demonstrate and promote projects that deliver multiple outcomes for people and green spaces, with a pledge to grow our tree planting to 5 million trees by 2025

  2. We will do more to support and empower others to connect people and green spaces and deliver lasting outcomes for both, with a pledge to support a thriving UK-wide network of over 5,000 community organisations

  3. We will support more diverse audiences to connect with green spaces, with a pledge that by 2025 the work we do, and those we work with, will increasingly reflect the make up of the communities we work in.

The charity is emerging from the pandemic with a renewed sense of the need and demand for our work, a positive outlook and a clear sense of purpose for the future, and a strong financial position.

Strategic report: principal risks and uncertainties

The Trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the Charity has appropriate systems of control for managing risk within the organisation. TCV’s risk management process is designed to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to identify and mitigate risk and to provide reasonable assurance against material misstatement or loss. TCV aims to identify the major risks to the organisation, ranking them based on both likelihood and impact. Major risks are considered when setting operational and strategic objectives and when approving significant grants and contracts.

The risk management process is managed throughout the business, with standards set and monitored by the Risk and Compliance Manager. The Leadership Team has Risk as a standing agenda item and The Audit and Risk

Committee (ARC) reviews the underlying management of risk within the organisation and the work of the Risk and Compliance Manager in monitoring performance and compliance. It then brings this to the attention of the Board on a quarterly basis. Risk management is embedded within the organisation to assess risk effectively and put appropriate controls and actions in place to mitigate risks to acceptable levels.

To avoid breaching the Board’s risk appetite limits, strategic risks are given a quantified threshold and mitigating actions. Performance against these thresholds is monitored monthly by management. On an annual basis, the Audit and Risk Committee provides the Board of Trustees with a summary review of risk management issues for it to consider.

Covid-19

During the phased lifting of lockdowns and restrictions, and in response to the iterative guidance from The UK Government and the Northern Ireland and Scotland Devolved Administrations the Charity has gradually re-commenced its operational activities, when possible, with an emphasis placed on the safety of our employees and volunteers.

The broad approach taken by TCV from October 2020 has been to encourage working from home where possible, with a requirement for adherence to our latest Covid-19 Secure workplace health and safety guidance for work in a green space or in one of our offices, and travel to and from these locations. Self-isolation, medical care and testing have also been required in the event of any symptoms of Covid 19.

During the 3rd lockdown, the majority of activities involving volunteers were paused due to the pressures on the health service and other critical infrastructure, notwithstanding an exemption allowing charities working outdoors to continue to operate. Our employees were engaged in support for the vulnerable and isolated during this period, in addition to planning for a phased return to work after this lockdown, working closely with funders and landowners.

The Leadership Team continued to meet regularly during 2020-21 to consider the iterative guidance from Westminster, and the devolved Northern Ireland and Scotland Administrations, and worked closely with Trustees to ensure continuing effective oversight and to make timely decisions as required.

Key areas of risk arising in the year were as follows:

Financial risk: including achievement of our financial plan, and being a resilient organisation

The 2020-21 strategic risk register tracked financial risk in relation to targets for income, net contribution to reserves and the cash position. The pandemic impacted negatively on the scale of TCV activities in the year and related income budgets, set before the pandemic, although this was mitigated through lower expenditure in the year, and under-pinned by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 13

Enhanced cash management controls were maintained during the year to control expenditure and tightly manage our cash position which was maintained within budget setting targets during the year.

Core financial controls over income renewal and replacement of grants and contracts were further developed during the year with continued active engagement with budget holders to review financial performance and monitor income pipelines.

Operations and people: be a great place to work

The risk objective for operations and people in 202021 was to ensure that the Charity was a great place to work, with people and volunteer measures used to track progress, including survey results, employee turnover and organisational competence.

Training targets were not met during the year due to a significant number of our employees being on furlough. This has been an area of focus as employees return to work, with a number of approaches taken to delivery of training including the development of virtual refresher training.

Regular engagement with employees was maintained in a variety of ways including a weekly Chief Executive update, specific engagement around the various changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; employee surveys, all employee calls, and people cafes for informal employee engagement.

Reputation risk: including health and safety, safeguarding, information security and volunteer experiences

Whilst TCV has a strong background and track record in health and safety management and compliance, this continued to be a key consideration during 2020-21 with multiple versions of the TCV COVID-19 Secure Guidance drafted and shared in a variety of media to ensure the safety, and health and wellbeing of our employees, volunteers and other stakeholders, in response to the changing landscape of guidance from the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Our approach to preventing regulatory breaches remained important during the year with training, procedures and potential incidents relating to health & safety and safeguarding at the heart of this. We secured the Cyber Essentials certification in the year and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation in April 2021.

We continue to improve our approach to understand the experience of our volunteers in order to improve this over time, with an increase in digital approaches made during 2020-21.

Safeguarding remained a key priority for the organisation and we amended our arrangements to respond to different working arrangements. We adapted our face-to-face training requirements by providing online training and evaluations indicated that this continued to meet the knowledge requirements of participants. Our regional safeguarding advisors met virtually over the year to ensure progress against our safeguarding priorities.

The Trustees have considered the major risks to which the Charity is exposed and satisfied themselves that systems or procedures are established in order to manage those risks appropriately, and that internal systems and procedures are developing in the light of new requirements and learning from the risk management process.

POLICIES

investment policy

TCV has a high demand for working capital, which is brought about by the seasonal nature of our activities, the mix of restricted and unrestricted activities, the timing of income and expenditure matching, and the possibility of longer-term capital commitments.

Keeping funds accessible and liquid therefore remains a key aim of our investment policy when considering any deposits and investments together with the management of risk in relation to the institutional investment of funds.

It is the policy of the Trustees to hold investments that:

Reserves policy

TCV’s reserves policy is to hold between 7 and 14 weeks of unrestricted expenditure as available unrestricted reserves. The trustees consider this amount sufficient to allow the Charity to continue its core activities during a period of unforeseen difficulties. This was equivalent to holding between £518k and £1,036k available reserves at 31 March 2021 (2020: between £539k and £1,078k).

Available unrestricted reserves are defined as total unrestricted funds less unrestricted fixed assets (which are not readily convertible to cash) and amounts designated for essential future spend. Unrestricted funds are expected to be broadly maintained over the coming year and the trustees believe there is no other future essential spend for which available reserves should be set aside.

14 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

At 31 March 2021 available unrestricted reserves were £1,145k (2020: £1,054k), marginally above the target range specified by our policy.

range specifed by our policy.
2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Total funds 3,720 4,058
Less restricted funds (1,912) (2,352)
unrestricted funds 1,808 1,706
Less unrestricted fxed assets (663) (652)
Less amounts designated for
essential future spend - -
Available unrestricted reserves 1,145 1,054
Weekly unrestricted expenditure 74 77
Minimum available reserves
(7 weeks spend) 518 539
Maximum available reserves
(14 weeks spend) 1,036 1,078

The calculation of the required and anticipated level of available reserves is an integral part of TCV’s financial planning and reporting cycle. The Trustees review the reserves policy on an annual basis and receive reports on compliance throughout the year.

Setting of the available reserves target includes consideration of the financial resources required to implement our strategy, and of the principal financial, operational, people and reputational risks facing the Charity, together with the seasonality of activities and diversity of funding inherent within our operating model.

Restricted reserves

Restricted grants and donations received are separately recorded and monitored to ensure that they are used in accordance with restrictions imposed by the funder and that expenditure on projects does not exceed funding available.

Consultation

The Charity fully supports the concept of information sharing by appropriate two-way communication. This includes use of colleague and volunteer engagement surveys as part of a comprehensive communication strategy comprising multiple channels, including a weekly email from the CEO and a communication forum, Great Places to Work, which meets regularly.

Anti-bribery and corruption

The Charity gives due care and consideration to the prevention of acts of bribery and corruption. It has set out and adopted a clear anti-bribery and corruption policy, appropriate to the size and nature of the Charity, which provides clear guidance to staff, volunteers and associated stakeholders. We have an appropriate whistle blowing policy as part of our way of working.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

legal structure

The Charity is a company limited by guarantee. The governing instrument of the Charity is the Articles of Association, originally dated March 1970 and last amended July 2019. The Charity’s investment powers are unrestricted except by general charity law. The Conservation Volunteers is a Charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

Subsidiary

TCV Employment and Training Services Limited was a wholly owned subsidiary of TCV which was put into Members Voluntary Liquidation on 28 September 2018 after operational delivery ceased in March 2018. The company was dissolved on 19 January 2021.

The Chestnut Fund

The Chestnut Fund was originally established by TCV as a separate charity. The purpose of the fund was to be a source of small start-up and support grants to local community groups that have aims and objectives that are in accordance with those of TCV. The Chestnut Fund received financial support from TCV in connection with these grants.

In April 2021, The Chestnut Fund transferred all its assets and liabilities to TCV and ceased to exist as a charity in July 2021. A new Executive Committee was constituted in May 2021 to continue the work of The Chestnut Fund, with grants made directly by TCV to community groups.

Organisation structure

The Trustees are responsible for the overall management of the Charity and have delegated day-to-day running to the CEO, supported by the Leadership Team. The CEO and Leadership Team provide the Trustees with quarterly reports on financial and operational performance, health and safety, people and business development activities. More frequent reporting has been required during the pandemic.

The Board of Trustees

Trustees serve for an initial three-year term, which may be renewed for a further three years. It may be renewed for up to an additional three years (i.e. up to nine years in total) if the Trustees resolve that it is in the best interests of the Charity.

There were no changes in Trustees during the year, however a third term of office has been agreed by the Board for three Trustees to enable the charity to retain their knowledge, skills and experience in response to the pandemic:

The Trustees bring a wealth of experience and expertise from a wide range of sectors. Further details of the expertise brought by each Trustee are given on page 19.

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 15

The Board governs the organisation through compliance with the Charity Commission for England and Wales’ Governance Code, plus TCV’s vision, aims and charitable objectives.

The Board held four formal meetings during the year, together with additional meetings as required to respond efficiently to the impact of coronavirus, and make other decisions as required by the charity delegated authority policy.

All new Trustees are required to undertake a programme of induction, which aims to give a wide understanding of TCV, the external environment in which the organisation works and the challenges it faces. Members of the Board of Trustees, who are also Directors of the Company and Trustees of the Charity (for statutory purposes), are listed on page 18 together with the President and Vice Presidents.

Qualifying third party indemnity provisions

The Charity has made qualifying third-party indemnity provisions for the benefit of its Trustees during the year. These provisions remain in force at the reporting date.

The ARC carried out a self-assessment review of its performance during 2020-21, with an overall average score of 4.42/5, and with two actions to be taken forward during 2021-22 to improve performance in relation to efficient collaborative working with the Board and GRC, and consideration as to the role that internal audit might play at TCV.

governance and Remuneration Committee (gRC)

GRC, at the request of the Board of Trustees, is required to identify and propose candidates for trusteeship; and to advise the Board concerning the Charity’s remuneration approach, remuneration of the Leadership Team, benchmarking against roles in comparable organisations, and major matters of governance. The Committee also assesses the appropriateness of Trustees for re-appointment. The Committee is independent with a mix of external members and serving Trustees.

In addition to delivery to the core responsibilities above, the GRC; recommended three policies to the Board for approval during the year; carried out a Board Effectiveness review, with the findings recommended to the Board.

Audit and Risk Committee (ARC)

The ARC assists the Board in discharging its responsibilities by considering and reviewing matters relating to the control environment, external audit and risk management and making appropriate recommendations to the Board for action. The CEO, Finance Director and Risk and Compliance Manager are invited to attend each meeting, joined for specific agenda items by the Health and Safety Manager and Safeguarding and Volunteering Manager. The Committee maintains oversight of the resources required to fully measure and actively manage risk for the Charity making use of internal resources and third-party expertise as required.

The Committee considers and reviews matters relating to the preparation of the Annual Report and Financial Statements including the audit process and presents its findings to the Board, which formally approves the Annual Report and Financial Statements. In addition, it recommends to the Board measures to ensure that the key areas of risk are being identified by the Board and that appropriate management controls are in place and their effectiveness reviewed on a regular basis. The Committee reviews the performance of the Charity’s external auditors annually and reports all audit findings to the Board of Trustees.

In addition to delivery of the core responsibilities above; the ARC recommended 10 policies to the Board for approval during the year; and reviewed legal and regulatory updates, including a response to the 25 June 2020 Charity Commission Regulatory Alert on transparent and accountable governance.

The GRC carried out a self-assessment review of its performance during 2020-21, with an overall average score of 4.6/5, and with two actions to be taken forward during 2021-22 to improve performance in relation to efficient collaborative working with the Board and ARC, ongoing consideration as to necessary focus of the GRC in relation to TCV governance; improving efficiency of the GRC, and consideration as to the role GRC might play in relation to internal and external stakeholder awareness and understanding.

TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Trustees (who are also Directors of TCV for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ and Directors’ report, including the strategic report, and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the Trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law, the Trustees must not approve financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs and the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the Charitable Company for the period. In preparing these financial statements the Trustees are required to:

16 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper and adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charitable Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, the financial position of the Charitable Company and enable it to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, and Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charitable Company and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees confirm that:

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included in the Charitable Company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

In approving the report of the Trustees, the Trustees are also approving the Strategic Report in their capacity as company directors.

Anthony Crook

Chair of the Board of Trustees 13 September 2021

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 17

Trustees and advisors

PATRON

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG, KT Prince Philip was our Patron for many years and we much valued the occasions when he visited our projects and when he was able to join us for our annual staff awards ceremonies. We valued too the opportunities he gave us to brief him personally on our progress, including during meetings at the Palace.

We shall always be grateful for his personal commitment to conservation both here in the UK and worldwide, something where he was ahead of his time. That he supported our work gave us a real sense of the importance he attached to charities such as ours where we enable people from all walks of life to get ‘stuck in’ to undertake practical conservation work in their local communities.

He gave great service to our country and his practical commitment to so many important causes, including ours, will be his enduring legacy.

PRESIDENT

Sir Jonathon Porritt CBE

VICE PRESIDENTS

Sir David Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS Dr William Bird MBE

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Professor Anthony Crook CBE (Chair of the Board of Trustees) Anthony Burton CBE

John Mallalieu Neal Ransome Simon Rennie MBE Julie Royce Richard Stiff Vanessa Quigg Rosslyn Stuart Andrew Walker QC

GOVERNANCE AND

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE

Simon Rennie MBE (Chair) David Coleman Professor Anthony Crook CBE Sue Hilder John Mallalieu Richard Stiff Andrew Walker QC

AUDIT AND RISK COMMITTEE

Neal Ransome (Chair) Anthony Burton Vanessa Quigg Julie Royce Rosslyn Stuart Tilden Watson – Head of Education Market – Zurich UK

CHIEF ExECUTIVE OFFICER

Darren York

COMPANY SECRETARY Justin Parfitt

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Darren York – Chief Executive Officer Debbie Adams Operations Director – Scotland and Northern Ireland

Alan Marchant Operations Director – England South Fiona Richards Operations Director – England North Douglas Palarm Head of Partnerships, Fundraising and Marketing Justin Parfitt Finance Director

Mark Slater Head of IT

Anna Steed Head of People Services (to 12 March 2021 – maternity leave)

Mark Thompson Interim Head of People Services (from 15 March 2021 – maternity cover)

PRINCIPAL BANKER

NatWest Plc 12 High Street, Doncaster, DN1 1ED

STATUTORY AUDITOR

RSM UK Audit LLP 5th Floor, Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL

Company number: 00976410

Charity numbers: 261009 (England and Wales) SC039302 (Scotland) Registered office Sedum House, Mallard Way, Doncaster, DN4 8DB

18 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

Our Trustees

TONY CROOK, CBE

Tony Crook was Pro-Vice Chancellor of The University of Sheffield and is now Emeritus Professor of Town & Regional Planning. As well as chairing The Conservation Volunteers and the Construction Industry Council’s Housing Panel; he is a lay Privy Council appointee to the Architects Registration Board, is a director of the Kensington & Chelsea TMO Residuary Board; and an Academy of Social Sciences council member. Former roles include: member of the board of the Royal Town Planning Institute (and former chair of Education Committee); Deputy Chair of Orbit Housing and of the Construction Industry Council; chair of Rotherham MBC governance review, chair of Shelter Trustee Board and of Sheffield Homes Ltd; and member of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, the Lloyds Banking Group Housing Commission and the Housing Commission for Northern England.

His research covers private rented housing and planning obligations. His latest book ‘Planning Gain’: (Wiley Blackwell) won the RTPI Research Excellence Award in 2016 and, jointly with Professor Christine Whitehead he won the Sir Peter Hall award in 2020 for research on land value capture. In 2004 he was elected, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and was appointed CBE in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to housing.

TONY BURTON, CBE

Tony is Chair of the National Lottery Community Fund and chairs CPRE London and Wandle Valley Forum. He is a trustee of mySociety and a Director of London’s environmental record centre, Greenspace Information for Greater London. Tony is Secretary of his local civic society in south London and convenes his local green spaces forum. Tony founded Civic Voice and has over 25 years’ experience on the Executive Boards of charities including National Trust and CPRE. Tony also works on a wide range of community and environmental projects, including neighbourhood planning.

JOHN MALLALIEU

John is CEO of The Leeds United Foundation, which aims to use the power of sport to educate, motivate, inspire and support people throughout the local Leeds community. From a career in retail banking, John has held a range of senior leadership roles across Health and Social care delivery for public sector, private sector and third sector organisations. John holds a lay role with NHS Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group and across West Yorkshire and is also the Lay Chair of the Primary Medical Services Committee. John additionally chaired the Department of Work & Pensions Mental Health & Work Group for the Welfare Minister and is a member of the Psychological Wellbeing & Work Expert Advisory Group.

NEAL RANSOME

Neal qualified as a chartered accountant and corporate financier with PwC and as a partner led their Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Corporate Finance business. He was also Chief Operating Officer of PwC’s Advisory Services division, and a member of the firm’s Corporate Sustainability Governance Board. He left PwC in 2013 and is now a non-executive chairman and director of three investment trusts focused on healthcare and early stage companies.

With a keen interest in environmental conservation, Neal is a former Trustee and Council Member of the RSPB. Neal has worked as a volunteer for the RSPB, the London Wildlife Trust and, more recently, TCV. He lives in London and is a fellow of the RSA.

SIMON RENNIE, MBE

Simon is the recently retired Chief Executive of the Central Scotland Green Network Trust and is a director of the Falkirk Community Trust. With a degree in forestry, Simon worked in private sector forestry abroad before returning to the UK in 1990. He has since worked in the charitable sector focusing on social inclusion and environmental justice.

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 19

JULIE ROYCE

Julie’s career started in the private sector working for Unilever and a small award-winning marketing agency, before moving to the National Health Service in 1990. During this time Julie has held a range of senior management, training and marketing positions, most recently working for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), where she led a team working with national organisations in health and social care to help promote uptake of NICE guidelines and quality standards. Throughout her career Julie has been a keen volunteer in her local community in her spare time, and will continue to do so now that she has retired from NICE.

RICHARD STIFF

Richard’s career has taken him from teacher in Bognor Regis to Chief Executive of Angus Council via Deputy Chief of Education Leeds, Executive Director of Childrens’ Services and other posts in local government. Richard has extensive experience of working in rural and urban environments in England and Scotland, and of public and private sector partnerships. Since retiring from Angus Council in May 2017, Richard works as an independent public sector consultant. He is a non-executive director of an NHS Foundation Trust and Chairman of a local authority owned CIC and of the board of governors at a tertiary college in North Yorkshire.

VANESSA QUIGG

Vanessa has worked in marketing and communications roles in publishing, the arts, and government, including positions at London’s Southbank Centre and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and the UK Government’s Scotland Office. She is currently Head of the Scottish Government’s Social Content Hub, leading on social media strategy and content.

Having first volunteered for environmental causes as a teenager at home in Northern Ireland, Vanessa was inspired to work with TCV by its mission to connect communities across the UK with their physical environment for the improvement and wellbeing of both.

ANDREW WALKER QC

Andrew is a practising barrister and arbitrator. He was appointed as Queen’s Counsel in 2011. He was an elected member of the Bar Council of England and Wales for many years, eventually serving as its Vice-Chair (2017) and Chair (2018), following several years as Chair of its Ethics Committee. His areas of legal expertise include property and company law, and he continues to advise and act for a very wide range of clients across the country.

In 2009, he was awarded the Bar Pro Bono Award for some of his free professional work with the homelessness charity, Shelter. He has been involved in the governance of a number of organisations, both charitable and non-charitable, and has a lifelong interest in conservation and the environment.

ROSSLYN STUART

Rosslyn is a Chartered Town Planner whose career in statutory planning and regeneration has spanned local government, NDPBs, charitable organisations, private consultancies and an award-winning social enterprise. She has extensive experience of building effective and sustainable partnerships across professional, sectoral and operational boundaries. Rosslyn has been an Academician of the Academy of Urbanism since 2011 and was Head of Profession and Director of Development and Professional Standards at the Royal Town Planning Institute.

She currently serves as Independent Chair of a consortium of environmental organisations, as a non-executive director and volunteers with various local organisations.

20 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

independent auditor’s report to the Trustees of The Conservation Volunteers

OPINION

We have audited the financial statements of The Conservation Volunteers (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

BASIS FOR OPINION

We have been appointed auditor under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report to you in accordance with regulations made under those Acts.

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

OTHER INFORMATION

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

OPINIONS ON OTHER MATTERS PRESCRIBED BY THE COMPANIES ACT 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

CONCLUSIONS RELATING TO GOING CONCERN

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events

MATTERS ON WHICH WE ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT BY ExCEPTION

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report or the strategic report, included within the trustees’ annual report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 21

matters where the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out on page 16, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’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 the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

AUDITOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE AUDIT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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

THE ExTENT TO WHICH THE AUDIT WAS CONSIDERED CAPABLE OF DETECTING IRREGULARITIES, INCLUDING FRAUD

Irregularities are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. The objectives of our audit are to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding compliance with laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, to perform audit procedures to help identify instances of non-compliance with other laws and regulations that may have a material effect on the financial statements, and to respond appropriately to identified or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations identified during the audit.

In relation to fraud, the objectives of our audit are to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud, to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud through designing and implementing appropriate responses and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit.

However, it is the primary responsibility of management, with the oversight of those charged with governance, to ensure that the entity’s operations are conducted in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations and for the prevention and detection of fraud.

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, the audit engagement team:

As a result of these procedures we consider the most significant laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements are FRS 102, Charities SORP (FRS 102), Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended), the charitable company’s governing document and tax legislation. We performed audit procedures to detect non-compliances which may have a material impact on the financial statements which included reviewing the financial statements including the Trustees’ Report, remaining alert to new or unusual transactions which may not be in accordance with the governing documents.

The most significant laws and regulations that have an indirect impact on the financial statements are those in relation to safeguarding. We performed audit procedures to inquire of management and those charged with governance whether the charitable company is in compliance with these law and regulations.

The audit engagement team identified the risk of management override of controls as the area where the financial statements were most susceptible to material misstatement due to fraud. Audit procedures performed included but were not limited to testing manual journal entries and other adjustments, evaluating the business rationale in relation to significant, unusual transactions and transactions entered into outside the normal course of business, challenging judgments and estimates.

22 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at http://www.frc.org.uk/ auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

USE OF OUR REPORT

This report is made exclusively to the members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006, and to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the members and the charity’s trustees 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 charity, its members as a body, and its trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Senior Statutory Auditor For and on behalf of RSM UK AUDIT LLP, Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants 5th Floor Central Square 29 Wellington Street Leeds West Yorkshire LS1 4DL

Date: 20 September 2021

RSM UK Audit LLP is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 23

Statement of financial activity for the year ended

31 March 2021 (incorporating the income and expenditure account)

Statement of fn
31 March 2021 (in
ancial
corporati
activity f
ng the incom
or the y
e and expe
ear end
nditure acc
ed
ount)
unrestricted Restricted Total Total
funds funds
2021 2021 2021 2020
note £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
income from:
Donations and legacies 2 112 34 146 178
Charitable activities 3 2,975 3,297 6,272 8,402
Other trading activities 4 108 - 108 134
Coronavirus Job Retention Fund 3 769 - 769 -
Investments 5 49 - 49 3
Other 7 - 7 42
Total income 4,020 3,331 7,351 8,759
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 6 (120) - (120) (86)
Charitable activities 7 (4,034) (3,535) (7,569) (8,420)
Total expenditure (4,154) (3,535) (7,689) (8,506)
net (expenditure)/income (134) (204) (338) 253
Transfers between funds 236 (236) - -
net (expenditure)/income after 102 (440) (338) 253
movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 1,706 2,352 4,058 3,805
Total funds carried forward 1,808 1,912 3,720 4,058

All activities are classed as continuing operations.

The accounting policies and notes on pages 27-45 form part of these financial statements.

24 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

Balance sheet as at 31 March 2021

2021 2020
note £’000 £’000
Fixed assets
Tangible fxed assets 11 1,512 1,478
1,512 1,478
Current assets:
Debtors 12 2,156 1,885
Cash at bank and in hand 19 1,875 2,720
4,031 4,605
Creditors: amounts falling due 13 (1,624) (1,486)
within one year
net current assets 2,407 3,119
Total assets less current liabilities 3,919 4,597
Provisions for liabilities 15 (199) (539)
net assets 3,720 4,058
Funds and reserves:
Restricted income funds 25 1,912 2,352
Unrestricted funds 1,808 1,706
Total funds 3,720 4,058

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on 13 September 2021.

The accounting policies and notes on pages 27-45 form part of these financial statements.

Anthony Crook Chair of the Board

Neal Ransome Director

Company number: 00976410

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 25

Statement of cash flows

2021 2020
note £’000 £’000
Net cash (used by) / generated from operating activities 18 (818) 83
Cash fows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents 96 114
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment - 4
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (123) (105)
net cash (outfow)/infow from investing activities (27) 13
(Decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents (845) 96
Opening cash and cash equivalents 2,720 2,624
Closing cash and cash equivalents 19 1,875 2,720

The accounting policies and notes on pages 27-45 form part of these financial statements.

26 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

Principal accounting policies

CHARITABLE COMPANY INFORMATION

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) is a charitable company limited by guarantee (company number 0976410). The registered office is Sedum House, Mallard Way, Doncaster DN4 8DB. It is registered as a company and charity in England and Wales and in Scotland.

BASIS OF PREPARATION

The Charity is a public benefit entity.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities (FRS 102)’ effective 1 January 2015 (“2015 SORP”), Financial Reporting Standard 102 (“FRS 102”), the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulations 6 and 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the Companies Act 2006. They have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

These financial statements are presented in Pounds sterling (£’000).

The principal accounting policies of the Charity are set out below.

GOING CONCERN

The Trustees have prepared these financial statements on the going concern basis. The Trustees have reviewed forecasts to 31 March 2023 and on the basis of those forecasts believe that the Charity will be able to meet its liabilities as they fall due. These forecasts have been prepared having regard to risks and sensitivities to anticipated financial performance, a review of actual performance compared to previous forecasts and consideration of financing arrangements including overdraft facilities available to the Charity. Mitigating actions available to the Charity in the event of adverse circumstances or financial performance have also been considered in light of the Covid 19 pandemic. Based on the information currently available in respect of the future, the Trustees consider that the Charity has the plans and resources to manage its business risks successfully and that accordingly the Charity will be able to continue as a going concern for twelve months after the date of signing the financial statements.

INCOME

Income is recognised when receipt is probable and the amount can be reliably measured. Income is deferred only when the Charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor has specified that the income is to be expended in a future period. Where relevant, income is presented net of VAT.

reliably and all conditions have been met. Restricted grants are recognised when they are receivable provided condition for receipt has been met, unless they relate to a specified future period, in which case they are deferred. Grants for the purchase of fixed assets are recognised when receivable.

Contractual health, conservation and community income is recognised in the periods in which the associated work is delivered.

Grants are recognised at the fair value of the asset received or receivable when there is a reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received.

A grant which specifies performance conditions is recognised as income when the performance conditions are met. Where a grant does not specify performance conditions it is recognised in income when the proceeds are probable and can be reliably measured. A grant received before the recognition criteria are satisfied is recognised as a liability.

Whilst time given by our many volunteers in delivering health, conservation and community activities and provision of administration, advisory and other support functions is essential to the work of TCV, this donation of time is not recognised in these financial statements since its value cannot be measured reliably for accounting purposes.

ExPENDITURE

Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis, inclusive of any VAT that cannot be recovered.

Certain expenditure is directly attributable to specific activities and has been included in those cost categories. Support costs, which are attributable to more than one activity, are apportioned across cost categories on the basis of direct costs.

FIxED ASSETS

Individual fixed assets costing £2,000 or more are capitalised at cost.

Tangible fixed assets are initially stated at cost, then cost net of depreciation. On adoption of the 2015 SORP, deemed cost of freehold land and buildings was based on independently prepared valuations as at 1 April 2014. Existing book values were retained on adoption of the 2015 SORP for all other fixed assets.

Income from donations and legacies to the Charity is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receipt is probable, the amount can be estimated

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 27

Depreciation is calculated to write down the cost or valuation less estimated realisable value, of all tangible fixed assets over their expected useful lives. Depreciation is recognised on a straight line basis over the following periods:

At each reporting date fixed assets are reviewed to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss.

RETIREMENT BENEFITS – DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PENSION SCHEME

The pension costs included in the Statement of Financial Activities represent the total contributions paid in the year.

RETIREMENT BENEFITS – MULTI-EMPLOYER PLANS

Contributions are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate as there is insufficient information available to use defined benefit accounting. A liability is recognised for contributions arising from an agreement with the multiemployer plan that determines how the Charity will fund a deficit. Contributions are discounted when they are not expected to be settled wholly within 12 months of the year end.

LEASED ASSETS

Assets that are the subject of finance leases are capitalised at their fair value and depreciated over the length of the lease. The finance charge under the lease is also written off over the length of the lease.

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The Charity holds only basic financial instruments, being trade debtors, amounts owed by group undertakings, accrued income, other debtors, trade creditors, cash, overdrafts, accruals and other creditors, which are recognised at cost less provision for estimated irrecoverable assets.

RESTRICTED FUNDS

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure that meets these criteria is allocated to the fund.

When grants and donations are received for a specific purpose involving capital investment, the cash will be recorded against a restricted fund. When the investment has been made, the relevant capital asset will be recorded against the relevant fund, and depreciation of the asset charged against the fund.

Once any restrictions on the use of the asset have expired, the asset will be transferred from the restricted fund to unrestricted funds.

UNRESTRICTED FUNDS

PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES

Provisions are recognised when the Charity has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of past events, it is probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation and the amount can be estimated reliably.

Unrestricted funds are incoming resources received or generated for charitable purposes and are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Charity.

HOLIDAY PAY ACCRUAL

The Charity recognises an accrual for annual leave accrued by employees as a result of services rendered in the current year and which employees are entitled to carry forward and use in future years. The accrual is measured at the salary cost payable for the period of absence.

TERMINATION PAYMENTS

Provision is made for redundancy and other termination payments when a constructive obligation has been created through communication with affected pools of employees and the cost can be estimated reliably.

28 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

notes to the financial statements

1 PRIOR YEAR STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL INCOME AND ACTIVITIES

Financial activities for the prior year comprise the following restricted and unrestricted income and expenditure:

Charity note note unrestricted Restricted Total
funds funds
2020 2020 2020
£’000 £’000 £’000
income from:
Donations and legacies 2 57 121 178
Charitable activities 3 4,386 4,016 8,402
Other trading activities 4 134 - 134
Investments 5 3 - 3
Other 42 - 42
Total income 4,622 4,137 8,759
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 6 (86) - (86)
Charitable activities 7 (4,366) (4,054) (8,420)
Total expenditure (4,452) (4,054) (8,506)
net income after movement in funds 170 83 253
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 1,536 2,269 3,805
Total funds carried forward 1,706 2,352 4,058
2 INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Donations 115 170
Legacies 31 6
Membership fees - 2
146 178

Income from donations and legacies is classified as unrestricted income unless restrictions on use are imposed by the donor. Restrictions were imposed on donations of £34,000 (2020: £121,000).

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 29

3 INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Health, conservation and community
Restricted income 3,297 4,016
Unrestricted income 2,694 4,065
Total health, conservation and community 5,991 8,081
Training and employment
Unrestricted income 281 321
Total training and employment 281 321
6,272 8,402

Grant funding towards charitable activities is classified as restricted income; contracts for delivery of charitable activities are classified as unrestricted and income is only recognised as activity is completed.

The Charity recognised £2,077,000 income from government grants during the year (2020: £1,398,000), including £769,000 from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, amounts from central UK government, Northern Ireland and Scotland Executives and statutory authorities. Some of these grants are subject to information reporting and other routine beneficiary outcome requirements. No government grants recognised as income are considered likely to require full or partial repayment.

Charitable activities also include delivery of various public sector service contracts.

4 INCOME FROM OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Rental and venue hire 96 113
Insurance administration 12 21
108 134

Proceeds from trading activities are classified as unrestricted income in both years.

5 INCOME FROM INVESTMENTS

5 INCOME FROM INVESTMENTS
2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Distributions from former subsidiary 40 -
Bank interest 9 3
49 3

Investment income is classified as unrestricted in both years.

A final disbursement of £40k was received in the year from the liquidation of TCV Employment and Training Services Limited (“E&TS”) which was dissolved on 19 January 2021.

6 ExPENDITURE ON RAISING FUNDS

6 ExPENDITURE ON RAISING FUNDS
2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Marketing and public relations 120 86
120 86

Fundraising costs are classified as unrestricted expenditure.

30 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

7 ExPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Activities grant funding Support Total
undertaken of activities costs
directly
2021 2021 2021 2021
£ ’000 £ ’000 £ ’000 £ ’000
Health, conservation and community 6,197 43 1,208 7,448
Training and employment 101 - 20 121
6,298 43 1,228 7,569
Activities grant funding Support Total
undertaken of activities costs
directly
2020 2020 2020 2020
£ ’000 £ ’000 £ ’000 £ ’000
Health, conservation and community 7,067 43 1,171 8,281
Training and employment 116 - 23 139
7,183 43 1,194 8,420
Support costs comprise:
2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Finance, procurement and property 479 418
Information technology 290 290
Leadership 153 157
Governance 30 51
People services 154 144
Risk and safety 122 134
1,228 1,194

Direct costs and grants awarded are classified as restricted or unrestricted expenditure according to the nature of related funding received. Support costs are apportioned between restricted and unrestricted funds pro rata.

8 TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION, ExPENSES AND INDEMNITY INSURANCE

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Travel and subsistence - 4
Indemnity insurance 3 2
3 6

The directors of the Charity are the Trustees under charity law and received no remuneration from the Charity. The number of Trustees who received reimbursed subsistence and travel expenses or on whose behalf subsistence and travel costs were paid by the Charity was nil (2020: eleven).

The Charity has taken out indemnity insurance that protects both the Charity and its Trustees from losses arising from neglect or default by the Trustees, employees or other agents of the Charity.

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 31

9 STAFF COSTS

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Wages and salaries 4,630 4,946
Social security costs 331 351
Defned contribution pension 222 236
Contributions to multi-employer pension plans 9 9
Other benefts 48 44
5,240 5,586
Average number of staf 234 244

Wages and salaries include £72,993 (2020: £23,849) of redundancy payments.

Direct staff costs are classified as restricted or unrestricted expenditure according to the nature of related funding received. Support staff costs are apportioned between restricted and unrestricted funds pro rata.

Total employee benefits greater than £60,000 (including redundancy payments but excluding employer pension contributions) was:

2021 2020
number Number
£60,000 – £70,000 2 3
£70,000 – £80,000 3 3
£90,000 – £100,000 1 1
6 7

The total employment cost, including employer’s national insurance contributions in respect of the Charity’s executive leadership team, who are considered to be the key management personnel, amounted to £660,000 (2020: £719,000) including £4,035 (2020: £nil) of redundancy costs.

10 OTHER COSTS

Amounts payable to the Charity’s auditor comprised:

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Audit of the Charity's fnancial statements 24 20
24 20

Net expenditure before taxation is stated after charging:

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Depreciation of tangible fxed assets 89 76
Proft on disposal of fxed assets - (4)
Operating lease costs – property 148 161
Operating lease costs – other 165 180

32 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

11 FIxED ASSETS

Freehold land Short Motor Computer Total
and buildings leasehold vehicles and other
land and equipment
£’000 buildings
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost
Opening 1,200 810 1,154 65 3,229
Additions - 123 - 123
Disposals - - (503) - (503)
Closing 1,200 933 651 65 2,849
Depreciation
Opening 117 450 1,154 30 1,751
Charge for the year 19 40 - 30 89
Disposals - - (503) - (503)
Closing 136 490 651 60 1,337
Carrying amount
Opening 1,083 360 - 35 1,478
Closing 1,064 443 - 5 1,512

The Charity applied transitional arrangements of section 35 of FRS 102, using a valuation at 1 April 2014 as the deemed cost for all of its freehold properties. The properties are being depreciated from the valuation date.

The properties were last valued as at 1 April 2014 by an external professional valuer, Lambert Smith Hampton, a general practice firm providing surveying and valuation services, using market-based evidence for similar local properties. The cost of land and buildings at 31 March 2021 is made up of:

2021
£’000
2014 valuation 1,200
Cost 1,200

If these assets had not been revalued freehold land and buildings would have been included on the historical cost basis at the following amounts:

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Cost 2,209 2,209
Depreciation (1,012) (967)
Net book amount 1,197 1,242

Included within freehold land and buildings is land held at deemed cost of £467,000 (2020: £467,000), which is not depreciated.

There were contractual commitments to acquire tangible fixed assets at 31 March 2021 of £nil (2020: 61,000).

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 33

12 DEBTORS

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Trade debtors 1,166 839
Prepayments and accrued income 875 580
Other debtors 115 466
2,156 1,885

13 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Trade creditors 408 261
Accruals and deferred income 970 846
Other taxation and social security 211 298
Pensions 24 36
Other creditors 11 45
1,624 1,486

14 DEFERRED INCOME

Contractual income is deferred when income is invoiced or received in advance of delivery of the associated service. Movements in deferred unrestricted income during the year were as follows:

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Brought forward 706 808
Utilised during the year (706) (808)
Deferred during the year 781 706
Carried forward 781 706

34 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

15 PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES

Dilapidation legal Costs Total
£’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 1 April 2020 95 444 539
Utilised during the year - (444) (444)
Increased provision 10 94 104
Balance at 31 March 2021 105 94 199

The dilapidations provisions carried forward represent dilapidations obligations for 24 leased properties.

The legal cost provision relates to a legal claim made against the Charity. This claim arose after a safeguarding incident in 2014 involving two volunteers for which the Charity held vicarious liability. The conditions for recognition of this amount crystalised during 2019-20 after agreement of a settlement value for the claim. The costs are fully insured, and the related insurance recovery is included in other debtors (note 12).

The incident was reported to the Charity Commission under their significant incident reporting requirements, and in order to ensure that all lessons were learned from this incident the Charity appointed an independent external advisor to review the Charity’s safeguarding procedures; recruited an interim Head of Safeguarding to complete a whole systems review; subsequently recruited a Safeguarding and Volunteering Manager with specialist expertise for the co-ordination, oversight and continuous improvement of our approach to safeguarding, in accordance with contemporary best practice.

The Charity Commission reviewed the approach taken by the Charity in response to the case, noted that the Trustees had taken steps to improve safeguarding and had given a commitment to make further improvements, and concluded that no further action was required.

16 FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The following financial instruments are measured at amortised cost:

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Trade debtors 1,166 839
Accrued Income 25 490
Other debtors 115 466
Financial assets 1,306 1,795
Trade creditors (408) (261)
Accrued Expenditure (189) (140)
Other creditors (35) (81)
Financial liabilities (632) (482)
Net fnancial assets at amortised cost 674 1,313
Interest income and expenditure recognised on fnancial assets is as follows:
2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Interest earned on cash at bank 9 3

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 35

17 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Fund balances at 31 March 2021 were represented by:

unrestricted Restricted Total funds
funds income funds
£’000 £’000 £’000
Tangible fxed assets 663 849 1,512
Net current assets 1,344 1,063 2,407
Provisions (199) - (199)
Total net assets 1,808 1,912 3,720

Fund balances at 31 March 2020 were represented by:

unrestricted Restricted Total funds
funds income funds
£’000 £’000 £’000
Tangible fxed assets 652 826 1,478
Net current assets 1,593 1,526 3,119
Provisions (539) - (539)
Total net assets 1,706 2,352 4,058

18 RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Net (expenditure)/income (338) 253
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 89 76
Dividends, interest and rents (96) (114)
Proft on sale of fxed assets - (4)
(Increase) in debtors (271) (249)
Decrease/(increase) in creditors 138 (289)
(Decrease)/increase in provisions (340) 410
net cash provided by operating activities (818) 83

19 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Cash at bank and in hand 1,875 2,720
Total cash and cash equivalents 1,875 2,720

36 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

20 OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS AND RECEIVABLES

Total minimum commitments payable under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

land & buildings land & buildings Other
2021 2020 2021 2020
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Commitments payable:
Within one year 67 83 22 22
Within two to fve years 31 77 30 21
98 160 52 43

Total minimum receivables under non-cancellable operating leases for land and buildings temporarily surplus to the operational requirements of the Charity are as follows:

2021 2020
£’000 £’000
Operating leases that expire:
Within one year - 11
Within two to fve years 31 77
31 88

21 PENSION SCHEMES

The Charity operates a defined contribution scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the schemes are held in separate funds administered by independent pension providers.

The Charity participates in the CSP Alpha 2015 scheme, a multi-employer scheme which provides benefits to some 300 non-associated employers. The scheme is a defined benefit scheme in the UK. It is not possible for the Charity to obtain sufficient information to enable it to account for the scheme as a defined benefit scheme. Therefore it accounts for the scheme as a defined contribution scheme.

The total cost of pensions for the year incurred by the Charity was £231k (2020: £245k). Included in other creditors is £36k (2020: £36k) in respect of pension schemes.

22 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Antony Burton, a Trustee of TCV, is also Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund. During the year ended 31 March 2021 TCV received income from The National Lottery Community Fund of £219,923 (2020: £441,304).

Note 8 provides details of other disclosable transactions with Trustees.

There are no other related party transactions requiring disclosure.

23 CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

If the Charity were to dispose of its freehold property on Mallard Way, Doncaster, prior to November 2025, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council would be entitled to 50% of the sale proceeds for the land. No provision has been included in these accounts in respect of this clawback entitlement. The land is accounted for as a tangible fixed asset of the Charity and is not considered an investment property.

Certain of the grants received in the current and previous years from EU and other funders include rights to clawback amounts paid to the Charity. The Charity takes all reasonable steps to ensure it complies with the terms attaching to receipt of EU and other income and considers any repayments to be unlikely. However, the Trustees recognise that this is a complex area and there is always a risk that some funding could become repayable following audits by the funders’ verification teams.

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 37

24 CRITICAL JUDGEMENTS IN APPLYING ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Accounting for grants and contracts

The classification of income from charitable activities as either grant funding or contracts for provision of services requires judgement as to the nature of the terms agreed with the funder. This classification affects both the presentation and timing of income recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Contracts are classified as unrestricted income, which is recognised in the periods in which the services are delivered. Grants are classified as restricted income and are recognised when receivable provided that conditions for receipt have been met, unless they specifically relate to a future period.

The recognition of grants related to the purchase or construction of tangible fixed assets involves a further judgement as to the useful economic life of the assets to which they relate.

38 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

25 SCHEDULE OF RESTRICTED GRANTS 2020-2021

The funds of the Group and the Charity include the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust to be applied for specific purposes.

Opening 2021 Transfers 2021 Closing
balance 1 Income between Expenditure balance 31
April 2020 £’000 funds £’000 March 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000
Co-op Foundation
Support the role of Traford Community Hub
Project Ofcer increasing capacity to support
21 22 3 (18) 28
local community groups.
DAERA
Creating environmental jobs on the North - 10 8 (18) -
coast.
Esmée Fairburn Foundation
COVID 19 Fast Response Grant. - 31 - (31) -
To set up and deliver two new Green Health 42 84 - (49) 77
programmes as part of Green Health
Partnerships in Dundee and N Ayrshire.
HS2 Camden Fund - Camden giving
To support Camden residents afected by 5 21 - (26) -
HS2 development to discover and care for
green spaces in their neighbourhood through
regular, practical volunteering and Camden
Green Gym.
landfll
(EB780196) The completion of various 142 68 (5) (208) (3)
projects to help mitigate the impact of landfll
on local communities in England.
national lottery Community Fund
Social Prescribing (10318737): developing 40 20 20 (80) -
key components required to expand and
mainstream social prescribing.
Growing Communties (10306271): 175 - 17 (167) 25
transforming health and happiness of
disadvantaged coastal communities in Adur
and Worthing.
2 years Community Engagement Programme. 11 22 - (33) -
national lottery Heritage Fund
Project to facilitate young people with - 3 3 (6) -
learning and physical disabilities to engage
in the heritage of Market Gardens within
Traford.
Environmental volunteering at Crawfordsburn 23 21 - (12) 32
Country Park (OH-17-01549).
Grass Roots. Natural heritage skills for young 6 4 - (10) -
people at Skelton Grange in Leeds.
Ponds of Croydon (OH-17-03443): 18 (15) (3) - -
management of pond sites and training of
volunteers in Croydon.
Lousehill Copse Woodland (OH-17-01649): - 12 - (12) -
volunteer activities and events in Reading.
Carried forward 483 303 43 (670) 159

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 39

Opening 2021 Transfers 2021 Closing
balance 1 Income between Expenditure balance 31
April 2020 £’000 funds £’000 March 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000
Brought forward 483 303 43 (670) 159
national lottery Heritage Fund (continued)
Developing a wildlife area and building - (4) - 4 -
awareness and skills to engage with nature at
Auchengillan Outdoor Centre Scout Camp.
Improve biodiversity and community 21 - 2 (18) 5
engagement across three County Wildlife
Sites in South Norfolk: St Clements Common,
Langmere Green and Brockdish Common.
Building Roots Programme will involve a 10 39 4 (35) 18
series of heritage discovery workshops for
up to 200 Syrian refugee families recently
rehoused across Edinburgh, Livingston,
Fife, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Stirling and
Clackmannanshire.
COVID 19 Emergency Fund. - 141 - (141) -
natural England
Outdoor learning activities for school children - 55 8 (63) -
on community woodlands across South
Yorkshire.
northern ireland Environment Agency
(NEF21): habitat and landscape management - 37 3 (40) -
at South Sperrins and north coast of Northern
Ireland.
northern ireland European Social Fund
Training for Employment Programme - 256 - (230) 26
(2015 - 2020).
People’s Health Trust
Local People Programme; to establish and 98 71 5 (149) 25
develop local community groups in areas of
multiple deprivation across six locations.
Postcode green Trust
Support for a range of measures to support 550 550 (189) (414) 497
TCV in connecting more people and green
spaces to deliver lasting outcomes for both.
Public Health Agency
Green Gym Protect Life: projects delivered in - 17 - (17) -
South East Belfast.
Western Green Gym: To establish, develop 7 116 - (116) 7
and deliver the Green Gym, and Fruit and Veg
Green Gyms, in Western Belfast.
Green Gym Dig it and Eat it Programme: To 5 105 (4) (106) -
improve the environment whilst improving
mental and physical health, skills and nutrition.
Southern Green Gym: To develop and provide - 51 2 (52) 1
support to local communities in developing
and maintaining community gardens and
allotments in Southern Belfast.
Mid Ulster community growing. - 46 - (46) -
Scottish government
Supporting the TCV Community Flood - 20 - (20) -
Monitoring Project in Strathard and Aberfoyle.
Carried forward 1,174 1,803 (126) (2,113) 738

40 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

Opening 2021 Transfers 2021 Closing
balance 1 Income between Expenditure balance 31
April 2020 £’000 funds £’000 March 2021
£’000 £’000 £’000
Brought forward 1,174 1,803 (126) (2,113) 738
Scottish natural Heritage
Concordat & Framework Agreement: - (1) - 1 -
supporting volunteer activity days across
Scotland.
Engaging communities and mainstreaming - (3) 1 1 (1)
Citizen Science.
Concordat & Framework Agreement: - 247 - (247) -
supporting volunteer activity days across
Scotland (2020-21).
The Earley Charity
To deliver a trainee Volunteer Ofcer 10 41 - (36) 15
programme in Berkshire.
Total Disclosed grants 1,184 2,087 (125) (2,394) 752
Other restricted revenue grants and 342 1,173 (111) (1,094) 310
donations
Restricted capital grants 826 71 - (47) 850
Total restricted funds 2,352 3,331 (236) (3,535) 1,912

Transfers between funds relate to restricted funds which provide support for central functions or activities which are unrestricted in their nature – for example match funding for specific projects. In addition, Government support, in the form of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme income (which was unrestricted) has been used to pay salaries of staff who were furloughed and employed specifically on projects which are normally funded by restricted income. This has enabled greater transparency for these projects to clearly record the income from a funder and support from Government for furloughed staff.

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 41

Schedule of restricted grants 2019-2020

The funds of the Group and the Charity include the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust to be applied for specific purposes.

Opening Closing
balance 2020 2020 balance
1 April 2019 Income Expenditure 31 March 2020
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Co-op Foundation
Support the role of Traford Community Hub Project
Ofcer increasing the capacity to support local
- 29 (8) 21
community groups.
DAERA
Creatingenvironmentaljobs on the north coast. - 20 (20) -
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Natural Talent (13-1109 and 16-1066): Supporting 27 - (27) -
apprentices undertaking outreach and citizen science in
local communities.
To set up and deliver two new Green Health programmes
as part of Green Health Partnerships in Dundee and - 62 (20) 42
N Ayrshire.
glasgow & Clyde Valley green network
To support the appointment of a Community 6 - (6) -
Engagement Ofcer at Seven Lochs Wetlandpark.
HS2 Camden Fund – Camden giving
To support Camden residents efected by HS2
7 27 (29) 5
development to discover and care for green spaces
in their neighbourhood through regular, practical
volunteeringand Camden Green Gym.
landfll
(EB780196): The completion of various projects to help
mitigate the impact of landfll on local communities in
14 212 (83) 143
England.
leeds Mind
Big Lottery Fund Reaching Communities (10267124) 12 - (12) -
Outdoors Active and Well: environmental and peer
support project for adults with experience of mental ill
health.
london Borough of Croydon
Croydon community fund - natural health service – 2 10 (12) -
consortium led byTCV.
national lottery Community Fund
Social Prescribing (10318737): developing key 138 70 (168) 40
components required to expand and mainstream social
prescribing.
To deliver a Green Gym at Skelton Grange. 5 - (5) -
Growing Communties (10306271): transforming health 157 230 (212) 175
and happiness of disadvantaged coastal communities in
Adur and Worthing.
Coastal Communities Fund (10297092): training and 15 82 (97) -
work experience programme in Kinneil, Falkirk.
2 years Community Engagement Programme. 9 46 (44) 11
Blue/Green Gym projects on canals. - 13 (13) -
Carried forward 392 801 (756) 437

42 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

Opening Closing
balance 2020 2020 balance
1 April 2019 Income Expenditure 31 March 2020
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Brought forward 392 801 (756) 437
national lottery Heritage Fund
Our project will facilitate young people with learning and 24 19 (43) -
physical disabilities to engage in the heritage of Market
Gardens within Traford.
Environmental volunteering at Crawfordsburn Country 23 - - 23
Park (OH-17-01549).
Grass Roots. Natural heritage skills for young people at - 36 (30) 6
Skelton Grange in Leeds.
Ponds of Croydon (OH-17-03443): management of pond 9 32 (23) 18
sites and training of volunteers in Croydon.
Lousehill Copse Woodland (OH-17-01649): volunteer 2 27 (29) -
activities and events in Reading.
Improve biodiversity and community engagement across - 29 (8) 21
three County Wildlife Sites in South Norfolk: St Clements
Common, Langmere Green and Brockdish Common.
Jupiter Naturability (OH-16-08986): learning and training - 40 (40) -
activities, with specifc focus on disabled volunteers, at
Jupiter urban wildlife centre, Grangemouth.
Building Roots Programme will involve a series of 49 - (39) 10
heritage discovery workshops for up to 200 Syrian
refugee families recently rehoused across Edinburgh,
Livingston, Fife, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Stirling and
Clackmannanshire.
natural England
Outdoor learning activities for school children on - 31 (31) -
communitywoodlands across South Yorkshire.
northern ireland European Agency
Outdoor learning activities for school children on - 31 (31) -
communitywoodlands across Northern Ireland.
northern ireland European Social Fund - 262 (262) -
Trainingfor Employment Programme(2015 - 2020).
Peoples’ Health Trust 110 240 (252) 98
Local People Programme: to establish and develop local
community groups in areas of multiple deprivation across
six locations.
Postcode green Trust 499 550 (499) 550
Support for a range of measures to support TCV in
connecting more people and green spaces to deliver
lastingoutcomes for both.
Public Health Agency - 15 (15) -
Green Gym Protect Life: projects delivered in South East
Belfast.
Western Green Gym: To establish, develop and deliver - 118 (111) 7
the Green Gym, and Fruit and Veg Green Gyms, in
Western Belfast.
Green Gym Dig it and Eat it Programme: To improve the 3 109 (107) 5
environment whilst improving mental and physical health,
skills and nutrition.
Southern Green Gym: To develop and provide support - 51 (51) -
to local communities in developing and maintaining
community gardens and allotments in Southern Belfast.
Mid Ulster community growing. - 25 (25) -
Carried forward 1,111 2,416 (2,352) 1,175

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 43

Opening Closing
balance 2020 2020 balance
1 April 2019 Income Expenditure 31 March 2020
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Brought forward 1,111 2,416 (2,352) 1,175
Scottish government - 20 (20) -
Supporting the TCV Community Flood Monitoring
Project in Strathard and Aberfoyle.
Scottish natural Heritage - 15 (15) -
Scotland Counts.
Concordat & Framework Agreement: supporting - 340 (340) -
volunteer activitydays across Scotland.
The Earley Charity
To deliver a trainee Volunteer Ofcer programme in
- 55 (45) 10
Berkshire.
West lindsey District Council - 30 (30) -
CVS17-20 06: helping local communities engage in
maintenance of nature areas in West LindseyDistrict.
Total Disclosed grants 1,111 2,876 (2,802) 1,185
Other restricted revenuegrants and donations 351 1,198 (1,207) 342
Restricted capitalgrants 807 64 (45) 826
Total group restricted funds 2,269 4,138 (4,054) 2,353

44 TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21

Schedule of conditional grants 2020-2021

During the year, the following organisations supported TCV’s activities. It is a condition of the provision of these funds that they are separately disclosed in this Annual Report and Financial Statements.

Abelio Scotrail Ltd

British Hedgehog Preservation Trust Colchester Borough Council Department for Communities Forestry Commission Scotland Garfield Weston Foundation Glasgow City Council Greater London Authority

Groundwork UK

Heathrow Community Fun

Leeds City Council Parks and Countryside

Leeds Older People’s Forum Life Changes Trust National Forest Company National Grid Paths for All

RS MacDonald Scottish Government Sustrans The Robertson Trust The Peacock Charitable Trust TKMaxx Homesense Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment Wates Family

TCV Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020-21 45

As a charity we rely on the support of individuals and organisations that share our determination to address the challenges facing people and green spaces today.

We are proud to be supported by donors, local and national government, lotteries, private organisations, charities, trusts and landowners – all of whom are committed to our vision of healthier, happier communities for everyone.

Please get in touch for opportunities to support our valuable work.

Visit tcv.org.uk/support

The Conservation Volunteers Gresley House, Ten Pound Walk Doncaster DN4 5Hx Telephone: 01302 388883 Email: information@tcv.org.uk www.tcv.org.uk

The Conservation Volunteers, a registered charity in England (261009) and in Scotland (SCO39302) *Green Gym[TM] is an internationally registered trade mark of TCV.