**Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited** (a charitable company limited by guarantee)
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
Registered Charity Number: 265239 Company Number: 1090006
**INSPIRE**[●] **INFORM**[●] **ENABLE**
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Contents**
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Chair’s Statement 3
Trustees’ Report 4
4
Trustees, Officers and Advisers
Our Purposes and Activities 5
Achievements and Performance 6
Financial Review 22
Future Plans 26
Structure, Governance and Management 27
Trustees’ Responsibilities in Relation to the Financial Statements 29
Independent Auditor’s Report 30
Financial Statements 34
Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 [st] March 2021 34
Balance Sheet as at 31 [st] March 2021 36
Cash Flow Statement for the Year Ended 31 [st] March 2021 37
Notes to the Financial Statements 38
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Chair’s Statement**
In a year unlike any other, the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) has shown resilience and a determination to continue with its vital work researching and sharing solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis.
CAT’s mission has never been more vital or more urgent. The world is facing multiple emergencies at the same time, with COVID-19, climate change and biodiversity loss all in need of urgent action.
In 2020 the global temperature was 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and current policies from around the world have us on track to hit 2.9 degrees by 2100. At the same time, we are overseeing a rate of decline in the natural world that is unprecedented in human history. It’s a picture that has devastating implications for the entire web of life, including our own species.
As governments look to rebuild economies and livelihoods impacted by the pandemic, it is essential that we invest in solutions that address all of these emergencies. In doing so, we have the opportunity to build a fairer, healthier, happier world for all.
With nearly 50 years’ experience in environmental solutions, and a decade of thought leadership in how the UK can reach net zero, CAT has a unique role to play.
In 2020-21, with our eco centre closed and in-person courses and events cancelled for much of the year, we quickly expanded our digital delivery. Graduate School students switched to distance learning, and webinars and online courses and events allowed us to attract new audiences. Our Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab launched with a digitalfirst focus, helping councils, communities and businesses build their knowledge, confidence and skills to transform complex economic, social and political systems and achieve zero carbon.
In October and January we were delighted to host the BBC Natural History Unit’s Springwatch team for Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, bringing the wildlife and wild spaces of CAT and Mid Wales to millions of viewers across the UK. CAT’s story of the regeneration of a disused slate quarry, now home to rare species including pine martens and dormice, helped set the scene to show how people can help to bring wildlife back from the brink.
This was also a year for planning ahead, with a refreshed vision and mission and a new five-year strategic plan that will see CAT grow in ambition and influence. At a time when the world urgently needs solutions, CAT’s work over the next five years will focus on providing inspiration, training and education in positive solutions to accelerate the shift to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Our ambitious plans include a reimagining and redevelopment of the CAT eco centre, with a new and updated immersive visitor experience. A new sustainable skills hub will allow many more people to access the skills and knowledge to help create a zero carbon future, and we will continue to develop and invest in our innovative postgraduate courses.
Alongside this, we have plans to rapidly scale up our outreach work, building on our achievements in 2020-21 to deliver CAT’s message and learning experiences to a much wider digital audience.
We couldn’t do any of this without the incredible generosity of our members, supporters and funders, and without the commitment and dedication of our collegues, volunteers, students, graduates and many more people who share our vision of a sustainable future for all humanity as part of a thriving natural world.
## **Michael Taylor**
Chair
> [25][th][ November 2021] Date
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Trustees’ Report, incorporating the Strategic Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Trustees, Officers and Advisers**
## **Directors and Trustees:**
The Directors of the charitable company are its Trustees for the purpose of Charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees. The Trustees serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:
- Michael (Mick) Taylor (Chair of Board of Trustees)
- Dr Rosetta Plummer
- Andrew Menzies (Chair of Audit Finance and Performance Committee)
- Roger Thomas (Chair of Organisational Development Committee)
- Dr Sara (Sally) Carr (Vice Chair)
- Anthony (Tony) Gross
## **Company Secretary:**
Paul Booth
## **Key Management Personnel:**
The Senior Management Team during the year consisted of:
- Peter Tyldesley (Chief Executive Officer)
- Paul Booth (Director of Finance and Operations)
- John Challen (Head of Eco Centre)
- Ed Parsons (Head of Visitor Services)
- Eileen Kinsman (Head of Development)
- Dr Adrian Watson (Head of School)
- Sarah Jenkinson (Head of Policy & Communications to 3[rd] July 2021)
- Kalyani Gandhi-Rhodes
- Andrew Pearman (Chair of IT Steering Committee)
- Sonya Bedford (Appointed 25[th] June 2020)
- Theresa Löber (Appointed 24[th] September 2020)
**Principal Bankers** : Triodos Bank, Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AS
**Auditors** : Hazlewoods LLP, Staverton Court, Staverton, GL51 0UX
: **Registered Office and Operational Address** Llwyngwern Quarry, Pantperthog, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 9AZ
- Kevin Gould (Appointed 24[th] September 2020)
- Siobhan Riordan (Appointed 18[th] February 2021)
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Our Purposes and Activities**
## **Constitution**
The Charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee. It was incorporated on 5[th] January 1973 and changed its name to Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited on 28[th] June 1990. It is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 5[th] January 1973, as amended by resolutions on 21[st] May 1990, 8[th] September 2003, 4[th] December 2008, 13[th] September 2010 and 4[th] February 2021.
## **Objects and Public Benefit**
In accordance with s.17(5) of the Charities Act 2011, the Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning future activities. The Charity’s objects have been agreed with the Charity Commission and reflect the Commission’s public benefit requirements for charities.
The objects under the Memorandum and Articles of Association are for public benefit, as set out below:
- To promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the environment by various exclusively charitable means including, but not limited to, the promotion of sustainable development, the conservation of natural resources, the reduction of carbon emissions, the promotion of re-cycling, energy efficiency and the reduction of harmful pollution and any other exclusively charitable means of protecting and conserving the environment.
- To advance the education of the public in subjects related to sustainable development and the protection, enhancement and rehabilitation of the environment, the use of natural resources and sustainable energy and to promote study and research in such subjects, provided that the useful results of such study are disseminated to the public at large.
Sustainable development means ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.
## **Vision**
Our vision is a sustainable future for all humanity as part of a thriving natural world.
## **Mission**
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) exists to inspire, inform and enable humanity to respond to the climate and biodiversity emergency.
CAT’s work is designed to encourage and educate people to take positive steps to reduce their impact on the environment. This ranges from support for individuals and communities to professionally accredited training and showcasing societal solutions.
## **Activities**
The Charity achieves its objectives through a wide range of activities, including:
- Operating a visitor centre open to the general public to showcase zero carbon technologies and solutions.
- Providing educational opportunities at its visitor centre.
- Developing a new Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab.
- Developing and promoting its “Zero Carbon Britain” research.
- Providing education for groups from schools, colleges and universities.
- Providing postgraduate courses.
- Providing short courses for adults.
- Hosting lectures, conferences and events.
- Publishing information and advice.
- Publishing a magazine for members.
- Providing a free information service for the public to respond to enquiries on environmental matters.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Achievements and Performance**
## _**“To inspire, inform and enable humanity to respond to the climate and biodiversity emergency.”**_
## **Introduction**
We are confident that we can achieve maximum impact in addressing climate change if we inspire people and organisations to influence the thoughts and actions of their friends and colleagues, local communities, business partners and local and national government. CAT has almost 50 years’ experience of informing the world that we have the tools to combat climate change and is now ideally placed to enable the growing, popular climate change movement to turn its passion into action.
## **COVID-19 Pandemic**
The COVID-19 pandemic formed the backdrop for the whole of our 2021 financial year and continues to impact on us at the time of drafting this report.
We started the financial year in April 2020 with our visitor centre closed due to Government restrictions and guidance at both UK and Welsh levels. The visitor centre remained closed until mid-August, when the relaxation of some of the ‘lockdown’ restrictions meant that we were able to re-open our site on a limited basis, bring some of our team back from furlough, and welcome back the general public. In turn, it was a major boost to us to be able to welcome back students to our site at the start of September. Unfortunately, we had to again close our visitor centre, and re-furlough many of our colleagues, with the implementation of the Welsh Government’s ‘Fire Break’ lockdown in late-October. We were able to open again for a short period from the 9[th] November before deciding to close the site from the beginning of December. We were only able to properly re-open our site again in late-May 2021.
As noted in our 2020 Trustees Report, we have been able to weather the storm created by COVID-19 due to a combination of the incredible support that our members have given us in this period and the rapidly growing demand for our graduate courses. The “Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme” (‘furlough’
scheme), coupled with a “Bounce Back Loan” in July 2020 have also assisted us in this challenging period. This has meant that we have been able to protect the jobs of all of our colleagues. At some points during the course of the year many have been furloughed but then they have been able to return to work as and when we have been able to open the site.
Since re-opening, we have been delighted by the level of enquiries and the demand for our solutions and services to address the climate emergency. This bodes well for the coming months and years but we remain vigilant and aware that the pandemic is not over yet.
## **Digital Systems & Services**
During the year, we took advantage of the unexpected opportunity presented by our site being closed to upgrade and expand our IT facilities and improve the systems available across CAT to our colleagues, students and volunteers. This also helped with the new challenge of supporting our colleagues with remote working. Improvements included the replacement of ageing cabling and switches, improving on-site Wi-Fi, replacing obsolete servers, moving us to Microsoft Office 365 and installing CCTV across site to assist with our security measures.
The pandemic had a significant effect on the digital delivery of many of our services. In particular, we were faced with having to move most of the delivery of our courses online. Our graduate school had previously delivered some courses online but the scale of the challenge to move all teaching online was unprecedented. The flexibility and determination of our colleagues meant that we quickly adapted to these challenges and by the end of the year had become a major success with some of our short courses attracting as many as 500 delegates in a single session.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Zero Carbon Britain**
CAT’s Zero Carbon Britain (ZCB) project, demonstrating how we can rise to the challenge of climate change using technology available today, moved into a new phase this year with the first full year’s activity of the Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab. This three-year project builds on the ZCB research to date, supporting councils, communities and other organisations to act on climate emergency declarations.
It does this through three main types of activity:
- development and maintenance of an online resource hub.
- provision of training and events.
- designing and delivering multi-stakeholder innovation lab workshops to overcome barriers to transitioning to a net zero nation.
_The main areas of activity and organisational relationships are summarised in the diagram below._
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
The first year of the project saw an initial focus on research and development of a strategy, followed by the recruitment of an evaluation consultant (Collingwood Environmental Planning) and development of a monitoring and evaluation framework with key performance indicators. The year was made much more challenging by the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning all activities which would usually have been conducted in-person had to move online. The new team of five people only met around four times in-person before having to work exclusively from home. The team brings extensive experience and connections across the net zero transition movement and has built strong connections and partnerships with other organisations throughout the year.
The online resource hub was designed by the ZCB team and delivered by CAT’s current web development consultancy, with final testing being carried out at the close of the financial year 2020/21. This currently collates hundreds of diverse resources, from webinars to research reports, case study examples to template documents and networks to join. CAT’s own webinars, short courses and M.Sc programmes are also listed to promote participation. The increased web traffic and links to other websites from the online resource hub should also increase search rankings for the wider website. Discussions have commenced with collaborators about how best to build on this initial version of the online hub to better support action on the climate and biodiversity emergency.
The training component of the project’s work built on a previously successful model of delivering ZCB training over two days on the CAT site. This format was transferred to online and attracted over 500 participants over 6 events during the financial year, with wider representation than would have been possible on site. The team trained an additional 383 people through bespoke ZCB training events of shorter duration. A further addition to this training programme was a series of webinars in partnership
with Ashden, a London-based climate charity, sharing local ‘tried and tested solutions for a green recovery’, which could be replicated in other areas. This was prompted by the opportunity to ‘build back better’ as a result of the economic devastation of the pandemic towards a lower carbon emissions society. These webinars attracted nearly 900 participants over 6 lunchtime events.
Establishing the ZCB Innovation Lab has involved extensive and successful relationship building efforts over this first year of operation and research into barriers to net zero and therefore potential labs. At the year’s end, two one-day workshops have been completed in a 32 participant, 10 council process bringing together Staffordshire local authorities to develop ways to work better together towards net zero. We also delivered a mini-lab as part of the Climate Emergency UK conference in November 2020. Three further innovation labs are at planning or funding proposal stage, with focusses on land use, just transition away from a fossil fuel dominated local economy and energising business engagement in a county-scale climate action partnership.
Outside these three main areas of activity, extensive engagement has been ongoing with many councils and community groups requesting presentations or other forms of input from the ZCB team. Notable interactions have been with groups in Yorkshire, Dorset and Shropshire - all directly influenced by ZCB. We have also been invited to contribute to key events, groups and think tanks including a seat on the Advisory Board for Northern Ireland’s Energy Strategy Board, a roundtable event run by PCAN/LSE, The Transition Network’s ‘What Next?’ Summit, a BEIS competition for local authorities on enforcing minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector, the UN Food Systems Summit, Wales Real Food and Farming Conference and Wales Climate Week The team has also supported CAT’s wider strategy, primarily through collaboration with the GSE and Marketing teams.
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Finances Fundraising
Visitor Centre
We are focused on building strong cashflows and reserves. CAT Graduates
Various spin-off businesses 133 graduating students in 2020
Membership A sustainable future for all Graduate School
Culture
Ensuring an ethical approach to all that we do is central to CAT’s mission.
Government
Projects
Engagement
18 meetings with UK, Welsh and Local Government A range of on-line conferences
People
The dedication of our staff and volunteers to a zero carbon future is key to our success. Universities
carbon future
Providing inspiration & training for a zero
No University or collage groups visited CAT due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Educating
Investing in our services
We train graduate students in sustainable methods. Many go on to promote these values in future careers.
Schools and Groups
stakeholders
No school groups visited CAT due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Informing Creating value for our
CAT provides practical examples and support for people to take action on climate change.
Community
88% of our expenditure on charitable activities 4 international partners hosted Approx 1,800 volunteer hours
Inspiring Change We believe CAT achieves maximum impact on climate change by inspiring others to create change.
INSPIRE, INFORM, ENABLE
Our Mission …is to inspire, inform and enable humanity to respond to the climate and biodiversity emergency.
Environment Members
Concern for the environment is at CAT’s heart. 8,824 members (a 57% increase) 4,621 paying members 3,655 life, honorary and ‘free year’ members
Our Vision … is a sustainable future for all humanity as part of a thriving natural world.
Our Purpose:
Strengths Outcomes
Our Stakeholder
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Graduate School of the Environment (GSE)**
_Annual Graduate School Income_
Despite the external COVID-19 environment, 2020/21 continued the recent growth in student recruitment and saw us achieve our key objective to maintain and grow in student numbers to record levels. Whilst there were early concerns that COVID-19, and potentially Brexit, would adversely affect recruitment, our suite of M.Sc courses in Sustainability and Adaptation continued its growth from an intake of 134 in 2018, to 237 in September
2020. The M.Sc student intake in 2020 is 63:37 part time / full time, with the shift toward part time reflecting the flexibility of our programmes, and perceptions of the impacts of COVID-19 amongst incoming students. Consequently, M.Sc students typically take an average of around three years to complete the course, which means that this growth in student intake will continue to be reflected financially over several years.
_Annual Graduate School programme intake (Every September)_
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
M.Arch student recruitment declined slightly to 19 new students, although the overall cohort grew to 44. Despite this being one of the overall higher M.Arch cohorts recruitment to the programme remains a challenge compared with M.Sc programmes. The part time M.Arch route still has not attracted many students, in part due to national limitations accessing student finance, but is providing an alternative route for students who would otherwise withdraw from the course due to external factors. 2021 saw recruitment of a new course leader following retirement of the previous incumbent, and external feedback to the M.Arch course remains positive, with external examiners continuing to praise the Sustainable Architecture provision offered at CAT.
The three new courses launched in September 2019, M.Sc in Green Building (validated by the University of East London) and M.Scs in Sustainability and Behaviour Change and Sustainable Ecology (validated by Liverpool John Moores University) continued to recruit well, attracting intakes of 43, 53, and 52 students respectively, indicating that their attractiveness to potential students extends
beyond the early course adopters. This interest is also a useful indicator of the sustained interest in CAT’s core messages on working towards a Zero Carbon Britain and the perceived need for behaviour change to support the practical solutions for climate change.
The increase in student intake means that the efficiencies of the GSE’s block delivery model of modules are now at the limits of capacity. This is most evident where multiple modules are being delivered concurrently whilst still maintaining our current quality of student support and provision. The ability of the GSE team to support other CAT initiatives such as the ZCB innovation laboratory is now constrained through additional workload to deliver the degree programmes. Onsite accommodation is also a limiting factor during some teaching periods. Due to COVID-19, we operated a restricted student attendance model in September and October by necessity, but we would have struggled to accommodate all new students without using neighbouring accommodation in non-COVID-19 circumstances. This will need to be addressed in future years.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
The COVID-19 pandemic across the 2020/21 academic year presented operational challenges to course delivery to which the Graduate School responded well, and in practice sessions delivered at distance were of higher quality than before, due to accelerated improvements in IT provision. As students could not be accommodated on site for much of the year, our existing teaching and learning strategies had to be adapted and the GSE made full use of the Microsoft Office learning environment. Our previous blended learning operations also meant that we could adapt to a fully distance learning model, as students were already attuned to the practices of learning away from the CAT site. Student feedback continued to approve the approach to course delivery in these extreme circumstances, but understandably the students remain keen to return to teaching on the CAT site as soon as possible.
As our student profile is mature in comparison to most HE providers, attendance continued to suffer as they struggled with the direct and indirect (such as family and work commitments) effects of COVID-19. However, with the support of our external university partners and the academic and support teams, mechanisms were put in place to support their continuing study with as little impact as possible whilst maintaining academic standards. The student support team has integrated new staffing this year into the GSE, which has been challenging but the students have been unaffected by staffing changes. To further support the students
with the additional difficulties they faced, the GSE provided additional external pastoral support resources to reflect these additional COVID-19 pressures. This provision will need to be maintained throughout 2022. Dependent upon its success and cost effectiveness, the graduate school is likely to continue to employ this external provider in future years.
Overall, adopting operational course delivery changes and enhanced student support meant that the number of studied modules remained in line with our projections at the start of the year, and the GSE continued to contribute positively both to CAT’s overall financial position and to our mission of delivering sustainability skills and knowledge. The uncertainty of the current COVID-19 crisis means that there will likely remain significant challenges for the GSE to meet throughout 2021/22. However, despite the status of incoming EU students changing from Home to Overseas due to Brexit, affecting their fee status and access to student loans, recruitment looks to be positive.
Finally, during 2021/22 session the Graduate School will undertake its external four-year Quality Assurance Review with HEFCW and its fiveyearly review of collaborative programmes with the University of East London. These two major activities will focus the Graduate School’s attention on academic quality and process, but successful outcomes to these reviews will provide strong foundations for the development of the graduate school into the future.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **CAT Eco Centre & Engagement**
_Annual Vistitor Centre Income_
One of the most obvious and greatest impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for CAT was on the operation of our site. As teaching and engagement moved to an online offer, the challenge was to safely maintain the site and prepare it for the time when visitors and students could return, albeit under a very different operating model. This was successfully achieved allowing a limited period of opening that provided the essential groundwork for the 2021 season.
## **A Year of Adaptation**
As the pandemic hit, most of the estates team were furloughed but a small core team was retained working to monitor the site and carry out essential preventative maintenance and system checks. The gardens presented a particular challenge as the crisis hit just as the growing season was getting into its stride. Fortunately, CAT’s relationship with a local cooperative growing organisation, Mach Maethlon, meant we were able to help support the community food growing effort by providing them with our seedlings and further growing plots on the site’s horticulture field. Another concern was for the personal safety of those still on site and overall security so plans to install a CCTV system on site to cover key entry points and buildings were moved forward. This has worked well and had
the unexpected benefit of allowing the occasional sheep intruders to be spotted more easily!
Visitors were finally welcomed back to site during mid-August 2020 for a brief period that came to an end with the Welsh firebreak in mid-October. Much work was carried out to make the site COVID-19 secure including the introduction of booked entry times, screens, one-way systems and the installation of hand sanitiser points in key locations. Social distancing restrictions meant it was not possible to operate the water balance railway, instead visitors were welcomed at the bottom station before walking up to a combined café and shop much as they used to do prior to the building of the railway. Additional and extended site tours were laid on and around 2500 visitors were welcomed to site before the site was forced to close to the public again.
Practical learning is one of the defining features of CAT and alongside preparing for visitors on site, the Estates team also worked to facilitate the return of onsite short courses. Additional covered space was required to allow activities such as the popular Tiny House course to be delivered in compliance with social distancing guidelines and an entirely new under cover building area was created by opening up new level area and erecting a large tented
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
workshop complete with its own LED lighting. This also proved useful for the GSE architecture students who were finally able to undertake their postponed practical build module in September and create some amazing structures they had designed for the site’s toddler activity area.
Unfortunately, the site had to close to the public ahead of the October half term and the arrival of the BBC Autumnwatch team on site, but the estates team remained to prepare the site for its
starring role. This meant clearing rhododendron and brambles in the quarry to create an amazing presenter spot, opening access to the quarry tunnels and completing a second presenter base overlooking the quarry reservoir. This was the Ty Unnos cabin which received a new roof supporting slate chippings which over time will be allowed to green up with mosses and lichens. The filming came and went but the work that went into enabling it has left a wonderful legacy that will support ongoing engagement works on site.
## **Engagement, onsite and online**
As university and schools’ bookings were cancelled the efforts of the engagement team switched to the production of a series of online resources, ‘CAT at Home’ focused on wildlife and biodiversity themes and targeted families looking for resources to help cope with lockdown. Developing these ideas further, effort also went into designing new bookable visitor experiences for the 2021 season, again focused on sharing CAT’s ideas and knowledge to helping families encourage and explore nature on their own doorsteps. Designed to make the most of what the site has to offer the days have themes such as gardening for nature and how to become a nature detective and are delivered by new ranger
posts embedded within the site estates team.
The short course team were also busy cancelling and rearranging short course bookings with most people proving willing to transfer to a future course. As well as working to adapt courses to function safely under COVID-19 restrictions the team have also been working with tutors to develop online versions of popular courses such as eco-refurb. As with many areas of CAT’s work, the gearing up of online capacity will increasingly be part of the spectrum of engagement tools CAT can offer in the future, greatly expanding the reach of its skilled and knowledgeable team and of the site they work on.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Visitor Services**
Visitor services encompasses our catering, retail and accommodation activities used by the general public, students attending our Graduate School, visiting groups, colleagues and volunteers. This financial year has been very challenging due to the restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We closed in March 2020 to visitors following the announcement of a national lockdown and we utilised the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to furlough many team members.
The site reopened in mid-August with restrictions on numbers of visitors to enable social distancing and reduce the risk of transmission of the virus. During public access periods numbers were limited to a maximum of 100 visitors each day and in student weeks residential capacity was reduced substantially from 96 to 24 on site with total numbers of students attending not exceeding 40.
Income in all areas was much lower than forecast due to the pandemic and because when we reopened we had to operate in a different manner, with restricted visitor numbers and a limited catering offer. Staffing levels had to be maintained to ensure regular cleaning and to provide table service for residential guests. We had to close again in mid-October due to Welsh Government firebreak lockdown. We remained closed to visitors and students for the rest of the financial year.
We were however able to host BBC Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, significantly raising the profile of our site. We generated £28,500 income from location fees and exceeded the expectations of the BBC crew on site by ensuring that they had any assistance needed to enable the productions to run smoothly.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Catering**
The team showed great flexibility and determination in dealing with the challenges of the last year. Students and residential guests required table service and we received praise from Iolo Williams
and the BBC crew for the high standard of catering while they were on site. Recruitment of skilled chefs has proved particularly difficult and we are now considering apprenticeships as a solution.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
_Annual Retail Income (Eco-store, Mail Order, Café and Bar)_
**Retail**
Following the review of our retail offer, we decided to trial the concept of a ‘pop-up’ Eco-store in the café, accompanying our limited take away food offer. This proved successful with our existing catering team able to take payment for a carefully curated range of retail products at the same time as processing food and drink orders. We restarted mail order operations in mid-August, recognising that the pandemic had forced many customers to abandon visits to shops and instead source products on-line. We also re-instated North Drive as the public entrance and exit from the site, which
works well as our main reception is situated close by in the WISE building alongside our retail and catering offer. We anticipate that this model of operation will continue whilst we redevelop other areas of site as part of our long term vision.
We rationalised roles associated with reception and retail and decided to continue operating mail order alongside a reduced retail offer within our café. This has been achieved with one full time role. The end of the year saw the permanent closure of the old, main Eco-store with the space being converted for new temporary exhibitions.
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Retail in the café
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
**£ 350,000**
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£ 300,000
£ 250,000
£ 200,000
£ 150,000
£ 100,000
£ 50,000
£ 0
2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
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2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Annual Accommodation Income
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## **Accommodation**
As much of our accommodation offer relies upon use of shared facilities we had to reduce our occupancy substantially, from 96 beds on site to 30; 24 single occupancy in WISE and 2 in each Ecocabin and Self build. We sourced extra capacity for a small number of additional students and tutors at Plas Talgarth, a short drive from CAT in Pennal. We had to maintain the cost of accommodation for our students at the rates agreed prior to the pandemic (based upon shared facilities). Our costs however increased, particularly with the requirement for much more frequent daily cleaning.
With only a couple of exceptions (a product launch with limited numbers and BBC & ITV filming) all other corporate and residential visits planned for this financial year were cancelled and we refunded any deposits in full. Caretakers were furloughed part time during the second lockdown which enabled them to redecorate WISE and complete other maintenance. There is however significant capital investment still required for WISE. The Ecocabins deteriorated during the winter. They are now back in use but the quality of accommodation they offer is basic. Future development must focus upon a high standard of multi-purpose accommodation.
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WISE accommodation
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Fundraising and Membership**
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£ 2,000,000
£ 1,800,000
£ 1,600,000
£ 1,400,000
£ 1,200,000
£ 1,000,000
£ 800,000
£ 600,000
£ 400,000
£ 200,000
£ 0
2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
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## **Income from legacies**
**Income from grants**
**Income from donations**
2019/20 includes the £1 million donation from Moondance
## _Annual Fundraising Income_
In a year unlike any other in living memory we have been reliant on the loyalty and generosity of our supporters to get us through. The amazing team at CAT pivoted quickly to digital delivery, enabling us
to reach out to new audiences, widen participation and recruit new supporters. With the visitor centre closed for much of the year, we were dependent on our digital outreach and engagement and our
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
_Annual Membership Income_
committed community of supporters. CAT’s mission has never been more vital or more urgent with the climate and biodiversity emergencies as well as COVID-19.
In adversity lies opportunity and this was the year that we launched a new vision, mission and values and an ambitious 5 year strategy. We began fundraising for the lead gifts for a transformational capital redevelopment of CAT as a flagship, sustainable tourist attraction and sustainable skills hub.
## **Our supporters**
CAT receives no regular statutory revenue funding and is reliant on the generosity of our individual supporters, and a small but committed number of charitable trusts, to make change happen. We are extremely grateful for their continuing support in tackling the climate and biodiversity emergencies and creating transformational change.
Our membership and supporter base continues to thrive and respond generously to our regular appeals, helping fund our vital work. Combined fundraising and membership income for the year was £1.116 million, exceeding forecast income and income for the previous year (£0.923 million and £0.972 million respectively).
Overall membership numbers increased through 2020/21 by 57%, to 8,824. This was mainly due to the re-starting of the ‘free membership’ offer, which generated around 4,000 leads for fundraising /
membership by offering CAT short course and webinar participants and others free membership for a year. We focused more on asking new and renewing members to give by Direct Debit and gained the ability to accept Direct Debits online and by phone, as regular gifts allow us to plan ahead and help us achieve more.
In the last quarter we ran a series of stewardship zoom events with Major Donors to present our Strategy. These were very well received and we plan to do more.
CAT was also fortunate to receive support from a number of charitable trusts during the year, including: £40,000 towards core costs from a trust wishing to remain anonymous; £25,000 from the Marmot Charitable Trust, and £5,000 from the 1970 Trust towards our Zero Carbon Britain work; £5,000 from the Ethel and Gwynne Morgan Charitable Trust for a student bursary; and £5,000 from the Durham Wharf Foundation to help train architects and builders of the future.
We are also grateful for the continuing support of the Moondance Foundation for the Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab, which works with communities, councils and businesses to help turn climate emergency declarations into action. Their support has been transformational in enabling CAT to unlock further funding at scale and to bring about the systemic change necessary to reach net zero.
20
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Fundraising good practice**
We are committed to upholding the highest standards in our fundraising. This includes treating supporters and the public with fairness and respect, and ensuring that through our communications and Supporter Care services we always demonstrate how much we value the support we receive.
We rely on our in-house fundraising team of 3.5 full-time equivalent staff plus support from a fundraising consultant for statutory and trust funding bids. In relation to public fundraising, we do not employ any third party professional fundraising services. CAT is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and adheres to the Code of Fundraising Practice. We monitor all our fundraising activity closely to ensure value, compliance and integrity in all our activities.
## **General Data Protection Regulation**
Responsible use of personal data is at the heart of our fundraising practice. This year we have reviewed and updated some of our activities including our database design and data processing procedures to ensure we are going above and beyond the requirements of data protection laws.
We never swap or sell supporters’ personal data with other organisations for their marketing purposes. We ensure our supporters are aware that they are in control of how their data is used and know how to exercise this control.
## **Fundraising Complaints**
In the financial year 2020/21 we received two complaints regarding our fundraising activities, both of which told us that the suggested donation value in an appeal letter was felt to be too high. They were dealt with promptly and resolved to the satisfaction of the complainants without further action taken to address the issue for future appeals.
All complaints and other feedback are logged, investigated and responded to and we strive to use every opportunity we can to improve, for example investing in alternatives to using windowed envelopes after a supporter fed back that this makes them harder to recycle.
## **Protecting vulnerable people**
We recognise that everyone has a right to support their favourite causes and that we have an obligation to protect the vulnerable. We ensure we are careful and sensitive in dealing with vulnerable people and our practices reflect this.
## **Volunteers**
The work of our dedicated volunteers has always been essential to the effective running of CAT. Whilst as with so many areas of our activities volunteering has been affected by the pandemic, we have still managed to provide some opportunities for volunteers during the year.
Long term volunteers, who volunteer for periods of up to six months each, predominantly assist in woodland management and our gardens. We also have many local volunteers who come in regularly to assist in a range of our activities.
During the year, our volunteers contributed approximately 1,800 hours of time (2020: approximately 10,000 hours), which equates to a value of £15,700 if volunteer hours are calculated at the national living wage rate (£8.72 per hour) for 2020/21.
CAT’s volunteers frequently go on to use the skills they have learned at CAT to deliver practical solutions for sustainability through a variety of career choices and projects, therefore directly contributing to the Charity’s mission.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Financial Review**
In a year dominated by COVID-19, it was encouraging to achieve a net movement on unrestricted funds close to break-even (see page 35 below). The income lost as a result of the pandemic (largely from our site-based activities – day and residential visitors, group visits and short courses) was compensated for in the year by increasing income from our graduate school and fundraising activities (more detail is given above in the respective sections), along with the monthly grants from the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention (‘furlough’) Scheme.
Total income for the year fell to £2.874 million compared to £4.315 million in 2020. A major factor in this decrease was the closure of the visitor centre under the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions. The other major factor was that income in 2020 included the ‘one-off’ £1 million donation for the establishment of our Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab. As that donation was a restricted donation it has also had an impact on the relative percentages of unrestricted and restricted income in the respective years. Typically, in most years over 90% of our income
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Venue & Accommodation
NB: No income from group
£86,841
visits, in this year
Catering & Retail
£86,841 Other
Donations
£302,566
Visitor Centre £696,504
£21,533
Short Courses
£16,241
Legacies Grants
£172,563 £35,000
Graduate School
£1,268,098
Membership &
subscriptions
£211,576
Split of Total Income for 2020/21
**----- End of picture text -----**
22
## **Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Membership
£104,099
Fundraising
Projects £259,983
Venue and Accomodation £348,056
£236,779
Catering and Retail
£420,021
Graduate
School
£1,522,269
Visitor Centre £162,418
Short Courses £63,829
University Visits £23,924
Schools and group £23,560
Split of Total Expenditure for 2020/21
**----- End of picture text -----**
has been unrestricted. In 2020, this dropped to 74% because of the large restricted donation. In 2021, unrestricted income has returned to a more typical level of 97% (excluding “Exceptional Income”).
Whilst levels of income from site-based activities inevitably fell during the year, the continued growth of our Graduate School and the incredible response of our supporters meant income from these areas grew during the year. Graduate School income rose to £1.268 million from £1.061 million in 2020. Fundraising and membership income rose to £1.116 million from £0.972 million in 2020 (excluding the ‘one-off’ £1 million donation). This was supplemented by grants from the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention (‘Furlough’) Scheme and a Bounce back Loan.
Total operating expenditure for the year was lower than the previous year (£3.177 million compared to £3.575 million including the loss on disposal of fixed assets) reflecting the lower levels of activity resulting from the impact of the pandemic. Underlying staff
costs were increasing during the year due to some increases in pay rates and pension contributions coming into effect in the year. This was partly offset though by the site closure which meant reduced working hours for many employees and almost no seasonal staff being taken on. We took advantage of the Government’s ‘furlough’ scheme though to ensure that we protected the jobs of all of our colleagues whilst taking a strategic decision to continue to pay them their full salaries and wages (even though the ‘furlough’ scheme supported at most 80% of the cost). Over the year, this scheme covered over £275,000 of our payroll costs. Net staff costs were therefore lower than the previous year (£1.88 million compared to £1.96 million in 2020) after deducting the ‘furlough’ monies. At the 31[st] March 2021 however, we took the difficult decision to make three of our team redundant as a result of the strategic decision to close our on-site retail shop incurring redundancy costs of £14,144.
Restricted funds showed a net reduction of approximately £300,000 in the year, predominantly
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
reflecting the planned use over three years of the monies received in the prior year for our ZCB Hub & Innovation Lab.
As part of our response to the challenges of the pandemic, we monitored cash flows very closely to ensure that at all times we could meet our commitments. This included weekly discussions at senior manager level, and regular and frequent discussion with trustees. Costs were monitored closely to ensure that only essential expenditure was incurred. Recruitment was largely suspended and most capital expenditure was frozen with only just over £5,000 spent in the year (see note 10 on page 46). As a complex, largely site-based organisation, CAT has higher fixed, central costs than many organisations that can’t be avoided in the short term. As detailed in note 8 on pages 43 & 44, we were able to reduce some of our governance and support costs during the year but they were still £1.1 million compared to £1.3 million in 2020. As the pandemic progressed, and we became more confident in our cash position, we were able to release some funds to take advantage of the unexpected opportunity lockdown presented to accelerate our IT development plans.
Our net balance sheet total reduced from £2.1 million to £1.8 million but mainly reflecting the use of restricted funds in the year (which decreased from £0.975 million to £0.675 million). Unrestricted funds remained largely unchanged at £1.1 million. Cash balances at the year end fell from £1.27 million to £1.08 million but the unrestricted cash balance within this increased by approximately £100,000 over the year (see note 18 on page 51).
Whilst this year the pandemic has meant an interruption in the short term to some of our plans, over the longer term CAT continues to be in an investment phase in respect of staff structure developments and infrastructure improvements (see “Future Plans” below).
## **Principal Funding Sources**
The principal funding sources for ongoing activities are graduate school course fees, and grants, donations and membership subscriptions to support CAT’s wider charitable work.
## **Investment Policy**
The Trustees operate a policy of keeping available funds in interest-bearing bank accounts. These are usually instant access accounts but may also include fixed term deposits of up to 1 year where cash flows permit.
## **Reserves Policy**
The Board of Trustees has reviewed its Reserves Policy and introduced a new policy based around an assessment of internal and external risks, and operational and cash flow considerations. This replaces the previous policy of aiming for a level of reserves equivalent to three months’ operating costs.
Reserves are considered necessary to protect CAT’s activities by providing a financial provision which mitigates for the unpredictable external environment and makes sufficient provision for future cash flow requirements. The policy also provides part of the framework for future strategic planning and decision-making. The development of an effective reserves policy will help to limit the impact of any risk upon the continuing operations of the charity.
When considering an appropriate level of reserves, the trustees will consider:
- the risk of unforeseen emergency or other unexpected need for funds
- covering unforeseen day-to-day operational costs, for example employing temporary staff to cover a long-term sick absence
- a fall in a source of income or the ending of a funding source
- planned future commitments, that cannot be met by future anticipated income alone, for example plans for a major capital investment project
- the need to fund potential deficits in a cash budget, for example money may need to be spent before a funding grant is received
- The financial risks identified determine the amount of reserves the charity targets to hold.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
When deciding on the reserves amount the trustees will take into account the following:
- a minimum of one month’s salary bill.
- the policy of budgeting and forecasting to keep a minimum balance of unrestricted cash at all times.
- within the charity’s annual budget, a contingency amount of between 1% and 3% of income should be built into the overall budget which should be held as a contingency to support future requirements and any in year uncertainties.
- the need to create budget surpluses to plan for any future large project investment such as facilities development or building condition improvement.
- any uncertainty, turbulence or expected reduction in funding arrangements as a result of future planned changes or funding cuts.
Based on this new policy, a target of £300,000 of free reserves has been set (2020 target per the previous policy: £893,635). At the year end, unrestricted reserves stood at £1,111,748 (2020: £1,115,209) but were mostly represented by fixed assets with the remainder in working capital. This translates into marginally negative free reserves at the year end of £34,225. Our plans continue to be focused on strengthening CAT’s overall financial position and building free reserves.
## **Going Concern**
The Charity has developed integrated models for projecting and monitoring both long term forecasts and short term cash flow. These are used to ensure that the organisation always has enough funds to meet its liabilities as they fall due.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, cash flows and cash flow forecasts have been monitored and controlled very closely and carefully by our Finance Director and CEO, and in part through the increased frequency of Board, Organisational Development Committee (ODC) and Audit Finance and Performance Committee (AFPC) meetings. Throughout the pandemic, the ability of our graduate school to continue to deliver a quality
experience for our students on a distance learning basis, coupled with the incredible generosity of our members and donors, and the Government’s ‘furlough’ scheme, has meant that we have been able to maintain our cash flows and meet our liabilities as they have fallen due.
Sustainability and the environment are increasingly central to Government policy and CAT is at the heart of much of the work to address these issues. Even during the pandemic, we have seen a significant increase in the demand for CAT’s services and expertise in these areas. The demand for places at our graduate school also continues to grow. This gives us confidence that we can move forward out of the pandemic to grow and strengthen our activities and hence our financial position. Whilst future fundraising income such as voluntary donations can never be certain, this also gives us confidence that our donors will continue to support us in to the future.
Overall, the range of opportunities to develop and extend our services, coupled with rapidly growing demand fuelled by the growing public clamour for climate action, gives us confidence that we can come out of the pandemic and grow in the future, strengthening our cash flows and building reserves.
On this basis, the trustees are confident that CAT remains a going concern.
## **Pay Policy for Key Management Personnel**
The Trustees consider that the Board of Trustees and the Senior Management Team comprise the key management personnel of the Charity, the former in charge of overall strategic direction and financial health, and the latter running and operating the Charity on a day to day basis.
All Trustees give their time freely and no Trustee received remuneration in the year. Details of Trustees’ expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in note 9 to the accounts.
The pay bands of the Chief Executive Officer and senior managers are set by the Board of Trustees and reviewed periodically, considering performance and available resources. Remuneration is set to ensure it is both fair and will attract and retain staff of the appropriate calibre and experience.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Future Plans**
_Illustration of the “Green Street” area of the proposed Cynefin Project_
The impact of the pandemic continues to be felt in the 2021/22 financial year. One of the many challenges of the past 18 months has been keeping abreast of the way in which COVID-19 restrictions vary between Wales and other parts of the UK, and this is set to continue as Wales and England “unlock” at different rates.
It is important that we learn from the experience in terms of what makes CAT’s business model resilient and where the vulnerabilities are, taking steps to build on the former and mitigate the latter.
The enforced migration of services online has seen CAT widen its reach both geographically and in terms of the range of people we have been able to engage with, so it is inevitable that further developing our newly-acquired digital capability will form a significant part of future plans. At the same time, the CAT site is a hugely important part of both our identity and our offer and we know that on-site engagement offers a depth and authenticity of experience that can never be fully replicated online. The future is therefore a “hybrid” one, and this integration of the digital and the physical will be a key feature of our ambitious site redevelopment plans.
Project Cynefin, as this redevelopment is known, has continued to take shape over the past year. CAT has continued to work closely with the Growing Mid Wales Partnership in support of their Vision for Mid Wales and Project Cynefin is a Potential Candidate Project for the Mid Wales Growth Deal. Work is also underway to secure funding for the preliminary feasibility work that needs to be done to make the project “shovel-ready” in the event that we are successful in securing Growth Deal funding.
Another priority is to secure the future of the Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab in order to build on the success of the initial 3-year project. Demand is steadily increasing, to the point where we have had to recruit additional staff and, although income generation opportunities to defray costs exist, the service is not a fully commercial proposition.
Overall, CAT has weathered the storm well and we look forward with optimism to the coming months and beyond, confident that the organisation is wellplaced to take advantage of the increasing number of opportunities that come our way.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
_The WISE building_
## **Governance**
CAT is a registered Charity and Limited Company. The Board of Trustees are directors for the purposes of company law and trustees for the purposes of charity law. Under the requirements of the Articles of Association, each year one-third of the Board members retire and may offer themselves for reelection. New trustees are appointed by special resolution of the Board.
During the year, the Board continued to look to increase its capacity and skill set. The Board is always keen to consider new applications, however, the current Board of 12 trustees and their range of skills and experience is considered broadly appropriate for the current needs of the charity.
The Board currently operates with three committees. These are now all permanent: Organisational Development Committee (ODC); Audit Finance and Performance Committee (AFPC). The third was originally set up as a ‘task and finish’ group: IT Steering Committee (ITSC). The ITSC was made a permanent committee by the Board in December 2020 recognising the ongoing importance of IT development to the charity.
## **Management Structure**
The current Senior Management Team (‘SMT’ - see page 4) which has been built up over recent years is now considered to be the most appropriate structure to take the organisation forward.
27
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Risk Assessment and Management**
Major risks are those that have a high probability of occurring and would, if they occurred, have a severe impact on either operational performance or achievement of our objectives, or could damage CAT’s reputation.
The risk management process is designed to enable the Board to conclude whether the major risks to which CAT is exposed have been identified and reviewed, and that systems have been established to mitigate those risks.
The system involves the CEO and Senior Management Team:
1. Reviewing the main high impact, generic risks.
2. Establishing a comprehensive risk register.
3. Establishing a bottom-up and top-down process of risk identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring.
4. Producing detailed reports to ODC on identified risks and mitigation strategy.
Major risks which the Charity may face have been identified and analysed. The formal risk register is kept under regular review by ODC. The register includes all of the current identified risks; ranked in order of their combined likelihood of occurrence and potential impact on CAT.
The table below is an extract from the current risk register and includes what are considered to be the four key risks faced by CAT.
The main risks currently identified are:
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Risk Mitigation
Cash flow & finance; organisation CEO and FD review rolling forecasts. Weekly SMT meetings being
viability; COVID-19 impact held to monitor the situation. Plans are being updated as each new
announcement is made. Cash flow is being monitored closely and all
potential cash mitigation options being reviewed and prioritised.
Visitor Centre infrastructure is A major capital fundraising campaign is being planned. Work schedules
old and often bespoke which can have been developed with a focus on operationally critical areas. Staff
threaten the availability and safety training as needed to ensure additional cover.
of essential services.
Potential for transmission of Careful planning for how site will be re-opened. Review and consideration
COVID-19 on site, especially now of ongoing Government guidance. Advance purchase of necessary
open to students and the public. equipment and materials for health & safety. Drafting of clear guidance
Resultant impact on activities and for colleagues and visitors; including in advance for colleagues returning
financial position. to site and from furlough.
Maintenance and upgrade of IT & IT infrastructure development plan has been created by the IT steering
web infrastructure committee and its implementation is ongoing. External consultants
identified to assist our in-house team where additional technical support
is needed.
**----- End of picture text -----**
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Trustees’ Responsibilities in Relation to the Financial Statements**
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report (including the Strategic Report) and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure of the Charity for the year. In preparing those financial statements the Trustees are required to:
- Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
- Observe the methods and principles in the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP)
- Make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent
- Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence, for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of the financial statements and other information included in annual reports may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
In so far as the Trustees are aware at the time of approving our Trustees’ Annual Report:
- there is no relevant information, being information needed by the auditor in connection with preparing their report, of which the auditor is unaware;
- they have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.
## **On behalf of the Board of Trustees**
## **Michael Taylor (Chair)**
Date[25][th][ November 2021]
29
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of The Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited on the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of the Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and the related notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 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:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the Charitable Company’s affairs as at 31 March 2021 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis for Opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities 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.
## **Conclusions Relating to Going Concern**
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:
- the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or
- the Trustees have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **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. 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.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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:
- the information given in the Trustees’ report, which includes the strategic report, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the Trustees’ report, which includes the strategic report, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## **Matters on which we are Required to Report by**
## **Exception**
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of Trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
## **Responsibilities of Trustees**
The Trustees are responsible for the other information. As explained more fully in the Trustees’ Responsibilities statement set out on page 29, the Trustees (who are also the Directors of the 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 company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
31
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **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.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
- We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks applicable to the charity financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the charity. We determined that the most significant laws and regulations included United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice and Companies Act 2006.
- We understood how the charity is complying with those legal and regulatory frameworks by making inquiries of management, and those responsible for legal and compliance procedures.
- We assessed the susceptibility of the charity’s financial statements to material misstatement including how fraud might occur. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:
- ο identifying and assessing the design effectiveness of controls management has in place to prevent and detect fraud;
- ο understanding how those charged with governance considered and addressed the potential for override of controls or other inappropriate influence over the financial reporting process;
- ο challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in its significant accounting estimates; and
- ο dentifying and testing journal entries, in particular any journal entries with unusual characteristics.
Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that material misstatements in the financial statements may not be detected, even though the audit is properly planned and performed in accordance with ISAs (UK).
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc. org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
32
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Use of our Report**
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and 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 charitable company, the charitable company’s members as a body and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Scott Lawrence FCA
(Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of Hazlewoods LLP, Statutory Auditor
## Staverton Court
Staverton
GL51 0UX
Date[26][th][ November 2021]
33
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021y e**
## **Financial Statements**
## **Statement of Financial Activities**
## **(including an Income and Expenditure Account) for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Notes Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total Total
Funds Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £ £ £ £
Income from :
Voluntary income:
Donations 2 661,621 34,573 310 696,504 1,561,113
Grants 3 - 35,000 - 35,000 76,800
-
Legacies 167,563 5,000 172,563 137,698
- -
Membership & Subscriptions 211,576 211,576 196,269
1,040,760 74,573 310 1,115,643 1,971,880
Income from charitable activities: 4a
Graduate School 1,268,098 - - 1,268,098 1,061,417
- -
Schools & Groups (2,971) (2,971) 33,402
University Visits 180 - - 180 12,627
Short Courses 16,241 - - 16,241 152,500
Eco Store & Mail Order 59,060 - - 59,060 209,649
Visitor Centre 21,533 - - 21,533 148,293
Café & Bar 27,781 - - 27,781 398,609
Venue & Accommodation 62,778 - - 62,778 307,781
- - -
Projects 28,650 28,650
- -
1,481,350 1,481,350 2,324,278
Other Income:
Miscellaneous Income 375 159 534 1,655
Exceptional Income 4b 276,173 - - 276,173 17,090
Total Income 2,798,658 74,573 469 2,873,700 4,314,903
**----- End of picture text -----**
34
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Statement of Financial Activities (continued)**
## **(including an Income and Expenditure Account) for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Notes Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total Total
Funds Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £ £ £ £
Resources expended:
Expenditure on raising funds: 6
- -
Fundraising 259,983 259,983 197,716
- -
Membership 104,099 104,099 95,126
364,082 364,082 292,842
Expenditure on charitable activities: 7
Graduate School 1,522,269 - - 1,522,269 1,434,010
- -
Schools & Groups 23,560 23,560 59,782
- -
University Visits 23,924 23,924 25,994
Short Courses 63,829 - - 63,829 170,043
Eco Store & Mail Order 185,319 - - 185,319 291,354
Visitor Centre 162,418 - - 162,418 204,045
Café & Bar 234,702 - - 234,702 459,593
Venue & Accommodation 236,779 - - 236,779 389,742
Projects - 348,051 5 348,056 247,139
2,452,800 348,051 5 2,800,856 3,281,702
Other expenditure
- - -
Loss on disposal of fixed assets 10,084 10,084
Total Expenditure: 2,826,966 348,051 5 3,175,022 3,574,544
Net (outgoing)/incoming resources before
(28,308) (273,478) 464 (301,322) 740,359
transfers
Net transfers between funds 24,847 (24,847) - - -
Net movement in Funds (3,461) (298,325) 464 (301,322) 740,359
Total funds brought forward
1,115,209 974,156 18,943 2,108,308 1,367,949
at 1 April 2020
Total funds carried forward
17 1,111,748 675,831 19,407 1,806,986 2,108,308
at 31 March 2021
**----- End of picture text -----**
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All the above amounts derive from continuing activities.
The notes on pages 38 to 52 form an integral part of these financial statements
35
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2021**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2021 2020
Notes £ £ £ £
Fixed Assets
Tangible Assets 10 2,828,015 2,900,326
Investments 11 100 100
2,828,115 2,900,426
Current Assets/(Liabilities)
Stocks 12 29,249 44,185
Debtors 13 251,209 390,068
Cash at bank 1,081,383 1,266,891
1,361,841 1,701,144
Creditors: amounts falling due
after more than one year 14 (761,738) (854,566)
Net Current Assets 600,103 846,578
Total Assets less Current Liabilities 3,428,218 3,747,004
Creditors: amounts falling due
after more than one year 15 (1,621,232) (1,638,696)
Net Assets 1,806,986 2,108,308
Funds of the Charity 17
Endowment funds 19,407 18,943
Restricted funds 675,831 974,156
Unrestricted funds 1,111,748 1,115,209
Total Funds 1,806,986 2,108,308
**----- End of picture text -----**
These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act relating to small companies, and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006, and are for circulation to members of the company.
## These accounts were approved
by the Board of Trustees on:[25][th][ November 2021]
and signed on their behalf by:
The notes on pages 38 to 52 form an integral part of these of these financial statements.
## **Michael Taylor (Chair)**
Registered Charity Number: 265239 • Company Number: 1090006
36
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Cash Flow Statement for the Year Ended 31[st] March 2021**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2021 2020
Notes £ £
Net cash (used in) / provided by operating activities (a) (133,858) 1,093,442
Cash flows from investing activities:
Investment income received 534 159
Interest paid (57,394) (99,603)
Proceeds of sale of fixed assets 400 -
Capital expenditure (5,431) (87,792)
Change in cash and cash equivalents (b) (195,749) (906,206)
a. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) TO CASHFLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net (expenditure)/ income for the year (301,322) 740,359
Investment income received (534) (159)
Interest paid 57,394 99,603
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets 67,258 90,447
Loss on disposal of tangible fixed assets 10,084 11,354
-
Buildings VAT reclaim capitalised 24 161,592
-
Incorporation of subsidiary share capital (100)
Decrease in stocks 14,936 4,887
Decrease/(Increase) in debtors 138,859 (268,803)
(Decrease)/Increase in creditors (120,533) 254,262
Net cash (used in) / provided by operating activities (133,858) 1,093,442
b. ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
At 31 March
At 1 April 2020 Cash flow 2021
£ £ £
Net cash:
Cash at bank and in hand 1,266,891 (185,507) 1,081,383
Debt :
Loans due within one year (33,205) (27,705) (60,910)
Loans due in more than one year (1,638,696) 17,464 (1,621,232)
Total (405,010) (195,749) (600,759 )
**----- End of picture text -----**
37
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES**
## **a. Basis of preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.
The financial statements are prepared in Sterling, which is the functional currency of the entity. The principal accounting policies are described below and are consistent with prior years.
## **b. Going Concern Basis**
The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. The charity has developed integrated models for projecting and monitoring both long term forecasts and short-term cash flow. These are used to ensure that the organisation always has enough funds to meet its liabilities as they fall due. The charity also has the support of its bankers and a major donor.
Cash flows have been monitored very carefully and closely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to be done so at least until it has come to an end. This has ensured that all liabilities have been met as they have fallen due and the current expectations are that this will continue to be so. This careful control, coupled with the use of applicable Government mitigation schemes, mean that sufficient cash flows have been maintained and are expected to continue to be maintained for the foreseeable future.
On this basis, the trustees consider that CAT is a going concern and it is appropriate to prepare the accounts as such.
## **c. Incoming resources**
Income from educational services and use of premises is accounted for in the period in which the service is provided. Income received in advance of the provision of the service is deferred until the criteria for recognition are met.
Other incoming resources, including grants for the purchase of fixed assets and members’ subscriptions, are accounted for in the period in which the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy,
Income in relation to postgraduate courses has been recognised on an accruals basis.
Life memberships are accounted for on a receipts basis.
## **d. Donated services and facilities**
Donated services or facilities are recognised as income when the Charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the Charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. On receipt, donated services and facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the Charity which is the amount the Charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.
## **e. Interest receivable**
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the Charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.
38
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **e. Government grants**
Government grants are recognised based on the accrual model and are measured at the fair value of the asset received or receivable. Grants relating to revenue are recognised in income over the period in which the related costs are recognised.
## **f. Resources expended**
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been listed under headings that aggregate all the costs related to the activity. Direct costs are allocated on an actual basis to the key areas of activity. Overheads are apportioned between expenses heading on the basis of turnover. This includes VAT irrecoverable under partial exemption.
## **g. Pension costs**
Pension contributions are made by the Charity to two separate pension schemes depending on the category of employee. The assets and liabilities of these national schemes are not separately identifiable. Contributions are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when accrued. CAT contributes to a group money purchase defined contribution pension scheme operated by Aviva. New and existing employees are automatically enrolled into the money purchase scheme unless they have exercised their right to opt out of scheme membership.
Employees joining the money purchase pension scheme operated by Aviva contract directly with the insurance company. CAT makes a contribution of 3% (2020: 3%) of salary to this pension scheme and acts as agent in collecting and paying over employee pension contributions. The contributions made for the accounting period are treated as an expense. There were no contributions outstanding as at the balance sheet date.
Graduate School academic staff are members of The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS). The TPS is a defined benefit scheme and assets are held separately from those of CAT. The TPS is an
unfunded defined benefit scheme and contributions are calculated so as to spread the cost of pensions over employees’ working lives with the school in such a way that the pension cost is a substantially level percentage of current and future pensionable payroll. The contributions are determined by the Government Actuary on the basis of quinquennial valuations using a prospective benefit method. The TPS is a multi-employer scheme and the school is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the scheme on a consistent and reasonable basis. The TPS is therefore treated as a defined contribution scheme and the contributions recognised as they are paid each year.
## **h. Leases**
Operating leases are accounted for on an accruals basis in the SOFA. The company has no finance leases or HP contracts.
## **i. Tangible fixed assets and depreciation**
Individual tangible fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are capitalised and recorded at cost or, if donated, at valuation at the time of acquisition. Depreciation of tangible fixed assets is calculated to write off their cost or valuation less any residual value over their estimated useful lives as follows:
|**Asset category**
Freehold land:|**Annual rate**
Not depreciated|
|---|---|
|Freehold buildings:|Over 10 to 50 years|
|Plant and machinery:
Fixtures, fttings|Over 4 to 10 years|
|and equipment:|Over 4 years|
|Computer equipment:|Over 4 years|
|Motor vehicles:|Over 4 years|
## **j. Investments**
Investments in subsidiaries are measured at cost less impairment.
## **k. Stock**
Stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost is computed on a first in, first out basis. Net realisable value is based on estimated selling price less the estimated cost of disposal.
39
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **l. Debtors**
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
## **m. Cash at bank and in hand**
Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
## **n. Creditors and provisions**
Creditors and provisions are recognised where there is a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
## **p. Fund accounting**
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the charitable objects of the Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited.
Restricted funds are funds subject to specific restrictions imposed by donors or by the purpose of the appeal.
The endowment fund represents those assets which must be held permanently by the charity. Income arising on the endowment fund is to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor.
## **q. Judgements and key accounting estimates**
The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. These are continually reviewed and are based on experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances
## **o. Financial Instruments**
CAT only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.
40
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **2. DONATIONS**
Income from Donations was £696,504 (2020: £1,561,113) of which £34,573 was restricted (2020: £1,044,898) and £310 was endowment (2020: £310).
## **3. GRANTS**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2021 2020
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
£ £ £ £
Grants for Zero Carbon Britain
Marmot Charitable Trust - - - 20,000
- -
Jam Today 15,000 15,000
The 1970 Trust - - - 5,000
A trust wising to remain anonymous - - - 24,500
Grants for Education and Research
Cobb Charitable Trust - 10,000 10,000 -
Erasmus - - - 22,300
Ethel & Gwynne Morgan Trust - 5,000 5,000 5,000
Durham Wharf Foundation - 5,000 5,000 -
Total grants received - 35,000 35,000 76,800
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **4 a) INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES**
Income from charitable activities was £1,481,350 (2020:£2,324,278) of which £nil was restricted. (2020: £nil) and £nil (2020: £nil) was endowment.
## **4 b) EXCEPTIONAL INCOME**
Exceptional income of £276,173 (2020:£17,090) represents income receivable from the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention (‘Furlough’) Scheme in respect of furloughed staff.
41
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **5. NET INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR**
This is stated after charging:
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2021 2020
£ £
Auditor’s remuneration – external audit 15,000 13,000
Depreciation 67,258 90,447
Loss on disposal of fixed assets 10,084 11,354
Operating leases – land 550 550
Termination settlement payment 3,191 5,000
Redundancy payments 14,144 -
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **6. EXPENDITURE ON RAISING FUNDS**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Direct costs Employment Support costs 2021 Total 2020 Total
costs (note 8)
£ £ £ £ £
Fundraising 42,926 121,945 95,112 259,983 197,716
Memberships 53,713 - 50,386 104,099 95,126
96,639 121,945 145,498 364,082 292,842
**----- End of picture text -----**
42
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **7. EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Direct costs Employment Support costs 2021 Total 2020 Total
costs (note 8)
£ £ £ £ £
Graduate School 196,481 662,635 663,153 1,522,269 1,434,010
Schools & Groups - 19,777 3,783 23,560 59,782
University Visits 54 19,970 3,900 23,924 25,994
Short Courses 6,654 40,762 16,413 63,829 170,043
Eco Store & Mail
Order 44,555 79,549 61,215 185,319 291,354
Visitor Centre 1,985 39,931 120,502 162,418 204,045
Café & Bar 14,488 158,618 61,596 234,702 459,593
Venue &
Accommodation 19,331 158,594 58,854 236,779 389,742
Expenditure on
-
Other Projects 121,829 226,227 348,056 247,139
405,377 1,406,063 989,416 2,800,856 3,281,702
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **8. ANALYSIS OF GOVERNANCE AND SUPPORT COSTS**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Employment Other costs 2021 Total Employment Other costs 2020 Total
costs costs
£ £ £ £ £ £
Admin 195,875 207,313 403,188 210,616 388,435 599,051
Finance 78,993 40,066 119,059 55,382 53,191 108,573
Estates 175,421 90,997 266,418 134,162 131,250 265,412
Information
Technology 63,872 30,976 94,848 41,776 28,232 70,008
Marketing 132,961 51,182 184,143 132,798 64,084 196,882
Depreciation - 67,258 67,258 - 90,447 90,447
647,122 487,792 1,134,914 574,734 755,639 1,330,373
**----- End of picture text -----**
43
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **8. ANALYSIS OF GOVERNANCE AND SUPPORT COSTS (continued)**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Admin Finance Estates IT Marketing Depreciation Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
Graduate School 221,909 60,408 106,567 52,203 163,493 58,573 663,153
Schools & Groups 3,063 - - 720 - - 3,783
University Visits 3,125 9 - 735 23 8 3,900
Short Courses 10,352 775 - 2,435 2,099 752 16,413
Eco Store 17,314 2,820 26,642 4,073 7,632 2,734 61,215
Visitor Centre 7,389 1,028 106,567 1,738 2,783 997 120,502
Café & Bar 26,182 1,327 26,642 6,159 X 1,286 61,596
Venue &
Accommodation 36,297 2,998 - 8,539 8,113 2,907 58,854
Fundraising 44,947 39,592 - 10,573 X X 95,112
Memberships 32,612 10,102 - 7,672 X X 50,386
Total allocated
2021 403,188 119,059 266,418 94,848 184,143 67,258 1,134,914
Total allocated
2020 599,051 108,573 265,412 70,008 196,882 90,447 1,330,373
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **Method of allocation:**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Administration: In proportion to total costs (excluding stock purchases).
Finance: In proportion to income.
Estates: Based on management’s assessment of actual usage (40% GSE & Visitor
Centre: 10% Eco Store & Café).
Information Technology: In proportion to total costs (excluding stock purchases).
Marketing: In proportion to income (excluding Café which doesn’t use marketing directly;
and, Fundraising & Membership that have costs allocated directly).
Depreciation: In proportion to income (for trading units only).
**----- End of picture text -----**
(X: Excluded from allocation)
44
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **9. TRUSTEES AND EMPLOYEES**
No remuneration was paid or waived by any trustee during the year (2020: £nil). Total expenses reimbursed to trustees were £nil (2020: £903).
This represents travel expenses incurred in attending Board and other meetings in their official capacity.
## **Employee costs during the year were:**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2021 2020
£ £
Wages and salaries 1,858,926 1,714,877
Social Security 145,814 134,112
Pension 138,882 105,185
Termination settlement payment 3,191 5,000
-
Redundancy payments 14,144
-
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (276,173)
1,884,784 1,959,174
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **The average number of employees during the year, calculated on a full time equivalent basis was:**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2021 2020
Number Number
Fundraising 4 4
Membership 1 1
Charitable activities 86 93
91 98
**----- End of picture text -----**
**The number of employees whose emoluments excluding pension contributions fell within the following bands was:**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2021 2020
Number Number
£60,000 - £70,000 3 2
**----- End of picture text -----**
The emoluments of key management staff were £365,200 (2020: £333,190). This increase mainly represents changes in the structure of the senior management team rather than changes in salaries.
45
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **10. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Freehold Land Plant and Fixtures and Computer Motor Vehicles Total
and Buildings Machinery Fittings Equipment
£ £ £ £ £ £
Cost:
At 1 April 2020 3,194,955 983,200 115,004 90,632 7,885 4,391,676
Additions 290 2,569 1,292 1,280 - 5,431
Disposals (338,549) (196,384) (51,163) (72,094) (7,885) (666,075)
At 31 March 2021 2,856,696 789,385 65,133 19,818 - 3,731,032
Depreciation:
At 1 April 2020 347,870 952,178 103,826 79,591 7,885 1,491,350
Charge for the year 46,742 10,996 4,565 4,955 - 67,258
Disposals (328,865) (195,731) (51,163) (71,947) (7,885) (655,591)
At 31 March 2021 65,747 767,443 57,228 12,599 - 903,017
Net book value:
At 31 March 2021 2,790,949 21,942 7,901 7,220 - 2,828,015
At 31 March 2020 2,847,085 31,022 11,178 11,041 - 2,900,326
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **11. INVESTMENTS**
The Charity holds 100% of the share capital (100 £1 shares) and voting rights in its dormant subsidiary, C.A.T Alternative Technology Trading Ltd.
46
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **12. STOCK**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2021 2020
£ £
Retail 18,486 26,381
Publications 7,296 13,004
Café & Bar 3,467 4,800
29,429 44,185
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **13. DEBTORS**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Amounts falling due within one year
Note 2021 2020
£ £
Trade debtors 154,708 155,118
Prepayments 63,732 42,979
Accrued income 30,094 26,554
-
VAT recoverable (CGS) 24. a) 161,592
VAT recoverable 2,675 3,825
251,209 390,068
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **14. CREDITORS**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Amounts falling due within one year
Note 2021 2020
£ £
Trade creditors 179,061 287,581
Tax and social security 40,559 34,286
Loans 60,910 33,205
Other creditors 164,356 184,256
Accruals 182,022 161,128
Deferred income 134,830 154,110
761,738 854,566
**----- End of picture text -----**
Deferred income relates to income received in advance of activities to be held in future years.
47
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **15. CREDITORS**
|**Amounts falling due after more than oneyear**|**Amounts falling due after more than oneyear**|**Amounts falling due after more than oneyear**||
|---|---|---|---|
||**2021**||**2020**|
||**£**||**£**|
|Loans|1,621,232||1,638,696|
## **16. LOANS**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Analysis of loan repayments
2021 2020
£ £
Amounts falling due:
within one year 60,910 33,205
between two and five years 255,748 260,939
after five years 1,365,484 1,377,757
1,682,142 1,671,901
**----- End of picture text -----**
The loans are secured by a fixed and floating charge over all of the charity’s property and assets both present and future.
## **17. FUNDS: MOVEMENTS IN THE YEAR**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
A) Endowment funds
Balance at
Balance at Incoming Resources
1 April 2020 resources expended Transfers 31 March 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Josh Brown Bursary Fund 18,943 469 (5) - 19,407
B) Unrestricted funds
Balance at
Balance at Incoming Resources
1 April 2020 resources expended Transfers 31 March 2021
£ £ £ £ £
General fund 1,115,209 2,798,658 (2,826,966) 24,847 1,111,748
**----- End of picture text -----**
The Charity had no designated funds in the current or preceding year.
48
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **17. FUNDS: MOVEMENTS IN THE YEAR (continued)**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
C) Restricted funds
Balance at
Balance at Incoming Resources
1 April 2020 resources expended Transfers 31 March 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Woodland Management - 30 - (30) -
- - -
Cobb Charity Trust 10,000 (10,000)
- - -
T Howell Bursary 1,559 1,559
Zero Carbon Futures 5,000 - - - 5,000
- -
Sir Jon Houghton Bursary Fund 53,299 (2,953) 50,346
Reaching the Changemakers of
- - -
the Future 6,407 (6,407)
GSE Green Buildings - 5,000 - - 5,000
Student Placement Fund - 8,993 (9,122) 128 -
Capital Fund - 5,000 (4,500) (500) -
Erasmus 7,193 - - (7,193) -
Growing the future 4,320 - - (4,320) -
-
Ethel & Gwynne Morgan Trust 5,000 5,000 (1,225) 8,775
ZCB Hub & Innovation Lab 891,378 40,550 (330,251) 3,475 605,152
974,156 74,573 (348,051) (24,847) 675,832
**----- End of picture text -----**
Where permissible under the terms of the funding, any remaining balance on individual funds has been transferred to unrestricted funds.
49
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **17. FUNDS: MOVEMENTS IN THE YEAR (continued)**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Fund name Purpose
Woodland Management To continue and develop sustainable woodland management word
and education about this.
Cobb Charity Trust To support the work of CAT’s Engagement Team.
T Howell Bursary To fund educational visits to CAT by schools from six specific
counties of North Wales.W
Zero Carbon Futures To develop new materials for teaching based on Zero Carbon
Britain research for use by Engagement Team.
Sir John Houghton Bursary Fund Bursary fund for GSE students.
Reaching the Changemakers To inspire children, adults and students to make sustainable
Wof the Future changes to their lives and communities.
GSE Green Buildings To provide materials for the Graduate School’s student ‘Build
Week’.
Student Placement Fund To support a student placement in a different department of CAT
each year.
Capital Fund To assist with plans for the future development of the visitor centre
Erasmus To provide innovative ICT based tools and accompanying
educational resources issues relating to sustainable development.
Growing the Future CAT is designated hub for the National Botanic Garden of Wales
‘Growing the Future’ of wildlife and the virtues of growing plants
for food, fun, health and well-being.
Ethel & Gwynne Morgan Trust To assist a successful student applicant with CAT Graduate School
course fees.
ZCB Hub & Innovation Lab To continue to develop the Zero Carbon Britain project, looking at
how the UK can transition rapidly to a Zero Carbon future.
**----- End of picture text -----**
50
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **18. ANALYSIS OF ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Fund balances are represented by:
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Tangible fixed assets 2,828,015 - - 2,828,015
Fixed asset investments 100 - - 100
Stocks 29,249 - - 29,249
Debtors 250,258 951 - 251,209
Cash at bank 376,986 684,990 19,407 1,081,383
Creditors due within one year (751,628) (10,110) - (761,738)
Creditors due after more than one year (1,621,232) - - (1,621,232)
Net assets at 31 March 2021 1,111,748 675,831 19,407 1,806,986
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Tangible fixed assets 2,900,326 - - 2,900,326
Fixed asset investments 100 - - 100
Stocks 44,185 - - 44,185
Debtors 388,718 - 1,350 390,068
Cash at bank 275,142 974,156 17,593 1,266,891
Creditors due within one year (854,566) - - (854,566)
Creditors due after more than one year (1,638,696) - - (1,638,696)
Net assets at 31 March 2020 1,115,209 974,156 18,943 2,108,308
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## **19. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS**
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Annual commitments under operating lease are as follows:
2021 2020
£ £
Expiry date:
Within one year 660 2,640
Between two and five years - 840
660 3,480
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## **20. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS**
The Charity had no capital commitments outstanding at the year-end (2020: none)
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**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021**
## **21. ULTIMATE CONTROLLING PARTY**
The Company is limited by guarantee and has no share capital. Control is vested in the Board of Trustees.
## **22. CORPORATION TAX**
The Company is exempt from tax on income and gains in accordance with sections 466 to 493 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 to the extent that these are applied for its charitable objects.
## **23. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS**
The Trustees and Senior Management team are not aware of any related party transactions that require disclosure.
## **24. OTHER INFORMATION**
## **A) Capital Goods Scheme VAT**
During 2020, a VAT claim submitted in 2019 and relating to Capital Goods Scheme VAT from prior years was settled by HMRC. The net settlement of £161,592, relating to VAT incurred in the construction of the WISE building, was accrued for in the 2020 accounts (see note 13) and treated as an adjustment to the carrying value of the buildings within fixed assets.
## **B) COVID-19 Pandemic**
Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant implications for the shortterm operation of CAT, predominantly around the closure of the visitor centre for several months from mid-March 2020 to mid-August 2020 and then from late October 2020, there are not considered to be any implications for the reporting and recognition of amounts in these financial statements covering the year to 31[st] March 2021. Further detail in relation to the going concern assumption, which is still considered to be appropriate, is included in note 1 b) above and also in the Trustees’ Report.
## **C) Eco Store**
Our on-site shop – the ‘Eco Store’ – has been closed since the initial COVID-19 pandemic ‘lockdown’ in mid-March 2020. In November 2020, a decision was taken to permanently close this shop. This decision was taken based on an ongoing review of the profitability of the shop and was not related to the coronavirus pandemic. Our retail operations continue with a small selection of merchandise on show and for sale inside the café. Our mail order operations continue as normal.
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