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2021-03-31-accounts

Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

WOOD GREEN ANIMAL SHELTERS

TRUSTEE REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

CHARITY REGISTERED NUMBER: 298348 COMPANY REGISTERED NUMBER: 02073930

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

CONTENTS

Page
Chairman’s Statement 3
Trustee Report 5
Independent Auditors’ Report 32
Statement of Financial Activities 36
Balance Sheet 37
Cash Flow Statement 38
Notes to the Financial Statements 39

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Chairman’s Statement

Undeniably, 2020 was a landmark year - not just for Wood Green, but also at national, local, organisational and individual levels. No one was excused the impact of COVID-19, as it challenged everything that was certain and promoted individual vulnerability and economic fragility.

So, 2020 will be a year to be noted in the history books. For Wood Green, it will be remembered as the year when our pre-COVID strategy would be validated. I say this because we knew the world was changing, and in 2019 we made some big decisions about the delivery of our services and the impact we wanted to make. It was then that we embarked on the diversification of care and reinterpreted our care provision to be less fixed and one-dimensional. We made big decisions regarding the closure of two centres at London and Heydon, reinvesting the money into growing our off-site care provision and pet support services. As a result, when COVID-19 hit, we seamlessly called on our newly formed army of fosterers to help us care for three times as many pets off-site than we did on our own sites. Equally important, and not to be forgotten, was the work we did in connecting with pet owners; some particularly vulnerable because of COVID. By providing care packages and supporting them more broadly, we kept them, their pets and their communities safe during the most challenging of times.

Constrained by social distancing and lockdown measures, we continued to support thousands of pet owners during a huge upsurge in demand for pets. 2020 saw people embrace the joy and comfort that pets provide with an incredible increase in interest that caused us to have to manage tens of thousands of enquiries for animals. This phenomenon could not have been foreseen because it was a direct consequence of the pandemic. The new pre-eminence of working from home not only serviced this demand for pets, but also created a digital context that was, and remains, all-pervasive. Yet, thanks to our previous decisions and reinvestment, Wood Green was as in as good a place as it could be to carry on, despite the nearoverwhelming challenges that COVID presented. As in many other parts of the country, the adversity of COVID meant that the burden on our staff and volunteers was enormous; and I was immensely proud of all of the individuals who adapted and made it work despite the personal difficulties. Wood Green’s staff and volunteers have shown extraordinary resilience and creativity to cope with the challenge, and I thank them all for their heroic efforts.

Once the significance of COVID was better understood, along with other charities, we looked closely at its financial impact. There was no financial forecast that did not conclude with the view that Wood Green, like many others, would be significantly impacted. Our ability to fundraise, particularly through community fundraising, was significantly reduced. Our retail income was also severely impacted. Yet, as the numbers show in this report, our strategy to diversify our fundraising efforts, alongside our increasing fundraising resilience and the inbuilt loyalty of our donors, meant that the worst-case scenarios never arose. That’s not to imply that there won’t be future financial challenges, but the Trustees are resolved that, as we are in a period of the greatest need for pets and people, the Charity will continue to invest in making that difference.

Last year represented a year of unprecedented challenge. To what extent its impact irreparably changes things, and what the ‘new normal’ might be, is nowhere near being understood. Despite this, I can only have a sense of pride and validation. Pride for the people that made it all work, despite the challenges, and validation in the decisions that were previously made in Wood

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Green’s strategy. They were made in a pre-COVID world and reflective of a belief that things were changing anyway. When COVID came along, we made the decision to accelerate that strategy to ensure we were well-placed to not just survive, but thrive.

Of particular success, given the circumstances, was the production of the Channel 4 programme The Dog House. It was delivered in a COVID-secure environment and, whilst it was difficult, the results speak for themselves. With an audience of 1.5m viewers per episode, we brought to living rooms nationally the mutual joy arising from successfully matching dogs with people. In dark times, it brought warmth and love.

The year ahead will see a ‘new normal’ emerge. It’s hard to expect the demand for pets seen in 2020 to remain. New challenges to the pet and pet owner relationship will emerge - challenges that will cause Wood Green to have to work harder to keep pets in homes and find new ones when the need arises. I am in no doubt that we will be busier, with an even bigger role giving care to pets and providing support to owners, for the benefit of both and the betterment of the communities in which they live.

Dr Steven Carden 18 September 2021

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

We present our Trustee Report and Accounts for the 12 months to the end of March 2021

STRATEGIC REPORT

Who we are

Wood Green Animal Shelters have been successfully caring for pets in need since 1924. We care for any pet that needs us, whether they have been abandoned, neglected, are vulnerable or simply need a home. At the same time we guide people to find the right pet for them and encourage the best standards of pet care.

Our Vision

Our vision is for every pet to have a home where they are loved, well cared for and enjoy positive relationships with their owners.

Our Objects as stated in the Articles of Association are that Wood Green Animal Shelters exists to provide:

Our Mission

Our mission is to care for vulnerable pets. We are committed to providing our pets with outstanding care and secure and loving homes and supporting pet owners and the wider community to build rewarding relationships with pets.

We do this through digital engagement and through our operations at two locations:

In addition, our community outreach team based at Godmanchester work extensively throughout the region working with schools and community groups to spread the responsible pet ownership message.

Our Strategy

In order to achieve our Mission the Trustees have agreed a strategy with the following goals:

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Achievements, Performance and Future Plans

When the pandemic struck towards the end of the 2019/20 financial year, we were in a stronger position than most. As part of our new strategy, we had already established services and partnerships that enabled us to support pets within loving homes, not just in onsite care. This allowed us to help animals with higher needs at our Godmanchester Centre, while reducing our onsite staff numbers to meet the requirements of a Covid-secure environment and keep our teams safe.

In 2020/21, we extended ourselves further to meet the challenges of the deepening, extended impact of COVID-19, and continued to adapt all of our services to serve pets and their owners in the best way possible – in a completely changed landscape, with unique, unprecedented and unpredictable issues to overcome. By rapidly accelerating our pre-planned strategic transition to three models of care – onsite care, foster care and Owner Home Care (OHC) – we’re proud that we were able to rise to these challenges and succeed.

Overview of 2020/21

As soon as the pandemic struck, we urgently adapted our ways of operating so we could continue to help pets in need while protecting the welfare of pets, staff, volunteers and members of the public. Our priority was to continue providing vital services in line with government guidelines on COVID-19, from veterinary services and animal care to pet advice and community-based services.

The key changes we made:

Summary of key achievements in 2020/21

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Covid cut our intake and rehoming numbers in half

The effects of the pandemic caused our intake to drop dramatically in 2020/21 to 2,124 animals – 50% lower than the 4,270 we received in 2019/20. We took in 62% less cats, 41% less dogs and 41% less small pets. One of the biggest drivers of intake is lifestyle change, for example, when people move house or change jobs and find they can no longer look after their pet. With most of the population static and based at home, these changes stopped. At the same time, there was a big increase in demand for pets, as more people sought the support and companionship they offer.

But rather than use rehoming centres, we saw more people passing on and buying pets through private or internet sales, where a lack of restrictions unfortunately allows unscrupulous sellers to avoid the checks that new owners should make (such as meeting the mother of a puppy or seeing its home environment before buying). This ongoing trend means less pets are finding their way to us and more people are buying pets rather than trying rehoming centres – partly due to out-of-date, anecdotal beliefs that it’s ‘difficult’ to get pets from rescue centres, for example, if you work or have children.

This had an inevitable knock-on effect on the number of pets we could rehome, which fell by 55%, partly due to the much smaller number of pets we had to offer, but also because Covid restrictions meant we could only rehome pets within a short radius of our sites and had to carefully manage the introduction of pets to people. We rehomed a limited number onsite, but most pets were delivered by our team. Despite the challenges, we did not compromise our rehoming standards and continued to ensure pets found secure and loving homes.

The existing, long-term downward trend in our intake numbers was accelerated by the pandemic, while another continued trend was a change in the profile of pets coming to us - the majority now have medical or behavioural issues that are seen as less desirable by the public.

How our rehoming went virtual

Because of government Covid regulations, we had to close our sites to visitors for some periods and also discourage people from travelling to us, which dramatically restricted our rehoming activity. After pausing all rehoming during the first lockdown, we were able to restart this critical service in the first week of May 2020 by adapting to virtual, online methods. As an essential

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business operating within DEFRA guidelines, we were able to introduce potential owners to pets virtually, then deliver animals to their new homes and thereby minimise the numbers of visitors to our sites.

During the year, COVID-19 dramatically increased the average length of stay (LOS) of all animals in our care, from admission to departure. By March 2021, this had grown to 70 days – a 71% increase on March 2020.

Thankfully, we were able to call upon our excellent network of volunteer fosterers to make a difference to these longer-staying pets by looking after them in a loving home environment. We moved pets to foster care wherever possible, which also helped to restrict the numbers of staff onsite and maintain social distancing for their safety.

Rehoming of small pets linked to pet shop closures

We rehomed higher numbers of small pets during a brief lockdown period when pet shops were closed, but once they reopened this became more challenging. Purchases of rabbits and small pets increased the most during the pandemic. According to Pets4Homes, the UK’s most popular free pet classifieds and information site, rabbit sales went up by 163%. And when pet shops closed, more people were willing to rehome from us rather than make an impulse purchase.

Our growing OHC service supported more direct rehoming

By accelerating our strategy, we were delighted that our Owner Home Care service supported 139 pets, a 140% increase from last year. Launched in late 2019, OHC allows pets to stay in their familiar home environment rather than come into our care, which can be stressful for some animals. It also helps us to rehome some pets directly from one home to another, without people visiting our centre. During Covid, this helped us to focus our limited onsite resources on supporting pets with more complex needs.

We provided more support with pet behaviour issues during the rehoming process, starting in the current home and continuing in the new one. This particularly helped dogs with home-alone issues and separation anxiety, who would find life in kennels more difficult. We also helped with medical conditions, again starting treatment in the current home. For dogs who can’t stay with their current owner, those undergoing medical investigations, and older dogs, we try to find foster homes to provide them with as much individual comfort and support as possible.

How we connected with more people in new, digital ways

We realised the Covid pandemic would not be over quickly, so we focused on moving our owner support and education activities online. This allowed our behaviour and training specialists to engage with pet owners and families over Zoom, Facebook or other online media.

We introduced a host of free content, including live workshops to help owners understand their dog’s behaviour or take better care of their pets, as well as low-priced online dog training classes. Our new Facebook Live sessions received a lot of engagement, such as tours of the cattery, kennels and small animal section, where we connected people who couldn’t reach us physically to the different pets in our care. People engaged with our content from all over the world, thanks to the widespread awareness generated by The Dog House.

We moved our education provision online to allow greater access, introducing a series of digital resources aimed at parents who were home-schooling their children. Some of these were

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

curriculum-led, while others were fun activities that families could do together, while learning tips on caring for their pet and understanding its behaviour.

More people accessed our pet advice online than ever before, with a 400% increase in these page views, from 135k last year to 690k in 2020/21. This increase was exponentially higher than overall website traffic, which was 2% higher at 9.5 million page views. Overall, we had 1,958,137 unique visitors to our website across the year, with 91.31% of these from the UK.

We engaged a total of 76,389 people through our online education and outreach resources – 700% more than last year. In 2020/21, our workshops reached 24,612 people, our education sessions helped 24,264 people, our Behaviour & Training Specialist Team sessions engaged 312 people and our dog training classes were attended by 36 people.

How we successfully adapted to home working

We ensured that all our people who could work from home were given the tools and technology they needed, with only teams working directly with animals kept onsite to maintain essential care. Our aim was to help as many staff as possible to work offsite, to ensure their safety and make enough space for social distancing onsite. All our rehoming and pet support teams switched to home working, with only a skeleton team in our offices. The support of our IT providers meant we could give laptops to all our offsite staff and offer training where necessary on new tools like Microsoft Teams.

Offsite teams such as our Foster Coordinators and Outreach Team only visited our sites for essential supplies and visits. We also split our Veterinary Team, keeping enough vets and nurses onsite for urgent operations and essential physical interventions, while the remainder worked from home and carried out more routine consultations with fosterers or onsite staff via video or telephone calls. Our teams responded quickly and enthusiastically to these challenges and our key achievement was that we did not close or reduce any of our services.

Caring for the wellbeing of our people and pet owners

We have a lot of young staff who live on their own, which can be isolating and make communication more difficult than it would be when working face-to-face. Some team members struggled with their mental health, so we made sure everyone had access to online health platform Health Shield and arranged regular catch-ups during the day to maintain the contact that people were missing.

Our teams supported many pet owners who were in difficult, challenging situations, and showed a lot of emotional resilience in doing so. We normally show people how to look after pets in person, which is more difficult over a video call, but our staff rose to the challenge. Some pet owners are vulnerable or unfamiliar with using digital technology, so our teams needed to offer extra support and go the extra mile when diagnosing issues with pets and offering advice over video.

How we mobilised to reach pets in need

This year, we continued to develop our strategic goal to turn our site at Godmanchester into a UK centre of excellence. It boasts impressive veterinary facilities, it can accommodate dogs, cats and small pets, and has a dedicated team of behavioural specialists and experienced vets (who are supported by specialist advice from the Royal Veterinary College, the world’s leading vet educator). By investing in our expertise and support services, and offering them at a single location, we can make a positive impact on the lives of thousands more pets. This meant taking

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the very difficult but necessary decision to close our two satellite centres – London in March 2020 and Heydon in March 2021.

To ensure that we can still help pets in the areas previously served by these centres, we started a new mobile Pet Collection service to transport animals to and from Godmanchester. The first service began in North London for relinquished cats, kittens and small pets, first as a pilot when the London Centre closed in March 2020, and then as a full service in June 2020. We collected 148 pets in need between 1 June 2020 and 31 March 2021. When our Heydon Centre closed, we added additional resources to the service so we could collect pets from this area too.

Much more than a collection service

The new service proved to be a lifesaver for much more than pet collection. When the first Covid lockdown hit, it meant we could urgently transport 200-plus animals into foster care and then support our fosterers by delivering essential pet supplies. By being agile and moving our resources quickly into the right places, we were able to meet the greatest need.

We now operate a seven-day mobilisation service that does much more than collect and deliver pets. As well as supporting our fosterers with pet supplies, it has worked alongside our Outreach Team this year to deliver food, equipment and treatment to pets and owners in need. We added a new, bespoke pet collection vehicle to the service in September 2020, mainly to transport cats from the London and Heydon areas back to Godmanchester. This was partly funded by £6,000 awarded to us by the Petplan Charitable Trust in February 2020, which we received in August and December 2020.

Mobilisation helped save Tabs the tabby

Tabs, a ten-year-old stray cat found in Hackney, London, is one of the pets we rescued in 2020. After a concerned member of the public reported a stray tabby with a terribly swollen face, our team headed straight to London to collect the cat, who had been living on the streets for a long time. He was shaking, very wary of people and must have been in terrible pain, as tests showed he had severe dental disease. His skull was so badly eroded that the team said his X-ray “barely resembled a cat”.

After we carried out emergency surgery to remove most of his teeth, Charli, a long-term fosterer who worked in our Cat Rehoming Team at the time, fostered Tabs while he recovered. She told us: “Alongside his medical needs, Tabs was very under-socialised so needed patience and understanding to bring him out of his shell. After a couple of months with me and my partner, he began to understand that people are his friends. He made amazing progress.”

After 112 days of medical and behavioural care, Tabs was ready to go to a loving home with new owner Sue, who said: “I sadly lost my elderly cat, Mango, so I had room in my life for another oldie to take care of. Tabs is such a gentle and brave cat; I hope we will have many happy years together.”

Behavioural support helped more pets to stay in their homes

With our centres closed to the public and a greater strain on our resources, we increased our efforts to help pets stay in their homes rather than be relinquished, by boosting the amount of behavioural advice we offered to any pet owners who were struggling. We saw an increase in the uptake of this advice, as people had more time and inclination to do training and behaviour work with their pets at home. We were able to support them in several ways, from online advice and video workshops to one-to-one digital contact with expert animal behaviourists, as well as emergency financial support. We helped 17% more pets than last year through our practical Pet

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Support Services, including bespoke behaviour advice, health & wellbeing checks, home visits and financial support.

We gave 998 pet owners direct, one-to-one behavioural advice over the year (13% higher than last year) while our new online education and outreach content engaged 76,389 people – 700% more than last year.

One-to-one support helped Polly the beagle to stay at home

The owners of Polly, a nine-month-old beagle, called us for help when she started showing minor aggression, such as growling when asked to get off the sofa, as well as guarding the children’s toys and stealing from tables. Her owners adored her, but they weren’t sure if they should keep Polly with children in the home.

Our behavioural specialists discovered that noise from an adjacent property, combined with the busy family all being at home, made it difficult for Polly to get enough rest. This caused her stress levels to spike, which made her reactive and frustrated. They also observed that Polly’s difficult behaviour was really attention-seeking. Our team first ensured she was getting enough attention and made some minor tweaks to help her respond to training. Then they asked the family to change their behaviour so Polly had no access to anything she could steal, which would cause them to react.

Wendy, from our Behavioural and Training Specialists Team, said: “Polly needed her own undisturbed space to get enough rest. With reactive dogs, it always takes some training and repetition to help them learn to settle and relax. The more chilled they are, the less time they spend being hyperactive and reactive.”

Fostering expansion was vital in maintaining our services

Expanding our foster network played a crucial role in helping us maintain our services during the pandemic. In fact, our transition to fostering large numbers of pets offsite was our biggest single adaptation, and probably the most effective. So much so that the number of animals in foster care overtook those onsite during April and May 2020. We supported 1,282 pets in foster homes during 2020/21 – an 11.5% increase on last year. In normal times the increase would have been much larger, but we saw an 80% drop in kitten numbers. This meant the pets in foster care were mainly singletons, so we had to call upon more individual foster homes.

Fostering was already part of our strategy to increase capacity while providing better, more cost-effective care for pets in loving homes rather than a rehoming centre, but it also allows us to be more agile by accepting larger intakes, such as when big batches of smaller animals are given to us.

At the start of the first lockdown we increased our fosterer numbers to cope with the demand of pets needing foster homes. Our focus going forward is to streamline our active fosterers in line with COVID restrictions to ensure pets are matched to a suitable fosterer.

Successful Peterborough pilot prepared us for Covid

In March 2021, we celebrated 50 new volunteers joining our foster network in just one year thanks to our pilot fostering scheme in Peterborough, which meant more than 140 pets could be cared for in local volunteers’ loving homes between March 2020 and March 2021. Fostering was already a strategic aim to help us increase our capacity, but we were fortunate that when Covid struck, this pilot scheme meant that we already had a larger bank of foster carers to call upon, and we could apply lessons learned to our wider fostering strategy.

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Launched in February 2020, the scheme’s goal was to expand our fostering reach beyond the catchment area of our Godmanchester Centre in Cambridgeshire. We provided full training and one-to-one support to fosterers virtually and delivered all necessary supplies for free – including bedding, food, toys and the pets themselves. We also arranged urgent veterinary care locally, via our partnership with local practice Pengelly & Mizen.

Yaxley residents Julia and Trevor were originally considering rehoming a pet, but decided that fostering would be a better fit for their lifestyle. They fostered five dogs over the last year, two of which were Wood Green’s longest residents and had ongoing training needs. Julia said: “Helping to provide dogs a second chance is wonderful. It gives us the opportunity to have a dog without the tie of owning one, but the heartache of giving them up when they find a new home doesn’t get any easier!”

We boosted resources to support fosterers

We recently added an additional FTE (full-time equivalent) resource to our Offsite Care Team, to help us support more fosterers and animals. One FTE can support 20-25 foster pets at a time, meaning our Offsite Care Team can support approximately 125 to 175 additional animals each year as a result. In the past year, we have also developed a series of guidance packs for fosterers that give detailed advice about how to care for 11 different species of animals. Our teams worked hard on this project during lockdown, and the new guides were published online in the final week of July 2021.

We increased our community outreach efforts

In 2020/21, our Outreach Team worked with local authorities, housing providers, food banks, social and healthcare practitioners, fellow charities and other community partners who support vulnerable people. Through our outreach services (home visits, digital consultations, health & wellbeing checks, financial support services and food banks) we helped 2,371 pets – 39% more than in 2019/20.

During this difficult time, we’ve worked alongside these partner organisations to provide holistic support packages for both pet owners and their pets. We offered services such as pet care advice, and where people have been unable to care for their pets, we signposted them to our services where appropriate. We have also been looking at more opportunities to work with other charities, so we can work smarter and fill gaps in provision, rather than duplicate existing services.

Outreach helped an owner get well and keep her trusty companion

Much-loved Maxi the dog had been with his owner for seven years, but when she had to go into hospital for treatment for stage 3 cancer, the social prescriber asked if we could support Maxi until she returned home. As the owner was also a recognised hoarder of items, this was an opportunity for the property to be cleaned and put in order, but Maxi would need another home in the meantime.

The social prescriber arranged for a neighbour to foster Maxi, so our Outreach Team swung into action to support the fosterer with supplies, advice and assistance, and made visits to check on Maxi’s wellbeing - both during the placement and for a transitional period after Maxi and his owner returned home.

Our Outreach Team played a key role in supporting Maxi’s owner during a difficult time. In fact, she was only willing to go into hospital after we took the time to build her trust and reassure her that she would not lose ownership of her much-loved companion. After treatment, she stayed

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involved with us and proved to be a responsible pet owner, taking on board our suggestions about dog walking, enrichment ideas and tips for Maxi’s future care. We were delighted by such a successful outcome.

Our vets adapted to keep essential care on track

All our veterinary interventions were reduced due to the lower numbers of pets in our care. To make sure we could continue to conduct all urgent or emergency surgery, we postponed nonurgent veterinary operations on 17 March 2020. We were quickly able to restart cat and kitten neutering on 24 March 2020, to allow for these pets to be rehomed. The number of neutering operations was reduced, but this partly reflected our lower intake levels.

Consultations for dogs increased, while those for small pets were similar to 2019/20 levels. There was a marked decline in vet and nurse consultations for cats between March and June 2020, reflecting lockdown movement restrictions, but otherwise they remained relatively steady. We also saw an increase of ‘super seniors’ in our intake, i.e. older pets which often have multiple medical issues.

We’re proud that we were able to maintain our veterinary care throughout the pandemic. Despite the challenges, we carried out 1,738 operations, 7,416 consultations and 9,635 nurse checks during 2020/21.

By adapting to new ways of working and introducing remote consultations, more of our vets could assess pets and interact with owners over video calls, while working from home. We also split the team into ‘bubbles’, so if one bubble was affected by Covid, another could step in to ensure we always provided for the pets in our care. Because physical veterinary work involves staff working closely together, during Covid restrictions it was harder to allow for social distancing, which meant the team was at greater risk.

Our lead vet, Bree, shares her thoughts on how we adapted our veterinary care:

“To keep the team and our fosterers safe, we carefully assess the problem remotely as much as possible, determine the risks for the people involved, and balance that against making sure the animals get the veterinary care they need. When seeing the animal in person is necessary, we maintain social distancing and keep human contact to a minimum.”

We increased our veterinary provision in October 2020, with one additional vet working two days a week. This was partly to help us prepare for the growth in intake we expect to see as Covid restrictions are lifted, and to catch up on routine operations that were not possible in the period when vets’ practices were closed.

Generous support paid for vital veterinary equipment

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we were able to purchase new equipment in 2020 that has given an enormous boost to the care we provide. This included a new X-ray machine that has sped up our examination process, and a new pathology machine that gives us in-house test results more cost-effectively and within half an hour, so we don’t have to wait a day for results from an external lab. With its state-of-the-art technology, it has the capability to tell us a lot about a pet, from their liver and kidney function to the health of their blood. That means we can take the next steps in their treatment much sooner.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

The Dog House went from strength to strength

We’re delighted that we managed to successfully facilitate the filming of two series of this hugely popular Channel 4 TV show in 2020/21, during a global pandemic and some very hot weather conditions. The Dog House is an important feel-good programme that has helped people stuck at home during the pandemic, allowing us to connect with them and help lift their spirits in a difficult time. It also gave us an opportunity to reach a wider audience of current and potential pet owners with the right messages about responsible pet care.

It was a very timely opportunity to showcase our staff’s expertise, share our dedication and give insight into the love and care we give animals in need. The exposure helped us to find great homes for our dogs and allowed more people to see and access the services we offer, such as pet behaviour advice, workshops and more.

Filming series two and three was a rollercoaster of a journey, with social distancing presenting massive challenges for our teams and the production crew. Everyone involved had scorching summer heat to deal with as well. To keep our dogs safe and comfortable, we brought in air conditioning units, paddling pools and structures that offered shade. Our fosterers also played a huge part by looking after many of the dogs who featured in the show. All this hard work paid off, with series two hitting TV screens in March 2021 and series three on the way. As a result of The Dog House, we have been approached by various charities around the world to share our experience and best practice, particularly in small animal care.

How we contributed to rabbit welfare

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare launched the ‘Good Practice Code for Rabbit Welfare’ in June 2021, to mark the start of Rabbit Awareness Week. We were delighted to support the Rabbit Welfare Association and the RSPCA during 2020/21 by contributing towards the development of the code and ‘The Rabbit Roundabout’, which helps owners to understand the five welfare needs that are key to ensuring a pet rabbit lives a happy, healthy and fulfilling life: https://apgaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Rabbit-CoP-2021.pdf.

Our plans for 2021/22 and beyond

The coming year will see us develop ambitious and innovative plans to enable the Charity to continue to increase the impact and accessibility of our work for pets and their people. We will:

Our cat care centre opens this year

Our new, well-equipped cat care centre will transform the care we offer homeless cats and is an important part of our plan to turn Godmanchester Centre into a UK centre of excellence for

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shelter, treatment and rehoming. After some unavoidable construction delays due to COVID-19, the centre is scheduled to open in November this year.

Our current cattery has helped us care for thousands of pets since its construction in 2004, but this innovative new facility will be a step-change that ensures we meet the needs of all cats and kittens for many years to come. It will feature six blocks of ten units, providing 60 in total, with scope to add another block of ten if more capacity is needed – although we envisage that fostering support will reduce this need. Each unit will benefit from plenty of natural light and have its own climate control, so we can adjust the temperature and ventilation according to cats’ needs – keeping them warm in winter and cool in summer. Units will also have connecting doors that are ideal for mums with kittens, or groups of feline friends.

A big advantage is that cats won’t see, smell, or hear each other, which can often cause them stress. Another innovation will be the ‘catios’ (cat patios) in each block – secure outdoor spaces that give cats the independence of going outside on their own terms. Each ‘catio’ will have catproof fencing and angled screening, so cats can’t even see each other outdoors. The units were designed following consultations with our cat specialists, visits to other catteries and workshops with our teams.

Vanessa Cunningham, Director of Care and Veterinary Services, said: “The new centre will enable us to greatly enhance the accommodation we offer homeless cats while they wait for a new home. If a cat could design a centre of excellence, this is what it would look like.”

We will boost small pet accommodation in the short- and long-term

We plan to redevelop all our small pet accommodation within the next five years to give us the facilities to meet our strategic ambitions. But we will also make interim renovations at our Godmanchester Centre in 2021/22 to deliver additional capacity and accommodation improvements for key small pet species – namely guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and ferrets.

We knew that the closure of our Heydon Centre this year would temporarily reduce our guinea pig housing by 44% (24 spaces). At the same time, guinea pig accommodation at Godmanchester was being modified to provide for a significant extra demand for rabbit housing, which reduced our overall short-term guinea pig capacity by 85.5%, from 55 spaces to 8. To overcome this shortfall, we created suitable interim housing in office spaces and the rodent room.

Our interim renovations will increase guinea pig capacity at Godmanchester to 30 spaces and improve their accommodation and mixing facilities, upgrade our rabbit and chicken facilities, and increase our capacity to accommodate ferrets by 66% while improving their accommodation units. The project aligns with our strategic goals 2 and 3, as better standards of accommodation and higher capacity will allow a greater intake of several species and boost the availability of our guinea pig mixing service.

The Dog House success story will continue

We’re looking forward to the broadcast of the third series of the hit Channel 4 show sometime in 2021/22, featuring homeless dogs being matched with new owners. We’re also delighted that the filming of the programme’s next two series at Godmanchester has already been confirmed. With many more amazing stories to be told, we’re sure its popularity will continue into next year and beyond.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Environment

Wood Green has always taken a pro-active approach to reducing its impact on the environment through numerous initiatives. For example, there is a wind turbine at the Godmanchester site that generates circa 2million kwh of electricity annually, of which at least 50% is exported. Photovoltaic panels generate a further 8,000 kwh of electricity annually.

Actions taken at our main Godmanchester site during the reporting period include installing double glazing where it was absent; continuing to install LED lighting with movement detectors; lowering the ceiling in the main office to reduce energy use; and commissioning an upgrade to the wind turbine to improve its efficiency.

Also during the reporting period we carried out the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme phase 2 assessment, which has resulted in a number of options going forward. These range from improving education on energy efficiency practices for staff through to improving metering systems.

In line with the requirements for Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting, for the first time, we have analysed our organisation wide energy usage, and these are summarised below:

Energy Type tCO2e
Electricity imported from the national grid 124.95
Natural gas imported from the gas network 2.02
Liquid petroleum gas 45.61
Fuel used for owned vehicles 26.54
Fuel claimed for business mileage 21.00
Total 220.12

The analysis is based on usage stated in source documentation and has been converted into tCO2e using the UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting (2020).

Total emissions of 220.12 tCO2e equates to 0.89 tCO2e per full time equivalent employee.

In addition to the above, Wood Green used 702,000 kwh of electricity generated from its wind turbine and solar panels. This is the equivalent of 164 tCO2e of emissions that otherwise would have been created had that power been drawn from the National Grid.

Financial Review

Income

Total income in the year was £12.8m (2020: £15.0m). This reduction was due to lower legacy income of £4.5m (2020: £7.2m), although this was partly offset by an increase in other donation income to £5.2m from £3.6m in the prior year. We believe that the reduction in legacy income is partly down to a timing issue resulting from delays in probate processing and the approval of accounts by HMRC.

Charity shop income was severely impacted by the COVID lockdowns, with income reducing to £0.7m from £1.7m in the prior year. However, the impact of this lost income was fully offset by the COVID Retail Support Grants and the COVID Job Retention Scheme claims.

Income from charitable activities is largely from animal placement fees and the impact of COVID meant this source of income saw a large decrease of 47% to £161,000.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Expenditure

Total expenditure reduced by 3% to £15.4m (2020: £15.8m). The reduction was due to lower activity levels reflective of the COVID restrictions, which resulted in lower costs across all areas except for fundraising costs associated with donations and legacies. The latter increased to £6.1m (2020: £5.5m) as investment continued in activities to generate future income from donations and legacies. Other trading costs reduced to £2.3m from £2.7m due to net cost savings associated with the COVID lockdowns of the charity shops. Expenditure on our charitable work was £7.0m (2020: £7.4m) due to reduced activity levels.

Net position

Net income after investment gains shows a deficit of £25,000 (2020: deficit £1.1m), which is £2.1m better than the budgeted deficit of £2.1m. Financial investment gains in the year were £2.5m (2020: loss of £0.4m) as a direct result of the financial market recovery following the initial reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The deficit before investment gains of £2.6m (2020: £0.75m deficit) was in line with the budget

This year’s result means that total year end funds reduced by 0.1% to £24.2m of which £0.85m were restricted (2020: £1.1m).

Fixed assets

Fixed assets are held in order to achieve the objects of the Charity. Movements in fixed assets during the year are set out in note 10 to the financial statements. Work in progress includes investment in a new HR and Payroll system that went live in April 2021 and the initial costs associated with the construction of a new cattery that will be completed in November 2021.

The site at 601 Lordship Lane, London was closed in March 2020 and the site at Heydon was closed in March 2021. Both sites will be marketed for sale in 2021.

In October 2017 Bidwells performed a desktop valuation of the Charity’s freehold land and buildings on an ‘existing use’ basis. The valuations of our Godmanchester, London and Heydon centres are not being adopted by the Charity; the Council is of the opinion that the ‘existing use’ valuations of the sites do not give a true and fair reflection of their value to the Charity, and therefore their inclusion at depreciated historic cost is considered a more appropriate basis, as stated in note 10 to the accounts.

Investments

The Charity held listed investments totalling £13.2m (including working capital) at the end of the year (2020: £16.4m). The investments are all held in the growth portfolio; the short-term project portfolio was closed in March 2021. The growth portfolio is long term in nature and is held to generate both income and capital growth. The portfolio is managed by Charles Stanley on our behalf on a discretionary basis, subject to a risk profile and asset allocation agreed by the Trustees. JTFM Investment Consulting continue to act as our independent investment advisers reviewing the performance of our investment managers.

Performance of the growth portfolio is measured against the MSCI Private Investor Balanced Total Return Index. This benchmark for the asset allocation has been consistently exceeded by our investment managers over the past five years. During 2020/21 the benchmark total return was 22% and the portfolio saw growth of 24%. Our investment policy targets a rolling five year return of inflation (as measured by CPI) plus 3%. As at March 2021, the five year return on the growth portfolio was 77% against the target of 27%.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

As at 31 March the total portfolio was split as follows:

Listed equity investments
Fixed and variable interest bonds and gilts
Other
Cash
Total listed investments		 2021
£000
2020
£000
9,461
6,985
2,949
7,491
569
378
235
1,533
13,214
16,387

Wood Green has an ethical investment policy which states that it does not invest, directly or indirectly, in companies that carry out animal testing for non-medical purposes or are involved in any aspect of the fur trade.

Reserves

As a Charity we rely on a number of income streams including donations, legacy gifts, trading profits and investment income and gains. Legacy gifts and investment income and gains, in particular, are subject to large in-year fluctuations as can be seen when looking at the 2021 results compared to 2020. However, there will always be animals in need of our rehoming services and people who need our advice and education services and as a Charity we are committed to providing a comprehensive ongoing service. To do this we need to maintain a level of reserves should there be a short-term fall in income or an exceptional rise in costs.

The Trustees have set a policy that requires 6-9 months’ of budgeted expenditure in free reserves. Free reserves are deemed to be the funds remaining after accounting for designated funds (including the fixed asset fund: £5.5m) and the revaluation reserves (£4.0m) – see note 16 to the accounts. As at 31 March 2021 the level of free reserves stood at £12.8m (2020: £14.4m) and represent 8.8 months’ of 2022 budgeted expenditure.

Restricted income is that which is given with a specific purpose and these are detailed in note 16. The balances remaining on restricted reserves at 31 March 2021 amounted to £0.85m with the majority of this relating to a legacy contribution from Ms Snowden that is being used as a contribution towards the planned new cattery.

The infrastructure designated reserve of £1.0m will be used to fund the remaining costs of the new cattery. The designated Infrastructure Reserve will be reviewed annually. The small balance on the Strategic Projects Reserve will be spent in the next financial year.

Going Concern Considerations – The Financial Impact of COVID-19

The Trustees have reviewed the impact of COVID-19 on the ability of the Charity to continue to operate and are confident that existing reserves will be sufficient to cover the short-term financial effect of the pandemic.

The impact of COVID-19 on the financial performance of Wood Green in the year ended 31 March 2021 was mixed and its future impact is uncertain. However, given the unlocking of society and the roll out of the vaccination programme, it is reasonable to assume that the most severe financial impact is behind us.

The year ended March 2021 saw a direct income reduction on charity shop income due to forced temporary closures, but this was totally negated by the COVID-19 financial mitigation measures put in place by government. Legacy income was also down on budget expectations and on the previous year, but the evidence suggests this was the result of delays in processing

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

probate applications and HMRC approval of estate accounts. Other fundraising channels had a mixed year, but overall came in above budget due to an excellent year for individual giving.

The Charity did not make use of any of the government backed coronavirus loan schemes.

Total reserves are forecast to be £22.4m at March 2022 and £23.1m at March 2023. Unrestricted free reserves would fall from £12.8m at March 2021 to £10.2m at March 2022 (6.9 months’ of budgeted expenditure) and £10.3m at March 2023 (6.7 months’ of budgeted expenditure). Free reserves exclude an estimated £3.9m held in our revaluation reserve (historic unrecognised investment gains).

Whilst our free reserves will provide circa 7 months’ of expenditure cover, the reality is that our income streams most at risk of impact by COVID-19 are legacy income and charity shop income. In a worst-case scenario where charity shops are shut for 12 months and legacy income comes in at only 50% of budget, the impact on income would be £5.7m. In practice, if this scenario occurred charity shop expenditure would reduce significantly and hence our £10.0m of free reserves would provide cover of circa 2 years. During this time we would also look at other cost saving measures and further diversify our income streams. As a result, our free reserves are more than adequate to cover even this worse case.

The value of our fixed assets has also been reviewed, but given that our operations are fully functional there is no reason to reduce the carrying value or remaining life of any individual asset or category of assets. Similarly, due to the nature of its activities the Charity holds no current assets or liabilities that will be affected by the pandemic.

Therefore, the Trustees are confident that there are no material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt on our 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. We are in a sound financial position to cope with the impact of COVID-19 due to our reserves position and proven ability to adapt quickly.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The trustee body (Council) is responsible for ensuring that effective risk management and internal control systems are in place to manage the Charity’s exposure to major risks including fraud and other irregularities. We operate a risk management framework designed to mitigate, though not to eliminate, major risks and to provide reasonable, though not absolute, assurance against material errors or loss.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for the Charity to test its approach to risk management at all levels and has been judged to be successful. Staff that weren’t furloughed were all able to operate from home due to effective IT systems and the Charity has been able to offer all of its pre-COVID-19 charitable services, subject to government restrictions. All workplaces were risk-assessed to be COVID-19 secure in accordance with the relevant contemporary guidance.

The Charity has a comprehensive annual business planning and budgeting process. This process and the annual budget is approved by Council. Performance is then monitored and reported on during the year in reports to the Finance and Risk Committee and Council. Major public, employer and property liabilities are fully insured. The Charity has risk management policies in place to identify risks arising from the external environment and from existing operations.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Risks are assessed according to the potential strategic impact on the Charity and their likelihood of occurrence. Controls are in place and are constantly reviewed and updated to manage these risks. The most recent update was approved by Trustees in July 2021.

The principal risks facing the Charity’s objectives are summarised below along with the main mitigating actions in place.

Principal Risks Risk Management
Raising Funds
Serious economic downturn that results in a
sustained reduction in cash and regular
donations. (HIGH)
Legacy income falls below budgeted levels and
leads to the inability of the charity to implement
its strategy. (HIGH)		 Diverse fundraising base with investment to grow
multiple channels. Strategy based on recruiting
regular givers to improve sustainability of income.
Significant investment and activity to drive legacy
marketing. Invest in digital fundraising platform
and function.
Regular monitoring of current performance,
pipeline, and general legacy trends. Active
marketing to prospective legators through
increased activity and better use of data. Keeping
products, such as pet promise, refreshed. Ability
to switch resources to other fundraising channels.
Reputation
Theft of customer and/or supporter data. The
consequences could include reputational
damage, inability to contact
supporters/customers, and inability to process
direct debits. (MEDIUM)
An allegation, true or false, against Wood Green
or the sector leads to reputational damage to the
charity. (HIGH)
Serious safeguarding issue affecting a customer
or supporter resulting from action by a Wood
Green employee or volunteer leads to
reputational damage to the charity. (MEDIUM)
Serious animal welfare incident leads to
reputational damage to the charity. (MEDIUM)		 Data is stored, accessed, and transferred
securely and in line with the requirements of
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations
2018).
Staff briefed to report potential issues to line
manager and/or Communications team.
Communications team provide reactionary
response. Communications team use media
(social and print) monitoring agency and You Gov
to monitor reputation, both instantaneously and
over time.
Fundraising vulnerable persons policy applies to
all fundraising activities, whether carried out by
internal or external persons. Public Interest
Disclosure Procedure in the staff handbook for
reporting. Mental health training to spot
safeguarding issues internally and externally.
Lone worker policies and procedures. Customers
and supporters can access our complaints
process to report concerns.
Animals brought into the charity are carefully
assessed and managed throughout their time
with Wood Green. A thorough matching process
ensures animals are only rehomed to suitable
families.
Business Interruption
The inability to retain or recruit staff of the right
calibre and/or maintain morale so as to impact
the performance of the organisation and its		 Policies and procedures are in place to ensure
pay equity. Investment has been made in hiring
systems and the recruitment team. Labour
turnover and insights into reasons for leaving to

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Principal Risks Risk Management
capacity to deliver its strategic priorities.
(MEDIUM)
Fail to successfully deliver one or more strategic
projects, as defined within the Charity's Project
Portfolio 2021/22. (MEDIUM)
Regional or national disease epidemic negatively
affects the accessibility and delivery of pet
services. (MEDIUM)		 spot trends and put actions in place. Investment
has started to create a positive organisational
culture through the development of our ways of
working. Introducing leadership training for
Directors and senior managers. Biennial
engagement surveys are in place for staff
feedback on morale.
IT Strategy Group has stewardship of a number
of key projects, with individual ownership from
within the group. Other governance mechanisms
will take stewardship of those strategic projects
sitting outside the IT Strategy Group.
Accountabilities and responsibilities are
understood, underpinned by effective
governance, including appropriate and consistent
project documentation, business cases and
approval mechanisms.
Business Continuity Plans and Incident
Management processes are well established and
have been fully tested. Many staff are able to
work from home as all systems are cloud-based
or accessible remotely; healthy animals can be
housed with fosterers (including staff working
from home); the majority of the animal rehoming
and relinquishment journey can be carried out
remotely. Incident plans recognise importance of
ability to isolate sections or areas.
Financial
Serious financial fraud is carried out against the
charity. (MEDIUM)		 Procurement procedures; dual payment
authorisation; rigorous bank detail change
controls; strong internet banking security; CPD on
cyber threats; segregation of duties; and regular
reconciliations. Cyber crime insurance is in place
that offers expert advice and financial
compensation in the case of loss.

People

Our colleagues are incredible: their compassion and commitment transform the lives of pets every day. We could not do what we do without the skills and dedication of the 289 staff (248.5 full-time equivalent) and the support of 760 people who chose to volunteer their time to help us achieve our vision - for every pet to have a home where they are loved, well-cared-for and enjoy positive relationships with their owners. In the last 12 months these brilliant people gave 38,749 hours to support our work and we had 144 active volunteer fosterers who looked after a total of 1,282 pets in their own homes.

Last year, we developed a People Strategy to create the structures and practices, cultivate the talent and strengthen the skills required to achieve our strategic aims. In 2020/21, we made several changes to improve how we support, develop and reward our colleagues.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Culture

We received some great feedback about our culture from the engagement survey we conducted in 2019/20, but we also recognised that we had some work to do to reach the next level. In 2020/21, we launched our Ways of Working! (WoW!), a new set of values and behaviours. These were created in collaboration with colleagues who worked to uncover our core beliefs rather than “design them”; thereby reflecting what we already say, do and believe, and what we want and need to protect. The supporting behaviours were developed with our management teams and apply to everyone that works for us.

Wellbeing

The wellbeing of our colleagues is hugely important. We work hard at Wood Green to promote a good work-life balance and positive mental and emotional wellbeing. We know that everyone needs a bit of extra help from time to time, and this has been particularly important during the Coronavirus crisis. During the pandemic, as well as providing virus-specific support and guidance, we reviewed our occupational health services, offered counselling with a registered psychotherapist and provided staff with an additional day’s leave for each of their two Covid vaccinations. We also supported furloughed staff with the creation of a curated e-learning curriculum to enable them to stay abreast of mandatory training and their personal development needs.

Mental health is a vital part of our support. Last year, we trained our 165 staff and managers in mental health awareness and managing mental health at work, and a further 409 mental health and wellbeing e-learning courses were completed by staff and volunteers.

Pay and reward

We developed a new pay policy in 2020/21. This will ensure that our salary structures meet our need to attract and retain professionals and skills from a variety of employment sectors. The policy has several core principles: these include a market-focused salary structure that is flexible enough to accommodate local pay and ensure decisions we make are fair and equitable. When setting the pay scales, we use a job evaluation system to ensure a fair and transparent process in determining job levels and pay grades. These are then benchmarked nationally against similar roles in other charities and relevant organisations, using a dedicated reward consultancy and subscription-based pay surveys. Market pay rates were assessed at the 50th percentile (median) and this formed the midpoint of the salary bands, with 10% either side to allow for pay progression. This is managed through an agreed performance review process and is subject to budget, market, inflation and pay differentials. In exceptional circumstances, other information may also be used to determine pay, in line with our strategic priorities, skills and market conditions, and our new policy allows for market factor supplements where there is a clear business need.

Senior management pay (for heads of function and directors) is based on spot salary rather than salary ranges and, as with other roles, we use an external reward consultancy and/or a subscription-based pay survey, market analysis and outcomes from the job evaluation process to set the pay rates for leadership positions.

The pay and benefits of our Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team are approved by the Remuneration Committee.

The basic salaries paid to all our employees are reviewed at the end of each financial year and we have committed to the external salary benchmarking of all roles on a biennial basis, to make

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sure we are remunerating competitively and consistently against relevant sectors, and our approach is consistent with our peers.

In 2020/21 we also completed our review of our total rewards, to ensure that we are suitably competitive in the labour market. As a consequence, we increased annual leave entitlement, based on service and grade, to a maximum of 38 days (inclusive of public holidays), we introduced pension contribution matching up to a maximum of 8% and increased occupational sick pay to a maximum, at 5 years’ service, of 12 weeks full pay and 12 weeks half pay.

As many of the changes to remuneration and benefits were contractual, we also took the opportunity to harmonise, simplify and reissue our standard terms and conditions of employment to all staff.

Our pay and reward policies are monitored by our Remuneration Committee.

Gender pay gap

As of April 2017, all organisations that employee 250 people or more must report on their gender pay gap. This is the difference in the average salaries earned by men and women in the Charity, it does not compare salaries earned by men and women in similar roles.

Our mean gender pay gap in 2020 was 18.9% (2019: 20.4%). This is significantly above the figure for organisations in the same sector (charities/not-for-profit: 6%) and slightly above the national mean gender pay gap of 14.4%.

Our median gender pay gap in 2020 was 6.7% (2019: 11.2%). This is significantly above organisations in the same sector (charities/not-for-profit: 2.2%) but considerably below the UK national average of 15.4%.

Our trajectory continues to go in the right direction and our aim is to continue to reduce the median gap to under 2.5% by 2025. Although we have fewer male colleagues at all levels of the organisation compared with the numbers of female staff, proportionally more of the men we employ are in higher-paid professional roles. As part of our retention and recruitment plans, our ambition is to recruit more men into frontline roles and more women into senior roles to reduce the gender pay gap as far as possible.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion underpin our ‘One Team’ core value. We comply with the Equality Act 2010, ensuring an inclusive working environment free of discrimination at all stages of the employment life cycle, and we continually review for bias within our policies and practices across the organisation. We have zero tolerance for behaviour, attitudes and language which may be deemed to be offensive, derogatory or discriminatory, ensuring it is not overlooked but challenged, with the aim of effecting change or redress.

Being a diverse and inclusive employer is so important and we are delighted that, with the implementation of our new HR Management System, we are now able to record, track and report the protected characteristics of our employees and candidates, specifically in relation to their age, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, faith, sexual identification and gender reassignment. This will enable us to gain insights that will inform our equality, diversity and inclusion plan to embed EDI in our culture. In the next 12 months, we will focus on meeting our statutory and regulatory duties, establishing an internal diversity network to give staff and volunteers a voice, identifying key areas of focus and developing action plans and activities to deal with these.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Fundraising and Our Supporters

In a year unlike any other, we are humbled at the incredible support our donors, volunteers and the wider public have given to Wood Green. With the severity of the Covid-19 crisis becoming clear right at the start of the year, it was obvious that all of our fundraising activities would be significantly impacted for some time to come, just as we knew demand for our services would increase and that many more pets would need our help in the coming months.

We have a broad fundraising programme, ranging from individuals fundraising in their local communities or at work, to national campaigns across television, face-to-face and postal appeals. Over the course of the year, over 40,000 individuals chose to make some form of financial gift to Wood Green - our highest level ever - to raise £9.7m, 10% lower than the £10.8m raised from donations and legacies in 2019/20.

Our legacy income was hit particularly hard this year and, at £4.6m, was £2.6m lower than in the previous year - the lowest annual total for some time. It is clear that this drop was particularly driven by known issues with legacy administration and compounded by the impact of Covid-19 on solicitors, conveyancers and related professionals. However, we expect these issues to resolve quickly and our known income pipeline supports new modelling that suggests legacy income will bounce back to more typical levels and continue to grow. As ever, our work simply would not be possible without the many people who choose to make such a considered donation as leaving Wood Green a gift in their will.

In-person fundraising events and activities have been particularly impacted by the pandemic, and we saw many of our loyal supporters having to cancel events and their own fundraising activities as well as those we had organised. We were particularly sad that the 25th anniversary of the Soggy Moggies reunion had to be cancelled. Alayne Rolt and friends at the Tiger MCC have raised more than £240,000 over the last 24 years, and we look forward to them returning to our Godmanchester Centre to celebrate the big anniversary this year.

While the launch of our volunteer fundraising groups programme had to be pushed back a year, we developed and tested an exciting new range of fundraising activities for the public, including our Big Break for Pets fundraising coffee morning, the Big Quiz featuring 500 questions and our Pets@Work campaign for people working from home with their four-legged and feathered friends. Despite the challenges, we hope these will provide alternative fundraising options for otherwise disappointed supporters.

Many companies continued or increased their support for the work we do. This included a wide range of activities by Pets at Home, a hugely significant contribution of pet food by Burgess Pet Care for our pets as well as by Spectrum Brands, who supported us with pet food donations for our outreach activities.

However, it is in individual giving where we saw our most encouraging results. Our supporters rallied round to support us at unprecedented levels with nearly all of our appeals, including an emergency appeal in the summer; breaking previous records and raising incredible sums to offset challenges in other areas, thereby ensuring our work continues to support pets and pet owners who need us.

Our work with fundraising agencies conducting face-to-face fundraising was halted for much of the year, but we still managed to resume activity at various points using extensive social distancing precautions. We are grateful for our supporters and for the many conversations this

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

allowed us to have with the public, despite the obvious challenges. As with our television fundraising, we managed to reach new audiences who were working from home and, together with our other activities, this contributed to growth in regular givers of more than 30%; bringing the number of people who support us in this way above 29,000.

Having already identified that developing a digital fundraising programme was a key priority, we redoubled our efforts in the face of the pandemic and the increasing use of digital channels by the public. Beginning in the summer of 2020, we made a significant investment to meet our ambition of giving everyone who wants to support us online the opportunity to do so. We tested a variety of new online activities in the run-up to Christmas, setting the scene for a major online campaign to run alongside the broadcast of the second season of The Dog House on Channel 4 in March 2021. We saw strong results, including more than 30,000 people opting in to hear more from Wood Green and our Facebook audience growing by 10% over the season’s transmission, a level of growth that would previously have taken over 16 months to achieve.

The Dog House remains a key opportunity for us to build our brand and reach new audiences by highlighting only a small slice of the work we do here at Wood Green, and the terrific efforts of our Pet Services staff and volunteers. The second season was produced in the late summer of 2020, once again with strict social distancing precautions for our staff, the producers of the show and the contributors who feature. The show garnered a weekly viewing audience of up to 1.5m people and Wood Green and the show secured incredible press coverage. We do much more than the rehoming of dogs, as our work includes many other species, and the process of rehoming is significantly more intensive and considered than what can be captured for a primetime show. However, The Dog House continues to offer a valuable insight into the work we do with pets most in need, ensuring they’re given a second chance of a loving home for life.

Our charity shops

Our charity shops bore the brunt of the pandemic’s financial impact on Wood Green and we lost more than seven trading months over the year through enforced closures, due to regional and national lockdowns. Government support, through the furlough scheme and small grants, was particularly welcome, as was the business rates holiday. As a result, by the end of the year we had made only a small loss from our retail estate, although still significantly under the £350,000 contribution we originally expected to make.

That the financial impact wasn’t greater is a testament to our incredible staff and volunteers who took every opportunity to reopen our shops, including keeping our doors open for donations when many of our peers weren’t able to. In November, we even managed to open a major new shop in Bury St Edmunds, which has become one of our flagship sites generating high levels of sales and donated goods for the Charity.

The expansion of our retail presence will continue and we believe the case for growth remains strong, particularly with some of the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on individual finances. Amazingly, we ended the financial year with more volunteers working in our shops than at the start of the year, and their time and support continues to provide a contribution equivalent to £1m-2m of payroll costs per year. We are ever indebted to the more than 500 volunteers who choose to give up their time, work in our shops, spread the word about our work and generally be part of our family – we couldn’t do any of it without them.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

How we raise money

Everything we do at Wood Green relies on voluntary donations in addition to the proceeds from our retail shops. In order to ensure we are there for every pet and pet owner who needs us, we invest in maintaining a broad and profitable fundraising programme. Our fundraising promise sets out the key principles about how we raise funds: We are committed to high standards

Through our use of specialist external agencies, including face-to-face fundraising agencies, we can secure support while reducing risk for the organisation and quickly scaling activity as required - something which has been invaluable during the pandemic. We only work with carefully chosen agencies and we monitor their activities and performance on an ongoing basis, to ensure they meet our high standards as well as sector regulations such as the Code of Fundraising Practice. Across all of our activities, we maintain careful safeguards for people in vulnerable circumstances; ensuring that appropriate steps are taken to protect them from inappropriate approaches, which includes stopping any communications or appeals.

In 2020/21 we received 98 complaints about our fundraising and retail activities, down from 129 the previous year. Public fundraising, such as the work of our door-to-door fundraisers, continues to generate the majority of our complaints and is hence the focus of our efforts to ensure a respectful and high-quality service. Every complaint is an opportunity for us to learn, reflect and adapt our policies and procedures, and we remain committed to ensuring every complaint is considered and responded to carefully. In this particularly hard year, we are grateful for the many compliments and expressions of support that our teams also received – it was clear that, now more than ever, people understood why we need to raise money – so we can be there for the many pets that are in our care, with our fosterers and in homes across the country.

Our Council of Trustees and Senior Leadership Team regularly review our income generation activities and we continue to be proud members of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and the Fundraising Regulator. Our fundraising is at its best and most sustainable when it is respectful, considered and, above all, when it recognises that charitable support is a personal matter and every gift is an act of kindness and generosity.

This is the end of the Strategic Report.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

GOVERNANCE

Legal structure

Wood Green Animal Shelters is a charitable company limited by guarantee. The Articles of Association set out the Charity’s objects and powers and is its Governing Document. The Charity is governed by its Council of Management which consists of the Trustees as stated below and meets regularly throughout the year. As elected members the Trustees are subject to fixed terms of office. Decisions are taken by majority vote.

The Charity has a 100% interest in its trading subsidiary, Wood Green Enterprises Limited, which runs non-charitable trading operations such as new goods retail sales and wind turbine electricity generation. Profits of the subsidiary are gifted to the Charity in accordance with a deed of covenant.

As at 31 March 2021, the Council had the following committees which met during the year to advise on specific aspects of Wood Green operations:

Pet Services – which reviews animal welfare and education policies and projects and supports their implementation.

Finance and Risk – which oversees all financial aspects of the Charity including reviewing budgets, performance against budget, risk management, trustee report and accounts as well as setting and reviewing investment policy and performance.

Remuneration – which oversees the remuneration policy of the Charity and recommends major changes to employee remuneration and benefits to Council.

Appointment and induction of Trustees

Trustee recruitment and appointment takes place through a Trustee Search Committee that meets as required. This committee identifies the skills and experience likely to be of value to the Charity and finds people with such skills who may wish to become Trustees or serve as a Director of the Charity’s trading subsidiary. An induction programme is offered to all new Trustees and further updates and training are provided as required. This includes visits to Wood Green operations, meetings with the Chief Executive, members of the Senior Leadership Team and other senior managers as appropriate.

Governance Code

Despite the limitations of lockdown, Wood Green continued to develop all of the principles of the Governance Code with its Trustees and senior management. Given the circumstances, the most pressing requirement was the continued engagement of Trustees with staff and volunteers. This was not only maintained but developed further with Trustees adopting the use of an organisation digital communications platform (Workplace by Facebook).

Lockdown also provided the opportunity for Trustees to reflect on their own performance against the principles through a self-audit tool. The results being reported at a Trustee awayday planned for early 2021/22. In conjunction with this, the Charity has reviewed its Safeguarding policy, and alongside an enriched Health and Safety insight, Trustees will be assessing arising risks in its bi-monthly Operational Report and during Council meetings.

Public Benefit

Charity Trustees have a duty to ensure that the Charity’s work meets public benefit requirements and to report on this in their Annual Report. The many activities undertaken by

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Wood Green are summarised in this report and Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit in their decision making.

We believe that our work provides considerable public benefit by:

Our work in supporting pets in need through care and re-homing and the education of the public as to responsible ownership and care of pets provides a benefit to society as a whole and support to people who are particularly concerned for pet welfare as well as improving the lives of the animals we rescue.

Policies and decision making

The Council, assisted by the Chief Executive and the Senior Leadership Team, is responsible for formulating the strategy and policies of the Charity as a whole, including the approval of budgets and exercising financial control through regular financial reporting. The Council acts on advice and information from regular meetings with its professional advisors as required. The Council retains a number of professional advisors in conjunction with the operation of the Charity. The advisors currently appointed are listed in this report.

The Council continually monitors the Charity’s performance throughout the year including measurement against key performance indicators.

Reference and Administrative Details

Company details

Wood Green Animal Shelters is a company limited by guarantee, registered company no. 02073930, registered Charity no. 298348.

The registered office is at:

King’s Bush Farm, London Road, Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, PE29 2NH.

President

Vacant

Vice Presidents

Dennis Baker OBE (until 19 August 2021) Peter Burton OBE Dr Peter Jackson MA BVM&S DVM&S FRCVS Myriam Warburton Celia Waldron

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Council of Management (Trustees) P F R Dr Steven Carden Chair[Re-appointed 1 July 2021 ] Colin Alder Re-appointed 1 July 2021 Angela Au MA (Cantab)[Re-appointed 1 July 2021 ] FCA Duncan Canney BSc Civ Eng FCA Re-appointed 1 July 2021 John Cousins BSc Treasurer[Re-appointed 1 July 2021 ] Pamela Gee Re-appointed 1 July 2021 Dr Jo Lawton BSc MSc PhD Resigned 5 August 2020 Janet South BA FIoF[Re-appointed 1 July 2021 ] Jonathan Younger BA DipISP DipIDM Re-appointed 1 July 2021 Lynn Povey LLB (hons) Re-appointed 18 September 2021 Sarah Jaggers BSc (hons), MBA, MSc[Appointed 7 November 2020 ]

Executive

Council delegates policy implementation to the Chief Executive who manages Wood Green through the Senior Leadership Team based in Godmanchester:

Clive Byles Chief Executive Ian Briggs Director of Corporate Services/Deputy Chief Executive Linda Cantle Director of Pet and Owner Support Services Vanessa Cunningham Director of Care and Veterinary Services Justin Morris Director of Marketing and Digital Engagement Rohan Putter Director of Income and Innovation

Principal professional advisors

External Auditors Crowe U.K. LLP 55 Ludgate Hill London, EC4M 7JW Investment Managers Charles Stanley 55 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 3AS Investment Advisers JT Financial Management Spaces Station View, Austen House, Guildford, GU1 4AR

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Bankers NatWest 92 High Street, Huntingdon, PE29 3DT Solicitors Hewitsons Shakespeare House, 42 Newmarket Rd, Cambridge CB5 8EP

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

Trustee responsibility statement

The Trustees (who are also directors of Wood Green Animal Shelters for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) including FRS102.

Company and Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate and proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as each of the Trustees are aware there is no relevant audit information of which the Charity’s auditor is unaware. Each of the Trustees has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Charity’s auditor is aware of that information.

Auditors

Crowe U.K. LLP were appointed by the Trustees as the Charity’s auditors on 7 December 2017.

The Trustees’ Report and Strategic Report were approved by the Trustees in their capacity as Directors of the company on 18 September 2021 and are signed on their behalf by

Dr Steven Carden, Chairman

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Independent auditors’ report to the members of Wood Green Animal Shelters

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Wood Green Animal Shelters (‘the charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (‘the group’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account), the Group and Charity Balance Sheets, the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including 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:

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 group 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

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

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's or the group’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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

Other information

The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. 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.

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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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 31, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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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.

Details of the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations are set out below.

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.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charitable company and group operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act and taxation legislation together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charitable company’s and the group’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company and the group for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context for the UK operations were employment legislation, health and safety legislation, animal welfare regulations, fundraising regulations and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within the timing of recognition of legacy and other income and the override of controls by management, in particular the appropriateness of journal entries. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management and the Finance & Risk Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission, sample testing of legacy and other income and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

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Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

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 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 and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Tim Redwood Senior Statutory Auditor For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor

London

30 September 2021

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Note
Income
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
3
Other trading activities
4
Investment income
5
Other income
6
Total income
Expenditure
Raising funds:
Donations and legacies
Other trading activities
Investment management fees
Charitable activities:
Animal rehoming and care
services
Education and awareness
Other expenditure
Total expenditure
7
Net gain/(loss) on investments
12
Net gain on investment
properties
Net Income / (expenditure)
Transfers
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds at 1 April
16
TOTAL FUNDS AT 31 MARCH
16		 Unrestricted
funds
£’000
9,577
161
2,586
399
-
12,723
(6,068)
(2,308)
(80)
(4,763)
(1,861)
-
(15,080)
2,452
103
198
(4)
194
23,136
23,330		 Restricted
funds
£’000
123
-
-
-
-
123
-
-
-
(322)
(24)
-
(346)
-
-
(223)
4
(219)
1,069
850		 2021
Total funds
£’000
9,700
161
2,586
399
-		 2020
Total funds
£’000
10,794
301
2,768
629
531
12,846 15,023
(6,068)
(2,308)
(80)
(5,085)
(1,885)
-		 (5,519)
(2,721)
(90)
(5,122)
(2,321)
-
(15,426) (15,773)
2,452
103		 (383)
-
(25)
-		 (1,133)
-
(25)
24,205		 (1,133)
25,338
24,180 24,205

All activities relate to continuing operations. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above.

The notes on pages 39 to 60 form part of these financial statements.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2021 COMPANY REGISTERED NUMBER: 02073930

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
10
Investment Property
11
Investments
12
Total fixed assets
Current assets
Stocks
13
Debtors
14
Cash at bank and in hand
Total current assets
Creditors: amounts due
within one year
15
Net current assets
Total assets less current
liabilities
Provisions
15
NET ASSETS
The funds of the charity
Restricted funds
16
Designated funds
16
Revaluation reserve
16
General funds
16
NET ASSETS		 Group
2021
£’000
5,473
563
13,214
19,250
48
1,265
4,658
5,971
(888)
5,083		 Group
2020
£’000
5,732
460
16,387
22,579
26
1,208
1,164
2,398
(617)
1,781		 Charity
2021
£’000
5,473
563
13,219
19,255
48
1,564
4,340
5,952
(879)
5,073		 Charity
2020
£’000
5,728
460
16,392
22,580
26
1,299
1,050
2,375
(608)
1,767
24,333
(153)
24,180
850
6,553
4,020
12,757
24,180		 24,352
(155)
24,205
1,069
7,283
1,465
14,388
24,205		 24,328
(153)
24,175
850
6,553
4,020
12,752
24,175		 24,339
(155)
24,192
1,069
7,283
1,465
14,375
24,192

The deficit as per the Statement of Financial Activities for the parent charity only is £21,813 (2020: £1,410,954 deficit).

The financial statements were approved by the Council of Management on 18 September 2021 and were signed on its behalf by:

Dr Steven Carden, Chairman Mr J M Cousins, Treasurer

The notes on pages 39 to 60 form part of these financial statements.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Note
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash used in operating activities
18
Cash flows from investing activities
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment
Proceeds from sale of investments
Movement in investment cash
Purchase of investments
Net cash provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting
period
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the
reporting period
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT THE END OF
THE REPORTING PERIOD		 2021
£’000
(2,146)
399
(387)
3
6,238
1,298
(1,911)
5,640
3,494
1,164
4,658		 2020
£’000
(1,323)
629
(253)
5
5,116
(1,265)
(2,370)
1,862
539
625
_1,164 _

The notes on pages 39 to 60 form part of these financial statements.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

1. Accounting Policies

1.1 Basis of preparation and consolidation

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 2015) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

1.2 Group financial statements and consolidation

The Charity 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 statement of financial activities (SOFA) and balance sheet consolidate the financial statements of the Charity and its subsidiary undertaking, Wood Green Enterprises Limited. The results of the subsidiary are consolidated on a line-by-line basis. No separate SOFA or cashflow statement has been presented for the parent charity alone as permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. All entities prepared financial statements to 31[st] March 2021.

1.3 Going concern

The charity’s activities, together with factors likely to affect its future development, performance and financial position and commentary on its financial results and its cashflows, are set out in the Trustees’ report on pages 5 to 26 and elsewhere in the financial statements. The Trustees have concluded that no matters have come to their attention that would prevent the charity from being able to maintain its current charitable activities and trade with customers and suppliers and they therefore consider that it is appropriate for the financial statements to be prepared on the going concern basis.

1.4 Legal status of the charity

Wood Green Animal Shelters is a company limited by guarantee (registered number 02073930), which is a public benefit entity and registered as a charity in England and Wales (charity number 298348) and domiciled in the UK. The members of the company are the Trustees named on page 29. In the event of the Charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the Charity. The registered office is King’s Bush Farm, London Road, Godmanchester, Huntingdon, PE29 2NH.

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1.5 Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund.

1.6 Income

Income is recognised when: i) the charity has entitlement to the funds; ii) any performance conditions attached to the items of income have been met; iii) it is probable that the income will be received; and iv) the amount can be measured reliably.

Donations

Donations are accounted for as received. In the event that a donation is subject to fulfilling performance conditions before the charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred until either those conditions are met in full, or their fulfilment is wholly within the control of the charity and it is probable that those conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period. Income from Gift Aid tax reclaims is recognised for any donations with relevant Gift Aid certificates recognised in income for the year. Any amounts of Gift Aid not received by the year end are accounted for in income and accrued income in debtors.

Donated goods

Donated Goods 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 is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102) volunteer time is not recognised; refer to the Trustees’ report for more information about their contribution. On receipt, donated goods 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 recognised in expenditure when the service is utilised or the gift distributed.

Legacies

Wood Green recognises residuary legacy income at the earlier date of receipt of when the executors have determined that a payment can be made following the agreement of the estate’s accounts, or on notification by the executors that payment will be made. Pecuniary legacy income is recognised on receipt unless it is considered material (greater than 1% of total Wood Green income) and there is non-contentious evidence of entitlement, value and probability of receipt, whereupon it is recognised in the same way

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as residuary legacy income. Life interest legacy income is recognised at the date of death of the life interest provided the receipt and value criteria are met.

Trading activities

Income from trading activities includes income earned from activities to raise funds for the charity. Income is received in exchange for supplying goods and services in order to raise funds and is recognised when entitlement has occurred. Income received in advance for a future event is deferred until the criteria for income recognition has been met.

Government Grants

Government grants are recognised on the performance model, when the Charity has complied with any conditions attaching to the grant and the grant will be received. The grant in connection to the coronavirus job retention scheme has been recognised in the period to which the underlying furloughed staff costs relate to.

Interest and dividends

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. Dividends are recognised on ex-dividend dates when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the distribution. Income accrued and not received on these securities at 31 March is included in the market value of the investments held.

1.7 Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

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. Input VAT incurred which cannot be reclaimed is included as a cost.

Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

Costs of raising funds includes fees and charges for the management of the investment portfolio, fundraising costs and costs associated with trading activities.

1.8 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Fixed assets are included at depreciated historical cost. Individual fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are capitalised at cost.

Depreciation on tangible fixed assets is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets, less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives on the following basis:

i) Freehold property – 2.5 to 4% per annum on a straight line basis; ii) Motor vehicles - 25% per annum on a straight line basis; iii) Wind turbine – 5% per annum on a straight line basis;

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Assets are reviewed for any indications of impairment at each balance sheet date. Assets under the course of construction are capitalised on practical completion.

1.9 Investments

Investments in subsidiaries are measured at cost less provision for impairment, if applicable.

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the mid-market quoted price (the difference between mid-market and bid price is deemed not to be material). The statement of financial activities includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluation and disposals throughout the year.

The Charity does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

The main form of financial risk faced by the charity is that of volatility in equity markets and investment markets due to wider economic conditions, the attitude of investors to investment risk, and changes in sentiment concerning equities and within particular sectors or sub sectors.

1.10 Investment properties

In accordance with FRS 102 investment properties are revalued. Revaluations are undertaken periodically based on open market values. These are revised in subsequent years by reference to published indices or comparative evidence and assessment of the circumstances of each property.

1.11 Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value, being the estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost is based on the cost of purchase on a first in, first out basis.

At each balance sheet date, stocks are assessed for impairment. If stock is impaired, the carrying amount is reduced to its selling price less costs to complete and sell. The impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss.

1.12 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. Accrued income and tax recoverable is included at the amounts receivable at the balance sheet date.

1.13 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.

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1.14 Creditors

Creditors and provisions are recognised where: i) the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party; and ii) the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

1.15 Financial instruments

The Charity has financial assets and financial liabilities only of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. The treatment of these instruments is described in the accounting policies above.

1.16 Pensions

The Charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the Charity to the fund in respect of the year.

1.17 Operating leases

The Charity classifies its leases of equipment as operating leases: the title to the equipment remains with the lessor, and the lease term is typically five years whilst the economic life of such equipment is in excess of this. The Charity also leases a number of premises from which it operates charity thrift stores; these are also considered operating leases with a term of three to five years. Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

1.18 Taxation

The Charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the Charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes. Wood Green Enterprises Limited makes qualifying donations of all taxable profits to the charity at the discretion of the directors. No corporation tax liability arises in the accounts.

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1.19 Accounting estimates and judgements

Preparation of the accounts requires the Trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates.

The items in the accounts where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

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2. Donations and legacies

Donations
Legacies		 Unrestricted Restricted
2021
2021
£’000
£’000
5,139
15
4,438
108		 Total funds
2021

£’000
5,154
4,546		 Unrestricted Restricted
Total funds
2020
2020
2020
£’000
£’000
£’000
3,444
172
3,616
7,137
41
7,178
9,577
123		 9,700 10,581
213
_10,794 _

In addition to the legacy income recognised in the SOFA the charity has been notified of 84 residuary legacies (2020: 78) with a total estimated value of £4,931,000 (2020: £3,703,000). These legacies do not satisfy the criteria to recognise the income during the year. They are therefore disclosed as a contingent asset.

3. Income from charitable activities

Income from animal placements
Clinic and other services		 2021
£’000
156
5
**161 **		 2020
£’000
266
35
_301 _

All income from charitable activities received in 2021 and 2020 are unrestricted funds.

4. Income from other trading activities

Charity shops
Retail government support grants
CJRS Claim
Other commercial trading
Fundraising events, raffles, and other income		 2021
£’000
741
612
597
594
42
2,586		 2020
£’000
1,703
-
-
768
297
2,768

All trading income received in 2021 and 2020 are unrestricted funds.

5. Investment income

Investment properties
Listed investments
Interest received		 2021
£’000
24
375
-
399		 2020
£’000
24
604
1
629

All investment income received in 2021 and 2020 are unrestricted funds.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters Trustee Report and Accounts 2020-2021

6. Other income

Profit on disposal of fixed assets
Settlement of HPN Insurance Claim
All other income received in 2020 were unrestricted funds.		 2021
£’000
-
-
-		 2020
£’000
1
530
_531 _

Page 46

7. Expenditure by charitable activity

RAISING FUNDS
CURRENT YEAR
Donations and
legacies
£’000
Other trading
activities
£’000
Direct Costs
5,689
1,850
Allocated support costs
Management
77
93
Finance
36
43
IT & communication
40
48
HR
72
87
Volunteer management
1
2
Facilities & office costs
150
182
Governance
3
3
Investment
management
fees
£’000
80
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
80
90
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
90		 CHARITABLE ACTIVITES
Animal
Rehoming &
Care Services
£’000
Education,
awareness and
publicity
£’000
3,725
1,502
277
78
128
36
143
40
258
73
5
1
539
152
10
3
5,085
1,885
3,462
1,892
399
103
164
42
121
31
289
75
5
1
672
174
10
3
5,122
2,321		 Total
expenditure
£’000
12,846
525
243
271
490
9
1,023
19
Total cost
6,068
2,308		 15,426
PRIOR YEAR
Direct Costs
5,133
2,146
Allocated support costs
Management
93
138
Finance
38
56
IT & communication
28
42
HR
67
100
Volunteer management
1
2
Facilities & office costs
157
233
Governance
2
4		 12,723
733
300
222
531
9
1,236
19
Total cost
5,519
2,721		 15,773

Direct expenditure on Charitable activities includes £5,160,000 (2020: £5,142,000) spent from unrestricted funds and £67,000 (2020: £212,000) spent from restricted funds. All expenditure on Support costs and Raising Funds is from unrestricted funds in 2021 and 2020. Support costs cannot be attributed to a single activity and have therefore been apportioned between the activities supported on the basis of full-time equivalent staff numbers.

.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

8. Net income

This is stated after charging:

Group Group Charity Charity
2021 2020 2021 2020
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Depreciation of tangible fixed
assets		 641 669 638 665
Auditors remuneration for:
Audit services 19 19 17 16
Other services 3 3 2 2
Operating lease payments 725 380 725 380

9. Staff costs and key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
Redundancy and termination costs
Apprenticeship levy
Total staff costs		 2021
£’000
6,615
575
314
55
18
7,577		 2020
£’000
6,711
567
311
18
10
7,617

The average number of employees (full-time equivalent) during the year was as follows:

2021
No.
Direct charitable activities
141
Raising funds
67
Support and administration
39
Total staff
247
he average number of employees (headcount) during the year was as follows:
2021
No.
Direct charitable activities
172
Raising funds
75
Support and administration
43
Total staff
290		 2020
No.
143
66
48
_257 _
2020
No.
177
75
53
305

The average number of employees (headcount) during the year was as follows:

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

The number of higher paid employees was:

2021 2020
No. No.
In the band £60,001 to £70,000 2 2
In the band £70,001 to £80,000 2 2
In the band £80,001 to £90,000 1 1
In the band £90,001 to £100,000 1 1

During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration (2020: £Nil). No reimbursement of travel expenses were made or are due to be made to any trustee (2020: Nil) in respect of the year (2020: £Nil).

The Charity considers its key management personnel to be the Chief Executive and the Senior Leadership Team. During the year, the total employment benefits of key management personnel was £546,000 (2020: £543,000).

During the year the Charity paid a total of £55,000 (2020: £20,810) in redundancy and termination payments in respect of 18 employees (2020: 12 employees). The termination payments were all in cash and are a combination of compulsory and voluntary redundancy payments plus payments under settlement agreements. This is an increase on the prior year due to the closure of the Heydon site.

Employer pension costs for higher paid employees totalled £31,000 (2020: £31,000).

During the year, insurance was purchased to indemnify the Council of Management against default on their part. The cost of insurance amounted to £4,500 (2020: £3,560).

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

10. Tangible fixed assets

GROUP
Cost
At 1 April 2020
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2021
Depreciation
At 1 April 2020
Disposals
Depreciation
At 31 March 2021
Net book value
At 1 April 2020
AT 31 MARCH 2021
Charity
Cost
At 1 April 2020
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2021
Depreciation
At 1 April 2020
Disposals
Depreciation
At 31 March 2021
Net book value
At 1 April 2020
AT 31 MARCH 2021		 Land &
Buildings
£’000
11,153
-
(45)
11,108
7,025
(41)
326
7,310
4,128
3,798
Land &
Buildings
£’000
11,153
-
(45)
11,108
7,025
(41)
326
7,310
4,128
3,798		 Fixtures,
Fittings &
Equipment
£’000
4,150
155
(128)
4,177
2,632
(128)
289
2,793
1,518
1,384
Fixtures,
Fittings &
Equipment
£’000
4,024
155
(2)
4,177
2,510
(2)
285
2,793
1,514
1,384		 Motor
Vehicles
£’000
191
6
-
197
135
-
27
162
56
35
Motor
Vehicles
£’000
191
6
-
197
135
-
27
162
56
35		 Work in
progress
£’000
30
226
-
256
-
-
-
-
30
256
Work in
progress
£’000
30
226
-
256
-
-
-
-
30
256		 Total
£’000
15,524
387
(173)
15,738
9,792
(169)
642
10,265
5,732
5,473
Total
£’000
15,398
387
(47)
15,738
9,670
(43)
638
10,265
5,728
5,473

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

11. Investment Property

nvestment Property
GROUP & CHARITY
Valuation
At 1 April 2020
At 31 March 2021
Comprising
Historic cost
Revaluation
At 31 March 2021		 Freehold
investment
property
£’000
250
250

62
188
250		 Long-term
leasehold
investment
property
£’000
210
313

158
155
313		 Total
£’000
460
563
220
343
563

The properties were last formally revalued, at open market value, by the Council as at 31[st] March 2018. The Council has considered the valuation of the leasehold investment property as at 31 March 2021 considering the prices of sold properties in the area and has recognised a gain of £103,000. In respect of the freehold investment property, the Council believes that the 2021 open market valuation is not materially different from the value included in the financial statements.

12. Fixed asset investments

Market Value
At 1 April
Additions
Disposals
Net gain/(loss)
At 31 March
Investment cash
Total investments		 GROUP
2021
Total
£’000
14,854
1,911
(6,238)
2,452
12,979
235
13,214		 GROUP
2020
Total
£’000
17,983
2,370
(5,116)
(381)
14,854
1,533
16,387		 CHARITY
2021
Total
£’000
14,859
1,911
(6,238)
2,452
12,984
235
13,219		 CHARITY
2020
Total
£’000
17,988
2,370
(5,116)
(383)
14,859
1,533
16,392

The charity holds a portfolio of listed investments, re-valued to the market value at the balance sheet date. The gain or loss on this revaluation is realised once the investment is sold. The historical cost of listed investments held by the Group is £9,763,000.

The charity owns 100% of the £1 ordinary share capital of Wood Green Enterprises Limited, incorporated in England and Wales. Shares in group undertaking is £5,000. The results of

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

the company have been consolidated into these financial statements. See Note 21 for a summary of the results of Wood Green Enterprises Limited.

Listed securities held at 31 March 2021 comprised the following asset classes:

UK Fixed Income
UK Equity
Non-UK Fixed Income
Non-UK Equity
Other investments
Total investments		 Value
2021
£’000
2,314
2,917
635
6,544
569
12,979		 Percentage
2021
%
18
22
5
51
4
100		 Value
2020
£’000
6,736
2,288
755
4,697
378
14,854		 Percentage
2020
%
45
15
5
32
3
100

13. Stock

Goods for resale
Surgery Stock
Donated animal feed		 Group
2021
£’000
23
25
-
48		 Group
2020
£’000
24
-
2
26		 Charity
2021
£’000
23
25
-
48		 Charity
2020
£’000
24
-
2
26

14. Debtors: falling due within one year

Trade debtors
Amounts owed by group
undertakings
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued
income
VAT repayable
Legacies receivable		 Group
2021
£’000

30
-
1
885
258
91
1,265
Group
2020
£’000

30
-
2
673
277
226
1,208		 Charity
2021
£’000

29
456
1
721
266
91
1,564		 Charity
2020
£’000
15
291
2
490
275
226
1,299

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

15. Creditors

Falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Amounts owed to group
undertakings
Accruals and deferred income
Falling due after more than one
year
Provisions
Provisions reconciliation
As at 1stApril 2019
Additions
Released to income
As at 1st April 2020
Additions
Released to income
As at 31st March 2021		 Falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Amounts owed to group
undertakings
Accruals and deferred income
Falling due after more than one
year
Provisions
Provisions reconciliation
As at 1stApril 2019
Additions
Released to income
As at 1st April 2020
Additions
Released to income
As at 31st March 2021		 Group
2021
£’000
688
1
-
199
888
153
Group
£’000
127
28
-
155
7
(9)
153		 Group
2020
£’000

418
4
-
195
617


155

Charity
£’000
127
28
-
155
7
(9)
153		 Charity
2021
£’000
686
1
(5)
197
879
153		 Charity
2020
£’000
415
4
-
189
608
155

The provisions relate to dilapidations across 19 charity shops.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

16. Statement of funds

CURRENT YEAR
Restricted funds
Ms Snowden
P Larratt
Heydon
Surgical Equipment
Other
Total restricted funds
Designated funds
Strategic Projects
Infrastructure Reserve
Tangible fixed asset
fund
Total designated funds
General funds
Revaluation reserve
Free reserves
Total general funds
TOTAL FUNDS
PRIOR YEAR
Restricted funds
Designated funds
Strategic Projects
Infrastructure Reserve
Tangible fixed asset
fund
Total designated funds
General funds
Revaluation reserve
Free reserves
Total general funds
TOTAL FUNDS		 Brought
forward
Income Expenditure Transfers
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
854
-
(106)
-
142
-
(67)
-
1
108
(109)
-
71
11
(64)
-
1
4
-
4		 Gains/
losses
£’000
-
-
-
-
-
Carried
Forward

£’000

748

75

-

18

9
1,069
123
(346)
4		 - 850
551
-
(320)
(151)
1,000
-
-
-
5,732
-
(642)
383
-
-
-
80

1,000

5,473
7,283
-
(962)
232		 - 6,553
1,465
-
-
-
14,388
12,723
(14,118)
(236)		 2,555
-
4,020

12,757
15,853
12,723
(14,118)
(236)		 2,555 16,777
24,205
12,846
(15,426)
-		 2,555 24,180
Brought
forward
Income Expenditure
Transfers
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000		 Gains/
losses
£’000
Carried
Forward

£’000
1,074
213
(212)
(6)		 -
1,069
1,000
-
(449)
-
5,000
-
-
(4,000)
6,152
-
(669)
249		 -

-
-
551

1,000

5,732
12,152
-
(1,118)
(3,751)		 -
7,283
1,848
-
-
-
10,264
14,810
(14,443)
3,757		 (383)
-
1,465

14,388
12,112
14,810
(14,443)
3,757		 (383) 15,853
25,338
15,023
(15,773)
-		 (383) 24,205

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

Included within General funds carried forward is £9,361 (2020: £12,884) which relates to Wood Green Enterprises Limited, a subsidiary of the Charity.

16.1 Restricted funds

The Ms Snowden fund is a restricted legacy providing funding for the new cattery.

The P Larratt fund is a restricted in memory donation primarily providing funding for a cats training and behaviour manager and a community outreach advisor.

The Surgical Equipment restricted income was generated from the Spring 2020 appeal and the balance will be spent in the next financial year.

The Other restricted funds are restricted funds that individually are immaterial.

16.2 Designated funds

Tangible Fixed Asset Fund

This represents the net book value of the land, buildings, motor vehicles and equipment owned and used by the Charity to run its Centres and administer the organisation.

Other designated funds are subject to an annual review to reflect changes in the Charity’s plans. The Trustees have approved the creation of two designated funds as described below.

Strategic Projects

The Charity is part way through a strategic change programme and will incur further one-off development costs. The balance of £80,000 on this reserve will be spent in the next financial year.

Infrastructure Reserve

This fund will be used to fund part of the costs of the new cattery along with the legacy from Ms Snowden and a fundraising campaign. The cattery is due for completion in November 2021. The infrastructure reserve will be reviewed annually.

16.3 Revaluation reserve

The revaluation reserve represents the revaluation of the investment properties and investments held by the charity. Included within the revaluation reserve carried forward is £250,000 (2020 - £240,000) which relates to the revaluation of investment properties and £2,615,000 (2020 - £1,225,000) which relates to the unrealised gain on listed investments.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

17. Analysis of net assets between funds

Tangible assets
Investments
Net current assets
Provisions		 Unrestricted Restricted
2021
2021
£’000
£’000
5,473
-
13,029
748
4,981
102
(153)
-		 Total
funds
2021

£’000
5,473
13,777
5,083
(153)
Unrestricted Restricted
Total
funds
2020
2020
2020
£’000
£’000
£’000
5,732
-
5,732
15,993
854
16,847
1,566
215
1,781
(155)
-
(155)
23,330
850		 24,180 23,136
1,069
24,205

18. Net cash flow from operating activities

Net expenditure for the reporting period
(as per the Statement of Financial Activities)
Adjustments for
Depreciation charges
(Gains)/losses on investments
Gains on investment properties
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Loss/(profit) on sale of fixed assets
Increase in stocks
Increase in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors/provisions
Net cash used in operating activities		 2021
£’000
(25)
642
(2,452)
(103)
(399)
1
(23)
(57)
270
(2,146)		 2020
£’000
(1,133)
669
383
-
(629)
(1)
(15)
(161)
(436)
(1,323)

19. Pension commitments

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an administered fund. The pension charge represents contributions payable by the charity to the fund.

Contributions outstanding at 31 March 2021 were £Nil (2020: £3,300), none of which were overdue. Total employer contributions paid in the year were £314,000 (2020: £311,000).

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

20. Operating lease commitments

As at 31 March 2021 the group had total commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

Land & Land &
Buildings Other Buildings Other
2021 2021 2020 2020
GROUP £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Not later than one year 361 41 343 37
Later than one year and not
later than five years		 800 16 865 43
Later than five years 4 - - -
CHARITY
Not later than one year 361 41 343 37
Later than one year and not
later than five years		 800 16 865 43
Later than five years 4 - - -

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

21. Principal subsidiaries

Company name Percentage shareholding Wood Green Enterprises Limited (Company no. 03161812) 100

The Charity owns 5,000 £1 ordinary shares in Wood Green Enterprises Limited, King’s Bush Farm, London Road, Godmanchester, Huntingdon, PE29 2NH, which is incorporated in England and Wales. The subsidiary operated a coffee shop, conference facility and restaurant at King’s Bush Farm, Godmanchester, but these activities were discontinued permanently in March 2020. It continues to receive commission on pet insurance and trades in surplus electricity produced at the Godmanchester site. This is the Charity’s only subsidiary.

Wood Green Enterprises Limited gifts its taxable profits to Wood Green Animal Shelters at the discretion of the Directors. A summary of the company's trading results is shown below. Audited accounts have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.

Profit and loss account
Turnover
Cost of Sales
Gross Profit
Trading and administrative expenses
Other interest receivable and similar income
Profit for the year
Balance sheet
Fixed assets
Current assets
Liabilities
Net assets
Share capital
Profit and loss account
Profit for the year
Distributions (Gift Aid donation)
Net assets		 2021
£’000
608
(1)
607
(159)
-
448

-
484
(470)
14

5
13
448
(452)
14		 2020
£’000
803
(89)
714
(437)
1
278
4
314
(300)
18
5
16
278
(281)
18

Included within the group unrestricted reserves carried forward are £14,361 (2020: £17,884) which relate to Wood Green Enterprises Limited.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

The transactions between the Charity and the trading subsidiary are summarised below:

Nature of supply Amount for financial year
£’000
The Charity as supplier
Payroll 25
Rent for premises 63
Management recharge 18
Security Services 4
Fuel 2
Printing services 1

The Charity also submits a group VAT return on behalf of both entities, which included £104,000 in net input tax on behalf of the Subsidiary. This includes back-dated receipts for VAT overpaid on FiT energy payments.

The Subsidiary made payments in the year totalling £685,000 to reduce the intercompany balances.

No loans are advanced by the charity to its subsidiary.

22. Related party transactions

Details of Trustee expenses can be seen in Note 9. Details of transactions with the Trading Subsidiary can be seen in Note 21.

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Wood Green Animal Shelters annual report 2020-2021

23. Statement of Financial Activities – prior year comparatives
Income
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Other trading activities
Investment income
Other Income
Total income
Expenditure
Raising funds:
Donations and legacies
Other trading activities
Investment management fees
Charitable activities:
Education and awareness
Animal rehoming and care services
Other costs
Total expenditure
Net loss on investments
Net Expenditure
Transfers
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds at 1 April 2019
TOTAL FUNDS AT 31 MARCH 2020		 Unrestricted
funds
£’000
10,581
301
2,768
629
531
14,810
(5,519)
(2,721)
(90)
(4,938)
(2,293)
-
(15,561)
(383)
(1,134)
6
(1,128)
24,264
23,136		 Restricted
funds
£’000
213
-
-
-
-
213
-
-
-
(184)
(28)
-
(212)
-
1
(6)
(5)
1,074
1,069		 Total funds
£’000
10,794
301
2,768
629
531
15,023


(5,519)
(2,721)
(90)
(5,122)
(2,321)
(11)
(15,773)

(383)
(1,133)
-
(1,133)

25,338
24,205

Page 60