2024-03-31-accounts

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GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2023/24

Charity registration number – 514727 Company registration number – 01764848 Registered office: 74-80 Hallgate Wigan WN1 1HP

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

1 ABOUT GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Who we are?

We are Groundwork Cheshire Lancashire & Merseyside - a member of a federation of Groundwork charities mobilising practical community action on poverty and the environment across the UK.

Our mission

Groundwork supports practical action to create a fair and green future in which people, places and nature thrive.

We believe that working with local communities and businesses to help them build their capacity and resilience is vital if we are to tackle hardship, achieve a just transition to net-zero and help nature recover in a way that reduces inequality and leads to better work and healthier, happier lives.

What this means in practice is: helping people get jobs and supporting the growth of the green economy; reducing the waste of energy, food and water; creating and maintaining biodiverse, accessible green spaces; supporting businesses to be more successful and responsible; and empowering communities to take action to improve their health and wellbeing and the local and global environment.

The change we deliver

We work with people who are facing multiple challenges and in places that are lacking social infrastructure and economic opportunities. Many of the places we prioritise are also increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events.

We have four decades’ experience of building partnerships to address these challenges in three connected ways.

We help people improve their prospects - increasing confidence, skills, wellbeing and employability and helping those out of work find jobs with a focus on the green economy.
We help people create better places - making communities greener, healthier and better prepared for the future and enabling people to work together to bring about change in their local area.
We help people protect the planet – supporting people and businesses to reduce their carbon footprint, cut waste and take practical action to combat the climate and nature emergencies.

Our values

We have a core set of values that guides all of our work:

We provide leadership and positive energy focused on helping communities to develop solutions.

We take a person centred approach that delivers compassionate support to those members of our community in need of our help

We are knowledgeable in our field of expertise and use our creativity to develop new and innovative approaches to tackling difficult community problems.

We are driven to make a difference to our communities – we effect genuine change – and we can demonstrate the impact of our work.

We demonstrate the highest levels of integrity within our work – striving to build genuine partnerships that are committed to places for the long term.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

We are professiona l in our performance – hard working, efficient and effective – ensuring all of our resources are used to maximise the impact of our work.

To find out more about our work, please visit our website and social media pages: www.groundwork.org.uk/clm

www.facebook.com/groundworkclm

www.twitter.com/GroundworkCLM

www.linkedin.com/company/groundwork-cheshire-lancashire-&-merseyside/

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

2 CHAIR’S STATEMENT

As we reflect on the year 2023-24, I am incredibly proud of the work that Groundwork Cheshire Lancashire & Merseyside has delivered, and the difference that we have made for people, and in neighbourhoods and communities as diverse as Speke, Preston, Blackpool and Wigan. This year has been a testament to our commitment to driving positive change – helping people and places become more resilient and addressing the pressing challenges of environmental sustainability and social inequality.

Despite the uncertain economic and political climates, we have been able to expand our programme of work supported by a sound business plan - empowering individuals through skills development, employment support, and community health initiatives. Our focus on helping those most vulnerable, particularly through our Green Doctor services and our network of Green Community Hubs, has had a measurable impact, improving both lives and local environments. Our ever-growing and impressive programme of Business Improvement Districts helps over 7,000 businesses across the region to improve their local places, create employment and improve business sustainability.

One of our key outcomes this year has been advancing nature recovery across our region. We’ve made significant progress in restoring green spaces, protecting biodiversity, and engaging communities in practical action to combat climate change. This work is vital for building healthier, more sustainable environments that benefit both people and the planet.

Our partnerships remain at the heart of our work. Collaboration with local authorities, businesses, and other third-sector organisations has enabled us to deliver lasting change, and we value their continued support, creating opportunities for us to deliver the outcomes and change they need.

Looking ahead, we are confident in our strategy and vision. With our dedicated team and the ongoing support of our partners and communities, underpinned by our diverse, skilled, and pro-active Board, we are wellpositioned to continue making a significant difference in the years to come.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our success.

Tracy Fishwick

Chair, Groundwork Cheshire Lancs & Merseyside

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

3 TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Purposes & Public Benefit

Groundwork CLM’s charitable objectives are set down in its Memorandum of Association. They commit Groundwork CLM to delivering and promoting regeneration and sustainable development and are summarised as follows:

To conserve, protect and improve the physical and natural environment ;
To improve quality of life by providing welfare, recreation or leisure facilities;
To advance public education in environmental matters .
To promote urban or rural regeneration in areas of social and economic deprivation through:
➢ the relief of poverty and unemployment
➢ providing education, training or work experience for people who are unemployed
➢ delivering financial assistance, technical assistance, business advice or consultancy in order to help people get back to work
➢ creating training and employment opportunities by providing work space, buildings and land
➢ maintaining or improving public amenities such as footpaths and cycle ways
➢ the preservation of buildings or sites of historic or architectural importance
➢ reclaiming derelict land for use as open space
➢ providing public health facilities and schemes to promote healthier living
➢ alleviating anti-social behavior and supporting crime prevention.
To promote sustainable development for the benefit of the public by:
➢ preserving, conserving and protecting the environment
➢ promoting the prudent use of natural resources
➢ improving quality of life in socially and economically disadvantaged communities
➢ promoting sustainable means of achieving economic and social growth and regeneration
➢ educating the public in how to protect and improve the environment.
To promote the efficiency and effectiveness of charities in helping them deliver their objectives by providing information, advice and assistance.
To focus our efforts on a defined area of benefit – namely Wigan, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside.

Groundwork CLM’s trustees have referred to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the organisation’s objectives and planning future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the charitable objectives set out above.

Our work at Groundwork CLM sits within the wider context of the projects, programmes and services delivered by the Groundwork Federation. Each independent Groundwork Trust determines its own priorities and has its own charitable objectives, but also operates to a collective strategy, which binds all Federation members to a clear set of overarching goals in support of these objectives.

Our work is designed to address the needs of all parts of the community and we provide equal access to our services regardless of race, gender, disability or sexual orientation.

Public Benefit Statement

The Trustees have given due consideration to Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and confirm that the charity is compliant with Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 in respect of public benefit.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Review of our Impact Year

In our 2023/24 business plan we set a number of core objectives with the aim of guiding the development and delivery of our work over the year.

a) Community voice. We set a long term aim to ensure that we have the community clearly in the lead on all of our projects. This year we have:
Implemented a Volunteer Rangers programme at Rivington Terraced Gardens training and empowering volunteers to lead activity across the site;
Co-designed a Green Leadership Academy within our Northern Network programme providing 1:1 mentoring and training to community leaders developing Green Community Hubs.
Created governance infrastructure and secured resources that ensure the local community are able to lead a vision for change at Lindow Moss in Wilmslow;
Ensured a loud business voice within the governance of all of our Business Improvement Districts;
Increased the volume of community and beneficiary voice in the design and delivery of many of our projects.
b) Community Health Building. We are ensuring the voice of the 3[rd] sector is clearly heard within Wigan’s Community Health Building approach to health transformation. Specifically, we have:
Hosted the Wigan VCSFE Mental Health Transformation Manager
Recruited a Wigan VCFSE Sports Club Integration Co-ordinator that will strengthen relationships with VCFSE sports clubs in Wigan;
Developed Wigan Borough VCFSE Leadership Team, a team of 15 organisations funded via GM UKSPF to work together to increase involvement/profile/relationships of the VCFSE in Wigan as an alternative infrastructure organisation;
Built a network of over 350 VCFSE organisations;
Developed a Violence Reduction Alliance for Wigan that will provide £200k of activity in Worsley Hall over the next 2 years;
c) Fuel poverty. We agreed an aim to increase our impact on those living in fuel poverty by continuing the expansion of our Green Doctor service into new areas and new marketplaces.

During the year we have:

Expanded our programme so that it offers support to people living right across our region;
Increased our capacity and specialist capability with a focused programme on domestic retrofit.
Diversified funding sources including large national relationships with Distribution Network Operators and local relationships with the Public Sector.
Worked with colleagues within the Groundwork Federation to develop the Green Doctor Training Academy supporting the development and diversification of new staff.
d) Local heritage as a renewal driver. We set out to grow our heritage programme by developing new strategic ‘anchor’ projects with the financial resources to create change at scale. This year we have:
Developed a partnership with the Cannington Shaw Preservation Trust and helped secure the resources needed to conserve this Grade 2 listed former glass works in St Helens. As part of this work we will be developing and delivering a Heritage Skills Academy that will harness the opportunities for local people that will come as part of the restoration.
At Lindow Moss we have developed a 10 year vision for the restoration of one of the UKs most important lowland peat landscapes;
We are leading a partnership to enhance the linear park that runs along the length of the St Helens Canal – England’s first industrial canal;

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

We continue to support the Rivington Heritage Trust with the management of the Terraced Gardens and wider Lever Park, with a phase 2 restoration programme currently under development;
e) Nature recovery. We agreed an aim to grow the positive impact we have on nature, building our competency and literacy in the subject across all programme areas. Specifically, we have:
Appointed a Senior Lead responsible for Nature Recovery across the Trust’s project portfolio;
Engaged in all four of the Local Nature Partnerships within our region;
Continued to influence major river water quality investment and landscape scale change through the leadership of the River Douglas and Weaver-Gowy Catchment Based Partnerships;
Continued investing in upskilling our team with regards ecology, field work and citizen science skills;
Secured £450k of funding to help develop a nature recovery plan for the Lindow Moss Landscape;
Introduced nature recording process across all of our major project sites;
Worked with communities to manage wildlife sites including North Blackpool Pond Trail, Amberswood Common Local Nature Reserve, and Elnup Community Woodland.
f) Levelling up. As part of our ‘place based’ strategy we have worked to develop a relevant offer that connects the communities that we support with the opportunities presented through the local management approach to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in our core Local Authority areas. As a result, we have:
Secured funding in Blackpool to create a physical retrofit demonstration centre (Eco-hub) and engage 1200 individuals in discussions and learning related to domestic retrofit.
Secured funding from the Liverpool City Region to fund the delivery of 6 nature projects across the South Liverpool Homes estate engaging 75 volunteers.
Played an instrumental role in securing funding for Wigan to invest in a VCFSE Leadership team to support the Community Wealth Building agenda.
Secured funding to deliver low carbon business support in Cheshire West, Warrington and Sefton.
Secured funding from Cheshire East to support the Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership and Wilmslow Town Centre BID marketing and events programme
Secured funding from Cheshire West to deliver wellbeing support from Grozone.
g) Town Centre recovery. We have increased our support to struggling Town Centres, using our BIDs expertise to give business a co-ordinated voice. Specifically, we have:
Supported the communities of Crewe and Keighley to establish new Town centre BIDs securing £2.5million in private sector investment;
Initiated development work to support the renewal of Business Improvement Districts in Northwich town centre and Gadbrook Park that have the potential to secure an additional £2.5million of private sector led regeneration investment into these locations;
Continued the long term management of business improvement districts in Northwich, Burnley, Wilmslow and Warrington. Our work in these towns has delivered £800k+ of private sector led investment, enabling each of these towns to:
- Enhance their marketing and promotion through engaging with millions of consumers;
- Animate their town centres, creating transformational events, markets and festivals;
- Work with stakeholders and local businesses to improve their safety and security;
- Form transformational place based partnerships that bring together the private, public and 3rd sector to create a catalyst for meaningful town centre change and renewal
h) Low carbon business . We have grown our programme of work through our partnership with Groundwork GM on low carbon business support:
Securing new funded partnerships with Cheshire West, Warrington and Sefton Councils to deliver programme of sustainable business support, distributing grants and creating decarbonisation plans for companies to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Supported the distribution of £150k of low carbon grants to companies resulting in investments in renewables and energy efficiency projects that will reduce annual carbon emissions from businesses by 182tCO2e.

In addition to our operational objectives, we have also made a number of commitments to improve our support functions. This year we have:

a) Increased our investment in staff ensuring they continue to have the skills and ability to deliver the GWK offer for the future, through training, health and wellbeing support and formal qualifications to support retention and progression;
b) Reviewed and improve our recruitment process to ensure we are reaching and attracting the best potential new employees;
c) Developed and implemented our 2[nd] year carbon reduction plan;
d) Further developed and improved our Impact Reporting Framework;
e) Formalised all post-covid working arrangements ensuring staff have the resources and skills required for hybrid and homeworking arrangements and provide training and support for line managers be able to manage this effectively; and
f) Undertaken a thorough review of our Finance Regulations, updating and all corresponding procedures, processes and forms.

Figure 1 Summary of 2023/24 impact performance measures

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

What do our beneficiaries say?

From Isolation to Standing Ovation

Before joining the Chorley Prince’s Trust Team Programme, 22 year old Billy had no confidence and low self-esteem. To begin with he’d barely speak to anyone and was reluctant to get involved in any group work.

Working on a community project marked a huge turning point It allowed Billy to see how he could be a valuable member of a team, an experience he found really rewarding. He soon took on responsibility for tasks and formed friendships with his peers. An indication of how much he’d progressed came on the day of the final presentation. This once shy and withdrawn young man stood before an audience and gave an amazing speech about how the Team Programme had transformed his life.

“Groundwork helped me to get out of my bubble, be more outgoing and stop overthinking.” Billy

Creating a Pathway to A Sustainable Career

Sam Thomas joined the Trust on a 12 month placement from University via the New To Nature programme. New to Nature aims to provide lifechanging experiences for people who might not normally have access to a career in the environmental sector.

Sam currently works as part of our Conservation Team in Blackpool and is NATURE studying for a degree in Ecology. In addition to working with the Conservation team, Sam supports other trust projects across the region, giving him the opportunity to gain a range of invaluable experience and knowledge.

“I’m loving every minute of my time at Groundwork. It has given me the chance to work alongside some amazing experts, gain practical experience, skills and knowledge and develop a network of contacts that will be useful to me in my future career. Sam

What Groundwork Does Really Works

Lee Cunliffe joined the Trust late last year as a part-time receptionist. She had previously completed our Roots To Wellbeing programme. Lee is a great example of how the programme changes lives.

Lee says that Roots To Wellbeing gave her the courage to overcome her anxiety and the skills and confidence to find employment. She is really enjoying her new role.

“I’m living proof that what Groundwork does really works. My life has changed completely. I now feel valued and accepted and I look forward to coming into work everyday.” Lee

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

I’ve Saved Money and Improved My Health

Nicola had always struggled with budgeting and having a large family, this was something she wanted to get better at. She is one of a number of people in Blackpool to recently benefit from Multiply, an adult numeracy programme run by Groundwork. Multiply is designed to help people looking to boost their career, support family learning, get new qualifications, or better manage their finances.

“It has made a massive difference. I’ve reduced my shopping bill and I also decided to stop buying takeaway food, which has improved my health too.” Nicola

Supporting Businesses to Become More

Sustainable

We are currently in our 3rd year of a partnership with Groundwork GM delivering our Sustainable Business Services programme. The team was established to deliver on a strong pipeline of UK SPF projects in Cheshire, Warrington and Sefton, in addition to grant funded Environment Agency work and commercial activity, with clients spanning the North of England. In Cheshire, Groundwork CLM secured £82k to support Cheshire West and Chester Council to deploy £150k of grants to companies.

The project has supported 15 companies to access grants to enable low carbon investments in renewable energy technology, such as solar panels and more energy efficient lighting systems for factories.

Many of the beneficiaries are companies based on the Trust’s Business Improvement Districts in Winsford, Northwich and West Chester. This project has delivered webinars, sustainability events and specialist advisory visits to companies to produce decarbonisation plans. It has also produced a series of online information sheets across a range of net-zero / sustainability topics. So far, more than 100 companies have been assisted, with over 30 decarbonisation plans produced, resulting in 182.3 tCO2e of carbon savings.

Breaking Down the Barriers

Grow Speke volunteer Mark has shown that having a disability needn’t be a barrier to personal development and giving back to your community.

Mark became completely blind over 20 years ago. He thought this might prevent him from taking part in a horticulture course at Grow Speke. It hasn’t. Mark says that Grow Speke makes him feel welcome and included. Taking part in the course has rebuilt his confidence and helped him to tackle the isolation he often feels as a result of his visual impairment.

“The Grow Speke staff have been amazing. They care and they understand. It is great to know that there are opportunities like this for me to get involved, relax and take part just like everybody else.” Mark

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Wilmslow’s Way Better

Since its inception in 2022, the Wilmslow BID has delivered a wide array of improvements that have had a significant and positive impact on the town. Public events such as the Winter Wonderland, Dinosaur Trail and Sunday Sports Day have led to a significant increase in footfall and sparked a real buzz in the town. Aesthetic enhancements have been carried out, such as jet washing, litter picking, floral arrangements and strategically placed wayfinders. Businesses have also benefitted from an extensive range of

training courses. But this is just the beginning. The team aspires to deliver an even more vibrant and engaging local experience and build on the positive feedback already garnered from both businesses and visitors alike.

“Groundwork supports everything we do with such commitment and drive. Together, we have collectively delivered a range of unforgettable events, drawing crowds into town for truly memorable events, with overwhelmingly positive feedback. We truly believe that we live up to our promise: Wilmslow’s Way Better.”

Joanna Davies - Chair, Wilmslow BID.

You Can’t Help But Feel Inspired

Trish is a Green Social Prescriber and together with others, runs the Wild & Fruity Community Garden in Bolton. Their aim is to reduce loneliness and isolation, improve physical and mental wellbeing and introduce people to food growing and spending time in nature. Trish joined Groundwork’s Northern Network Leadership Programme to connect with likeminded people and to learn more about other projects going on across the North. The programme has given her the opportunity to visit other projects, learn

from others and share her own knowledge.

“I have learnt so much. You can’t help but feel inspired by all the fabulous projects and ideas that people have. It’s been an amazing opportunity to get support and encouragement to push forward and I found the information on funding particularly useful.” Trish

The Magic of Forest Schools

A unique approach by a school in Ellesmere Port is having a huge impact on children who find learning in the conventional way a challenge. We work in partnership with Rivacre Primary School to provide a forest school that makes learning an unforgettable adventure. By integrating fun with practical learning, the sessions, delivered by Ian Jones, ignite curiosity, resilience and huge

anticipation for Forest School, which takes place every Wednesday

morning.

Since September 2023, 134 pupils have benefitted from Ian’s structured sessions and developing practical learning skills. From firelighting, cooking and bug hunting, to crafting bird feeders with lard and seeds, the Forest School has become an area that all of the children are involved in.

“Ian has weaved his magic with this group of children.” Teacher - Rivacre Primary School

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Our plans for the future

Our plan for 2024/25 has been influenced and informed by a number of national trends that are impacting on the policy and funding landscape within which we operate:

Cuts to both local and national public sector budgets are having the effect of increasing hardship in society while limiting the resources available to meet need;
Ongoing price rises in respect of food and energy have left many households struggling to afford basic necessities, with increased demand for services that help people reduce their bills and increase their income;
A more aggressive government approach to reducing welfare spending is likely to lead to the commissioning of new programmes with increased operational and reputational risk;
The impacts of climate change are being felt with increasing severity through extreme weather events, impacting first and worst on those in society with least choice and least protection, exacerbating environmental injustice and health inequalities;
Despite this, policymaking in terms of the environment has become politically contested with previously agreed commitments being weakened and proposed investment programmes being reduced or abandoned;
The introduction of new market mechanisms for delivering natural solutions and ecosystem services will demand specialist knowledge and expertise in order to benefit;
The likelihood of a general election within the next 12 months provides a platform for generating new policy ideas but means government decision-making will be limited;
Businesses are continuing to play a leadership role in delivering social and environmental programmes though distinguishing genuine commitment from ‘greenwashing’ is becoming more of a challenge;
Polarised media and political debates (so-called ‘culture wars’) can undermine delivery, distract attention and lead to increased reputational risk.

At the local level our plans are further influenced and intensified by local drivers:

In Blackpool, we continue to build our work on our success at the Grange - which is allowing us to engage and support the local community on a wide range of social, economic and environmental issues;
In Wigan, we see our role supporting the Community Health and Wealth building philosophy adopted by the Town increasing, growing our focus on nature based projects and using those to help tackle wider social and health determinants;
In St Helens, we will continue to be influenced by the Council, with a clear role for Groundwork to play in landscape scale heritage/nature projects, supporting bio-diversity net gain, tackling fuel poverty and support to help young people back to work;
In Cheshire East, we are supporting the development of a landscape scale partnership focused on securing the future of the lowland peat landscape in Wilmslow;
The focus on Town Centre renewal will continue to provide opportunities for our BIDs team across the North West;
Realising the opportunities afforded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Supporting businesses with their Net Zero journey, E&S opportunities – initially through Multiply, and support for ‘pride of place’ community land projects.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Federation guiding principles

Our work programme this year is underscored by the Federation Guiding Principles contained within the Federation Strategy.

We will invest in the places and people that need us most – prioritising our resources to bring about lasting change by building skills and capacity within the local communities where we can make most difference.

We will work with local leaders and listen to local voices – ensuring our work is fully informed by those it is designed to benefit and adds value to the assets that exist in local areas.

We will grow a culture of equality and inclusion – operating transparently and with integrity and seeking out a diversity of viewpoints, both in the work we do and the people we employ.

We will be committed to collaboration – forging strong partnerships, contributing to a thriving community sector and helping others lead where this will achieve greater impact.

We will act as environmental exemplars – championing practical action to combat the climate and nature emergency and measuring and reducing our own environmental impact.

Our objectives

The bulk of our objectives for 2024/25 objectives are the same as those set during 2023/24, with our efforts this year focus on increasing our impact under each objective.

a) Community voice. We aim to have the community clearly in the lead on all of our projects. We will continue the work we have started this year, with a key focus on Lindow, Rivington and our Network North programme of Community Green Space Hubs.
b) Community Health Building. We will lead the development of a high calibre and sustainable Wigan Community Health Building Network, develop our links with VCSE groups and co-create positive opportunities to engage those in the community that need our help the most.
c) Fuel poverty . We aim to continue to increase our impact on those living in fuel poverty by continuing the expansion of our Green Doctor service – including the development of domestic retrofitting support.
d) Nature recovery. We will continue to grow the positive impact we are having on nature, building our competency and literacy in the subject across all programme areas.
e) Green Jobs. We will position the Trust as an expert in the delivery of Green Jobs, including integrating appropriately focused carbon literacy into existing and future programmes.
f) Town Centre recovery . We will increase our support to failing Town Centres, using our BIDs expertise to give business a co-ordinated voice.
g) Low carbon business. We will grow our programme of work through our partnership with Groundwork GM on low carbon business support.

Support Services

In addition to our operational objectives, we have also made a number of commitments to improve our support functions. We will:

a) Progression plan. We will introduce a process that works with our staff individually to identify and agree clearer career progression plans for each employee;
b) Impact. We will introduce a rolling programme of in-depth impact evaluation for core service areas, building on the improvements we have made to our impact measurement framework.
c) Net zero. Building on the regular greenhouse gas reporting and low carbon action plan, we will develop and publish our first Carbon Reduction Plan showing the steps we will take to ensure we become netzero by 2050 – reducing our carbon footprint by 50% by 2035.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

d) Good Governance. We will undertake our regular 3 year governance review – where we assess our current levels of performance and effectiveness against the Charity Commission’s Good Governance Code.

All the work we will undertake in 2024/25 will be delivered through one of three strategic programmes.

a) Strategic Programme 1 - Sustainable Communities

Our services include:

Building the skills, capacity and capability of communities to develop their own projects and make change happen
Improving health and wellbeing of people through the development and management of community green spaces, gardens and allotments
Helping young people to become more active citizens within their community
Helping those suffering from fuel poverty to take positive steps to improve affordability
The provision of specialist capacity to help design, develop, finance, deliver and manage projects to support the aspirations of communities and our partners
Strategic planning and partnership development work to facilitate large scale environmental change.

Our income will come from commissioned work from a predominantly public sector marketplace made up of Local Authorities, Housing Associations, Health Bodies, the Police, and national NGOs such as the Environment Agency.

We also deliver services for communities directly, whilst raising funds to support this work from national grant makers such as Big Lottery, Heritage Lottery Fund, Charitable Trusts, Landfill Communities Fund and private sector Corporate Social Responsibility programmes.

b) Strategic Programme 2 - Employment & Skills

Our Employment & Skills Programme focuses on helping individuals to realise their potential, providing personalised support to help them overcome their barriers, discover their skills and boost their motivation and confidence.

Our services include:

Team-based personal development programmes that seek to build the confidence, motivation and resilience of participants with the aim of helping them progress into employment, volunteering or education
Pre-employment Traineeships that help prepare young people with complex barriers to become competitive within the apprenticeship market place
‘One to One’ mentoring programmes that provide support, coaching and action planning to help people with complex barriers to move closer to employment
Focused intervention to increase activity levels for those in most need to support mental health and wellbeing.
‘On the job’ vocational qualifications in practical horticulture and construction.

Our income will come from commissioned work from local FE colleges, training providers, local authorities, the DWP and the EFA/SFA.

c) Strategic Programme 3 – Sustainable Business

Our Sustainable Business Programme focuses on helping business become more sustainable – minimising their impact on the local and global environment – whilst securing and creating jobs through improved business performance, resource efficiency and productivity.

Our services include:

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

The development and operation of Business Improvement Districts (BIDS)
Environmental Consultancy Services include environmental management systems, low carbon/energy management, legislative compliance, health & safety, EOSS and DECs
The development and delivery of Corporate Social Responsibility programmes.

Our income will come from commissioned work from Local Authorities, business networks and national NGOs such as the Environment Agency. We are also commissioned directly by the private sector.

Financial Performance

The Trust’s high level of impact this year has been under-pinned by a strong financial performance. Turnover has increased by £463k to £5.4m.

Income levels (measured by gross margin) are at £2.99m – an historic high for this metric. Labour costs are broadly in line with the previous year. This figure includes a variable Cost of Living increase for all staff (10% at the lowest paid end and 1% at the highest).

Head count has stayed stable at circa 83 FTE.

The contribution to overheads from our operational programme is £916k. This is up 40% (£261k) on the previous year due to additional funding on Green Doctor, increasing our BIG Local programme and securing the Down to Earth project.

Net overheads have risen by 0.8% (£5k) from £651k up to £656k – with additional expenditure on IT support as well as proportional Cost of Living and NI costs.

The surplus for the year is circa £260k – which is up by £256k on the previous year and represents the 7[th] consecutive year of surplus for the Trust.

Unrestricted reserves stand at £1.22m, with free cash reserves of just over £1.07m. Our long term reserves target is £1.5m.

3.10 Reserves

The Board has agreed a policy that the optimum level of unrestricted reserves should be set at £1.5m.

In determining this policy, the Trustees have considered the following factors when setting this policy:

Cash flow. The anticipated level of working capital required to support the expected portfolio of future projects;
Continuity. The need for reserves to bridge any possible delays in receiving promised grants or managing payment in arrears contracts;
Restructuring. The need for reserves to cover essential trading/activities whilst sourcing new income streams and/or downsizing the organisation;
Cyclical Maintenance. The need for funds to invest in the replacement of major assets and/or the maintenance of the fabric of our buildings;
Dissolution. The need for funds to invest in the costs of dissolution should the charity be unable to continue. It is only to be used in the event of the Trustees' deciding the charity should cease to exist. It will be used to pay notice periods, redundancies and the expenses of running the organisation until closure of the organisation.

The Trust has made considerable progress in achieving its reserves policy target in recent years – and is very confident that it will reach its target with the immediate future, and will continue to accumulate any free reserves until we reach that point.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Risk Management

The Board fully accepts its responsibilities under the Charity Commission’s Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for ensuring that the major risks to which the charity is exposed are identified and reviewed, and that there are systems in place to mitigate them. Major risks are those that have a high probability of occurring, and would if they occurred, have a severe impact on either operational performance or achievement of purposes, or could damage Groundwork’s reputation.

The Board monitors the development and operation of the risk management process. The process which operates as both a top-down and bottom-up mechanism, is designed to enable the Board to conclude whether the major risks to which the charity is exposed have been identified and reviewed, and that systems have been established to mitigate these risks.

The Trust has:

Reviewed the main corporate risks which comprises of 8 Strategic Risk Groups, namely:
Strategy risk
Financial risk
Regulatory compliance
People risk
Reputational risk
Information security risk
Macro-economic risk
Established a comprehensive risk register and mapping of all the significant risks which may impact on Groundwork’s core purposes and key objectives
Produced a detailed annual report to the Board setting out the action designed to eradicate or mitigate the risks identified.
Established a Finance & Risk Sub-Committee that undertakes regular ‘deep dive’ assessment on each of the Strategic Risk Groups

The Board considered the annual report from the Senior Management Team (SMT) at its meeting in March 2024 and identified the areas of risk to concentrate action on to address and mitigate impact. The Finance & Risk Committee updates the Board on a quarterly basis (or when appropriate) on the progress of the risk management plan.

The Trust recognises that risk management is an essential part of good business practice and an effective mechanism of good governance. The Board is committed to ensuring the risk management processes are embedded throughout the Trust and that these processes are used to help identify at an early stage issues that affect performance or achievement of purpose. However, the Board recognises that a risk management system can only seek to manage, rather than eliminate risk or failure, and that it should therefore be only one of the tools that the Board uses to provide effective control and administration of the charity.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Our Governance

a) Governing document

The charity is a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales number 01764848 and governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 13/03/2015.

It is a registered charity with the Charity Commission, number 514727.

d) Members of the company

The members of the company comprise seven local authorities in the North West of England and Groundwork UK (the national body of Groundwork trusts that works to support their local delivery through national relationships, resources and representation).

e) The Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees comprises of a maximum of 12 and a minimum of 6 trustees who are, in accordance with the Charities Act 2011, also the directors of the company in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. Trustees are nominated and appointed by a decision of the Trustees.

f) Terms of Office

Trustees serve for a term of 3 years and are appointed each year at the AGM. After 3 years they may be reappointed but they must take a break for at least one year following 2 consecutive terms.

g) Induction and Training

New members of the Board of Trustees are provided with the Trust’s Induction Handbook and other key documents and have an induction meeting with the Executive Director and members of the Senior Management Team.

h) Organisational Structure

In addition to quarterly Board meetings, the Board has delegated some duties to a Finance Committee.

The Board of Trustees have agreed terms of reference for this committee but reserves decision making powers to the Board. The committee reviews matters relevant to its terms of reference and makes recommendations to the full Board of Trustees. The Board has responsibility for the overall strategy and policy of the Trust and approves the forward strategy and Annual Business Plan.

i) Good governance review

The Board undertakes a self-assessment review every 3 years using the 7 principles set out in ‘Good Governance Code for Larger Charities.’

Pay and remuneration for senior staff

The Trustees consider that the Board of Trustees and the Senior Management Team comprise the key management personnel of the charity, in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the Charity on a day to day basis. All trustees give of their time freely and no trustee received remuneration in the year.

The pay of the senior staff is reviewed annually but there is no commitment to annual increments for length of service or in response to inflation. When considering recruitment for senior staff, pay levels are benchmarked against other third sector organisations of comparable size and the internal pay scale.

3.14 Related parties

Details of related party transactions are given in the notes to the financial statements.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Relations within the Groundwork Network

The Trust is a member of the Groundwork Federation and works closely with colleagues at our Federal Office – Groundwork UK - in Birmingham and our colleagues in neighbouring Trusts across the North.

The benefits of this partnership working are numerous:

We continue to support Groundwork UK with the development and delivery of national programmes
We participate within national quality framework and practitioner development programmes
We work with other Trusts to commission joint services, thereby ensuring quality whilst sharing costs
We work together at sub-regional, regional and national level to ensure effective engagement with bodies such as National Government, the Environment agency, the Lottery Community Fund and Local Enterprise Partnerships
We work together to share the cost of developing new projects and services
We work together to bid for the delivery of cross-trust commissions.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Our People and Advisors

DIRECTORS & TRUSTEES

COMPANY SECRETARY SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

REGISTERED OFFICE & PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS

Tracy Fishwick
(Chair)
Angela Connolly
Brendan Flanagan	Appointed 21 March 2024
Chris Wilkinson
Fiona Reynolds
Paul Booth
Paul Roots
Philip Hargreaves
Raj Medtia
Sian Jay	Resigned 8 December 2023
Tolu Omideyi
Andrew Darron
Executive Director	Andrew Darron
Programme	Colin Greenhalgh
Director -
Employment &
Skills
Programme	Greville Kelly
Director - Business
Programme	Jon Hutchinson
Director -
Sustainable
Communities
Head of HR and	Jacquie Mutch
Support Services
Communications	Jeff McMaster
Manager
Head of Finance	Ruth Jackson
74-80 Hallgate
Wigan
Greater
Manchester
WN1 1HP

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

EXTERNAL AUDITORS Beever and Struthers One Express 1 George Leigh Street Manchester M4 5DL BANKERS Lloyds plc 2-6 Market Street Wigan WN1 1JN SOLICITORS Stephensons Wigan Investment Centre Waterside Drive Wigan WN3 5BA

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Statement of Directors’ and Trustees’ Responsibilities

Company law requires the Directors (who are also the Trustees under charity law) to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of the charity and of the surplus or deficit of the charity for that period.

In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently
observe the methods and principles in the current Charities SORP
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the charity will continue in business.

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

Statement of disclosure to Auditors

The trustees of the charity who held office at the date of approval of these Financial Statements (as set out above) each confirm, so far as we are aware, that:

there is no relevant audit information of which the charity’s auditors are unaware; and
we have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken as trustees in order to make ourselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s auditors are aware of that information.

Approved by the Board and signed on its behalf by:

Tracy Fishwick - Trustee and Chair XX December 2024

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Groundwork Cheshire Lancashire & Merseyside

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Groundwork Cheshire Lancashire & Merseyside “the charitable company” for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Charity Statement of Financial Activities, the Charity Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and the related notes including a summary of significant accounting policies in Note 1. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources for the year then ended.
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

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

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustee’s 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 ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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

Other information

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

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

We have nothing to report in this regard.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

the information given in the trustees’ report, which includes the directors’ report and the strategic report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the strategic report and the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its 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 Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

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

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement set out on page 22, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

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

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

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

We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

In identifying and addressing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

We obtained an understanding of laws, regulations and guidance that affect the charitable company, focusing on those that had a direct effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on its operations. Key laws, regulations and guidance that we identified included the Companies Act 2006, tax legislation, health and safety legislation, and employment legislation.
We enquired of the Trustees and reviewed correspondence and Trustee meeting minutes for evidence of noncompliance with relevant laws and regulations. We also reviewed controls the Trustees have in place, where necessary, to ensure compliance.
We gained an understanding of the controls that the Trustees have in place to prevent and detect fraud. We enquired of the Trustees about any incidences of fraud that had taken place during the accounting period.
The risk of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations was discussed within the audit team and tests were planned and performed to address these risks.
We reviewed financial statements disclosures and supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations discussed above.
We enquired of the Trustees about actual and potential litigation and claims.
We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that might indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.
In addressing the risk of fraud due to management override of internal controls we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates were indicative of a potential bias.

Due 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, 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 fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations and cannot be expected to detect all fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

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.

Sue Hutchinson FCCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of

BEEVER AND STRUTHERS

Statutory Auditor One Express

1 George Leigh Street

Manchester

M4 5DL

Date:

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

4 CHARITY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 (including the Income & Expenditure Account)

Notes INCOME: Donations 2 Charitable activities 3 Other trading activities 4 Investment income – bank interest TOTAL INCOME EXPENDITURE: Charitable activities 5 TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET INCOME Net movement in funds Total fund brought forward 13 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 13	Unrestricted Funds £ 3 1,387,036 40,685 11,149 1,438,873 1,287,108 1,287,108 151,765 1,068,829 1,220,594	Restricted Funds £ - 3,984,623 - - 3,984,623 3,876,866 3,876,866 107,757 994,962 1,102,719	TOTAL 2024 £ 3 5,371,659 40,685 11,149 5,423,496 5,163,974 5,163,974 259,522 2,063,791 2,323,313	TOTAL 2023 £ 364 4,920,584 37,216 1,931
				4,960,095 4,956,892
				4,956,892
				3,203 2,060,588
				2,063,791

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

The notes on pages 30 to 45 form part of these financial statements.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

5 CHARITY BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2024

2024 £ 1,200,690 2,104,905	2024 £ 147,576 2	2023 £ 944,055 1,741,741	2023 £ 112,884 2
	147,578 2,175,735		112,886 1,950,905
3,305,595 (1,129,860)		2,685,796 (734,891)
	2,323,313		2,063,791
	1,220,594 1,102,719		1,068,829 994,962
	2,323,313		2,063,791

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The notes on pages 30 to 45 form part of these financial statements.

Approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on XX December 2024

Tracy Fishwick – Chair

Company registration number: 01764848

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

6 CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Reconciliation of Net Movement in Funds to Net Cashflow from Operating Activities – Incoming Net income after taxation Interest receivable Rental income Depreciation (Surplus) on sale of fixed assets (Increase) / decrease in Debtors (Increase) / decrease in Creditors Net cash inflow / (outflow) from operating activities Cash provided by / (used in) investing activities Increase / (decrease) in cash in the year Interest Purchase of tangible fixed assets Rental income Receipts from sale of fixed assets Cash (used in)/ provided by investing activities Increase/ (decrease) in cash in the year Cash and cash equivalents as at 1 April 2023 Cash and cash equivalents as at 31 March 2024	2024 £ 259,522 (11,149) (18,666) 25,421 (1,842) (256,635) 394,969 391,620 - 11,149 (60,113) 18,666 1,842 (28,456) 363,164 1,741,741 2,104,905	2023 £ 3,203 (1,931) (24,606) 22,858 - 427,551 (460,810)
		(33,735)
		- 1931 (17,794) 24,606 -
		8,743
		(24,991) 1,766,732
		1,741,741

The notes on pages 30 to 45 form part of these financial statements.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

7 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. Accounting Policies

BASIS OF PREPARATION

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective January 2019) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Companies Act 2006. The accounts are presented in pounds sterling (£).

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS102

ALLOCATION OF SUPPORT COSTS

Support costs are those functions which assist the work of the charity either by supporting the delivery of charitable activities or by supporting the generation of funds. They include property costs, back office functions, compliance and professional fees. The basis of allocations is set out in note 6.

CASH AT BANK AND IN HAND

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and investments which are accessible within three months.

CONSOLIDATION

The charity’s subsidiary has not been consolidated into the financial statements on the grounds that it is immaterial. Details of the subsidiary are given in note 10.

CONTINGENT ASSETS

Contingent assets are not recognised in the accounts unless they are virtually certain to crystallise. Contingent assets which do not meet this requirement but which are viewed as likely to crystallise, are disclosed in the notes to the accounts.

CREDITORS AND PROVISIONS

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has an existing obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount.

DEBTORS

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due and prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.

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 the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Costs of raising funds – including those associated with fundraising activities, managing investments and commercial trading by the subsidiary company.
Charitable activities – costs of undertaking the work of the charity.

The charity is registered for VAT and is able to recover some of the input tax charged as it relates to ‘Vatable’ supplies. Costs are stated net of VAT where charged and irrecoverable VAT is included as a separate charge either within direct costs or support costs as appropriate.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The charity has only financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments and initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

GOING CONCERN

There are no material uncertainties about the charity’s financial ability to continue to operate for the foreseeable future, therefore the accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.

INCOME RECOGNITION

The Trust’s incoming resources comprise of a mixture of earned income (generally subject to VAT) and grants. In many cases, these grant agreements and commercial contracts involve transactions that span more than one accounting period.

For all categories of earned income, total incoming resources for each accounting year is calculated by reference to the extent to which the Trust has met the substantive performance obligations at the balance sheet date.

Earned income – To the extent that the Trust has not invoiced or received earned income monies but has met contractual performance obligations, then such amounts are added to total incoming resources and reported as a current asset (amounts recoverable on contracts) in the balance sheet.

Deferred income is unrestricted income received in the year for activity in future periods.

Earned income arising from long-term contracts and contracts for on-going services is recognised by reference to:

The stage of completion of the whole contract
An assessment of the risks that such contracts will not be completed as expected.

Grant income – With regard to grant income, the income is recognised in a particular accounting period to the extent that the Trust is able to demonstrate its entitlement to the income and its control over it.

Generally, the control test is not considered to be satisfied where:

The grantor has closely specified performance criteria that must be met before the charity can establish entitlement to the grant
There is some other material condition of the grant that the charity has not met at the balance sheet date and where there is doubt about whether it will be met eventually

However, where the control test is satisfied then grant income is recognised in the earliest accounting period that this condition is met. The control test is generally viewed as satisfied when the outstanding matters necessary to confirm entitlement are administrative in nature and under the control of the charity. Furthermore, the restriction of the purposes for which the grant may be expended is not of itself regarded as indicative that the charity does not control the income/ asset.

Donations – Donations from individuals and other bodies (not being of the nature of a grant) are recognised when receivable.

Accruals – Any restricted income due according to agreements or contracts but not received, are accrued for and included in the accounts in the usual way. It is necessary on some contracts to estimate the income that will be due, as although the activity may be completed the funder may reject some claims. These estimates are made on a prudent but reasonable basis so that any differences are not material.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Consortium projects – Generally, provided the charity is acting as principal, income and expenditure processed in connection with consortium projects is accounted for in the same way as other transactions.

However, when the charity is acting as agent for a consortium body (regardless of whether that body is incorporated or not) then the only transactions reflected in these accounts are those that relate to the charity’s own transactions. Transactions through the charity’s bank accounts which represent income and expenditure attributable to third parties are excluded from the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA), and any balances owed to third parties at the end of the accounting period are treated as Restricted Funds and included in the charity’s bank balances.

JUDGEMENTS AND KEY SOURCES OF ESTIMATION OF UNCERTAINTY

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. These estimates and judgements are continually reviewed and are based on experience and other factors including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

OPERATING LEASES

Operating lease payments are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS

The charity operates two defined contribution pension schemes for its employees, through a third party provider. Contributions are charged to the SoFA as they become payable.

PROJECT FIXED ASSETS

Fixed assets (i.e. items of equipment with an expected life exceeding one year) purchased using project funds are not capitalised. They are included as expenditure and do not appear on the balance sheet. These assets may be reclaimed by the funder at the end of the project.

RESTRICTED FUNDS

Business Improvement District contracts include two services: delivering the services set out in the proposal and providing custodial and processing services for the BID levy monies. BID monies are held separately but included in the balance sheet and any monies not used when a BID contract ends will return to the BID and hence the service is classified as restricted.

TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS AND DEPRECIATION

Individual fixed assets costing more than £500 are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful lives on a straight line basis as follows:

Motor vehicles 25% Fixtures and equipment 15%/ 20%/ 25%/ 33%/ 50% Buildings 2% Building alterations 15%/ 20%/ 29%/ 30%/ 33%

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

2. Income from donations and legacies

2024 Unrestricted £ Corona Virus Job Retention Scheme grant - Donation 3 TOTAL 3	2024 Total £ 2023 Unrestricted Total £ - - - 364 - 364

3. Income from charitable activities

Project income

Business Communities Employment & Skills	Unrestricted £ 127,014 814,747 445,275 1,387,036	2024 Restricted £ 1,516,664 1,976,133 491,826 3,984,623	Total £ 1,643,678 2,790,880 937,101 5,371,659	Unrestricted £ 136,817 668,127 678,070 1,483,014	*2023* Restricted £ 1,345,251 1,543,160 549,159 3,437,570	*Total* £ *1,482,068* *2,211,287* *1,227,229*
						*4,920,584*

4. Income from other trading activities

Rent Sale of plant & equipment Recharge of services	Unrestricted £ 18,666 1,842 20,177 40,685	2024 Restricted £ - - - -	Total £ 18,666 1,842 20,177 40,685	Unrestricted £ 24,606 - 12,610 37,216	*2023* Restricted £ - - - -	*Total* £ *24,606* - *12,610*
						*37,216*

5. Charitable expenditure

Business Communities Employment & Skills	Unrestricted £ 29,610 770,841 486,657 1,287,108	2024 Restricted £ 1,611,076 1,914,848 350,942 3,876,866	Total £ 1,640,686 2,685,689 837,599 5,163,974	Unrestricted £ 23,309 733,416 752,947 1,509,672	*2023* Restricted £ 1,339,431 1,637,133 470,656 3,447,220	*Total* £ *1,362,740* *2,370,549* *1,223,603*
						*4,956,892*

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Expenditure in the charity is analysed as follows: 2024 Business Communities Employment & Skills 2023 Business Communities Employment & Skills 6. Support costs 2024 Premises costs £ Business 18,582 Communities 69,768 Employment & Skills 27,121 115,471 2023 Business 14,230 Communities 61,575 Employment & Skills 42,314 118,119	Support salaries £ 68,251 256,257 99,619 424,127 49,408 213,794 146,919 410,121	Direct costs £ Direct salaries £ Support costs £ 1,121,520 405,133 114,033 1,093,284 1,164,255 428,150 166,219 504,939 166,441 2,381,023 2,074,327 708,624 952,391 327,123 83,225 931,550 1,078,875 360,125 209,688 766,436 247,478 2,093,629 2,172,434 690,828 Transport costs £ Governance costs £ Office costs £ 2,411 2,098 22,691 9,053 7,878 85,194 3,519 3,063 33,119 14,983 13,039 141,004 1,003 1,578 17,007 4,338 6,829 73,589 2,981 4,693 50,570 8,322 13,100 141,166		Total £ 1,640,686 2,685,689 837,599
				5,163,974
				*1,362,740* *2,370,550* *1,223,602*
				*4,956,892*
				*Total* £ 114,033 428,150 166,441
				708,624
				*83,226* *360,125* *247,477*
				*690,828*

Governance costs

Professional and legal fees	2024 £ 13,039	2023 £ 13,100

Apportioned costs are allocated on the following basis:

Support salaries are based on the % of total staff

All other costs are allocated based on staff numbers.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

7. Staff information

Employees Salaries and wages Pension costs Employer’s NI contributions Termination costs	2024 £ 2,202,982 83,013 195,528 - 2,481,523	*2023* £ 2,275,739 82,555 207,176 4,444
		2,569,915

The emoluments, including benefits in kind, of one member of staff are within the range of £80,000 to £89,999 and three members of staff are within the range £60,000 to £69,999 (2023 one in the range £80,000 to £89,999 and two in the range £60,000 to £69,999), not including retirement benefits which are accruing under a defined contribution scheme.

Key management

The key management of the charity comprise of the Trustees and senior management team as noted on page 20.

The Trustees do not receive any remuneration for their services.

Total remuneration, including benefits, paid to key management personnel as defined on page 20, a

mounted to £402,490 (2023 – £388,909).

Average staff numbers

erage staff numbers
Direct charitable Administration and support Marketing and publicity Average headcount	2024 £ 64 8 1 73 83	*2023* £ 71 9 1
		81
		96

In addition, a great amount of time, the value of which it is impossible to reflect in these financial statements, is donated by hundreds of volunteers across our projects.

8. Net income

This is stated after credited / (charging): Auditors’ remuneration Operating lease rentals Depreciation of fixed assets Trustees expenses relating to travel and accommodation Trustees having expenses reimbursed or paid on their behalf	2024 £ 9,250 67,093 25,421 - -	*2023* £ 9,250 79,222 22,858 -
		-

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

9. Tangible fixed assets

Buildings £ Building Alterations £ Cost As at 1 April 2023 95,001 103,677 Additions - 15,383 Disposals - - As at 31 March 2024 95,001 119,060 Depreciation As at 1 April 2023 15,198 80,347 Charge for the year 1,900 7,906 On disposals - - As at 31 March 2024 17,098 88,253 Net Book Value As at 31 March 2024 77,903 30,807 As at 31 March 2023 79,803 23,330	Fixtures & equipment £ 298,633 12,266 (197,908) 112,991 288,882 8,852 (197,908) 99,826 13,165 9,751	Motor vehicles £ 15,076 32,464 - 47,540 15,076 6,763 - 21,839 25,701 -	Total £ *512,387* 60,113 (197,908)
			374,592
			*399,503* 25,421 (197,908)
			227,016
			147,576
			*112,884*

10. Fixed Assets Investments

During the year, the charity owned 100% of the issued share capital of dormant companies at the following cost:

Groundwork Environmental Services (Cheshire) Ltd.(Incorporated in England - 02156212) – par value of shares £1 each . Debtors Trade debtors Amounts recoverable on contracts Owed from group company Prepayments	2024 £ 2
	2

11. Debtors

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

12. Creditors falling due within one year

12. Creditors falling due within one year
Trade creditors Other taxes and social security Accruals Other creditors Deferred income Analysis of deferred income: Balance brought forward Released in year Deferred in year	2024 £ 452,449 163,980 153,025 13,904 346,502 1,129,860 191,037 (148,270) 303,735 346,502	*2023* £ 265,076 91,307 172,831 14,640 191,037
		734,891
		327,057 (188,929) 52,909
		191,037

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

13. Statement of funds

Unrestricted funds (all charitable): General funds Designated funds Restricted funds: Project funds (detail below) Total funds Restricted funds: Amberswood Volunteer Welfare Cabin Selnet BBO - Age of Opportunity Selnet BBO – Changing futures Selnet BBO – Invest in Youth Selnet BBO – Invest in Youth 2 GGHT BBO – New Leaf Big Local Rudheath & Witton Big Local - Windmill Hill	01/04/2022 £ 1,055,976 - 1,055,976 1,004,612 2,060,588 10,000 - - - - - 23,134 63,626	Income £ 1,522,525 - 1,522,525 3,437,570 4,960,095 - 23,350 1,115 130,624 33,927 65,109 97,688 51,792	Expenditure £ Transfer £ (1,509,672) - - - (1,509,672) - (3,447,220) - (4,956,892) - (10,000) - (23,350) - (1,115) - (130,624) - (33,927) - (65,109) - (106,639) - (97,319) -	31/03/2023 & 01/04/2023 £ *1,068,829* - *1,068,829* *994,962* *2,063,791* - - - - - - 14,183 18,099	Income £ 1,438,873 - 1,438,873 3,984,623 5,423,496 - 439 (1,810) - (20) 3,433 144,907 238,064	Expenditure £ Transfer £ (1,287,108) - - - (1,287,108) - (3,876,866) - (5,163,974) - - - (439) - 1,810 - - - 20 - (3,433) - (136,329) - (241,564) -	Total 31/03/2024 £ 1,220,594 -
							1,220,594
							1,102,719
							2,323,313
							- - - - - - 22,761 14,599

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

					31/03/2023				Total
	01/04/2022	Income	Expenditure	Transfer	& 01/04/2023	Income	Expenditure	Transfer	31/03/2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Big Local - Latchford	100,511	28,134	(98,558)	-	30,087	94,577	(119,024)	-	5,640
Big Local – L30 Million	57,451	115,518	(172,969)	-	-	151,464	(125,231)	-	26,233
Big Local - Wargrave	-	-	-	-	-	107,687	(12,057)	-	95,630
Blackburn EDZ BID	-	111,559	(84,536)	-	27,023	189,724	(127,452)	-	89,294
Burnley BID	120,869	215,187	(270,232)	-	65,824	217,225	(260,092)	-	22,957
Gadbrook Park BID	-	203,601	(203,601)	-	-	212,461	(188,195)	-	24,266
Northwich Town Centre BID	-	227,838	(227,838)	-	-	249,381	(249,381)	-	-
Warrington TEC BID	106,562	257,172	(247,950)	-	115,784	197,863	(274,968)	-	38,679
Winsford BID	72,197	116,002	(141,581)	-	46,618	109,492	(140,948)	-	15,162
West Chester BID	82,531	134,869	(87,309)	-	130,091	94,500	(146,871)	-	77,720
Wilmslow Town Centre BID	-	79,024	(76,383)	-	2,641	207,003	(184,154)	-	25,490
Wilmslow Brand Evolution	-	-	-	-	-	39,015	(39,015)	-	-
Grow Speke Community Zone	19,291	54,050	(73,341)	-	-	51,180	(40,931)	-	10,249
River Douglas Fisheries Project	46,774	-	(46,774)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Opening Up the River Douglas -
ERDF	-	11,640	(11,640)	-	-	2,074	(2,074)	-	-
Rivington Festival of Light	-	27,366	(27,366)	-	-	28,751	(28,751)	-	-
Saltscape Legacy Heritage	700	-	-	-	700	-	-	-	700
Lever Park Cast	-	4,149	(4,149)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Blackpool Community Farm	13,216	53,983	(52,091)	-	15,108	118,545	(58,670)	-	74,983
Nature Friendly Schools	-	1,739	(1,739)	-	-	-	-	-	-

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

							31/03/2023				Total
			01/04/2022	Income	Expenditure	Transfer	& 01/04/2023	Income	Expenditure	Transfer	31/03/2024
			£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
@ The Grange			124,592	324,330	(275,950)	-	172,972	288,763	(300,499)	-	161,236
Grange Park ERDF			-	116,235	(116,235)	-	-	7,965	(7,965)	-	-
Green Doctor - Wigan			-	163,877	(163,877)	-	-	270,912	(270,912)	-	-
Green Recovery	Challenge
Fund			-	32,553	(32,553)	-	-	-	-	-	-
GRCF 2 – River		Douglas
Challenge			33,889	99,839	(93,593)	-	40,135	24,960	(65,095)	-	-
Love My River		Douglas
Catchment Citizen Science			-	28,883	(28,883)	-	-	36,520	(30,270)	-	6,250
National Year of Service			-	32,659	(32,659)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gambling Awareness			18,589	-	(13,989)	-	4,600	-	(4,600)	-	-
Community Health Building			37,029	115,000	(51,278)	-	100,751	85,000	(70,664)	-	115,087
Blackpool Youth Hub			-	2,927	(2,927)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Unique FY Media			26,154	-	(26,154)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bright Park			-	11,558	(11,558)	-	-	12	(12)	-	-
Greater Manchester		Green
Spaces Fund – Enabler			-	11,533	(11,533)	-	-	13,840	(13,840)	-	-
Green Community	Hubs –
Northern Network			-	219,568	(106,725)	-	112,843	142,052	(237,183)	-	17,713
Green Doctor Energy		Redress
(Lancashire)			-	21,713	(21,713)	-	-	50,825	(50,825)	-	-
AHRC - Fylde Coast			-	3,906	(3,906)	-	-	3,125	(3,125)	-	-
Outdoor Education			-	54,108	(45,207)	-	8,901	31,522	(40,423)	-	-
Claremont			-	6,250	(3,125)	-	3,125	350	(3,475)	-	-
Home from Hospital			-	22,415	(22,415)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Violence Reduction		Alliance
Facilitator			-	15,000	(7,333)	-	7,667	25,000	(25,000)	-	7,667

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Blackpool Multiply PCN VSCE Partnership Test and Learn Green Influencers New to Nature Green Doctor Northwest Net Zero Hub RHT – AIM New Stories New Audience Green Doctor - British Gas WHDII New to Nature Blackpool Adult Community Mental Health GM VCSE Workforce Development Programme Wigan VCFSE Sports Club Integration Cannington Shaw Training Academy Down to Earth - CPP Blackpool Let’s Get Digital Steps to Success Lindow Moss Urgent Discharge	01/04/2022 £ - - 18,318 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 29,179 1,004,612	Income £ 31,500 41,320 9,000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27,961 3,437,570	Expenditure £ Transfer £ (31,500) - (20,660) - (22,818) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (4,490) - (3,447,220) -	31/03/2023 & 01/04/2023 £ - 20,660 4,500 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 52,650 994,962	Income £ 57,600 - 10 29,451 48,283 11,290 19,355 4,320 74,551 16,055 25,000 31,742 148,193 5,600 16,373 60,000 - 3,984,623	Expenditure £ Transfers £ (57,600) - (20,660) - (4,510) - (29,451) - (48,283) - - - (19,355) - (4,320) - (35,570) - (16,055) - (13,511) - (31,742) - (50,817) - (5,600) - (2,475) - (28,468) - (6,811) - (3,876,866) -	Total 31/03/2024 £ - - - - - 11,290 - - 38,981 - 11,489 - 97,376 - 13,898 31,532 45,839
							1,102,719

BBO and New Leaf programmes - Supporting unemployed people to get into work, training or volunteering, the groups offer different age focus.

Big Local Windmill Hill / Rudheath & Witton/ Latchford/ L30 Million/ Wargrave – Big Local Trust funding to enable residents to meet the five key priorities they identified in their areas and make a lasting and positive difference to their communities. These are 10 year projects with funds expected to be fully utilised by the end.

Business Improvement District (BID) – Contracts to deliver safer, cleaner, supported and sustainable environments using levies from local businesses.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Wilmslow Brand Evolution – UKSPF funding via Cheshire East Council to increase awareness and footfall to Wilmslow Town Centre

Grow Speke – Mixed funding to redevelop a former urban social club site into a community horticulture facility.

Rivington Festival of Light – Fundraising event in partnership with Rivington Heritage Trust.

Saltscape Legacy Heritage – HLF grant for maintenance of project profile.

Blackpool Community Farm – Funding received from, Blackpool Council, Know Your Neighbourhood, NHS Community Mental Health, Quaker Oats and Garfield Weston Foundation to support the continued work with local people on environmental volunteering projects across Grange Park.

@ The Grange – Funding from Blackpool Council for the provision of management responsibility for the community hub and funding from Know Your Neighbourhood, Blackpool Football Club, Quaker Oats, Blackpool Coastal Housing and Tyson Builders with the aim of contributing to the social, physical, economic, educational and environmental wellbeing of the community.

Grange Park ERDF – Funded by ERDF via Blackpool Council to adopt a whole place based approach to increasing community resilience to climate change and carbon reduction.

Green Doctor Wigan – Funding from Cadent Foundation via Groundwork UK to assist vulnerable people and those with low incomes make home energy efficiency savings, reduce energy bills, make homes warmer and safer.

Green Recovery Challenge Fund 2 – River Douglas Challenge – Funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund on behalf of DEFRA to deliver a partnership programme on the River Douglas Catchment.

Love My River Douglas Catchment Citizen Science – Funded by the Environment Agency to deliver WEIF community citizen science projects on the River Douglas.

Gambling Awareness – Funding from Greater Manchester Combined Authority to engage with vulnerable young people to raise awareness and reduce gambling in Wigan.

Community Health Building – Funded via Wigan Borough LDP to understand and develop capacity in the VCSE sector to create new and existing asset-based opportunities which provide early intervention.

Bright Park – Funded by Bright Park Trust to undertake a series of staff training events, volunteer work parties and community engagement activities at Bright Park.

Greater Manchester Green Spaces Fund Enabler – Funded via GM Green Spaces Grant the project will be working alongside Groundwork Manchester.

Green Community Hubs Northern Network – National Lottery funded programme to support and grow Green Community Hubs throughout the North of England being belivered in partnership with 4 other Groundwork Trusts.

Green Doctor Energy Redress (Lancashire) – Funding from the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme via Groundwork UK to provide assistance to vulnerable households to reduce their energy costs through in-depth home-based energy advice and support.

AHRC – Fylde Coast – Funded via University of Liverpool, the AHRC research grant will look at community hubs across the Fylde Coast.

Outdoor Education – Funded via the Firethorn Trust to deliver a Nature Friendly Schools programme, providing dedicated support to schools to enable them to make better use of the environment in curriculum delivery, supporting them with the resources in and around Ellesmere Port.

Claremont – Funding from the Rank Foundation to deliver a detached Youth Work project based in the Claremont area of Blackpool working with 18-25 year olds.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Violence Reduction Alliance Facilitator – Funding from 10GM to support the rollout, establishment and delivery of a community led Violence Reduction Programme in priority neighbourhoods in Wigan.

Blackpool Multiply – UKSPF funding via Blackpool Council to improve individual’s ability to understand and use maths in daily/ life/ home/ work setting.

PCN VCSE Partnership Test and Learn – Funding from 10GM to explore how we create and sustain collaborative partnerships between PCN and VCSEs in order to tackle health inequality.

Green Influencers - Funded by The Ernest Cook Trust and the #iwill Fund to introduce climate change and sustainability to young people aged 10-14 within the St Helens area.

New to Nature – Funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund via Groundwork UK to provide paid work placements in environmental roles and to also mentor the placements.

Green Doctor Northwest Net Zero Hub – Funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero via Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to reduce fuel poverty and increase the uptake of domestic retrofit.

RHT AIM New Stories New Audience – Funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund via the Association of Independent Museums to deliver improved interpretation and engagement with new audiences at the Rivington Visitor Centre and Pigeon Tower.

Green Doctor – British Gas WHDII – Funding from British Gas Warm Homes Discount Industry Initiative via Groundwork UK to alleviate fuel poverty in Cheshire West and Wigan.

Blackpool Adult Community Mental Health – Funding from NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB to provide support to individuals leaving mental health facilities to successfully transition back into the community and reduce re-admission rates.

GM VCSE Workforce Development Programme – Funding from Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership via 10GM to support the delivery of the GM Workforce strategy within the voluntary sector.

Wigan VCFSE Sports Club Integration – Funding from Greater Sport via 10GM to make a collective approach to link Community Health Building and Sport Clubs.

Cannington Shaw Training Academy – Funding from Cannington Shaw Preservation Trust CIC to develop the Cannington Shaw Heritage Skills Academy which will provide a programme of training, skills development and work experience for local construction students.

Down to Earth CPP – Funding from the Arts Council England national Creative People and Places programme. To engage with Wigan residents on how to shape and create art and culture, focusing on the borough’s green spaces and community hubs as sites for cultural engagement.

Blackpool Lets Get Digital – Funding from UKSPF via Blackpool Council to assist participants to gain IT skills and confidence to access digital platforms including shopping, banking, benefits, bills, social media and the GP surgery.

Steps to Success – Funding from Stockport NHS Foundation Trust to provide support to younger adults with their mental health and well being.

Lindow Moss - Funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund, UKSPF via Cheshire East Council and The Environment Agency to conserve, restore and interpret the wider Lindow Moss Landscape for the benefit of nature, the climate and people.

Urgent Discharge – The funding from Northwest Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust will aim to support adults to live independently in the Borough of Wigan.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

14. Analysis of net assets between funds

Fund balances at 31 March 2024 are represented by: Tangible fixed assets Net current assets Fund balances at 31 March 2023 are represented by: Tangible fixed assets Net current assets Free reserves: Net current assets 15. Analysis of changes in net debt Cash and cash equivalents Cash	Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total £ 147,576 - 147,576 1,073,018 1,102,719 2,175,737 1,220,594 1,102,719 2,323,313 112,884 - *112,884* 955,945 994,962 *1,950,907* 1,068,829 994,962 *2,063,791* 2024 2023 £ £ 1,073,018 955,945 At 1 April 2023 Cash flows At 31 March 2024 £ £ £ 1,741,741 363,164 2,104,905 1,741,741 363,164 2,104,905	Total £ 147,576 2,175,737
		2,323,313
		*112,884* *1,950,907*
		*2,063,791*
		2023 £ 955,945

16. Constitution

The company is limited by guarantee and does have share capital. In the event of the charity being wound up the members are committed to contributing £1 each.

17. Taxation

The charity is a registered charity and is entitled to claim annual exemption from UK corporation tax under sections 466 to 477 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.

18. Other commitments

There are no capital commitments at the 31[st] March 2024.

19. Related party transactions

There are no transactions with Trustees which require disclosure.

No trustee or member of the charity has any commercial interest in the charity. The Board is comprised of independent trustees, and although they are accountable to the members, the members do not have Board nomination rights. It is therefore considered that there is no ultimate controlling party for the charity.

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

20. Lease commitments

Operating leases

At the year end the charity had the following minimum commitments under operating leases

Payable within: One year Between 2 and 5 years After more than 5 years	2024 Land & Buildings £ 55,050 247,500 - 302,550	2024 Other £ 7,415 26,051 - 33,466	2024 Total £ 62,465 273,551 - 336,016	2023 Total £ 67,302 172,486 -
				239,788

1	ABOUT GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE ............................................................. 3	ABOUT GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE ............................................................. 3
	Who we are?...................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1	Who we are?...................................................................................................................................... 3
	Our mission ........................................................................................................................................ 3 1.2	Our mission ........................................................................................................................................ 3
	The change we deliver ....................................................................................................................... 3 1.3	The change we deliver ....................................................................................................................... 3
	Our values .......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.4	Our values .......................................................................................................................................... 3
2	CHAIR’S STATEMENT .................................................................................................................................. 5
3	TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 ..................................................................... 6
	Purposes & Public Benefit ................................................................................................................. 6 3.1	Purposes & Public Benefit ................................................................................................................. 6
	Public Benefit Statement ................................................................................................................... 6 3.2	Public Benefit Statement ................................................................................................................... 6
	Review of our Impact Year ................................................................................................................ 7 3.3	Review of our Impact Year ................................................................................................................ 7
	What do our beneficiaries say? ....................................................................................................... 10 3.4	What do our beneficiaries say? ....................................................................................................... 10
	Our plans for the future................................................................................................................... 13 3.5	Our plans for the future................................................................................................................... 13
	Federation guiding principles .......................................................................................................... 14 3.6	Federation guiding principles .......................................................................................................... 14
	Our objectives .................................................................................................................................. 14 3.7	Our objectives .................................................................................................................................. 14
	Support Services .............................................................................................................................. 14 3.8	Support Services .............................................................................................................................. 14
	Financial Performance ..................................................................................................................... 16 3.9	Financial Performance ..................................................................................................................... 16
	Reserves ........................................................................................................................................... 16 3.10	Reserves ........................................................................................................................................... 16
	Risk Management ............................................................................................................................ 17 3.11	Risk Management ............................................................................................................................ 17
	Our Governance .............................................................................................................................. 18 3.12	Our Governance .............................................................................................................................. 18
	Pay and remuneration for senior staff ............................................................................................ 18 3.13	Pay and remuneration for senior staff ............................................................................................ 18
	Related parties ................................................................................................................................. 18 3.14	Related parties ................................................................................................................................. 18
	Relations within the Groundwork Network .................................................................................... 19 3.15	Relations within the Groundwork Network .................................................................................... 19
	Our People and Advisors ................................................................................................................. 20 3.16	Our People and Advisors ................................................................................................................. 20
	Statement of Directors’ and Trustees’ Responsibilities .................................................................. 22 3.17	Statement of Directors’ and Trustees’ Responsibilities .................................................................. 22
	Statement of disclosure to Auditors ................................................................................................ 22 3.18	Statement of disclosure to Auditors ................................................................................................ 22
	Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Groundwork Cheshire Lancashire & Merseyside 3.19	Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Groundwork Cheshire Lancashire & Merseyside
		23
4	CHARITY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 (including the
Income & Expenditure Account) ..................................................................................................................... 27		Income & Expenditure Account) ..................................................................................................................... 27
5	CHARITY BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2024 ................................................................................... 28
6	CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024.......................................................... 29
7	NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 ................................. 30

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2023/24

Contents

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

1 ABOUT GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Who we are?

Our mission

The change we deliver

Our values

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

2 CHAIR’S STATEMENT

Tracy Fishwick

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

3 TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Purposes & Public Benefit

Public Benefit Statement

Review of our Impact Year

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

What do our beneficiaries say?

From Isolation to Standing Ovation

Creating a Pathway to A Sustainable Career

What Groundwork Does Really Works

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

I’ve Saved Money and Improved My Health

Supporting Businesses to Become More

Sustainable

Breaking Down the Barriers

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Wilmslow’s Way Better

You Can’t Help But Feel Inspired

The Magic of Forest Schools

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Our plans for the future

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Federation guiding principles

Our objectives

Support Services

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

a) Strategic Programme 1 - Sustainable Communities

Our services include:

b) Strategic Programme 2 - Employment & Skills

c) Strategic Programme 3 – Sustainable Business

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Financial Performance

3.10 Reserves

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Risk Management

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Our Governance

a) Governing document

d) Members of the company

e) The Board of Trustees

f) Terms of Office

g) Induction and Training

h) Organisational Structure

i) Good governance review

Pay and remuneration for senior staff

3.14 Related parties

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Relations within the Groundwork Network

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Our People and Advisors

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Statement of Directors’ and Trustees’ Responsibilities

Statement of disclosure to Auditors

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE

Opinion

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

Other information

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Responsibilities of trustees

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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

GROUNDWORK CHESHIRE, LANCASHIRE & MERSEYSIDE