## **North Coast Community Transport Company limited by guarantee** ## **Company information** Trustees Marie McGinnis - Deceased 21/02/24 Ken McCaughey Edna Walmsley - Resigned 25/5/23 Andrea Elkin Frances Boyd - Appointed 12/01/24 Francis Dick - Appointed 12/01/24 Secretary Edna Walmsley - Resigned 25/5/23 Andrea Elkin - Appointed 25/5/23 Senior Management William Moore Emma Mullan Company number NI38840 Principal and Registered office Ivan Wilson Complex 277 Dunhill Road Coleraine Co Londonderry BT51 3QJ Auditors EM Accountants, Statutory Auditor 42A-44A New Row Coleraine BT52 1AF Bankers First Trust Crescent Link Retail Park Unit 20 Londonderry BT47 6SA ## **North Coast Community Transport Company limited by guarantee** ## **Trustees' Report (Including Directors Report)** ## **for the year ended 31 March 2024** The Trustees, who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of the Companies Act, present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024. The information with respect to trustees, directors, officers and advisers set out on the information page, forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their annual accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102), The Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Practice. ## **Objectives and Activities** In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit. The principal activity of the company is to provide an affordable and accessible transport service to the rural community in the North Coast area and to support and compliment other organisations involved in community development initiatives. North Coast Community Transport (NCCT) provides relief to those in need by reason of youth, age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage through the provision of community led access solutions in the North Coast area. NCCT meets our charitable purposes through the provision of wholly charitable transport solutions for beneficiaries who are unable to access conventional public or private transport because of age, rural location, mobility issues and poverty. Beneficiaries include people who are: elderly, poor, disabled, people with young children, or those living in isolated areas and for community organisations, where there are no adequate public transport facilities. NCCT secures grants and donations to support provision of subsidised transport for beneficiaries. NCCT delivers services using community minibuses and volunteer car drivers. NCCT provides information to enable people to avail of various means of travel to enable access to local services, working in partnership with other transport providers to ensure alternatives and linkages to other services. ## **Achievements and Performance** Within the year 2023/2024 we have increased the delivery of passenger trips from 104,000 to almost 117,000 as the demand for this service continues to rise. 14,000 of these passenger trips have been through volunteers covering 441,000 miles collectively and this has been an increase on the 11,000 passenger trips last year. We boosted our fleet from 17 to a fleet of 27 well maintained and high spec wheelchair accessible minibuses enabling us to offer these additional resources to the assistance of Disabled groups newly introduced through our Motability programme. This programme funded the recruitment of 6 newly trained driving staff also. We have introduced a new transport app for drivers which eliminates a huge part of data entry for the office staff enabling them to utilise their skills in other required areas. The introduction of new VOIP phone systems has also contributed to more efficient office systems. NCCT have thrived on the limited government funding available to them through successfully securing additional funding streams, embracing a volunteering ethos and continuing to trying to improve processes and systems. We are very proud of the achievements and performance during 2023/24. ## **Financial Review** The statement of financial activities for the year is set out on page 10 of the financial statements. The principal funder of the charity is the Department for Infrastructure through the rural transport fund. During the period ended 31st March 2024, incoming resources includes grant income of £372,064 from the rural transport fund. **Page 1** ## **North Coast Community Transport Company limited by guarantee** ## **Trustees' Report (Including Directors Report)** ## **for the year ended 31 March 2024** ……continued Funding of £1,273 was also received from the Department for Employment and Learning. The amount received from Department for Infrastructure in respect of the assisted rural transport scheme was £108,709. During the year the company received funding of £455,317 from Motability and the majority of this funding was expended on the purchase of new vehicles All grant funding has been used solely for the purposes intended and in accordance with the terms and conditions of grant. ## **Reserves policy** The charity's policy on restricted funds is to separately record donations, grants and other sources of fundraising where restrictions are imposed that are narrower than the charity's overall objectives. The trustees have reviewed the charity's requirements for reserves in conjunction with their analysis of the main risks for the company. At 31[st] March 2024 the charity held reserves of £1,419,314 of which £676,192 were restricted funds. They have established a reserves policy which states that the unrestricted funds not invested in Fixed Assets need to be sufficient to cover 6 months of core annual running costs and be sufficient to cover redundancy costs and vehicle commitments. This equates to approximately £730,620 in general funds. At this level, the trustees consider that they would be able to continue the current activities of the charity in the short term in the event of a significant drop in income. It would also be necessary to consider how that income would be replaced. At the balance sheet date free reserves, which amount to £564,014 do not exceed the minimum target amount. ## **Plans for the future** The determination for NCCT and the other RCTP’s to fight for multi- year ring fenced funding will continue and remain as a priority for all with continuous lobbying and entreating to government officials. This will focus particularly on lobbying to Health officials for support as we continue to deliver huge amounts of health related trips with no financial support or contribution. NCCT plan to continue to deliver remarkable services to members at the highest capacity possible on the allocated funding. Our Motability project has been in service since February 2024 and we plan to grow and develop this project to its full potential to the benefit of all our disabled members and develop the valued relationship they hold with this particular funder. ## **Structure, Governance and Management** ## **Organisational structure** North Coast Community Transport is a company limited by guarantee and recognised as a charity by Inland Revenue. In terms of company law, charity law and day to day activities, the company is an independent entity. The trustees meet regularly to direct the operations of the charity. The charity had 40 employees at March 31st 2024. **Page 2** ## **North Coast Community Transport Company limited by guarantee** ## **Trustees' Report (Including Directors Report)** ## **for the year ended 31 March 2024** ……continued ## **Governance** During the period under review the trustees met approximately every eight weeks. A panel comprised of existing trustees selects members for the board. Trustees serve for a one year period and may be re-elected for further one year periods. The trustees who served during the period to March 31st 2024 are listed on the information page. ## **Risk Management** The trustees have reviewed the major risks to which the charity is exposed and systems have been established to manage those risks. ## **Reference and administration details** North Coast Community Transport, is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on June 20th 2000. It is registered with the Companies Registrar under registration number NI38840. It is also recognised as a charity by the Inland Revenue, XR58093 and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under reference NI100411. The trustees and secretary of the charity are listed on the information page. The principal and registered office of the charity is also listed on the information page together with details of the professional advisors and bankers. ## **Changes in fixed assets** The movements in fixed assets during the year are set out in the notes to the financial statements. ## **Taxation** As a charity the company is not liable for corporation tax on its other income or on capital gains to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. ## **Statement of trustees' responsibilities in respect of the annual report and the financial statements** Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to: - select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently; - observe the methods and principles in the 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 presume that the charitable company will continue in operation. The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and that help ensure that the accounts 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. **Page 3** ## **North Coast Community Transport Company limited by guarantee** ## **Trustees' Report (Including Directors Report) for the year ended 31 March 2024** ## **Statement of disclosure of information to auditors** So far as each of the trustees in office at the date of approval of these financial statements is aware: - there is no relevant information of which the charity's auditors are unaware; and - they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as trustees/directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that the charity's auditors are aware of that information. ## **[Auditors]** A resolution proposing that EM Accountants be re-appointed as auditors of the charity will be put to the Annual General Meeting. ## **Small Company Provisions** This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions in Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. This report was approved and authorised for issue by the trustees on th August 2024 and signed on their behalf by: > **[Ken McCaughey] Director** **Page 4**