The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The principal activity of the company is to advance, for the public benefit of education and training, primarily in Wales, the skills required for leading and instructing safe hill, mountain, moorland and countryside walking and indoor climbing, rock climbing, and other associated activities practised in cliff and mountain environments, and to offer advice on matters of training and safety.
Board of Directors
Andy Newton Chair
Emily Scott Treasurer
Andy Bevan Director
Bryn Williams Director
Richard Jones Resigned 2nd May 2024
A Gibbs Resigned 5th June 2024
Danielle Brackenridge Appointed 5th June 2024
Liz Heyworth Thomas Appointed 5th June 2024
Richard Lewis Appointed 5th June 2024
Monique Stevens Appointed 5th June 2024
Secretary
Simon Patton
A management Board of members, drawn from a wide range of interested organisation advises the Directors on all aspects of the Company’s activities. The Directors and the Management Council have met regularly during the year. The Management Council was constituted as follows:
Members
Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres Andy Meek
Association of Mountaineering Instructors Andy Newton
British Associations of International Mountain Leaders Ross Worthington
British Mountaineering Council Cymru Matt Woodfield
British Association of Mountain Guides Phill George
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Cymru Steph Price
Girlguiding Cymru Gill Beazley
North Wales Mountain Rescue Association Tim Radford
Plas y Brenin Helen Barnard
Outdoor Education Advisors Panel Mike Rosser
Ramblers Cymru Angela Charlton
Scouts Cymru Wyn Owen
Advisors/observers
Association of British Climbing Walls Training Trust vacant
British Mountaineering Council vacant
Independent advisor Will Kilner
Institute for Outdoor Learning vacant
Joint Services Mountain Training Centre Chris Forrest
Mountain Training UK and Ireland John Cousins
Natural Resources Wales Joe Roberts
Y Partneraith Awyr Agored/ Outdoor Partnership Simon Jones
Wales Activity Tourism Organisation Paul Donovan
Review of Progress and Achievements
MTC’s Board continues to hold four official meetings and three Council meetings per year. In the main, these meetings continue to take place online.
Over the course of the financial year, our two main income streams, registration fees and course attendance fees, remained steady despite the cost of living crisis. 1,019 candidates registered on our schemes, and 2,132 candidates booked onto a training or assessment course.
MTC’s future looks uncertain due to a loss of Sport Wales funding (March 2022). Discussions are ongoing to identify a suitable way forward for the company. Notably, the Board, with Council agreement, intends to convert from a Company Limited by Guarantee to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Conversion work is underway.
Discussions with Sport Wales are ongoing but have been unfruitful.
Following several months of development, we launched our new website earlier this year which coincided with a rebrand of the entire Mountain Training network. Feedback on both has been positive.
After consultation with members of the Association of British Climbing Walls it became evident that there was significant demand for a bouldering wall specific qualification. Development of a new Bouldering Wall Instructor qualification is now at an advanced stage. This new qualification will launch early in 2025.
Mountain Training’s Finance Review Group which comprises of all Mountain Training Home Nation Boards met during the year. The outcome of which was to increase scheme registration fees and course attendance fees. All price increases were introduced early in 2024.
In line with Mountain Training England and Mountain Training Scotland, MTC introduced a new Provider Agreement which was implemented on 1st January 2024. All providers are now signed up to the new contract.
In addition to the day to day operation of the Company, work for the current financial year will focus, in the main, on securing the future of Mountain Training Cymru. Additional work will comprise of completing a new 5 year company strategy, recruiting providers for the new bouldering qualification ready for it’s launch in early 2025 and provider and course director workshops.
Mountain Training Cymru Board Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Siabod Cottage, Capel Curig, Betws Y Coed, Conwy, United Kingdom, LL24 0ES.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
Income and expenses are included in the financial statements as they become receivable or due.
Expenses include VAT where applicable as the company cannot reclaim it.
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is credited or charged to surplus or deficit.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the company after deducting all of its liabilities.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was :
The company is limited by guarantee, not having a share capital and consequently the liability of members is limited, subject to an undertaking by each member to contribute to the net assets or liabilities of the company on winding up such amounts as may be required not exceeding £1.