The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "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)".
EJNI’S growing network in Northern Ireland and across the island of Ireland is working together with partners across the EU to respond to environmental and social injustice. EJNI defines ’environmental justice’ as the prevention of unfairly distributed environmental harms and the establishment of procedures to ensure that concerned citizens and public interest groups can access the justice system at reasonable cost; be provided with a fair platform for the treatment of environmental issues; and obtain adequate and effective remedies for breaches of environmental law.
EJNI will contribute to the ongoing transformation of the Northern Ireland conflict through:
empowering citizens to address root causes of environmental injustice – namely the de-prioritization of environmental protection and social justice during the conflict
contributing to peace-building efforts by providing a platform for collaboration between diverse stakeholders but also between groups and individuals from all communities in Northern Ireland
promoting cross-border cooperation on the island of Ireland through the development of cooperative solutions to shared environmental challenges
• EJNI’s core mission and operations are underpinned by the principles and values of participation, human rights and equality. Public participation is one of the central tenets of the UNECE Convention on Access to Environmental Justice. The right to a healthy environment is increasingly recognised as the basis for a wide range of legal interventions centred on environmental justice claims. Finally, equality, diversity & inclusivity considerations have informed the development of the organisation since its establishment.
• EJNI’s activities are designed to encourage the development of a non-sectarian political culture which is inclusive, transparent, responsive and accountable. It will do this through supporting and equipping communities with the knowledge they need to create a vibrant, pluralist and activist civil society, responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable and able to hold the government to account for environmental and connected social justice failures.
EJNI’s work will help provide a platform for voices from community activist groups which have been marginalised groups in the context of public policy-making in relation to the environment and social justice in Northern Ireland. Through joint-working between communities, NGOs, lawyers and academics to produce evidence-based resources, events and advocacy activities, EJNI will help cultivate the independence of the community and voluntary sectors. EJNI’s work has already, and will continue to develop projects that promote increased participation of women in processes which will help influence political decision-making and also greater inclusivity in political decision-making and policy work.
EJNI’s work will fulfil three central charitable purposes:
i. to promote, for the benefit of the public, access to environmental justice by supporting communities, individuals and organisations that are engaged in challenging environmental injustice on the island of Ireland and providing a platform for collaboration between these groups;
ii. to promote, for the benefit of the public, the advancement of education about environmental justice concerns on the island of Ireland and how these relate to global environmental, economic and societal debates; and
iii. to carry out or assist in the carrying out of research into environmental justice and to publish or otherwise disseminate the results of such research on the island of Ireland and across the world for the benefit of the public.
In terms of timescale, EJNI has a range of short-, medium- and long-term goals. In the short term, the goal of the organisation is to continue to develop its network, profile, administrative and working practices and acquire additional core funding from a more diverse range of sources to support a growing team of staff in line with the scale of our operations – which have increased again during 2025.
In the medium term, EJNI will focus on the development of its 4 core projects: Rights, Justice and Nature; Environmental Democracy; Climate Governance, the All-island Strategic Legal Exchange and Linking the Irish Environment.
We will also continue to focus on the promotion of North-South cooperation on the island of Ireland and on East-West relationships with partner organisations in Scotland, England and Wales.
In the long term, EJNI will continue to develop new project streams within a broader strategy for addressing environmental injustice and the connected social injustice on the island of Ireland. This strategy will be developed in partnership with EJNI’s network of partners from the island of Ireland but also in consultation with other environmental justice networks and bodies from other jurisdictions (in particular from post-conflict societies).
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
EJNI has had significant successes across all three of our central objectives:
EJNI has extensive experience of working strategically and influencing real-world change in Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland and further afield across all three of our main objectives.
Research: Our responsive research outputs are created to academic, peer-reviewed standards with the core goal of driving forward evidence-based, positive change. The reach and impact of our research across our four main project areas have expanded over the last few years and now engage a wide range of research users at national, European and international level. Our accessible outputs – co-produced with research users - have filled knowledge gaps, stimulated new and emerging conversations around environmental and social justice and connected local and grassroots concerns in Northern Ireland to national and international developments. Our research addresses highly technical, complex legal and policy analysis work and EJNI is filling an important skills gap within the wider civil society ecosystem in Northern Ireland by providing this expert, solution-orientated analysis and translating it into timely, accessible and impactful outputs. EJNI’s extensive collection of collaborative, open access publications is available on our website. Examples include:
• Our Lough Neagh case study used an environmental justice framework to inform the design of a range of strategic interventions, including a recommendation to set up a Citizen’s Assembly on Lough Neagh. Involve UK adopted this recommendation and nominated our Director Ciara Brennan to join the co-design group for the Citizen’s Assembly. This received national media attention e.g.in the Irish News, Spotlight and in the Guardian.
• Our ‘Linking the Irish Environment’ project and reports have enhanced civil society cooperation and alignment on shared environmental issues across the island of Ireland. EJNI produced an initial report commissioned by Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL) and the Irish Environmental Network (IEN) and since then we have continued to work in collaboration with these two networks to promote positive change based on the report’s central findings. One of the report’s key recommendations directly informed the five-part series of dialogues for the ‘All Island Civil Society Forum on the Environment’ (including on biodiversity, marine ecosystems and freshwater ecosystems), the report was highlighted via profile coverage in the Centre for Cross Border Cooperation as part of the New Common Charter for Cooperation and has also led directly to a new CHANGE (Collaborative Horizons for All-Island Nature and Governance Enhancement) initiative funded by PEACEPLUS.
• Our report ‘Transboundary environmental justice: Gold mining in the Sperrin mountains’ was co-produced with community representatives and highlighted the rights of citizens to respond to vital public consultations on extractive industry in Northern Ireland. The resulting public consultation eventually led to over 1400 responses from communities and stakeholders on both sides of the border in Ireland.
• Our just transition research has been presented to Northern Ireland’s Equality Coalition and the National Women’s Council: All-Island Women’s Forum and is cited in Ireland’s Just Transition Commission’s Introductory Report along with an adoption of our recommendation to cooperate with NI’s Just Transition Commission (when it is established) to address shared challenges on the island.
• We are active respondents to consultation exercises at national level (see for example our response to the consultation on Northern Ireland’s first draft Climate Action Plan, which draws on the expertise of a team of lawyers, climate scientists and regulatory experts from our network) but also raise Northern Ireland interest issues in response to EU-level consultations (e.g. the need for continued ring-fenced PEACEPLUS funds in the next EU Multi-Annual Financial Framework). We disseminate all of our consultation responses in accessible formats to civil society organisations and communities who may not have the capacity to produce their own analysis, but who can draw key messages from our work to make their voices heard.
• Beyond Northern Ireland, our ‘Benefits of climate laws report’ and international edit of the film ‘Act Now! The Race to get a Climate Act for Northern Ireland’ inspired civil society organisations trying to secure climate change legislation in Bulgaria to directly translate the report into Bulgarian. This was disseminated to Bulgarian Members of Parliament and experts at the Ministry of Environment. This demonstrates that despite our environmental governance deficits, Northern Ireland can also be used to demonstrate best practice and successes.
• EJNI co-hosted a webinar with Ecocide International to highlight how the contamination at Lough Neagh underlines the urgency to adopt ecocide legislation across the island of Ireland and beyond and drew international attention to the Northern Ireland’s environmental challenges.
Advocacy: We have engaged in wide-ranging, impactful and empowering support activities for campaigns relating to environmental justice, including through the continued development of our publicly accessible ‘Manual of Environmental Justice’, which includes an expert directory, advocacy map and an extensive library of resources covering a broad range of environmental issues. A key element of our work, which has developed as the organisation has become more established, is our convening and movement building role on multiple specific issues that fall outside of other organisations’ strategic priorities, e.g. transboundary environmental justice issues and the need to enhance cross-border cooperation on the environment as envisaged in the 1998 Agreement. We strive to ensure that Northern Ireland has a voice in decision-making processes in Ireland and the EU. Advocacy highlights include:
• Our engagement with the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a heathy environment in 2025/26 resulted in explicit mention and advice in the end of mission statement to the Irish government to make better use of the 1998 Agreement bodies to enhance environmental cooperation with Northern Ireland on shared environmental challenges.
• In 2025 EJNI organised a meeting of the ‘All-Island Strategic Legal Exchange’ to discuss 3rd party legal interventions in the context of water litigation on the island of Ireland. We invited experienced lawyers from across the UK and Ireland to engage with campaigners and NGOs on the merits and procedural realities of engaging in this kind of legal action. We invited River Action to speak on their experience of engaging in 3rd party interventions in England and they are now an intervenor in strategic litigation relating to Lough Neagh.
• Our collaborative ‘Know Your Rights to Protest’ guide has been used to support peaceful protests across Northern Ireland.
• Our leadership role in monitoring and strengthening the implementation of the UNECE Aarhus Convention across the island of Ireland is imperative in the context of continued threats against democracy and backsliding on environmental rights and standards. During the eighth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention, EJNI hosted a successful, well-attended side event on “Regression, Non-Regression and the Conflict of Interest: exploring the role of the Aarhus Convention in climate law and policy accountability” and our analysis of Aarhus Convention non-compliance in Northern Ireland featured heavily in the NI Department of Justice recent review of its compliance with the Aarhus Convention.
Action: EJNI undertakes strategic interventions at both national and international levels to ensure compliance with legal obligations designed to deliver environmental and social justice. Examples of our work include:
• Our complaint to the European Commission about Ireland’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) on (amongst other issues) the grounds that proper consultation with the public and stakeholders in Northern Ireland were not consulted (this complaint and the Commission’s findings received national and international attention);
• Provision of evidence to Ireland’s Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate and Environment on the same issue; and our first legal activity in a judicial review where we submitted a 3rd party intervention highlighting the wider implications of NI’s failure to implement its climate law.
• EJNI also promotes and informs government, the public and civil society on the obligations to ensure meaningful public participation decision-making processes, e.g. in our Sperrins transboundary and wider access to justice work.
• Our collaborative work with academics across the island of Ireland has exposed funding rules which act as barriers to cross-border cooperation on the island of Ireland, for example Research Ireland currently has a policy requiring that civil society research partners have an Irish Charity Regulator number. This prevents charities registered with the Northern Ireland Charity Commission from availing of the opportunity to engage in collaborative research programmes. EJNI challenged this prohibition on the basis that it inhibits cross-border cooperation and Research Ireland have now agreed to review this policy, which could significantly enhance the ability of Northern Ireland’s civil society to avail of funding from Ireland to engage in collaborative research projects.
All of these outputs and details of our events are hosted on our website, www.ejni.net.
EJNI continues to receive Core Funding from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust with our latest grant of £207,000 running from October 2023 for three years. ECF continues to be our primary project funder and funding has been renewed until the end of 2026. However, with the closure of ECF’s Governance programme there is some uncertainty about the sustainability of ECF funding. In 2025 we began to explore alternative options for medium to long term funding.
The two intersecting areas of activity which EJNI is engaged in relate to core operations and collaborative projects. (i) Core Operations are undertaken by the EJNI staff (all of whom are part-time) which comprise a Director (Dr Ciara Brennan), and Deputy Director (Caitlin McIlhennon), Research Assistant (Shea Anderson) and an IT Coordinator (Phillip Lock). (ii) Collaborative Projects are run by a semi-autonomous team of paid individuals (where required) and volunteers from the EJNI network and partner organisations, nested within the larger EJNI circles of accountability (the advisory panels and Board). Approval of projects is the responsibility of the Director, who will provide oversight and coordination of the collaborative projects within EJNI’s broader strategy. Some projects require external funding (e.g. to fund buy-out/secondment for project leads, research assistance, dissemination, project-specific events etc.) and securing this funding is the responsibility of the project team who will be supported by EJNI staff. Other projects do not require funding and are cooperative efforts between individuals working for a range of partner organisations on a project of common strategic interest. This model ensures buy in and/or in-kind support from a wide range of organisations at the cutting edge of environmental justice issues. The priorities for next year are to complete and develop the projects which have commenced and to acquire funding to support the development of those projects which are at an early stage of development or which we have not yet acquired funding. A further priority is to ensure funding is acquired for an administrative assistant given the rapid increase in organisational activities and income and the associated increased administrative burden associated with this growth.
EJNI maintains an operational risk register which is regularly reviewed by our Board of Trustees. This contains our mitigation strategies for organisational risks, including:
We have minimised the risks of rising running costs through renting a small office space in Community House (a unique office venue in Belfast City Centre home to some of NI’s most impactful justice and rights-orientated organisations). This has openedup opportunities to work with new project partners and develop collegiality and shared working practices. In addition, we have a flexible working policy to ensure equality of opportunity and participation for parents and those with caring responsibilities. Difficulty securing funding is a risk for most civil society organisations in light of wider political developments that have impacted on climate and environmental philanthropic funding. EJNI’s project funding with the European Climate Foundation has been impacted for example by changing US funding rules and movement of US philanthropic focus away from Europe. We recognise the need to adjust our strategy in light of these developments and to mitigate this risk we are diversifying our income streams and applying to new funding sources (e.g. the National Lotto, SEUPB Changemaker Fund, the Reconciliation Fund and UKConnect fund). We have also prioritised applications for funding for projects which have significance beyond environmental concerns, focusing on rights, fairness, equality, social justice and a just transition as we have assessed that these areas are currently in need of investment in Northern Ireland. EJNI operates an open access approach to all of our outputs and we encourage use of our research and uptake of our messages. However, plagiarism is a risk because insufficient attribution of our work (including through AI processes) can dilute the messages and make it challenging to track impact. To combat this, we have clear IP statements on our outputs, and we have also developed a comprehensive AI and plagiarism policy. We have taken extensive steps to manage digital risks, including introducing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), monitoring our accounts regularly for suspicious activity, robust email security with intrusion detection system (PPE), and employee security awareness training.
The Environmental Justice Network Ireland was launched in June 2019 to create a collaborative platform for partnership working between academics, lawyers and civil society. EJNI’s core goal is to address the root causes of social and environmental justice deficits on the island of Ireland. EJNI is delivering this goal through an innovative, transdisciplinary model of collaboration which draws together diverse stakeholders and decision-makers who usually operate in almost completely separate spheres to enhance knowledge exchange and facilitate more effective and strategic research, advocacy and action. EJNI now has an extensive network from across the island of Ireland and beyond who work together to deliver unique, cutting-edge collaborative environmental justice projects.
EJNI is an independent, non-profit network, existing and acting in the public interest. The organisation currently has a Board of Trustees which provides oversight and makes core decisions. Co-ordination of its projects is led by a management team comprising a Director and Deputy Director, advised by project specific advisory panels, made up of voluntary representatives from academia, civil society and legal sectors drawn from its wider network of partners and collaborators. EJNI’s primary activities centre on three key areas: ((i) Research: the creation and dissemination of evidence-based, leading edge, multi-media resources to help enhance knowledge about environmental and social justice issues impacting citizens in Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland and beyond; (ii) Advocacy: supporting and empowering communities and organisations who are confronting and challenging environmental injustice, disseminating our messaging and key asks to stakeholders and providing decision-makers with the information and political cover that they need to instigate progressive change (iii) Action: undertaking strategic interventions and making creative use of accountability and scrutiny mechanisms at both national and international levels to ensure compliance with legal obligations designed to deliver environmental and social justice.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Trustees and decision-making
EJNI is driven and overseen by a Board of Trustees and supported by four project-specific advisory panels that sit within a transdisciplinary, cooperative ‘community of practice’. The aim is a highly structured system of distributed decision making, producing high quality outputs efficiently and democratically through a cooperative model based on (i) core operations and (ii) collaborative projects (as described below). The Board of Trustees is responsible for overall performance, governance and policy. It is currently comprised of 4 individuals. Trustees will be elected and appointed by the Interim Board and Company Secretary with consideration of advice from advisory panel members. The appointed board will be representative and reflect the ethos of the organisation. In December 2025, the board is comprised of: Simon Wood, Bróna McNeill, Clare Bailey and V’Cenza Cirefice. Dr Ciara Brennan (Director, EJNI) is company secretary. The advisory panels are representative of the diverse different types of stakeholders EJNI works with.
Staff and Remuneration
During 2025 EJNI’s core activities continued to be funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (grant for core funding ran from Oct 2021- September 2023, and was renewed in June 2023 for a further 3 years) to support a small team of part-time staff to deliver its core operations and support and coordinate its collaborative projects (detailed below). EJNI staff and steering group members may hold multiple roles within the organisation (with the exception of board members, who cannot be salaried employees), e.g. staff members may also be involved in collaborative projects as consultants.
Director: Ciara Brennan
Deputy Director: Caitlin McIlhennon
Research Assistant: Shea Anderson
Researcher: Lisa Claire Whitten
IT and web support: Phillip Lock
Remuneration for these staff members in their core roles was agreed by the board on the basis of academic payscales for lecturer and research assistant (in light of the qualifications and the previous roles of the staff members) and with consideration of NJC payscales. For project consultancy work, daily rates are negotiated with funders on a project-by-project basis.
Relationships with related parties
Bróna McNeill (Trustee) is sister to Ciara Brennan (Director). Phillip Lock (IT and web support) is husband to Ciara Brennan.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2025, which are set out on pages 9 to 21.
Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law, and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:
examine the accounts under section 65 of the Charities Act;
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act; and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
I have examined your charity financial statements as required under section 65 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and my examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act. The examination included a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also included consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeking explanations from you as charity trustees concerning any such matters.
My role is to state whether any material matters have come to my attention giving me cause to believe that:
1. Accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; or
2. The financial statements do not accord with those accounting records; or
3. The financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102); or
4. There is further information needed for a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000, the independent examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 65 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination and I have no concerns in respect of the matters (1) to (4) listed above and, in connection with following the Directions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, I have found no matters that require drawing to your attention.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Environmental Justice Network Ireland Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Northern Ireland. The registered office is 2nd Floor, Community House, Citylink Business Park, 6A Albert Street, Belfast, BT12 4HQ.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "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)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, [modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value]. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Intangible assets acquired separately from a business are recognised at cost and are subsequently measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses.
Intangible assets acquired on business combinations are recognised separately from goodwill at the acquisition date where it is probable that the expected future economic benefits that are attributable to the asset will flow to the entity and the fair value of the asset can be measured reliably; the intangible asset arises from contractual or other legal rights; and the intangible asset is separable from the entity.
Amortisation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
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 recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
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.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans 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 operations 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.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees 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.
JRCT
ECF
NIHRC
FRANET
Linking The Environment
Other
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Key management personnel include all persons that have authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the charity. The total compensation paid to key management personnel for services provided to the charity was £125,547 (2024: £128,527).
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).
The charity had no material debt during the year.