Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil - Charities report

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2026. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

The report of the trustees includes the directors' report as required by company law.

ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOVERNANCE

Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil (VAMT) is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. The current company / charity became operational on 1 October 2007 with assets and liabilities transferred from the old charity with the same name (registered number 1060242).

Directors/Trustees are recruited and appointed in accordance with the articles and memorandum of association. Nominations are invited from the members of the company/charity and are elected at the AGM. Officers are elected by the Board. No outside party can nominate Trustees; however elected Trustees may appoint or co-opt members in accordance with the constitution. Trustees are onboarded to the organisation following a clear induction process, which explains the role and function of the organisation, and outlines the expectations of a Trustee and the support they will have in undertaking their duty. Training and development opportunities for Trustees are incorporated within the overarching organisational training and development matrix.

VAMT has adopted the Charity Commission's Hallmarks of an Effective Charity, and its Board of Trustees adhere to the Nolan Seven Principles of Public Life.

Full Board Meetings are held quarterly, and the Board has one current sub-group, which deals with Finance & Risk.

Day-to-day management of the Charity is delegated to the Chief Officer. The staff structure of the organisation includes a Senior Leadership Team (Chief Officer, Business & Finance Manager and Operations Manager), who all participate in Board Meetings and advise/ report on different aspects of the Charity.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and aims

The Objects of the Charity are to promote any charitable purposes for the benefit of the community in the County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil and surrounding area ('the area of benefit') and in particular, but not limited to, the advancement of education, the furtherance of health and the relief of poverty, distress, and sickness.

The principal aims of the charity are to:

- Enable third sector organisations to deliver services, improve in all aspects of their work and become resilient

- Strengthen representation and influence of third sector organisations; and

- Enhance volunteering and wellbeing through participation and community action

VAMT is a member of Third Sector Support Wales (TSSW); a collaboration of the 19 County Voluntary Councils in Wales together with Wales Council for Voluntary Action. TSSW provide a universal offer to the third sector based on four pillars of activity: volunteering; good governance; sustainable funding and engagement and influencing which align with the overall objectives of VAMT.

Public benefit

The Trustees confirm they have referred to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives in planning future activities.

The main activities undertaken to further the charity's purposes for the public benefit are detailed below.

STRATEGIC REPORT

Achievements and performance

Charitable activities

TSSW organisations utilise an integrated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system which provides functionality to record and monitor activity. The table below captures VAMT data across the previous two reporting periods:

Key Performance Indicators

2024 - 2025

2025 - 2026

Total number of interactions (instances of advice / support) with
organisations/stakeholders

543

597

Number of volunteers placed / supported

127

282

Number of Third Sector organisations provided with direct advice/support

Amount of funding received by Third Sector organisations following support
(from VAMT)

£484,336

£1,615,413

Amount of funding provided through grants schemes administered by VAMT

£278,537

£302,696

Number of attendees at forums and events organised by VAMT

663

432 (1)

Number of participants at training courses provided(digital and face to face)

141 (2)

Total membership (at 31st March)

369

268 (3)

(1) The number of Forums/events held varies from year to year, and therefore participation levels reflect this.

(2) This increase is in response to us meeting members' needs and providing additional opportunities, particularly in relation to safeguarding.

(3) The reduction is accounted for through a combination of organisations ceasing to exist and others being unresponsive to maintaining their contact details. This does not prohibit them from coming back to us at a future point and re-establishing their membership.

VOLUNTEERING

Our Volunteer Centre provides information, advice, guidance and 1:1 support to individuals wanting to explore volunteering, and also organisations who wish to have the support of volunteers as part of their workforce, or undertake corporate volunteering themselves. We support organisations by promoting their volunteering opportunities, as well as offering information and advice on volunteer recruitment, selection and onboarding. For individuals, we offer advice and guidance on a range of volunteering opportunities locally, and also across the wider area via the Volunteering Wales website. Each volunteer's needs are addressed individually, and our advice is tailored to meet their requirements/aspirations.

Our Volunteer Centre is led by our Lead Officer for Volunteering (0.5wte). This year we secured funding via the UK Government Shared Prosperity Funding and introduced an additional 1.0wte post to enhance our offer overall.

Throughout the year we provided one-to-one support for 194 individuals and supported 88 into appropriate volunteering placements within the community.

Each year we celebrate Volunteers' Week throughout the month of June and this year we held:

- A Volunteer Fayre in the town centre where we facilitated 17 member organisations to promote their services and volunteering opportunities directly to the public;

- A Volunteer Recognition Awards ceremony where our members made nominations for six categories of award; a panel determined overall winners; and category winners were each presented with their awards at an evening ceremony. Andrea Byrne - broadcaster, presenter, author and podcaster was our guest host for the second year running.

We continue to strengthen our connection with Merthyr Tydfil College, exploring new and different approaches to engage students. We supported the Job Centre with a Volunteering Fayre and also introduced a fortnightly outreach clinic at the Job Centre.

As in previous years, we administered a Youth Led Grants programme. This involved active promotion of the opportunity, collation of applications, convening and facilitating a multi-agency grants panel who then assessed the applications and agreed the awards. A total of £5,800 was allocated to five separate organisations.

Staff at VAMT utilised our Corporate Volunteering Policy again this year to volunteer at Merthyr/Cynon Foodbank and also Merthyr Tydfil Poppy Appeal.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

17% of our interactions this year related to governance.

Our core offer includes supporting the establishment of a range of new organisations and community groups; provision of a range of 1:1 support which includes offering information, advice and guidance relating to business planning; development of policies and procedures; and support/access to a range of training and development opportunities.

Based on feedback from members, a key feature of our training programme this year was the provision of Safeguarding Training where 57 individuals completed Part B training.

We continue to facilitate and support the recruitment and involvement of third sector members in the Scrutiny Committees of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, and were able to bring forward two new members.

For Trustees Week we provided a catalogue of training opportunities to member organisations for sharing with their Trustees. Routinely and throughout the year we continue to promote the TSSW Knowledge Hub and its resources to support Trustees, as well as utilise our own website to share information and tools to support Trustees in executing their roles and responsibilities.

This year we were involved in just one external grant panel. This was the Amser Grant Panel which is administered by Interlink RCT and offers funding to provide respite opportunities for unpaid carers. However, when we directly administer grant funding, we implement a robust governance framework which guarantees transparency of process; due diligence is exercised in respect of financial accountability; and ensures recipients of grant awards are compliant with monitoring and reporting responsibilities.

As a Board of Trustees, and following a successful evaluation of the 4 day workweek pilot over the previous year, we agreed to adopt this as a permanent change to the organisation.

VAMT became an Early Adopter of an Impact Framework piloted across TSSW between April and September 2025. Surveys were issued following 1:1 work with our members (in excess of one hour duration) and/or following participation at an event/network/Forum or attending training that we had facilitated. We achieved a 40% response rate for our 1:1 work, and 36% response for events/training. 97% of participants rated the event / training as very good or excellent and 77% agreed / strongly agreed that their confidence was increased to perform their role.

SUSTAINABLE FUNDING

40% of our interactions this year related to requests for support with funding; whether sourcing appropriate grant funding opportunities; advice and/or support with writing successful funding applications.

We increased the opportunities for members to "Meet the Funder", by building on our existing connections and also developing connections with new Funders too. We provided 14 sessions which were attended by 94 individuals.

We provided direct and specific support and advice to 20 organisations this year, who all successfully secured funding amounting to a total of £1,615,413. Whilst it is difficult to compare across years due to the range and types of funding opportunities available, and applications made, this is a significant increase on the previous year.

As in previous years we have seen another reduction in the number of grant opportunities we have secured to administer funding to our members. However, we did administer 3 schemes and awarded a total of £302,696 to 10 organisations which is slightly higher than the previous year but still below 2022-2023 level.

During the year VAMT supported a TSSW review of the Funding Wales portal; taking a role to quality assure the information held on the portal; checking the accuracy of funders' details, and ensuring their funding priorities were updated. This is part of a regular review to ensure that any organisation accessing the portal receives accurate and up-to-date information regarding available funding opportunities.

Local Grant Schemes

- Youth Led Grants (5 awards) - each year we administer this grant and involve Merthyr Tydfil Borough Wide Youth Forum as part of our governance process. They participated in the decision-making of grant awards as members of a panel. This year five organisations received funding to support small volunteering projects / activities, delivered or led by young people. The total funding awarded was £5,800.

Regional Grant Schemes (Cwm Taf / Cwm Taf Morgannwg) -

- Regional Integration Fund to retain Befriending Support. 3 organisation secured funding to deliver befriending services. Volunteers continue to be essential to the delivery of befriending services and this particular grant fund. The 3 providers recruited 91 volunteers throughout the year to complement their existing volunteer workforce who went on to collectively deliver 2283 home visits, 676 sessions and 70 new projects / groups. 359 new people were referred for support with 1817 people attending sessions in the community.

- Regional Integration Fund Community Capacity Grant Scheme to support people living with dementia and/or their Carers. (2 awards) 835 people were supported across the two projects. One project introduced 3 volunteers who gave 93 hours of support.

- We worked with Interlink again this year to support the Amser Short Breaks Scheme for unpaid carers in Merthyr Tydfil and RCT. This scheme provided funding for 10 groups who supported 1005 unpaid carers; provided 161 group activities; 125 days out and 4 overnight breaks.

Our Business & Finance team continued to support two small community groups with one-to-one finance support, including an accounts checking service.

INFLUENCE AND ENGAGEMENT

VAMT exercises a range of approaches for engaging with member organisations and partners as demonstrated below:

Newsletters/Bulletins

- Our "Inform" newsletter is issued directly to our membership, network contacts and wider stakeholders. Copies are also available via the website after dissemination.

- To complement our Inform newsletter we provided a total of 23 bulletins throughout the year for our members; including:

o A funding bulletin which provides timely information on funding opportunities via a range of different Funders.

o A consultation bulletin promoting opportunities for members to engage or respond in formal consultation processes

o A general fortnightly bulletin to raise awareness of events/ training opportunities and to promote the sector.

Social Media

- There were 9799 users to our website (3299 more than last year) and 20,977 page views), with the most accessed page relating to news updates.

- Facebook continues to be a social media priority, and we increased our followers by 37% to 1.9k.

- We have achieved 93% increase in engagement over the period.

- With 32.3% of reposts and 59.5% of views being by non-followers.

- We are building our profile and expanding connections on Linked-In.

Network and Forum Meetings

VAMT continued to convene and facilitate the following Network and Forum meetings:

- Health & Wellbeing (including befriending and environment/green prescribing);

- Children, Young People and Families;

- Volunteer Managers;

- Food Prosperity and Food Pantries

- Third Sector Leaders' Forum

Some key developments in this Forum have been:

o VAMT working with Lloyds Bank Foundation and securing funding to further develop the forum with support from external consultants. The funding is secured and work will involve further defining the form and function of the Forum and creating a joint plan all members can assign themselves to in order to strengthen the voice of the sector.

o Based on Forum discussions relating to the ongoing financial crisis and challenges the sector faces year-on-year; and the impact on job security; service delivery and stifling of innovation and creativity, members explored what they could do in order to explain these challenges. A snapshot of information was gathered to understand what would be the impact, if organisations were not able to open their doors, and the information gathered was shared with WCVA. Further discussion at the Forum centred around how else could the likely impact be communicated to relevant commissioners and stakeholders, if organisations were not financially sustained? Agreement was reached to create a film to further support any commissioning or grant funding conversations. The work will continue in the following financial period and feature in our next report.

Partnership Meetings

The Staff Team input to practitioner and strategic meetings as part of the TSSW structure, where we can influence change/developments at a national level. Our participation enables us to keep our members updated on developments and best practice.

In addition, VAMT team engaged in 53 strategic partnerships and planning groups at a local/ regional level to champion the sector and advocate for their involvement and needs. Examples of this include:

- Collaboration with Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board to introduce the first Integrated Women's Health Hub which was opened in Ysbyty Cwm Cynon in February 2026. We were actively involved in an Engagement Group and provided the connection to, and involvement of, third sector organisations in gathering and providing information on the needs of women to inform service delivery at the Hub.

- Development of One Merthyr: We invited MTCBC Chief Exec and Director of Governance to meet with the VAMT Third Sector Leaders' Forum to share information around their Outline Transformation Plan and explore opportunities to work together. It was agreed that the voluntary sector is key to the plan going forward and a commitment made to fully explore this. A Strategic Oversight Group involving VAMT was set up to determine next steps.

Two workshop sessions for Third Sector Leaders Forum members and MTCBC Execs have been independently facilitated by Lloyds Bank Foundation. The initial aim was to explore and agree how Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and VCSE sector can work together as a more effective system to build resilience, health and wealth for people and organisations in Merthyr. Over the course of two workshops key objectives have been identified and a number of working groups are being established to:

o Build trust, relationships, understanding and capabilities that support a collaborative approach across sector and organisational boundaries, helping us work as a more effective system.

o Coproduce long term 'guiding stars' for One Merthyr based on combined collective intelligence on community needs, goals and priorities. Empowering communities to lead the change they want.

o Inform a preventative, partnership-based agenda that stimulates a culture change in how we resource, test, learn and innovate together.

o Build community wealth (informed by the 5 pillars of community wealth building) in order to create a thriving, inclusive economy that supports health and wellbeing and delivers social value.

This One Merthyr development involves only Third Sector Leaders' Forum members and MTCBC Executives at this point, and will continue to progress over the coming year.

- Cwm Taf Morgannwg Dementia Steering Group (RIF Dementia Capacity Building Funding): As a member of the Steering Group and Administrator of funding for third sector delivery, we put forward a proposal (see below) and have secured ongoing funding for Alzheimer's Society and Cambrian Village Trust into the next financial year. This has provided organisations the security they needed to retain staff and, importantly, avoid any disruption to service delivery and beneficiaries.

RIF funding is generally allocated each year, and as experienced grant administrators we know that annualised funding allocations puts programme delivery at risk; with lead in times for processing of grants and establishment of services significantly reducing the time period remaining for delivery. Good practice indicates that a 3 month notice period is needed for any removal of funding.

With this in focus; in light of the imminent Senedd elections in summer 2026; and lack of clarity regarding the future of RIF funding, VAMT submitted a proposal to the Dementia Steering Group with the recommendation that funding for 2026-27 is continued to support existing projects and ensure ongoing support for individuals. Assumption was made that funding would be at the same level. Risks considered - an alternative approach would involve establishing new projects via the opening of a new round of applications; loss of support via established services would leave individuals at risk with lack of support in place; challenging timescales to administer grant processes and to set up and establish new projects; the likelihood that new projects would be unable to deliver until quarter two of 2026/27 which would have an impact on the level of outcomes achievable and the ability to achieve full spend.

The outcome achieved was full support from the Dementia Steering Group, for continuation funding into the year.

PROJECT FUNDED STAFF

Some of our project staff are grant funded and some have Service Agreements. However, all of the projects align with our overarching core business and contribute to our engagement with individuals in the community, our members and wider partners/ stakeholders. Some of their work is demonstrated below:

Community Coordinator: via Cwm Taf Morgannwg Regional Integration Fund (RIF)

This project provides support to people aged 50+ to access services and activities in the community to benefit their health and wellbeing. We achieved slight increase in activity when compared with the previous year.

Referrals received 422

Referrals made 261

Social prescribing /signposts to third sector organisations for support 829.

- The Coordinators were invited by Lloyds Bank to support Blue Monday where a range of support services come together to support people around financial wellbeing and resilience. They attended both Lloyds Bank and Halifax premises locally and continue to do so as part of ongoing community outreach.

- Both Coordinators successfully completed ILM Advice & Guidance Level 4 training.

- Continual mapping of services and activities to ensure any information provided is accurate.

Mental Health Involvement & Development Officer

- In partnership with the Primary Care Mental Health team, facilitated a focus group of people with lived experience to review patient letters issued during waiting periods and appointment scheduling. Feedback from the Health Board highlighted the significance of their involvement and as a result, patient communications are now being redesigned to be more thoughtful, accessible, and supportive.

- Co-led a pilot workshop to train staff working in a mental health rehabilitation unit, with a strong emphasis on integrating lived experience into the learning process. People with lived experience were actively involved in co-producing the training materials and participated in delivering the session. Their contributions were central to the success of the workshop, with staff responding positively to the real-life perspectives shared.

- Provided tailored support that enabled six Lived Experience Experts (LEE) to participate meaningfully in interviews, training development and service improvement sessions, ensuring a broader range of voices contributed to decision making.

- Strengthened lived experience involvement across key mental health projects by coordinating LEE participation in staff training reviews, the Rehab Service Evaluation, and the development of the Pinewood House Welcome Pack. This directly improved the relevance and quality of these services by ensuring they reflected the real experiences and priorities of residents and families.

- A bespoke training programme was developed and delivered to prepare people with lived experience for participation in psychology recruitment panels. Ongoing support was provided throughout the process to ensure contributors felt confident and informed.

This initiative has helped embed co-production into workforce development and demonstrated the value of inclusive recruitment practices.

Community Resilience Officer

- Research, collation and dissemination of Funding Newsletters to signed-up members. These newsletters include case studies and practical funding tips, improving local groups' readiness and confidence to apply for funding.

- Supported and facilitated our "Meet the Funder" programme of events, featuring a range of funders including Tesco Stronger Starts; Postcode Lottery; Arts Council for Wales. Also co-organised a joint "Meet the Funder" Event with Newport Gwent CVC, all with the aim of enhancing understanding of funder priorities and improving application success.

- Facilitation of the Borough-wide Food Prosperity forum which enabled networking, knowledge-sharing, and insight into the direct impact of local food provision. Brokering relevant new partners to the Forum including Energy Saving Trust; Welsh Water; Ofgem. Also continued engagement with Local Food Pantries to strengthen relationships and improve targeted support for food provision.

- Facilitated the Children, Young People & Families forum, bringing forward opportunities for shared learning, networking and collaboration.

- Completed a training needs analysis across members, identifying gaps and key skills trends to inform VAMT's training plan for the year ahead.

Invest Local Ynysowen Development Officer

- Supported the Ynysowen Events and Social (YES) group to apply for an Awards for All Lottery Grant. They were successful and secured almost £15k for equipment for their annual Summer Carnival. Also supported the Aberfan Ladies Football club in accessing £2000 of Small Grants through Invest Local to support their new club.

- Presented information and supported the facilitation of the "Invest Local Share and Social", an event for visiting Invest Local projects to share best practice.

- Collaborated with a range of partners to provide summer and autumn activities programmes to engage the local community, and brokered local businesses and organisations to provide additional support.

- Facilitated a Wellbeing Event in Ynysowen where 16 local community groups, organisations and local businesses provided advice and support, taster sessions and interactive activities. The event was attended by more than 40 local people.

- Collaborated with Age Connects Morgannwg to pilot the delivery of Digi Cafes at community drop in sessions. Uptake was positive and this will become a regular monthly opportunity.

- Provided 1:1 support to Taff Rocks to introduce a new wellbeing questionnaire for their workshops to support data collection, and gave advice on the BCT Social Return on Investment data research.

Community Rail Officer

- Organised and facilitated the formal launch event of the 3 Valleys Community Rail Partnership (CRP). Also prepared all documentation and evidence to apply for Department of Transport accreditation for the CRP, and attended the interview with Community Rail Network/ TfW. The accreditation was successful.

- Organised a Trevithick Heritage Walk in conjunction with the Ramblers. 10 people attended, including the MP

- Developed and presented a "Women's Safety on the Rails" proposal to Criminology Community of Practice Group which is being put forward as a research project for students.

- Developed 2 work placements for students - one from IT at Merthyr College and one Real World Research Law student from Cardiff University. The placements provide workplace experience, improve understanding of different sectors and enable the strengthening of their portfolios. The CRP benefits from hearing from different voices which is reflected in the work they produce, and also covers two of the CRP pillars.

- Supported Repair Café Wales "Fix It Feb" on behalf of the Welsh CRPs. Attended the launch day in Cardiff with the deputy First Minister; the TfW day at their head office and took part in the social media campaign. This was a good way to raise awareness of our CRP, as well as supporting the repair cafes locally.

- Secured £10,000 from TfW for wellbeing walks to be delivered in RCT by New Horizons Mental Health Charity.

Volunteering Officer (via SPF funding)

- This post significantly enhanced our volunteering offer across the year; growing the profile of the work significantly through in-person, internal and digital engagement.

- Further developed and strengthened the partnership with Merthyr College; delivered multiple talks to students across the year; and co-organised a Volunteer Fayre purposely for student and lecturer engagement.

- Key outcomes and impact:

o People reached were supported with volunteering guidance, matching, or signposting; helping more individuals overcome barriers and take their first step into volunteering.

o New flexible volunteering opportunities were created; giving people with work, study, or caring commitments realistic ways to get involved.

o A series of outreach events/activities were delivered; increasing visibility of volunteering and reaching residents who may not have otherwise engaged.

o Direct support provided to third sector organisations; improving their ability to recruit and manage volunteers, strengthening the resilience of local community services.

- Overall annual targets were all achieved or exceeded and this project expanded access to volunteering, strengthened third sector capacity, and increased community engagement across Merthyr Tydfil.

- Our monitoring and evaluation data and reporting was upheld by the MTCBC SPF Team as a model of best practice, and permission was requested to utilise this in onward reporting to the regional administrator.

Despite the clear success of the project, it will not continue as SPF funding ends and the project has not been identified for progression to the successor programme (Local Growth Fund).

ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

- During the year, we undertook a comprehensive review of our membership records to ensure that all member organisations have accurate and up to date contact information. As part of this process, organisations without a registered email address were contacted by post and asked to provide updated details by a specified deadline. All responses were recorded and our CRM system was updated accordingly.

In line with our GDPR policy, we also began a systematic review of private contact records held within the CRM (VAMT Private Contacts). This work focuses on removing records where there has been no interaction with the individual prior to 2023. This is an ongoing process: of the more than 2,000 private contacts originally held, over 250 have already been removed.

As a result of this work, we are now confident that all VAMT member organisations listed within our CRM are active and operating, and that our membership data is significantly more accurate, compliant, and fit for purpose.

- To advance our work around equality and inclusion, we embarked on the Diverse Cymru Cultural Competence Certification Scheme. An internal task and finish group has been established to take this work forward; all staff have completed training on unconscious bias to support our progression; and we are currently reviewing our policies, procedures and practice.

FUTURE PLANS

We will continue to offer support in relation to our core pillar activity (Volunteering; Governance; Sustainable Funding and Engagement & Influence).

As a means of further support for members around financial sustainability, we have commenced discussions with an External Lottery Management Company, with a view to introducing a Community Lottery scheme, which we will launch in 2026-27.

Intentionally we will undertake a full membership survey, feedback from which will be used to inform our next strategic plan.

Financial review

Principal funding sources

VAMT continues to derive its funding from a number of sources; the principal ones being Welsh Government; Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council; Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board. Project staff are funded via Cwm Taf Morgannwg Partnership Board; Invest Local Ynysowen (Building Communities Trust) and also Transport for Wales.

We were successful in applying for UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. This funding enabled us to add 1.0 wte post to support our volunteering offer.

Reserves policy

The overall surplus for the year was £26,646 (2025 £115,599).

It is the Charity's policy that free reserves should be sufficient to allow the ongoing operation of the Charity in the event of an unexpected fall in funding. At 31 March 2026 the reserves of the Charity were:

31/03/2026

31/03/2025

Unrestricted funds

£1,108,714

£1,004,364

Of which free funds amount to

£930,770

£927,425

Restricted funds

£148,492

£226,196

Total funds

£1,257,206

£1,230,837

Going concern

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern, nor any significant areas of uncertainty that affect the carrying value of assets held by the charity.

The Trustees of the charity regularly review and update the charities Risk Register which has a specific section on financial risk.

Pay Policy for Senior Staff

VAMT has an organisational policy which relates job roles to job groupings and an associated pay scale. Senior staff are incorporated in that policy. The spinal column points on the pay scales relate to the nationally agreed local government NJC scales (based on the rates as of 1st April 2025).

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

06058360 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1118403

Registered office

Voluntary Action Centre

89-90 High Street

Merthyr Tydfil

CF47 8UH

Trustees

M Ronan

Ms A Roberts MBA

Ms K A Nor-Val

Ms N B Mahoney

J Evans (resigned 13.4.26)

H W Jackson (resigned 10.9.25)

Ms J Burgess (appointed 8.10.25)

Ms C Evans (appointed 2.2.26)

R James (appointed 6.10.25)

G G Marshall (appointed 6.10.25)

Dr V L Winckler CBE (appointed 2.2.26)

Company Secretary

Ms S Richards

Senior Statutory Auditor

Richard Phillips FCCA

Auditors

Baker Knoyle Audit Limited

Chartered Certified Accountants

Orbit Business Centre

Rhydycar Business Park

Merthyr Tydfil

CF48 1DL

Banker

HSBC

127-128 High Street

Merthyr Tydfil

CF47 8DN

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also the directors of Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) including Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland".

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law).

Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they 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 those financial statements, the trustees are required to

-	select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

-	observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

-	make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

-	state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

-	prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.

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

In so far as the trustees are aware:

-	there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware; and

-	the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

AUDITORS

The auditors, Baker Knoyle Audit Limited, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Report of the trustees, incorporating a strategic report, approved by order of the board of trustees, as the company directors, on 5 August 2026 and signed on the board's behalf by:

M Ronan - Trustee

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2026 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'.

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 2026 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

-	have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'; 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 Auditors' 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 trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

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

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

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

-	the information given in the Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

-	the Report of the Trustees has 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 Report of the Trustees.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the 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 Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, 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.

Our 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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

- We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our sector experience through discussion with the Officers and other management (as required by auditing standards).

- We had regard to laws and regulations in areas that directly affect the financial statements including financial reporting (including related trade union legislation) and taxation legislation. We considered that extent of compliance with those laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items.

- With the exception of any known or possible non-compliance, and as required by auditing standards, our work in respect of these was limited to enquiry of the Officers.

- We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.

- We addressed the risk of fraud through management override of controls, by testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.

Our audit procedures were designed to respond to risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery, misrepresentations or through collusion. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we are to become aware of it.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.

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 auditors' 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.

Richard Phillips FCCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Baker Knoyle Audit Limited

Chartered Certified Accountants

Orbit Business Centre

Rhydycar Business Park

Merthyr Tydfil

CF48 1DL

7 August 2026

2026

2025

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

funds

Notes

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

286,391

710,800

997,191

1,025,131

Other trading activities

48,924

36,492

Investment income

21,187

19,147

Total

356,502

710,800

1,067,302

1,080,770

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

397,768

635,431

1,033,199

961,173

Net gains/(losses) on investments

(7,457

)

(7,457

)

(4,275

)

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

(48,723

)

75,369

26,646

115,322

Transfers between funds

153,074

(153,074

)

Net movement in funds

104,351

(77,705

)

26,646

115,322

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

1,004,364

226,196

1,230,560

1,115,238

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

1,108,715

148,491

1,257,206

1,230,560

2026

2025

Notes

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets

77,262

79,681

Investments

80,007

87,464

157,269

167,145

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

59,464

59,688

Cash at bank and in hand

1,078,048

1,043,493

1,137,512

1,103,181

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

(37,575

)

(39,766

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

1,099,937

1,063,415

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT

LIABILITIES

1,257,206

1,230,560

NET ASSETS

1,257,206

1,230,560

FUNDS

Unrestricted funds

1,108,714

1,004,364

Restricted funds

148,492

226,196

TOTAL FUNDS

1,257,206

1,230,560

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 5 August 2026 and were signed on its behalf by:

M Ronan - Trustee

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash generated from operations

17,912

72,431

Net cash provided by operating activities

17,912

72,431

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets

(4,544

)

(7,982

)

Interest received

21,187

19,147

Net cash provided by investing activities

16,643

11,165

Change in cash and cash equivalents in

the reporting period

34,555

83,596

Cash and cash equivalents at the

beginning of the reporting period

1,043,493

959,897

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of

the reporting period

1,078,048

1,043,493

1.	RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

2026

2025

Net income for the reporting period (as per the Statement of Financial

Activities)

26,646

115,322

Adjustments for:

Depreciation charges

6,963

6,215

Losses on investments

7,457

4,275

Interest received

(21,187

)

(19,147

)

Decrease/(increase) in debtors

224

(21,301

)

Decrease in creditors

(2,191

)

(12,933

)

Net cash provided by operations

17,912

72,431

2.	ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

At 1/4/25

Cash flow

At 31/3/26

Net cash

Cash at bank and in hand

1,043,493

34,555

1,078,048

1,043,493

34,555

1,078,048

Total

1,043,493

34,555

1,078,048

1.	LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHARITY

The Charity is a private company, incorporated in England & Wales, limited by guarantee and has no share

capital.

2.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value, as modified by the revaluation of certain assets.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Voluntary Income received by way of grants, gifts or donation is included in full on receipt unless it is subject to a condition when it is treated as deferred income.

Government Grant Income is included in full on receipt unless it is subject to a condition when it is treated as deferred income.

Deferred Income Income or grants received in advance are held as deferred income and carried forward to future accounting periods to be released when the defined purpose of the work or project have been completed, approved or certified.

Gifts in kind are included in the income and expenditure account where they are applied in carrying out

charitable activities, where the company would otherwise have to purchase the donated facility and the benefit is both quantifiable and material. The quantifiable benefit is shown as both incoming and expended resources within the appropriate funds. Where the gift is an asset it is treated as income and taken to stock or fixed assets as appropriate.

The value of services provided by volunteers is not quantified.

Investment Income is included when receivable.

Trading Income is recognised when earned.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, 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 accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Expenditure includes VAT which cannot be fully recoverable.

Costs of raising funds include the costs associated with attracting voluntary income and the costs of trading for fundraising purposes.

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and

services for its beneficiaries. It includes the costs that can be attributed directly to those activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Pension costs are contributions made by the charitable company to both employees own personal pension schemes together with contributions made to the employees government work place pension scheme.

Support costs Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs, administrative payroll costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of resources.

Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Freehold property

2% on cost

Long leasehold

in accordance with the term of the lease

Computer equipment

25% on cost

Land is not depreciated.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist.

Debtors and creditors receivable/payable within one year

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at

transaction price.

Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are

subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net

income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expended as incurred

3.	DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

2026

2025

Grants

997,191

1,025,131

Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:

2026

2025

Transport for Wales

60,196

27,500

Invest Local Ynysowen

52,204

36,077

WCVA

198,537

214,191

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council

96,462

137,614

Cwm Taf Local Health Board

586,792

609,749

Lloyds Bank Foundation

1,000

Interlink Amser Grant

2,000

997,191

1,025,131

4.	OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

2026

2025

Miscellaneous income

13,725

4,275

Rental income

35,199

32,117

Other activities

100

48,924

36,492

5.	INVESTMENT INCOME

2026

2025

Deposit account interest

21,187

19,147

6.	CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

Grant

funding of

activities

Support

Direct

(see note

costs (see

Costs

note 8)

Totals

Charitable activities

562,556

302,696

167,947

1,033,199

7.	GRANTS PAYABLE

2026

2025

Charitable activities

302,696

293,618

The total grants paid to institutions during the year was as follows:

2026

2025

Youth Led Grants

5,800

6,350

Regional Integrated Fund Grants

296,896

280,750

VAMT Grants

6,518

302,696

293,618

8.	SUPPORT COSTS

Governance

Management

Finance

Other

costs

Totals

Charitable activities

50,780

5,330

90,323

21,514

167,947

9.	NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

2026

2025

Auditors' remuneration

3,915

5,200

Depreciation - owned assets

6,963

6,216

Non audit services - accountancy

2,160

1,939

10.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2026 nor for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Trustees' expenses

One trustee was reimbursed a total of £14 in respect of travel costs (2025 £31l).

11.	STAFF COSTS

2026

2025

Wages and salaries

480,558

406,142

Social security costs

50,634

33,819

Other pension costs

46,803

39,549

577,995

479,510

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

2026

2025

Employees

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Chief Officer and the Business & Finance Manager. The total employee benefits of the key personnel of the charity were £126,021 (2025: £113,228).

12.	COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

funds

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

323,132

701,999

1,025,131

Other trading activities

36,492

Investment income

19,147

Total

378,771

701,999

1,080,770

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

347,495

613,678

961,173

Net gains/(losses) on investments

(4,275

)

(4,275

)

NET INCOME

27,001

88,321

115,322

Transfers between funds

87,154

(87,154

)

Net movement in funds

114,155

1,167

115,322

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

890,209

225,029

1,115,238

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

1,004,364

226,196

1,230,560

13.	TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Freehold

Long

Computer

property

leasehold

equipment

Totals

COST

At 1 April 2025

87,979

427,433

134,129

649,541

Additions

4,544

At 31 March 2026

87,979

427,433

138,673

654,085

DEPRECIATION

At 1 April 2025

21,413

427,433

121,014

569,860

Charge for year

1,260

5,703

6,963

At 31 March 2026

22,673

427,433

126,717

576,823

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2026

65,306

11,956

77,262

At 31 March 2025

66,566

13,115

79,681

A charge over the freehold land and buildings, 88 High Street, Merthyr Tydfil, is held by The Welsh Ministers as a result of the funds provided for the property purchase.

14.	FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS

Listed

investments

MARKET VALUE

At 1 April 2025

87,464

Revaluations

(7,457

)

At 31 March 2026

80,007

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2026

80,007

At 31 March 2025

87,464

There were no investment assets outside the UK.

Cost or valuation at 31 March 2026 is represented by:

Listed

investments

Valuation in 2024

91,738

Valuation in 2025

(4,274

)

Valuation in 2026

(7,457

)

80,007

15.	DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

2026

2025

Trade debtors

157

2,137

Other debtors

51,956

56,549

Prepayments

183

1,002

Accrued Income

7,168

59,464

59,688

16.	CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

2026

2025

Trade creditors

8,680

14,023

Social security and other taxes

13,208

9,188

Pension Fund

2,255

Credit Card

2,202

Accruals and deferred income

11,230

16,555

37,575

39,766

17.	LEASING AGREEMENTS

Minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases fall due as follows:

2026

2025

Within one year

702

2,260

Between one and five years

3,978

4,784

4,680

7,044

18.	ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

2026

2025

Fixed Assets

75,118

2,144

77,262

79,681

Investments

80,007

87,464

Current assets/(liabilities)

953,589

146,348

1,099,937

1,063,415

1,108,714

148,492

1,257,206

1,230,560

19.	MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Net

Transfers

movement

between

At 1/4/25

in funds

funds

31/3/26

Unrestricted funds

General fund

1,004,364

(48,724

)

50,249

1,005,889

Third Sector Officer Post

102,825

1,004,364

(48,724

)

153,074

1,108,714

Restricted funds

Transport for Wales

44,608

14,912

(11,700

)

47,820

Youth Led Grants

1,200

(1,200

)

Community Resilience

52,203

(41,403

)

(10,800

)

Regional Integrated Fund

40,347

51,658

(66,410

)

25,595

Interlink COVID

11,838

(11,838

)

Recovery

750

(750

)

Mental Health Involvement &

Development

75,675

22,375

(22,973

)

75,077

Invest Local Ynysowen

775

11,700

(12,475

)

Shared Prosperity Fund

14,928

(14,928

)

226,196

75,370

(153,074

)

148,492

TOTAL FUNDS

1,230,560

26,646

1,257,206

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Gains and

Movement

resources

expended

losses

in funds

Unrestricted funds

General fund

356,502

(397,769

)

(7,457

)

(48,724

)

Restricted funds

Transport for Wales

60,196

(45,284

)

14,912

Youth Led Grants

7,000

(5,800

)

1,200

Community Resilience

(41,403

)

(41,403

)

Regional Integrated Fund

458,576

(406,918

)

51,658

Mental Health Involvement &

Development

63,025

(40,650

)

22,375

Invest Local Ynysowen

52,205

(40,505

)

11,700

Shared Prosperity Fund

69,798

(54,870

)

14,928

710,800

(635,430

)

75,370

TOTAL FUNDS

1,067,302

(1,033,199

)

(7,457

)

26,646

Comparatives for movement in funds

Net

Transfers

movement

between

At 1/4/24

in funds

funds

31/3/25

Unrestricted funds

890,209

27,001

87,154

1,004,364

Restricted funds

Transport for Wales

55,747

(3,586

)

(7,553

)

44,608

Youth Led Grants

900

300

(1,200

)

Community Resilience

53,609

(6,853

)

5,447

52,203

Regional Integrated Fund

49,821

56,117

(65,591

)

40,347

Global Village

2,731

(2,731

)

Interlink COVID

11,838

BAME

447

(223

)

(224

)

MTCBC - Food Poverty

3,788

(3,788

)

Lloyds Foundation

533

(237

)

(296

)

Recovery

750

Mental Health Involvement &

Development

44,865

44,227

(13,417

)

75,675

Invest Local Ynysowen

9,254

(8,479

)

775

Shared Prosperity Fund

(4,159

)

4,159

225,029

88,321

(87,154

)

226,196

TOTAL FUNDS

1,115,238

115,322

1,230,560

Comparative net movement in funds included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Gains and

Movement

resources

expended

losses

in funds

Unrestricted funds

378,771

(347,495

)

(4,275

)

27,001

Restricted funds

Transport for Wales

27,500

(31,086

)

(3,586

)

Youth Led Grants

6,650

(6,350

)

300

Community Resilience

61,496

(68,349

)

(6,853

)

Regional Integrated Fund

453,230

(397,113

)

56,117

Global Village

(2,731

)

(2,731

)

BAME

(223

)

(223

)

MTCBC - Food Poverty

(3,788

)

(3,788

)

Lloyds Foundation

(237

)

(237

)

Mental Health Involvement &

Development

82,593

(38,366

)

44,227

Invest Local Ynysowen

36,077

(26,823

)

9,254

Shared Prosperity Fund

34,453

(38,612

)

(4,159

)

701,999

(613,678

)

88,321

TOTAL FUNDS

1,080,770

(961,173

)

(4,275

)

115,322

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows:

Net

Transfers

movement

between

At 1/4/24

in funds

funds

31/3/26

Unrestricted funds

890,209

(21,723

)

240,228

1,108,714

Restricted funds

Transport for Wales

55,747

11,326

(19,253

)

47,820

Youth Led Grants

900

1,500

(2,400

)

Community Resilience

53,609

(48,256

)

(5,353

)

Regional Integrated Fund

49,821

107,775

(132,001

)

25,595

Global Village

2,731

(2,731

)

Interlink COVID

11,838

(11,838

)

BAME

447

(223

)

(224

)

MTCBC - Food Poverty

3,788

(3,788

)

Lloyds Foundation

533

(237

)

(296

)

Recovery

750

(750

)

Mental Health Involvement &

Development

44,865

66,602

(36,390

)

75,077

Invest Local Ynysowen

20,954

(20,954

)

Shared Prosperity Fund

10,769

(10,769

)

225,029

163,691

(240,228

)

148,492

TOTAL FUNDS

1,115,238

141,968

1,257,206

Net movement in funds included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Gains and

Movement

resources

expended

losses

in funds

Unrestricted funds

735,273

(745,264

)

(11,732

)

(21,723

)

Restricted funds

Transport for Wales

87,696

(76,370

)

11,326

Youth Led Grants

13,650

(12,150

)

1,500

Community Resilience

61,496

(109,752

)

(48,256

)

Regional Integrated Fund

911,806

(804,031

)

107,775

Global Village

(2,731

)

(2,731

)

BAME

(223

)

(223

)

MTCBC - Food Poverty

(3,788

)

(3,788

)

Lloyds Foundation

(237

)

(237

)

Mental Health Involvement &

Development

145,618

(79,016

)

66,602

Invest Local Ynysowen

88,282

(67,328

)

20,954

Shared Prosperity Fund

104,251

(93,482

)

10,769

1,412,799

(1,249,108

)

163,691

TOTAL FUNDS

2,148,072

(1,994,372

)

(11,732

)

141,968

Transfers between funds

Transfers between funds arise where unrestricted funds have been used to fund shortfalls in restricted funds and to reallocate fixed assets purchased out of restricted funds to the Restricted Fixed Asset Fund.The free reserves are available to provide funds to cashflow projects funded on a retrospective basis and are available with the approval of the trustees to fund any expenditure on projects or expenses which fall within the organisations general aims and objectives. They are accumulated in accordance with the reserve policy as stated in the Trustees Report.

Designated Funds

Third Sector Officer

Board agreed to fund a new post "Third Sector Officer" for two years, whilst continuing to search for funding opportunities for the post longer term.

Activities undertaken within each major restricted fund

The restricted funds of the charity have been applied during the year or are held for future expenditure in the following areas:

Transport for Wales

To promote and develop the community railway lines on behalf of the Three Valleys Community Rail Partnership. Working in partnership with the local community, business, and tourism to establish and implement a community rail development plan that will benefit the community and the railway. The Officer will

support the Community Rail Partnership and have responsibility for the delivery of the Activity Plan that will be agreed by the regional steering group each year in line with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.

RIF Befriending Services

Funding is provided to improve loneliness and isolation in the 50+ population by providing befriending services via one to one and group sessions.

Community Resilience Fund

For provision of community development support to third sector organisations, in particular around the children, young people and families and food prosperity agenda.

RIF Dementia

Grant funding for third sector organisations providing dementia care in the Cwm Taf Region.

Global Village

Legacy fund to administer a small grant scheme for organisations, to fund workshops promoting equality, diversity, culture and inclusion.

Invest Local Ynysowen

To support the Invest Local Ynysowen Steering Group, residents, volunteers, groups, stakeholders and partners to deliver the projects and programmes of work identified in the Driving Change plan. The officer will engage with local residents and develop a sustainable volunteer base, build local capacity to develop a sustainable funding strategy to secure the long-term future of the community beyond the Invest local funding.

Interlink Covid

Support, administration and evaluation relating to Mental Health Covid-19 grants.

BAME

Public Health provided funding to employ a Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) Engagement Officer. The key aim of the project was to influence Covid-19 safe behaviours in local BAME communities by ensuring the messaging is appropriate and culturally sensitive, encouraging adherence to guidance and encouraging uptake of testing and vaccinations.This project has now ended.

MTCBC Food Poverty

This grant contributes to food supplies and equipment for the pantries, food banks and food co-ops in Merthyr Tydfil.

Lloyds Foundation

A grant to host a Local Implementation Lead officer, to support their people and places programme of work in Merthyr Tydfil.

Recovery

A grant scheme to assist with post covid recovery and promote well-being.

Shared Prosperity Fund

Grant funding to improve access within the Charity's building, for social enterprise web development and salary costs to support volunteering and development staff.

Mental Health Involvement & Development

an agreement with Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB to host two posts as part of their model of service delivery for mental health, along with funding to take forward recommendations of a report to review of service user and carer representation, engagement and involvement: Cwm Taf Morgannwg Together for Mental Health Partnership Board.

20.	EMPLOYEE BENEFIT OBLIGATIONS

During the year the charity was committed to pay £46,803 (2025: £39,549) to the employees personal schemes.

At the year end £2,255 (2025: £Nil) contributions were unpaid.

21.	RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

A Trustee, Nicola Mahoney is the CEO of Safer Merthyr Tydfil, who pays rent to VAMT at arms length market rates. Sharon Richards (Chief officer) is an advisor to the Board of Trustees for Safer Merthyr Tydfil.

22.	ULTIMATE CONTROLLING PARTY

The ultimate controlling party is the Board of Directors.

23.	GOING CONCERN

The trustees have considered likely income streams and associated expenditure for the forthcoming year. The trustees believe that these considerations have been based on realistic income assumptions and are confident that the charity will continue to be able to meet its liabilities as they fall due.

The charity has considered the impact of not receiving the same level of funding as in the past and has factored these assumptions into its forecasts and believe the charity will be able to continue in operation for the foreseeable future.