The trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
NEWVOL is a charity registered in the United Kingdom. The Charity Registration Number is 1054322.
NEWVOL is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee and registered in the United Kingdom, number 3132487.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity's constitution, the Companies Act 2006 and “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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016)
DVSC enables volunteers, charities and community groups to be more informed, more effective, and better connected; working together to build a strong and vibrant Denbighshire.
DVSC is a partner in Third Sector Support Wales; a consortium of the 19 County Voluntary Councils, Wales Council for Voluntary Action and Welsh Government.
Thanks to core funding from Welsh Government, we deliver Third Sector Support in Denbighshire, across four pillars of activity:
Volunteering
Good Governance
Sustainable Funding
Influencing & Engagement
All our work and projects align with this strategic framework of support and aim to meet the 7 principles, and 5 ways of working of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Introduction
DVSC continues to support the 3rd sector in Denbighshire. As part of Third Sector Wales we manage grant programmes and provide funding advice, volunteering support, governance advice and help the 3rd sector engage and influence Denbighshire County Council and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
DVSC has continued to deliver its Key Fund project, as part of the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. This provides significant capital and revenue grants to the Denbighshire 3rd Sector, aimed at improving sustainability and resilience. Additional to the grants, this Key Fund has offered a range of Masterclass training courses, one to one coaching, action learning sets, and direct support to new social enterprises. We also made grants to support community numeracy through the Multiply grant programme.
We have confirmed that the Key Fund will continue to be delivered by DVSC in 2025-2026’s Shared Prosperity Fund’s Transition year.
Team
DVSC have had no new recruits or leavers from its staff team in this year. We continue to invest in our team, to support their effectiveness and impact. We work in a hybrid model – part in the office, part home - that supports flexibility and teamwork and means that we can operate across the whole county. We value our kind and supportive team and progressive workplace culture.
Board
The Board has welcomed Mair Edwards and Janine Downing as new Trustees, both joining on 24th April 2025. David Hanson (Baron Hanson of Flint) resigned on 10th July 2024 and Gavin Harris resigned on 3rd February 2025.
Third Sector Support Wales Pillars:
Volunteering
Volunteering is key to DVSC’s work, and that of the 3rd sector. We celebrate volunteering and work with our members to ensure they provide a quality experience for volunteers. This year we have:
organised three volunteer fairs across the County (Denbigh, Rhyl & Llangollen) and three VIO (Volunteering Involving Organizations) networking events
Collaborated with volunteer-led organisations to raise awareness of their work
Organised a Volunteer Awards ceremony
Created ‘Spotlight’ awareness campaigns
Supported volunteers with barriers to participation towards rewarding opportunities.
Governance
DVSC provides information, advice, one to one support, training and mentoring opportunities for 3rd Sector organisations that need support in how they operate and govern/ are governed.
A great deal of our Key Fund 321 Masterclass programme is aimed at supporting how Third Sector organisations are set up and run, for example how to measure impact, and how to manage change. We continued to run one on one Build It support sessions for people starting up and at early stages of development of new community groups and social enterprises.
Funding
i). Grants
In 2024-2025, In addition to the Key Fund, DVSC administered 5 different funds across Denbighshire.
Dementia Aware Community Led Grant. 11 projects were funded, totalling £20,902, from 15 applicants, including singing, movement, sport, intergenerational and reminiscence activities.
Welsh Church Act Grant - 26 successful projects funded from 60 applicants across Denbighshire, totalling 11,917. This year, the Welsh Church Act Grant funded a variety of different projects, from wellbeing sessions with survivors of sexual abuse, to animal therapy for young people to support their mental health.
Youth Led Grant. The youth-led panel made 7 successful grants totalling £9,750, from a total of 17 applications from engagement with Esports, to litter picks by young people on the River Dee.
Croeso Cynnes Grant - Denbighshire County Council and Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board worked with DVSC to continue to run a grant to support Warm Spaces. 18 projects were funded, totalling £61,184, from 39 applications. Projects included drop in sessions for a new Community Cinema in Rhyl, and Warm Welcome befriending events in a rural part of the Dee Valley.
DVSC worked in partnership with Denbighshire County Council to deliver the Cogog Food Poverty Grant. 25 revenue projects were funded, totalling £134,756, and 19 capital projects amounting to £78,315 were funded from a total of 26 applicants. Projects included campfire cooking sessions, and educating young people about hydroponic food production.
ii). Key Fund
DVSC was successful in securing a major Key Fund project as part of the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. The Key Fund is focused on making significant revenue and capital grants to shore up the resilience and sustainability of the 3rd sector in Denbighshire.
As well as grants, the Key Fund also delivered a range of Masterclass training courses, one to one consultancy and coaching, and other support.
The grants made under the Key Fund were as follows:
Core Key Fund Grants £782,785
Multiply Community Numeracy Grants £370,000
Acorn Enterprise Grants £5,995
Total £1,158,780
We wish to thank the volunteer grant panellists for our Key Fund, Youth Grants and overall grants programmes, who ensure an independent and objective community voice is part of the process, mitigating bias, ensuring regional representation and leading to equitable and effective grant distribution.
iii). Other funding information, advice and support
DVSC staff also take part in the panels of other major regional funders including Gwynt Y Mor and Burbo Bank among others. We organise regular well attended Funding Fairs (3 across the county in 2024-25) and 20 Meet the Funder events, and advise on other grants that organisations can apply for.
Total Grants Awarded
Fund | Number of grants made | Total allocated |
Welsh Church Act Fund | 26 | £11,917 |
Youth-Led Grants | 7 | £9,750 |
Dementia-Aware Community Led Grant | 11 | £20,902 |
Croeso Cynnes | 18 | £61,184 |
Cogog | 44 | £213,070 |
Key Fund | 70 | £1,158,780 |
Other Small Grants |
| £327 |
|
|
|
TOTAL |
| £1,475,930 |
Influencing and Engagement
DVSC works closely with and represents the Denbighshire Third Sector. We help it to engage with Denbighshire County Council, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, and a range of other public bodies. We do this through membership of:
Conwy and Denbighshire Public Service Board
Conwy and Denbighshire Area Integrated Service Board
Denbighshire Integrated Service Forum
Denbighshire Pan Cluster Planning Group
…as well as many more.
We also take part in a number of other national forums and networks through Third Sector Support Wales including or Chief Officer is Chair of the Governance Practitioner Group.
In 2023 we established the Denbighshire Third Sector Influencing Group, with representation from a range of sectors among the voluntary members. We collectively look to discuss, raise and communicate matters of concern and collective interest to our public sector partners. This new Group met twice in the year.
Health and Wellbeing
i). Partnership with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
The role of DVSC’s Wellbeing Partnership Manager is to promote partnership working between public and Third Sectors across health and social care including Denbighshire County Council and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
In August 2024 we collaboratively organised a Health and Wellbeing tent at the Denbigh and Flint Show, attended by 2500 people and promoting seamless services across sectors.
In March 2025 we also organised with BCUHB and the other North Wales CVCs, a Women’s Health Inequality conference at the Rhyl Pavilion, which attracted a range of high level speakers and nearly 500 attendees.
Our work is held together by the four Denbighshire Third Sector Wellbeing Network meetings that we hold each year.
ii). Dementia Aware Denbighshire
Dementia Aware Denbighshire is funded from the Welsh Government’s Regional Integration Fund. It is an established project supporting community-led support for people living with dementia and their carers. In 2024-25 we delivered:
46 Dementia Friends Sessions to groups and the public
Creating a total of 570 Dementia Friends
Continued to support the rollout of the accreditation scheme to succeed the Alzheimer's Society ‘Dementia Friendly Communities’ scheme for North Wales, in partnership with the North Wales Regional Partnership Board.
Organised 4 bi-monthly online Dementia Aware Denbighshire Network meetings with a range of guest speakers including the Community Rail Ambassador and the Central BCUHB Falls Lead, with 56 people attending.
We ran a face-to-face DAD Conference in Faenol Fawr, Bodelwyddan in March which was open to all and extremely well attended by professionals, members of the public, people living with dementia, and carers.
Other Projects
We have continued to work with Social Enterprise Academy to deliver the second year of Schools Social Enterprise project with schools in Rhyl, expanding into Prestatyn, building on the entrepreneurial skills and community leadership of children and young people. Over the 2 years of the project, 420 young people were engaged across Rhyl and Prestatyn, across 12 schools, 10 external partners engaged as business mentors.
Naylor Leyland Centre
Naylor Leyland Centre in Ruthin continues to be our home – a flexible office space for our hybrid team to come together and work from, and a community building with excellent meeting and event facilities used by a diverse range of Denbighshire’s Third Sector organisations. We have invested this year in better AV equipment to support multimedia events. We are continuing a process with Denbighshire County Council around an asset transfer of the building from DCC’s Corporate Trusteeship to DVSC’s ownership.
Financial performance showed an increase in income to £2,149,651 from £1,327,742 in 2023-2024. The charity ended the year with a surplus of £85,053. This performance was partly due to the scale and ambition of the Key Fund project and a range of other fees for services including grant management, as well as continued careful management of expenditure.
Risk Management
The DVSC Board discusses the charity’s risk register at Board meetings. Additionally the Board reviews risk when budget setting and setting the appropriate level of reserves. The Board are notified in the event of significant adverse variances to the risk register and any unexpected impact outside the annual reporting cycle.
Reserves Policy
The Reserves Policy is reviewed annually. Our Liquid Reserves provision at the start of the 2024/2025 financial year was £227,212.
DVSC’s reserves policy for the financial year, as agreed by the Board, was based on the following requirements:
Redundancy payments
Salary in lieu of notice and other monies agreed as owed to staff.
salary running costs (for the core team) ideally not less than 3 months;
overheads/running costs ideally of not less than 3 months;
funds set aside for servicing any long-term contracts;
the cost of repairs to the building due to repairing lease;
sufficient funds to cover any deficit in resources for restricted projects, and to provide for the potential risk of funding being reclaimed;
grant funds (restricted income) held in reserve until the grants are approved and disbursed;
Budget setting
The financial position (with an increase in reserves) provided the Board with assurance that DVSC remains on a positive trajectory; and continues to deliver business growth with significant free reserves.
Looking to the Future
The Board remains committed to developing DVSC’s support to the sector whilst managing risks, and finances prudently, in line with their trustee duties. The focus for the year ahead is on delivering a further transition year of the Key Fund project funded by Shared Prosperity Fund, whilst planning and designing successor programmes around sector needs.
The Trustees’ aim, working in partnership with the Chief Officer, is to ensure that DVSC provides a sustainable sector support service in Denbighshire, with staff resource proportionate to the funds provided, and with sufficient internal capacity and capability to meet new opportunities.
DVSC has security in terms of its core Third Sector Support Wales grant from Welsh Government, with an agreed funding position until end of March 2026. There is a new TSSW funding arrangement being negotiated in Autumn 2025. The Dementia Aware Denbighshire project funding has been extended a further year to the end of March 2026 with a view to this being delivered until the end of the current RIF arrangements in March 2027. Our work with BCUHB is growing in impact and we look to maintain this contract and long term relationship. Risks on these funding sources have been considered, assessed and have informed the budget setting process.
The charity is a private limited company limited by guarantee without share capital.
Registered Office: Naylor Leyland Centre, Well Street, Ruthin LL15 1AF
Advisors to the Company:
Solicitors: Gamlins, 31/37 Russell Road, Rhyl LL18 3DB
Bankers: Barclays Bank
Auditors: Sage & Company Business Advisors Ltd, 102 Bowen Court, St Asaph Business Park, St Asaph LL17 0JE
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:
Chief Officer: Mr Tom Barham
Legal responsibility for the control of DVS’s activities and funds lies with the Board of Directors. Day to day leadership and management of the Charity is delegated to the Chief Officer.
Directors are appointed and retire in accordance with the company’s Articles of Association. The Articles were revised in 2024 and Directors can serve a maximum of 3 terms and a total of 9 years.
The Board of Directors collectively ensure that the income and property of the charity is applied for the purposes set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association and for no other purposes.
The Directors are responsible for all other decisions in relation to strategy and budgets.
DSVC’s Chief Officer reports directly to the Board of Directors and is responsible for working with and supporting the Board in line with the principles and practice of good governance and providing day to day leadership and management of the organisation.
Transactions with related parties
There are no conflicts of interest to report in relation to transactions with related parties.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Sage & Company Business Advisors Ltd be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information.
Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of NEWVOL for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these 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 UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of NEWVOL (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the statement of financial position, the statement of cash flows and the 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, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the accounts 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.
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 charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 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 course of 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.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees' report; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose 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 charity’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.
We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
As part of audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows;
the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with directors and other management;
we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation and employment legislation;
we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through enquires of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and
identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance through the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the company's financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
making enquires of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
understanding the design of the company's remuneration policies.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and
investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation; and
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that rise due to fraud can be harder to detect than these that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees 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 charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Sage & Company Business Advisors Ltd is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
NEWVOL is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Naylor Leyland Centre, Well Street, Ruthin, LL15 1AF.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum of Association, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) 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)" (effective 1 January 2019). 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.
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.
Income generated from charitable activities is recognised upon receipt. Investment, membership and other income are recognised on an accruals basis. Income is deferred only when income is received in advance at the year end and the performance criteria relates to a future accounting period.
In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the economic contribution of volunteers is not recognised in the financial statements. Further details of the contribution made by volunteers can be found in the Trustees Report.
Expenditure on charitable activities is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation committing charity to the expenditure. Contractual arrangements are recognised as goods and services are supplied. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:
- Expenditure on charitable activities includes all activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.
- Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.
- Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources; this is done on the basis of staff time attributed to each activity cost category.
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:
Property, plant and equipment 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.
Basic financial assets, which include trade and other receivables 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 trade and other payables 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.
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.
Grants receivable
Expenses totalling £34 (2024 - £29) were reimbursed to 1 (2024 - 1) trustees.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any other remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
During the year, Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council was given the task of distributing grant monies on behalf of other organisations, as detailed above. The monies received for distribution is not income of Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council. A management charge was levied to the relevant organisation for this service.
The average monthly number of employees/DVSC associates during the year was:
DVSC also has 28 (2024 - 35) regular volunteers, including the trustees.
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
Accountancy fees
Book-keeping fees
Bank charges
Other support costs
Audit and accountancy fees
Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £9,907 (2024 - £9,030) for audit and accountancy fees.
Transfers relate to the transfer of fixed assets and the management fee from each restricted fund to the unrestricted, core 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.
Welsh Church Acts – Provision of grant funding for community groups in Denbighshire under the themes of: Relating to or based in church run premises, Dementia, loneliness and isolation, Promoting wellbeing (Being aware, Connecting, Exercising, Learning, Giving Back) and Supporting people with learning disabilities.
Loneliness & Social Isolation - DVSC worked in partnership with Denbighshire County Council and Welsh Government to make available this grant scheme linked to the Welsh Government’s strategy for tackling loneliness and social isolation and building stronger social connections.
Gwirvol Youth – This made grants around the provision of youth led volunteering projects and activities in Denbighshire under the themes of: Early Years, Better Mental Health, Housing, Skills and Employability and Social Care.
Lottery Young Dragons – this funding assisted the creation of a new steering group and improving the networking opportunities across for Wales for the involvement of young people.
BCU Health & Wellbeing – The overall objective of our longstanding partnership with the Health Board is to facilitate effective working practices and relationships with Third Sector organisations as part of the health and wellbeing agenda, specifically promoting Third Sector services to those working in health, social care and wellbeing.
RIF DAC (Dementia Aware Community Led Programme) - Enabled through Welsh Government funding (formerly ICF, now RIF) to support communities to generate and transfer awareness around dementia into community led action.
Foundational Economy - Welsh Government funded programme based around social enterprise development and set up, that supported the development of the Ruthin Market Hall project.
Food For Life - this was a 3-year funded programme where DVSC was awarded funding as a Local Partner in the Food for Life Programme. Note, the balance on this fund was transferred into the Cygog Grant Scheme fund account, as this project was completed as part of the Cygog Grant Scheme.
British Science Association – we had funding to run a series of science themed workshops as part of our Open Doors programme. This project was completed and the balance remaining on the fund transferred into General Funds.
Community Facilities – This funding helped us to redecorate the interior and exterior of the Naylor Leyland Centre. This project was completed and the balance remaining on the fund transferred into General Funds.
Croeso Cynnes - DVSC is working with Denbighshire County Council to distribute available funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Denbighshire. The funding will provide additional support to Warm Hubs projects to further support people at risk of fuel poverty and the ongoing cost of living crisis. The venues are intended as locations in the local community where people can find a safe, warm and welcoming environment during the day, to expand capacity to welcome people in, and to provide additional activities.
ICF Capital – We had funding for weighted blankets to distribute throughout Denbighshire at the Winter Wellbeing Events. We have had requests for support from adults and children living with sensory over responsivity including those with ADHD, those living with dementia, individuals living with a psychiatric disorders and those on the autistic spectrum who have been told of the benefits of using a weighted blanket.
Social Supermarket - DVSC is one of the founding partners of Cogog, the Denbighshire social supermarket project, in partnership with Denbighshire County Council, Betsi Cadwaldr Health Board, South Denbighshire Community Partnership, and others. As well as managing a fund made available by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to deliver projects, DVSC has helped develop a waste food based ready meal service in the South of the county as well as deliver cookery classes for parents and children in Ruthin, and develop the Community Fridge in the Ruthin Market Hall.
The purpose of this project is to:
Establish a mobile food delivery service in 13 rural villages in South Denbighshire, enabling accessibility to affordable, nutritious meals, whilst also minimising food waste.
Create a minimum of 3 distribution points across Denbighshire covering North, Mid and South, having fridges stocked with nutritious ready-made meals to be purchased at an affordable subsidised rate.
Work with Public Health Wales for the educational courses, cooking skills, confidence building and knowledge, that will bring about the behavioural change to address obesity and incidence of life limiting health conditions.
Note, the balance on this fund was transferred into the Cygog Grant Scheme fund account, as this project was completed as part of the Cygog Grant Scheme.
Albert Gubay Foundation - A school social enterprise project running over a 2 year period.
Shared Prosperity Fund- A project to support organisational sustainability within the third sector in Denbighshire.
DCC Voluntary Organisations - DVSC worked with Denbighshire County Council to modernise and manage an existing grant programme for 3rd sector organisations mainly delivering social care.
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.
In 2020 an arrangement was entered into with Denbighshire County Council to repurpose Ruthin Market Hall as a social enterprise market and event space. Through the support of a Community Renewal Fund (CRF), in partnership with Cadwyn Clwyd, the project was successfully completed and in December 2022 was spun out to Ruthin Artisans Markets CIC to manage. Whilst standing back from the daily operations of the venture the Trust will continue to monitor the future activities to ensure they remain consistent with the objectives as agreed with Denbighshire County Council.
Core
Core
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 remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The following related party transactions took place during the year:
Book of You CIC: current Chief Officer was a director until 5 April 2022, and their partner was a Director until 31 March 2025
Payments of £1,500 (2024: £17,263), and receipts of £nil (2024: £80).
NEWCIS: current Trustee was a director.
Payments of £44,890 (2024: £42,717), and receipts of £48 (2024: £192).
The Willow Collection CIC: current employee was a director until 7 February 2023.
Payments of £33,380 (2024: £27,865).
The Step Up Hub: a current Trustee is a director. The Step Up Hub invoiced the charity £127 for mileage during the year.
All transactions took place at arms length.
There were no outstanding balances due from related parties as at the year end (2024: £Nil).
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
The relevant circumstances requiring disclosure in accordance with the requirements of APB Ethical Standard - Provisions Available for Small Entities are that, in common with many charities of our size and nature, we use our auditors to assist with the preparation of the accounts.
The charity had no material debt during the year.