High inflation and ongoing economic uncertainty are having a profound impact on the National Trust, its staff, volunteers and supporters. Careful financial management during the pandemic years has placed the Trust in a strong position and has allowed it to maintain planned investment in conservation work when faced with these new challenges.
The Trust faced new economic challenges in 2022-23 as the effects of the pandemic started to wane. Fuel costs increased significantly during the summer, impacting the cost of goods and services over the following months. The implications of these inflationary pressures have been felt in all aspects of our operations, from conservation costs to the frequency with which visitors can afford to travel to our places.
The Trust entered the year with strong funds and opening reserves, part of which we were able to use to deliver record project spend levels. While this resulted in expenditure exceeding income during the year, the Trust’s