Wales Council of the Blind

WCB is the umbrella agency in Wales representing blind and partially sighted people and the clubs and societies that support them. We gather the opinions and views of people with sight loss through groups and consultation. We put their voice at the centre of what we do, reporting their views to the people who are responsible for the services that help them. We signpost people to these services.

In the charity's own words, from the register.

In Wales

• Throughout Wales

Area of benefit in its governing document: Not Defined But in Practice Wales

The places the charity told the Commission it works in.

In the year ending 31 March 2025, it had income of £205,919 and spent £164,760.

Figures as the charity reported them to the Charity Commission. Staff and volunteer numbers are only asked of charities with income over £10,000. A year with no row was not reported.

Separate measures from the charity's own returns and accounts, each with its year. Read them together: no single measure says how well a charity is run.

Income over time

Up 28%, from £160,807 in the year to 31 March 2021 to £205,919 in the year to 31 March 2025.

Spending against income

It spent 80% of its income in the year to 31 March 2025. It spent more than its income in 3 of the 5 years shown.

From the annual returns the charity filed with the Charity Commission. The largest funder comes from its accounts, read by AI.

Government grants in the year ending 31 March 2025: £153,018 from 3 grants. Government contracts: Not reported.

From the charity's annual return to the Charity Commission, which asks every charity with income over £10,000 how much came from government grants and contracts. It does not say which part of government. These totals are separate from the named funders read from its accounts and the grants published on 360Giving, and are not added to them.

Funders that publish to 360Giving list 2 grants to this charity since 2020, worth at least £77,962.

Only funders that publish their grants to 360Giving are included, and many do not. These are amounts funders awarded, which can differ from what the charity received in a given year, so they are shown apart from the accounts figures above.

Public bodies' published spending shows 17 payments to this charity worth £491,250 between 17 November 2022 and 10 June 2026.

Councils and Welsh Government publish what they pay suppliers and grant holders above a threshold, usually £500 for councils and £25,000 for Welsh Government, so smaller payments are missing. A payment is shown only when OpenEconomy matched it to this charity with certainty. These figures come from the payer's records. They are a separate measure from the charity's own accounts, 360Giving grants and its annual return, and are never added to them.

Senedd and Welsh Government records that name this charity, gathered by OpenSenedd. Newest first.

• 5 June 2025

  Named by Rebecca John in the Senedd

  …erspective, that wouldn't be our role. From a primary care perspective, we work really closely with the Wales Vision Forum, and with the Wales Council of the Blind as well. So, they sit on our Eye Care Wales Committee. We sit on the patient advisory group, which is chaired by Owen Williams from Wale…

  Read the record

• 20 March 2025

  Named by Owen Williams in the Senedd

  Hi, I'm Owen Williams, I'm the director of Wales Council of the Blind, and I'm also a patient of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

  Read the record

• 2 October 2024

  Named by Mark Isherwood in the Senedd

  …alled on the Welsh Government to introduce much more robust checks before funding is allocated to new active travel routes. Working with Wales Council of the Blind, Vision Support and RNIB Cymru, they've also given evidence to the cross-party group on disability, highlighting the paucity of habilita…

  Read the record

• 2 October 2024

  Named by Jeremy Miles in the Senedd

  …adults. It is vitally important that blind and partially sighted people can access rehabilitation services. We've been working with the Wales Council of the Blind to explore solutions to this. As we've heard already, active travel is a key enabler to ensure blind and partially sighted people can li…

  Read the record

• 27 June 2023

  Named by Mark Drakeford in the Senedd

  …ndoubtedly there and that that debate rehearsed. The Welsh Government is playing our part. We sponsored and paid for the report from the Wales Council of the Blind on future workforce needs in this sector. That is being taken forward through regional partnership boards. There are the optometry refor…

9 trustees run the charity.

• Janice D PowersChairAppointed 21 January 2013
• Brian James HobartAppointed 18 August 2015
• Brian Mawby
• Helen SimonAppointed 6 November 2023
• Julie ThomasAppointed 24 July 2013
• Malcolm John NicholasAppointed 6 November 2023
• Michelle WallAppointed 6 November 2023
• Peter Curtis
• Rhianwen Elen StiffAppointed 25 April 2019

Trustees are responsible in law for the charity. Names are as they appear on the public register.

Of the last 5 annual returns that were due, 4 arrived by the deadline.

Charities with income over £10,000 send an annual return within 10 months of their year end, and those over £25,000 also send their accounts. Smaller charities only update their income and spending on the register. The dates are when the Commission received each document.

Charity number

1045841

Status

Registered

Registered with the Commission

18 April 1995

Governing document

MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES INCORPORATED 31/01/1991AS AMENDED BY CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION ON CHANGE OF NAME DATED 24/02/1999NOW ARTICLES ADOPTED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION DATED 20/07/2012AS AMENDED BY CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION ON CHANGE OF NAME DATED 30/08/2012AS AMENDED BY CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION ON CHANGE OF NAME DATED 11/07/2014

Company number

02578918This company on OpenEconomyThis company on Companies House

Website

wcb-ccd.org.ukAs the charity gave it on the register.

Council area of its contact address

Cardiff

• Register details, income, spending, trustees and filing dates: Charity Commission for England and Wales, register of charities. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• Grants awarded: 360Giving open grants data, from funders that publish there. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• Payments from public bodies: each body's own published spending data, matched to the charity by OpenEconomy. 5 public bodies' data is included so far.
• In the Senedd and Welsh Government: records gathered by OpenSenedd and matched to the charity by OpenEconomy on 5 November 2026.

• This charity on the Charity Commission register
• 360Giving open grants data
• This charity on OpenEconomy

• OpenSenedd: Senedd records that name this charity
• OpenCouncil: Cardiff Council's meetings and decisions
• OpenEconomy: Cardiff's economy in figures
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Caerdydd Penarth