REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1053912
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 FOR GOWER BIRD HOSPITAL
Bevan Buckland LLP Chartered Accountants Ground Floor Cardigan House Castle Court Swansea Enterprise Park Swansea, Wales SA7 9LA
GOWER BIRD HOSPITAL
CONTENTS OF THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 2-3 |
| Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees | 4 |
| Receipts and Payments Account | 5 |
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities | 6 |
| Notes to the Accounts | 7 |
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GOWER BIRD HOSPITAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The trustees present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023.
Legal and administrative information
Gower Bird Hospital is based at and operated from Valetta, Sandy Lane, Pennard, Swansea, SA3 2EW, the home of Simon Allen and Karen Kingsnorth.
Gower Bird Hospital was established by a Deed of Trust made on 8 March 1996. The objectives of the charity are to relieve the suffering of birds and animals which are in need of care and attention, in particular by the provision of a hospital for the care and rehabilitation of such birds and animals; and to return to their natural habitat those which are fully cured.
Achievements in 2023:
Gower bird hospital continued to provide a high standard of care and rehabilitation for all wildlife casulaties brought to the Hospital.
The charity does not keep any disabled wild bred bird or animal in permanent captivity as we believe this causes unneccessary suffering and is not in the interest of the individual's welfare or best use of public funds.
1156 wildlife casualties were brought to Gower Bird Hospital in 2023 - a breakdown of admissions can be seen below.
----- Start of picture text -----
Group Family Number %
Birds Laridae (gulls) 105 9%
79% Turdidae (thrushes, blackbirds, robins) 87 8%
909 Corvidae (crows, magpies, jackdaws, jays) 108 9%
Columbidae (doves and pigeons) 263 22%
Anatidae (ducks geese, swans) 58 5%
Birds of prey (owls, buzzards, kites,
sparrowhawks) 43 4%
Paridae (tits) 24 2%
Others 221 19%
Erinaceidae (hedgehogs)
Mammals 204 18%
21% Vespertilionidae (bats) 38 4%
Others (other mammals, amphibians,
247 reptiles) 5 1%
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19 domestic birds (racing pigeons and domestic doves) were brought to Gower Bird Hopsital. Domestic birds were reunited with their owners or referred to RSPCA approved facilities.
Allowing for birds and animals that did not survive the first 48 hours after admission, 71% of wildlife casualties were successfully released back into the wild.
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Research, Education and Collaboration
National Conservation Strategy for the European hedgehog in Britain :
Gower Bird Hospital was asked to be part of the main group of stakeholders. The group were responsible for leading the process of strategy design and ensuring a balanced representation of perspectives on hedgehog conservation and management. The strategy report will be published in 2024.
Swansea University Hedgehog Gene Flow Project:
Gower Bird Hospital supplied material for DNA and data for geographic analyses. The work has now been completed and we hope to see a scientific paper published from the work in 2024.
Liverpool University:
The collaboration with Liverpool paper “A non-invasive feather-based methodology for the detection of blood parasites (Haemosporida)” has been published in Scientific Reports journal and is currently available from DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-43932-y
The Sanger Institute and The Darwin Tree of Life Project:
Processing of hedgehog tissue and lugworms is ongoing and we hope to see results in 2024.
British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (BWRC)
Simon Allen, one of Gower Bird Hospital’s trustees was appointed co-chair of the BWRC.
Facilities
The aviary block which encompasses aviaries four to eight was refurbished. One of our aquapens had a new roof fitted. Aviaries one and two were rebuilt completely.
Goals for 2024
To benefit the public and wildlife welfare by providing advice and a wildlife rehabilitation service. To continue providing a high standard of care for displaced wildlife, whether it is accidental, deliberate or natural. We hope to renew and enlarge our biggest flight aviary which is used for the rehabilitation of larger birds such as raptors. We also need to renew two more aviaries needing an upgrade. Gower Bird Hospital will also continue with its collaborations to improve working relationships in research, standards and education.
Update and amend our current constitution to better reflect the work carried out by the charity.
Reserves policy
The trustees' policy is to maintain cash reserves sufficient to cover about 12 months of normal activity. At 31st December 2023 unrestricted cash reserves amounted to £113,691 and restricted reserves amounted to £2,500 The trustees have also designated £65,000 towards a new wildlife rehabilitation centre.
This report was approved by the trustees on…..................and signed on their behalf by
Simon Allen- Trustee
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF GOWER BIRD HOSPITAL
I report on the accounts of Gower Bird Hospital (charity number 1053912) for the year ended 31st December 2023 which are set out on pages 5-7.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner and basis of report
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts.
The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 (2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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Examine the accounts under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
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State whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission.
An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records.
It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters.
The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:
(a) To keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
(b) To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act been met; or
(2) To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Henry Lloyd Davies Ground Floor Cardigan House Bevan Buckland LLP Castle Court Chartered Accountants Swansea Enterprise Park Swansea, Wales Date…....................... SA7 9LA
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GOWER BIRD HOSPITAL
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
| Receipts Donations and similar income Fund raising Fees for charitable services Bank Interest Government Grants Total receipts Payments Cost of fund raising Cost of charitable activities Wages and salaries Establishment costs Administration expenses Professional fees Purchase of fixed assets Total payments Net receipts/(payments) for the year Transfers between funds Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
Unrestricted Designated Restricted 2023 2022 £ £ £ £ £ 54,549 - - 54,549 66,028 - - - - 6,021 - - 6,021 6,820 822 - - 822 221 - - 10,000 61,392 - - 61,392 83,068 - - - - 722 9,900 - - 9,900 12,856 34,559 - - 34,559 28,147 17,426 - 17,426 6,139 4,516 - - 4,516 4,268 1,068 - - 1,068 966 67,470 - - 67,470 53,098 - - - - 1,180 67,470 - - 67,470 54,278 (6,078) - - (6,078) 28,790 - - - - - 120,023 65,000 2,500 187,523 158,733 113,945 65,000 2,500 181,445 187,523 |
|---|---|
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GOWER BIRD HOSPITAL
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023
| Cash funds Bank Accounts Cash in hand Other monetary assets Debtors Inland Revenue (Gift Aid) Donations in advance Assets retained for charity's own use Buildings, aviaries, pens, runs, CCTV systems, radio tracking, computers, cameras, research, surgical & sundry equipment, mobile phone, Medical Fridge Nilfish Powerhouse, at a cost, including donated labour and materials of £58,386 (2020: £56,106) Liabilities Suppliers Professional fee for independent examination Accrual PAYE & NI These accounts were approved by the trustees on......................... and signed on their behalf by |
2023 £ 180,872 394 181,265 352 5,000 - 5,352 249 1,128 1,377 |
2022 £ 186,972 744 187,716 461 7,000 - 7,461 366 1,044 1,410 |
|---|---|---|
…………………………………………….. Simon Allen Trustee
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GOWER BIRD HOSPITAL
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Karen Kingsnorth, an employee, and Simon Allen, a trustee, are joint owners of the premises from which the charity operates.
No rent is charged to the charity for the use of the accommodation but electricity, heating oil and telephone which are all metered separately for the charity's use of £4,897 (2022: £3,740), initially met by Ms Kingsnorth and Mr Allen, are reclaimed. During the year a gross wage of £22,325 (2022: £20,800) was paid to Ms Kingsnorth.
None of the trustees received any remuneration nor expenses during the year.
DESIGNATED FUNDS
The charity has designated £65,000 towards a new wildlife rehabilitation centre.
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