2023-09-30-accounts

Oxfordshire VCH Trust Report & Accounts 2022-23

OXFORDSHIRE VICTORIA COUNTY HISTORY TRUST

Report and Accounts

1 October 2022 - 30 September 2023

Introduction

1. This report and the accompanying receipts and payments accounts for the year ending 30 September 2023 have been prepared by the Oxfordshire Victoria County History Trust. The report and accounts are intended to help users understand what the Trust was set up to do, the resources available to it, how these resources have been used and what has been achieved as a result of its activities.

Objectives and Activities

1. The objectives of the Trust are to raise funds for the research, writing and publication of the remaining Oxfordshire volumes of the Oxfordshire Victoria County History (OVCH).

2. The VCH is a national project to publish a detailed history of every parish and town in the country. The research, writing and part of the publication costs of the Oxfordshire volumes have to be raised locally by the Trust.

3. In Oxfordshire there is a research team consisting of a county editor and three assistant editors who are accommodated and employed by Oxfordshire County Council subject to a legal agreement that the Oxfordshire VCH Trust pays for the employment costs of the assistant editor posts and part of the cost of the County Editor's post. Amateur volunteer groups are involved in the research process by the editorial team.

4. The activities of the Trust are to raise funds to meet these employment costs and to contribute to publication costs.

5. The Trustees confirm that they have had regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit. The Trust provides public benefit in enabling histories of educational and community value to be made available to the public and in enabling the involvement of local groups in the process.

Achievements and performance

1. OVCH has published 20 main-series volumes (known as ‘The Big Red Books') and 2 paperback volumes. The research for the final three remains to be completed with the volume on Chipping Norton due to be published in 2024; research on the Chadlington area is now also underway, leaving the Burford area still to be started.

2. During 2022-23 the funds raised by the Trust have enabled the Oxfordshire VCH to:

3. Host a fund-raising reception and talk on our current research at County Hall in December 2022.

4. Host a fund-raising reception at Sarsden Rectory in June 2023 to raise funds for Volume 21 (focused on the town of Chipping Norton and surrounding parishes) and Volume 22 (focused on a dozen further west Oxfordshire parishes). By the year end, the text for Volume 21 was complete and had been successfully peer-reviewed, finding it ‘impressive’, ‘well researched’, and ‘an invaluable reference book’. Final revisions were being implemented, and maps and illustrations completed ready for submission to the publisher, subsequently on schedule.

5. Commence research for Volume 22, the Chadlington area.

6. Circulate two newsletters in print and online, and publicise its activities through the VCH Twitter (now X) account, which has over 600 followers.

1

Oxfordshire VCH Trust Report & Accounts 2022-23

Financial Review

1. Due to increased fund-raising activities and exceptional donations, the Trust's income in 2022-23 exceeded its expenditure by some £87,000, leaving a balance of some £323,800. Gift Aid is accounted in the period received (with £7103 received on 16 October 2023 in respect of donations in the period). There remains a contingent liability of up to £80,000 for redundancy of the researchers at the end of the project, leaving potentially available funds of nearly £244,000. All of the Trust's funds are committed to meet future research costs for the project's completion. A further, but more modest surplus is anticipated for 2023-2024, and assuming similar potential shortfalls for subsequent years the current outlay for four researchers can be continued for several more years. The trustees will keep this matter under constant review, and if necessary (bearing in mind the contingent redundancy liability) will reduce the number of researchers by one at some future date, saving £50,000 annually. The Trust operated in accordance with the charity's statement on risk assessment and financial controls. The work of the research team remains essential to the high quality of the Oxfordshire VCH publications. Their continuing contribution and commitment to complete the Oxfordshire series is greatly appreciated.

2. All Trustees (including the Chairman and Treasurer) are unpaid, and have given their services voluntarily. No expenses were paid to Trustees during 2022-23. The Trust employs no paid staff.

Structure, governance and management.

1. The Trust was established in 1997 by deed.

2. The trustees met formally twice during the financial year, as well as informally at its public events.

3. The appointment of new trustees is by resolution of the existing trustees. The number of trustees is limited to a maximum of 21 by the trust deed which also provides for an uneven number of trustees, if possible. There are currently thirteen trustees. New trustees are selected for their commitment to the project, to the raising of funds, and for their particular skills and contacts.

Reference and administrative details.

1. The Oxfordshire Victoria County History Trust was established by a Trust Deed on 19 September 1997. It is a registered charity, number 1064776. The Trust also operates as the Victoria History of Oxfordshire Trust.

2. The address of the Trust is c/o the Hon. Treasurer, 48 High Street, Wheatley, Oxford, OX 33 1XX.

3. The following were trustees on the date this report was approved:

Mr Christopher Parker Prof. William Whyte (Chairman) Dr Jill Pellew Mr John Harwood (Vice-Chairman) Dr Donald Ratcliffe Prof. Robert Evans Mrs Sarah Taylor Mrs Catherine Fulljames Dr Michael Heaton (Treasurer) Brigadier Nigel Mogg Mrs Amanda Ponsonby Mr Tom Hassall Mrs Hilary Hibbert-Biles

The following trustees resigned during the financial year: Mr John Leighfield and Mrs Lorraine Lindsay-Gale on 24 October 2022, and Major Timothy Hallchurch on 27 March 2023.

1. The Independent Examiner of the Trust's accounts is: Andrew Rodzynski FCA, Wenn Townsend, 30 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LE.

The Trust's bankers are Lloyds Bank

2

Oxfordshire VCH Trust Report & Accounts 2022-23

OXFORDSHIRE VICTORIA COUNTY HISTORY TRUST - YEAR ENDING 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

RECEIPTS

RECEIPTS
Total Gift Aid Donations Non Gift Aid Donations Event income COIF interest Gift Aid repayment to 5 April 2023 (2021-22 two payments) Total receipts PAYMENTS Donations towards research costs Fundraising (see Note 1) Examination of accounts Internet costs Publications Total payments Surplus	2022-23 £ Total 39,505 184,514 1,721 10,834 4,608 241,182 150,893 2,235 780 58 153,966 87,216	2021-22 £ 20,429 157,923 0 400 6,431 185,183 155,215 1,286 744 97 1,788 159,130 26,053

Note 1: Fundraising expenditure is made up of: Printing & postage expenditure of £788 (2021: £949) and event expenditure of £1447 (2021: £337).

STATEMENT OF BALANCES

Cash at Lloyds Bank at 1 October 2022 Charities Official Investment Fund deposit account at 1 October 2022 Surplus of Receipts over Payments, accounting period 2022-2023 Balances at 30 September 2022 STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2023 Cash at Lloyds Bank at 30 September 2023 Charities Official Investment Fund deposit account at 30 September 2023 NET ASSETS	Cash at Lloyds Bank at 1 October 2022 Charities Official Investment Fund deposit account at 1 October 2022 Surplus of Receipts over Payments, accounting period 2022-2023 Balances at 30 September 2022 STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2023 Cash at Lloyds Bank at 30 September 2023 Charities Official Investment Fund deposit account at 30 September 2023 NET ASSETS		147,738 88,837 87,216 323,791 4,120 319,671 323,791

Signed on behalf of the Trustees Date

William Whyte 18[th] March 2024

3

Oxfordshire VCH Trust Report & Accounts 2022-23

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the Oxfordshire Victoria County History Trust

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 30th September 2023 which are set out on page 3.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act').

I report in respect of my examination of the charity's accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act;

or

1. the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

A. Rodzynski FCA

Partner Wenn Townsend Chartered Accountants Oxford 18[th] March 2024

4