**Northamptonshire ACRE Trustees Report and Annual Accounts 2023 – 2024** Northamptonshire ACRE is a registered charity (no. 1080038) And a Company limited by guarantee (no. 03937576) **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **Mission Statement Strategic Aims** Northamptonshire ACRE, an independent charitable organisation, works with rural communities to improve their quality of life, especially for the disadvantaged. We help rural communities to help themselves, to value diversity and to work to create a vibrant, sustainable future. - To deliver the charity’s purpose for the public benefit of all rural residents in Northamptonshire - Support the identification of rural needs and assist communities to develop sustainable solutions. - Champion green solutions and provide a connection to their wider understanding. - Encourage and develop a sense of place through community-led engagement. - Be a valued member of the ACRE network supporting at a national and local level the advocacy of rural matters ensuring rural proofing is embedded in all policies. - Renovate and develop the historic site of the Hunsbury Hill Farm for the future benefit of all - To encourage the development of staff and those working on behalf of the organisation Board of Trustees Northamptonshire ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) Northamptonshire ACRE is a Rural Community Council, one of 39 members of the ACRE Network **Page 2** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **Contents** |THE OFFICIALS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ACRE
4| |---| |THE STAFF OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ACRE
6| |VOLUNTEERS WITH NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ACRE
7| |BACKGROUND
8| |REVIEW OF TRANSACTIONS AND FINANCIAL POSITION
8| |INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF| |NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ACRE
11| |STATEMENT OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESPONSIBILITIES12| |STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 2022 - 2023
13| |BALANCE SHEET
14| |NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS| |FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH2024
16| |_NOTE 1: SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ....... 16_| |_NOTE 2: ACTIVITIES .............................................................................. 18_| |_NOTE 3: INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES ........................... 18_| |_NOTE 4: TOTAL EXPENDITURE ........................................................... 19_| |_NOTE 5: RESOURCES EXPENDED INCLUDES:- ................................. 19_| |_NOTE 6: FIXED ASSETS ....................................................................... 20_| |_NOTE 7: DEBTORS ................................................................................ 21_| |_NOTE 8: CREDITORS ............................................................................ 22_| |_NOTE 9: FUND ANALYSIS ..................................................................... 22_| |_NOTE 10: CONTROL RELATIONSHIPS ................................................ 23_| **Page 3** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **THE OFFICIALS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ACRE** Northamptonshire ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) is an independent voluntary organisation, registered charity ( **no. 1080038** ) and company limited by guarantee ( **no. 3937576** ) working to support rural communities and community groups throughout the County. ## **President** James Saunders Watson, Lord Lieutenant for Northamptonshire ## **Vice-Presidents** Lord Boswell of Aynho Mr Jeffrey Greenwell Mrs Catherine Lomax ## **Independent Examiners** Messrs Jervis & Partners ## **Board of Directors** ## **Chair** Mr Gareth Lugar-Mawson ## **Vice-Chair** Mr Ken Christy ## **Members** Mr David Scudamore Mr Richard Hollingum Mr Cameron Waldron Mrs Miranda Prentice ## **Observers** From West and North Northamptonshire Local Authorities and Voluntary Sector Agencies ## **Bankers** Yorkshire Bank plc **Page 4** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **Principal Address** The Hunsbury Hill Centre Harksome Hill Northampton NN4 9QX Telephone (01604) 765888 Email: acre@northantsacre.org.uk Website: www.northantsacre.org.uk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northantsacre/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/NorthantsACRE **Page 5** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **THE STAFF OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ACRE** **Chief Executive** Nicola Toms Elaine O’Leary (left 31[st] March 2024) **Village Halls Adviser** Frances Harris **Rural Officer** Jennifer Hedges **Good Neighbour Fieldworkers** Joanna Browning Claire Yow **Rural Support Officer** Alex Wildman **Office Manager** Kerri Marshall-Duckett **The Hunsbury Hill Centre Ltd. Events Team Manager** Nicola Toms **Events Co-Ordinator** Sarah Clarke **Communications Administrator** Charlene Browne **Page 6** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **VOLUNTEERS WITH NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ACRE** **Project Volunteers** Good Neighbour Scheme Friendship Visits Warm Homes **Hunsbury Hill Centre Volunteers** Moulton College Students **Page 7** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **BACKGROUND** Northamptonshire ACRE has been delivering services and working with rural communities in Northamptonshire for over 79 years. We were originally known as Northamptonshire Rural Community Council and changed our name to Northamptonshire ACRE in 2000. We celebrated our 75[th] anniversary on 26[th] July 2021. Rural Community Councils were set up by the Government, one in each county, with the aim of ensuring the needs of rural communities were known about and supported. There are 38 RCCs across England and with our national body, ACRE, we make up the ACRE Network. Northamptonshire ACRE is a company limited by guarantee (company number3937576) and registered charity (charity number 1080038). Northamptonshire ACRE has a strategic business and implementation plan, which is reviewed and revised regularly. The reviews look at the success of each key activity carried out by the charity and the public benefits they have brought to the groups of people with whom we work. These reviews also help us ensure that our aims, objectives and activities remain focused on our stated purposes. We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commissions General Guidance on Public Benefit when carrying out our review and in planning our future activities. ## **REVIEW OF TRANSACTIONS AND FINANCIAL POSITION** Northamptonshire ACRE purchased The Hunsbury Hill Centre from Northampton Development Corporation in 1977 and has owned the 13-acre property since then. The main activities and achievements of the charity from April 2023 to March 2024 are detailed in the 2023 – 2024 Trustees Annual Report, which is available to download from our website: http://northantsacre.org.uk/ and via the Charity Commission. ## **Application and source of Funds** The charity’s income is generated from a mixture of funding streams. Through the development of an excellent working relationship with DEFRA, our national body, ACRE, has been able to secure funding for all the ACRE Network members. We use this funding to deliver services against DEFRA’s 8 national priorities. The core rural work undertaken by Northamptonshire ACRE is also funded by consultancy and membership work, from project income (management/overheads/support fees) and rent, staff-cost contributions, and any donations from The Hunsbury Hill Centre Ltd, the charity’s trading arm, also known as The Barns at Hunsbury Hill. These funds are used to raise awareness of issues affecting people living in rural communities throughout the county and supporting community groups, including village hall **Page 8** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** committees and parish councils, on issues relating to sustainable development, transport, fund-raising and rural service provision. Under restricted funds are the income and expenditure relating to a number of specific projects including the National Lottery Community Fund Good Neighbour Schemes project, Rural Friendship Visits, The Rural Housing Enabler Scheme, Warm Homes and The Household Support Fund. The breakdown of unrestricted expenditure between cost of generating funds, charitable activities and governance costs is based initially on the nature of the expense and whether it falls directly into one of these categories. Should it fall across several categories it is allocated based on either an individual staff member’s percentage allocation or the overall staff percentage allocation. ## **Assets** Northamptonshire ACRE’s key asset is the Hunsbury Hill Centre. The Centre provides office accommodation for Northamptonshire ACRE’s staff. It provides the community and us with an affordable and unique setting in which to host events. The Centre is professionally revalued every 5 years. It was revalued in 2018 at £1,262,000. A new valuation will be carried out in 2024/2025. ## **Reserves Policy** The Board established a policy where the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets (‘the free reserves’) held by the charity should ideally be equivalent to approximately three months of the resources expended. In addition, the Board established a Dilapidation (Reserves) Fund in the 2017-18 financial year, which would be used to build up reserves to cover future major repair and maintenance costs of the Hunsbury Hill Centre buildings. The charity agreed that funds would be added to the Dilapidation Fund as applicable, depending upon the current economic situation. The Dilapidation Fund stood at £25,000 as at 31[st] March 2024. The charity’s aim is to continue building up the Dilapidation Fund each year as the economic situation permits until the Fund reaches a limit of £50,000. ## **Risk Management** Northamptonshire ACRE has conducted its own review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed and has put in place a Risk Management Policy and systems devised to mitigate those risks. External risks to funding have been mitigated by diversification of funding and activities including a robust approach to discussions with funders with the aim of covering infrastructure costs i.e. full cost recovery. Internal risks are minimised by the devising and implementing of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects. These procedures ensure consistent quality of delivery for all operational aspects of the charitable company as well as the refinement and improvement of Human Resources and Health and Safety policies. The procedures and **Page 9** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** policies are periodically reviewed to ensure that they still meet the needs of the charity. ## **Financial Dependence** The charity’s income is generated from a mixture of funding streams and means it is not financially dependent on one source only. ## **Independent Examination** A resolution proposing that Jervis & Partners be re-appointed to conduct an independent examination of the Charity was passed at the 2024 Annual General Meeting. ## **Approval** The accounts were approved by the Board of Directors at the 2024 AGM on Wednesday 26[th] November 2024 and signed on their behalf: ## £8, Drones Gareth Lugar-Mawson, Chair **Page 10** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ACRE** We report on the accounts of Northamptonshire ACRE for the year ended 31[st] March 2024, which are set out on pages 12 to 24. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the charity trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’). Having satisfied ourselves that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, we report in respect of our examination of your company’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out our examination we have followed the Directions given by the Charities Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act. ## **Independent examiner's statement** We have completed our examination. We confirm that no matters have come to our attention in connection with the examination giving us cause to believe that in any material respect: - accounting records were not kept as required by section 486 of the 2006 Act: or - the accounts do not accord with those records; or - the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or - the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102). We 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. Jervis & Partners Chartered Accountants 30 Harborough Road Kingsthorpe Northamptonshire NN2 7AZ Date: Friday 28[th] November 2024 **Page 11** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **STATEMENT OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESPONSIBILITIES** Company Law and Charity Law requires the trustees/directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for the year. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; - 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; - prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation. The trustees/directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company 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 charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. By order of the Board of Directors Gareth Lugar-Mawson Chair **Page 12** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 2023 - 2024 (Incorporating an Income & Expenditure Account)** ||||||**2023/24**|**2023/24**|**2023/24**||**2022/23**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||**Note**||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**|**Restricted**
**Funds**|**Total**||**Total**| ||||||**£**|**£**|**£**||**£**| |**Income**|||||||||| ||From Generated Sources||||||||| |||Hunsbury Hill Centre|||48,045|0|48,045||61,096| |||
Generated income|||74,672|0|74,672||52,290| |||Office Accommodation|||2,000|0|2,000||2,300| |||Donations|||80|0|80||2,904| ||||||124,797|0|124,797||118,590| ||||||||||| ||From Charitable Activities||3||40,280|40,123|80,403||281,201| ||||||||||| |**Total Income**|||||**165,077**|**40,123**|**205,200**||**399,791**| ||||||||||| |**Expenditure**|||||||||| ||Cost of Raising Funds||||||||| |||
Hunsbury Hill Centre|||47,149||47,149||£47,939| |||
Fundraising & Publicity|||94,297||94,297||£95,879| ||||||||||| ||||||141,446|0|141,446||£143,818| ||||||||||| ||Charitable Activities||||(23,822)|165,267|141,446||£143,818| ||||||||||| ||Other Costs||||94,297||94,297||£95,879| ||||||||||| |**Total Expenditure**|||**4**||**211,921**|**165,267**|**377,188**||**£383,514**| ||||||||||| |**Net Income**|||||**(46,844)**|**(125,144)**|**(171,988)**||**16,277**| ||||||||||| |Transfers between Funds|||||0|0|0||0| ||||||||||| |**Net Income after transfers**|||||**(46,844)**|**(125,144)**|**(171,988)**||**16,277**| ||||||||||| |Other Recognised Gains / (Losses)|||||||||| ||
Unrealised gain on property valuation||||0||0||0| ||||||||||| |**Net Movement in Funds**|||||(46,844)|(125,144)|(171,988)||16,277| ||||||||||| ||Revaluation in year||9||0||0||| ||
Total Funds Brought forward prior year||9||1,276,449|127,481|1,403,930||1,387,653| ||||||||||| |**Total Funds carried forward at year-end**|||||**1,229,605**|**2,337**|**1,231,942**||**1,403,930**| ||||||||||| ## **Continuing Operations** All income and expenditure has arisen from continuing activities. The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. **Page 13** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **BALANCE SHEET As at 31st March 2024** |||**Note**||**As at**
**31/3/24**||**As at**
**31/3/23**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||£||£| |**Fixed Assets**||||||| ||Tangible Fixed Assets|6||1,262,000||1,262,000| ||Investment in Subsidiary|6||1||1| ||||||
|| |||||1,262,001||1,262,001| |**Current Assets**||||||| ||Debtors|7||1,204||35,653| ||Short Term Deposits|||21,810||21,377| ||Cash at Bank & in Hand|||9,672||131,962| |||||||| |Liabilities: amounts falling due within one
year||||32,686||188,992| |||||||| |||8||62,745||47,063| ||||
||

|| |Net Current Assets / (Liabilities)||||(30,059)||141,929| |||||||| |**Assets Less Current liabilities**||||1,231,942||1,403,930| |||||||| |Liabilities: amounts falling due after one year||8||0||0| |||||||| |**Total Net Assets**||||1,231,942||1,403,930| |||||||| |Funds||||||| ||Unrestricted - General/dilapidation|9||37,784||84,629| ||Unrestricted - Capital|9||1,191,820||1,191,820| ||||||
|| ||Total Unrestricted|||1,229,604||1,276,449| |||||||| ||Restricted|9||2,338||127,481| ||||||
|| |**Total Funds**||||1,231,942||1,403,930| **Page 14** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **BALANCE SHEET (CONTINUED)** The directors’ statements required by Section 475(2) and (3) are shown below, which form part of this balance sheet. In approving these financial statements as directors of the charitable company we hereby confirm: - (a) That for the year stated above the charitable company was entitled to the exemption conferred by Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006; - (b) That no notice has been deposited at the registered office of the charitable company pursuant to Section 476 requesting that an audit be conducted for the year ended 31[st] March 2024; and - (c) That we acknowledge our responsibilities for: - a. Ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records which comply with Section 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006; and - b. Preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of the financial year and of its result for the year then ended in accordance with the requirements of Section 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 26[th] November 2024 and signed on its behalf by: Gareth Lugar-Mawson Chair **Page 15** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] March 2024** ## **NOTE 1: SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES** ## _**a) General information and basis of preparation**_ Northamptonshire ACRE is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee registered in England. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per trustee of the Charity. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 5 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are given in the report of the Directors/Trustees on pages 7 – 8. The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 (as updated through Update Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. The charity has applied Update Bulletin 1 as published on 2 February 2016 and does not include a cash flow statement on the grounds that it is applying FRS 102 Section 1A. The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are presented in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated. ## _**b) Fund accounting**_ General funds are unrestricted funds that are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements. Restricted funds are funds that are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements. **Page 16** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## _**c) Income**_ All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial affairs (SOFA) when the Charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. For legacies, entitlement is the earlier of the Charity being notified of an impending distribution or the legacy being received. Gifts in kind donated for distribution are included at valuation and recognised as income when they are distributed to the projects. Gifts donated for resale are included as income when they are sold. Donated facilities are included at the value to the Charity where this can be quantified and a third party is bearing the cost. No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers. ## _d)_ _**Expenditure**_ All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of the resources. Fundraising costs includes the expenditure costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities. Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the Charity and include project management carried out at Headquarters. Management and administration costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the Charity and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements. ## _**e) Tangible fixed assets and depreciation**_ Tangible fixed assets are capitalised at cost including any incidental expenses of acquisition Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the cost on a straight line basis over their expected useful economic lives as follows: - |Description|Depreciation Period| |---|---| |Hunsbury Hill Centre (freehold)|Nil| |Office equipment|Over 2 to 10 years| |Trophies|Nil| |IT equipment|100% in year of purchase| |Fixtures & fittings|Over 5 to 10 years| As detailed in note 6, certain fixed assets have been re-valued in previous years. These valuations have been adopted as the historical costs. Depreciation is not charged on the buildings at the Hunsbury Hill Centre, as the residual value is considered to be not less than the carrying value. **Page 17** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## _**f) Investment**_ The Charity owns The Hunsbury Hill Centre Limited, which was incorporated on 26th March 2013. The investment represents the entire share capital of that company. ## **g)** _**Going Concern**_ The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes that the Charity will have sufficient resources to continue its charitable activities for the foreseeable future. ## **NOTE 2: ACTIVITIES** The activities of this organisation, which is a registered Charity (registered no. 1080038), continue to be the support of the rural communities of Northamptonshire through the provision of advice and support on issues affecting them. ## **NOTE 3: INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES** |DEFRA - ACRE
Rural Housing Enabler
Rural Friendship Van
Northants Village Awards
Warm Home Packs (Nat
Grid)
NLCF GNS project
Community Renewal
Fund
Household Support Fund|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Total**
**2023/24**
**Total**
**2022/23**
**£**
**£**
40,280
0
40,280
40,280
0
16,662
16,662
0
0
10,000
10,000
0
0
0
0
4,940
0
9,461
9,461
0
0
0
0
95,014
0
0
85,967
4,000
4,000
55,000| |---|---| ||40,280
40,123
80,403
281,201| The charity’s charitable activities are either ringfenced or the funding goes into the core (General) fund. The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) funding covers core activities. Defra funds each Rural Community Council through the ACRE network to deliver projects and outcomes against 8 priority areas. Each RCC, such as Northamptonshire ACRE, uses the DEFRA funding to provide support to rural communities in as many of the priority areas as possible. Information on our work against the priorities is provided to DEFRA by each RCC in quarterly reports, collated by national ACRE. DEFRA (and other departments) is able to use this rural evidence in developing future government policies. Please contact Northamptonshire ACRE for more details. Our National Lottery Community Fund Good Neighbours project was a 3-year programme that began on 1[st] April 2020. The funding from The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players **Page 18** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** for good causes - it is the largest community funder in the UK. The funding was used to employ two fieldworkers who are tasked with setting up 30 Good Neighbour schemes in North Northamptonshire over a 3-year period. These schemes are run by local volunteers providing day to day low level support to fellow residents in their community to meet individual local needs. By the end of March 2023, 23 schemes had been set up in North Northants and 2 in West Northants as the National Lottery had agreed we could also support the set up of the schemes in West Northants. GNS support may involve informal general help, befriending or activities, either on an occasional or regular basis. 2022-23 is the last year of the GNS funding but as there was an underspend on the project, the National Lottery has agreed this could be carried forward into 2023-24. The project will finish at the end of January 2024. North Northants awarded us £55k in February 2023 to help residents in rural areas in the north who were experiencing energy issues or needed support to purchase food. The funding covered the period from February 2023 to the end of December 2023 and was used to provide a small amount of funding to help pay for energy costs and food vouchers of between £20 to £60 for individuals and families in need. **NOTE 4: TOTAL EXPENDITURE** |||**Fund**
**raising**|**Charitable**
**Activities**|**Governan.**
**other costs**|**HHC**|**Total**
**2023/24**|**Total**
**2022/23**|| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**£**|**£**|**£**||**£**|**£**|| |||||||||| |Staff Costs||54,962|82,443|54,962|27,481|219,849|207,154|| |Premises||6,074|9,111|6,074|3,037|24,297|31,202|| |Insurance||3,619|5,429|3,619|1,810|14,476|15,030|| |Professional Services||9,032|13,548|9,032|4,516|36,128|44,924|| |Telephones||521|781|521|260|2,083|2,870|| |Postage, Printing & Stationery||30|45|30|15|119|2,702|| |Equipment & Materials||921|1,381|921|460|3,682|5,545|| |Advertising||1,105|1,658|1,105|553|4,420|6,390|| |Other Expenses||16,240|24,360|16,240|8,120|64,960|57,631|| |Subscriptions inc. ACRE||1,602|2,403|1,602|801|6,408|9,024|| |Loan interest||192|287|192|96|766|1,042|| |||94,297|141,446|94,297|47,149|377,188|383,514|| |||||||||| Total expenditure on Charitable Activities includes expenditure from restricted funds. Refer to Note 9 for breakdown of expenditure from restricted funds. Staff costs include the costs spent on core NACRE staff as well as the expenditure on salaries for restricted projects (i.e. National Lottery Good Neighbour scheme project, Rural Friendship Van, Rural Housing, Warm Home Packs, Household Support Fund and Grassroots project). ## **NOTE 5: RESOURCES EXPENDED INCLUDES:-** No employee had emoluments in excess of £60,000 in the year or preceding year. **Page 19** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** |||**2023/24**||**2022/23**| |---|---|---|---|---| |The average number of employees calculated on a full
time equivalent basis was:-||5||5| |**NACRE Staff Costs**||**2023/24**||**2022/23**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||**£**| |Salaries||118,701||123,528| |Employers National Insurance||4,048||1,961| |Payroll provision costs||504||576| |Pension Contribution||2,351||2,023| |Training||80||179| |Travel mileage allowance||238||0| |Travel-other costs (train, parking)||0||0| |Recruitment costs||3,875||0| |||129,797||128,267| |**Other Expenses**||**2023/24**||**2022/23**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||**£**||**£**| |The director/trustees receive no emoluments but were paid
expenses||1,421||1,533| |||||| |Independent Examiners Fee||1,307||1,680| ## **NOTE 6: FIXED ASSETS** ||||**HHC**||**F&F**|**Office Equip**|**Office Equip**|**Trophies**||**Total 2023/24**||**Total 2022/23**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||**£**||**£**||**£**|**£**||**£**||**£**| |||||||||||||| |**Cost/Valuation**|As at 1 April 2023||1,262,000||3,072||11,639|4,531||1,281,242||1,281,242| ||Additions||0||0||0|0||0||0| ||Disposals||0||0||0|0||0||0| ||Revaluation in the year||0||0||0|0||0||0| ||As at 31 March 2024||1,262,000||3,072||11,639|4,531||1,281,242||1,281,242| |||||||||||||| |**Depreciation**|As at 1 April 2023||0||3,072||11,639|4,531||19,242||19,242| ||Provided in Year||0||0||0|0||0||0| ||Disposals|||||||||0||0| ||As at 31 March 2024||0||3,072||11,639|4,531||19,242||19,242| |||||||||||||| |**Net Book Value**|As at 1 April 2023||1,262,000||0||0|0||1,262,000||1,262,000| ||As at 31 March 2024||1,262,000||0||0|0||1,262,000||1,262,000| - 1) All the above assets are used for direct charitable purposes - 2) The historical cost of the fixed assets is £89,422. - 3) The Hunsbury Hill Centre and its surrounding site is professionally revalued every five years. The site and centre was valued in November **Page 20** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** 2018 by Godfrey Payton Chartered Surveyors, with the valuation as at the 1[st] April 2018. The Centre and site was valued at £1,262,000 at the 1[st] April 2018. The property was due to be revalued in 2023-24 but will be revalued in 2024-25. - 4) The trustees consider that the current values are not less than the value as stated in the accounts. |as stated in the accounts.|as stated in the accounts.|as stated in the accounts.|as stated in the accounts.|as stated in the accounts.|as stated in the accounts.|as stated in the accounts.| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||||| ||**Investments**|||||| |||||**As at**
**31/03/24**||**As at**
**31/03/23**| |||||**£**||**£**| |||Investment in the wholly owned subsidiary
company||1||1| Northamptonshire ACRE owns the whole of the issued share capital of the Hunsbury Hill Centre Limited, a company incorporated in England. The company’s principal activity is the provision of event facilities. In the financial year to 31[st] March 2024 the Hunsbury Hill Centre Ltd made a profit of £10,315 but as it was carrying a deficit of £32,985 from the previous financial year of 2022/23, the total equity was a deficit of £22,669. During 2020 the trading arm was unable to hold any Weddings due to a nationwide Covid-19 Pandemic. The deficit was a result of this pandemic and the cancellation of all weddings and events in 2020-21 and into 2022. ## **NOTE 7: DEBTORS** |**NOTE 7: DEBTORS**||| |---|---|---| |Control account
Prepayments
Amounts due from subsidiary|**2023/24**
**£**
106
1,098
0
1,204|**2022/23**
**£**
401
35,252| |||35,653| **Page 21** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** ## **NOTE 8: CREDITORS** |**NOTE 8: CREDITORS**|||| |---|---|---|---| |||**2023/24**|**2022/23**| |||**£**|**£**| |HHC Loan account|||| |Creditors control account
RIA - PC subs 2023/2024
RIA - VH subs 2023/2024
RIA - Donations
2023/2024
RIA - NVA 2023/2024
RIA - Other
Accruals
Other tax and social
security
Pension creditors
Amounts due to
Subsidiary||2,100
700
2,913
42
0
0
2,350
1,322
1,238|284| ||||35
160
0
0
0
3,531
7
714
7,080
35,252| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| |||27,960
24,120|| |Yorks. Bank Bounce Back Loan|||| |||62,745|47,063| ## **NOTE 9: FUND ANALYSIS** |||**b/forward 1**
**April 2023**|**Incoming**
**Resources**|**Outgoing**
**Resources**|**Revaluation**|**Incoming**
**Transfers**|**Outgoing**
**Transfers**|**Net**
**Transfers**|**Balances**
**c/forward 31**
**March 2024**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**| ||||||||||| |Unrestricted Funds|||||||||| ||General fund|59,629|165,076|211,921||0|0|0|12,784| ||Capital Fund|1,191,820|||0|0||0|1,191,820| ||
Dilapidation/Reserves Fund|25,000||||0||0|25,000| |Total Unrestricted||1,276,449|165,076|211,921|0|0|0|0|1,229,604| ||||||||||| |Restricted Funds|||||||||| ||Northants Village Awards|£0|0|0|0|0||0|£0| ||
Nat Lottery GNS project|£74,099|0|74,099|0|0||0|£0| ||
Rural Friendship Van|£0|10,000|9,000|0|0||0|£1,000| ||
Grass roots grant|£1,443|0|1,443|0|0||0|£0| ||
Rural Housing Enabler|£0|16,662|15,324|0|0||0|£1,338| ||
Warm Home Packs (Nat Grid)|£0|9,461|9,461|0|0||0|£0| ||
Household Support Fund 3|£51,940|4,000|55,940|0|0||0|£0| |Total Restricted||£127,481|40,123|165,267|0|0|0|0|£2,338| ||||||||||| |Total Funds||1,403,930|205,199|377,188|0|0|0|0|1,231,942| ||||||||||| ## **Fund Analysis Explanation** ## _**Unrestricted Funds**_ The General Fund represents the free funds of the charity, which are not designated for particular purposes. The General Fund is used to cover the charity’s core costs. The General Fund is made up from several sources including membership fees from our Parish Council and Community Facility members, a yearly grant **Page 22** **Charities Commission** **Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023-2024** from DEFRA (made through the national ACRE network), the donation from the trading arm, office rentals and the bulk oil membership scheme that Northamptonshire ACRE runs for off gas rural communities. The Hunsbury Hill Centre is an established event venue and was incorporated as a trading arm, The Hunsbury Hill Centre Limited, to take over the nonprimary activities of the charity. The trading arm is marketed as The Barns at Hunsbury Hill. The Capital Fund represents the fixed asset revaluation fund for tangible fixed assets that were re-valued as required by the Companies Act of 2006. The reserve reflects the amount by which the fixed assets exceed their historical cost. As at 31st March 2024 the Dilapidation (Reserves) Fund was in surplus by £25,000. The reserve will be capped at £50,000. As at 31st March 2024, the General Fund was in surplus by £12,784. ## _**Restricted Funds**_ These are funds received by the charity to deliver a specific project. Refer to Note 3 for details about the restricted funds the charity received and the projects delivered during 2023 and 2024. ## **NOTE 10: CONTROL RELATIONSHIPS** The charitable company is controlled by the Board of Directors/Trustees. **Page 23** **Charities Commission**