Hertford Community Church Trust
Annual Report and Accounts Twelve months ending 31 August 2023
Charity Number 1082292
Hertford Community Church Trust
Trustees Report
Twelve months ending 31 August 2023
Trustees and Church Leadership
Trustees and church leaders serving throughout the year are:
Trustees
Ian Tyler Ross Hartwig Jacqui Pattison Cathy Sebborn (Treasurer)
Leadership Team
Jess Hartwig Ross Hartwig Alison Tyler
Structure, Governance and Management
Hertford Community Church Trust is constituted by a trust deed dated 30 January 2000, as amended by supplemental deed dated 2 July 2000 and is a registered charity number 1082292
The powers of appointment or removal of Trustees rests with the Trustees with due reference to the Church Leadership Team. New Trustees are selected from the members of the Church since this means that the Trustee body is whole-heartedly involved in seeing the mission of the Church worked out in practice. On being Appointed, new Trustees spend time with the existing Trustees to ensure they understand the responsibilities and the legal and financial framework in which the Church operates.
Hertford Community Church targets to have at least two Trustees who are not members of the Leadership and two who are. This is in order to achieve a healthy balance of spiritual and legal governance. Directions relating to the charitable trust are made by the Trustees, in consultation with the Leadership, who are responsible for governing the life and teaching of the Church. Day
to day decisions on expenditure and activities are decided by the staff and volunteers in charge of-different departments within the Church, with budgets set and monitored by the Trustees.
Hertford Community Church is a member of the Pioneer Network of churches.
Objectives and Activities
The Trust has the objective to advance the Christian faith in Hertford and across the world, to relieve poverty or hardship and advance education and training. The church is built on the belief that this is achieved through works in the community.
The main activities of the church are based in Hertford and these also include two separate operations under separate banners:
-
Pines Pre School – a pre-school group held at Pinehurst Community Centre for up to 26 children. This is funded primarily from local government grants. This employs 8 part time staff and benefits from 5 volunteers
-
Street Pastors, Hertford and Ware – this is a group of volunteers from local churches that regularly go out late at night in Ware and Hertford, to help keep the streets safe for those that are vulnerable due to an excess of alcohol and/or other drugs
Achievements and Performance
In the core church giving and donations increased modestly enabling a small increase in both donations and expenses. The Trustees took the decision to continue to pay rent for halls even though we weren’t using them some of the year, in order to support them through these difficult times.
The pre-school did amazingly well to come through the financial year with a small surplus as it was a tough year due to the ongoing Covid pandemic and the age demographic which made keeping full occupancy throughout the year impossible.
SPH&W activities have also been significantly impacted by COVID as the local night-time economy has been severely affected and also in order to protect the health of some of the older and more vulnerable volunteers. However, the financial impact of this is quite modest as SPH&W is an entirely volunteer run activity.
Financial Review
This financial year we have reinstated full comparisons to the prior year.
| Church Activities 22 26 (4) 2 |
Street Pastors 3 3 0 0 |
Pre School 55 61 (6) (5) |
Total | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incoming resources Resources expended Net 2023 Net 2022 |
||||||
| 80 90 |
||||||
| (10) (3) |
||||||
The income for the church was down and for the first year in a while the church had a net deficit of £4k. The pre-school delivered the expected loss for the year, but it is hoped that in 2024 it may break even. This is more important as recent cumulative losses since Covid have reduced the pre-school’s reserves to just over £7,000. Street Pastors again made a de minimis surplus for year and now have reserves in excess of £6,000 that represent over 2 years normal expenditure.
The Trust has a target to maintain reserves at between one months and two months expenditure in order to manage unexpected fluctuations in income and meet liabilities as they arise. The reserves at the end of 2023 were equivalent to 1.5 months for the pre-school and much longer periods for the church and Street Pastors.
Public Benefit
In planning its activities, the Trustees have given regard to the Charity Commission's Public Benefit guidance (Reg 40 (2)(c)(ii)) and particularly the guidance for charities whose objects are the advancement of religion.
Hertford Community Church provides Public Benefit in numerous ways which include Christian witness, being active in our local communities to all in need regardless of faith and donation of resources to both local and international communities.
Trustee Date
Hertford Community Church Trust
Statement of Financial Activities
Twelve Months Ended 31 August 2023
| Notes |
Un- restricted funds £’000 27 - 27 37 37 |
Un- restricted funds £’000 27 - 27 37 37 |
Restricted funds £’000 - 53 53 53 53 - - - |
Total 2023 £’000 27 53 80 90 90 |
Total 2023 £’000 27 53 80 90 90 |
Total 2022 £’000 31 52 83 86 86 (3) 64 61 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incoming resources Incoming resources from generated funds . Voluntary income 1 Incoming resources from charitable activities 2 Total incoming resources Resources expended Charitable activities 3 Total resources expended Net incoming resources Funds at the start of the year Funds at the end of the year |
||||||
| (10) 61 |
(10) 61 |
|||||
| 51 | 51 |
Hertford Community Church Trust
Balance Sheet
At 31 August 2023
Notes Current assets Debtors 5 Cash at bank and in hand 6 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 7 Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Represented by: Funds and reserves Unrestricted funds |
2023 £’000 7 44 51 - |
2023 £’000 51 51 |
2023 £’000 51 51 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | |||
| 51 | |||
Approved on: 24 May 2024
Hertford Community Church Trust
Cashflow
Twelve Months Ended 31 August 2023
A Adjustment of net incoming resources before transfers to net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities
| Net incoming resources before transfers (Increase)/Decrease in Debtors Increase in Creditors Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities |
2023 £’000 (10) (1) - (11) |
2022 £’000 |
|---|---|---|
| (3) (5) |
||
| (8) |
B Analysis of changes in net debt
| Analysis of changes in net debt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash at bank and in hand Total |
At 1 Sept 2022 £’000 |
Cash flows £’000 (11) (11) |
At 31 Aug 2023 £’000 44 44 |
| 55 | |||
| 55 |
Principal Accounting Policies
Basis of accounting
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. Applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards and the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (SORP 2005), have been followed in the preparation of these financial statements.
Incoming resources
All income is credited to the statement of financial activities on a receivable basis except Gift Aid which is accrued.
Donations are credited to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they are received as receipt is the earliest point at which entitlement is considered certain.
Restricted grants and awards are included once the amount is reasonably certain to be received. The income is matched to the period of expenditure for grants extending beyond the financial year.
Resources expended and the basis of apportioning costs
Expenditure is charged to the statement of financial activities on an accruals basis.
Governance costs are negligible and no separate cost has been identified.
Fund accounting
The Restricted Funds are monies raised for, and their use restricted to, a specific purpose, or donations subject to donor imposed condition.
The General Fund represents unrestricted and undesignated monies used to fund working capital and which the organisation may use in furtherance of the charity’s objectives.
1 Voluntary income
| 1 Voluntary income |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donations Grants Other income Gift Aid |
Unrestricted funds £’000 22 0 1 4 27 |
Restricted funds £’000 - - |
Total 2023 £’000 22 0 1 4 27 |
Total 2022 £’000 |
| 24 0 2 5 |
||||
| 31 |
2 Incoming resources from charitable activities
| Government grants Fees |
Unrestricted funds £’000 - - - |
Restricted funds £’000 47 6 53 |
Total 2023 £’000 47 6 53 |
Total 2022 £’000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 3 |
||||
| 52 |
3 Cost of charitable activities
| Staff costs Contributions to outside activities Accommodation Project costs Administration and general |
Unrestricted funds £’000 5 11 3 9 6 34 |
Restricted funds £’000 50 0 2 0 0 52 |
Total 2023 £’000 57 11 8 8 6 90 |
Total 2022 £’000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 11 5 9 6 |
||||
| 86 |
4 Staff costs
| 4 Staff costs |
||
|---|---|---|
| Total staff costs | 2023 £’000 57 |
2022 £’000 |
| 55 |
It has not been possible to quantify the monetary value of the services of approximately 25 volunteers who give their time freely, providing a wide range of support and activities to children, youth, OAPs, local residents and staff.
The average number of actual employees was as follows:
| Part time - FTE equivalent of 2.5 Full time |
2023 8 0 8 |
2022 |
|---|---|---|
| 8 0 |
||
| 8 |
5 Debtors
| 5 Debtors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gift Aid Due | 2023 £’000 7 7 |
2022 £’000 |
| 6 | ||
| 6 |
6 Cash at bank and in hand
| Current accounts | 2023 £’000 44 44 |
2022 £’000 |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | ||
| 55 |
7 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
| Other creditors | 2023 £’000 - - |
2022 £’000 |
|---|---|---|
| - | ||