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2024-03-31-accounts

THE MARSH COMMUNITY CENTRE CHARITABLE COMPANY Annual Report and Accounts Year ending 31 March 2024

Director’s Report for the purposes of the Companies Act 2011 and Trustees’ Annual Report for the purposes of Part VI of the Charities Act 1993 for the year ended 31 March 2024.

The trustees present their annual report on the affairs of the company, together with the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024, together with the Independent Examiner’s Report thereon.

Registered Charity: 1085116 Company Registration Number: 04156154

CONTENTS

Page
Structure, Governance and Management p. 1
Report of the Chair of Trustees p. 3
Objectives, Activities and Achievements p. 3
Report of the Treasurer p. 5
Statement of Statutory Compliance p. 6
Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 p. 7
●Statement of Financial Activities
p. 8
●Balance Sheet
p.9
●Notes to the accounts p.10
●Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees
p.14

2

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Name

The full name of the charity is The Marsh Community Centre Charitable Trust.

Constitution and governing legislation

The charity was established on 8 February 2001 as a company limited by guarantee, without share capital, under the Companies Act 1985. Its operation is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 8 February 2001 as amended on 25 February 2003 and 5 December 2022. The company number is 04156154. The company is a registered charity (no. 1085116).

Trustees and directors

The persons who served on the Board of Trustees and as such were also directors of the company during the year were:

Michael Farnfield (Trustee and Chair)

Hilary Greenwood (Trustee)

Martin Mulligan (Trustee)

Andrew Nicholson (Trustee)

Ken Peasnell (Trustee and Treasurer)

Sally Pidd (Trustee and Secretary)

Jon Barry (Trustee), resigned 19 August 2023

Karen Ohlsson, resigned 19 August 2023

Appointment of trustees

The appointment of trustees is governed by provisions contained within the company’s Articles of Association. These are as follows:

1

At the company’s Annual General Meeting on 17 July 2024, Sally Pidd resigned as a trustee, effective from that date.

Trustees’ responsibilities

Company and charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year that 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 the surplus or deficit of the charitable company for that year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and to enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with all relevant legislation. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Registered office

The registered office of the company is Marsh Community Centre, Willow Lane, Lancaster, LA1 5PP.

Bankers

The company’s bankers during the year ended 31 March 2024 were The Cumberland Building Society, 26-28 Cheapside, Lancaster LA1 1LZ.

Accountants

The company’s finances are managed in-house by the Chief Executive supported by the Secretary and Treasurer. Our payroll and Independent Examination are conducted by Lancaster & District CVS, Sulyard St, Lancaster LA1 1PX.

Specific restrictions on the company

The restrictions specified in Memorandum and Articles of Association include the following:

2

Full details of all the restrictions imposed on the company and the framework within which the company operates are contained in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Investment powers

The company is permitted by its Memorandum of Association to invest any funds not immediately required for its purposes in any investments, securities or property as may be thought fit, subject to such conditions and consents as may be imposed or required by law. In exercising these powers, the trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

Management and financial oversight

The centre’s manager, Deborah Hargreaves, is responsible for the centre’s operations. On the financial side, she is assisted by the treasurer and the secretary. The board of trustees meet at least once a month, with the centre manager in attendance, to monitor activities and to make policy decisions.

REPORT OF THE CHAIR OF TRUSTEES

This has been another good year for the Marsh Community Centre, both financially and through the continued success of our activities. It is not easy running a community centre. But with the combined help of our staff, trustees, and volunteers, we keep managing to do so!

We are particularly grateful to Lancaster City Council for their continued support and to the Tudor Trust and Banks Lyon who have collectively enabled us to employ an additional member of staff to support our work.

Debz and her team continue to work miracles and have hosted several successful community events on top of their normal workloads, and we thank them for their commitment and effort in challenging circumstances.

OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Established in 2001 as the Marsh Community Centre Charitable Company, the central objective of our work is to address the needs of local people particularly children and young people living in this deprived ward of Lancaster. Unfortunately, the levels of deprivation have only increased since the centre was formed. We have sought better ways to support adults struggling with poverty, mental health issues and stress. With funding and partnership, we try to provide support for hard-to-reach and vulnerable children and young people. We aspire to achieve the following four objectives:

1. ACTIVITIES

To provide and facilitate activities, advice, information, advocacy and support that improve the quality of life of local people and promote the wellbeing of the community.

2. BUILDING

To run an accessible and safe building that enables us to make a difference.

3

3. COMMUNITY

To engage and consult the local community so that we are responsive to its needs and aspirations.

4. ORGANISATION

To ensure that we are well managed and governed and effective in all that we do.

Activities during the year

The centre has a great atmosphere. We have done lots of things to help the local community. These include the following:

4

together people in the area. They help people with social isolation and mental health problems and to make friendships in a safe place.

We have had great trips out with young people and families including Gulliver’s World, Blackpool Lights, Splash Park and Jump Rush. We also took a group of young people to attend a a residential course at Brathay which they found incredible, and it opened their eyes to a whole new way of thinking. We have a great community in which people lookout for each other. Crime and anti-social behaviour have dropped, which is a great source of satisfaction to those of us involved with the centre.

All these activities cost money and the centre requires a lot of upkeep. As is explained elsewhere in this annual report, we are very dependent on grants provided by external funding bodies. We do what we can to generate income from other sources, including hiring out the venue to outside organisations. These include Hope Church which runs on a Sunday. Apart from the intrinsic value of these uses of the centre, they provide us with much needed additional income. To this end, we have a website (www.marshcommunitycentre.org) that explains what we do and details how donations can be made.

REPORT OF THE TREASURER

Income and expenditure

Detailed information concerning our charitable spending during the year and the income that made this possible is provided in the financial statements which follow. The key features can be summarised as follows.

Our operating expenditures during the year totalled £143,163 an increase of 9.6% over the previous year. The largest element was wages and salaries (£89,715), an increase of 7.1% over the previous year. Our spending on what we call activity costs, i.e., on our face-to-face activities (£32,474), increased by 36.4% over the previous year, which itself was 39.7% more than in 2021-22. These are continuing welcome financial indicators of the work we do for people in the Marsh area. Our spending on repairs and renewals (£6,235) and capital purchases (£18,199) together represents an increase of more than 50% over the previous year, reflective of the continuing need to maintain and improve our now-ageing facilities.

Funding available to us to support these activities totalled £183,401, an increase of 36.4% over 2022-23, and came from three sources: grants from external funding agencies (£150,817, up 30.5%); donations from individuals and organisations (£13,283, up 158.6%); and other income from a variety of sources (£19,300, more than double that in 2022-23). These

5

figures reveal our continued dependence on support from grant-awarding bodies. The grant amounts we have received from each source are detailed in note 1 to the financial statements. We are particularly indebted to the substantial grants we have received from the National Lottery’s Reaching Communities Fund (£54,131), Tudor Trust (£30,000), and Lancaster City Council (£20,358). Without the support, large and small, of all these grantawarding bodies, we could not function.

As in previous years, the donations we received came from a variety of sources, both large and small, some for specific purposes and others to help us cover general running costs and our activities. Many take the form of regular small donations and others one-off larger amounts. Whatever the amount or frequency they are extremely valuable because they help us build up our reserves in ways that grants do not and cannot and thus help buffer us from shocks to the funding regime.

Reserves policy

Our objective is to maintain a level of free reserves (those not tied up in fixed assets and restricted funds) at a level sufficient to fulfil the company’s continuing obligations. This is always a struggle because of our heavy reliance on grants as our principal source of income. I am therefore pleased to be able to report that our unrestricted funds increased for a second year in a row by £3,827 (£5,493 in 2022-23). A key long-term objective of the Company is to conserve this vital reserve to ensure our continuing solvency, but we accept there will be ups and downs from one year to the next. Moreover, inflation continues to pose great difficulties for charities, including ourselves.

As of 31 March 2024, our unrestricted reserves amounted to £55,046 which equates to nearly five months of our current level of non-capital spending. This is, of course, an extreme worse-case scenario in which all grant income has been consumed and no more income of any kind is being received. In fact, we had £109,821 cash in the bank and in hand at the year-end, an amount £21,967 more than last year and is equal to more than 9 months of current spending. Furthermore, our three-year grant from the National Lottery under their Reaching Communities programme will be sufficient to cover a large portion of our operating costs for next year. As a result, the Trustees remain confident in the continuing financial viability of the Company.

STATEMENT OF STATUTORY COMPLIANCE

The trustees’ and directors’ report and the attached accounts comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Statement of Recommended Practice 2015 – Accounting and Reporting by Charities.

The above report has been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2011 relating to small companies and was approved by the board on 4 September 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

Mike Farnfield 9 Chair of Trustees

6

The Marsh Community Centre Charitable Company

Registered Company No. 04156154 Registered Charity No. 1085116

Financial statements

Year ending 31 March 2024

7

The Marsh Community Centre Charitable Company

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Year ended 31 March 2024

Note
Income from:
Donations and legacies
1
Grants
1
Other Income
2
Total
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
3,4,5
Depreciation
Total
Net income (expenditures)
Fixed asset purchases
Other transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Unrestricted
Funds
£
11,783
-
19,300
31,084
21,762
-
21,762
9,322
(5,439)
56
-
3,827
51,219
55,046
Restricted
Funds
£
1,500
150,817
-
152,317
121,401
-
121,401
30,916
(12,760)
56
18,211
35,751
53,962
Fixed Assets
Fund
£
-
-
-
-
-
11,890
11,890
-11,890
18,199
-
6,309
229,532
235,841
Total Funds
2024
£
13,283
150,817
19,300
183,401
143,163
11,890
155,053
28,348
-
-
28,348
316,502
344,850
Total Funds
2023
£
5,138
115,556
13,768
134,462
130,591
11,028
141,619
(7,157)
-
-
(7,157)
323,659
316,502

The notes that follow form part of these financial statements.

8

The Marsh Community Centre Charitable Company

BALANCE SHEET

As at 31 March 2024

Note 2024 2023
£ £
Fixed Assets
Tangible fixed assets 6 235,842 229,533
Current Assets
Cash at bank and in hand 109,821 87,854
Debtors and prepayments - 886
Total current assets 109,821 88,740
Current Liabilities
Creditors and accrued expenses 813 1,771
Net Current Assets 109,008 86,969
Net Assets 344,850 316,502
Funds:
Unrestricted funds 55,046 51,219
Restricted funds 7 53,962 35,751
Fixed Assets fund 235,841 229,532
344,850 316,502

For the year ending 31 March 2024 the Company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

Approved by the board of trustees

Michael Farnfield Ken Peasnell Ke v1 Woosn e| | Date: 19 June 2024

The notes on the following pages form part of these financial statements.

9

The Marsh Community Centre Charitable Company

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS Year ended 31 March 2024

Accounting Policies

Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention and accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective January the Companies Act 2011.

Income

Grants, including grants for the purchase of fixed assets, are included in income in the year to which the grant Where a grant is received but cannot be spent until later years(s) it is carried forward as prepaid income.

Collections, donations and legacies are included when receivable by the charity.

No income is shown net of expenditure.

Expenditures

Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis.

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

All capital expenditure, including that which is funded by grants, is treated as an addition to fixed assets.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assts at rates calculated to write off the costs less estimated residua of each asset over its expected useful life as follows:

Property 2% p.a. straight line Fixtures and equipmment 20% p.a. straight line Computer equipment 33% p.a. straight line

Where the capital expenditure is funded by specific grants, the associated grant is transferred to the fixed asset In the case of capital expenditure financed out of the unrestricted fund, a similar transfer is made to the fixed ass In both cases, depreciation is charged to the fixed assets fund based on the expected useful life of the relevant a

Taxation

The company is a registered charity and as such is entitled to the exemption from tax to the extent that the incom received falls within section 505 C.G.T.A. 1992 and is applied to charitable purposes only.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted fund - this is the fund which can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretio of the trustees.

Fixed asset fund - this is the fund which represents fixed assets purchased from both unrestricted and unspecific grants and fund the future depreciation of those assets.

Restricted funds - these are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objectives of charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes

10

The Marsh Community Centre Charitable Company

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS Year ended 31 March 2024

1
Grants and donations received during year
National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund
Tudor Trust
B & Q
Francis C Scott Trust
Banks Lyon Memorial Trust
Areti Charitable Trust
Banks Lyon
Awards for All
The Westminster Fund
Groundwork (Quaker Oats)
Neighbourly
Lancashire County Council
Other grants and donations
2
Other income
Food club
Statutory Maternity Pay
Other income
3
Expenditure on charitable activities
Wages and salaries
Cleaning, printing, stationary and sundries
Repairs and renewals
Heat, light and water
Telephone, internet and computing
Insurance and legal costs
Activity expenses
Grants
Membership, training and travel
Audit, accountancy and payroll
Bank and financial charges
Income generation expenses
Lancaster City Council
Unrestricted
funds
2024
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
11,783
11,783
Unrestricted
funds
2024
£
4,133
1,583
13,585
19,300
Unrestricted
funds
2024
£
6,542
720
4,584
-
-
-
8,906
-
102
-
58
850
21,762
Restricted
funds
2024
£
54,131
30,000
20,358
10,000
9,600
8,495
5,279
5,000
3,900
2,000
1,000
555
500
1,500
152,317
Restricted
funds
2024
£
-
-
-
-
Restricted
funds
2024
£
83,173
1,796
1,651
4,030
3,536
2,287
23,569
-
414
946
-
-
121,401
Total
funds
2024
£
54,131
30,000
20,358
10,000
9,600
8,495
5,279
5,000
3,900
2,000
1,000
555
500
13,283
164,101
Total
funds
2024
£
4,133
1,583
13,585
19,300
Total
funds
2024
£
89,715
2,516
6,235
4,030
3,536
2,287
32,474
-
516
946
58
850
143,163
Total
funds
2023
£
34,904
30,000
14,000
-
-
-
-
5,000
-
-
-
2,000
-
69,694
120,694
Total
funds
2023
£
4,685
4,311
4,771
13,767
Total
funds
2023
£
83,783
1,830
7,840
5,482
815
2,669
23,807
600
1,514
763
307
1,181
130,591

11

The Marsh Community Centre Charitable Company

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS Year ended 31 March 2024

4
Management and administration of the charity
Accountancy fees
Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2024
2024
5
Staff Costs
£
£
Wages costs
2,494
83,173
Less statutory maternity pay recovery
(1,583)
-
911
83,173
The average number of employees during the year was as 5.
No employee earned more tha £50,000 in the year.
Leasehold
Computer
property
equipment
6
Tangible fixed assets
£
£
Cost
At 1 April 2023
341,539
6,012
Additions
14,171
300
Disposals
-
-
At 31 March 2024
355,710
6,312
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023
124,975
4,921
Charge for the year
7,114
543
Disposals
-
-
At 31 March 2024
132,089
5,464
Net Book value
At 31 March 2024
223,621
848
at 31 March 2023
216,564
1,091
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets
Net income is stated after charging the following:
2024
£
11,890
946
Total
funds
2024
£
85,667
(1,583)
84,084
Fixtures &
fittings
£
41,485
3,728
-
45,213
29,607
4,233
-
33,840
11,373
11,878
2023
£
11,028
763
Total
funds
2023
£
83,783
(4,311)
79,472
£
389,036
18,199
0
407,235
159,503
11,890
0
171,393
235,842
229,533
Total

12

The Marsh Community Centre Charitable Company

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS Year ended 31 March 2024

7
Movements in funds
Restricted funds
Albert Hunt Trust
Areti Charitable Trust
Awards for All
B&Q
Banks Lyon
Banks Lyon Memorial Trust
Coop Local Community Fund
CVS Lancaster Community Fund
Curious Minds
Fairshare Food Futures Fund
Francis C Scott Trust
Groundwork (Quaker Oats)
Groundwork (Tesco Community Fund)
Lancashire County Council
Mobility Trust
National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund
NHS
Neighbourly
Postcode Neighbourhood Trust
Sported Foundation
The Westminster Fund
Tudor Trust
Other
General funds
Unrestricted Funds
Fixed assets fund
Lancaster City Council
Balance
01.04.23
£
180
-
-
-
2,195
-
304
1,245
436
2,600
-
-
1,500
-
4,343
750
9,476
1,421
400
3,223
2,405
1,041
4,232
-
35,751
51,219
229,532
316,502
Incoming
resources
£
-
5,279
3,900
10,000
5,000
8,495
-
-
-
-
9,600
1,000
-
500
20,358
-
54,131
-
555
-
0
2,000
30,000
1,500
152,317
31,084
18,199
201,600
Outgoings
£
162
1,048
2,398
10,002
3,795
3,345
0
1,304
430
1,237
3,431
0
1,120
521
21,712
547
46,895
1,313
665
24
259
2,295
30,163
1,499
134,161
27,201
11,890
173,252
Transfers
Balance
31.03.24
£
£
(18)
(0)
4,231
1,502
2
(0)
3,400
5,150
304
59
0
(6)
0
1,363
6,169
1,000
380
21
0
2,989
203
16,712
108
290
3,199
2,146
746
4,069
(1)
0
55.57
53,963
(55.57)
55,046
-
235,841
-
344,850

Purposes of the restricted funds

The restricted funds are provided by the grant providers and donors and can only be used for the purposes set out in the grants and donators made by each provider.

8 Related party transactions

There were no transactions with related parties during the year.

9 Untimate control

The company is controlled by its members in general meeting in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association. No member is entitled to more than one vote.

13

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of

Marsh Community Centre

Charity No. 1085116

I report on the accounts for the year 1st April 2023 – 31[st] March 2024

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

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:

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:

have not 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.

Shweta Pankhadiwala

C/o Lancaster District CVS, The Cornerstone Sulyard Street Lancaster LA1 1PX 30[th] July 2024.