## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) 

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 315* DECEMBER 2020 

Charity Number 1091181 


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KENT SEARCH & RESCUE<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


## 2020 IN NUMBERS 


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Serving Kent For 22 Years<br>[neues ALL UNPAID VOLUNTEERS<br>ae 122 DAYS DEPLOYED<br>eee, 502 SEPARATE INCIDENTS<br>Sy 11,264 HRS DEPLOYED<br>ere<br>eae oe ae ae<br>DP ee 71% MISSING = MALES<br> - 6% MENTAL HEALTH<br>-. © 6% DEMENTIA RELATED<br>4 bee 67% DESPONDENT/RISK OF SUICIDE<br>2 X INCIDENT VANS<br>oompeea SOE CARS<br>_ 3 X POWER BOATS<br>Feta’ 4X KAYAKS, 2X CANOES<br>2 X DRONES<br>roy TO PROVIDE 24/7<br>4 a p SERVICEACROSS KENT<br>oi. AMAZING SUPPORTERS<br>Je 8,400 FACEBOOK FANS<br>: , 5,800 TWITTER FOLLOWERS<br>ae 1,100 INSTAGRAM FRIENDS<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>




## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31% DECEMBER 2020 

## Contents 

||PAGES|
|---|---|
|Report ofthe trustees|1-3|
|Independent examiner's report to the trustees|4|
|Statement of Financial Activities|5)|
|Balance sheet|6|
|Notestothefinancialstatements|7-10|





1 

## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) 

## TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 

The trustees are pleased to present their annual report for the year ended 315 December 2020 together with the financial statements for that period. 

## REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS 

## Charity’s principal address: 

Kent Search and Rescue Kent Police Marine and Search Division Coldharbour Outstation London Road Aylesford Kent ME20 7SL 

## Trustees 

Lord Jonathan Evans (Chairman) Mr Adrian Harper Mr Peter Ayling Mr Andrew Whitehouse Mr Christopher Colgan — resigned 23" April 2020 Mr Mark Rist — appointed 25" January 2021 Mr Stewart Baird Mr Martin Kingman Mr Andrew Turnbull Mr Stuart Kenny — appointed 27" January 2020 Mr David Schooledge — appointed 27" January 2020 

## STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT 

The charity is governed by a Constitution adopted by the members, the latest version of which was adopted on 25" January 2021. The board of trustees is authorised to appoint new trustees to fill vacancies arising through resignation or death of an existing trustee. 



2 

## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT- continued 

## OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES 

The primary objective of the charity is to protect and preserve good health and life by the provision of volunteer search and rescue teams to assist organisations involved in the search and/or rescue of missing or vulnerable persons. The secondary objective is the provision of programs to help prevent the need of search and rescue teams by means of education of the general public. The charity activities assist in the relief of suffering and distress amongst persons endangered by accidents or natural hazards in the lowland areas of Kent, particularly by providing adequate arrangements for the secure and efficient search and rescue of any person or persons so endangered. The trustees have had due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. 

## ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE - OPERATIONAL UPDATE 

Purely based on the statistics, 2020 showed a 25% increase in incidents compared to 2019. This, however, misses the important fact that, for the last nine months of the year, the Coronavirus pandemic caused major issues in the management and deployment of the team. While the team continued to be available throughout the pandemic, it did cause several operational issues to do with the safety of the members, external contacts and, of course, the missing persons. This led to unplanned expenditure to acquire the necessary PPE and, in addition to the cancellation of our more traditional fundraising events. The Fundraising team did a remarkable job of raising finance from a variety of grants and donations to ensure that the team had sufficient funds to maintain our operational readiness. 

The management team developed a series of ever evolving procedures trying to minimise risks and, as far as we are aware, no-one contracted COVID as a result of any searches. Another major impact was that no face-to-face training took place for most of the members and a comprehensive program of online training was initiated and continued throughout most of the year. 

On a more positive note, 2020 saw callout attendance numbers maintained, despite the risk of the virus, and the introduction of a replacement drone offering all weather capability and optical and thermal imaging cameras, which has extended our aerial search capability. 

In addition to our normal search operations, the team assisted the NHS with both medicine deliveries to vulnerable patients and the delivery of COVID test kits to NHS staff. 



3 

## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) 

## TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT - continued 

We continued to extend our pro-active work with Kent Police, principally with “Operation Concern”, where small teams identified and attended calls for concern that would have otherwise required action by a police patrol, and “Safe and Dry”, where members of the team provide safety cover on the River Medway and surrounding areas during periods of concern, such as Christmas, as a response to some high-profile drowning incidents. Although disrupted by the pandemic, Operation Concern is being further developed to provide a more local response provision (Operation Concern Local) and this will be continued as we move out of the pandemic. 

In recognition of the service provided to the people of Kent, we were proud to receive a Chief Constable’s Commendation. 

## FINANCIAL REVIEW 

For the year ended 31% December 2020 the trustees consider the financial position of the charity to be in line with expectations. The reserves at the end of the year were £234,700 (2019: £234,308). Reserves are held in order to fulfil the charities aims and objectives in the future and to be sufficient to cover expenditures for a twelve-month period. 

## DECLARATION 

| 

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. 

Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees: 

Andrew Whitehouse - Trustee 8 July 2021 



4 

## INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) 

| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity (charity number 1091181) for the year ended 31st December 2020. 

## RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF REPORT 

| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31st December 2020. 

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”). 

| report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, | have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. 

## BASIS OF THE INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT 

| have completed my examination. | confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: e the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or 

- e the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or 

- e the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts givea ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. 

| 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. 

Roger P B Storey — Chartered Management Accountant 26 Cherry Orchard Road, Bromley, Kent, BR2 8NE 

## Date: g | 1 Tou 



5 

## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) 

## STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES YEAR ENDED 31% DECEMBER 2020 

||||||2020|2019|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Unrestricted|Restricted|Reserves|Total|Total|
|||Funds|Funds||Funds|Funds|
||Notes|£|£|£|£|3|
|Income from:|||||||
|Fundraising events<br>Donations and Grants<br>Member subscriptions||23,951<br>47,426<br>3,095|0<br>19,252<br>0|0<br>0<br>0|34,893<br>66,679<br>3,095|34,893<br>56,981<br>2,945|
|Training services||1,750|0|0|1,750|500|
|Interest received||29|0|0|29|75|
|Total income||16,253|19,252|0|95,505|95,394|
|Expenditure on:|||||||
|Charitable activities|2|82,131|12,982|0|95,113|80,562|
|Net income and net|||||||
|movement in funds||-5,878|6,270|0|392|14,832|
|Total funds brought forward||118,815|49,625|65,868|234,308|219,476|
|||112,937|55,895|65,868|234,700|234,308|
|Transferto Sinking Fund|Asset||||||
|Reserve||43,239|0|43,239|0|0|
|Totalfundscarriedforward||69,698|55,895|109,107|234,700|234,308|



The notes to the accounts form part of these financial statements. 



6 

## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) 

## BALANCE SHEET AT 31° DECEMBER 2020 

|||31/12/2020|31/12/2019||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Notes|£|z,|.|
|Fixed assets|3|160,529|186,702||
|Current assets|||||
|Prepayments and accrued income||10,886|8,523||
|Cash atbank and in hand||68,881|70,857||
|||79,767|79,380||
|Current liabilities|||||
|Accruals||3,895|30,873||
|Kitdeposits||1,700|900||
|||5,595|31,773||
|Net currentassets||74,171|47,607||
|Total Assets less current liabilities||234,700|234,308||
|Funds|||||
|Restricted funds||55,895|49,625||
|Unrestricted funds||69,698|118,815||
|Sinking Fund Asset Reserve||74,107|30,868||
|Operational Costs Reserve||35,000|35,000||
|||234,700|234,308||



Approved by the trustees on 8" July 2021. 

Andrew Whitehouse - Trustee 



7 

## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31% DECEMBER 2020 

## 1 Accounting Policies 

## 1.1 Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charity Commission’s Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (SORP FRS 102) as updated by the Charities SORP (FRS 102) update bulletin. The charity is a public benefit entity as defined by FRS102 

## 1.2 Income recognition 

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably. 

## 1.3 Expenditure recognition 

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. All expenses including support costs and governance costs are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings. 

- 1.4 Unrestricted funds 

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees. The trustees have established two Reserve Accounts, namely the Sinking Fund Reserve Account and the Operational Costs Reserve Account. The former will provide funds to replace the charity's motor vehicles, boats, drones and other large items of equipment as they come to the end of their useful lives. The latter Reserve is to ensure there are sufficient funds to cover at least 12 months of ongoing non-discretionary expenditure in the event that income levels decrease substantially due to unforeseen events. 

1.5 Tangible fixed assets Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost or valuation over their expected useful lives on the following basis: Motor vehicles 10 years; Other search equipment 10 years; IT and radio equipment 5 years 



8 

## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31* DECEMBER 2020 - continued 

## 1.6 Fund accounting 

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised or set aside for particular restricted purposes. 

## 2 Expenditure on charitable activities 

||2020|2019|
|---|---|---|
||£|e|
|Equipment and clothing<br>Depreciation|21,041<br>33,157|10,292<br>27 844|
|Training|5,011|5,917|
|Fuel and other vehicle costs|13,473|13,889|
|Insurances|7,987|7,005|
|ITand communications|10,914|14,285|
|Charitable donations|0|538|
|Memberwelfare and event costs|2,570|975|
|Finance & Carriage charges|105|322|
|Memberships and affiliations|154|255|
|Independent examiner’s fees|260|240|
|Loss/(Gain) on disposal ofassets|441|-1,000|
||95,113|80,562|





9 

## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31% DECEMBER 2019 - continued 

## 3 Tangible fixed assets 

|Tangible fixed assets|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||IT and|Other||
||Motor|radio|search||
||vehicles|equipment|equipment|Total|
||£|£|£|£|
|COST|||||
|At 18January 2020|135,779|45,954|93,117|274,850|
|Additions|0|2,850|6,858|9,708|
|Disposals & adjustments|0|0|-4,448|-4,448|
|At 318 December2020|135,779|48,804|95,527|280,110|
|DEPRECIATION|||||
|At 18t January2020|30,868|29,948|27,332|88,148|
|Charge foryear|13,903|S173|11,081|33,157|
|Disposals & adjustments|0|0|-1,724|-1,724|
|At 318t December2020|44,771|38,121|36,689|119,581|
|NET BOOKVALUE|||||
|At 31st December2020|91,008|10,683|58,838|160,529|
|At31stDecember2019|104,911|16,006|65,785|186,702|



## 4 Taxation 

The charity’s activities fall within the exemptions afforded by the provisions of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988. Accordingly, there is no taxation charge in these accounts. 

|5|Analysis of netassets|Unrestricted|Reserves’|Restricted|Total|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||between funds|funds||funds|funds|
||Tangible fixed assets|e<br>44,618|e<br>74,107|z.<br>41,804|£<br>160,529|
||Current assets|30,676|35,000|14,091|79,767|
||Current liabilities|-5,595|0|0|-5,595|
|||69,698|109,107|55,895|234,700|





10 

## KENT SEARCH AND RESCUE (LOWLAND) 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31* DECEMBER 2020 — continued 


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|||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|6|Movement|in|At|18|Receipts|Payments|Transfers|At|315|
|funds|January|December|
|2020|2020|
|‘|.|£|3|2|
|Restricted|funds|49,625|19,252|-12,982|0|55,895|
|Unrestricted|funds|118,815|76,253|-82,131|-43,239|69,698|
|Sinking|fund|
|asset|reserve|30,868|0|0|43,239|74,107|
|Operational|
|costs|reserve|35,000|0|0|0|35,000|
|69,698|109,107|-95,113|55,895|234,700|

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## 7 Trustees’ Remuneration and Transactions with related parties 

No trustee received any remuneration during the year or had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity during the year (December 2019, £0). 

One trustee controls a company that provides Information Technology Services to the charity. These services, which are all provided on an arm’s length basis, resulted in costs to the charity totalling £455 during the year (2019, £4,036). This trustee also has an interest in a separate Community Interest Company, which licences dedicated search specific software to the charity for use during operational search activity. During the financial year the charity was charged licence fees for this software totalling £2,100 by this Community Interest Company (2019, £9,500). 

## 8 Operating profit 


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||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|This|is|stated|after|charging:|2020|2019|
|£|£|
|Depreciation|of owned|assets|33,157|27,844|

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