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2025-06-30-accounts

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1094676

Report of the Trustees and Unaudited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

for Durham Union Society

Durham Union Society

Contents of the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

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Durham Union Society

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 June 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: 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) (effective 1 January 2019).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objectives and aims The Society's aims are set out in its constitution. Its primary aim is 'to educate its members in the art of public speech and debate; to represent the University at competitive debate; to educate and entertain its members by the bringing of speakers to the Society; to provide its members with social events and with a place to meet’. Public benefit The Charity's aims and achievements are set out within this report. The activities set out in this report have been undertaken to further the Society's charitable purposes for the public benefit. The Trustees have complied with the duty under Section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission and the Trustees have paid due regard to this guidance in deciding what activities the Society should undertake. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE Charitable activities Over the past twelve months, the Durham Union Society (DUS) has continued to provide events and opportunities for its members in accordance with its aims. The Society's range of activities include: - Formal debates - Address speakers - Social events - Recreational activities Formal Debates The Society has held 17 Formal debates over the last twelve months. These included debates on Journalism, Culture, Religion, Terrorism, NHS - Transgender Rights, Environmental Issues and Politics. Debates give our members the opportunity to hear experts speak on a variety of issues every week during term-time.

Address Speakers Individual addresses are given by eminent speakers who express their views or share their experiences. During the last 12 months we have had 22 Addresses from Politicians, Authors, Ambassadors, Aristocrats, Journalists, Activists, Broadcasters, Scientists, TV Personalities, Economists, members of the Clergy and Justices.

Social Events and Recreational Facilities Over the last year, the Society has held a Casablanca themed Michaelmas Ball at Walworth Castle and an Epiphany Ball at The Vermont Hotel and the annual Garden Party which were all very well attended. Other social events included the annual Christmas Party, an Escape Room event, a Halloween event, a Go Karting event, a Farmers Barn Dance evening, a Valentines event, a Boat Party and a Puppy Welfare day which were all very well attended. Union Socials are unique in transcending Durham's traditional College divide and offer a place for students across the University to meet. The Society continues to run our North Bailey Club which hosts events and has a bar open every night.

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Durham Union Society Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Competitive debating Training - Training methods were reformed to further debater development and the Society has seen records levels of recruitment and engagement. - Intermediate Sessions were moved to Tuesdays with the Advanced Session. This was to allow Intermediate debaters to attend the seminars given by our external coach, and to free up Thursdays for a further sparring session (this was to bring Durham in line with some of the best societies, like LSH and Edinburgh, who debate twice a week). The aim with this move was also to build stronger ties within the debate community, - There was an increase in engagement across our 3 training schemes, particularly the Novice stream - numbers have ranged between 30 and 60 people, with over 100 people attending the initial "Taster and Tryout" session. - We received training from Ana Coman, a world-champion debater from Romania, due to our previous coach being unable to make the time commitments. An improvement in this area would be sustaining consistent engagement with her sessions across the training schemes.

Competitions Hosted

Durham IV : Hosted from the 23rd to the 24th of November 2024. This was the largest Durham IV since pre-Covid times, with attendance increasing to 44 teams (up from 25 in 2023). The competition was immensely successful, providing us with our largest profit from the IV since before the Pandemic. Durham Schools: Durham Schools was hosted from the 29th to the 30th of March 2025. This was in spite of significant challenges, with the competition not guaranteed to take place at the start of Epiphany. This was due to the society being told by the university that we could not use rooms we had booked in Grey College to host students and so were forced to seek accommodation in local hotels. Safeguarding policies and the short notice meant that we had to book multiple hotels at varying prices. Despite this, the competition was a huge success, generating £4,877.25 profit and being attended by 73 teams. The hosting of the event was relatively straightforward, and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from teachers and students. 0 The primary mechanisms through which we can improve the competition for next year would be through a) gaining clarity on the provision of university accommodation more in advance than in comparison to last year, and b) increasing the attendance and accessibility for non-fee-paying schools. To this end, we have already been liaising with Event Durham and are looking into booking hotels shortly in order to circumvent the last-minute booking fees we encountered this year. We have also received an offer of partnership from the John Locke Institute. They have offered £8,000 in return for collaboration on motions and advertising opportunities. We aim to use all this money to offer bursaries for state schools and will be working with the JLI on bursary/scholarship proposals.

Competitions Attended Domestic: There was increased attendance at domestic competitions, with there being significant improvements in performance from last year. We attended Manchester Novices, Bogwall Novices (St-Andrews), LSE IV, Cambridge IV, SSDC Pro-am, KCL Open, LSE Open, Trinity Open, Zagreb Pre-EUDC, Glasgow Summer Cup, and Imperial Pre-EUDC. o Notable performances include: 2 teams reaching the Manchester Novices gold finals, with one judge breaking and judging the other final, 1 team reaching the Bogwall Novices semi-finals, winning the Novice Final at LSE IV (one of the UK's toughest debate competitions), reaching the ESL Final at Cambridge IV, | team reaching the SSDC Pro-am final, multiple teams reaching the knockout stages at the KCL Open and LSE Open, and | team reaching the quarter-finals at Zagreb Pre-EUDC. Glasgow EUDC 2024: We sent two teams and one judge, with our teams finishing on 14 and 15 points respectively - a massive achievement given that they narrowly missed out on the knockout rounds, with this being Durham's best performance since before Covid. Our best speaker finished 143rd out of370 speakers.

Debating Workshops New students are offered the chance to learn the art of debate from our competitive debaters in Novice Workshops. This teaches them both the format and skills for debating, but more generally, improves their confidence and public speaking abilities. Following the Novice Workshops we also run Intermediate and Advances sessions for our more experiences debaters. these advanced workshops expand the member's knowledge and analysis ofa wide rna of issues and topics

Schools Outreach and Charity Pnebate,DUS. works hard to encourage growth in debating in local schools and also hosted a sponsored a 24hr charity

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Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

Durham Union Society

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Students have run workshops and judged school competitions to ensure that we do our best to make a positive impact upon local communities. As mentioned, we also run a highly successful schools competition with competitors from abroad travelling to the UK specifically to take part.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial Activities During the year the Charity's gross income rose by £17,114 overall, with increases in subscriptions £7,922, and Alumni Donation £5,609 being offset to some extent by a reduction in Donations £2,303 and contribution towards staff salaries from Durham University £644.

Expenditure increased overall by £26,184 mainly due to increase in events of £15,755, wages £6,279 and independent examiner's fees of£360

Overall, therefore, the Charity incurred a deficit of £7,214 for the year compared to a surplus of £1,854 in the year previous. Reserves at the end of the year, therefore decreased slightly to £140,136.

Reserves Policy The present level of funding is adequate to support the continuation of the aims and objectives of the Society, and the Trustees consider the financial position of the Charity to be satisfactory. Available funds are adequate to cover management and support costs of the Society over the coming year. The Trustees actively review the major risks the charity faces on a regular basis and believe that maintaining reserves at current levels, combined with an annual review of the controls over key financial systems, will provide sufficient resources in the event of adverse conditions. The Trustees have established systems to mitigate the significant risks.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes an unincorporated charity. The Society's governing document is a declaration of trust dated 18 July 2002 as amended by supplemental deed dated 7 October 2002 and the constitution adopted on 24 January 2005 as amended by changes adopted February 2008 and November 2008 and further amended by changes adopted in July 2016.

Organisational Structure On a day to day basis, the Office Manager is responsible for maintaining financial records and management of the office. The President interprets the rules of the Society and is ultimately responsible for the furthering of the Society's aims by exercising due leadership, by the calling of Ordinary General Meetings of the Society and by the provision and ultimate control of appropriate events and facilities. The President is elected to serve for a period ofone academic term by secret ballot of the members in residence. The Finance Committee, elected at a general meeting, scrutinise the Society's accounts on behalf of the members and assist in their administration.

The Trustees have ultimate authority in the Society, subject only to the Deed of Trust.

Risk Management The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Charity number 1094676

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Durham Union Society

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

Principal address 10 Archery Rise Durham Co Durham DHI 4LA

Trustees J M Moreland A L de Onate (appointed 01.10.2025) Dr N Martin (appointed 19.11.2024) D Jackson J Kelsey S Shaw GE Willmore (resigned 06.08.2025) 1 A Keddie Independent Examiner Gary Ellis BA BFP FCA Clive Owen LLP Kepier House Belmont Business Park DURHAM County Durham DHI ITW Bankers Lloyds TSB 19 Market Place Durham DH1 3NL

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 27 March 2026 and signed on its behalf by:

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TAL
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JM Moreland - Trustee

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Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Durham Union Society

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Durham Union Society

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of Durham Union Society (the Trust) for the year ended 30 June 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

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

Independent examiner's statement

] 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:

I. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by Section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or 3. the accounts do 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 give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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.

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Y 3
Ne A »)
Gary Ellis BA BFP FCA
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Clive Owen LLP Kepier House Belmont Business Park DURHAM County Durham DHI ITW

27 March 2026

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Durham Union Society

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|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Statement|of Financial|Activities| |for the|Year Ended 30 June|2025| |2025|2024| |Unrestricted|Total| |Notes|fund£|funds£| |INCOME|AND|ENDOWMENTS|FROM| |Donations|and|legacies|3|90,410|79,826| |Charitable|activities| |Room|hire|554|750| |Equipment|and|facility|useage|(3,028)|18| |Other|income|5,019|385| |Other trading activities|4|54,633|50,727| |Investment|income|5|1,492|260| |Total|149,080|131,966| |EXPENDITURE ON| |Raising funds|6|94,547|80,394| |Charitable|activities|7| |Equipment and|facility|useage|61,747|49,718| |Total|156,294|130,112| |NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)|(7,214)|[,854| |RECONCILIATION|OF FUNDS| |Total|funds brought|forward|147,350|145,496| |TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD|140,136|147,350| |CONTINUING OPERATIONS| |All|income and|expenditure|has arisen|from|continuing|activities.|

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The notes form part of these financial statements

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Durham Union Society

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|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Balance Sheet| |30 June|2025| |2025|2024| |Unrestricted|Total| |Notes|fund|funds| |FIXED ASSETS|£|£| |Tangible|assets|13|1,416|1,665| |CURRENT ASSETS| |Stocks|14|187|1,025| |Debtors|15|31,518|35,910| |Cash at bank and|in hand|110,168|112,254| |141,873|149,189| |CREDITORS| |Amounts|falling due within one year|16|(3,153)|(3,504)| |NET CURRENT ASSETS|138,720|145,685| |TOTAL ASSETS|LESS CURRENT| |LIABILITIES|140,136|147,350| |NET ASSETS|140,136|147,350| |FUNDS|17| |Unrestricted|funds|140,136|147,350| |TOTAL FUNDS|140,136|147,350|

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The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 27 March 2026 and were signed on its behalf by:

J M Moreland - Trustee

The notes form part of these financial statements

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Durham Union Society

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

1. STATUTORY INFORMATION

Durham Union Society is a charity, registered in England and Wales. The charity's registered number and registered office address can be found on the Charity Information page.

  1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: 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) (effective | January 2019) and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

There were no material departures from that standard.

The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are set out below and have remained unchanged from the previous year, and also have been consistently applied within the same accounts.

Income All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. Expenditure 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 a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost 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 resources.

Tangible fixed assets Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Fixtures and fittings - 15% on reducing balance

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Tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less any depreciation and impairment.
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Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to sell.

Taxation

The Charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.

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 for particular restricted purposes. All funds held at 30 June 2025 and 30 June 2024 together with all transactions in these years were unrestricted. Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charity's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

continued...

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Durham Union Society

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES- continued

Financial instruments

The charity has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments, Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

Critical accounting estimates and areas ofjudgement

Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Critical accounting estimates and assumptions:

The charity makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.

Critical areas of judgement:

Due to the non-complex nature of the charities operations and balance sheet, in the opinion of the trustees there are no key judgements or estimation uncertainties that need to be considered when preparing the financial Statements.

3 DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

3 DONATIONS AND LEGACIESAND LEGACIESLEGACIES
2025 2024
Alumni donations
DonationfromNorth BaileyCiub
Subscriptions
Contribution towards staffsalariesfromDurham University
£
8,565
31,332
41,597
8,916
£
2,956
33,635
33,675
9,560
90,410 79,826
4. OTHERTRADING ACTIVITIES
2025 2024
Tournaments
Events-President's account
£
28,202
26,431
£
29,733
20,994
54,633 50,727
§. INVESTMENTINCOME
2025 2024
Bank interest £
1,492
£
260

continued...

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Durham Union Society

Notes to the Financia! Statements - continued for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

6. RAISING FUNDS

Raising donationsand legacies
2025 2024
£ £
Termcard 4,715 4,551
Othertrading activities
2025 2024
£ £
Openingstock
Closingstock
Tournaments
Debates
Events
1,025
(187)
29,985
26,480
32,529
951
(1,025)
32,433
26,710
16,774
89,832 75,843
Aggregateamounts 94,547 80,394
ae CHARITABLE ACTIVITIESCOSTS
Direct Support
Costs (see costs (see
note 8) note 9) Totals
Equipmentand facility useage £ 249 £
61,498
£
61,747
8. DIRECTCOSTSOFCHARITABLEACTIVITIES
2025 2024
Depreciation £
249
£
196
9. SUPPORTCOSTS
2025 2024
Management
Finance
£
$8,920
2,578
£
47,783
1,739
61,498 49,522

Management costs include Independent examiner's fees of£3,120 (2024:£2,760).

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Durham Union Society

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

10.

TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees’ remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 30 June 2025 nor for the year ended 30 June 2024.

Trustees’ expenses

There were no trustees’ expenses paid for the year ended 30 June 2025 nor for the year ended 30 June 2024.

11. STAFFCOSTS
2025 2024
£ £
Wagesand salaries
Social securitycosts
Otherpension costs
36,099
2,406
6,510
29,820
3,327
6,233
45,015 39,380
Theaveragemonthlynumberofemployeesduringtheyearwasasfollows:
Administration 2025
3
2024
3
No employees receivedemoluments in excessof£60,000.
12, COMPARATIVESFORTHESTATEMENTOFFINANCIALACTIVITIES
Unrestricted
fund
INCOME ANDENDOWMENTS FROM £
Donationsand legacies 79,826
Charitable activities
Room hire
Equipmentand facility useage
Otherincome
750
18
385
Othertradingactivities
Investment income
50,727
260
Total 131,966
EXPENDITURE ON
Raisingfunds 80,394
Charitable activities
Equipment and facility useage 49,718
Total 130,112
NETINCOME 1,854
RECONCILIATIONOFFUNDS
Total fundsbrought forward 145,496
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Durham Union Society

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

12. COMPARATIVESFORTHESTATEMENTOFFINANCIALACTIVITIES -continued COMPARATIVESFORTHESTATEMENTOFFINANCIALACTIVITIES -continued COMPARATIVESFORTHESTATEMENTOFFINANCIALACTIVITIES -continued
Unrestricted
fund
£
TOTALFUNDSCARRIEDFORWARD 147,350
13. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Fixtures
and
fittings
£
COST
At July2024 and 30June2025
DEPRECIATION
At I July2024
Charge foryear
5,029
249
At 30June2025 5,278
NETBOOK VALUE
At30June2025 1,416
At30June2024 1,665
14. STOCKS
2025 2024
Stocks £ 187 £
1,025
15. DEBTORS:AMOUNTS FALLING DUEWITHINONEYEAR
2025 2024
Trade
debtors
Otherdebtors
Prepayments
£
186
31,332
-
+
400
33,635
1,875
31,518 35,910

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Durham Union Society

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

16. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUEWITHINONEYEAR CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUEWITHINONEYEAR
2025 2024
Trade creditors
Accruedexpenses
£
-
3,153
£
351
3,153
3,153 3,504
=
17. MOVEMENTINFUNDS
Net
movement At
Unrestricted funds At 1.7.24
£
infunds
£
30.6.25
£
Generalfund 147,350 (7,214) 140,136
TOTALFUNDS 147,350 (7,214) 140,136
Netmovement in funds, included in theabove are as follows:
Incoming
resources
Resources
expended
Movement
in funds
Unrestricted funds £ £ £
Generalfund 149,080 (156,294) (7,214)
TOTALFUNDS 149,080 (156,294) (7,214)
Comparatives formovement in funds
Net
At 1.7.23 movement
in funds
At
30.6.24
Unrestricted funds £ £ £
General fund 145,496 1,854 147,350
TOTALFUNDS 145,496 1,854 147,350
Comparative netmovement in funds, included in theaboveare as follows:
Unrestricted funds Incoming
resources
£
Resources
expended
£
Movement
in funds
£
General fund 131,966 (130,112) 1,854
TOTALFUNDS 131,966 (130,112) 1,854
—= ——EE__——

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Durham Union Society

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

17. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS- continued

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows:

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||||||||||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Net| |movement|At| |At|1.7.23|in|funds|30.6.25| |£|£|£| |Unrestricted|funds| |General|fund|145,496|(5,360)|140,136| |TOTAL FUNDS|145,496|(5,360)|140,136| |A|current|year|12|months|and|prior year|12|months|combined|net movement|in|funds,|included|in|the|above|are| |as|follows:| |Incoming|Resources|Movement| |resources|expended|in|funds| |£|£|£| |Unrestricted|funds| |General|fund|281,046|(286,406)|(5,360)| |TOTAL FUNDS|281,046|(286,406)|(5,360)|

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General fund - these funds represent the unrestricted resources available for the general work of the charity.

  1. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES During the year Durham Union Society received a donation of £31,332 (2024: £33,635) from North Bailey Club. Durham Union Society was due £31,332 (2024: £33,635) from North Bailey Club at the year end. North Bailey Club have the same trustees.

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