## Trustees Annual Report
(Accompanying Receipts & Payments Accounts)
**Section 1 Charity Name**
## **Legal & Administrative Information**
**Essex Search & Rescue (ESSEXSAR)**
**Charity Commission Registered Number:**
**1096661**
**For the Financial Year beginning on: 01/10/2022**
**For the Financial Year Ending on: 30/09/2023**
**Charity’s Principal Address:**
## **PO Box 10576, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 9NY**
**Description of the Charity’s Trusts:**
**Governing Document:**
## **Constitution dated 12[th] February 2020**
**Objects of the Charity:**
The Charity’s objects (“the objects”) are to assist in the relief of suffering and distress amongst persons endangered by accident or natural hazards in lowland areas primarily in the County of Essex, but not restricted to this area. In particular by providing adequate arrangements for the secure and efficient search for and rescue of any person or persons so endangered, by trained personnel.
**Specific Investment Powers**
None.
Essex Search & Rescue (ESSEXSAR) is a member of the Association of Lowland Search & Rescue (ALSAR) www.alsar.co.uk
## **Section 2**
## **Trustees and Governance:**
|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|Name of Trustee|Dates during
which the named
trustee acted if
not for the whole
period of this
report|Names of
Directors of
any corporate
charity trustee
at the date of
this report|Name of person
(or body)
entitled to
appoint any
charity trustee|
|Colin Booth|||Members|
|Anna Wallerstrom|||Members|
|Steve Jarrett|||Members|
|Adam Hayes|||Members|
|||||
officers and committee members.
Names of the Charity’s Custodian Trustees: No appointment has yet been made
## **Section 3**
## **Activities & Achievements**
The charity has again had a busy year, with callout numbers returning to more stable levels that were effected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Essex Search and Rescue remain operationally one of the busiest Lowland Rescue teams in the UK. {Previous year in brackets} The team was called out 98 (102) times, totaling 3503 (3290) hours of total time, and 56 individual volunteers. Average time per volunteer for callouts 41 (53) hours in that 12 months.
In addition to callouts there were 105 (101) training exercises, totaling 3724 (4225) hours of total time. Average time per volunteer for training 53 (69) hours.
720 (455) hours recorded on other activities, but strongly suspect that is substantially under reported.
As of 30th September 2023, the charity’s volunteers currently stood at 64 operational and non-operational members, an increase on the previous year of 2021/2022.
The year has been focused on further recovering our strength in numbers using the revised recruitment process, which has provided much higher retention rates seen for the last two-years. This has allowed ESSEXSAR to maintain full operational strength mitigating any impacts from COVID-19. A revised approach to training and qualifications has also demonstrated that a decentralised CPD approach to self-learning in some of the less critical aspects of the syllabus has worked well. Considerations have been made to increasing tailoring individual training requirements to meet new national Lowland Rescue requirements for licensed Search Technicians.
Our K9 unit continue to be used frequently on searches, with several new dogs in training. ogs and support are requested on a regular basis by Essex Police. On many occasions they are being deployed ahead of foot teams (and in same cases, without the need for foot teams to be deployed). They have managed to continue their very high level of training, with considerable personal commitment from the handlers and their families to put in regular practice. Enhanced training for K9 support was able to continue, which gives the team member the ability to carry out several functions under pressure pending the arrival of additional assistance.
We have introduced an Ambassador Programme that allows for associate membership to ESSSEXSAR. Responding to feedback that people wanted to be involved but not necessarily operational, the ambassador programme was stood up to allow for a cadre of volunteers to focus on supporting the charity and fundraising activities.
.
## **Finance & Fund-Raising**
Total draft figures for the year ending 30th September 2022 as follows.
Total Income £41,824
|(of which is restricted funds|£24,700)|
|---|---|
|Total Expenditure (inclusive of VAT)|£16,734|
|(of which was from restricted funds|£6,940)|
|Total cash in hand at the end of the year|£97,906|
## **Contribution of Volunteers**
The volunteers fundraising activities this year have been greatly reduced. However, they have become more creative, taking the opportunity to explore new avenues of raising funds and deliver awareness of Essex Search and Rescue in the local communities which we support and social media.
Essex Search and Rescue would not exist without the tireless efforts of our volunteers, who not only raise funds and awareness, but also make themselves available to search for vulnerable missing people and support the community 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
Our volunteers also bring skills and experience they have gained in their life outside of the team to pass and readily pass these on to others with a large amount of good humor and team work.
## **Relationships to other parties**
We continue to have an excellent relationship with Essex Police and continue to develop relationships with other blue light and emergency response organisations, Essex Fire Service, HM Coastguard, and the RNLI. We continually seek joint training and opportunities to aid and support each other. The team is also represented on the Essex Volunteers Network and local Resilience Forum.
We have had good support from several local councils in Essex, and also dementia charities, and we have had mutual training activities with them. We hope to continue these relationships.
## **Section 4 Policies**
**Reserves**
It remains the Trustees’ intention to hold reserve funds equivalent to the total annual running costs of Essex Search & Rescue, as well as to build further reserve funds to replace equipment as required in the future. Expenditure in 2022/2023 is anticipated to increase from the levels in previous years and will relate in the main to ongoing operational costs, maintenance of existing equipment and replacement of limited life items.
**Risks**
We continue to look carefully at our financial obligations. Outgoings are regularly monitored and no expenditure is authorized unless sufficient funds are available.
**Insurance**
Team members are insured against personal injury whilst on callout or training via the Essex Police volunteer policy. A further policy is in place with Hiscock to cover public liability risks up to £10m, property loss or damage up to £20,000, medical malpractice, and trustee indemnity.
**Health & Safety**
We continue to utilize a generic Health & Safety policy, which is based upon good practice and Lowland Rescue guidance. However, we intend to develop and implement a more specific and relevant policy next year.
Prior to each search and training, an individual Health & Safety Risk Assessment is prepared, which takes in account local conditions, time of search, number of searchers available **,** and weather conditions. Health and Safety issues and documentation are reviewed and updated on a regular basis.
## **Other policies**
The charity has adopted policies covering:
Health & Safety Risk Management Casualty Care Infection Control Diversity & Equal Opportunities Safeguarding Confidentiality Volunteer membership Bullying & Harassment Data Protection Continual Professional Development Code of conduct Use of search dogs Search operations TRiM. GDPR Social Media
All new team members have signed an acknowledgement form to confirm that they have read and accepted the above policies.
## **Section 5 Signature and Declaration**
**Declaration:**
**I declare in my capacity of charity trustee, that:**
**The trustees have approved the report above; and Have authorized me to sign it on their behalf**
**Signature:**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Full Name: Stephen Jarrett
Position: Trustee
Date:
28 [th] February 2023
**----- End of picture text -----**
||**Essex Search and Rescue(draft accounts)**
**Charity Name**|**Essex Search and Rescue(draft accounts)**
**Charity Name**|**Essex Search and Rescue(draft accounts)**
**Charity Name**|**Essex Search and Rescue(draft accounts)**
**Charity Name**|**Essex Search and Rescue(draft accounts)**
**Charity Name**|**CC16a**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**For the period**
**from**|01.10.2022
Period start date|**To**|30.09.2023
Period end date|||
||||||||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**5,779**
**200**
**8,939**
**2,206**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**17,124**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**17,124**
**70**
**660**
**2,144**
**649**
**176**
**218**
**93**
**3,558**
**2,226**
**9,794**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**9,794**
**7,330**
**-**
**72,816**
**80,146**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**344**
**600**
**1,954**
**- 868**
**22,670**
**24,700**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**24,700**
**-**
**-**
**3,000**
**409**
**560**
**-**
**-**
**2,951**
**20**
**6,940**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**6,940**
**17,760**
**-**
**-**
**17,760**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**5,779**
**200**
**8,939**
**2,206**
**344**
**600**
**1,954**
**- 868**
**22,670**
**41,824**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**41,824**
**70**
**660**
**5,144**
**1,058**
**736**
**218**
**93**
**6,509**
**2,246**
**16,734**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**16,734**
**25,090**||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|FundraisingIncome/Just Giving|**5,779**||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**5,779**|||
|Other - Interest on Savings|**200**|||**200**|||
|Textile recycling (JMP)|**8,939**|||**8,939**|||
|Textile recycling (Members)|**2,206**|||**2,206**|||
|Thermal imagers/helmets/drones fund|**-**|||**344**|||
|K9 team(radios)|**-**|||**600**|||
|Membershipfees|**-**|||**1,954**|||
|Keela/Ledco||||**- 868**|||
|New vehicle fund|**-**|||**22,670**|||
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_|**17,124**|||**41,824**|||
||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**|||||||
||**-**||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**|||
||**-**|||**-**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**-**|||**-**||**-**|
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||||
||||**-**|**41,824**|||
||||||||
|Assessment/TrainingCourses|**70**||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**70**||**-**|
|Data costs/software|**660**|||**660**||**-**|
|Insurance Costs|**2,144**|||**5,144**||**-**|
|Marketing/Printing/PO Box|**649**|||**1,058**||**-**|
|Medical Equipment|**176**|||**736**||**-**|
|Subscriptions/membership|**218**|||**218**||**-**|
|Repairs/renewals of equipment|**93**|||**93**||**-**|
|Uniform/PPE|**3,558**|||**6,509**||**-**|
|Vehicle expenses|**2,226**|||**2,246**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_ **|**9,794**|||**16,734**|||
||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|||||||
||**-**||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**|||
||**-**|||**-**|||
|**_Sub total_ **|**-**|||**-**||**-**|
|**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||||
||||**-**|**16,734**||**-**|
||||||||
||**7,330**|**17,760**|**-**|
**25,090**||**-**|
||**-**|**-**|**-**
**-**|**-**||**-**|
||**72,816**|**-**||**72,816**|||
||**80,146**|**17,760**|**-**|**97,906**||**-**|
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
29/06/2024
1
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**|Signature
**Details**
Business Premium account
Community account
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**30,558**
**-**
**49,588**
**17,760**
**-**
**-**
**80,146**
**17,760**
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
Adam Hayes|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||OK|
||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of
approval|
|||Adam Hayes|08/05/2024|
|||||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
29/06/2024
2
## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts**
## **Section A Independent Examiner’s Report**
Charity Name Essex Lowland Search & Rescue
**Report to the trustees** Charity Name **On accounts for the year** 30 September 2023 **ended Set out on pages**
**Charity no** 1096661 **(if any)** (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended . 30/09/2023
**Responsibilities and** As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the **basis of report** 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 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
- **Independent** [The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- **examiner's statement** xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxundertake the examination by being a qualified member of [insert name of applicable listed body]]. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _Delete_ [ ] _if not applicable._
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
- the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
- the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
- 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 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.
- _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._
|**Signed:**
**Name:**
**Relevant professional**
**qualification(s) or body**
**(if any):**||8.5.2024|
|---|---|---|
||||
||D N Miles||
||||
||Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute||
1
**Oct 2018**
**IER**
**Address:**
4 Peers Square, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6XP
## **Section B Disclosure**
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
**Give here brief details of** None **any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** .
2
**Oct 2018**
**IER**