l)c)Ivnl:Ind V()luiiteer (7r(]up IhLi %urbLr>'. Fli5'h 4lr<LI (.ciiiii)Iiin. Newhury.. R(120 6N] Downland Volunteer Group esi Berksliirc Copiiiiiiiiiil), c.ftr (iii(I Hiiiidj'biis Siliviiiv Downland Volunteer Group Trustees Annual Report (TAR) The Downland Volunteer Group is a registered Charity (No 1112181) and a Private Limited Company by guarantee without share capital use of 'Limited' exemption (Companies House Reference 05572984). This report for 2024125 is compiled and endorsed by the management committee comprising the following Trustees. Joe Clerkinl Chairman, Trustee and Director Jean Pococki Trustee and Director William BeardlTrustee and Director And the following other committee members Rollo Duckworth Rosita Maskell John May Jim Callaghan Registered Address The Surgery High Street Compton RG20 6NJ Principal Banking MetroBank Southampton Row London Contact Details Email: Vf, Office bti tern DVG.Office htinternet.coni DVG.Handebus@btinterneLcom Website: Downlandvolgroup.org.uk Signatories tothe MetrobankAccount
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l)()ii'iilaiid l.i)lunreer ( Ir()up Downland Volunteer Group (.()n)})t(Trii, N.ei*huri'. 111-2116NI ltr'esi Bi'rksliire Coiiiiiiiiiiil)i L(Ir iiiid H(Illilybiii S(-lieiiie Objectives and Activities; The objectives of the DVG are identified in the Constitution as "TO RELIEVE PERSONS IN THE DOWNLAND AREAS WHO ARE ELDERLY, SICK OR DISABLED OR WHO ARE OTHERWISE IN NEED BY THE PROVISION OF VOLUNTEERS TO ASSIST SUCH PERSONS IN ANY WAY THAT MAY BE REQUIRED" Achievements and performance report presented atthe AGM on 1216124. In my Annual Report at last years AGM I began with saying the financial year April 23- March 24 was an exceptionally busy year. For our last financial year 24-25 that phrase is still appLicable. We have seen a 34% increase in trips made to assist Downland residents attend their medical appointments. This a breakdown of the main destinations Destlnatlon ChieveLey Surgery West Berks Hospital Royal Berks Hospital Other Hospitals Fitness & Rehab Compton Surgery Other Locations No of Trips 379 231 153 67 212 25 270 % oftotal 28 17 12 16 20 Total 1337 100 The other locations cover Dentists. Opticians. Physiotherapy etc. To cope with this increase demand. we have had to introduce a new software system caLled 'Optimise' to streamline the booking of these increased number of trips. This year we also plan to update our phone system to help patients contact us more easily. As you know the DVG is made up of volunteer car drivers. office volunteers and HandeBus drivers. Our off ice in the Compton Surgery is open Mon-Fri from 9.30-11.30 am so in those 2 hours it is important that requests can be handled quickly and eff icientLy, hence the need for an eff icient booking system. We are most grateful to alL our volunteers. We estimate that in the last financial year they gave 3465 hours of their time for free to support the Downland community. Our volunteer drivers covered 31.133 miles in their own cars helping patients to attend their medicaL appointments. The big chalLenge every year is finding new volunteers to cope with the increase in demand for our ser4ice. Also. in the last year three volunteers decided to step down all having given over 25 years of service to our community. We are most grateful to lan
Whipp a former Chairman and to Norma Smith and Linda Gibson. the latter two are still involved with the Luncheon Club which is supported by the DVG that meets on the last Friday of the month enabling older residents to share a meal and sociaLise with other 'regulars' that attend. We are grateful to all our volunteers and those organisations that support us such as West Berks Council and the Dept of Transport who support our HandeBus operation. Finally thank you to my colleagues on the DVG Committee for the time and effort they give to help the DVG to grow and meet the challenges we face given the continued increase in de Report to be provided by Joe Clerkin, Chair of DVG and Rollo Duckworth HandeBus Manager Joe Clerkin Chairman 30 994 796 314 2021 2022 2023 2024 4*Client$ Figure IRetum Cardrives in2024/25
Financial report- Presented by the treasurer at the AGM June 2025. This is my fourth treasurer's report since taking on the role in November 2021. I would like to thankthe other committee members for their support and chaLlenge to me throughout the last year which, financially speaking. has been very busy. As already mentioned by Joe and Rollo our activities have increased significantly in 2024-25 cf 2023-24 I would also like to thank all of our volunteers. car and bus drivers and off ice volunteers for making the DVG as successful as possible this year. Further thanks go to Terry Goodsell for examining the accounts this year and keeping me on an even keel. FinaLly, I would like to thank all of our financial benefactors throughout the year- some I WILI refer to shortly. As has already been mentioned by Joe. our activities increased in both car and bus activities and every journey is a further financial transaction. In respect of the accounts we began the year with a Charity Bank savings account. a COIF savings account and three separate Metrobank accounts. Latterly. these included the main current account, the Butlin legacy account, and the Project Pegasus account. In May, we closed the COIF account and deposited the £21.858.22 into the Metrobank Current Account. This was to ensure the funds are protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme {£85,000 perfinancial group). In January 2025 this figure was transferred to a new reserve Metrobank savings account to keep it transparently visibLe from other funds. The Charity Bankfund which contains the bulk ofthe ButLin Legacy matured in June and the sum was re-invested in a higher interest account with the same group. In last year's report we predicted the interest would be about £2.800, in actual factthe interest £2764.54 was paid into the Metrobank current account for use as additional income. We anticipate maintaining the principal funds in the Charity Bank aLthough recognise interest rates are on the decline. Other decisions made were to make available debit cards from the account as some subscriptions and transactions can only be carried out using this technology. The sum- up machine (which is not a DVG asset) was upgraded as the previous device used the 3G signal which is now no longer avaiLable. This is kept on the bus although is currently little used. We also have the capability to take credit and debit card payments over the phone. should this be necessary using the Square system. This has yet to be used. We are grateful that West Berkshire Council were able to enhance their grant to us in the face of exacting budgetary pressures. Contributions from Boeing continue at a substantiaL but reduced level from the previous year. We were also pLeased received a number of individual donations incLudingthe Brightwalton Cantemas concert. AdditionaLly, although we were saddened to hear of the demise of the Hermitage Horticultural Society. we were pleased to hear that they wished to donate their residual funds to support our activities.
Our Bus Service Operators Grant from the Department for Transport had an unexpected boost to £3273 this year which is almost ten times the figure in previous years. This meant that the Handebus was in slight operational surplus this year. We also disposed of our trusty old Handybus and were paid a handsome £2500 which we have put in the Handebus reserved account. Considering Income In the income and expenditure table we highlight the performance of the driving activity as well as the Handebus. We can see increased activity (30 % increase) in the Car Driving has resulted in increased turnover although losses were reduced having increased the Butlin subsidy for donations for surgery visits. We are aware that there is a small but increasing propensityfor clients to book appointments further a-field and we recently advised clients and drivers to expect increased donation amounts for trips to Henley. BrackneLI and Windsor to name but a few locations. We can also see the Handebus made a slight surplus with the increased activities. and also increasing passenger numbers. Joe volunteered to do some pharmacy runs which is an additional cost for which we received income in 2025126 so does not appear in these accounts. Considering Expenditure For expenditure our largest operational expenditure continues to be the car drivers, reimbursed miLeage. We argue that the various grants and spectacular money management allows to keep the costs to our clients down. It is understood that although the distances traveLled by our Downland volunteers are higher than other volunteer groups the charges we make to our clients remains low in comparison. Our bus insurance has unfortunately increased to £1700. considerably higher than the older bus. We provided a few gifts. to some of our drivers who have handed in their {DVG) keys. We also had a few get togethers with volunteers at Hilliers. This is to enable those that rarely meet to get together and build the team. However, we have instigated two additional significant costs as follows: The first is legal fees. As discussed by Joe- we were keen to enable the use of the new Handebus to support a wider spectrum of our Downland residents so needed to take legal advice on how to change ourArticles of Association and Objects. As a result the fees from Gardner Leader have impacted some of our expenditure. However, by widening the appeal of the bus we can ensure it is used more and therefore offset its fixed costs better still in the years to come. Legal fees will continue during 2025-26. The second is Optimise. Increasing bookings take a large toll on our office workers and we had a very good bespoke system deveLoped and maintained by David Sheppard. However, a workings group determined that a more helpful commercial solution was
available. For this system we pay a transaction charge of between 30 and 50p per booking. So this came to £1679 last year. However. we do have a number of credits in hand at the end of the year. FinaLly, we undertook additional training for securing wheelchairs in the back of the Handebu8. Conclusion and Forward Look To conclude. our operating finances remain healthy and this year we have invested in our off ice systems and modernised our constitution and made a cash surplus of £6792. However our balance sheet shows a loss of £5i64. This is due to depreciation of the bus and also writing off the installation cost of the charge-point. Looking further to 2025126 we anticipate our activities will increase further. as will some of our costs but improved use ofthe bus should compensate forthis. The one off legaL costs will be repeated somewhat this year. Terry has examined the accounts and provided his report. I commend these accounts for approval by the AGM and am happy to take questions. W. Gareth Beard Treasurer, Director and Company Secretary.
Examined Accounts- Balance Sheet at 3113125 Downland Volunteer Group 24r25 Year End 23r24 Flxed Assets Old Handybus" New HandeBus' Flxed Assets O Old Handybus. 78556 New HandeBus' 2500 78556 Chargepoint 2910 Chargepoint 2910 None 36 Curr Assets at C.O.l.F. MetroBank Current MetroBank Savings Butlin MetroBank Savings Handybut MetroBank ReSee Charity Bank Cash in Hand Debtors O C.O.l.F. 15647 MetroBank Current 10455 MetroBank Savings Bulfin 6166 MetroBank Savings Handybus 21899 MetroB8nk ReseNe 84000 Charity Bank 7 Cash in Hand O Debtors 21858 9838 11717 3605 84000 365 Cash Assets 138174 Cash Assets 131382 Easee Chargepoint Old Handybus" New HandeBus" Fixed Assets Total Assets 2910 Easee Chargepoint O Old Handybus" 78556 New HandeBus" 81466 £219,639.96 Totsl Assets 2910 2500 78556 83966 £215,348.22 Current Uabllftles Current Llablllti Depreciation Bus Depreciation Chargepolnt 7856 2000 Totals Liabilities O Totsls Liabilitles Capital Employed 209784 Capital Employed 215348 Physical assets added onto balan Sheet Ir sh Assf Surplus based upon I&E Surplus based upon assets 6792 6808 -5564 Handybus sale
Examined Accounts- Income and Expenditure at 3113125 2024 Cll•rt5 Pa¥n9•rContit>ulJn5 10442 9000 Passeng•rContrt>utKTrn8 6598 Ms Bullin Less DTNer5 Expenses 1377 1000 MB 8utln -1200e Le55 tweJ5 Expens8S 717 -3416 tpt ¢Jf TTan5POrt 3273 750 Dept olTransport 408 Han#ybu$ Fa Lèss FndybUS C05t$ indUd 4286 234 4000 Hand11S BIg8 -3850 L888 HanWus C08ts 2416 4576 -1752 1326 PhaM¢Y Run8 Offte MLago 109 266 Le55 KI.4ge Q15t5 475 West 8eTks Counr 8ank InleT8St 8oeing math fund C)natn5 trtsndybus Sake ResèN6$ interest 8utlin Interest P8ga5U5 Interest Charity Bank and CCLA Interest , Dnnatrons Pcs & Fete .' Total nOnehIc Incom• , Total Vehlcle Incomo 'Total Inct)m• Prolectsd Inc4xn• Turn¢w•r .' 0¥or From PmvK>us yearlCo8hl 4993 4472 Wesl Berks Coun 180 Bank Intsrtst£OlF 2000 8oeing 1500 Ck)nations Msc O Handebus donations 4472 1040 5979 1635 14672 2459 1362 2500 41 115 61 3011 150 14692 18001 32692 269 Bulln InterE5t 36 Pegasus Inter8St 2800 Charily Bank Interest cljnatnS PQS & Fet8 269 428 38633 11257 Tot•1 In¢( 38633 26007 23265 365 EXPENDITURE AGM and Olher leih)g Gosts 'Audft F8ts Butlin Subshjy. rAmputsr Costs Dre Exp8n89$ 301 85 AGMfA)sts 80 Audit Fees 8ulwt Tr4nsfe4¥111 3000 TrutercOSts 12000 Drwers Expenses 400 DBS Costs 380 Pubk Lk9bify InsJranrs 900 Opver AssesspEnt C051S O HandgBus EXnseS 60 Grfts 440 Legal & PTr)f8ssional Costs 400 Lunch aub O Handybus Trans18r O OptrTiSe Id not aYi811 o oirKe Pkintenan Olks WoVrt8F5 Nfjoge and Oflts Cxjsts Phannacy Kage 20 Parkwig tI5LslParTrQ Fees Prinltiig. Postage & StstvJn6ry Subscrptkin5 T&PhOne Webta & Pubw Costs 42 83 717 180 10731 358 438 13505 178 86 691 5662 130 1673 400 08S Cost5 publ Lirybilty Insurances Drive., AsseSeTt..Trèln.'Trg &)sts andeBus Expenses 6234 188 59 400 Glfts Legal & PTolèssKJnal Costs Lunth Cknb Hand8bu8 transf8r Optim Off rnaintenanGe Offre Pharnacy IAleage P8fKing OEcslPartmg F885 Pnnting, Posta9e & StstK)nery ' subscriptn3 + don8tsr$8 T8phOn¢ .Website & PublKity Costs 1679 20 266 109 62 303 284 284 832 663 149 607 218 Tolal ExperKllthre 2S889 17745 T¢tsl Exp•ndllw• 21658 SU1$1{00fk?tj forYa8r 6804 8262 for Hal year 17738
Structure. governance and management; Three of the company directors are also Trustees of the Charity. a fourth Trustee resigned at the AGM in 2024 due to other commitments. In addition to the Trustees the Charity is run through a management committee which comprises another four committee members. Following the Extraordinary General Meeting in Januarythese seven individuals comprise the current Members of the group and they have voting rights. The management committee meets every quarter or more frequently as needed. Generally, the following are discussed, performance and stakeholder engagement, finances, Handebus update. office volunteers update. driver volunteers recruitment . complaints and other business. Meeting decisions are recorded through minutes and actions are allocated to members present. The Governance document was updated this year taking advice from legal specialists in this topic. The Group awaited the approval of the Charity Commission. The Chairman generaLly is responsible for the overarching management of the Group, liaising externally with key stakeholders including West Berkshire Council. the DownLand Practice. locaL Members of Parliament and other voLuntary groups within the West Berkshire Council. He is accountable for any service agreements made with other organisations. The Chairman will investigate any compLaints against the group or its members. The Treasurer who is also the Company Secretary is responsible for the financial probity of the group and compliance with the articles of association and the Service Level Agreement with West Berkshire CounciL. The Treasurer arranges for financial transactions including the payment of expenses, insurances. application for grants and the banking of donations. The Treasurer operates within an agreed written FinanciaL Scheme of Delegation which allows sole authorisation of payments up to £200, another committee member is required to approve any expenditure up to £1000 and the whole committee must approve all expenditure over £1000. The treasurer is not allowed to transfer money to himself. Any expenses to be settled by cheque requiring two other signatories. The Bus Manager is responsible for the smooth running of the HandeBus service. co- ordinates the drivers. the maintenance of the bus and liaison with the Department of Transport for the Bus Service Operators Grant. He ensures the DVG meets the requirements of the Section 19 permit from the Transport Commissioner. Another Trustee co-ordinates the off ice volunteer rota and looks after the smooth liaison with the clients and the drivers. She ensures that new volunteers are appropriately vetted using the Disclosure and Barring Service. Another committee member is responsible for the operation of the Optimise system and liaison with Datacapture Ltd. the package provider. Bespoke reports are generated for him. A further member takes the formal meeting minutes which especially records actions and decisions by the Committee. 10
Our last member has an accounting and company background and advises the committee on such matters. Following legal advice the AGM now acts as an advisory meeting at which the volunteer and other community stakeholders may question the seven members including the three Directors of the group. It is intended that any significant issue with the way in which the Group is run could be aired at the Meeting and members may take a view as to any course of action which may be required- includingthe dismissaL of a Director. This modus operandi will be reviewed in 2025126. Key decisions taken in 2024125 were the changes to the constitution. the closure of the COIF account, disposal of the old Handybus, provision of chargecards, the opening of an additional account the investment in an off the shelf cloud based booking system and introducing Mr Jim Callaghan as a fourth signatory on the Account to replace Mr M Purchase. Investment Policy The DVG does not have a formal investment policy. The current strategy is to invest aLI funds in such a way that they are protected under the FinanciaL Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). During the 2023-24 period part of the Butlin Restricted fund {£84.000) was split invested with the Charity Bank (Account Reference). the remaining operational part was invested in an instant savings account with the MetroBank. The figures are detailed in the section on Restricted Funds. The other Restricted fund (for the HandeBus) is invested in a separate MetroBank instant savings account. For the period 2023-24 some reserved but unrestricted funds were invested with CCLA. These funds were not protected by FSCS and have been transferred to the recently opened fourth Metrobank account. The Charity Bank and MetroBank are separate financial entities which results in the total protection by FSCS being £190,000. ReseNes Policy The DVG does not have a reseNes poLicy but has approximately £38.000 in unrestricted reserves. This will be sufficient to cover any for-seeable liabilities for several years. No significant liabiLities were identified at the end of 2024125. Creditors The group has no significant creditors. However in September the Handebus was involved in an incidentwhich caused a claim to be made on the insurance. Repairs were made and our insurer's solicitors are pursuing the third party for damages. This has resulted in an increased premium. loss of no claims discount and impuned the reputation of one of our drivers. We believe the third party was wholly at fault and we await the result of legal proceedings against the individuals.
Insurances The DVG annually renews Public Liability and Employers Liability insurance. Additionally. the DVG holds vehicle insurance for the Handebus. SeNice Level Agreement and other permissions In February 2022 the DVG agreed a Service Level Agreement with West Berkshire Council in order to qualify for a £50.000 capital grant to replace the Handybus. The Treasurer hoLds the compliance arrangements for all of the conditions in the agreement and this is reviewed annually. The DVG have two Permits under Section 19 of the Transport Act which allows the hire and reward recovery of fares on a not for profit basis. One of these was temporary pending disposal of the second bus. We also hold a number of blue badges which are renewed periodically. These allow our drivers to park in blue badge spaces at various venues this reduces costs and speeds up our parking and transfer time. Assets During 2024125 the DVG applied depreciation to two fixed assets. The bus and the chargepoint installation. Safeguarding Before a new volunteer is accepted to work on behalf of the group they are vetted using the DiscLosure and Barring SeNice Enhanced checks. Many of our volunteers were vetted some time ago and as a matter of policy the group decided to renew these checks on a rolling five year programme. We maintain records for each volunteer. One complaint has been received by the group over the driving characteristics of one of our volunteers in 2024125. A discrete examination of the complaint was undertaken and we have taken some steps to avoid that situation re-occurring. Many clients continue to express their thanks and admiration for the services we provide. Our new booking system has improved compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations and the security of the sensitive information required to manage our clients. information. The physical security of the DVG off ice at Compton has also been improved this year.
Restricted Funds The two restricted funds operated by the group are 2024125 £94445 2023124 £95717 2022123 £96162 Butlin HandeBus £6166 £3605 £68034 Total Restrlcted £100,611 £99.322 £164,196 The Butlin fund was created from a bequest by Mrs Barbara Butlin in 2022 and is restricted, in accordance with her wishes, for subsidising transport of cLients to and from GP surgeries. The interest from the fund is not restricted and is used to support the finances of the group generaLIy. The HandeBus fund was created from donations and grants obtained through 2022123 and 2023124 for the procurement of a replacement eLectric Handebus. The majority of the fund was expended in 2023124 for the procurement of an original Ford eTransit van. the conversion by GM Minibuses, type certification. livery and the instaLlation of a chargepoint at the Downland Practice in Chieveley. The fund has been used subsequentlyfor some minor functional modifications to the bus also. A residual amount exists in case further modifications are required, this reserve was augmented in 2024125 by the sale of the old bus. Unrestricted Funds The unrestricted funds comprise the MetroBank Current Account and the MetroBank Reserve Account. The historical funds are presented for completeness. 2024125 2023124 2022123 Total £37,546 £31.696 £30.524 Depreciation At the end of 2024125 the DVGS key assets were the Handebus. the Chargepoint and the office computer. No allowance for depreciation had been made for the bus or the charge-point in 2023124 but has been made in 2024125. It is proposed to allow for depreciation of the Handebus at 10% ofthe original vaLue per annum and the charge- point unit at 20 % such that the bus wilL be written off after 10 years and the charge- point after 5 years. The installation cost of the chargepoint has been written off this year. The bus depreciation is based upon the warranty on the battery on the bus of 8 years. The chargepoint installation was largeLy the modification of the surgery electrics and therefore is not an asset which the DVG can easily remove. 13
Signed on behalf of and with the agreement of the Trustees and in accordance with the Charity Commission statement of recommended practice (SoRP} guidance. The Trustee Annual Report is required as the Charity turnover exceeds £25,000. Joe CLerkin Chairman 14
Examiners Report Having exan11nl ihe necessary documentation I have pleasure in repornng o the abbrevlHled orcounts and the proflt and loss ac¢ount enclosed wlth this rnport for the yoar ended 31 Marth 2015 wilhout undortakittK a full audit l am of the oplnlon thaL' The financial slat¥m¥nts are in aRreernnt wlth the xcountlng reconls kept by thecompany under Section 386 of the Companles Art 200& Having r¢84rd (o. and on the bfisis of. tht Information rontalned In those Luun¢inE record5 the attdchod finaDLlo1 statemenr5 have been drdwn up In a Trpr conslstent wlth the accounllnx provlstons ofthe CompanSes Acr 2006, so far as these arLb dpi)Ik¥ble lo the Lompany. Q The audit exemptlon condlriorns have been met by the tt>MpAny and. at Do tlme duTÉn8 the ycar. dld the rowpany fau into a non*xemption cate80ry. d. No mattor rnmv tn my attenri.on in conneLtlon wlth the exanjination whlch gave me rcasonable cause to bdievL. that in any material respett accounting reLurd5 have noi been kepL or that th¢ accounts do not acconl with thos¢ rccord ThLifLb are matter$ 4vhlch hav¢ come lo my attentloii in (vnnLYtion with thE examinatiOTt. to whith th¢ dlrvctur5 aitentlon should be drawn to eti4ble a pmper undersi4ndio8 ulth¢ar(oiwts to b¢ reache4L f. l am satlsfied that theTreasurer. 5UPPOrted by the DlrLicI()rs, has put in place safe. efficitnt arr3ng•rnents and maintain robust conirnls on payrnerbts as an In¢iydEed part of the overall finanaal control systenL Date: 13 May 2025 Terry Glxmlsell Independeni F.xaminer 15