## Ottershaw Villa e Hall g # **OTTERSHAW VILLAGE HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE** ## **ANNUAL REPORT** # **For the year 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2020** **Presented at the Annual General Meeting, 15 June 2021** **----- Start of picture text -----**
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3 - 9 Trustees’ Annual Report
10 - 11 Treasurer’s Report
12 - 14 Financial Statements
15 - 16 Independent Examiner’s Report
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This page is intentionally blank 2 ## **TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT** The trustees of Ottershaw Village Hall present their annual report and financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31 December 2020. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and independently examined. ## **Section 1 – Legal and Administrative Information** **Charity name:** Ottershaw Village Hall **Charity Commission reg. no** . 1123141 **Property known as:** Ottershaw Village Hall **For the financial year ending:** 31 December 2020 **Charity’s principal address:** Ottershaw Village Hall, Brox Road, Ottershaw, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0HG. **The Charity’s Governing Document:** The charitable trust is constituted under a trust deed dated 8 January 2008 and was enabled by the granting of a 35-year lease of Brook Memorial Hall (renamed Ottershaw Village Hall), (the Property) from the Parochial Church Council of Ottershaw, expiring 7 January 2043. **Specific investment powers:** Undefined **Professional Advisers Bankers:** CAF Bank, West Malling, Kent (Current and deposit accounts) **Independent Examiner:** Steve Carter ACMA, Ottershaw, Surrey ## **Section 2 – Structure, governance and management** ## **Trustees and Governance** The trustees are charity trustees for the purposes of charity law and are all members of the management committee of the Hall. The management committee consists of up to six nominated, up to seven elected and up to two co-opted members. Two members may be nominated by the Parochial Church Council of Ottershaw and five may be nominated by village organisations that regularly use the Hall. The elected members must be elected at the Annual General Meeting and the co-opted members are appointed by the management committee. |**Management Committee**|**Appointed by**| |---|---| |Diana (Danny) Sparkes, Chair|Re-elected at AGM June 2020| |Peter Binns, Vice Chair|Ottershaw Society| |Julia Williams, Treasurer|Re-elected at AGM June 2020| |Stephen Bristow, Secretary|Re-elected at AGM June 2020| |Sheila Binns|Re-elected at AGM June 2020| |John Fawcus|Re-elected at AGM June 2020| |Christopher Gorham|Ottershaw Players| |Pam Gorham|Re-elected at AGM June 2020| |William Matthews|Ottershaw PCC| |Rosalind Smith|Ottershaw PCC| |Peter Williams|Re-elected at AGM June 2020| |Johanna Wiltshire|Ottershaw evening WI (Night Owls)| 3 ## **Management** The formal election of officers by the management committee takes place at the first ordinary meeting after the AGM. All the following posts were nominated, seconded, and unanimously elected by the committee in July 2020: Chair – Danny Sparkes Vice Chair – Peter Binns Treasurer – Julia Williams Secretary – Stephen Bristow (after Sheila Binns requested to stand down) All trustees are given a copy of the Trust Deed and a copy of the Charity’s latest report and statement of accounts. A register of the name and address of every member of the committee and the dates on which their terms of office begin and end is kept by the management committee. All trustees give their time freely and have not received any benefit in money or in kind from the Charity except that the members of the management committee are insured against the costs of a defence to a prosecution brought against them as charity trustees under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. ## **Objectives and Activities for the public benefit** The Objects of the charity are specified in the Trust Deed as follows: - The Property and the trust fund and its income shall be applied for the purposes of a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of the area of benefit without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, nationality, race or political, religious or other opinions, including use of the Property for meetings, lectures and classes or other forms of recreation and leisure time occupation in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants. The management committee carries out these Objects by: - managing bookings and the day to day running of the Hall and keeping the premises fit for use, - maintaining the building so that it is safe and fit for purpose, - promoting the availability of the Hall for hire by local advertising and other means, - fundraising through local events, encouraging donations and applying for grants to fund improvements to the fabric and facilities of the building - arranging for such improvements to be carried out. The trustees consider that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. ## **Risk Management** The charity needs a serviceable building to meet its Objects. The major risk to the operation of the charity is the loss of use of the building due to fire or other damage. The charity holds an insurance policy with Hiscox Insurance covering Property Damage, Employer’s and Public and Products Liability and Trustee Indemnity. 4 Should the Hall ever have to cease operations due to serious damage to the building, the related costs in closing down the operation of the charity temporarily would be minimal. If the lease was withdrawn or the use of the Hall reduced to the extent that it was no longer viable, the shutting down costs would need to cover redundancy payments for staff (estimated, as of December 2020, at approximately £4,000) which would be covered by the reserves noted below. ## **Section 3 – Activities and Achievements** The management committee employs a part-time administrator and a part-time Hall supervisor. The administrator works from home and manages the day to day operation of the Hall including arranging lettings and keeping books of account. The administrator also assists in the identification and arrangement of maintenance and oversees cleaning. Both the administrator and the Hall supervisor are responsible to the Chair of the management committee. The committee is required to meet at least twice a year but has met monthly to determine policy, to plan the development of the Hall’s facilities and to deal with routine matters raised by members of the management committee and the Hall’s administrator. ## **The management committee’s main aims** in 2020 were to: - restore the cowl on the roof of the Hall. - install soundproof doors between Brook Memorial Hall and Runnymede Room. - relocate the defibrillator to the outside of the Hall, so that it is available for use at all times in the village. - continue to engage with the local community to raise awareness of facilities at the Hall. - maintain the Hall premises effectively. - optimise the use of the Hall. - continue with local fundraising for improvements and refurbishment. ## **Development Income** Income specifically for the development of the Hall came mainly from the single Quiz Night that was held in January along with a number of continuing regular donations. In summary: - Fundraising events raised a total of £438 net of expenses. - Donations from individuals raised £795 (excluding Gift Aid of around £94 to be claimed in 2021). - Christ Church Ottershaw kindly donated £140, representing the rent payable for 2020 A grant of £2,540 was received from Chertsey Combined Charities to pay for the purchase and installation of new soundproof doors between the Runnymede Room and the main Hall. These works were completed in Autumn 2020. All donations and grants received for refurbishment and improvements are accounted for separately from day to day income and are only expended on identified projects. 5 ## **Operating Income** During 2020, the rental income of the Hall was severely impacted by closures and restrictions on use caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. Only about one third of our usual rental income was earned. Fortunately we were eligible for business support funding from Runnymede Borough Council which has made up some of the lost income. This funding, along with some furlough payments and a reduction in Hall operating costs, has enabled a small gross operating surplus to be achieved this year. Given the circumstances this is considered a very positive result. £500 was received in January from the Ottershaw Community Partnership (OCP) towards the provision of a defibrillator box which was installed later in the year. ## **Section 4 – Policies** The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities published on 16 July 2014. ## **Reserves policy** The management committee aims to maintain a cash reserve of at least three months’ operating expenses throughout the year, equating to approximately £5,000. In addition, a £10,000 emergency fund is held to cover unexpected major repairs to the Hall (as agreed from 1 January 2017). Any surplus above these balances may be used for Operational or Development works. ## **Investment policy** The charity’s reserves are held on deposit at its bankers, CAF Bank, specially set up by the National Council of Voluntary Organisations and the Charities Aid Foundation to make safe deposit and current account facilities available to charities at advantageous interest rates. ## **Grant Making Policy** The charity makes no grants. ## **Environmental Policy** The charity has an Environmental Policy, giving guidelines which aim to minimise any adverse impact on the environment which may arise from the operations of the Hall. The policy, which includes details of the measures already taken and those planned, is available on request. ## **Health and Safety Policy** The charity has a Health and Safety Policy **,** which seeks to provide a healthy and safe environment for all our employees, volunteers, committee members and hirers. The policy is available on request. 6 ## **Section 5 - Summary of the year’s activities** ## **Hall use and charges** For the initial period of the year from January to mid-March the Hall continued to be well used by regular groups and for parties and celebrations at weekends. However, with the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Government from late March, the remainder of the year became a series of stop / start lettings to regular users holding socially distanced classes, with no parties allowed. As noted in the Treasurer’s report there was a consequent substantial decrease in income for the Hall. At the end of 2020, the committee agreed that there would be no changes to the hire rates from 1 January 2021. This aims to support all our regular and occasional users and encourage their return to the Hall when the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic is reduced. ## **COVID-19 impact and actions** Once the full implications of the spread of COVID-19 became apparent and the March lockdown commenced, the Hall immediately shut, and the committee and our employees then responded to the events and worked towards a successful reopening. - The committee meetings moved online continuing with the routine monthly schedule and holding additional special meetings to consider developments, administration, and work regarding reopening. - Jeanette West dealt with all the party cancellations and the closing of the Hall to regular users and the concerns and questions from all the hirers. - Laura Beecroft took on all the deep cleaning required and adapted to the new safety protocols and also painted the kitchen, toilets, and corridors when we were closed in the first lockdown. - A survey was conducted with our regular users to assess their likely return to the Hall and the conditions they would accept. - A COVID-19 risk assessment was then developed taking account of Government health advice, guidelines from ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England), and our regular user surveys, to allow planning for a COVID-19 secure reopening. - Hand gel stations, paper towel dispensers and new COVID-19 signage for the Hall and kitchen were all installed by volunteers from the committee. - Single use of each of the toilets was created by adding locks onto the external toilet doors. - Once the first reopening was successfully achieved the committee, Jeanette and Laura continued to adapt throughout the year to implement the new COVID-19 secure operations and more lockdowns. ## **Development and Maintenance in 2020** A grant had been received previously from the Ottershaw Community Partnership (OCP) towards the restoration of the cowl on the roof of the Hall. This restoration was successfully carried out by a contractor in Spring 2020. New soundproof doors between Brook Memorial Hall and Runnymede Room were installed, funded by a grant from Chertsey Combined Charities. 7 £500 was received in January from the Ottershaw Community Partnership (OCP) towards the provision of a defibrillator box. This enabled the defibrillator to be relocated to the outside of the Hall, so that it is available for use at all times in the village. Numerous maintenance jobs were carried out by committee members at no labour cost, including: - replacement of lighting tubes with LED units. - repainting of the Hall internally whilst the Hall was shut during Lockdowns. - garden maintenance including hedge trimming, cutting back shrubs and keeping the grass mown. The WI has assumed responsibility for their memorial rose bed, for which the committee is grateful. ## **Events** The events organised by the management committee raise funds for the Hall’s development, help to promote awareness of the Hall as a good local venue and contribute to the social life of the village. However due to COVID-19 the regular quizzes in April and October had to be cancelled. The management committee had also planned to take our regular stall at the May Fair as an opportunity to meet and talk with local people. This year the date of the May Fair was planned as a celebration of 75 years after VE Day and Sheila Binns and some committee members investigated and prepared a short history of the Hall during WW2. (The Hall was accidentally burnt down during the early War years and rebuilding was a great achievement for the committee at the time, as it was accomplished during the period 1944 and 1945). The May Fair was unfortunately cancelled but the booklet on the history of the Hall was published and promoted online. ## **Other Fundraising** A small number of monthly donations continue from previous members of the 100 Club. The committee is grateful for the continuing support of local people and of the Ottershaw Community Partnership. In addition, Chertsey Combined Charities provided a substantial donation for the internal doors project in memory of John Gooderham, one of the OVH holding trustees at formation. ## **Local Support** The trustees acknowledge with gratitude the considerable support it receives both from individuals and local businesses, in particular: - **Paul West** who frequently helps behind the scenes to make sure Hall events run smoothly; - **Vita and Roy Patel** of Londis, who advertise events organised by the management committee; - **Robert Brown** who provides technical back-up for the Hall website; - **Ian Finch** who helps to maintain the garden; 8 ## **Employees** Jeanette West, the Hall Administrator, holds a key role in the successful running of the Hall and Laura Beecroft, the Hall Supervisor, manages the cleaning efficiently and reliably. They both monitor Hall bookings (actual checks at weekends) by non-regular users. The trustees acknowledge with gratitude the contribution made by them both to the successful operation of the Hall and in particular this year responding so well and enthusiastically together to manage the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdowns. During the first COVID-19 lockdown, Jeanette and Laura both continued to work to enable the Hall to successfully reopen in the summer. However with the implementation of the lockdowns from November onwards, both employees were registered for the government Flexible Furlough scheme. ## **Management Committee** The management committee all give their time on a voluntary basis and have given much over the year in commitment, ideas, energy, enthusiasm, skills, and person-power in dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 situation. Since the first COVID-19 lockdown the committee have continued to hold regular meetings using Zoom meeting software and have developed and successfully implemented the COVID-19 secure operation of the Hall. The AGM was also successfully held online as a virtual meeting with 18 members of the public plus the committee attending. ## **Section 6- Future Plans** Future plans for the Hall include: - The possible replacement of the Gopak tables used in Brook Memorial Hall. - A focus on community use of the Hall by helping with the promotion of users’ activities. - Small improvements upgrades and necessary replacements which will continue as needed and as funds permit. ## **Section 7– Signature and Declaration** ## **Declaration: I declare, in my capacity of charity trustee, that:** - **The trustees have approved the report above and** - **Have authorised me to sign it on their behalf.** Signature: Date: 12 April 2021 Full name: Diana Sparkes Position: Chair, Ottershaw Village Hall Management Committee 9 ## **Treasurer’s Report for 2020** During 2020, the rental income of the Hall was severely impacted by closures and restrictions on use caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. Only £9,300 was earned - about one third of the usual rental income (2019: £27,786: 2018: £29,525). Fortunately the Hall was eligible for business support funding (£11,953 in total) from Runnymede Borough Council which has made up some of this lost income. Operating costs have been reduced where possible during the year: - Savings were made on print, post and phone charges due to the reduction in Hall activity and little non-routine maintenance was carried out. - Operational bills were minimised by reducing heating and cancelling waste collections when the Hall was not in use and notifying the water provider of closure. No business rates were paid due to the government charge holiday. - Many routine operational and maintenance costs are incurred even when the Hall is not in use, e.g. rent, website hosting, bank charges, routine inspections of emergency lights, gas appliances and fire extinguishers, PAT testing etc. There was a reduction in spend on some consumables, but these were offset by increased costs for paper towels, cleaning materials and hand sanitiser required to make the Hall COVID-19 secure. - Receipt of the initial RBC business support grant of £10,000 in April meant that the committee were able to commit to paying 100% of salaries throughout the year, so as to support and retain our valuable staff. These staff costs were slightly lower than normal due to fewer party monitoring payments and £988 was claimed from the government Job Retention Scheme when staff were flexibly furloughed from November. Therefore, despite a large decrease in rental income but due to business support funding, furlough payments and a reduction in Hall operating costs, a small overall gross operating surplus of £4,665 was achieved in 2020. There was also a development surplus of £389 which will be applied to future refurbishment and improvement projects. As usual, the £4,665 operating surplus was reduced by a depreciation charge of £10,026 that has to be applied to the Hall building, leaving a net deficit of £5,361. This reflects the policy of reducing the value of major improvements to the Hall to nil, over the remaining (23) years of the charity’s lease. Therefore until the end of the lease, although the committee aim to achieve a small surplus on day to day Hall operations, the overall net result will be a deficit due to the write off of improvements. This operating deficit will be cancelled out by the end of the lease. Although some building development works were carried out this year (to fit low energy lights, refurbish the cowl and install new soundproof doors), the committee decided that the cost of these would not be capitalised as the majority of this spend was immediately covered by grants from Chertsey Combined Charity and Ottershaw Community Partnership. In the past, depreciation of equipment and furniture has been calculated and applied as an operational cost based on the assumption that items last for 10 years. However, as all such items were considered fully depreciated by the end of 2019, no Equipment and Furniture depreciation is applicable to the accounts for 2020. **The Operational reserves** of the charity were £276,162 at the start of 2020. In the accounts for this year, the usual reserves recalculation was made (adding surplus of £4,665 and subtracting buildings depreciation of £10,026) which brings these reserves to £270,801 at 31 December 2020. This represents an Operations reserve fund of £51,043 plus the Leasehold Property Reserve of £219,758. 10 **The restricted funds** of the charity (the Hall Development reserves) were £6,805 at 1 January 2020 which had increased to £7,194 at 31 December 2020 due to the small development fund surplus. _Note: that £740 of Hall rent was assigned as Operations expenditure in the accounts for 2014 – 2020 (£100 per year until 2019, then £140 in 2020), but, as these payments were waived and requested by Christ Church Ottershaw to be considered a donation to Hall development, they were shown as an increase to the Development reserves. A payment had been planned from the Operations to the Development bank account in 2020 to correct the inconsistency up to that time, but this was overlooked. Therefore a payment of £740 will be made in 2021 so that the accounts will show that the net value of Development assets (essentially the balance in the Development bank account) is exactly equal to the Development reserves._ Therefore, despite the challenges of 2020, which will continue into 2021, the Hall remains in a strong financial position and has a good level of reserves to cover potential future loss of income or unexpected expenses if required. I would like to extend my personal thanks to Jeanette West, our Hall administrator, for all her hard work in recording the Hall Receipts and Payments, which greatly assists the production of these accounts and enables an accurate and timely financial picture to be available to the management committee on an ongoing basis. Finally, we would like to thank Steve Carter who has kindly agreed to continue in the role of Independent Examiner for the Hall this year. Julia Williams – Treasurer 11 Otter&haw Village Hall . Charity 1123141 Statement of Cornprehegr￿e Income forthe Year ended 31 DecembeT 2020 2020 20>) 2020 Ufire¥tr￿ted Re¥tncted Totsl Operation$ Oevelopment 2r119 TDtol Note¥ INCOME 27,7a6 Operatb)nal grants, RBC 9rants and JRS ckwrs Fund R8v&mg Deveknptnent Fund_ Grants Deveknptnent Fund_ DDnalK*ns knlerest on Bank AccDuntS Total Incorning Resources 13M42 13,442 475 475 9JS 935 41 74 EXPEN￿uRE Costs of kncome Generatb)n'. Fundrasing Costs and Dev Bank Charges Costs of Char*abk AdNty- running the Halt Sa￿TIes Pnnt, Postage. Ffftone &nd Opy Bank Charyes Rent RJteJ. knjuronce & PerfDrnng l&ghts Repairs and kTaintenance- Routhie Repoirs Maintenance- NorpRoutne Developrnenl expendlure Electrth and Ga8 Depre￿at￿n on Frxtures & Frttng5 97 97 11,666 122 140 1,681 2892 851 12.139 576 Ir>0 122 140 2892 851 2,048 3,166 1,153 1,610 18,106 21,574 22,7 T¢)tal refAI)ur¢e& tApended NEf INCOMING RESOURCE5 Less Revaluat￿n of 8uidnio Facilitts NET h￿VEmENT IN FUIIDSIRESOURCES 7,227 9.993 2.766 389 12 Oii•rsha¥ ¥illag• Hall Si*•m•Thi of Financial Pos*ioTh as ai 31 D•¢•mb•r 2020 VThvesivi¢ied Resiricied 2020 Operaiions DevelopmeThi Toial 2019 FIXED ASSETS 219.758 2tt758 229,784 EquipTnent& FuiriiLYe Nel Book value 219.758 219.758 229,784 CURRE1￿ ASSETS Cash ai Bank C&F BankHal Oper*ionskncouN CuNe C￿￿ BankHal 0peiaii0nsknc￿rt Depo￿1 CPF Bank[*￿lOPmeN ACCO￿lcurrent C￿￿ BankOe￿lopMert A¢coLniOeposic TO1￿ Bank 500 45.330 500 5.954 56.284 500 46,0É0 500 5,705 52,7e5 49.330 500 5.954 &454 49.830 OebtoisarwJPrepawnenls 3.116 52.916 3.116 59.400 1,850 54,635 &454 LIABILITIES 1.163 8.237 1,452 53.183 NET CURRENT ASSETS 151.783 6.4154 LOANS crediiors-lall1igdueiTro￿rOn?Year TOTAL NET ASSETS 271.541 &454 2T7.995 282,967 A￿￿eSented by= RESERVES 8roughtFoiw4rd 276.162 4.665 10.026 270.801 &805 389 2P2.967 5.054 10.026 277.995 285,733 7,227 9,993 282,967 Revaluationol LeasehoIdPropeTlyV￿ue TOTAL RESERVES 7.194 Analjsed betveen= Hall ope1aho￿ Fur OevelopmenlFwd LeaseFddP[o￿1ty Futyj 51.043 51.043 7.194 219.758 277.995 46,378 6,805 229,784 282,967 7.194 219.758 270.801 7.194 13 ## **Ottershaw Village Hall Notes to the Financial Statements** 1. Accounting Conventions. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Accounting and Reporting by Charities Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (FRSSE) published on 16 July 2014, the Charities Act 2011, and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice as it applies from 1 January 2015. 2. The financial statements have been prepared to give a 'true and fair view' and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to give a 'true and fair view'. This departure has involved following the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities published on 16 July 2014 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005, which has since been withdrawn. 3. The trustees of the Ottershaw Village Hall charity have managed the Hall since 1 January 2008. Annual rental, currently of £140, is payable under the charity's lease to Christ Church Ottershaw. 4. Non-Routine Repairs cover items of equipment replacement and maintenance. 5. To distinguish the funds already spent on Hall improvements from the funds free for future expenditure, in 2011 the corresponding reserves were transferred to a Leasehold Property Fund. This is being down-valued over the remaining years of the charity's 35-year lease and the value of Building Facilities will be written down in the same way. 6. Building Facilities started to be written down at an annual rate fixed from 2011 at 3.13%, to write down their full value over the then 32 years remaining on the charity's lease of the Hall. Later additions are written down at a higher rate. There is no intention to make provision for replacement of Building Facilities by a charge against Income and Expenditure, and so the annual write-down is charged direct against the Leasehold Property. Depreciation of Equipment and Furniture is charged to Expenditure and written down at a fixed rate of 10% over 10 years. In 2020 all capitalised items of Equipment and Furniture were over 10 years old and so considered fully depreciated. A calculation of depreciation is shown below. 7. The value of the Development net assets (i.e. the balance of the Development bank account) is £740 less than the calculated Development reserves (and the Operations assets are correspondingly £740 higher than the reserves figure). This is due to £740 of Hall rent which was assigned as Operations expenditure in the Accounts between 2014 and 2020, but where the payment was waived and requested by the PCC to be considered as a donation to Hall development and so shown as an increase to Development reserves. A payment to correct this discrepancy will be made from the Operations to the Development bank account in 2021 8. Although some development works were carried out this year (to fit low energy lights, refurbish the cowl and install new soundproof doors), the committee decided that the cost of these would not be capitalised as most of the cost was covered by grants from Chertsey Combined Charity and Ottershaw Community Partnership. Signed: Julia Williams, Treasurer Date: 12 April 2021 14 ## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Ottershaw Village Hall** I report on the financial statements of the Trust for the year ended 31 December 2020 as set out on pages 10 - 14. This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. My work has been undertaken so that I might state to the charity’s trustees those matters I am required to state to them in this report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for my work, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed. ## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner** The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of financial statements. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under Section 144(1) of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’) and that an independent examination is needed. Your attention is drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared the financial statements in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities published on 16 July 2014 in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has since been withdrawn. I understand that this has been done in order for the accounts to provide a 'true and fair view' in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Practice effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015. It is my responsibility to: - ⮚ examine the financial statements under section 145 of the 2011 Act; - ⮚ to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) of the 2011 Act; and - ⮚ to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. ## **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 financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements 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 financial statements present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. 15 ## **Independent examiner's statement** In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: - a) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: - to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and - to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act; - have not been met; or - b) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached. Steve Carter ACMA 8 St Crispins Way Ottershaw Surrey KT16 0RE 10 May 2021 16