2024-12-31-accounts

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Knowle, Solihull

Charity number 1127404

Report and Accounts

Year ended 31 December 2024

CONTENTS

	CONTENTS
Report	Report	Page
Trustees Report:
1.	Aim and purposes	1
2.	Objectives and activities	1
3.	Achievements and performance	1
4.	People	6
5.	Financial review	6
6.	Reserves policy	7
7.	Fundraising practices	8
8.	Plans for future periods	8
9.	Structure, governance and management	8
10.	Reference and Administrative details	9
11.	Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities	10
Accounts for the year ended 31stDecember 2024		11
Independent examiner’s report to the trustees		24

Trustees’ Report (continued)

Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

2024 Annual Report and Accounts for the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Knowle, Solihull (Charity number 1127404)

The trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31[st] December 2024.

The financial statements comply with 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 applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

1. Aim and purposes

Knowle PCC has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of the Church and nearby buildings – the Guild House, St John’s Hall and St Lawrence House – and two residential properties: St Anne’s Cottage and 46 Crabmill Close.

2. Objectives and activities

The statement of purpose of Knowle Parish Church (KPC), agreed by the PCC and endorsed by the 2015 APCM, is: ‘We are here to help people become lifelong followers of Jesus Christ’ . This statement of purpose is augmented by the Vision statement which was introduced in 2021 “A house of God’s light for all peoples and generations”; more detail is on page 3.

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our church community to help resource their discipleship and equip them for service in the world. The PCC maintains an overview of worship in the church and in groups throughout the parish and beyond and makes suggestions on how our services and other activities can be for the benefit of everyone of whatever background. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer, scripture reading, teaching, music and sacrament.

When planning our activities for the year, we have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. We seek to enable people to find and live out their faith in Jesus Christ in our community and beyond, and we also organise a number of activities that benefit the whole community of Knowle such as pre-school groups and a friendship club for senior citizens. We also promote practical and financial support to Christian mission beyond Knowle in the UK and overseas. To facilitate our work, it is important that we maintain the fabric of the Church and related buildings.

3. Achievements and performance

Worship and prayer

Our normal service pattern continued through 2024. The Wednesday morning service with Holy Communion and 7.45am Sunday Holy Communion service continue to be well attended.

At the 9.30 am service, under 5s, children’s and youth groups are held most weeks, with intergenerational services held at key points during the year. During 2024, a review of the 6.30 service was conducted, with the new service “Encounter” being launched in 2025.

Whole Church prayer meetings took place termly and were well attended. Additional Church prayer meetings were held at key points eg to pray for Christmas services. Many other smaller groups also met to pray regularly throughout the year.

Ministry and evangelism

The Church maintained its aim of serving and reaching out to people in Knowle and beyond, seeking to reconnect with the community. The Summer focus revolved around the ‘KPC Summer of Sport’ with 14 different events for all ages. Particular highlights included a church vs school football match, a Vicar’s XI vs Associate’s XI cricket match, a basketball evening that was very popular with our Hong Kong community and the ability to gather together to watch England’s Euro 2024 run to the final.

As well as our regular events for all ages (Cobbles Saturday Café / Friendship Club / Rainbow tots etc) a couple of new initiatives have begun – Caterpillars (discipleship for the U5s and parents); Jelly Beans (for 5-6yr olds); Friday Night Girls Night (supporting and encouraging the ladies in church) – and we took the difficult decision to stop our men’s breakfasts and curry nights. The last breakfast was held in the Autumn which still had 90 guests.

In November, the PCC spent significant time considering the church’s evangelism strategy and culture of faith sharing, noting the specific emphases on Inviting; Blessing; Speaking up and Prayer.

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Trustees’ Report (continued)

Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

3. Achievements and performance (continued)

Ministry and evangelism (continued)

The Alpha Course held in Spring was attended by 25 participants and in the Autumn, a Christianity Explored course was held at the Red Lion pub in Knowle attended by 12 participants.

Over the course of 2024, through our evangelism courses, adult baptisms and confirmations, we know of at least 11 people that have made significant commitments to follow Jesus.

Mothers’ Union

Knowle Mothers’ Union branch, of 75 members, aims to support marriage, family life and the Christian upbringing of children. It is open to all who are baptised, women or men, parents or not. We meet monthly for prayer and for meetings with a speaker, as well as serving within the church fellowship.

In 2024 we celebrated our 60[th] anniversary as a branch in Knowle, gave financially to help struggling families to have a break and to fund literacy and financial education overseas; we collected items for MU groups in Malawi and for Women’s Aid and gave toys for prisoners to give to their children at Christmas, whilst KnitWits produced clothes for premature babies in Birmingham hospitals. We set up an exhibition ‘The Souls of Our Shoes,’ in church in December, drawing attention to domestic abuse and have led prayers in church about gender-based violence and for the care of children.

Home groups

Home groups continue to be at the heart of KPC life. There are approx. 30 groups; two groups choose to meet on Zoom, three in the afternoon, and all the others meet in the evenings from Monday to Thursday. More than 370 people regularly attend!

Prayer, pastoral care/friendship and Bible study remain the key activities. Various studies are used by the groups: our own sermon series questions (including Clinging to Faith and Climate Care), the book of Romans (Bible Society), Practicing the Way, clips from The Chosen, The God Story and other study material to name a few. During the year Sue and Ian Ralph, homegroup coordinators, have visited 25 of the groups and were much encouraged by the Christ-focused time groups spend together and the love and care the group members show one another. The need to encourage and develop new leaders for future years was something they have been raising with homegroup leaders.

Steve Johnson heads up a homegroup leaders' meeting each term which is well attended. Areas covered at these sessions have included homegroups creating and developing links with KPC’s external mission and encouraging groups to share and celebrate spiritual growth in their groups. A first draft of a "job description" for homegroup leaders was also discussed and will be refined.

KPC is blessed to have a faithful body of home groups and leaders and we are grateful to God for their commitment.

Children’s work

2024 has been a busy year! With a full complement of staff we have been able to continue developing our work with children across the 0 – 11 age range and their families, both within our church congregation and the wider community.

On a Sunday, we continue to run age-appropriate groups almost every week, interspersed with our intergenerational services, which are aimed at encouraging all ages to worship together. For Sunday mornings we have now split our under-5s into two separate groups as our numbers have grown. So, we now have a Creche and Toddler group, a Nursery and Reception group, Years 1- 4 and a separate year 5 & 6 group. The larger staff team is making this possible, alongside our team of very dedicated volunteers.

The midweek groups for those under 5 and their families continue to be a key part of our week and enable us to connect in a variety of ways. We continue to run Rainbow Tots, Bumps & Babies, Dads & Toddlers and Caterpillars. We also now hold ‘graduate’ Bumps & Babies sessions for those who can no longer make the group regularly as the children are too old and where parents are working but wish to connect. We have been able to run occasional curry evenings and afternoon tea events for the parents to connect and build community together.

We have continued to provide various events around key seasons of the year – Pancake parties, Easter events, summer events. A Light Party is to be held at the end of October and, of course, all the Christmas events are on the horizon. These often enable us to connect with children and families during school holidays as well as providing them with good quality holiday events.

We continue to work closely with Knowle Primary Academy, providing weekly Collective Worship in both Key Stage 1 and 2 as well as supporting the school in various aspects of the RE curriculum and in their seasonal services. We were really pleased to be able to launch a new weekly lunch club this new school year. We have also been pleased to be able to support the school with governance through the Children’s Minister as Chair of Governors, and Vicar as Ex-officio Governor.

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Trustees’ Report (continued)

Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

3. Achievements and performance (continued)

Youth work

During 2024 the youth ministry has been overseen by Geoff Harley-Mason while Amy Dowdy has been away on maternity leave.

All our youth work has been delivered from the Youth Office at Knowle Parish Church or in St John’s Hall. The year started with the groups that had previously existed, some meeting on a Sunday and others during the week. Other groups were introduced during the course of the year.

Sunday morning group - this group for young people in school years 7-11 meets during the morning service at KPC. Around 70% of this group are from Hong Kong families and we have been working hard to understand the cultural difference and adapt our provision accordingly. The session includes refreshments, games and activity and a Bible study aimed at the specific age group. On the weeks when there have been more than 15 young people, we split into two groups, both meeting in the church buildings.

A new development during the year was the setting up of a new group for children in year 6 at primary school. As a joint project between youth and children’s staff, this group was initiated to aid the transition from primary school to secondary. We are very pleased that the group has kept all 6 of the children who now regularly attend a year 7 group both on Sundays and during the week.

Each term our Sunday morning groups have been kicked off with breakfast. This has proved particularly popular.

Mid-week groups - we run discipleship groups during the week after school in the church Youth Office. There are separate groups for school year 7; year 8; years 7-9 and for years 10-13. The reason for more groups has been to enable us to tailor our activities more specifically to the ages and needs of the young people. More young people are attending these groups with specific educational needs, and we work hard to meet these. The discipleship groups are an opportunity for young people to reflect on the more serious spiritual aspects of life. Each group is either proceeded by or includes a games and activities session.

On Sunday afternoons we have been running a youth Alpha Course. This is an extra session into which young people can opt in they want to look more deeply into the Christian faith.

Other developments - In the autumn we have launched a youth leaders’ training course in conjunction with St Phillip’s Dorridge. Volunteer members from both churches have met together to learn and develop their skills in youth ministry. The material is video-based, provided by the Diocese of Birmingham and Youthscape – a national youth ministry resourcing organisation.

The youth minister was able during the year to work with the children’s staff in delivering a Parenting Teenagers course. This course, published by Care for the Family, attracted both church members and parents from the wider community.

In September Arden Academy once again brought each year group to Knowle Parish Church to mark the start of the new school year. This is now a school tradition and has been taking place for several decades.

In December the school also visits KPC for its annual carol services. These mornings see a series of 300 school pupils making their way to and from church. One of the full-time youth team speaks at these school events.

We were very pleased to be able to appoint Ros Hardy as the assistant youth minister in February. Ros has been a great asset to the team bringing so much more capacity to what we are able to deliver. During the year she has taking on the running of some of the midweek groups and has started to spend part of each Monday mentoring pupils at Arden school. This longawaited appointment has brought the youth team up to full strength and has allowed not only for growth this year but the capacity to plan for more next year. A young people’s weekend away led by the assistant youth worker took place in October 2024 which is the first time for a few years that we have had the capacity to do this.

The assistant youth minister organised a programme of youth activities during the half term break of the Spring term.

Pastoral care

The ministry of the pastoral care team, led by David Pickering – covering prayer ministry, bereavement support and visiting the sick and elderly at home and in care and nursing homes continued throughout the year. In addition, Home Groups, which generally meet fortnightly, offer prayer and support to their group members. The annual Memorial Service for the relatives of people who have had funerals at church in the past year took place on Sunday 24th November.

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Trustees’ Report (continued)

Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

3. Achievements and performance (continued)

KPC Vision and goals

We have continued to progress the church’s vision statement which was developed in 2021:

Letting our light shine at the village centre as

A house of God’s light for all peoples and generations . A beating heart of worship to God; generously serving Knowle, the deanery and wider world, to help transform lives and neighbourhoods for Jesus.

This vision was initially progressed through four groups that focused on the areas of Worship, Discipleship, Evangelism and Mission respectively to mobilise and organise work on the initial priorities. After 18 months the various projects and roles were largely taken back into existing groups and teams to progress. This has led over the last two years to several new initiatives in each of the areas.

During 2024 we have continued with many of these including new ways to support to younger children and parents and the Renew Café which was begun in 2023. Our popular men’s curry nights and breakfasts took a pause in the middle of the year as we considered other things.

Church Reordering Project

Arising directly from the “Mission” stream of the Vision project, we launched a project in 2024 to address the ways in which the interior of the main church building could better support our Vision and Goals.

In particular we identified that the fixed Victorian pews restrict the use of church considerably, that the heating places a limit on our eco aspirations and that the lighting and general layout present a less than welcoming impression for newcomers. The lack of facilities means that the building cannot be used as a stand-alone facility, always requiring access to either St Johns Hall or the Guild House.

The church leadership drew up a comprehensive Statement of Needs and Statement of Significance and appointed a team led by Nick Brown, Project Director, to look at the options for reordering the interior. During the year, specialist conservation architects BHB were appointed and a team of church members took up responsibility for a wide variety of workstreams within the project.

The PCC has established a Sponsorship Group for the project, consisting of the Vicar, Wardens and Project Director. This Group meets monthly and provides the governance link between the PCC and the project team.

Briefing and Consultation Meetings were held with the church family, with the Diocesan Advisory Committee and with other local groups. Resulting from these, BHB drew up options for reordering the church interior, including building an extension on the north side, aimed at making the church building more supportive of our Vision and Goals whilst conserving elements of the interior viewed as key to its history and majesty. These plans were put before the PCC in early 2025.

Church attendance and membership

Attendances at Sunday services averages around of 320 adults and 40 children and young people.

At the time of the 2024 Annual Meeting in March, the Church Roll was 531, of whom 304 lived in the parish and the remaining 227 outside the parish. Many additional people have links with the church in a less formal way.

During 2023, 15 Baptisms and 1 thanksgiving service were held and 3 marriages and 1 service of blessing took place. 26 funerals took place in the church. A further 11 funeral services took place at the crematorium and 23 interments or burials in the KPC churchyard.

Ecumenical relationships

Our clergy met during the year with the clergy and leaders of other churches in Knowle and Dorridge.

Eco Church

The Eco Group continues to promote and develop Eco action at KPC in line with C of E net-zero targets. This year through the clergy-led Creation Care series, we explored the theological basis for Caring for God’s Creation and how it links to Social Justice. We continue to work with local community groups through events such as our annual Green Fair. We have helped set up a local nature-focused Eco group with other similar interest groups in the village and continue to work with Solihull Council. As a committed Fairtrade church, we celebrated 30 years of Fairtrade with a Fairtrade Wine Tasting event.

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Trustees’ Report (continued)

Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

3. Achievements and performance (continued)

Eco Church (continued)

We support other churches in the diocese by sharing our Eco newsletter. In the summer children from Knowle Primary Academy enjoyed our nature trail around the churchyard. Our aim for this next year is to further embed Eco action and concern into all aspects of church life and we welcome everyone to join us in this mission.

Global Mission Committee

During 2024, the Global Mission Committee continued its work according to its policy document to focus and grow the church’s activity in support and participation in Christian ministry beyond Knowle.

Whilst continuing to support various historic partners at home and overseas through prayer, relationship building and finance we also continued our discernment process of who and why we support existing and emerging partners. Each partner has had due diligence examination via the charity commission website, and face to face or zoom meetings with the leaders and or church engagement officers, together with the opinion of concerned KPC members.

With the support of our house group leaders, we completed a church-wide survey to gather information about activity and opinions on Mission and Social Justice issues. This was analysed by Martin Etheridge and its conclusions sent to the PCC.

We are now engaged with the three regional churches, two emerging partners and eleven other partners (was twenty-six). We have agreed a commitment to Bolivia and its Bishop, Walter Toro, his nations needs and with his specific church in Tarija.

We reviewed our progress, negotiated with the clergy and Claire Carter better annualization and synergy of our activities. We created a Vision Strategy for the next 2 years to include a prayer co-ordinator, house groups choosing to ‘adopt’ a partner and two mission Sundays a year, including TEAR Fund once every two years.

We are actively exploring a business opportunity for an International Ecological partner together with Claire Carter’s ECO & Climate group.

We managed a small number of individuals with mission concerns.

With delegated authority from the PCC, we the GMC made grants and donations at our discretion from the 2024 budget of £40K.

The Committee, chaired by Bruce Richard, continues to meet every six weeks, with four members, and Susie Carter as our PCC link.

Fabric

In 2024, the PCC Fabric committee comprised Nick Brown (Chair), Gareth Roberts-Davies (Facilities and Systems Manager), Liz Welton, Ian Kay and Ian Best. The Committee meets broadly monthly, discussing maintenance as well as reordering, to review progress and to plan future works subject to approval by PCC.

Gareth reports to Helen Allen (Operations Manager), who receives all papers.

The fabric of the church buildings continues to remain in satisfactory condition. The Quinquennial architect is James Phillips of APEC architects.

Status of works on KPC buildings:

i. Church

There is some water ingress in the choir vestry due to the poor condition of the pointing to the flashing, currently being planned. There are no significant issues with the main Church building or the tower. Following the installation of a new boiler and heat exchanger between that and the old pipework, an interim inspection and filter clean has been organised between annual service visits, to minimise the likelihood of down time.

ii. Churchyard & Grounds

A full tree survey was completed in 2021, repeated in 2024. The most significant change was the condition of the Cedar, adjacent to Kenilworth Road, which unexpectedly declined requiring urgent removal. The next phase of work includes the removal of dead and dying Ash trees, many of which are suffering from Ash die back, and some necessary reduction of other trees. This work is approved by the diocese and currently going through planning at Solihull Council. The work is expected to take place in Feb 2025. Discussions are taking place with the Knowle Eco Group about their adoption of the land outside the kitchen in St John’s Hall.

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Trustees’ Report (continued)

Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

3. Achievements and performance (continued)

Fabric (continued)

iii. Guild House

The floor, made up of solid pine blocks, is in need of maintenance, having many loose blocks and no protective layer. Remediation work is scheduled for April 2025. The ground floor, around the toilet block, is increasingly suffering from damp. The origin has been located and remedied, and remedial work will be scheduled in 2025, including refreshing the badly discoloured decoration of the toilet walls, hall and stairs.

• iv. St. John’s Hall

• a. The new Hall boiler is working well, but there are issues with other ageing components. Whilst each of the three circuits is designed to have a spare pump, each is now running with a single pump and they cannot be replaced like for like. The committee is considering options aligned with emerging thinking on floor replacement.

• b. The hall floor has been trimmed and repaired again, and a section lifted for inspection due to a suspected leak and to allow access to the architect in order to help us develop a tender for floor replacement. This is still under discussion.

• c. The main lights and uplighters are now LED, and the ageing and faulty dimmer control for the uplighters has been replaced with compatible new dimmer switches.

• v. Insurance

Insurance of the Church, Guild House, St John’s Hall and St Lawrence House has been switched from Ecclesiastical to Trinitas, and at renewal, St Anne’s was also added to the same policy.

4. People

The work of the Church was undertaken by a wide group of people including Clergy, Staff, Readers and very many members of the Church. The principle of ‘every member ministry’ remains strong in the life of the church. Volunteers continue to play a central role in the work of the Church and are at the heart of most activities.

Ros Hardy joined us as Assistant Youth Minister in February 2024. We were fortunate to have Geoff Harley-Mason step into the Youth Minister role to cover Amy Dowdy’s maternity leave during 2024 and are very grateful to Geoff.

Maddy Evans joined us as Organist and Choir Leader in January 2024 but left at the end of the year due to pressure of other work. We thank her for her contribution to the life of the church during 2024 and wish her well. We are delighted to have been able to appoint Charlotte Barber to take over the role in January 2025.

The Parish Magazine continues to be a great resource to the church especially amongst the wider congregation and as an outreach to the community. The magazine won a Certificate of Excellence from the Association of Church Editors in September 2024.

Our grateful thanks are due to everyone who gives of their time and energy to enable KPC to do all that it does, and to all who pray for the many things which go on.

5. Financial review

The PCC is pleased to report that General Fund reserves remain at a healthy level, ending the year at £100k (2023: £96k) compared to the revised policy level of £75k (2023: £70k).

The General Fund, which covers the normal running expenditures of the church, showed a deficit of £12k in the year, compared to a surplus of £31k in 2023. The £12k deficit for the year is after charging depreciation of £36k, but before transferring £20k to the Designated Property Repair Fund; so net current assets, or reserves, increased from £96k to £100k. This level of reserves is above the revised policy level of £75k and provides a level of flexibility in readiness for increased costs in 2025.

The Treasurer and the PCC as a whole warmly thank church members and others for their continued financial support, without which we would not be able to carry forward the ministry of Christ in Knowle.

Going concern

The trustees have considered the financial outlook for the charity in the context of the charity’s plans and general economic conditions. While income decreased and costs increased in 2024, reserves have been maintained at a healthy level. Although costs are expected to increase further in 2025, the response to an appeal for increased regular giving in early 2025 have been very encouraging and the PCC considers that reserves will continue to be maintained at or above the policy level of £75k for a further 12 months. Accordingly, the PCC has determined that the current conditions do not create a material uncertainty that casts significant doubt upon the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for at least twelve months following the date of signature of the balance sheet.

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Trustees’ Report (continued)

Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

5. Financial review (continued)

Income

Total income decreased by £20k to £885k. Decreases of £45k in donations and legacies were offset by increases in grants (£14k), income from activities (£5k) and bank interest (£6k). The decreases in donations mainly related to special projects in 2023 such as the church boiler.

Income to General Funds decreased by £13k to £697k. Donations by church members were £1k below 2023 levels. Grant income reduced by £15k, mainly because of lower grants from Pickering Fields Trust; its grant for children’s work reduces over a three-year period and its grant for curate costs anticipated a six-month vacancy in the curate position. Wedding fees reduced by a further £2k. Interest income rose by £5k as interest rates increased.

Income to Designated Funds decreased by £12k to £96k. Gifts and legacies to designated funds decreased by £12k. Grant income reduced by £7k; in 2023 there was a grant from the government’s Listed Places of Worship Scheme towards the VAT on the new church boiler which, thankfully, was not needed in 2024. Income to the affiliated groups rose by £7k, principally because of higher Stepping Stones charges following increases in government support for early years provision.

Income to Restricted Funds increased by 5k to £92k. Donations to the Reordering Fund of £52k (2023: £24k) comprised a grant from Pickering Fields Trust of £30k and gifts of £22k from individuals. Other Restricted donations totalling £6k (2023: £35k) comprised a £3k grant towards youth work and £3k towards general church maintenance; for comparison, in 2023 there were significant donations to the Boiler and Local; Support Funds, and a generous gift towards new chairs in the reordered church. Knowle United Charity (KUC) made a grant of £26k (2023: £22k) towards youth and children’s workers’ salaries. The PCC is very grateful for KUC’s ongoing support over many years. Interest income of £8k (2023: £6k) was allocated across major restricted funds.

Expenditure

Contributions to the Diocesan Common Fund of £193k (2023: £189k) were in line with the amount requested; of this, about £50k is used to support other parishes. The PCC also made contributions to the Church’s wider ministry by continuing the policy of giving 5% of voluntary General Fund income to outside organisations, which amounted to £42k (2023: £38k) and also made gifts and grants from designated and restricted funds totalling £1k (2023: £13k) making a total of £94k (2023: £101k) towards mission and ministry work beyond Knowle. In 2024, retiring collections and other mission payments not included in the main church accounts totalled £10k (2023: £10k).

Total expenditure in 2024 increased by £35k to £910k.

General Fund expenditure increased by £30k to £709k. Salaries increased by £48k as vacancies were filled and there was a pay increase to meet the increased costs of living. Energy costs at last reduced by £9k, insurance costs reduced by £6k because of a change in supplier and the Parish Office staff secured a one-off credit of £6k from BT related to prior years. Higher levels of outside giving (£4k) and Common Fund payments (£4k) were offset by a £5k reduction in operating costs, mainly because of a renegotiation of parish magazine printing costs.

Designated Fund expenditure decreased by £10k to £114k because of one-off costs which occurred in 2023 on the weekend away and designated youth activities. The cost of property and churchyard repairs that were met from the Designated Property Repair and Churchyard Funds were about the same (£24k) as in 2023. Energy costs of £3k (2023: £3k) were met from the designated grant from the Church Commissioners for this purpose.

Restricted Fund expenditure increased by £15k to £87k. Major expenditures in 2024 included early costs on the reordering project (£45k) and refreshing the sound system in St John’s Hall (£12k) compared to the church boiler replacement (£28k) and grants from the Local Support Fund (£12k) in 2023. In both years, payroll costs of about £24k were met from the restricted grant from Knowle United Charity.

Financial Risk and Uncertainty

The principal area of risk and uncertainty is the responsibility for the upkeep of an ancient listed building, which can give rise to large and sometimes unexpected expenditure. This risk is mitigated by the maintenance of a Designated Property Repair Fund.

6. Reserves policy

The PCC has reconfirmed its policy to maintain a balance on General Fund reserves (net current assets, which excludes fixed assets) of a least 10%, or 5 weeks, of annual payments from the Fund. Because of the general increase in the activity and cost levels in the church, this value has now been increased to £75,000 (2023: £70,000) and is as low as is prudent bearing in the mind the time taken to obtain tax refunds, and the amount of income that still comes as one-off donations. This does, however, mean that any money given to the Church will be put to good use immediately! The actual balances of net current assets in the General Fund at the year-end of £100,036 (2023: £96,377) are therefore in line with PCC policy.

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Trustees’ Report (continued)

Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

6. Reserves policy (continued)

The PCC also maintains a Designated Property Repair Fund to cover the costs of major repairs; the balance on this fund of £102,599 (2023: £93,856) is expected to be sufficient for any works necessary in 2025.

The Designated Legacies Fund, created to hold the balances of legacies received but not yet allocated to specific purposes by PCC, stands at £80,232 (2023: £74,732).

7. Fundraising practices

The church invites voluntary donations from the public which, together with the associated Gift Aid, comprise the majority of the church’s income. The PCC has reviewed its fundraising activity to ensure compliance with the latest Charity Commission guidance. The church does not use any commercial fundraiser or commercial participator. Although the church does not subscribe to particular fundraising standards or to any scheme for fundraising regulation, it follows guidelines for fundraising set by the Church of England. Fundraising activities are normally limited to invitations by the Clergy and/or Treasurer for church members to prayerfully review their giving to charitable activities including the church, supported by information leaflets and presentations which set out the financial position of the church, normally given on “Stewardship Sunday”. Particular care is taken to ensure the protection of vulnerable people and other members of the public from behaviour which is an unreasonable intrusion on a person’s privacy, is unreasonably persistent, or places undue pressure on a person to give money or other property. No complaints have been received by the church related to its fundraising activity.

8. Plans for future periods

Our aim and purpose will remain as stated in 1 above. The Trustees will continue to work to develop and implement our goals under our 2021 vision statement. We will run and develop our programme of worship services, groups, activities and special events, with changes to meet needs and initiatives as they arise. Our motivation remains that, as KPC, ‘We are here to help people become lifelong followers of Jesus Christ’ and to be ‘A house of God’s light for all peoples and generations’.

9. Structure, governance and management

The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England governed by the Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measure 1956 and the Church Representation Rules. It is a registered charity with the Charity Commission (no. 1127404).

The trustees of the charity are the PCC members. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At KPC, the membership of the PCC consists of the incumbent and other appointed clergy, members (including a Reader and churchwardens) elected by members of the congregation who are on the Electoral Roll of the church. Those who regularly attend services and participate in church activities are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll. Only those on the Electoral Roll are eligible for election to PCC.

Members of the PCC are one of (i) co-opted, (ii) directly elected by the APCM, or (iii) members of our church who have been elected to Diocesan Synod to represent our Deanery.

As at the year-end, following the APCM on 3rd May, there were:

4 elected members with Deanery Synod membership and

• 9 elected members without Deanery Synod membership.

Any member of the Church may offer themselves for election to PCC at the APCM provided they qualify under the Church Representation Rules. Appropriate nomination forms may be obtained from the PCC Secretary via the Parish Office. Nominees to PCC can obtain appropriate information from the PCC Secretary on both the role of the PCC and the role of members.

The policies and procedures for the induction and training of trustees are as follows:

Prior to the PCC elections, prospective PCC members receive an information leaflet setting out the role of the trustees and particularly drawing attention to conflicts of interest. After election, PCC members receive the Charity Commission’s “Essential Trustee” booklet, the Church of England booklet “Trusteeship – An Introduction for PCC Members” and an internally-produced document setting out the constraints on payments to PCC members or connected persons. Part of the PCC meeting which follows the PCC election is dedicated to trustee training.

The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent.

The PCC held 8 business meetings during the year. There are 9 permanent sub-committees: – Standing, Fabric, Finance, Health & Safety (who undertake risk reviews on behalf of the PCC), Environment and Climate Action, Global Mission, Human Resources (Paid Staff), and Stepping Stones Pre-school Management Re-ordering project delivery group

8

Trustees’ Report (continued)

Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

9. Structure, governance and management (continued)

The key management personnel of the charity is the Standing Committee, made up of the clergy, the churchwardens, the secretary, the treasurer and the operations manager. The Standing Committee may conduct urgent PCC business that arises from time to time between PCC meetings, in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. Of the key management personnel, only the operations manager (being an employee) receives remuneration from the charity.

All Sub-committees report to the PCC on a regular basis and provide recommendations to the PCC. All matters of policy and finance are determined by the PCC, and are not delegated to Sub-committees; however, detailed implementation of PCC decisions may be delegated to specific Sub-committees from time to time as determined by the PCC. Membership of the Subcommittees is approved by the PCC. Other groups exist on an ad hoc basis to deal with specific matters.

Safeguarding

The council has complied with its duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 to have due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. The PCC has appointed a Parish Safeguarding Co-ordinator. Safeguarding is a standing item on the agenda at every PCC business meeting. Regular safeguarding reviews are held and updating of course attendance throughout the year.

10. Reference and Administrative details

The registered name of the charity is The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Knowle, Solihull, registered charity no. 1127404. In this report, for ease of reading, the charity is also referred to as “the PCC”, “Knowle Parochial Church Council”, “the Council”, “Knowle Parish Church” and “KPC”.

Knowle Parish Church is situated beside High Street and Kenilworth Road, Knowle. It is part of the Diocese of Birmingham in the Church of England. The correspondence address is Knowle Parish Office, St Lawrence House, 1717 High Street, Knowle, Solihull, B93 0LN.

The following members served on the council for all or part of the year; those serving in more than one capacity may appear more than once:

Incumbent: Revd Geoffrey Lanham (Chairman) Associate Vicars: Revd Steve Johnson Curate: Revd Emily Spencer until September; Revd Amy Tan from August Churchwardens: Liz Welton (lay deputy chair) Rod Street Member of Diocesan Synod: Julian Phillips (Reader) until August Elected Representatives to Deanery Synod: Susie Carter Julian Phillips until August Carol Kay David Pickering

Elected members to PCC:

Lynn Brown (Secretary) until April Kate Boyall (Secretary) from April Sarah Chapman until April Hugh Rollinson from April Victor Hu until April Hannah Bull from April Chris Beard until April Steve Mort (Treasurer) Claire Carter Nick Houghton James Thorne

Roxanne Chung Kelly Purdy

Helen Allen and Sarah Covington attended PCC meetings in a non-voting capacity. Amy Dowdy did not attend because she was on maternity leave.

Bank: HSBC Bank plc, 34 Poplar Road, Solihull, B91 3AF

Independent Examiners: Thomas & Young 266 - 268 Stratford Road, Solihull, B90 3AD

9

Trustees’ Report (continued)

Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

11. Statement of trustees' responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Report approved by the PCC and signed on its behalf by

Revd Geoffrey Lanham (incumbent)

26[th] March 2025

10

Statement of financial activities (incorporating the income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 December 2024

for the year ended 31 December 2024
Funds Note	Unrestricted Restricted Total General Designated 2024 2024 2024 2024 £ £ £ £	Unrestricted Restricted Total General Designated 2023 2023 2023 2023 £ £ £ £
Income from: Donations and legacies 1.a Charitable activities 1.b Other trading activities 1.c Investments and deposits 1.d	602,494 6,010 83,705 692,209 65,569 89,907 - 155,476 17,190 522 - 17,712 11,381 - 8,339 19,720	618,006 24,858 80,280 723,144 66,656 82,822 774 150,252 18,054 410 - 18,464 6,697 - 6,275 12,972
Total income	696,634 96,439 92,044 885,117	709,413 108,090 87,329 904,832
Expenditure on: Raising funds 2a Charitable activities 2b 2c	3,775 420 - 4,195 705,333 113,394 86,821 905,548	1,365 43 - 1,408 677,494 123,720 71,958 873,172
Total expenditure	709,108 113,814 86,821 909,743	678,859 123,763 71,958 874,580
Net income/(expenditure)	(12,474) (17,375) 5,223 (24,626)	30,554 (15,673) 15,371 30,252
Transfer General Funds to Designated Funds 6 Transfer Restricted Funds to General Fund 6	(20,000) 20,000 - - - - - -	(35,920) 35,920 - - - - - -
Net movement in funds Reconciliation of Funds: Funds brought forward	(32,474) 2,625 5,223 (24,626) 1,357,059 210,169 147,104 1,714,332	(5,366) 20,247 15,371 30,252 1,362,425 189,922 131,733 1,684,080
Funds carried forward	1,324,585 212,794 152,327 1,689,706	1,357,059 210,169 147,104 1,714,332

11

Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts Balance sheet at 31 December 2024

Balance sheet at 31 December 2024	Balance sheet at 31 December 2024
Funds Note		Unrestricted Restricted Total General Designated 2024 2024 2024 2024 £ £ £ £	Unrestricted Restricted Total General Designated 2023 2023 2023 2023 £ £ £ £
Fixed Assets Tangible fixed assets 4.1 Investment assets 4.2		1,224,549 - - 1,224,549 - - 1,873 1,873	1,260,682 - - 1,260,682 - - 1,782 1,782
Sub Total - Fixed Assets		1,224,549 - 1,873 1,226,422	1,260,682 - 1,782 1,262,464
Current assets Debtors - HMRC gift aid tax recoverable - Legacy - outstanding settlement - Prepayments of insurance and other minor items Cash and cash equivalents - Bank accounts - Deposit accounts - Cash		10,167 - 153 10,320 - - - 1,388 72 - 1,460 63,718 40,813 15,825 120,356 41,709 174,707 144,029 360,445 60 210 - 270	9,409 - 97 9,506 425 - 425 2,271 111 - 2,382 63,051 50,964 6,410 120,425 39,062 160,706 143,000 342,768 60 330 - 390
Sub Total - Current Assets		117,042 215,802 160,007 492,851	113,853 212,536 149,507 475,896
Liabilities: Falling due within one year Creditors and accruals in respect of parochial activity Charity collections and weekend away deposits not paid over Deferred Income (rentals and mag adverts paid in advance)		- 12,724 2,933 5,080 20,737 - 75 4,473 4,548 4,282 - - 4,282	- 13,548 2,367 2,500 18,415 - - 1,685 1,685 3,928 - - 3,928
Sub Total - Liabilities		17,006 3,008 9,553 29,567	17,476 2,367 4,185 24,028
Sub Total - Net Current Assets		100,036 212,794 150,454 463,284	96,377 210,169 145,322 451,868
Total Net Assets		1,324,585 212,794 152,327 1,689,706	1,357,059 210,169 147,104 1,714,332
Funds Unrestricted (General Fund) Designated 6 Restricted 6		1,324,585 - - 1,324,585 - 212,794 - 212,794 - - 152,327 152,327 -	1,357,059 - - 1,357,059 - 210,169 - 210,169 - - 147,104 147,104 -
	Total	1,324,585 212,794 152,327 1,689,706	1,357,059 210,169 147,104 1,714,332

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 26[th] March 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

Revd Geoff Lanham: Chair

Liz Welton: Vice Chair

12

Statement of Cash Flows

for the year ended 31 December 2024

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 December 2024
Funds Note	Unrestricted Restricted Total General Designated 2024 2024 2024 2024 £ £ £ £	Unrestricted Restricted Total General Designated 2023 2023 2023 2023 £ £ £ £
Cash flows from operating activities: Net movement in funds per SOFA Adjustments for: Depreciation charges (Increase)/decrease in debtors Increase/(decrease) in creditors	(32,474) 2,625 5,223 (24,626) 36,133 - - 36,133 125 464 (56) 533 (470) 641 5,368 5,539	(5,366) 20,247 15,371 30,252 38,141 - - 38,141 (2,902) 873 2,406 377 (13,882) (12,835) 1,857 (24,860)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	3,314 3,730 10,535 17,579	15,991 8,285 19,634 43,910
Cash flows from investing activities: Purchases of fixed assets Change in value of investments	- - - - - - (91) (91)	(25,623) - - (25,623) - - (200) (200)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	- - (91) (91)	(25,623) - (200) (25,823)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period	3,314 3,730 10,444 17,488	(9,632) 8,285 19,434 18,087
Changes in cash and cash equivalents: Opening balances: Current account Deposit account Cash Total opening balances Closing balances Current account Deposit account Cash Total closing balances	63,051 50,964 6,410 120,425 39,062 160,706 143,000 342,768 60 330 - 390	87,015 160,679 84,976 332,670 24,514 42,706 45,000 112,220 276 330 - 606
	102,173 212,000 149,410 463,583	111,805 203,715 129,976 445,496
	63,718 40,813 15,825 120,356 41,709 174,707 144,029 360,445 60 210 - 270	63,051 50,964 6,410 120,425 39,062 160,706 143,000 342,768 60 330 - 390
	105,487 215,730 159,854 481,071	102,173 212,000 149,410 463,583
Increase/(decrease) in net cash holdings	3,314 3,730 10,444 17,488	(9,632) 8,285 19,434 18,087

13

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

1. Income analysis

1 Income analysis

Funds	Unrestricted Restricted Total General Designated 2024 2024 2024 2024 £ £ £ £	Unrestricted Restricted Total General Designated 2023 2023 2023 2023 £ £ £ £
1a Donations and legacies: Envelope scheme Regular Standing orders One-off donations Other Stewardship & CAF Gift Aid Tax recoverable (GAT) Cash collections Other income Grants/donations for church reordering project Grants/donations towards church running costs Donations, appeals, etc. Legacies	3,498 - - 3,498 414,760 - - 414,760 26,195 - - 26,195 24,399 - - 24,399 98,906 - 4,761 103,667 12,646 - - 12,646 6 - - 6 47,500 47,500 20,700 - 31,027 51,727 1,384 510 417 2,311 - 5,500 - 5,500	2,868 - - 2,868 417,049 - - 417,049 21,283 10,380 - 31,663 26,475 - - 26,475 99,974 3,381 8,642 111,997 12,649 - 703 13,352 358 - - 358 - - - - 35,400 6,831 25,968 68,199 1,950 3,766 34,967 40,683 - 500 10,000 10,500
Total	602,494 6,010 83,705 692,209	618,006 24,858 80,280 723,144
1b Income from Church Activities: Parish magazine Bookstall Ministry group contributions Church and hall lettings Wedding and Funeral Fees Other Group Activities	21,125 - - 21,125 72 - - 72 18,559 - - 18,559 8,900 - - 8,900 12,127 - - 12,127 4,786 89,907 - 94,693	20,112 - - 20,112 - - - - 19,511 - - 19,511 8,900 - - 8,900 13,872 - - 13,872 4,261 82,822 774 87,857
Total	65,569 89,907 - 155,476	66,656 82,822 774 150,252
1c Other trading activities (incl. rentals) 1d Investment dividends/revaluation and interes	17,190 522 - 17,712 t 11,381 - 8,339 19,720	18,054 410 - 18,464 6,697 - 6,275 12,972
Total income	696,634 96,439 92,044 885,117	709,413 108,090 87,329 904,832

14

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

2. Expenditure analysis

penditure analysis
Funds	Unrestricted Restricted Total General Designated 2024 2024 2024 2024 £ £ £ £	Unrestricted Restricted Total General Designated 2023 2023 2023 2023 £ £ £ £
2a Raising funds Costs attributable (mainly to rents received)	3,775 420 - 4,195	1,365 43 - 1,408
Sub-total	3,775 420 - 4,195	1,365 43 - 1,408
2b Charitable activities: Mission Outside giving to charities (see note 7) 2c Charitable activities: Ministry: Diocesan Common Fund Clergy expenses Clergy and youth worker housing costs Ministry groups Ministry services incl. books and sundries Pastoral care expenses Other Group Activities Children’s ministry Youth ministry Church running expenses Parish magazine costs Bookstall expenditure Churchyard upkeep St John’s Hall expenses Guild House expenses Music & Choir expenses Parish Office and Admin costs Insurance Church reordering project Other Expenses Governance/audit/accounts costs	42,193 654 660 43,507 193,368 - - 193,368 5,070 - - 5,070 37,312 - - 37,312 5,093 - - 5,093 7,171 - - 7,171 128 - - 128 - 6,930 - 6,930 82,602 77,224 13,125 172,951 44,634 (465) 10,900 55,069 28,747 3,060 4,732 36,539 19,852 - - 19,852 - - - - 11,183 6,464 - 17,647 58,616 17,218 12,044 87,878 12,068 - - 12,068 43,868 427 - 44,295 100,621 - - 100,621 7,533 - - 7,533 - - 45,330 45,330 1,674 1,882 30 3,586 3,600 - - 3,600	38,436 883 11,700 51,019 188,628 - - 188,628 8,117 - - 8,117 38,437 - - 38,437 6,264 - - 6,264 10,754 - - 10,754 - - - - 44 11,599 1,083 12,726 73,478 77,087 12,312 162,877 27,472 3,580 14,850 45,902 29,104 12,788 29,932 71,824 23,749 - - 23,749 - - - - 9,076 - - 9,076 68,268 14,120 - 82,388 10,874 - - 10,874 32,566 609 - 33,175 94,751 - - 94,751 13,487 - - 13,487 - - - - 809 3,054 2,081 5,944 3,180 - - 3,180
Sub-total	705,333 113,394 86,821 905,548	677,494 123,720 71,958 873,172
Total expenditure	709,108 113,814 86,821 909,743	678,859 123,763 71,958 874,580

15

Notes to the Financial Statements

for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

3. Accounting Policies

3.1 Basis of Preparation

The accounts include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their main affiliation to another body nor those that are informal gatherings of Church members. The accounts include a number of church organisations that operate their own finances, as required by the Charities Act 2011; these organisations are listed at Note 6.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 governing the individual accounts of PCCs, and with the Regulations' 'true and fair view' provisions, together with FRS 102 (2019) as the applicable accounting standards and the 2019 version of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice - Charities SORP (FRS 102).

Knowle PCC meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

The financial statements are prepared in GBP, which is the functional currency of the charity, and are rounded to the nearest £1.

Going concern - the trustees have considered the financial outlook for the charity in the context of the charity’s plans and general economic conditions. While income decreased and costs increased in 2024, reserves have been maintained at a healthy level. Although costs are expected to increase further in 2025, the response to an appeal for increased regular giving in early 2025 have been very encouraging and the PCC considers that reserves will continue to be maintained at or above the policy level of £75k for a further 12 months. Accordingly, the PCC has determined that the current conditions do not create a material uncertainty that casts significant doubt upon the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for at least twelve months following the date of signature of the balance sheet.

3.2 Funds

Unrestricted funds represent the funds of the PCC that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use. The PCC at its discretion has elected to designate certain unrestricted funds for a particular purpose. The practical operation of the funds is as follows:

The Parish General Fund

The PCC is responsible for all church funds, but this is the fund where income is received for the PCC to decide how it is best deployed to achieve the church’s Christian charitable objectives. The General Fund balance is effectively unspent income and is retained as a cushion against uncertainties.

Designated Funds

Designated funds for Property and Churchyard repairs and renovation are maintained by the PCC to separately manage the high and irregular costs involved. Gifts for fabric repairs or renovation are taken to the designated Property Fund if they can be related to costs incurred during the year. If a gift is for a specific fabric related purpose which is not carried out in the current year, then they are allocated to the Restricted Property Repair Fund. A Designated Legacy Fund has been established to hold the balance of unrestricted legacies received until the PCC allocates them to a specific purpose. Designated funds also include the funds of the church organisations that operate their own finances; most of the income of these funds is payment for the provision of charitable activities. The designated funds are listed at Note 6.

Restricted Funds

Restricted Funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for specific purposes. The restricted funds are listed at Note 6.

3.3 Income

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

Voluntary income and planned giving are recognised when received by or on behalf of the PCC. Income tax recoverable on gift aid donations is recognised when the donations are received.

Most non-donation income is treated as income from charitable activities as the income derives from the provision of charitable (or Christian) services to local parishioners in pursuit of the Christian objectives of the church.

The amount of purely fundraising activity is small and normally consists of rental income from church facilities and residential property when these are not needed for church purposes.

Sales of books and other material from the bookstall and sales of the Parish Magazine are accounted for gross.

16

Notes to the Financial Statements

for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

3. Accounting Policies (continued)

3.3 Income (continued)

Rental income is recognised according to the period to which it relates and is shown gross, even though some of the rental income comes from other PCC funds such as the Stepping Stones pre-school.

Dividends and interest from investments are accounted for when receivable except that interest on deposits with the Central Board of Finance for the Church of England are accrued.

Grants, legacies and donations to the PCC are accounted for as soon as the PCC is notified of its legal entitlement and the amount can be reliably estimated.

Government grants are recognised at the fair value of the asset received or receivable when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received.

A grant that specifies performance conditions is recognised in income when the performance conditions are met. Where a grant does not specify performance conditions it is recognised in income when the proceeds are received or receivable. A grant received before the recognition criteria are satisfied is recognised as a liability.

Realised gains or losses are recognised when investments are sold.

Unrealised gains or losses are accounted for on revaluation of investments at 31 December.

3.4 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the amount will be paid and the amount can be measured reliably. The charity is not registered for VAT purposes and expenditure is shown inclusive of VAT. Grants and donations by the PCC are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding obligation on the PCC. The Diocesan Common Fund is accounted for when paid.

Expenditure on Raising Funds is the directly attributable cost of renting out church facilities and residential property when these are not required for church purposes, plus an allocation of costs associated with administration. In practice for church facilities, this involves estimating the variable costs per session of operating the facilities and expressing this as a percentage of the average rental charge. For residential property that is normally held for clergy or staff housing, only those outgoings specifically related to the rental activity are identified as fundraising costs.

3.5 Fixed Assets

Consecrated and beneficed property

Consecrated and beneficed property is excluded from the accounts by Charities Act 2011 s.10 (2)(a). No value is placed on movable church furnishings held by the churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal since the PCC considers this to be inalienable property.

Land and Buildings

Land and buildings are stated at cost (or deemed cost) less accumulated depreciation. Straight line depreciation lives are applied to components as follows:

• Building and roof structures 100 years

• Roof surfaces 70 to 80 years

• Windows, doors plumbing and cabling 40 to 50 years

• Internal facilities and integral equipment 15 years

• Land is not depreciated

• Grade II Listed buildings 900 years

Fittings, Furnishings and Equipment

Furnishings and equipment acquired after 1.1.2024 are capitalized where the cost is above £5,000. Prior to 1.1.2024, acquisitions over £1,500 were capitalized and these items will continue to be depreciated over their useful lives. Lower value items, of immaterial value in total, may also be capitalized where the related records provide a control over the use and deployment of the assets (e.g., laptops). Straight-line depreciation is applied, with lives determined specifically to each type of asset, up to 10 years with computer equipment and related software at 5 years.

3.6 Investments

Investments are valued at market value at 31 December. Realised and unrealised gains or losses on investments are dealt with in the Statement of Financial Activities.

17

Notes to the Financial Statements

for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

3. Accounting Policies (continued)

3.7 Financial instruments

The charity only 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. Amounts owing to the PCC as at 31 December in respect of fees, rents or other income are shown as other debtors, net of any provision for amounts that may prove uncollectible. Short-term deposits include cash held on deposit either with the CBF Church of England Funds or at the bank or small balances of petty cash.

Creditors and accruals in respect of parochial activity comprise Trade Creditors of £5,902 (2023 - £5,519) and Accruals of £14,835 (2023 - £12,896).

3.8 Pension Schemes

The church provides defined contribution pension arrangements for auto-enrolment of staff via the Diocesan Scheme set up in compliance with current pension legislation. The assets of the schemes are held separately from those of the charity. The contributions payable are charged to the statement of financial activities.

4. Fixed Assets and Investments for use by the PCC

4.1 Fixed Assets

The majority of the fixed assets by value comprise the five freehold properties beneficially owned by the PCC as follows:

• Residential properties – St Anne’s Cottage and 46 Crabmill Close

• Offices and meeting places – St John’s Hall, St Lawrence House and the Guild House

Title to all the land on which the buildings are situated is held by Birmingham Diocesan Trustees Registered as custodian trustees, on behalf of the PCC because the PCC is not permitted by law to be the registered owner of land.

On the implementation of FRS102 the residential properties were valued at open market prices as at 31[st] December 2014 and the offices/meeting places at depreciated current replacement cost at the same date. The valuation of the Guild House included an impairment appraisal that wrote down to zero the structure of this medieval building that is very expensive to maintain and where the NPV of the related excess costs over a modern equivalent is equal to or greater than the undepreciated replacement cost of a modern equivalent.

	Land and buildings	Fttings, Furnishings and equipment	Projects in progress	Total
Cost or deemed cost At beginning of the year Additions Disposals Revaluations Transfers At end of the year Depreciation and impairments At beginning of the year Disposals Depreciation Impairment Transfers At end of the year	£ 1,414,281 - - -	£ 143,835 - - -	£ - - - - -	£ 1,558,116 - - -
	1,414,281	143,835	-	1,558,116
	(184,505) - (22,366) - -	(112,929) - (13,767) - -	- - - - -	(297,434) - (36,133) - -
	(206,871)	(126,696)	-	(333,567)
Net book value at beginning of year	1,229,776	30,906	-	1,260,682
~~Net book value at end of year~~	~~1,207,410~~	~~17,139~~	~~-~~	~~1,224,549~~

18

Notes to the Financial Statements

for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

4. Fixed Assets and Investments for use by the PCC (continued)

4.1 Fixed Assets (continued)

Land and Buildings

Included within Land and buildings is £300,000 (2023: £300,000) of freehold land which is not depreciated. There were no additions in the year.

Fittings, Furnishings and Equipment

There were no additions in the year.

4.2 Investments

Investments of £1,873 represent shares in the CBF's Investment Fund at market value as at 31 December 2024 (2023: £1,782). The historic cost of these shares was £1,000 (2023: £950).

5. Staff Costs and Numbers Employed

	2024	Average	2023	Average
		Numbers		Numbers
	£	Employed	£	Employed
Youth & children’s leadership	126,173	7	106,964	5
Parish Office staff	132,019	7	108,419	6
Stepping Stones	62,523	6	61,344	7
National insurance	16,868		13,056
Pension	6,596		4,844
Total	344,179	20	294,627	18

(Note: Facilties & Systems Manager and Music Ministers are included in Parish Office staff)

Parish workers and clergy received £3,561 (2023: £6,781) by way of reimbursement of expenses whilst on PCC business. In addition, clergy housing costs amounted to £31,633 (2023: £31,799). Of the clergy accommodation costs, £22,740 (2023: £22,740) was paid to Pickering Fields Trust for the rental of a property on Newton Road which normally houses the Associate Vicar.

The average head count during the year was 20 (2023: 18). No employees received employee benefits of more than £60,000.

The key management personnel of the charity is the Standing Committee, made up of the clergy, churchwardens, the secretary, the treasurer and the operations manager. Of the key management personnel, only the operations manager (being an employee) receives remuneration from the charity and their employee benefits in 2024 totalled £32,495 (2023: £30,739) including employers pension contributions of £765 (2023: £714) but not including employers National Insurance contributions of £3,123 (2023: £2,888).

One trustee, Sarah Chapman, is employed as a part-time Children and Families Minister. Her employee benefits in 2024 totalled £15,675 (2023: £14,586) including employers pension contributions of £275 (2023: £243) but not including employers National Insurance contributions of £870 (2023: £725).

Clergy are not employees of the charity.

19

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

6. Fund Details

Restricted Funds

The restricted funds arise where donations have been made for a specific purpose and funds are retained awaiting disbursement. In 2024, approximately £8,000 of deposit account interest has been generated on the restricted fund balances and this is included in the “incoming” column for major funds in the table below.

n the “incoming” column for major funds in the	table below.
Restricted Funds (Donor-specified funds awaiting disbursement)	Balance Movement in resources Balance 01-Jan Incoming Gains and Outgoing 31-Dec 2024 losses 2024 £ £ £ £ £
R.A.C.K. Roof Fund Restricted Legacies and Donations Fund Property Repair/Renovation Fund Reordering Fund Pontifex Clock Fund Organ Fund Soldiers' Chapel Choir Fund Grants to employ Children and Youth Workers Restricted Gifts and Grants for Youth Activities	1,782 50 41 - 1,873 65,054 4,593 - (12,704) 56,943 8,819 3,420 - (3,904) 8,335 30,969 55,091 - (45,330) 40,730 1,554 74 - (828) 800 1,076 200 - - 1,276 7,536 - - - 7,536 935 - - - 935 21,524 28,575 - (24,025) 26,074 7,855 - - (30) 7,825
Totals	147,104 92,003 41 (86,821) 152,327

The RACK Roof Fund consists of donations received many (30+) years ago towards major roof repairs which are being held for the future. The income and gains/losses arise from investments related to the fund.

The Restricted Legacies and Donations Fund consists of various gifts and legacies where the donor has specified a specific use. The balance on the fund now comprises:

on the fund now comprises:
	~~£~~
Remainder of a 2018 grant from a legacy trust, given with a bias towards youth work	23,078
Balance of a 2021 gift not to be used to meet regular expenditure, but to be held at the discretion of the PCC for identifiable projects	12,682
A gift towards new chairs for the church	11,533
Gifts to the Local Support Fund for help with the Cost-of-Living Crisis	7,288
Gifts to the 2023 Weekend Away Hospitality Fund carried forward to next time	2,341
Others	21

The Local Support Fund, included within the Restricted Legacies and Donations Fund above, started the year with a balance of £7,273. Further income of £675 was received in 2024 and 5 grants totalling £660 were made to individuals. There is therefore a balance available of £7,288 for further grants to be made when appropriate.

The Property Repair and Renovation Fund consists of restricted donations received towards major property repairs. From 1.1.2024, donations and expenditures related to the Church Reordering Project have been separated out from this fund into the Reordering Fund.

The Reordering Fund was separately established on 1.1.24 by reallocating opening balances from within the Property Repair and Renovation Fund (£24,330) and the Restricted Donations Fund (£6,639). During the year, Pickerings Field Trust kindly made a grant of £30,000; gifts from individuals, with the associated Gift Aid, totalled £21,875; and interest of £3,216 was earned on deposit balances. Expenditure of £45,330 comprised architect’s fees and the cost of associated surveys and reports.

The Pontifex Clock Fund consists of accumulated donations from the Knowle Church Clock Trust (a separate charity), also known as the Pontifex Clock Trust, towards repair and maintenance of the Knowle Parish Church clock and weathervane and for their eventual replacement.

The Organ Fund consists of restricted donations received towards major renovation and repairs to the organ which are being held for the future.

The Choir Fund consists of restricted donations received for the Choir, and also monies received from weddings in excess of the amounts distributed to choir members, and is available for choir activities.

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

6. Fund Details (continued)

Restricted Funds (continued)

The Soldiers Chapel Fund arose from a major project in c.2010 to restore the decorated plasterwork in the Soldiers Chapel, situated at the north-east corner of the nave in the church. Generous donations were gratefully received towards this project from a number of sources including the Royal British Legion. The fund now consists of the excess of donations received over the cost of the project and is being held over to fund any further restoration work that may be required in the future.

Grants to employ Children and Youth workers include a grant of £26k (2023: £22k)by Knowle United Charity towards payment of salaries which has been retained in the fund towards salaries in 2024.

The Restricted Gifts and Grants for Youth Activities Fund, formerly called the Youth Charity Fund, has been used to account for the dedicated gifts and fundraising income, and the costs incurred, for the mission trips which occurred in previous years; the remaining balance from these trips of £7,825 is being held over towards future trips, by agreement with the donors. Until 31.12.24, this fund was held in a separate bank account but to avoid increased bank charges for charity accounts, this account has been closed and the balance transferred to the main church bank account, incurring a one-off charge of £30.

Designated Funds

Designated Funds (PCC - Specified Funds)	Balance Movement in resources Balance 01-Jan Incoming Transfers Outgoing 31-Dec 2024 2024 £ £ £ £ £
Organisations which operate their own finances* Stepping Stones Others Funds maintained within church finances: Property Repair Fund Churchyard Fund Grant for use against future energy costs Designated Legacies Fund	5,321 81,582 (77,644) 9,259 18,344 9,357 (5,961) (9,428) 12,312 - - 93,856 - 25,961 (17,218) 102,599 11,796 - - (6,464) 5,332 6,120 - - (3,060) 3,060 74,732 5,500 - - 80,232
Totals	210,169 96,439 20,000 (113,814) 212,794

*There are a number of church organisations that operate their own finances. The Charities Act 2011 requires their figures to be included and they include Stepping Stones, Rainbow Tots, Bell Ringers, Friendship Club, Youth, Wedding & Funeral Fees, and the Flower Guild. During 2024, the bank account held by Rainbow Tots was closed and the balance transferred to the main church bank account, reflecting the fact that Rainbow Tots now operates as an integral part of the KPC Children’s ministry and not as a separate organisation. The balance of £5,961 was transferred to the Property Repair Fund by request of the Rainbow Tots leaders so that it could be used towards the replacement of the hall floor in due course.

The Property Repair Fund has been designated by the PCC for major work to the church’s properties. In 2024, the costs of completing the external redecoration of St John’s Hall (£5,800) and rebuilding a boundary wall that had been undermined by tree roots (£11,418) were met from this fund. In view of further work that is planned for the coming years and the need to maintain the fund at a level which can sustain unexpected costs, the PCC transferred £20k (2023: £36K) from General Fund into this fund in 2024.

The Churchyard Fund has been designated by the PCC for any non-routine work that may be required in the churchyard. In 2024, expenditure of £6.464 has been made in relation to tree surveys and the removal of dangerous trees, in particular the cedar of the front of the church.

In 2022, a grant of £9,180 was received from the Archbishops’ Council, via Birmingham Diocese, towards exceptional energy costs. The grant is to be offset against energy costs over the three-year period 2023-2025 and therefore £3,060 has been applied to energy costs in 2024 (2023: £3,060).

The Designated Legacies Fund was created in 2021 to hold the balances of legacies received but not yet allocated to specific purposes by PCC. During 2024, legacy income of £5,500 has been added to this fund.

Unrestricted Funds

Included with unrestricted funds is £386,923 of non-distributable reserves which arose on the revaluation of land and buildings on the implementation of FRS102.

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

7. Outside Giving & Retiring Collections

This year the church supported other charities, mission work and individuals to a total of £44k, a reduction of £7k in 2023 when there were significant cost-of-living grants made from the Local Support Fund. Within the grants, £2k is a share of the gross receipts of the “Cobbles” Saturday morning informal café, where the Cobbles leadership nominate a different charity every few months. In addition, £10k was given directly to other charities and mission work through the organisation of retiring collections and fundraising events for specific charities. This latter “pass-through” income was excluded from the accounts but included here to provide a more complete picture of the fundraising activity of the church. Details of these payments are shown below.

Charity	KPC Pass Total Funds through 2024 £ £ £	KPC Pass Total Funds through 2023 £ £ £
Tearfund St Andrews Chelmsley Wood St Christophers Missioner St Johns Sparkhill Kenya Mission Initiatives International Needs Birmingham City Mission Christian Aid Narthex Food Bank Malawi Task Group, CofE Birmingham Springfield Project Social Life Opportunities (via Cobbles) Urban Saints Scripture Union Shine Christians Against Poverty Blood Bikes (via Friendship Club) Royal British Legion Local Support Fund - Cost of Living grants to individual Birmingham and Solihull Women's aid Satori House (via Bell Ringers) Redditch Puppets Grace Enterprises - curry night Reachout Network Ministries St Andrews Chelmsley Wood for Cost of Living grants St Christophers Springfield for Cost of Living grants St Johns Sparkhill for Cost of Living grants Dreammakers Catalyst International Vision Solihull Welcome St Basils Other	6,000 3,081 9,081 3,700 3,700 3,700 3,700 3,700 3,700 2,600 1,060 3,660 1,600 1,824 3,424 3,000 3,000 1,800 1,172 2,972 2,400 118 2,518 2,400 2,400 2,400 2,400 2,046 2,046 1,900 1,900 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,500 1,500 500 980 1,480 824 824 s 660 660 550 550 154 154 50 50 197 197 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0	6,000 1,718 7,718 3,300 3,300 3,300 3,300 3,300 3,300 2,000 458 2,458 1,000 1,000 0 1,200 635 1,835 2,000 1,102 3,102 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 0 1,500 1,500 1,200 1,200 1,000 1,000 1,100 1,100 0 25 584 609 4,200 4,200 1,602 1,602 0 0 75 75 3,000 3,000 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 1,730 1,730 1,500 1,500 1,440 1,440 1,178 48 1,226 911 2,032 2,943 0
Total Less collections made specifically for other charities Total giving by KPC (per accounts note 2)	43,507 9,609 53,116 (9,609) (9,609) 43,507 0 43,507	51,019 9,618 60,637 (9,618) (9,618) 51,019 0 51,019

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 Knowle PCC 2024 Report and Accounts

8. Contingent Liabilities

No contingent liabilities have been identified.

9. Related Parties

At each meeting of the PCC the council members are required to declare any conflicts of interest that may arise or have arisen and where there is such a conflict then that member will not vote on any proposal involving the related party. There are three related parties of significance in 2024:

• Pickering Fields Trust (PFT) which, with the Church, shares the vicar and two churchwardens as trustees. However, as Knowle PCC has approximately 20 members, there is not common control, as defined in the legislation.

• Knowle Church Clock Trust (also known as Pontifex Clock Trust - Registered Charity Number 514954) which, with the Church, shares the vicar and two churchwardens as trustees. However, as Knowle PCC has approximately 20 members, there is not common control, as defined in the legislation.

• Knowle United Charity which, with the Church, shares a member of clergy as a trustee.

Pickering Fields Trust has the official name ‘Charities for Ecclesiastical and Other Purposes’ - charity number 238492. Apart from a small amount of investment income, it derives all its income from the rental of its house to Knowle Parish Church for clergy use (see note 5) which amounted to £22,740 in 2024 (2023: £22,740). It, in turn, at the discretion of its 3 trustees and within its objectives, generally pays all its donations to the church, in support of renovation and fabric repair projects and the charitable work of the church. In 2024, the Trust made grants of £30,000 (2023: £0) towards the church reordering project, £7,500 (2023: £15,000) towards the cost of the curate and £13,200 (2023: £20,400) towards the cost of the expanded children’s ministry team. Group accounts have not been prepared since neither the trustees of Knowle Parish Church nor the electorate of Knowle Parish Church have powers (i) to direct the decisions of the PFT trustees or (ii) to appoint or dismiss the PFT trustees .

Knowle Church Clock Trust’s principal activity and achievement is the donation of the whole of the annual income from its investment funds to Knowle Parochial Church Council, which has the legal obligation of the upkeep of the church clock and weathervane. In 2024, the Trust made a donation to Knowle Parish Church of £74 (2023: £72).

Knowle United Charity makes grants to Knowle Parish Church towards children’s and youth work.

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Independent Examiner’s Report

To the Trustees of The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Knowle, Solihull

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31[st] December 2024 which are set out on pages 11 to 23.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 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 examiner's statement

Since the charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I 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:

• accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by Section 130 Of the Act; or

• the accounts do not accord with those records ; or

• 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.

Signed:

Mark McLean FCA

Thomas & Young Limited, Chartered Accountants

Carleton House, 266-268 Stratford Rd, Shirley, B90 3AD

Date: 16[th] April 2025

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