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2025-12-31-accounts

Caring. Open. Engaged.

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St John the Evangelist with St Stephen, Reading

May 2026 Registered charity number 1127821

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

Contents

Contents
Our purpose 3
Our mission priorities 3
Things to Celebrate 4
Priorities and Challenges 6
Supporting the Church Mission 7
Worship and Prayer 7
Pastoral Care 8
Electoral Roll 8
Church Buildings 9
Parish Centre 9
Church House 9
Health and Safety 10
Safeguarding 11
Finance and Governance 12
Structure, Governance and Management 12
Deanery Synod Report 13
Administrative Information 14
Financial Review 1
Accounts Summary 2
Independent Examiner’s Report 6
Receipt Payments and Account Statements 7
Financial Statement 8
Assets and Liabilities Statement 9
Underlying Trends 10

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Welcome to St John and St Stephen’s

This annual report from the Trustees shares our progress this year on our mission priorities and our responsibilities. If you have any questions about any of the content, or suggestions for how to improve it, please don’t hesitate to let us know – in person or by email at office@stjohnandststephen.org.uk.

Our purpose

St John and St Stephen’s Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a group of Trustees who work with the incumbent, the Reverend Claire Alcock, to promote the whole mission of the Church - pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical - in the ecclesiastical parish.

The PCC is also responsible for the maintenance of St John and St Stephen’s Church building in Orts Road, Reading, and the maintenance and letting of Church House, Orts Road, Reading. Further information about the PCC is in the Finance and Governance section.

Our mission priorities

We, the Trustees, confirm that we have considered the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives, and in planning future activities. We have identified five mission priorities:

Community: We are committed to furthering the vision of St John and St Stephen’s Church as we seek to serve our community in East Reading, offering a particular welcome to those who feel wounded by life. Our aim is to be a neighbourhood church, with a diverse fellowship and to develop links and relationships with new residents in the north end of our parish.

School: The Church is physically attached to St John’s C of E Primary School and we enjoy a close relationship with them via assemblies and shared use of our worship space. School parents and carers regularly hang out in our weekday cafe, forging friendships and sharing day to day issues. We aim to continue to strengthen our bond with the school and to support the governance and leadership.

Families: We are seeking ways to develop our weekly Sunday youth and children’s work amid changing social patterns. We aim to strengthen engagement with, and nurture of, the children and young people connected to us, and their families. We are especially interested in their faith formation and how best to support it.

Pastoral care and spiritual growth: Our Sunday worship is centred on the Holy Communion service, with good preaching, varied music, children’s groups, and refreshments afterwards. We encourage people to share prayer needs, and a group meets for morning prayer twice weekly. There are termly prayer mornings. Our small groups provide an opportunity to explore faith and life issues further. We aim to work towards a culture of nurture courses that can be available to those who are exploring faith at any level.

Eco Church: We are an Eco Church, committed to tackling current issues of climate injustice. Our aim is to continue to pioneer and highlight green issues in our own congregational life, in our local area, and with our MPs nationally and globally. We seek to integrate prayer and social action and many of us are involved in local social projects as an active outworking of our faith in Jesus Christ, as we seek to make a difference in the

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world. We are exploring with our Diocese what it means to be a more Christ-like Church for the sake of the world, incorporating the three values of contemplation, compassion and courage.

Things to Celebrate 25-26

Welcoming Liz Casson-Smith as our new Parish Administrator/Centre Manager

Fruitful gardening working parties for our forecourt

Hosting the Oxford Diocesan link event for our Anglican partners in South India, South Africa, Sweden and Jamaica and the Cayman Islands

New activities in the café, including ‘Good Food Fridays’ and a ‘Food for Life’ box

Popular Easter Craft Workshop in the café for years 1-8

Christmas Lunch in the café

New English Language class in café

Newcomers welcomed on Sundays and popular church lunches

Assemblies on Old Testament heroes and heroines, and a great Harvest celebration

Our Time for God volunteer, Mathi, boosting our children’s work and supporting Year 6s at St John’s Primary

Successful summer trip to Taize with some of our young people

Public showing of the People’s National Emergency Briefing film, and our annual Lent film club: ‘You are not Alone.’

New forecourt murals unveiled with representatives from Reading College

Fundraising for, and installation of, our heat pump and whole new heating system

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Regular public meetings with our Police Community Support Officers

The St John’s duck successfully laid her ducklings and they all reached the canal safely

Five candidates confirmed by Bishop Mary in September, at

Christchurch, Reading

An expanded NEWT team

Two new deanery synod reps; new faces on the PCC and new children’s work and creche helpers

Popular Barn Dance for Amnesty International with usual fabulous music

We would like to thank all our volunteers who are essential to the life and mission of our church. There are nearly 20 different groups of volunteers engaged in promoting church life and community benefit, including Communicare, Hope into Action, Contact Centre, RE-Inspired and NEWT.

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Priorities and Challenges

Progress on 2025/6 aims

----- Start of picture text -----
Heat pump 5 candidates
installed confirmed
Application for
funding of a full
time youth Newt Team
minister enlarged
submitted to
diocese
----- End of picture text -----

Consolidating 2025/6 aims

Consolidate Supporting the Strengthen the new groups in leadership of Eco Church cafe the school team

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Main focus for 2026/27

----- Start of picture text -----
Continue on
Strengthen
our journey
our financial
towards
position
employing a
youth minister
SUPPORTING THE CHURCH MISSION
----- End of picture text -----

Worship, Prayer and outreach

Our Sunday worship continues to pay attention to maximising lay involvement - in reading; leading/preaching; interceding; assisting at Holy Communion; musical input, and holding before us our obligations to the various charities we support. There is a core of 8 for the midweek Café Communion, and Morning Prayer continues on Mondays and Wednesdays in the church.

Small groups continue to provide nurture at St John and St Stephen’s and gratitude is expressed to all who take a part in leading these. A very rich selection of material used this year has included the Being With Course , by Sam Wells, the Pilgrimage TV series, The Pilgrim Course on the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer; writings of NT Wright; Bible Project’s Sermon on the Mount series; Peter Jenner’s book The Very Narrow Bridge of Life ; material from Guli Francis Deqani’s book Listening to the Music of your Soul and a Jewish Evening Service led by Neri Hazlewood, from our parish.

‘Faith at Work’ interviews during Sunday worship have enriched our worship by providing different voices reflecting on what it means to be a Christian in the workplace. The Lent Film Club explored the theme ‘You are not Alone’ and ended with a well-attended discussion evening in the café.

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With Liz Casson-Smith’s valued input we’ve been able to renew the café as a place that offers sanctuary, with a ‘Food for Life’ box and a ‘cake day’ once a week. Monthly ‘Good Food Fridays’ offering a tasty breakfast are also popular. In March 12 of us gathered in the café to pray for everyone who uses it, and to bring before God our hopes and aspirations for youth and children’s work in our church. A new English Class, led by Rev. Christine, is popular with a small group of ladies whose children attend St John’s School. The Police Community Support Officers have a coffee morning termly in our café, and soon we hope to do the same with Peabody, one of our local housing associations.

The Ministry Team of Incumbent, Associate and LLMs met three times to discuss, among other things: voice projection in preaching; preaching on special occasions, embedding diversity; the way ahead for a Youth Minister and how to address the gap in our finances. We had a half day at St Kathryn’s Retreat House, Parmoor, in June 2025 (with our Church Wardens) to pray together and share discernment about the direction of our church.

Life Events Confirmations 5 Baptisms 0 Weddings 0 Funerals 2

Rev Claire Alcock (Vicar)

Pastoral Care

The group meets three times during the year. Over time we have developed a pattern for our meetings. We may start with a meditation or a centring exercise, leading us to focus on a pastoral situation that is currently on our minds. We then go round with each of us sharing that situation, leaving space between for others to offer insights. Not everyone brings something to share, which is good as the group seems to be getting bigger! We pray in pairs over what we have heard. We occasionally have some input, most recently on pausing to reflect before moving into action when faced with a pastoral challenge.

Rev Christine Bainbridge (Associate priest)

Electoral Roll

Our revised electoral roll was completed in April 2026. There are now 99 names on our electoral roll – 7 names were added during the year and 4 names were removed; 2 due to death and 2 moved away from the Parish. 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 (*denotes new electoral roll) 99 96 98 91 91 95 93 93

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CHURCH BUILDINGS

St John and St Stephen’s Parish Centre

Report from the Buildings & Plant Group 2025-26

We have met 5 times over the past year. Our remit is the care of the church and centre buildings and plant, excluding the church houses, on behalf of the PCC. We identify work that needs doing and with the help of Les, the wardens and other helpers many of the tasks are done and where necessary, outside contractors are engaged. Expenditure has to be approved by the Standing Committee and larger costs are referred to the PCC for approval. Members of the committee are: Les Pullen, Rosemary Croft, Sue Bruce, Jeremy Thake, Richard Bainbridge.

Air to Air Heat Pump installed

The heat pump project has now been completed. This is a major step towards net zero carbon, which is a key aspect of our commitment to care for creation. Our café, lobbies, offices and toilets are now heated by electricity from renewable sources. Over the year we finalised the necessary permissions from the diocese and local authority and liaised with the contractors. The contractors were unable to do the work over the summer break, so it was done in September. Jeremy Thake acted as the project manager, a key role in the whole process. Learning how to manage the controls system has taken time but seems to be satisfactory now.

We are in ongoing conversations with the school about the arrangement for sharing energy costs, known as the Supplementary Agreement. We are also waiting to hear about the plans of the diocese to replace the school boilers. This concerns us because it is the school boilers which heat the worship area.

Other work

Rev Richard Bainbridge (Chair)

1 and 2 Church House

Report from the Church House Property Committee

  1. A tenancy agreement was drawn up by Martyn Russell Property Services (MRPS) to run from January 2026 to December 2026 for both properties.

  2. These two tenancy agreements for Jan 2026 to Dec 2026 will be the last tenancy agreements requiring signatures of MPRS (property management agents), St John & St Stephen’s Church

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(Landlord) and 1 & 2 Church House (Tenants), as the Renters’ Right Act which became law in May 2026, that the tenancies relating to 1 & 2 Church House, are now rolling tenancies, which can be ended with notice from the tenants (two months’ notice ) or a valid notice under Section 8 under the 1988 Housing Act ( landlord).

  1. There was consideration of whether St John & St Stephen’s Church (as landlords) should need to obtain a Rent Protection package as we moved into the “new world” under the Renters’ Right Act 2026. After a few discussions with MRPS, it was decided that this package was not required.

  2. There has been certain remedial work carried out throughout the year as perhaps expected on the properties which are around forty years old. The main projects carried out in the last 12 months were the windows upgrade on 2 Church House and replacement of the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms also in 2 Church House.

  3. Both flats were gas Safety checked in April 2026.

Ian Maynard (Chair)

Health and Safety

Report from the Health and Safety Officer

Fire Safety

The main focus in this area since the last APCM was on the use and location of our fire extinguishers and fire blanket located in the Church and Café. A presentation of the location and operation of said fire extinguishers was made to the PCC in January 2026.

The updated Fire extinguisher protocol, as presented to the PCC, is available on the church noticeboard.

First Aid

It is important for us to have people in the church who have good basic first aid qualifications. If you are first aid trained, please let me know so we can form a small team of 1[st] Aiders, to call on when required.

We have two people who are trained Mental Health First Aiders;. Revd Claire Alcock and Ian Maynard.

Defibrillator

St John’s Primary have agreed to St John and St Stephen’s using the Defibrillator, located in the passage just outside the school hall. The device talks you through the necessary action when it needs to be used..

Lockdown Procedure

The school now has in place a lockdown procedure which is required by schools. There is a lockdown alarm (long sound) which may sound once or twice a year if activated by the school. The procedure is to stay put until the alarm stops.

Ian Maynard (Health & Safety Officer) May 2026

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SAFEGUARDING

Safeguarding Report for APCM 2026

Safeguarding remains at the heart of everything we do as a church. It ensures that St John's is a safe, caring and inclusive space for everyone, in particular our children and young people and those who are vulnerable in any way. This is directly aligned with Christ's teaching about caring for those in need and enabling everyone to enjoy life in all its fullness.

As Parish Safeguarding Officer, I work closely with Liz Casson-Smith as parish administrator and with Claire Alcock as incumbent. Claire and I discuss all safeguarding concerns that are raised together, and we seek advice from Charlotte Wilmshurst, our Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor, where required. I also work alongside Rachel Thake as the other named adult in our 'Responding to Domestic Abuse' policy, and with Rosemary Croft who oversees the recruitment of our children's volunteers in line with our Safer Recruitment guidance. Anyone who has any safeguarding concerns should share them with Claire or me.

We continue to use our safeguarding 'dashboard' to review our procedures in order to ensure compliance in all areas of church life. This includes things like risk assessments, insurance, safer recruitment, DBS checks as well as social media and use of the church building by outside groups. Because we share a building with the school, we also have to ensure that we comply with their safeguarding regulations. Safeguarding is a standing item on PCC agendas, as the PCC has overall responsibility for safeguarding. These procedures can seem arduous but they all provide confidence and reassurance that we are responding appropriately to concerns and reduce the risk of abuse taking place.

All church volunteers are required to complete at least Level 1 safeguarding training - over 50 members of the congregation have completed this, which raises everyone's awareness of how to respond to any safeguarding concerns. Thank you to everyone for the part you are playing in helping to keep St John's safe.

This year we have faced some administrative challenges as our previous DBS provider experienced a cyber-security breach which has resulted in two changes of providers. This coincided with a very welcome increase in the number of new volunteers working with our children's groups who have needed DBS checks - thank you to Liz Casson-Smith who has dealt with much of the work this has entailed, and to all our volunteers for your patience as we have faced inevitable teething issues. Hopefully things will be more straightforward over the next year.

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Sadly, safeguarding remains a hot topic within the Church of England more widely as we continue to hear the stories of institutional failures. These stories remind us that terrible abuses of power can and do occur, and underline the importance of accountability and transparency. In safeguarding, it is considered best practice to adopt an 'it could happen here' attitude, and within St John's we welcome scrutiny of all our processes to ensure that we are doing everything we can to prevent anyone from coming to harm.

Stephen Dilley (Safeguarding Officer)

FINANCE & GOVERNANCE

Structure, Governance and Management

The method of appointment of PCC members is governed by and set out in the Church Representation Rules. At St John and St Stephen’s the membership of the PCC consists of:

All those who attend our services are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. All PCC members are required to undergo safeguarding 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 full PCC met 6 times during the year with an average level of attendance of 81%.

Sub-committees which deal with mission giving (Church Giving Advisory Group), fabric (Buildings and Plant Group) lettings (Church House Property Committee) and activities in the café (Café Committee) as well as the Standing Committee are responsible to the PCC and report back to it regularly. The PCC also receives regular reports from the Safeguarding Officer, Treasurer and Deanery synod reps.

PCC members who have served at any time from 1st January 2025 until the date this report was approved are:

Incumbent (ex officio) Revd. Claire Alcock CHAIR

Designated Licensed Minister (ex officio) Richard Croft

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Churchwardens (ex officio) Sue Bruce Ian Maynard

Elected Members

Term of Office ends 2026

Bridget Barwick (PCC TREASURER) Donald Chambers Richard Harwood

Term of Office ends 2027

Antony Prasanna Dino D’Sa (re-elected this year) Selena Peters (re-elected this year)

Term of Office ends 2028

Jo Kelly Elaine Maynard David Langshaw (SECRETARY)

Co-optee

Charlotte Lamboneely – Café Comittee

Elected Deanery Synod Representatives (ex officio) Term of Office ends 2026

Ian Maynard Chris Meunier

Deanery Synod Report

Clergy Pensions

The Deanery Synod had put forward a motion to be considered by the Oxford Diocesan Synod at the November meeting on the matter of Clergy Pension, to restore them to the level in place pre-2011. This has been superseded by the decision of General Synod to approve an increase in clergy stipends and restoration of the clergy pensions in line with the cost of living.

Children and young people

In September there was an update on the Children, Young People and Youth Strategy. Churches were asked to submit data on how many children and young people they have contact with and encouraged to share good practice. It was noted that there is a national shortage of youth workers.

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The deanery has approved a grant of £2k to Reading Youth Ministers Network to fund the Reading Youth Day 2026 on 4[th] July, an event for young people in churches, some of whom may be the only ones of their age group in their church. Publicity will follow.

Deprivation in the Reading area

Also in September Nick Hill (Reading Gateway) went into further details about Mapping Deprivation in the Reading Deanery. Synod agreed that each parish should aim to provide this information by the end of January 2026.

Reading Dusseldorf Churches Interchange

A group of church members from Reading visit Düsseldorf every three years, staying in homes of church members there. A reciprocal visit happens in a different year. This year’s visit to Düsseldorf will be in August, and there are still a few places available.

Online Learning Hub

Andy Angel from the Diocese, presented the Diocese of Oxford’s online learning hub, a resource for all church people to access learning at any level, e.g. those seeking permission to preach or lead a funeral as a lay person.

Other miscellaneous topics

Administrative Information

St John and St Stephen’s Church is situated in Orts Road, Reading. It is part of the Diocese of Oxford within the Church of England. The correspondence address is 121-147 Orts Rd, Reading RG1 3JN

email: office@stjohnandststephen.org.uk

The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2006) and a charity registered with the Charity Commission with charity number 1127821.

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FINANCIAL REVIEW

The Trustees have every confidence that the charity will meet its financial obligations when they become due.

This is the second year producing our accounts on the simplified Receipts and Payments basis, using the online financial system, 'MyFundaccounting', for book-keeping, recording individual financial transactions during the year, and to help produce the accounts reports.

During 2025, the Church decided to invest nearly £52K installing a new Heat Pump to replace our old boiler. The Heat Pump was funded in part by £18.6K raised by Church members, the associated gift aid, a small grant, and £30K from last year’s £61.3K legacy. We also received another legacy (£11K) during the year.

Since the 2025 accounts have been impacted by the Heat Pump installation and the associated fund-raising, gift aid recovery and grant, the Financial Review this year is in 2 parts: First, an overall look at our Income and Expenditures and the associated, statutory accounts passed by our Examiner. Second, a closer look at the concerning trends that have become apparent in the past few years which should help us to plan for the future.

Part 1 – Overall Summary

Total Income for the year amounted to £162.6K (down £18.3K from 2024). [However, the underlying Income (excluding the Heat Pump, Legacy and Grants) was £126.5K (up £6.8K from 2024).][*see note 1 below]

Total Expenditure for the year amounted to £196K (up £65.6K from 2024), resulting in an overall deficit for the year of just over £33K (compares to a surplus of £50.6K for 2024). [However, the underlying Expenditure, excluding the Heat Pump, was £144.1K (up £13.8K from 2024) which leads to an underlying defcit of £17.6K. This compares an underlying deficit of £3K in 2023 and £13.1K in 2024, a concerning and increasing deficit trend which is analysed in more detail in Part 2 .][* see note 1 below]

The key features of the year are highlighted on TABLE 1 overleaf, with boxes around some of the main differences and numbered 1 through 5.

In summary:

  1. We received a £11,000 legacy during the year, and £18,600 was raised by Church members for the Heat Pump. Overall Church Giving, including grants and legacies was £110.3K. However, underlying Voluntary Income continues to decline;

  2. Church fees (weddings, funerals, hall lettings) were up by £1.7K;

  3. Overall Church costs and expenses were £110.5K, up £58.6K or 113%, due to the £51.8K spent on the Heat Pump, and increases in Staff Costs (£4K) and Church Houses Costs (£1K)

  4. Around £4K was spent on equipment in 2025, including a new oven for the refectory and a new Office PC

5. These factors helped to produce an overall deficit for the year of just over £33K

Note 1 – these figures calculated by excluding legacies received in year, and all relevant income (giving, gift aid recovery and grants), and all Heat Pump related purchase/installation costs.

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

TABLE 1

Planned Giving (before gift aid recovery, and Service Collections amounted to £55.3K (down from £55.6K in 2024). Gift aid recovery during the year was £17.3K (cf £9.7K for 2024) which includes some claims made during 2024 that were met during the year.

Church Running Costs have continued to increase (£1.8k in the year) due to general inflation (e.g. higher energy costs), and when the cost of the Heat Pump is included were £80.7K. Staffing Costs have also increased (by £4.1K or 22%), mostly due to the costs of our Youth

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

Worker. There was also an increase in costs (£1K) associated with the Church Houses (insurance and maintenance).

An analysis of Mission Expenditure, which remains around £24K/annum, is presented in TABLE 2. We continue to allocate ~22% of our General Fund Income to Home Mission. TABLE 2

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

As concerns our longer-term investments and associated dividend payments, the Total Capital value of our investment funds reduced from £639.1K in 2024 to £612.5K in 2025, a reduction of nearly 4.2%. However, dividend income continued to increase from £17.4K in 2024 to £17.8K in 2025, an increase of 2.3%. A summary of the Church Investments is given in TABLE 3 .

TABLE 3

The Church investments are currently held through the CCLA, who manages its funds in accordance with the policies of the Church of England’s Ethical Advisory Group. The funds we have hold shares in the CBF Church of England Investment Fund (CBFIF) and the COIF Charities Investment Fund, a so-called common investment fund. We have 2 types of funds – Unrestricted and Restricted funds.

The Endowments are investments that we cannot sell, but we do benefit from the quarterly dividends. The Unrestricted Investment Funds also provide a regular stream of quarterly dividends. These Unrestricted funds are expendable and the Church could, for example, sell some, (or all), of the shares in these funds to raise money for a Church project. In doing so however, we would lose any future dividends that would otherwise accrue from the shares sold. With the exception of the Curacy Endowment, where dividends are directed to the designated Curacy fund, all other dividends are directed to the General Fund for general use by the Church. Given the relatively poor investment fund value growth we have been achieving via CCLA in the past few years compared to the general investment market, our Church investment holding policy is currently being reviewed by the PCC to determine whether we can achieve a higher level of fund value growth and higher overall, investment returns via other fund managers.

At the end of 2025, the total cash at bank and in hand, (i.e. excluding Agency Fund Collections related to Christian Aid), was £37.9K.

The Independently Examined Statutory Receipts and Payments Accounts now follow.

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

Parochial Church Council of St John and St Stephen, Reading Financial Review for the year ended 31 December 2025

Trustees' Responsibilities

The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity.

The Charities Act 2011 requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which presents a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the surplus of the Charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity. 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.

Approved by the Trustees on 6[th] March, 2026

Signed on their behalf by Trustee:

Name: Revd. Claire Alcock (Chair of PCC)

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST JOHN AND ST STEPHEN, READING

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2025

I report to the trustees/ members of The Parochial Church Council of St John and St Stephen, Reading on the accounts for the year ended 31st December 2025 which are set out on the following pages.

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Independent Examiner

As trustees of the charity, the members of the PCC are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. They consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to

  1. examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;

  2. follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and

  3. state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner's Statement

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 accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the management committee concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.

Independent Examiner's Statement

In connection with my examination, no matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below)

  1. which give me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements a) to keep accounting records in accordance with s.130 of the 2011 Act; or b) to prepare accounts which accord with these accounting records have not been met; or

  2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed:

Dated:

Rachel Belshaw, MA ACA CTA

Hill Top Accounting Ltd Hill Cottage, Church Lane Ufton Nervet Reading, RG7 4HQ

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS STATEMENTS

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The Financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with applicable accounting standards. In preparing the financial statements the PCC follows best practice as laid down in the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (SORP 2015).

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost basis of accounting in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and in accordance with applicable accounting standards, except for the valuation of investment assets, which are shown at market value. The financial statements 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 have been prepared under the “Receipts and Payments” basis as prescribed by the Charity Commissioners and they meet the appropriate legal requirements.

Funds

General funds represent funds of the PCC that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use, and are available for the general purposes of the PCC. Funds designated for a particular purpose may also be unrestricted.

Income & Endowments

Voluntary income and capital sources

Donations and collections are recognised when received by or on behalf of the PCC. Planned giving, is recognised only when received. Tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations is recognised when the donations are received. Grants and legacies to the PCC are accounted for as soon as the PCC is notified of its legal entitlement, the amount due is quantifiable and its receipt by the PCC is reasonably certain.

Activities for generating funds

Rental income from letting of church premises is recognised when the rental is due.

Income from investments

Dividends and interest are accounted for when received. Such payments are received without deduction of income tax.

Income from church activities

Income and expenditure relating to various church activities are accounted for gross.

Gains and losses on investments

Realised gains or losses are recognised when the investments are sold. Unrealised gains or losses are accounted for on revaluation at market value, as at 31st December (or nearest date available).

Expenditure

Grants Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding obligation on the PCC.

Church activities

The Diocesan parish share is accounted for when paid.

Fixed Assets

Church Centre and Church House The value shown in the balance sheet for the Church Centre and for nos. 1 and 2 Church House is the acquisition cost of the land and building of the property in 1976 plus the Refectory extension building cost in 2009. This does not include the value of the land which was exchanged with Reading Borough Council for that previously occupied by the former St. Stephen’s Church in accordance with an agreement with the PCC dated 30/11/1976. No valuation of the property is carried out, but the PCC is of the opinion that the open market value is not materially less than the balance sheet value.

No value is placed on movable church furnishings. All expenditure incurred on buildings, furniture and fittings, whether maintenance or improvement, is written off as expenditure in the Statement of Financial Activities, unless separately disclosed.

Current Assets Amounts owing to the PCC as at 31st December in respect of Gift Aid reclaims, fees, rents or other income are shown as debtors less provision for amounts which may prove uncollectable. Short Term deposits include any loans currently held.

Investment Policy

The PCC’s policy is: (a) to invest endowment funds and other major legacies in dividend-bearing shareholdings, principally those of the CCLA Central Board of Finance of the C. of E. Investment Fund; (b) to invest other surplus funds in dividend-bearing shareholdings of the CCLA COIF Charities Ethical Investment Fund; (c) to invest selectively in local projects with a strong community interest; and (d) to hold other day-to-day funds in a charity bank account.

Reserves Policy

The PCC relies substantially on the regular inflow of donation, letting and Gift Aid tax recovery income to meet day-to-day commitments. It endeavours to hold sufficient cash reserves to meet at least two months’ gross running costs

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

ASSETS & LIABILITIES STATEMENT

Approved by the Trustees on 6[th] March 2025 and signed on its behalf by Trustee:

Revd. Claire Alcock (Chair of PCC)

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

PART 2 – A CLOSER LOOK AT UNDERLYING TRENDS IN THE ACCOUNTS

In order to understand the main reasons for a growing annual Income/Expenditure deficit trend, it is important to isolate those income and expenditure items that make the largest contributions to the overall, underlying, day to day accounts, and which provide the opportunity for some manual intervention and control.

On the Income side, to examine underlying trends, it is important to exclude legacies and grants and monies associated with any one-off major projects. The principal income items to look at are:

1. Voluntary Income: In overall terms, our Voluntary Income, excluding legacies and grants has been declining steadily since 2016. [Note: Voluntary Income includes: Gift Aid donations and recovered tax, and Other tax-efficient and non-tax efficient Giving (Collections etc.)]. CHART 1 provides a visual summary with trendline:

CHART 1

In summary, from 2016-2025 the trend shows a reduction of Voluntary Income of ca. 10K.

2. Church House Income: The net income from our two Church Houses provides a significant contribution to our annual accounts. The Net Income = Rental Income – Maintenance Costs – Insurance Costs. CHART 2 overleaf, presents an analysis of Letting Income, Maintenance & Insurance Costs and the resultant Net Income related to our two Church Houses. As can be seen from this chart, although Letting Income has risen steadily, gradual increases in maintenance and insurance costs have led to an overall, steady decline in Net Income.

In Summary, the annual Net Income from the letting of the Church Houses has, since 2016, declined by just over £2.5K / annum

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

PART 2 – A CLOSER LOOK AT UNDERLYING TRENDS IN THE ACCOUNTS

CHART 2

3. Investment Holdings and Dividends: As discussed in Part 1, the Church has currently around £612K of investments held through the CCLA and from which we currently derive £17.8K of dividend income. CHART 3 provides an annual summary of our share portfolio holdings for the period 2016-2026.

CHART 3

In the past 10 years, there have been no share sales, although there was some fund switching in 2018, and some additional shares purchased in 2015 and 2021. The overall growth in value of the share portfolio has been disappointing, especially in recent years with the portfolio value declining at a time when financial markets generally have been rising. As mentioned in Part 1, this is why some consideration is being made to swap out some funds and have these managed separately. However, in the period 2016 to 2025 as CHART 4 shows, the Church has benefited from a regular, increasing (about 3%/annum) annual dividend income stream.

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PART 2 – A CLOSER LOOK AT UNDERLYING TRENDS IN THE ACCOUNTS

CHART 4

In summary, whilst the dividend stream from the Church investments (now at £17.8K) have been steady and increasing, there appears to be considerable scope to improve the funds management (and hence value growth) of the Church investment holdings. Based on past market conditions, we should expect to receive a much higher overall level of earnings growth (capital and dividends) from the £612K of investment holdings than we currently enjoy. Achieving this, could provide significant longer-term, additional income for the Church.

4. Church Costs: Given that the Church Accounts have seen underlying deficits in the last 3 years, an analysis of past Church Costs is helpful to identify any significant cost trends, that in conjunction with the earlier income analyses, may help to cause these deficits. When looking at underlying cost trends, it is important to exclude Mission Giving and any major, extraordinary costs. The Heat Pump installation is the only major cost item. CHART 5 summarises Church Costs for the past 10 years.

CHART 5

CHART 5 shows clearly that, for some reason, costs have risen dramatically since 2021. CHART 6 provides a closer look at the overall structure of these costs for this period to help identify the reason(s).

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PART 2 – A CLOSER LOOK AT UNDERLYING TRENDS IN THE ACCOUNTS

CHART 6

CHART 6 shows that in the last 5 years:

The most significant cost increases have been highlighted in red. These items are not only material cost items, but their overall increase during the past 5 years has exceeded inflation (Note: 4% inflation over 5 years is an increase of 22% approx.)

Contributing factors to these cost increases include:

In 2022, there was a one-off £4K of equipment purchases, and a significant rise in Church maintenance costs and Church Cleaning and Energy costs both of which have continued to increase and suffer from the effects of inflation;

In 2023, we commenced employer a Youth Worker with annual costs rising to £9K in 2025. In this period, Admin Staff Costs also rose, and there were also Awayday and Staff Training Costs;

In 2024, our Parish Share increased by £3K;

In 2025, we spent £4K on a new cooker for the refectory and a new Office PC .

5. Conclusions

From 2016 to 2022, there were 2 years of deficits and 5 years of surpluses. However, the past 3 years have seen increasing deficits of (£2,957) in 2023, then (£10,693) in 2024 ,and (£17,622) in 2025. There is no one simple reason for this, but there are a combination of factors that have

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review

led to this outcome:

However, in terms of funds and cash, we have, to date, been able to cover all additional costs and deficits, with particular benefit being derived from recent legacies. The end-2025 Funds balances aggregate to around £37.6K, including £15K of legacy funds, £2.8K heat pump fund and a restricted flower fund of £315. This means that, excluding legacy funds, heat pump fund and flower fund, there is currently just under £20K of cash available to cover future deficits.

Alan Denny & Bridget Barwick

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2025 Church Accounts - Financial Review