# **ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL for the year ended 31 December 2025**
1
**NARRATIVE REPORT FOR 2025**
## **Background**
Under the terms of the Synodical Government Measure 1969, it is the duty of the Incumbent and the Parochial Church Council (“The PCC” or “St John’s”) to consult together on matters of general concern and importance in the parish.
The main function of The PCC is to work alongside with the Vicar in promoting the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. In addition to the Parish Church, there is a mission Church, St. Andrews, Crabtree within the parish.
## **Aims and purposes**
The general functions of The PCC are stated within section 2 of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956. Burscough PCC is a Registered Charity, its registered number is 1128273.
The PCC gave consideration to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance concerned with the advancement of religion.
We are a thriving evangelical church with a combination of both traditional and contemporary services, creative expressions of worship and strong links to our local community, all made possible by a committed team and paid and lay people. There is a wide range of worshipping styles and our worshipping community is proud to be a mix of all ages. All made possible by a dedicated team of both paid staff and volunteers
At St. John’s we have a vision statement:
## _**Knowing, growing in and sharing Jesus’ love in Burscough and beyond.**_
Our mission is to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in word and action, according to the doctrines and practices of the Church of England.
## **Objectives, activities and plans for the future**
Our objectives for 2025 were to work towards fulfilling the Parish Vision Statement. We sought to fulfil this vision by providing the following public benefits:
## **Following Jesus**
- Regular public worship open to all;
- The provision of sacred space for personal prayer and contemplation and helping people to access prayer;
- To review our services in order to enhance the beauty of our worship and make our occasional offices (baptisms, weddings and funerals) accessible to those with no experience of church.
- Teaching of Christianity through sermons, courses and small groups.
- Leading collective worship in schools
- Provision of youth clubs with a Christian ethos.
## **Making Him known**
- Pastoral work including visiting the sick, bereaved, housebound, those in residential care homes and those in need;
- Promoting the whole mission of the Church through provision of activities for all ages and for those with particular needs;
- Supporting other charities in the UK and overseas by our mission giving;
- A programme of socials and events to extend and deepen community; and
- Building on ecumenical partnerships.
- The development of the Psalm 57 project, our new mission initiative
## **Achievements and performance**
In all areas of ministry St Johns aims to keep Jesus at the centre of all our activities. All we do is made possible through the hard work of the staff team and a multitude of volunteers who help carry out the mission of the church. We would like to thank all the staff and volunteers who work so hard to make our church the welcoming and vibrant worshipping community it is.
_**Staff Team:**_
Administrator Lesley Millie Operations Manager Jennie Short Children and Families Coordinator Tracey Fitzsimmons Youth and Young Adults Worker Joanna Marshall Pastoral and Social Justice Coordinator David Emmett Reader Christine Donnelly Reader Diane Taylor-Harrison Vicar Elliott Ireton Curate David Emmett Paul Davies (since June 2025)
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The church also employs Stuart Ashcroft and Susan Baxter as cleaners. We are thankful for their diligent care of our buildings.
Ministry this year:
- Offered a broad range of opportunities for people to connect with God through worship.
- Provided a wide range of activities, events and groups for children, young people and families.
- Actively engaged in supporting local schools particularly our two CE Primary Schools.
- A wide-ranging programme for youth and young adults including growing involvement in the local High School.
- A developing discipleship programme.
- Support for Small groups and leaders
- A new lay leadership programme
- Further develop our vision for ministry in Burscough and beyond.
- Helping people explore faith in Christ through 3-2-1 basics course.
- Several baptisms including adults
- Outreach events including an outdoor carol service.
- Support for mission initiatives in the UK and overseas including specific mission partners.
- Pastoral care and support in a wide range of contexts
- Occasional offices.
- Early in the year we launched a new mission initiative called the Psalm 57 project. This included renting our church hall out to St Johns CE school to facilitate the launch of a new nursery. This enabled us to rent a new building on the high street with the purpose of serving the local community. This has enabled us to launch some new programmes including a community coffee morning which also involves us giving out coffee art the school gate. This project also included fundraising for a new staff post (Community Engagement Lead)
Our aims for 2026 are as follows:
- Offer a broad range of worship services.
- Prioritise work with children and families.
- Actively engage in supporting local schools particularly our two CE Primary Schools.
- Further develop our vision: Following Jesus; Making Him Known
- Prioritise work amongst the missing generation (11-29s).
- As our Youth Lead moves into the new Community Engagement Lead recruit a new Youth Lead
- Further develop the men’s and women’s ministry
- Develop the Psalm 57 Project
- Explore the development of our Church Vision Statement
- Run courses to help people connect and grow in faith including 3-2-1
- Be intentionally outward focussed in our discipleship
- Develop our communications especially online and via social media.
- Continued development and support of our mission partnerships.
- Provision of effective pastoral care in a variety of contexts.
- Provision of occasional offices.
- Continue to share resources with other churches through training and equipping
- Work with other local Anglican churches for shared vision and mission
- Strengthen and support the Staff Team and consider future ministry patterns with regard to staffing levels of ordained ministry within the parish including one service on the 5[th ] Sundays.
## **Financial review**
Our budget for 2025 was set towards the end of 2024 and sought to include all underlying income and expenditure as well as one-off expenditure known at the time of setting the budget. The principles which we apply in setting out budget is to be realistic in our assumptions over ongoing levels of congregational giving, and slightly prudent on expenditure where there is estimation uncertainty.
## Income
Our income from regular planned congregational giving was slightly behind budget in the early part of the year, but recovered from summer onwards, leading to ‘on budget’ performance across the year as a whole. Once again we thank our church members for their generous, prayerful and sacrificial giving which is the primary way we fund our work here at St Johns.
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We continue to receive the majority of our regular giving through the Parish Giving Scheme (“PGS”) as a way for givers to make monthly donations. PGS is a free service provided to us by the Diocese, it coordinates regular monthly giving and arranges all matters relating to Gift Aid which reduced admin time on individual churches and their finance teams. To date, approximately 80% of our regular standing order giving has been switched across to PGS – Thank you! This really does make a big difference to the time needed to process our regular giving. For anyone not yet using PGS, please do talk to us, this simple mechanism saves our finance team significant time and effort.
Our loose plate offertory and our white Gift Aid envelopes continues to be well utilised, but also follows the national trend of fewer ‘cash transactions’. We now have a contactless giving terminal in the West End of St Johns to provide a quick and secure method of making ad hoc card donations. The card machine has generated income of £1,700 in the current year, plus additional donations as part of our annual appeals such as Harvest and Christmas.
During the autumn we celebrated a successful Gift Day together, raising a remarkable £79,988 which will be used to fund our new role of Community Outreach Worker, as well as assisting with the completion of the refurbishment of the new property at Number 57.
This year our harvest appeal was focussed on TearFund
The appeal raised a total of £6,160, which was grateful received by the charity in Winter 2025.
Our general Church hall letting has decreased in the year as we lost a regular booking early in the year. We are grateful for the longstanding relationships we have with our hall users, and we continue to be on the lookout for other regular hall users, so that we can make the most of our fantastic asset in the centre of the village. However, in Autumn 2025 we were pleased to deepen our partnership with St Johns Primary School who are now running their nursery operations from our hall, utilising the building primarily at times when we had it vacant.
Our vacant curates property has been leased out for the majority of the year, providing a monthly income in the region of £900 which is a welcome boost to the finances.
As a worshipping Christian community it is important that we regularly review our giving in the light of God’s generosity to us and take note not only of the impact of inflation on our ability to fund community activities, but consider the lives we are able to change and improve through these people coming to know Jesus. My continuing experience of St Johns and St Andrews is that radical generosity continues to be demonstrated, and this means that we continue to enjoy supporting a wide range of projects both in Burscough and beyond.
## Expenditure
We have been fortunate this year that there has been very little unforeseen expenditure required on any of our buildings, although we have incurred additional costs in respect of the new building for the Psalm 57 Project. We were notified that our parish share for 2025 would be broadly consistent with 2024, and we continue to recognise that parish share is used to fund professional ministry both in this parish and wider in the diocese. Our parish share for the year is sent with our blessings to those who benefit from it.
I continue to thank God that we were in the very fortunate position to hold a fixed price energy contract for St Johns, the church hall, St Andrew’s Crabtree and now the Psalm 57 project.
During the year, we made modest savings on council tax and water rates as a result of our letting of the curates property.
In addition to the major projects such as the Psalm 57 building refurbishment and the start of an upgrade to the church Audio-Visual system, work has continued to maintain and improve the building stock. Maintenance issues were, for example, replacement of the aged and non-functioning heating convectors in the West End, repair of electrical defects in the hall and in St Andrew’s Crabtree chapel, and filling potholes in the car park. Compliance issues such as PAT testing, heating boiler servicing, lightning conductor checks, and fire extinguisher checks were completed. We give thanks and recognise the ongoing efforts of Stephen and the estates team for managing and maintaining our buildings so diligently.
We have contracted with a new company for our churchyard maintenance this year following some difficulties in 2024. We are have been pleased with the work of the new contractor this year, and we are hugely grateful for the assistance provided by many of our church congregation in the regular maintenance of the churchyard this past year. We also recognise the contribution of many volunteers and the community payback team who have completed many maintenance tasks in the churchyard again this year.
## Results
Through God’s faithfulness, and the continuing generosity of our congregations, our actual result for the year is a surplus of £2,269.
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|The surplus can be analysed into the following categories|The surplus can be analysed into the following categories|The surplus can be analysed into the following categories|
|---|---|---|
|St Johns church – general fund|£6,507|surplus|
|St Andrews mission Crabtree|£3,173|deficit|
|St Johns church hall|£1,830|surplus|
|**Subtotal**|||
|**overall result on unrestricted funds**|**£5.164**|**surplus**|
|Love where you live – restricted fund|£31|deficit (set up following Harvest 2024 appeal)|
|Mission and outreach – restricted fund|£2,864|deficit (set up following Harvest 2024 appeal)|
|**TOTAL**|**£2,269**|**surplus**|
We must recognise that this is not quite a true reflection of our underlying income and expenditure as we currently enjoy income rather than expense from our curate’s property at Warpers Moss, should we require this property for our new curate then we would reduce our ongoing position by approximately £17,000 per year.
Looking ahead to 2026
At the start of 2026 we held a week of services where we preached about sacrificial giving and set out the financial position of our church as a whole.
Elliott and Pete provided an update on our financial position and our PCC budget for 2026 which include expansionary opportunities and challenges as follows:
- Impact of inflation on wages, parish share and general expenditure - £12,000 additional cost
- No impact on electricity and gas, both of which are on fixed price contracts
- Additional funding for Youth Worker role to provide opportunity to increase to 35 hours per week - £10,000 additional cost
- Increase to admin support and creation of a new bookkeeper role - £6,000 additional cost
Total impact of these areas is £28,000 and is build into our underlying operating budget for 2026.
An annual budget is prepared to plan our finances and enable them to be monitored. Actual results compared with budget are monitored by the Hon. Treasurer, Incumbent, and Church Wardens. The Treasurer formally reports on all financial matters to PCC members at PCC meetings for their review and discussion. PCC investments are held in low risk funds approved for charity use. All assets are appropriately insured, and insurance levels are reviewed and approved annually.
## **Restricted funds**
Restricted funds comprise donations given for a particular ministry purpose. At 31 December 2025 the unspent portion of these funds is £253,151 _(2024: £256,046)_ , which has decreased by £2,895 in the year. Of our restricted reserves, £230,282 is invested in the curate’s house on Warpers Moss Lane and the church hall, and is therefore not held as cash.
## **Grant making policy**
St. John’s made grants to Mission Aviation Fellowship, Welcome Churches, and to Christchurch Newburgh during the year. Additional smaller grants are awarded to organisations and church members working in mission. We have also supported Tearfund, International Needs, and the Children’s Society in the year.
Special appeals at services and events have raised money for various specific charities. In particular, our harvest appeal in support of Tearfund.
Grants are awarded to organisations and church members working in mission after an evaluation of each case. All giving follows The PCC’s mission policy for the promotion of the Christian gospel in proclamation and social action throughout the world.
## **Reserves policy**
The trustees believe that St. John’s relies on God’s provision for the financial resources needed to fund its work. Consequently, the policy of The PCC is not to build up reserves beyond the operating needs of the charity, and, wherever possible, to expend income received during the course of each financial year on its purposes. However, in order to ensure that the church has sufficient working capital to meet its obligations to its employees and creditors, the Trustees aim to hold sufficient “free” reserves.
“Free Reserves” is defined as total unrestricted funds, less long term assets which are expected to be settled over a period of greater than one year.
Free reserves as at 31 December 2025 stand at £84,881 _(2024: £79,717)._
The reserves policy of the PCC is as follows.
We wish to cover at least six months’ net expenditure in reserve, after taking into account regular monthly donation income given by Standing order and PGS. We have also decided to exclude amounts paid over to the Burscough Outreach Trust in respect the salaries of their employees as the Trust has itself a 6 month reserves policy to cover those expenses.
As at 31 December 2025, that calculation works as follows:
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6 months of Total budgeted expenditure for 2026: £166,000 Less: salary contribution to Burscough Outreach Trust for same 6 month period (£24,000) Less: Budgeted standing order and PGS giving for same 6 month period (£93,000) **TOTAL £49,000 .**
Therefore, as our free reserves of £84,881 are in excess of 6 months net expenditure, we are acting in compliance with our reserve policy.
The Trustees will continue to be mindful of this free reserves target in making financial decisions and allocating resources as we move into 2026 and beyond.
## **Legacy policy**
The PCC welcomes all gifts in wills, however large or small. It is our policy to use legacy gifts to help fund development projects that will benefit the parish, and to support outreach to our local community.
Over the years needs change and therefore everyone is encouraged to leave a gift in their Will for the general purposes of the parish, rather than for specific restricted purposes. Where indicated, the PCC promise to discuss the possible uses of a legacy gift with the executors and to bear in mind the known areas of interest held by the person leaving that gift.
## **Risk management**
The PCC has conducted a review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. A risk register has been established and is updated annually. Where appropriate, systems and procedures have been established to mitigate the risks that the church faces. Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with health and safety of staff, volunteers and visitors. The schedule of major risks and uncertainties identified is set out on page 8.
## **Related parties**
Details of related parties are given in note 14 of the financial statements.
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
Until mid-way through 2025, The Parochial Church Council for St John the Baptist, Burscough, has held funds as custodian trustees on behalf of the Burscough Outreach Trust. It was segregated within our CCLA Deposit Fund with a separate Deposit Account Number. The association with the Burscough Outreach Trust is defined below under ‘Structure, management and governance’. This year we transferred those funds across in full to the Burscough Outreach Trust. The balance held as at 31 December 2025 is £nil _(2024: £42,000)._
## _Agency transactions_
The PCC acted as a financial agent for the following people/organisations in the year:
- “ ”
- - Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance ( LDBF ) – a portion of fees for weddings, funerals and other occasional offices are owed to the LDBF. St Johns makes regular payment of these monies to LDBF. £784 was owing at year end. This money was distributed to LDBF in accordance with current diocesan guidance.
- Organists, Vergers, Singers and Grave Diggers – Similarly to the LDBF fees, money is received from wedding couples and Funeral Directors, in regard to vergers and musician fees for weddings, funerals and burials respectively. Of which £554 was owing at year end. This money was passed on to the relevant individuals. Where appropriate, a proportion of this money was separated and sent directly to HMRC in relation to income tax payments.
- ’
- - Children s Society - £936.97 was received as donations towards the Children’s Society during the year, primarily through the Christingle services. Due to the timing of the collection, this was all was owing at year end. These monies have been subsequently distributed to the Children’s Society.
- Harvest 2025 appeal - Our harvest appeal was in support of Tearfund, a total of £6,160 was donated by our congregation and paid over to Tearfund in 2025.
- Lunch Aid – during the year, the banking arrangements for our Lunch Aid ministry have been brought into the St Johns financial statements. Previously they operated a separate bank account. As at the year end, there is a total of £35 held on behalf of Lunch Aid, the use of which will be guided by the regular attendees of that ministry.
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The PCC also holds monies paid in by church members for future parish and youth holidays, and mission trips.
## **Structure, management and governance**
The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 (as amended) and the church Representation Rules. The PCC is also a registered charity operating under the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.
The Burscough Outreach Trust is a charity which shares a number of common trustees with the PCC. There are no physical assets in this trust. The trust is responsible for managing restricted funds for children and youth work, pastoral care and certain charitable giving.
The appointment of PCC members is governed by and set out in the Church Representation Rules. The PCC comprises all the clergy, the two churchwardens (elected annually at the parish meeting immediately preceding the APCM), lay members elected annually at the APCM, and lay members elected every three years as St. John’s representatives on the Ormskirk Deanery Synod. Additionally, the PCC has the right to co-opt members. All church members are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.
The PCC has revisited the aims and goals of the charity. The PCC have reviewed and approved health and safety policy, risk assessment and management and child protection procedures and has reviewed and acted on the Disability Audit.
Health and Safety requirements are reviewed regularly by knowledgeable persons under the instruction of the PCC, to enable the PCC to appraise risks and implement necessary compliance requirements. Procedures for recording accidents are in place.
## **Administrative information**
## **PCC membership**
_Dates run between our Annual Parochial General Meetings unless otherwise stated_
||Name|Start Date|End Date|
|---|---|---|---|
|**_Ex-Officio Members_**:||||
|Priest in Charge:|Rev. Elliott Ireton|25 June 2024|-|
|Curates:|Rev. David Emmett|22 June 2024|-|
||Rev. Paul Davies|21 June 2025|-|
|Church Wardens:|Jeannie Holman|2022|2025|
||Steve Baxter|2023|2026|
||Caroline McCaul|2025|2028|
|Deanery Synod:|Mark Taylor|2017|2026|
||Clare Hughes|2020|2026|
||Prudence Magee|2020|2026|
||Peter Dorling|2020|2026|
||Katie Street|2024|2026|
|||||
|**_Invited Attendees:_**||||
|Estates Manager|Stephen Magee|-|-|
|Secretary|Stuart Ashcroft|-|-|
|**_Co-opted Members:_**|None|-|-|
|**_Elected Members_**_:_||||
|Hon. Secretary|Stuart Ashcroft|2018|2025|
|Hon. Treasurer|Peter Short|2019|2026|
||Max Lyons|2022|2025|
||Mark Aspinall|2023|2026|
||Helen Cobos|2023|2026|
||Malcolm Lever|2023|2026|
||Jo Lowcock|2023 (co-opted first year)|2027|
||Sam Taylor|2024|2027|
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||Steve Summerfield|2024|2027|
|---|---|---|---|
||Lucy Parkinson-Baxter|2025|2028|
||Tom Fletcher|2025|2028|
||Nigel Greenhalgh|2025|2028|
It is considered that all P.C.C. members and any others who could be understood as ‘managers’ in the affairs and activities of St. John the Baptist Church, Burscough are deemed to be ‘fit and proper’ persons under the terms of the Finance Act 2010.
All P.C.C. members elected for the first time and any others who have been re-elected to the P.C.C. after an absence of sometime are supplied with the copies of the minutes of P.C.C. meetings for the last year, are given a copy of the last Annual Report and Accounts, and invited to meet with the P.C.C. Treasurer, the Church Wardens and the Incumbent in order that they may be thoroughly briefed on the financial situation of the Parish.
The Vicar, two Church Wardens, Treasurer and Estates Manager comprise the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee is empowered by The PCC to make decisions between PCC meetings. The minutes of the Standing Committee meetings are circulated to all PCC members.
## **Church Address**
**Vicar**
St John the Baptist, School Lane, Burscough, L40 4AE
Rev Elliott Ireton
**Bankers**
Royal Bank of Scotland Drummond House (GI) Branch 1 Redheughs Avenue, Edinburgh, EH12 9JN Coop Bank Delf House, Southway Skelmersdale, WN8 6NY
## **Independent Examiner**
Rev. A A Clements
**Charity Name** The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St John the Baptist Burscough Bridge
1128273
## **Charity Number**
## **MAJOR RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES**
|**Potential Risk**|**Mitigation**|
|---|---|
|Energy pricing: uncertain future pricing
leading to increased cost base and therefore
inadequate available cashflow to meet salary
and creditor payments.|
St. John’s relies on God’s provision and the generosity
of the congregation to meet its financial needs, core
members of the congregation can be approached to
underwrite in the event of a shortfall.
Our aim is to hold 6 months of ‘free unrestricted
reserves’ in hand
Strong budgetary and financial controls are in place.|
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Loss of Confiden by stakeholders due to
the behaviour of senior leadership or staff
members
Organisational values are clearly defined and
regularly communicated.
Prayer and worship are central to life at St. John's.
Oversight structures are in place for senior leaders
and staff.
Safeguarding at St. John's is overseen by a
Safeguarding Officer.
St. John's is working closely with the Diocese of
Liverpool to ensure that it models best practice in
the area of safeguarding.
All church members involved with children or
vulnerable adults are required to complete the
necessary safeguarding training and DBS checks.
Harm comes to those in our care due to lack
of appropriate and compliant child and
vulnerable adult safeguarding procedures
Harm comes to visitors or staff due to lack of
appropriate and compliant Health & Safety
procedures
Regular health and safety reporting takes
place at PCC meetings.
Poor decision-making and breach of
regulatory requirements due to weak or
non-compliant govemance structures.
PCC meetings and structures are compliant with
Charity Commission and church law requirements.
Conflicts of interest are managed appropriately at
PCC level.
IT systems are backed up remotely and can be
accessed remotely.
Inability to operate in the event of a
disaster due to lack of adequate business
continuty planning. Business continuity
compromised or critical data lost through
cyber-attack.
Legal and financial risks arising from
maintenance of two church buildings, and
the church hall.
There is a continuous program of ongoing
rna1ntenan and investment in our buildings.
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees. report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees
Signature(s)
pcc
and lai
tional
Full name(s)
Peter Short
Rev. Elliott Ireton
Position (eg Secretary, Chair,
etc)
Hon. Treasurer
Vicar and PCC Chair
Date
31FI2G
girlL6
## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BURSCOUGH**
## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025**
|**_Note_**
**INCOMING RESOURCES**
_Voluntary income_
_3(a)_
_Activities for generating funds_
_3(b)_
_Income from investments_
_3(c)_
_Income from church activities_
_3(d)_
_Other incoming resources_
_3(e)_
**TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES**
**RESOURCES EXPENDED**
_Church activities_
_4(a)_
_Costs of generating voluntary income_
_4(b)_
_Fund raising trading costs_
_4(c)_
_Governance costs_
_4(d)_
**TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED**
**GAINS/(LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS**
_- Realised_
_- Unrealised_
**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)**
TRANSFER BETWEEN FUNDS
**NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS**
BALANCES B/fwd at 1st JANUARY 2025
**BALANCES C/fwd at 31st DECEMBER 2025**
**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) BEFORE**
**INVESTMENT GAINS/(LOSSES)**|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Endowment**
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
288,988
76,437
-
365,425
263,309
119
-
-
119
89
33,472
-
-
33,472
25,345
9,785
-
-
9,785
8,935
6,168
-
-
6,168
7,729
338,532
76,437
-
414,969
305,407
(333,168)
(79,332)
-
(412,500)
(269,581)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(200)
-
-
(200)
(200)
(333,368)
(79,332)
-
(412,700)
(269,781)
5,164
(2,895)
-
2,269
35,626
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5,164
(2,895)
-
2,269
35,626
-
-
-
-
-
5,164
(2,895)
-
2,269
35,626
163,435
256,046
-
419,481
383,855
168,599
253,151
-
421,750
419,481|
|---|---|
10
PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BURSCOUGH
BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2025
Not•
2026
2024
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible fixed assets
314,000
314,OC()
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
4,708
2,989
Short term deposrts
Cash at bank and in hand
105.577
105,577
48,000
71,288
158,285
179,854
LIABILITIES: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE
WITHIN ONE YEAR
10
(50,535)
(67,251)
NEf CURRENT ASSErs
107,750
112,603
LIABILMES: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE
AFfER ONE YEAR
11
(7,122)
NET ASSETS
421,750
419,481
PARISH FUNDS
Unrestricted
12
168,599
163,435
Restricted
13
253,151
256,046
421,750
419.481
Approved by the Parochial Church Council on
3M>-
2026 and signed on its behalf by:
P. Short
Hon. Treasurer
E. Ireton
Vicar
The notes on pages 10 to 19 fomi p8rt of these accounts
**PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BURSCOUGH**
**NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES**
## _**Accounting convention**_
These financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis, under historical cost convention.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). The charity is a public benefit entity for the purposes of FRS 102 and therefore the charity also prepared its financial statements in accordance with the Statement of Reccomended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard in the UK and Republic of Ireland (The FRS 102 Charities SORP) and the Charities Act.
## _**Funds**_
Endowment funds are funds, the capital of which must be maintained; only income arising from investment of the endowment may be used either as restricted or unrestricted funds depending upon the purpose for which the endowment was established.
Restricted funds represent (a) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest, and (b) donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by PCC for a specific object. The funds may only be expended on the specific object for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of each year must be carried forwards as a balance on that fund. The PCC does not usually invest separately for each fund. Where there is no separate investment, interest is apportioned to individual funds on an average value basis.
Unrestricted funds are general funds which can be used for PCC ordinary purposes.
## _**Incoming resources**_
Planned giving, collections, donations, grants and legacies are recognised when the PCC is notified of its legal entitlement, the amount due is quantifiable, and its ultimate receipt by the PCC is probable. Income tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations is recognised when the income is recognised. Interest on bank accounts is accounted for as it accrues. All other income is recognised when it is receivable. All incoming resources are accounted for gross.
## _**Resources expended**_
Grants and donations are accounted for when payable, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding or constructive obligation on the PCC. The diocesan parish share is accounted for when payable. All other expenditure is recognised when it is incurred and is accounted for gross.
## _**Fixed assets**_
Consecrated and benefice property is not included in the accounts in accordance with s.10(2) of the Charities Act 2011.
Movable church furnishings held by the vicar and churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are inalienable property, listed in the church's inventory, which can be inspected (at any reasonable time). For anything acquired prior to 2000 there is insufficient cost information available and therefore such assets are not valued in the financial statements. Individual items with a purchase price of £1,000 or less are expensed when the asset is acquired.
## _**Investments**_
Investments are initially valued at their cost and subsequently measured at their fair value at each reporting date.
Changes in fair value and gains and losses arising upon the disposal of investments are credited or charged to the income or expenditure section of the Statement of Financial Activities as 'gains or losses on investments' and are allocated to the appropriate fund holding or disposing of the relevant investment.
12
**PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BURSCOUGH**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)**
## _**Financial instruments**_
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments. Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
With the exceptions of prepayments all other debtor and creditor balances are considered to be basic financial instruments under FRS 102.
## _**Debtors**_
Amounts owing at 31 December in respect of fees, rents and other income are shown as debtors less any provisions for amounts that may prove uncollectable.
## _**Cash and cash equivalents**_
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.
## _**Creditors**_
Creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.
## _**Going concern**_
The PCC has assessed whether the use of the going concern basis is appropriate and have considered possible events of conditions which might cast signficiant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The PCC has made this assesment for a period of at least one year from the date of the approval of the financial statements. In particular the PCC has considered the charity's forecasts and projections and have taken account of pressures on donations and other income. After making enquiries, the PCC has concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.
13
**PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BURSCOUGH**
**NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025**
## **2. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES**
The following table analyses 2024's income and expenditure between unrestricted, restricted and endowment funds.
|**INCOMING RESOURCES**
_Voluntary income_
_Activities for generating funds_
_Income from investments_
_Income from church activities_
_Other incoming resources_
**TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES**
**RESOURCES EXPENDED**
_Church activities_
_Costs of generating voluntary income_
_Fund raising trading costs_
_Governance costs_
**TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED**
**GAINS/(LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS**
_- Realised_
_- Unrealised_
**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)**
TRANSFER BETWEEN FUNDS
**NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS**
BALANCES B/fwd at 1st JANUARY 2024
**BALANCES C/fwd at 31st DECEMBER 2024**
**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) BEFORE**
**INVESTMENT GAINS/(LOSSES)**|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Endowment**
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
246,493
16,816
-
263,309
8,505
-
-
8,505
16,929
-
-
16,929
8,935
-
-
8,935
7,729
-
-
7,729
288,591
16,816
-
305,407
(269,169)
(412)
-
(269,581)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(200)
-
-
(200)
(269,369)
(412)
-
(269,781)
19,222
16,404
-
35,626
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
19,222
16,404
-
35,626
-
-
-
-
19,222
16,404
-
35,626
148,554
247,731
-
396,285
167,776
264,135
-
431,911|
|---|---|
14
**PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BURSCOUGH**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025**
## **3. INCOMING RESOURCES**
|3(a) **_Voluntary Income_**
Planned giving:
Regular planned giving
Tax recoverable
Collections (open plate)
Gift days
Donations
Special appeals
Legacies
Grants received
3(b) **_Activities for generating funds_**
Bookstall for fundraising
Rummage sales, fetes etc
Non-charitable trading
3(c) **_Income from investments_**
Dividends and Interest
Rent from land or buildings
3(d) **_Income from church activities_**
Magazine income from sales
PCC fees
3(e) **_Other incoming resources_**
Other
Job Retention Scheme and SMP reclaimed
**TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES**|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Endowment**
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
191,403
-
-
191,403
182,025
43,279
-
-
43,279
39,362
14,611
-
-
14,611
9,146
-
-
-
-
-
21,255
2,499
-
23,754
11,080
-
70,789
-
70,789
16,696
18,440
-
-
18,440
5,000
-
3,149
3,149
-
288,988
76,437
-
365,425
263,309
119
-
-
119
89
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
119
-
-
119
89
5,233
-
-
5,233
4,707
28,239
-
-
28,239
20,638
33,472
-
-
33,472
25,345
-
-
-
-
-
9,785
-
-
9,785
8,935
9,785
-
-
9,785
8,935
6,168
-
-
6,168
7,729
-
-
-
-
-
6,168
-
-
6,168
7,729
338,532
76,437
-
414,969
305,407|
|---|---|
15
**PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BURSCOUGH**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025**
## **4. RESOURCES EXPENDED**
|4(a) **_Church activities_**
**Missionary and charitable giving**
Charitable giving to other organisations
Home missions and other church organisations
Hardship donations
**Ministry**
Parish share
Working expenses of clergy
Parsonage house
Assistant staff costs
Psalm 57 Project costs
**Church running expenses**
Heating and lighting
Insurance
Other costs
Church maintenance
Upkeep of churchyard
Printing and other costs of magazine
Bookstall costs
Parish training and mission
Youth & children's work
Hall running costs
Hall repairs and maintenance
4(b) **_Costs of generating voluntary income_**
4(c) **_Fund raising trading costs_**
4(d) **_Governance costs (Independent examiner fee)_**
**TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED**
**5**
**STAFF COSTS**
Wages and salaries
Social security
Defined contribution pension cost|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**
20,000
-
-
103,704
1,668
4,448
81,927
15,336
10,271
5,344
44,741
17,731
6,983
-
-
6,447
3,412
5,124
6,032
333,168
-
-
200
333,368|**Restricted**
**Endowment**
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
-
-
20,000
19,000
-
-
-
1,250
4,280
-
4,280
292
-
-
103,704
119,164
-
-
1,668
401
-
-
4,448
2,714
-
-
81,927
67,824
70,789
-
86,125
-
-
-
10,271
7,673
-
-
5,344
5,168
-
-
44,741
12,485
-
-
17,731
9,218
1,399
-
8,382
3,420
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
75
2,864
-
9,311
4,735
-
-
3,412
5,875
-
-
5,124
5,488
-
-
6,032
4,799
79,332
-
412,500
269,581
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
200
200
79,332
-
412,700
269,781
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
104,694
92,149
-
-
1,304
1,181
105,998
93,330|
|---|---|---|
During the year, the PCC employed a parish administrator, an operations manager, a church cleaner and a church hall cleaner, all on a part-time basis. The headcount on a full-time equivalent basis is 1.3 (2024: 1.3).
In addition, the PCC also contributes towards the wages and salaries of staff employed by the Burscough Outreach Trust, these staff are included in the this staff costs note as their work is directly in connection with St John's Burscough. Their headcount on a full-time equivalent basis is 2.2 (2024: 2.2).
No employees receive employee benefits of more than £60,000 (2024: none).
Clergy members are employed by the Diocese of Liverpool and not by St John's so their costs have not been included in the salary figures shown above.
No members of the PCC received any remuneration or expenses in their capacity as charity trustees
16
**PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BURSCOUGH**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025**
## **6 FIXED ASSETS**
|**6**
**FIXED ASSETS**
**_Tangible fixed assets_**
**GROSS BOOK VALUE**
At 1st January 2025
Additions
Disposals
At 31st December 2025
**DEPRECIATION**
At 1st January 2025
Charge for the year
Depreciation eliminated on disposals
At 31st December 2025
**NET BOOK VALUE**
At 31st December 2025
At 31st December 2024
**7.**
**ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BY FUND**
Fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Fund balance
**8.**
**DEBTORS & PREPAYMENTS**
Income tax recoverable
Prepayments and accrued Interest
**9.**
**CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS**
Short term deposits (CCLA)
Cash at bank and in hand|**£**
**£**
**£**
314,000
-
314,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
314,000
-
314,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
314,000
-
314,000
314,000
-
314,000
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Endowment**
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
83,718
230,282
-
314,000
135,416
22,869
-
158,285
(50,535)
-
-
(50,535)
-
-
-
-
168,599
253,151
-
421,750
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
2,031
1,045
2,677
1,944
4,708
2,989
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
105,577
105,577
48,000
71,288
153,577
176,865
**Freehold Land**
**& Buildings**
**Fixtures &**
**Fittings**
**Total**|
|---|---|
17
**PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BURSCOUGH**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025**
|**10.**|**LIABILITIES:**|**2025**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**|**£**|**£**|
||Accruals and deferred Income|7,700|22,515|
||Other creditors|35,713|34,406|
||Coronavirus Bounceback Loan Scheme|7,122|10,330|
|||50,535|67,251|
|**11.**|**LIABILITIES:**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER ONE YEAR**|**£**|**£**|
||Coronavirus Bounceback Loan Scheme|-|7,122|
|||-|7,122|
||The Coronavirus Bounceback Loan Scheme is an unsecured loan, which is backed by the UK||government|
|**12.**|**UNRESTRICTED FUNDS**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**_The closing balance of unrestricted funds_**|**£**|**£**|
||**_comprised the following:_**|||
||General|156,867|148,529|
||Crabtree mission|4,259|7,432|
||Mission and ministry|7,473|7,474|
||Designated - Church refurbishment|-|-|
|||168,599|163,435|
|**13.**|**RESTRICTED FUNDS**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**_The closing balance of restricted funds_**|**£**|**£**|
||**_comprised the following:_**|||
||Curates' property|45,236|45,236|
||Church refurbishment|9,360|9,360|
||Church hall|34,000|34,000|
||Youth & children|151,046|151,046|
||Churchyard maintenance|-|-|
||Love where you live - Hardship|8,025|8,056|
||Mission and outreach|5,484|8,348|
|||253,151|256,046|
The Coronavirus Bounceback Loan Scheme is an unsecured loan, which is backed by the UK government.
18
## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BURSCOUGH**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025**
## **14. RELATED PARTIES**
The related parties of St John's PCC consist of the trustees of the charity, their close family members, and the Burscough Outreach Trust by nature of its shared trustees with St John's PCC.
The following trustees were connected to people or organisations in receipt of payments from St John's
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Trustee Related Trusteeships Related Party Transactions
Jeannie Holman (Until 27 April 2025) The Burscough Outreach Trust See below
Steve Baxter The Burscough Outreach Trust See below
Caroline McCaul (Since 27 April 2025) The Burscough Outreach Trust See below
Mark Aspinall The Burscough Outreach Trust See below
Works part-time as pastoral and
social action coordinator at St
John's. Is employed directly by
David Emmett None the Burscough Outreach Trust
Works part-time as church hall
Stuart Ashcroft None cleaner
Jennie Short (wife) works part
Peter Short None time as operations manager
**----- End of picture text -----**
The table below shows payments made to The Burscough Outreach Trust and amounts owing to or by them. None of St John's income derives from these entities.
||**2025**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|
|**Burscough Outreach Trust ("BOT")**|**£**|**£**|
|Amounts paid by St John's|168,549|43,000|
|Amounts received by St John's|-|3,156|
|Amounts due to/(from) St Johns|(1,150)|-|
## _**Connected persons**_
During 2025 three (2024: three), trustees or close family members of trustees, were employed by St John's PCC or the Burscough Outreach Trust.
Total emoluments to these related parties for 2025 total £27,312 (2024: £20,298).
## _**Trustee donations**_
St John's regularly receives donations from PCC members. The donors did not attach any conditions to their gifts which would require the charity to significantly alter the nature of its existing activities.
19
Independent Examiner's unqualified report to the Membe of the P.C.C. of St.
John the Baptist Burscough.
Accounts for the year ended 31*. December 2025 as set out
OD pages 10 to 11 of this ReporL
Charity no. 1128273,
R£spective responsibilities of the P.C.C. attd the eminer.
I'he P.C.C. members &ting as the ch8rity's trustees are restM)nsible for the preparation of the
accounts. The charity's trustees consider thal an audil is not required for the year under section
144 of the Charities Act 2011(the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is
needed. It is my resp)nsibility to-.
examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities A
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions giv by the Charity
Comrnission (under section 145(5Mb) of the Charities Ac¢ and
to slate wh¢ther particular rnatters have Come to my atlcntion.
Basis of the Independent Examiner's $t4temenL
My examinaiion was carried out in accordance with ihe general Dircclions given by the Charity
Commission and the guidance published in PCC A¢couniability (The Charities Act 201 l and
the P.C.C.), 5 edition). An examination includes a review of the aecounting records kept by
the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with these records. It also includes
consideralion of any unusual items or disclosu8 in the aOUn and seeking explanations
from the trustees concerning such maners. The procedures undertaken do nol provide all the
evidence that would be required for an audi( and consequently no opinion is given aq to
whether the accounis present a 'lrue and fair view and the report is limited io those matters set
out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's s¢atemeDt.
In connection with my examination, no material matter has come io my attention which gives
me cause lo believe that in, any material respect..
accounting records were not kepi in accordan with section 130 of the Charities Act.
or the accounts do not aOrd to the aco)unting records.
I have come across no other matters in cOnnlI0n with the examination to which attention
should be drnwn in ordcr to cnable a proper understanding of the accounts is reached.
Signed.
-1/( /. Elem &rt/i
D*e. /O&I Moy
Name
Rev'd. A. A. Clements.
Fellow A&sociation of Charity Independent Examiners.
Address 15 Carleton R(Ad. Great Knowley. Chorley PR6 8TQ
ACIE PCC CC32