2021-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Speldhurst With Groombridge And Ashurst

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Speldhurst with Groombridge and Ashurst

Registered charity number 1128599

with the Charity Commission (England and Wales)

also known as

The PCC of the Parish of Speldhurst with Groombridge and Ashurst

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st December 2021

Contents	Page
Annual Report	1-10
Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities	11
Independent Examiner's Report	12
Statement of Financial Activities	13
Balance Sheet	14
Notes to the Accounts	15-24

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Speldhurst with Groombridge and Ashurst (“The PCC”)

Also known as “The PCC of Speldhurst with Groombridge and Ashurst”

The PCC was registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission (England & Wales) in 2009 under registration number 1128599 under the requirements of the Charities Act 1993 (now the Charities Act 2011)

Annual Report for 2021

Reference and administrative information

Incumbent: The Revd. Douglas Wren The Rectory, Southfields Speldhurst 01892 862821 Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0PD douglas.wren12@gmail.com Address: Church Office The Rectory, Southfields Speldhurst Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0PD Principal Bank: National Westminster Bank 89 Mount Pleasant Road Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1QJ Independent examiner: Foot Davson Ltd. 17 Church Road Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1LG Website: http://speldhurst.org/church/ Membership: During the year the following served as members of The PCC: Incumbent: The Revd. Douglas Wren (Chairman) Churchwardens: Helen Coffin (St. Mary’s) James Green (St. Mary’s) from 27 May 2021 Japs Kuhepa (St Mary’s) until 26 May 2021 Chris Lilly (St Martin’s) Edward Pinnell (St Mary’s) until 26 May 2021 Tom Watson (St. Martin’s) Deputy Churchwardens: Winston Blake (St. John’s) Helen Coffin (St Mary’s) David Crundwell (St. John’s) Dan Pollen (St Mary’s) from 26 May 2021 Michael Smith

Deanery Synod: Martin Atkinson (St. Mary’s) (Also Vice Chairman) Arlene Fane (St. John’s) Peter Soyke (St. Martin’s) Glenn Pottow (St. Mary’s) Elected members: Christopher Blyth (St Martin’s) until 26 May 2021 Adrian Dawes (St Mary’s) Arlene Fane (St. John’s) Carolyn Firth (St. Mary’s) Ian Firth (St. Mary’s) Heather Hughes (St Mary’s) June Roff (St Mary’s) until 26 May 2021 Tracy Watson (St. Martin’s) (also St. Martin’s DCC Treasurer) Co-opted member Mike Bullett (St Mary’s) until 26 May 2021 George Carter (St Mary’s) from 26 May 2021 (also Treasurer) Dawn Pottow from 17 November 2021

Office holders who are not members of The PCC:

Secretary: Andrea Burgess (also Parish Administrator)

Other ministers in the Parish

John Perkins is a priest. John Buckle, Jenny Fitzsimmons, David Lamey and Karol Leeves are Readers and Sarah Bullett and Karol Leeves are Pastoral Assistants, all with the Bishop’s Permission to Officiate.

The PCC presents its Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021

Basis of preparation of the accounts

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006, 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).

Structure, governance and management of The Parish

The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England and is a charity registered with The Charity Commission (England & Wales) (“The Charity Commission”) number 1128599, the registration covering all three churches in The Parish. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure 1956 and the Church Representation Rules.

The Ecclesiastical Parish of Speldhurst with Groombridge and Ashurst (“The Parish”) consists of three districts corresponding to the churches of St. Mary the Virgin, Speldhurst, St. John the Evangelist, Groombridge and St. Martin of Tours, Ashurst. The Parish came into being on 1 April 1977 after an Order in Council confirmed a Pastoral Scheme uniting the two Benefices and Parishes, Speldhurst with Groombridge (which was one parish previously) and Ashurst, into a single parish. In 2009 a Special Parochial Church Meeting made, and the Bishop’s Council and Standing Committee of the

Diocesan Synod approved, the current scheme under which St. Mary’s and St. Martin’s operate with their own District Church Council (“DCC”) while St. John’s operates through a committee of The PCC (“The Committee”) which as such receives guidance from The PCC. The Scheme provides rules for the operation of the two DCCs and The Committee.

Each DCC, under delegated authority from The PCC, has the functions, powers and duties of a parochial church council within its district, subject to certain exceptions and limitations, in particular concerning financial and contractual matters. The PCC has delegated to The Committee the day to day running of St. John’s but retains a more hands-on approach as compared to the two churches with their own DCCs.

The members of The PCC are appointed as follows:

The incumbent, any curates, the Churchwardens, Deputy Churchwardens and the Deanery Synod Representatives are ex officio.
The Churchwardens are nominated by the Annual Meeting of Worshippers (“AMW”) of their respective churches and elected at a Meeting of Parishioners annually for a one year term.
The Deputy Churchwardens are elected by the AMW of their respective churches for a one year term.
The Deanery Synod representatives, currently the Parish is allocated 3 participants, are elected at an Annual Parochial Church Meeting (“APCM”) for a three year term. Elections last took place in 2020.
The elected members are nominated by the AMWs and then elected annually at the APCM for one year.
There are provisions for casual vacancies to be filled.

The PCC deals with those matters specifically reserved for it, those referred to it by the DCCs and The Committee, and those affecting the whole Parish. It has the responsibility of cooperating with the Rector and is responsible throughout The Parish for the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.

Under the Charities Act 2011 The PCC members, who are the “Trustees of the Charity", take ultimate responsibility for managing all of the affairs of The PCC and therefore of all 3 churches in the parish. On election The PCC members are instructed in their responsibilities as trustees.

Related parties

The Rector is an ex officio Foundation Governor of Speldhurst Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Primary School and St. Mary’s DCC is required to appoint a further 3 Foundation Governors, while the Diocese of Rochester is required to appoint the final 3 Foundation Governors. Dan Pollen was a governor during 2021 and he is also a member of St. Mary’s DCC.

St. Mary’s DCC has the power to appoint a Trustee to Speldhurst Village Hall, a charity registered with The Charity Commission with number 287945; the person appointed is not a member of a DCC or the PCC.

The Rector and the Churchwardens nominated by St. Mary’s are ex officio trustees of the Speldhurst Recreation Ground, a charity registered with The Charity Commission with number 302846.

The Rector and Mike Bullett are trustees of the Special Subjects Room (known as “The Speldhurst 1931 Trust” or “The 1931 Trust”) a charity which, due to its small size, is not required to register, and has not registered, with the Charity Commission (England and Wales).

The Trust has as its object benefiting people and organisations within the Parish of St. Mary’s. The power to appoint the trustees lies with The PCC as does the power to direct the trustees in the way that they disburse the Trust’s funds, although this latter power has not been exercised for some years: both powers have been delegated to St. Mary’s DCC.

The DCC of St. Martin’s has the right to appoint, for a year at a time, two representative members to The Committee of Management (all of whom are the trustees) of the Ashurst McDermott Hall, a charity registered with the Charity Commission (England and Wales) with number 302673. They are Tom Watson and Tracy Watson, both members of The PCC. In addition, Michael Jarrett, Sophie Minoprio and Jeremy Syers are trustees and are members of St. Martin’s DCC.

Details of all transactions with related parties are set out in note 7 on page 18.

Objectives and activities

The object of The Parish is to promote the whole mission of the Church of England within The Parish. As part of this, The PCC, primarily through the DCCs and The Committee, is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at the three churches and to become part of their respective church communities. Again, mainly through the DCCs and The Committee, The PCC maintains an overview of worship throughout The Parish and considers how the services and other related activities can involve the many groups that live within the districts of the three churches. The services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and outreach.

Risk management

The PCC, through the DCCs and The Committee, has carried out an assessment of the major risks to which The Parish is exposed, as identified by The PCC members. In particular, a child protection policy is in place and the procedure for obtaining approval for those working with children and vulnerable adults is well established.

All three churches and the central Parish function have systems of financial procedures in place for handling cash and for authorising, approving and paying for items of expenditure. Appropriate insurance policies are in place.

Public benefit

In planning the activities of the three churches in The Parish, the clergy and The PCC have considered The Charity Commission’s guidance on Public Benefit and in particular the specific guidance for charities for the enhancement of religion. The activities include the following:

The provision of public Christian worship open to all.
The provision of sacred space for personal prayer and contemplation.
Pastoral work, including visiting the sick and bereaved.
The teaching of Christianity through sermons, courses and small groups.
The provision of child and youth activities with a Christian ethos.
General promotion of Christianity.

Operation of The PCC

The PCC meets as required and has a Standing and Finance Committee which transacts business as required between meetings of the full PCC, subject to any directions given by The PCC. Most of the day to day activities take place in the church DCCs and The Committee as appropriate. The PCC oversees the financial affairs of the DCCs and The Committee and provides The Committee with guidance on additional matters and takes a more active role in the management of St. John’s.

The three churches present to The PCC budgets for the year for their respective churches. The PCC approves these and authority is given for the three churches to work within their budgets without further reference to The PCC. The PCC also approves the budget for the central Parish function.

Standing and Finance Committee

This committee is required to be appointed by law. The members of the committee are, and were throughout the year, the Chairman and Vice Chairman, the Churchwardens, the two Deputy Churchwardens appointed by St. John’s, the Treasurer of The Parish and the Treasurer of St. Martin’s.

Reserves policy and the cover

The PCC has approved a policy of maintaining at a particular level, the Unrestricted Funds which are designated for the use of the 3 churches, these are the General Funds of each church which are the free reserves of that church. For St. Mary’s this is at a level of not less than 4 months’ normal expenditure. For St. John’s and St. Martin’s this is at a level which is between three and six months’ normal expenditure, plus a further amount of £16,000 (£10,000 for St. John’s, £6,000 for St. Martin’s) to cover unexpected repairs to the Churches.

Based on the budgets for 2022, in aggregate normal expenditure for St. Mary’s for four months and for St. John’s and St. Martin’s for three months amounts to £60,200: normal expenditure for four months at St. Mary’s and for six months at St. John’s and St. Martin’s amounts to £77,625. The funds needed to cover this normal expenditure plus the £16,000 for emergency fabric repairs are between £76,200 and £93,625.

At 31 December 2021 in aggregate the General Funds of the three churches amounted to £233,146 and thus are well in excess of the policy limits. On an individual basis, the General Funds of St. Mary’s and St. Martin’s are well in excess of the higher amount, while that of St. John’s is well above the lower and also above the higher amount of the policy.

The PCC’s Unrestricted Funds, i.e. its free reserves, as opposed to the Unrestricted Designated Funds, are only £210. If the need arose The PCC would have to consider undesignating some or all of the Unrestricted Designated Funds of the three churches, potentially giving it access to what would be additional free reserves of £233,146 from their General Funds, £67,672 from their Diocesan Church Repair Funds and £50,611 from the Groombridge School House Fund: were all these funds undesignated, it would result in total unrestricted funds of £351,429.

Funds held as custodian on behalf of others – see note 6 on page 18

The PCC has acted as an agent for Spring Harvest, under its Group Organiser scheme, and as such collects money from intending participants during the year as they commit to attending, and forwards the money, usually around February. The PCC has also acted as agent for the Diocese of Rochester in the collection for fees for such services as funerals and weddings. This money is directly due to Spring Harvest and the Diocese respectively, not the PCC, and is therefore not included in the income or expenditure of the PCC but does form part of the bank balance, offset by the equivalent liability. At the year end, the PCC held £365 on behalf of Spring Harvest (2020 £365), these funds are held in a separate bank account, and £1,388 on behalf of the Diocese.

Review of the year

Achievements and performance

The first half of the year continued to be dominated by Covid 19 restrictions. A lot of time was spent identifying the activities we could still safely do in and around the church building to comply with government and Church of England published guidelines. This meant that during the first quarter of the year we were producing online services every week, but by Easter, we had introduced services back in church that involved social distancing, the wearing of face masks, no singing and ticketing the services for number and track and trace purposes.

The online services have been a very important part of our worship in the last year, and our thanks go to the wonderful team that have put all of this together.

“Vision Workshops” have also taken place to start a process of helping us see and hear where God may be calling us to work in our church.

Further details on the activities and achievements of the three churches is set out below.

The PCC

The PCC met 6 times during the year and the Standing and Finance Committee dealt with several matters by e-mail resolutions. The two DCCs and The Committee met between meetings and reports of these meetings were received by The PCC and discussed and approved where necessary.

Electoral roll and church attendance

At the Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on May 27[th] 2021 the following Electoral Roll numbers were reported:

St Mary’s 148 St Martin’s 28 St. John’s 13

Deanery Synod

The Tunbridge Wells Deanery Synod meets 3 times a year and comprises representatives of all 20 Anglican Churches (14 benefices) in Tunbridge Wells and Southborough and includes about 25 clergy members and 40 lay members. Meetings include reports on the Bishop’s Council, Diocesan Synod and General Synod discussions, followed by an address and/or discussion about a wide range of local and national church related topics.

Safeguarding

In accordance with the Church of England safeguarding policy we recruit, support and offer training to all those with any responsibility related to children, young people or vulnerable adults. We aim to create a safe and caring place for all and uphold the ethos of a culture of safeguarding in all that we do. We listen and offer support to victims/survivors of abuse regardless of when or where it occurred. We review all of our safeguarding policies, procedures and practices at best annually. We have recently implemented a Parish Safeguarding Dashboard provided by the Diocese of Rochester. We additionally hold our own church database that enables us to recognise when refresher learning should be completed and DBS certificates renewed. Furthermore, we now have a safeguarding page on our St. Mary’s Church website. We also participate in the national 'Safeguarding Sunday' awareness programme promoted by thirtyone:eight an independent Christian safeguarding charity.

Finance

The Parish has continued to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic throughout the year, although some recovery in the ability to meet and worship in person at the three churches saw a small increase in year-on-year donations through service collections. Notwithstanding this, overall income

saw a significant fall to £172,028 for the year [2020: £192,867]. This was driven primarily by a reduction in grants and one-off donations received in 2021 compared with 2020. Expenditure also fell during the year to £181,040 [2020: £200,079]. The overall result before taking account of unrealized fair value movements on investments was a deficit of £-9,012 [2020: £-7,211]. However, The Parish’s investments saw a notable increase in value of £25,878 in the period [2020: £11,625], leading to an overall net increase in Funds of £16,866 [2020: £4,414].

The funds available to The Parish at year end were £363,713 [2020 £346,847]. The balance sheet is currently healthy with sufficient cash to meet all currently foreseeable needs.

Copies of the detailed financial results of each individual church are available on request from The Parish Administrator at the Church Office (see page 1 for contact details). Financial highlights for each of the churches are as follows:

St. Mary’s Speldhurst:

Unrestricted income was £8,995 lower than in 2020 at £123,499 (2020: £132,494]. This was largely offset by a year-on-year reduction in expenditure of £6,525 to £124,284 [2020: £130,809]. Restricted fund income received totalled £4,306 whilst restricted fund expenditure totalled £3,881. After considering the unrealized fair value increase of investments of £17,640 St Mary’s showed an overall positive net increase in funds of £17,314 and a closing balance sheet of £218,916.

St. John’s Groombridge:

Unrestricted income increased year-on-year to £15,687 [2020: £13,718]. Expenditure also slightly increased to £10,879 [2020: £6,023]. Investment revaluations resulted in an unrealized gain of £8,238 for the year, leading to an overall overall increase in unrestricted funds of £5,960. Restricted Funds closed lower at £1,665, the reduction of £4,070 largely resulting from a contribution of funds to the redecoration of the church.

St. Martin’s Ashurst:

Unrestricted income fell year-on-year to £13,771 [2020: £15,190]. Expenditure also fell to £14,178 [2020: £14,760], resulting in a £430 reduction in unrestricted funds during the year. Restricted fund net income totalled £795, leading to a closing restricted fund balance of £2,438 [2020: £1,643].

2022 Budgets:

These show that in the General Funds of the three churches, overall expenditure is likely to exceed total income by about £17,000. Approximately £14,500 of the projected deficit is expected to arise from exceptional expenditure. The Parish has sufficient financial resources to fund these deficits should all budgeted expenditure be incurred.

Reports of the activities of the three churches of The Parish

The Wardens’ report

2021 began with level 4 lock down restrictions for the Southeast of England, therefore opening of St. Mary’s for services was a slow and careful process. We were producing online services every week, but by Easter, had introduced services back in church that involved social distancing, the wearing of face masks, no singing and ticketing the services for number and track and trace purposes.

The online services have been a very important part of our worship in the last year. April 2021 saw the new website launched, and this has allowed links to our online services on YouTube, therefore helping to reach out to more people.

July saw the start of easing covid related restrictions, and we had our summer services, mainly meeting outside.

September saw the “Vision Workshops” taking place, helping us see and hear where God may be calling us to work in our church. This is an ongoing project.

St. Mary’s has introduced a “Multi-Generational Church” concept through its very active youth groups, and this has seen our young people stay within the church building (or outside if weather permits) rather than go across to the school. This has been met very positively for all involved.

St. John’s and St. Martin's joined together for Harvest Festival on the 3rd October, a most enjoyable and uplifting occasion.

Community engagement

Our engagement with the local community continued through a range of activities in 2021. Bumps and Babes, which meets for coffee once a fortnight, provides a great opportunity for us to get to know new mums in the village, and for them to get to know one another. As those bumps become toddlers, we encourage mums to bring them along to Praise & Play, a simple act of worship, built around story and song, and another opportunity to build those relationships.

Our Mothers' Union members work hard to keep that relationship going. They help on the coffee rota for Praise & Play and keep in touch with mums and their families by sending anniversary of baptism cards. During 2021, they also spent time knitting crosses for the Anna Chaplaincy, fundraising for the Summer of Hope appeal, and through prayer, alongside other MU groups, for the diocese's MU overseas links.

Men on Wednesday, a group of retired men, began meeting in 2019 and was very well attended throughout the year, especially during the locked down period when it met weekly via Zoom. The idea of the group is to provide an opportunity for fellowship and friendship, through a mixture of informal conversation and facilitated discussion. There are twenty five members, of whom thirteen or so attend each week.

The pastoral assistants and the St. Mary’s care group maintained contact, mostly via telephone, with neighbours and friends who were isolated during the pandemic. Their focus was on providing company and identifying urgent need. They sent cards to the sick, hospitalised and bereaved and, as lockdown restrictions lifted, began to visit people in person again, spending time with them and taking Communion to believers who weren't able to make it to Holy Communion in the church building.

Our on-line worship capability, developed in the early part of the 2020 lockdown, has continued to be a highly effective tool for outreach and engagement and a real lifeline for the Parish, keeping members and their families connected during lock-down. We estimate that approximately seventy five people joined each of our Acts of Worship during the locked down part of the year. The number fell to approximately thirty five toward the end of the year, when normal services resumed, and is holding steady at that level.

Within the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the bellringers at St. Mary’s continued to help keep people aware of the church across the village. They were also able to mark significant events including tolling for the funeral of Captain Sir Tom Moore and the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, and half muffled ringing for Remembrance Sunday.

From a financial perspective, St. Mary’s has continued to give away 10% of its general fund income to charity, and to split this to ensure local, UK wide and international charities are all included. A team of four St. Mary’s members consider how to share out the money and recommend its distribution to the Finance Committee, aiming to support worthwhile charities with clear ethical/Christian objectives and low administrative costs. In 2021 St. Mary’s gave away £12,336, with 36% going to 13 local charities, 14% to 5 other UK charities and 50% to 14 international charities, mainly serving developing countries.

Growing Disciples

Sharing the Gospel and helping people grow as disciples is at the heart of what we do as a Christian community. One of the principal ways we do this is through our Home Group movement. These are small groups of people across the three churches who, through Bible study, aim to deepen friendships and encourage one another to grow in faith. Groups meet throughout the week in the daytime and during the evening, mostly in people’s homes. In response to lockdown groups met over Zoom and some have decided to continue to operate in this way. Groups also meet socially and sometimes come together to organise events for the church and wider community. Numbers are growing with the possibility of new groups on the horizon. Last year we successfully ran a “Start” course which was aimed at those who were unsure about their own faith position and wanted to find out more about Christianity. Of the 6 attendees, 3 went on to become members of a Home Group.

Worship and Prayer

Our worship continues to develop, especially now we have experienced many different skills and through the pandemic. Most of the congregations were welcomed back into the three churches for 10am services in September although our fortnightly online worship remains popular as well. Reflecting on what we have learnt during the pandemic, has led us to try new things in our in-person services including a more intergenerational approach.

Music continues to be a key part of worship for many and our ever-growing regular group of singers continues to expand with community choir events, including performances at St. Mary’s Christmas carol services.

Our Prayer Chain coordinator receives requests from those in need of prayers for any matter and circulates the prayer chain with the request. Those who have made requests find this very helpful.

Children and Young People 2021

As a result of lockdown, children and young people’s ministry proved to be extremely challenging. Following the Government guidance for most of the year the youth connected on Zoom. We played games on-line, studied the Bible together on-line and socialised on-line. For the younger ones we tried to keep in touch by occasionally delivery a card or a book to their homes.

During this time St. Mary’s was delivering a superb Sunday Service on YouTube and many of our young families were encouraged to lead the prayers together, and on a number of occasions the older ones told ‘their story’ which was very well received by those tuning in. In September as lockdown restrictions eased, we began to meet in church premises on a socially distanced basis. When we returned to church in September the young people stayed in church at the beginning and then went out for about 20 minutes or so. During this time, generally they followed the same Gospel readings, but on a child-friendly basis, doing craft related to the bible study.

Church Fabric and Churchyard Activities

St. Mary’s:

Although Covid restrictions limited building use, the lightning protection system, heating system, electrical equipment, fire extinguishers, church clock, organ and bells all received their annual maintenance attention and certification.

A church building quinquennial inspection was undertaken by the diocesan church architect in October. A number of minor maintenance items were identified to be addressed over the next 5 year period.

Two initiatives were put in place to provide an internet connection to the church to enhance building use. In December St. Mary’s phone line was reconnected for internet use. This will provide download access for youth work and support for a card reader system for cashless in church payments. Earlier in the year we joined a village wide Community Fibre Partnership with Openreach which will eventually provide a high-speed fibre connection to the church, hopefully in 2022.

In the Churchyard the tree safety works identified as required by the 2020 arboricultural survey were completed in March 2021.

St. John’s:

During the year the Church interior was redecorated. The agreed budget for the redecoration works was £11,000. The actual cost was £10,375, excluding VAT of £582, which was subsequently recovered under the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme.

Several rotted fence posts, by the footpath, were fitted with concrete spurs. The beautiful flowering cherry tree by the entrance path was blown down. It was then replaced with 2 flowering cherry trees.

St. John’s and St. Martin's joined together for Harvest Festival on the 3rd October, a most enjoyable and uplifting occasion.

Approved by The PCC on April 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

Revd. Douglas Wren (Chairman)

STATEMENT OF PCC MEMBERS' RESPONSIBILITIES AS THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees are The PCC Members and as such are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards. Charity law requires the PCC Members to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of The PCC and of its income and expenditure, for that period. In doing so the PCC Members are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles of the Charities’ Statement of Recommended Practice
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that The PCC will continue in operation.

The PCC Members are responsible for keeping accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of The PCC. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of The PCC and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Insofar as the PCC Members are aware, there is no relevant information of which The PCC’s Independent Examiner is unaware, and the PCC Members have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that the independent examiner is aware of that information.

The PCC Members are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the PCC's website.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF SPELDHURST WITH GROOMBRIDGE AND ASHURST

I report to the charity's trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31st December 2021 which are set out on pages 13 to 24.

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

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:

1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
2 the accounts do not accord with those records; or
3 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.

Tina Clay BA FCA 17 Church Road For and on behalf of Tunbridge Wells Foot Davson Ltd Kent Chartered Accountants TN1 1LG

April 2022

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Statement of Financial Activities

for the year to 31st December 2021

	2021	2021	2021	2021			2020	2020	2020	2020	2020
Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Designated Funds		Restricted Funds		PCC Funds	Unrestricted Funds	Unrestricted Designated Funds			Restricted Funds		PCC Funds
257 1	St. Mary's St. John's St. Martin's 115,655 13,578 12,908 4,120 407 707 85 63 3,639 1,702 93 0	TOTAL 142,141 5,234 148 5,434 0	Parish St. Mary's St. John's St. Martin's TOTAL 7,528 4,306 5,163 1,315 18,312 500 500 0 1 1 0		TOTAL 160,453 5,991 148 5,436 0	108 8	St. Mary's St. John's St. Martin's 125,962 11,060 13,447 2,703 981 137 50 1,449 3,715 1,677 157 64		TOTAL 150,469 3,821 1,499 5,549 64	Parish St. Mary'sSt. John'sSt. Martin's TOTAL 13,641 12,989 2,439 1,600 30,669 673 673 0 7 7 0		TOTAL 181,138 4,602 1,499 5,564 64
258	123,499 15,687 13,771	152,957	7,529 4,306 5,163 1,815	18,813	172,028	116	132,494 13,718 15,190		161,402	13,648 12,989 2,439 2,273	31,349	192,867
97,427	0 0 43,474 10,879 4,891	0 59,244	10,235 3,881 9,233 1,020	0 24,369	0 181,040	96,224	0 0 51,547 6,023 4,930		0 62,500	12,500 25,965 1,979 911	0 41,355	0 200,079
97,427	43,474 10,879 4,891	59,244	10,235 3,881 9,233 1,020	24,369	181,040	96,224	51,547 6,023 4,930		62,500	12,500 25,965 1,979 911	41,355	200,079
	17,640 8,238	0 25,878		0 0	0 25,878		7,924 3,701		0 11,625		0 0	0 11,625
(97,169) 97,172	97,665 13,046 8,880 34 (11) (23) (80,810) (7,075) (9,287)	119,591 0 0 (97,172)	(2,706) 425 (4,070) 795	(5,556) 0 0 0	16,866 0 0 0	(96,108) 96,138	88,871 11,396 10,260 (79,262) (7,045) (9,830)		110,527 0 0 (96,137)	1,148 (12,976) 460 1,362	(10,006) 0 0 0	4,413 0 0 1
3 207	16,889 5,960 (430) 201,133 76,485 51,392	22,419 329,010	(2,706) 425 (4,070) 795 9,783 469 5,735 1,643	(5,556) 17,630	16,866 346,847	30 177	9,609 191,524	4,351 430 72,134 50,962	14,390 314,620	1,148 (12,976) 460 1,362 8,635 13,445 5,275 281	(10,006) 27,636	4,414 342,433
£210	£218,022 £82,445 £50,962	£351,429	£7,077 £894 £1,665 £2,438	£12,074	£363,713	£207	£201,133	£76,485 £51,392	£329,010	£9,783 £469 £5,735 £1,643	£17,630	£346,847

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised during the year.

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2021

Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2021	Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2021
2021		2020
Parish St. Mary's St. John's St. Martin's inter fund balances	TOTAL 205,850	Parish St. Mary's St. John's St. Martin's inter fund balances	TOTAL 179,972
140,320 65,530 0 0		122,680 57,292 0 0
0 4,710 703 1,573 (2,512) 14,400 84,511 12,211 45,005 1,943 1,189 7,084 7,636	4,474 156,127 17,852	250 9,241 3,224 1,952 (1,960) 17,103 97,953 20,298 43,713 1,099 1,365 2,905 8,170	12,707 179,067 13,539
16,343 90,410 19,998 54,214 (2,512)	178,453	18,452 108,559 26,427 53,835 (1,960)	205,313
(9,056) (11,814) (1,418) (814) 2,512	(20,590)	(8,462) (29,637) (1,499) (800) 1,960	(38,438)
7,287 78,596 18,580 53,400 0	157,863	9,990 78,922 24,928 53,035 0	166,875

£7,287 £218,916 £84,110 £53,400 £0 £363	£0 £363,713	£9,990 £201,602 £82,220 £53,035 £0 £346	£0 £346,847
7,077 894 1,665 2,438 0 218,022 82,445 50,962 210 0 0 0	12,074 351,429 210	9,783 469 5,735 1,643 0 201,133 76,485 51,392 207 0 0 0	17,630 329,010 207
£7,287 £218,916 £84,110 £53,400 £0 £363	£0 £363,713	£9,990 £201,602 £82,220 £53,035 £0 £346	£0 £346,847

The notes on pages 15 to 24 form part of these accounts

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on April 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

Revd. Douglas Wren (Chairman)

George Carter CA CTA (Treasurer)

2021

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Notes to the Accounts

1 Accounting policies

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006, 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 issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include investment assets at fair value. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £. 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 PCC has considered whether the cash flow statement adds materially to the understanding of the PCC’s affairs and has concluded that it does not. It has therefore applied Update Bulletin 2 as published on 5 October 2018 and does not include a cash flow statement on the grounds that it is applying FRS 102 Section 1A.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

a) Funds

Restricted Funds represent income which may be expended only on those restricted objects for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of each year must be carried forward 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 balance basis.

Unrestricted funds represent the funds of the PCC that are not subject to any special restrictions regarding their use and are available for application to the general purposes of the PCC. Funds designated for a particular purpose by the PCC are also unrestricted and the PCC has the authority to change or remove the designation.

b) Incoming resources

i) Voluntary income and capital resources

Planned giving receivable under gift aid, collections and donations are recognised when received by or on behalf of the PCC.

Income tax recoverable on gift aid donations is recognised when the income is recognised.

Grants and legacies to the PCC are recognised as soon as the PCC is notified of its legal entitlement, the amount due is quantifiable, receipt is probable, and any conditions attaching to them are met, or, in instances where related expenditure has been incurred, there is a realistic expectation that all conditions will be met.

Specific fund raising events, such as fetes, bazaars and similar events, are accounted for gross.

ii) Income from investments

Dividends and interest are recognised when receivable. Any tax recoverable on such income is recognised in the same period.

c) Resources expended

i) Grants

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded if that award creates a binding obligation on the PCC. The PCC has a policy of distributing some of the income of the General Income and Expenditure Funds in grants - "Away Giving". In the absence of a contractual obligation, grants made in this way, including those for the support of overseas missionaries, are accounted for on the basis of the support agreed by the relevant DCC or Away Giving committee that relates to the financial year concerned.

ii) Activities directly relating to the work of the Church
The Parish's voluntary contribution to central diocesan costs (see note 1 g), is accounted for when due. All other expenditure is generally recognised when it is incurred and is accounted for gross.
d) Gains and losses on investments
Realised gains or losses are recognised when investments are sold. Unrealised gains or losses are recognised on revaluation of investments to market value at the year end or on redesignation - see note 1 e) iii).

e) Fixed assets

i) Consecrated land and buildings and movable church furnishings

Consecrated and beneficed property is excluded from the accounts by s.10(2) Charities Act 2011.

Movable church furnishings held by the Rector and Churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal, are inalienable property. They are listed in the Churches' Inventories 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. Items acquired since 1 January 2000 which would have a resale value are capitalised and depreciated in the accounts over their anticipated useful economic life when acquired, or over 20 years, whichever is the shorter, on a straight line basis.
ii) Other fixtures, fittings and equipment
Equipment used within the church premises is depreciated on a straight line basis over four years. Individual items of equipment with a purchase price of £5,000 or less are written off when the asset is acquired.
iii) Investments

Investments are valued at market value at 31 December using the "bid price".

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Notes to the Accounts 2021

f) Current assets

Individual amounts in excess of £500 paid in advance which are recoverable and all amounts owing to the PCC at 31 December are shown as debtors and prepayments. Provision is made for any debtors that may prove irrecoverable. Short term deposits include cash held on deposit with the Rochester Diocesan Board of Finance and at banks.

g) Contribution to the Diocesan Central Costs, including the incumbent's stipend and associated costs, and other shared expenditure

The PCC decides each year on the voluntary contribution to be made by the Parish to the Diocese to cover it's central costs, which include the incumbent's stipend and associated costs. It is thereafter responsible for this contribution, the rectory running costs, Readers' and Pastoral Assistants' costs, the costs of visiting clergy, the administrator's salary and some of the Parish Office costs. A contribution is made by the two DCCs and the St John's Committee towards these costs.

h) Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the Trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. The Trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for 12 months from authorising these financial statements. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern.

2 a) Tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations Donations Planned giving: Regular Gift Aid donations By Gift Aid envelope Not Gift Aided Non-regular Gift Aid donations Regular giving by CAF and GYE Grants Other regular giving Tax recoverable on collections Income from: Away Giving Appeal Legacies Box & miscellaneous donations Collections: Non-regular donations not Gift Aided	Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted Total Designated 2021 £ £ £ £ 87,829 6,851 94,680 22,989 2,239 25,228 10,240 500 10,740 6,116 200 6,316 4,991 117 5,108 1,911 262 2,173 1,628 65 1,693 4,295 1,690 5,985 40 40 813 2,151 2,964 89 4,222 4,311 1,200 1,200 15 15	Total 2020 £ 93,442 26,446 13,350 6,157 4,127 2,861 1,697 15,267 380 2,507 14,404 500 0
	0 142,141 18,312 160,453	181,138

Grants . The PCC was grateful to receive the following grants from Speldhurst Parish Council: £1000 towards St Mary's churchyard maintenance, £1,000 for St John's churchyard maintenance, £1,000 for St Martin's churchyard maintenance and £300 towards the cost of St Martin's Broadsheet magazine. The PCC was also grateful to have received a grant of £90 from Certas Energy towards the cost of St Mary's heating. The PCC was also pleased to receive a grant of £4,962.73 from the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme equal to the VAT on repairs and maintenance work carried out at St Mary's and St John's in 2020 and 2021; £4,291.20 of this was accrued in the 2020 accounts and £671.53 is included in these accounts. The PCC was also grateful to receive grants of £500 from Friends of Kent Churches and £1,500 from the Glaziers Trust in respect of the repair and restoration of the Waller window in St Mary's vestry; these grants were accrued in the 2020 accounts. The PCC was also grateful to receive a grant of £250 from the East Grinstead and District Guild of Church Bell Ringers towards new bell ropes at St Mary's.

b) Church activities

257 5,224 5,481 500 500 Note 5 0 0 10 10 257 5,234 500 5,991 c) 148 148 d) 1 5,434 1 5,436 e) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 258 152,957 18,813 172,028 Fund raising income Dividends and interest (including any reclaimed tax) Other incoming resources Investments Insurance claims TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES Surplus on sale of fixed assets St Martin's Broadsheet Fees and other related income Sales of church history books Other church operations Associated activities and Parish events	257 5,224 5,481 500 500 Note 5 0 0 10 10 257 5,234 500 5,991 c) 148 148 d) 1 5,434 1 5,436 e) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 258 152,957 18,813 172,028 Fund raising income Dividends and interest (including any reclaimed tax) Other incoming resources Investments Insurance claims TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES Surplus on sale of fixed assets St Martin's Broadsheet Fees and other related income Sales of church history books Other church operations Associated activities and Parish events	3,403 673 526 0
	257 5,234 500 5,991	4,602
	148 148	1,499
	1 5,434 1 5,436	5,564
	0 0 0 0	64 0
	0 0 0 0	64
	258 152,957 18,813 172,028	192,867

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Notes to the Accounts

2021

3 a) b) Note 5 Speldhurst Chapel St Martin's Broadsheet costs Relief and development agencies Cost of fundraising Secular charities Church activities Fund raising costs Computer software and expenses Independent examiner Church repairs and maintenance Church services costs and fuel Other expenses Young people's work Insurance Employee costs Bank charges Associated activities Teaching and outreach TOTAL RESOURCES USED Contribution to diocesan costs Ministry Missionary and charitable giving (see note below): Church overseas Total away giving Home missions and other church organisations Expenditure on: Other clergy, rectory and ministry costs Organists and music leaders Churchyard upkeep Printing, stationery & parish office costs Deanery and other contributions St John's Church redecoration Digital consultancy Organ maintenance and music costs	Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted Total Designated 2021 £ £ £ £ 0 0	Total 2020 £ 0
	4,599 4,599 2,536 15 2,551 75 6,737 6,812 2,001 444 2,445	3,860 2,734 11,590 3,168
	75 15,873 459 16,407 76,185 76,185 5,466 327 5,793 50 50 251 2,385 2,636 250 391 641 10,000 10,000 4,044 90 4,134 4,290 1,448 5,738 4,200 6,757 10,957 13,880 3,135 17,015 8,680 8,680 1,166 2,125 3,291 808 808 120 120 235 235 652 652 768 768 13,565 1,224 14,789 0 0 47 47 1,592 1,592 43 459 502	21,352 76,185 5,272 50 2,293 2,202 12,500 4,620 26,489 0 18,754 8,745 0 1,260 561 1,413 503 1,056 14,405 629 27 1,540 223
	97,427 59,244 24,369 181,040	200,079
	97,427 59,244 24,369 181,040	200,079

Note: The only grant in excess of £1,000 included in the missionary and charitable giving is £3,120 to Church Mission Society. Of the balance of grants, all were of £1,000 or less and were to institutions.

4 a) Staff costs

The average number of employees in 2021 was 2 (2020 2). The total staff costs amounted to £14,789 (2020 £14,405), of which £14,216 (2020 £13,837) was salaries, £0 (2020 £0) employer National Insurance costs, and £573 (2020 £568) employer pension and life insurance costs. No employee earned £60,000 or more in the year.

The St. Mary's churchyard gardener is not an employee but provides his services under a contract for services. The organist at St Martin's and the regular organists at St Mary's provide their services without charge. Other organists are not employees but provide their services on a casual basis and are paid the fee they charge.

b) Pension schemes and employer contributions

The Diocese of Rochester pays the Rector’s stipend and also the pension contributions relating to him in respect of the Church of England Pension Scheme which is a defined benefit scheme. The PCC has offered and pays a contribution to the Diocese to cover both the costs of clergy and other central costs of the Diocese but this is not allocated to any particular items. It is therefore not possible to say how much of the offered contribution relates to the pension contributions that the Diocese pays in respect of the Rector. The PCC has no further liability in respect of the Rector’s pension.

The PCC paid pension contributions into a workplace pension, which is a defined contribution scheme, and these amounted to £1,083 in 2021 (2020 £1,073); £510 (2020 £505) of this was deducted from employees' pay as employee contributions. The PCC has no further liability in respect of such pensions.

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Notes to the Accounts

2021

5 Associated activities and Parish Events

There were no associated activities in 2021.

6 Funds received and paid as agent

£858.00 of fees due to the Rochester Diocesan Board of Finance was held at the start of 2021. A further £1,725.80 was received during the year and £1,195.00 was paid to Rochester DBF. £1,388.80 remained held at 31 December 2021; £1,170.80 of this will be paid to Rochester DBF in February 2022 and £218 is in respect of a 2022 wedding.

£131 was collected on behalf of Rochester DBF at St Mary's Confirmation Service and was paid to Rochester DBF.

£455 was collected for a visit to Spring Harvest and £455 was refunded to those who had paid as 2021 Spring Harvest was cancelled. £365 Spring Harvest money (balance from previous years) remained held at 31 December 2021.

7 Payments to PCC members and related parties

Details of those bodies which are related parties by virtue of a PCC member being involved with them are set out on page 3 of the report. Other than those noted below, there were no payments to any of these bodies. The PCC paid £77 (2020 £217) in letting fees to Speldhurst Village Hall which was charged to the PCC at the normal hire rates. These costs are included under the heading of the activities to which they related.

The PCC is not charged for its use of the Ashurst McDermott Hall and made a donation of £100 (2020 £100).

A small immaterial portion of the expenses paid to the Rector may have related to his services as Chairman of the PCC. Expenses reimbursed

to other PCC members did not relate to any services or goods provided or for travel or subsistence but were only for bona fide expenses incurred by them on behalf of the PCC.

Included in the Parish Insurance cover is a limited amount of Trustee Indemnity Insurance cover, the cost of which is not separately identified.

8 Parish Office building

The cost of the Parish Office, £22,333, was borne by the PCC and written off in 2001. The PCC has negotiated a written agreement with the Diocese providing for reimbursement of part of the cost should the Diocese or Rector take any action which makes it impossible to use the office for its present purposes. Reimbursement is on a sliding scale, providing for repayment to the Parish up to 2040.

9 Speldhurst Chapel

In September 2021 the PCC entered into a lease agreement with Trustees of the Western Counties and South Wales Evangelization Trust for the use of Speldhurst Chapel. There is no rent payable under the terms of the lease, but the PCC is responsible for electrical work to make the Chapel safe for use and for the day to day running costs of the Chapel. £3,291 was spent in 2021, of which £1,974 was for essential electrical safety work. The PCC has no responsibility for repairs to the structure of the building.

10 Fixed assets

Investments

During the year the fixed assets were held in the following investments for the unrestricted designated funds listed. Church of England Central Board of Finance Investment Fund - Income Shares

Balance at 1 January 2021 Sale of shares - proceeds Unrealised surplus / (deficit) on revaluation Realised surplus on sale Market value at 31 December 2021	Shares Value £ 6,000 122,680 17,640 St Mary's General Fund	Shares Value £ 1,002 20,488 2,946 St John's General Fund	Shares Value £ 1,800 36,804 5,292 St John's Groombridge School House Fund	2021 Total £ 179,972 0 0 25,878	2020 Total £ 168,347 0 0 11,625
	6,000 140,320	1,002 23,434	1,800 42,096	205,850	179,972

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Notes to the Accounts 2021

11 Analysis of net assets a) By fund

Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted 2021 Designated Total £ £ £ £ 210 210 67,672 67,672 172,617 172,617 24,421 24,421 50,611 50,611 36,108 36,108 0 0 1,218 1,218 5,859 5,859 0 0 894 894 0 0 1,665 1,665 0 0 0 0 786 786 0 0 110 110 1,392 1,392 150 150 210 351,429 12,074 363,713 16a) i) 16 a) ii) 16 b) Inter fund Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted 2021 balances Designated Total £ £ £ £ £ 205,850 205,850 (2,512) 6,468 159,805 14,692 178,453 2,512 (6,258) (14,226) (2,618) (20,590)	Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted 2021 Designated Total £ £ £ £ 210 210 67,672 67,672 172,617 172,617 24,421 24,421 50,611 50,611 36,108 36,108 0 0 1,218 1,218 5,859 5,859 0 0 894 894 0 0 1,665 1,665 0 0 0 0 786 786 0 0 110 110 1,392 1,392 150 150	2020 Total £ 207 68,408 156,781 20,739 45,319 37,763 1,953 1,218 6,612 0 469 0 5,735 0 0 671 0 110 712 150
	210 351,429 12,074 363,713	346,847
		2020 Total £ 179,972 205,313 (38,438)
0 210 351,429 12,074 363,713		346,847
210 7,077 7,287 218,022 894 218,916 82,445 1,665 84,110 50,962 2,438 53,400		9,990 201,602 82,220 53,035
0 210 351,429 12,074 363,713		346,847

12 13 a) b) 14 Other creditors Dividend cash held by Diocese Amounts falling due within one year Diocesan Church Repair Fund Accruals and deferred income Liabilities Income tax and Gift Aid on Small Donations recoverable Debtors and prepayments Bank and cash Debtors and prepayments Short term deposits Rochester loan deposit Current accounts and cash Bank deposit accounts Cash and cheques in hand Bank current accounts	2021 3,044 1,430	2020 3,183 9,524
	4,474	12,707
	33,936 79,878	38,849 97,058
	113,814 42,313	135,907 43,160
	156,127	179,067
	16,897 0 955	13,001 0 538
	17,852	13,539
	2021 (14,539) (6,051)	2020 (19,633) (18,805)

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Notes to the Accounts 2021

(20,590) (38,438)

15 Contingent liabilities and Capital commitments

a) Contingent liabilities

There were none at 31 December 2021 (2020 £NIL).

b) Capital commitments

There were none at 31 December 2021 (2020 £NIL).

16 Fund details

PCC funds

General Income and Expenditure Account - unrestricted

This account is for the use of the general purposes of the Parish.

Church Repair Fund - unrestricted designated

The fund is designated for the repairs of the three churches. Money is paid into it annually to help with the cost of repairs that arise following a quinquennial inspection of the church buildings by the Diocesan Architect. St. Mary's had an inspection in 2021, St. John's had one in 2018, and St. Martin's had one in 2020: thus the next inspections are due in 2026, 2023 and 2025 respectively.

Digital Fund

This fund has received donations for digital consultancy for the provison of on-line acts of worship and has expended money for that purpose. The fund is now closed.

Parish Restricted Fund

This fund holds money donated to subsidise places at visits to future Spring Harvests.

Parish Youth Fund - restricted

The fund is to be used for children's and youth work in the Parish, including the making of grants to the youth or young adults attending worship at a church in the Parish to fund their missionary work in the UK or overseas. £235 was expended on St Mary's children and youth work in 2021 as agreed by the PCC.

St. Mary's funds

General Income and Expenditure Account - unrestricted designated

This account is designated for the use of St. Mary's DCC for the general purposes of St. Mary's church.

Archive Fund - restricted

This fund is restricted to be used for the documentation and preservation of St. Mary's history and for related matters. Subsequently the donor's family has agreed that it may also be used for the repair of the Waller Window in the vestry for which purpose it has now been expended and the fund is now closed.

Restricted Fund - restricted

This was set up by the PCC in 2004. It receives funds that have been donated for specified purposes and pays out expenses relating to those matters.

St. John's funds

General Income and Expenditure Account - unrestricted designated

This account is designated for the use of St. John's Committee for the general purposes of St. John's church.

Groombridge School House Fund - unrestricted designated

The fund comprises 1,800 Income Shares in the CBF Investment Fund (2020 1,800 shares), and a deposit of £8,515 (2020 £8,515). The dividend and deposit income derived from the investment is received into St. John's General Fund; no records have been found of any restrictions in the use of the capital or income. The then DCC of St. John's in conjunction with the PCC designated this fund for use on future capital projects at St. John's and the St. John's Committee has not requested any change in this designation.

Churchyard Maintenance Fund - restricted

The fund comprises donations received specifically for the maintenance of the churchyard.

Friends of St. John's Groombridge - restricted

This was started in 2011. The fund is primarily for the maintenance of the church building.

British Legion Fund - restricted

The fund receives the church collection on Remembrance Sunday which is stated as being for the Royal British Legion to which subsequently it is paid.

Redecoration Fund - restricted

The fund received donations specifically given towards the cost of redecorating the church in 2021.

Notes to the Accounts 2021

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

St. Martin's funds

General Income and Expenditure Account - unrestricted designated

This account is designated for the use of St. Martin's DCC for the general purposes of St. Martin's church.

Churchyard Fund - restricted

The fund comprises donations received specifically for the maintenance of the churchyard.

Away Giving Fund - restricted

This fund receives the proceeds of special collections for charitable away giving.

Windows Fund - restricted

This fund received donations for the installation of new stained glass windows and was used for that purpose in 2014, except for the remaining balance which is for a plaque or inscription to go with them which is the final part of the windows project.

Broadsheet Fund - restricted

This fund receives money which is specifically to defray the costs of producing the Ashurst Broadsheet.

Broadsheet Binding Fund - restricted

This fund has been set up to fund the binding of one set of the last 60 years of issues of the Ashurst Broadsheet.

a) i) ii) 1) Gross interest St. Mary's relating to St. Martin's Unrestricted Designated Funds Balance at 31 December Repairs Unrestricted Unrestricted Funds Church Repair Fund (see below) Transferred from General Funds Transfer from St. John's General Income and Expenditure Account towards parish costs Transfer from St. Martin's General Income and Expenditure Account towards parish costs Interest added in the year Expenditure in the year Balance 31 December General Income & Expenditure Account (The Parish) Balance at 1 January Income received Balance at 1 January St. John's Transfer from St. Mary's General Income and Expenditure Account towards parish costs	2021 £ 207 257 80,810 7,075 9,287 1 (97,427)	2020 £ 177 108 79,262 7,045 9,831 8 (96,224)
	210	207
	68,408 3,370 94 (4,200)	63,820 4,370 218 0
	67,672	68,408
	45,405 7,413 14,854	44,352 10,427 13,629
	67,672	68,408

£42,313 of this fund is invested in the Diocesan Church Repair Fund and £25,267 of that part relating to St Mary's and £92 of that part relating to St John's is held in bank deposit accounts.

2) Note 10 3) Note 10 Surplus/(Deficit) of income over expenditure for the year before contribution Contribution to Parish costs Surplus/(Deficit) of income over expenditure for the year before contribution Contribution to Parish costs General Income & Expenditure Account (St. John's) Increase/(Decrease) in valuation of investments held for the General Fund Balance at 1 January Transferred to Church Repair Fund Balance at 31 December Surplus/(Deficit) of income over expenditure for the year Transferred to Church Repair Fund Balance at 1 January General Income and Expenditure Account (St. Mary's) Balance at 31 December Surplus/(Deficit) of income over expenditure for the year Increase/(Decrease) in valuation of investments held for the General Fund	156,781	149,320
	80,006 (80,810)	80,799 (79,262)
	(804) (1,000) 17,640	1,537 (2,000) 7,924
	172,617	156,781
	20,739	19,966
	8,981 (7,075)	7,665 (7,045)
	1,906 (1,170) 2,946	620 (1,170) 1,323
	24,421	20,739

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Notes to the Accounts

2021

4) Note 10 5) b) i) 1) 2) 3) Surplus/(Deficit) of income over expenditure for the year Surplus/(Deficit) of income over expenditure for the year before contribution Contribution to Parish costs Groombridge School House (St John's) General Income & Expenditure Account (St. Martin's) Balance at 31 December Parish Youth Fund Balance at 1 January Interest added in year Total St. Martin's Transferred to Church Repair Fund Balance at 1 January Increase/(Decrease) in valuation of investments held for the Fund Digital consultancy cost Balance at 31 December Transfer from Parish Youth Fund Transfer to Digital Fund Parish Restricted Fund Subsidy to Spring Harvest places Balance at 31 December Balance at 31 December Digital Fund Balance at 1 January Income received including Gift Aid tax recovery Parish Restricted Funds Total St. John's Total St. Mary's Balance at 1 January Total Unrestricted Designated Total Parish Balance at 1 January Balance at 31 December Income received including Gift Aid tax recovery Expenditure in the year	2021 45,319 5,292	2020 42,941 2,378
	50,611	45,319
	37,763	38,573
	8,832 (9,287)	10,221 (9,831)
	(455) (1,200)	390 (1,200)
	36,108	37,763
	218,022 82,445 50,962	201,133 76,485 51,392
	351,429	329,010
	2021 £ 1,953 7,528 519 (10,000)	2020 £ 0 12,953 1,500 (12,500)
	0	1,953
	1,218 0 0	530 688 0
	1,218	1,218
	6,612 1 (235) (519)	8,105 7 0 (1,500)
	5,859	6,612
	7,077	9,783

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Notes to the Accounts

2021

ii) 1) 2) iii) 1) 2) 3) Interest added in the year Balance at 31 December British Legion Fund Balance at 1 January Away giving Collections & donations including gift aid tax recovery Donations Gas Grants received Churchyard Balance at 1 January St. Mary's Balance at 1 January Expenditure in the year Balance at 31 December Expenditure in the year Balance at 31 December Balance at 1 January Donations including gift aid tax recovery St. John's Restricted Fund Total St John's Balance at 1 January Donations and grants Balance at 31 December Waller window repairs and restoration Waller window repairs and restoration Archive Fund Churchyard Maintenance Fund Repairs and maintenance Speldhurst Chapel Friends of St. John's Groombridge Total St Mary's Maintenance costs Balance at 31 December Redecoration Fund Balance at 1 January Donations and grants Expenditure in the year Balance at 31 December	2021 £ 0 0 0	2020 £ 1,516 0 (1,516)
	0	0
	469 2,966 1,340 (90) (339) (1,000) (2,125) (327) 0	11,929 4,893 8,096 (95) 0 (2,027) 0 0 (22,327)
	894	469
	894	469
	2,021 0 1,250 (1,250)	2,020 0 1,000 (1,000)
	0	0
	5,735 2,039 (6,109)	5,275 1,439 (979)
	1,665	5,735
	0 117 (117)	0 0 0
	0	0
	0 1,758 (1,758)	0 0 0
	0	0
	1,665	5,735

PARISH of SPELDHURST with GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST

Notes to the Accounts 2021

2021 £ 671 1,000 (885) 0 786 0 15 (15) 0 110 0 110 712 300 500 (120) 1,392 150 0 0 150 2,438 12,074 Note 16 a) i) 210 Note 16 a) ii) 351,429 Note 16 b) 12,074 £363,713 Unrestricted Unrestricted Designated £ £ 97,172 (81,810) (8,245) (10,487) 1,000 1,170 1,200	2021 £ 671 1,000 (885) 0	2020 £ 21 1,000 (350) 0
	786	671
	0 15 (15)	0 0 0
	0	0
	110 0	110 0
	110	110
	712 300 500 (120)	0 600 673 (561)
	1,392	712
	150 0 0	150 0 0
	150	150
	2,438	1,643
	12,074	17,630
		207 329,010 17,630
	£363,713	£346,847
		Restricted £
97,172 (97,172)		0