St. Peter's The Parochial Council of St. Peter's Church, Little Aston Annual Report and Financial Statements Year Ended 31 December 2022 Incumbent Reverend Philip Daniel 3 Walsall Road Little Aston B74 3BD Honorary Assistant Priest Reverend Jeremy Blunt Readers Andrew Farrow Pamela Strong Bank HSBC UK 67 The Parade Sutton Coldfield B72 1 PD Independent Examiner Michael Johnson stpeterslittleaston.co.uk
The Parnchial Council of St. Peter's Church, Little Aston Annual Report for tho Year ended 31 December 222 (rhis report is made in accordance with the Church Representation Rules (2011) and is separate from any other statement or address that the incumbent may wish to maka or any reports that any other individual or parish group may prasent at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting) Administrative Infonnation St. Peter's Church is situated on Roman Road, Little Aston B74 3AT. It is part of the Diocese of Lichfield within the Church of England. Correspondence is addressed to the Vicarage. 3 Walsall Road, Little Aston B74 3BD. The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2011) and a Registered Charity 1128819. Ex officio members Incumbent Church Warden Church Warden Secretary Reverend Philip Daniel Jane Alderson Tony SwneY Brenda Clarke Elected Members Treasurer Gift Aid Secretary Deanery Synod Member & Electoral Roll Diocesan Synod Member and Assistant Lay Chair of Deanery Synod Christopher Hulland Paul Eveleigh Margaret Pye Jill Hope Ethne Owen Jane Medlicott Richard Paxton Elisabeth Paxton Lynne Gibson Nina Diaper Kathryn Sweeney It is considered that all PCC members and any others who could be understood to be 'managers' in the activities and affairs of the church. as defined in Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010, are 'fit and proper, persons under the terms of the Act. AII PCC members elected for the first time and those rtrelected are supplied with minutes of PCC meetings and receive a copy of the last Annual Report and Accounts. They are entitle(J to ask for any explanations of thelr Gontent. In servlGe training is offered as appropriate. Page 1
Structure. government and management The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in tha Church Representation Rules. At St. Peter's the membership consists of the incumbent (our vicar). churchwardens and member3 elecled by those members of the congregation that are on the electoral roll of the church. The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the pwish. including how th8 funds of th8 PCC are spent. New members receive initial training in the workings of the PCC. The PCC met 6 times during the year. There is a Standing Committee that is the only committee required to be in existence by church law and has the power to transact the business of the PCC between meetings, subject to ratification by the PCC. Meetings were via Zoom when necessary. Aimg and purposes St Peter's Parochial ChurGh Council has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent. th8 Ravar8nd Phillip Dani81. in prornoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and eGumenical. Objectlves and Activities The PCC is cornmitted to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of th8 community of St. Peter's.The PCC maintains an overview of worship and will feedback to the vicar suggestions and comments relating to forms of service undèrtaken. Our servicgs are intended to put our faith into practic8 through prayer, Scripture, muslc and the sacraments. Vle endeavour to enable orrjinary people to live OLrt their faith as part of our church community. Worship & Prayer - Bible studies. Dlscipleship courses. L8nt courses, preaching and different types of seNice with some meeting particular needs are promoted. Provlslon of pastoral care for members of the congregation both within and outside the parigh. This includes our Authorised Lay Ministors taking communion to those unable to attend Ghurch and vlsiting in hospitals, nursing homes and homes. Mlssionary and outreach work - our targeted charStable giving and support for social opportunttias ar@ well understood supporting both local and international concems. To facilitate all this, we consider rt vital we maintain and, rf possibl8, improve the fabric of the r.hLJre.h of St. Petgr's and al80 the Church Room. Page 2
Achlevaments and Performance Worship and Prayer By January 2022 Sunday services and Wednesday Communions were back to normal with no need for booking seats or wearing masks and the church was comfortable again with knéalars and cushions back in place. However when the government announced Plan B in early December 2021 we had to revert to communion in the pews and cancel our much appreciated sociable coffee sessions after church until the end of February. We did change the time of our evening service to 5pm in September in the hope of encouraging more members of the congregation to attend as the evenings grew darker. Baptisms, weddings and funerals have taken place throughout this year and special services have been held including Easter. Harvest, Remembrance, Friends Remembered, Christingle and Nine Lesson8 and Carols. All is now back to normal with regular meetings of Mothers Union. the l<nit and Natter group, the Keep Fit group, the Film Club, the Bereavement Group, the Hand Bell Ringers, the SACRED groups and the SPOGS - a group of older gentleman who have monthly dinners at local pubs for fellowship and goodwill. There is also a monthly meeting on Sunday evenings of SPYG the St Peter's Youth Group aged 10 and over building friendships and learning more about our faith. Mission and Evangelism The weekly Welcome to Worship leaflets continue to be an important means of communication with the congregation and other interested parties. They are available at all services and the email circulation has now increased to 163 addresses plus some printed copies passed on to those who do not have email. The What's On at St Peter's leaflet giving details of all regular services. activities and events has been updated and will be available in strategic places around the parish as well as in church. We continue our close connection with Pathways - the domestic and sexual abuse charity in Lichfield. They raceive donations throughout the year especially from our harvest festival and when members of the congregation giv8 25 small gifts through our reverse advent calendar schem8. Page 3
Pastoral Care The team meets regularly and discusses members of the congregation who may need help and support. They also arrange visits with home communion. Monthly coffee mornings were introduced by the team in 2022 which then became weekly Winter Warmer Coffee mornings in the Autumn to encourage members of the congregation and any friends or acquaintances to meet together for relaxed, informal socialising in a wann welcoming spa. These have been very successful and it has been requested that they continue through the summer. Baptisms Weddings. 7 Church Funerals 20 Crematoria 1 The electoral roll contains 233 names but 70Yo live outside the parish The Church Building St. Péter's is a listed Victorian Building and any repairs have to conform to regulations and are invariably expensive. Lock repairs involved intricate work undertaken by a skilled blacksmith with the costs partially covered by an insuranc8 claim. Our whole enterISe relies on the many willing volunteers that make this church the friendly and responsive communty so appreciated by all concerned. This was especially important given the requirements placed upon us confomiing to Covid-19 regulations. The social context of our church cannot be underestimated and those opportunities have been missed by all. The Churchwardens have continued their extraordinary efforts to ensure our Vicar is supported at all times. After service coffee recommenced in November. Page 4
Safeguarding The safety and securty of children is of the Lrtmost importance and guidelines and policies are part of the processes that have been adopted to ensure that all children taking part in activities in our churches may do so in a loving. caring and safe atmosphere. There is a Protection Policy in respect of children and vulnerable adults. recognised by the PCC who appointed Mrs Deborah Hartland as Safeguarding Officer. A formalised programme of serious learning and certification has been undertaken by the Ministry team and members of the Church identified as having contact with children and vulnerable adults. It was undertaken on-line and intended to highlight any possible signs of risk that need reporting. The programme is monitored by Lichfield Diocese. COVID-19 restrictions have necessitated suspension of a Sunday School during this year but meetings are held via Zoom in the meantime ensuring that all children have adult accompaniment on screen. C3 Certification Ministry Team 4 C2 Certification Churchwardens and 2 others C1 Certification 34 Church member Risk Management St.Peters use the Health and Safety Ecclesiastical Proforma ( Small Churches ) taken from their website li in conjunction The PCC approved an annual review covering the church, the church room. the churchyard and car park. Any possible hazards are dealt wilh immediately. Headstones are inspecied half yearly and any that are loose are laid down lo avoid possible accidents unless repairs can be made speedily. Communicants who have mobility problems have been considered, bearing in mind the mLsltiple steps to be negotiated. Fire extinguishers are tested and certified. PAT testing has been completed on all electrical equipment. Both certificates are displayed. First Aid box has been checked and is up to date. Food and Hygiene rules have been updaied and are displayed in Ihe kitchen. All trees within the church grounds have been moniiored and work carried out by Chris Peake, registered tree surgeon. Continued on an annual basis. We continually adjust our Covid protocols in line with Ihe Church of England guidelines. We consider we have done everything practiGal to ensure the safety of anyone visiting the church. To date we have no incidents to report Page 5
Financial Review The major constraints of Covid-19 have now passed and some sort of nonnality has returned with congregation numbers recovering slowly that affects the ChurGh's finances. Gift Aid Income has held up reasonably well and no major fund-raising exercise was considered necessary during the year. 22 contributors now use the Direct Giving facility through the Diocese that speeds up the Tax Relief recovered and also saves a great deal of administration on our part. This system of Direct Debiting is far more efficient than the Standing Orders still used by the majority. Grant income was also not required during the year as, thankfully, no major maintenance expense was incurred. Statutory Fees are revised annually and we had to account for £6107 to the Diocese via the Agency ColleGtions Suspense Account. Total Income £119727 A revised formula for the Common Fund, previously known as the Parish Share, recognised past inequalities between parishes within the Diocese and resulted in a welcome reduction in our contribution by £13394. This is our necessary major expense of £66376 and meant we finished the year with a welcome surplus. HSBC, along with othor banks, started charging Charity Accounts at a cost to us of £200 for the year. Expenses of £1274 were incurred in connection with the Jubil celebrations for th8 lat8 Queen Elizabeth. We continued to give mod8St support to the Leprosy Mission of £987. There have been increased costs in Printing as the weekly and very effective Welcome to Worship has been expanded. Whilst we have fixed our electricity tariff until September 2024, the bill fluctuated according to weather conditions experienced. Other expenses are subject to inflationary factors. Total Expenditure £109049 Surplus £10678 Helen Baker and John Tait have handled cash received using Post Offices during the year. Margaret Pye and Annie Stretton have organis8d the fee income from funerals and marriages keeping the Treasurer informed and Paul Eveleigh has again very successfully attended to the important Tax reclaims. Our thanks are very much due to all of them for their efforts on our behalf. Page 6
SL Pets Chwth, Liille A8ton Balon¢ts8heot Yogr EThlad 31 D¢¢onJer2022 La1 and Buildln 1.00 Total Axed A888 1.00 1.00 HSBC Current Ac( 69958.58 72855.78 HSBC Frk8ThJs ofSt.Petw's Cu+TeN Ant 2521&36 22536.36 CCLA ICBfj DetA¢CCnt Interior D8coratkng 2M(K>.00 .00 921.15 21.15 116098.09 116096.09 105313.29 105313.29 116097.CQ 105314.29 Current Ugblllll AgcY CollectK)ns Totsl Currtnt Liabl118 105.rij Nat As>s 115992 IC631429 Balance brc¥Jght f(TharLI 105314.29 102013.66 l Deficr( 10677.80 3300.63 Bakince corriod forward 11599zr 10531&29 . ReweyenW by Funds Land and Buikjwigs nStil¢t6d G8naral Fwd 68170.17 68370.17 71172.37 71172.37 AgwGy Collections 535.00 535.00 Charpty Appe81s & Fraio Churchy8rd Matenance Friends ol St. Peterfs 425.41 425.41 25216. 2253626 Interior DtIng Sthetne 921.15 921.15 s191 PeCts FUFWJ 200LhJ. 90CbJ.CQ TeBthlng & Ev8ngdi¥n FUTh 723.( 7YJ.IX 47820.*2 47820.W2 34140.92 84140.92 1169( 1rJ531429
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Financial Statements for the Year ended 31 December 2022 1. Notes to the Accounts The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the Receipts and Pavments basis. 2. Fixed Assets Consecrated and benefice property is not included from the Accounts by s.10(2)(a)&(C) of the Charities Act 2011. Moveable church furnishings held by the Vicar and Churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposable are inalienable property listed in the Church's inventory which can be inSpted (at any reasonable time). For any acquired prior to 2000 there is insufficient cost information available and therefore such assets are not valued in the financial statements. Other tangible assets fixed assets are valued at cost. 3. Description of Funds Unrestricted funds are income funds of the PCC that are available for spending on the general purposes of the PCC , including amounts designated by the PCC for fixed assets for its own use or for spending on a future project and which are therefore not included in its "free reserves" as disclosed in the trustees, annual report. Restricted funds comprise two elements a) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest b) donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by the 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 the 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. Endowment fvrKls are restricted funds that must be retained as trust capital aither permanently or subject to discretionary power to spend capital as income and where the use of any income or other benefit derived from the capital may be restricted or unrestricted. Page 9
Independent Examinevs Roport to the Trustees of the PCC of St. peter Church, Littla Aston. Registered Charity 1128819 I report on the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 which ar8 set out in the Annual Report and Financial Statements. Respective responsibiltties of the Trusteos and Ind•pendent Examiner The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audffi is not required for this year under Section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the charities Act) rather an independent examination is needed. 11 is my responsibilty to examine the accounts under s8Ction 145 of the Charities Act to follow the procedures laid down in the General Diroctions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145{5)(b) of the Ghartties Act and to stat8 whether particular matters have coma to my attention. Basis of Independent Examinets Statement My examination was carried out in accordance with th8 General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with these records. It also includes consideration of unusud items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the eviden that would b@ required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a Yrue and fairf, view and the report is limit8d to those matters s8t out in the statement below. Indapandent Examiner¥ Ststement In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attantion which give me cause to believe that in any material resp8Ct accounting récords were not kept in accordance with saction 130 of the Chariti8s Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting r8cords I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be r8ach8d. Signed Date Page 10