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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Aldates, Oxford

2023-12-31-accounts

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST ALDATES OXFORD ,

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Registered Charity 1131154

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

– THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST ALDATES, OXFORD Annual Report for 2023

Registered charity 1131154

ST ALDATES PCC, OXFORD (Working Name)

Governing documents

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL (POWERS) MEASURE 1956 as amended and the CHURCH REPRESENTATION RULES (contained in schedule 3 to the Synodical Government Measure 1969 as amended)

Office location and contact details

c/o Tapiwa Ngoma, PCC Secretary, St Aldates PCC, St Aldates Church Centre, 40 Pembroke Street, Oxford, OX1 1BP Tel: 01865 254 802 Fax: 01865 201 543

Context of St Aldates Church

St Aldates Church is located on St Aldates Street, central Oxford. As a member church of the Church of England, St Aldates is located in the Deanery and Diocese of Oxford and therefore comes under the pastoral and administrative care of the Bishop of Oxford. The Church is governed locally by the Senior Leadership Team (clergy and lay) and the Parochial Church Council. Due to the size of the Church and scale of activities there is a staff team of 36 people and an additional ten School of Ministry Students. In addition to this, the Church is reliant on a large team (c500) of dedicated volunteers from within the congregation. The premises used on a day to day basis are the Church building, the Church Centre (40 Pembroke Street) and the Catacombs (12 Littlegate Street).

Trustees/PCC members serving during 2023

Revd Stephen Foster Ex-officio Rector of the Parish
Chris Gillies Elected Church Warden until 28 March 2023
Jamie Mitchell Elected Church Warden
Nemi Wilton Elected Church Warden from 28 March 2023
Jeremy Basset Co-opted Treasurer
Revd Mark Brickman Ex-officio Associate Minister
Revd Will Stuart-Lee Ex-officio Curate
Serenus Chelliah Deanery Rep Elected APCM 2023 to APCM 2026
Rachael Clear Deanery Rep Term on PCC runs to APCM 2025
Andy Davisson Deanery Rep Elected APCM 2023 to APCM 2026
Funmi Durodola Deanery Rep Elected APCM 2023 to APCM 2026
Dr Colleen McGregor Deanery Rep Elected APCM 2023 to APCM 2026
Wongani Mwanza Deanery Rep Elected APCM 2023 to APCM 2026
Ifeanyi Maijeh Deanery Rep Elected APCM 2023 to APCM 2026
Rosalind Kainyah Deanery Rep Elected APCM 2023 to APCM 2026
Ali Chevassut Elected Until 28 March 2023
Alissa Moore-Williams Elected Elected APCM 2023 to APCM 2026
Claire Mortimer Elected Term on PCC runs to APCM 2025
John Tranter Elected Until 28 March 2023
Hannah Iqbal Elected Elected APCM 2023 to APCM 2026
Resigned 6 November 2023
Tim Campion-Smith Elected Term on PCC runs to APCM 2024
Carol Lister (Safeguarding-Children) Co-opted Safeguarding

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

Other senior staff or office holders:

Revd Simon Ponsonby Senior Staff Pastor of Theology Lauren Harris Senior Staff Worship Director Karen Simson Senior Staff Chief Operating Officer PCC Secretary to 6 March 2023 Tapiwa Ngoma Employee EA to the Rector and Secretary to the PCC from 6 March 2023

Bankers: HSBC, 65 Cornmarket Street, Oxford, OX1 3HY Auditors: Mercer Lewin, 6-7 Citibase, New Barclay House, 234 Botley Road, Oxford OX2 0HP Solicitors: Winckworth Sherwood, 2 Chawley Park, Cumnor Hill, Oxford, OX2 9GG

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Recruitment and Induction of Trustees

Most Trustees (members of the PCC) are either ex officio, or are elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the governing document (Church Representation Rules). Some others are co-opted for particular purposes. The APCM and elections of PCC members took place on 28[th] March 2023.

New Trustees receive an induction on their role and responsibilities from the Secretary of the PCC and any relevant documents and guidelines, in addition to a general induction from the Chairman during the first meeting of the year following each APCM.

Responsibilities of the Parochial Church Council (The Trustees)

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

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

The Trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 as amended. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees oversee and support the Leadership Team, the staff and the members of St Aldates Church in their various areas of ministry and are responsible for ensuring that a representative (usually the Chairman) reports back to the Church members annually at the APCM along with other ministry leaders. This meeting also includes election of new Trustees and is open to all to attend, but only those named on the Electoral Roll or living in the Parish may vote in this matter. A detailed report of ministry activities for the previous twelve months is made available at this meeting, along with copies of the Annual Report and Financial Review.

Public benefit

The Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties. Examples of this public benefit can be found in the other parts of this Report.

The Charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

Structure and operating procedures

The Trustees met six times during 2023. All of these meetings were in person. The Standing Committee met on a further four separate occasions over the year all of which were virtual. During these meetings the Trustees discussed and prayed into a wide variety of matters including vision, governance, policies, buildings and infrastructure as well as receiving regular reports on financial performance and staffing. Key strategic topics considered by the Trustees during the year were:

Copies of the minutes of these meetings are kept by the Secretary to the PCC at the Church Centre and may be read by any members of the Electoral Roll upon request.

The Trustees receive written reports from the leaders of the church ministries to ensure they are kept up to date with what is happening and as an encouragement to pray into each area.

The Trustees delegate some matters to Committees, which meet between the full meetings of the PCC. The PCC has approved a Governance Document setting out the relationship between the PCC, the Standing Committee and the Senior Leadership team and the associated responsibilities and delegated authorities.

Standing Committee

The Standing Committee of the PCC has delegated authority to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings, subject to any directions given by the Trustees. It is made up of the Rector, Associate Minister, Wardens, Treasurer and members elected by the PCC from among their number. The elected members were Funmi Durodola and Andy Davisson. Most operational matters within St Aldates including staffing issues, monthly financial reporting, facilities and maintenance issues are reported on and investigated fully by the Standing Committee and findings and recommendations are taken forward to full PCC meetings.

Mission Committee

The Mission Committee comprises the Rector, Treasurer, Mission Secretary (Andy Davisson) and Chief Operating Officer. The committee has delegated authority to make grants for mission up to £5,000. Grants above that amount must be authorised by the PCC.

Race, Faith and Justice Committee

The PCC established the Race, Faith and Justice Committee to provide a focal point and a catalyst that enables the church to celebrate racial diversity and to respond to issues of racial injustice by supporting and making recommendations to the leadership. During 2023 the RFJ committee met to discuss and agree ways of engagement. In 2023 the RFJ committee arranged themed worship evenings, engaged actively in prayer times, and proposed a Nation Sunday. Key focus areas included changes in the staff team and church representation, people serving in small groups and how we celebrate different cultures.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The PCC is exposed to risks associated with finance, safeguarding, legislative compliance, buildings and infrastructure, and pastoral oversight. Each area has been reviewed by the Trustees during the year and plans put in place to manage the risks.

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

Safeguarding training through the Diocese of Oxford and other staff, volunteers and Trustees also undertook the required Diocesan Safeguarding training. The Trustees receive an annual report on Safeguarding and review the Safeguarding Policy. The Trustees have complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults).

Remuneration of Senior Managers

The Senior Leadership Team includes senior staff members who are employed directly by the PCC – the Pastor of Theology, the Associate Minister, the Worship Director and the Chief Operating Officer. Remuneration of clergy and pastors is set to match clergy stipends and allowances as recommended by the Diocese of Oxford. Remuneration of other staff is set with regard to pay in the sector and the cost of living in Oxford.

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The main objective of St Aldates PCC is (in accordance with The Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measure 1956) to co-operate with the minister in promoting the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, social and ecumenical.

The main areas of activity this includes are:

Grantmaking Policies

The annual budget for UK and international mission is set at 10% of congregational giving. The mission committee is responsible for making individual grants (with those over £5,000 requiring PCC approval). The committee seeks to balance giving between local, national and international projects and also between projects supporting Ministry (ie evangelism), Maturity (ie discipleship) and Mercy (ie supporting the disadvantaged vulnerable).

Grants were made to three mission partners working in Europe, the Middle East and Asia as well as support for various short-term mission trips.

The PCC also made grants to support the strategic partnership with St Mary’s, Barton.

Grants were made to a number of Christian charities working in mission or social transformation projects. This included: disaster relief in Turkey and Syria, supporting female entrepreneurs in rural poverty in Uganda, pastor training for house church leaders in Iran, social justice projects among students in UK, supporting traumatised young children in India, supporting orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa, medical diagnostic tests for a rural hospital in Uganda, health care projects in India and South Africa, support for the persecuted church worldwide, football-based outreach and provision of Christmas hampers in Oxford.

Volunteers

Volunteers play a key role in the life of St Aldates and we aim to ensure that this is beneficial to both the church and the volunteers. For the church, this service is essential in enabling the ministry to take place. For the volunteers, it enables them to discover, explore and use the gifts that God has given them.

Throughout the year our volunteers supported production and broadcasting of church services, leading worship, work with children and young people, mid-week small group meetings, prayer ministry, hospitality, provision of food to the homeless and mentoring. Over 600 volunteers were regularly involved in supporting church activities and ministry and we are grateful to them all.

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Church Membership and Attendance

In March 2023, the Electoral Roll was updated. The number on the updated Roll was 497 [2022: 464].

At the start of the year attendance was approximately 1200 adults and children each Sunday. By the end of the year attendance had reached approximately 1300 adults and children each Sunday.

We have continued to broadcast Sunday morning services and these still regularly receive approximately 1500 views each week.

We celebrated nine young people’s baptisms (age 0-17), fifteen adult baptisms and 3 weddings in the church over the course of the year. Sadly, one long standing member of our congregation passed away and their funeral was held in the church in February.

The Ministry of St Aldates

We continue to pursue our new vision “to invite people to encounter Jesus, to equip people to follow Jesus in every area of their lives, and to inspire people to transform the contexts in which they live.”

We started the year with four services each Sunday at 10am, 12noon, 6pm and, during term time, 4pm.

Our 10am congregation continues to flourish with a particular focus on families with young children. We have about 130 children in Aldates Kids and have rented additional space to be able to accommodate them. This service is lived streamed and this year we’ve now introduced a host to further enable out online community to engage both with us and each other.

The 12noon congregation continues to thrive and provide and alternative for those who prefer a slightly less busy service to the 10am.

Our 4pm service is quieter and small but often a time of deep encounter for those who attend.

Our 6pm service continued to grow being especially popular with those in their 20 and 30’s. We’ve introduced a number of socials after this service including Beer and Hymns, Volley Ball and BBQ’s.

In April we lunched a weekly in person prayer meeting at 7am on a Tuesday. It was great to be able to restart a weekly prayer meeting in person. Our online prayer meeting continued at 7am on Mondays and Fridays.

On May morning we engaged with students as they travelled home from their May Balls and gave out over 1,500 bacon baps. Many encouraging conversations resulted from this with individuals coming back to church to find out more. We continued to run Alpha courses throughout the year and were encouraged by the numbers attending and the lives we saw changed.

Also in May Mark Sayers spoke to us about being Pillars and we explored this further together as a Church in August at our Summer Nights sessions on Wednesday evenings.

In July 150 members of our community went to Focus together. This was the first time we’d attended Focus as a church and we plan for this to become a regular fixture in our church calendar. It was a great opportunity to build community and also make friends with people from other churches.

In September we returned from our summer breaks and spent 10 days praying and fasting for our church, the city and the national Church of England. At the end of the month it was a joy to see three people baptised and a further two reaffirm their baptism vows. We were privileged to have Nicky and Silla Lee join us for the launch of our Marriage course which then continued through the term in online format.

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

In October we welcomed Freshers to the city and Alpha and Good Ground and Break Ground restarted. Towards the end of the month we held the first of two sessions exploring relationships, singleness and dating. We held our second session in November and welcomed Lauren Windle to speak to us at the 6pm service. On 19 November we celebrated 9 baptisms at various services. The month ended with our students and young adults kicking off the Christmas season with Beer and Carols.

In December we celebrated 6 Carol services across the first three Sundays starting with our Alternative carols on the first Sunday and followed by two weekends with a more traditional carol service. We live streamed one of the services each week. Our young people and children delighted us with a Sunday morning family service and then on Christmas Eve we celebrated a Christingle.

The RFJ Group continues to work with ministry leaders throughout the church and have enabled us to raise up and emerging service and worship leaders.

Our Student ministry continues with the Thursday night meeting being the mainstay of our student provision.

We’re seeing similar encouraging growth in our ministry to post graduate students, with nearly 40 attendees at the annual weekend away in November.

The Ministry of ACT! continues and includes work in prisons, local bail hostels and through managed accommodation for suitable clients.

In September we again welcomed 11 students onto our year-long training programme known as the School of Ministry. This enables young leaders aged 18-25 to receive structured theological, pastoral and leadership teaching and development opportunities within different departments of the Church.

Staffing

The Trustees pay tribute to the immense hard-work, creativity and flexibility of all the staff team as they responded and adapted to growth in the congregation.

In March Tapiwa Ngoma joined us as executive assistant to the Rector. Richard Avalon left the ACT team in April and headed to the Netherlands to be with family we’re so grateful for the time he spent with us and his always cheerful presence. In May Mousa Bashir left the ACT Team and Emily O’Dell joined the team for a few months and has continued to stay with us to assist with outreach activities. July saw Susan Cuthbert move on from the ACT team as she joined [Bullingdon] prison full-time as a chaplain. We’re so grateful for everything Susan brought to the team over many years. Also in July Charlotte Simmonds completed her year with us as worship ministry assistant and we wish her well for the future. In August David Portway retired as ACT Director. We’re indebted to David for his godly leadership and stewardship of ACT over the last five years as well as his contribution to the wider church. In September Lauren Eradiri joined us as student pastor and we said a temporary goodbye to Emily Chisnall who started maternity leave. Also at the end of September Emilie Middleton our kids pastor moved on to pastures new having done an amazing job of restarting the children’s ministry post Covid. In the Autumn we were delighted that three of our school of ministry students were able to stay with us. Kaka Nwokocha joined as worship pastor, Ditie Eradiri as Youth and Live Stream Pastor and Beth Woods as Creative Production Assistant. In November we said goodbye to James Muscat who having overseen with great diligence the installation of a new AV system last year felt the time was right to return to the commercial world and in December Ben Burnett took up the role as Head of Creative Technology.

The staff team is a relatively young, dynamic and close-knit team and change always brings a mixture of sadness coupled with excitement for the future. We thank them for their service to God while at St Aldates and pray blessings on their futures. We thank God for the way He continually provides new and equally talented team members.

Buildings

The PCC is responsible for the Church, Church Centre and Catacombs. We are party to rental agreements for houses for our Associate Minister, Pastor of Theology, Curate, Postgrads Pastor and ACT Director. We also hold tenancy

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

agreements for parts of the buildings in Pembroke Street known as Commonwealth House, including 9 Pembroke Street which houses our School on Ministry Students. General repairs and maintenance were carried out in the Church building, Church Centre, Catacombs and 9 Pembroke Street, as we continue to work through the rolling 5-year maintenance and IT plan.

The PCC owns a 5% share of the property used to house the ACT Director. It is the intent of the Trustees to proceed with the purchase of the property from the Diocese.

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Summary

Unrestricted income during 2023 was £2,261k [2022: £2,381k] and expenditure was £1,973k from the General fund [2022: £2,152k] and £219k [2022: £nil] from designated funds. The PCC set aside (designated) £356k [2022: £172k] for various purposes and this resulted in a deficit for the year on the General fund of £57k [2022: surplus of £56k] after transfers.

We also received £351k [2022: £524k] of income that was donated for a specific purpose i.e. restricted funds. Corresponding expenditure of these funds was £384k [2022: £286k]. Restricted funds carried forward at the end of the year were £1,245k [2022: £1,290k]

The principal sources of funding are the sacrificial giving of the congregation together with some external grants.

The PCC consistently encourages regular monthly giving and this was supplemented by a single gift day in March. We experienced growth of 2% in planned giving. One-off donations reduced by 36%. This was expected as a number of significant donations were received in 2022 which we did not expect to repeat. Overall unrestricted giving reduced by 10.8% compared to 2022.

In February we received £182k being the second instalment of a three-year match funding grant provided by an anonymous donor to stimulate church growth and was for the purpose of funding a number of additional roles and also investing in the building’s infrastructure.

Additionally, we receive income from hiring out our buildings for meetings and conferences and rental income from sub-leases on properties in Pembroke Street and a grant from the Parochial Charities

Expenditure is targeted at achieving the key objectives of St Aldates, with supporting overheads kept to a reasonable minimum. Unrestricted expenditure was broadly flat reflecting an increase in spending on ministry but a reduction in spending on our buildings. Our main area of expenditure is staff costs. Staff received an annual pay rise and salaries of all permanent staff exceeded the Oxford Living Wage. Total staff costs, including housing, increased by 13.9% reflecting an increase in net staff numbers and the pay increase. Our largest single item of on-going expenditure is the Parish Share and this increased by 3.4%

At each meeting the PCC receives a financial report and considers the financial position of the church. We are thankful for God’s faithful and abundant provision for our needs throughout the year.

After prayerful consideration, the PCC approved a flat budget for 2024 recognising that although reserves are currently strong we will face financial pressures in 2025.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees have agreed that the reserves policy should enable the funding of the equivalent of three month’s staff costs i.e. approximately £280k. As the PCC is able to call on resources from the St Aldates Ministry CIO, the PCC Trustees have agreed to ensure that the level of free reserves held by the PCC will, when combined with the funds available from the St Aldates Ministry CIO, at all times be sufficient to fund the equivalent of three month’s salary costs.

At the end of 2023, our total reserves were £2,143k [2022: £2,107k] of which £344k [2022: 387k] are regarded as free reserves after allowing for fixed assets (principally buildings) and designated and restricted funds. Combined with the funds of the Ministry CIO this is more than sufficient to comply with our reserves policy.

Fundraising Activities

The PCC encourages members to support the church by regular giving, preferably by monthly standing order. Due to the location of St Aldates and the consequent regular turnover of members, the PCC continues to support the practice of holding special Gift Days. At those times, teaching is focussed on the role of generosity and financial giving within Christian discipleship; new members are encouraged to commit to regular giving; and existing members are encouraged to make additional, one-off gifts to support the work of the church. A key principle of Biblical

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St Aldates, Oxford- Annual Report 2023 teaching Is that giving should be in proportion to means. This is emphasised in the teaching and donations are handled with confidentiality. To8ether. these measures help to ensure that no-one feels under pressure to give nor to give more than they cart afford. There are occasional special collections for specific events e.g. ACT or natural disasters. The PCC doe5 llot use professional fundraisers or involve commercial participators and no complaints were received about fundraising during the year. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE St Aldates is placed in a strategic location and this continues to feel like a unique moment wlth a partlcular openness to questions of faith in the aftermath of the pandemic. Through God's grace we are seeing people come to faith. In all our mlnistries and contexts. we will be seeklng to Invite people to encounter Jesus,. to equip people to follow Jesus in every area of their lives; and to inspire people to transform the contexts in which they live. Our prlorlties for the year ahead will seek to grow our community to be outward facing so that we become effective at inviting people into the building meet with Jesus. We will also seek to further develop our livestream offerin8 and after a successful trial of a hosted stream at our Carol Service5 will be rolling this out to our Sunday Morning Ilve5tream. We contlnue to enhance our ability to engage In the digital space and embrace new medla. We want to continue raising up the next generation and developin8 new, more structured opportunitles for trainin8 and growth as well as continuing to support them after they leave Oxford. Achievin8 this will require ongoing changes In staffing and infrastructure. We remain thankful to God for His leading and falthful provlsion over the years, for the way people Sense His presence as they enter the church and 50 often remark that they feel they have come home. We seek to keep in step with the leading of His Spirit in the years ahead. Approved by the Trustees on Monday 8, April 2024 Revd Stephen Foster (Chairman of the Trustees) Signed on behalf of the Trustees li

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE TRUSTEES OF PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST ALDATES

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Aldates (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash flows, and Notes to the Financial Statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

and

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information in the Report of the Trustees, but does not include the financial statements and our Report of the Auditors thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE TRUSTEES OF

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST ALDATES (Continued)

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Charities act 2011

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities set out on page 3, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE TRUSTEES OF

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST ALDATES (Continued)

Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below: We discussed the framework in which the charity operates with senior management and in conjunction with our experience of the industry in which the charity operates, sought to identify laws and regulations which are critical to the charity's business. No such critical laws and regulations were identified.

As part of routine audit procedures, the possibility of non-compliance with general laws (eg employment law, health and safety regulations) were considered, in response to the assessed risks in relation to these laws and regulations.

The risks of fraud were discussed with senior management, including details of any known instances. Our records of the charity's systems and procedures was reviewed by the audit team (including the audit engagement partner) to identify possible areas where fraud might occur.

The above procedures were undertaken by the audit team as a whole, led by the audit engagement partner. In this way the audit engagement partner was able to obtain assurance the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence and capabilities to identify or recognise non-compliance with laws and regulations and the possibility of irregularities arising from fraud.

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE TRUSTEES OF

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST ALDATES (Continued)

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the Management Committee and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion. A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditors responsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Auditors.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Auditors.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity's trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in a Report of the Auditors and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity's trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Andrew Churchill Stone (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Mercer Lewin Ltd Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors 6-7 Citibase New Barclay House 234 Botley Road Oxford OX2 0HP

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 December 2023

Note
Income
Donations and legacies
2 a
Income from investments
2 b
Income from charitable activities 2 c
Other income
2 d
Total Income
Expenditure
Charitable activities - grants
3 a
Charitable activities - ministry
3 b&c
Total expenditure
Net income
Gross Transfers between funds
8
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
8		 General
Funds
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds
£
£
£
1,948,390
-
350,211
56,171
-
-
211,101
-
444
45,448
-
-		 2023
£
2,298,601
56,171
211,545
45,448		 2022
£
2,678,289
8,100
187,908
30,145
2,261,110
-
350,655		 2,611,765 2,904,442
-
137,503
187,823
1,973,434
81,019
196,270		 325,326
2,250,723		 158,696
2,279,808
1,973,434
218,522
384,093		 2,576,049 2,438,504
287,676
(218,522)
(33,438)
(344,918)
355,935
(11,017)		 35,716
-		 465,938
-
(57,242)
137,413
(44,455)
450,565
366,107
1,290,365		 35,716
2,107,037		 465,938
1,641,099
393,323
503,520
1,245,910		 2,142,753 2,107,037

16

St Aldates. Oxford- Annual Report 2023 Balance Sheet a5 at 31 December 2023 2023 2022 Note Flxed assets Land and buildings Equipment. furnitu￿ and vehicles 831,541 50.702 881243 833,599 67,827 901,426 Current agsets Debtor5 Cash at bank and In hand Total current assets 177.006 1.247.253 IA24.259 139,052 1,278,649 1,417,701 Credltors: amounts due wlthln on• y•ar 1163,7491 1212,0901 N•t current assets 1.260.510 1,205.611 Total assets less current Ilabllltles and Net assets 2.142.753 2.107,037 Funds Unrestrlrted General Designated 393,323 503,520 896A43 1,245,910 2,142.753 450.565 366.107 816.672 1,290.365 2,107,Q37 Re5trlct•d Approved by the Parochlal Church Councll on Monday 8 Aprll 2024 and 518ned on Its behalf bv.. Mrjeremy 8 t (Treasurer) Jam Mltchell I hurch Warden) 17

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 December 2023

Note
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities
12
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment
Net cash provided used in investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period
12		 2023
2022
£
£
(80,062)
563,210
56,171
8,100
(9,335)
(39,353)
1,830
-
48,666
(31,253)
(31,396)
531,957
1,278,649
746,692
1,247,253
1,278,649

18

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

1 Accounting Policies

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP (FRS 102) issued in October 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention except for the valuation of the Catacombs. The Charity's functional and presentation currency is pounds sterling and the accounts are rounded to the nearest whole pound.

The Charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The preparation of the financial statements requires the Trustees to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. These estimates and judgements are continually reviewed and are based on experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees have made the following judgements:

Basis of allocation of support costs (note 3d)

Support costs totalling £332,148 (2022: £237,578) are allocated to expenditure categories in the Statement of Financial Activities based on an estimate of the time spent on these activities.

Estimate of useful economic life of fixed assets (note 4)

As noted in the fixed asset accounting policy above, fixed assets totalling £831,541 (2022: £833,599) are depreciated on a straight line basis based on an initial estimate of their useful economic lives.

Funds

Unrestricted funds consist of a General Fund which the PCC may use, for the furtherance of the objects of the PCC, at its discretion. Designated funds are unrestricted funds which have been allocated for future expenditure for a specific purpose by the PCC. Restricted Funds are subject to specific conditions imposed by the donors or by terms of an appeal, these conditions being legally binding upon the PCC.

The accounts include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law.

Income and Endowments

Donations and capital sources

Collections are recognised when received by or on behalf of the PCC. Planned giving receivable under Gift Aid is recognised only when received. Income tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations is recognised when the income is recognised.

Grants and legacies to the PCC are accounted for as soon as the PCC is notified of its legal entitlement and the amount due is quantifiable and its ultimate receipt by the PCC is probable.

Other trading activities

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

Income for events and fees for services is accounted for on an accruals basis.

Income from investments

Dividends and interest are accounted for when receivable.

Expenditure

Grants

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding obligation on the PCC. The annual report details the policy for Grants made.

Governance costs

19

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

These include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the PCC and include the audit fee and costs linked to the strategic management of the PCC.

Pension costs

As detailed in note 11, the PCC participates in three pension schemes: the Church of England Funded Pensions Scheme (CEFPS) for stipendiary clergy; the Pension Builder Scheme of the Church Workers Pension Fund and NEST Pension Fund for lay staff. In accordance with FRS 17 contributions to the schemes are accounted for in the year they are payable.

Ministry costs

The diocesan parish share is accounted for when payable. Any parish share unpaid at 31 December is provided for in these accounts as an operational (though not a legal) liability and is shown as a creditor in the Balance Sheet.

Irrecoverable VAT

In common with similar organisations, the charity is not able to reclaim most of the VAT that it incurs. Irrecoverable VAT is treated as expenditure in the principal activity that incurred the original VAT.

Fixed assets

Consecrated property and movable church furnishings

Consecrated and beneficed property of any kind is excluded from the accounts.

Movable church furnishings held by the Rector and Church Wardens on special trust for the PCC, and which require a faculty for disposal, are accounted as inalienable property unless consecrated. They are listed in the church’s inventory which can be inspected. For inalienable property acquired prior to 2001 there is insufficient cost information available and therefore such assets are not valued in the accounts. Items acquired since 1 January 2001 have been capitalised and depreciated in the accounts over three to six years on a straight-line basis.

All expenditure incurred in the year on consecrated or beneficed buildings, individual items under £1,000 or on the repair of movable church furnishings acquired before 1 January 2001 is written off.

Other land and buildings

The buildings are maintained in such a state of repair that their residual value is at least equal to their net book value and any depreciation would therefore be immaterial. Annual impairment reviews are carried out to confirm this. The Catacombs building improvements are being depreciated on a straight-line basis over 20 years.

Equipment, furniture and vehicles

These assets are depreciated on a straight-line basis over 3 to 6 years. Individual items with a purchase price of £1,000 or less are written off when the asset is acquired.

Current assets

Amounts owing to the PCC at 31 December in respect of fees, rents or other income are shown as debtors less provision for amounts that may prove uncollectable.

Short-term deposits include cash held on deposit with the CCLA CBF Deposit Fund, or at the bank. Debtors and creditors receivable/payable within one year are recorded at transaction price.

20

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

2 Income

2a Donations and
legacies
Planned giving
Collections
Legacies
Sundry donations
St Aldates Parochial Charity
Grant
Other grants
Income tax recoverable
2b Investments income
Dividends and interest
2c Charitable activities
Ministries
Audio, bookstall
School of Ministry fees
Fees for services
Other buildings income
2d Other Income
Commercial lettings
income
Other income
Total Income		 Unrestricted
General
Funds
Restricted
Funds
£
£
1,022,313
16,141
5,964
531
5,256
-
447,298
66,943

125,000
68,000
88,074
183,350
254,485
15,246		 Total Funds
2023
£
1,038,454
6,495
5,256
514,241
193,000
271,424
269,731		 Unrestricted
General
Funds
Restricted
Funds
£
£
1,002,930
10,826
5,224
2,536
-
-
702,679
74,460
98,000
54,000
112,201
371,906
235,412
8,115		 Total Funds
2022
£
1,013,756
7,760
-
777,139
152,000
484,107
243,527
1,948,390
350,211		 2,298,601 2,156,446
521,843		 2,678,289
56,171
-
56,171		 8,100
-
8,100
43,858
444
-
-
17,429
-
11,654
-
138,160
-		 44,302
-
17,429
11,654
138,160		 36,930
-
153
-
24,366
-
13,081
-
113,378
-		 36,930
153
24,366
13,081
113,378
211,101
444		 211,545 187,908
-		 187,908
45,325
-
123
-		 45,325
123		 27,124
-
1,159
1,862		 27,124
3,021
45,448
-		 45,448 28,283
1,862		 30,145
2,261,110
350,655		 2,611,765 2,380,737
523,705		 2,904,442

Total income in 2023 was £2,611,765 [2022: £2,904,442] of which £2,261,110 [2022: £2,380,737] was unrestricted income and £350,655 [2022: £523,705] was restricted income.

21

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

3 Expenditure

3a Charitable activities - Grants
Not
e
Year to 31 December 2023
Mission partners and associates
Short- term missions including teams
Missional Projects
ACT
10
Other
Special collections paid over
Year to 31 December 2022
Mission partners and associates
Short- term missions including teams
Missional Projects
ACT
10
Other
Special collections paid over		 Unrestricted
General
Funds
Unrestricted
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds
£
£
£
-
32,000
15,695
-
7,200
-
-
98,303
-
-
-
171,646
-
-
-
-
-
482		 Total Funds
2023
£
47,695
7,200
98,303
171,646
-
482
-
137,503
187,823		 325,326
45,434
-
19,487
750
-
-
41,000
-
-
-
-
50,000
350
-
-
-
-
1,675		 64,921
750
41,000
50,000
350
1,675
87,534
-
71,162		 158,696

Grants are made to further the PCC's objectives of providing resources and training for Christian mission and ministry locally, nationally and abroad and to support other charities in the UK and overseas. Mission partners and associates receive grants for a number of years up to £5,000 each. Short term missions including teams are grants to individuals and teams for overseas mission trips of a duration upto one year. Grants are made to Christian charities and individuals in Oxford and the UK. During the year the PCC made a grant of £171,646 [2022: £50,000] to its related charity Aldates Community Transformation Initiatives (see note 10). Special collections are taken for specific purposes during services.

3b Charitable activities - Ministry
Note
Year to 31 December 2023
Parish share
Direct ministry expenses
Commercial lettings expenses
Lighting and AV refurbishment
Other buildings expenses
Support costs
3d
Audio, bookstall
Year to 31 December 2022
Parish share
Direct ministry expenses
Commercial lettings expenses
Lighting and AV refurbishment
Other buildings expenses
Support costs
3d
Audio, bookstall		 Unrestricted
General
Funds
Unrestricted
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds

£
£
140,291
-
-
1,175,942
44,198
172,740
10,147
-
-
-
36,821
-
329,088
-
4,358
288,046
-
17,259
-
-
-		 Total Funds
2023
£
140,291
1,392,880
10,147
36,821
333,446
305,305
-
1,943,514
81,019
194,357		 2,218,890
135,648
-
-
974,029
-
100,278
9,250
-
-
395,450
-
113,781
307,885
-
-
207,274
-
811
869
-
-		 135,648
1,074,307
9,250
509,231
307,885
208,085
869
2,030,405
-
214,870		 2,245,275

22

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

3c Governance costs
Note
Year to 31 December 2023
Audit fee
Support costs
3d
Year to 31 December 2022
Audit fee
Support costs
3d
Total Expenditure year to 31 December 2023
Total Expenditure year to 31 December 2022		 Unrestricted
General
Funds
Unrestricted
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds

£
£
4,990
-
-
24,930
-
1,913		 Total Funds
2023
£
4,990
26,843
29,920
-
1,913		 31,833
5,040
-
-
29,404
-
89		 5,040
29,493
34,444
-
89		 34,533
1,973,434
218,522
384,093		 2,576,049
2,152,383
-
286,121		 2,438,504

Total expenditure in 2023 was £2,576,049 [2022: £2,438,504] of which £2,191,956 [2022: £2,152,383] was unrestricted expenditure and £384,093 [2022: £286,121] was restricted expenditure.

3d Support costs
Year to 31 December 2023
Ministry support
Staff costs
Office administration
Other
Governance
Staff costs
Office administration
Total Support Costs
Year to 31 December 2022
Ministry support
Staff costs
Office administration
Other
Governance
Staff costs
Office administration
Total Support Costs		 Unrestricted
General
Funds
Unrestricted
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds
£
£
215,613
-
17,216
39,976
-
-
32,457
-
43		 Total Funds
2023
£
232,829
39,976
32,500
288,046
-
17,259		 305,305
23,957
-
1,913
973
-
-		 25,870
973
24,930
-
1,913		 26,843
312,976
-
19,172		 332,148
254,657
-
799
13,864
-
-
(61,247)
-
12		 255,456
13,864
(61,235)
207,274
-
811		 208,085
28,295
-
89
1,109
-
-		 28,384
1,109
29,404
-
89		 29,493
236,678
-
900		 237,578

Included within other in the prior year is a credit of £73,350 in respect of bad debts.

23

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

3e Staff costs
Unrestricted
General
Funds
Unrestricted
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total Funds
2023
Note
£
£
£
Year to 31 December 2023
Direct staff costs
Salaries
767,507
-
139,512
907,019
National Insurance
63,411
-
14,585
77,996
Pension contributions
11
33,829
-
2,951
36,780
864,747
-
157,048
1,021,795
Other staff costs
Housing
109,330
-
1,770
111,100
Other
34,239
-
305
34,544
143,569
-
2,075
145,644
Total Staff Costs
1,008,316
-
159,123
1,167,439
Year to 31 December 2022
Direct staff costs
Salaries
722,514
-
72,366
794,880
National Insurance
68,160
-
1,781
69,941
Pension contributions
11
35,711
-
1,070
36,781
826,385
-
75,217
901,602
Other staff costs
Housing
93,393
-
-
93,393
Other
12,514
-
443
12,957
105,907
-
443
106,350
Total Staff Costs
932,292
-
75,660
1,007,952		 3e Staff costs
Unrestricted
General
Funds
Unrestricted
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total Funds
2023
Note
£
£
£
Year to 31 December 2023
Direct staff costs
Salaries
767,507
-
139,512
907,019
National Insurance
63,411
-
14,585
77,996
Pension contributions
11
33,829
-
2,951
36,780
864,747
-
157,048
1,021,795
Other staff costs
Housing
109,330
-
1,770
111,100
Other
34,239
-
305
34,544
143,569
-
2,075
145,644
Total Staff Costs
1,008,316
-
159,123
1,167,439
Year to 31 December 2022
Direct staff costs
Salaries
722,514
-
72,366
794,880
National Insurance
68,160
-
1,781
69,941
Pension contributions
11
35,711
-
1,070
36,781
826,385
-
75,217
901,602
Other staff costs
Housing
93,393
-
-
93,393
Other
12,514
-
443
12,957
105,907
-
443
106,350
Total Staff Costs
932,292
-
75,660
1,007,952		 Total Funds
2023
£
907,019
77,996
36,780
864,747
-
157,048		 1,021,795
109,330
-
1,770
34,239
-
305		 111,100
34,544
143,569
-
2,075		 145,644
1,008,316
-
159,123		 1,167,439
722,514
-
72,366
68,160
-
1,781
35,711
-
1,070		 794,880
69,941
36,781
826,385
-
75,217		 901,602
93,393
-
-
12,514
-
443		 93,393
12,957
105,907
-
443		 106,350
932,292
-
75,660		 1,007,952

No member of the PCC received any remuneration for their work on the PCC. The clergy (3), who are ex officio members, do receive a stipend or equivalent salary but are not remunerated for their service on the PCC. Clergy members claimed £10,132 expenses as part of their ministry work [2022: £5,025]. No other PCC members claimed expenses.

Revd Mark Brickman and Revd Will Stuart-Lee are ex-officio members of the PCC and Trustees and receive remuneration, pension or benefits for their ministry roles. The remuneration is set to match stipends, pensions and/or housing allowances in the Diocese of Oxford. Total paid was £89,054 [2022: £86,316] of which pension was £7,108 [2022: £9,323].

Remuneration of the Senior Management Team not on the PCC (salaries & pension) amounted to £156,481 [2022: £110,155]. No member of staff earns £60,000 or more. The average number of staff during the year was 33 [2022: 32] equivalent to 29 full-time employees [2022: 27]. With the exception of governance costs which are separately identified, support costs are all allocated to charitable activities based on direct usage.

24

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

4 Fixed Assets

Cost
At start of period
Additions
Disposals
At close of period
Depreciation
At start of period
Charge for the year
Disposals
At close of period
Net book value
At start of period
At close of period		 Land and
buildings
Equipment,
furniture and
vehicles
Total
£
£
£
861,145
302,677
1,163,822
-
9,335
9,335
-
(13,047)
(13,047)
861,145
298,965
1,160,110
(27,546)
(234,850)
(262,396)
(2,058)
(26,460)
(28,518)
-
13,047
13,047
(29,604)
(248,263)
(277,867)
833,599
67,827
901,426
831,541
50,702
882,243

Land and buildings comprise No 40 Pembroke Street (at a cost of £664,491 plus improvements of £2,279), the Catacombs (at a PCC valuation of £150,000 in 1997 plus improvements of £9,943) and the PCC's share of 2 Shirelake Close (at a cost of £5,000). See also Note 10. Included within land and buildings are items with an original cost of £819,491 which are not depreciated.

5 Debtors

5 Debtors
Trade Debtors
Income tax recoverable
Other debtors and prepayments
6 Liabilities: amounts due within one year
Trade creditors
Accruals and other creditors
Deferred income
Accruals and other creditors includes deferred income as follows:
Balance at start of period
Amounts released in the year
Amounts deferred in the year
Balance at close of period		 2023
2022
£
£
266
3,592
60,499
52,035
116,241
83,425
177,006
139,052
2023
2022
£
£
54,858
68,127
108,891
143,963
163,749
212,090
25,795
29,139
(24,895)
(29,139)
18,075
25,795
18,975
25,795

6 Liabilities: amounts due within one year

25

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

7 Analysis of net assets by fund

Fixed assets
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Fund Balance
Prior Year Comparative
Fixed assets
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Fund Balance		 Unrestricted
Funds
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds
£
£
£
49,002
-
833,241
344,321
503,520
412,669		 Total Funds
2023
£
882,243
1,260,510		 Total Funds
2022
£
901,426
1,205,611
393,323
503,520
1,245,910		 2,142,753 2,107,037
Unrestricted
Funds
Designated
Funds
Restricted
Funds
£
£
£
63,230
-
838,196
387,335
366,107
452,169		 Total Funds
2022
£
901,426
1,205,611


450,565
366,107
1,290,365		 2,107,037

26

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

8 Analysis of movement in Reserves

Unrestricted - General
Fund
Unrestricted - Designated
funds
Mission
Coffee Shop Fund
House Purchase Fund
Church Refurbishment
Total unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Mission Gifts
ACT!
School of Ministry
Wednesday Pastorate
Senior Café
House Purchase Fund
Students
Postgraduates
Children
Special collections
Youth
Oxford City Council Grant
Media Equipment
Church Growth
UKME Bursary
Property
40 Pembroke Street
Shirelake Close
Catacombs
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 Balance at
start of year
Income for
the year
Expenditure
Transfers
between
funds
Balance at
end of year
£
£
£
£
£
450,565
2,261,110
(1,973,434)
(344,918)
393,323
77,607
-
(181,701)
175,435
71,341
50,000
-
-
10,000
60,000
155,500
-
-
18,500
174,000
83,000
-
(36,821)
152,000
198,179
816,672
2,261,110
(2,191,956)
11,017
896,843
876
15,654
(15,195)
-
1,335
145,627
59,365
(204,570)
-
422
8,387
8,500
-
(6,457)
10,430
2,132
-
(472)
-
1,660
728
-
-
-
728
42,037
5,744
-
-
47,781
1,862
15,000
(15,000)
-
1,862
4,061
-
(4,061)
-
-
4,358
-
(4,358)
-
-
1,763
54,448
(34,141)
-
22,070
5,208
6,444
(2,726)
-
8,926
52
-
-
-
52
9,997
-
(5,402)
-
4,595
228,944
181,500
(96,212)
-
314,232
3,104
4,000
-
(4,560)
2,544
664,491
-
-
-
664,491
5,000
-
-
-
5,000
161,738
-
(1,956)
-
159,782
1,290,365
350,655
(384,093)
(11,017)
1,245,910
2,107,037
2,611,765
(2,576,049)
-
2,142,753

The School of Ministry fund and the UKME Bursary fund represent donations and grants received to enable bursaries to be offered to School of Ministry students. These donations and grants are treated as restricted on receipt. The restriction is released and the amount transferred to the General Fund when a student benefits from the provision of a bursary.

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

Designated funds
Mission The fund is for Mission Support administered through the PCC.
Coffee Shop Fund This fund is set aside for future building/lease issues associated with the Coffee Shop.
House Purchase Fund This fund is to facilitate the purchase of a property currently co-owned by the PCC
and the Diocese of Oxford.
Church This fund is to set aside funds to complete the refurbishment of the lighting and AV
Refurbishment systems which commenced in 2022.
Restricted funds
Mission Gifts This fund is for donations from Congregation members given specifically for mission.
ACT! This fund is for the grant from St Aldates Parochial Charity and others in support of
the ACT! department of the church and ex-offenders mentoring project. It also
includes donations and collections made specifically for ACT! Funds are carried
forward for future strategic projects.
School of Ministry This fund is for donations and grants to fund Bursaries for the School of Ministry.
International Worker This fund is for the grant from St Aldates Parochial Charity towards the salary costs of
the Church International Worker.
Wednesday This fund is for the grant from St Aldates Parochial Charity in favour of the
Pastorate Wednesday Communion Pastorate.
Senior Café This fund is for a grant from the Oxford Deanery to facilitate the setting up of a
community café for Seniors
House Purchase Fund This fund is for donations made towards the purchase of a property currently co-
owned by the PCC and the Diocese of Oxford.
Students This fund is for grants and donations specifically for the benefit of the ministry to
Students.
Postgraduates This fund is for grants and donations specifically for the benefit of the ministry to
Postgraduates
Children This fund is for grants and donations specifically for the benefit of the ministry to
Children.
Special collections These are taken for specific purposes during services.
Youth This fund is for grants and donations specifically for the benefit of the ministry to
Youth.
Oxford City Council This fund is for a grant from the "We Are Oxford" project.
Grant
Invite a Nation This fund is for a grant to raise the profile of Alpha in Oxford.
Media Equipment This fund is for grants specifically for the purpose of purchasing equipment to support
our media and broadcast channels.
Church Growth This fund is for grants specifically for the purpose of funding projects to support
Church growth.
Property
40 Pembroke Street This fund arose from donations and grants to purchase and refurbish the building
as the St Aldates Parish Centre.
Shirelake Close This fund is the PCC 's share of the purchase cost of the house. The rest of the
house belongs to the Diocese of Oxford.
Catacombs This building and its improvements were funded by grants and donations and is
owned by the Holy Trinity Parochial Hall or Ragged School Trust.

28

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

Prior Year comparatives

Prior Year comparatives
Unrestricted - General
Fund
Unrestricted - Designated
funds
Mission
Coffee Shop Fund
House Purchase Fund
Church Refurbishment
Total unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Mission Gifts
ACT!
School of Ministry
International Worker
Wednesday
Pastorate
Senior Café
House Purchase Fund
Students
Postgraduates
Children
Special collections
Youth
Oxford City Council
Grant
Invite a Nation
Media Equipment
Church Growth
UKME Bursary
Property
40 Pembroke Street
Shirelake Close
Catacombs
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 Balance at
start of year
Income for
the year
Expenditure
Transfers
between
funds
Balance at
end of year
£
£
£
£
£
394,136
2,380,737
(2,152,383)
(171,925)
450,565
10,522
-
-
67,085
77,607
40,000
-
-
10,000
50,000
137,000
-
-
18,500
155,500
-
-
-
83,000
83,000
581,658
2,380,737
(2,152,383)
6,660
816,672
15,639
4,723
(19,486)
-
876
123,033
112,232
(89,638)
-
145,627
6,901
8,750
-
(7,264)
8,387
3,000
9,000
(12,000)
-
-
-
2,362
(230)
-
2,132
728
-
-
-
728
35,018
7,019
-
-
42,037
11,481
4,500
(14,119)
-
1,862
4,061
-
-
-
4,061
4,358
-
-
-
4,358
4,823
713
(3,773)
-
1,763
5,208
-
-
-
5,208
1,552
-
(1,500)
-
52
486
-
(486)
-
-
9,968
12,000
(11,971)
-
9,997
-
359,906
(130,962)
-
228,944
-
2,500
-
604
3,104
664,491
-
-
-
664,491
5,000
-
-
-
5,000
163,694
-
(1,956)
-
161,738
1,059,441
523,705
(286,121)
(6,660)
1,290,365
1,641,099
2,904,442
(2,438,504)
-
2,107,037

9 Holy Trinity Parochial Hall Trust

The PCC are the managing trustees of the Holy Trinity Parochial Hall or Ragged School Trust. The trust owns the Catacombs and 35.71% of 40 Pembroke Street. The accounts of the Trust are consolidated in these financial statements.

10 Related Party Transactions

The St Aldates Ministry CIO (Registered Charity 1200135) is considered to be a related party of the PCC as the Rector, a PCC member and a senior member of staff are Trustees. The objects of the charity is the advancement of the Christian religion. The CIO did not make a grant to the PCC in the year [2022: nil]. The CIO's loan to the PCC stood at nil at 31 December 2023 [2022: nil]. The PCC made no transfer to the CIO in the year [2022: nil].

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St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

The St Aldates Parochial Charities (Registered Charity 1080062) is considered to be a related party by virtue of a number of common trustees. The objects of the Charity are to contribute to the maintenance of the fabric and of the services in St Aldates Church and to provide assistance to the beneficiaries in the City of Oxford who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress. The Charity made grants of £125,000 to fabric and services [2022: £98,000] and £68,000 to ministries supporting those in need or distress [2022: £54,000]. The Charity paid the PCC £9,600 for property management services [2022: £9,753]. The PCC also leases property from the Charity at independently assessed market rates. Rent paid to the Charity in the year amounted to £149,598 [2022: £133,622]. At the year end the amount due to or from the Charity was nil [2022: nil].

Aldates Community Transformation Initiatives (ACT!) (Registered Charity 1143136) is a related party by virtue of a number of common trustees. During the year, the PCC incurred direct expenses (including staff costs) totalling £132,616 [2022: £138,972] on behalf of the Charity. The Charity made a grant to the PCC of £88,074 [2022: £109,701]. The PCC made a grant to The Charity of £171,646 [2022: £50,000]. At the year end the amount due from the Charity was £3,856 [2022: £1,728].

The trustees make voluntary donations to the work of St Aldates Church. These donations (including those made by spouses and related companies) totalled £210,953 [2022: £186,968]. In addition Gift Aid of £49,820 [2022: £21,556] was recovered in respect of these donations.

A Trustee (who retired on 28 March 2023) is a Director of Stewardship Services (UKET) Ltd "Stewardship". The PCC obtains services from Stewardship on arms lengths terms and in amounts which are not considered material either to the PCC or Stewardship.

In the prior year a grant was made to Medic Assist International (registered charity 1104760) of which a senior member of staff was also a Trustee.

In the prior year a grant was made to The Oxford Evangelical Pastorate (registered charity 1136848) which at the time had a common Trustee.

In the prior year a grant was made to 222 Ministries (registered charity 1171159) at a time when a family member of a Trustee was a senior member of staff.

In the prior and current years grants were made to E3 Initiatives (registered charity 1092574) which has a common Trustee.

The PCC pays 'Parish Share' to the Oxford Diocesan Board of Finance. The Rector and the Curate are employees of the Oxford Diocesan Board of Finance.

11 Pensions

St Aldates (Oxford) participates in three pension schemes: the Church of England Funded Pensions Scheme (CEFPS) for stipendiary clergy; the Pension Builder Scheme of the Church Workers Pension Fund for lay staff who enrolled before October 2016 and NEST Pension Fund for lay staff enrolling after October 2016.

CEFPS is administered by the Church of England Pensions Board, which holds the assets of the schemes separately from those of the Employer and the other participating employers. Each participating employer in the scheme pays contributions at a common contribution rate applied to pensionable stipends. The scheme is considered to be a multi-employer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. This means it is not possible to attribute the Scheme’s assets and liabilities to specific employers and that contributions are accounted for as if the Scheme were a defined contribution scheme. The pensions costs charged to the SoFA in the year are contributions payable towards benefits and expenses accrued in that year, plus any impact of deficit contributions (see below).

A valuation of the Scheme is carried out once every three years. The most recent Scheme valuation completed was carried out at 31 December 2021. The valuation revealed a surplus of £560m.

The CWPF is administered by the Church of England Pensions Board, which holds the assets of the schemes separately from those of the Employer and the other participating employers. The Fund has a deferred annuity section known as Pension Builder Classic and a cash balance section known as Pension Builder 2014. Both components are defined benefits schemes. There is no subdivision of assets between employers in each section of the Pension Builder Scheme. The scheme is considered to be a multiemployer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. This means it is not possible to attribute the Scheme’s assets and liabilities to specific employers and that contributions are accounted for as if the Scheme were a defined contribution scheme.

30

St Aldates, Oxford – Annual Report 2023

The pension costs charged to the SoFA in the year are contributions payable.

A valuation of the Scheme is carried out once every three years. The most recent Scheme valuation completed was carried out at 31 December 2019. This revealed, on the ongoing assumptions used, a surplus of £0.7M. The PCC has one active member of the scheme.

The NEST Pension Scheme is a defined contribution ‘money purchase’ scheme. The PCC’s contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 3. The money purchase scheme is managed by NEST Corporation and the plan invests the contributions made by the employee and employer in an investment fund to build up over the term of the plan a pension fund which is then converted into a pension upon the employee’s normal retirement year age when eligible for a state pension. The PCC has no liability beyond making its contributions and paying across the deductions for the employee’s contributions. There were no outstanding contributions at the year end.

12 Note to the Statement of Cash Flows

Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities

Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities
Net income for the reporting period (as per the statement of financial
activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Profit on disposal of Fixed Assets
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Decrease in stocks
Increase in debtors
(Decrease)/Increase in creditors
Net cash provided by operating activities
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash in hand
Total cash and cash equivalents		 2023
2022
£
£
35,716
465,938
28,518
26,089
(1,830)
-
(56,171)
(8,100)
-
1,283
(37,954)
(7,848)
(48,341)
85,848
(80,062)
563,210
2023
2022
£
£
1,247,253
1,278,649
1,247,253
1,278,649

31