## **St. Andrew’s Church in the Westlands, - - Newcastle under Lyme** ## **in the Diocese of Lichfield** www.churchinthewestlands.org.uk ## **ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL** ## _CHARITY COMMISSION REFERENCE 1132163_ ## **ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2022** (Incorporating the Annual Accounts of the Lichfield Diocesan Trust no 1439 St Andrew the Westlands) ## **Incumbent:** Revd Andrew Dawswell The Vicarage 50, Kingsway West Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5 3PU **Bank:** National Westminster Bank plc 75, High Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 1PN **Independent Examiner:** Richard Booth 117 Dartmouth Ave, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 3NR ## **Welcome** Welcome to the Annual Report and Accounts of St. Andrew’s Church, Westlands and welcome to our Church, whether you are a regular or a newcomer just paying us a visit. Please come back soon! A special welcome to any who have joined us for the first time this year, it is good to have new people with us as we try and grow together as part of God’s Church here in the Westlands. The Annual Report should provide you with all the legally required information, but hopefully it will also provide you with a flavour of what has taken place at St. Andrew’s over the last year. This will also be supplemented by a number of other reports to be presented at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) on Sunday 7[th] May at 6.30pm. Please feel free to join us then if you can. If you would like to know more about our work then please ask the Vicar, Churchwardens or any other members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC). ## **Administrative Information** ## St. Andrew’s is situated at the top of Pilkington Avenue in the heart of the Westlands. St. Andrews is registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission, reference 1132163, as _The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St. Andrew, the Westlands_ . Its working name is _St. Andrew’s PCC, Westlands_ and further details of our registration can be found on the Charity Commission website, along with Annual Reports from previous years, which can also be found on the Church website. The Correspondence address for the Charity is that of the Vicarage: 50, Kingsway West, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 3PU - 2 - ## **Trustees** The Trustees of the Charity are the members of the PCC of St. Andrew’s Church in the Westlands. Members of the PCC are either ex officio or elected by the APCM in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. Our vicar, Andrew Dawswell serves as Chairman, along with: Until May 2022: Margaret Hollins (churchwarden), Alan Swanborough, Helen Collins (Churchwarden), Jenny Boston, Sara Froggatt, Helen McGarry, Gillian Moss, Stuart Rushton, Steve Forrester (treasurer till March 22nd), Chris Gill (treasurer from March 22nd), Irene Hardacre, Jane Machin, Sam Jones (Secretary), Stuart Jackson, Tania Arnold, Bob Bell, Naomi Savage & Paul Honeyfield; and our deanery synod reps: Glenys Gill, Helen Swanborough & John Soto. From May 2022: Margaret Hollins (churchwarden), Alan Swanborough, Helen Collins (Churchwarden), Sara Froggatt, Helen McGarry, Gillian Moss, Stuart Rushton, Chris Gill (treasurer), Irene Hardacre, Jane Machin, Sam Jones (Secretary), Stuart Jackson, Tania Arnold, Bob Bell, Naomi Savage, Paul Honeyfield, Naomi Savage & Marie Bateman; and our deanery synod reps: Glenys Gill & Helen Swanborough. ## **Structure, governance and management** The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure (1956), as amended, and the Church Representation Rules. As well as having oversight of the general finances of the Church, the PCC are also Managing Trustees of the Lichfield Diocesan Trust no 1439 St. Andrew the Westlands (a separate charity with registration number 203230). The capital element of this trust has for many years been invested so as to provide an income stream for the Church, the capital element being held as restricted funds and the interest or income being paid over to the main charity to be utilised by the PCC for the work of the Church generally. We envisage however that the whole of this trust is likely to be expended in the coming year as part of the financing of our major building project. The finances for this trust are incorporated within the financial statements that follow. The PCC has ultimate responsibility for a wide range of matters affecting the Parish and endeavours to keep itself abreast of current information on such issues as Health and Safety, Disability Discrimination legislation and Child Protection either through “local” guidance or through wider Diocesan advice, or often a mixture of both. Apart from the Standing Committee of the PCC, the Church has three significant ongoing committees to consider its important areas of work – Worship; Mission Partners; and Facilities. PCC members generally each serve on at least one committee along with others who have a keen interest in the particular area covered by the committee. These committees will bring recommendations to the PCC for consideration. Each has a delegated authority to spend up to £200. Non-routine expenditure above this sum requires two quotations and Standing Committee authorisation. In addition, a funding committee for the new hall project has continued, also taking the lead in setting a new direction when the original scheme proved to be unaffordable - 3 - ## **Objectives and Activities** The primary objective of the PCC is to promote the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and in accordance with the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure (1956), as amended, it co-operates with the minister in promoting within the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. Although the Church in the Westlands local ecumenical partnership finished when St Peter’s closed in 2021, we are, for now, still using the same mission statement: ‘we are committed in the power of the Holy Spirit that our worship, service and witness will demonstrate to everyone the love of Jesus Christ.’ ## **Public Benefit** The trustees of the Charity are aware of the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit and have had regard to it in their administration of the Charity. The trustees believe that, by promoting the work of the Church of England in the Ecclesiastical Parish of Saint Andrew, the Westlands, it helps to promote the whole mission of the Church (pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical) more effectively, within the Ecclesiastical Parish, and that in doing so it provides a benefit to the public by: - Providing facilities for public worship, pastoral care and spiritual, moral and intellectual development, both for its members and for anyone who wishes to benefit from what the Church offers; and - Promoting Christian values, and service by members of the Church in and to their communities, to the benefit of individuals and society as a whole. ## **Volunteer Input** In all of this, we are immensely grateful for all those who willingly give of their time to contribute to the charitable activities of the PCC or in providing funds. The extensive nature of all our volunteers is such that it would be almost impossible to quantify the contribution in terms of hours or an indicative value of this contribution. Many of those on our Electoral Roll are willing volunteers in one form or another and the work undertaken in meeting our objectives simply could not happen without the considerable contribution of many people within the Parish and beyond. ## **Achievements and Performance** At the start of 2022, church life was in a very different place from January 2021. Several church activities had managed to restart in late 2021, and with national vaccinations against Covid, restrictions were slowly starting to ease. We decided to restart opening the church regularly on Mondays and Thursdays. In February, it was decided to no longer require mask wearing at some services, but still offer an area of the church where mask wearing was the norm. Zoom is still used for some purposes, including monthly quizzes, one of the Home Groups, Wednesday Morning Prayer and Friday Compline, as well as fortnightly warden meetings with the Vicar. The church’s welcome pack for newcomers to the parish, was reviewed and revised, and is distributed by deliverers of Link. The PCC decided to produce 6 issues of Link per year. The topic for the 6-week Lent course was Love Actually, with a series of videos produced in Australia. This was well attended. - 4 - We were able to hold our Annual General Meeting on 29th May, back in the Church Hall on a Sunday evening. It was very pleasing to see Chris Gill re-elected as Treasurer, following the resignation of Steve Forrester who had fulfilled the role for 4 Years – our grateful thanks to Steve for his hard work. A “spin-off” of the All Things Bright & Beautiful project was the creation of a monthly Craft and Chat group meeting in the Parish Room to enjoy social time, a hot drink and come together with their particular favourite craft occupation. In May, it was decided to re-start various rotas such as Bible reading, intercessions and prayer duty volunteers. A rota of duty wardens for services, with a team of welcomers, was also commenced. We are, as always, extremely thankful to everyone who volunteers for these and other church roles; it is hard to imagine how we could manage without you. A useful Prayer Diary was produced in June – many thanks to Irene Hardacre, Helen Dodds, Tracey Holland and Michelle Bradbury for their hard work with this. Lift to church 10.45 am services restarted in the summer. Thanks to Stuart and Sheila Rushton and those volunteer drivers who assist. Forget-me-not café has continued monthly, first in the church hall and then in the parish room in the winter, and this continues to flourish under Irene’s leadership. A trial return to afternoon teas was very successful, and these will return on a monthly basis in 2023. Harvest Lunch and a simple midweek Christmas lunch were similarly well supported and popular. In September, Glenys Gill and Jane Machin kindly organised a highly successful Fish and Chip evening to celebrate the 60[th] anniversary of the consecration of St. Andrew’s, which included pictures of the construction and extracts from the recording of the consecration service. In October, the Bereavement Team organised the Annual Memorial Service with cakes and drinks afterwards. Pastoral visiting has recommenced, and in December, a group went carol singing around the parish. ## **Face to face worship; Special services and events** April saw a number of small milestones, as we were able to restart the bunching of daffodils for Mothering Sunday, and also start a slightly different approach to music in services. This followed a review meeting, when it was decided to amalgamate the previous choir and All Age singers into one group to sing at three services each month. Also in April, it was decided to change the timing of the mid-morning service to 10.45 am, therefore allowing time for the musicians and singers to practise before the service commencement on Sundays of All Age services. We are very grateful to Geoffrey, Marie, Peter, Sam and Robin, as well as our singers, for their excellent music at many services throughout the year. As well as prayer being an important part of all of our services, and in different ways at All Age Worship, there is a particular focus on praying together at the Monthly Prayer meeting. In the week before Easter there were daily Services and Prayer meetings. In April, the church also hosted a concert by Biddulph Male Voice choir, and in May by the Ceramic City Choir. A fundraising concert for Ukraine was held in the church hall. Members of the congregation took part in the Churches Together prayer initiatives in May and September, and there was also a pulpit exchange in October. We also marked the 30 years since Andrew started as a curate in the Church of England, with good wishes, gifts, and a cake. This coincided with a visit from Bishop Matthew on 25[th] September to celebrate the 60[th] anniversary of the consecration of St. Andrew’s. - 5 - In November, an Identity course was offered, and in the same month, Coffee and Choruses. The year ended with the usual Christmas services, which were all well attended. Many thanks to all who worked hard at decorating the church and providing music. ## **Accessibility** There is a hearing loop, large print material available at all Services, alternative seating and wheelchair spaces in the body of the Church. In addition, the Service is relayed to Mr Noisy’s sound proof room and a weekly recorded Service continues to be available on the internet and the telephone. ## **Homegroup Bible Studies** Many home groups started to meet again in person in February, still using masks initially, and with no refreshments at first, in the Parish Room, with one group continuing via Zoom and another group meeting at a home. The topic for the first few months was Mission. From May to July, the groups studied the parables of Jesus, and returned to this topic in September after a summer break. ## **Mission** The church has continued to financially support the Church Mission Society (Katia Rocks in Brazil), Tearfund, the Bible Society, Scripture Union, Open Doors and Brighter Futures. Rev Bill Humphries came to St. Andrew’s in March to tell us all about Open Doors work. We also continued to support Christian Aid week in May and the annual collection for the Children’s Society, and to give donations to the local Foodbank. The Mission Partners Committee organised two events in aid of Tearfund; the Tearfund Open Café in May and the Tearfund Big Quiz in November. The Café was the first held since 2019, and was very successful, raising over £1300, with the Big Quiz raising £316. Many thanks to all who helped and supported these events. Harvest Gifts were distributed locally to those in need and to Glow women’s refuge, with monetary donations being sent to Tearfund. Tearfund also benefitted from the proceeds of providing mulled wine and mince pies after the annual Candlelit Carol Service in December. In October, Simon Wright co-ordinated our support of the Link to Hope Shoebox Appeal, and in November as usual we supported the British Legion poppy appeal as well as donating the Remembrance Service collection to armed forces charities. The customary Toy service in December saw a large amount of toys, games, toiletries and cash donations given to Glow refuge in Newcastle. These were very gratefully accepted. ## **Children and Families Worker** Naomi has continued to do excellent work with Sunday Club throughout the year, Xcite on Mondays and Little Sparklers on Tuesdays, as well as Messy Church on several Saturdays. Special events have included a “With Love” treasure hunt in February; a family event called Pancakes and Journeys in March, an (indoor because of the weather) Jubilee picnic on 5[th] June, The August holiday club week was Going Bananas and was very well attended with over 40 children taking part, and a gallant band of volunteer helpers. The annual Christingle service was extremely well attended, as was the traditional Christmas Eve crib service. Angel making was done by a variety of people including the Craft and Chat group and Xcite, under the leadership of Chris Gill. - 6 - Throughout the year, Naomi and some of her team have been in all the local primary schools, and St. Andrew’s welcomed the carol services of Friarswood School, Seabridge School, Langdale School, the Coppice School and Westlands School in December. Chris Gill and Naomi have regularly publicised events on our Facebook page, which reaches a good number of local people, and we are grateful for this vital work. We thank God for Naomi and all of her band of helpers, for all the excellent activities and local engagement. _Margaret Hollins, Churchwarden_ - 7 - ## **2022 Report on the fabric of the church** The Facilities Committee, consisting of 6 / 7 members, is responsible for the maintenance of the church buildings, and is led by Helen Collins. It has met six times in 2022. ## **Church Building:** This year, the routine PAT testing of all electrical items became due. This is an important electrical safety check that we perform every two and a half years and 184 items were tested by the PAT tester over two visits. The vast majority of items passed first time, several needed new fuses and a handful of items did not meet the current standards so were disposed of immediately. One of the outside security lights, covering the driveway and north side of church, had failed, leaving the driveway quite dark at night times, so this has been replaced with a new light to improve safety and also incorporating a motion sensor and photo cell to improve energy efficiency. Various light bulbs in church, as they fail, continue to be replaced with LED bulbs to reduce our energy usage. One broken window (in Mr Noisy’s room) was replaced this year, probably caused by children playing football in the grounds. Numerous small maintenance jobs have been completed by Alan Swanborough and Bob Bell, including replacing a faulty electrical socket, making small repairs to downpipes and protecting/ strengthening a supply pipe in the boiler house. The church Maintenance Plan has been followed and various checks made on the building during the year by committee members. The main church building was hired out twice this year, and responsibility for this has now been taken on by Chris Gill. The Parish Room has again been hired for local elections and for music exams. The charges made to external hirers had not been reviewed for several years, so the Committee looked at current heating and maintenance costs of the building and made some recommendations for an increase in hire charges to the PCC which were subsequently approved. ## **Church hall:** As the church is looking to replace the old hall in the very near future, maintenance work has been kept to a minimum, whilst prioritising safety. The kitchen sink u-bends have needed to be unblocked, a loose roof tile has been re-fixed and a clean water drip in the men’s urinal continues to be monitored. The Committee reviewed the terms and conditions of the contract we ask external hirers to sign, and reviewed the charges we make. Chris Spicer stood down after many years of diligently supervising the letting of the Hall, and was presented with a thankyou gift in church. Chris Gill has kindly agreed to take over this responsibility for the short term. We started the year with five regular hall bookings but this had decreased to three by the end of the year, however there were twenty-seven oneoff bookings which is an increase on last year. ## **Church Grounds:** The Committee organised four gardening mornings this year to keep on top of the grounds, and we are also indebted to several people who kindly give their time to hedgecutting, leaf clearing and maintaining areas of the planting throughout the year. - 8 - The lawns have been kept tidy and professionally cut every three weeks from spring to autumn this year. The driveway shows signs of ageing and some large potholes had started to develop, but work at the end of the year to fill the largest ones has been very successful and should be effective for several years to come. St. Andrew’s continues to be blessed with active committee members who undertake numerous church repairs and maintenance tasks and I would like to thank Alan, Bob, Stuart Rushton and Stuart Jackson, along with Jane Machin, our Health and Safety Officer who advises the committee. _Helen Collins, Churchwarden_ ## **Health and Safety** During April and May 2022, The Health and Safety Policies were reviewed and moved to the Church Google drive for appropriate access. |Document|Version|Date| |---|---|---| |H&S Policy|11|April 2022| |Food Safety Policy|2|January 2017 reviewed May
2022| |Lone Working Policy|2|January 2019 reviewed April
2022| |Manual Handling
Policy|1|May 2022| |Working at Height
Policy|3|May 2022| It is planned to do a thorough review of the Food Safety Policy, hygiene training, routines and notices, when the new kitchen is set up. It was noted that the Safeguarding and Vulnerable Adults Policies have been updated and are held separately. In April 2022 a First Aid training day, expertly led by Gary Peake, was run for 12 members of the congregation and a list of all First Aid people has been put in each of the First Aid boxes, which have been checked and located at the back of Church, in the Parish Room, the Choir Vestry and the Hall kitchen. Emergency contacts are listed on the wall notice board at the back of Church. In June 2022 a Fire drill followed the main Morning Service. The Church building was checked and evacuated in good time, with everyone away from the building in 4 minutes. Risk assessments are in place for all regular activities with annual reviews and are produced for special occasions. The Permit to Work form was revised and is now in use. A check was made of cleaning materials used and stored, ensuring separate equipment for the toilets and the process for the use and disposal of cloths. The Asbestos report was checked and referenced with relation to possible work on the Church floors. No action to be taken at the moment. The process for clearing snow was reviewed and updated. There are now HSE accident books available at the back of Church and in the Hall kitchen for the reporting of all accidents. In 2022 there was one accident report, caused by a hole on the car park and our thanks to the Facilities Committee for swift repairs. - 9 - The collection of candles at the Christingle Service did not go to plan and clearer instructions and more candle snuffers are required for next time. Fire blankets and buckets of water were placed at the front and back of Church. Temporary cables, including the power cables to the Crib Scene and Christmas tree were secured with black and yellow tape which is kept at the back of Church. No issues were reported in the book at the back of Church. Thanks to those who are so diligent in matters of health and safety. _Jane Machin, Health and Safety Officer_ ## **Faith in the Future / New Hall Project** St. Andrew’s established plans for replacing our ageing hall were forced to undergo a significant change of direction mid-way through the year. ## **The plans:** We started 2022 with a lot more work on final details for our plans for a Hall extension on the south side of the main church building and, by summer, were ready to submit the plans for tender to a selection of carefully chosen builders. Unfortunately, the combined effects of rising inflation, the results of Covid on the UK economy and the Russian invasion of Ukraine causing havoc with the price of everything, meant that the quotations we received back in August were hugely higher than the prices we had been expecting. Sadly, the PCC felt we had no choice but to cease working on this plan and the new Hall sub-committee started to investigate other options. A range of possibilities was discussed, and their conclusion for the best way forward, approved by the PCC, was to retain the land of the old hall site and to look into a ‘turnkey’ project, (where one company organises all aspects of the construction project) to demolish the existing hall and replace it with a new, modular build. Research by the committee found there were only a limited number of firms operating this type and scale of project, but identified two strong candidates, with a strong preference for a local company with substantial experience in similar sized builds. By the end of 2022, discussions were on-going about methods of heating, which needs to be resolved before detailed plans can be drawn up in the near future. An extra advantage of a modular building is that, once plans are finalised, the construction time is very much shorter than a traditional project. In the meantime, we are fortunate to have had the opportunity to take advice from a former HRMC tax expert on the important matter of the conditions by which we may get exemption from paying VAT on the work. The PCC are satisfied that this will be possible, thereby saving us from a prohibitive extra cost. ## **The Fundraising:** We are grateful to those who have continued to honour their pledges to contribute towards the fund over several years. The biggest fund-raising event we have held for Faith in the Future so far was the Grand Charity Auction on May 7th. This was a big event, organised by Bob Bell, who had obtained the services of TV auctioneer, Charles Hanson. Many dozens of church members got involved in a huge array of activities including collecting items, valuing, photographing, producing the catalogue, selling tickets, organising refreshments, setting up the church and hall, marshalling attendees, registering bidders and supervising the - 10 - finances, as well as manning a Buy-it Now stall on the day. A magnificent total of around £7,000 was raised and we owe thanks to Bob and the organising team, along with the many helpers on the day. Bob Bell also raised over £1,500 for the Hall fund by collecting old scrap metal from members of the congregation and other local people. All Things Bright and Beautiful was the name given to the craft project run during 2022 to bring attention to our project. We thank Margaret Hollins for organising this venture, where many knitters and crafters produced large numbers of woollen or fabric flowers and animals, which were subsequently sewn onto large pieces of netting. Once finished in April, a cherry picker was hired to fix them either side of the main entrance to the church (our thanks to the team of Mark Hobbs, Bob Bell, Alan Swanborough and Mike Hollins). The result was a spectacular, colourful display and many passers-by were seen to stop and admire and take photographs. The display was in-situ for around 5 months, before being taken down in the autumn, cut into small pieces and sold off. Other fund-raising events for the Faith in the Future project have included jam-making, wooden tealight holders and the sale of knitted items, with our grateful thanks to all involved. We are anticipating that additional giving is likely to be needed in order to complete the project and further fundraising events are envisaged for 2023. _Helen Collins, Churchwarden_ ## **Safeguarding Report** In 2022 St. Andrew’s continued to keep safeguarding at the forefront of its life as a Church. We were vigilant with our DBS checks, especially for all of the PCC, in line with diocesan updates. However, the requirements for Children/Youth leaders safeguarding changed over this year and there is now much more emphasis on ‘safer recruitment’ and training, than there has been (in the past) on DBS checks. Naomi has been updating the forms required for each helper, including an application form, a declaration certificate, and then a short interview with Andrew. This will be the system for any new helpers from now on, as only main leaders can have DBS checks. Training is also an important and essential part of our safeguarding work, and again this year some of our church volunteers completed the Basic and Foundation certificates online. The Diocese Safeguarding Team are becoming stricter in their insistence that everyone who has a leadership role is trained in this way, so we are working hard to achieve this goal. Thanks as always goes to Kath Thorpe for her administration talents, and to Andrew and Naomi (our Safeguarding officer) for their ongoing work prioritising safeguarding and making sure that every part of our life together as a church is safe and welcoming for all. - 11 - ## **Update on St Andrew’s 2022-23 Mission Action Plan** ## **Our Mission** For a number of years, we have seen the mission that the Lord has entrusted to us as being summarized: a) In our partnership mission statement: _‘As the Church in the Westlands we are committed in the power of the Holy Spirit that our worship, service and witness will demonstrate to everyone the love of Jesus Christ’._ b) In the four major priorities of the early church as described in Acts 2:42 ‘ _And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.’_ i.e. the aims to be: a learning church, a caring church, a worshipping church, and evangelizing church. ## **Our Vision** At the end of 2021 the PCC identified 3 areas of church life which we thought would particularly need to be focused on for the next couple of years Carried over from our previous plan are the emphases on: - **Reaching New Generations** and - **Renewing our Buildings** - In addition, in the light of the realities of 2020 & 2021, we also prioritized: - **Recovery from effects of Covid and lockdown** ## **Our 2022-2023 Plan** **1. Reaching new generations** ## _**Progress made in 1[st] year**_ ## _**Goals for rest of 2023++**_ - **Supporting and partnering our children & families’ worker to enable full restart** - **and further development of work with children and families. Key aims include:** - **Re-start of Messy church** - **Development of leaders to work alongside worker** - **Small group to investigate digital possibilities for St Andrew’s, including social media development, video/livestreaming** Re-start accomplished Almost all leaders re-started & a new leader recruited Further development of Facebook outreach by Naomi / Chris Gill / Andrew Sharing of YouTube services with St Giles Continuing Messy church etc. More development & delegation of leadership Ideally Naomi/Chris & Margaret Hollins to form a strategy group, though others will need to join them. YouTube services to be further shared with Bucknall Churches - **Review of Sunday morning worship** An encouraging number of 3040’s have joined us recently Continuing evolution of 10.45 service now envisaged - 12 - _**Progress made in 1[st] year**_ _**Goals for rest of 2023++**_ ## **2. Renewing our buildings** - **Completing funding (including ‘All things bright and beautiful’ and Auction) and so enabling building work for new hub to start.** - **Coping with a year’s disruption to our site.** - **Re-launching the availability of our new premises.** **3. Recovery from effects of COVID and lockdown To include** - **Re-starting and rerecruiting for Sunday worship rotas.** - **Fuller re-launching of choir/music group/band.** Church members continued to give very generously to the project, and events planned went very well Not yet needed Focus on our own use of facilities led to vision for weekly Renew Wellbeing Café (launching soon) _**Progress made in 1[st] year**_ We are grateful for all who have played a part in our Covid recovery - we are probably close to where we would have been as a church without the pandemic. A gift day is likely to be needed to complete the funding for our new proposal for replacing the hall. Two special events are being planned to assist The new plan will still bring some months disruption to our grounds and car park _**Goals for rest of 2023++**_ Helping those who have joined us to find their place in the life and service of our church ## **Also** - **Explore feasibility of reactivating a group planning special events to invite guests to.** - **Review of: Logo Mission Statement** - **Completing re-issue of prayer literature/booklet.** **Interviews in main service to spell out what different church roles involve - partly to encourage prayer, sometimes as a means of encouraging others to consider joining the team** No progress yet Decided to retain current logo No progress yet Prayer diary issued May 2022 Several interviews have been conducted Ideally aim to get this kind of group re-started Mission Statement review to begin by Autumn 2023 More to follow… - 13 - More details of our current work can also be found on the Church website ## **Newcastle under-Lyme Deanery Synod** There were 3 meetings of the Newcastle Deanery Synod in 2022 and a further meeting in January 2023 The first meeting of the year was on-line - an interactive presentation by Sally Bubbers, the Bishop’s Adviser for Pastoral Care, on the 17th January 2022. Sally led our consideration of local church responses to the pastoral and psychological effects of the pandemic on individuals and churches. The second meeting of Synod was held at St. Andrew’s Westlands on the 25[th] May 2022, when the new Archdeacon of Stoke-upon-Trent, The Ven Dr Megan Smith, spoke on reaching younger people in the current age. The third meeting of the year was a late change to the original programme, due to the unavailability of the original speaker. Instead, Revd. Simon Foster, Mission Team Leader, and Chaplaincy and Mission Strategy Enabler for the Diocese came to speak at St. George’s on the 17[th] October. Simon introduced the topic of “How to grow Discipleship in the Deanery”, and facilitated mixed group work to give the meeting time to consider how this could potentially happen. A further meeting was held on the 16[th] January at St. Thomas Kidsgrove where Revd. Zoe Hemming, the Diocesan Enabling All Advisor helped us look at “Inclusion of people who are disabled in our churches and the 'enabling all scheme'” _Chris Gill, Lay chair_ ## **AGENDA OF ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING** ## **7th May 2023 6.30pm** ## **Annual Vestry Meeting** - 1 Election of Wardens for the next year. ## **Annual Parochial Church Meeting** - 2 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of May 2022 - 3 Electoral roll report - 4 Election of up to 3 people to serve for 3 years as deanery synod reps - Election of up to 15 people who will serve for the next year on the Parochial Church Council - 5 Presentation of accounts for 2022 & report on the general finances of St. Andrew's _Chris Gill_ - 6 Appointment of Hon Independent Examiner. - 7 Highlights of written reports: _Helen Collins & Margaret Hollins_ - 8 Safeguarding report - 9 Updates on Building project and renew wellbeing café launch - 10 To consider briefly any matters of General Church interest to be referred to the newly elected Council. - 14 - ## **Financial Review** The financial accounts for 2022 are set out in their required form in the following pages. Certain of our income and funds have been received for a specific object, for example the employment of our Children’s & Families Worker, but now more prominently the Church Hall replacement. Accordingly, these amounts are categorised as restricted funds and may only be expended on the specific object for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of each year must be carried forward as a balance on that fund and cannot be used for the Church’s general use, unless agreed to in writing by the original donors. All other income and funds are categorised as unrestricted funds and are available for general use. The accounts for the year show that in respect of Unrestricted or General Funds the PCC's expenditure significantly exceeded income and endowments by £42,120. This deficit largely arises from one-off expenditure on design work for the Church extension amounting to £49,049. Over the last 5 years the Church’s finances have been particularly influenced by one-off items of income and expenditure and the table below provides a little more clarity to the financial position. ||2018|2019|2020|2021|2022| |---|---|---|---|---|---| ||£|£|£|£|£| |**General (Unrestricted) Fund**|||||| |_Opening Balance_|_79,135_|_115,732_|_318,531_|_297,814_|_226,112_| ||||||| |On-goingincome|124,437|118,122|104,005|126,936|120,495| |Diocesan Common Fund contribution|-83,785|-85,356|-86,952|-79,781|-73,068| |Other On-goingexpenditure|-42,422|-40,221|-37,770|-33,724|-40,514| |**On-going surplus/ (deficit)**|**-1,770**|**-7,455**|**-20,717**|**13,431**|**6,913**| ||||||| |Legacies|39,702|218,999|0|5,500|1,113| |Quinquennial Repairs|0|-8,745|0|-90,633|-1,097| |New Building|-1,335|0|0|0|-49,049| |**Total In-year surplus/ (deficit)**|**36,597**|**202,799**|**-20,717**|**-71,702**|**-42,120**| ||||||| |_Closing Balance_|_115,732_|_318,531_|_297,814_|_226,112_|_183,992_| In 2021 there were signs that Income appeared to be returning to pre-covid levels, although an exercise undertaken during 2022 suggests that an element of the increase in 2021 related to one-off donations to the general unrestricted funds during that year. Income levels have, though, held up in 2022. Expenditure has also returned to pre-covid levels in 2022, with expenditure on the running costs of the church reverting to the 2018 and 2019 levels. The on-going reduction in Parish Share continues to help the overall financial situation and the on-going surplus continues to be above the level of the contribution set aside each year (£5,000) towards future quinquennial repairs, which is good news. Before adjusting for the Gains on investment assets, restricted funds income and endowments exceeded expenditure by £69,865, which is largely the considerable level of fund raising for the Building Fund, as offset by the deficit within the Children and Families Worker Fund - 15 - Unrestricted reserves at the 31st December amount to £183,992 and restricted reserves amount to £318,342, the latter including £71,630 relating to the Trust fund, which is invested in the Church of England’s Central Board of Finance Investment Fund and, therefore, still susceptible to the volatility of the Stock Market. Looking forward, the financial position is a little more un-certain. There may well be a need to support the Children and Families Worker Fund during 2023 as the historical reserves for this fund are used up. Annual expenditure has exceeded annual income for some time and there is likely to be a need for continuing on-going support from 2024. A basic forecast for general fund finances for 2023 and 2024, based around a number of assumptions, which may or may not materialise, is set out below. ||||||Forecast|Forecast| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||2020|2021|2022||2023|2024| ||£|£|£||£|£| |**General (Unrestricted) Fund**||||||| |_Opening Balance_|_318,531_|_297,814_|_226,112_||_183,992_|_185,136_| |||||||| |On-goingincome|104,005|126,936|120,495||117,234|116,234| |DiocesanCommon Fund contribution|-86,952|-79,781|-73,068||-66,376|-77,147| |OtherOn-going expenditure|-37,770|-33,724|-40,514||-41,672|-45,096| |SupportforC&FW Fund|||||-8,042|-15,800| |**On-going surplus /(deficit)**|**-20,717**|**13,431**|**6,913**||**1,144**|**-21,810**| |||||||| |Legacies|0|5,500|1,113|||| |Quinquennial Repairs|0|-90,633|-1,097|||| |New Building|0|0|-49,049|||| |**Total In-year surplus /(deficit)**|**-20,717**|**-71,702**|**-42,120**||**1,144**|**-21,810**| |||||||| |_Closing Balance_|_297,814_|_226,112_|_183,992_||_185,136_|_163,326_| Under this scenario, the annual on-going position becomes a surplus in 2023, but not sufficient to be able to contribute £5,000 to future quinquennial repairs, the balance having to be met from the unrestricted reserves, the level of which is shown in the table as “closing balance”. Once the 2023 accounts have been produced, the PCC will need to review its reserves again as usual. ## **Reserves Policy** The Charity Commission requires trustees of each Charity to: - develop a reserves policy that: - fully justifies and clearly explains keeping or not keeping reserves - identifies and plans for the maintenance of essential services for beneficiaries - reflects the risks of unplanned closure associated with the charity’s business model, spending commitments, potential liabilities and financial forecasts - helps to address the risks of unplanned closure on their beneficiaries (in particular, vulnerable beneficiaries), staff and volunteers - publish the reserves policy (even if not required to by law) and ensure it is tailored to the charity’s circumstances – it should not be just a standard form of wording. It should - 16 - explain to funders, beneficiaries, the public and the commission exactly what reserves are kept (or not kept) for and when they are to be used - make sure that their reserves policy is put in place and operated - regularly monitor and review the effectiveness of the policy in the light of the changing funding and financial climate and other risks The PCC briefly reviewed its unrestricted reserves policy and its application on 24th May 2022: - The first element of Unrestricted Reserves be set aside to cover two months of day-today routine expenditure (£20,000) to cover any unforeseen expenditure or loss of income - A second element of Unrestricted Reserves be set aside to provide annual contributions towards £25,000 of Quinquennial repairs every 5 years – 4 years since the last quinquennial inspection this would be £20,000 - A third element of Unrestricted Funds to provide for the impact of any annual deficit in general / unrestricted income and expenditure – however with an apparent on-going surplus in 2022 this is not required, but will need be monitored during the year - A fourth element of Unrestricted Funds to provide for the impact of any annual deficit in the Children and Families Worker Fund, so as to enable that work to continue – however the PCC believes the on-going deficit as it currently stands can be accommodated from the on-going general fund surplus going forward At the 31st December 2022 free unrestricted funds amount to £143,992, but the latest forecasting suggests that by 31[st] December 2024 this may have dropped to around £113,326. Without an increase in on-going income, or an improvement of the financial situation overall, it would not be prudent to release more than £113,300 of general fund reserves to the hall replacement works. This is shown in the table below, but doesn’t yet reflect the anticipated cost of £21,600 for outstanding works from our previous quinquennial survey |nial survey||||| |---|---|---|---|---| ||||Forecast|Forecast| ||2022||2023|2024| ||£||£|£| |**General (Unrestricted) Fund**||||| |_Closing Balance_|_183,992_||_185,136_|_163,326_| |||||| |**Opening Reserves**|226,112||183,992|185,136| |**Closing Reserves**|183,992||185,136|163,326| |||||| |**Set-aside**||||| |2 months routine expenditure|(20,000)||(20,000)|(20,000)| |Contribution toQuinquennial|(20,000)||(25,000)|(30,000)| |Longterm stabilityfor on-goingdeficit|0||0|0| |Provision for C&FWpost|0||0|0| |**Free Reserves at 31 December**|**143,992**||**140,136**|**113,326**| ## **Going Concern** The PCC has considered its current financial circumstances and, with regular monitoring and by adopting a flexible approach to this Reserves Policy, believes that the Church’s position can be considered as a going concern for the medium term. However, it may be at risk from changes in giving levels and the PCC will need to continue to monitor this closely. - 17 - ## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of St Andrews Church in the Westlands Parochial Church Council** I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of St Andrews Church in the Westlands for the year ended 31 December 2022 which are set out on pages 19 to 28. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As Trustees of St Andrews Church in the Westlands, 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 St Andrews Church in the Westlands accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 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 which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or - the accounts did 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. Richard Booth ACA 117 Dartmouth Avenue Westlands Newcastle-u-Lyme Staffordshire ST5 3NR 8 March 2023 - 18 - ST ANDREWS IN THE WESTLANDS PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACMVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 Unrestricted Restricted Funds Funds TOTAL FUNDS 2022 2021 Income and Endowrnents Vduntary Income Actmties for Generating Funds Income frcxn Investments Chu rch Actwit￿S Other incoming resou rces Note 1C6,385 238 3,073 11,912 102,530 10,871 208,915 11,109 3,073 12,679 294.740 1,199 2,098 7.031 2b 2¢ 2d 2e 767 Total Income 121,608 114,168 235,776 305,(￿8 Expenditure Church ACtMt￿S Costs of generating voluntary income Fund-raising trad ing costs 3a 3b 163,6C6 122 43,537 207,143 122 766 236,079 120 Total Expenditure 163,728 44,303 208,031 236,199 Net Incorne I (Expenditure) {42,1201 69,865 27,745 68,869 GainsllLossesl cn investment assets 6b 19,5571 19,5571 25,203 Net Movement in Funds 142,1201 eL),308 18,188 94,072 Balances Brought Forward at 1 January 226,112 258,034 484,146 390,074 Balances Carried Forward at 31 D8comber 183,992 318,342 502,334 484, 146 19- ST ANDREWS IN THE WESTLANDS PAR(KHIAL CHURCH COUIKIL &4LANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022 2022 2021 Notg FSx•d Ass91$ Tangible Inveslments 6b 71,630 81.187 71.630 81,187 Current Assets Debtors Short Temi Deposits Cash at Bank and in Han*J 5,676 8,018 434.842 412.096 440.518 420,114 Creditors - amounts falling dLte in one year 9,814 17,155 Nel Currgnt AsS9ts1 (Liabiliti¢s) 402 959 Tolal assets less current liabilities 502,334 484.146 Creditots- amounts falling due after one y Tolal net assets 502,334 484,146 Parish Fund$ Unreslricts ReslrictB 183,992 318,342 226,112 258.034 502.334 Approved by Ihe Parochial Church Council (x) 20th March X)23 and S¥gned on its behalf by Revd Andrew Dawswell IPCC Chaimianl The notes on pages beltrN fonn part of these accnunts -20- ST ANDREWS IN THE WESILANDS PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEM BER 2022 ACCOUNIING POLiaES The PCC is a publ￿ benefrt entity within the meaning of FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepar￿1 under the Chartties A£t 2011 and in accudance wf(h the Church Accounting RegulatIc￿S 20C6 governing the indmdual accojnts of PCCS, and wrth the Regulalicns true and fair Mew" proMsiLY)s. They have also been prepared in aCC￿dance wrth the Charrties SORP IFRS 1021. The financial slatemenls have been prepared under the historicd c￿1 convention with items recognised at cost or transactic￿ value unless otherwise stated in the relevant notes to these accounts. The financial statements include all transacticns, assets and liabilities for wh ich the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include Ihe accounts of church gr¢xps Ihal owe their main affiliation to ￿other bc(ly nor those that are informal gatherings of Church members. Cashflow Slatement The Charf(y has taken advantage of the exemption in FRS102 from the requirement to produce a Cash flow statement on the gr￿ndS that the InC￿e d￿5 not exceed £500,0(XJ. Going Concern There are no material uncertainties related to events u condf(ions that cast SMJnff￿ant d(￿bt on the charity's abl r(y to conlinue as a gclng CC￿Cern. Accounting Estimates and Prior Year Errors No changes to accou nting estimates have ￿cUrred in the reputing pericKI. No materid pri¢J year errors have been KIenIrf￿d in the rep¢Jling period. Description of Funds Unrestrlcted funds are income fvnds of the PCC that are available f¢y spending the general purposes of Ihe PCC, including amcunls destgnated by the PCC for r￿ed assets for ils use ¢J f￿ spending on a fijture prqect and which are th￿efC￿e not included in f(s "free reseNes" as disdosed in the trustees, an nual report. R8Stricted funds c(¥nprise of two elements.. al inc(¥ne from trusts ￿ endoNments wh may be exp￿d￿ only on th(se reStr￿ted Obl￿t$ proMded in th e terms of the trust CK bequest bl donations CK granls received for a specific object or inviled by the PCC a Spectr￿ object. The fvnds may only be expended on the specific object for wh￿h they were gThien. Any balance remain ing unspent at the end of e&h year must be carried fcxward as a balance on that fvnd. The PCC d￿5 not usually invest separately for each fvnd. Where there 15 no separate investment, interest is apputioned to indmdual fvnds on an average baance basis. Endov•ment funds are restricted fvnds that must be retain ed as trust capital either pemianenuy cr subject to a discreti(￿ary power to spend capital as inccme, and where the use of any income other ben efft derwed from the capital may be restr￿t￿ cf unrestricled. Full detals of all their reStr￿tionS are shown in the ndes to the acccunts. Income Aanned giwng, collec1h￿S and donatic￿S are reccxJnised when receiv&J. Tax refvnds are recognised when the inc￿ning resource to which they relate is recewed. Grants and Legacies are accounted f(Y Wh￿ Ihe PCC is lejally entitled to Ihe amounts due and the m(metary valu e can be measured with sufficient rd iabilty. Al other nc¢Jne is recc•Jnised when it is received. 21 ST ANDREWS IN THE WESILANDS PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEM BER 2022 ACCOUNIING POLiaES continued Expendlture Grants and donalicns are accounted fcf Whe￿ pail over, CT when awarded, if that award creates binding or cc￿strUct￿le obluation cn the PCC. The diocesan common fvnd payments are accounted for when due. Amounts received specifically for mi8sion are dealt with as restricted fvnds. Al other expenditure is generally recoJnised when rt is incurred and i5 account￿ for gross. Flxod Assats Consecrated and beneficed property is ncl included in the aCc￿nIS in acccfdance wrth s.1012llal & Icl of the Charrties Act 2011. Moveable church furnishings held by the Vicar and Churchwardens (M special trust the PCC, and which require a faculty fcf disposal, are inalienable property, listed in the Church's Inventory, which can be inspected lat any reasonable timel. Al ind￿nable property assets are not val ued i) Ihe financial slalemenls and as such expenditure cn any acquisf(ions are wrf(ten off when incurred. Investments Investmenls are va ued at market value at 31 CÈcember. Debtors Debtcfs are measured cn inttial recojnition at settlement amount. Subsequently they are measured at cash expected to be received. Creditors and Accruals Creditors are measured al 5eltlemenl amI￿ntS less any trale discounts. Accrua15 are measured best estimate ofthe amount required to settle the thI￿atIc￿ at the repcthg date. -22- ST ANDREWS IN THE WESILANDS PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEM BER 2022 Unr8Stricted Re5trictBd Funds Funds TOTAL FUNDS 2022 2021 2 INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS 2a Voluntary Income Planned giwng.. Eligible for Gift Aid Tax recoverable Olher Collecti¢￿$ (open platel Grants Gift Day Tax recoverable other Donations, appeals etc. Tax recoverable Legacies 71,360 17,878 6,084 4,930 2,241 20,700 2,943 5,170 399 92,060 20.821 11,254 5,329 2,241 93,340 22,076 21,275 2,995 10,850 2,012 767 1,113 60,795 12.523 62,807 13,290 1,113 111,228 27,476 5,500 106,385 102,530 208,915 294.740 2b Activities for Generati ng Funds Fund-raising (coffee mornings etc.) 238 10.871 11,109 1,199 238 2c Incorn8 frorn Investments Interest from CBF Investment AcCC￿nt Interest from Bank kcounts 2,130 943 2,130 943 2,060 3,073 3,073 2,098 2d Income from Church Actimties Church Hall Lettings PCC Fees Use of Church & Parish R￿M Other nccffie 4,523 3,463 1,428 2,498 4,523 4,230 1,428 2,498 2,536 3,398 425 672 767 11,912 767 12,679 7,031 28 Othor Income Total Income and Endownents 121,608 114,168 235,776 305,068 -23- ST ANDREWS IN THE WESILANDS PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEM BER 2022 Unr8Stricted Re5trictBd Funds Funds TOTAL FUNDS 2022 2021 Note 3 EXPENDITURE 3a Church Activities Missionary and charf(able giving.. Chu rch overseas.. sil￿ary sccieties Relief and devel¢3pmenl agencies Home mission5 and oth er Church Strieties Secular Charitie5 10 4,840 820 655 820 4.840 2,680 767 1,120 4,840 1,360 880 1,120 1,860 112 300 7,135 2,272 9,407 8,200 Ministry DDcesan Common Fund Ccntributi￿s Staff Pay other Ministry Ccsts 73,068 7,239 952 73,068 36,032 2,624 79,781 35,579 1,977 28,793 1,672 Chu rch Run ning Expenses Chu rch Utillty Costs Printing, staticnery and office expenses Chu rch grounds Major Repairs Buildiig Development 9,362 8,125 1,329 959 1,097 49,049 1,249 10,611 8,125 1,329 959 1,097 58,600 7,839 5,219 1,068 1,104 90,633 1,042 9,551 Traning, development & nurture Link 1,534 780 1,534 780 1,209 203 Chu rch Hall running costs 2,977 2,977 2,225 163,606 43,537 207,143 236,079 3b Generatlon of volunlary Income C(61 of Stewardship 122 122 120 122 122 120 3c Fundwralslng costs 766 766 Total Expenditure 163,728 44,303 208,031 236,199 -24- ST ANDREWS IN THE WESILANDS PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEM BER 2022 Unr8Stricted Re5trictBd Funds Funds TOTAL FUNDS 2022 2021 4 STAFF COSTS Gr05s w￿eS and salaries Naticnal Insu rance Costs Pension Costs 7,078 25,776 2,431 32,854 2,431 747 32,522 2,319 738 161 7,239 28,793 36,032 35,579 During the year the PCC employed a secretary and church deaner (both part-timel and the PCC so paid the ChAdrens and Famd ies WoJ1(er from a Restricted Fund. 5 PAYN ENTS TO PCC MEM BERS 4)art frcm the Childrens &)d Families Worker, whose cc6ts are shown in ncrte 4 above, there were no payments to PCC member5 during 2022, other than f￿ the reimbursement of purchases made cn behdf of the Church. No other PCC member, persons closdy Cc￿nected to them or relat￿ parties recewed remuneratiu), benefrt or reimbursement of travelliig u other expenses . unrestrIct￿l Restrlcted Funds Funds TOTAL FUNDS 2022 2021 Note FIXED ASSETS 6a Tanglble N(￿e None N