2024-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Crookham

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Financial Review 2024

The financial statements and notes to the financial statements are given at the end of the Annual Report. This report provides an overview for parishioners who are not financial specialists. The references in brackets give the relevant heading or note section of the financial statements.

2024 was notable primarily because our vicar Rev Steve Franklin retired in the middle of the year and much of our time and efforts were subsequently dealing with the management of the parish during another vacancy. Steve had been very active in the Parish and drove a number of initiatives.

Other significant changes from previous years were the following:

The School House renovation was completed at the end of 2023 and a tenant with a growing family was installed during December of 2023 who has settled in very well. So both properties of the parish are now rented out at something approaching commercial rates.
The current Treasurer, Mark Cross, has decided to step down after a decade in post to care for his wife and Andrew Munnings, currently the Planned Giving Officer is taking over and so 2024 has been something of a transition year.
As part of this transition we have moved the financial management from the Fin4 system which we have used for the last decade to a new online system, ExpensePlus. This system automates a number of processes directly from the bank statement and ensures financial accuracy. It also simplifies the management and claims of gift aid substantially reduces the paperwork involved. However, it’s a new system to the church team and so has taken quite a while to become accustomed to – there is no gain without some pain!!

During the year we carried out a range of fairly modest repairs including:

Some of the church lights were replaced on a like-for-like basis (£800)
Our organ was subject to some extensive maintenance (£544)
A full scale electrical inspection was caried out for insurance purposes and found to be in good order (£1194)
The north wall of the church was repaired and repainted (£960)

The authorised spend on repairs and renovations has been limited and targeted at being effective for the congregation, whilst ensuring the fabric of the Church is well maintained.

A notable element of income and expenditure in these accounts continues to be the operation of the Pre-School. This continues to be a very successful service to the community which is generally in high demand from families in the village. The recovery in 2023 in terms of child numbers was continued into 2024, as the socialisation problems from COVID have attenuated. As such, our income rose from £98847 in 2023 to £110319 in 2024, which is now above pre-pandemic levels. Part of the reason for the increase in income was that the fees paid by the local authority rose by about 10% to reflect the increase in pay costs associated with the rise in the national minimum pay rates. We continue the training of a second member of staff (where the cost has been borne through external sponsorship for which we are grateful). All of the Pre-school staff are well qualified – as qualified teachers, at level 3 in EYE or as a graduate. Because of the well deserved pay increases due to the rise in national minimum pay rates the Pre-school now has direct costs of £88,615 which mostly goes on staff salaries. In addition, of course, there are a range of overhead costs which this does not include (e.g. administrative support, cleaning, use of the Vestry Hall, clergy vestry, the dedicated storage area, etc.).

During the course of 2024 the full effects of the doubling of the cost of energy has been felt and this just had to be absorbed by the Church and Pre-school.

Total donations to charities included:

Churches Together in Fleet & Church Crookham (£1350), The Children’s Society (£394), ‘Feed a child’ (support for needy families in the Parish) and Christians Against Poverty (CAP) together (£3847), Bibles for our Infants School Leavers (£522) and Toilet Twinning in Africa (£120).

Principal sources of income were:

Pre-School income from Hampshire County Council, employer vouchers and parents together
are the largest single source of income for the PCC at £110319 [Note 2c].
The Diocese very kindly forgave 90% of our debt to them from a decade ago if we paid the remaining 10% which we did

• The majority of the congregation donate by planned giving, much of which can have income tax reclaimed. There are others who give in other ways, some of which is also income-tax reclaimable. The total of these [Note 2a] is £71667, which is somewhat lower than in previous years mainly due to a number of elderly parishioners who died during the year. This is an issue our new Vicar and Treasurer must address during 2025.

Despite our drop in planned giving income the increase in rental income primarily from the School House and the debt forgiveness from the Diocese meant that our financial outturn came in with a small surplus for which we are grateful.

Financial Administration

Our finances continue to be administrated by the following team which was initially put in place at the 2017 APCM and re-affirmed each APCM since:

Treasurer outgoing (Professor Mark Cross)
Planned Giving Officer and incoming Treasurer (Andrew Munnings)
Pensions Officer (Bruce Bulgin)
Independent Examiner (David Sprot)

Reserves Policy

It is the policy of the PCC to maintain sufficient unrestricted funds to meet running costs of the Church’s ministry, maintenance of the buildings and emergency situations. The Reserves are sufficient to sustain the church operation under normal circumstances for a minimum of 6 months should all income cease.

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

The PCC manages the School House Trust on behalf of the trustees which are the Incumbent and Church Wardens of Christ Church Crookham.

Financial Risk Management

The PCC income is less than £500,000 per annum so there is no requirement for a formal financial risk policy. However, it is sensible to consider the main areas of risk. These are considered to be:

• Costs arising from unplanned repair or maintenance work that is not covered by our insurance policies. The policies are believed to be adequate and are with Ecclesiastical Insurance, the recognised insurers for churches and PCCs.

• A Quinquennial Review inspection occurred in the summer of 2020, and although no serious issues were uncovered, there are some costs arising from the findings of our Inspecting Architect’s report which was published in 2021. All of the urgent minor work from the 2015 inspection have been completed. It is anticipated that the costs can be contained within current income and special appeals if necessary.

• A significant amount of necessary tree maintenance work was carried out in 2017 and 2018 and any remaining is well within current income levels.

• Under normal circumstances, although the Pre-School income base is the subject of variation because of Government changes to the funding of early years education, its income is reasonably stable.

• There is always a risk of accidents in the church premises and churchyard with claims against the PCC. No specific financial contingency can be made. The risk can be reduced by ensuring adherence to Health & Safety regulations.

• The church is generally in good repair and the PCC has been diligent in ensuring the QI conclusions have been actioned. However, it is clear that some large ticket items such as the church window frames and the roof will need serious renovation in the next decade or so. The PCC will need to consider how best to raise a fund to support such renovations as this must surely be an intergenerational project – delivered by one for those who follow! In this current year some funds have been secured to deal with the 2021 QI recommendations.

Financial Summary

Although the church community is pretty much back to ‘normality’ after COVID life in terms of activity this year has been disrupted by the retirement of our Vicar. We have been extremely fortunate to have been the recipient of legacies and a substantial gift which transformed our medium term financial position in 2023 together with the forgiveness of the majority of our Diocesan debt in 2024. Because of a reduction in planned giving income we have come is with a small deficit on the general fund though there is a surplus overall from our restricted funds of just over £13000 for which we thank God and our friends, through their gifts, and the fund-raising efforts which have made an immense difference to our financial outlook. However, our long term goal remains to put together a fund to enable the restoration and repair of the church window frames and the roof over the coming decade (a project in this coming decade for those that follow on!), and to improve our planned giving so that run a surplus from the General Fund.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT

TO THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF CROOKHAM FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

This report on the financial statements of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) for the year ended 31 December 2024, as set out on pages 6 to 18, is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (the Regulations) and section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Act).

Respective responsibilities of the PCC and examiner

As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements; you consider that the audit requirements of the Regulations and section 144(2) of the Act do not apply, and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Regulations.

Basis of this report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145 of the Act and to be found in the Church guidance, 2013 edition. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respects the requirements
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Act; and
to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with the requirements of the Act and the Regulations have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached

D Sprot D Sprot ACMA 9 Pennyroyal Fleet, Hants GU51 5BH

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF CROOKHAM STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Unrest- ricted Funds 70,646 36,878 125,473 19,107	Unrest- ricted Funds 70,646 36,878 125,473 19,107	Desig- nated Restrict- ed Funds Funds 0 1,021 0 0 0 0 0 21,466	Desig- nated Restrict- ed Funds Funds 0 1,021 0 0 0 0 0 21,466	Total 2024 2023 71,667 83,773 36,878 42,514 125,473 114,436 40,573 25,136 274,591 265,859 6,016 5,420 216,939 180,885 5,927 6,858 32,507 33,015 261,389 226,178 13,202 39,681 464,027 424,346 477,229 464,027 250,000 250,000 6,233 11,112 66,968 63,593 157,342 164,993 230,543 239,698 (3,314) (25,671) 227,229 214,027 477,229 464,027 0 0 477,229 424,346 123,173 129,335 265,335 265,335 88,721 69,357 477,229 464,027
252,104		0	22,487
2,893 216,939 5,927 32,507		0 0 0 0	3,123 0 0 0
258,266		0	3,123	261,389 226,178
(6,162) 0 129,335 265,335			19,364 69,357
123,173	265,335		88,721	477,229 464,027

				477,229 464,027

The financial statements on pages 6 to 18 were approved by the Parochial Church Council on 20th March 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

Professor Mark Cross, Chairman & Outgoing Treasurer Andrew Munnings, Incoming Treasurer

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF CROOKHAM

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with applicable accounting standards and the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities as revised 2005.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Funds

General funds represent the funds of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use and are available for application on the general purposes of the PCC. Funds designated for a particular purpose by the PCC are also unrestricted.

Restricted funds represent donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by the PCC for a specific object and can only be expended on the purpose for which they were given. Any balance remaining unused at the end of each year must be carried forward as a balance on that fund. The PCC does not usually invest separately for each fund. Where there is no separate investment, interest is apportioned to individual funds on an average balance basis.

Designated funds are part of the unrestricted funds set aside by the PCC for a particular purpose. Unrestricted funds are general funds, which can be used for PCC ordinary purposes.

The financial statements include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their main affiliation to another body, nor those that are informal gatherings of Church members.

Incoming Resources

Planned giving, collections, donations and fees are recognised when received. Tax refunds are recognised when the incoming resource to which they relate is received. Grants and legacies are accounted for when the PCC is legally entitled to the amounts due. Rental income from the letting of church premises is recognised when due. Interest is accrued. All other income is recognised when it is receivable. All incoming resources are accounted for gross.

Resources used

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding obligation on the PCC. The diocesan parish share is an operational (though not a legal) liability and is accounted for when due. All other expenditure is recognised when a liability is incurred and is accounted for gross.

Church Workers Pension Fund (CWPF) - FRS102 Statement

Crookham PCC participates in the Pension Builder Scheme section of CWPF for lay staff. CWPF is administered by the Church of England Pensions Board, which holds the CWPF assets separately from those of the Employer and other participating employers.

CWPF has two sections:

the Defined Benefits Scheme

the Pension Builder Scheme, which has two subsections;
a. a deferred annuity section known as Pension Builder Classic, and,
b. a cash balance section known as Pension Builder 2014.

Pension Builder Scheme

Both sections of the Pension Builder Scheme are classed as defined benefit schemes.

Pension Builder Classic provides a pension, accumulated from contributions paid and converted into a deferred annuity during employment based on terms set and reviewed by the Church of England Pensions Board from time to time. Discretionary increases may also be added, depending on investment returns and other factors.

Pension Builder 2014 is a cash balance scheme that provides a lump sum which members use to provide benefits at retirement. Pension contributions are recorded in an account for each member. Discretionary bonuses may be added before retirement, depending on investment returns and other factors. The account, plus any bonuses declared is payable, unreduced, from age 65.

There is no sub-division of assets between employers in each section of the Pension Builder Scheme.

The scheme is considered to be a multi-employer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. This is because it is not possible to attribute the Pension Builder Scheme’s assets and liabilities to specific employers and means 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 the contributions payable (2024: £4587, 2023: £4444).

A valuation of the Pension Builder Scheme is carried out once every three years. The most recent valuation was carried out as at 31 December 2022.

For the Pension Builder Classic section, the valuation revealed a surplus of £34.8m on the ongoing assumptions used. At the most recent annual review effective 1 January 2025, the Board chose to grant a discretionary bonus of 6.7% to both pensions not yet in payment and pensions in payment in respect of service prior to April 1997; and a bonus on pensions in payment in respect of post April 2006 service so that the pension increase was 2.7% (where usually it would be calculated based on inflation up to 2.5%). This followed improvements in the funding position over 2024. There is no requirement for deficit payments at the current time.

The next valuation is due as at 31 December 2025.

For the Pension Builder 2014 section, the valuation revealed a surplus of £8.5m on the ongoing assumptions used. There is no requirement for deficit payments at the current time.

The legal structure of the scheme is such that if another employer fails, Crookham PCC could become responsible for paying a share of the failed employer’s pension liabilities.

Fixed assets

Consecrated and beneficed property is excluded from the financial statements in accordance with section 10(2)(a) of the Charities Act 2011.

Movable church furnishings held by the churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are inalienable property unless consecrated, and are not included in these financial statements. All expenditure incurred during the year on consecrated or benefice property

and inalienable church furnishings, whether maintenance or improvement, is written off as expenditure in the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which it is incurred.

The PCC includes other buildings and properties at cost, with revaluation taking place when the PCC determines there has been a material change in value. No depreciation is applied to these properties, and any costs related to maintenance or improvements are expensed as incurred.

The property on Gally Hill Road, owned by the School House Trust, is not included, as it is not considered an asset of the PCC.

Other fittings and equipment used within the church premises, including assets acquired under a finance lease, are depreciated on a straight line basis over 5 years. Individual items of equipment with a purchase price of £1,000 or less are written off when the asset is acquired.

Current assets

Amounts owed to the PCC at the year end less provision for amounts that may prove uncollectable are shown as debtors.

Short-term deposits are cash held on deposit either with the CBF Church of England Funds or at the bank.

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF CROOKHAM NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Unrestricted Designated Restricted 2024 2023 Funds Funds Funds Total Total	Unrestricted Designated Restricted 2024 2023 Funds Funds Funds Total Total	Unrestricted Designated Restricted 2024 2023 Funds Funds Funds Total Total	Unrestricted Designated Restricted 2024 2023 Funds Funds Funds Total Total
	51,709 3,671 4,054 11,212	0 0 0 0	0 51,709 61,429 0 3,671 2,146 1,021 5,075 7,500 0 11,212 12,698
	70,646	0	1,021 71,667 83,773
	24,976 11,902	0 0	0 24,976 27,190 0 11,902 15,324
	36,878	0	0 36,878 42,514
1,648 3,775 110,399 9,651		0 0 0 0	0 1648 1,412 0 3,775 2,956 0 110,399 98,847 0 9,651 11,842
125,473		0	0 125,473 114,967
3,375 0 15,732		0 0 0	1378 4,753 1,975 20,088 20,088 6,489 0 15,732 16,672
19,107		0	21,466 40,573 25,136

252,104		0	22,487 274,591 266,120
2,893		0	3,123 6,016 5,420
2,893		0	3,123 6,016 5,420
		0 0 0 0 0	0 91,981 83,752 0 4,406 718 0 1,073 516 0 0 0 0 28,779 21,706

1080 2,365 0 0 82,548 5,067	0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0	0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0	1080 1080 2,365 2956 0 0 0 0 82,548 64,725 5,067 5,432
216,939	0 0		216,939 180,885

5,927	0 0		5,927 6,858
1,340 3,789 2,573 23,581 926 298	0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0		1,340 1,716 3,789 5,644 2,573 1,568 23,581 19,082 926 4,726 298 279
32,507	0 0		32,507 33,015

258,266	0 3,123		261,389 226,178
			101,542 79,364 0 0 4,587 4,444
			106,129 83,808

	2024		2023 Total Total
	FHL&B	Leased
	250,000 0 0	0 0 0	250,000 250,000 0 0 0 0
	250,000	0	250,000 250,000
	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0 0 0 0
	0	0	0 0

ONE YEAR	ONE YEAR
		250,000		0		250,000 250,000
						3,811 1,612 2,422 9,500
						6,233 11,112
						0 0 0 (23,635) (3,314) (2036) 0 0
						(3,314) (25,671)

Unrestricted Funds		Designated Funds		Restricted Funds		Total 2024 2023
	0 126,487 (3,314) 0		250,000 15,335 0 0		0 88,721 0 0	250,000 250,000 230,543 239,698 (3,314) (25,671) 0 0
	123,173		265,335		88,721	477,229 464,027
						End 2024 (9,265) 74,470 883 17,336 415 275 474 5,766 0 88,721 End 2024 250,000 15,355 265,355
	End 2023		Incoming	Outgoing		End 2024
	(9,265) 53,004 883 17,805 415 275 474 5,766 0		0 21,466 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,021	0 0 0 (469) 0 0 0 0 (1,021)
	69,357		22,487	(1,490)		88,721

	End 2023		Incoming	Outgoing		End 2024
	250,000 15,355		0 0	0 0
	265,355		0	0		265,355

NOTES

2a – The vast majority of donor income arises from our planned giving programme where approaching 90 folk either have standing orders or give regularly through envelopes in the plate.

2b - The receipts for Churchyard Upkeep include £15 for the upkeep of a family grave and £30 from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for the maintenance of the war graves in the cemetery.

2c – Our income from ancillary trading comes principally from our Pre-school serving our young families, in the community use of our spaces and major community events (e.g. the Arts Festival)

2d – Our income from investments arises principally from the rental of the two properties we are responsible for – one on Jubilee Drive and the other on Gally Hill Road, both in Church Crookham.

4 - During the year the PCC employed organists, cleaners, a parish administrator, an assistant and PreSchool staff, none of whom earned more than £60,000 p.a. (2023: Nil). Together these employees equate to 5 full time employees (2023: 5).

Payments to PCC members and persons related to PCC members: The expenses paid to various members of the PCC may have included an immaterial proportion relating to their specific function as a member of the PCC.

No payments were made in 2024 to persons closely connected to members of the PCC (2023: Nil).

5 - An investment property fund was set up by the PCC in 2013, to buy the freehold property, which is held as an investment, and is let.

There are no endowment funds to report.

There are no contingent liabilities as at 31 December 2024 (2023: Nil)

The registration number of the Crookham PCC with the Charity Commission is 1132174.