OpenCharities

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

2023-12-31-accounts

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST STEPHEN with ST JOHN, WESTMINSTER

Registered Charity Number 1132179

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2023

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN, WESTMINSTER

INFORMATION PAGE

Correspondence address St Stephen with St John, Westminster St Stephen's House Hide Place London, SW1P 4NJ Vicar Rev Graham Buckle 21 Vincent Square London, SW1P 2NA Bankers National Westminster Bank, 169 Victoria Street London, SW1E 5BT CAF Bank 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill, West Malling Kent, ME19 4JQ The CBF Church of England Funds, CCLA, One Angel Lane London, EC4R 3AB Independent Examiner Heather Cheesman FCA Chichester Accounting 104 Stockbridge Road Chichester West Sussex PO19 8QP Solicitors Winckworth Sherwood, Minerva House 5 Montague Close London, SE1 9BB

8

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2023

Aims and Purposes

St. Stephen’s PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the Incumbent, the Revd. Graham Buckle, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social, and ecumenical. It has also maintenance responsibility for St Stephen's House at Hide Place, London SW1P 4NJ.

Objectives and Activities

Our aim as a church is to be a welcoming community that celebrates the joy and the challenge of the Christian faith; and to be a place to which we come to worship God, in order to go out and live more faithfully in the wider world.

“The parish church that is genuinely open to God’s mission and accessible to its community, and where people with unlike life stories can encounter one another as friends in our highly compartmentalised society, is an ancient idea that is always fresh.” - Richard Chartres, former Bishop of London

We believe that our mission is substantially expressed through faithfully sustaining the life of an Anglican parish church in the centre of London, rooted in worship and in the local community.

In particular:

When planning the activities for the year, the Vicar and the PCC have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.

2023 – Building Up

Achievements and Performance

Despite the global challenges of conflict and climate change, as the world moves away from the immediate crisis of COVID, this past year has been one in which we have been able to stop, look around, and discover where we are in the wake of the pandemic, and where we wish to grow next. This has involved some difficult conversations around the numbers attending on Sunday, but has also revealed a tremendous appetite to continue the core work of the church: being the gathered people of God in this specific place, whilst reaching out to support some of the most vulnerable in our society and internationally.

Liturgy and Worship

As the gathered people of God, our church life continues to revolve around our liturgy and worship. Over the course of the year, the numbers watching online have reduced (although we continue to livestream our services), but that has been matched with a growth in the numbers attending – particularly at Christmas and Easter.

9

The daily life of the church is bounded by prayer, with morning and evening prayer taking place every weekday in church and on Zoom, which continues to be well-attended with some new faces joining. Our eucharistic services during the week (17:30 on Monday and 12:30 on Wednesday) have similarly had some new worshippers joining us, and the three services on Sunday have broadly maintained their numbers with notably some new families joining. We are pleased to see that our numbers have risen slowly to be almost on par with pre pandemic levels.

St Stephen’s has consistently been a place for the formation and teaching of clergy, and this year has been no exception. The PCC agreed that Helena Bickley-Percival could continue her formation with St Stephen’s for up to an extra year, and Jeremy has continued to split his training between St Stephen’s and St Saviour’s churches. Deacon Lee Barford has received his PTO (Permission to Officiate) from the Diocese, and has been a significant asset to the clergy team and the life of the church in his role as a deacon. Clergy formation has extended beyond just our clergy team this year, with a Curate training session taking place at the church for Two Cities and Stepney curates,

and Helena helping to plan the Two Cities Clergy Residential which took place in July. We were also delighted to be present for Jen Adam and Katy Hirst’s ordinations to the priesthood at Petertide. We have joined in many special services with our neighbours and friends, especially with St Matthew’s on Palm Sunday and for our respective Patronal Festivals.

Special activities this past year have included:

community this year. We welcomed Georgina, Albert, Benjamin, Arthur, and Olivia for their baptisms, and Hayley and Cian for their wedding after Easter.

10

Teaching

As we gather to learn more about God, our ministry of teaching continues. This year we have been especially blessed with a series of panel discussions about faith and AI between New York, London and Silicon Valley. Spearheaded by Deacon Lee, and held virtually on 24 November and 8 December 2023, we sponsored “God and the Machine”, panel discussions with AI experts, theologians, and thinkers to discuss how artificial intelligence may impinge on ways we relate to God and one another--and how we can respond. The events were co-sponsored by our twinned parish, Holy Trinity New York, the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real, and the Society of Ordained Scientists. These co-sponsors provided some of the speakers and publicized the events in their regions or to their membership. About three dozen people from all over the world attended each of the two evenings via Zoom. Attendees reported that the discussions were interesting, informative, and provoked their thinking about dealing with AI. A video of the discussions can be found on our YouTube channel. We are planning a follow-on event for 2024.

During Lent, after a series of discussions on a selection of pictures, we hosted a Community Art Study led by Marc Woodhead that also took place online and in partnership with our link parish in New York. We also held a series of interviews with members of the congregation at Sunday services in Lent to help us learn more about one another.

In October we held an Apostle’s Curry in memory of Tony Sewell.

A new book group has also begun, led by members of the congregation on a Sunday.

Graham was also asked to lead the ordination retreat for Priests and Deacons in the Diocese of Canterbury. He preached at the ordination service at Canterbury Cathedral in front of the Archbishop.

All the clergy of the Diocese went to Lancaster University for a special clergy conference in the autumn.

We continue to give thanks to Laurence Bourton (Ringing Master) and Stephanie Pattenden (Steeplekeeper) and all the bell ringers for their contributions to our Parish Life. Stephanie has continued to be a huge support both in our dealings with the Telecoms company who house equipment in the spire, and in liaising with the builders during the spire renovation work.

11

Community Outreach

St Stephen’s continually seeks to be a place where all are welcome, and the care of the vulnerable and deprived lies at the heart of our community. As the Parish Church, we also seek to reach out beyond our walls to engage the local community, and have enjoyed new opportunities to do so with the lifting of the restrictions of past years. The PCC are continually exploring ways in which to expand this ministry and outreach, particularly at the annual away-day which this year took place at Westminster Abbey and focussed on Safeguarding.

The church remains an important venue for several groups, and this year has hosted choirs, orchestras, dance groups, the Arts Society and Kingsway College. We welcomed back Kingsway College for their Graduation ceremony, as well as other significant community events such as a Department for Transport public consultation.

Our St Stephen’s Weeks this year also highlighted both the worshipping and community life of the church. It included a Civil Service Choir Open rehearsal, the ever-popular Zumbathon, a lecture series on our founder, Baroness Burdett-Coutts delivered by Christina Barker, a Choral Eucharist for the Feast of St Alban and a special joint concert by Westminster Under School and Burdett-Coutts School. We also participated in this year’s SouthWest Fest as part of their Art Trail, where we exhibited art made by our crafting group and one of our support groups.

One of the highlights of the past year has been the coronation of King Charles. We opened our doors for people who wished to watch it with the community in church, and a large number from all ages joined us to cheer, sing along, and consume coronationthemed refreshments. Of course there were some marvellous street parties all over the parish.

Our links with the Queen Mary hostel, Garside House, and Dean Abbots House continue to enrich the life of our parish. Clergy continue to take services at each place, as well as visit for pastoral care.

The numbers of children and young people at our services over the past year has remained consistent, as has our Junior Church provision with the help of the clergy and some dedicated volunteers. Lead by Alex, the numbers at our Wednesday Toddler group have continued to grow, and has been particularly important during school holidays. Graham has also hosted a local childminding group, welcoming toddlers into the church.

Our involvement in local schools has continued to be a very important part of our ministry. Both Burdett-Coutts and Westminster Under schools come to church weekly for Collective Worship, and Helena and Graham are active presences in both schools. Helena runs Christian Club at Burdett-Coutts, and the children have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the church better. St Stephen’s has played a part in bringing schools together in planning and hosting a joint concert for Burdett-Coutts and Westminster Under Schools. Also, there was a marvellous

12

concert at the Barbican Centre in March with our school joining Westminster School in a schools’ concert. We hope to host more such events in the future. The clergy have also been invited to preach at several local primary and secondary schools, and Graham has led special events for local children. At the beginning of September, we saw the opening of Vincent Square Sports ground and pavilion - after over a year of no sports or activities whilst the new lawn and drainage system was laid.

As restrictions have been lifted, the church has once again become an important venue for people to socialise. Tea@3 has continued to grow, and attracts a very diverse selection of people for hot drinks, cake, and even soup in the winter. It became a designated “warm space” in the winter months, and many thanks go to Nadine and Alex for both providing a welcoming atmosphere, and searching out supporters in local businesses for food donations. We once again hosted a very popular Pancake Party for Shrove Tuesday, including pancake races down the aisles by both children and adults.

We continue to host events for Over-50s on Mondays (Evergreen Club), in partnership with OpenAge. Our gardening group has worked hard to maintain the grounds outside of the church, and our crafting groups continue to thrive. We are grateful to Sally, who leads our ever-popular Creative Clay sessions and Nadine, who leads Stitchers in various creative endeavours, including turning our Christmas tree into tree ornaments to be sold to raise money for the church. We value our partnership with Emmaus, who provide food and support on a Friday evening. Emmaus had a hiatus in providing the service at the end of the year, and many thanks to Nadine who sought support from local businesses so that we could keep offering the service through the winter months.

International Links

Our relationship with the Church of the Holy Trinity, Upper East Side in New York continues to go from strength to strength. We continue to welcome friends from New York virtually at Evening Prayer, and we have joined together for times of prayer and of learning. We also welcomed John and Erwin for a visit to London in November, where John preached and they celebrated a significant anniversary with us. Graham visited New York in May to attend the consecration of Matthew Head, as the new Bishop Coadjutor of New York, and presented the Bishop of London’s letter of congratulations to him. Bishop Matthew used to be a member of the congregation at the Church of the Holy Trinity. We continue to support one another’s ministries, including this year by donating to fund one of Holy Trinity’s Community Meals.

We continue to keep in contact as much as possible with our friends in the Church of the Province of Myanmar. The situation in Myanmar continues to be very desperate, so they are continually in our prayers, and we seek to support them as much as we can.

13

Personnel

These activities would not be possible without the dedication, generosity, and faithfulness of both the staff and the congregation. There are many people whose quiet hard work behind the scenes remains indispensable to the life of the church and its work in the wider community. We give thanks for readers, sidespeople, intercessors, choir members, Junior Church leaders, flower arrangers, gardeners, hospitality volunteers, crafting group leaders, servers, PCC members, and all those others without whose support and commitment allow the church to flourish.

We give thanks for the leadership and support of our clergy; Graham Buckle, Helena Bickley-Percival, Jeremy Cavanagh and Lee Barford. We also give thanks for the Revd Lindsay Meader for her support, to Revd David Hobden and all the other clergy who have preached or otherwise supported St Stephen’s throughout the year. But we must give thanks for our community and all who worship and play a part of our Christian Community. We celebrated with one of our longest members of our congregation, Liz Witts on her 90th birthday:

Jeremy reflects: During 2023 my split curacy continued to alternate between St Stephen’s and St Saviour’s, Pimlico. I was St Saviour’s across Lent and Easter 2023 as well as Christmas while back home in St Stephen’s in the times in between and reversed for 2024. Both are very different churches demonstrating the diversity of the small geographical area we live in. It is a wider way for me of seeing God in our lives and enhancing my formation as a curate.

Being a self-supporting minister, during 2023 I started back, part-time in the workforce, a situation that is rapidly changing the shape of the Church of England. While at St Stephen’s I have been undertaking a project from Graham of visiting the businesses in the parish and introducing St Stephen’s and building a small spreadsheet of who the businesses are and their contacts. People still have their spiritual needs while at work and local businesses form part of the community’s glue. We can use this as part of St Stephen’s missional outlook and to discern what Christ’s presence can look like across the parish.

Jason Richards continues to be our Safeguarding Officer, with Helena acting as Children’s Champion and Sue Wates as our Seniors’ Champion. We are deeply grateful to our Churchwardens Edward Barker and Suzanne Standring, as well as the whole PCC for all their hard work – with a particular thanks to Suzanne with regards to the spire project.

Our Staff Team also work extremely hard to support the life and ministry of the church. We cannot appreciate enough the work of Jessie and Julie, whose dedicated, efficient, and effective work enables so much of what we do, both at church and Napier Hall. The PCC are continuing to work to fill some of the gaps left by the departure of Alison, and we are especially grateful to Matthew Moroney for his work as Treasurer. We also give thanks for the work of our vergers – Alex and William – who provide a warm welcome to those entering the church, but also work hard behind the scenes to support the clergy through services. We are also grateful to Matthew Blaiden for his work providing music for our services.

Although this year has been one of much joy and many celebrations, we have also had our losses. We bade our final farewell to Tony Sewell in January. And amongst others, we mourned the deaths of Paul Fenell, Gay Widmer and Susan Alexander, all of whom were connected to St Stephen’s. May they rest in peace, and rise in Glory.

14

Report from Director of Music

Choral music

While we have continued to receive support from a wide pool of occasional singers particularly for major services such as choral evensongs and the Carol Service, a few of our team of core singers have had to withdraw from regular singing. This has meant there has ended up being a reduction in the collective of regular core singers for the backbone of our choral music-making, Sunday morning services.

In the face of these changes in circumstances, I am immensely grateful to the members of our Choir who have been able to continue to come and sing on most Sunday mornings. Despite this, our Choir sang choral evensong, marking Candlemas at the end of January; and at the end of our St Stephen's Week. We have also continued to sing choral Compline in association with St Barnabas, Pimlico. We instituted singing Compline every 2 weeks during Lent, which seemed to be well-received. We enjoyed another joint Palm Sunday service with St Matthew's, this year singing for most of the service at St Stephen's once the procession had arrived. We

also enjoyed hosting the Area-wide Ascension Day Eucharist, in which a larger choir of occasional singers sang. And as always, the choral year culminated with our service of Lessons and Carols in the lead-up to Christmas.

We have continued to enjoy welcoming visiting choirs to sing Thursday choral evensongs and our Associate Musicians have continued to enrich the church's musical culture, in the liturgy and beyond. Floreat have continued to sing wonderful choral Eucharistic/Mass settings and motets, and in our termly BCP Choral Eucharists. Floreat also gave an excellent concert in May; and the Civil Service Choir sang for our evening service on Ash Wednesday, Dvorak's Mass in D for a Choral Eucharist for the Feast of St Alban during St Stephen's Week, and for our annual All Souls service singing Fauré's Requiem .

Concerts and recitals

Other Associate Musicians and visiting musicians have supported our recital series with brilliant and imaginative concerts. In March, Cecily Beer played a superb harp recital, and The Tufton Ensemble were joined by Shafali Jalota and Dena to perform Pergolesi's iconic Stabat mater . At the end of June, we welcomed our good friend Annabel Gordon from New York to play, and in July Hugh Benson and Oliver Bowes sang a joint song recital. In the autumn, Shafali Jalota collaborated with pianist Jack Redman in a programme of "Hidden Gems" of the song repertoire ahead of their appearance at an international song competition in Paris.

Alongside these recitals, we have had some seasonal and occasional organ recitals. We continued the Advent & Epiphany series begun at the end of 2023 with short organ recitals for the season by Luke Mitchell (The Queen's College, Oxford) and our own Director of Music. Matthew also played other organ recitals: one in April, marking our founding patron Angela Burdett-Coutts' birthday, and another on the eve of Remembrance Day.

Organists

In addition to Matthew Blaiden continuing as Director of Music and undertaking the majority of organ playing, Rosemary Field continues to be our highly valued Organist Emeritus, and we are very pleased that Jason Richards - our excellent Organ Scholar in 2021-22 - has been willing to continue in the occasional role of Associate Organist.

15

The Director of Music and the entire church community are very grateful for all those - musicians, clergy, congregations, and audiences - who contribute to, value, and support the wonderful music that takes place at St Stephen's.

Matthew Blaiden Director of Music

Report from Safeguarding

It has been the best part of 2 years since I started as Safeguarding Officer for St. Stephen’s. We are fortunate not to have had to grapple with major issues, though of course safeguarding is an area of our culture that can be strengthened and reinforced all the time. I have had several good conversations since I joined with members of the PCC and the wider community about the Church of England’s safeguarding materials and their underlying objectives.

One of the focuses of discussion has been on the various training resources available. Whilst these are an important part of the onboarding process for Church offices/roles, they are in principle available to anyone who is interested in the Church’s thinking in this area. If you would like to explore any of these resources, which in my view are considered and accessible, then please feel free to get in touch and I can point you in the right direction.

Though I have been away from Church in the U.S.A for some months, I am always happy to discuss anything that relates to safeguarding at St. Stephen’s which you feel you would like to raise. Equally, and as always, any concerns you have can always be raised directly with me at safeguarding@sswsj.org and will be dealt with the maximum care and discretion possible. I look forward to seeing more of you all in the coming months now I am back.

Jason Richards

Safeguarding Officer

Report from Charitable Giving

St Stephen’s is committed to donate 5% of its annual budget to charitable causes. The charitable giving subcommittee met to discuss disbursements for the 2023 financial year. These included disbursements to Christian causes, local charities and a small percentage of international charities and emergency situations.

The PCC approved the proposals for 2022 in November 2022 and the disbursements were made to the following charities in March 2023:

16

In addition, we provided funding for two meals (fish and chips) at the Trinity Church New York Community meal and provided support for the Diocese in Burma.

To foster a closer relationship between the congregation and the charities we support we arranged for charities we support to speak to the congregation and throughout 2023 welcomed them to our services. The congregation heard from Open Age, the Rainforest Alliance and the St Vincent’s Family Centre. More speakers are planning to visit St Stephen’s in 2024.

For more information contact Diana Copper dianacopper@hotmail.com

Stewardship and Giving

After a period where we regularly had declining membership of the BACS scheme this year has proved more stable, starting with 29 members with three leavers and two joining during the year. We are grateful for three members who increased their giving through the scheme with only one reducing their contributions through a change in circumstances.

The CAF donate online scheme continues to be a valuable new source of funds both for regular Stewardship givers alongside one off donations. There are now 7 regular givers through this channel an increase of one.

Regular giving through the Gift Aid envelopes continued, albeit at the reduced levels since the pandemic, with 9 maintaining contributions during the year. We still recover significant sums in Gift Aid from the one off envelope donations from visitors, particularly at concerts and funerals as well as from the online card machine from which we cannot claim it.

We continued to receive two significant annual donations through the Charities Aid Foundation scheme.

Total receipts from Stewardship and Gift Aid receipts have again held up reasonably well given the challenges in recent years and the loss of some stalwart donors. My sincere thanks go to Julie our new bursar who has managed to keep all this running and recorded during a very challenging period. We should all re-examine our commitment on a regular basis but the continued lack of a formal Stewardship campaign is becoming a concern, with the ongoing costs and necessary repairs impacted by current inflation challenging the future finances of our Church. Please contact me if you wish to join the BACS scheme or have any other queries in respect of regular giving to St Stephens. Bequests remain a valuable, if unpredictable, source of funds so please ensure you remember us in any will you might draw up in the near future.

Steve Waldron Stewardship Officer

Fabric Report

Our Spire works project

Since the Summer of 2022 our spire has been shrouded with scaffolding as our project to repair the crumbling stonework progressed. With just a few days to spare before Christmas, the scaffolding was dismantled to reveal the completed works.

We are most grateful to our stonemasons, Traditional Stone, who have done a fantastic job and delivered the stone works with care and within their budget and our wonderful architect, Barbara Singer from Thomas Ford who kept the project running smoothly. It was only the additional

17

replacement of the rotten wooden louvres in our bell tower and similarly weathered oak door in our roof that took the overall cost slightly over the planned budget. A remarkable achievement on a project of this scale.

Several of our clergy, PCC and volunteers were able to inspect the work up close. We will also be receiving some amazing 3D computer files of the statues and grotesques, which will provide a valuable lasting record and allow everyone else to inspect these beautiful features more closely. We are currently working out how best to make these files available more widely.

Much fun was also had by pupils of Westminster Under School and our Burdett Coutts School who attended a workshop about the stonework and were able to try their hand at chiseling some stone!

Structure, Governance and Management

The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC is a charity which is registered with the Charity Commission under registration number 1132179. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

Social Media

This year we have continued to grow our social media presence and engagement with Facebook, YouTube and Instagram being the main platforms used. Recent examples of posts include Graham’s explorations with Anne Grebby of her artworks being displayed in the church

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S__PvQj9agI) and a visit to the St Stephen's Stitchers group (https://www.instagram.com/p/C4-k4C6o8tr/?igsh=MTVuNGZoM3A4cndvMg==) Additionally, special events and concerts are also posted on the NextDoor website

(https://nextdoor.co.uk/) which is a neighbourhood hub and so reaches an audience beyond those who follow us on social media directly.

Electoral Roll and Church Attendance

The electoral roll was 158 at 31[st] December 2023. Attendance at church and on Zoom on a usual Sunday is about 64 adults and 5 children under 16. There have been 5 baptisms, 1 wedding and 7 funerals in church during 2023. The clergy also officiated at 10 funerals held at the crematoria.

PCC Meetings

The full PCC met 6 times during the year. Finance, Communications, Charitable Giving and Standing Committees met between meetings and their deliberations were discussed and received by the full PCC.

The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016, having due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

Trusts Connected with the Parish

The Napier Hall Trust: It is responsible for the maintenance, upkeep, and management of the Napier Hall.

Pepys Twining Trust: The income arising may be used to maintain the Napier Hall or any other church hall in the parish.

18

The trustees of these two charities are the Vicar and churchwardens.

St. Andrew’s Church Hall Trust: the net income is divided equally between St Peter’s Eaton Square and St Stephen’s Rochester Row. The trustees elected by the PCC are the Vicar, Ms Janet Davey, Mr Edward Barker and Mrs Elizabeth Szewczyk. Mr James Gourlay represents St Peter’s Eaton Square as trustee.

Rebecca Aldridge Charity: This fund is available for pastoral purposes at the sole discretion of the Vicar, the sole trustee.

Bessborough Gardens Trust: The Managing Trustee is the PCC and its investments have been included in the attached PCC accounts. The income arising may be used for the purpose of furthering the religious and other charitable work of the Church of England in the parish of St Stephen with St John, Westminster.

The St Stephen’s Westminster Bells Fund: The charity was established to provide funding to rehang the bells of St Stephen’s Church and to carry out all necessary ancillary work to make this possible. Two of the six trustees are also members of the PCC.

Administrative Information

St. Stephen’s church is located at Rochester Row, London SW1P 1LE. It is part of the Diocese of London, within the Church of England. The correspondence address is The Parish Office, St Stephen's House, Hide Place, London, SW1P 4NJ.

19

The PCC of St Stephen with St John, Westminster

PCC members who have served during the period from 1[st] January 2023 (unless otherwise noted) until the date of this report are as follows:

Ex Officio Members:

Incumbent: The Rev’d Graham Buckle (Chairman)

Curates: The Rev’d Helena Bickley-Percival The Rev’d Jeremy Cavanagh

Wardens: Mr Edward Barker Mrs Suzanne Standring

Elected Members:

Ms Pamela Ashley Mr Michael Bolton Mr Andrew Campbell (representative on Deanery Synod) Mrs Diana Copper Dr Nicholas Davies Ms Nadine de Keyser Dr Michael Duggan (representative on Deanery& Diocesan Synod) Mrs Tamara Katzenbach Ms Ann Mills-Duggan ( Mr Matthew Morony (treasurer) Mr Anthony Omeh Mrs Carolyn Ryder Mrs Elizabeth Szewczyk Mr Stephen Waldron (representative on Deanery Synod)

The Parish Administrator is the PCC secretary. Diana Copper is the minutes secretary of the PCC.

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 30[th] April 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

The Revd Graham Buckle, Vicar and Chair of the PCC

20

Westminster (St Margaret) Deanery Synod Triennium 2023-2026

A report on proceedings for the 2023 Annual Parochial Church Meeting of St Stephen with St John, Westminster

2023 saw the end of the triennium for the deanery, and thus was a year of change. Parishes elected new members to the synod, and new officers elected.

In June at the start of the new triennium Bishop Sarah visited the deanery, commencing with school worship at St Peter’s, Eaton Square, followed by a clergy Chapter meeting at St Michael’s, Chester Square. During lunch at the Grey Coat Hospital, the Bishop engaged with staff and students, who led a discussion on school life and posed insightful questions. Continuing to St Stephen’s, Rochester Row, Bishop Sarah interacted with members of the Tamil community before concluding the day at St Anne’s Soho with a deanery Eucharist. The day concluded with the annual Deanery Garden Party, held at the delightful garden of St Paul’s Covent Garden.

The Deanery Synod convened at St Peter’s, Eaton Square on November 27, 2023, during which David Richards delivered a valedictory address after many years of service as Deanery Lay Chair. Discussions centred on the current status of our deanery schools, which are grappling with significant demographic changes and declining rolls. An election was held for Deanery Synod Officers, resulting in the appointment of Richard Carter (St Peter, Eaton Square) as Lay Chair, Linda Ulrich (St Barnabas, Pimlico) as Secretary, and Fr John Pearson-Hicks (St Barnabas, Pimlico) as Chair of the Education Committee.

The strength of our deanery life is evident in the deepening friendships and shared sense of mission cultivated over the years. The Deanery Synod serves as a valuable platform for strengthening our partnership in the gospel.

All meetings were well attended by St Stephen’s representatives and Clergy.

Members of the Deanery Synod from our parish:

Mr Stephen Waldron Mr Michael Duggan Mr Andrew Campbell

Registered Charity No. 1132179 CCL Licence: 6175

21

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN, WESTMINSTER

INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH STJOHN, WESTMINSTER

I report to the trustees on my examination on the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended 31st December 2023, which are set out on pages 23 to 34.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act").

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's 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

The charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

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:

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.

Heather Cheesman FCA Chichester Accounting 104 Stockbridge Road Chichester West Sussex PO19 8QP

10 May 2024

22

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment TOTAL FUNDS
Funds Funds Funds 2023 2022
Note £ £ £ £ £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS
Voluntary income 2a 142,866 186 - 143,052 133,307
Activities for generating funds 2b 89,609 - - 89,609 84,298
Income from investments 2c 36,791 836 - 37,627 36,753
Income from church activities 2d 2,476 - - 2,476 1,731
Other income 2e 96,511 - - 96,511 77,354
TOTAL INCOME 368,253 1,022 - 369,275 333,443
EXPENDITURE
Church activities 3a 372,232 186 - 372,418 375,916
Cost of raising funds 3b 41,325 - - 41,325 38,508
Other expenses 3c 29,077 - - 29,077 25,765
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 442,634 186 - 442,820 440,189
NET INCOME/EXPENDITURE
BEFORE OTHER RECOGNISED GAINS -74,381 836 - -73,545 -106,746
AND LOSSES
Gains/losses on investment assets
Unrealised 4b 33,985 - 55,896 89,881 -144,095
Realised
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS -40,396 836 55,896 16,336 -250,841
Transfer between funds 5 732 -732 - - -
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS -39,664 104 55,896 16,336 -250,841
AFTER TRANSFERS
BALANCES BROUGHT FORWARD 1,147,102 16,437 762,170 1,925,709 2,176,550
AT 1 JANUARY 2023 (2022)
BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD 1,107,438 16,541 818,066 1,942,045 1,925,709
AT 31 DECEMBER 2023 (2022)

The notes on pages 25 to 34 form part of these accounts

23

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2023

Note 2023 2022
£ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible Fixed Assets 4a 504,764 510,730
Investment assets 4b 1,154,984 1,065,103
1,659,748 1,575,833
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 7 202,370 54,320
Short term deposits 87,054 291,453
Cash at bank and in hand 38,570 86,143
327,994 431,916
LIABILITIES: FALLING DUE WITHIN
ONE YEAR 8 45,697 82,040
NET CURRENT ASSETS 282,297 349,876
NET ASSETS 1,942,045 1,925,709
FUNDS
Unrestricted 6 1,107,438 1,147,102
Restricted 6 16,541 16,437
Endowment 6 818,066 762,170
1,942,045 1,925,709

The notes on pages 15 to 23 form part of these accounts

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 30 April 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Rev Graham Buckle, Vicar and Chairman of PCC

Mr Edward Barker, Churchwarden

24

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The PCC is a public benefit entity within the meaning of FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared under the Charities Act 2011 and in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 governing the individual accounts of PCC's together with FRS 102 (2016) as the applicable accounting standards and the 2016 version of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP(FRS 102)).

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention except for the valuation of investment assets, which are shown at market value.

Funds

Endowment funds are restricted funds that must be retained as trust capital either permanently or subject to a discretionary power to spend capital as income, and where the use of any income or benefit derived from the capital may be restricted or unrestricted. Full details of their restrictions are shown in the notes to the accounts.

Restricted funds are income funds that must be spent on restricted purposes and details of the funds held and the restrictions provided are shown in the notes to the accounts.

Unrestricted funds represent the remaining income funds of the PCC that are available for spending on the general purposes of the PCC, including amounts designated by the PCC for fixed assets for its own use and for spending on a future project and which are therefore not included in its "free reserves" as disclosed in the trustees' annual report.

The accounts 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.

Income

Voluntary income and capital sources

Collections are recognised when received by or on behalf of the PCC. Planned giving receivable under gift aid is recognised when received. Tax refunds are recognised when the income to which they relate is received.

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

Funds raised by the fetes, garden party and similar events are accounted for gross.

Other ordinary income

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

Income from investments

Dividends and interest are accounted for when receivable.

Gains and losses on investments

Realised gains or losses are recognised when investments are sold. Unrealised gains or losses are recognised on revaluation of investments at the end of each accounting year.

25

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

(Continued)

Expenditure

Grants

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding obligation on the PCC.

Activities directly relating to the work of the Church

The diocesan common fund is accounted for when payable.

Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation and settlement is probable and quantifiable.

Fixed assets

Consecrated land and buildings and movable church furnishings

Consecrated and beneficed property is excluded from the accounts by s10(2) (a) and (c) of the Charities Act 2011.

No value is placed on movable church furnishings held by the vicar and churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal since the PCC considers this to be inalienable property.

All expenditure incurred during the year on consecrated or beneficed buildings and movable church furnishings, whether maintenance or improvement, is written off as expenditure in the SOFA and separately disclosed.

No cost information is available for St Stephen's House so it is included at a deemed cost being its valuation in the year 2000. As the current value reflects previous valuations (see note 5) the PCC is permitted to retain the book amounts subject to an impairment review where there is an indication that impairment may have occurred. As the useful economic life is considered to be at least 200 years, with depreciation provided at 0.5% on a straight line basis, an annual impairment review will be retained in any case.

Other fixtures, fittings and office equipment

Equipment used within the church premises is depreciated on a straight line basis over 4 years.

With effect from 1 January 2012, individual items of equipment with a purchase price of £1,000 or less are written off when the asset is acquired. Prior to 2012, items of equipment with a purchase price of £250 or less were written off when the asset was acquired.

Investments

Investments are valued at their market value at 31 December.

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 either with the CBF Church of England Funds or at the bank.

26

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

(Continued)

2. INCOME

2. INCOME
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment TOTAL FUNDS
Funds Funds Funds 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
a) Voluntary income
Planned giving
Stewardship 22,890 - - 22,890 24,843
Income tax recoverable 8,423 - - 8,423 8,119
Open plate collections at services 10,306 156 - 10,462 7,036
Sundry donations 8,180 30 - 8,210 7,040
Donations for use of the church 23,067 - - 23,067 15,659
Donation from Napier Hall Trust 70,000 - - 70,000 70,000
Legacies - - - - -
142,866 186 - 143,052 132,697
b) Activities for generating funds
St Stephen's House lettings (note 9) 66,264 - - 66,264 60,953
Mobile phone rental income 23,345 - - 23,345 23,345
89,609 - - 89,609 84,298
c) Income from investments
Interest receivable 5,237 104 - 5,341 4,592
Dividends receivable 31,554 732 - 32,286 32,161
36,791 836 - 37,627 36,753
d) Income from church activities
Fees 1,041 - - 1,041 1,224
Fundraising activities 1,111 - - 1,111 -
Income from concerts 324 - - 324 507
2,476 - - 2,476 1,731
e) Other income
St Andrews Church Hall Trust 26,567 - - 26,567 26,003
Other income (note 10) 40,867 - - 40,867 25,586
Charges to Napier Hall Trust (note 12) 29,077 - - 29,077 25,765
96,511 - - 96,511 77,354
TOTAL INCOME 368,253 1,022 - 369,275 332,833

27

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

(Continued)

3. EXPENDITURE

3. EXPENDITURE
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment TOTAL FUNDS
Funds Funds Funds 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
a) Church activities
Charitable giving (see page 24) 15,476 186 - 15,662 18,266
Diocesan Common Fund 41,250 - - 41,250 77,000
Curate/Assistant Priest 20,075 - - 20,075 20,112
Salaries allocated to church activities (note 11) 15,928 - - 15,928 17,603
Clergy and staff expenses (note 11) 4,172 - - 4,172 5,118
Children and youth work 60 - - 60 4,102
Travel expenses 15 - - 15 -
Church running expenses 23,581 - - 23,581 21,106
Support costs for running expenses (note 12) 16,670 - - 16,670 17,816
Church maintenance 9,033 - - 9,033 6,903
Support costs for church maintenance (note 12) 5,294 - - 5,294 5,676
Upkeep of services 2,235 - - 2,235 2,087
Director of Music and organists 10,608 - - 10,608 10,923
Sundry expenses 908 - - 908 2,003
Hospitality expenses 1,572 - - 1,572 1,401
Concert expenses 625 - - 625 295
Major repairs (note 13) 204,730 - - 204,730 165,505
372,232 186 - 372,418 375,916
b) Cost of raising funds
Voluntary income (note 12) 2,430 - - 2,430 2,885
Lettings (note 12) 37,938 - - 37,938 34,356
Investments (note 12) 957 - - 957 1,267
41,325 - - 41,325 38,508
c) Other expenses
Costs allocated to Napier Hall Trust (note 12) 29,077 - - 29,077 25,765
29,077 - - 29,077 25,765
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 442,634 186 - 442,820 440,189

28

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

(Continued)

4. FIXED ASSETS FOR USE BY THE PCC

4. FIXED ASSETS FOR USE BY THE PCC
Freehold Land
a) Tangible fixed assets and Buildings Equipment Total
£ £ £
COST/VALUATION
At 1 January 2023 573,596 36,303 609,899
Additions - - -
At 31 December 2023 573,596 36,303 609,899
DEPRECIATION
At 1 January 2023 65,964 33,205 99,169
Charge for the year 2,868 3,098 5,966
At 31 December 2023 68,832 36,303 105,135
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 December 2023 504,764 - 504,764
At 31 December 2022 507,632 3,098 510,730

The freehold land and buildings comprise the Parish Office and St Stephen's House. The gross book value is based on the value estimated by the PCC as at November 1997 for insurance purposes and is considered to be a fair estimate of the current value in use of the property.

Consecrated and beneficed property of any kind is excluded from the accounts by s.10(2)(a) and (c) of the Charities Act 2011. The church building is insured for £26,600,000 and St Stephen's House for £2,247,865.

The cost of the equipment comprises: Computer equipment 539
Sound system 6,500
Household equipment 859
Fire detection system 4,108
Electric keyboard 469
Heating improvements 2,547
Display panels 1,427
Kitchen improvements 17,376
Emergency lighting 2,478
36,303
4b) Investments Endowment Unrestricted Total
Funds Funds
Market value at 1 January 2023 703,886 361,217 1,065,103
Revaluation gain / (loss) 55,896 33,985 89,881
Market value at 31 December 2023 759,782 395,202 1,154,984

Investment holdings at 31 December 2023

Endowment: St Johns Trust - 5,616 shares in the CBF Church of England Investment Fund.

Bessborough Gardens Trust - 1,184 shares in the CBF Church of England Investment Fund. St John's Gardens - 18,393.32 shares of CBF Church of England Investment Fund.

Unrestricted: 17,482.70 shares of the CBF Church of England Investment Fund.

29

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

(Continued)

5. FUNDS

The movements on the designated and restricted funds during the year were:

Balances Balances
brought Incoming Outgoing Transfers/ carried
forward Resources Resources Revaluation forward
Designated:
Vicarage redecoration 9,000 - - 1,000 10,000
Major repairs to the church 20,186 - 20,186 - -
Music 38 838 309 - 567
29,224 838 20,495 1,000 10,567
The designated funds form part of the unrestricted funds and have been set aside by the PCC for the purposes
described.
Restricted:
Barcapel Foundation 2,000 - - - 2,000
Bells 6,440 - - - 6,440
Burma Travel Exchange Fund 1,775 104 - - 1,879
Bessborough Gardens Income - 732 - -732 -
Charities Fund 5 - - - 5
Chasuble 1,875 - - - 1,875
Children's Worker 88 - - - 88
Display panels 178 - - - 178
Flag pole 51 - - - 51
Floor and Heating - - - - -
Music 976 - - - 976
Night Shelter 1,128 - - - 1,128
Toddler Group 1,921 - - - 1,921
16,437 836 - -732 16,541

The Barcapel Foundation Fund is for work with people with dementia.

The Bells Fund is for the rehanging of the bells of the church and to carry out all the necessary work to make this possible. A separate charity, St Stephen’s Westminster Bells Fund (Registration Number 1152274) has raised funds for this work and donations have been received from it to fund the cost of the work.

The Burma Travel Exchange Fund is available to support the cost of travel to maintain links between the Anglican Church in Burma and the congregation of the church.

Bessborough Gardens Trust Accumulated Income Fund is available to further the religious and other charitable work of the church in the parish.

The Charities Fund is used for monies given specifically for other charities.

The Chasuble Fund has been given in memory of Elizabeth Brazier for the purchase of a blue chasuble.

The Children's Worker Fund is be used to fund work with children.

The Display Panels Fund represents monies donated for the purchase of display panels for use in the church. The cost has been capitalised and added to fixed assets.

The Flag Pole Fund represents monies donated to restore the flag pole outside the church.

The Floor and Heating Fund is to raise money for the proposed replacement of the church floor and heating system.

The Music Fund is to be used for the development of music at St Stephens.

The Night Shelter Fund is for money donated to support the Night Shelter in Napier Hall.

The Toddler Group Fund is for money received from participants at the Toddler group and is used to fund expenditure of and equipment for the group.

30

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

(Continued)

The Endowment Fund comprises: 2023 2022
Permanent Endowment 153,717 140,498
Expendable Endowment 664,348 621,671
818,065 762,169

The endowment fund comprises:

Permanent Endowment

St John Trust: The capital is a permanent endowment, which was originally provided for the erection of a church hall in Monck Street, London SW1. The remainder of the capital cannot be spent for any other purpose without the consent of the Charity Commissioners. The income arising from this investment may be used for the charitable purposes of the PCC.

Bessborough Gardens Trust: The capital is a permanent endowment, originally comprising land and buildings in Bessborough Gardens, London SW1. The income arising may be used for the purpose of furthering the religious and other charitable work of the Church of England in the parish of St Stephen with St John, Westminster.

Expendable Endowment

St John's Gardens Fund: This investment was received from the Trustee of the St John's Gardens Fund and has been designated as Expendable Endowment. The donor expects the capital to be kept as a reserve to provide income which may be used as the PCC sees fit. The PCC could, in the future, and after careful consideration, use the capital for some other special purpose.

6. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BY FUND

6. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BY FUND
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment TOTAL
Funds Funds Fund 2023
Tangible fixed assets 504,764 - - 504,764
Investment fixed assets 395,202 - 759,782 1,154,984
Current assets 244,720 24,990 58,284 327,994
Current liabilities -37,248 -8,449 - -45,697
1,107,438 16,541 818,066 1,942,045
7. DEBTORS 2023 2022
Prepayments and accrued income 35,376 22,356
Tax recoverable 16,387 7,964
Napier Hall Trust 123,690 24,000
St Andrew's Church Hall Trust 26,917 -
202,370 54,320
8. LIABILITIES: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2023 2022
Accruals and deferred income 42,937 77,188
Tax and national insurance - 2,092
Other creditors 2,760 2,760
45,697 82,040
9. ST STEPHEN'S HOUSE LETTINGS
INCOME 2023 2022
Rents:
Flat A		 34,650 32,750
Flat B 22,880 22,616
Flat C (curate's accommodation) - -
Offices 4,968 4,945
Parish Sitting Room 3,080 610
Gas, electricity and water costs reimbursed 686 642
66,264 61,563

31

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

(Continued)

(Continued)
10. OTHER INCOME 2023 2022
£ £
Other income comprises the following:
Administrative charge to St Andrews Church Hall Trust 350 350
Grant under Listed Places of Worship scheme 40,517 22,595
Grant from national church towards increased energy costs - 2,641
40,867 25,586
11. STAFF COSTS 2023 2022
£ £
Wages and salaries 58,878 64,203
Social security costs - -
Pension costs 1,031 957
Total gross cost 59,909 65,160
Allocated:
Church activities (Unrestricted Fund) 15,928 16,695
Church activities (Restricted Funds) - 908
Organist's fees 9,848 9,096
St Stephen's House, Napier Hall and Support - see note 12 34,133 38,461

During the year the PCC employed on a part time basis two vergers, a cleaner, a director of music, a parish administrator and a bursar.

The PCC enrolled with National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) on 1 June 2012 to provide an opportunity for employees to participate in a pension scheme as required by the Pensions Act 2008.

The salaries allocated to restricted funds in 2022 are those of the children's worker charged to the Children's Worker Fund.

12. ST STEPHEN'S HOUSE, NAPIER HALL AND SUPPORT EXPENSES

12. ST STEPHEN'S HOUSE, NAPIER HALL AND SUPPORT EXPENSES
2023 2022
Light, heat, water and council tax 20,141 20,662
Cleaning, repairs and maintenance 17,609 6,371
Insurance 4,423 4,137
Letting agents fees 4,965 4,717
Printing, postage and stationery 295 595
Hire of photocopier - see note 14 1,278 1,419
Telephone, fax and internet 1,414 1,398
Other office expenses 38 159
Depreciation of fixtures and fittings 3,098 4,964
Depreciation of freehold building 2,868 2,868
Salaries attributed to parish office, property and support 34,133 38,461
Independent examiner 1,400 1,480
Fund raising costs - Digital giving charges and Gift Aid envelopes 444 249
Bank charges 260 285
92,366 87,765

32

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

(Continued)

2023 2022
Allocated:
Church running expenses 16,670 17,816
Church maintenance 5,294 5,676
St Stephen's House lettings 37,938 34,356
Cost of raising voluntary income 2,430 2,885
Cost of managing investments 957 1,267
Charge to Napier Hall Trust 29,077 25,765

The costs of running the parish office, St Stephen’s House, and Napier Hall, and the accounting and governance costs shown above have been apportioned to the activities to which they relate. Where appropriate, expenditure is allocated to the relevant activity. Items of expenditure which contribute directly to more than one activity have been apportioned to the relevant activities. Staff costs are allocated in accordance with the time spent on each activity. Utilities and other services are apportioned on the basis of usage. Property and insurance costs have been apportioned according to the relevant floor area.

13. MAJOR REPAIRS - CHURCH PROPERTIES 2023 2022
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
EXPENSES
Proposed heating and floor renewal - professional fees - - - -
Work arising from Quinquennial survey 204,730 - 204,730 160,255
204,730 - 204,730 160,255

Following the Quinquennial survey our architects drew up plans to repair the stonework on the tower. Work began in the summer of 2022 and was complete at the end of 2023.

Work on the longstanding plans to renew the heating system along with broader plans to include restoration and refurbishment of the floor and undercroft is on hold. These plans also include proposals to improve the toilet and kitchen facilities at the church.

14. OTHER COMMITMENTS

The PCC entered in a new contract for the hire of the photocopier for 2 years from 1 April 2021 at a cost of £1,440 per annum. The contract also includes service and maintenance charged on the basis of usage of the machine. Having allowed this to continue to run for a further year it is expected that a new contract will be required during 2024.

15. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The PCC has entered into no material transactions, contracts or other arrangements (including grants) with any related party apart from the following:

The combined buildings of St Stephen's House and Napier Hall are managed by the PCC and an appropriate part of the costs charged to the Napier Hall Trust as explained in Note 12 above. The trustees of Napier Hall Trust are the vicar and churchwardens for the PCC and they determine the amount of the donation (if any) to be paid by the Napier Hall Trust to the PCC each year.

Certain transactions, including donations of any money or in kind from PCC members or those closely connected to them, are unlikely to influence the separate independent interests of the PCC and therefore need not be disclosed.

33

THE PCC OF ST STEPHEN WITH ST JOHN WESTMINSTER

CHARITABLE GIVING

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

CHARITABLE GIVING
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
Unrestricted Restricted
Funds Funds
Allocation of Charitable Giving Budget £ £
Emergency & International Relief: Medical Aid for Palestinians 500
Rainforest Trust 1,000
Jerusalem Cathedral support for Gaza 1,000
Other - currently unallocated 526
Charities benefitting Westminster: Cardinal Hume Centre 700
The Seafarer's Charity 700
St Vincent's Family Centre 700
Open Age 700
Unfold (previously Westminster Befriend a Family) 700
Pimlico Toy Library 700
The Passage 1,000
South Westminster Legal Advice Centre 700
Christian Causes: Embrace the Middle East 800
Burma Ordinand 1,000
The Church Urban Fund 1,000
Livability 1,000
USPG 1,000
St Augustine's College of Theology 1,000
The Church of the Holy Trinity (New York) Neighborhood Center 750
Other Giving: Support for Church in Burma 186
15,476 186

34