ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1133728 FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2024
Annual Report and Accounts
The trustees present their annual report below in the form of the papers prepared for the 2025 Annual Parochial Church Meeting. The PCC’s Independently Examined Accounts in Accruals Format including the Statement of Financial Activities and Balance Sheet are included in these papers.
Aim and purposes
Knebworth Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the Rector, the Reverend Charles King, in promoting the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.
The PCC is responsible for the Parish Church of St Mary and St Thomas of Canterbury, Knebworth Park; St Martin’s Church, St Martin’s Road, Knebworth and the Parish Centre, St Martin’s Road, Knebworth. The correspondence address is: 15 St Martin’s Road, Knebworth, SG3 6ER.
Objectives and Activities
The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our two churches and become part of our parish community. We try to enable people to live out their faith as part of our parish community through: Worship and prayer, learning about the gospel and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus.
Public Benefit Statement
The Ecclesiastical Parish of Knebworth (UK Registered Charity 1133728) exists to offer Christian worship, teaching and pastoral care. Our provisions are open to those of all faiths and none, and are free at the point of delivery. (Some occasional offices do incur statutory fees, although we would strive to ensure that no one is excluded on the grounds of economic or other disadvantage).
During the past year, public benefit has been advanced in many ways, including:
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the provision of regular and seasonal worship in word and prayer, sacrament and music;
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the provision of occasional offices – baptisms, weddings, funerals – to mark important stages in the journey of life;
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the provision of opportunities to engage with the Christian faith in preaching, teaching, small groups and children’s activities (including Messy Church), both inside and outside church, including in and for our local school;
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the provision of services to a range of groups with particular needs, including the Smarties pre-school group, and the hosting of the monthly Knebworth Family of Churches (KFC) coffee morning;
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the provision of numerous formal and informal acts of pastoral care;
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the maintenance of St Mary’s and St Martin’s as buildings of listed heritage in stone, wood, glass and metal, hand in hand with working towards being open more and more as a venue for prayer, reflection, pilgrimage and tourism;
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the maintenance and supply of the Parish Centre and our church buildings as spaces for community gathering and hire;
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the raising of funds for partner charities, and donations in kind for Feed Up Warm Up, our local foodbank at Stevenage.
Subsequent entries in the Annual Report expand on the above.
KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
Registered Charity Number 1133728
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024 AND TREASURER'S REPORT
| Page No. | |
|---|---|
| Statement of financial activities | 1 |
| Balance sheet | 2 |
| Accounting Policies and Notes | 3-4 |
| Incoming resources | 5 |
| Resources used | 6 |
| Further Notes to the accounts | 7-8 |
| Treasurer'sReport | 9 |
KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024
| Note | Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | Total | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | funds | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| INCOMING RESOURCES | ||||||
| 4a | Incoming resources from | 70,110 | 7,474 | 77,584 | 66,550 | |
| donors | ||||||
| 4b | Other voluntary incoming resources | 22,000 | 4,000 | 26,000 | 4,000 | |
| Ac | Income from investments | 1,561 | 409 | 1,969 | 1,879 | |
| 4d | Church Activites | 32,114 | 32,114 | 30,132 | ||
| 4e | Other income resources | |||||
| TOTAL INCOMING | ||||||
| RESOURCES | 125,785 | 11,474 | 409 | 137,668 | 102,562 | |
| RESOURCES EXPENDED | ||||||
| 5a | Grants | 1,793 | 1,793 | 1,468 | ||
| 5b | Activities directly relating | |||||
| to the work ofthe Church | 122,695 | 3,308 | 126,003 | 94,530 | ||
| 5c | Church management | |||||
| and administration | 5,198 | 5,198 | 4,922 | |||
| TOTAL RESOURCES USED | 127,894 | 5,101 | 0 | 132,994 | 100,920 | |
| NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS | ||||||
| BEFORE TRANSFERS | (2,109) | 6,374 | 409 | 4,673 | 1,642 | |
| Net Transfers | 0 | ) | ||||
| NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS | (2,109) | 6,374 | 409 | 4,673 | 1,642 | |
| BALANCE B/FWD 1.1.2024 | 25,477 | 25,246 | 12,390 | 63,114 | 61,472 | |
| BALANCEC/FWD31.12.24 | 23,368 | 31,620 | 12,799 | 67,787 | 63,114 |
Page 1
KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL BALANCE SHEET
AT 31ST DECEMBER 2024
| Note | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | |||
| 7 | Fixed Assets | 2,419 | 3,234 | ||
| Current Assets | |||||
| 8 | Cash at Bank and in hand | 16,588 | 24,257 | ||
| Cambridge & Counties Bank 30-day deposit | 27,013 | 48,351 | |||
| 9 | Debtors | 33,995 | 4,115 | ||
| Current liabilities | 77,596 | 76,723 | |||
| 10 | Amounts due within one year | (12,228) | (16,843) | ||
| £67,787 | £63,114 | ||||
| Financed by: | |||||
| Funds: | |||||
| Unrestricted | 23,368 | 25,477 | |||
| Restricted | |||||
| Mission & Outreach fund | 19,960 | ||||
| Donation for St Martin's audiovisual improvements | 3,348 | ||||
| Donation for St Martin's lighting | 6,250 | ||||
| Paterson bequest | 751 | ||||
| Priest's Benevolent Fund | 650 | ||||
| Donation foryoung people | 500 | ||||
| Elsie Martin bequest | 205 | ||||
| 31,665 | 25,268 | ||||
| Endowment | |||||
| Bishopp bequest | 5,990 | ||||
| Cobbold fund | 5,413 | ||||
| Green bequest | 806 | ||||
| Neale bequest | 545 | ||||
| 12,754 | 12,368 | ||||
| £67,787 | £63,114 | ||||
| A il pproved bythe Knebworth Parochial Church Council |
on: on: |
¥ Macen N+ ROLOe |
|||
| Signed onitsbehalfby: (PCCOMEN |
—_ (Trustee) |
The notes on pages 3 to 8 form part of these financial statements.
Page 2
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KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
General
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The financial statements include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which PCC is responsible in law. They do not include 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 is recognised when received.
Grants and donations receivable are accounted for when awarded.
Resources expended
Parish Share is accounted for when paid or when payable within the constraints of the annual budget as determined by the PCC. Further Parish Share requested by the Diocese but not paid is not accrued in the accounts. Arrears of parish share are:
2022 £22,310 2023 £13,251
The Diocese agreed during 2024 to the write-off of £25,023 of unpaid 2021 Parish Share.
thatGrants awardand createsdonationsa bindingpayableorareconstructiveaccounted obligationfor when paidon theover,PCC.or whenAll otherawarded, if _ expenditure is generally recognised when it is incurred and is generally accounted for gross.
Fixed Assets
Consecrated and beneficed property of any kind is excluded from the accounts by s.96 (2) (a) of the Charities Act 1993.
No value is placed on moveable church furnishings held by the 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 buildings and moveable church furnishings, whether maintenance or improvement, is written off as expenditure in the Statement of Financial Activities.
No value is placed on the Knebworth Parish Centre, which was built at a cost of £267,191 in 1994.
Page 3
KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024
Other assets used within the church premises are depreciated on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, as follows:
Audio-visual equipment 10 years Card-giving machines 5 years Photocopier 4 years
The St Mary’s organ was fully depreciated many years ago.
2. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
There were no transactions in the year under review with related parties.
3. RESERVES POLICY
Endowment funds are funds, the capital of which must be maintained; only income arising from the investment may be used as either restricted or unrestricted funds depending on the purpose for which the endowment was established.
Restrictedfunds represent (a) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest, and (b) donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by the PCC for a specific object. The funds may only be expended on the specific object for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of the year must be carried forward as a balance on that fund.
The PCC does not invest separately for each fund.
Unrestrictedfunds are general funds which can be used for PCC ordinary purposes.
The PCC has a policy aim of maintaining unrestricted funds at a level which represents a minimum of three months’ worth of budgeted expenditure excluding Parish Share. As of 315' December 2024, unrestricted reserves amounted to approximately nine months’ worth of such expenditure.
Page 4
KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL INCOMING RESOURCES NOTES TQ THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024
Note
| Note | Unrestricted | Restricted & | Total | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | endowment | ||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| 4a | Incoming resources from donors | ||||
| Regular giving | |||||
| - Gift-aided | 49,786 | 49,786 | 38,935 | ||
| - Not gift-aided | 5,021 | 5,021 | 3,323 | ||
| Open Plate collections | 3,569 | 229 | 3,798 | 3,567 | |
| Gift-aided donations | 1,250 | 1,250 | 0 | ||
| Special collections | 438 | 438 | 1,153 | ||
| Gift aid recoverable | 2,589 | 1,307 | 3,896 | 2,679 | |
| Other donations | 6,294 | 5,500 | 11,794 | 13,595 | |
| Legacies | 0 | 2,000 | |||
| Other income | 1,601 | 1,601 | 1,299 | ||
| 70,110 | 7,474 | 77,584 | 66,550 | ||
| 4b | Other voluntary incoming resources | ||||
| Grants: | |||||
| Follett Trust - for Outreach | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | ||
| St Mary's & St Martin's Preservation Trust | 22,000 | 22,000 | |||
| 22,000 | 4,000 | 26,000 | 4,000 | ||
| 4c | Income from investments | ||||
| Bank Interest | 1,561 | 409 | 1,969 | 1,879 | |
| 1,561 | 409 | 1,969 | 1,879 | ||
| 4d | Income from charitable and ancillary trading | ||||
| Parish Centre lettings | 15,102 | 15,102 | 12,144 | ||
| Parish News advertising | 7,397 | 7,397 | 5,878 | ||
| Parish News sales | 4,785 | 4,785 | 4818 | ||
| Fees forweddings & funerals | 3,384 | 3,384 | 3,775 | ||
| Filming at St Mary's | 0 | 2,350 | |||
| Fundraising activities | 1,446 | 1,446 | 1,168 | ||
| 32,114 | 0 | 32,114 | 30,132 | ||
| 4e | OTHER INCOMING RESOURCES | ||||
| 0 | 0 | ||||
| TOTAL INCOMING | |||||
| RESOURCES | 125,785 | 11,883 | 137,668 | 102,562 |
Page 5
KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL RESOURCES USED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024
| Note | Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | Total | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | funds | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| 5a_ | Grants (see also Note 6) | |||||
| Missionary and charitable giving | 0 | 1,355 | 1,355 | 315 | ||
| Special Collections and events | 438 | 438 | 1,153 | |||
| 0) | 1,793 | 0 | 1,793 | 1,468 | ||
| 5b | Activities relating directly to thework ofthe Church | |||||
| Ministry: | ||||||
| - Parish Share | 59,787 | 59,787 | 46,000 | |||
| - Clergy Expenses | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| - Visiting Ministers | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Upkeep of services | 225 | 225 | 468 | |||
| Pastoral care social activities | 0 | 329 | 329 | 59 | ||
| Youth and children | 873 | 873 | 1,043 | |||
| Parish News printing and expenses | 7,980 | 7,980 | 8,220 | |||
| Church buildings: | ||||||
| - insurance | 4,217 | 4,217 | 3,967 | |||
| - maintenance | 34,421 | 2,000 | 36,421 | 17,663 | ||
| - churchyard | 0 | 0 | 1,918 | |||
| - servicing oforgans | 647 | 647 | 628 | |||
| - depreciation ofAV system | 106 | 106 | $s) | |||
| - power & other running costs | 4,085 | 4,085 | 3,789 | |||
| Parish Centre: | ||||||
| - insurance | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | |||
| - maintenance | 2,906 | 2,906 | 2,222 | |||
| - cleaning | 2,786 | 2,786 | 2,314 | |||
| - power & other running costs | 4,641 | 4,641 | 4,884 | |||
| 122,695 | 3,308 | 0 | 126,003 | 94,183 | ||
| 5c | Church management and administration | |||||
| Church Office | 3,980 | 3,980 | 3,508 | |||
| Subscriptions and Music Licences | 259 | 259 | 442 | |||
| Depreciation of equipment | 709 | 709 | 639 | |||
| Sundry Expenses | 250 | 250 | 679 | |||
| 5,198 | 0 | 0 | 5,198 | 5,269 | ||
| TOTALRESOURCESUSED | 127,894 | 5,101 | 0 | 132,994 | 100,920 |
Page 6
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KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
| NOTES TO THE | NOTES TO THE | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORTHE YEAR | ENDED 31ST DECEMBER | 2024 | |||||||
| Note | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | ||||||
| funds | funds | ||||||||
| £ | £ | £ | |||||||
| 6 | GRANTS MADE | ||||||||
| From PCC funds: | |||||||||
| Knebworth Youth Project | 1,000 | 1,000 | |||||||
| Worldshare | 300 | 300 | |||||||
| Beds & Herts Historic Churches | 40 | 40 | |||||||
| Christian Aid | 15 | 15 | |||||||
| 1,355 | 1,355 | ||||||||
| Special Collections: | |||||||||
| Bridgebuilders | 288 | 288 | |||||||
| Children's Society | 88 | 88 | |||||||
| Dementia UK | 62 | 62 | |||||||
| 438 | 438 | ||||||||
| Further Christian Aid collections | are | not recorded | here. | ||||||
| 7 | FIXEDASSETS | StMary's Organ |
. , CMiceequipt |
Sound stem |
tal tht |
||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||||||
| Cost | |||||||||
| at 1.1.2024 | 4,233 | 6,338 | 7,174 | 17,745 | |||||
| Additions in year | 0 | ||||||||
| at 31.12.2024 | 4,233 | 6,338 | 7,174 | 17,745 | |||||
| Depreciation | |||||||||
| at 1.1.2024 | 4,233 | 4,152 | 6,126 | 14,511 | |||||
| Charge for year | 709 | 106 | 815 | ||||||
| at 31.12.2024 | 4,233 | 4,861 | 6,232 | 15,326 | |||||
| Net Book Value | |||||||||
| at 1.1.2024 | 0 | 2,186 | 1,048 | 3,234 | |||||
| at 31.12.2024 | 0 | 1,476 | 942 | 2,419 | |||||
| Individual Net Book Values: | |||||||||
| Photocopier | 905 | ||||||||
| Payaz machines | 572 | ||||||||
| AV Equipment (Destiny Entertainment) | 942 | ||||||||
| 2,419 | |||||||||
| Allotherassetsarefullydepreciated |
Note
Page 7
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KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024
Note
| 8 | CASH IN HAND | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | ||
| Barclays - main current account | 11,294 | 3,917 | |
| Barclays - Parish Centre Lets account | 4,928 | 135 | |
| Barclays - immediate notice deposit account | 269 | 20,106 | |
| Cash in hand | 98 | 99 | |
| 16,588 | 24,257 | ||
| 9 | DEBTORS | 2024 | 2023 |
| £ | £ | ||
| Income tax recoverable - Gift Aid | 4,968 | 2,927 | |
| St Mary's & St Martin's Preservation Trust | 22,664 | 664 | |
| Listed Place ofWorship fund -VAT reclaim | 6,076 | ||
| Other debtors | 287 | ||
| 2023 cash banked in 2024 | 525 | ||
| 33,995 | 4,115 | ||
| 10 | CREDITORS AND ACCRUALS | 2024 | 2023 |
| £ | £ | ||
| St Martin's Roof repair | 11,000 | ||
| Other accrued costs - mainlyvarious building repairs | 10,248 | 4,955 | |
| DBF - Fees forWeddings and Funerals | 39 | 149 | |
| Herts County Council grant received but not yet spent | 289 | 289 | |
| Wedding deposits | 100 | ||
| Other creditors | 1,652 | 350 | |
| 12,228 | 16,843 |
Page 8
KNEBWORTH PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
TREASURER’S REPORT
The financial situation as reflected in the 2024 accounts gives us cause for thankfulness and some joy. Regular giving is well up on the previous year. The PCC has been able to absorb some heavy essential buildings costs: the St Martin’s roof has been repaired (albeit with the help of a grant from the Preservation Trust) and some important electrical updates have been done in all three of our buildings. Parish Centre lettings are at an all-time high. People responded generously to the appeal to fund new blocks to the St Martin’s porch (work still pending though at time of writing!), and the wonderful volunteering that goes on, for example at Burns Night last year and on Pancake Day, not just provides great community occasions but also brings in some useful income.
The general fund closed with a deficit of just over £2,000 for the year after paying our Parish Share in full for the first time in several years. This is an important marker as we strive to play our full part in the life not just of the church here in Knebworth but also within the wider deanery and diocese.
As for other funds, some wonderful restricted donations were received; the PCC now has nearly £10,000 of restricted funds available to improve lighting and audio-visual equipment at St Martin’s.
In my capacity as Treasurer may | express my thanks to all who give so generously and unconditionally in support of the Christian mission of our parish.
“All things come from you O Lord, and of your own do we give back to you.”
William Anderson, Hon. Treasurer March 17" 2025
Page 9
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Knebworth Parochial Church Council, charity number 1133728 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above st charity and Treasurer's Report for the year ended 31 December 2024 set out on pages 1 to 9. 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 PCC'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. I have completed my examination. I confinn 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 fonn 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. Signed: Date: Iq'A J2025 Name: O L.13oicLLG 14/4Af