u3c Trustees. Annual Report for the period Rayleigh Period start date Period end date From Jan 2022 To 31 Dec 2022 Section A Reference and administration details Charity name RAYLEIGH Unlversity of The Third Age Other names charty is known by Reglstered charity number (if any) 1134068 Charity's principal address clo The Secretary, Jane Reeve 11 A. The Chase Rayleigh, Essex Postcode SS6 8QL Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity Dates acted If not for wholè year Tru*ee name OFfi¢e lif any) Name of person lor body) enlltled to appoint trustee {if any) Ray Lowe Wendy Edwards Gillian Cann Chairman Treasurer 01101122 - 04105122 Treasurer 04105122 to date Debbie Bamber Secretary Secretary 01101122 - 04105122 Jane Reeve 04105122 to date Paul Reeve 04105122 to date Amanda Lowe Valerie Skam Elaine Woodcock 10 Valerie Foley Sheila Farrant 12 13 Rosalinda King 01101122 - 04105122 14 Section B Structure, governance and management Description of the charlty's trusts TAR Decembw 2023 Type of goveming document We are governed by our Constitution which was fomially adopted on 1st February 2008. It was amended on 612109, 614117. 5110117. 315118 and 3111121. How the Gharity is constituted A member of the Third Age Trust as an Unincorporated Association. T￿stee selection methi)ds Elected by the membership at the Annual General Meeting. Also two new Trustees can be co-opted be￿een AGM'S, and then stand for election at the next AGM. Additional governance issues (Optional infom)ationl The charity is a member of the Third Age Trust which provides additional help. information & advi￿. The Trustees take their responsibilities seriously and are mindful that they exercise due diligence and care. You may choose to include additional infonnation, where relevant, about.. policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees.- Rayleigh u3a, like other u3as, is a mutual aid organisation, operationally independent but a member of the Third Age Trust, which requires adherence to the guiding principles of the u3a movement (to be found on the Trust's websile www.u3a.org.uk ) the charity's organisational stwcture and any widernehvork with which the charity worffs." relationship with any related parties.- The Trustees have considered risks and take professional advi￿ as appropriate. We have adequate insurance cover through our national body. We do not employ staff, hold leases or property. trustees. consideration of major risks and the system and proGedures to marpage them. No paymerkts are made to metnbers for services rendered to any u3a. Each u3a is self-funded with membership subscriptions & costs kept as low as possible. This is particularty important given the seclor of the public we serve who are no longer in full~time employment. Rayleigh u38 is a member of the East of England Association of u3a's which is set up to exchange good practice & coordinate regional events. Section C Objectives and activities TAR De￿mber 2023 The objects of Rayleigh u3a are.. The advanTrment of education and in particular. the education of older people and those who are retired from full-time work, in varied ways including activities conducive to leaming and personal development. Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document The Trustees have regard to the guidance issued by th9 Charity Commission on public benefit 2nd work to further our Charity's objectives. whilst having regard to changing legal requirements. We held our AGM in May 2022, all paperwork was emailed or posted to all membeis in advance. Accounts were not filed as income was below £25K The Committee of the Trustees met in person on 21 st January. 18 February, 18° March, 22nd April ,20" May, 1th June, 15" July. 16 September. 21st October and 18 November 2022 Membership of a u3a is open to all in their third age. which is defined not by age but by a period in life in which full time employment has ceased. Members promote the values of lifelong leaming & the positive attributes of belonging to a u3a, particularly at a time of life when social contact may have decreased. Trustees & members do all they can to ensure that people wanting to join the u38 can do so. We provide a Newsletter to our members on a regular basis along with access to our dedicated Rayleigh u3a website. which has contact details for the Officers and Committee. We hold monthly meetings open to all members (ex￿pt for August and December)with a variety of speakers. Summary of the main activitles undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects {include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit) Members form interest groups covering as wide a range of topics & interests as are desired. Members organise their own activities & offer their skills, knowledge & experience for the benefit of fellow members. There are 40 active groups al present & a list of these. together with contact details, is available on our website. The Groups, Coordinator, who is a trustee, keeps a record of unfulfilled requests for specific groups & helps to facililale the setting up of new groups. Advice is given on venues, & the setting up of a new group. Each group has a Group Leaderwho liaises with the Groups Co-ordinator. We continue to use a u3a backed database called Beacon, which enables the Trustees to be able to work with their dats in a more secure environment. Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional Infomiationl TAR December 2023 You may choose to include fvrther statements. where relevant, al)out We particularly value the fact that all our members, who give of their time and expertise in different capacities. are all volunteers. Members are more than Mrilling to help their fellow members if they are in need of assistan￿. policy on grantmaknng,. policy programme ￿lated investment.- contribution made by volunteers. Section D Achievements and performance Summary of the main achievements of the Charity during the year Our main achievement this year has been to njn our monthly meetings, groups and educational events on a regular basis. This year the annual cost of membership was reinstaled to the pre-covid amount of £20 as we have been to hold meetings and social events as normal durtng 2022. Our membership fee allows members to access groups. and includes the following-. 1: A full and varEed programme of monthly meetings, whiGh are detailed on both the newsletter & the website. These have continued to attrad a wide audience together with the opportunity to socialise more widely. They are held at a venue with disabled access & amplification for those hard of hearing. We held main members meetings in every month apart from August and December. 2: A newsletter. published every 213 monlhs. continues to be sent to all members by e-mail or post. This helps keep members informed & is particularfy beneficial to those without easy intemet ac￿sS. 3: We held regular Talks forAII educational events and visits during the year which have been well attended. There is a nominal cost for members to cover expenses. 4: Social Events are also available to all members on a cost basis - these have included quizzes, outings and visits. 5= Membership also includes subscription to the national u3a publication -Third Age Matters. Section E Financial review Brief statement of the charity's policy on reserves The Charity Commission recommends maintaining a level of reseNos SLrfficient lo fund 12 months core expenditure to cover fluctuations in receipls or payments. The Trustees ac￿pt this advice and have met this requirement in 2022. Details of any funds materially in deficit Further flnanclal review details (Optional infomiation} TAR De¢*mber 2023 You may choose to include additlonal infom?ation. where relevant about.. thè charrfjls principal SoUr￿S of funds (including any fUndraI￿ng),' how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the Gharity,. investmentpolicy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted. Section F Other optional information NIA Section G Declaration The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees, report above. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees Slgnature(s) Full name{s) Position {eg Secretsry, Chair. etc) Ray Lowe Jane Reeve Chairman Secretsry Date 31, December 2022 TAR December 2023 o (4) O i O ri iri ¢Th ri v400* 8&&=888- thrs 888=8888 X 88% 8888= OOP4 *400* vz2(L ## **Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees of Rayleigh u3a** I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Rayleigh u3a for the year ended 31 December 2022. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the charity trustees of the Rayleigh u3a 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 Rayleigh u3a’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** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Rayleigh u3a as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. 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: James Whitehouse Address: 81 Rayleigh Avenue Leigh-on-Sea SS9 5DN Date: 3rd March 2023