THE ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF WESTBURY (Charity No. 1134367)
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Parish Church of All Saints, Westbury
Holy Saviour Church, Westbury Leigh
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF WESTBURY
TRUSTEES' REPORT
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Aims and Purposes
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Westbury has the responsibility of cooperating with the clergy of the White Horse Team in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social, and ecumenical.
Objectives and Activities
The primary object of the Westbury PCC is the promotion of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrines and practices of the Church of England.
The PCC has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent in promoting the ecclesiastical parish and the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social, and ecumenical. It also has the responsibilities for both church buildings and the Parish Hall.
In accordance with the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit the incumbent and the PCC have ensured that all worship is open to all and encourage parishioners to take an active part in all aspects of the life of the Church.
Achievements & Performance
Our curate, Revd Holly Newton, returned to ministry in January 2024 on a part-time non-stipendiary basis. She has returned with a reduced timetable due to her long-term health condition from which she has not recovered but is living with. Part of her return has meant working on a research project on disability and inclusion in the church. This is something which she has been able to work on at home. She conducted a survey amongst our people into their health conditions and ability to access our worship and other events. By the end of the year, she had produced enough material from her research to offer a day in 2025 to all those who were interested as well as a proposal to form a disability group to take actions forward and conduct a disability audit of our buildings and activities. This work is ongoing.
We appointed a new Director of Music, Ian McManus, who joined us in September. He has been working with the choir and we have noticed an improvement in the choral singing since he started. We had a wonderful carol service in December with great contributions from the choir and the organ, which was very encouraging.
We had a successful Gift Day in May which was partly to appeal for funding towards the replacement of the lead on the section of All Saints’ Church roof; and partly for general funds and to remind people of the importance of generous giving to our church as part of our Christian stewardship and discipleship. We also invited newcomers and regulars to be part of our Parish Giving Scheme (PGS). We extended the appeal to our local community through the local newspaper and we were pleased with the result. We had some generous gifts and a small increase in people on the PGS.
We were able to replace the lead stolen off the roof in the autumn. It was replaced with an alternative material of terne-coated steel. We also upgraded the roof alarm system. This was paid for by generous donations from church members and the local community and the releasing of the final monies from the historic endowment given by the Duke of Marlborough in the 17th century. We are grateful to the Walter Guiness Trust, Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust and the Listed Places of Worship Scheme for supporting this work.
Our Team Vicar, Revd Caroline Husband, announced her departure from the White Horse Team in the summer and she left in October for a new ministry in the Diocese of Truro. We were pleased that the Bishop of Salisbury was able to come and preach and preside at a special Team service at Holy Trinity, Dilton Marsh on Caroline’s penultimate Sunday. This was part of Holy Trinity’s 180th anniversary celebration. There was a good turn-out and a memorable service.
We then went into vacancy for this role and this is continuing into 2025. The Team Rector and Ministry Team are covering services at Dilton Marsh parish and we are doing some more things together as the White Horse Team.
We are continuing to work on our Mission Action Plan. We adjusted our vision statement in line with the Diocesan statement to read: As we seek to make Jesus known, Westbury parish is a confident, joyful and prayerful community. We review our mission action plan regularly and feel we are making progress. The vacancy is giving us an opportunity to review some of what we are doing and we are growing together as a Team. We are looking forward to making a new appointment in 2025.
We were encouraged by all those who came through our doors during December for Christmas services and events. Our Christmas Tree Festival was a great success again despite changes in dates and the cancellation of the Westbury Christmas lights switch-on by the Town Council due to bad weather. This year, for the first time, all our local schools came to All Saints’ for their Christmas services. The Town Carol service was well attended as was the family carol service at Holy Saviour with the local community of Westbury Leigh.
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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF WESTBURY
TRUSTEES' REPORT
For the year ended 31 December 2024
We continue to rely heavily on the support of all our church members and local community. Many people give of their time and gifts willingly in a huge variety of ways. Our retired clergy, LPAs and Licensed Lay Ministers are a great support, as well as all on the PCC. We are pleased to be able to serve our local community through our work in our local schools with Collective Worship, Open the Book, Experience events and governorship. We also offer pastoral care and services at four local nursing and residential homes for the elderly.
Attendance
The worshipping community (those who worship with us at least once a month across our parish) at Westbury All Saints’ and Holy Saviour in 2024 was 90.
Sundays at All Saints’:
Monthly Said Communion (10 ), Parish Communion (30), All Age Worship (30)
Mid-week at All Saints':
Holy Communion (10)
Cafe Church
Monthly service held at Westbury CofE Junior School (10)
Sundays at Holy Saviour:
Communion two or three times per month plus baptisms when required. (12)
We offer life events to our parishioners and during 2024 conducted:
-
18 Baptisms
-
• 2 Weddings • 32 Funerals
The Mother’s Union branch continues to meet monthly.
Plans for 2024
Our priority is to appoint a new Team Vicar to support our mission and ministry across the Team. We also seek to grow our mission and ministry across the parish through working on aspects of our mission action plan.
Financial Review
The PCC continue to work hard to encourage financial support for the life and ministry of All Saints’. This included holding a Gift Day in May to encourage increased levels of regular giving and one off gifts. Many people supported our ‘Raise the Roof’ Campaign resulting in gifts of £4,500 to fund the repair of the South Vestry roof after the lead theft in 2023. Giving using ‘Parish Giving’ has increased from £7,602 in 2023 to £16,241 in 2024. This helps to improve the efficiency of payments and processing of Gift Aid transactions. Overall giving increased from £45,298 to £52,590. Income from fundraising events was down overall by £1,012. This was partially due to the cancellation of the usual summer fair due to lack of volunteers. Overall income in 2024 on the General Fund was up by £1,968 on the previous year and expenditure increased by £376.
Our largest expenditure is the Parish Share which increased from £63,515 to £68,596 in 2024. We continue to be unable to raise sufficient funds to pay the full amount and in 2024 paid 60% (£41,158). This means that at the end of 2024 we owe the Diocese of Salisbury £97,055. The Parish Share and insurance at £10,070 together account for 70% of our expenditure.
We are grateful to those who give generously of both their gifts of time and money to support the ministry of the parish. Westbury like many other parishes is concerned about the abilities of the church to fund both the costs of day to day ministry and the increasing financial liability of maintaining a Grade I listed building and the Parish Hall in the long term.
Reserves policy
It is PCC policy to try to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments. This is equivalent to approximately £20,000. It is held to smooth out fluctuations in cash flow and to meet emergencies. The cash balance of approximately £44,400 held on unrestricted (including designated) funds at the year-end was comfortably above this target, although the funds are largely designated for particular purposes. It is the PCC’s hope to maintain this over time but are mindful of the future demands on these funds.
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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF WESTBURY
TRUSTEES' REPORT
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Volunteers
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported our parish during 2024. It has been a challenging time in all sorts of ways, and we have been tested in our faith, but it has been wonderful to see people rallying round, being prepared to make changes, and respond to the opportunities presented to us. We pray that we will continue to grow in our faith, as we seek to reach out to our local communities with the good news of Christ, and continue to be a loving and welcoming community to all.
Structure, Governance & 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 registered with the Charity Commission.
The method of appointing the PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. Clergy, Churchwardens, and elected representatives on the Deanery Synod are ex-officio members and up to twelve members are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.
Administrative information
The Parochial Church Council for the Ecclesiastical Parish of Westbury (PCC) is a registered charity, number 1134367. The principal office of the charity is The White Horse Team Office, Churchyard, Westbury, BA13 3BT.
The registered Trustees at the time of this report are:
Team Rector The Rev’d Rebecca Harris Team Vicar The Rev’d Caroline Husband (resigned October 2024) Team Curate The Rev’d Holly Newton Churchwarden Ruth Hann Deanery Synod Reps Elisabeth Thomas Simon Thorne Elected Members Caroline Dunseath Jenny Wray-Bliss Debbie McEntee Lily Munday Judith Newton Brian Osborne Ex- officio Ashley Jones LLM
The Parish Church is located off the Market Place in Westbury and is dedicated to All Saints’. There is a chapel of ease at Westbury Leigh which is dedicated to the Holy Saviour. The Parish is part of the White Horse Team Ministry in the Heytesbury Deanery in the Diocese of Salisbury within the Church of England.
There are two Church Schools in Westbury and our Foundation Governors are:
Westbury Junior School: The Rev’d Rebecca Harris Naomi Styles (January 2024) Westbury Leigh Junior School: The Rev’d Caroline Husband (resigned October 2024) Anthony Williams (Appointed September 2024) At the end of 2024 there were 120 members on the electoral roll.
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF WESTBURY (Charity number 1134367)
For the year ended 31 December 2024
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity for the year ended 31 December 2024 which are set out on pages 5 to 8.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity 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 the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act or
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the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
James Gare FCA DChA
2 Henford Close Warminster Wiltshire BA12 9RA
Date
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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF WESTBURY
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Section A Receipts and payments and movements in investments
| A1 Receipts | General funds to the nearest £ |
General funds to the nearest £ |
Designated funds to the nearest £ |
Designated funds to the nearest £ |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ |
Total funds to the nearest £ |
Total funds to the nearest £ |
Last year to the nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fundraising | 5,416 | - | - | - | 5,416 | 6,729 | |||||
| Grants | - | 20,560 | 6,000 | - | 26,560 | 11,598 | |||||
| Church hall lettings | - | 5,156 | - | - | 5,156 | 10,848 | |||||
| Fees from occasional services | - | - | 9,079 | - | 9,079 | 8,928 | |||||
| Dividends and interest | 3,943 | 831 | 971 | - | 5,745 | 5,122 | |||||
| Gift Aid donations | 25,227 | - | - | - | 25,227 | 29,542 | |||||
| Other donations | 27,842 | 320 | 9,027 | - | 37,188 | 16,639 | |||||
| Legacydonations | - | - | - | - | - | 250 | |||||
| Gift aid reclaimed | 6,499 | - | - | - | 6,499 | 14,547 | |||||
| Other income | 5,107 | 1,021 | 7,250 | - | 13,378 | 9,250 | |||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
|||||||||||
| 74,034 | 27,888 | 32,327 | - | 134,248 | 113,453 | ||||||
| 41,158 4,971 2,235 3,319 20,333 - 324 |
- - - 10,025 23,706 - - |
- - - - - - - |
41,158 8,642 2,251 14,028 44,697 19,998 3,899 |
||||||||
| Parish Share | 41,158 | - | - | 38,109 | |||||||
| Worship | 4,971 | 3,671 | - | 6,933 | |||||||
| Fundraising | 2,235 | 16 | - | 2,450 | |||||||
| Administration | 3,319 | 684 | - | 13,808 | |||||||
| Premises | 20,333 | 197 | - | 51,626 | |||||||
| Major Capital Works | - | 19,998 | - | - | |||||||
| Other costs | 324 | 4,036 | - | 2,647 | |||||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A4 Investmentgains |
|||||||||||
| 72,340 | 33,731 | 28,602 | - | 134,673 | 104,394 | ||||||
1,694 |
(5,843) | 3,725 | - | (425) | (2,120) | ||||||
| - | - | 2,961 | 4,287 | 7,248 | |||||||
| Unrealised (losses) / gains on CBF |
- | - | 2,961 | 4,287 | 7,248 | 23,871 | |||||
| Sub total | - | - | 2,961 | 4,287 | 7,248 | 23,871 | |||||
| Net of receipts / (payments) and investment gains A5 Transfers between funds A6 Monetary funds last year end Monetary funds this year end |
|||||||||||
1,694 |
(5,843) | 6,686 | 4,287 | 6,823 | 21,751 | ||||||
| - 327,303 334,127 |
|||||||||||
| (6,867) | 8,532 | (1,665) | - | - | - | ||||||
| 3,718 | 41,788 | 94,402 | 187,395 | 327,303 | 305,552 | ||||||
| (1,455) | 44,477 | 99,423 | 191,682 | ||||||||
| (1,455) | 44,477 | 99,423 | 191,682 | 334,127 | 327,303 |
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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF WESTBURY
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories ets retained for arity’s own use bilities y one or two trustees f of all the trustees h funds and held in the CBF h of England ment Fund |
Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Lloyds TSB Bell ringers Account CBF Church of England Investments |
General funds to nearest £ (1,455) - - |
General funds to nearest £ (1,455) - - |
Designated funds to nearest £ 44,477 - - |
Designated funds to nearest £ 44,477 - - |
Restricted funds to nearest £ 32,710 5,762 60,951 |
Restricted funds to nearest £ 32,710 5,762 60,951 |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1,455) | 44,477 | 32,710 | - | |||||
| - | - | 5,762 | - | |||||
| - | - | 60,951 | 191,682 | |||||
| (1,455) | 44,477 | 99,423 | 191,682 | |||||
| OK | OK Fund to which asset belongs |
OK Cost (optional) |
OK | |||||
| Current value (optional) |
||||||||
| General | - | - | ||||||
| Details | Fund to which liability relates |
Amount due (optional) |
When due (optional) |
|||||
| General | - | - | ||||||
| Signature | Date of approval |
|||||||
| Rev’d Rebecca Harris (Team Rector) | ||||||||
| Ruth Hann (Churchwarden) |
B1 Cash funds and funds held in the CBF Church of England Investment Fund
B2 Assets retained for the charity’s own use
B3 Liabilities
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF WESTBURY
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Section C Statement of funds at the end of the period
| Brought Forward to nearest £ C1 Unrestricted general funds |
Brought Forward to nearest £ C1 Unrestricted general funds |
Brought Forward to nearest £ C1 Unrestricted general funds |
Income to nearest £ |
Income to nearest £ |
Expenditure to nearest £ |
Expenditure to nearest £ |
Transfers to nearest £ |
Transfers to nearest £ |
Gains on Investments to nearest £ |
Gains on Investments to nearest £ |
Carried Forward to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General fund | 3,718 | 74,034 | (72,340) | (6,867) | - | (1,455) | |||||
| Sub total | 3,718 | 74,034 | (72,340) | (6,867) | - | (1,455) | |||||
| C2 Unrestricted designated funds 100 Club - DiscretionaryFund 4,786 RectoryFund 1,431 Office - Phyllis Griffin Bequest 12,014 Parish Hall 16,775 SpecialGift - Windows book - Youth Club 6,782 |
- - 288 - 4,321 - 5,699 - - 17,580 |
- - - - (12,853) - (11,047) - - (9,831) |
- - - - 8,532 - - - - - |
- - - - - - - - - |
|||||||
| 100 Club | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| DiscretionaryFund | 4,786 | 288 | - | - | - | 5,074 | |||||
| RectoryFund | 1,431 | - | - | - | - | 1,431 | |||||
| Office | - | 4,321 | (12,853) | 8,532 | - | - | |||||
| Phyllis Griffin Bequest | 12,014 | - | - | - | - | 12,014 | |||||
| Parish Hall | 16,775 | 5,699 | (11,047) | - | - | 11,427 | |||||
| SpecialGift | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Windows book | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Youth Club | 6,782 | 17,580 | (9,831) | - | - | 14,531 | |||||
| Sub total | 41,788 | 27,888 | (33,731) | 8,532 | - | 44,477 | |||||
| C3 Restricted funds | - - - 3,519 - - 7,903 678 - 7,148 406 - - 981 3,218 - 1,069 11,494 57,986 |
- - 22,780 - - - 450 - - 83 385 8,629 - - - - - - |
- - (19,998) - - - (70) - (1,238) (220) (508) (6,568) - - - - - |
- - - 11,915 - - - - - (148) - 123 (2,061) - - - - (11,494) - |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2,961 |
- | |||||
| 100 Club | - | - | - | ||||||||
| A-S Choir | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| A-SFabric | 3,519 | 22,780 | (19,998) | 11,915 | - | 18,216 | |||||
| A-SFlower | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| A-S Garden | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| A-S Organ | 7,903 | - | - | - | - | 7,903 | |||||
| A-S Organ& Choir | 678 | 450 | (70) | - | - | 1,058 | |||||
| A-SReordering | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| BellsRevenue | 7,148 | - | (1,238) | (148) | - | 5,762 | |||||
| Children'sMission | 406 | 83 | (220) | - | - | 269 | |||||
| Curacy | - | 385 | (508) | 123 | - | - | |||||
| Fees | - | 8,629 | (6,568) | (2,061) | - | - | |||||
| Hall Redeveloment | 981 | - | - | - | 981 | ||||||
| H-SFabric | 3,218 | - | - | - | - | 3,218 | |||||
| H-SFlower | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| StAldhamGrant | 1,069 | - | - | - | - | 1,069 | |||||
| Marlborough fund | 11,494 | - | - | (11,494) | - | - | |||||
| Tin Hut Deposit | 57,986 | - | - | - | 2,961 | 60,947 | |||||
| Sub total | 94,402 | 32,327 | (28,602) | (1,665) | 2,961 | 99,423 | |||||
| C4 Endowment funds | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| AS Church Repair Fund | 10,134 | - | - | - | 232 | 10,366 | |||||
| H-SEndowment | 6,488 | - | - | - | 148 | 6,636 | |||||
| Holy Saviour church repair fund |
10,997 | - | - | - | 252 | 11,249 | |||||
| KnightEndowment | 7,364 | - | - | - | 168 | 7,532 | |||||
| MabelSmith Endowment | 142,031 | - | - | - | 3,250 | 145,281 | |||||
| Stafford Brown CCLA | 10,381 | - | - | - | 237 | 10,618 | |||||
| **Sub total ** | 187,395 | - | - | - | 4,287 | 191,682 | |||||
| Totals | - | - | - | ||||||||
| 327,303 | 134,249 | (134,673) | - | 7,248 | 334,127 |
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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF WESTBURY
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Section D Notes to the accounts
D1 Basis of accounts preperation
Although the accounts are prepared on a receipts and payments method, the unrealised gain on the funds held in the CBF Church of England Investment Fund have also been included to provide a fuller understanding of the Charity's monetary assets.
D2 Endowments
All Saints' Church Repair Fund incorporates: Cox bequest, Cutler/ Francis bequest, Massey Lopes bequest, Timsbury bequest.
Holy Saviour Church repair fund incorporates: Henry Butcher bequest, W/L Church Repair fund
Stafford Brown Endowment incorporates Gibbs bequest.
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