Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain (Registered charity, number 1134526) Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022
| Page | Contents |
|---|---|
| 2 - 8 | Trustees’ annual report |
| 9 | Independent examiner’s report |
| 10 | Receipts & payments account |
| 11 | Statement of assets & liabilities |
| 12 - 14 | Notes to the accounts |
Please note: All the documents referred to are available at: - - suffolkquakers.org.uk/area meeting documents
Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain Trustees’ annual report for the year ended 31 December 2022
Full name Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain
Other names by which the charity is known Ipswich & Diss Area Meeting
Registered charity number 1134526
Principal address
Quaker Meeting House, St Johns Street, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1SJ.
Trustees
Elaine Green, Clerk Lucy Pollard Martin Hayden Simon Lamb Mary Pennock, Treasurer
Independent examiner
John O’Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus, Units 1 & 2 North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG1 5GL
Solicitor
Kerseys Solicitors, 32 Lloyds Avenue, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 3HD
Holding Trustee of Property
Friends Trusts Limited, Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ
Principal Advisors
Rathbone Greenbank Investments 10 Queen Square Bristol BS1 4NT
Clark & Simpson Estate Agents, Well Close Square, Framlingham, Suffolk IP13 9DU
Governance and management
The charity is operated under the rules of its constitution adopted 17/05/2008, and most recently amended 14/05/2022.
Trustees are appointed for a period of three years by the Area Meeting following nomination by its Nominations Committee. All Trustees receive induction training.
Business meetings within the Society are conducted as ‘meetings for worship for church affairs’ in which there is no voting, the Clerk is a servant of the meeting and the minutes are agreed at each meeting. Membership of the Society of Friends is held within the Area Meeting.
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Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain
Objectives and activities
The object of Ipswich & Diss Area Meeting is the furtherance of the general religious and charitable purposes of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain in the area of Ipswich & Diss Area Meeting and beyond. Its constituent parts include:
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Local Meetings at Bury St Edmunds, Diss, Felixstowe, Ipswich, Leiston and Woodbridge,
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Ipswich and Diss Area Meeting Property Charity, which is a mixture of endowment, restricted and designated funds which support the Area Meeting’s four Meeting Houses in Ipswich, Diss, Bury St. Edmunds and Leiston; Burial Grounds in Bredfield, Needham Market, Woodbridge, Diss, Bury St. Edmunds and Leiston; a private house in Diss which is rented out and a warden’s flat within Ipswich Meeting House.
It carries out the objectives of the Area Meeting or such other charitable purposes as the Area Meeting may direct and the trustees may think suitable: provided that the trustees allow persons who are not members of the Society to use the meeting houses and premises and the remains of persons who were not members of the Society to be buried in the burial grounds.
- Agnes Moss Bequest Trust, which is a mixture of endowment and restricted funds for the use of Diss Local Meeting and largely consists of 21 St Nicholas Street, Diss, IP22 4LB.
Diss Local Meeting and Area Meeting have directed that the trust is to be used: 1) by Area Meeting for administration of the trust and for property maintenance and repairs of 21 St Nicholas Street and
2) by Diss Local Meeting for general purposes and property maintenance and repairs of Diss Meeting House, its burial ground and the private house .
- Richard Waynforth Trust Charity , which is a mixture of endowment and restricted funds for the relief in need of members and attenders of Ipswich & Diss Area Meeting and, from 7 October 2014, members and attenders of Waveney & Norfolk Area Meeting and Southern East Anglia Area Meeting. (See Richard Waynforth Trust Guidelines).
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Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit
Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting performs the following activities in relation to its objectives:
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Holding Area Meetings, using the Quaker business method, at least once a year.
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Taking responsibility for membership of the Area Meeting and hence of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain and maintaining a register of the Area Meeting’s members and attenders.
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Ensuring that all Local Meetings report regularly on their activities and that Local Meeting treasurers and Local Meeting premises committees meet together at least annually.
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Appointing clerks, a treasurer, registering officers, a nominations committee, elders, and pastoral care team co-ordinators.
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Consolidating accounts of its constituent Local Meetings and linked charities.
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Maintaining links with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, also known as Britain Yearly Meeting, and Friends Trusts Ltd, which is the trust corporation for the Religious Society of Friends in Great Britain.
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Taking responsibility for the preservation of Area Meeting and Local Meeting records.
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Managing the charity's income and expenditure to meet the proper costs of administering the charity and managing its cash and non-cash assets in keeping with the charity’s ethical investment policy.
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Ensuring ongoing repairs and maintenance are carried out for the Meeting Houses, the wardens’ flat and the private house.
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Ensuring the Meeting Houses, the wardens’ flat and the private house comply with current Health and Safety Regulations, Fire Safety Regulations and other relevant government regulations.
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Ensuring compliance to safeguarding, equal opportunities and data protection legislation.
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Providing adequate Public Liability Insurance for the Local Meetings and Buildings and Contents Insurance coverage for the Meeting Houses and buildings insurance for the wardens’ house and flat.
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Commissioning quinquennial and tree surveys and carrying out the recommended actions for the Meeting Houses and their adjacent burial grounds.
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Inspecting the burial grounds at Bredfield, Needham Market and Woodbridge and taking remedial actions, where required.
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Ensuring compliance to employment regulations and monitoring wardenship and employment matters, including pensions and the Living Wage, at Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Diss Meeting Houses.
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Overseeing all building renovations and new development undertaken at the Meeting Houses and the private house.
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Selling, leasing or disposing of all or any part of the charity's property that is not required to be retained to achieve its objectives.
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Co-operating with other charities, voluntary bodies and statutory authorities as required.
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Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain
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Making relief-in-need grants to provide or pay for goods, services and/or training for members and attenders of Ipswich & Diss Area Meeting, Waveney & Norfolk Area Meeting and Southern East Anglia Area Meeting.
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Arranging and holding of public Meetings for Worship, open to all, in its constituent Local Meetings in Bury St Edmunds, Diss, Felixstowe, Ipswich, Leiston and Woodbridge.
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Maintaining links with other churches and local faith groups to promotes interfaith understanding, peace, social justice and equality.
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Support of other local, national and international charities through special collections and fund-raising events.
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Chaplaincy support is provided locally to two prisons, a hospital and a university.
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● Our four Meeting Houses are available for lettings to community groups, other charities and businesses undertaking charitable activities. As well, 21 St Nicholas Street, Diss, is let to a collective of local craftspeople. This provides a public service by contributing to community cohesion and encouraging the growth of creative businesses.
Public benefit statement
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit'.
Summary of the main achievements during the period
In setting out our charitable achievements for public benefit as a local worshipping community within a national framework, we reflect the aims of Britain Yearly Meeting, the national body and those set out in our current book of discipline, “Quaker Faith & Practice”.
Our six local Meetings have met at least weekly for public worship since the beginning of this year and Felixstowe remain well settled in the Trimley Memorial Hall and Woodbridge in St Mary’s House. Our availability as a worshipping community, where all are welcome is evident from our Suffolk Quaker website https://suffolkquakers.org.uk/ , articles in the local press, and a social media presence.
All our Local Meetings, in order to maintain their unity as one worshipping community, are, after experimentation, beginning to find a balance that suits them, between blended/hybrid Meetings for Worship, and simultaneous in-person and online Meetings, Woodbridge reading the same passage from Quaker Faith & Practice in both. With an ageing demographic, blended meetings have enabled connection to the spiritual strength of those unable to come to Meetings for Worship in person, though some local meetings have found it challenging to find Friends to set up and operate the necessary technology.
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Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain
In addition, Ipswich holds a mid-week Meeting for Worship in person, which often attracts visitors. Leiston has established an online mid-week Meeting for Worship and Bury St Edmunds does both.
Following the isolation of the pandemic we have worked in other creative ways to maintain the inclusivity and unity of our Local and Area Meetings. Discussion groups have been held in all of our local Meetings; walking and poetry groups meet monthly at Woodbridge where there is also a local meeting monthly newsletter; a gardening working party at Leiston; social visits to gardens and the seaside by Ipswich Friends. There has been a reintroduction of shared lunches after Meetings for Worship in Diss, Felixstowe, Bury St Edmunds and others. At Bury St Edmunds there is a bimonthly Evening Meeting for words, music and silence, with Friends sometimes joining online from far afield.
At Area Meeting level as well as meeting for Quaker business, for the first time in many years we held a Spiritual Sustenance Day hosted by Diss Local Meeting. We plan to continue this innovation.
We have celebrated the marriage of three couples who worship at Bury St Edmunds Meeting House.
Outside of the Quaker community, the year saw the general public returning to use our buildings. Room hiring at Bury St Edmunds has gradually picked up and Ipswich again has at least 16 different groups using various parts of their Meeting House. Similarly, our collaborative work with other faith communities has resumed. We take an active a part in our local Churches Together and in Ipswich & Bury St Edmunds we have joined with others for faith celebrations, such as the equinoxes and the end of Ramadan. Local Buddhist, Spiritualist and Muslim groups have returned to regularly use Bury Meeting House, the last group for their weekly Friday prayer. The ‘Experiment with Light’ Quaker meditation group in Bury St Edmunds has welcomed the participation of a member of the local Roman Catholic congregation.
The living out of our social witness in the world became more focused during this time. Beginning on the Global Day of Action during COP26 in 2021, Bury St Edmunds Local Meeting has maintained its monthly public ‘Silent Witness to Social Justice in the face of the Climate Emergency’, that is now also supported by other members of local ecological groups, members of other churches and the general public. With support from St Edmundsbury Cathedral, panels from the ‘Loving Earth Project’ were displayed with an estimated 1,000 visitors, raising awareness of the implications of climate change. Part of our Meeting House gardens and the Leiston burial ground has been ‘rewilded’, trees and nectar rich plants planted and ‘bug hotels’ installed. Bury St Edmunds Meeting House garden was again opened to the public, an oasis in the town centre.
The beginning of the year saw Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and our Witness for Peace became all the more poignant. Ipswich Quakers were represented at local
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Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain
interfaith vigils for the people of Ukraine as well as being represented at a special worldwide Meeting for Worship.
In Bury St Edmunds, at our vigil on Armed Forces Day, and when laying a white poppy wreath at the cenotaph on Remembrance Day, we were joined by a considerable number of the public. Bury St Edmunds Quakers have joined the local Ukrainian community in their regular monthly vigils and representative Quakers attended special Ukrainian Church services held in the Cathedral.
Throughout the year Quakers in this Area continued to make donations to 20 other charities, see below section 5. “Acting as Agent collections”
Sustainability and Environmental achievements during the period
The Premises Committee of Diss Local Meeting aim to get rid of their gas heating as soon as they can and install a system, which could efficiently heat their weekly Meeting for Worship adequately, in their listed building. They have considered infrared heater, air source heat pumps, installation of an insulated pod within the meeting house and the Installation of a ground source heat pump to serve both our Meeting House and the adjacent privately-rented house that was the former Warden’s house. No decision was reached on the way forward. This is a theme that is echoed in all our historic Meeting Houses as they balance the usage of the building with efficiency and cost. To encourage this complex process, the Area Meeting Trustees decided to increase the charity’s reserves and where appropriate give priority to applications which ‘green’ our properties and move our Meeting Houses away from fossil fuels. For individual Friends, the increasing use of technology for Meetings for Worship and discussion groups has certainly reduced our carbon footprint. Friends in the Area remain committed to seeking change and learning where they can. In this year, a member of Woodbridge Local Meeting attended the Sustainability Gathering at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham and brought valuable feedback to our Area Meeting.
Financial review
Financial position at the end of the reporting period
We are encouraged that after the pandemic the public use of our Meeting Houses and income from lettings are picking up again. Our cash assets have risen by £50,000 (12%).
Our investments have fallen by £217,000 (16%) in line with the ethical investment stock market.
Reserves Policy
We ask each of our constituent Local Meetings and funds to hold reserves of 6 months expenditure without income. Their positions are checked annually and the policy is reviewed triennially.
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Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain
The Trustees holding responsibility for Area Meeting properties, three of which are listed places of worship, are hoping to build up the Meeting Houses Reserves Fund. This policy is also reviewed triennially.
Financial Risks
Perhaps a loss of generous individual giving with an ageing population and demography less able to manage the letting of our Meeting Houses to the public.
We have a comprehensive set of policies and practice documents which are regularly reviewed. We continuously monitor adherence to these.
None of our funds are in deficit. The only funds we hold for third parties are sums scheduled for Britain Yearly Meeting, which are regularly passed on and collections for charities which are passed on soon after the collection has finished.
On behalf of the charity’s trustees:
(Signed)
Elaine Green, Clerk to the Trustees
Date - 8[th] August 2023
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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain for the year ended 31 December 2022
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the charity 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 charity’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 matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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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)
John O’Brien MSc, FCCA, FCIE
Employee of Community Accounting Plus
Date - 24[th] August 2023
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Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain Receipts & payments account for the year ended 31 December 2022
| Receipts Note Donations Gift aid Legacies Other donations Sundry receipts Hire of rooms and rent received Book and literature sales Interest Dividends Receipts as agent Total receipts Payments Wages – wardens, cleaning etc Heat, light and insurance Property rental Property repairs & maintenance Capital repairs Furniture & equip’t repairs and renewals Conference costs Travel & subsistence Outreach and publicity Sundry administrative and other costs Grants/loans to institutions Grants to individuals Independent Examination Payments as agent 5 Sundry expenses Purchase of investments Total payments Net receipts/(payments) Cash funds at start of this period Transfers between funds Cash funds at end of this period |
Unrestricted Funds £ 34048 4414 31341 381 1899 51823 21 2303 4252 2983 133465 34899 19968 2711 9111 7123 4847 530 110 1740 2549 11476 - 900 2663 404 927 99958 33507 309320 500 343327 |
Restricted Funds £ - - - - - 7520 - 330 16761 11993 36604 - - 2595 - 4611 - - - - 420 - 416 - 11993 - - 20035 16569 102296 (500) 118365 |
2022 Total Funds £ 34048 4414 31341 381 1899 59343 21 2633 21013 14976 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 170069 | |||
| 34899 19968 5306 9111 11734 4847 530 110 1740 2969 11476 416 900 14656 404 927 |
|||
| 119993 | |||
| 50076 411616 - |
|||
| 461692 |
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Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain Statement of assets and liabilities at 31 December 2022
| 2021 | 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | Cash assets | £ | |
| 411616 | Bank accounts | 461692 | |
| 411616 | 461692 | ||
| Investments | |||
| CCLA Unit funds | |||
| T Merriman 10062 units | 45132 | ||
| Recoupment 13/11/87 17743 units | 79584 | ||
| Recoupment 11/08/86 6326 units | 28377 | ||
| 168564 | 153093 | ||
| 1205790 | Rathbones portfolio | 1004712 | |
| 1374354 | 1157805 | ||
| Investment property | |||
| Shop premises at 21 St Nicholas Street, Diss, | |||
| 235000 | held within the Agnes Moss Bequest Trust | 235000 | |
| Liabilities | |||
| (195) | Acting as agent (collected but not paid at year end) | (505) | |
| (450) | Pensions | (167) | |
| (900) | Independent examination | (1200) | |
| (1545) | (1872) | ||
| Property | |||
| In addition the charity holds six burial grounds and functional | property | ||
| with insured values as follows: | |||
| Bury St Edmunds meeting house | 1672686 | ||
| Diss meeting house | 820886 | ||
| Diss private house | 342528 | ||
| Ipswich meeting house and warden's flat | 1405220 | ||
| Leiston meeting house | 704642 |
These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by:
(Signed)
Mary Pennock, Treasurer Date – 8[th] August 2023
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Ipswich & Diss Area Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022
1. Receipts & payments accounts
- Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand.
2. Prior period analysis
The accounts for 2021 were prepared on an accruals basis, so detailed year to year comparison is difficult. In particular, debtors and creditors included in the accruals for 2021 have been included as receipts and payments in 2022. Creditors are listed on page 11. The only debtor was Gift Aid on 2021 donations claimed in 2022 of £4,414. Accounts for many years up to and including 2021 included a sum of £568,594.84 as property value. This was money raised to fund an extension to Bury St Edmunds Meeting House. Since functional property values are not included in accounts, this sum should have been removed from the overall value of the charity once the building was completed. This sum does not appear in these accounts.
3. Cash Funds summary
| Unrestricted funds Area General fund Bury St Edmunds LM Diss LM Felixtowe LM Ipswich LM Leiston LM Woodbridge LM Bury SE Maintenance fund Area Property fund Restricted funds Britain Yearly Meeting Property Meeting House Maintenance Agness Moss Bequest Richard Waynforth fund Total cash funds |
Opening balance £ 16658 154381 2299 3569 49609 18259 4749 47428 12368 309320 - 26987 21179 54130 102296 411616 |
Receipts £ 1643 39685 19457 3968 23341 37259 3546 1333 3233 133465 11993 1162 7591 15858 36604 170069 |
(Payments) £ (7240) (48285) (8844) (2905) (17137) (6764) (3261) - (5522) (99958) (11993) - (7626) (416) (20035) (119993) |
Transfers £ 5813 (2200) (500) - (872) (541) (1200) - - 500 - - - (500) (500) - |
Closing balance £ 16874 143581 12412 4632 54941 48213 3834 48761 10079 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 343327 | |||||
| - 28149 21144 69072 |
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| 118365 | |||||
| 461692 |
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4. Investment funds summary
| CCLA Property Charity Rathbones investments BSE Meeting House fund Area Meeting House fund Property Charity Endowment Richard Waynforth fund Richard Waynforth Endowmnent Total investments |
Opening value £ 168564 168564 59091 59091 177273 58060 852274 1205789 1374353 |
Additions & Charges £ 927 927 (761) (761) (2283) - (10079) (13884) (12957) |
Gain/Loss £ (16398) (16398) (8258) (8258) (24775) - (145902) (187193) (203591) |
Closing value £ 153093 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 153093 | ||||
| 50072 50072 150215 58060 696293 |
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| 1004712 | ||||
| 1157805 |
5. Acting as Agent collections paid out
| Families in Need Hope Trust Medcins Sans Frontieres Gatehouse Choose Love Quaker Arts Network Solo Housing Woodbrooke UNHCR Afgan Refugees Leeway Pakistan Flood Appeal DEC Ukraine appeal Glebe House Friends Community Dev Trust QuIET Brummana Teapot Project FIND Quaker International SELIG Trussell |
£ 200 140 265 293 340 20 105 85 209 129 221 167 117 126 38 99 32 25 22 30 |
|---|---|
| 2663 |
6. Trustees’ remuneration
Trustees received no expenses, remuneration or benefits in this period.
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7. Cash funds Local Meetings detail
| Receipts Donations Gift aid Legacies Other donations Sundry receipts Hire of rooms and rent received Book and literature sales Interest Receipts as agent Total receipts Payments Wages – wardens, cleaning etc Heat, light and insurance Property rental Property repairs & maintenance Capital repairs Equipment repairs and renewals Conference costs Travel & subsistence Outreach and publicity Sundry costs Grants/loans to institutions Independent Examination Payments as agent Sundry expenses Total payments Net receipts/(payments) Cash funds at start of this period Transfers between funds Cash funds at end of this period |
Area Meeting £ 1120 523 - - - - - - - 1643 4474 - - - - 245 530 35 443 209 - 900 - 404 7240 (5597) 16658 5813 16874 |
BSE LM £ 8211 1429 - 381 1238 26005 21 1497 903 39685 20003 6574 - 1361 7123 3545 - - 302 764 7959 - 654 - 48285 (8600) 154381 (2200) 143581 |
Diss LM £ 9798 591 - - - 8226 - - 842 19457 1316 1705 - 3292 - 168 - - 114 - 1500 - 749 - 8844 10613 2299 (500) 12412 |
Felixtowe LM £ 2765 598 - - - - - - 605 3968 - - 1284 - - - - - 208 108 700 - 605 - 2905 1063 3569 - 4632 |
Ipswich LM £ 5120 560 - - 423 16173 - 485 580 23341 7587 5711 - 1277 - 617 - - 351 790 200 - 604 - 17137 6204 49609 (872) 54941 |
Leiston LM £ 3823 431 31342 - 237 1420 - 6 - 37259 1520 1384 - 3180 - 55 - - 197 428 - - - - 6764 30495 18259 (541) 48213 |
Woodbridge LM £ 3212 282 - - - - - - 52 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3546 | |||||||
| - - 1427 - - 215 - 75 126 249 1117 - 52 - |
|||||||
| 3261 | |||||||
| 285 4749 (1200) |
|||||||
| 3834 |
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