## St James’ (Hope) Church Salford M6 8EJ 

# Trustees Annual Report And Financial Accounts 2025 

Charity No. 1134822 

Parish No. SO6540 

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## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2025** 

It is pleasing to report a year of progress at St James (Hope) Church with higher attendance figures at church services and a small surplus in the church’s finances for the second year running. 

Our church family has grown during the past year with increased attendance not only at Easter and Christmas but also at regular weekly services. The number of baptism services held increased three fold. There was sadness during the year too in the passing of longstanding members of the congregation including Mary Owen, Sam Quansah, Tony Stockton and Ivy Wood. As the partnership of sharing our church buildings with Salford Elim Church enters its fifth year, we record our appreciation for the close cooperation between us; two churches, one building; united in our love of God. 

The Financial Accounts (as verified by our Independent Examiner Bronwyn Roby) show that whereas total income to the church during 2025 was £61,964.67, total expenditure during the same period was £60,325.94 resulting in a surplus of £1,638.73. This result was achieved in part due to the contributions received from Salford Elim Church and revenue obtained from the hiring out of the Community Hall. Points to highlight from the Financial Accounts include: 

- Direct giving to the church increased from £8,961 to £9,321, a 4% increase. 

- Salford Elim Church contributed £5,396 to the income of the church and paid £1,919 

- towards shared energy costs. 

- Giving for charitable causes, mainly funded by donations received from after service 

- refreshments, was slightly down at £683. 

- Community Hall income was £15,852 compared with costs of £10,774, a profit of £5,078. 

- Spending on church building maintenance increased from £2,653 in 2024 to £14,108 in 

- 2025, £11,856 of which was funded by grant funding which had been awarded due to our proactive Churchwardens. 

- We honoured our commitment to the Diocese and paid our 2025 Parish Share of £13,843 in 

- full (a figure of £13,574 is shown in the financial accounts as we received an encouragement scheme discount of £269). 

- A continued cause for concern is the affordability of the cost of insurance. The premiums 

- charged by Ecclesiastical Insurance, already at £8,559 during 2025, are increasing to £9,672 for 2026, a 13% increase. The PCC will be exploring alternative options during the year ahead. 

- The church continues to support the community by providing a base for the Uniformed 

- Organisations (Brownies/Rainbows) and the Olive Branch Hub to meet on a weekly basis. 

We pay tribute to the work of the members of the clergy and PCC members who also act as Trustees for Charity number 11348222 and all those connected with St James (Hope) Church. 

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_Tony Wood_ 

Treasurer On behalf of the Board of Trustees 

## REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT EXAMINER 

The Treasurer for the PCC at St James (Hope) Church maintains the following accounting records: 

Manual Weekly Record Book 

Weekly Revenue Control Sheets (as completed by the Churchwardens or their deputies) 

Computerised Accounts 

Bank Statements for all accounts 

Folders of vouchers to support expenditure 

Cheque counterfoils and paying in stubs 

Financial controls in operation: 

All cheques to be signed by two from a total of four authorised signatories 

Cash collections are entered on Weekly Control Sheet and checked by two of the church officers 

Preparation of accounts: 

A full bank reconciliation was carried out on all operating accounts 

Bank deposits checked with cash book entries 

Expenditure vouchers checked with bank and cash books 

Bronwen Roby ACCA 41 Wilderswood Close, Whittle le Woods, Chorley PR6 7SH 

Telephone: 07773 768 210 

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||**ST JAMES CHURCH HOPE:**|**FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS FOR**|**FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS FOR**|**2025**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||2024||2025||
|Note|**INCOME**|£|£|£|£|
|1.|**Direct Giving**|||||
||Gift Aided|6,269.50||6,471.80||
||Non Gift Aided|1,822.90||1,285.53||
||Collections|780.55||1,165.08||
||Digital Giving|88.71||398.42||
||||8,961.66||9,320.83|
|2.|Tax Refunds (Gift Aid & GASDS)||2.777.39||2,480.00|
|3.|**Donations & Other Income**|||||
||Gift Aided|128.20||229.60||
||Non Gift Aided|209.00||0.00||
||Gift Day<br>|541.00||403.22||
|4.|Salford Elim’s Contributions|3,888.00||5,396.00||
||Salford Elim Shared Expenses|2,296.30||1,919.49||
||||7,062.50||7,948.31|
|5.|**Charitable Giving Received**||716.86<br>||683.03|
|6.|**Community Hall Income**|||||
||Regular Hire|8,573.35||7,585.00||
||Occasional Hire|11,710.00||7,852.50||
||Hall Refurbishment Fund|235.00||415.00||
||||20,518.35||15852.50|
|7.|Car Park Hire||12,000.00||12,000.00|
|8.|Fees||906.00||1824.00|
|9.|Grants/Legacies||0.00||11,856.00|
|10.|Insurance Claims||0.00||0.00|
|11.|Sundry Income||50.00<br>||<br>0.00|
||**Total Income**||**52,992.76**||**61,964.67**|



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||**ST JAMES CHURCH HOPE: FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS FOR 2025**|**ST JAMES CHURCH HOPE: FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS FOR 2025**|**(Continued)**|**(Continued)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||2024|2025||
|Note|**EXPENDITURE**|£<br>£|£|£|
||**Church Costs**||||
|12.|Building Maintenance|2,652.93|14,107.82||
|13.|Grounds Maintenance|2,746.05|1,527.17||
|14.|Church Cleaning Costs|1,885.00<br>|1,885.00||
|||7,283.98||17,519.99|
||**Utilities**||||
||Electricity for church<br>|760.44<br>|943.64||
||Gas for church<br>|3,273.20|3,578.12||
|15.|Water<br>|<br>0.00<br>|0.00||
|||4,033.64||2,521.76|
|16.|Insurance|8,290.62||8,559.19|
||Upkeep Of Services|535.19||783.34|
|17.|Costs of music|1,200.00||1,200.00|
||Clergy Expenses|346.41||173.21|
|18.|**Diocesan Parish Share**|13,186.21||13,574.20|
|5.|**Charitable Giving Paid Out**|856.42||676.00|
||**Community Hall Costs**||||
|19.|Expenses<br>|186.32|202.07||
||Electricity for hall<br>|962.68<br>|1,081.64||
||Gas for hall|1,403.87|1,078.02||
||Water|1,126.46|1,595.21||
|14.|Hall Cleaning Costs|2,527.63|3,441.59||
|20.|Hall Maintenance|1,604.36|3,319.25||
|21.|Hall Refurbishment|4,336.00<br>|56.00||
|||12,147.32||10,773.78|
|22.|**Vicarage (Shared Costs)**||||
||Expenses|1,420.50|1,609.45||
||Water Rates|394.64<br>|739.49||
|||1,815.14||2,348.94|
|8.|Fees paid over to Diocese|584.00||1,708.00|
|23.|Printing & Stationary|760.81||487.53|
||Sundry Expenses|0.00<br>||<br>0.00|
||**Total Expenditure before transfers**|**51,039.74**||**60,325.94**|
||Transfer to Reserves|5,000.00||0.00|
||Transfer to Hall Account|0.00<br>||22.00|
||**Total Expenditure including transfers**<br> **56,039.74**<br>|||**60,347.94**|
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## **Excess of Income Over Expenditure** 

## **It is noted that if the transfers to church reserves or to the hall account are excluded then:** 

The difference of income over expenditure in 2024 was a gain of £1,953.02 The difference of income over expenditure in 2025 was a gain of £1,638.73 

|**ASSETS AND NOTES**<br>**Total Assets**<br>**Bank Current Account**<br> <br>Opening balance at bank 01/01/2025<br>Less Cheques issued in 2024 cleared in 2025<br>Net balance at the bank<br>£  4,567.92<br>-£  1,390.55<br>£  3,177.37<br>+ Income received in 2025<br> £61,964.67<br>Total of the above<br>Expenditure paid out during 2025         £60,325.94<br>+ Transfer to Community Hall Account£       22.00<br>Sub-total<br>£60,347.94<br>*Cheques issued but not presented     -£     316.63<br>£65,142.04<br> £60,031.31<br>Closing balance at the bank at 31/12/25<br>Less Cheques issued but not presented by 31/12/25<br>**Community Hall Account**<br>£  5,110.73<br>-<br>£      316.63<br> <br>Opening balance at bank 01/01/2025<br>Transfer in to prevent account closure<br>£      78.65<br> £      22.00<br>Closing balance at the bank at 31/12/25<br> £     100.65<br> <br>**CBF CHURCH OF ENGLAND DEPOSIT FUND (Church Reserve Fund)**<br>Opening balance as at 01/01/2025<br>£ 10,441.80<br>+ Interest received during the year<br> £       475.37<br>Closing balance as at 31/12/25<br> £ 10,917.17<br>TOTAL ASSETS AS AT 31/12/2025|**2025**<br> <br>£4,794.10<br>£   100.65<br> <br>£10,917.17<br> <br>£15,811.92|
|---|---|



This increase of £2,114.10 in Total Net Assets to a figure of £15,811.92 compared with the 2024 result of £13,697.82 reflects the trading gain of £1,638.73 during 2025 plus £475.37 received in interest on the amount in the Church Reserve Fund 

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## **NOTES - Income** 

1. Direct Giving covers regular donations given via standing order or weekly envelopes. Collections are the cash given on the open plate and digital giving is from the use of the contactless card machine. We are grateful to everyone who supports and contributes by giving to the church. 

2. Tax Refunds is the money recovered from HMRC on all gift aided donations. The government allows us to claim a tax refund against small cash donations under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme. This includes some of the weekly envelopes which are not Gift Aided, cash given on the plate and other donations. 

3. Gift Day and Donations are not counted as Direct Giving as they are one-off donations but these can still be included under the Gift Aid Reclaim Scheme. 

4. Salford Elim Church contributed £5,396 for the use of the church building. Having generously project led and covered half the costs of refurbishing the Community Hall in recent times, there was no charge for the use of the hall. They also paid £1,919.49 towards shared utility costs 

5. Charitable Giving is presented as the total giving received from both after service refreshments and additional contributions approved by the PCC. Payments out included £200 to Christian Aid, £150 to The Children’s Society and £100 to Kanzi Kibera Friends. 

6. Community Hall income comes from the hire of the Community Hall to both regular and occasional users. The Hall Refurbishment Fund has benefited from the proceeds of Harvest Barn Dances held in October each year. 

7. The church receives an income from being able to hire out the car park to the NHS. This is at a fixed fee of £1000 per month billed quarterly at £3,000 per quarter equivalent to £12,000 in a full year. 

8. Fees cover monies received for occasional services such as weddings and funerals. Only a portion of these fees can be retained for use by the PCC. The remainder is passed on to the Diocese; please see ‘Fees paid over to Diocese’ under Expenditure. 

9. We received a grant of £11,856 from the Diocese towards the cost of major building maintenance work carried out by specialist contractors’ Mooney Conservation Ltd. 

10. There were no claims on our insurance cover during 2024 or 2025. 

11. Sundry Income of £50 recorded for 2024 was a contribution towards the cost of Easter Flowers. 

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## **NOTES - Expenditure** 

12. Building maintenance includes the major cost of supplying and fixing polycarbonate sheet protection to the Nave windows with associated costs for scaffolding to provide access, work carried out by Mooney Conservation. 

13.Grounds maintenance relates to the cost of grass cutting and upkeep of the garden areas. 

- 14.Cleaning costs are recorded separately for the church and for the hall.  The paid cleaner’s costs are shared equally between the two whereas the cost of cleaning materials is charged to the hall including toilet and kitchen requirements. The higher costs for the hall reflect extra support provided by Charles Blundell Services for the cleaning of the hall after weekend hire. 

- 15.As little water is used in church itself, all the costs for water are allocated to the hall. 

- 16.As mentioned in the opening statement, the cost of insurance premiums charged by Ecclesiastical Insurance continue to be a major outlay for the church. 

- 17.Costs of music covers a monthly fee paid out to our organist who generously donates part of this fee back to the church. 

- 18.The Parish Share requirement of £13,843 was paid in full (a figure of £13,574 is shown in the financial accounts as we received an encouragement scheme discount of £269). For 2026 the Parish Share Requirement increases to £14,535. 

- 19.Community Hall Expenses includes payment to Salford City Council for an extra waste bin. 

- 20.Community Hall Maintenance includes electrical work carried out in the hall plus the cost of the CCTV contract. 

- 21.The expense incurred in 2024 relates to work carried out on the gable end of the Community Hall at a cost of £4,000. There was no such major expense in 2025. 

- 22.Amounts shown under Vicarage are our share of the costs for the Incumbent’s residence, where some costs are shared with St John’s Pendlebury. 

- 23.Printing & Stationery includes the cost of the maintenance contract for the photocopier and the cost of ink cartridges. 

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It will be noted that tight controls are maintained over spending throughout the year to ensure that funds are available for the church to carry out essential work required to remain open for worship. 

## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE PCC OF ST JAMES, HOPE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2025** 

This report on the financial statements of the PCC for the year ended 31[st] December 2025, which are set out on pages 2 to 5, is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (“the Regulations”) and S.145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). 

## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner** 

The  charity’s  trustees  are  responsible  for  the  preparation  of  the  financial  statements.  The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 144(2) of the Act) and that an independent examination is needed. 

It is my responsibility to: 

- examine the accounts (under section 145 of the Act) 

- to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity 

- Commissioners (under section 145(5)(b) of the Act); and 

- to state whether particular matters have come to my attention 

## **Basis of this report** 

My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act and to be found in the Church Guidance, 2006 edition. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual  items  or  disclosures  in  the  accounts  and  seeking  explanations  from  the  trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts. 

## **Independent Examiners Statement** 

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention 

1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the trustees have not met the requirements to ensure that: 

   - proper accounting records are kept (in accordance with section 130 of the Act); and 

   - accounts are prepared which agree with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Act; or 

2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable proper understanding of the accounts to be reached 

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## **Signed** 

**Name:  Bronwen Roby ACCA Date: Address: 41 Wilderswood Close, Whittle Le Woods, Chorley PR6 7SH** 

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