**THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL (PCC) & some reflections on church life in 2023**
## **Objectives**
The PCC has responsibility to co-operate with the Priest in Charge to promote, in the parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC also owns, lets and maintains the church hall, church hall bungalow, plus the car park.
## **Administrative information**
- The church is situated in St. Thomas Street, Wells, and serves East Wells, South, East and West Horrington. The correspondence address is The Parish Office, St. Thomas Street, Wells, BA5 2UZ.
- The parish is part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells, within the Church of England.
- The Parochial Church Council is a charity excepted from registration with the Charity Commission.
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules (CRR). The length of service, capacity and the number of elected members (subject to the maximum allowed under the CRR) is as agreed by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.
The PCC met on 8 occasions during 2023, with a move towards more sub-team working. Sub-Teams of the PCC are Standing Committee, Finance Team, Eco/Sustainability Team and Community Team. Standing Committee met monthly to deal with urgent or routine business.
At each of its meetings the PCC received a financial report from the Treasurer, together with occasional reports from other committees, namely the Worship Committee.
The PCC has complied with the duty under Section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults).
## **Membership of the PCC**
During 2023 the following members have served on the PCC:
## **Elected:**
|Hamish Redman|Elected 2023|
|---|---|
|Megan Hewson|Elected 2023|
|Mike Tolley|Elected 2023|
|Iona Baker|Elected 2022|
|Debbie Cochrane|Elected 2022|
|Linda Lappington|Elected 2022|
|Barbara Calverley|Elected 2022 (2-year casual vacancy)|
|Charlie Suton|Elected 2022 (2-year casual vacancy)|
|Joanna Birket|Elected 2021|
|**Ex-ofcio:**||
|Revd. Claire Towns|(Priest in Charge, Chair of PCC)|
|Revd. Edward Day|(Curate, from July)|
|Judith Penhaligon|(Churchwarden and Deanery Synod)|
|Chris Jenkins|(Reader and Churchwarden)|
|Christna Baron|(General Synod)|
|Sally Beazley|(Reader)|
|Gill Tucker|(Deanery Synod)|
(Co-opted as PCC appointed Treasurer) (Co-opted to be on Finance Team)
Fiona Rorbye Ian Ames-White
In between full meetings of the Council, the PCC operates through the following committees:
**Standing Committee** sets the agenda for PCC meetings and has the authority to transact any urgent business of the PCC as required between meetings. The members are: The Revd. Claire Towns (Priest in Charge and Chair) Chris Jenkins & Judy Penhaligon (Churchwardens) Fiona Rorbye (Treasurer) Debbie Cochrane (Minutes Secretary)
## _Church Teams:_
Other groups/activities that contribute invaluable work and input to the life of the church and parish, include: ABC2; Coffee Stop; Crafty Church Team; Flowers; Healing Prayers; Home Groups; Lay Worship Assistants; Mothers’ Union; Musicians and Singers; Pastoral Care Team; Sacristans and Servers; Safeguarding; Snack and Chat; Sidespeople, Stewards and Welcomers; and Thursday Meditation Group. Huge thanks to the many volunteers who work so hard to contribute to the work of all these teams.
## **Safeguarding**
Safeguarding at St Thomas’ is believed to be an essential part of the church’s loving pastoral care of each other and the PCC takes it very seriously. It is with that in mind that everyone who volunteers in a role that is ‘facing outwards’, helping with people from outside the church, is asked at least to sign a Confidential Declaration Form. They may be encouraged to attend some Safeguarding training as appropriate for their role.
I am very grateful for the positive at ude of the church towards safeguarding and the willingness with which people attend and participate in the necessary training. It makes it much easier for the above to be achieved.
I, Joanna Birkett, am the current Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) and am a member of the PCC. A Safeguarding report is given at each PCC meeting.
Safeguarding issues overseen this year include
- Feb 23. Mike Tolley was recruited as PSO administrator to maintain the safeguarding records and assist DBS applications.
- PCC affirmed Safeguarding Policy, Rev Claire Towns signed it to be displayed in a public place
- Ongoing provision of safeguarding training.
- Ongoing DBS application guidance for those who work with vulnerable children and adults.
- Parish support with a “Keep Yourself Safe” coffee morning.
- Introduction of the Parish Dashboards. This scheme is being introduced for all churches throughout the CofE. It identifies all the Safeguarding activities required by St Thomas primarily DBS applications, safeguarding training and record keeping. The scheme has three levels. St Thomas has fulfilled most of level one and is now moving to level 2. We hope to have completed level three before the next APCM.
- We are learning to work with a new, church-oriented DBS provider. They ensure the applicant's role is appropriate for the requested certificate.
[Post 2023 update – at the February ‘24 PCC it was agreed that as Joanna is now training as a Lay Reader, as part of succession planning, Michaela Cross should become part of the safeguarding team.]
Joanna Birkett, Parish Safeguarding Officer
## **Life at St Thomas’ in 2023**
A varied pattern of regular and special services continued to be offered throughout 2023. The new Crafty Church congregation has grown since its inauguration in October 2022, and has now been firmly rooted into the life of St Thomas. Many new families have joined and attend Crafty Church regularly, allowing pastoral relationships to grow and develop.
There is a real sense of good teamworking from the volunteers involved in Crafty Church. The end of school year party in July and the Light Party on October 31[st] were both well attended by local families.
In terms of occasional offices, in 2023, there were 3 weddings, 9 children were baptised, and 2 candidates were prepared for Confirmation/Admission into the Church of England. The ministry team conducted 26 funerals, including those of The Revd. Richard Legg, Helen Muspratt, Marion Burton, The Revd. Nick Fridd, Colin Gillespie, Tim Taylor, Jean Lewis, Amy Edwards, Anne Minns, Ann Thomas, Pamela Pye, Alan Bourne and Jean Cottrell, all St Thomas’ church members and all of whom died in 2023.
Usual Sunday attendance remains robust and ranges from around 75-85 adults. New people have joined and attend regularly and there is a slow change in the age profile, with some families having joined. There are also more adults attending in their 40s, 50s and 60s.
In the March PCC it was agreed that Sally Beazley, Keith Webster and Joanna Birkett should start a youth group for the young people who came to church regularly with their parents, in the summer term. They would meet once a month in the Community room during the Sunday morning service and the young people would be consulted on whether they wanted to come back into the service in time for the Preparation for Communion or to have a full hour session. Sunday Youth had the first session on Sunday 23[rd] April 2023. Five young people came on that first occasion, enjoying games, discussion, and drinks and biscuits. It has continued generally on the second Sunday of each month in term time. Although numbers haven’t grown there is a strong relationship between all members of the group, we have a lot of fun and some very interesting discussions around matters of faith in our everyday lives.
Sadly, part way through the Autumn term it was no longer possible for Sally to help with the leadership of the group, but Mandy Russell very kindly agreed to step up as an extra adult on the occasion that one of Keith and Joanna could not attend. We are very grateful to Sally for all that she gave to the group and for helping to establish it.
We would be very glad to hear if anyone is interested in being part of the leadership team.
ABC2 has grown from strength to strength and runs at capacity most weeks. Huge thanks to the team of volunteers involved in this important outreach ministry.
The Revd. Edward Day was ordained Deacon at Petertide and joined St Thomas as Assistant Curate. Joanna Birkett was accepted to begin training as a Licensed Lay Minister (Reader) and she began this in September. It was hugely sad for the church family when The Revd. Nick Fridd, our Associate Priest, died in May. He has been greatly missed since then. Many thanks to his wife, Fiona, for donating a bench for the churchyard in honour of Nick’s memory.
The PCC formalized and embedded the 5 Values adopted at the end of 2022/beginning of 2023. PCC meetings were fewer in 2023 so as to enable time for more sub-team working. The Finance sub-team worked hard to give us a better understanding of our financial situation. From this, it was decided to opt in to the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS), with the aim of increasing planned giving and reducing the immense workload of the PCC Treasurer, especially re. Gift Aid.
The PGS was launched in the Autumn of 2023, with a re-launch in February of 2024. The Eco/Sustainability Team worked to gain us the bronze Eco Reward, with plans to now work in order to gain the silver award.
The Community team carried out the parish survey to gain views on how our wider community might wish to see our legacy spent. Over 200 responses were received. Very few were in favour of offering community housing, whilst the majority supported redeveloping the hall into some kind of community hub.
The Shepton Mallet Deanery, revised its Deanery Plan in 2023, as indeed did all deaneries. Following several months of discussions, the outcome of this for St Thomas’ was that I resigned from being Priest in Charge of the Benefice of Chewton Mendip with Emborough, Ston Easton and Litton, effective from December 31[st] . St Thomas’ parish was never formally linked to the Benefice, but more that myself, along with my predecessors, were Priest in Charge of both.
The latest Deanery Plan sees St Thomas’ joining with Dinder parish as a United Benefice. This will be from April 1[st] 2024, although the legal necessities will take longer to administer.
The Revd. Claire Towns, Priest-in-Charge
## **THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST THOMAS WELLS WITH THE HORRINGTONS**
Charity registration number 1137161
## **For the period from 01 January 2023 to 31 December 2023**
|**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Prior year**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**funds**|**funds**|**funds**|**funds**|**total funds**|
|Incoming resources||||||
|Voluntary Income|131|0|0|131|49|
|Tax efficient planned giving (net||||||
|of tax recovered from HMRC)|51,001|0|0|51,001|55,350|
|Other planned giving|2,309|0|0|2,309|3,949|
|Collections of loose cash at||||||
|services|9,809|0|0|9,809|6,492|
|All tax recovered through Gift Aid|13,214|0|0|13,214|12,407|
|Legacies received|102,000|0|0|102,000|52,640|
|Activities for Generating Funds|3,671|0|0|3,671|3,916|
|Fund raising (gross amount)|250|0|47|297|102|
|Income from Investments|0|0|0|0|0|
|Dividends, interest, income from||||||
|property etc|7,410|4,650|0|12,060|10,075|
|Church Activities|0|0|0|0|0|
|Statutory fees retained by the||||||
|PCC|10,922|0|0|10,922|5,869|
|Bookstall, hall lettings, magazine||||||
|advertising & sales etc)||||||
||2,753|21,710|0|24,464|23,442|
|Other incoming resources|10,794|0|0|10,794|18|
|**Total income**|**214,268**|**26,360**|**47**|**240,676**|**174,314**|
|Resources used||||||
|Costs of Generating Funds||||||
|(fundraising costs, etc)|1,351|0|0|1,351|7,641|
|All Mission Giving and Charitable||||||
|Grants & Donations|1,504|0|0|1,504|3,541|
|Church Activities|0|0|0|0|0|
|Parish Share paid to Diocese|92,826|0|0|92,826|90,543|
|Salaries/honoraria (organist,||||||
|administrator, caretaker)|21,730|4,001|0|25,732|24,034|
|Expenses (of clergy, pastoral||||||
|staff, youth workers, etc)|1,464|0|0|1,464|1,992|
|Regular church running expenses||||||
|(insurance, cleaning, admin, routine||||||
|maintenance,etc)|16,938|784|0|17,722|24,886|
|Church utilities (gas, electricity,||||||
|water)|11,103|5,176|0|16,279|12,851|
|Costs of Trading (magazine,||||||
|bookstall, Fairtrade etc)|0|0|0|0|134|
|Major repairs to church building, inc.||||||
|redecoration|23,745|0|0|23,745|2,297|
|Major repairs to church hall or other||||||
|PCC property, inc. redecoration|0|2,711|0|2,711|0|
|**Total expenditure**|**170,664**|**12,673**|**0**|**183,337**|**167,923**|
|**Net income / (expenditure) resources before transfers**|**43,604**|**13,686**|**47**|**57,338**|**6,391**|
|Represented by
Unrestricted
General fund
7,100
0
0
7,100
40,746
Designated
Church Bungalow Fund
0
5,003
0
5,003
15,393
Church Hall Fund
0
9,912
0
9,912
12,615
Fabric Fund
0
0
0
0
4,726
K and P Pye Church Building Fund
0
19,083
0
19,083
25,000
Legacy Fund
0
125,000
0
125,000
0
Music Fund
0
48
0
48
48
Organ Fund
0
4,264
0
4,264
4,484
Revaluation reserves
0
149
0
149
149
Restricted
Agency collection
0
0
243
243
243
Brice & Blisset Fund
0
0
2,639
2,639
2,639
Development
0
0
15
15
9,968
Livingstone east parish
0
0
108
108
108
Zambia Link
0
0
5
5
5
**Total Funds**
**7,100**
**163,459**
**3,010**
**173,569**
**116,124**
Transfers:
Gross transfers between funds - in
47,642
125,000
0
172,642
6,384
Gross transfers between funds - out
-125,000
-37,643
-10,000
-172,643
-6,384
Other recognised gains / losses
Gains/losses on investment assets
107
0
0
107
-237
Gains on revaluation, fixed assets, charity's own use
0
0
0
0
0
**Net movement in funds**
**-33,646**
**101,043**
**-9,953**
**57,445**
**6,154**
Reconciliation of funds
**Total funds brought forward**
**40,746**
**62,417**
**12,964**
**116,127**
**109,972**
**Total funds carried forward**
**7,100**
**163,461**
**3,011**
**173,573**
**116,127**|Represented by
Unrestricted
General fund
7,100
0
0
7,100
40,746
Designated
Church Bungalow Fund
0
5,003
0
5,003
15,393
Church Hall Fund
0
9,912
0
9,912
12,615
Fabric Fund
0
0
0
0
4,726
K and P Pye Church Building Fund
0
19,083
0
19,083
25,000
Legacy Fund
0
125,000
0
125,000
0
Music Fund
0
48
0
48
48
Organ Fund
0
4,264
0
4,264
4,484
Revaluation reserves
0
149
0
149
149
Restricted
Agency collection
0
0
243
243
243
Brice & Blisset Fund
0
0
2,639
2,639
2,639
Development
0
0
15
15
9,968
Livingstone east parish
0
0
108
108
108
Zambia Link
0
0
5
5
5
**Total Funds**
**7,100**
**163,459**
**3,010**
**173,569**
**116,124**
Transfers:
Gross transfers between funds - in
47,642
125,000
0
172,642
6,384
Gross transfers between funds - out
-125,000
-37,643
-10,000
-172,643
-6,384
Other recognised gains / losses
Gains/losses on investment assets
107
0
0
107
-237
Gains on revaluation, fixed assets, charity's own use
0
0
0
0
0
**Net movement in funds**
**-33,646**
**101,043**
**-9,953**
**57,445**
**6,154**
Reconciliation of funds
**Total funds brought forward**
**40,746**
**62,417**
**12,964**
**116,127**
**109,972**
**Total funds carried forward**
**7,100**
**163,461**
**3,011**
**173,573**
**116,127**|
|---|---|
|||
||**Total Funds**
**7,100**
**163,459**
**3,010**
**173,569**
**116,124**|
## **Analysis of Receipts and Payments Selected period: 01 January 2023 to 31 December 2023**
||**Total**
**General Designated Restricted**
**This Last year**
**year**|
|---|---|
|**Receipts**
**VoluntaryIncome**
01201 - Planned Giving
01202 - Gift Aided Envelopes
01218 - Charity Donations to be paid on
02201A- Planned giving (non-tax efficient)
03203 - Collections and Donations
06204 - Tax recovered
07206 - Legacies
12218 - Flowers Donation
**Voluntary Income Totals**
**Activities for Generating Funds**
13221 - Fund Raising Income
13220 - Other income
**Activities for Generating Funds Totals**
**Income from Investments**
10208 - Interest Received
10210 - Bungalow Rent
10221 - Dividends received
**Income from Investments Totals**
**Church Activities**
11207 - Fees
12209 - Hall Rents
12211 - Magazine income
12212 - Votive candle income
12213 - Photocopying income
12216 - BRF income
12217 - Concert Fees
**Church Activities Totals**
**Other incoming resources**
12219 - candle Stand
12220 - Insurance Claim : Spire Project
**Other incoming resources Totals**
**Receipts Grand Totals**|45,022
0.00
0.00
45,022
48,064
4,811
0.00
0.00
4,811
4,729
1,167
0.00
0.00
1,167
2,556
2,309
0.00
0.00
2,309
3,949
9,809
0.00
0.00
9,809
6,492
13,214
0.00
0.00
13,214
12,407
102,000
0.00
0.00 102,000
52,640
131
0.00
0.00
131
49|
||**178,466**
**0.00**
**0.00 178,466 130,889**
250
0.00
47
297
102
3,671
0.00
0.00
3,671
3,916|
||**3,921**
**0.00**
**47**
**3,969**
**4,018**
2,459
0.00
0.00
2,459
587
4,650
4,650
0.00
9,300
9,340
300
0.00
0.00
300
147|
||**7,410**
**4,650**
**0.00**
**12,060**
**10,075**
10,922
0.00
0.00
10,922
5,869
2,239
21,710
0.00
23,949
22,654
13
0.00
0.00
13
39
143
0.00
0.00
143
143
102
0.00
0.00
102
73
29
0.00
0.00
29
72
225
0.00
0.00
225
460|
||**13,675**
**21,710**
**0.00**
**35,386**
**29,311**
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
18
10,794
0.00
0.00
10,794
0.00|
||**10,794**
**0.00**
**0.00**
**10,794**
**18**|
||**214,268**
**26,360**
**47 240,676 174,314**|
## **Costs of Generating Funds (fundraising costs, etc)**
|13223 - Diocesan Loan Interest
23340 - Other expenditure
24333 - Bungalow Expenses
**Costs of Generating Funds (fundraising costs, etc) Totals**
**All Mission Giving and Charitable Grants & Donations**
18337 - Charitable Donations from PCC Funds
18339 - Charitable Donations thro Special Colls.
18341 - Outreach
**All Mission Giving and Charitable Grants & Donations Totals**
**Church Activities**
19301 - Parish Share
20303 - Salaries - organists
20306 - Salaries - Office Administrator
20325 - Caretaker's salary
20342 - Funeral and Wedding Fees
20343 - Organists' fees - funerals and weddings
21302 - Clergy expenses
23304 - Music
23305 - Worship
23307 - Office - photocopier rental
23308 - Office - supplies, etc.
23309 - Telephone
23313 - Flowers
23314 - Events & hospitality
23315 - Routine maintenance
23322 - East Horrington Cost
23323 - Insurance - church
23324 - Insurance - hall
23333 - Subscriptions
23334 - Gifts
24327 - Gas - church
24328 - Gas - hall
24329 - Electricity - church
24330 - Electricity - hall
24331 - Water & sewerage - church
24332 - Water & sewerage - hall
25336 - BRF Sales
**Church Activities Totals**
**Major repairs to church building, inc. redecoration**
27316 - Major repairs to church
**Major repairs to church building, inc. redecoration Totals**
**Major repairs to church hall or other PCC property, inc. redecoration**
28318 - Major repairs to bungalow
**Major repairs to church hall or other PCC property, inc. redecoration**
**Totals**
**Payments Grand Totals**
|0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
467
1,351
0.00
0.00
1,351
6,668
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
504
**1,351**
**0.00**
**0.00**
**1,351**
**7,641**
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
500
1,167
0.00
0.00
1,167
2,556
337
0.00
0.00
337
484
**1,504**
**0.00**
**0.00**
**1,504**
**3,541**
92,826
0.00
0.00
92,826
90,543
3,645
0.00
0.00
3,645
3,390
15,795
0.00
0.00
15,795
15,544
0.00
4,001
0.00
4,001
3,959
670
0.00
0.00
670
210
1,620
0.00
0.00
1,620
930
1,464
0.00
0.00
1,464
1,992
569
0.00
0.00
569
988
1,419
0.00
0.00
1,419
963
641
0.00
0.00
641
1,386
982
0.00
0.00
982
1,129
6,667
0.00
0.00
6,667
4,351
262
0.00
0.00
262
248
1,433
43
0.00
1,477
978
1,415
411
0.00
1,826
3,877
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
7,580
2,123
329
0.00
2,453
1,765
1,074
0.00
0.00
1,074
1,428
339
0.00
0.00
339
187
8
0.00
0.00
8
0.00
7,588
0.00
0.00
7,588
7,155
0.00
3,584
0.00
3,584
1,761
3,046
0.00
0.00
3,046
2,095
0.00
1,152
0.00
1,152
1,324
468
0.00
0.00
468
281
0.00
439
0.00
439
233
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
134
**144,061**
**9,962**
**0.00 154,024 154,442**
23,745
0.00
0.00
23,745
2,297
**23,745**
**0.00**
**0.00**
**23,745**
**2,297**
0.00
2,711
0.00
2,711
0.00
**0.00**
**2,711**
**0.00**
**2,711**
**0.00**
**170,664 12,673 183,337 167,923**|
|---|---|
## **St. Thomas Church**
## **Balance Sheet detailed**
|**As at**
**31/12/2023**|**As at**
**31/12/2023**|**As at**
**31/12/2023**|**As at**
**31/12/2022**|
|---|---|---|---|
|**Fixed assets**
A105: 63 Charifund Income Units (M&G)
904
A106: COIF Income Shares
1,510
A115: Fixed Assets - Furniture
39,551
A116: Fixed Assets : Grand Piano
1,656
A117: Fixed Assets - Equipment
599
**Total Fixed assets**
**44,222**
**Current assets**
A101: NatWest Current Account
55,705
A102: NatWest Fees Account
0.00
A103: CBOF Deposit Account
76,424
A104: Inland Revenue Tax Claim
7,751
A110: Secure Trust Bank 120 day Account
0.00
A999:Cash
178
Z05: Accounts Receivable
1,012
**Total Current assets**
**141,072**
**Liabilities**
6699: Agency collections
3,301
Z04: Accounts Payable
8,419
**TotalLiabilities**
**11,721**
**Net Asset surplus**
**173,573**
**Reserves**
Excess/(deficit) to date
57,338
Z01: Starting balances
116,127
Z02: Other gains/(losses)
107
Z03: Gains and losses own
use
0.00
**TotalReserves**
**173,573**
General(Unrestricted)
7,100
Designated
163,461
Restricted
3,011
**Total**
**173,573**|||925
1,381
39,551
1,656
599|
||||**44,114**
48,896
0.00
24,880
6,592
0.00
423
392|
||||**81,184**
3,121
6,050|
|||**11,721**|**9,171**|
|||**173,573**|**116,127**|
|||57,338
116,127
107
0.00|37,714
78,649
(237)
0.00|
|||
**173,573**|**116,127**|
|||7,100
163,461
3,011|40,746
62,417
12,964
**116,127**|
||**Total**|**173,573**||
**Notes to the Accounts**
The first two-page report is the Statement of Affairs (SOFA) which is the report required by the Charities Commission
The next two-page report is a ‘friendlier’ version : Receipts and Payments showing the Income and Outgoings for the church, the hall and the bungalow, split into General and Designated Fund activities.
While the General Fund shows an overall Surplus of £43,604, once the £100,000 Hannam legacy received in the year is taken out, results in an overall deficit of £56,396.
In 2023 the deficit was financed by various transfers from other funds :
- From the Development Fund £10,000
- From The Hall Fund £15,000
- From the Bungalow Fund £12,000
- From the Fabric Fund £4,726
From the General Fund £125,000 representing the Hannam legacy was transferred to the designated Legacy Fund, and as such cannot be used for the normal operational running costs.
From K and P Pye Fund £5,917 was transferred to the General Fund to cover the expenditure on the North Porch project.
## **Total Income**
Includes £100,000 received during the year from the Hannam legacy and Ecclesiastical Insurance pay out for the spire of £10,794.
## **Total Expenditure**
We received an Insurance payout for the Photocopier replacement of £5,597 offset against the Photocopier costs.
Spire – we paid out £17,829, but we received an insurance payout of £10,794 included in Income.
North Porch Project – we have spent £5,917 so far which is covered by the K & P Pye Fund.
Bungalow – external work needed has cost £2,580
Realistically, we are facing a shortfall of close to £4,000 a month, after contributing to the Parish Share and urgently need to encourage our parishioners to dig a little deeper, wherever they can. Our weekly takings on coffee are often more generous than the giving!
Inde
endent Examlner's Re
rt for the PCC Accounts
Report to the trustees of St Thomas Wells with Horringtons Parochial Church Council
On accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 Charity Number 1137161
Respectlve responslbilities of trustees and oxaminer
The charit¢s trustees are re5pon5ible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees
consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (The
Charities Act) and that an independent examination 15 needed
It Is my responsibility to:
Examine the accounts under Section 145 of the Charities Act
To follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity
Commission (under section 145{5llbl of the Charities Act and
To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Ba515 of Independent examlnerfs statement
My examlnatlon was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity
CommlssSon. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a
comp2rlson 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 procedure5 undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be
requlred in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true
and fair, vlew and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below
Independent Examlnerfs Statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives me reasonable
cause to believe that in, any material respect
Accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charltles Act or
The accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have come across no other matter5 in connection wlth the examination to which attentlon should
be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached
MF
bb FCA
One New Street, Wells, BA5 2LA
March 2024