TIME OUT GROUP (STRATFORD-UPON-AVON) LIMITED
TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
1 | P a g e
Legal and Administrative Information
Constitution
Time Out Group (Stratford-upon-Avon) Limited is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales on 11 July 2011 and a registered charity governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. Company No. 7717324 Charity No. 1144226
Directors and Trustees
The Directors of the Company, whose names are set out below, are its trustees for the purposes of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees.
The Trustees, who (except as stated otherwise) have served throughout the period and since the period end, are as follows:
Joanne Bradley (Chairman) Amanda Lewis (Vice-Chair) Alison Gilbert (Secretary) Nicholas Keegan (Treasurer)
Group Leader
Lynn Hill
Management Committee
Joanne Bradley Alison Gilbert Nicholas Keegan Ian Roberts Amanda Lewis Sally Keegan* Jane May (retired 3 February 2024) Jill Dyer (appointed 3 October 2023)
- denotes an independent member of the Management Committee
Registered Office
Alderminster Lodge Alderminster Stratford-upon-Avon Warwickshire CV37 8NY
2 | P a g e
Report of the Trustees
Introduction
The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their report together with the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The Charity was incorporated on 25 July 2011 and was admitted to the Register of Charities on 11 October 2011.
The legal and administrative information on page 2 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of the Company and with the Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting and Reporting by Charities 2015 (SORP 2015).
Objects of the Charity
The objects of the Charity, as set out in article 4 of its Articles of Association, are to relieve the needs of children and young people with physical and learning difficulties living in Stratford-upon-Avon and the surrounding area and their families and carers through the provision of care and recreational activities in a safe and secure environment in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving their conditions of life.
Organisation
The Trustees are responsible for the administration of the Charity. The Trustees have appointed a Group Leader, Lynn Hill, to manage the day-to-day operations of the Charity. Management oversight of the charity is exercised through a management committee comprised partly of parents of children who currently benefit from the charity. The long-term aim has been to achieve a broadly even split between parents and independent members of the committee, and currently there are five independent members and two parents. The names of the members of the management committee who served during the period up to date are given on page 2 above.
Review of activities and future developments
The Charity was set up in July 2011 by a group of parents to carry on the Time Out service for disabled children in the Stratford-upon-Avon area previously run for over 10 years by Warwickshire County Council’s Integrated Disability Service (IDS), and finally took over responsibility for providing the Time Out service on 10 March 2012.
The children continued to meet on alternate Saturdays to access community leisure activities with the support of our team of skilled and experienced care workers. The group is split into two peer groups to help staff to organise age-appropriate activities. Most of the children who join stay with us until they reach adulthood, and as a result places in the Group continued to be extremely limited but we do endeavour to find places for children who are referred to the Group whenever possible.
Typically, children who access the group:
-
are aged between 4 and 18 years
-
have complex behavioural and/or communication needs
-
have families in need of respite support
-
struggle to access other local groups
-
need support with social interactions
3 | P a g e
The Group has had a more settled year in 2023 after the challenging times of the last few years, and has continued to thrive under the steady hand of our Group Leader Lynn Hill. Fundraising efforts bore fruit, and we also received some much-needed and very welcome income from Warwickshire County Council in the form of social care fees for some of our children who require extra support.
We are very grateful to all our officers and committee members for giving up their precious time to administer the charity and for agreeing to take on this important and demanding role. We continue to look for new volunteers for the committee both among parents/relatives and more widely among the local community.
Financial results for 2023
The financial results for the year show a surplus of £6,905 (2021: deficit £5,008). Income from donations, grants, fees for charitable activities and bank interest recovered strongly to £28,449 (2022: £15,462). Costs increased more modestly to £21,544 (2022: £20,470). This has resulted in an increase in the Charity’s funds as at 31 December 2023 to £31,178 (31 December 2022: £24,273).
Donors
The Trustees are once again grateful to the following for their very kind donations, both regular and one-off, which have been received during the period:
Nick & Sally Keegan Alison Gilbert Elizabeth Wood Judi & Chris Delaney Diana Smith Ian & Kim Roberts Peter & Scarlet Buckle Joanne Harris Louise Sandford Kristine Reid Amanda Lewis Renee Harris Jill Nussbaum Patrick Nealon Jane May Lisa Doherty Ian & Amanda Thomas Paula French JA & J Dyer Urszula Trojak
We are also immensely grateful to the following for their generous support and donations during 2022:-
-
The Misses Barrie Charitable Trust
-
WHP Charitable Trust
-
JF & EH Measures Charity
-
WCC Councillors Grant Fund
-
Stratford Town Trust
4 | P a g e
Our thanks go once again to Tempo Events for their generous donation and sponsorship in September, when we once again provided marshals for Stratford’s Big 10k run.
Reserves policy and risk management
The Trustees have again examined the charity’s requirement for reserves in the light of the principal risks faced by the organisation and have reviewed the reserves policy accordingly. The Trustees continue to believe that the Charity should aim to maintain an appropriate level of reserves to allow for an orderly run-down of activities and to pay any contractual liabilities in the event that lack of funds were to force closure of the Charity. The Trustees consider that a reserve representing approximately twelve months’ operating costs is prudent. Accordingly, the Trustees think it prudent to maintain total reserves of around £20,000.
As at 31 December 2023, the Charity had total reserves of £31,178. These reserves, together with our regular donations, should be sufficient to enable the Group to continue operating for at least the next two to three years. However, the Trustees intend to continue their policy of raising additional funds through donations and grants from local corporate and grant-giving bodies, parents, relatives and friends as well as other private individuals in order to maintain a viable future for the Charity in the longer term.
Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements
Company law requires that the Trustees prepare financial statements that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity at the end of the financial period and of its surplus or deficit for the period. In doing so, the Trustees are required to:
-
select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently,
-
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent, and
-
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
By Order of the Trustees
Nicholas Keegan Trustee/Director
15 April 2024
5 | P a g e
TIME OUT GROUP (STRATFORD-UPON-AVON) LIMITED
Income and Expenditure
for the year ended 31 December 2023
| Donations Income from Charitable activities Interest receivable and other income Total income Staff costs Depreciation and other amounts written off assets Other charges Total expenses Surplus/(deficit) |
2023 £ 24,765 3,450 234 28,449 (17,356) (2) (4,186) (21,544) 6,905 |
2022 £ 15,455 - 7 |
|---|---|---|
| 15,462 (15,073) (3) (5,394) |
||
| (20,470) | ||
| (5,008) |
TIME OUT GROUP (STRATFORD-UPON-AVON) LIMITED
Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2023
| Fixed assets Prepayments and accrued income Other current assets Liquid funds Net current assets Creditors payable within one year Total assets less current liabilities Net assets Capital and reserves |
2023 2022 £ £ £ £ 7 9 77 71 200 200 31,794 24,443 32,071 24,714 (900) (450) 31,178 24,273 31,178 24,273 31,178 24,273 |
2023 2022 £ £ £ £ 7 9 77 71 200 200 31,794 24,443 32,071 24,714 (900) (450) 31,178 24,273 31,178 24,273 31,178 24,273 |
|---|---|---|
| 24,273 | ||
| 24,273 | ||
| 24,273 |
The Company is a private company limited by guarantee and incorporated in England. Its registered office is Alderminster Lodge, Alderminster, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 8NY.
The Directors are satisfied that the Company is entitled to exemption from the requirement to obtain an audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 (the Act).
No member has required the Company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Act.
The Directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the micro-entity provisions of the Act and with FRS 105 (the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the micro-entities regime), and have been delivered in accordance witht eh provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. The profit and loss account has not been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.