## **Mayor of Merton’s Charitable Trust**
## **Trustees’ annual report for the period 01/04/2024 to 31/03/2025**
**Reference and administration details** Charity name – The Mayor of Merton’s Charitable Trust Registered charity number – 1149209
Names of the charity trustees Slawek Szczepanski 22.5.24 onwards (Chair from 22.5.24) Brenda Fraser 22.5.24 Michael Brunt 30.5.23 (continued) *Edith Macauley 24.06.19 onwards *Oonagh Moulton 24.06.19 onwards
## **Structure, governance and management**
Type of governing document – Trust deed adopted by meeting of Merton Council on 11 July 2012. A supplemental trust deed, approved by the trustees on 13 May 2019, restated the original trust deed and provided for an increase in the number of trustees from three to five.
How the charity is constituted – Trust
Trustee selection methods – the trustees are appointed or re-appointed annually after the Annual Meeting of Merton Council at which the Mayor is elected. There is an understanding that each year the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and the previous year’s Mayor may become Trustees. The appointments are noted by a meeting of the Council in June/July each year. The Trustees elect the Chair of the Trust Board at the first Trust Board meeting following Annual Council.
## **Objectives and activities**
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document
The Trust Deed states that the charity's objects are any purposes currently recognised as charitable and any new charitable purposes which are similar to another charitable purpose. The purpose of the Trust is to collect and distribute charitable donations for the benefit of the residents of the borough. The focus will shift from year to year so that each year the Trust can support specific organisations and/or themes such as young people, sport, the arts etc.
Each year the Mayor of Merton nominates a charity or charities for whom fundraising activities are carried out during the year to meet a specified purpose for the benefit of the residents of Merton. Additional small donations may be made to local charities and or individuals.
The Trustees consider the public benefit requirement prior to issuing funds to any organisation or individual. When providing financial donations, the
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Trustees will in every event place specific stipulations as to the use of those funds to ensure that the use is in accordance with the charity’s objects and charitable purposes as well as complying with the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects
Fundraising activities undertaken over the past year were planned so that a wide range of people from Merton’s diverse local communities could participate, particularly those people who had not previously had any contact with the mayoralty.
Councillor Szczepanski selected Christian Care as the first of his two nominated charities, Christian Care has worked in the London Borough of Merton, committed to the relief of poverty within the borough. They are a group of 60 volunteers, many from churches of different denominations across Merton. His second charity was The National Brain Appeal who have been dedicated to raising vital funds for The National Hospital for Neurology They try and improve the outcome and quality of life for the one in six affected by a neurological condition by funding pioneering research, providing access to the best technology for expert diagnosis and treatment, and training tomorrow’s clinicians.
**Achievements and performance** (summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year)
## Fundraising activities
Fundraising highlights in the 2024/25 year included:
- Mayors Afternoon Tea – October 2024
- Annual sponsored swim by Deputy Mayor, Cllr Edith Macauley – 50 lengths of the pool at David Lloyd Sports Club in Wimbledon.
- Silver Sunday – October 2024
- Mayors Christmas Dinner – November 2024
- Mayors Bingo Night – January 2025
- Mayors Cent Anni Dinner – February 2025
- Mayors Charity Ball – March 2025
- Mayors Thank you – April 2025
## Community outreach
**Silver Sunday** : October saw Silver Sunday, when Councillor Slawek Szczepanski hosted a tea party at South Mitcham community Centre. A delicious afternoon tea was served, accompanied by sparkling entertainment which included a singer performing for the guests. The day was a fitting celebration of achievements by older residents, and a chance to share some amazing life stories.
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During his mayoral year Councillor Slawek Szczepanski not only held mayoral events but also attended the Jack Petchey Foundation’s Achievement Award Scheme, which highlights the achievements of young people. He enjoyed attending a diverse mix of cultural events throughout the year and finding out about the work carried out by a range of small charities run by resident volunteers.
His mayoral year also coincided with the 60[th] anniversary of the creation of the London Borough of Merton on 1 April 1965 and he led the birthday celebrations, culminating with the We Are Merton Festival, in spring.
Aside from his charity work, Councillor Slawek Szczepanski led the tributes to fallen servicemen and servicewomen on Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday, and he led citizenship ceremonies throughout the year as part of his civic duties.
## **Engagements**
During 2024/25 Councillor Slawek Szczepanski ensured that their programme of 400 to 500 engagements annually has been used as an opportunity to reach out to all parts of Merton’s diverse community and therefore increase understanding, participation and communication, thus addressing one aspect of the public benefit duty of the Trust.
## **Parlour receptions**
During 2024/25 Councillor Slawek Szczepanski hosted several receptions in the Mayor’s Parlour as an opportunity to thank individuals and local community organisations, thus recognising and celebrating the positive contribution they have made to the life of the borough.
## Grant-making
## Grant-making
In the 2024/25 financial year the Trust made seven grants totalling £43,000 to support local community organisations for the benefit of Merton residents:
- **Merton Music Foundation £10,000**
- **The National Brain Appeal £30,000**
- **St Raphaels Hospice £3,000**
## **Financial review**
## Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves:–
All cash balances are held as unrestricted funds. All funds are held for the purpose of donations to the Mayor’s chosen charities or cover the costs of further fundraising. We do not have a policy of holding a minimum reserve, other than to not go into deficit.
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**Independent examiner’s report on the accounts** Separate PDF document
**Receipts and payments accounts** Separate PDF document
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Official#
**Charity Number: 1149209**
## **The Mayor of Merton's Charitable Trust**
## **Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period from**
to **01/04/2024 31/03/2025**
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Unrestricte**
**d funds**
**to the nearest £**
**A1 Receipts**
Event Income
**37,612**
Donations
**15,310**
Gift Aid Receipts
**0**
Wimbledon Draw
**9,582**
status
**0**
**_Total receipts_**
**62,504**
**A3 Payments**
Cost of Fundraising Activities
**20,798**
Donations to charities
**44,250**
**_Total payments_**
**65,048**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**(2,544)**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**0**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**68,779**
**_Cash funds this year end_**
**66,235**|||**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**37,612**
**15,310**
**0**
**9,582**
**0**
**0**
**62,504**
**20,798**
**44,250**
**0**
**65,048**
**(2,544)**
**0**
**68,779**
**66,235**|**Last year**
**1 April 2023 to 31**
**March 2024**
**to the nearest £**|
|Event Income||**37,612**||**32,138**|
|Donations||**15,310**||**48,454**|
|Gift Aid Receipts||**0**|||
|Wimbledon Draw||**9,582**||**7,087**|
|status||**0**||**0**|
||||||
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||
|||||**87,679**|
||||||
|Cost of Fundraising Activities||**20,798**||**22,205**|
|Donations to charities||**44,250**||**29,946**|
||||||
|**_Total payments_**||**65,048**||**52,150**|
|**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||
|||**(2,544)**|**(2,544)**|**35,529**|
|||**0**|**0**|**0**|
|||**68,779**|**68,779**|**33,250**|
|||**66,235**|**66,235**|**68,779**|
||||||
|**Section B Statement of assets**||**and liabilities at the end of the per**||**iod**|
|**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
Signature||Print Name
**Details**
Cash at bank
**_Total cash funds_**||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|||||**66,235**|
|||||**66,235**|
|||||Date of approval|
||||||
||||||
|**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**||**(2,544)**
**(2,544)**
**0**
**0**
**68,779**
**68,779**
**66,235**
**66,235**||**35,529**
**0**
**33,250**
**68,779**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|||||
|||||**Unrestricted**|
|**Categories**||**Details**||**funds**|
|||||**to nearest £**|
|**B1 Cash funds**||Cash at bank||**66,235**|
|||**_Total cash funds_**||**66,235**|
|Signed by one or two trustees on|||||
|behalf of all the trustees|||||
|Signature||Print Name||Date of approval|
||||||
||||||
Official
## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts**
**Section A Independent Examiner’s Report**
**Report to the trustees/ members of** The Mayor of Merton’s Charitable Trust **On accounts for the** 31[st] March 2025 **Charity no** 1149209 **year ended (if any) Set out on pages** 1-4
- I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/03/2025.
- **Responsibilities and** As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of **basis of report** 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 Act or
- 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.
**Date:** 3/10/25 **Signed: Name:** Margaret Culleton **Relevant professional** CPFA **qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:** London Borough of Merton, Internal Audit Civic Centre, London Road Merton SM4 5DX
## **Section B Disclosure**
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
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**October 2018**
**IER**
Official
**Give here brief details** n/a **of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** .
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**October 2018**
**IER**