## **All Saints’ Church, Berkhamsted**
**____________________________________________________________**
## **Annual Report of the**
## **Church Council**
**(Trustees’ Annual Report)**
## **and**
## **Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024**
**_____________________________________________________________**
a Single Congregation Anglican Methodist Local Ecumenical Partnership registered charity number 1153162
**All Saints’ Church, Berkhamsted a Single Congregation Anglican Methodist Local Ecumenical Partnership Report of the Church Council for the year ended 31 August 2024**
______________________________________________________________________________
## **Aims and Purposes**
All Saints’ Church aims to advance the Christian faith in the town of Berkhamsted and surrounding area.
## **Objectives and Activities**
When planning activities for the year, the minister and the Church Council have considered the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.
In achieving its purpose, All Saints’ engages in a range of activities, including:
- the celebration of public worship
- the teaching of the Christian faith
- pastoral work, including visiting the sick and the bereaved
- the provision of facilities with a Christian ethos for the local community
- the support of other charities in the UK and overseas
To facilitate this work, it is important that the fabric of All Saints’ Church and Halls is maintained. Ultimate responsibility for the maintenance of the Church and Halls complex of All Saints’, a Grade II Listed Building (ID number 1075267), lies with the Anglican Methodist Association (Berkhamsted) Ltd that owns the property. All Saints’ Council, funded directly by the All Saints’ congregation, has day-to-day responsibility for this upkeep as well as for the work of the church generally.
## **Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic**
Attendance in church on Sundays has not yet returned to previous levels, with some of the congregation joining online from home and with an absence of children and young people. Attendance at the Tuesday morning Parish Eucharist has returned to normal.
Financially we were not badly affected, and income and expenditure totals in our General Fund in the year to 31 August 2024 were at their highest ever levels.
## **Achievements and Performance**
## _Worship and Prayer_
The Leadership Team at All Saints’ normally meets monthly and its discussions include the pattern and leadership of services, and the development of our worship in the future. We feel it important that worship reflects the traditions from which we have come. This provides variety in our worship within a framework of being recognisably “All Saints”.
The principal Sunday morning service is either Holy Communion or Morning Worship, led by Methodist or Anglican clergy and/or lay people. A monthly Messy Church is held on Sunday afternoons, for families who cannot get to church in the mornings and to reach out to the wider community. A fortnightly service of compline held via Zoom on Thursday evenings has continued.
Morning Prayer on Tuesdays and Evening Prayer on Fridays provide a quiet and intimate opportunity for worship. A Tuesday morning Eucharist is held at All Saints led by clergy from St Peter’s Church. Other services are held to mark special occasions – for example during Holy Week, and around Christmas.
There were 88 people on the Register of Members at 31 August 2024 compared to 92 a year earlier.
1
As well as our regular services, we enable our community to celebrate and thank God at the milestones of the journey through life. Through baptism we thank God for the gift of life, in marriage public vows are exchanged with God's blessing, and through funeral services friends and family express their grief and give thanks for the life which is now complete in this world and to commend the person into God's keeping. In addition, those recently bereaved were invited to our annual Service of Thanksgiving for the lives of those who had died.
## _Wider Church links_
All Saints’ is a Single Congregation Anglican/Methodist Local Ecumenical Partnership. Through its Anglican connections it is part of the Diocese of St Albans and of the Parish of Great Berkhamsted (with St Peter’s Church). Through its Methodist connections it is part of the Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire District and of the West Hertfordshire and Borders Circuit (circuit number 34/14).
Four members of the Church Council were members of the West Hertfordshire and Borders Circuit Meeting, two were members of Berkhamsted Team Council, and one was a member of the Parochial Church Council of Great Berkhamsted. We continue to have a member of the Church Council serving as a trustee of The Way Inn Christian Centre Trust in Berkhamsted. These contacts and activities provided the Church Council with important links with the parish and the wider structures of the church.
We continued to welcome the Revd Stuart Owen, from St Peter’s Church and Team Rector in the Berkhamsted Team Ministry, to preside at the Eucharist on Tuesday mornings.
## _Church & Halls_
The church is normally open most days for private prayer and calm for anyone in the local community. We are grateful to those on the rota for the daily opening and closing of the church.
The children’s area set up at the front of the church with suitable furnishings and activities has been popular with parents of young children during services, and is visited on week days.
The upper and lower halls are used by many groups within the local community – including Brownies & Guides, and Gateway Club. We continue to maintain the property in an effort to make the premises welcoming.
## _Pastoral Care_
“Coffee, Chat & Toddlers” continues in succession to the former “Chuckles”, with people of any age warmly invited to enjoy a cup of coffee/tea and conversation on Tuesday mornings from 10am, with toys and activities available for younger visitors, and with singing at 11am.
Under our Pastoral Care Scheme, our one-to-one visitors keep in touch with those who are unable to attend church due to sickness or age. In addition, our minister visits church members who are in hospital. These visitors have attended training courses.
## _Mission and Evangelism_
Links continue to be fostered with the local primary school which is normally welcomed to the church for its Harvest Festival and Carol Services.
Helping those in need is a demonstration of our faith. As reported below in the Financial Review section, a total of almost £16,000 was given this year to external charities. It is encouraging that this level of support for others can be provided in the current economic climate. As well as this financial help, members of our congregation have continued to support the DENS Dacorum Foodbank with gifts of food and non-perishable items.
2
All Saints’ is a “Fairtrade” church, and supports that cause by using Fairtrade tea and coffee. Having previously been awarded “Bronze” status, we continued to work as an Eco Church, and were pleased to gain “Silver” status early in September 2024.
The All Saints’ Friendship Club provides a varied programme of social and fund-raising events that reaches out beyond the congregation to the wider community. The net income of the club is donated annually to charitable causes, and is included within these accounts.
All Saints is a corporate member of the Churches’ Mutual Credit Union, and has deposited £15,000 in a Corporate Savings Account primarily as a social investment.
Our church magazine is distributed bi-monthly to everyone on the Church Roll and is available in the church for visitors and users of the halls. The magazine keeps its readers informed of the important matters affecting our church and carries articles that help develop knowledge and trust in Jesus. It has been awarded the prize for “Clarity of the Christian Message” in a national competition.
Our website is at: https://www.allsaintsberkhamsted.org.uk - its primary purpose is to promote All Saints presence in Berkhamsted as a living, worshipping community with a distinctive ecumenical offering, welcoming people from all backgrounds and traditions. We would like to attract young families, as this is important in maintaining and growing a congregation for the future, as is making the church appear more open to people who are outside the usual Sunday congregations. Together with our Facebook group, the website also functions as a way for church members to keep in touch. The website now contains our key policies, including that for safeguarding.
## _Ecumenical Relationships_
Members of All Saints’ have supported ecumenical events in the town including the Festival of Light with a Nativity Scene at the beginning of Advent and the monthly prayer breakfast held in churches around the town. Our minister meets with other clergy from the town 3 - 4 times a year and has participated in ecumenical services.
## **Financial Review**
2023/24 was the sixteenth complete year since we became a self-funding organisation in June 2008. Over that period, congregational giving to the General Fund has remained fairly constant at around £75,000 -£80,000, notwithstanding a reduced number of people. Hall hire income was nearly £18,000 – its third highest figure – but this is expected to drop in 2024/25. The energy support grant of nearly £4,100 from the Circuit, together with £2,500 of interest helped to take General Fund total income for 2023/24 to its highest ever level of £103,000. Total expenditure from the General Fund was less than forecast, but at £82,000 was also at its highest ever level.
As well as meeting annually recurring expenditure, the General Fund has to be able to make transfers to provide most of the funding for the Special Projects Fund so that large and irregularly occurring expenditure on maintenance and improvements can be paid for. £10,000 was transferred in 2023/24 – some £3,000 below the average of annual transfers since 2008/09.
Special Projects Fund annual expenditure has averaged above £13,000 during the past sixteen years and has recently been as high as £34,000 and £29,000, but has been below average in the last three years. There are though several projects that now need progressing.
As stated in note 13 to the Accounts, the Roof Fund has been built up over the past 26 years in anticipation of the need to finance major expenditure on the roof. Most of the expected total cost of over £420,000 was spent in 2023/24. This entailed the erection of complex and expensive scaffolding and then the complete replacement of the roof battens, on which the tiles hang, and the fitting of roof insulation. The wooden shingles on the west wall were also replaced. Annual savings set aside from regular income produced about one-third of the total funding, and nearly half of the total came from investment growth and interest earned on those savings. Grants, from Government and from grant making bodies, and donations produced the balance.
3
£89,000 was spent from the General and Special Projects Funds to provide Christian ministry from All Saints’ Church. This included £44,500 for the Circuit Assessment, which largely provides the stipends and housing for the clergy but which also supports other churches in the circuit.
Outward Giving in 2023/24 from our General Fund to various charitable causes was set at £7,500, being 10% of the total of the planned giving income, plate collections and gift-aid recovery in 2022/23. In addition, about £8,300 was raised for external causes through Special Appeals and by the Friendship Club, making the total given away just over £15,800. Names of the recipient causes and amounts given are shown on our website.
More detailed financial information can be found within the accounts that follow this report. The “Summary of Funds” note on the final two pages of the accounts provides a concise overview of our finances.
## **Reserves policy**
Our detailed Financial Reserves Policy is on the “About/More Information” page of our website. The aim is to ensure that the church has sufficient unrestricted funds to meet its financial commitments; to demonstrate that the church is sustainable into the future; to ensure that the church is able to manage future unforeseen financial difficulties; to ensure that excessive funds are not held without any identifiable reason or for any identifiable purpose.
The balance in our unrestricted/undesignated General Fund at 31 August 2024, after deducting our social investment in the Churches Mutual Credit Union, was approximately £61,000. This is considered to be an appropriate amount under the Reserves Policy.
As shown in Note 13 to the Accounts, the unrestricted/designated Roof Fund will have met expenditure in excess of £400,000 on the ongoing overhaul over the two years to 31 August 2025. It is planned to close this fund in 2024/25.
The aim for the unrestricted/designated Special Projects Fund is to hold sufficient reserves to cover the larger costs that do not occur every year – sometimes planned expenditure and sometimes unexpected – and which are mainly funded by annual transfers from the General Reserve. We are conscious of the increasing age of the building and of much of its contents., and consider the 31 August 2024 balance of about £87,000 to be appropriate. Future expenditure, within the next few years, may well include new heating systems in the church and in the halls.
It is our policy to invest our fund balances to minimise risk and therefore we normally only invest money in bank, or similar, deposit accounts.
## **Volunteers**
We would like to thank all the volunteers who work so hard to make our church the lively and welcoming community it is, and who make a valuable contribution to our ministry and for keeping the church running.
## **Structure, governance and management**
The method of appointment of Church Council members is set out in the Model Governing Documents (Constitution and Schedule) adopted on 13 January 2013. The membership of the Church Council consists of the minister, stewards and representatives elected by those members of the congregation who are on the Register of Members, and of co-opted members who are nominated to represent particular groups or activities.
Those elected as trustees serve for three years, and those co-opted serve for one year. Both are then eligible for re-election or re-appointment.
All those who attend our services as members of the congregation are encouraged to be on the Register of Members and so become eligible to take a fuller part in the life of the church.
4
The Church Council members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the church including deciding on how the funds of the Church Council are to be spent.
The Church Council met five times during the year, twice via “Zoom” and three times in person. These included two short meetings in November to approve the Annual Report & Accounts and to deal with annual appointments and co-options immediately after the Annual Congregational Meeting. The level of attendance averaged 69%.
Given its wide responsibilities, the Church Council has a number of groups or committees each dealing with particular aspects of church life. These groups which include leadership, pastoral, fabric and finance, are all responsible to the Church Council and report back to it regularly, with their deliberations being received by the full Church Council for discussion and decision as necessary.
## **Administrative information**
All Saints’ Church is situated in Shrublands Road, Berkhamsted HP4 3HY, which is also the correspondence address.
All Saints’ Church is an unincorporated charity. It was granted registered charity status on 31 July 2013, with registered number 1153162. Before then it was an excepted charity that did not need to register with the Charity Commission. The Charity Commission website shows the names of the present Trustees, and the Annual Reports & Accounts for the last five years.
All Saints has been an Anglican Methodist LEP since 1993, having shared the building with Berkhamsted Methodist Church from 1980. The land and building have been owned by Anglican Methodist Association (Berkhamsted) Ltd – a company limited by guarantee – since 1980. Prior to June 2008, when All Saints’ became a Single Congregation Local Ecumenical Partnership, that company had direct responsibility for the upkeep of the buildings and was funded equally by the Anglican Parish of Great Berkhamsted and by Berkhamsted Methodist Church. Since June 2008, this responsibility has been met by All Saints’ Church.
As well as its Constitution of 13 January 2013, All Saints’ Church is also affected by certain provisions in (i) the Memorandum & Articles of Association of Anglican Methodist Association (Berkhamsted) Ltd, dated 24 April 1980 (ii) the Conveyance of the church to Anglican Methodist Association (Berkhamsted) Ltd, dated 25 November 1980 (iii) the Sharing Agreement, dated 25 November 1980 (iv) the Pastoral Scheme of 2005 for the Berkhamsted Team Ministry, as revised.
## **Trustees’ financial responsibilities**
We are required under charities legislation to prepare financial statements each year that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the church at the end of the financial year and of its income and expenditure for the same year. We confirm the financial statements comply with the statutory requirements, applicable accounting standards, statements of recommended practice and the constitution of the church.
In preparing these financial statements we are required to select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently, make reasonable prudent judgements and estimates, state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed and give details of any departures, and prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless, in our view, the charity will be unable to continue in operation.
We are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records, maintaining a satisfactory system of control over accounting records and transactions, safeguarding the charity’s assets, and taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
5
The members of the Church Council are the Trustees of the charity. The Church Council members who have served for all or for some of the period from 1 September 2023 until the date on which this report was approved were:
|_Ex Officio member:_|||
|---|---|---|
|The Revd Rachael Hawkins|minister / chair||
|_Elected members:_|||
|Penny O’Neill|steward|until 19 November 2023|
|David Pain|steward||
|Tracy Robinson|steward||
|Helen Temple|steward||
|Richard Hackworth|church representative||
|Margaret Ingram|church representative||
|Gill Lumb|church representative|until 19 November 2023|
|Linda Morgan|church representative||
|Michael Robinson|church representative / treasurer||
|Kate Spall|church representative||
|Steve Spall|church representative||
|Keith Treves Brown|church representative||
|Chris Lumb|church representative|from 19 November 2023, previously co-opted|
|Jill Southgate|church representative|from 19 November 2023, previously co-opted|
|_Co-opted members:_|||
|Barbara Conway||until 19 November 2023|
|Ivor Hancock|||
|Julie Wakely|||
## **Approved by the Church Council on 6 November 2024 and signed on its behalf by**
The Revd Rachael Hawkins
6
**All Saints’ Church, Berkhamsted Report of the Independent Examiner for the year ended 31 August 2024**
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2024, which are set out on pages 8 to 18.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity’s trustees 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 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 material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
- accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
- the accounts do not accord with those records; or
- the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
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.
**Bianca Permal FCA** Dux Advisory Ltd Chartered Accountant Suite 1, Amersham House Mill Street Berkhamsted Herts HP4 2DT
_8 November 2024_
7
**All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) for the year ended 31 August 2024**
|**Income and Endowments from:**
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Other trading activities
Investments
Other
**_Total income & endowments_**
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
Charitable activities:
- circuit assessment
- repairs & maintenance of church property
- insurance & utilities
- grants & donations (outward giving)
- worship & outreach
- youth work
Other expenditure
**_Total expenditure_**
Gains/(Losses) on investments
**Net income/(expenditure)**
**Transfers between funds**
**Other recognised gains / (losses):**
**Net movement in funds**
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Total funds brought forward
**Total funds carried forward**|**Notes to the**
**accounts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted Funds**
**Total**
**2023-24**
£
£
£|
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted Funds**
**Total**
**2022-23**
£
£
£|
|---|---|---|---|
||4
5
6
7
8
17
10
13
18|78,367
6,574
**84,941**
18,210
-
**18,210**
-
4,086
**4,086**
19,329
311
**19,640**
93,549
-
**93,549**|77,356
11,095
**88,451**
18,632
-
**18,632**
-
3,320
**3,320**
3,244
124
**3,368**
4,301
-
**4,301**|
|||**209,455**
**10,971**
**220,426**|**103,533**
**14,539**
**118,072**|
|||-
2,169
**2,169**
44,508
-
**44,508**
388,750
-
**388,750**
9,591
-
**9,591**
7,500
8,330
**15,830**
4,798
-
**4,798**
-
-
**-**
5,729
-
**5,729**|-
1,394
**1,394**
42,384
-
**42,384**
14,152
-
**14,152**
9,835
-
**9,835**
7,500
13,447
**20,947**
3,878
-
**3,878**
-
-
**-**
600
-
**600**|
|||**460,876**
**10,499**
**471,375**|**78,349**
**14,841**
**93,190**|
|||-
-
**-**|3,329
-
**3,329**|
|||**(251,421)**
**472**
**(250,949)**
-
-
**-**|**28,513**
**(302)**
**28,211**
-
-
**-**|
|||**(251,421)**
**472**
**(250,949)**
-
-
**-**|28,513
(302)
**28,211**
-
-
-|
|||**(251,421)**
**472**
**(250,949)**|28,513
(302)
**28,211**|
|||446,147
8,200
**454,347**|417,634
8,502
**426,136**|
|||**194,726**
**8,672**
**203,398**|**446,147**
**8,200**
**454,347**|
8
## **All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted Balance Sheet as at 31 August 2024**
|**Notes**
Investments
13
**_Total fixed assets_**
**Current Assets**
Debtors and Prepayments
14
Cash at Bank and in hand
14
**_Total current assets_**
**Creditors and Accruals (due in**
**under 1 yr)**
15
**_Net current assets (liabilities)_**
**_Total assets less current liabilities_**
**Loans and creditors due after 1**
**year**
Provisions for liabilities and charges
**_Net assets_**
**Funds of the Church**
Unrestricted funds
18
Restricted funds
18
**_Total Funds_**
**Tangible Fixed Assets**|**Unrestricted**
**Designated**
**(Unrestricted)**
**Restricted**
**Totals**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
-
-
-
**-**
-
-
-
**-**
29,795
-
348
**30,143**
67,526
156,609
8,324
**232,459**
97,321
156,609
8,672
**262,602**
1,707
57,497
-
**59,204**
95,614
99,112
8,672
**203,398**
95,614
99,112
8,672
**203,398**
-
-
-
**-**
-
-
-
**-**
95,614
99,112
8,672
**203,398**
95,614
99,112
**-**
**194,726**
-
-
8,672
**8,672**
95,614
99,112
8,672
**203,398**||**Totals**
**2023**
**£**
-|
|---|---|---|---|
||||-|
||||12,453
442,874|
||||455,327
980
,|
||||454,347|
||||454,347
-
-|
||||454,347|
||||446,147
8,200|
||||454,347|
The notes on pages 10 to 18 form part of these Financial Statements
Accounts approved by the Church Council on 6 November 2024, and signed on its behalf by:
The Revd Rachael Hawkins
Michael Robinson
9
## **All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted**
## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024**
## **1. Basis of accounting**
The financial statements have been prepared under the Charities Act 2011 in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), second edition October 2019 - "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)". All Saints' Church meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. It is exempt, by virtue of its size, to include a statement of cash flows in these financial statements The financial statements have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair' view’. This departure has involved following the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland issued in October 2019 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.
The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £.
## **2. Funds**
The funds of the Church Council that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use and are available for application on the general purposes of the Church Council are shown as unrestricted funds. These include funds designated for a particular purpose by the Church Council. Funds that hold money received for a specific purpose are shown as restricted funds. Details of each material fund are disclosed in note 18 to these accounts.
## **General Fund**
This is an unrestricted fund whose income is primarily from the regular giving by members of the congregation and from the hiring of the church halls. It pays annually recurring expenses, makes annual grants to external charities and transfers to the other unrestricted funds.
## **Special Projects Fund**
This is a designated, unrestricted, fund to meet the cost of major non-routine repairs and improvements. In addition to annual transfers from the General Fund, the income of this fund includes legacies, in memoriam donations and grants (where applicable) from the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
## **Roof Fund**
This is a designated, unrestricted, fund to accumulate money to meet the expected future cost of major work on the church roof. Its only income is any transfer of funds from the General Reserve, together with interest and growth in value of the investments. See also Notes 13 & 18.
## **Employment Fund**
This is the surplus from the restricted Youth Work Fund, created in 2014/15, to finance the cost of employing a Youth and Families Worker on a two-year contract from 1 September 2015. The surplus in this fund may be used for other special projects. See also Notes 11 & 18.
## **Special Appeals Fund (including Friendship Club)**
This is a restricted fund that holds money collected specifically for distribution to external charitable causes. The Friendship Club provides a varied programme of social and fund raising events that involves the wider community beyond the church congregation, and donates its annual surplus to charitable causes.
10
**All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted**
**Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 (continued)**
## **3. Accounting policies**
## **Basis**
These accounts have been prepared on the basis of historical cost, except that investments are shown at their market (selling) value at the end of the year, on the accruals basis to show a true and fair view of the Church's financial position and activities, as a going concern.
## **Income**
Income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the Church becomes entitled to the resources, and the trustees are reasonably certain they will receive the resources; and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
## **Expenditure**
This is recognised when a liability is incurred, or a constructive obligation arises, that results in the payment being unavoidable. Liabilities are recognised as soon as an outflow of economic benefit is considered more likely than not under the legal or constructive obligation committing the Church to pay out resources.
## **Grants**
Grants made by the Church from its own funds are recognised in full at the time of agreement or when the Church accepts that there is a legal or operational obligation to make the payment.
## **VAT**
Since the Church is not VAT registered, all input VAT is charged with the expenses to which it refers.
## **Tangible fixed assets for use by the Church**
All Saints' Church building and land is owned by the Anglican Methodist Association (Berkhamsted) Ltd, and accordingly is not included in these accounts. The Church Council has maintenance responsibility for this consecrated property and for ensuring that it is adequately insured. The building and contents are currently insured for up to £8.9m. The property has to be professionally inspected every 5 years, the last such quinquennial report was issued in March 2020. All expenditure incurred on the building and contents, whether maintenance or improvement, is written off in these accounts.
## **Going Concern basis of the accounts**
Most of the congregational giving to the church has been by monthly bank standing order, and that level of giving has been maintained. Hall hire income returned to its previous high level during 2022/23. These accounts show General Fund total income at its highest ever level, aided for the second of four years by an energy support grant from the circuit. General Fund total expenditure was also at its highest ever level, with the inclusion from 1 January 2024 of the cost of a part-time administrator.
A forecast for the current year (to 31 August 2025) has been prepared which shows the total income of the General Fund at just over £98,000 and total expenditure at around £86,000. That would allow a transfer to Special Projects Fund whilst maintaining or increasing the General Fund reserves.
As indicated in note 13, most of the cost of the roof overhaul was incurred in 2023/24. The remaining cost will either be covered by the Roof Fund or, if necessary, by the Special Projects Fund. The amount of General Fund reserves at 31 August 2024 and the reserves in the two designated funds are such that the members of the Church Council (as Trustees) believe that the church will be able to continue to operate for the forseeable future.
11
## **All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 (continued)**
|**4. Donations and legacies**
Planned giving (Stewardship)
Collections(including Messy Church)
Gift Aid & GASDS on all above
Donations (including Gift Aid)
Legacies & in memoriam donations
**Total**
**5. Charitable activities**
Fees
Hall lettings
**Total**
**6. Other trading activities**
Fund raising by Friendship Club
**Total**
**7. Investment income**
Bank interest
Dividend on CMCU deposit
**Total**
**8. Other**
Listed Place of Worship Grant Scheme
Grants from funders
Energy Support Grant from Circuit
Insurance claim
**Total**|**Unrestricted Restricted**
**Total**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
60,511
-
**60,511**
1,008
-
**1,008**
14,929
-
**14,929**|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
59,454
534
14,608|
|---|---|---|
||76,448
-
**76,448**
1,919
6,574
**8,493**
-
-
**-**|74,596
13,855
-|
||**78,367**
**6,574**
**84,941**|**88,451**|
||**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Total**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
580
-
**580**
17,630
-
**17,630**|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
433
18,199|
||**18,210**
**-**
**18,210**|**18,632**|
||**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Total**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
-
4,086
**4,086**|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
3,320|
||**-**
**4,086**
**4,086**|**3,320**|
||**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Total**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
19,291
311
**19,602**
38
-
**38**|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
3,353
15|
||**19,329**
**311**
**19,640**|**3,368**|
||**Unrestricted Restricted**
**Total**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
62,475
-
**62,475**
27,000
-
**27,000**
4,074
-
**4,074**
-
-
**-**|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
-
-
4,301
-|
||**93,549**
**-**
**93,549**|**4,301**|
12
**All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted**
## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 (continued)**
||||**year ended 31 August**|**year ended 31 August**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||**2024**|**2023**|
|**9.**|**Payments to Trustees**||||
||Payment was made to one trustee in respect of remuneration, as disclosed in Note 11 below.||4,192|-|
||No trustee benefits or personal expenses were incurred.||-|-|
|**10.**|**Other expenditure**||||
||Independent examiner’s fees for reporting on the accounts||660|600|
||Other fees paid to the independent examiner||-|-|
||Administration - salary and other costs||5,069|-|
|||£|5,729|600|
|**11.**|**Paid employees**||||
||**Staff costs incurred during the year were:**||||
||Gross salary||4,192|-|
||Employer’s National Insurance costs (less offset from Employment Allowance)||-|-|
||Employer's contributions to Defined Contribution Pension Scheme||-|-|
||Other forms of benefit (accommodation & council tax)||-|-|
||Total staff costs|
£|4,192|-|
||||||
||**Average number of staff employed during the year:**||one|nil|
The staff costs relate to the employment from 1 January 2024 of David Pain as a part-time Administrator (who is also a trustee, being a member of the Church Council.) Authority to employ a trustee is given by clauses 48 and 49 of the charity's Constitution as adopted on 13 January 2013. The information shown above in this Note discloses that there were no employees who received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) of more than £60,000.
## **12. Related party transactions**
Related parties are those persons or entities that are closely connected to the reporting charity or its trustees. Certain transactions with related parties have to be disclosed in the accounts.
Related parties include a charity's trustees and their close family. Donations to the charity made by the trustees (the members of the Church Council) and their family members are typical of donations made by the church congregation as a whole, and no conditions were attached that would, or might, require the charity to alter significantly the nature of its existing activities. The aggregate total of such donations was £26,313 (2023 - £25,372), excluding those to Special Appeals Fund for external causes. No trustees have any financial interests in any assets or business transactions of the charity other than as disclosed in note 11.
As shown in these accounts: All Saints' Church pays a circuit assessment to the West Hertfordshire and Borders Methodist Circuit, that pays the stipends and certain expenses of ministers in the circuit including Revd Rachael Hawkins who is a member of the Church Council. The Circuit has paid an energy support grant to All Saints' Church limiting the increase in its energy costs to 5% above the preceding year.
All Saints' Church Council appoints some of the members of Anglican Methodist Association (Berkhamsted) Ltd that owns the All Saints' Church building and land. No rent is payable to the company, but the Church Council is responsible for the upkeep of the property.
13
## **All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024(continued)**
## **13. Investments / Roof Fund**
The investments were the assets of the Roof Fund (a designated fund). The Roof Fund was established in 1998 to help meet the expected cost of renewing the roof of All Saints' Church. Originally, there were two separate funds, one held by the Anglican Parish of Great Berkhamsted and the other by Berkhamsted Methodist Church. These funds were merged after June 2008, when All Saints' became a single-congregation local ecumenical partnership, and subsequent additions were made by transfer from All Saints' General Fund. As it appeared likely that the repair work would be carried out within the next 12 months, the investments were sold in August 2023 to eliminate the risk of a decrease in value. The resulting proceeds were placed in an instant access interest-bearing deposit account.
The roof overhaul involved the replacement of the battens on which the tiles hang. The nails holding the battens in place were rusting away, creating a risk that the tiles would fall off. Insulation has also been added, and the cedar shingles on the vertical west wall renewed.
|**add:**
Grants from funders
Donations (including Gift Aid)
Interest receivable
**less: Cost of roof overhaul**
Contractors - roofing and scaffolding
Professional fees and other costs
**Post-balance sheet events re roof overhaul**
additional expediture to be incurred
additional income includes:
Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme
Donation
Grant from funder
**to be met from Roof Fund and/or Special Projects Fund**
**Carrying (market) value at beginning of year:**
**Gain on sale of shares on transfer to Deposit Fund**
The CBF Church of England Investment Fund Accumulation Shares
**Roof Fund balance at end of year**
**Analysis of Roof Fund movements**
The CBF Church of England Deposit Fund
Grants from Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (re VAT)|8,300
1,000
5,000
|**2024**
**£**
300,585
-
-
300,585
27,000
61,969
325
13,670
102,964
298,064
16,249
371,810
**31,739**
50,000
14,300
35,700
**year ended**|**2023**
**£**
-
299,718
3,329
**31 August**|
|---|---|---|---|
||||303,047|
||||-
-
-
952|
||||952|
||||-
3,414|
||||3,414|
|||||
||||**300,585**|
|||||
|||||
14
**All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 (continued)**
|**Debtors and prepayments**
Prepaid expenses
Accrued income - interest
Other debtors
**Analysis of cash at bank**
CAF Bank (instant access)
The CBF Church of England Deposit Fund (instant access)
Trade Creditors
Accruals
Other Creditors
At 31st August 2024 (& 2023):
Note 13 on previous page
- there were no contingent liabilities
**17. Grants & donations (Outward Giving)**
from General Fund income
from Special Appeals Fund (Friendship Club)
from Special Appeals Fund (donations)
**Overall total**
- there were no capital commitments, but see "Post-balance sheet events"
**14. Analysis of current assets**
Corporate Savings Account with Churches Mutual Credit Union (up to 60 day notice)
**16. Capital commitments and contingent liabilities**
Lloyds & Nat West
Accrued income - gift aid recovery
**Total debtors and prepayments**
**Total current liabilities**
**Total cash at bank**
**15. Analysis of current liabilities**|**2024**
**2023**
**£**
**£**
1,910
3,536
5,689
5,469
1,973
1,552
20,571
1,896
**30,143**
**12,453**
15,413
15,375
52,589
16,881
162,959
409,306
1,498
1,312
**232,459**
**442,874**
40,065
-
19,139
980
-
-
**59,204**
**980**
7,500
7,500
1,700
1,720
6,630
11,727
**15,830**
**20,947**
**year ended 31 August**|**2024**
**2023**
**£**
**£**
1,910
3,536
5,689
5,469
1,973
1,552
20,571
1,896
**30,143**
**12,453**
15,413
15,375
52,589
16,881
162,959
409,306
1,498
1,312
**232,459**
**442,874**
40,065
-
19,139
980
-
-
**59,204**
**980**
7,500
7,500
1,700
1,720
6,630
11,727
**15,830**
**20,947**
**year ended 31 August**|
|---|---|---|
|||**12,453**|
|||15,375
16,881
409,306
1,312|
|||**442,874**|
|||-
980
-|
|||**980**|
|||7,500
1,720
11,727|
|||**20,947**|
15
**All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 (continued)**
## **18. Detailed analysis of individual fund movements**
## **year ended 31 August 2024**
## **Unrestricted Funds**
|**Unrestricted Funds**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Fund Name**||**Opening**|**Income**|**Expenditure **|**Gain/(loss) on**|**Transfers**
**Closing**|
|||**Balance**|||**sale**|**Balance**|
|General Fund||65,238|102,897|(81,815)|-|(10,000) 76,320|
|Special Projects Fund||80,324|3,594|(7,251)|-|10,000 86,667|
|Roof Fund||300,585|102,964|(371,810)|-|- 31,739|
||Totals|446,147|209,455|(460,876)|-|- 194,726|
|**Restricted Funds**|||||||
|**Fund Name**||**Opening**|**Income**|**Expenditure **|**Gain/(loss) on**|**Transfers**
**Closing**|
|||**Balance**|||**sale**|**Balance**|
|Employment Fund||7,691|311|-|-|- 8,002|
|Special Appeals Fund||509|10,660|(10,499)|-|- 670|
||Totals|8,200|10,971|(10,499)|-|-8,672|
|**year ended 31 August**|**2023**||||||
|**Unrestricted Funds**|||||||
|**Fund Name**||**Opening**|**Income**|**Expenditure **|**Gain/(loss) on**|**Transfers**
**Closing**|
|||**Balance**|||**sale**|**Balance**|
|General Fund||50,555|101,488|(73,805)|-|(13,000) 65,238|
|Special Projects Fund||67,361|1,093|(1,130)|-|13,000 80,324|
|Roof Fund||299,718|952|(3,414)|3,329|- 300,585|
||Totals|417,634|103,533|(78,349)|3,329|-446,147|
|**Restricted Funds**|||||||
|**Fund Name**||**Opening**|**Income**|**Expenditure **|**Gain/(loss) on**|**Transfers**
**Closing**|
|||**Balance**|||**sale**|**Balance**|
|Employment Fund||7,567|124|-|-|- 7,691|
|Special Appeals Fund||935|14,415|(14,841)|-|- 509|
||Totals|8,502|14,539|(14,841)|-|-8,200|
## **Fund transfers:**
Funds are transferred annually from the General Fund to the Special Projects Fund for future "one-off" items of major maintenance, renewal or improvement. Similarly, annual transfers have been made from the General Fund to the Roof Fund in order to try to accumulate sufficient funds to meet the future cost of major roof repairs. The £1,000 (2023 - £600) transferred from the Friendship Club to the General Fund to cover the use of the church hall is treated as a cost of fund raising and as a donation received.
16
## **All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted**
## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 (continued)**
|**19a. Summary of Funds**
**Statement of Financial Activities:**
**Income from:**
Planned Giving (Stewardship)
Collections (including Messy Church)
- Gift Aid on above
_sub-total_
Donations
- Gift Aid on donations
Grants
Hall hire
Fund raising
Chuckles Toddler Group
Fees
Legacies & in memoriam donations
- Gift Aid on in memoriam donations
Interest
_total income_
**Expenditure on:**
Circuit assessment
Repairs & maintenance of church property
Insurance & utilities
Worship & outreach
Outward giving
Fund raising
Administration
Independent examination
_total expenditure_
**Gain on sale of investments**
**Net income / (expenditure)**
Transfers between funds
**Net increase / (decrease) in funds**
Funds brought forward at 1 September 2023
Funds carried forward at 31 August 2024
**Balance Sheet:**
note
Investments
13
CMCU deposit
14
Bank balances
14
Debtors, pre-paid expenses & accrued income
14
Creditors, accrued expenses & deferred income
15
Net assets at 31 August 2024|**_-------- year ended 31 August 2024 --------_**||
|---|---|---|
||**General**
**Fund**
**Special**
**Projects**
**Fund**
**Roof**
**Fund**
**Employ**
**ment**
**Fund**
**Special**
**Appeals**
**Fund**
(unrestricted) (designated) (designated) (restricted)
(restricted)
£
£
£
£
£
60,511
-
-
-
-
1,008
-
-
-
-
14,929
-
-
-
-
76,448
-
-
-
-
1,594
-
280
-
5,349
-
-
45
-
1,225
4,096
484
88,969
-
-
17,630
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,086
-
-
-
-
-
580
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,549
3,110
13,670
311
-
102,897
3,594
102,964
311
10,660
44,508
-
-
-
-
9,689
7,251
371,810
-
-
9,591
-
-
-
-
4,798
-
-
-
-
7,500
-
-
-
8,330
-
-
-
-
2,169
5,069
-
-
-
-
660
-
-
-
-
81,815
7,251
371,810
-
10,499
-
-
-
-|**ALL**
**FUNDS**
(total)
£
60,511
1,008
14,929|
|||76,448
7,223
1,270
93,549
17,630
4,086
-
580
-
-
19,640|
|||220,426|
|||44,508
388,750
9,591
4,798
15,830
2,169
5,069
660|
|||471,375|
|||-|
||21,082
(3,657)
(268,846)
311
161
(10,000)
10,000
-
-
-
11,082
6,343
(268,846)
311
161
65,238
80,324
300,585
7,691
509
76,320
86,667
31,739
8,002
670
£
£
£
£
£
-
-
-
-
-
15,413
-
-
-
-
52,113
86,667
69,942
8,002
322
10,501
-
19,294
-
348
(1,707)
-
(57,497)
-
-
76,320
86,667
31,739
8,002
670|(250,949)
-|
|||(250,949)
454,347|
|||203,398|
|||£
-
15,413
217,046
30,143
(59,204)|
|||203,398|
17
## **All Saints' Church, Berkhamsted**
## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 (continued)**
|**19b. Summary of Funds**
**Statement of Financial Activities:**
**Income from:**
Planned Giving (Stewardship)
Collections (including Messy Church)
- Gift Aid on above
_sub-total_
Donations
- Gift Aid on donations
Grants
Hall hire
Fund raising
Chuckles Toddler Group
Fees
Legacies & in memoriam donations
- Gift Aid on in memoriam donations
Interest
_total income_
**Expenditure on:**
Circuit assessment
Repairs & maintenance of church property
Insurance & utilities
Worship & outreach
Outward giving
Fund raising
Administration
Independent examination
_total expenditure_
**Gain on sale of investments**
**Net income / (expenditure)**
Transfers between funds
**Net increase / (decrease) in funds**
Funds brought forward at 1 September 2022
Funds carried forward at 31 August 2023
**Balance Sheet:**
note
Investments
13
CMCU deposit
14
Bank balances
14
Debtors, pre-paid expenses & accrued income
14
Creditors, accrued expenses & deferred income
15
Net assets at 31 August 2023|**_-------- year ended 31 August 2023 --------_**||
|---|---|---|
||**General**
**Fund**
**Special**
**Projects**
**Fund**
**Roof**
**Fund**
**Employ**
**ment**
**Fund**
**Special**
**Appeals**
**Fund**
(unrestricted) (designated) (designated) (restricted)
(restricted)
£
£
£
£
£
59,454
-
-
-
-
534
-
-
-
-
14,608
-
-
-
-
74,596
-
-
-
-
2,456
-
-
-
9,313
304
-
-
-
1,782
4,301
-
-
-
-
18,199
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,320
-
-
-
-
-
433
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,199
1,093
952
124
-
101,488
1,093
952
124
14,415
42,384
-
-
-
-
9,608
1,130
3,414
-
-
9,835
-
-
-
-
3,878
-
-
-
-
7,500
-
-
-
13,447
-
-
-
-
1,394
-
-
-
-
-
600
-
-
-
-
73,805
1,130
3,414
-
14,841
-
-
3,329
-
-|**ALL**
**FUNDS**
(total)
£
59,454
534
14,608|
|||74,596
11,769
2,086
4,301
18,199
3,320
-
433
-
-
3,368|
|||118,072|
|||42,384
14,152
9,835
3,878
20,947
1,394
-
600|
|||93,190|
|||3,329|
||27,683
(37)
867
124
(426)
(13,000)
13,000
-
-
-
14,683
12,963
867
124
(426)
50,555
67,361
299,718
7,567
935
65,238
80,324
300,585
7,691
509
£
£
£
£
£
-
-
-
-
-
15,375
-
-
-
-
38,756
80,324
300,585
7,691
143
12,087
-
-
-
366
(980)
-
-
-
-
65,238
80,324
300,585
7,691
509|28,211
-|
|||28,211
426,136|
|||454,347|
|||£
-
15,375
427,499
12,453
(980)|
|||454,347|
18