## Mulbarton church Annual Report 2023 ## - Annual Churchwardens Report 2022 2023 Tim Hayward This being my first Churchwardens Report, I would like to give you a bit of an idea how this first year has been from my perspective. It has been quite an experience and I don’t think I realised how much was involved in the Churchwardens role. It has been quite hard to follow Tom Taylors stewardship of this role and I have struggled with giving enough time to this role, due to still working full time. I was hoping to take some of the workload off Adrian’s shoulders, but instead I seem to have added to this, due to all the jobs I have found, that need doing!! If anyone is thinking of standing for the other Churchwarden position, but is worried about standing on my toes, don’t worry it would be good to share some of the workload!! Anyway on to the report in general, which I will split into 3 sections, church building, churchyard and Harvest house. ## Church building I have completed the update of the Terrier, ie (Report on the fabric, goods and ornaments of the church), and it was approved at the last PCC meeting. I have signed this document, as a true record and will send a copy to the Diocese to put on file. The 2020 Quinquennial Report was delayed due to covid, so only received two years ago. We have actioned some of the recommendations, and have been actively working on others. As a PCC, we will have to take into account the fact that the recent Electrical inspection has found some major faults that need correcting. This is likely to incur a significant outlay on available funds and as a PCC we will need to decide on where best to use available funds. This may mean delaying some actions on Quinquennial Report, until funds allow. After the temporary installation of a flagpole to display the Ukrainian flag and the consequent breakage of pole, some villagers expressed an interest in funding the installation of a permanent flagpole. Although we have received no further enquiries since then. ## Churchyard Plans were in hand for the path restoration and extension, which has been ongoing since autumn last year. Those of you who passed the churchyard tonight will have seen the sterling work done by contractors, with a massive input from the villagers on the Coronation Help Out day. Interest has also been expressed to have a contemplation tree planted in the graveyard. No further progress on this yet, but approved by PCC and in planning. ## Harvest House The roofing works to mend the lobby leak were done and interior décor affected, repainted. We have also repurposed some of the upstairs rooms, so that they can be hired out and bring in some extra funds to help with the upkeep. The Prayer room, which has seen much use over the years, was one of these rooms and it was decided to set up a prayer area in the church. This will mean it will be more accessible to everyone, who wants to use it. ## Thanks to The flower ladies for their hard work to brighten up the church, with their wonderful floral displays. I don’t know if I should mention names, as might be accused of favouritism !! Whilst talking of volunteers, we were overwhelmed by the help we received from local residents at the Big Coronation Help Out, where the initial path work was finished off. The churchyard fence was also scrubbed clean and then repainted. It was a great community effort and we even got some of the churchyard grass cut as well !! The fencing will still need some remedial repairs, as there is some rot setting in. As a PCC we will be making a decision on the best way forward with this, as we will need to balance longevity of repairs against funds available. ## Treasurer’s report for 2022 This year we have adopted the simpler Annual finance report. For those who would like more details there are some Financial Statements generated by PAW (Parish Accounts workbook) in circulation. Please bear in mind that some of the categories vary between the two reports. ||**Funds**|||**31-Dec-21**| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Unrestricted (General fund )
Designated
Restricted
Endowment
**Bank accounts**
Bank of Scotland (Current
Account)
Petty Cash
CBF (Deposit Account)
4 Permanent Endowment
Accounts
TOTAL
exact figures|||£14,891
£8,064
£38,124
£21,120| |||||£82,199
**31-Dec-21**
£19,915
£60
£41,103
£21,120| - a. This looks a huge difference in cash available between the 2 years. However, as mentioned in last year's report, in Jan 2022 the PCC voted to pay a further £7,290 to our Parish Share for 2021. This counted towards our Parish share for 2021 but shows in our 2022 accounts. This effectively took the General fund to £7,600 at end of2021 (reserve for 2021.) The PCC decided at the end of 2022 to allow the General Fund to go below the reserve of £6,500 to enable us to fulfill our commitment to pay the parish proportion of the Parish share. We missed paying the full share: £41,237 by approx £11,800. The Parish share for 2023 is £42,902. - b. We received interest from the endowments but the capital reduced in both during 2022. It’s important to note that of the £71,000 assets the church holds, only approx. £5,000 were available at the end of 2022 for running the church on a daily basis. Most assets are held in either Restricted funds, which can only be used for a specific purpose, or Endowment funds where we can only use the interest from capital invested, usually for specific purposes. PCC have a remaining £4,800 in 2 designated funds. |**Receipts**
Collections at Services
PCC/general gift aided giving
PCC/general giving
Restricted gift aided giving
Restricted giving
UK mission & charity giving
Overseas mission giving
Grant Income
Gift Aid recovered
Harvest House income
Investment income
Fees income
Other income
Increase in receipts from previous year
Choir
Mardlers
**Total receipts**
Overall increase|**2021**
**2022**
**Total**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
£ 1,832.59
£ 3,545.69
£ 3,545.69
£ -
£ 30,780.57
£ 24,873.00
£ 24,873.00
£ -
£ 5,601.70
£ 4,946.65
£ 4,946.65
£ -
£ 100.00
£ 5,000.00
£ -
£ 5,000.00
£ 85.00
£ 184.78
£ -
£ 184.78
£ 6,258.20
£ 7,099.39
£ -
£ 7,099.39
£ 7,754.60
£ 7,284.00
£ -
£ 7,284.00
£ 2,377.00
£ 3,218.19
£ -
£ 3,218.19
£ 9,727.45
£ 10,922.78
£ 7,246.22
£ 3,676.56
£ 187.00
£ 2,030.80
£ 2,030.80
£ -
£ 539.38
£ 1,281.81
£ 87.66
£ 1,194.15
£ 7,204.50
£ 6,184.00
£ 5,914.00
£ 270.00
£ 350.78
£ 1,138.05
£ 1,138.05
£ -| |---|---| ||£ 72,798.77
**£ 77,709.14**
£ 49,782.07
£27,927.07
**£ 4,910.37**
£ 785.50
£ 2,965.10
£ -
£ 2,965.10
£ 321.75
£ 798.37
£ -
£ 798.37| ||£ 73,906.02
**£ 81,472.61**
£ 49,782.07
£31,690.54| in receipts from previous year **£ 7,566.59** |**Payments**
Parish share (previous year)
Parish share
Clergy and Staffing costs
Church running expenses
Overseas Giving
UK Giving
Major Building work and repairs
churchyard
Other expenditure
Harvest House Running Costs
Increase in payments from previous year
Choir
Mardlers
**Total Payments**
Overall increase
in payments from previous year|**2021**
**2022**
**Total**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
£ 4,929.00
£ 7,290.00
£ 7,290.00
£ -
£ 29,040.00
£ 29,425.00
£ 29,425.00
£ -
£ 7,646.59
£ 7,511.27
£ 7,436.27
£ 75.00
£ 8,286.77
£ 9,864.42
£ 8,969.38
£ 895.04
£ 9,743.02
£ 9,001.56
£ 678.06
£ 8,323.50
£ 5,601.59
£ 7,580.27
£ -
£ 7,580.27
£ -
£ 2,100.00
£ -
£ 2,100.00
£ 2,254.00
£ 6,723.35
£ -
£ 6,723.35
£ 427.64
£ 1,208.63
£ 1,208.63
£ -
£ 2,260.93
£ 7,186.24
£ 7,181.74
£ 4.50| |---|---| ||£ 70,189.54
**£ 87,890.74**
£ 62,189.08
£25,701.66
**£ 17,701.20**
£ 2,189.57
£ 1,838.21
£ -
£ 1,838.21
£ 107.78
£ 752.30
£ -
£ 752.30| ||£ 72,486.89
**£ 90,481.25**
£ 62,189.08
£28,292.17
**£ 17,994.36**| ## **The main increases in receipts were:** 1. Restricted gifts for the church path. 2. Harvest House increase in revenue as we built up usage following the pandemic. 3. Interest from investment increased despite the capital reducing. 4. The choir was functioning all year. ## **The main increases in payments were:** 1. Parish Share year end top-up payment 2022 was £3,000 larger than in 2021 2. There was an increase in restricted payments of approx. £6,500 3. Church & Harvest House running expenses rose following 2 years affected by the pandemic 4. Harvest House roof repair: £3,000. Unrestricted Receipts minus Payments 2022 -£12,407.01 Restricted Receipts minus Payments 2022 £3,398.37 Balance of Receipts minus Payments 2022 -£9,008.64 **Hardship Fund.** We have had generous donations to the hardship fund. A total of £3,900 in gifts, including gift aid claimed in 2023, plus grants of £900 from Norfolk Community Foundation **Mulbarton Sick Poor Fund.** The trustees agreed to wind up this charity in November 2022. The funds were dispersed through the Hardship fund which was deemed to have similar aim, as agreed with the Charity Commission. This was the last of the small charities which were managed through the church. ## **What this means for 2023** Energy costs were a concern in 2022 but with Government support we managed. The support has been reduced but oil and gas prices have also reduced significantly. For the church it looks as though costs may increase by approximately £10-15 per month. Harvest House benefits from the Energy Price guarantee for a few more months. We have applied to the Diocese for energy support for the church and have been notified we will receive a grant of £2,000. Income from fees was high in 2022. There were more weddings than usual following the pandemic. Fees from six couples were received in 2022. There is only one wedding booked for 2023. Fees income has been keeping us afloat. By their nature fees are unpredictable so we really cannot rely on them. With much lower fees we are likely to pay less of the Parish share. The reduction in Admin assistant hours has been a success from a financial point of view. Final figures in 2021 appear low due to furlough payments received under the Government's Job Retention Scheme. Admin assistant costs in 2022 were approximately half those of previous years. ## Annual Report of Mulbarton Parochial Church Council 2022 Membership: Rector (ex-officio), Adrian Miller Churchwarden (ex officio) Tim Hayward (1 Vacancy) Lay Representatives (with start date of 3 year terms): Olusegun Ajayi (2021) Trevor Hutley (2022) Sue Mellows (2022) Treasurer Heather Wells (2022) Minutes Secretary: Derrick Hill The primary function of the PCC is to co-operate with the Rector in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church – pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. Despite having a smaller membership than in previous years, the PCC has endeavoured to fulfil this role through 8 meetings across the year and significant activity and communication between formal meetings. Our principal activities are summarised below under 6 headings: ## Church Services We are pleased that through 2022 the church continued to recover from the pandemic and sustain services of worship every Sunday at 10.00am, with the exception of occasional Benefice Services held at Bracon Ash, Flordon and Hethel, together with monthly services at Hanover Gardens. The PCC have also supported the development of YOMMY, the youth group that meets on a Sunday morning and has gone from strength to strength under the leadership of Eve Newberry-Jesse. Sadly for us, Eve has recently announced that she will be relocating this summer and so arrangements for the continued support of this activity will need to be made – but we wish Eve well in the next stage of her life. Unfortunately, a change in school assembly arrangements meant that we had to stop delivering “Open the Book” collective worship at Mulbarton Primary School from October half term. Prayer is essential to the work of the church and plans were set in motion at the end of 2022 to mark an end to a season of using the prayer room in Harvest House and to establish a new prayer space at the rear of the church both for group prayer activities and for individual visitors. Looking beyond 2022, it is worth noting a trial from April this year of a new gathering on the evening of the fourth Sunday of each month called “Together” seeking to help worshippers seek relationship with each other and with God. This is the Sunday when there is Morning Worship at Hanover Gardens and rather than have three Mulbarton Services that day, we agreed that the 10.00am service at Mulbarton Church should be cancelled on fourth Sundays apart from on special occasions. ## Supporting Adrian and Sarah We sought to encourage our Rector, Adrian, through the year, aware that there have been times when he has had health difficulties, which restricted his availability and impacted his family. His wife, Sarah, was employed through the year as part-time administrative assistant (9 hours per week), supported by a range of volunteers whom she and Adrian oversee. We regularly met with her to support her activities, which included publication of the new Benefice Directory and a review of Harvest House lettings and policies (see below) as well as many routine office functions. These arrangements, which represent a cost saving on those previously applying, seem to be working effectively. ## Safeguarding Safeguarding, especially of children and vulnerable adults, is a vital statutory responsibility. All PCC members have recently updated their training and we are grateful to Lynne Lambert for her work as Parish Safeguarding Officer. Following the death of David Pollard, Adrian took on the role of interim Safeguarding Administrator. This has been quite demanding with new responsibilities laid upon us in respect of social media users, the recruitment of ex- offenders, risk assessments, succession and vacancy planning, record keeping/retention, hall bookings, and an overhaul of the training system. The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have due regard to House of Bishops' guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). ## Supporting Villagers One of the functions of the church is to support local residents who find themselves in need and in this regard we are pleased that the Norfolk Community Foundation recognised the church as a channel for grants to struggling households. Grants from NCF were augmented from the Rector’s Fund and local donors enabling multiple grants to be given to local needy households. We also joined with the Mulbarton Village Hall Charity to offer, with the support of external funding, a “warm space” to local people through the winter months. Church members were part of the staffing rota for this initiative which has been well received and used by the village. The Church has also continued as a collection point for the Norwich Foodbank, and the donations kept in the church porch are also accessible for local needy families. Following a grant from Mulbarton Community News, new storage units are being installed in the church porch for this activity. 2022 also saw the start of regular “Mind, Body and Spirit Fairs” in Mulbarton Village Hall which have attracted people seeking help for a variety of concerns. Church representatives were able to attend and speak with visitors and we considered having a church stall at future fairs. ## Church Finance and Energy Costs Concerning finance, we work closely with the Treasurer who briefs us on the financial situation at each meeting and submits a separate detailed finance report to the APCM. The major income for the church is the regular giving of worshippers. This reduced in 2022, following some members moving away or dying. Fee income from weddings was exceptionally high again in 2022, with post-covid catching up (but forecast exceptionally low for 2023). A big issue facing the church (like everyone else) is increased energy costs. The PCC applied for a Diocesan Energy Grant to partially offset costs and acted to hold such costs down through reducing the hours for which the church is floodlit, investigating options for converting the floodlights to LEDs and considering the possibility of allowing local residents to sponsor additional lighting for special occasions. We also stopped using the under-pew heaters. Other financial actions have included: - obtaining church debit cards to facilitate cash and cheque deposits and occasional cash withdrawals and online purchases; - closing the sick poor charity which had become dormant; The Rector used the Morning Service on 9[th] October 2022 to focus on stewardship, including the financial kind, and a new leaflet explaining this is under production. ## Property Stewardship During 2022 major developments in regard to property focused on Harvest House which had become underused during the pandemic, and for several years beforehand. Necessary roof repairs were completed and work begun to repair the garden gates. The PCC advertised one upstairs room to let, and two strong applications led to not one but two tenancies for upstairs rooms to local businesses, with all preliminary work completed in 2022, ready to begin tenancies in January 2023, bringing both life and income to this asset. We also revised fees for other hirers, both regular and ad hoc, and updated the hiring terms and conditions. We reviewed policies for health and safety and lone working in the building, along with risk assessments. The other large project in 2022 was the renewal and extension of the church path, largely funded from a generous donation from the family of David Pollard. This has taken longer than anticipated but will complete in 2023, alongside the repainting of the white picket fences, in no small part from the boost provided by the Coronation Big Help Out day. A number of smaller projects are in our sights but have been delayed by the complexities of securing diocesan approval through a faculty. These include: - Replacing south side church blinds; - A memorial tree in the churchyard to serve those who have been affected by miscarriage or neonatal bereavement; - Installing a carbon fibre flagpole (the flying of the Ukrainian flag was welcomed by the village but only used a temporary pole which became damaged.) Beyond these we have employed a surveyor to develop up to date plans of the church as a basis for a redevelopment masterplan, which would include the provision of improved disability access, toilets below the Bell Tower and a refreshment provision. We would need to obtain faculty approval for this and then consider funding options – so it’s a medium term project but one we very much want to progress. Meanwhile we continue a programme of on-going maintenance informed by the Quinquennial Review by the diocese and the 5 yearly electrical safety check – which will bring work in 2023 and is expected to have significant financial consequences. ## Data Protection Finally we turn to Data Protection which, alongside safeguarding procedures, is very much in the public eye at the moment. The statistics that the church collects for the annual diocesan returns identify more than 800 people who are regularly in contact with the church and its associated activities such as Mardlers and Mulbarton Community Choir and it is important that any data is properly secured. A revised Privacy Policy is available on the website. We began reviewing data retention procedures with a view to agreeing with the other PCCs a new policy about on-line access to church records, for example records of births, marriages and deaths much used by genealogists. ## Conclusion We hope that this report is informative about the work of the PCC and enables you to interact with that work. There are vacancies for new PCC members and if you are interested in contributing, please do speak with one of us. ## Rector’s Report 2023 (reporting on 2022) We were very much back up to speed in a post-lockdown world through 2022. Personally speaking, the difference from 2021 was noticeable, with much more in the diary. The efforts required in assisting with Mulbarton Village Hall turned out to be quite substantial, and was ongoing throughout the year; but should result in resolving difficult issues that have caused trouble for four decades, and will be of benefit to the community in the long-term. Following changes in Mulbarton Primary School, sadly the "Open the Book" weekly visits to lead collective worship came to an end in October 2022. We remain grateful to have had the opportunity to assist our school in that way, and continue to benefit from occasional visits to and from the school. We continue to offer "Children of God Storybook" Bibles to reception class children, and Good News Bibles to school leavers. The youth group at Mulbarton Church (YOMMY) was formed at the start of 2022 and has since bonded and grown in strength. It is a much valued community. We are grateful to Eve Newbery-Jesse for leading on this, and to all those who have supported. We have continued to develop the community outreach, partnering with the Village Hall Charity to provide a "Warm Space" over the winter months, which was extremely well received by locals. We also broadened Mulbarton Church's local hardship fund to make it a benefice endeavour to help anyone in hardship in our communities. We have partnered with South Norfolk Community Connector and school and been able to reach and help a significant number of beneficiaries. We have also attracted significant additional income for that hardship fund from generous neighbours across the benefice. The various pieces of work on the fabric of our church buildings and in our churchyards made significant progress through 2022. St Nicholas' Church in Bracon Ash is now watertight, and that is perhaps the most important work we accomplished across the benefice in 2022, securing the fabric of that building for future generations. We finished catching up on all the weddings that couldn’t happen in 2020 because of covid, and other things settled back into the sort of levels we were seeing before covid, excepting double the number of crematorium services than the previous year. In summary, for 2022: - We had **7 baptisms** & **0 thanksgivings** (5 baptisms in 2021) - We buried **8 sets of ashes** (13 in 2021) - We conducted **8 full burials** (7 in 2021) - We conducted **12 funeral services at crematoriums** (6 in 2021) - We conducted **9 funeral services in churches** (9 in 2021) - We conducted **9 wedding ceremonies** (12 in 2021) ## **Treasurer’s report for 2022** This year we have adopted the simpler Annual finance report. For those who would like more details there are some Financial Statements generated by PAW (Parish Accounts workbook) in circulation. Please bear in mind that some of the categories vary between the two reports. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Funds 31-Dec-21 31-Dec-22 comments
Unrestricted (General fund ) £14,891 £5,120 a
Designated £8,064 £4,869
Restricted £38,124 £42,082
Endowment £21,120 £19,122 b
£82,199 £71,192
Bank accounts 31-Dec-21 31-Dec-22
Bank of Scotland (Current Account) £19,915 £14,766
Petty Cash £60 £66
CBF (Deposit Account) £41,103 £37,238
4 Permanent Endowment Accounts £21,120 £19,122
TOTAL £82,199 £71,192
exact figures (£82,198.59 (£71,191.69)
**----- End of picture text -----**
- _a_ This looks a huge difference in cash available between the 2 years. However, as mentioned in last year's report, in Jan 2022 the PCC voted to pay a further £7,290 to our Parish Share for 2021. This counted towards our Parish share for 2021 but shows in our 2022 accounts. This effectively took the General fund to £7,600 at end of2021 (reserve for 2021.) The PCC decided at the end of 2022 to allow the General Fund to go below the reserve of £6,500 to enable us to fulfill our commitment to pay the parish proportion of the Parish share. We missed paying the full share: £41,237 by approx £11,800. The Parish share for 2023 is £42,902. - _b_ We received interest from the endowments but the capital reduced in both during 2022. It’s important to note that of the **£71,000** assets the church holds, only approx. **£5,000** were available at the end of 2022 for running the church on a daily basis. Most assets are held in either Restricted funds, which can only be used for a specific purpose, or Endowment funds where we can only use the interest from capital invested, usually for specific purposes. PCC have a remaining £4,800 in 2 designated funds. (More details of all these funds are on page 5 of Financial Statements.) -1- |**Receipts**
Collections at Services
PCC/general gift aided giving
PCC/general giving
Restricted gift aided giving
Restricted giving
UK mission & charity giving
Overseas mission giving
Grant Income
Gift Aid recovered
Harvest House income
Investment income
Fees income
Other income
Increase in receipts from previous year|**Receipts**|**2021**
**2022**
**Total**
1,832.59
£
3,545.69
£
30,780.57
£
24,873.00
£
5,601.70
£
4,946.65
£
100.00
£
5,000.00
£
85.00
£
184.78
£
6,258.20
£
7,099.39
£
7,754.60
£
7,284.00
£
2,377.00
£
3,218.19
£
9,727.45
£
10,922.78
£
187.00
£
2,030.80
£
539.38
£
1,281.81
£
7,204.50
£
6,184.00
£
350.78
£
1,138.05
£
72,798.77
£
**77,709.14**
**£**
**4,910.37**
**£**|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
3,545.69
£
-
£
24,873.00
£
-
£
4,946.65
£
-
£
-
£
5,000.00
£
-
£
184.78
£
-
£
7,099.39
£
-
£
7,284.00
£
-
£
3,218.19
£
7,246.22
£
3,676.56
£
2,030.80
£
-
£
87.66
£
1,194.15
£
5,914.00
£
270.00
£
1,138.05
£
-
£
49,782.07
£
27,927.07
£| |---|---|---|---| Choir £ 785.50 £ 2,965.10 £ - £ 2,965.10 Mardlers £ 321.75 £ 798.37 £ - £ 798.37 **Total receipts** £ 73,906.02 **£ 81,472.61** £ 49,782.07 £31,690.54 Overall increase in receipts from previous year **£ 7,566.59** |**Payments**
Parish share (previous year)
Parish share
Clergy and Staffing costs
Church running expenses
Overseas Giving
UK Giving
Major Building work and repairs
churchyard
Other expenditure
Harvest House Running Costs|**Payments**|**2021**
**2022**
**Total**
4,929.00
£
7,290.00
£
29,040.00
£
29,425.00
£
7,646.59
£
7,511.27
£
8,286.77
£
9,864.42
£
9,743.02
£
9,001.56
£
5,601.59
£
7,580.27
£
-
£
2,100.00
£
2,254.00
£
6,723.35
£
427.64
£
1,208.63
£
2,260.93
£
7,186.24
£
70,189.54
£
**87,890.74**
**£**|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
7,290.00
£
-
£
29,425.00
£
-
£
7,436.27
£
75.00
£
8,969.38
£
895.04
£
678.06
£
8,323.50
£
-
£
7,580.27
£
-
£
2,100.00
£
-
£
6,723.35
£
1,208.63
£
-
£
7,181.74
£
4.50
£
62,189.08
£
25,701.66
£| |---|---|---|---| Increase in payments from previous year **£ 17,701.20** **Total Payments** £ 72,486.89 **£ 90,481.25** £ 62,189.08 £28,292.17 Overall increase in payments from previous year **£ 17,994.36** -2- ## The main increases in receipts were: 1. Restricted gifts for the church path. 2. Harvest House increase in revenue as we built up usage following the pandemic. 3. Interest from investment increased despite the capital reducing. 4. The choir was functioning all year. ## The main increases in payments were: 1. Parish Share year end top-up payment 2022 was £3,000 larger than in 2021 2. There was an increase in restricted payments of approx £6,500 3. Church & Harvest House running expenses rose following 2 years affected by the pandemic 4. Harvest House roof repair: £3,000. - Unrestricted Receipts minus Payments 2022 -£ 12,407.01 Restricted Receipts minus Payments 2022 £ 3,398.37 Balance of Receipts minus Payments 2022 **-£ 9,008.64** **Hardship Fund.** We have had generous donations to the hardship fund. A total of £3,900 in gifts, including gift aid claimed in 2023, plus grants of £900 from Norfolk Community Foundation **Mulbarton Sick Poor Fund.** The trustees agreed to wind up this charity in November 2022. The funds were dispersed through the Hardship fund which was deemed to have similar aim, as agreed with the Charity Commission. This was the last of the small charities which were managed through the church. ## **What this means for 2023** Energy costs were a concern in 2022 but with Government support we managed. The support has been reduced but oil and gas prices have also reduced significantly. For the church it looks as though costs may increase by approximately £10-15 per month. Harvest House benefits from the Energy Price guarantee for a few more months. We have applied to the Diocese for energy support for the church and have been notified we will receive a grant of £2,000. Income from fees was high in 2022. There were more weddings than usual following the pandemic. Fees from six couples were received in 2022. There is only one wedding booked for 2023. Fees income has been keeping us afloat. By their nature fees are unpredicatable so we really cannot rely on them. With much lower fees we are likely to pay less of the Parish share. The reduction in Admin assistant hours has been a success from a financial point of view. Final figures in 2021 appear low due to furlough payments received under the Government's Job Retention Scheme. Admin assistant costs in 2022 were approximately half those of previous years. -3- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND Diocese of Norwich Independent Examiners Certificate Report to tho trustgé$1 members of.. On accounts for the year ended.. Charity no lif any).. I report lo the trustees on year ended3111 ? I lef Responsibilities and basls of report eK8minalion of the accounts of the above chaiity Iyhe Trusf'l for the As the charity's trustees. you are responsible for the preparation of the a￿ount6 in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 I'lhe Acl'l. I report in resped of my examin8tion of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in ¢arrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under se¢lion 14515llbl of the Act. Independenl examIne￿S statemènt ome ex 11. Dolelo [] il not appI￿&blo. I have completed my examination. I confim that nts material matter5 have come tg my attontion in connection wf(h the examinalio hich gives MÈ causé to bèlieve that in, any material respect.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act., or the awounts did not accord wi(h the accounting records.. or the accounts did not Gompty with the applicable requirements concerning the form and conlenl of accounts set out in the Charities IAccounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'lrue and fair, view whi¢h 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 lo which atlenliDn shoulrj be drawn in this report in order lo enable a proper understanding gf th¢ accounts to be Teached. ' Please delete Ihe Wo￿{S in the brackets if they do not apply. Signed.. D*e'. Name.. LAN fc)ri IER Oct 2018 Relevant professional qualilicationlsl or b￿lY lif any) Address.. C K)A)Lrqg COLL IFN Sèction B Disclosurè Only complete if the examiner need5 to hEhlight material matters of concern Isee CC32. Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guldance for examiners). GI￿ here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose IER Oct 2018