Trustees' Annual Report for the period
Period start date Period end date Day Month Year Day Month Year From 06 04 2022 To 05 04 2023
Section A Reference and administration details
Charity name
Rainow Village Bus
Other names charity is known by Registered charity number (if any) 1159414
Charity's principal address Tower, Hill House, Rainow, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Postcode SK10 5TX
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Butler | Chairman | ||||
| TonyWilkinson | Treasurer | ||||
| Tim Grimes | Secretary | ||||
| Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees) | |||||
| Name | Dates acted if not for whole year | ||||
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| Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Type of adviser Name Address |
Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Type of adviser Name Address |
Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Type of adviser Name Address |
|---|---|---|
| Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information) | ||
Section B Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
Constitution Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution) Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company) Appointed by the trustees Trustee selection methods
- (eg. appointed by, elected by)
Additional governance issues (Optional information)
Three Trustees are responsible for overall strategy and direction whilst You may choose to include other unpaid volunteers undertake specific tasks (including driving the additional information, where bus) as the need arises. There has been no change in the Trustees during relevant, about: this reporting period.
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policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
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the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
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relationship with any related parties;
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trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.
Section C Objectives and activities
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document
Rainow Village Bus (RVB) provides services which are available to all the residents of the village of Rainow in East Cheshire. RVB operates a 15 seat minibus and provides residents with a bookable transport service from Rainow and neighbouring towns for all the charitable, voluntary, community and social groups in Rainow and nearby villages. RVB has been operating since 2014. Originally the operation of a timetable service on Friday and Saturday evenings to Macclesfield was part of the RVB operation. However, this has not proved popular and so has been discontinued for the time being. This is kept under regular review however.
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The charity is a non-profit making charitable incorporated organisation with a constitution lodged with the Charities Commission. Trustees are elected by a meeting of all available volunteers and are expected to serve at least three years.
Locally devised systems for group hire bookings and vehicle operation are used and services are publicised on the Rainow Village website. Regular articles providing updates of RVB activities appear in the quarterly village magazine. All vehicle management administration (servicing, maintenance, MOT checking, driver rotas) is carried out by Trustees or volunteers.
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)
Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)
All activities are carried out by volunteers.
You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:
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policy on grantmaking;
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policy programme related investment;
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contribution made by volunteers.
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Section D Achievements and performance
Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year
This is the first full year of operation following the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic in 2020-2021. Demand has now returned to the prepandemic levels with 110 session bookings during this reporting period, compared to 106 session booking in the last full year of pre-Covid operation.
Bookings continue to involve a variety of village groups (e.g. Cubs, Scouts, Guides, Air Cadets, Church groups, Women’s Institute, local Primary Schools, rambling groups and other local social groups) who have hired the vehicle for journeys of varying lengths throughout the period.
However the balance of bookings has changed significantly from the prepandemic experiences. The majority of bookings are now from local schools and charities, with demand from local social groups remaining more modest. This may relate to changing habits following the pandemic or from the increased costs of using the service following the need to increase charges due to the very significant increases in fuel costs during the reporting period. The trustees are continuing to investigate the reasons for this change in demand.
Following a discussion at a meeting of trustees and volunteers it was unanimously decided not to return to a scheduled service on Friday and Saturday evenings, on the basis that there remained insufficient demand for such a service.
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Section E Financial review
Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves
Rainow Village Bus endeavours to maintain sufficient cash reserves to cover running expenses during the year including unexpected expenses particularly those involving vehicle maintenance.
Details of any funds materially in deficit
Further financial review details (Optional information)
You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:
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the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);
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how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
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investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.
Groups pay a hire charge based on the time used (number of sessions) and distance covered. All charges are standard to the users. Our income during the year was £5,411, while our expenditure was £4,760. At the end of the financial year our cash in the bank was £4,815. This level of activity and financial sustainability has now returned to pre-covid levels.
As a result of the significantly increased fuel costs in early 2022, we decided to increase the charges for hiring the bus. From May 2022, these became £30 per session (up from £25) and 60p per mile (up from 50p per mile). These were the first increases since 2016. Then in early 2023, the cost per session was raised again to £35 in order to cover the cost of adding AA cover for the bus, which is now almost 7 years old. The mileage charge was held at 60p per mile.
Section F Other optional information
An increasing challenge for Rainow Village Bus has been to find sufficient volunteer drivers, particularly those who are available during the day in mid-week (when most bookings occur). This issue is compounded by the fact that the necessary D1 on the licence is lost once aged 70 unless actively maintained. This latter process can be complex and time consuming and many drivers simply step down once they turn 70. The trustees continue to look for options to increase the volunteer driver pool.
Following the covid years and the energy crisis in 2022, this last financial year has seen a return to a firm financial footing. The recovery in group bookings provides confidence that the service will be able to continue for some years before any further finance support is needed.
Once again RVB is firmly established with good prospects. In these circumstances no further changes in basic operation are envisaged.
Section G Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Anthony James Wilkinson Full name(s) Anthony James Wilkinson Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Treasurer, Trustee etc) Date 25/11/2023
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| Charity Name Rainow Village Bus |
Charity Name Rainow Village Bus |
Charity Name Rainow Village Bus |
No (if any) 1159414 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| For the period from |
Period start date 4/6/2022 |
To | Period end date 4/5/2023 |
| Section A Receipts and payments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Receipts General Income 5,411 - - - - - - - 5,411 - - Sub total - Total receipts 5,411 A3 Payments General expenses 4,760 - - - - - - - - Sub total 4,760 - - Sub total - Total payments 4,760 Net of receipts/(payments) 651 A5 Transfers between funds - A6 Cash funds last year end 4,164 Cash funds this year end 4,815 Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ Sub total(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Restricted funds |
to the nearest £ Endowment funds |
Total funds to the nearest £ 5,411 - - - - - - - 5,411 - - - 5,411 4,760 - - - - - - - - 4,760 - - - 4,760 651 - 4,164 4,815 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
| - - - - - - - - - |
5,411 | 1,628 | ||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| 5,411 | 1,628 | |||
| - - - |
- | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | 5,411 | 1,628 | ||
| - - - - - - - - - - |
4,760 | 2,010 | ||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| 4,760 | 2,010 | |||
| - - - |
- | |||
| - | ||||
| - | - | |||
| - | 4,760 | 2,010 | ||
| - | - - - - |
651 | - 382 | |
| - | - | - | ||
| - | 4,164 | - | ||
| - | 4,815 | 4,164 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details Details Details Details Details Signature AnthonyJames Wilkinson Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Mercedes Sprinter 524 Minibus delivered November 2016 |
to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - 4,815 - OK OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Print Name Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) Anthony James Wilkinson (Treasurer and Trustee) |
to nearest £ Endowment funds |
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| OK | |||
| to nearest £ Endowment funds |
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| - | |||
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| Current value (optional) |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
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| AnthonyJames Wilkinson | Anthony James Wilkinson (Treasurer and Trustee) |
11/29/2023 | |