**==> picture [260 x 138] intentionally omitted <==** ## Trustees Annual Report & Accounts (Accruals basis) (year end 31.8.2023) Methodist Church South East District Circuit No: 36/25 ## **Name of Charity:** South Kent Methodist Circuit **Charity Registration Number:** 1159742 **Date of registration:** December 2014 **Address of Charity:** South Kent Circuit Office St Andrew’s Methodist Church Surrenden Road Folkestone CT19 4DY ## **Structure, Governance and Management:** The South Kent Circuit forms part of the South East District of the Methodist Church and is governed by the Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church. With effect from December 2014 the Circuit has been registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission. The following Methodist Churches are linked to the Circuit: Charing, Dymchurch, Elham, Hamstreet (this is a Methodist/Anglican ecumenical partnership), Headcorn (meeting in a community hall), Hythe, Lydd, Lyminge, New Romney, Rhodes Minnis, Shadoxhurst, Tenterden, St Andrews Cheriton, United Church Ashford (this is one united URC and Methodist church, meeting on 2 sites at Cade Road Ashford and Kennington. ## **Trustees:** The Trustees of the Circuit are the members of the South Kent Methodist Circuit Meeting, which meets twice a year - this includes the following people: Chair: Revd. Helen Hollands (Superintendent Minister) Other Ministers: Revd. Dr. Paul Dean (to 8/23), Revd. Malcolm Peach (to 8/23), Revd Gill Songer, Revd Geoff Abasolo-Munnery (from 4/2023) Circuit Finance Officer: Mrs Lisa Cooper (non voting member) Circuit Treasurer: Mr David Tocher Circuit Stewards: Mrs Elizabeth Talbot (Senior Circuit Steward), Mrs Janet Carter, Mrs Rachel Giles, Mr Noel Grabham, Mr David Tocher ## Other members: Each church within the Circuit elects up to 3 representatives to the Circuit Meeting; some by virtue of the role they hold (i.e. church treasurer and steward/secretary) plus one other representative elected by the Church Council. Upon appointment they become Trustees of the Circuit. Various other Circuit Officers are also members of the Circuit Meeting as per the requirements of Methodist Standing Orders, these members are appointed by the Circuit Meeting. The Leaders of Worship and Preaching (LWP) meeting appoints representatives from within their number to the Circuit Meeting and they also become trustees. Retired ministers living in the area can opt to be a trustee if they wish. Some members are members by virtue of their role within the South East District. A full list of trustees including those appointed by churches, other committees, or those who hold Circuit or District office is attached at the end of this report. (Appendix 1). Circuit Co-ordinator: Mrs Lisa Cooper is a non-trustee who manages the day-to-day running of the finances of the South Kent Methodist Circuit. She is a non-voting member of the Circuit Meeting who takes the minutes. ## Circuit Property Officer: Mr Kevin Miles, non-voting member Throughout the year, in between full meetings of the Trustees, The Circuit Leadership Team (CLT) meets regularly to manage the running of the Circuit. The Circuit Leadership Team consists of: The Chair of the Circuit Meeting (Revd. H Hollands), all other Ministers, all Circuit Stewards, and lay employees Mr Tom Lewis, Mrs Lisa Cooper and Mr Kevin Miles. ## **Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities :** Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing financial statements giving a true and fair view, the Trustees should follow best practice and: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently - make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent - state whether applicable accounting standards and the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting by Charities have been followed - prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that activities will continue The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the South Kent Methodist Circuit. The Charity’s annual report and accounts for the year ended 31st August 2023 have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice 2015 as applicable to the Financial Reporting Standard (FRSSE). The Trustees are also responsible for taking reasonable steps to safeguard the assets of the charity and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities. **2** ## **Financial Information:** The South Kent Methodist Circuit holds Bank accounts with the following Banks: The Co-operative Bank Central Finance Board of the Trustees for Methodist Church PO Box 250, Methodist Church Purposes Delf House, Southway, 9 Bonhill St Central Buildings Skelmersdale WN8 6WT London Oldham Street EC2A 4PE Manchester (Investment Banker) M1 1JQ (Investment Banker) ## **Independent Examiner:** Andrew Tuck, Chandler Tuck (Chartered Accountants) 1[st] Floor, 30 North Street, ASHFORD, Kent, TN24 8JR ## **Public Benefit - Objectives and Activities:** The trustees have considered the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. All our activities are undertaken to further our charitable purposes for the public benefit. We aim to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of their churches and local communities through: - Worship and prayer; learning about the Gospel; and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus. - Provision of pastoral care for people living in their vicinity. - Missionary and outreach work. This is in line with the Mission Statement of the South Kent Methodist Church which states: ## _Mission Statement:_ The South Kent Methodist Circuit exists to enable its local churches and ecumenical partnerships to offer Christian witness, worship and work in their local communities. We seek to build up our sense of togetherness as one in Christ, offering the love of God and guided by the Holy Spirit. _To that end and under-girding all things in prayer, our Priorities are:_ 1. To facilitate worship in churches and other venues such as Grace Court (MHA home) in Folkestone. 2. To nurture and resource individuals, groups and churches to discern and fulfil their God-given gifts and callings, within a safe space. 3. To give guidance and direction for the future of Methodism in this area, within the South East District and the whole Connexion. 4. To expand and explore every opportunity to work with ecumenical partners and other like-minded agencies in areas of church and community life. 5. To work alongside and support the work of MHA at Grace Court, Folkestone and the John Wesley School in Ashford. **3** ## **Review of the year and plans for future periods:** The South Kent Methodist circuit has continued to resource the churches and enable the continued provision of public worship and church related activities across the South Kent area. Where possible we work with our ecumenical partners. The circuit also offers ongoing support to local managing trustees in their responsibilities which includes property maintenance, administrative support, safety, risk assessments and other matters such as safeguarding and GDPR. The circuit also encourages engagement with local communities to the benefit and wellbeing of residents. This has been another year of transition and change following the effects of the pandemic. We continued to offer online and in person worship across the circuit including an ongoing circuit podcast and zoom fellowship and study meetings during the week. We still hold some business meetings online and we also distribute a printed worship sheet each week to a number of members who are unable to attend worship in person. The circuit staff team has undergone some changes during 2022/2023. In April 2023, Revd Geoff AbasoloMunnery was appointed as the Anglican priest at our Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP) in Hamstreet. Our probationary minister, Revd Gill Songer, was ordained in June 2023, and a good number of friends from the circuit travelled to support Gill at Coventry Cathedral on that day. Our URC colleague Revd Dr Paul Dean retired at the end of August 2023 as did the Revd Malcolm Peach. These part time appointments were replaced with the Revd Adrian Roux who was appointed full-time from 1[st] September 2023, initially for one year. Mr Tom Lewis continues to work as a missioner in the circuit and in the wider Methodist district, particularly focused in the Chilmington area of Ashford and providing ongoing activities for the John Wesley School. He facilitates a range of activities for children and young people and their families. This work is funded from the sale of closed churches and by the Methodist South-East District with an additional contribution from the United Reformed Church. Mr Lewis works alongside colleagues in the Anglican and URC churches to build community and enrich the lives of those moving onto the new estate. The meeting of the circuit trustees in September 2022 resolved to extend his appointment by a further 3 years running from September 2025-August 2028. This is being funded with money from the sales of closed church buildings and the Methodist district. The circuit also appointed a Local Lay Pastor, Mr Dwight Harris, to serve the circuit from 1[st] September 2023, with a particular emphasis on pastoral care and missional engagement in the village of Charing. This is initially a 3-year appointment and is being funded by sales of church buildings and by a legacy left to the church in Charing. During the year we sold 3 redundant church buildings at Appledore, Headcorn and Wye. The money from these sales has been ringfenced in various ways – some of it towards ongoing funding of the missioner post and the new lay pastor post, some of it towards the replacement/rebuilding project in Folkestone, and some of it into a fund for Mission to which the local churches can apply for grants to help fund new initiatives in and for the benefit of their local communities. As part of its ongoing mission to help those in our communities the circuit also increased its annual donation to the hardship fund at the John Wesley Primary School in Ashford, which assists lower income families with paying for school uniform, trips, and provides food parcels in emergencies. Three of our churches in the Romney Marsh area, New Romney, Lydd and Dymchurch have united under a shared church council which encourages a more unified approach in that part of the circuit. We are still exploring, alongside other charitable partners, the possibilities for rebuilding on our site in Folkestone town centre. We hope to rebuild a church and community centre as well as offering some provision of emergency accommodation for rough sleepers in a second building to the rear of the site. This is in partnership with the Folkestone Rainbow Centre and is a work in progress, we look forward to discovering what the future brings for these premises. **4** We are continuing to use the surplus funds from the sale of the manse in Hythe to upgrade the replacement manse in Dymchurch, and we are anticipating a major redevelopment of the garage and studio room over the next year or so, to provide a better study with a WC facility for visitors, and an additional bedroom. We continue to support a Syrian family who are housed via Ashford Borough Council in one of our manses in Tenterden. We continue to support local preachers and worship leaders within the circuit in terms of ongoing development, including training days and regular meetings. We have several people who are currently training to lead worship. We also provide worship material and a podcast for churches to lead their own services on occasions when there is not a preacher available. We enjoy strong links with the John Wesley School in Ashford and provide 4 Foundation governors to the governing body. Circuit staff also lead Collective worship and other activities at the school including a monthly Messy Church attended by up to 80 people. Mr Lewis ran another very successful holiday club at the school in July 2023, along with a seaside trip to Dymchurch. We are delighted that there is other ongoing work with children and families at our church in Lyminge, via regular 'Open the Book' assemblies. We also offer provision for families during school holidays at Kennington in Ashford, where a morning of games and a free lunch is provided, on a rota with other local churches and supported by Ashford Borough Council. We are committed to working with MHA supported housing at Grace Court in Folkestone and provide a lay chaplain, Mrs Val Redding, who serves the spiritual needs of the residents there including a regular act of worship and engaging in activities. The circuit continues to focus on care of our communities, churches and staff. We hope to offer meaningful worship both in person and online, to encourage well-being for all, and to serve our communities, including children, families and older people, as best we can. ## **Principal Funding Sources:** The Circuit’s main source of income is the Circuit assessment that each church is asked to provide to enable the Circuit to cover its expected running costs. In the year ending August 2023 the circuit received £ 205,143 in assessments from the churches of the circuit, and a further £ 43,152 of assessment paid in advance in August 2023, for the following year and counted in creditors. We received a contribution of £14,770 from the South East District towards the cost of one minister’s stipend. We received grants totalling £26,740 towards the missional post at Chilmington and we also received rental income amounting to £12,600 for the letting of one of our unused manses to a Syrian refugee family through Ashford Borough Council and the Government refugee relocation scheme. This is in line with the objectives of our charity and the tenancy is agreed on an ongoing basis. Our total expenditure for the year, incurred in relation to our charitable activities amounted to £ 403,016 of which the stipends and salaries paid to the ministers and lay staff (including pensions and NIC) amounted to £195,717. A further stipends payment of £10,452 was paid in advance for the September 2023 stipends and has been counted in debtors. Other expenditure includes the amounts we are asked to contribute to the Connexional and District administration of the Methodist Church (£30,561 and £ 8,831 respectively), reimbursement of trustees expenses, repair and maintenance of manses, property inspections, grants to local churches , and general administrative costs. The annual end of year levy applied against monies held in our MTF account with the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (TMCP) in this year was £10,162. This is a percentage of funds held at the end of each year which is redistributed to other Circuits and Churches via our internal grant giving systems. There are no long-term investments held by the Circuit. Interest on funds totalled £23,030 across all accounts. **5** ## **Reserves Policy:** The following reserves policy is approved by the Circuit meeting: ## Reserves Policy for General Funds: Under Standing Orders the Circuit must be able to meet its financial obligations in relation to the support of its Ministers and the maintenance of the manses. The total general running costs for the last financial year were about £250,000 (not including the grants and levy from the MTF account). Our policy is to hold at least six month's expenditure in hand (£125,000). ## Reserves Policy for Restricted Funds: Money held in the Model Trust Fund is from the sale of manses and churches and its use is restricted by conference. Our policy regarding this money is as follows: - Proceeds from the sale of manses will be spent on the improvement, upkeep and potential replacement of manses - Some proceeds from the sales of church premises are held as a fund for property grants, to assist local churches with maintenance issues - Some proceeds from church sales are ringfenced for the future redevelopment of our site in Folkestone - Some proceeds from church sales are ringfenced for funding our missional lay employee posts in future years - Some proceeds from church sales are ringfenced as the new Circuit Mission Fund (see below) to encourage and resource our local churches to try new initiatives in their communities, in line with the circuit mission policy ## **Grant-making Policy:** The South Kent Methodist Circuit maintains a policy for providing grants to churches within the Circuit. Applications are assessed on how much they are likely to further the Circuit’s and local church’s mission. As a rough guide the Circuit will consider supporting a project for up to 1/3[rd] of the total cost. As a Christian organisation we also on occasion make donations to local charitable causes which are in keeping with our charitable purposes. These requests are brought to the Circuit Meeting/or CLT and agreed on by a majority vote. ## **Circuit Mission Fund:** In March 2023 the Circuit Trustees ringfenced £50,000 from the sales of closed churches to be used for grants for new Missional activities in the local churches and their communities, looking at what the needs of their local communities might be and how the church might aim to meet them. A panel of 3 trustees was appointed to oversee decisions regarding applications received. (The rest of this page is intentionally blank) **6** ## **SOUTH KENT METHODIST CIRCUIT REG. CHARITY NUMBER 1159742** ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31/8/23** **==> picture [504 x 759] intentionally omitted <==** **----- Start of picture text -----**
UNRESTRICTED RESTRICTED
NOTES FUNDS (CFB & FUNDS (MTF Yr end Aug Yr end Aug
CO-OP) ACCOUNT) 2023 2022
INCOME: 3 £ £ £ £
GRANTS 6 26,740 0 26,740 36,400
DONATIONS 4 15,061 0 15,061 7,235
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
i) CIRCUIT ASSESSMENT 5 205,143 0 205,143 197,326
INVESTMENTS - INTEREST 7 5,506 17,523 23,030 1,910
OTHER -
i)RENT FROM MANSE 6 12,600 0 12,600 12,600
ii)DISTRICT CHAIR STIPEND 6 14,770 0 14,770 14,190
iii)STAFF LEAVING COLLECTIONS 1,539 0 1,539 0
iv) DONATIONS TO FOLKESTONE PROJECT 942 0 942 0
v) REFUND OF ACV/SALES COSTS 19,325 19,325
TOTAL INCOME 301,626 17,523 319,149 269,661
EXPENDITURE: 3 £ £ £
STIPENDS, NIC & PENSIONS 10 195717.46 0 195,717 184,568
DISTRICT ASSESSMENT 8,831 0 8,831 8,339
METHODIST CHURCH FUND 30,561 0 30,561 31,056
TRAVEL 12,049 12,049 11,049
PHONE & INTERNET 4,409 0 4,409 4,147
INSURANCE 5,744 0 5,744 6,706
MANSES
i) REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE 38,255 0 38,255 24,098
ii) COUNCIL TAX 8,763 8,763 8,985
iii) WATER RATES ETC 2,441 2,441 2,645
ADMIN
i)POSTAGE, PRINTING & STATIONERY ETC. 12,069 12,069 22,334
ii) PROPERTY INSPECTIONS 11,245 11,245 9,220
iii) REMOVAL COSTS 5,611 0 5,611 1,114
iv) OTHER CIRCUIT ADMIN 735 735 439
GRANTS & DONATIONS 16,494 17,000 33,494 2,600
STAFF LEAVING COLLECTIONS 1,539 0 1,539 0
OTHER i) LEAVING GIFTS 196 0 196 55
ii) MISSIONAL (NHM) 6,685 0 6,685 7,015
END YEAR LEVY-DIST ADVANCE FUND 0 10,162 10,162 4,922
FOLKESTONE PROJECT FEASIBILITY STUDY 14,510 0 14,510 1,983
DONATION TO MINISTERS PENSION FUND 0 0 0 12,150
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 375,119 27,897 403,016 343,425
NET INCOME (-EXPENDITURE) -73,493 -10,374 -83,867 -73,764
NET TRANSFERS BETWEEN ACCOUNTS 98,694 -98,694 0 0.00
EXTRAORDINARY INC/EXP, SEE BALANCE SHEET 0 483,925 483,925 202,179
(Re:Sale of 3 chapels)
FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD 1/9/22 168,306 257,934 426,240 297,825
FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD AT 31/8/23 193,507 632,791 826,298 426,240
PLUS FIXED ASSESTS FROM NEXT PAGE 1,812,423 2,359,036
TOTAL ASSETS CARRIED FORWARD 31/8/23 2,638,721 2,785,276
**----- End of picture text -----**
**7** **SOUTH KENT METHODIST CIRCUIT** **REG. CHARITY NUMBER 1159742** **31st August 2023** ## **Balance sheet for year ending** ## **TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS** |**Manses**|**at Aug 2023**|**at Aug 2022**| |---|---|---| |142 CHERITON ROAD|355,490|327,336| |87 LOWER QUEENS ROAD|352,197|324,303| |WINDOVER|353,057|325,095| |2 DISCOVERY DRIVE|283,377|260,934| |30 HIGH KNOCKE|403,362|371,416| |WYE CHAPEL|SOLD MAR 2023|749,952| |HEADCORN CHAPEL|SOLD NOV 2022|NA| |APPLEDORE CHAPEL|SOLD OCT 2022|NA| |FOLKESTONE METHODIST|65,000|NA| |**TOTAL FIXED ASSETS**|**1,812,483**|**£2,359,036**| Headcorn & Appledore chapels came into circuit care while still insured by the local trustees and were sold immediately Folkestone is in circuit care pending rebuilding - insured on the basis of site clearance not reinstatement ||**MANSES**|**CHAPELS**|**TOTAL**| |---|---|---|---| |**Brought Forward**|£1,609,084.00|£749,952.00 (Wye)|£2,359,036.00 2022| |**Revaluation+/-**|£138,339.00|£65,000.00 (+Folkestone)|| |||-£749,952.00 (-Wye)|| |**Carried forward**|£1,747,423.00|£65,000.00|**£1,812,423.00** 2023| Three churches were sold during the year. The sales are detailed below and shown as extraordinary income on the SOFA. ## **TOTAL FIXED ASSETS CARRIED FORWARD £1,812,423.00** |**Extraordinary Income & Expenditure - Sales of 3 church buildings**|||| |---|---|---|---| |**APPLEDORE**
**HEADCORN**|**WYE**||| |Sale price + sundries
220,950
177,099|332,000||| |Fee/copy title etc
-6
-6|-15||| |Auctioneer commission
-7,954
N/A|-11,952||| |Solicitor fees
-996
-2,136|-1,116||| |Reimbursed expenses
0
-12,690|-6,635|-19,325|already listed as income on SoFA| |**Bal remitted to TMCP**
**211,994**
**162,267**|**312,282**||| |**Levy deducted**
**-60,798**
**-40,907**|**-100,913**||| |||**TOTAL**|| |**extraordinary income**
**from building sales =**
**Income - Expenditure**
**151,196**
**121,360**|**211,369**|**483,925**|| |**CURRENT ASSETS**
DEBTORS & PREPAYMENTS
CASH AT MTF ACCOUNT (Main)
CASH AT MTF ACCOUNT (MW)
CASH AT CFB Manse
CASH AT CFB Main
CASH AT CO-OP ACCOUNT
CASH IN HAND (UNCLEARED CREDITS)|10,452
626,851
5,943
65,694
169,697
39,189
5,227|(see SoFA)
prepaid stipends Aug 2023
from statement
from statement
from statement
from statement
from statement
uncleared income Aug 2023|| ||923,052|**A**|| |CREDITORS & ACCRUALS
CREDITORS
CREDITORS
UNCLEARED PAYMENTS|43,152
53,602
0|prepaid assessments August 2023
prepaid grant for NHM role & Charing LLP funding (in CFB account)
uncleared cheques at end of yr|| ||96,754|**B**|| |**NET CURRENT ASSETS**
**(A-B)**
**FIXED ASSETS (FROM ABOVE)**|**826,298 **
**1,812,423**|**as at SOFA**|| |**TOTAL ASSETS**|**2,638,721 **|**as at SOFA**|| **8** The notes form part of these financial statements. SOUTH KENT METHODIST CIRCUIT Registered Charity number 1159742 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 l. Basis of accounting . The financial statements have been prepared under the Charities Act 2011 in accordance with the 2014 version of Accounting and Reporting by Charities- Statement of Recommended Practice ISORPI applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities applicable in the UK (effective from l January 20151- The Charities SORP IFRSSEI - in replacement for the SORP'S 2005 version specified in its related 2008 Regulations and in accordance with the 'true and fair override, provision contained therein. 2. Funds . The Circuit has restricted and unrestricted funds. Most of its income is unrestricted and can be used for the day to day furtherance of the charity's aims. Money from the sale of properties is restricted funds held in the Model Trust Fund accounts and its use is regulated by the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes ITMCPI in Manchester in accordance with our Standing Orders. 3. Accounting Policies Basis: These atcounts have been prepared on the basis of historical cost. Income Recognition . Income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities ISOFAI when- the Circuit becomes entitled to the resource5,' the trustees are reasonably certain they will receive the resources,. the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability. The majority of the charity's income comes from the churches which comprise the Circuit. Resources Expended . This is recognised when a liability is incurred, or a constructive obligation arises, that results in the payment being unavoidable. Liabilities are recoEnised as soon as an outflow of economic benefit is considered more likely than not under the legal or constructive obligation committing the Circuit to pay out resources. VAT: Since the Circuit is not VAT registered, all input VAT is charged with the expenses to which it refers. Tangible fixed assets for use by the Clrcult . Tangible fixed assets are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year, and cost at least £IOOO. They are valued at cost or a reasonable value on receipt. Where cost is not available, the Circuit Meeting may provide a reasonable estimate of cost or of the current value to the circuit. Our estimates are based on insurance values of the manses and, when relevant, disused churches in the Circuit's care. The properties have been reviewed for impairment. Debtors and Prepayments . Relates to the payment taken for September 2023 stipends in August 2023. Creditors . Creditors relates to the 1st quarter assessments for September-November 2023, received in August 2023 from the Circuit churches, and to a grant also received in advance for the following year. 4. Donatlons The Circuit received funds in the form of donations amounting to £15,0611£7,235 in the previous financial yearl. A significant portion of this1£10,5331 was from the closure of the Appledore bank accounts, £2,671 from the closure of Folkestone bank account and the remainder was small donations from individual donors, including gift aid. 5. Charitable Artivities: The majority of the charity's income is from the Circuit Assessments paid by the churches as follows- Advance payment August 2022 £700 £33,289 £1,989 £2,936 £2,000 £1,950 £1,404 £5,102 £1,000 £2,026 £1,679 £1,000 £2,215 £6,750 £3,286 £7,248 £74,574 Total for 2022- 23 (including Aug 20221 £700 £43,156 £7,956 £11,744 £4,000 £7,800 £5,616 £20,408 £4,000 £8,104 £4,829 £4,000 £8,861 £29,721 £13,144 £31,104 £205,143 Advance payment August 2023 CLOSED £3,289 £1,989 £2,936 CLOSED £1,950 £1,404 £5,102 £1,000 £2,026 £1,050 £2,000 £2,215 £7,657 £3,286 £7,248 £43,152 Church Appledore Charing Dymchurch Elham Folkestone Hamstreet Headcorn Hythe Lydd Lyminge New Romney Rhodes Minnis Shadoxhurst St Andrews Tenterden UCA TOTALS 6. Other Income: The circuit received grants of £26,740 towards the costs of the New Housing Missioner role. The Circuit received a contribution of £14,770 from the South East District towards the stipend of a minister who works part time for the District. The Circuit received rent income of £12,600 from the letting of one of the manses. This manse is not held for the purposes of generating an income and therefore the Circuit does not consider it an investment property as it is held for the long term purposes of the charity. 7. Investment Income . Interest 2023 2022 Interest received from Model Trust Fund 17,523 1,406 Interest received from CFB account 5,506 504 Interest received from current account (Co-op) Totsl 23,030 1,910 10 ## **8. Payment to Trustees** : No payments were made to Trustees for additional services provided to the Circuit. 11 trustees were reimbursed expenses relating to travel, postage, stationery, manse repairs, phone & internet costs ||2023|2022| |---|---|---| |Number of trustees reimbursed|11|11| |Total amount reimbursed|£17,890|£18,476| ## **9. Fees for examination of the accounts** : |**9. Fees for examination of the accounts**:||| |---|---|---| |Independent examiner’s fees for reporting on the Accounts:|2023|2022| ||£240|£218| ## **10. Paid Employees :** The Circuit had 3 paid lay employees this year. Mrs Lisa Cooper, Mr Kevin Miles and Mr Thomas Lewis. The stipend, employer’s NIC and employer’s pension contributions of the Ministers are paid by the Methodist Connexion (and by the United Reformed Church in the case of Revd. P Dean). The Circuit provides funds to meet the cost. The Supreme Court held in 2014 that Methodist ministers are not employees of the church. However, when dealing with NI Contributions and pension contributions, the terms ‘employer’ and ‘employee’ are used as they would be in an employing body. **==> picture [332 x 98] intentionally omitted <==** **----- Start of picture text -----**
STIPENDS & SALARIES FOR THE YEAR 2022-2023
STIPENDS 163,856
NIC 11,848
PENSIONS 18,844
APPRENTICE LEVY/ADMIN 1,169
TOTAL 195,717
**----- End of picture text -----**
**11. Debtors:** £10,452 - relating to the payment taken in August for the Ministers’ September stipends **12. Creditors :** £43,152 relating to the receipt in advance of the September-November quarterly Circuit Assessment from the churches in the Circuit and a £15,801 grant received in August 2023 for the New Housing Missioner role in the year 2023-2024. An error caused this grant to be duplicated and the excess was repaid in Sept 2023. We also received a contribution of £22,000 from Charing towards the employment of a new lay pastor from September 2023. **11** ## Appendix 1 - South Kent Methodist Circuit Trustee List **==> picture [446 x 701] intentionally omitted <==** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Name Name Church/Circuit Role
1 Abasolo-Munnery Geoff CIRCUIT MINISTER
2 Andrews Yvonne HYTHE Rep.
3 Andrews Daphne ELHAM & RH MIN Treasurer
4 Bains Elva TENTERDEN Steward
5 Bird Liz ST ANDREWS Steward
6 Blanch Andrew LYMINGE Rep.
7 Blanch Philip LYMINGE Treasurer
8 Brumwell Joy CIRCUIT LP Meeting rep
9 Carter Janet CIRCUIT Circ Steward & Hamstreet
10 Challoner David UCA Treasurer
11 Cooper Jeremy SHADOXHURST Treasurer
12 Donovan Angela HEADCORN Treasurer
13 Ewart-James Alan HYTHE Treasurer
14 French Stewart UCA Steward
15 Giles Rachel CIRCUIT Circ Steward & SG Officer
16 Grabham Noel CIRCUIT Circ Steward & Headcorn & Synod Rep
17 Hammond Elizabeth TENTERDEN Rep
18 Harden David SHADOXHURST Steward
19 Harden Pauline SHADOXHURST Rep. (& Connex Funds)
20 Harris Dwight CIRCUIT Lay Pastor & Synod Rep
21 Harris Jeanette ST ANDREWS Treasurer
22 Hollands Helen CIRCUIT MINISTER (Chair of Trustees)
23 Hollands Roy DISTRICT District Rep
24 James Suzie CHARING Treasurer
25 Kirkland Elaine HAMSTREET Rep
26 Lewis Tom CIRCUIT New Housing Missioner & Synod Rep
27 MacGregor Sally UCA Rep.
28 Newell Martin ELHAM & RH MIN Treasurer
29 Peach Malcolm CIRCUIT MINISTER
30 Pearson Colin DISTRICT District Rep
31 Preston Terry MARSH CHURCH Rep.
32 Redding Val CIRCUIT Grace Court Chaplain
33 Richards David MARSH CHURCH Rep.
34 Roux Adrian CIRCUIT MINISTER
35 Sharp Susie ST ANDREWS Rep.
36 Shipton Dudley CIRCUIT LP Meeting rep
37 Slater Christine CIRCUIT LP Meeting rep
38 Smith David HAMSTREET Steward
39 Songer David CIRCUIT LP Meeting Rep
40 Songer Gill CIRCUIT MINISTER
41 Talbot Elizabeth CIRCUIT Circuit Steward & Synod Rep
42 Tocher David CIRCUIT Circuit Steward - Treasurer
43 Verso Bridget MARSH CHURCH Treasurer
44 Walls Rosemary HYTHE Steward
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**12** South Kent Methodist Circuit No: 36125 Declarations and Scrutiny I confirm that these accruals-based accounts for the year to 31 August 2023 have been prepared from the records of the Circuit and that they include all funds under the control of the Circuit meeting. Signature of treasurer . D&te..1s..16lq4..... Name and address of treasurer MR DAVID TOCHER 20 SPELDHURST CLOSE ASHFORD KENT TN23 5TJ Presentation to the Circuit meeting I confirm that the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 were/will be. presented to the Circuit meeting held on 20th March 2023 Signature of the Chair of the meeting Name of the Chair of the meeting REVD HELEN HOLLANDS Q-5. L.6.1ty Date... Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the South Kent Methodist Circuit Charity Number 1159742 Responsibilities and basis of report I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the South Kent Methodist Circuit for the year ended 31 August 2023 set out on pages 1 to 12. As the Circuit'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 Circuit'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. delete or circle as appropriate South Kent Methodist Circuit No: 36125 Independent Examinerfs Statement trhe Circuit's gross income exceeded £250,000 and l am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of . (insert name of applicable listed body)]. Delete [ ] rf not applicable. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below") which give me cause to believe that in, any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in accordan￿ with section 130 of the Act; or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records; or the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements con￿mIng 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 Delete rfnot applicable ie all R&P accounts the trustees, annual report is not consistent with the accounts Delete rfnot applicable ie all R&P accounts. 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. I havelhave not" obtained independent verification of all investments with the TrUSt￿S for Methodist Church Purposes or held in other trusts, bank balan￿S and funds at the Central Finan￿ Board of the Methodist Church which are individually in excess of £10,000 (ten thousarKI pounds) at the balan sh￿t date. Signature of independent examiner Name of independent examiner Relevant professional qualification of independent examiner Name of firni (where appropriate) ANDREWTUCK Chandler Tuck Chartered Accountants 1 St Floor 30 North Str￿t Ashford, Kent TN24 8JR Date delete or circle as appropriate