## Trustees Annual Report & Accounts (Accruals basis) # (year end 31.8.2024) 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, Elham, Hamstreet (this is a Methodist/Anglican ecumenical partnership), Headcorn (meeting in a community hall), Hythe, Lyminge, Marsh Methodist Church (a united church meeting on 3 sites in Dymchurch, Lydd and New Romney), Rhodes Minnis, Shadoxhurst, Tenterden (closed mid-year), 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 Adrian Roux (Superintendent Minister from 1/9/24) Other Ministers: Revd Gill Songer, Revd Geoff Abasolo-Munnery 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: Mrs Stephanie Roux (appointed November 2024) 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. A Roux), all other Ministers, all Circuit Stewards, and lay employees Mr Tom Lewis, Mr Dwight Harris, Mrs Lisa Cooper and Mrs Stephanie Roux. ## **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 2024 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 (CFB)**|**Purposes**| |Delf House, Southway,|Methodist Church House|Central Buildings| |Skelmersdale WN8 6WT|25 Tavistock Place|Oldham Street| ||London|Manchester| ||WC1H 9SF|M1 1JQ| ||(Investment Banker)|(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 related church 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 include property maintenance, administrative support, safety, risk assessments, safeguarding and GDPR. The circuit also encourages engagement with local communities to the benefit and well-being of residents. 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. 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 a number of people currently training to lead worship. We also provide printed worship resources and the weekly podcast to enable churches to lead their own services on occasions when there is not a preacher available. We continue to 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 significant changes during 2023 to 2024. In September 2023 the Revd. Adrian Roux was appointed to the staff team, initially for one year, replacing 2 part time presbyters who retired. The circuit also appointed a local lay pastor Mr Dwight Harris to work 0.6 time in the Charing church and community and 0.4 time across the wider circuit. During the year, Revd. Helen Hollands was appointed to serve as District Chair of the East Anglia district which meant that she would be leaving the circuit in August 2024, a year earlier than anticipated. We were unsuccessful in finding a replacement Superintendent minister through the Methodist stationing process and although we had hoped to appoint a part time presbyter to the team, these plans fell through. Revd. Adrian Roux agreed to take on the superintendency and his appointment was confirmed for 5 years from September 2024. Three years’ worth of additional funding was secured from the district towards the work of our community chaplain Mr Tom Lewis on the new and growing Chilmington estate in Ashford, meaning that this post will continue through to the end of August 2028. Additional support for leading worship and pastoral care of the churches is being provided by two retired ministers Revd. Kevin Taylor and Revd. Malcolm Peach. Our property officer resigned mid-year and we are in the process of appointing a replacement. Staffing levels will be reviewed again in the next church year. Several of the smaller churches continue to struggle to find the volunteers to fill various roles and to pay their assessment due to falling membership and incomes. This situation is not unique to the circuit but is echoed in circuits across the country and in other denominations too. Mergers are one way of reducing the amount of admin and number of officers needed and the churches in Lydd, New Romney and Dymchurch merged from 1st of September 2023 under the new name Marsh Methodist Church. Another three of our small rural churches at Elham, Lyminge and Rhodes Minnis resolved to unite from 1st of September 2024 under the new name Valley Methodist Church. Tenterden Methodist Church ceased to meet in May 2024 and the circuit has resolved to sell the building and invest the proceeds in the planned redevelopment of the church site in Folkestone town centre. We continue to explore alongside other charitable partners the possibilities for rebuilding on our site in Folkestone town centre. We aspire to build a replacement church and community centre and a second building on the site will provide temporary accommodation for rough sleepers and office space for the work of the Folkestone Rainbow Centre which is a longstanding ecumenical project. We are continuing to use the surplus funds from the sale of the former manse in Hythe to upgrade the replacement manse in Dymchurch. We have obtained planning permission for the redevelopment of the garage and studio room to provide a better study with a WC facility for visitors and an additional bedroom. The circuit is also exploring whether to sell the Ashford manse left vacant by Revd. Hollands’ departure and replace it with a more modern and recently refurbished manse which is being sold by the United Reformed Church. We continue to support a Syrian family who are housed via Ashford Borough Council in one of our manses in Tenterden. We also work with Ashford Borough Council on a rota with other local churches in Ashford to provide school holiday provision for families – consisting of a session of games and a free lunch at our Kennington church. 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. We support lowincome families at the school via an annual donation of £3000 to their hardship fund, which helps with the cost of uniforms, trips and emergency food parcels. We also ran another very successful summer holiday club in August 2024. We have a continued presence in two other local primary schools in 4 Lyminge and Folkestone, via regular ‘Open the Book’ assemblies led by an ecumenical team of volunteers. The Marsh Methodist Church in conjunction with two other local churches conducted a community survey and as a result launched Romney Marsh Youth Space - a safe place for young people to meet in our church in New Romney High Street one evening a week. This project is supported by an ecumenical team of volunteers and was given a startup grant of £5000 from the circuit mission fund. We encourage our churches to be outward looking and provide for their communities, and to this end have given approximately £17, 000 in grants for missional purposes since the Mission Fund was ringfenced in March 2023. 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 leading a regular act of worship and engaging in enrichment activities. The circuit continues to focus on caring for 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 2024 the circuit received £ 207,276 in assessments from the churches of the circuit, and a further £ 54,027 of assessment paid in advance in August 2024, for the following year and counted in creditors. We received a contribution of £15,884 from the South East District towards the cost of one minister’s stipend. We received grants totalling £22,556 towards the missional post at Chilmington and we also received rental income amounting to £14,576 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 £ 447,415 of which the stipends and salaries paid to the ministers and lay staff (including pensions and NIC) amounted to £238,232. A further stipends payment of £7,002 was paid in advance for the September 2024 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 (£32,251 and £7,991 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 £38,264. 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 £39,245 across all accounts. ## **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 £350,000 (not including the grants and levy from the MTF account). Our policy is to hold at least six month's expenditure in hand (£175,000). 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 5  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 1/3rd 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 31/8/24** **----- Start of picture text -----**
UNRESTRICTED RESTRICTED
NOTES FUNDS (CFB & FUNDS (MTF Yr end Aug Yr end Aug
CO-OP) ACCOUNT) 2024 2023
INCOME: 3 £ £ £ £
GRANTS 6 22,556 0 22,556 26,740
DONATIONS 4 6,872 0 6,872 15,061
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
i) CIRCUIT ASSESSMENT 5 207,276 0 207,276 205,143
INVESTMENTS - INTEREST 7 8,009 31,236 39,245 23,030
OTHER -
i)RENT FROM MANSE & TMC 6 14,576 0 14,576 12,600
ii)DISTRICT CHAIR STIPEND 6 15,884 0 15,884 14,770
iii)STAFF LEAVING COLLECTIONS 1,652 0 1,652 1,539
iv) DONATIONS TO FOLKESTONE PROJECT 0 0 0 942
v) REFUND OF ACV/SALES COSTS 0 0 0 19,325
vi) CHARING FUNDING RE LAY PASTOR 22,481 22,481 NA
vii) REFUND OF HISTORIC PENSION FUND
DONATION 0 13,190 13,190 NA
TOTAL INCOME 299,307 44,426 343,732 319,149
EXPENDITURE: 3 £ £ £
STIPENDS, NIC & PENSIONS 10 238,232 0 238,232 195,717
DISTRICT ASSESSMENT 7,991 0 7,991 8,831
METHODIST CHURCH FUND 32,251 0 32,251 30,561
TRAVEL 15,257 0 15,257 12,049
PHONE & INTERNET 5,194 0 5,194 4,409
INSURANCE 9,045 0 9,045 5,744
MANSES 0 0
i) REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE 16,128 0 16,128 38,255
ii) COUNCIL TAX 7,192 0 7,192 8,763
iii) WATER RATES ETC 2,618 0 2,618 2,441
iv) HIGH KNOCKE MANSE PROJECT 482 6,500 6,982 NA
ADMIN 0
i)POSTAGE, PRINTING & STATIONERY ETC. 9,189 0 9,189 12,069
ii) PROPERTY INSPECTIONS 6,375 0 6,375 11,245
iii) REMOVAL COSTS 0 0 0 5,611
iv) OTHER CIRCUIT ADMIN 0 1,803 1,803 735
GRANTS & DONATIONS 5,850 13,750 19,600 33,494
STAFF LEAVING COLLECTIONS 1,652 1,652 1,539
OTHER i) LEAVING GIFTS 107 107 196
ii) MISSIONAL (NHM) 6,615 6,615 6,685
END YEAR LEVY-DIST ADVANCE FUND 0 38,264 38,264 10,162
FOLKESTONE PROJECT FEASIBILITY STUDY 22,918 0 22,918 14,510
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 387,098 60,317 447,415 403,016
NET INCOME (-EXPENDITURE) -87,791 -15,891 -103,683 -83,867
NET TRANSFERS BETWEEN ACCOUNTS 59,000 -59,000 0 0
EXTRAORDINARY INCOME RE PROPERTY SALES 0 0 0 483,925
FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD 1/9/23 193,507 632,791 826,298 426,240
FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD AT 31/8/24 £164,715.81 £557,899.71 722,616 826,298
PLUS FIXED ASSESTS FROM BALANCE SHEET 2,252,657 1,812,483
TOTAL ASSETS CARRIED FORWARD 31/8/24 2,975,273 2,638,781
**----- End of picture text -----**
7 **SOUTH KENT METHODIST CIRCUIT** **REG. CHARITY NUMBER 1159742** **31st August 2024** ## **Balance sheet for year ending** ## **TANGIBLE FIXED ASSESTS** ||**Aug-24**|**Aug-23**|| |---|---|---|---| |142 CHERITON ROAD|363,663|355,490|| |87 LOWER QUEENS ROAD|360,295|352,197|| |WINDOVER|361,171|353,057|| |2 DISCOVERY DRIVE|289,892|283,377|| |30 HIGH KNOCKE|412,636|403,362|| |FOLKESTONE METHODIST CHURCH|65,000|65,000|| |TENTERDEN METHODIST CHURCH|400,000|NA|| |(closed and transferred into|||| |Circuit care May 2024)|||| ||**2,252,657**|**1,812,483**|| |**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
CREDITORS & ACCRUALS
CREDITORS
CREDITORS
CREDITORS
UNCLEARED PAYMENTS
**NET CURRENT ASSETS**
**(A-B)**
**FIXED ASSETS AS ABOVE**
**TOTAL ASSETS CARRIED FORWARD 31/8/24**|||7,002 prepaid stipends Aug 2024
551,655
6,247
71,669
131,587
46,601
0 uncleared income Aug 2024
**814,761 A**
54,027 prepaid assessments August 2024
16,118 prepaid grant for NHM role (in CFB account)
22,000 Charing LLP funding (in CFB account)
0 uncleared cheques at end of yr
**92,145 B**
**722,616 as at SOFA**
**2,252,657**
**2,975,273 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 2024** ## **1. 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 (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities applicable in the UK (effective from 1 January 2015) – The Charities SORP (FRSSE) – 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 (TMCP) in Manchester in accordance with our Standing Orders. ## **3. Accounting Policies :** **Basis:** These accounts have been prepared on the basis of historical cost. **Income Recognition :** Income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when: the Circuit becomes entitled to the resources; 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 recognised 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 Circuit :** Tangible fixed assets are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year, and cost at least £1000. 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 2024 stipends in August 2024. ## **Creditors :** Creditors relates to the 1st quarter assessments for September-November 2024, received in August 2024 from the Circuit churches, and to a grant also received in advance for the following year. 9 ## **4. Donations :** The Circuit received funds in the form of donations amounting to £6,872 (£15,061 in the previous financial year). A significant portion of this was from the closure of the Folkestone and Tenterden church bank accounts, the remainder was small donations from individual donors, including gift aid. ## **5. Charitable Activities:** The majority of the charity’s income is from the Circuit Assessments paid by the churches as follows – **----- Start of picture text -----**
Advance Total for 2023-
Advance payment
Church payment August 24 (including
August 2024
2023 Aug 2023)
Charing £3,289 £16,300 £4,075
Elham £2,936 £12,656 £3,552
Hamstreet £1,950 £7,800 £2,600
Headcorn £1,404 £6,164 £1,541
Hythe £5,102 £27,924 £6,990
Lyminge £2,026 £10,000 £2,500
Marsh (Dymchurch, Lydd and New Romney merged
from 1/9/23) £4,039 £18,226 £4,729
Rhodes Minnis £2,000 £5,828 £1,457
Shadoxhurst £2,215 £11,007 £6,152
St Andrews £7,657 £38,195 £10,343
Tenterden £3,286 £12,824 closed
UCA £7,248 £40,352 £10,088
TOTALS £43,152 £207,276 £54,027
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **6. Other Income :** The circuit received grants of £15,801 towards the costs of the New Housing Missioner role. The Circuit received a contribution of £15,884 from the South East District towards the stipend of a minister who works part time for the District. The Circuit received rent income of £13,076 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. The Circuit also received rent amounting to £1,500 from the letting of a studio at Tenterden Methodist Church. ## **7. Investment Income :** |**7. Investment Income :**||| |---|---|---| |Interest|2024|2023| |Interest received from Model Trust Fund|31,236|17,523| |Interest received from CFB account|8,009|5,506| |Interest received from current account (Co-op)|Nil|nil| |**Total**|**39,245**|**23,030**| 10 ## **8. Payment to Trustees** : No payments were made to Trustees for additional services provided to the Circuit. **14** trustees were reimbursed expenses relating to travel, postage, stationery, manse repairs, phone & internet costs ||2024|2023| |---|---|---| |Number of trustees reimbursed|14|11| |Total amount reimbursed|£22,232|£17,890| ## **9. Fees for examination of the accounts** : Independent examiner’s fees for reporting on the Accounts: |2024|2023| |---|---| |£300|£240| ## **10. Paid Employees :** The Circuit had 4 paid lay employees this year. Mrs Lisa Cooper, Mr Kevin Miles (till May 2024, replaced by Mrs Stephanie Roux November 2024) Mr Dwight Harris and Mr Thomas Lewis. The stipend, employer’s NIC and employer’s pension contributions of the Ministers are paid by the Methodist Connexion. 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. **----- Start of picture text -----**
STIPENDS & SALARIES FOR THE YEAR 2023-2024
STIPENDS £191,475
PENSION £28,075
NIC £17,290
APPRENTICE LEVY/ADMIN £1,392
TOTAL £238,232
**----- End of picture text -----**
**11. Debtors:** £7,002 - relating to the payment taken in August for the Ministers’ September stipends **12. Creditors :** £54,027 relating to the receipt in advance of the September-November quarterly Circuit Assessment from the churches in the Circuit and a £16,118 grant received in August 2024 for the New Housing Missioner role in the year 2024-2025. We also received a contribution of £22,000 in advance from Charing towards the ongoing employment of local lay pastor, Mr Dwight Harris, from September 2024-August 2025. 11 South Kent Methodist Circuit No: 36125 Declarations and Scrutiny I confirm that these accruals-based accounts for the year to 31 August 2024 have been prepared from the records of the Circuit and that they include all funds under the control of the Circuit meeting. Signature of Ireasurer . Date.. Name and address of treasurer MR DAVID TOCHER 20 SPELDHURST CLOSE ASHFORD KENT TN23 5TJ Presentation to the Clrcuit meeting I confim that the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 204werelwill be. presented to the Circuit meeting held on Signature of the Chalr of the meetlng Name of the Chair of the meeting REVD ADRIAN ROUX Date . Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the South Kent Methodist Circuit Charity Number 1159742 Responsibilitles and basls of report I report to th8 trustees on my examination of the accounts of the South Kent Methodist Circuit for the year ended 31 August 2024 set out on pages 1 to 11. As the Circuit's trustees, you are respoiisible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act,). I raport 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)(bl of the Act. 12 delete or cirde as appropriate South Kent Methodist Circuit No: 36125 Independènt Examiner's Statement he Circuit's gross income exceeded £250,000 2nd l am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of (insert name of app1&3ble listed body)]. Delete [ ] if not applicable. I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have come to my attent.ion in connection wth the examination (other than that disdosed below.) which give me cause to b,alieve that in, any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in accordance 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 conceming the fomi and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than an. 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 (ill R&P accounts. I have no con￿M5 and have come across no other matters in connectton with the examinatii)n to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the acccunts to be reached. I havelhave not" obtained independent verÉfication of all investments with the Trustees for me.thodist Church Purposes or held in other trusts, bank balances and funds at the Central Finance Bo?c rd of the Methodist Church which are individually in excess of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balance sheet date. Signature of independent examiner Name of independent examiner Relevant professional qualification of independent examiner Name of firm (where appropriatel ANDREW TUCK Chandler Tuck Chartered Accountants 1s1 Floor 30 North Street Ashford. Kent TN24 8JR Date delete or circle as appropriate 13 ## **Appendix 1 - Trustees of the South Kent Methodist Circuit Registered Charity Number: 1159742** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Name Name Church/Circuit Role
1 Abasolo-Munnery Geoff CIRCUIT Minister
2 Andrews Yvonne HYTHE Rep.
3 Bird Liz ST ANDREWS Steward
4 Blanch Andrew VALLEY CHURCH Rep.
5 Blanch Philip VALLEY CHURCH Treasurer
6 Brumwell Joy CIRCUIT Preachers' Meeting rep
7 Carter Janet CIRCUIT Circ Steward & Hamstreet
8 Challoner David UCA Treasurer
9 Donovan Angela HEADCORN Treasurer
10 Ewart-James Alan HYTHE Treasurer
11 French Stewart UCA Steward
12 Giles Rachel CIRCUIT Circ Steward & Safeguarding Officer
13 Grabham Noel CIRCUIT Circ Steward & Headcorn & Synod Rep
14 Harden David SHADOXHURST Treasurer
15 Harden Pauline SHADOXHURST Rep. (& Connex Funds)
16 Harris Dwight CIRCUIT Lay Pastor & Synod Rep
17 Harris Jeanette ST ANDREWS Treasurer
18 James Sue CHARING Treasurer
19 Kirkland Elaine HAMSTREET Rep
20 Lewis Tom CIRCUIT New Housing Missioner & Synod Rep
21 MacGregor Sally UCA Rep.
22 Newell Martin VALLEY CHURCH Rep
23 Peach Malcolm CIRCUIT Minister
24 Pearson Colin DISTRICT District Rep
25 Preston Terry MARSH CHURCH Rep.
26 Redding Val CIRCUIT Grace Court Chaplain
27 Richards David MARSH CHURCH Rep.
28 Roux Adrian CIRCUIT Superintendent Minister & Chair of Trustees
29 Sharp Susie ST ANDREWS Rep
30 Shipton Dudley CIRCUIT Preachers' Meeting rep
31 Slater Christine CIRCUIT Preachers' Meeting rep
32 Smith David HAMSTREET Steward
33 Songer David CIRCUIT Preachers' Meeting Rep
34 Songer Gill CIRCUIT Minister
35 Talbot Elizabeth CIRCUIT Circuit Steward & Synod Rep
36 Tocher David CIRCUIT Circuit Steward - Treasurer
37 Walls Rosemary HYTHE Steward
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