Charity Registration Number - 1164595
Kent Wildlife Rescue Service
Charity Unaudited Financial Accounts Year Ended 31st March 2023
Kent Wildlife Rescue Service Unaudited Financial Accounts Year Ended 31st March 2023
| Contents | |
|---|---|
| Page | |
| Annual Report | 1 - 3 |
| Financial Review | 4 |
| Independent Examiners Report | 5 |
| Receipts and payments account | 6 |
| Statement of assets and liabilities | 7 |
Kent Wildlife Rescue Service Unaudited Financial Accounts Year Ended 31st March 2023
Trustees Report for the year ended 31st March 2023
The Trustees have pleasure in submitting their report together with the accounts for the year ended 31st March 2023.
Structure, Governance and Management
Kent Wildlife Rescue Service is a small charity registered with the Charity Commission in December 2015 as a Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered number 1164595. The charity has continued to grow and is now entering its ninth year as a registered charity.
The principle office is 106 Victoria Street, Sheerness, Kent, ME12 1YF.
Trustees
The Trustees who served the charity during the period were:
* Lorraine St. John Sara O'Bray Jan Hooper Appointed 22 April 2022 *** Julia (Twiggy) Hawes Appointed 22 April 2022
Objectives and Activities
The objective of the charity is for the benefit of the public to relieve the suffering of wild animals in Kent in need of care and attention and, in particular, to provide and maintain facilities for the rescue, reception, care and treatment of such animals with the ultimate aim of releasing back to the wild.
Care and treatment will include those animals found by the general public and which have either been brought to the centre directly or reported and rescued/ collected by the trustees and volunteers. Assistance will be provided through general medical aid and care where appropriate or by referral to a vet.
The service continues to have been very busy. The range of animals received continues to be wide and varied. The variety has increased. The area from which animals are rescued has also increased due to the closure of many other small rescue centres/ organisations. Restrictions on avian flu have now been lifted by the government but the charity continues to follow guidance around keeping the birds well. We continue to work closely with the swan sanctuary and their vet for treatment and surgery, particularly for our sea birds.
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Kent Wildlife Rescue Service Unaudited Financial Accounts Year Ended 31st March 2023
Objectives and Activities (continued)
KWRS continues to offer a service to the fire and rescue service and police covering from 7pm to 7am. The RSPCA cover during the day. This is our fourth year of offering support. The charity receives a donation of £1500 yearly for this service. Calls this year include 2 deer ( working with Chris and Sylvia Collinson- deer experts), a dog rescued from a fire and a dog rescued after being seriously injured in a RTA. All callouts have been successful interagency working. Further partnership working has been established with Fox Angels and the Fox Foundation. This continues to work well and is mutually appreciated.
The charity now has 21 collection / rescue officers. These volunteers represent the charity in dealing with the general public. The charity continually try to increase these numbers as often volunteers are unavailable due to other commitments and therefore a larger number of volunteers would create greater capacity for calls coming in to the centre. Other work/ advocacy for wildlife has been offered by our hedgehog co-ordinator Ian Gray who has completed numerous talks about hedgehogs and wildlife to various schools and community groups.
The largest expense of the Charity continues to be Veterinary bills. Our principal vet continues to be Manor Vets in Chatham. For our orthopaedic patients we are using Brier house vets in Broadstairs. We continue to use Newnham court veterinary hospital for out of hours and Vets Now based at the PDSA centre for emergency situations.
The rising cost of petrol has always been problematic due to the large area covered. The charity has a large proportion of rescues in the Thanet area which also involves significant mileage and therefore cost. The charity is grateful for having managed to secure a fuel donation for up to 50% of our fuel costs covered by JLS logistics. JLS also cover our waste management costs on skip hire which equates to around £450 every six weeks.
Fundraising has continued to include supermarket collections. The charity is still fundraising by auctioning donated goods and this year has proven to be very profitable due to the dedication of 2 volunteers organising this.
In the last year the charity has also hosted an exhibition/ art exhibition at the media centre galleries in Sittingbourne High Street . This was a positive event and was well received by the local community. Some of the charities own volunteers submitted their art work as well as professional artists who donated part of the proceeds to the charity.
One of our long-standing youth volunteers has completed her Master’s degree in Zoology and will be beginning her veterinary training this year. Well done, Lauren. Beth, another volunteer has just started work, after our recommendations as an animal care assistant at the PDSA.
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Kent Wildlife Rescue Service Unaudited Financial Accounts Year Ended 31st March 2023
Objectives and Activities (continued)
In the coming year , the Charity's committee members would like to –
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Increase volunteer rescuers across the county.
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Increase numbers of centre volunteers.
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Focus on fundraising which is ongoing and the auctions will be a fundraising priority for as well as being used to increase public awareness of the charity and its work.
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Focus on further developing a computer database.
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Work on the purpose-built animal hospital. There are now significant funds towards this, however, more is needed. There has been a difficulty securing reputable builders for quotes to do the work.
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Grow income through grants and community funding- specifically the charity would like to explore charitable donations through councillors over the whole of Kent as currently we only approach Swale. The base is situated in Swale however we cover the whole of Kent.
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Further develop social media and online fundraising
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Ensure the continuation of a stable trustee membership.
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Work on soft release pens for all wildlife in the process of releasing wildlife. There is a need to increase opportunity with the general public to work with us on the set up and location of the pens (which will be supplied by KWRS).
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Kent Wildlife Rescue Service Unaudited Financial Accounts Year Ended 31st March 2023
Financial Review
For the year ended 31st March 2023, income through donations was £53,839 (2022: £46,407) and expenditure was £46,308 (2022: £37,444). This resulted in £36,339 of unrestricted reserves (2022: £28,808) that were carried forward at the end of the year. The trustees are satisfied that the charity is on a sound footing and will be able to continue operating for the foreseeable future.
Risks Affecting the Charity
The main concerns of the Trustee's are that other organisations have been working on shorter hours or have closed completey which has increased our intake significantly. Also, the increased risk of avian flu has meant other centres have stopped taking rescued birds and the centre is constantly full.
Public Benefit
The trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by The Charity Commission in exercising their power and duties.
The trustees would like to thank all the donors for their support during the year and would also like to recognise the work of the vounteers under increasingly difficult conditions.
Signed:
Lorraine St John Sarah O'Bray
On behalf of the board of trustees
Dated: 16 January 2024
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF KENT WILDLIFE RESCUE SERVICE
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
I report on the accounts of Kent Wildlife Rescue Service for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities set out on pages 5 to 6.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Charities Act”) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act;
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to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
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to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and the seeking of explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have 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.
61 London Road J A GRIGGS FCA Maidstone LEVICKS Kent Chartered Accountants & Business Advisers ME16 8TX 17 January 2024
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Kent Wildlife Rescue Service Unaudited Financial Accounts Year Ended 31st March 2023
| Receipts and Payments Account Income Donations - Cash and Bank Expenditure Animal Feed (8,789) Bank Charges (229) Accountancy (210) Medical Supplies (2,109) Sundry (745) Motor and Subsistence (7,005) Veterinary (19,522) Power (974) Postage (363) Event costs (890) Animal collections (1,515) Donations (2,185) Waste collections (1,772) Net Surplus for period Bank & Cash Account balances 31 March 2022 Bank & Cash Account balances 31 March 2023 |
2023 £ 53,839 53,839 (46,308) 7,531 28,808 36,339 |
2022 £ 46,407 |
|---|---|---|
| 46,407 (8,172) (197) (180) (1,077) (1,079) (6,077) (15,341) (4,309) (469) (543) - - - |
||
| (37,444) | ||
| 8,963 19,845 28,808 |
The above receipts and payments account was approved by the trustees.
Signed:
Lorraine St John Sarah O'Bray
On behalf of the board of trustees.
Dated: 16 January 2024
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Kent Wildlife Rescue Service Unaudited Financial Accounts Year Ended 31st March 2023
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | £ | £ |
| Bank & Cash Account balances | 36,339 | 28,808 |
| Van donated by Swan Sanctuary | 5,000 | 5,000 |
Notes to the accounts
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1) The accounts have been prepared on the receipts and payments basis.
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2) The trustees confirm, in accordance with the Charitable Incorporated Organisations Regulations, that at the year end the CIO did not have any outstanding guarantees to third parties nor any debts secured on the assets of the CIO.
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