2023-12-31-accounts

Registered Charity no. 1165174

The Parochial Church Council Of The Parish Of St Laurence known as St Laurence Church In Reading

Trustees Annual Report and Accounts

Year Ended 31st December 2023

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Contents Page

	Page
Legal and Administrative Information	1
Trustee's Annual Report	2
Independent Examiners Report	12
Statement of Financial Activities	13
Statement of Financial Position	14
Notes to the Financial Statements	15

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Legal and Administrative Information

Reference

The Charity is called “The Parochial Church Council Of The Parish Of St Laurence” which is also known as St Laurence Church In Reading and is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Registered Charity Number 1165174 Registered Office St Laurence Church Friar Street Reading RG1 1DA Postal Address St. Laurence Church C/O St Mary's house Chain Street Reading RG1 2HX

The Trustees

PCC members who have served from 1 January 2023 until the date this report was approved are:

Clergy:	Rev Christopher Jones (Vicar)
Wardens:	Lee Smith
	Naomi Brown
Elected members:	Ben Blackledge
	Chris Holmes	(Treasurer)
	Calum Macleod	Resigned May 2023
	Anne Lancaster	Resigned May 2023
	Maria Versace	Resigned May 2023
	Shanthi Augustus	Appointed May 2023
	Casey Byrne	Appointed May 2023
Secretary	Amy Vaughan	Appointed Dec 2023
Primary Bankers	Lloyds TSB
	Market Place
	Reading
	RG1 2EQ
Independent Examiner	Nigel Wyatt BSC FCA
	Wyatt & Co Chartered Accountants
	125 Main Street
	Garforth
	Leeds, LS25 1AF

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Saint Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Trustee's Annual Report

The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 2019).

AIM AND PURPOSES

Saint Laurence Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a charity registered with the Charities Commission (registration number 1165174). The PCC has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social, and ecumenical. The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of the Church Building, Friar Street, Reading.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The church has existed for nearly 900 years, but in February 2001, the particular focus on young people was initiated. As a town centre church, the Deanery charged Saint Laurence with a particular vision to see young people come to faith and build new forms of church with them.

As well as serving the young people of Reading, we also have a multigenerational congregation that meets for worship on a Sunday afternoon. Our services, worship, and activities seek to put faith into practice our mission and values. Our aim is to enable the whole community to grow as we believe that as God’s people, we are called together for a purpose. Our purpose is defined by our values (what makes us who we are) and our vision.

WE ARE LIVING TO SEE UNCHURCHED YOUNG PEOPLE COME TO FAITH AND BE SHAPED AS CHURCH TOGETHER WITH THEM

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Our services and activities put faith into practice our values and have considered the Commission's guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. In particular, we try to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our church community through

· Worship and prayer; learning about the Gospel; and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus.

· Provision of pastoral care for people who are part of the church community

• Mission and outreach work, particularly amongst young people

To facilitate this work, it is important that we maintain the fabric of the Church building of Saint Laurence.

VICAR'S REPORT

Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fuelled and aflame. Be alert…cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help the needy; be inventive in hospitality (Romans 12 v12-13)

I want to start with thanks. Thanks to Jesus for what He is doing in and through us. He always does more than I imagined possible and is clearly at work in this place. I see His fingerprints upon the life of our community and upon you.

I also want to thank you for sharing the ministry of this church. Of course, most

responsibilities are held by the staff, the churchwardens, PCC members and all those who serve on teams.

I want to thank you for the enthusiasm and humility you have brought. 2023 was a year of new growth with energy going into new events and initiatives, with the notable highlight being the opportunity to welcome more than 250 people for our first Easter Experience, a key ‘connect' event. We have also welcomed new people into the community, which is so exciting - I continue to pray for more.

In 2023, we began a new chapter in our outreach work towards young people with the birth of new schools work. In partnership with SoulScape, we have begun weekly running ‘the Lounge’ at Blessed Hugh Farringdon, regularly seeing between 30 and 60 young people. This work is extremely exciting and encouraging. This year, as Megan has referred

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Trustee's Annual Report

to, we also started a number of new initiatives towards young people. How we support our children and young people in their discipleship and journey with Jesus is a really important priority for me. I am so pleased that we have opportunities to see young people grow in their relationship with God through One2Ones and small groups.

All in all, it’s been a good year for us; I do hope and pray that in 2024, we are able to go even further, having set a good foundation over the past couple of years. Together, we are Saint Laurence, and it is clear that Jesus is not done with us by any means and that He is building His church here. As Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, it is only together that we will be able to grasp the love of Christ and be filled with the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3 v18-19).

Obedience to Jesus is what we are called to, and together, we are called to grow as His body so that we all reach the unity that He is calling us to. Let’s keep on looking to Him and seeking the best for each other.

Chris

TOWARDS YOUNG PEOPLE

2023 has been a really exciting year with our young people. We’ve continued journeying with those we know well, got to know some new ones even better, and started building relationships with brand new young people. It’s great to reflect on what God has done with us over this past year and we’re looking expectantly ahead to His plans for us with these young people, and hopefully some we don’t even know yet, in 2024!

There have been many highlights for 2023. We have seen progress in relationships between those who have been at Saint Laurence for a while and new young people. There are several young people who were completely new or still new-ish at the start of the year who would only come to Monday Club if it was with their school friends. These same young people are now quite happy to show up alone because of the relationships they’ve built with other young people and teams.

We had 2 Youth Weekends Away at Oakwood in 2023. At both of these, we had young people attend who hadn’t attended before and some young people feeling bold enough to stay over for the first time. As usual, these were beautiful spaces for spending quality time together with our young people, learning together, praying together, worshipping together,

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Trustee's Annual Report

doing lots of silly things together. The highlights of these are often the spaces and times where we get to see young people encountering God in new ways and the joy and excitement that comes with this - including the extra hours of spontaneous worship in place of a movie night! Young people have fed back their recognition and gratitude for the adults who give up time to spend with them on a weekend away - they particularly notice the presence of adults who they don’t often get to spend time with at other youth activities and love getting to know and be known by their church family.

In the summer term, we planned and executed a prayer project to support 2 of our young people who were sitting their GCSE exams. The idea of this was that an adult was signed up to pray for every single exam being sat and would also send a message of encouragement for each exam to the respective young person. The prayer, love and support was deeply appreciated during this time and we plan to do the same in 2024 for our hordes of young people sitting GCSE exams this year!

We had a group of 13 young people join us at New Wine in July/August of 2023. For the majority of these young people, this was the first big Christian summer festival they had experienced and fun of epic proportions was had as they engaged with the Luminosity programme for the duration. This time for them was one of being taught, challenged and encouraged, spending lots of time in worship, encountering Jesus, and getting themselves covered in powder paint in the rain (resulting in some young people having blue ears for the rest of the week…). There was particular excitement during a conversation with one of the charities present at New Wine who inspired our young people enough to begin an ongoing relationship with them which you’ll read more about later…

A major success for us this year was finally restarting schools work! After various meetings with the CEO and team at Soulscape, we launched The Lounge at Blessed Hugh Faringdon in September and have met fairly consistently with 20-30 year 7s each Wednesday lunchtime. We were completely overwhelmed by the welcome we received by the year 7 tutors that we met in the first week and how pleased they were to have us in to start supporting their students. The first 2 terms in school are really about building relationships with these young people and we are working with the school to bring a group of them in for an early ‘Easter Experience’ in March 2024, from which point we hope to start inviting them into other opportunities at Saint Laurence and continue to explore how else we can serve the school.

We launched a young people’s small group in September 2023. We spent the first term talking through an overview of the Bible, its structure and storyline, and have dived into

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Philippians as our first book study (at the request of some young people who wanted to read something encouraging about keeping strong in faith during hard times). This has been a fantastic space with a consistent group, with about 10 of our young people, of no silly questions, plenty of Gen Z wisdom, and lots of ‘ah ha!’ moments! It’s a joy to study God’s Word with young people and we’re excited for what we learn together next.

After a great conversation with a charity called Barnabas Aid at New Wine, a group of our young people were really keen to visit their warehouse and spend some time volunteering with the food.gives project (an international food bank for poor and persecuted Christians - you can find out more by visiting www.food.gives/gb). We made our first visit to the food.gives team in October half term and spent half a day learning more about the project and packing up food parcels to be sent around the world. Our young people loved it so much that they insisted we spend a full day there next time and so we did, in February half term this year. We’re so proud of our young people for the way they have thoughtfully and enthusiastically approached this project, for their keenness to make it an ongoing commitment (to the extent that it has been the most well attended half term activity both times we’ve done it!) and for their desire to explore other volunteering opportunities for us to invest more of our time in - 1 Timothy 4:12 in action!

Thank you so much to all those who have been involved with our young people in any way, shape or form over this last year. Your contributions of time, love and energy are invaluable and are having a tangible impact on these young lives. God is using you in both the seen and the unseen.

Thank you, also, to all of our young people for being the wonderful, kind, wise, hilarious individuals you are. I love getting to know you more as you mature, learning how your brains work, spending silly and serious time with you and doing life with Jesus alongside you all. Thank you for making this job one I can’t imagine not having and for being part of this beautiful Saint Laurence family.

It’s been a cracking year and we are buzzing for what God will do with us and through us in 2024 - we’re especially excited and expectant for God to bring in a new cohort of younger young people through our schools work so please keep them in your prayers!

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Trustee's Annual Report

CHURCHWARDEN REPORT

The churchwardens are elected annually and are expected to serve for between 3 and 5 years in the role. The role has many aspects, in part, it is to represent the views of the church community and in part to support Chirs as vicar.

In addition, the churchwardens are part of the PCC, Fabric committee, Safeguarding committee, Deanery Synod, FUEL team, YWA team, Children's work team and facilitating young people small groups. We try to be involved in a range of teams to ensure the smooth running of the church, that suitable ratios are in place to ensure events can take place and to help ensure that team members are supported in their volunteering roles.

Thank you to those of you who have approached us over the past year with comments, issues, and concerns. We hope that we have responded to you appropriately and have satisfactorily detailed the action we have taken because of our conversations. If you have any concerns or comments, please continue to approach either of us for a confidential conversation.

We have a duty of care for Chris as an ordained minister at Saint Laurence – to listen to his vision and direction for the church, to make sure he has enough time off and to ensure support and accountability for any matters that we as the members of the church may have concerns about. We meet monthly as a leadership team as well as having an annual away day. During the away day, we critically reflect on the past year and plan the coming year. We hope that the newly introduced yearly planners have been helpful for you in being aware of upcoming dates of events in advance.

The induction of increased social activities for the whole church, and specific groups was born out of away day discussion with the aim of building community and deepening relationships. We welcome feedback on how these events have been received and if there are any additional events or activities you think we should consider introducing.

All events and activities that take place require planning and organisation as well as a team to support. We are mindful of staff workload to do this, we meet regularly with all staff members to ensure that they are supported in their work and not overburdened.

The churchwardens have responsibility for the building, finances and policy & procedures. This is monitored alongside the PCC, Treasurer and fabric committee to ensure that we are wise with our finances and maintenance of the building.

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SAFEGUARDING REPORT

The PCC along with Chris, as Vicar have a duty of care to ensure that the vulnerable within our community are protected. In terms of safeguarding, we have a designated, experienced, and appropriately trained Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO), Naomi Brown.. The PSO is responsible for writing and reviewing safeguarding policies, and risk assessments, and is the first point of contact for any safeguarding concerns. Records of policies, procedures and annual updates are maintained on the central Parish Dashboard system which is audited by the Diocese. We are currently fully compliant with regard to paperwork.

This year the PSO has liaised with the Diocese safeguarding team, the Police and Social Services to ensure practices are appropriate and monitored any changes made. The support of the Diocese safeguarding team has been appreciated when issues have been escalated to them.

Any safeguarding reports received are stored securely on the church's Google Drive with access limited to the PSO and Vicar.

The PSO is also responsible for ensuring that safer recruitment policies are followed. This means monitoring the DBS and safeguarding training of anyone who volunteers within the church. In 2023 systems were implemented to record the data on ChurchSuite which makes tracking and monitoring of DBS and safeguarding training more streamlined, with evidence of compliance and non-compliance. Those who have not been safely recruited are not permitted to volunteer at Saint Laurence. Those whose DBS or safeguarding training has expired are not permitted to volunteer until satisfactory evidence of an updated is received.

Thanks to all who have updated their DBS and undertaken safeguarding training in a timely manner this past year.

Training record of PSO:

Diocese of Oxford Basic Safeguarding Training. Last update: April 2023 Diocese of Oxford Foundation Safeguarding Training. Last update: May 2023 Diocese of Oxford Leadership Safeguarding Training course 2022.

NHS safeguarding training levels 1-3 for vulnerable adults and children. Last update: April 2023

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Trustee's Annual Report

TREASURER’S REPORT

2023 was a good year for the finances of Saint Laurence. Although regular giving has gone down in the previous year and costs have risen, the church accounts are positive and in line with the PCC budget. We have continued to see growth in our income from eternal events bookings; however, it is our very generous congregation that remains our greatest asset.

This year there were no changes to the church staff despite renewed attempts to recruit for a second youth worker. The post has again been reviewed by the PCC and we will be advertising for a new youth worker in the New Year.

At the year-end, the total funds held by the church were £246,104, which were made up of £124,338 unrestricted £96,661 restricted and £25,105 in endowments.

INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE

The endowment funds are invested with the Investment Fund of the Central Board of Finance of the Church of England. Details on performance are outlined in Note 3 in the Notes to the Financial Statements.

DEANERY SYNOD

The Deanery Synod is made up of representatives from each of the Anglican churches in Reading. There were five synod meetings this last year, with two main issues discussed: the local response to LLF and the financial difficulty facing many churches. In 2023, Naomi Brown joined the synod as our sole lay member from Saint Laurence and attended all Synod meetings since being elected. Our vicar, Chris, attended most of the meetings in 2023. Our treasurer, Chris Holmes, also represented the church when discussing finances and parish share (the portion of our income paid to the Diocese of Oxford towards ministry costs).

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Trustee's Annual Report

THE CHURCH BUILDING

We continue to be grateful for the responsibility we have to steward the wonderful building of St Laurence and 2023 saw the reformation of the Fabric Committee and we are thankful for the work of the committee. Projects by the committee have focused on creating a calendar of essential maintenance and reliable contractors; improving lighting in office spaces and our kitchen; ongoing works to improve the kitchen area and focus on ensuring compliance with health and safety (RES upgrades to Tower and RES upgrades within the building). Whilst our heating system has caused some frustration and delay for other plans; we are hopeful that 2024 will see the restoration of flooring due to water damage and the redecoration of Chancel/Chapel as well as appointing a replacement Conservation Architect who will complete our mandatory 2024 Quinquennial Inspection. Building usage continues to extend beyond the Church to include hirers, such as for small charity meetings, larger concerts and dance events.

RESERVES

The PCC of Saint Laurence holds a working reserve in the event of financial difficulty.

The church also continues to hold a sizable reserve with the Saint Laurence Church Lands Trust & St Laurence Ecclesiastical Charity, which continues to have over (Dec 2021) allocated for the ongoing ministry of St Laurence. In 2014, the PCC decided that these funds should be utilised as a reserve fund. In light of these available resources, it is our policy to hold our Bequest investments with the CBF Church of England Investment Fund, allowing them to determine how the money is best invested and keeping all other resources available in readily available and accessible commercial banking accounts.

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Trustee's Annual Report

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE; RECRUITMENT, APPOINTMENT,

AND INDUCTION OF NEW TRUSTEE

Saint Laurence Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a charity registered with the Charities Commission (registration number 1165174). The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England.

The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure.

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At Saint Laurence, the membership of the PCC consists of the clergy, churchwardens, and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church. All those who regularly attend our services are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent.

Trustee meetings were held six times in the year, including the Annual General Meeting, supplemented by any extraordinary meetings as and when required.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The trustees acknowledge their responsibility to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

Approved by the Trustees of St Laurence Church In Reading

Chris Jones

Name of Trustee:

Signed on behalf of the Trustees:

Date of approval:

18/04/2024

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St Laurence Church In Reading

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Independent Examiners Report

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The Parochial Church Council Of The Parish Of St Laurence ('the charity') for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity's financial statements carried out under section 145 of the 2011 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.

Independent examiner's statement

I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

2. the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

3. the financial statements do 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 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.

Nigel Wyatt BSC FCA Date: 18/04/2024 Independent Examiner 125 Main Street Garforth Leeds LS25 1AF

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Statement of Financial Activities

			2023			2022
		Unrestricted	Endowment	Restricted	Total	Total
		Funds	Funds	Funds	Funds	Funds
	Note	£	£	£	£	£
Income
Donations and legacies		71,189	-	33,000	104,189	115,958
Charitable activities		4,017	-	-	4,017	1,340
Activities for generating income		13,893	-	-	13,893	10,780
Investment income		1,026	498	1,703	3,227	2,328
		──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total Income	2	90,125	498	34,703	125,326	130,406
		──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Expenditure
Expenditure on charitable activities	3	93,043	-	25,048	118,091	116,726
Governance costs	4	1,612	-	7,147	8,759	7,686
		──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total Expenditure		94,655	-	32,195	126,850	124,412
		──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
		──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Net Income / (Expenditure) Before Gains/(Loses)		(4,530)	498	2,508	(1,524)	5,994
		──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Gain/(Loss) on investment	10	-	1,565	5,359	6,924	(10,462)
		──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Net Income / (Expenditure)		(4,530)	2,063	7,867	5,400	(4,468)
		──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Net Income and Net Movement in Funds
Total funds brought forward	13	127,200	23,042	90,462	240,704	245,172
Transfers	13	1,668	-	(1,668)	-	-
		──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total Funds Carried Forward	13	124,338	25,105	96,661	246,104	240,704
		──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

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Statement of Financial Position

Statement of Financial Position
		2023	2022
	Note	£	£
Fixed Assets
Tangible fixed assets	9	10,157	10,034
Investments	10	80,513	73,590
Current Assets
Debtors	11	35,028	26,130
Cash at bank and in hand		124,749	132,300
		──────────	──────────
		159,777	158,430
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	12	4,343	1,350
		──────────	──────────
Net Current Assets		155,434	157,080
		──────────	──────────
Total Assets Less Current Liabilities		246,104	240,704
		──────────	──────────
Net Assets	14	246,104	240,704
		──────────	──────────
Funds of the Charity
Restricted funds		96,661	90,462
Endowment funds	13	25,105	23,042
Unrestricted funds		124,338	127,200
		──────────	──────────
Total Charity Funds		246,104	240,704
		──────────	──────────

Directors Responsibilities

These financial statements were approved by the board of trustees and authorised for issue :

Chris Jones

Name of Trustee: Signed on Behalf of the Trustees:

───────────────────────────────────────────────────

───────────────────────────────────────────────────

Date of Approval:

18/04/2024

───────────────────────────────────────────────────

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Notes to the Financial Statements

Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities Financial Reporting Standards applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (Charities SORP 2019 FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

Assessment of Going Concern

Preparation of the accounts is on a going concern basis. The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

Fund Accounting

Unrestricted income funds comprise those funds which the trustees are free to use for any purpose in furtherance of the charitable objects. Unrestricted funds include designated funds where the trustees, at their discretion, have set aside resources for a specific purpose

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by the donor or the term of specific appeal, often known as a ‘special offering’ in the church.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.

Incoming Resources

All incoming resources are recognised once the charity has entitlement to the resources, it is probable that the resources will be received, and the monetary value of incoming resources can be measured with sufficient reliability.

• All voluntary income from members of the church are recognised as donations and are included in full, with associated Gift Aid receivable in the Statement of Financial Activities.

• Grants, where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of specific performance by the charity, are recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant.

• Income resources from charitable trading activities such as the letting of the building are accounted for when invoices are drawn up (as the point of entitlement).

• Donated services and facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified.

• Gifts in Kind are accounted for at a reasonable estimate of their value to the charity or the amount actually realised.

• Volunteer time, the value of voluntary support for the work of the church is not included in the accounts but is described in the Trustee's annual report.

• Investment Income is included in the accounts when receivable.

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Notes to the Financial Statements

Resources Expended

Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out the resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.

Governance Costs

Include costs of the preparation and examination of statutory accounts, the costs of the trustees' meetings and the cost of any legal advice to trustees on governance or constitutional matters.

Liability Recognition

Abilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources.

Tangible Fixed Assets

All assets costing more than £750 are capitalised and at historic cost. Fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is charged on furniture and equipment which is written off on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset.

Fixtures fittings and equipment Between 3 and 5 years

Pensions

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities as they become payable in accordance with the rules of the scheme.

Operating Leases

Rental charges payable under operating leases are charged on a straight-line basis over the terms of the lease.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.

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Notes to the Financial Statements

2 Analysis of Income

Analysis of Income
	Unrestricted	Endowment	Restricted	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2023
	£	£	£	£
Donations and Legacies
Donations	59,714	-	3,000	62,714
Gift aid	11,475	-	-	11,475
Grants	-	-	30,000	30,000
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	71,189	-	33,000	104,189
Charitable Activities
Church activity contributions	4,017	-	-	4,017
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	4,017	-	-	4,017
Activities for Generating Income
Building lettings	13,893	-	-	13,893
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	13,893	-	-	13,893
Investment Income
Investment portfolio income	-	479	1,703	2,182
Bank interest	1,026	19	-	1,045
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	1,026	498	1,703	3,227
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total Income	90,125	498	34,703	125,326
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────

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Notes to the Financial Statements

2 Analysis of Income (Continued)

Analysis of Income(Continued)
	Unrestricted	Endowment	Restricted	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2022
	£	£	£	£
Donations and legacies
Donations	74,179	-	-	74,179
Gift aid	15,806	-	-	15,806
Grants	-	-	25,973	25,973
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	89,985	-	25,973	115,958
Charitable activities
Church activity contributions	1,340	-	-	1,340
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	1,340	-	-	1,340
Activities for generating income
Building lettings	10,780	-	-	10,780
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	10,780	-	-	10,780
Investment Income
Investment portfolio income	-	552	1,694	2,246
Bank interest	64	18	-	82
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	64	570	1,694	2,328
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total Income	102,169	570	27,667	130,406
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────

18

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements

3 Expenditure on charitable activities by fund type

	Unrestricted	Endowment	Restricted	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2023
	£	£	£	£
Administrative office & support costs	4,272	-	1,098	5,370
Building maintenance and running costs	24,422	-	18,646	43,068
Church activities	4,916	-	5,304	10,220
Staffing employment costs	38,554	-	-	38,554
Staffing expenses	5,108	-	-	5,108
Youth and children's work activities	15,771	-	-	15,771
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	93,043	-	25,048	118,091
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────

In 2023 the parish share was paid to the Diocese of Oxford in full by the St Laurence Ecclesiastical Charities.

	Unrestricted Funds	Endowment Funds	Restricted Funds	Total Funds 2022
	£	£	£	£
Administrative office & support costs	8,183	-	2,018	10,201
Building maintenance and running costs	17,264	-	20,834	38,098
Church activities	8,045	-	968	9,013
Staffing employment costs	45,107	-	2,578	47,685
Staffing expenses	3,441	-	-	3,441
Youth and children's work activities	8,288	-	-	8,288
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	90,328	-	26,398	116,726
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────

19

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements

4 Governance Costs

Governance Costs
	Unrestricted	Endowment	Restricted	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2023
	£	£	£	£
Insurance costs	-	-	7,147	7,147
Legal & professional fees	1,612	-	-	1,612
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	1,612	-	7,147	8,759
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	Unrestricted	Endowment	Restricted	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2022
	£	£	£	£
Insurance costs	-	-	6,556	6,556
Legal & professional fees	1,130	-	-	1,130
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	1,130	-	6,556	7,686
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────

5 Volunteers

The church benefits greatly from the voluntary contributions of time and money by its formal members and regular attendees. Please refer to the trustee's report for further detail about volunteer contributions in the organisation.

6 Independent Examination Fees

Fees payable to the independent examiner for

2023 2022 £ £ Independent examination and preparation of the financial 1,438 1,350 statements

20

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements

7 Staff Costs

The total staff costs and employee benefits for the reporting period are analysed as follows:

	2023	2022
	£	£
Wages and salaries	35,733	47,974
Social security costs	-	-
Employer contributions to pension plans	1,211	1,754
	──────────	──────────
	36,944	49,728
	──────────	──────────

The average headcount of employees during the year was as follows:

	2023	2022
Average Headcount	2	3

No employee received employee benefits of more than £60,000 during the year.

Key Management Personnel

The charity considers its key management personnel to be the Vicar.

The Common Fund of the Oxford Diocese meets the stipend and other employment costs of the Vicar of Saint Laurence Church In Reading and provides his housing. During 2021 the PPC directly paid for the salary costs of the Associate Vicar.

8 Trustee Remuneration and Expenses

The trustees did not receive any remuneration for their service as trustees.

During the year 2 (2022: 2) trustees incurred out-of-pocked expenses totalling £9,403 which were all incurred for the day-to-day running of the charity's activities (2022: £17,784). The types of expenditure include travel costs, mobile phone/ boradband and other charitable activity expenditure.

During the year the total aggregated donations made to the charity by the trustees during the year was £21,481 (2022: £12,013).

21

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements

**9 **	Tangible Fixed Assets
		Fixtures and
		Fittings	Total
		£	£
	Cost as at 1st January 2023	13,379	13,379
	Additions	4,623	4,623
		──────────	──────────
	Cost as at 31st December 2023	18,002	18,002
		──────────	──────────
		-
	Depreciation as at 1st January 2023	3,345	3,345
	Depreciation charge	4,500	4,500
		──────────	──────────
	Depreciation as at 31st December 2023	7,845	7,845
		──────────	──────────
		-
		──────────	──────────
	Net book value as at 31st December 2023	10,156	10,157
		──────────	──────────
	Net book value as at 31st December 2022	10,034	-

22

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements

10 Investments Held as Fixed Assets

		2023	2022
		£	£
Investment portfolio valuation		80,513	73,590
		──────────	──────────
		73,590	89,264
		──────────	──────────
		2023	2022
		£	£
Market value brought forward		73,590	89,264
Disposal		-	(5,212)
Unrealised gain / (loss)		6,924	(9,819)
Realised gain / (loss)		-	(643)
		──────────	──────────
Market value carried forward		80,513	73,590
		──────────	──────────
	Unrestricted	Endowment	Restricted
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2023
	£	£	£	£
Disposal	-	-	-	-
Unrealised gain / (loss)	-	1,565	5,359	6,924
Realised gain / (loss)	-	-	-	-
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	-	1,565	5,359	6,924
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	Unrestricted	Endowment	Restricted
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2022
	£	£	£	£
Disposal	-	(5,212)	-	(5,212)
Unrealised gain / (loss)	-	(2,219)	(7,600)	(9,819)
Realised gain / (loss)	-	(643)	-	(643)
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	-	(8,074)	(7,600)	(15,674)
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────

23

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements

**11 **	Debtors
		2023	2022
		£	£
	Trade debtors	1,261	1,816
	Accrued income	32,332	24,314
		──────────	──────────
		35,028	26,130
		──────────	──────────
**12 **	Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
		2023	2022
		£	£
	Accruals	1,580	1,350
	Trade creditors	1,499	-
		──────────	──────────
		4,343	1,350
		──────────	──────────

24

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements

13 Analysis of Charitable Funds

	1 Jan 2023	Income	Expenditure	Gains/Loses	Transfers 31 Dec 2023	Transfers 31 Dec 2023
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted Funds
Unrestricted
General funds	109,200	85,625	(94,655)	-	1,668	101,838
Designated
Reserves	18,000	4,500	-	-	-	22,500
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total	127,200	90,125	(94,655)	-	1,668	124,338
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Endowment Funds
Flook bequest	5,454	-	-	-	-	5,454
Russell bequest	637	19	-	58	-	714
Burton bequest	16,951	479	-	1,507	-	18,937
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total	23,042	498	-	1,565	-	25,105
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Restricted Funds
Francis bequest - stipend	59,914	-	-	5,359	-	65,273
Francis bequest - music & worship	942	1,703	(1,098)	-	-	1,547
Relief in need trust	1,671	6,000	(4,361)	-	-	3,310
Chapel reordering
(previously organ	27,935	-	(943)	-	(828)	26,164
appeal)
Maintenance &
building	-	27,000	(25,793)	-	(840)	367
(ecclesiastical)
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total	90,462	34,703	(32,195)	5,359	(1,668)	96,661
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total Funds
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total	240,704	125,326	(126,850)	6,924	-	246,104
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────

25

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements

Analysis of Charitable Funds cont.

	1 Jan 2022	Income	Expenditure	Gains/Loses	Transfers 31 Dec 2022	Transfers 31 Dec 2022
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted Funds
Unrestricted
General funds	113,569	102,169	(91,458)	-	(15,080)	109,200
Designated
Reserves	-	-	-	-	18000	18,000
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total	113,569	102,169	(91,458)	-	2,920	127,200
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Endowment Funds
Flook bequest	6,021	76	-	(643)	-	5,454
Russell bequest	702	18	-	(83)	-	637
Burton bequest	18,611	476	-	(2,136)	-	16,951
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total	25,334	570	-	(2,862)	-	23,042
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Restricted Funds
Francis bequest - stipend	67,514	-	-	(7,600)	-	59,914
Francis bequest - music & worship	1,266	1,694	(2,018)	-	-	942
Relief in need trust	2,639	-	(968)	-	-	1,671
Chapel reordering
(previously organ	27,935	-	-	-	-	27,935
appeal)
Maintenance &
building	6,915	23,395	(27,390)	-	(2,920)	-
(ecclesiastical)
Youth grant	-	2,578	(2,578)	-	-	-
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total	106,269	27,667	(32,954)	(7,600)	(2,920)	90,461
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total Funds
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
Total	245,172	130,406	(124,412)	(10,462)	-	240,703
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────

26

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements

Fund Transfers 2023

A transfer was made to general funds to cover utilities and Chapel reordering running costs related to the chapel reordering. Maintenance & A transfer was made to general funds to cover utilities and building running costs related to the building miantaince.

Fund Transfers 2022

Reserves

During the year the trustees agreed to set aside £18,000 for a new designated general reserve fund for the Church.

Fund Descriptions

Designated Funds

Reserves A fund established by the trustees as a contingency and future development

Endowment Funds

The endowment funds are invested with the Investment Fund of the Central Board of Finance of the Church of England and annual income is credited to the General Fund.

Restricted Funds

Francis Bequest - The "Francis Bequest" fund is a restricted fund for the provision of church Music & Worship music at St Laurence, Reading.

Chapel Reordering The PCC Mission Fund was formally known as the "Organ Appeal Fund". This is a historic fund towards the maintenance and care of the Organ at St Laurence, Reading. The organ's present condition is such that it would take funding significantly higher than the funds available to bring it back into working use, therefore this was renamed in 2015.

Maintenance & Funds for the maintenance, servicing and repair costs of the church building. building (ecclesiastical)

Youth Grant Grant received for the provision of employed youth and children's work.

27

St Laurence Church In Reading

Year Ended 31st December 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements

14 Analysis of net assets between funds

	Unrestricted	Endowment	Restricted	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2023
	£	£	£	£
Fixed assets	-	25,105	65,565	90,670
Current assets	128,681	-	31,096	159,777
Creditors less than 1 year	(4,343)	-	-	(4,343)
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	124,338	25,105	96,661	246,104
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	Unrestricted	Endowment	Restricted	Total Funds
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2022
	£	£	£	£
Fixed assets	-	25,334	63,929	89,264
Current assets	129,029	-	28,139	157,168
Creditors less than 1 year	(1,260)	-	-	(1,260)
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────
	127,769	25,334	92,068	245,171
	──────────	──────────	──────────	──────────

15 Consecrated land and buildings and other church property

The PCC has the use of property in Friar Street, Reading together with benefice property (clergy accommodation) which is excluded from the accounts by virtue of s.10(2) of the Charities Act 2011. Movable church furnishings held by the Vicar and Churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are capitalised where appropriate and allocated to the appropriate fixed asset category. The church halls and certain clergy accommodations are held in trust by the Oxford Diocesan Fund on behalf of the PCC. These properties are essential for the mission of the church and have been in use for many years. Accordingly, they have not been capitalised as there is insufficient cost information and their depreciated cost is unlikely to be material. All expenditure on consecrated or benefice buildings is written off in the year of expenditure.

16 Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions in the year ending 31st December 2023.

28