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2022-06-30-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

30 JUNE 2022

Charity Number 1166938

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

CONTENTS

The Trustees present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2022,

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity’s trust deed, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (The SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015), as amended by Update Bulletin 2 published in October 2018, effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019.

Status, Objectives and Ethos of the Festival 3 - 4
Governance, Structure and Management 5 - 7
Other Reference Information 8
Achievements, Performance and Future Plans 9 - 13
Financial Review 14 - 18
Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees 19
Financial Statements 20 - 21
Notes to the Accounts 22 - 27

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

STATUS, OBJECTIVES AND ETHOS

Status

The Charity is registered with the Charity Commission and its Registration number is 1166938 The Festival is affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech.

The principal purpose of the charity is to encourage and advance the education of the public in the study, performance, and appreciation of the performing arts by staging an annual Festival held in Bath and Somerset, to be called the Mid-Somerset Festival and in addition an event in September to be called the Mid-Somerset Festival of Dance. This encompasses the major disciplines of dance, creative writing, music, musical theatre, and speech and drama.

Objectives of the Festival

The Trustees have approved the following statement of the aims and objectives of the MidSomerset Festival:

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Ethos of the Festival

The Festival will seek to reflect current interests and educational curricula, embracing both traditional and contemporary work and will offer the opportunity for all interested young people and adults to perform in both competitive and non-competitive forums.

The Festival is inclusive and seeks to provide entrants with opportunities for the performing arts covering a wide range of achievement levels, talents, and abilities. The Festival will be mindful of the need for setting standards, the pursuit of excellence, with appraisal of performances by eminent adjudicators. The aim is to encourage the entrants to develop their talents with a constructive style of adjudication.

The Festival is open to all participants; classes are provided for ages between 6 and adult and for a wide range of talents and abilities. Introductory workshops have been introduced to encourage those with disability or with limited experience and give them the opportunity to perform. All are welcomed and participants will be invited to share, enjoy and learn from the broad range of performing arts experiences afforded by the Festival.

Audiences are an essential part of performing arts and the Festival seeks to provide the widest opportunity for the public to experience and enjoy watching performances and concerts in prestigious venues at a modest cost. Audience members under 18 years are admitted free of charge.

Public Benefit

The Trustees confirm that the Festival is a public benefit entity within the meaning of the SORP, and also that the Trustees have had, and will continue to have regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

For some years the Festival has operated a Bursary Scheme, under which individuals or organisations such as schools, can apply for financial assistance to participate in the Festival.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

GOVERNANCE, STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT

Legal Status of the Festival

At an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 23 April 2015, the members resolved unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Trustees and apply to the Charities Commission to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). This application was submitted to the Charities Commission and the CIO was officially formed on 5[th] May 2016.

However, due to administrative issues surrounding the setup of new bank accounts, it was not possible to effect the transfer of the assets and liabilities of the existing charity to the newly registered CIO by the end of the 2016/17 financial year.

With all administrative issues resolved, the Trustees decided, at the General Council meeting held on 11 June 2017, to formally wind up the existing charity and transfer all assets and liabilities to the new CIO. This took effect from 1 July 2017.

Instrument of government

As required by the Charities Commission, the conduct of the Festival is governed by a formal Constitution. The constitution currently governing the operations of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation was adopted on 12[th] October 2020 as Version 3.

The Constitution empowers the Trustees to make and enforce such Rules as they consider necessary for the proper conduct of the Festival.

The Trustees of the Festival are required to review from time to time the Constitution and Rules in the light of changing circumstances. Any amendments considered to be necessary, will be laid before the Members of the Festival in General Meeting for their consideration and approval

Structure and Management

General Council and committee structure

Overall management of the Festival is exercised by the General Council whose members are the Trustees of the Charity. Trustees must be registered Members of the Festival.

The Trustees have the power to appoint new Trustees (subject to the maximum number of Trustees permitted by the Governing Document) at any time, but such Trustees must retire and present themselves for re-election at the subsequent Annual General Meeting. The maximum number of Trustees allowed is eleven and the minimum is three. In selecting persons to be appointed, the Trustees will take into account the benefits of appointing a person who is able by virtue of his or her professional qualifications to contribute to the aims and objectives or the management of the Festival.

The Trustees may also co-opt additional members onto General Council; however, these persons will not have the status of Trustee. Such additional membership will be restricted to a maximum of four. Co-opted members of General Council must be registered Members of the Festival.

Day to day administration of the Festival will be undertaken by committees, which are subsidiary to General Council. These committees will usually be chaired by a member of General Council. Other persons serving on these committees are appointed by General Council.

Currently, there are three major committees – Dance, Music and Speech & Drama and two smaller sub-committees to administer Creative Writing and Musical Theatre.

General Council may set up and appoint individuals to serve on other committees as it sees fit.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

President

As provided by paragraph 9.8 (a) of the 2020 Constitution, the Trustees have determined that the office of President is held, ex officio, by the Mayor of Bath. This office is purely symbolic and plays no part in the management of the Charity.

Patron

As provided by paragraph 9.8(a) of the 2020 Constitution, Cllr Cherry Beath, former Chairman of B&NES Council/Mayor of Bath, and a stalwart supporter of the Festival, remains as a patron of the Festival.

Trustees

The composition of the Council of Trustees following elections held at the AGM held on 20 October 2021 is as follows:

Chairman and Officer Mrs Lynne Barnes Hon General Secretary and Officer Mrs Rosemarie Johnson Hon Treasurer and Officer Mr Mike Harley Mrs Kathy Goodspeed Mrs Barbara Ingledew Mrs Janet Read Mrs Jane Riekemann Mrs Helen Roper Mrs Winifred Thomson

The Officers of the Festival are elected annually. Other Trustees serve a two-year term - thus half the number will retire at each annual General meeting.

The posts due for election in 2022 are those currently held by Mesdames Jane Riekemann, Helen Roper, Winifred Thomson and Barbara Ingledew. Three other Trustee posts still remain vacant

Mrs Helen Lossl remains as a co-opted member of General Council, but not a Trustee.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Members and Life Members

The Trustees of the Charity continue to be drawn from the ranks of the Membership, whose input, support and experience enable the Festival to operate as it does. ‘Friends of the Festival’ also support the Festival by donations and as volunteers within the Festival.

During the year we heard, with much sadness, of the passing of Mrs Joanna Wiesner and Mrs Marlene Powell. Both were long term Members and enthusiastic supporters of the Festival

Consequently, the Festival now has forty-one Members and ten Life Members (shown below), all with full voting rights. The number of Friends has reduced to thirty-five, twenty-two of whom are also Members.

The loss of two long-term volunteers reflects the older demographic within the Festival. It has been recognised that effort must be made to recruit volunteers/Members from younger age groups, difficult as this may prove to be.

The Life Members are Mrs Edna Blackwell, Mrs Delyth Cardy, Mrs Margot Coggan, Mrs Margaret Eedle, Mr Rodney Hodgman MBE, Mr Paul Johnson, Mrs Una MacMahon, Mrs Vivienne McEwen, Ms Susan West, Mr Tony Wheadon.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

OTHER DETAILS

Registered Office and Principal Address

Dryfield, Bristol Road, Chippenham, SN14 6LG

Independent Examiner

Joanne Trowbridge Bristol Community Accountants CIC The Park Daventry Road Knowle BRISTOL BS4 1DQ

Bankers

NatWest Bank plc, Bath Stuckey’s Branch, 39 Milsom St., BATH BA1 1DS

Bath Building Society, 15 Queen Square, BATH, BA1 2HN

Principal Sponsor for the year 2021/22

The Roper Family Charitable Trust

Web site and Social Media

The Trustees are pleased to report that the web site continues to work well. Full details of the syllabus can be found on the site. Entries – including payment of fees - for all classes can be made using the online forms. The full address of the site is: www.midsomersetfestival.org

The Festival also has a presence in major social media

Follow us on Twitter @MidSomersetFest

Like our ‘Mid Somerset Festival’ page on Facebook

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

ACHIEVEMENTS, PERFORMANCE AND FUTURE PLANS

2021-2022 has been a period of lockdown management rather than expansion. With Covid still dominating our activities we were pleased to be able hold a fully live festival with only an average 25% drop in entries across the disciplines.

The return of the Festival to near normal was much appreciated by all who participated. It was gratifying to see that group work across the disciplines was well supported, despite numerous pupil absences, fostering the teamwork that gives such invaluable experience and adds to usable life skills.

Our volunteer force was hit hard and in response to those falling numbers we decided to concentrate any development initiatives into recruitment. To that end we have increased our outreach by proactive use of social media, including a launch of a blog and a recruitment campaign to widen our public profile.

Our normal Autumn programme Dance, Bath Young Actor and Bath Young Musician will go ahead this year and we hope to return to full capacity in Festival 2023. The process of refreshing our syllabus, reflecting both traditional and current performance skills, has been completed which will provide a relevant and positive platform for both young performers and adults.

Reports from the various areas of the Festival’s operations are given below.

DANCE

The effects of the pandemic were still being felt, mainly due to less rehearsal time and parents fearing the event could be cancelled. However, we still managed to have two full days, albeit with slightly less performers. Precautions were in place to reduce the number of performers congregating in one area. Hand Gel was available throughout the building and masks were worn by all volunteers and 99% of parents. Performers only removing their face covering when going on the stage.

.

MUSICAL THEATRE

It was a pleasure to return to live performance for solos and duos. Numbers were inevitably lower but not significantly so. Group classes were offered online and here numbers, unsurprisingly given the amount of pupil absences, were noticeably down.

Running both live and online performances became problematical in terms of workload and we will not repeat the experience focusing solely on the live event.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Classes offered for 2023 have been reviewed and the group section has had some major changes. With some form of Covid infections still likely to be with us in 2023 it was decided that large groups of up to 20 have become too difficult to manage safely in the current venue. We will now offer classes for trios and quartets, plus ensembles no larger than 8 performers. We hope this will still serve the need for group work albeit in reduced form.

The collaboration between the disciplines continues to be successful and we are pleased to welcome a new member to the team this year.

CREATIVE WRITING

Entries were slightly down on the last year we ran CW (209 in 2020 with 144 this year); Covid has, of course, had an impact. Adult entries are usually in the 40s but this year we only had 34 as, sadly, one of our most enthusiastic seniors who regularly made multiple entries, died. We usually receive entries from the CW dept of Bath Spa university but there were none this year. Our state school entries comprised 59% of the total Junior/Intermediate entries with private school entries at 40% (see table below). The remaining entries are made by private individuals.

Creative Writing Day was held on March 19[th] at the Bath Citadel and there was a lively attendance for the morning session, despite concerns over Covid. Our adjudicator, author Chris Vick, provided positive and constructive feedback, as well as creating a welcoming atmosphere in which children felt comfortable in reading out their work. We were also grateful to Claire Lilley from the Royal High School for giving up her time on a Saturday morning to present the prizes.

Predictably, the afternoon session for senior entrants was much depleted, though one writing group had travelled from Clevedon. In the Senior classes £50 prose and poetry prizes were awarded to the best entries in each genre.

Junior/Inter
Entries		 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
State Schools 59 0 65 96 49
Private Schools 44 0 78 88 34
Direct entries 10 0 17 6 15
Total 113 0 160 190 98

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

SPEECH & DRAMA

For the main March festival, considering the fact that schools were still facing so much disruption due to the pandemic, we had feared the worst but entries were only down by about 25%, (650). This was far better than anticipated and very encouraging for the future. We were very sorry that Bannerman school in Bristol couldn ’ t enter this year but most of our regulars returned and we had new entries from Wellington School in Taunton.

Primary Day on Tuesday continues to thrive. Although Bannerman were unable to join us, entries from other primary schools increased. This meant that, despite the loss of one of our main schools, the overall numbers for the day held up and were equivalent to a normal year.

Group classes were also affected by the pandemic and it was noticeable that we had minimal entries from the very young age groups.

With numbers down, some rooms finished early on Wednesday and Thursday and we had no classes at all on Friday which is usually when we timetable the youngest children. We were able to minimise the costs of this with careful use of venues and sending some adjudicators home early.

The senior classes after school are very popular which makes it a challenge to fit them all in but spreading out over 3 days makes it difficult for students who live further away so we are yet to find a solution to this problem. Using the Lower Room at the Citadel instead of the Mission in the evenings, however, was far more convenient for candidates and stewards alike.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, with stewards and entrants having to withdraw at the last minute, the festival was a resounding success. All four of our adjudicators proved very popular and there was a happy, positive mood throughout all the rooms over all 4 days. The overwhelming feeling being that everyone was delighted to be back. A feeling clearly shared by all at the successful Speech & Drama concert to round off the week

BATH YOUNG ACTOR

The Speech & Drama year would usually start in October with Bath Young Actor but, with a limited on line festival in 2021, it was agreed by all to withdraw that event for this year.

BATH YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

As there were only a limited number of online entries in 2021 it was again not possible to hold this contest. However, it is planned that this event will go head in October 2022 with five finalists identified

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

MUSIC

There were fewer entries this year than previous years – a drop of 603 in 2020 to 392. (These figures do not take into account entries for 2021 when Covid meant only a limited number of online entries was possible). This is a direct effect from Covid infections and lockdowns. Numbers taking individual lessons dropped and groups were not able to rehearse for over a year and then suffered considerable absenteeism when rehearsals did resume. This was particularly the case for instrumental groups. The Bands and Orchestras evening had to be cancelled as there were too few entries although some Chamber classes went ahead. We hope these numbers will bounce back next year as rehearsals take place regularly with full numbers of students and teachers rebuild their practices.

Although entries were down choirs told us how pleased they were to be back singing and the two choral days buzzed. Primary Music Day saw nearly 500 children taking part over the course of the morning. Feedback from parents and teachers was very positive. They were all thrilled to see the children performing again. We were pleased once again to offer an award to the school making the greatest contribution and understand the money will be put towards the purchase of new music and musical instruments.

Individual classes saw good spread of entries over all the musical disciplines with a mix of state and private sector entries. Classes were offered for all types of instrument, ages and ability levels. New classes in electric guitar and percussion had a poor take -up but will be offered again next year with the aim of building up slowly. Standards were high and five finalists have been identified to take part in Bath Young Musician of the Year in October 2022.

We were pleased to be able to award prize money to singers and instrumentalists in various categories and understand the monies will be put to good use by purchasing new music, taking children to watch live music performances, and paying towards attendance at summer schools.

The Special Schools morning took place once again at Three Ways School with 90 children invited from all three Special Schools in the area and was much enjoyed by all the participants. Due to concerns about Covid, the usual plans were adapted so that the schools involved did not mix within the three different workshop groups and no mainstream school was invited. It was a real boost that, despite all the difficulties, the morning was able to go ahead. As one teacher wrote afterwards “… it was just what was needed”.

Large scale events such as Choral Days, Primary Music Day and Bands and Orchestra require a big team to be run effectively. Fortunately, the Music Committee remains strong, and the running of the Music Festival continues to go smoothly. A number of positive comments were received from teachers, parents, and adjudicators over the running of the Festival.

Mid-Somerset Festival continues to work in partnership with Bath & North East Somerset Music Services and plan to jointly offer training courses in the teaching of music at Key Stage 1 and 2 level to primary school teachers

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

STEWARDS

Preparations for organising the stewarding of the 2022 festival started in mid-January.

The big question was how many of our stewards would still be keen to help with the first live festival following the covid lockdowns. Some of our longest serving and most experienced volunteers decided to retire after the two-year break. We are extremely grateful for all the help they have given to the festival over the years and wish them well. Yes, the number of stewards on file has reduced but we welcomed 4 new and returning stewards.

Completing the stewards’ rota was a challenge as there were only 26 stewards available to help for the duration of the festival. Committee members rallied round as we were stretched to fill all the stewarding roles. The issue of how to recruit more stewarding volunteers continues to be a major concern.

There were big changes to the Box Office role with the introduction of electronic payments. Card payments were successfully trialled at the Dance Festival in September and proved a big hit again at the main festival. All box office stewards received training on how to use the technology before the start of the festival.

Stewarding the 2022 festival was a challenge but in conclusion I would like to include some comments received from the volunteers which was great to receive.

“I would like to express my admiration for the way the team got the whole show on the road despite all the complications facing you”

“As always the festival was organised brilliantly and flowed smoothly. It’s a joy to be a part of such a well-run and happy festival.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The financial position of the Mid-Somerset Festival as of 30 June 2022, and the financial impact of its operations in the period 1 July 2021 until 30 June 2022 are detailed in the following schedules.

Restricted and Unrestricted Funds

As required by statute, the accounts of the Charity differentiate between funds whose application is prescribed by the stated wishes of their providers (the Restricted Funds); funds whose application is managed by the Trustees having regard to the wishes of donors (the Designated Funds) and funds whose application is controlled by the Trustees (the Unrestricted Funds).

In each case the Trustees are under a duty to ensure that all funds are applied to activities prescribed by the aims and objectives of the Charity as specified in its instruments of government.

Financial Strategy

The financial strategy in relation to Restricted and Designated Funds is to continue the specified activities until the appropriate funds are exhausted. At that point, the Trustees will decide whether to continue to fund the specified activities from Unrestricted Funds, to seek additional Restricted or Designated Funds or to discontinue the activities.

The financial strategy in relation to Unrestricted Funds is broadly to ensure that, in the medium term, the costs of running the Festival each year are covered by incoming resources during the year. The resumption of our normal activities following the lifting of government restrictions during the Coved pandemic has meant that the Trustees must now have regard to this strategy. The extent to which the Trustees have conformed to this strategy are covered below.

In relation to reserves, the Trustees consider that the minimum acceptable level of reserves should equate to running the Festival for one year with zero income. At estimated price levels and recognising the efforts to improve value for money in our operations, this level of expenditure is approximately £45,000 (£51,500 2020/21). At the balance sheet date, the value of free reserves (i.e., excluding restricted and designated funds, and investments in stocks and tangible fixed assets) was approximately £86,300 (£86,700 2020/21) – yielding a safety ratio of 191.8% (168.3% 2020/21). This shows a significant improvement compared to last year, although that was obviously not a ‘normal’ year. It is worth also recognising that while the Festival was ‘smaller’ than before the pandemic, it is likely to grow over the next few years, leading to increased levels of expenditure.

It is the opinion of the Trustees that the Festival is in a satisfactory position financially.

Going concern

The Trustees have reviewed the Festival’s results, and projections, including the direct effect of the recovery from Covid-19 on this and future years. The Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Festival has adequate reserves to contemplate the continuation of operations, subject to our ability to continue to attract entrants (and sponsors) in the post Covid reality. The ‘bounce back’ of entrant numbers after the pandemic is encouraging, while not yet at previous levels, as is the willingness of our sponsors to continue to support the Festival.

The Trustees therefore are of the opinion that we should continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Highlights – General Funds

In the year to 30 June 2022, the Festival’s normal activities related to the General Fund yielded a deficit of £465 compared to a deficit of £2,285 during the previous year. This represents a favourable movement of £1,820 during the year.

The main elements contributing to this movement are as follows:

(Adverse) / Favourable Movements compared to the previous year:
Exceptional Items in Previous Years:
Fee Refunds returned as donations (£867)
Investment in Equipment £727
Investment in Syllabus Artwork £780
Investment in Marketing £390
Adjustment to prior year stock issues (£194)
Adjustment to RMF Fees pre-2020 £41 £877
Exceptional Items in Current Year:
Compensation for Bank Error £100
Change in Card Payment providers £341 £441
Current Year Adverse Movements:
Increase in Bursary Awards (£360)
Reduction in Donations – Members and Friends (£350)
Net increase in General Overheads (£14) (£724)
Current Year Favourable Movements:
Net impact of the resumption of Festival Events £423
Surplus on Publication trading £722
Increase in Building Society Interest Rates £81 £1,226
Net Favourable movement £1,820

Financially this has not been a particularly difficult year for the Festival – even though we made a modest loss, this represented a good recovery from the losses caused by the pandemic..

Although 2020/2021 was a difficult year, the Trustees were prepared to invest in the future. Accordingly, during that year, the Trustees approved exceptional expenditure on equipment, marketing and artwork for our online syllabus. Together this represented investment of £1.9k, which of course, not being repeated this year, represents a saving. This is offset by one-off donations of refunded fees not being a feature this year.

A welcome influence on this year’s result is the resumption of the majority of Festival events, including admin and sponsorship income. There are two points worthy of note. Firstly, for obvious reasons the Festival was measurably ‘smaller’ than pre-pandemic events – and consequently net running costs were lower. Also, to improve transparency, it was agreed with sponsors that their donations would relate to the calendar year of 2022 – so subject to the sponsorship of specific

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events, roughly half of the cash received has been retained in the Balance Sheet to be released in 2022/23 financial year.

It is pleasing to note that for the first time in living memory, we actually generated a surplus on the production and sale of our Festival programme. This mainly resulted from success in selling advertising space as well as strong sales at the Box Office. There is a minor issue that a small number of advertisers have not yet settled their invoices.

There were two major IT developments during the year.

Members will recall that in previous years, card payments for entries through our online entry system were managed by complex (and expensive) arrangements involving two external companies. Trustees considered that this arrangement was not sustainable going forward. The previous arrangements were therefore terminated (at minimal cost to the Festival) and a PayPal[TM] account was set up. This proved to be a significantly better arrangement – lower costs, improved usage by entrants, quicker receipt of cash into our bank, and much improved management information.

Secondly, after a successful pilot at the Dance Festival in September of 2021, we introduced card payment facilities to our Box Offices for all our venues. This involved the acquisition and commissioning of appropriate equipment and other facilities, which cost approximately £1,450. Fortunately, one of our regular sponsors stepped up and covered this expenditure. The introduction of this facility proved to be popular with audiences and treasury stewards alike. A good case can be made that it also contributed to the strong sales of programmes noted above.

It is encouraging to note that building society interest rates have increased significantly in the latter part of the year - having said that, they cannot yet be characterised as generous.

Our Bank paid us compensation to reflect the additional administrative disruption caused by a communications issue, which has now mainly been resolved.

During the year, donations from Friends was reduced – partly through normal churn, but also due to an issue with the bank account. Members will recall that some time ago we changed our legal status to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. This involved setting up a new bank account. In the process of migrating to this new account, all Members and Friends were contacted and asked to transfer their standing orders to the new account. The majority did so – however there were some that failed to make the switch. Despite further requests, there were still some who failed to make the switch, so when the old accounts had to be switched off, we lost that income. Efforts will be made to re-engage with those Friends and renew this income stream.

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General Fund Management Accounts

On a regular basis, financial reports are made available to General Council so that operations can be properly monitored. A summarised version covering the full 2021/2022 financial year is shown as Note 10 on page 25.

The analysis of the discipline totals reported in Note 10 is shown in the table below:

Element Dance Music Speech
& Drama		 Musical
Theatre		 Creative
Writing		 Special
**Workshops **		 Total
EntryFees £2,050 £4,434
£5,564		 £303 £870 £13,221
Net Box Office £1,687 £1,928 £2,203 £108 £286 £6,212
Direct Sponsors £0 £481 £0 £0 £0 £120 £601
Merchandise/Catering £557 £0 £0 £0 £0 £557
Adjudicators (£947) (£4,704) (£4,741) (£381) (£575) (£11,348)
Venues (£1,202) (£4,196) (£3,067) (£210) (£170) (£8,845)
Prizes (£233) (£419) (£219) (£100) (£971)
Resources £0 (£4,196) £0 £0 (£120) (£4,316)
ProcessingCosts (£170) (£230) (£336) (£20) (£71) (£827)
Other overhead £0 (£122) (£94) (£5) (£27) (£248)
**Total ** £1,742 (£7,024) (£690) (£205) £213 £0 (£5,964)

Note: “Processing Costs” represent fees charged for using the RMF Entry Management System, and card payment processing by PayPal and SumUp.

Box Office income is stated net of the cost of audience entry tickets.

Prospects for 2022 / 2023 and beyond – General Fund

In the view of the Trustees, 2021/22 has seen a successful resumption of the Festival’s traditional activities. However, we are fully aware of the possibility of further waves of infection as the Covid virus mutates and the UK’s borders remain porous.

In the longer term, the major issues facing the Festival remain:

The long-term survival of the Festival will depend on the ability and willingness of the Trustees to critically assess the way the Festival operates and is organised, and formulate evidence based alternate visions of how to deliver the outcomes enshrined in our ethos and objectives.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Highlights and Prospects – Restricted and Designated Funds

General Council will continue to administer the restricted and designated funds in accordance with the wishes of the original donors. Details of the movements on each fund are shown in Note 11 to the accounts on page 26 below.

As disclosed in Note 11, during the year four restricted funds were wound up and replaced by two designated funds. This was done in consultation with the Charity Commission, with a view to consolidating the funds originally given by the King family to fund various prizes. The details are shown in Note 11

The future of the Public Speaking Award fund is still under review by Trustees.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

I NDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL

YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

I report on the Accounts of the Trust for the year ended 30 June 2022 which are set out in pages 20 to 27

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The Charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 (2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act), and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. 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 you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

Joanne Trowbridge

Bristol Community Accountants CIC

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

Note
Incoming Resources
Donations and legacies
2
Investments
8
Charitable Activities
3
Other trading activities
4
Total Incoming Resources
Expenditure on:
Charitable Activities
5
Other activities
6
Total Resources Used
Net incoming / (outgoing)
10
Transfer of Funds
Realised gains / (losses)
Net Movements on Funds
Total Funds brought forward
Total Funds carried forward		 Restricted
Funds
2022
Unrestricted Funds
Total
Funds
2022
Design
ated
Funds
2022
General
Funds
2022
Restricted
Funds
2021
£
£
£
£
£
-
-
11,421
11,421
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
19
23,380
23,401
7
-
-
1,143
1,143
-		 Unrestricted Funds
Design
ated
Funds
2021
General
Funds
2021
Total
Funds
2021
£
£
£
-
2,947
2,947
-
-
-
830
57
894
-
-		 Unrestricted Funds
Design
ated
Funds
2021
General
Funds
2021
Total
Funds
2021
£
£
£
-
2,947
2,947
-
-
-
830
57
894
-
-
2
19
35,944
35,965
7		 830 3,004
3,841
100
1,050
35,822
36,972
-
-
-
587
587
-		 651 5,468
6,119
-
-
100
1,050
36,409
37,559
-		 651 5,468
6,119
(98)
(1,031)
(465)
(1,594)
7		 179 (2,464)
(2,278)
(9,273)
9,094
179
-
-
-
-
-
-		 -
-
-
-
(9,371)
8,063
(286)
(1,594)
7		 179 (2,464)
(2,278)
10,323
179
88,334
98,836
10,316		 - 90,798
101,114
952
8,242
88,048
97,242
10,323		 179 88,334
98,836

The Charity has no recognised gains or losses other than the results for the year set out above.

“Unrestricted Funds” comprise Designated and General Funds

All of the activities of the charity are classed as continuing.

The notes on pages 22 to 27 form part of these financial statements

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

BALANCE SHEET

Note
FIXED ASSETS
UK Quoted Investments
CURRENT ASSETS
Stocks
Badges, Medals & Ribbons
Audience Entry Tickets
Debtors
Accounts Receivable
Other Debtors
7
Investments
Building Society Accounts
8
Cash
Building Society Accounts
Bank Accounts
Fixed Rate Deposit
On Hand
Total Current Assets
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts Payable
Other Creditors
9
Total Current Liabilities
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL NET ASSETS
REPRESENTED BY:
Restricted Funds
11
Designated Funds
General Funds		 As at 30 June
2022
2021
£
£
-
-
1,352
1,819
348
-
840
-
909
2,020
-
-
70,194
70,142
34,872
29,884
-
-
-
-
108,515
103,865
25
1
11,248
5,028
11,273
5,029
97,242
98,836
97,242
98,836
952
10,323
8,242
179
88,048
88,334
97,242
98,836

The notes on pages 22 to 27 form part of these financial statements

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Notes to the Accounts

Note 1: Accounting Policies

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

In the interests of clarity, notes 2 to 6 below show the figures for Designated and Restricted Funds amalgamated into “Other Funds”

Note 2:
Donations and Legacies
Other
Funds
2022
General
Funds
2022
Total
Funds
2022
Other
Funds
2021
£
£
£
£
Friends & Members’ Contributions
-
943
943
-
Refunds Declined
-
-
-
-
Other Donations
-
197
197
-
Sponsors
-
10,281
10,281
-
Total
-
11,421
11,421
-		 Note 2:
Donations and Legacies
Other
Funds
2022
General
Funds
2022
Total
Funds
2022
Other
Funds
2021
£
£
£
£
Friends & Members’ Contributions
-
943
943
-
Refunds Declined
-
-
-
-
Other Donations
-
197
197
-
Sponsors
-
10,281
10,281
-
Total
-
11,421
11,421
-		 General
Funds
2021
Total
Funds
2021
£
£
1,292
1,292
867
867
16
16
772
772

-
11,421
11,421
-		 2,947
2,947
Note 3:
Income from charitable activities
Other
Funds
2022
General
Funds
2022
Total
Funds
2022
Other
Funds
2021
£
£
£
£
Competitor Entry Fees
-
13,133
13,133
830
Accompanist Fees
-
87
87
-
Ticket Sales
-
6,298
6,298
-
Publications
-
3,736
3,736
-
Misc.
-
1
1
-
Interest on short term cash deposits
21
125
126
7
Total
21
23,380
23,401
837		 Note 3:
Income from charitable activities
Other
Funds
2022
General
Funds
2022
Total
Funds
2022
Other
Funds
2021
£
£
£
£
Competitor Entry Fees
-
13,133
13,133
830
Accompanist Fees
-
87
87
-
Ticket Sales
-
6,298
6,298
-
Publications
-
3,736
3,736
-
Misc.
-
1
1
-
Interest on short term cash deposits
21
125
126
7
Total
21
23,380
23,401
837		 General
Funds
2021
Total
Funds
2021
£
£
-
830
-
-
-
-
-
-
13
13
44
51

21
23,380
23,401
837		 57
894
Note 4:
Income from other trading activities
Other
Funds
2022
General
Funds
2022
Total
Funds
2022
Other
Funds
2021
£
£
£
£
Merchandising
-
438
438
-
Catering
-
705
705
-
Total
-
1,143
1,143
-		 Note 4:
Income from other trading activities
Other
Funds
2022
General
Funds
2022
Total
Funds
2022
Other
Funds
2021
£
£
£
£
Merchandising
-
438
438
-
Catering
-
705
705
-
Total
-
1,143
1,143
-		 General
Funds
2021
Total
Funds
2021
£
£
-
-
-
-

-
1,143
1,143
-		 -
-

23 | P a g e

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Note 5: Charitable Activities

Adjudicators Fees and Expenses
Hire of Venues
Resources
Prizes (inc. medals)
Refreshments & Hospitality
Publications
Bursary Scheme
I.T. Expenditure
Governance, Admin & Overhead
Total		 Other
Funds
2022
General
Funds
2022
Total
Funds
2022
Other
Funds
2021
General
Funds
2021
Total
Funds
2021
£
£
£
£
£
£
-
11,348
11,348
628
318
946
-
10,015
10,015
-
84
84
-
5,773
5,772
-
1,273
1,273
1,150
971
2,121
-
350
350
-
353
353
-
-
-
-
3,021
3,021
-
780
780
-
360
360
-
-
-
-
1,372
1,372
-
1,122
1,122
-
2,609
2,566
23
1,541
1,564

1,150
35,822
36,972
651
5,468
6,119

Note 6: Other Costs

Merchandising
Catering
Prior Year adj.
Total		 Other
Funds
2022
General
Funds
2022
Total
Funds
2022
Other
Funds
2021
General
Funds
2021
Total
Funds
2021
£
£
£
£
£
£
-
149
149
-
-
-
-
430
430
-
-
-
-
8
8
-
-
-

-
587
587
-
-
-

Note 7: Other Debtors

Prepaid Expenditure
Standard Accruals
Accrued Income
Sundry Debtors		 2022
2021
£
£
-
850
783
927
126
243
-
-
909
2,020

Note 8: Investments

These are current assets which cannot be accessed within 90 days. On 14/01/20, all Festival funds held by the Bath Building Society were transferred to an instant access account. This account yielded a better rate of interest than available in an ordinary ‘Investment Account’.

24 | P a g e

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Note 9: Other Creditors

Accrued Expenditure
Income in advance
Sundry Creditors
Suspense		 2022
2021
£
£
1,131
378
10,054
4,255
63
395
-
-
11,248
5,028

Note 10 Management Accounts: General Fund Deficit analysed by Activity

Net Income / (Expenditure)
Bath Young Musician
Bath Young Actor
Creative Writing
Dance
Music
Musical Theatre
Speech & Drama
Workshops
Total for Festival Disciplines
Festival Level Fundraising
Corporate Publications
Bursary Scheme
Total for Support Activities
IT & Data Processing
Office Costs
Other Overheads
Total Net Overheads
Total Deficit Generated		 Financial Year
2021-22
-
-
£213
£1,742
(£7,024)
(£205)
(£690)
-
(£5,964)
£9,374
£711
(£360)
£9,725
(£484)
(£2,787)
(£955)
(£4,226)
(£465)		 Financial Year
2020-21
-
-
£6
£492
£309
-
£14
-
£821
£1,308
(£780)
-
£528
(£1,228)
(£1,499)
(£1,086)
(£3,813)
(£2,464)		 Financial Year
2019-20
£206
(£107)
£592
£2,704
(£6,425)
£235
(£900)
-
(£3,695)
£16,207
(£2,180)
(£548)
£13,479
(£1,353)
(£3,748)
(£527)
(£5,628)
£4,156		 Financial Year
2019-20
£206
(£107)
£592
£2,704
(£6,425)
£235
(£900)
-
(£3,695)
£16,207
(£2,180)
(£548)
£13,479
(£1,353)
(£3,748)
(£527)
(£5,628)
£4,156
£9,374
£711
(£360)		 £1,308
(£780)
-		 £16,207
(£2,180)
(£548)
(£484)
(£2,787)
(£955)		 (£1,228)
(£1,499)
(£1,086)		 (£1,353)
(£3,748)
(£527)
£4,156

25 | P a g e

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Note 11: Movement in Funds

Restricted Funds
May King Memorial Award
May King Vocal Award
Muriel King Vocal Award
Thelma King Instrumental Award
Public Speaking Award
Wayne Jones Memorial Award
Total Restricted Funds
Unrestricted Funds
Virtual Events
Thelma King Vocal Award
Thelma King Instrumental Award
Total Designated Funds
General Funds
Total Unrestricted Funds
Total Funds		 June
Resources
2020
In
Out
£
£
£
100
-
1,289
1
-
1,087
-
-
6,791
5
-
475
-
-
574
1
-		 June
Resources
2020
In
Out
£
£
£
100
-
1,289
1
-
1,087
-
-
6,791
5
-
475
-
-
574
1
-		 June
Resources
30 June
2021
In
Out
Trans
2022
£
£
£
£
£
100
-
-
(100)
-
1,290
-
-
(1,290)
-
1,087
-
-
(1,087)
-
6,796
-
-
(6,796)
-
475
1
-
-
476
575
1
(100)
-
476
10,316
7		 - 10,323
2
(100)
(9,273)
952
-
830
-
-
-
-		 (651)
-
-		 179
-
-
(179)
-
-
5
(450)
2,477
2,032
-
14
(600)
6,796
6,210
-
830		 (651) 179
19
(1,050)
9,094
8,242
90,798
3,004		 (5,468) 88,334
35,944
(36,409)
179
88,048
90,798
3,834		 (6,119) 88,513
35,963
(37,459)
9,273
96,290
101,114
3,841		 (6,119) 98,836
35,965
(36,599)
-
97,242

Notes on Fund Transfers:

Following consultation with the Charities Commission, all the restricted funds provided by the King family were reclassified as ‘Designated’ rather than ‘Restricted’. The Trustees resolved to continue to use the funds for the same purposes as the preceding Restricted Funds. They also resolved to consolidate the three vocal funds into a single fund (the Thelma King Vocal Award) to ensure that the three prizes can be awarded for as long as possible The Virtual Events fund was wound up as originally intended and the balance transferred to the General Fund.

Active Restricted and Designated Funds

Thelma King Vocal Award

Public Speaking Award

Thelma King Instrumental Award

Wayne Jones Memorial Award

This fund provides annual prizes awarded to the outstanding singers in the Art Song, Young Adult and Adult classes.

This fund provides an annual prize awarded for a youth debating competition. Not awarded since 2016. Trustees will review the future of this Fund in conjunction with the donor.

This fund provides an annual award for high achievers in the solo instrumental classes.

This fund provides an annual prize awarded to the winner of Sacred Music classes.

26 | P a g e

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2022

Note 12: Disclosures required by FRS 102

12.1 Audit and Independent Examination Fees

During the year 2021/22, the Festival accounted for £396 (£378 in 2020/21) in fees related to the independent examination of the Annual Report and Accounts

12.2 Trustees and Key Management Personnel - Remuneration and Benefits

Trustees and other Key Management personnel received no payments or any other benefits from employment with the Festival in the year 2021/22 (2020/21: £nil)

12.3 Trustees – Reimbursement of Expenses

During the year 2021/22, reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses was made to 4 Trustees (4 in 2020/21). The total value reimbursed was £5,281 (£931 in 2020/21). The nature of the expenses reimbursed is shown in the following table:

Adjudicators’ expenses
Equipment & Minor Assets
Catering supplies & refreshments
ICT Licences
Insurances
Office Expenses (post, stationery etc)
Other miscellaneous
Total for year		 2021/22
2020/21
£2,615
£0
£1,391
£853
£563
£0
£324
£0
£270
£0
£98
£58
£20
£20
£5,281
£931

12.4 Related Party Transactions

No Trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the Festival (2020/21 £nil)

During the year, the Festival paid affiliation fees to the national level of the British and International Federation of Festivals (BIFF) of £246 (£290 in 2020/21) and to the South West Region of BIFF of £0 (£0 in 2020/21)

12.5 Ex Gratia Payments

The Festival made no ex-gratia payments in 2021/22 (2020/21 £nil)

12.6 Staff Costs and Employee Benefits

The Festival does not employ any staff therefore has incurred no staff costs or employee benefits in the year 2021/22 (2020/21 £nil)

27 | P a g e