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2024-06-30-accounts

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

30 JUNE 2024

Charity Number 1166938

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

CONTENTS

The Trustees present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2024.

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
Achievements, Performance and Future Plans 8 - 12
Financial Review 13 - 17
Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees 18
Financial Statements 19 - 20
Notes to the Accounts 21 - 26

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

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 2024

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 welcome 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 2024

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.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

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.

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, Ms. 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 10 November 2023 is as follows:

Chairman and Officer Mrs Lynne Barnes Hon General Secretary and Officer Miss Evelyn Taylor Mrs Kathy Goodspeed Mrs Barbara Ingledew Mrs Janet Read Mrs Jane Riekemann Mrs Helen Roper Mrs Winifred Thomson

Mr Mike Harley is now operating as the Interim Financial Officer for the Festival.

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 2024 are those currently held by Jane Reikemann, Helen Roper and Winifred Thomson. Three other Trustee posts still remain vacant.

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

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.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

The Festival now has thirty seven Members and nine Life Members (shown below), all with full voting rights. The number of Friends remains at thirty-five, ten of whom are also Members.

As previously stated in 2023, the demographic within the Festival is within the older age groups. Every effort is being made to recruit volunteers from younger age groups, but, in common with many other organisations, this is not proving to be very easy.

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, Ms. Susan West, Mr. Tony Wheadon.

OTHER DETAILS

Registered Office and Principal Address

4 Daffords Buildings Larkhall Bath BA1 6SG

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 2024 - 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 2024

ACHIEVEMENTS, PERFORMANCE AND FUTURE PLANS

A combination of the Arts being generally underfunded in schools combined with the continuing after-effects of Covid impacting on teacher ~~s,~~ influenced entry numbers in our Spring Festival. They are increasing, if slower than anticipated, and the downward trajectory appears to have been reversed.

To build on this growth we recognise that we need to tailor our syllabus to reflect the different demands of education today. Despite the difficulties schools have experienced the Festival is still well supported by both the Local Authority and Independent sector and we aim to support them in turn by offering a range of appropriate classes and activities. With that in mind particular care has been given to the annual process of refreshing our syllabus. This will contain both traditional and innovative performance skills ~~to~~ providing a relevant and positive platform to suit both teachers and performers.

Bath Young Actor and Bath Young Musician were well received by all who participated. The two prestigious events were much appreciated by audiences who were treated to outstanding programmes of work from our talented performers

This year we have had a number of changes in key personnel so any innovations have been kept to a minimum. Strategies, however, have been discussed regarding strengthening our recruitment process as attracting volunteers continues to pose a problem.

Reports from the various areas of the Festival’s operations.

Dance

Entry numbers were similar to previous years, there were fewer groups but a higher number of soles and duets. This is probably due to the financial situation where parents are not always able or willing to pay for extra lessons. Solos, and to a lesser extent duets can be practised at home but this cannot apply to groups.

Financially the surplus was greatly reduced mainly due to increased costs and partly for the first time the hiring of a cleaner for the kitchen. Catering no longer generates an income as we have to rely on an outside company. Overall, the event was a success with a substantial number of entrants and an appreciative audience enjoying the performances.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

MUSICAL THEATRE

Despite some initial difficulties the new team created a vibrant and exciting day with performances recognized by the adjudicator as attaining a very high standard. The new format is slowly attracting higher numbers in the group section with solo and duo entries remaining buoyant.

The more informal format for the day trialled last year was retained and the ‘concert style’ presentation proved equally as popular, allowing the students to fully appreciate and support all performances. The team have ideas for improving the delivery of the day, particularly on the technical side, and will implement them in the Spring.

CREATIVE WRITING

We had 152 entries this year: 111 in the junior classes with 41 in the senior section. Many of our older writers, who have entered for years, are no longer with us so it was good to see some fresh faces on Creative Writing Day.

Our state school entries comprised 43% of the total Junior/Intermediate entries with private school entries at 48% (see attached table). The remaining entries were made by private individuals.

Creative Writing Day was held on March 9th at the Bath Citadel and the morning session was very well-attended by the entrants, their families and teachers. Our adjudicator, author Mel Darbon, provided positive and constructive feedback, as well as creating a welcoming atmosphere in which children felt comfortable in reading out their stories and poems. We were especially thrilled to welcome students who had come from afar: one of most loyal schools is in Clevedon and, as in previous years, senior students travelled with their families for Creative Writing Day. In addition to the trophies that were presented as prizes, each winner received a book token, donated by the Royal High School, Bath.

Predictably, the afternoon session for senior entrants was much depleted, though attendees enjoyed sharing their work and listening to the adjudications.

SPEECH AND DRAMA

BATH YOUNG ACTOR

On October 6[th] , 2023 we returned to The Rose Theatre at King Edward’s School for Bath Young Actor, an evening where we celebrate 6 of the most talented performers from the main March festival.

This is our 2[nd] year at The Rose and we have learnt how to make the most of the relatively small performance space, while thoroughly enjoying the generous hospitality of King Edwards who look after us so well, not only with the space but with their hospitality and refreshments.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

The audience comprised of about 50 parents and friends which is the maximum for the space, and the VIP guests were Councillor Dr Pankhania, (Deputy Mayor), and his wife, Andrew Fletcher, (Sponsor), Martin Boden,(Head of KES).

The adjudicators were Rebecca Thompson & Jean Marc Perret who did an excellent job. A very enjoyable evening was had by all and, with the generous sponsorship of King Edward’s School, we were able to break even this year on costs.

We are incredibly grateful to KES for their generosity and support of the event.

SPEECH & DRAMA REPORT

Entries were up by 40 to 584 so we are hoping that the downward curve is starting to turn back up. What is particularly pleasing is that we were anticipating another drop because a few regular teachers have moved on.

Primary classes continue to thrive, increasing every year, and this is where we see the 40 extra entries as numbers there were up from 182 to 224, this included a new school from Radstock.

The senior section remains stable despite some of our main teachers cutting back their workloads. There were new entries from a Bristol school who wanted to enter more but couldn’t overcome safeguarding issues over some students’ personal information. They had a very positive experience this year so we are hoping to work together more closely in future now that they have a better understanding of how the festival works.

The entries that have been steadily declining for a few years are those in the open junior section, year 6 and under. Sadly, we simply don’t get the local prep school entries anymore. We continue to have entries from a number of senior schools but others are entered by their parents and not the schools. They all have thriving LAMDA departments so we need to find out more about why they have chosen not to participate in the festival.

Thankfully we took the decision last year to cut down from 4 rooms a day to three so the lower entries are balanced out by reduced venue and adjudicator costs.

A couple of the prep schools mentioned an unfortunate clash with school activities for World Book Day on Thursday and unfortunately the date will clash again in 2025. Perhaps this is something that can be addressed long term but with so many factors affecting dates, it is probably unlikely that the day can be avoided all together.

Almost all of our teachers used the on-lineine system to enter this year. The exceptions were two schools who continue to send paper copies to the entry secretary. The complications of entering duos and groups still causes problems and many mistakes were made by teachers or parents not used to the online system. This was a particular issue with one school who had asked their parents to enter their own children individually.

Our three adjudicators were: Stephen Owen, Marcia Carr and Rebecca Vines, all of whom commented on the positive atmosphere of the Mid Somerset and the efficiency with which it us run.

The Citadel and The Mission Theatre continue to work well for us as venues for drama. We do, however, have to work hard to ensure we have enough staff to man the two different locations, especially when it comes to running results. Some schools and teachers find it challenging that

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

our certificates are only available from the Citadel but changing this system relies on increased manpower which we currently don ’ t have.

The drop in numbers of stewards and committee members available during a working week continues to be our biggest challenge. As more committee members are required to steward, other tasks were neglected and, more importantly, with long, (12 or 13 hour), festival days, the small team became exhausted.

Challenges aside, we had a very positive 4 days of Speech & Drama activities with many happy children learning how to find their voices. The feedback from parents, teachers and adjudicators was nothing but complimentary and with numbers starting to go up again, we can move forward to 2025 with confidence.

More and more teachers are moving over to online entries which is far easier for the entry secretary. Some, however, struggle to enter children correctly so we spend a fair amount of time correcting mistakes. Duologues cause a particular problem as the method of entering pairs of children is not particularly user friendly and many mistakes are made even with experienced teachers.

MUSIC

Music entries for 2024 increased from last year but were still not back to pre-Covid levels. Notably entries for larger groups such as school choirs and orchestras were low and two events had to be cancelled as there were not enough entries to make them viable. Entries to instrumental classes also remained low. Consultation with local music teachers tells us they are still rebuilding choirs and instrumental groups. They are also reporting fewer students learning musical instruments.

Keyboard and Vocal classes remained buoyant however and Adult Choirs saw a large increase in entries.

We continue to award prize money to singers and instrumentalists in various categories and have received feedback to indicate the good use the money will be put to, eg. the purchase of instruments or music.

The Special Schools morning took place once again at Three Ways School with workshops offered in singing, dance and drumming. Four schools with SEN students participated and the event was much appreciated with organisers receiving positive feedback including the following comments from some of their teachers.

“We saw so much engagement from some of the children who are hard to reach.”

“The children had such a wonderful time and it really was joyful to watch them engaging with such enthusiasm”

Since the festival a lot of work has gone into revising the music syllabus to make it more relevant to the current situation in schools. This has been achieved in consultation with a number of local heads of music. Classes have been merged and some have been cancelled with new classes replacing them

The Music Committee remains strong and the running of the Music Festival continues to go smoothly.

Bath Young Musician of the Year.

This was a successful occasion. All the contestants acquitted themselves well and their performances were much appreciated by the audience.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

However, ticket sales were disappointing so strategies are in place to achieve stronger sales in 2024. This event is generously supported by the City of Bath Charter Trustees and the Roper Family Trust.

STEWARDS

As usual, preparations for the March Festival started in January. It soon became clear that we did not have sufficient volunteers to steward the event. Once more we were going to need support from the committee members to fill the stewarding gaps as only 22 stewards had volunteered their services.

The committee members rose magnificently to the challenge and collectively we managed. All our volunteers are generous with their time but there is a burning need to recruit more volunteers if we are to avoid burnout from our existing numbers from overuse. Consequently, we have embarked on a new recruitment drive to bolster our numbers.

During the festival, volunteers received positive feedback from parents, teachers, visitors and competitors. It is gratifying to know they appreciate how much time and effort goes into organising the festival and say that the volunteers are friendly and welcoming. Moreover, volunteers enjoy helping too. We just need more of them!

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The financial position of the Mid-Somerset Festival as of 30 June 2024, and the financial impact of its operations in the period 1 July 2023 until 30 June 2024 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. As activity levels struggle to reach pre pandemic levels, taking into account ever increasing input prices and recognising the efforts to improve value for money in our operations, this level of expenditure is estimated to be approximately £50,000 (£40,000 2022/23). 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 £90,500 (£81,700 2022/23) – yielding a safety ratio of 181.0% (204.2% 2022/23). This shows a significant degradation compared to last year – even so it is still way better than required by the strategy adopted by the Trustees.

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 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, volunteers and sponsors in the post Covid reality.

The Trustees have identified a number of operational and structural challenges to be addressed in the coming years – these are discussed in the ‘Prospects’ section below.

The Trustees consider that these issues will be resolved and therefore are of the opinion that the Festival 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 2024

Highlights – General Funds

In the year to 30 June 2024, the Festival’s normal activities related to the General Fund yielded a surplus of £9,940 compared to a deficit of £3,292 during the previous year. This represents a favourable movement of £13,232 during the year.

The notable elements contributing to this movement are as follows:

(Adverse) / Favourable Movements compared to the previous year:
Exceptional Items in 2024:
2022/23 Sponsorship received this year
Proceeds of Sale of redundant trophies
Refund of Bank Charges
Unclaimed Prizes / Adjudicator Fees etc
Current Year Favourable Movements:
Increased Overall Sponsorship
Publications
Increase in Building Society Interest Rates
Admin and Overheads
Current Year Adverse Movements:
Reduced Box Office net takings
Increased cost of Adjudicators
Increase in Venue costs
Increase in Bursaries granted
Increased cost of resources supporting competitive activities		 £6,450
£2,600
£260
£575
£9,885
£8,303
£1,651
£700
£50
£10,704
(£2,523)
(£1,750)
(£1,475)
(£1,008)
(£601)
(£7,357)
Net Favourable movement £13,232

The above table lists the main contributory elements contributing to an overall result which suggests that this has been a highly successful year financially for the Festival. However unpacking the underlying detail, suggests that c.£9.9k (or 75%) of the turnround is due to factors unique to this financial year – and therefore are highly unlikely to be replicated in future years. Discounting these items, the underlying surplus for this financial year is just £55 – which results in a more believable year-on-year improvement of £3.3k. This adjusted outturn puts the Festival right on its underlying financial strategy.

The outturn for Sponsorship deserves particular mention. Members will recall from last year’s report that there had been a delay in invoicing major sponsors for their 2023 contributions. It is pleasing to note that during this financial year invoices covering both the 2023 and 2024 contributions were issued and settled. Members will recall that sponsorship contributions cover the calendar year not the financial year. The invoicing activity is reflected in the above table as both the ‘Prior Year adjustment’ (£6.5k) reflecting sponsorship income for January to June 2023; as well as the ‘Increased sponsorship’ (£8.3k) which compares income for the 6 months July to December 2022 (FY 2022/23) with the corresponding income for the 12 months July 2023 to March 2024.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

Other Exceptional Items were noted during the year. The Music Committee cleaned out its cupboards and disposed of a number of trophies which are no longer awarded and realized £2.6k in scrap value. The outgoing Treasurer negotiated a refund of fixed monthly bank charges; however, the underlying problem is as yet unresolved. Also, a review of the Balance sheet identified expense accruals for items (fees and prizes) which in the view of the Trustees will not be claimed – and accordingly were written back.

The outturn on Publications is encouraging with a reduction in the deficit reported last year of £1.6k. The major factors were an increase in advertising revenue of £2.0k, an increase of £0.5k in net production costs and increased sales of £0.1k. The challenge will be to replicate the level of advertising in future years and possibly extend this to the Dance programme.

It is also pleasant to report continuing improvements in the return earned on Building Society deposits. Savings rates continue their upward trajectory increasing from 2.50% at the start of the financial year to the current figure of 2.89%. There are no signs that rates will be reducing any time soon.

2023/24 has also seen some challenging adverse movements.

Average Box Office net takings per session have reduced by 25.7% to £150 this year. Notable declines have been experienced at the Pump Rooms, Writhlington and the Citadel.

Adjudicator costs have increased this year, even though the number of individuals used has not changed from last year – 12 during the March Festival and 6 over the other events. Accommodation costs are £1.3k higher, mainly due to price increases at the Apex Bath. While locally negotiated fees haven’t changed, BIFF recommended fees have increased by just over 6% leading to an overall increase of £0.4k.

Overall, the Festival used 7 venues this year, down 2 from the previous year – this saved £800. However, for the venues used, prices have increased above inflation – notably the Citadel (up by £1.7k), and Writhlington (up by £0.4k).

The Festival has made efforts to increase awareness of the Bursary scheme, with the result that more applications were received compared to the previous year – all of which were approved. All the applications were received from schools.

‘Resources supporting competitive events’ covers a number of diverse items – the most notable change being a further 12.2% increase in the cost of hiring grand pianos which increased costs by £0.6k.

It should be noted that the training workshop for Primary School music teachers, which was trialled last year was not repeated this year.

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

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 2023/2024 financial year is shown as Note 10 in the Notes section.

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		 Blue
Ribband
Events		 Work
shops		 2023/24
Total		 2022/23
Total
EntryFees £2,383 £4,758 £4,900 £309 £810 - - £13,160 £13,310
Net Box Office £1,298 £2,338 £1,827 £116 £181 £508 - £6,268 £8,814
Direct Sponsors - £500 - - - £3,100 £100 £3,700 £2,825
Other Net Inc. £204 - - - - (£27) £177 £416
Adjudicators (£1,063) (£5,739) (£4,189) (£399) (£585) (£1,214) - (£13,189) (£11,437)
Venues (£1,887) (£4,979) (£2,913) (£236) (£184) (£1,008) - (£11,207) (£10,494)
Prizes (£389) (£423) (£187) - (£100) (£1,000) - (£2,099) (£2,149)
Resources - (£5,221) - - - - (£100) (£5,321) (£4,925)
ProcessingCosts (£185) (£266) (£305) (£24) (£65) (£3) - (£848) (£875)
Other overhead (£1) (£61) (£22) - (£28) (£70) - (£182) (£291)
Total £360 (£9,093) (£889) (£234) £29 £286 - (£9,541) (£4,806)
Last Year £2,020 (£7,181) (£152) (£238) £276 £494 (£25) (£4,806)

The obvious message from this table is that the financial performance of all disciplines (with the exceptions of Musical Theatre and Workshops) has deteriorated compared to the previous year - significantly in the case of Music (£1.9k) and Dance (£1.7k)

Since the Music discipline is actually an amalgamation of several different areas, this year’s total in the above table can be further analysed as follows:

Element Instrumental Keyboard Vocal &
Choral		 Primary
Music		 2023/24
Total		 2022/23
Total
EntryFees £1,006 £1,350 £2,162 £240 £4,758 £4,539
Net Box Office £418 £461 £614 £845 £2,338 £2,973
Direct Sponsors - - - £500 £500 £125
Adjudicators (£1,585) (£1,864) (£1,774) (£516) (£5,739) (£4,438)
Venues (£1,000) (£1,700) (£1,279) (£1,000) (£4,979) (£4,910)
Prizes (£303) (£115) (5) - (£423) (£521)
Resources (£125) (£4,628) (£468) - (£5,221) (£4,514)
ProcessingCosts (£60) (£82) (£102) (£22) (£266) (£243)
Other overhead (£11) - - (£50) (£61) (£192)
Total (£1,660) (£6,578) (£852) (£3) (£9,093) (£7,181)
Last Year (£700) (£5,473) (£956) (£52) (£7,181)

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 and third-party fees

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MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

Prospects for 2024 / 2025 and beyond – General Fund

In the view of the Trustees, 2023/24 has been a relatively financially successful year.

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.

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.

The cost of prizes awarded in the Thelma King Instrumental Award category were higher this year than usual because the provision for the 2022 Award was not sufficient to cover the actual payment which was made this year.

The Thelma King designated funds are sufficient (taken together and with a degree of judicious reallocation) to meet awards at current levels for about 8 years.

If interest rates don’t fall in the near future, the Wayne Jones restricted fund could last for another 4 years.

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

Page 17

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

I NDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL

YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

I report on the Accounts of the Trust for the year ended 30 June 2024 which are set out in pages 19 - 26

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 MAAT

17/10/2024 C2F8368E1B574EA... -----------------------------------------------------Dated ....................................... 2024

Bristol Community Accountants CIC

Page 18

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE
Note
Incoming Resources
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable Activities
3
Other trading activities
4
Other Income
Total Incoming
Expenditure on:
Raising Funds
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		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Funds
Funds
Design
ated
General
Funds
Funds
Total
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Unrestricted Funds
Design
ated
General
Funds
Funds
Total
Funds
2024
2024
2024
2024
2023
2023
2023
2023
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
-
-
26,607
26,607
-
-
11,961
11,961
24
248
25,549
25,821
15
152
25,584
25,751
-
-
232
232
-
-
368
368
-
-
3,436
3,436
-
-
-
-
24
248
55,824
56,096
15
152
37,913
38,080
10
10
-
-
-
-
-
870
45,873
46,743
100
750
41,205
42,055
-
-
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
870
45,884
46,754
100
750
41,205
42,055
24
(622)
9,940
9,342
(85)
(598)
(3,292)
(3,975)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
24
(622)
9,940
9,342
(85)
(598)
(3,292)
(3,975)
867
7,644
84,756
93,267
952
8,242
88,048
97,242
891
7,022
94,696
102,609
867
7,644
84,756
93,267

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 section forms part of these financial statements

Page 19

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

BALANCE SHEET

As at 30 June As at 30 June
2024 2023
Note £ £
FIXED ASSETS
Medal Master Dies 7 194 240
CURRENT ASSETS
Stocks
Badges, Medals & Ribbons 3,592 2,640
Audience Entry Tickets 360 236
Debtors
Accounts Receivable - 160
Other Debtors 8 3,139 3,017
Cash
Building Society Accounts 72,499 70,718
Bank Accounts 39,145 22,903
Total Current Assets 118,735 99,674
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts Payable - 20
Other Creditors 9 16,320 6,627
Total Current Liabilities 16,320 6,647
NET CURRENT ASSETS 102,415 93,027
TOTAL NET ASSETS 102,609 93,267
REPRESENTED BY:
Restricted Funds 891 867
Designated Funds 7,022 7,644
General Funds 94,696 84,756
11 102,609 93,267

These Financial Statements were approved by the Trustees on 20[th ] August 2024 and The notes on pages 22 to 27 form part of these financial statements are signed on their behalf by:

............................................................. Uyvurr423CF9C7EFOA4BF... Dawns 17/10/2024 Mrs. L. V. Barnes

Chairman Notes to the Accounts

Page 20

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

Note 1: Accounting Policies

All material grants are disclosed in accordance with the SORP

Page 21

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

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
2024
£
Friends & Members’ Contributions
-
Other Donations
-
Sponsors – Prior Year
-
Sponsors
-		 Note 2:
Donations and Legacies
Other
Funds
2024
£
Friends & Members’ Contributions
-
Other Donations
-
Sponsors – Prior Year
-
Sponsors
-		 General
Total
Other
General
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
2024
2024
2023
2023
2023
£
£
£
£
£
556
556
-
535
535
101
101
-
229
229
6,450
6,450
-
-
-
19,500
19,500
-
11,197
11,197
Total - 26,607
26,607
-
11,961
11,961
Note 3: Income from charitable activities Income from charitable activities
Other General Total Other General Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds Funds Funds
2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023
£ £ £ £ £ £
Competitor Entry Fees - 13,002 13,002 - 12,959 12,959
Accompanist Fees - 157 157 - 161 161
Ticket Sales - 6,425 6,425 - 9,093 9,093
Publications - 4,214 4,214 - 2,148 2,148
Misc. - 3 3 - 175 175
Interest on short term cash deposits 272 1.748 2,020 167 1048 1,215
Total 272 25,549 25,821 167 25,584 25,751

Note 4: Income from other trading activities

Surplus on Merchandising
Total		 Other
Funds
General
Funds
Total
Funds
Other
Funds
General
Funds
Total
Funds
2024
2024
2024
2023
2023
2023
£
£
£
£
£
£
-
232
232
-
368
368
-
232
232
-
368
368

Page 22

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

Note 5:
Charitable Activities
Adjudicators Fees and Expenses
Hire of Venues
Resources
Prizes (inc. medals)
Refreshments & Hospitality
Publications
Bursary Scheme
Music Teaching
I.T. Expenditure
Governance, Admin & Overhead
Total
Note 6:
Other Costs
Prior Year adj.		 Note 5:
Charitable Activities
Adjudicators Fees and Expenses
Hire of Venues
Resources
Prizes (inc. medals)
Refreshments & Hospitality
Publications
Bursary Scheme
Music Teaching
I.T. Expenditure
Governance, Admin & Overhead
Total
Note 6:
Other Costs
Prior Year adj.		 Other
General
Total
Other
General
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
2024
2024
2024
2023
2023
2023
£
£
£
£
£
£
-
13,188
13,188
-
11,438
11,438
-
13,523
13,523
-
11,968
11,968
-
5,745
5,745
-
5,904
5,904
870
2,099
2,969
850
2,148
2,995
-
538
538
-
429
429
-
4,598
4,598
-
4,080
4,080
-
1,193
1,193
-
185
185
-
-
-
-
200
200
-
1,734
1,734
-
1,437
1,437
-
3,255
3,255
-
3,416
3,416
870
45,873
46,743
850
41,205
42,055
Other
Funds
2024
General
Funds
2024
Total
Funds
2024
Other
Funds
2023
General
Funds
2023
Total
Funds
2023
£
£
£
£
£
£
-
1
1
-
-
-
-
1
1
-
-
-

Note 6: Other Costs

Note 7: Fixed Assets

Note 8: Other Debtors

Fixed Assets at Cost
Accumulated Depreciation
Net Book Value
Prepaid Expenditure
Standard Accruals
Accrued Income		 2024
£
2023
£
240
240

(46)
-
194
240
2024
2023
£
£
533
608
1,547
1,458
1,059
951
3,139
3,017

Page 23

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

Note 9: Other Creditors

Accrued Expenditure
Income in advance
Sundry Creditors		 2024
£
2023
£
1,132
2,745
13,888
3,882
1,300
-
16,320
6,627

Note 10 Management Accounts: General Fund Surplus 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
Prior Year Sponsorship
Corporate Publications
Bursary Scheme
Total for Support Activities
IT & Data Processing
Prior Year Adj
Proceeds of Disposal
Office Costs
Other Overheads
Total Net Overheads
Total Deficit Generated		 Financial Year
2023-24
£278
£8
£29
£359
(£9,093)
(£234)
(£889)
-
(£9,541)
£16,399
£6,450
(£337)
(£1,193)
£21,319
(£1,018)
£835
£2,600
(£4,245)
(£10)
(£1,838)
£9,940		 Financial Year
2022-23
£937
(£443)
£276
£2,020
(£7,181)
(£238)
(£152)
(£25)
(£4,806)
£9,112
(£1,988)
(£185)
£6,939
(£553)
-
-
(£4,614)
(£258)
(£5,425)
(£3,292)		 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
2021-22
-
-
£213
£1,742
(£7,024)
(£205)
(£690)
-
(£5,964)
£9,374
£711
(£360)
£9,725
(£484)
-
-
(£2,787)
(£955)
(£4,226)
(£465)
£16,399
£6,450
(£337)
(£1,193)		 £9,112
(£1,988)
(£185)		 £9,374
£711
(£360)
(£1,018)
£835
£2,600
(£4,245)
(£10)		 (£553)
-
-
(£4,614)
(£258)		 (£484)
-
-
(£2,787)
(£955)
(£465)

Page 24

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

Note 11: Movement in Funds

Restricted Funds
Public Speaking Award
Wayne Jones Memorial Award
Total Restricted Funds
Unrestricted Funds
Thelma King Vocal Award
Thelma King Instrumental Award
Total Designated Funds
General Funds
Total Unrestricted Funds
Total Funds		 June
Resources
June
Resources
June
2022
In
Out
2023
In
Out
2024
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
476
8
-
484
14
-
498
476
7
(100)
383
10
-
393
952
15
(100)
867
24
-
891
2,032
34
(150)
1,916
53
(150)
1,819
6,210
118
(600)
5,728
195
(720)
5,203
8,242
152
(750)
7,644
248
(870)
7,022
88,048
38,276
(41,568)
84,756
55,824
(45,884)
94,696
96,290
38,428
(42,318)
92,400
56,072
(46,754)
101,718
97,242
38,443
(42,418)
93,267
56,096
(46,754)
102,609

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 is intended to provide 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. Not awarded in 2024.

Page 25

MID-SOMERSET FESTIVAL TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

Note 12: Disclosures required by FRS 102

12.1 Audit and Independent Examination Fees

During the year 2023/24, the Festival accounted for £458 (£435 in 2022/23) 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 remuneration in the year 2023/24. However £125 was expended on gifts for retiring Trustees. (2022/23 total: £nil)

12.3 Trustees – Reimbursement of Expenses

During the year 2023/24, reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses was made to 4 Trustees (3 in 2022/23). The total value reimbursed was £545 (£1,754 in 2022/23). The nature of the expenses reimbursed is shown in the following table:

Gifts / Honoraria
Equipment & Minor Assets
Catering supplies & refreshments
ICT Licences
Marketing Materials
BiFF Conference fees
Office Expenses (post, stationery etc)
Other miscellaneous
Total for year		 2023/24
2022/23
£126
-
-
£1,180
£127
£52
£40
£40
£143
-
-
£355
£84
£28
£25
£99
£545
£1,754

12.4 Related Party Transactions

No Trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the Festival (2022/23 £nil)

During the year, the Festival paid affiliation fees to the national level of the British and International Federation of Festivals (BIFF) of £240 (£290 in 2022/23) and to the South West Region of BIFF of £0 (£20 in 2022/23)

12.5

Ex Gratia Payments

The Festival made no ex-gratia payments in 2023/24 (2022/23 £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 2023/24 (2022/23 £nil)

Page 26