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2021-12-31-accounts

THE VILLAGE HALLS CONSORTIUM COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

COMPANY REGISTRATION NO: 5980201

CIO Charity Number 1172429

Director Trustees Report and Financial Statements FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st ] DECEMBER 2021

THE VILLAGE HALLS CONSORTIUM COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021

The Village Halls Consortium is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.

Aims: To promote and improve the effectiveness of Village Hall and Community Organisations in Teesdale and the surrounding area by the provision of advice, information, training and support.

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS

Registered charity name The Village Halls Consortium The Village Halls Consortium
Charity number 1172429
Company number 5980201 (Dissolved with Charities Commission 28.11.17)
Company Secretary Sarah Yarrow
Registered office Mickleton Village Hall, Mickleton, Barnard Castle County Durham
DL12 0JR
Website www.thevillagehalls.co.uk
Telephone 07921994365
Trustees David Hutchinson (Chairman)
Michael Bettison (Vice Chairman)
Marion Hutchinson MBE (Treasurer)
David Bailey
Projects and Marketing Officer Sarah Yarrow
Telephone:07921994365
villagehallsconsort@hotmail.co.uk

Independent Examiner Kath Towler

Bankers National Westminster Plc

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The T rustees , of ( T h e ) Village Halls Consortium for the purposes of company law, have pleasure in presenting their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31[st] December 2021.

Chairman’s Report 2022

The Village Halls Consortium continues to offer information, advice and guidance to our member community buildings, including advice on how to open up after Covid. This is going to be very different to what we are used to, please be very patient with your volunteers it will be difficult for some to be back as their priorities could have changed, what happened before Covid and what happens after Covid may be very different, some people may never get back to volunteering.

Our website continues to promote the events on your hall. Please take time to have a look at your halls page and update the details and events including regular and one-off events & meetings. If you have any problems logging on, please contact Sarah who will provide login details and support. Events continue to be picked up by local press such as Teesdale Mercury, Darlington & Stockton and The Northern Echo.

The Consortium continues to be part funded from annual membership invoices which were sent out in January 2021 and the rest is from our investment portfolio managed by Brewin Dolphin . The portfolio value in December 2021 was £184897. Jeff Ball our portfolio manager has very much kept us informed throughout Covid and more recently what effects the Ukraine War is having on the markets, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jeff and his team for their hard work in these difficult times.

The Village Halls Consortium grant scheme in now open again for grants of up to £250 towards projects to improve the facilities at the village hall The only grant payment paid out in 2021 was to Gainford Village Hall for some Tables they had bought, this was approved before Covid came along.

A short resume and pictures of how the TVHC Grant has made a difference to the individual community buildings, would be welcome for inclusion in future Annual Reports and details can be found on the application form available from Sarah. Please can we reinforce that our grants scheme is a 50% match funded grant up to £250 available from TVHC and applications have to be agreed at our Directors meetings prior to the project starting. Once agreed Sarah will contact you to confirm. Please can we ask that applications are not made in retrospect as we will be unable to support these.

As TVHC turnover is well below the Charity Commission’s threshold requiring professional auditing, the committee agreed to ask an independent examiner to check our accounts. I must thank Kath Towler who has kindly done the accounts this year for the first time.

In 2021 none of the directors claimed any expenses.

We continue to be looking for new trustees, anyone who would like to join us will be more than welcome, we normally meet evenings on the last Wednesday on the month, where possible. David Hutchinson Chairman

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Structure, Governance and Management

The Consortium was formed in 1995.

We became a registered charity on 3rd January 2003 with charity number 1095212.

On 27[th] October 2006 the Consortium was incorporated under the Companies Act 1985 as a private company limited by guarantee, company number 5980201, we were issued with a new charity number 1116933.

This decision was taken to limit the personal liability of the trustees and give the Consortium a legal identity which will positively affect our approach to risk and our ability to take advantage of the wider opportunities facing us.

The title of the Consortium was changed in June 2011 from ‘Teesdale Village Halls Consortium’ to ‘The Village Halls Consortium’. The reason for this was to allow membership of Halls from outside the geographical area of Teesdale.

The change of title was registered with the Charity Commission and Companies House.

On 5[th] April 2017 we became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Our new charity number 1172429 and our status with Companies House dissolved on 28.11.17.

The Consortium is composed of volunteer Trustees from the management committees of community buildings who are members and representatives from interested partner organisations. Each community hall pays an annual subscription fee of £50 due January/ February to be a member of the Consortium. Membership entitles members to:

– Member Halls of the Consortium 1st January 31st December 2021 34 member community buildings:

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Related Parties

The Trustees are involved with various other local charities and businesses. Any transactions with these organisations are on an arm’s length basis.

Partnership Working and Representation.

TVHC has good relationships with local media- the Teesdale Mercury and special one off events can be included on the website or with the local newspapers. Please contact Sarah or Trevor Brookes with further information of a special event you are holding a month in advance for it to be proposed for inclusion. We often work with Teesdale Action Partnership, DCC and DCA.

Details of Wider Networks

The Consortium is involved and works with several networks which are listed below:

Risk Management

We have reviewed all major risks facing the charity in the future and have implemented controls where necessary to ensure:

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The Role of The Village Halls Consortium:

Objectives

The Village Halls Consortium charitable objectives as set out in our Memorandum of Association are:

“ to promote and improve the effectiveness of Village Hall and Community Organisations in Teesdale and the surrounding area by the provision of advice, information, training and support, with a view to improving the efficiency and management of their resources.”

The Consortium has four objectives which we are constantly striving to achieve through our work and various projects that we deliver:

  1. To support provision of improved and more accessible facilities and services at local community buildings to meet community needs;

  2. To encourage participation in capacity building training opportunities;

  3. To develop effective communication between the members and other local organisations which are interested in community development;

  4. To improve the long-term viability of the community buildings as rural assets for the benefit of all residents.

We set specific key targets to achieve these objectives which are discussed at monthly director’s meetings and reviewed annually.

The Trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission’s on public benefit in deciding upon the activities that The Village Halls Consortium should undertake. We have outlined key features within our CIO Constitution document with relevant guidance also.

Activities, Achievements and Performance

TVHC website, Information, Advice and Guidance.

The website is a center point for key information for members with designated login areas for members to update community building information, events and images.

Information, advice and guidance can be sought from our e-mail address villagehallsconsort@hotmail.co.uk or contact number on a part time basis. Our contacts database is expanding to include services to the community as well as lists of roles and responsibilities and contact details for each community building in line with GDPR. If there is a preference for post this is identified. Rather than a newsletter, regular information is shared via e-mail, phone and post when necessary, therefore keeping information more current.

Disclosure & Barring Service

Disclosure & Barring Service checks can be completed online @ www.onlinedbschecks.co.uk (Please make sure all your members are up to date).

The Village Halls Charter

An updated copy is available to all halls please contact Sarah at villagehallsconsort@hotmail.co.uk

As legislation and governance requires so much work from voluntary committees the continuation of input and researched information from TVHC is helpful to support activities in the Dales’ Village Halls and Community Centre’s.

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The TVHC Grant Scheme.

The Grant scheme allows each hall the opportunity to access a maximum £250 grant annually which was frozen during the Coronovirus pandemic 2019- January 2021 due to community buildings having access to funding made available to support the closure of community buildings during the pandemic and then the reopening of community buildings following the pandemic. Grants applications will be welcomed in January 2022 as agreed by the trustees in September 2021. Community buildings can apply for a maximum £250 for projects costings £500 or more. Applications can be made for either capital or revenue projects costs, all member communities can apply. The grant application form has been reviewed in 2021 to make applying easier and so TVHC have a more coherent point of reference for applications. This year we have had 1 application.

In 2021, 1 project benefited from the grant scheme. In 2021, 1 project benefited from the grant scheme. In 2021, 1 project benefited from the grant scheme.
Community
Building		 Application
Month		 Project outline Total
project cost		 Amount
received
from TVHC
Gainford Feb 2020 Tilting tables £936 £250
Total £936 £250

Thank you to the following organisations for their support in 2021:

Dr Alan Booth for his service over previous years Charity Commission Durham County Council Councilors for Teesdale Durham Rural Community Council Joe Hutchinson (Website Design) Lightning Signs Mickleton Village Hall North East Ambulance Service Teesdale Action Partnership Teesdale Day Clubs Teesdale Mercury

Financial Review

At the start of 2021 our portfolio was worth £170361 and in Dec 2021 the worth was £184897 this figure includes us withdrawing £3000 to pay for the running costs of the consortium.

Exit Strategy Costs

The exit costs remains at £2K. This is reviewed regularly.

Investment Policy

We tend to adopt a low risk approach to investment, and we feel that our investment procedures mirror this. Funds required to be available in the short-term are invested in short-term easy access deposits. Funds set aside to provide income to subsidize our running costs and Village Halls small grants scheme are placed in a low risk investment portfolio with Brewin Dolphin investment managers.

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Accounts- CIO Charity Number 1172429 TVPK CIO 21121- 3J" eEeth 2021 t)avid rulchi nS011- £84.24 Subscri p*iDn5 2021 £1350 .5010 Phrrfrz £5804 132 £250 £4LI. E4 £3000 £457.60 BrBwin Dol hiin Hmkc FurlNDJh Schern Irt5uranc £280 TDtol £7&1O.24 IThEOrn £4855.84 CurrENt accDunl ptring £4440.30 CurrElIt accOu￿t cIDsirg bllIa￿ 3J.12.21 £1691.glJ 1.1.2021 IBr￿Win IDolphi Partf DIID at LIL2Q £170361 BrBwin Dolphin pjrtf ol io 3 1.12.21 £184B97

Management Director Trustee Responsibilities for the Financial Statements

Charity Commission rules require the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the financial activities of the Consortium during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing those financial statements, the Directors are required to:

The Directors are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Consortium and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993. They are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Consortium and hence for taking steps for preventing and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Signed on behalf of the Directors

D Hutchinson

David Hutchinson

Chairman

The Trustees thank everyone who has contributed in any way to the work of The Village Halls Consortium during 2021.

This Report is compiled from information given by user groups, partners and members of The Village Halls Consortium.

The Report is produced, assembled and printed on behalf of The Village Halls Consortium.

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