2023-12-31-accounts - Teesdale Village Halls Consortium

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THE VILLAGE HALLS CONSORTIUM Director Trustees Annual Report YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

The Village Halls Consortium is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (1172429).

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, with a view to improving the efficiency and management of their resources.

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS

Registered charity name: The Village Halls Consortium Charity number: 1172429 Registered office: Mickleton Village Hall, Mickleton, Barnard Castle, Co Durham DL12 0JR Website: www.thevillagehalls.co.uk Telephone: 07809314248

TRUSTEES

David Hutchinson (Chairman) Michael Bettison (Vice Chairman) David Bailey

Administration Officer: Sophie Stanwix 07809314248 villagehallsconsort@hotmail.co.uk

Independent Examiner for accounts: Jayne Holmes

Bankers: National Westminster Plc

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 2023.

Chairman’s Report 2024

The Village Halls Consortium continues to offer information and guidance to our member community buildings, including up to date advice when requested.

Earlier this year, we welcomed Sophie to the team as our new Admin Officer. We are currently developing a new website to create an information hub for our members, local communities and wider networks. Mickleton Village Hall continue to find the ‘Hall Booking Online’ system very beneficial, making it easy for users to check availability and request bookings. Events continue to be picked up by local press such as the Teesdale Mercury, Darlington & Stockton Times and The Northern Echo although please contact them directly for more prominent events which you would like them to cover.

The Consortium continues to be part funded from annual membership invoices which were sent out in January 2023 and the rest is from our investment portfolio managed by Brewin Dolphin . The portfolio value in January 2023 was £154,048, we pulled £8000 over the year for running costs towards TVHC and the portfolio was valued at £157,259.74 on 31 December 2023. Jeff Ball, our Portfolio Manager, has very much kept us informed throughout fluctuations within the markets and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jeff and his team for all their hard work.

The Village Halls Consortium grant scheme is available to all our member community buildings who have paid their annual £50 membership fee. The Consortium supported a total of 6 projects throughout 2023 to improve facilities. Please can we reinforce that this is 50% matched funding up to a maximum of £250 and you can only apply for 1 project per year. All applications must be agreed at our Directors meetings prior to the project starting and Sophie will inform of the outcome by email. Please can we ask that applications are not made in retrospect as we will be unable to support these. Once the project is completed, an invoice or proof of purchase is required before the funds are released.

As TVHC’s turnover is below the Charity Commission’s threshold requiring professional auditing, the Committee agreed to ask an independent examiner to check our accounts. I must thank Mrs Holmes who has kindly done the accounts this year for the first time. In 2023, none of the Directors claimed any expenses.

We continue to look for new trustees to join TVHC. If you are interested, please contact me or Sophie and we would be delighted to welcome you. We normally meet evenings with the flexibility of day where possible.

David Hutchinson Chairman

Structure, Governance and Management

The Consortium was formed in 1995.
On 3[rd] January 2003 we became a registered charity (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) and 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 positively affected our approach to risk and our ability to take advantage of the wider opportunities facing us.
In June 2011, the title of the Consortium was changed from ‘Teesdale Village Halls Consortium’ to ‘The Village Halls Consortium’. The reason for this was to expand our support to community buildings located 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 with a new charity number (1172429) and our status with Companies House was 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 building pays an annual subscription fee of £50 due January/ February to be a member of the Consortium.

Membership entitles members to:

An individual website page on www.thevillagehalls.co.uk which is updated on a regular basis
Access to a grant fund of up to £250 towards one capital / revenue project per year
Event listings and marketing support
1:1 advice and support when required
Regular information, advice and guidance updates
General advice and guidance on relevant and up to date information
General meetings for TVHC members when relevant
Support with hall redevelopments
Training opportunities

Members of the Consortium 1st January – 31st December 2023 35 member community buildings

Subscription payment received

Barningham Village Hall Boldron Village Hall Bowes & Gilmonby Parish Hall Butterknowle Village Hall Carlbeck Community Centre, Lunedale Cockfield Lipscomb Hall Copley Village Hall Cotherstone Village Hall Dalton & Gayles Village Hall Eggleston Village Hall Gainford Village Hall Gilling West Village Hall Hamsterley Village Hall Heighington Village Hall Hutton Magna Village Hall Ingleton Village Hall Marwood Social Centre Mickleton Village Hall Middleton in Teesdale Village Hall Newbiggin Village Hall Newsham Village Hall Ovington Village Hall Randolph Community Centre, Evenwood Romaldkirk Reading Rooms School Aycliffe Community Centre St Mary’s Parish Hall Scarth Hall, Staindrop Stainton & Streatlam Village Hall TCR Hub The Witham Toft Hill & Etherley Community Centre West Auckland Memorial Hall Whorlton Village Hall Winston Village Hall Woodland Village Hall

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 a good relationship with the Teesdale Mercury and Durham County Council.

Details of Wider Networks

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

Durham Community Action
Teesdale Day Clubs
Teesdale Action Partnership (TAP)
ACRE - Action for Communities in Rural England

Risk Management

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

We meet our charitable objectives
We have sufficient reserves to cover financial liabilities
We have sufficient policies and insurance to cover all possible liabilities

The Role of The Village Halls Consortium

The aim of The Village Halls Consortium as set out in our Memorandum of Association is: “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.”

Objectives

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

To support provision of improved and more accessible facilities and services at local community buildings to meet community needs.
To encourage participation in capacity building training opportunities.
To develop effective communication between the members and other local organisations which are interested in community development.
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 also outlined key features within our CIO Constitution document with relevant guidance.

Activities, Achievements and Performance

TVHC Website, Information, Advice and Guidance

Our website is a central information hub for members with designated login areas for members to update community building information, events and images. Information, advice and guidance can be sought from villagehallsconsort@hotmail.co.uk or our 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 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 email, phone and post when necessary to keep information more current.

The TVHC Grant Scheme

Our grant scheme provides an opportunity for each member community building to access a maximum £250 grant annually. This was frozen during the Coronavirus pandemic 2019January 2021 as community buildings had access to other funding which was made available to support closures during the pandemic and the reopening of community buildings following the pandemic. Grants applications have been welcomed since January 2022 as agreed by the Trustees in September 2021. All member communities can apply for a maximum £250 grant, for either capital or revenue projects, costing £500 or more. The grant application form was reviewed to make applying easier.

In 2023, 6 projects benefited from the grant scheme.

Community building	Application month	Project outline	Total project cost	Amount received from TVHC
Cotherstone	November 2022	Toilets	£2074.26	£250
Dalton & Gayles	January2023	Ping pongtable	£486.84	£243.42
Whorlton	January2023	Seats	£621.30	£250
Scarth Hall	January2023	Rodentproof ext door	£1825.00	£250
Stainton & Streatlam	April 2023	Drinks dispenser	£1028.40	£250
Hamsterley	May2023	New cooker	£469	£234.50
Total			£6504.80	£1477.92

Thank you to the following organisations for their support in 2023

Jayne Holmes for auditing the accounts Charity Commission Durham County Council Councillors for Teesdale Durham Community Action 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 2023 our portfolio value was £154,048 and in Dec 2023 the value was £157,259.74. This figure includes us withdrawing £8000 to pay for the running costs of The Village Halls Consortium.

Exit Strategy Costs

The exit costs remain at £2000. 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 subsidise our running costs and small grants scheme are placed in a low risk investment portfolio with Brewin Dolphin investment managers.

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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:

i. select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently.
ii. make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
iii. state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practices have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statement.
iv. prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Consortium will continue to operate.

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 2023.

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.