The Parish of Salisbury Plain ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31$t December 2024 Administrative inforniation The Parish of Salisbury Plain was created on 1st January 2014 and is a one-parish benefice comprising the historic parishes of All Saints, & St Mary. Chitteme" St Mary's Orcheston; St Mary's Shrewton" and St Thomas a Becket, Tilshead. It is part of the DI0￿Se of Salisbury within the Church of England. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a charity registered with the Charity Commission (No. 1173846) Registration was effective 18th July 2017. PCC members who have served from the 1 St May 2024 until the date this report was approved a￿. Incumbent." The Revd Canon Eleanor Ran Chairman Wardens." Richard Essberger Ewart Grant Hilda Renshaw lan Smith Mar￿lIe Stobie Representatives on the Deanery Synod.. Sarah Gooch Mary La Elected members.. Mike Badham-Thomhill John Badgery Gay Jennings-Bramly Andrew Macdonald Debby Potter Vice Chainnan & Secretary Co-opted Members.. Sam Shepherd Treasurer Structure, governance and management The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. Objectives and Activities The Salisbury Plain Benefice PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent the Revd Canon Eleanor Ran￿, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic. social and ecumenical. It also has oversight of the Maddington Church Room in the historic parish of Maddingtonlshrewton. Review of the year The PCC met on 61h March. for the APCM on 1st May, 26th June, and 6th November by Zoom). The PCC complied with its duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 by having due regard to the House of Bishops, guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults within the parish. Those due for safeguarding refresher training attended a course online as provided by the dI0￿se. CHURCH AThENDANCE & WORSHIP On 1st May 2024 there were 143 parishioners on the Church Electoral Roll. The schedule for Sunday worship in 2024 continued to include a range of Servi￿ foms including weekly mid-morning Communion serVi￿S, BCP Holy Communion. BCP Evensong, Family Service, and Zoom Evening Prayer. An average attendan￿ across the parish settled at around 23 (21 in 2023) for the main moming servi￿, and 13 (9 in 2023) children at the monthly Family Servi￿[rea. The attendance at most regular ServI￿S showed a gentle upward trend. While seniice attendan￿ at Easter were slightly lower than in 2023 services during Advent and at Christmas were retuming to much healthier levels similar to those pre- pandemic. Weekday worship figures remained nomal. with a good attendance at the additional 'Lent Conversations, in 2024. The benefice choir has continued to offer support in worship across the parish, and, along with our two regular organists we have benefited from the support of visitors for a number of weddings and funerals during the course of 2024. We shared seNices in our 3 'closed' churches, and especially in Maddington where we had a number of weddings and funerals as well as a baptism at the end of the year. Occasional Offices in the Benefice or at the crematorium (figures in brackets= 2023): Baptisms Marriages I blessings (2) (Chitteme 1, Orcheston O, Shrewton 7, Tilshead 1) (4) (Chitteme O. Orcheston O. Shrewton 6, Tilshead O) Funerals 14 (7) (Chitteme 2. Orcheston 2. Shrewton 7. Tilshead 3) In addition to this there were 9 (9) ServI￿S to bury ashes (Chitteme O, Orcheston O, ShrewtonlRollestonelMaddington 8, Tilshead 1). Assistance and support to bereaved families was also offered to several families. The All Souls, service was well re￿ived, with many who attended taking gravelights or memorial candles away with them following the service. MINISTRY, INCLUDING WORSHIP, WITH SCHOOLS & FAMILIES IN 2024 In both schools governan￿ continued to be an important strand of our church ministry. Tilshead's school went successfully through its SIAMS and OFSTED inspections during 2024, with a significant Presen￿ of Foundation Govemors at both. The events of Holy Week and Easter were marked with pupils from both schools. On 6th June 2024 we marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day with the whole school in Tilshead, and with representatives of the school in Shrewton at the Shrewton War Memorial. Leavers Services and activities were supported by the church in both primary schools. Throughout the year provision of financial and food support was coordinated between the dergy, Candlemas and the local schools. In December local community members once again donated small gifts, gift wrap and tags to the church and we ran a very successful gifting scheme across 3 sites in the parish (see below). This allowed every child to select a gift for a family member at no charge. Remaining gifts. wrap and tags were pla￿d into the new pantry so that the wider community could benefit from a temporary 'present drawerf. Family Service & Tea continued to be a popular and appreciated event during 2024. while Activity packs were distributed to families across the parish during every school holiday. At the end of the summer holidays our, now annual, Teddy Bears, Picnic drop in drew significant numbers from across the community. The following reSoUr￿S were provided: Weekly Collective worship provided almost exclusively 'in person. for the year- for the first time across a whole academic year Sin￿ 2018119 sessions with Tilshead Yr 6 thinking about moving onl moving up Yr 6 Leavers Harvest Services In Shrewton & Tilshead Churches 'EXperIen￿ Christmas, the whole of Shrewton school attended an event in church to mark Christmas, culminating in selecting a gift for a loved one which was wrapped by volunteers and retumed to school for distribution 'Christmas Gifting, Along with the gifting event above for Shrewton school, we also shared this opportunity with pupils in Tilshead school, and at the Bustard. Shrewton, for home schooled children from the local area. MINISTRY IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY IN 2024 Across the year each church collected items of food or gifts of money in support of local organisations. such as the Community pantry based in Shrewton. the Warminster Foodbank and Alabare. Support to individuals and families struggling with the cost of living crisis was also made possible, in part, by the provision of a grant by the Church of England. Throughout the year the church community were instrumental in developing the reach and resources of the Community Pantry. Across the year occasional - 'pop up, shelves were introdU￿d into the Pantry. Among these were those for Easter decorations. 'Back to School,, games for the school holidays. cookery and kitchen. and the Christmas Gift & Wrap shelf. One significant event early in 2024, was that on 14 March 2024 a Memorial Service was held for Nicola Trahan. MBE, Croix de Guerre and La Médaille de la Reconnaissance franGaise. a courier for the SOE and the French ResIStsn￿ in WW2, a resident for many years in the village and a great supporter of St Mary's, Orcheston. She died at home aged 97. The number attending, inside St Mar￿s. was one of the highest we can recall. 130 or more. There may have been funerals in the past at St Maws attended by similarly large numbers, and a few years back our Christingle carol Servi￿ saw 125. but it is a rare event for the church to host so many. During September the incumbent took 4 weeks of study leave, and the parish enjoyed the support of a number of local and dI0￿san clergy covering both weekday and Sunday servI￿s. Local clergy, both retired, military, and serving in other parishes, also assisted with cover for Christmas and Easter and periods of annual leave. The richness of this provision is a joy for all, especially as we no longer have other clergy living and working within the parish. Worship with the rector resumed on 291h September with a Benefi￿ Harvest celebration in Orcheston Village Hall. As well as being a wonderful opportunity for fellowship with the whole parish, funds were also donated to Salisbury foodbank. Working ecumenically is a significant part of life within the parish. and in 2024 not only did we continue to work with our Methodist friends to prepare and distribute Activity packs, but we also began to work more dosely with GUL. especially with regard to the Community Pantries (there is a second panty at The Bustard), and visiting. Likewise members of the Plain Church community worshipped with us at a number of occasions. and assisted with the provision of music for Midnight Mass. FINANCIAL REVIEW Total Re￿iptS for the financial year induding the redemption of investment funds were £127,500 (2023 £138.000). Actual income fell to £96.000 from £108,000. Giving to the church through regular planned donations, one off donations and the collection plate over the year increased to £48.300. This total amount is only equal to 71 % of our Parish Share that we paid over to the Diocese. We continue to receive a number of generous grants from local organisations. For these we are most grateful to Tilshead Parish Council for a grant towards grass cutting costs. We are also grateful to the Friends of St Thomas for contributing half the cost of repairs to the organ. Gift Aid receipts has remained similar to the previous year at around £10,000. Receipts from Parochial fees rose to £12,000 reflecting the increased number of weddings and funerals. Receipts from fund raising events at fell to £5,600 from £8.700. Income from Bank Deposits and Trusts increased slightly to £13,500. Maddington Church Hall fee income has risen to £2,300. During the year we recovered VAT by way of the Listed Places of Worship Scheme for building works in Chitteme and Shrewton. We raised £26,600 from the redemption of some of our CCLA funds held in the Shrewton Lands Trust to meet a shortfall of income. The Eliza Collins Trust in Chitteme was wound up raising £5,100. Total expenditure was £114,000 (2023 £150.000) to enable the Benefice in Ministry throughout our four villages. Our contribution to the Parish Share was £68,000. This amount will rise each year by £2,500 until 2028. Clergy expenses slightly reduced at £1,100. The Salisbury DBF share of parochial fees was similar to last year at £3.100. General running costs of insuran￿, heating. electricity was about 9.5 /0 higher at £14,950. Expenditure on building works was considerably lower at £15,000. We have continued to make grants from funds raised eartier from fabric and craft sales. We also continue to facilitste fund raising and expenditure for the community panty. In addition we made donations to other causes including The Royal British Legion. CRESS, Julia's House, RE:ACT Ukraine. the Children's Society. Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust and the Churches ConseNation Trust. The overall financial result is an eX￿sS of re￿Ipts over expenditure of £13,000. However this surplus includes fvnds drawn down from our investment funds. The underlying figures show an income deficit of £11,000 for the year. Our financial assets held in investment fvnds have decreased over the year by £20,000 to £518,000. This illustrates that although we are in deficit on our running costs, we do appear as having considerable assets. Reserves Policy At the PCC meeting on 61h June 2018 a Financial Management Policy paper was presented to and approved by the PCC. including the following "Salisbury Plain Benefice Reserves Policy.. The Reserves of Salisbury Plain Benefice are those unrestricted funds required to ensure prudent financial managemenL The Reserves do not include funds that were raised for designated purposes. or are restricted in terms of their donation, or are endowments or property assets. They will ensure that the PCC will meet all the nonnal costs of running the Benefi￿. including the ability to pay our Parish Share. our fees to the Diocesan Board of Finance, building insuran￿, utility bills. costs of servi￿. administration and day to day repairs. The reserves should also meet minor unexpected repair costs including minor works identified in Quinquennial reports. The Reserves Policy recognises that through the Benefice. the four constituent villages will be able to support each other when necessary. The expected running costs for 2025 will be around £100,000. Given re￿nt experien of the pandemic it is prudent to increase the reserves above Church of England guidance of three months reserves to six months would give an appropriate reserve of £50.000. In the event that our reserves are consistently below the tsrget sum or are consistently above the target. the PCC will take responsibility to remedy the situation. When reserves drop too low funds should be allocated from a designated fund where that fund is not immediately required for the designated purpose. Where reserves are too high funds could. with the approval of the PCC, be used either supporting a project in the community or being designated to an underfunded fabric fund or similar. This Policy should be reviewed annually. Approved by the PCC on 26th February 2025 and signed on their behalf by Revd. Canon Eleanor Rance {PCC Chairnian) lTrqDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAL CHL,'RCH COUIYCIL OF THE SALISBURY PLAIN BEIIEFICE This rwrt on the financial siaicments of thc PCC for the ycdt ended 31 DL*ember ?0?4. which are sei out on pag¢s ) 10 5. is in respect of an e.xaminaiion carried out in accordance M'iih thL Church Aicounling R¢gulations ?IK16 {'the Regulations ) and section 43 of ihc Charitics ALI 1993 {"the Aci"). R¢5pective responsibilities of the PCC and the ex2rn1￿er As membcrs of"th¥ PCC you are resw)nsiblc for ihc prL-paraiion of th¢ finanLial Idtemenis. You considcr ihal th¢ audit r¥quirtmenÈ of the Re4ulaiTons and scaion 43 12} of the Aci do not 2.25 17.08 301.50 2.315.CQ 2.315.00 2.347.40 17.08 301.50 1,695 6.199 17 319 870 30.000 2.959 137 817 455.15 26,600.(*J 145.00 63,930.47 5,113.01 264.65 15,544.83 21977.77 31.713.01 428.07 127,533.91 18.42 4,781.92 f6,1X81 17111 PAYMEiirs Church Activities Diocesan Parish Share Clergy Expenses DBF sha￿ oftees Runnin nses Insurance Electrtcity Heatirtg Oil Water Buikling Matntenance Cost ol Services Upkeep of Churchyards Leavong Gfft Charitsble Civi Uktaine Fund gTants Fund Transfer Overseas Home Com8r Cottage 32092.92 281.89 2.213.00 13214_73 281.88 282. 13214_73 281.90 332.(N) 9139.10 281.89 292.fKI 67,961.49 1.127.56 3.119.1)0 62.927 1.847 3.018 3,104.49 524.56 1.018.14 443.81 9.3￿.46 261.19 1.240.00 1,035.74 294.25 3.164.43 668.92 2.259.88 1.043.01 523.63 721.88 10,088.17 3.252.62 1.018.14 582.93 15.236.40 1,656.37 3.240.00 9.854 2,676 735 389 55,357 8219 3,619.14 410.00 21199 540.97 541.&) .￿ 1,440.00 1.456.83 342.C 1.992 870 1.140 510 4.223 87.%) 1,Th).40 1.55.71 26020 3.283.27 6.477.08 Cost of Generati Fund-Raising Costs 86.51 15.CKI 47.35 148.86 451 Church Man ement Adrninistrats"on Total Payments 138.58 50,615.54 79.75 17.17825 108.36 20.99152 7927 fQ95&15 28.52 3.653.79 789 149.845 94&84 114343.10 Excess of Receipts over Payments IPasryr*its over receipts) 13.31&93 11.633.421 1.984.25 (828.34) 177&73} 1,128.13 13.190.81 12,028 CILINGETO PA AIIK CAFBANK INCOMErnDtvL￿2ty￿4 L57 CAF&4NK Éo E*743 ¢CLA IN¢OMEIEXPEND[¥￿2￿1 CAFW4K .*J É1X9 3vW￿24 CHFfiERNE CIF￿NK £WLOI &￿7 £9.37LQi INcoME￿pEND￿W1tr24 BA14K iLOYDSCURREt4T&DEPW 3JIlY￿2 TrANSFER TOCBFDEPOStTth 3JIIVJW LSHEAD G4FBANK INCOmE￿%PEND11iTh%2024 É11.74129 0￿13￿6 INCOMEIEXPENomJpE2024 £4M5L5S G•F&4J4K BENEMCE CAFWK DENEB¢E ELQ& ,51L13 NK t9.511.13 SALISBURY PLAIN BENEFICE PCC Slatrm•rt rfAss•ts as at 31 D•C•m￿r2024 T11$￿ad IAadthngton 8onefic• Orchfyskn Barfl & C•sh assets 31112r23 31112124 £3.433.04 £f.$29AO Chittemè Ba￿% ¢urr•nt Al¢s & Cash 31112r23 31112124 £8.097.88 £5.553.39 eomllce Current Aecowrt 31112123 31112r24 £5.666.64 £18.981.57 £2212.96 £1,363.38 £1.273.13 198.13 £11,742.29 £10,913.96 £5.226.31 £4.451.S8 £8.383.00 £9.511.13 Outstandlng Gift Ald to reoovgr 31112123 31112124 £2.647.54 £2.053.77 Lia ltie -DBF 31112123 31112124 £189_00 £981.00 £0.00 £17.00 £16.bo £17.00 £59.00 £124.00 stme Fun Shrewton Chureh LaTrJ Fw)d 3.689.5159 th. 2,557.9566 ShaFBS in CBF COE Investrr¢nt R 31112r23 31112r44 £83.402.61 £59.146￿6 orchSt￿ CCLA Fabrlc Fund 31112123 31112124 £21.097.26 £22.217.06 Or¢hoston Clwrch Cottsge Income Shares 850 Shares in CBF Cx¥E InvestTh*trt Fund Or¢heston- Gaye - I￿oMe Shares 48 Shares in 17F COE Investrmnt Fund 31112rd3 31112124 31112123 31112Q4 £14.693.44 £15.029.76 £1.085_05 £1.109.89 Chltternè CBF Dep￿tt Fund 31112123 31112124 £13.146.40 £19.797.96 CBF Inv•sknen¢ Fth 31112r23 31112r24 £10.171.48 £10.40429 CBF k¢Un￿la100n lrnslment Sharn$ 31112r23 31112r24 £59.713.80 £62.76220 Ellxa Collin5 Fund 220.41 Shares 31112123 31112124 £4.982.43 £0.00 Tllshad EmplY• Bungalow FUMI 14.342.64 Shargs in CBF COE Investnpnt Fur Tllshead Kem￿On FuThl 168 Sharns ￿ CBF COE In¥estNpnt Fund 31112r23 31112r24 31112123 31112n4 £324.219.68 £331.640.56 £3,797.69 £3.814.61 ShreT*tffi ￿lo￿llents 31112r23 31112124 £1.000.00 £1.1)00.00 31112r23 31112r44 £1,000.00 £1.OQD.00 Not• 2 Not• 3 Assots TI cunBnt a￿A*unts have b8gn adjusted fof unprèsented thequès at 31112123 & 31112124 pljs cash hebj 25.7692 Shares sokl for£600.00 in Shrew*ton Ch￿￿ Land Fund 2110312024 to pay lordearww (J)￿p$ell wall at Voddington thureh 1.105.7901 Sha￿$ sohl for £26.000.OD n Shre4h*on Churth Land Fund 2211112024 to pay to*8rds Parth sha 220.41 Shares red8err*d as Ekn Collis Fund knt)und up 25J10r2024 -%otes io the 20?4 .4rconnt5 Salisbuiry" Pl4iD Bejjefiet PCC l. The Benefice of Salisbury Plarn was legally const[t￿ed at the end of 2013. 2. The accounts have been prepared on a R?ceipts & Pa¥ments method. 3. The St8temenr of Account lists sèparately the accounts for ea£h of the four former parT5heg. for Maddington ChLJrch Roorns, and a gèneral account, vhlch are then consolidated. 4. The Statement of A55ets shoivs all cash holdin85 and other investment funds held_ 5. The investment funds are at market value as at 31- December 2024. These fund5 are inyested in the CBF In¥'estment Fund by CCLA on bel)alf of the Parish. 6. The ShreKYton allotment lènd continues to be included at a nominal value of £i.000. 7. The Maddington Church Rooms in Shrewton continue to be Included èt a om¢nal value of £1,000. 8. o￿tStandIng Gift Aid is the sum due to be reclaimed from qual&fving donations in 2024. 9. Liabilitles are those knoivn fees o%ved to Salisbury Diocesao Board of Finance for fees incurred in the fourth quarter of 2024 but due for payment January 2025. -{ PLAI Chariw i 1-,3846 CHITTERNE. ORCHES SHRE￿0￿ * TILs￿EAD