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2023-12-31-accounts

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT For the year ended 31 December 2023

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

Contents Page no
Trustees’ annual report 1 to 13
Independent examiner’s report 14
Statement of financial activities 15
Balance sheet 16
Statement of cash flows 17
Notes to the financial statements 18 to 28

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

Objectives and Activities

The trustees are pleased to present their annual trustees’ report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice 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)

Aims of the Charity

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Gateshead St George (St George’s PCC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the Priest-in-Charge, the Reverend Richard Grant, in promoting in the surrounding area and across the wider Tyneside region the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical.

Objectives, strategies and activities for the year

Over 2023 Alive Church continued in its varied ministry and pioneered new initiatives. Over 2023, the church has grown in number and in its impact. We continued to develop Sunday Gatherings, midweek Alive Communities and Alpha, and launched new partnerships in our Social Transformation programmes.

We continued to develop work with the young and the vulnerable, whilst continuing to be a church that is intergenerational and diverse.

The ministry reports detail more about the activities of the church during 2023.

Achievements and Performance

Worship

Midweek worship practice- Weekly Worship team practices are an important part of the week, helping ensure that Sundays are both well-rehearsed and that worship is accessible to all. At the beginning of March 2023 band practice moved from a Monday night to a Thursday night and the time increased by half an hour. We found that attendance was poor on a Monday evening, and it was more difficult to practise the day after church. We have found that since the move to Thursdays, attendance has increased, and the team is more confident going into Sundays.

Vocal Training Evenings – During the spring of 2023 we held vocal training evenings. We gathered our vocalists and looked at different singing techniques. This was impactful in showing our vocalists some of the basic harmonising techniques. Sound Training Days – We held two sound training days throughout 2023 which were

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

both led by external professionals (Steve Cunningham & Justin from Voices of Virtue). We had around six attend each one and they were a great help in improving our skills. We started to see the fruit of this at the start of November when our front of house mix began to have more clarity and texture. Jonny Shepherd has also been particularly helpful in training team members individually and working on the sound system.

Click/Tracks – During the summer of 2023 we started using a click to play along on a Sunday. This was initially a new challenge for the team. However, the impact it has had has meant we are far more precise when playing on Sundays. More recently we have introduced tracks to worship, these accompany the click and add in additional instruments to the mix that we would otherwise struggle to recreate the sound of. This has given a new thickness and texture to the front of house sound on a Sunday, and I am proud of the team for working hard and pushing through the challenge of adapting to a click. Production System Upgrades – There has been significant work that has been done on upgrading our system in order to make it easier for team to manage running each aspect of the production desk, some of the changes we have made include the following:

Alive Kids and Families

In 2023 Sunday Kids church for children aged 3-10 years continued to run, with three age groups on Sunday mornings. Sparklers for age 3-Reception class, Stars for school years 1&2 and Rockets for years 3,4 &5.

During the spring term of 2023 our themes for Kids church included “How to” with topics such as “Salt & Light- Jesus taught us how to make a difference” and “Rise and Shine' looking together at the Gospel of Matthew.

In summer we continued our themes looking at both the gospels and the stories in Genesis.

In autumn of 2023, we experienced a brief disruption in our activities, caused by a

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large flood in Hope House. After several weeks in the main church Gathering the kids were able to regroup as Kid’s church in the portacabins, purchased through the insurance and utilising the church’s under-3 space for our youngest group, Sparklers.

As we moved through autumn term and into winter, we moved towards using two new children’s bibles in our Kid’s church. We offered these bibles to families to read along at home and to encourage the children to talk about their faith.

Through the first 6 months of 2023 our Ministry Assistant Eve ran dance classes, which were free of charge, for Alive Kids and children from our local community, and choreographed dances at festivals across the year. We held an Easter Extravaganza in March, where we invited our local community for a morning of crafts, activities, bouncy castles, a petting zoo and treats which was very well attended by both church families and our local community.

Building on the success of 2022’s SummerFest, we once again held the festival in June of 2023, inviting our local community to a full weekend of fun. Friday evening saw us host a concert with GuvnaB who also spent some time in two local secondary schools. Saturday was a huge family event across the day, with a focus on younger families in the morning, with bouncy castles, activities, face painting, treats and more. In the afternoon we invited our community to join us for a free food festival. Tickets were handed out entitling each person to eat from a variety of food stalls and we finished off the evening with an amazing concert from Voices of Virtue. Sunday was an invitational celebration to top off an amazing weekend.

In July we headed down to Newark Showground, to join with our family churches in the HTB network, for our annual holiday. Families from church camped around our community pitch, and alongside time of fellowship and food together, enjoyed talks from a diverse range of speakers.

We continued to strengthen our relationship with Brighton Avenue Primary School, and hosted the whole school for their harvest and Christmas assemblies.

In the lead up to Advent in partnership with Love Your Neighbour and Love Christmas we went into 4 local primary schools and delivered 1000 ‘real’ advent calendars sharing the real story of Christmas.

Alive Youth

Alive Youth on Sundays started the year using a daily devotional book and looked at

the themes of ‘Called’, “Game-Changer', “God’s Way’. Lent in 2023 saw a podcast series being started by the youth team. The theme for Lent was Prayer and this ran alongside a Lenten devotional and calendar. In June, as part of SummerFest we had GuvnaB join us for a concert to which we invited youth from other churches across the Northeast

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to join us.

Over Summer Alive Youth looked together at Philippians and James.

Eve Taylor, working as interim Kids Pastor, a qualified dance teacher, hosted a group called Moving Hope, which saw members of our Alive Youth take part in dance lessons, choreographed by Eve and performed at our Easter Gathering.

From September, Alive Youth (school year 6-11) moved to a Friday night in the church building, where we have tuck shop, big games, milkshakes, time on a Wii console as well as time to discuss questions exploring faith and listen to talks about God. We’ve hosted socials once a month where youth are encouraged to invite their friends and we have food and games during these events.

On Sundays we began a series looking at the gospel of John and interactions with Jesus and we designed and trialed a tool for Bible study based on the Discovery Bible study process. We were temporarily in the Handcrafted cafe as a result of the Hope House flood, we saw how a cafe-style set up benefitted the structure of a Sunday session and so adopted that once we moved into the Hope House offices. During this time, we kept older and younger youth together as one group.

We hosted our second official Winter Retreat Wintry Treat for Alive Youth, at Kingswood in Hexham, in which the group participated in team building activities and had bible teaching from the leaders. This trip was catered for by the venue, which allowed the team time to develop relationships with the young people, deliver Bible-based teaching sessions and focus on the community aspect of the weekend.

Alpha

In 2023 we continued to run Alpha every term at Alive Church. Over the year we hosted 4 English courses, 3 Farsi courses and 2 Ukrainian courses with 70 guests across the courses. In the summer term we ran 'Discover Mark' as a successful follow up to Alpha. In addition, we have worked alongside Alpha UK to resource other Alpha courses in the North East, including an afternoon with the pioneers of Alpha, Nicky & Pippa Gumbel and leaders training in September.

Alive Communities

Alive Communities are a great way to find belonging, be cared for and pursue Jesus together as disciples. We have a simple pattern at the heart of our Alive Communities: Love God - Through prayer, worship and reading the Bible together, we grow in our faith and in our love for God;

Love People - In our communities, we love one another and those around us as we follow Jesus together;

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Follow Jesus - Jesus calls us to follow him and continue his ministry in the world. In our communities, we are disciples who make disciples and share the good news of Jesus with those around us.

In 2023 we had 17 Communities spanning Tuesday and Wednesday evenings online and in-person. We have adapted our Bible study to include more space to link the questions to the Sunday preaching content whilst still keeping some of the discovery bible study method.

We are continuing to look for opportunities to raise up new community leaders to increase opportunities for the whole church to belong. Looking ahead we are exploring options of new communities with different patterns of meeting (bi-weekly, Sundays etc) to enable more people to belong.

Students

Since September we have welcomed new students through some first contact events at Trinity Square and also through the CU Meetings and Churchsearch. We have 7 students who we connect with regularly including through our Tuesday Night Student Community. Adopting a student has helped our students connect with families in Church and be invested in. Over Christmas several of the students invited friends to Christmas events and they came along. In 2023 we're planning to grow the evangelism and connection events we run to help facilitate our students inviting friends to try Church. Sarah has started working in Trinity Square Halls since November as a chaplain with weekly drop in sessions.

Social Transformation Refugee Support

In January 2023 we launched ‘Refugee Drop in’ (Rebranded Alive Welcome in Jan 2024) in partnership with Gateshead Council. Gateshead Council provided £9,800 of funding for us to host their resettlement, employment and ESOL team each Thursday, offering a base where they could welcome and support Refugees and those seeking asylum.

As a church team we implemented some wrap-around programmes of support including ESOL provision, a hot meal and a volunteer team of welcomers to get alongside guests, understand their needs and signpost internally and externally. The team serving this space has grown from three regular team members to fifteen regular team members and we have successfully recruited a number of individuals who have lived experience of migration into the team, adding significant value for the guests that access support. Many training opportunities have been offered to the team serving in this space, including Welcome Churches ‘Welcomer training’ The Sanctuary Course,

Understanding sexual exploitation and trafficking training and trauma informed care training. Those who are involved in the preparation of food have also completed L2 food hygiene. Citizens Advice Gateshead, Mears and the British Red Cross also have a

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presence at the drop with this professional involvement. It means that if you are a refugee or person seeking asylum in Gateshead and you need information or advice there is someone in the room in our Thursday drop in who can support. In the spring / summer of 2023 Gateshead Council instructed a consultancy, Good Faith Partnership to help them to improve their support for refugees. They asked Good Faith Partnership to bring Alive Church into those conversations as they were happy with our partnership and felt that with further financial support, we could grow our capacity to better support refugees in Gateshead. We were awarded £15,000 to grow our capacity and our Love Your Neighbour Lead Natalie Robson is part of a small team alongside Good Faith Partnership and Gateshead Council together leading a wider piece of work to support refugees in Gateshead.

We made a successful application to become the single point of contact through the new arrival’s pathway. This means we receive a professional referral from Mears every time a person seeking asylum moves into Gateshead. We then invite them to the programmes of support we offer and deliver a programme of ‘Welcome to the UK’ courses. North East Migration Partnership provided £5000 of funding to help us to establish these processes. We have used this with the £15000 awarded by Good Faith Partnership to create a ‘Refugee Coordinator’ role.

In October Gateshead Council agreed to fund a CELTA qualified ESOL teacher for our ESOL provision. We recruited Eleanor Duncan who has a vast amount of experience of supporting refugees all over the world. Eleanor’s appointment has improved both the credibility and attendance rates of the ESOL classes we deliver. We plan to increase our ESOL offering in spring 2024.

In January our drop-in supported an average of 35 individuals each week. This has increased to an average of 70 individuals each week by the end of 2023.

Christians Against Poverty

Our Christian’s Against Poverty Debt centre supported 20 new clients in 2023. 3 individuals became debt free in that period and two individuals came to faith. The CAP money course ran once in 2023 with 7 individuals participating. The CAP money course was paused as the content was being updated and the individuals previously leading this stepping down. We will relaunch this in spring 2024 with a new team delivering the new content.

Lunch Club

Lunch Club launched in February 2023, offering a hot meal and activities to families who might struggle during school holidays. Lunch Club is a full family offering and in 2023 we served 540 meals to individuals through this programme.

Food Provision

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

There are two opportunities each week for individuals to access a meal, a warm space and signposting information. We are a trusted partner of Gateshead Food bank so can refer people in food crises for support and we also partner with Feeding Families to provide emergency food support through food parcels. In 2023 we provided 4,633 meals across all of our programmes of support.

We continue to partner with Handcrafted who supported us in providing food provision for our programmes until July 2023. We onward funded 50% of the costs of one of their training supervisors with Handcrafted match funding the other 50%. We have referred a number of individuals who we meet through our Love Your Neighbour programmes to Handcrafted for support with food, housing and to their training programmes.

Bloom

Bloom is a professional referral service which produces bundles of items needed for new mums and babies. 29 Bloom bags were provided to support and bless families in Gateshead in 2023. The Bloom team grew with two new team members joining. Promoting Bloom within church, Little Ones and on socials led to much needed donations and some regular donors being established.

Financial Review

Fundraising

The vast majority of Alive Church, St George’s income from donations comes from the congregation. Church of England Strategic Development Fund (SDF) Funding has enabled us to continue to invest in staffing. In 2020 we were successful in applying for round 2 of funding, which will continue to enable further significant investment in Youth Ministry and runs for 5 years from July 2020.

We partnered again with the Church Revitalisation trust and received grants for Love Your Neighbour (Love Cities, Love Ukraine) and Love Christmas which helped us to continue to bless our community through Christians Against Poverty Debt Centre, Hope House Coffee and at Christmas through bags of kindness. We received funding from Gateshead Council for Warm Space, and Household Support Fund (which helped to fund food and half-term lunch clubs for our community).

We received funding from the Good Faith Partnership and from Middlesbrough Council’s North East Migration Partnership Fund which was used towards employing a Refugee Coordinator as part of our Social Transformation team.

In 2023 we received a grant from Gateshead Council of £5,000 for the provision of ESOL classes at Alive Welcome and also received £9,800 for provision of the building to use for Refugee drop in (Alive Welcome).

£1,500 was received from Christians Against Poverty through their Laing National

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

Funding bid which contributed towards our CAP debt centre manager’s salary.

Review of the year

The results for the year and the charity's financial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached financial statements. Income was £496,383 (2022:£427,444) of which £303,968 was unrestricted or designated (2022:£238,375) and £192,415 was restricted (2022:£189,069).

At 31 December 2023 the Charity had net current assets of £122,490 (2022:£99,368).

Reserves policy/Going concern

The charity reported total funds at the year end of £459,673 and has already secured a significant amount of funding for the current year. The trustees are of the view that the immediate future of the charity is secure and that on this basis the charity is a going concern.

Risk Management

Where appropriate, procedures and policies have been put in place to mitigate the risks that the church faces. Risk Assessments have been carried out for all regular events and activities and are reviewed at least annually. Additional risk assessments are also completed by the relevant staff member(s) in advance of one-off activities and events.

Plans for future periods

In 2023 our Kids and Youth lead left due to personal reasons and we were delighted that our ministry assistants were more than capable of stepping up to fill the gaps in both Kids and Youth ministry. We looked to appoint a new Kids lead and a new Youth lead, but our recruitment drive was unsuccessful, and so, as the fixed contracts of our ministry assistants ended, and they went on to pursue different roles, our Lead Pastor and Operations Lead, along with our new Youth Ministry assistant and brilliant, supportive teams stepped in to carry forward Kids and Youth ministries. We will continue our recruitment plan to appoint a Kids Lead and Youth Lead in the near future.

In 2024, we will continue to review staffing to meet the needs of the church as we plan for the next 5 year period, and with the tapering off of SDF Funding. We continue to work with the staffing committee of our PCC work to ensure that we steward resources to release each person to play their part in our vision to see individuals, the church and our communities Come Alive in Jesus’ name.

Ministry

2024 will be a time to develop our vision for Alive Church for the next 5 years. Like all families, we’ll prioritise the young and the vulnerable, as we pursue our vision to see

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

individuals, our community and the church Come Alive in Jesus’ name. Sundays and Communities

As we continue to grow in number in our Sunday gatherings we will continue to invest in welcome and review how gatherings work to ensure that as many people as possible can be part of Sunday Gatherings. We will re-launch our 6pm Gathering and continue to raise up new leaders from across the congregation. Alongside this, we will keep investing in Alive Communities, supporting leaders of our Alive Communities and launching new communities so that everyone has a place to belong and everyone is cared for.

Alpha

Alpha remains core to the life of the church and we will continue to host Alpha courses in each term. Alongside this, we will create new spaces to invite people to Alpha, launch a post-Alpha course to resource people as they grow in faith, and invest regionally in other churches running Alpha as we fulfil our role as an Alpha Hub Church.

Alive Kids

Both Alive Kids and Alive Youth will continue to be a key area of investment as we seek to invest in young people. In Alive Kids, 2024 will be a time where we look to develop work beyond Sundays to include midweek activities including Boys Brigade and Girls Association, family events including monthly meet-ups and events.

Alive Youth

In Alive Youth, we’ll be investing in our youth programme and continuing to host bigger events that attract more young people, across local churches (for example, TSM are coming in March 2024). Continuing much of what we already do, we will grow to include more age-specific groups with age-based communities for Y6 to Y13.

Love Your Neighbour

Our Love Your Neighbour ministry has grown substantially in 2023. In 2024, we’ll continue to invest in our LYN work as we play our part in seeing our communities Come Alive. Specifically, 2024 will see us looking to employ a Refugee Coordinator, who will be able to work closely with Gateshead Council to offer welcome to refugees and asylum seekers, launch our Growing Hope clinic and intentionally build partnerships across the region.

Campus

In September 2023, Hope House suffered from a flood, which saw sewage pour through the ground floor of the building. We worked with our insurer, Ecclesiastical, and immediately sought alternative provision of space for our ministries, both mid-week and on Sundays. We were able to move a large proportion of our activities to the main church building. We then arranged to have two portacabins bought, through the insurance, to allow us to have a safe space to continue our Kids Ministry on Sundays. With a reallocation of the spaces that were not affected, we have been able to carry on

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

with business as normal, despite the ongoing building works and we are hopeful that campus will be restored in Spring 2024. Over the next year we will continue to invest in the ongoing maintenance of the campus, ensuring that our buildings are the best they can be.

Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, Trustees and Advisors

Registered charity name

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Gateshead St George

Charity number 1178248 Registered office St George’s Church Office 1-9 Inskip Terrace Gateshead Tyne and Wear NE8 4AJ

Trustees and Members of the Board

Co-opted Members

Non-Voting Members

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

Independent Examiner

Connected Voice Business Services

One Strawberry Lane Newcastle upon Tyne. NE1 4BX.

Bankers

CAF Bank Ltd

Structure, Governance and Management

Culture, governance and management

Alive Church, St George’s has six groups for leadership and accountability. It is assumed that all those involved are committed to the life of the church (for example, are part of a midweek Group and committed to a Sunday Gathering) and supportive of the vision to establish a Resource Church in Tyneside, as per the Bishop of Durham’s invitation in November 2015.

Staff Team

The Staff Team lead the church on a day to day basis and are led by the

Priest-in-Charge. This involves making decisions about the day to day running of the church. Staff have regular patterns of meeting throughout the week and month.

Executive Team

The Executive Team is a combination of Senior Staff and Wardens. This is becoming a Standing committee as of 2024. The team is involved in long term strategic decision making and offers peer accountability to the Priest-in-Charge and Senior Team. Executive team will be key for staffing decisions. They are accountable to the PCC and meet termly.

Senior Leadership team

The SLT consists of the Priest-in-charge, curates, Operations Lead and Love Your Neighbour Lead.

PCC

The PCC is representative of the wider church and offers accountability to the staff team and executive team. The Council allows the staff team to function by encouraging it in its day to day tasks whilst asking questions of accountability. We have tried to encourage a council that is representative of the church. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At Alive Church, St.

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

George’s the membership of the PCC consists of the Priest-in-Charge, Church wardens, the reader and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church.

Employment Group

The Employment Group is responsible for employing and reviewing staff and staffing structures at Alive Church, St George’s. The Group is delegated from the Trustees and is made up the Priest-In-Charge and the Wardens.

Building Group

The Building Group is a delegated group from the Trustees. The Group meets to explore the best ways for Alive Church, St George’s to use the campus in order for the Church to meet its goals.

Ministry Teams

Ministry Teams are drawn from across the church and overseen by the staff team, who are accountable to the PCC and Executive Team. Ministry Teams meet for ‘Huddle’ regularly.

Governing Document

The governing document is The Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 as amended and the Church Representation Rules (contained in Schedule 3 to the Synodical Government Measure 1969 as amended).

Appointment of the trustees

Trustees are those appointed to sit on the PCC at Alive Church, St George’s. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules.

Organisation

St George’s PCC is a registered charity, no. 1178248. The charity was registered on 4th May 2018. The PCC has the responsibility of cooperating with the Priest-in-Charge, the Reverend Richard Grant, in promoting in the surrounding area and across the wider Tyneside region the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical.

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

Statement of Trustee Responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Charity SORP requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the receipts and payments of the charity for that year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by the Trustees on 28 April 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Daniel Mallery Treasurer

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES

For the year ended 31 December 2023

I report on the financial statements of The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Gateshead St George for the year ended 31 December 2023, which are set out on pages 15 to 28.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. 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 seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Lilian Hetherington FCA Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales Connected Voice Business Services One Strawberry Lane Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4BX

Date: 22 May 2024

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

For the year ended 31 December 2023

6
7
Other trading activities
8
9
Expenditure on:
10
Total funds carried forward
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Notes
Total income
Donations and legacies
Income from:
Investments
Charitable activities
Grants and contracts
Operation of the charity
Total expenditure
Net income/(expenditure) and net
movement of funds
Charitable activities		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
237,454
5,497
59,336

1,681
303,968
281,403
281,403
22,565
339,771
362,336		 Restricted
Funds
£
4,132
175,716
12,567

-
192,415
173,247
173,247
19,168
78,169
97,337		 Total
2023
£
241,586
181,213
71,903

1,681
496,383
454,650
454,650
41,733
417,940
459,673		 Total
2022
£
211,370
188,160
27,559

355
427,444
436,295
436,295
( 8,851 )
426,791
417,940

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities

The notes on pages 18 to 28 form an integral part of these financial statements.

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

Charity Number 1178248

BALANCE SHEET

As at 31 December 2023

Fixed assets
Tangible assets
17
Total fixed assets
Current assets
Debtors
18
Cash at bank and in hand
19
Total current assets
Creditors:amounts falling due within
one year
20
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Total net assets or liabilities
Funds of the charity
Unrestricted income funds
Restricted income funds
Total funds
Notes		 £
3,362
120,282
123,644
( 1,154 )		 Total
2023
£
337,184
337,184
122,490
459,673
459,673
362,336
97,337
459,673		 £
4,672
95,836
100,508
( 1,140 )		 Total
2022
£
318,572
318,572

99,368
417,940
417,940
339,771
78,169
417,940

The notes on pages 18 to 28 form an integral part of these financial statements.

These financial statements were approved by the Board on: 28 April 2024

and are signed on its behalf by:

Richard Grant, Priest-in-charge Chairman

and are signed on its behalf by: Daniel Mallery Treasurer

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Charity Number 1178248

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Cash flows from operating activities
(Loss)/Profit before taxation
Add back:
Depreciation
Investment income
Decrease in debtors
Increase in creditors
Cash generated from operations
Net cash from operating activities
Cash flow from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Interest received
Net cash used in investing activities
Increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at start of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year		 2023
£
41,733
34,442
( 1,681 )
1,312
14
75,820
75,820
( 53,054 )
1,681
( 51,373)
24,447
95,836
120,282		 2022
£
( 8,851 )
29,288
( 355 )
( 664 )
408
19,826
19,826
( 31,320 )
355
( 30,965)
( 11,139 )
106,974
95,836

17

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

1 Accounting Policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

2 Basis of accounting

2.1 Basis of preparation

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice 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 2019) – Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Gateshead St George meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

2.2 Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The charity reported total unrestricted funds at the year end of £362,336 and has already secured a significant amount of funding for the current year. The trustees are of the view that the immediate future of the charity is secure and that on this basis the charity is a going concern.

3 Income

3.1 Recognition of income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the resources, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is more likely than not that the resources will be received and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability

3.2 Offsetting

There has been no offsetting of assets and liabilities, or income and expenses, unless required or permitted by FRS102 SORP or FRS102.

3.3 Grants and donations

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria of income recognition are met.

3.4 Volunteer help

The value of volunteer help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the trustees' annual report.

18

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

3.5 Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

3.6 Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

4 Expenditure and liabilities

4.1 Liability recognition

Liabilities are recognised when it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.

4.2 Charitable activities

Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of work and other activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.

4.3 Governance and support costs

Support costs have been allocated between governance cost and other support. Governance costs comprise all costs involving public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice.

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

4.4 Creditors

The charity has creditors which are measured at settlement amounts less any trade discounts.

4.5 Provisions for liabilities

A liability is measured on recognition at its historical cost and then subsequently measured at the best estimate of the amount required to settle the obligation at the reporting date.

19

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

5 Assets

5.1 Tangible fixed assets for use by the charity

Individual fixed assets costing £250 or more are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful economic lives on a straight line basis.

Property improvements 5% Straight line Office and computer equipment 25% Straight line

5.2 Investments

Fixed asset investments in quoted shares, traded bonds and similar investments are valued at initially at cost and subsequently at fair value (their market value) at the year end. The same treatment is applied to unlisted investments unless fair value cannot be measured reliably in which case it is measured at cost less impairment.

Investments held for resale or pending their sale and cash and cash equivalents with a maturity date of less than 1 year are treated as current asset investments.

20

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Analysis of income

6
7
8
9		 Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Income from grants
Other trading activities
Income from investments
Social Transformation external funding
Ukraine appeal
Laing Trust
Good Faith Foundation
Middlesborough Council
Donations and gifts
Gift Aid
Gateshead MBC
Social Transformation
MEV Funding
Bank interest
SDF Funding
Church Revitalisation Trust
Diocese of Durham
Event Income
Services
Premises Hire
Other
Employment Allowance		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
194,875
42,579
237,454
Unrestricted
Funds
£
1,008
-
-
-
4,489
-
-
-
-
-
-
5,497
7,706
1,278
-
5,000
45,352
59,336
1,681

1,681		 Restricted
Funds
£
3,741
391
4,132
Restricted
Funds
£
9,591
1,500
-
-
-
5,000
-
50,450
95,382
5,000
8,793
175,716
-
-
12,567
-
-
12,567
-
-		 Total
2023
£
198,616
42,970
241,586
Total
2023
£
10,599
1,500
-
-
4,489
5,000
-
50,450
95,382
5,000
8,793
181,213
7,706
1,278
12,567
5,000
45,352
71,903
1,681
1,681		 Total
2022
£
172,600
38,770
211,370
Total
2022
£
-
-
523
2,217
6,474
-
17,319
21,240
109,053
-
31,334
188,160
-
14,942
194
6,933
4,975
515
27,559
355
355

Income was £496,383 (2022: £427,444 ) of which £303,968 was unrestricted or designated H93(2022: £238,375 ) and £192,415 was restricted (2022: £189,069)

21

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

10 Charitable activities
Direct costs
Support costs
Utilities
COVID Work from home
Parish Share / common fund
Governance costs
Independent examiner's fees for reporting on
the accounts
Ukraine Appeal
Events
Staffing costs
Office and Administration
Professional and Accounting Fees
Other Cost
Build Insurance
Depreciation
Social Transformation Projects
Promotion and Marketing
Mission
Staff training and expenses
Ministries
Bank Charges
Buildings management		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
13,804
29,401
16,337
-
-
50,770
11,706
15,214
15,358
1,971
120
39,217
7,030
2,914
-
40,678
34,442
1,154
1,287
281,403		 Restricted
Funds
£
22,598
24,524
-
-
-
119,449
730
-
-
2,905
-
-
-
41
-
3,000
-
-
-
173,247		 Total
2023
£
36,402
53,925
16,337
-
-
170,219
12,436
15,214
15,358
4,876
120
39,217
7,030
2,955
-
43,678
34,442
1,154
1,287
454,650
 Total
2022
£
37,018
58,278
-
17,309
523
193,328
6,359
6,593
5,466

87
157
31,758
6,610
2,378
86

38,655

29,288
1,140
1,262
436,295

Expenditure on charitable activities was £454,650 (2022: £436,295) of which £281,403 was unrestricted or designated (2022: £243,076) and £173,247 was restricted (2022: £193,219)

11 Fees for examination of the accounts

Independent examiner's fees for reporting on the accounts
There were no other fees paid to the examiner (2022: £nil)		 2023
£
1,154
1,154		 2022
£
1,140
1,140

22

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

12 Analysis of staff costs and the cost of key management personnel

Pension costs (defined contribution pension plan)
Salaries and wages
Social security costs		 2023
£
152,890
8,863
4,186
165,939		 2022
£
167,242
11,245
4,823
183,310

No employee received remuneration above £60,000 (2022: £nil)

The key management personnel of the charity, comprise the Trustees. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £nil.

13 Staff numbers

The average monthly head count was 10 staff (2022: 10 staff) and the average monthly number of full-time equivalent employees during the year were as follows:

14
Transactions with trustees
During the year, the trustees made donations to the charity.
Donations of unrestricted nature
Charitable activities
The parts of the charity in which the employees work		 2023
Number
10.0
10.0
2023
£
63,705
63,705		 2022
Number
10.0
10.0
2022
£
56,466
56,466

None of the trustees have been paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with their charity or a related entity.

Trustees' expenses

No trustee expenses have been incurred in the year.

23

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

14 Transactions with related parties

The following details the related party transactions in the reporting period.

During the year related parties donated a total of £63,705 to the organisation. (2022: £56,466 donations).

15 Defined contribution pension scheme

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

The employer's pension costs represent contributions payable by the charity to the fund and amount to £4,186 (2022: £4,823). There was £nil outstanding as at 31 December 2023 (2022: £nil).

16 Corporation Taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objectives.

17
Tangible fixed assets
Cost
Balance brought forward
Additions
Disposals
Balance carried forward
Depreciation
Basis
Rate
Balance brought forward as restated
Depreciation charge for year
Disposals
Balance carried forward
Net book value
Brought forward
Carried forward		 Equipment
£
50,088
12,503
-
62,591
SL
25%
20,692
15,548
-
36,240
29,396
26,351		 Property
development
£
337,322
40,551
-
377,873
SL
5%
48,146
18,894
-
67,040
289,176
310,833		 Total
£
387,410
53,054
-
440,464
68,838
34,442
-
103,280
318,572
337,184

24

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

18 Debtors and prepayments (receivable within 1 year)

Gift Aid
Prepayments		 2023
£
-
3,362
3,362		 2022
£
1,350
3,322
4,672

19 Cash at bank and in hand

Current account
Savings account
Petty cash		 2023
£
40,413
79,859
10
120,282		 2022
£
15,643
80,183
10
95,836

20 Creditors and accruals (payable within 1 year)

Accruals 2023
£
1,154
1,154		 2022
£
1,140
1,140

21 Events after the end of the reporting period

No events (requiring adjustment to the financial statements) have occurred after the end of the reporting period but before the financial statements were authorised which relate to conditions that arose after the end of the reporting period.

25

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

22 Analysis of charitable funds

Analysis of movements in unrestricted funds For the year ended 31 December 2023

For the year ended 31 December 2023
Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted fund
Building project
Totals		 Revised
Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
21,199
318,572
339,771		 Incoming
resources
£
303,968
-
303,968		 Resources
expended
£
( 246,961 )
( 34,442 )
(281,403)		 Transfers
£
( 53,054 )
53,054
-		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
25,152

337,184
362,336

For the year ended 31 December 2022

Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted fund
Building project
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
27,932
316,540
344,472		 Incoming
resources
£
238,375
-
238,375		 Resources
expended
£
( 213,788 )
( 29,288 )
(243,076)		 Transfers
£
( 31,320 )

31,320
-		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
21,199

318,572
339,771

Purpose of unrestricted funds

General unrestricted fund The 'free reserves' of the charity Building project Complete renovation of Hope House (Church centre)

Analysis of movement in restricted funds

For the year ended 31 December 2023

For the year ended 31 December 2023
Restricted funds
Social Transformation
Growing Hope
Hope House
MEV Funding
Love Your Neighbour
Bloom
Love Christmas
SDF Funding
ACTS 435
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
( 17,096 )
1,000
11,201
6,594
61,517
98
( 2,837 )
17,692
-
78,169		 Incoming
resources
£
27,050
3,907
12,567

-
33,209

-
20,000

95,382
300
192,415		 Resources
expended
£
( 18,805 )
( 6,571 )
-
( 3,167 )
( 26,792 )
( 1,551 )
( 22,460 )
( 93,429 )
(472)

(173,247)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
( 8,851 )
( 1,664 )
23,768
3,427
67,934
( 1,453 )
( 5,297 )
19,645
( 172)
97,337

26

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

For the year ended 31 December 2022

For the year ended 31 December 2022
Restricted funds
Social Transformation
Growing Hope
Hope House
MEV Funding
Love Your Neighbour
Bloom
Love Christmas
SDF Funding
Ukraine Appeal
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
-
-
6,080
10,953
47,041
485
62
17,698
-
82,319		 Incoming
resources
£
2,217
1,000
5,121
17,319
31,909
-
21,240
109,740
523
189,069		 Resources
expended
£
( 19,313 )
-
-
( 21,678 )
( 17,433 )
( 387 )
( 24,139 )
( 109,746 )
(523)
(193,219)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
( 17,096 )
1,000
11,201
6,594
61,517
98
( 2,837 )
17,692
-
78,169

Purpose of restricted funds

Restricted funds represent income resources used for a specific purpose within the charity as identified by the donor.

the donor.
Social Transformation Long term impact on the lives of the community through social projects
Growing Hope Providing therapy to families of children with additional needs.
Hope House Appeal for the refurbishment and renaming of church centre
Bloom Ministry to help mother with new born babies
Love Christmas Spread powerful message of love, hope and kindness to people who are
struggling this winter
Love Your Neighbour Community support ministries, for example food provision and
employability training
MEV Funding Intern and development year
SDF Funding Strategic Development Fund funding
Ukraine Appeal To support Ukranian refugees

Transfers between funds

Transfers between funds
2023
Between unrestricted and
designated
2022
Between unrestricted and
designated		 Reason for transfer
Transfer asset purchases
Reason for transfer
Transfer asset purchases		 Amount
£
53,054
31,320

23 Capital commitments

As at 31 December 2023, the charity had no capital commitments (2022 - £nil)

27

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GATESHEAD ST GEORGE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

24 Analysis of net assets between funds

nalysis of net assets between funds
Other net current assets/(liabilities)
Cash at bank and in hand
Tangible fixed assets
Cash at bank and in hand
Other net current assets/(liabilities)
Tangible fixed assets		 Funds
£
337,184
22,945
2,208
362,336
Funds
£
318,572
17,667
3,532
339,771
Unrestricted
Unrestricted		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
97,337
-
97,337
Restricted
Funds
£
-
78,169
-
78,169		 Total
2023
£
337,184
120,282
2,208
459,673
Total
2022
£
318,572
95,836
3,532
417,940

28