2023-12-31-accounts

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Charitable Incorporated Organisa4on

Number: 1178771

Buddhist Healthcare Chaplaincy Trust Report and financial statements

for the year ended 31st December 2023

Reference and administra@ve informa@on for the year ended 31st December 2023

Charity number 1178771

Registered office and opera@onal address

Buddhist Healthcare Chaplaincy Trust,

5 Ainslie Street Ulverston LA12 7JE

Trustees

Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Satyamegha Kate Hunt, Chair Steve Johnson, Secretary Satyin Taylor Amitasuri Yule

Bankers

Triodos Bank UK, Deanery Road, Bristol BS1 5AS

Trustees annual report for the year ended 31st December 2023

Trustees of the Buddhist Healthcare Chaplaincy Trust (BHCT) present their report and the unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2023.

Reference and administra4ve informa4on set out on page 2 forms part of this report. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accoun4ng policies complying with the Chari4es Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and Accoun4ng and Repor4ng by Chari4es: Statement of Recommended Prac4ce applicable to chari4es preparing their accounts in accordance with Financial Repor4ng Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102( effec4ve March 2018).

Objec@ves and ac@vi@es

Objects of the Charitable Incorporated Organisa@on

To advance Buddhism for the public benefit by promo4ng the role of Buddhist Healthcare Chaplaincy by:

Training and educa4on of Healthcare Staff, including Chaplains of all faiths and those of secular beliefs, regarding the role and contribu4on of Buddhism, Medita4on and Mindfulness, in Health and Social Care.
The provision of Buddhist Healthcare Chaplaincy Services to hospitals, hospices, community and other healthcare services throughout the United Kingdom, working with opportuni4es to enhance healthcare outcomes.
The provision of Buddhist and Interfaith educa4on, dialogue and discourse though workshops, seminars, public lectures and through electronic and print media and contribu4ng towards healthcare chaplaincy policy and best prac4ce.
Networking and development of a suppor4ve community for those interested in Buddhist Healthcare Chaplaincy, including but not limited to offering membership services, conferences, endorsement, media4on and dispute resolu4on, supervision and mentoring.

Achievements and performance

The charity's main ac4vi4es are described below. All of its charitable ac4vi4es are undertaken to further the Buddhist Healthcare Chaplaincy Trusts’ charitable purposes for the public benefit.

Objec@ve 1 - Training and Educa@on

We con4nue to support the ‘Star4ng Out in Healthcare Chaplaincy’ taster courses run by the Network for Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care in Health (NPSRCH) of which the BHCT is an ac4ve member. Having agreed to focus on specialist post introductory training we have iden4fied a number of ac4vi4es which can be offered face to face and in the post covid environment, as online using pladorms such as Zoom, Meet and Teams. Our plan is to make these more accessible and affordable. Our aim is to eventually offer a range of short courses suitable for Con4nuous Professional

Development (CPD) purposes. These will be open to chaplains of all faiths and none. Work on iden4fica4on, design and delivery of courses is ongoing, however delivery is on hold while the new NHS Chaplaincy guidelines are adopted and their implica4ons reviewed alongside the introduc4on of a pordolio route for chaplains seeking membership of the United Kingdom Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy (UKBHC). Our aim being to ensure that whatever programmes are offered they contribute to and are acceptable for inclusion in achievement of UKBHC registra4on via the pordolio route

The original plan to build on the ‘Tools for Chaplaincy’ course was abandoned as the European Buddhist Union have used this to offer a free programme linked to a university and funded by a grant.

Objec@ve 2 - Provision of services

The provision of services con4nues to be affected by the impact of the SARS-COVID-19 virus. While NHS Trusts are removing restric4ons on chaplaincy volunteers other healthcare providers such as hospices have restricted and even removed chaplaincy posts. This, alongside the removal of the requirement for endorsement by NHS Scotland, has influenced the demand for endorsement, with fewer applica4ons, including for renewal. It also means that budgets for training and development have been restricted.
We have though con4nued the endorsement of prospec4ve and exis4ng Buddhist chaplains. Our endorsement process has been designed at two levels and links to a redesigned membership structure introduced this year. The key categories of membership are:
Associate, for those new to chaplaincy or those Buddhists involved in healthcare but not ac4vely involved in delivery of chaplaincy services.
Full, for those who have gained skills and experience in Buddhist chaplaincy and endorsed by their tradi4on and workplace referees.

Objec@ve 3 - Educa@on and Dialogue

Our main avenue of communica4on is via our website (www.buddhisthealthcare.org.uk) and social media, including our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ buddhisthealthcare). In addi4on we have contributed to and supported a number of publica4ons raising awareness of Buddhist perspec4ves in healthcare. All publica4ons are available in pdf form on our website.

Objec@ve 4 - Networking and Development

We con4nued our involvement with the Network of Buddhist Organisa4ons, including presen4ng a report at the Annual General Mee4ng.
We are an ac4ve member of the Network for Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care in Health (NPSRCH) and Trustees alended online and face to face mee4ngs in London. Our membership provides the opportunity to influence the development of chaplaincy

services including the forthcoming NHS Guidelines. It also allows us to contribute to the supervision of NHS recruitment policies and prac4ces.

Ul4mately the true beneficiaries of our services are the staff and pa4ents within the healthcare semngs who are supported by Buddhist Healthcare Chaplains offering Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care and aiming to contribute towards beler healthcare outcomes for all. However we believe that encouraging the growth of Buddhist Healthcare Chaplaincy can have a major effect on the whole field of Chaplaincy across the UK and will work with others to promote this.

Financial review

Principal funding sources

Having decided to hold the delivery of training courses pending external developments and review, our income during 2023 was solely based on dona4ons towards the provision of Endorsement services. It is intended that training and endorsement streams will grow in the coming years and the Trustees recognise the importance of promo4ng these.

How expenditure has supported key objec@ves

The BHCT subscribed to membership of the na4onal umbrella organisa4on for Buddhist tradi4ons - the Network of Buddhist Organisa4ons (NBO).

The main administra4ve expenses occur in:

Maintaining a register of Endorsed Chaplains, including gathering and reviewing references and wrilen submissions for endorsement.
Paying travel expenses for those alending networking mee4ngs, commilee mee4ngs, training events and conferences.
Maintaining and developing our online presence as a means of marke4ng, communica4on and knowledge sharing

Recognising the move to a dona4on based income, the Trustees commiled to reducing expenditure. This has been achieved primarily through the reduc4on in admin expenses from £6655 to £1048.

Reserves policy

The board recognises the importance of ensuring that sufficient reserves are retained to maintain adequate working capital to fund opera4onal ac4vity, to provide for unseen circumstances and to invest in the development of the charity. We con4nue to work to establish sustainable funding streams for the future.

The Trustees consider that the bank account reflects a reasonable financial posi4on for the present circumstances.

The charity has due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Plans

BHCT plans to con4nue to train new individuals and promote ac4vi4es for exis4ng individuals working as volunteers or paid staff in healthcare semngs. Future plans include:

further raising the profile of Healthcare Chaplaincy within the Buddhist community
increasing the impact on Healthcare Chaplaincy of a greater contribu4on from those with Buddhist backgrounds.

Structure, governance and management

The organisa4on is a Charitable Incorporated Organisa4on, registered on 13[th] May 2018. The Trust was established under a memorandum of associa4on which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its ar4cles of associa4on.

The Trustees, their nomina@on and appointment

The BHCT is a CIO governed by its Cons4tu4on. BHCT trustees are responsible for the decisions made in running the BHCT. The board keeps the skills requirements for the trustee body under review. New trustees may be sought by open adver4sement or through a dialogue with candidates. The ul4mate decision on selec4on is a maler for the board of trustees. When new trustees are appointed, they are given an introduc4on to the work of the charity and provided with informa4on they need to fulfil their roles.

There is a simple nomina4on process for new trustees, to be voted onto the board of Trustees. Trustees may hold specific roles such as Chair, secretary, and treasurer and others as needed. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity. All trustees give their 4me voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity as a Trustee. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in the accounts. Any paid work offered to a Trustee is subject to formal tender and contract approved by the other Trustees.

Risk management

Consistent with the size of the charity, the trustees review any major risks to which the charity might be exposed and establish systems and procedures to mi4gate those risks. The Trustees are of the opinion that the reserves and known subsequent income are sufficient for at least short to medium term financial requirements.

Statement of responsibili@es of the trustees

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accoun4ng Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accoun4ng Prac4ce).

The law applicable to chari4es in England and Wales 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 applica4on of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accoun4ng policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Chari4es SORP 2015 (FRS 102);
make judgements and es4mates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK accoun4ng standards and statements of recommended prac4ce have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will con4nue in opera4on.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accoun4ng records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any 4me the financial posi4on of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Chari4es Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regula4ons 2008 and the provision of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the preven4on and detec4on of fraud and other irregulari4es.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial informa4on included on the charity’s website. Legisla4on in the United Kingdom governing the prepara4on and dissemina4on of financial statements may differ from legisla4on in other jurisdic4ons.

The trustees’ annual report has been approved by the Trustees on 29 July 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Signed

Dr. Stephen Johnson Secretary

Statement of Financial Ac@vi@es for the year ended 31[st] December 2023

BUDDHIST HEALTHCARE CHAPLAINCY TRUST - BALANCE SHEET January 1st 2023-December 31st 2023

BALANCE	TOTAL
Opening Balance	3972.10
Income	50
Expenditure	1048.11
Closing Balance	2973.99

INCOME

Dona4ons (endorsement) 50
	50


EXPENDITURE Administra@on costs Web Domain Web maintenance 227.88 240 Legal and professional fees Training Consultancy 0 Property Costs Rent and rates Venue hire 0 50 General administra@ve expenses Travel and accommoda4on 328.93 Bank charges 1.30 Subscrip4ons (NBO) 200.00










	1048.11