The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey
2020 - 2021
Annual Report of the Trustees and Accounts
The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey Registered Charity No. 1181213
Report and Financial statements For the Year 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021
CONTENTS Page Report of the Trustees 2 Independent Examiner's report 6 Receipts and Payments 7 Statement of \assets and liabilities 8 Notes forming part of the financial statements 8
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The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey
Report of the Trustees for the year 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021
Reference and Administrative Information
name
Charity registration 1181213 Constitution Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), Association model, established by constitution dated 21[st] October 2018, amended 15[th] December 2018. Approved by the Charity Commission and registered on 17[th] December 2018 Operational address The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey Castle Street Nether Stowey Bridgwater Somerset TA5 1LN Trustees Sue Aubrey Norma Frood Mary Reece Roger Stacey Bankers Co-Operative Bank 1, Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP
Structure, Governance, and Management
The charity is administered by a management committee consisting of the Trustees above and the following officers, ex-officio and co-opted, formerly committee members of the Friends of Nether Stowey Library, who will be due to stand for election at the first General Meeting:
Treasurer Secretary Rota Organiser Health and Safety Officer Charity Oversite Officer Events Organiser Events Publicity Officer
Objects
1) For the public benefit, the provision of a library in Nether Stowey, Somerset and a library service for the village and surrounding parishes
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2) To promote for the residents of Nether Stowey and the surrounding area the provision of a public library for recreation and or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, financial hardship or social and economic circumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving the condition of life of the said residents.
3) To advance the education of the public in the history and heritage of the area, in particular of the lives of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and local benefactor Thomas Poole, and the local environment.
Public Benefit
The Trustees have given due consideration to the Charity Commission’s published guidance for the operation of the Public Benefit requirement and are satisfied that the activities of the charity undertaken during the year meet the Public Benefit test.
The public benefit lies in providing a free at source library service, together with other activities to serve all age groups and the range of interests of the community.
Achievements and Performance
During the reporting year The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey continued to provide a public Library service, to promote the history and heritage of the area and to support the social welfare of the residents in accordance with the Objects of the Charity. This service was provided when the restrictions imposed as a consequence of the Covid 19 pandemic allowed, see below.
The Library closed on 18[th] March 2020, in line with Library Service and national guidelines and did not reopen until 17[th] August 2020. At first only Order and Collect was allowed, with readers ordering books from Nether Stowey stock only, and then having their books passed to them in a paper bag. This continued until 28[th] September, when browsing was again allowed.
The Public Network computers were removed from their existing positions to allow more circulation space in the Non-Fiction room and one of them was repositioned in the small room adjacent to the entrance corridor. The computers were not returned to their original positions until June 2021.
On 5[th] November a second lockdown began but libraries were allowed to remain open for Order and Collect, and from 2[nd] December browsing was again allowed. The Library remained open until 6[th] January 2021, when along with the rest of the country it was was deemed unsafe to continue. The Library remained closed until 15[th] March 2021 when it re-opened and on 12[th] April browsing was again allowed.
During the reporting period, whenever it has been possible to be open, readers have been served by the same dedicated 11 volunteers who work in teams of 2 or 3 on the same day every week. Opening hours were restricted to mornings only while usage remained comparatively low.
Strict hygiene protocols were observed, with one way systems in place in the building, hand santisisers were available, surfaces were constantly wiped down and facemasks were worn. Returned books were placed in boxes and only processed after 72 hours.
Between 1[st] April 2020 and 31[st] March 2021, 77 volunteers in 259 individual sessions, gave 707 hours of their time Page 3
No Review Meetings have been held with Somerset Library Service representatives to monitor the progress of the CLP during the reporting period.
1 Meeting of the Trustees was held during the reporting period.
No Meetings of the Management Committee have been held during the reporting period.
No Meetings of the Volunteers have been held during the reporting period.
Evening Talks :
No Evening Talks were given during the 2020 – 2021 reporting period.
Groups using the Library :
No Groups used the Library during the 2020 – 2021 reporting period.
Regular Weekly/Monthly/Annual activities:
There were no regular activities during the 2020 – 2021 reporting period.
Events and Publicity Manager
Our Events and Publicity Manager, funded through our EDF/HPC grant, was only 10 weeks into her appointment at the beginning of 2020 when Covid 19 caused Library activities to cease, including those of our Manager. During some of the closure period she was able to work from home, but given the nature of her remit there was only so much she could. Accordingly, with her agreement, she was furloughed for some time. This was possible as Somerset County Council acts as her employer on behalf of the CIO. She was able to return to part time working at the end of the reporting period.
Financial Aid
Sedgemoor District Council
Waiving of remaining 20% Council tax (discretionary relief) after 80% charity relief
Sedgemoor District Council
Government Support for Small Businesses £10,000.00 £1,334.00 £6,001.00 £2,096.00
Somerset County Council
£5,000.00 revenue grant for the period 1[st] April 2020 – 31[st] March 2021
Nether Stowey Parish Council
£500.00 grant
Somerset Community Fund
Financial Revue
Results for the year
Total funds were £40,625.02 at year end
General funds and reserves policy
No salaries or wages have been paid to volunteers, members of the committee or Trustees during the period. No expenses were paid to the above except as repayment for items purchased by individuals with the approval of the Treasurer.
Signed
Chair
On behalf of the Trustees and Committee
Date
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The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey Registered Charity No. 1181213
The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey Receipts and Payments Accounts for the Year from April 1[st] 2020 to March 31[st] 2021 /
| Incoming Resources Grants Operational Fund Surplus from 2019-2020 including unused balance of SCF Fund Covid-related Grants Revenues Bank interest Subs Wednesday Talks Book Sales Library Takings Hall hire Other Total Income Expenditure Services and Utilities Maintenance Employee Outreach Speakers Subscriptions Consumables, Supplies, etc Miscellaneous Total Expenditure Net (outgoing) incoming resources |
2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | £ | £ | |
| a | £5,500.00 | £7,350.00 |
|
| b | £39,265.00 | £35,000.00 |
|
| c | £19,669.00 | £10,000.00 |
|
| £129.00 | £22.00 |
||
| £0.00 | £68.00 |
||
| £89.00 | £536.00 |
||
| d | £16.00 | £594.00 |
|
| £103.00 | £948.00 |
||
| £0.00 | £696.00 |
||
| £862.00 | £462.00 |
||
| £65,635.00 | |||
| £65,633.00 | £55,676.00 |
||
| £3,585.00 | £2,328.00 |
||
| £3,627.00 | £80.00 |
||
| e | £16,644.00 | ||
| f | £754.00 | ||
| £0.00 | |||
| £0.00 | £20.00 |
||
| g | £13,170.00 | ||
| £417.00 | £794.00 |
||
| £25,027.00 | £16,392.00 |
||
| £40,606.00 | £39,284.00 |
The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey Statement of assets and liabilities as at March 31[st] 2021 /
/
| / / |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Notes | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 |
| Co-operative Bank | |||
| Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey Community Directplus Account |
£1,850.37 | £3,243.00 | |
| TPL SCF Grant Instant access savings account |
£38,754.65 | £36,022.00 | |
| Total Bank | £40,605.02 | £39,265.00 | |
| Total Cash funds | £20.00 | £20.00 | |
| Total Funds | £40,625.02 | £39,285.00 |
Assets
| Assets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Item | Notes | Value £ |
| Dishwasher | £199.00 | |
| Shelving | £422.40 | |
| Displaystands | £55.16 | |
| Copier | £56.90 | |
| Cabinet | £188.74 | |
| Total | e | £932.22 |
Notes to the Accounts
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a Consists of annual grant from Somerset County Council Library Services, annual grant from local Parish Council, and funds transferred from the previous Friends of the Library.
-
b Surplus from previous FY , including unused portion of grant from Somerset Community
Chest
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c Grants under Government schemes to alleviate Covid losses
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d Income from selling donated second-hand books.
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e Employee salary (paid via SCF fund) plus direct employee expenses
-
f Costs of public-facing and public relations activities (e.g. the Website, information panels), funded via SCF grant
g Costs incurred in Year 1 (2019-2020) for setting up the Library operation including capital equipment. Not applicable in Year 2 (this year).
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey I report on the accounts of the Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey for the year April 1st 2020 to March 31 SI 2021 which are set out in the pages (fo/lc)wing) Respective responsibilities of trustees and reporting examiner The Charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts, The Charity's trustees consider that the audit requirement of section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities act) does not apply and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to: examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities ACL to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 201 I Charities ACL and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basis of independent examiner's report My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. 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 matter has come to my attention: which gives me reasonable cause to believe thaL in any material respecL the requirements: to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act. and to prepare accounts which accord with those record s and to comply with the accounting records of the Act have not been met; or to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Independent Examiner Signed Date 7D Name: