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2022-12-30-accounts

Annual Report Year Ending 31 December 2022

Financial Statements & Trustees’ Report

Registered Charity 1184831

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Contents:
Page
PCC Report
- Foreword 3
Trustees’ Report 4
- PCC Membership & Trustees 4
- PCC Structure & Governance 5
- Church Life 6
- Building & Maintenance 7
- Children, Youth, Families & School 8
- Outreach & Pastoral Care 9
- Church Safeguarding 10
Independent Examiner’s Report 11
Financial Statements 12
- Receipts & Payments Account 12
- Statement of Assets & Liabilities 14
- Notes to the Accounts 15

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May I begin by thanking all those who serve at St Nicholas’ Church throughout the year; those mentioned within these reports and those who serve unseen in the background. You are so important to the ongoing life of church and parish. As you all read through these reports do please note the care and diligence shown in so many ways by those who help us steward our energies and resources.

Thank you too for the warm reception shown to Sue and myself as we have endeavoured to make our home here. Moving brings its challenges and its cost.

I write this foreword at a time of significant development and the reports of the past year have, to some extent, paved the way for what is to come. The PCC both here at Burton and at Shotwick will be seeking to discern a forward looking vision for the parish. By the time you read this we will have taken steps to appoint a Children and Families worker. As we do so we give thanks for the careful stewardship over the past years as well as recognising that we are now seeking to overcome the loss of momentum in the parish exacerbated by the pandemic which led to an erosion of ministry initiatives as well as the loss of much loved members of the Church.

All in all we now want to lay the foundations to strengthen the life of the Church in worship, mutual support, fellowship and outreach to those who as yet are not followers of Christ. This will necessitate courage, generosity and a degree of personal sacrifice as we try new ways of ministry and go out of our way to welcome amongst us others with different experiences and expectations. I do know that we are building on foundations laid in the past and now we must move into a new phase of building for growth. In all of that, we will need to work together for the common good and with a longing for God to be glorified by all we have done and will now do moving forward.

Yours in Christ,

Vicar of Burton and Shotwick

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Reference and Administration Details

Charity Name The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Nicholas’ Church, Burton-in-Wirral Charity Registered No. 1184831 Principal Address St Nicholas’ Church, The Village, Burton Neston, Cheshire CH64 5TH Name Office Held (if any) & Elected Member John Coyne Vicar, Chair of PCC & Trustee (appointed 16.10.22) Nigel Griffiths Churchwarden & Trustee Ivor Thomas Churchwarden, Trustee & Parish Safeguarding Officer Elected Members Bryan Blakeman Hon. Treasurer & Trustee John Vinson Hon. Secretary & Trustee Tony Carter Deputy Churchwarden & Trustee John Morris-Best Lay Reader & Trustee Ruth Abbott Lay Reader & Trustee Ruth Chesworth Deanery Synod Representative & Trustee Jane Davies Trustee Ron Curnow Trustee Robin Cowan Trustee (resigned 1 November 2022) Barrie Marsh Trustee Philip Hillman Trustee Amanda Ankers Trustee Molly Ankers None

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The Parochial Church Council (PCC)

Structure & Governance

The PCC is constituted and governed by the Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measure 1956 as amended and the Church Representation Rules 2006.

The method of appointing members of the PCC is set out in the Church Representation Rules. Regular Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll.

The PCC ensures compliance with the laws and

regulations by acting on advice received from Chester Diocese Board of Finance, information and updates received from the Charities Commission, advice and guidance received from professional advisers e.g. Independent Examiner, attendance by members at courses and seminars and by acting on information and directives issued to clergy.

Standing Committee

This is the only statutory committee required by law. It has the power to transact the business of the PCC between meetings subject to the directions of the PCC.

During the year the Standing Committee comprised:

Objectives & Activities

The principal objective of the PCC is to support the incumbent, to ensure the church’s ministry is funded and to engage with and promote the wider mission of the church.

The PCC ensures that the church is open to all during daylight hours for times of private prayer and quiet reflection. During the year church services have taken place every Sunday at 10:00am and every Wednesday at 10:15am. Holy Communion services have been held on the third Sunday of each month at 8:45am and an Evensong service held on the first Sunday of each month at 6:30pm (4:00pm in Winter). The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Trust’s aims and objectives.

Reserves

The trustees aim to maintain free reserves in unrestricted funds at a level which equates to approximately three months of unrestricted charitable expenditure.

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Church Life

St Nicholas’ Church continues to provide a place for Christian worship, a place of solace, somewhere for quiet reflection as well as the church being an integral part of the community.

At the start of the year the church was without a vicar, so services were led by our Lay Readers and a group of local ordained priests - some of whom were retired - all of whom deserve our sincere thanks. Meanwhile the process of appointing a new vicar continued throughout the first half of the year and into the second. The PCCs of both Burton and Shotwick considered the options, provided by the Diocese, for recruiting a new vicar. Both PCCs agreed that the preferred option would be to recruit a part-time vicar (0.5) rather than to merge the two parishes with another benefice. The rationale for this was:

  1. The appointment of a part-time incumbent would reduce the overall cost to the parish resulting from a reduction in the amount paid to Chester Diocese (Parish Share);

  2. It would better preserve the identity and independence of both parishes; and

  3. It would be possible for the new incumbent to continue to be accommodated within Burton as had the previous vicar.

Preparations were made to provide an attractive parish profile describing the church, the parish and its location along with a job description setting out the duties, responsibilities and number of working days expected. Assistance and advice for this and the subsequent advertising interview were provided by the Diocese and our patrons. The position was advertised nationally.

Subsequently Rev John Coyne who had been living in the Cotswolds, and supported by his wife Sue, decided to apply. After a formal application and interviewing process John was duly offered the post. John grew up on the Wirral and has experience not only as a parish priest, but as an RAF Chaplain over many years and in working with other church organisations in an advisory and pastoral role. Sue Coyne is also a licensed Lay Reader.

On Sunday 16 October John Coyne was inducted as the vicar of St. Nicholas’ Church Burton and St. Michael’s Church Shotwick. At the same service Sue Coyne was licensed by the Diocese as a Lay Reader at both of our Churches.

John Vinson, Hon. Secretary

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Building and Maintenance

Having just completed in 2021 the surgery or felling of trees in the Church Wood that were causing distress to the churchyard's sandstone retaining wall, two further diseased trees were discovered and they also had to be felled in January 2022.

Tenders for the rebuilding of that wall were obtained and the winning offer was approved, but has had to be deferred until Spring 2023 owing to weather conditions and pressure of work on stonemasons.

Sandstone gateposts twice required major and expensive repair work. One gatepost at the top of the main flight of steps was broken by storms some time ago and, following a very lengthy disagreement with the insurers as to the scope of cover provided by the policy, (successfully resolved), was rebuilt in January 2022. A quite separate incident caused the serious fracture of one of the two gateposts at the entrance from The Rake, which was relatively speedily resolved with the insurers, and it was rebuilt just in time for the service of induction of our new vicar by the Bishop of Chester in October.

After major refurbishment in 2020 by the Cumbria Clock company, the tower clock striking mechanism broke in the spring of 2022, and was repaired by them in June 2022 without further cost.

A project was established in 2022 to enable the 'live-streaming' of church services and other events such as weddings via the internet. Some technical problems are still to be sorted out which may require some additional technical input and it is hoped that the system will be operational in 2023.

Otherwise, there have been the normal yearly items of maintenance and servicing of mowers, heating plant, fire extinguishers, organ, and piano, which have been satisfactorily carried out, together with minor repair items to the fabric generally.

The church is grateful to church members, Friends of St Nicholas’ Church and others who contribute financially to help maintain the church building.

Nigel Griffiths, Churchwarden

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Children, Youth, Families and School

St Nicholas’ Church continues to provide opportunities for youth and young children to meet. A small group of young people, TBY, has continued to meet. As a group they led a church service during the year which included an exploration of prayer. They have enjoyed social activities as well as developing a deepening understanding of biblical and moral issues.

Messy Church

Messy Church for young children and their families continued to meet throughout the year, pausing briefly during the period of mourning following the death of

Queen Elizabeth II. ‘Messy Remembrance’ provided an opportunity for children to have their own act of remembrance. It was also a time for them to meet their vicar, Rev John Coyne and hear about his experiences as a Military Chaplain in the RAF. Towards the end of the year there was a ‘Christmas Messy Church’ with the theme of celebrating Jesus’ birthday

Church Urban Fund Support

Children participated in another successful ‘Advent Sleepout Challenge’ which raised an impressive £500. This was donated by the children to the Church Urban Fund. Everyone involved in the fund-raising were moved by the support the activity received from the wider church for their endeavours. Open the Book

St Nicholas’ Church actively supports and promotes the ‘Open the Book’ scheme amongst local primary schools in the Neston area. The scheme, developed by the Bible Society, offers primary school children an opportunity to hear key Bible stories told by a team from the church who present bible stories during assemblies or acts of collective worship.

Bishop Wilson School, Burton

The church retains strong links with Bishop Wilson School. This is achieved through its participation in appointing and chairing the school governors and the trustees of the charity ‘Bishop Wilson School

Charitable Foundation Trust’ as well as involvement in acts of worship both in school and in church.

Amanda Ankers

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Outreach and Pastoral Care

In addition to providing a place for worship St Nicholas’ Church has a wider role in reaching out in support of people across the community.

To this end the church contributes extensively to community life in conducting wedding and funeral services, organising community and fund-raising events, carrying out hospital and home visits and

providing resources to enable various groups to meet, engage and support one another.

There continues to be considerable need amongst people across the parish affected by bereavement, isolation, illness, financial hardship and the need to seek care in their advancing years.

Over the course of the year fund-raising events in aid of church funds and for charitable causes have included:

As part of its outreach programme St Nicholas’ Church produces a good quality bimonthly ‘Parish Magazine & Community News’ publication containing a wide body of information and it is distributed to over 350 individuals.

The Mothers’ Union held meetings and church services throughout the year raising funds independently of the church for the MU own charities.

In conjunction with St Michael’s Church, an annual ‘Walk of Witness’ took place on Good Friday. The walk began in Shotwick taking in Puddington village and culminated in a short service in Burton. St Nicholas’ Church also participates in the organisation ‘Neston and District Churches Together’ and chaired the group for part of the year.

St Nicholas’ Church is grateful to all those who give of their time, talents and resources that contribute so much to these aspects of church life, principally for the benefit of others.

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Parish Safeguarding

During the course of the year and with the approval of the PCC, Ivor Thomas continued as Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO). Safeguarding policies and procedures were maintained throughout 2022, with the PCC continuing to conform with the safeguarding guidance within the Church of England’s House of Bishops’ Safeguarding policy. A hard copy of the Parish Safeguarding Handbook is available in the church porch along with the information poster, ‘Promoting a Safer Church’.

The Parish Safeguarding Policy Statement covering children, young people and vulnerable adults was reviewed by the PCC during the year. The policy was formally approved by the PCC for publication and endorsed by the Vicar and two Churchwardens, with a copy displayed in the church porch. This policy is reviewed annually.

Policies covering Safer Recruiting and the Recruitment of Ex-offenders have been maintained along with a safeguarding checklist that is used at PCC Meetings to review the Church’s Safeguarding arrangements.

All new members of the PCC were briefed on their safeguarding role and responsibilities and all PCC members and Lay Readers have completed an appropriate level of Safeguarding Training. The PSO and new Incumbent completed the latest Safeguarding Leadership Training in 2022.

During 2022, following a review of past cases of safeguarding incidents, the Church of England and the Chester Diocese published reports (PCR2) that included recommendations for changes in procedure, training, and an extension of DBS (criminal records) checking. These recommendations were endorsed by the Bishop of Birkenhead (as Diocesan Safeguarding Lead) and adopted by the PCC . Consequently full compliance of the recommendations by the PCC with regards to Safeguarding Training and DBS checks for members and others is anticipated within the first half of 2023.

Ivor Thomas, Parish Safeguarding Officer

Annual Report approved on behalf of the PCC on 9 April 2023_______________ Signed by Rev John E Coyne, Incumbent

Date 9 April 2023

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST NICHOLAS’ CHURCH, BURTON YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Parochial Church Council of St Nicholas’ Church Burton for the year ended 31 December 2022, which are set out on pages 12 to 16.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011(‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and 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.

Janet Jones ACA

Phillip Bates & Co Limited

1/3 Chester Road, Neston, CH64 9PA

Date

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St Nichola5, church. Burton Frnancial 5tatemcnt5 & Trustee5' Annual Report lor Year Ended 51 December 2022 2fy Fur FUNI R•c•iFts Vduntary IrL( C(IKJns Envd(yes Planned Friend5 of St 6.1(.¥2 3,751. 40.322. 3.IFAJ. 13,txo.r)) 6,106.92 2,￿.￿) 3,751.th 2,615.00 40,322.M 52,877.00 3,060.W 3,030.00 13.tKKJ. Inler8sl 3121 24 891.17 243.42 11.77 838.97 89117 1,787. 0.ffl 3,fy￿. 209.13 162.82 11,740.48 11,149.57 1,400.th 1,680.00 11,ffi1.fpJ 6,924.00 560. 41.[￿ 1,077.64 391 % I,IXY).Th) 3,825 84 o.to 2,976.(lJ 1,192.￿ 2,140. 243.42 1(￿,￿.42 94,317.17 Events Vica¢s kavThJ grft Bld. Sc¢. Interest Tax Relund shotty￿ cA￿l￿bUt Waddirys & FU￿[315 Magazne Ir￿￿? Sundry Irwrr fxrt)tNMs C￿ter D*xese VAT Refund InsLrarKe Qams Tolal A•￿1pts 1.787.Ql 9.13 11,740.48 1,4CA). 11,&51. 41.( 391.95 3.825.84 93.648.38 3121 913.41 12

St Nicholas, church. burton Financi415tatements & Tru5tee5' Anriual Report lor Year Ended 31 December 2022 Tol Tc4 Fw Oiotew Ew¥e¥ 26.815 11.3W.41 212.&fj 37.716.18 $2.631.61 2.148.tsJ 2.932.86 2.W2422 ChÈstert8F VIraraJefA￿C Vicary ExF4nse5 IntefwumEy 211&5 1.W2.32 1m232 R8W(85 Trav UM￿￿cL Chw¢h WtsRS 8775 3.768.1fj BITS 3.7&8 914. 18.37 73022 785.1 1.895.18 17.40 %7.78 1.853 n 5.SY.31 IW40 W78 Insur S.$5431 Chutthyad 2.425.IXI 5)7. 5.625.th) 351.81 1275.C 35181 12T5.ts) ch￿￿ Wo)J ChL￿th Vwger Prknl Fe 67025 0.1 1.440.Ip) 5.tsj 205.97 1.161.C¢ 1,161 WFFI StsbLYffjI C(p. 470.76 Bdl Rr GVH 18 1.Iss.rKI 1.1&5. 257.tsj 215.tAI 70.rAI 211.55 239.99 o.f 3.486. J.f￿.￿) 328.62 6.950.00 93.059 85 838.97 3.898.82 w￿￿&[r Or9¥OtFe Tel￿) 1.528. 5. 1.528. 345.91 Events C￿R￿S Grftiov ChantatG 8.732 45 TU.149.82 8.r3245 78.14982 891 17 79.040 93 117 117 n.149. 13

Approved on behalf of the PCC on 9 April 2023 Signed by Rev John E Coyne, Incumbent Bryan Blakeman, Hon Treasurer

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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

1. Basis of preparation of accounts

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis.

2. Receipts

Voluntary income for 2022 was £53,239 compared with £60,884 in 2021 (-12.6%). However, funds amounting to approximately £10,000 which were pledged and due in 2022 were not received until 2023 due to an administrative error by a third party. Consequently, after adjustment, the true picture is that voluntary income showed a small increase on the previous year. In addition, the church received further donations from two legacies amounting to £13,000. The church’s voluntary income continues to be subject to risk because it relies substantially on the generosity of a relatively small number of established church members Any future diminution in contributions from these longerestablished church members is unlikely to be replaced by contributions from newer church members.

In 2022 the PCC received a tax refund of £11,740 through Gift Aid compared with £11,749 in 2021. The amount received from HMRC represents 11.6% of total income for the year, emphasising once again the importance to PCC finances of regular planned giving by church members using Gift Aid where and whenever it is possible to do so.

Total income for the year, including special donations, tax refunds etc. amounted to £100,836 compared with £94,317 in 2021. With total expenditure of £79,040 for the year, the excess of income over expenditure was £21,796.

In terms of the ongoing risk to church finances the PCC recognises that funds received from a small number of very generous donor households is neither being replaced nor supplemented by a new and younger generation of church members. In 2022 the church experienced a reduction in donations from a some regular donors due to varying circumstances and it is anticipated that similar circumstances are likely to arise in 2023.

Donations received through the Friends of St Nicholas’ Church amounted to £3,060 as a result of regular donations received via bank payments.

Fees received in 2022 from weddings and funerals amounted to £11,661 (£6,924 in 2021). In addition an amount of £3,825 was received from Chester Diocese largely to cover exceptional costs incurred by the parish during the vacancy (the period between the resignation of the previous vicar and the appointment of a new incumbent ).

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3. Investments

Funds to support day to day expenditure are held on deposit with Barclays Bank and with Skipton Building Society. Other longer-term funds are managed by CCLA Investment Management Ltd

4. Payments & Expense Costs

Although no unforeseen items of expenditure were incurred during the year the parish did incur costs associated with the appointment of a new incumbent. Including locum fees paid to visiting clergy who took services during the interregnum as well as other administrative expenses, these exceptional expenses amounted to £4,860.

5. Outward Giving

5. Outward Giving 5. Outward Giving
In addition to ad hoc charity appeals it is the policy of the PCC to support a
number of charities annually. In 2022 total donations amounted to:
Christian Aid Ukraine Appeal £1,610 Wirral Ark Project £1,000
Church Pastoral Aid Society
£500 Save the Family		 £1,000
The Mango Tree
£1,000 Church Mission Soc.		 £700
Charles Thompson’s Mission
£1,000 Chester Clergy Trust		 £500
The Bible Society
£500 Ad Hoc Charities		 £922

6. Parish Share

All ministry expenses (Vicar and related on-costs) are shared with St Michael’s Church, Shotwick. St Nicholas’ Church pays 77.25% of the cost and St Michael’s Church cover 22.75% of expenditure. Following the decision taken by the two parishes in consultation with Chester Diocese to appoint a new part-time incumbent the amount of parish share reduced from £52,631 in 2021 to £26,815 in 2022.

7. Related Party Transactions

During the year an amount of £1,275 was paid for work relating to the clearance of woodland in Church Wood. This was undertaken as part of an initial scheme of work completed in 2021 to remove dead and dangerous trees on the edge of the wood.

Following a formal tender process undertaken by the Churchwardens, the work was completed by Maresfield Farm, a business in which Mr Blakeman is a partner. The work was undertaken on normal commercial terms.

8. Trustees Remuneration

The PCC did not have any employees in 2022 and no expenses were either claimed by, or paid to Trustees in performance of their duties as Trustees.

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