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2023-12-31-accounts

Annual Report Year Ending 31 December 2023

Financial Statements& Trustees’ Report

RegisteredCharity1184831

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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 reportsandthosewhoserveunseeninthebackground.You aresoimportanttotheongoinglifeofchurchandparish.As

youallreadthroughthesereportsdopleasenotethecareanddiligenceshown 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 endeavouredtomakeourhomehere.Movingbringsitschallengesanditscost.

I write this foreword at atime 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 lookingvisionfortheparish.Bythetimeyoureadthiswewillhavetakensteps 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 waytowelcomeamongstusotherswithdifferentexperiencesandexpectations.

I do know that we are building on foundations laid in the past and now we mustmoveintoanewphaseofbuildingforgrowth.Inallofthat,wewillneed 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.

YoursinChrist,

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

Name

John Coyne Jane Davies Ivor Thomas John Morris-Best

St Nicholas’ Church, The Village, Burton Neston, Cheshire CH64 5TH

Office Held (if any) & Elected Member

Vicar, Chair of PCC &Trustee Churchwarden & Trustee Churchwarden, Trustee & Parish Safeguarding Officer Churchwarden, Trustee & Parish Safeguarding Officer Lay Reader & Trustee

Elected Members

Bryan Blakeman Hon. Treasurer & Trustee John Vinson Hon. Secretary &Trustee Tony Carter Deputy Churchwarden &Trustee Amanda Ankers Trustee Jenny Carlisle Trustee Ron Curnow Trustee Nikki Dennison Trustee Nigel Griffiths Trustee Philip Hillman Trustee

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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 transactthebusinessofthePCCbetweenmeetingssubjecttothedirectionsof 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(4:00pminWinter).TheTrusteesconfirmthattheyhavereferredtothe Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Trust’s aims and objectives.

Reserves

Thetrusteesaimtomaintainfreereservesinunrestrictedfundsatalevelwhich equates to approximately three months of unrestricted charitable expenditure.

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ChurchLife

StNicholas’Churchcontinuestoprovideaplacefor 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,soserviceswereledbyourLayReadersanda

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 ofbothBurtonandShotwickconsideredtheoptions,providedbytheDiocese, for recruiting a new vicar. Both PCCs agreed that the preferredoption 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. Theappointmentofapart-timeincumbentwouldreducetheoverall cost to the parish resulting from a reduction in the amount paid to Chester Diocese (Parish Share);

  2. Itwouldbetterpreservetheidentityandindependenceofboth parishes; and

  3. Itwouldbepossibleforthenewincumbenttocontinuetobe 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,responsibilitiesandnumberofworkingdaysexpected.Assistanceand adviceforthisandthesubsequentadvertisinginterviewwereprovidedbythe 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 Wirralandhasexperiencenotonlyasaparishpriest,butasanRAFChaplain over many years and in working with other church organisations in an advisory and pastoral role. Sue Coyne is also a licensed Lay Reader.

OnSunday16OctoberJohnCoynewasinductedasthevicarofSt.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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BuildingandMaintenance

Havingjustcompletedin2021thesurgeryorfelling 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 obtainedandthewinningofferwasapproved,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 gatepostatthetopofthemainflightofstepswasbrokenbystormssometime 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 ChesterinOctober.

After major refurbishment in 2020 by the Cumbria Clock company,thetowerclockstrikingmechanismbrokeinthe 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,whichhavebeensatisfactorilycarriedout,togetherwithminorrepairitemsto the fabric generally.

Thechurchisgratefultochurchmembers,FriendsofStNicholas’Churchand others who contribute financially to help maintain the church building. NigelGriffiths,Churchwarden

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Children,Youth,Familiesand School

StNicholas’Churchcontinuestoprovideopportunities 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 continuedtomeetthroughouttheyear,pausingbriefly during the period of mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.‘Messy Remembrance’ provided an opportunity for childrentohavetheirownactofremembrance.Itwasalsoatimeforthemto meettheirvicar,RevJohnCoyneandhearabouthisexperiencesasaMilitary Chaplain in the RAF. Towards the end of the year there was a ‘Christmas Messy Church’ with the theme of celebrating Jesus’ birthday

ChurchUrbanFund 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 thesupporttheactivityreceivedfromthewiderchurchfortheirendeavours.

OpentheBook

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

BishopWilsonSchool, Burton

The church retains strong links with Bishop Wilson School.Thisisachievedthroughitsparticipationinappointing and chairing the school governors and the trustees of the charity ‘Bishop Wilson School CharitableFoundationTrust’aswellasinvolvementin acts of worship both in school and in church.

AmandaAnkers

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OutreachandPastoralCare

Inadditiontoprovidingaplacefor worship StNicholas’Churchhasawiderroleinreachingoutin support of people across the community.

To this end the church contributes extensively to communitylifeinconductingweddingandfuneral services, organising community and fund-raising events, carrying out hospital and home visits and providingresourcestoenablevariousgroupstomeet,engageandsupport one another.

There continues to be considerable need amongst people across the parish affectedbybereavement,isolation,illness,financialhardshipandtheneedto seek care in their advancing years.

Overthecourseoftheyearfund-raisingeventsinaidofchurchfundsandfor charitable causes haveincluded:

As part of its outreach programme St Nicholas’ Church produces a good qualitybimonthly ‘ParishMagazine&CommunityNews’ publicationcontaining a wide body of information and it is distributed to over 350 individuals.

TheMothers’Unionheldmeetingsandchurchservicesthroughouttheyear 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 villageandculminatedinashortserviceinBurton.StNicholas’Churchalso participatesintheorganisation‘NestonandDistrictChurchesTogether’and chaired the group for part of the year.

StNicholas’Churchisgratefultoallthosewhogiveoftheirtime,talentsand 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 approvalofthePCC,IvorThomascontinuedas 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’sHouse of Bishops’ Safeguarding policy. A hard copy of the Parish Safeguarding Handbook is available in the church porch along with the informationposter,‘PromotingaSaferChurch’.

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

PoliciescoveringSaferRecruitingandtheRecruitmentofEx-offendershave 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 responsibilitiesandallPCCmembersandLayReadershavecompletedan 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 adoptedbythePCC.Consequentlyfullcomplianceoftherecommendations by the PCC with regards toSafeguarding Training and DBS checks for members and others is anticipated within the first half of 2023.

IvorThomas,ParishSafeguardingOfficer

AnnualReportapprovedonbehalfofthePCCon9April2023 Signed by Rev John E Coyne, Incumbent

Date9 April 2023

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INDEPENDENTEXAMINER’SREPORTTOTHETRUSTEESOF THEPAROCHIALCHURCHCOUNCILOFSTNICHOLAS’CHURCH,BURTON YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022

IreporttothetrusteesonmyexaminationoftheaccountsofTheParochial Church Council of St Nicholas’ Church Burton for the year ended 31December2022,whicharesetoutonpages12to16.

Responsibilitiesandbasisof report

AsthecharitytrusteesoftheTrustyouareresponsibleforthepreparationof 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 followedalltheapplicableDirectionsgivenbytheCharityCommissionunder section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independentexaminer’sstatement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have cometomyattentioninconnectionwiththeexaminationgivingmecauseto believe that in any material respect:

  1. accountingrecordswerenotkeptinrespectoftheTrustasrequired by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. theaccountsdonotaccordwiththose records.

Ihavenoconcernsandhavecomeacrossnoothermatters in

connection with the examination to which attention shouldbedrawninthisreportinordertoenableaproper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

JanetJonesACA PhillipBates&Co Limited 1/3ChesterRoad,Neston,CH649PA

Date

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StNichoL:is'Church,Burton-Fin;:inci,tlSt;:itements& Trustees'Annu;:ilReportforYe;:irEnaed31December2022

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StNichol<1s'Church,Burton-Fin<1nci<1ISt<1tements& Trustees'Annu<tlReportforYe<1rEnded31December2022

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ApprovedonbehalfofthePCCon9April2023 Signed by Rev John E Coyne, Incumbent

BryanBlakeman,HonTreasurer

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Notestotheaccounts

1.Basisof preparationof accounts

Theaccountshavebeenpreparedonareceiptsandpayments basis.

2. Receipts

Voluntaryincomefor2022was£53,239comparedwith£60,884in2021 (-12.6%). However, funds amounting to approximately £10,000 which were pledgedandduein2022werenotreceiveduntil2023duetoanadministrative 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, thechurchreceivedfurtherdonationsfromtwolegaciesamountingto£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 membersAny future diminution in contributions from these longerestablished church members is unlikely to be replaced by contributions from newer church members.

In2022thePCCreceivedataxrefundof£11,740throughGiftAidcompared 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 financesofregularplannedgivingbychurchmembersusingGiftAidwhere and whenever it is possible to do so.

Total income for the year, including special donations, tax refunds etc. amountedto£100,836comparedwith£94,317in2021.Withtotalexpenditure 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 beingreplacednorsupplementedbyanewandyoungergenerationofchurch 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.

DonationsreceivedthroughtheFriendsofStNicholas’Churchamountedto £3,060asaresultofregulardonationsreceivedviabankpayments.

Fees received in 2022 from weddings and funerals amounted to £11,661 (£6,924in2021).Inadditionanamountof£3,825wasreceivedfromChester 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 BarclaysBankandwithSkiptonBuildingSociety.Otherlonger-term funds are managed by CCLA Investment Management Ltd

4. Payments&Expense Costs

Althoughnounforeseenitemsofexpenditurewereincurredduringtheyear 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. OutwardGiving

InadditiontoadhoccharityappealsitisthepolicyofthePCCtosupporta number of charities annually. In 2022 total donations amounted to:

ChristianAidUkraineAppeal £1,610 WirralArk Project £1,000
ChurchPastoralAid Society £500 SavetheFamily £1,000
TheMangoTree £1,000 ChurchMissionSoc. £700
CharlesThompson’sMission £1,000 ChesterClergy Trust £500
TheBible Society £500 AdHocCharities £922

6.Parish Share

Allministryexpenses(Vicarandrelatedon-costs)aresharedwith

St Michael’s Church, Shotwick.St Nicholas’ Church pays 77.25% of the cost andStMichael’sChurchcover22.75%ofexpenditure.Followingthedecision taken by the two parishes in consultation with Chester Diocese to appoint a newpart-timeincumbenttheamountofparishsharereducedfrom£52,631in 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 initialschemeofworkcompletedin2021toremovedeadanddangeroustrees on the edge of the wood.

Following a formal tender process undertaken by the Churchwardens, the workwascompletedbyMaresfieldFarm,abusinessinwhichMrBlakemanis a partner. The work was undertaken on normal commercial terms.

8. TrusteesRemuneration

ThePCCdidnothaveanyemployeesin2022andnoexpenseswereeither claimed by, or paid to Trustees in performance of their duties as Trustees.

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