Section A
Trustees' Annual Report for the period Period start date Period end date Day Month Year Day Month Year 1 January 2023 To 31 December 2023
From
Reference and administration details
Charity name
Besson Street Chapel and Sunday School (the “CIO”)
Other names charity is known by New Cross Christian Centre; Hatcham Evangelical Free Church Registered charity number (if any) 1186931
Charity's principal address Besson Street Chapel & Sunday School
Besson Street London Postcode SE14 5AS
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rev. Esther Arnold | Trustee | Trustees themselves |
||
| Pastor Charlotte-Catherine Hope-Rivers |
Trustee | Trustees themselves | ||
| Pastor John Ballantyne |
Trustee | Trustees themselves | ||
| Pastor Susan Akello |
Trustee | Trustees themselves | ||
| Rev. Edward Nsubuga |
Trustee | 01/01/2023 - 01/11/2023 | Trustees themselves | |
| Pastor Paulo da Silva |
Trustee | 09/05/2023 -To date | Trustees themselves | |
| Pastor Graciele Daleprane |
Trustee | 09/05/2023 -Todate | Trustees themselves |
Section B
Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
Constitution
Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution) Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company)
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Appointed by the existing trustees from the church membership. Trustee selection methods (eg. appointed by, elected by)
Additional governance issues (Optional information) - overleaf
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Besson Street Chapel and Sunday School CIO is a Free Evangelical Church in Great Britain.
The church’s organisational structure, policies and procedures were re-confirmed in the pre-Incorporated meeting held on the 1[st] December 2019 with the pre-existing trustees. Pastor Charlotte-Catherine Hope-Rivers volunteered to oversee the incorporation into a charity through Pastor Chuks Ajuka of Freshfire Organization. Besson Street Chapel and Sunday School was registered on 12[th] December 2019 as Charity Number 1186931. The work of the CIO is overseen by the Trustees in accordance with the provisions of the CIO’s constitution adopted by a meeting on the 16[th] December 2019. The CIO’s constitution was prepared by Pastor Chuks Ajuka using the agreed objectives.
The CIO’s work focuses upon the needs of local young people and families. The trustees seek to ensure that the needs of this group are appropriately reflected through the diversity of the trustee body. Skills in business, medicine, creative arts, childcare, pedagogy, theology, construction, management and STEM subjects are well represented in the board of trustees. In the event of a resignation or death of a trustee, individuals with the lost set of skills are to be approached to offer themselves for election to the committee.
All Trustee meetings are to discuss the financial administration of the CIO, the care and the maintenance of the premises where the CIO meets. Meetings of the ministerial teams give general guidance on the life and work of the CIO.
The board of trustees are the minister in pastoral charge and up to 5 other members of the CIO. There is no maximum number of charity trustees that may be appointed to the CIO. Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for the term of three years and retire by rotation. A charity trustee who has served for three consecutive terms may not be reappointed for a fourth consecutive term but may be reappointed after an interval of a least one year.
The board of trustees currently has 6 members from a variety of professional backgrounds relevant to the work of the charity who meet quarterly and are responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. The Secretary also sits on the board. A scheme of delegation is in place and day to day responsibility for the provision of the services rests with the Chair along with Secretary. The Trustees are responsible for the financial administration of the Church and the care and maintenance of Church premises, as well as for the oversight and development of working practices in line with good practice.
The church buildings both the Chapel and Sunday School Hall are vested in The Fellowship Property Trust who have legal ownership of these premises as trustees and held for the benefit of Besson Street Chapel and Sunday School in accordance with the 1908 trust applicable to the site.
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Section C
Objectives and activities
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The CIO’s purposes are set out in the objects contained in the CIO’s Constitution which are to: advance the Christian Faith in accordance with
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Summary of the objects of the the Statement of Beliefs by the holding of prayer meetings, lectures, charity set out in its public celebration of religious festivals, producing and/or distributing governing document literature on Christianity to enlighten others about the Christian faith as the trustees from time to time may think fit. When planning our activities for the year the trustees have considered the Commission's guidance on public benefit and have regard to it in the administration of the CIO. The board of trustees believes that the CIO provides benefit to the public by providing a space for: ● Worship and prayer, educating people about the Gospel. ● Provision of pastoral care for the local community, which includes
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Summary of the main providing resources and facilities for spiritual, moral and intellectual activities undertaken for the development. public benefit in relation to ● The promotion of Christian values and service for the benefit of these objects individuals and society as a whole. ● Life skills training for young adults. ● Music lessons for both the youth and adults. ● Christian themed cultural events with free catering for the community. ● Women and Men’s Christian events and support groups. ● Concerts and musical renditions presentations. ● Conferences for the local community. ● Book launches from local authors.
Section D
Achievements and performance
Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year
Worship and Prayer
The CIO has continued to foster relationships with the local community and offer opportunities for the local community to have Christian prayer meetings, baptisms, clubs and events and more lively worship activities, which all ages have been able to enjoy. Our website has also continued to be an invaluable source of communication, extending our reach to communities worldwide and has proved especially popular at special dates in the Liturgical calendar such as: Christmas and Easter.
The Church Centre
Cosmetic updates to the Sanctuary have continued to keep the Sanctuary current and a useful resource for functions, events and it serves particularly well for online events. The women’s events held at the church have been particularly colourful and successful with many women being empowered by the events. Youthwork at the church has been a stunning success, with the youth taking their faith very seriously and leading their own events, as well as leading other youth, encouraging them in their faith. Lastly, we managed to host ten new events in addition to the usual events, which highlights the progressive use of the premises for the community.
Ecumenical Relationships
The trustees of the CIO have continued to grow relationships with local Christian groups and have brought on two new trustees stemming from these Christian groups, to further strengthen the relationships.
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Section E
Financial review
Ideally, the trustees wish to have in hand an amount equal to at least 3 Brief statement of the months regular expenditure, which has been budgeted for as £1,300.00 charity’s policy on reserves to cover any emergency situations that may arise from time to time. The balance of £3,355.00 is surplus in excess of the charity's annual expenditure. We are still in a firm and decisively positive financial recovery since COVID and moving forward we will continue to build reserves through planned operating surpluses and increasing donations.
Section F
Other optional information
Section G Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) C C Hope-Rivers Full name(s) Charlotte-Catherine Hope-Rivers Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Chair etc) Date 01/10/2024
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Company Registration No. CE019988 (England and Wales)
BESSON STREET CHAPEL AND SUNDAY SCHOOL ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED CHARITY ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
BESSON STREET CHAPEL AND SUNDAY SCHOOL ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED CHARITY ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
CONTENTS
PAGE
Income statement 3 Statement of financial position 4 Detailed income statement 5
- 2 -
BESSON STREET CHAPEL AND SUNDAY SCHOOL INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
| Turnover Depreciation and other amounts written off assets Other charges Profit/(loss) |
2023 £ 28,703 (20,207) (5,141) 3,355 |
2022 £ 29,539 (27,027) (9,951) |
|---|---|---|
| (7,439) |
- 3 -
BESSON STREET CHAPEL AND SUNDAY SCHOOL STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023
| Fixed assets Current assets Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current liabilities Total assets less current liabilities Net assets Reserves |
3,661 (52,906) |
2023 £ 60,810 (49,245) 11,565 11,565 11,565 |
306 (73,176) |
2022 £ 81,080 (72,870) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8,210 | ||||
| 8,210 | ||||
| 8,210 |
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
1 Statutory information
Besson Street Chapel and Sunday School is a private company, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, registration number CE019988. The registered office is Besson Street Chapel, Besson Street, London, SE14 5AS, United Kingdom.
2 Average number of employees
During the year the average number of employees was 0 (2022: 0).
For the year ending 31 December 2023 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The director acknowledges her responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the micro-entity provisions of the Companies Act 2006 and FRS 105, The Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entities Regime.
Approved by the board on 1 August 2024
Charlotte-Catherine Hope-Rivers Director
Company Registration No. CE019988
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BESSON STREET CHAPEL AND SUNDAY SCHOOL DETAILED INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
| DETAILED INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 |
||
|---|---|---|
| This schedule does not form part of the statutory accounts. Turnover Sales Fees Depreciation and other amounts written off assets Depreciation Other Light and heat Telephone and fax Internet Subscriptions Bank charges Insurance Equipment expensed Software Sundry expenses Accountancy fees Advertising and PR Other legal and professional Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation |
2023 £ 27,820 883 28,703 20,207 2,105 132 417 - 1 1,307 - - - 400 301 478 5,141 3,355 |
2022 £ 23,539 6,000 |
| 29,539 | ||
| 27,027 | ||
| 4,175 96 409 87 138 2,185 212 333 910 200 344 862 |
||
| 9,951 | ||
| (7,439) |
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Independent Examiner’s Statement for 31 December 2023 YE
The Independent Examiner
Name: Craig Alexander
Job Title: Accountant & Tax Consultant
Company: The XCG
Date of report: 26[th] October 2024
The Charity
I report on the accounts of Besson Street Chapel and Sunday School (Charitable Incorporated Organisation - No: CE019988), also known as New Cross Christian Centre or Hatcham Evangelical Free Church, for the year ended 31 December 2023.
Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Independent Examiner’s
The trustees are responsible for preparing the accounts following the Charities Act 2011, while the independent examiner reviews the accounts to ensure they align with records and standards. This examination, based on Charity Commission guidelines, is less detailed than an audit, focusing only on identifying any inconsistencies in the financial reporting.
Independent Examiner’s Statement
In my opinion:
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Accounting Records: The trustees of Besson Street Chapel and Sunday School have kept proper accounting records, ensuring accuracy and traceability in line with charity regulations.
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Compliance of Financial Statements: The financial statements comply with the applicable accounting requirements, presenting an accurate record of the charity’s financial activities and position for the year ending 31 December 2023. The statements are in agreement with the underlying records and prepared in compliance with the Charities Act 2011.