## **The Church of the Ascension Parish Hall Charity Hall Green, Birmingham - Charity No. 1187634**
## **Report of the Trustees for the Period 1st January 2020 – 31st December 2020**
This is the first Annual Report of the Church of the Ascension Parish Hall Charity which was registered by the Charity Commission in January 2020.
## **Structure, Government and Management,**
The Parochial Church Council of the Church of The Ascension, Hall Green (charity number 1133810) is the Managing Trustee of the Church of The Ascension Parish Hall Charity, Hall Green, Birmingham. The PCC manages and administers the Parish Hall Charity, making decisions about the activities of the Hall Charity in accordance with its constitution.
## **Objects and Activities**
The object of the Charity is to further the religious and other charitable work of the Church of England in the parish.
In 2020, the Charity sought to benefit:
1. Those in need by reason of age (elders), disability, ill health and financial hardship. For example, through the food bank and benefits advice service for those in food poverty and/or those in financial difficulty. These services continued to be available throughout the Pandemic although the benefits advice service became a telephone service. Other activities that met this purpose – such as the Coffee Shop and Hindu Elders lunch club – were suspended at the onset of the Pandemic and have not yet been able to resume.
2. Those suffering hardships through family separation. The Child Contact Centre provided a neutral and safe venue for non-resident parents to have contact with their children.
3. The community as a whole through recreation and leisure facilities; for example, for children and young people through the uniformed organisations (scouts, brownies etc.) and karate classes Sadly, these activities had to be suspended in March 2020 at the onset of the Covid 19 Pandemic and have not yet resumed.
A majority of these activities were operated by volunteers and included some groups and organisations which are charities in their own right while the remainder were operated on a private or commercial basis for the community.
## **Public Benefit**
In making decisions about how the charity can achieve its objects, the trustee had due regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance and supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.
## **Financial Review**
The principal income received in 2020 was a grant from Veolia Environmental Trust of £20,820.00 to cover the cost of installing double glazing. The routine income of the Hall Charity was, however, badly affected by the Pandemic as its income from hall lettings was reduced to near zero during the covid-19 lockdowns.
Some minor savings on utility bills were made as a result of reduced usage of the hall but, overall, routine expenditure was only slightly lower than usual and the net result was a deficit to the Halls Fund of £12,150.
The PCC, as Managing Trustee, decided at its meeting on 14th January 2021 to transfer £12,150 from its general fund to cover the deficit.
## **Property Report**
Performance Trade installed the new double-glazing units throughout the Church Hall, the Coffee Lounge and other ancillary rooms in the week commencing 26th October 2020. The total cost was £20,563.82 including VAT. This was funded by the grant from Veolia Environmental Trust of £20,820.00 referred to above. A condition of the grant was that 10% of the grant amount (£2082) was to be paid to a designated landfill site. The design of the double-glazing units for the Coffee Lounge meant that the existing blinds could no longer be used – they had to be taken down to enable the installation of the units to proceed. The blinds have now been replaced - grateful thanks to Richard Hyde for sourcing the replacements and fitting them. This improvement project has been very successful, many favourable
comments having been received. The quality of the replacement units and their fitting is very good. Our grateful thanks have been communicated to the contractors.
A replacement gas water heater was installed in the Coffee Lounge adjacent to the sink units on 28th January 2021 by Warmington Plumbing of Coventry at a cost of £2,146.80 (including VAT). The previous boiler had been taken out of service on 14th December 2020 on the advice of Warmington for safety reasons when attending to service other boilers on the church site.
Nigel Jones of N.T.Jones Roofing has provided quotes for rectifying two intermittent water leaks into the Hall. The first is the leak through the Belvedere area of the pitched roof, usually occurring when there is very wet or stormy weather. Access to the Belvedere will be via a Truck Mounted Cherry Picker with Fly-Boom when a full inspection will be carried out. It is thought the problem is probably due to damaged soakers or flashings to the left of the Belvedere. The quote is £780. There is an area of defective fascia board to the rear of the hall. Water is coming in onto the stage area. A conventional scaffold tower will be required for access. The timber fascia board, timber moulding and guttering in that area will be removed. The fascia board will be repaired with new timber and decorated accordingly. The original moulding and guttering will be applied. The quote (which includes the hire of scaffolding) is £740. No VAT is payable. These quotes have been accepted and Nigel Jones is being pressed for a date to carry out these repairs. When he attends, he will also be rectifying the defective felting on the Chatterton Hall flat roof (there is a bubble in the existing felting) and laying / fitting replacement pieces. As his firm carried out the original work in 2018, the rectification is being carried out free of charge under his 20-year guarantee. All of this work should be completed within one day.
Sarah Barnes, PCC Secretary, on behalf of Church of the Ascension PCC (Managing Trustee)
Approved at the Church of the Ascension PCC (Managing Trustee) meeting on 22.04.21
## **THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION PARISH HALL CHARITY, HALL GREEN, BIRMINGHAM**
## Charity Number 1187634
## **Accounts For the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020**
|**From**
**31 December 2020**
**01 January 2020**
**01 January 2019**
**_Note_**
**To**
**31 December 2019**|**From**
**31 December 2020**
**01 January 2020**
**01 January 2019**
**_Note_**
**To**
**31 December 2019**|
|---|---|
|**Halls - Halls Fund (Restricted) Fund**
**Income and endowments**
Donations and legacies
Legacies
Non-recurring one-off grants
_Total Donations and legacies_
Other trading activities
Church hall lettings
_Total Other trading activities_
Other income
Insurance claims
_Total Other income_
**Total income and endowments**
**Expenditure**
Expenditure on charitable activities
Hall Utilities - Gas
Hall Utilities - Electricity
Hall Utilities - Water
Halls Cleaning
Halls Repair & Maintenance
Hall Insurance
Other Property Maintenance - JMC
Major Repairs to Church Hall
_Total Expenditure on charitable activities_
**Total expenditure**
Excess of Income and endowments over Expenditure
Brought forward balance
Transfers to/(from)
**Total carried forward balance**|—
2,000
20,563
—
_20,563_
_2,000_
5,807
14,144
_5,807_
_14,144_
—
2,857
_—_
_2,857_
**26,371**
**19,001**
2,493
3,144
3,611
3,857
99
64
3,498
5,149
876
2,328
1,603
1,883
—
76
25,776
7,972
_37,959_
_24,476_
**37,959**
**24,476**
(11,587)
(5,474)
(563)
4,911
12,150
—
**—**
**(563)**|
## **Halls - Halls Fund (Restricted) Fund**
## _**Note: There may be minor discrepancies in the totals if the pence are not being shown**_
Approved at the Church of the Ascension PCC (Managing Trustee) meeting on 22.04.21
Independently examined by Flint and Thompson as part of the examination of the Church of the Ascension’s Accounts Annual Report and Accounts, submitted to the Charity Commission on 17.05.21. The Independent Examiner’s opinion is below:
## **THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION**
## **HALL GREEN, BIRMINGHAM CHARITY NUMBER 1133810 31 DECEMBER 2020**
## **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the Ecclesiastical Parish of the Church of the Ascension Hall Green.**
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity’s trustees 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 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 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 charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
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.
P Georgiades BA FCA Flint and Thompson Chartered Accountants Logistics House 1325a Stratford Road Hall Green Birmingham B28 9HH
23 April 2021