2023-08-31-accounts

Annual report and accounts Year ended 31 August 2023

A bronze award winning Eco Church in the North Bedfordshire Methodist Circuit

Putnoe Heights Church Re istered Charit Number: 1190242 g y

Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Contents

	Page
Trustees' Annual Report	1 to 7
Independent Examiner's Report	8
Comments on Methodist Standard Form of Accounts	9 to 10
Appended:
Methodist Standard Form of Accounts	11 to 15

Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Trustees' Annual Report

Reference and administration details

Charity name : Putnoe Heights Church

Also known as: Putnoe Heights Methodist Church Putnoe Heights Church Centre

Registered charity number : 1190242 Address: Putnoe Heights Bedford MK41 8EB

Managing Trustees

The names of those who served as Managing Trustees in the year are as follows:

Rev Christopher Sandy (Chair) Jenny Snelson (Senior Church Steward) Sue Allen (Church Steward) Christine Nixon (Secretary) Andrew Dennison (Treasurer) Nick Guy (Circuit Steward) Rev Michael Giles [appointed 1 September 2022] Rev Leslie Noon [appointed 1 September 2022] Jo Barrow Sylvia Cohen Shelly Dennison Sue Edwards Nigel Firban Sue Marks [appointed 20 October 2022] Margaret Massey Margaret Peck Barry Snelson

• 1 -

Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Structure, governance and management

Governing document

As part of the wider Methodist Church in Great Britain, the Charity's governing document is the Deed of Union (1932) and Methodist Church Act (1976).

Within the wider Methodist Connexion, Putnoe Heights Church is part of the North Bedfordshire Methodist Circuit which in turn is itself part of the Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire District of the Methodist Church.

Membership of the governing body

The governing body of the Charity is the Church Council, the members of which are the Managing Trustees. Certain officers are automatically Managing Trustees by virtue of their office. These are the minister, the secretary, the church stewards, the treasurer and the pastoral secretary. The other Managing Trustees are church representatives appointed to the Church Council at a general meeting of members of the church, normally held at least annually.

Two committees report to the Church Council:

• The Leadership Team comprises the Church Stewards, Minister and Treasurer. It oversees the operations of the church and implementing the decisions made by Church Council.

• The Property Committee is responsible for day to day upkeep of the church building and overseeing the hire activities of the Church Centre.

Bodies entitled to appoint Trustees

The North Bedfordshire Methodist Circuit is entitled to appoint four Trustees to the Putnoe Heights Church Council, which comprise:

• the Minister of Putnoe Heights Church;

• the Superintendent Minister of the Circuit;

• one other Minister from the Circuit; and

• a Circuit Steward.

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Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Objectives and activities

Purposes

The calling of the Methodist Church is to respond to the gospel of God's love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.

It does this through:

Worship

The Church exists to increase awareness of God's presence and to celebrate God's love

Learning and Caring

The Church exists to help people to grow and learn as Christians, through mutual support and care

Service

The Church exists to be a good neighbour to people in need and to challenge injustice

Evangelism

The Church exists to make more followers of Jesus Christ

Putnoe Heights Church seeks to apply this within the local environs of Putnoe, Bedford. As well as acting as a place of worship, Putnoe Heights Church also aims to use the building with which it is blessed to offer space for hire to the local community as a community centre known as 'Putnoe Heights Church Centre'.

Activities undertaken

The Charity undertakes a wide range of activities every year in line with its Christian purpose. These typically include but are not limited to:

• Acting as a place of worship and providing a holy space for focus within the local community.

• Offering pastoral care: to its members, to those visiting the Church Centre and to the wider community.

• Providing and maintaining the church building for both worship and community use.

• Conducting religious ceremonies, including regular Sunday and occasional services as well as weddings and funerals on request.

• Raising awareness of Christianity in our community.

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Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

• Both providing the opportunity for external community action groups to hire the building and running some such groups directly - for example community coffee mornings.

• Providing a hire venue for use by the community.

• Being part of the North Bedford Churches Together group with other local Methodist, Anglican and Roman Catholic churches.

• Maintaining links with the Putnoe Scout Group and 1[st] Putnoe Brownies Group through use of the site.

Public benefit statement

The Managing Trustees oversee the activities of the Charity with due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit.

The benefits of the Christian activities of the Putnoe Heights Church are considered to be:

• Improved spiritual and mental wellbeing.

• Pastoral care and support within the local community for families and those without families.

• Friendship and fellowship amongst the congregation and others who visit regularly.

• Fosters community involvement at all levels.

• Care for the environment based on a responsibility for stewardship of God's creation.

• Challenging trade injustice through the support of such causes as Fair Trade.

• Bereavement support.

• Availability for local ceremonies at key stages in life (weddings, funerals, baptisms).

• Availability of a safe space.

• Support through direct giving, fundraising and support for other local, national and international charities.

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Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

The benefits of the community hire activities of the Church Centre are considered to be:

• Strengthening the local community through the availability learning, leisure and social activities.

• Availability of local cultural activities through concerts and other events hosted.

• Availability of local therapeutic, wellbeing and health beneficial activities.

• Support of other charities through availability of space for hire or hosting of fundraising events.

• A focus for the community and only available space for hire in the immediate geographic community.

• Encouragement of interaction between different community groups meeting within the same building.

Achievements and performance

Putnoe Heights Church continued to hold a range of services throughout the year and welcomed many further people through our doors as part of the regular hire groups using the building.

Our Future Story Group continues to consider the future mission of the church towards the three previously identified priorities - which are, to be:

• A prayerful church

• A church that provides a welcoming holy space

• A church that encourage a seven days a week faith

At the end of the year the group re-focussed and has begun a process to write a mission statement for the church to help with future planning, especially through coming changes to the North Bedfordshire Methodist Circuit.

Putnoe Heights Church also continued to build on the close working relationship with Priory Methodist Church with a now established pattern of joint services throughout the year.

Financial review

Overall a surplus of £15,342 has been reported for the year, but this is entirely due to generous legacies received during the year totalling £37,281. There were no specific purposes specified for these legacies and they are therefore classed as unrestricted funds.

• 5 -

Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Offertory giving has continued the recent trend of decline and we remain increasingly grateful to all who regularly contribute through offertory, in whichever form, to the life of the church. We remain aware that focus upon the mission of the church and future growth in membership will be needed in order to also see financial growth in offertory income.

By contrast, income from hire of the Church Centre has remained very consistent with the prior year and the Church has benefited considerably from the increase in interest rates during the year. Furthermore, the church continued to benefit from the solar panels on the church roof which generated both electricity and income during the year.

The Circuit Assessment is a formal commitment made eight months before the start of the year. The Circuit Share for the year ended 31 August 2023 was set with the full expectation of requiring the use of some reserves held and in recognition of the importance of this income to the work of the wider North Bedfordshire Methodist Circuit. The church was also able to make an additional contribution of £5,000 over and above the set commitment due to the prior year results being better than originally forecast.

Expenditure on maintenance of the church building was up on the prior year and included work on replacing the ceiling mounted projector and improving aspects of the church audio/visual system.

Looking ahead, utilities costs will be a challenge for the coming year as the previous three year fixed rate for gas comes to an end - increasing costs being inevitable and only too familiar to the country as a whole.

Reserves policy

This reserves policy covers our General Fund and Designated Funds only. It does not include the funds represented by the church building and property as this fund, whilst classified as unrestricted funds, is not available for use by the church without the sale of the assets concerned.

The Trustees aim to maintain a level of General Fund equivalent to six months’ ordinary expenditure. This allows sufficient working capital to cover fluctuations in income and expenditure, meet emergency calls on cash and would enable the church’s activities to continue should there be a significant fall in income whilst efforts were made to replace the income lost or to change activities. For the coming year this is valued at £37,000.

Designated funds: A separate Maintenance Reserve of £8,000 has been allocated towards planned repairs. No major expenditure requirements were identified from the quinquennial inspection in 2020.

• 6 -

Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

A redevelopment reserve of £67,000 is currently ring-fenced against the refurbishment of the former playroom and outside play areas which were previously occupied exclusively by the pre-school for many years and had been modified specifically for their needs. Both areas will therefore need some refurbishment to make them suitable for other uses and this may be an opportunity for completely repurposing these spaces. However, no plans have yet been made for these areas.

Restricted funds are not covered by this policy as these funds relate to the internal organisations of the church and are restricted for use by those organisations.

The Trustees are aware that, as a result of significant legacies received in recent years, the level of General Funds held are in excess of the policy. The Trustees are conducting a review of reserves levels to determine how best to use these reserves for the furtherance of the churches mission. This will combine with considerations arising from the Future Story Group, which may identify potential new projects or activities for using the funds held, as well recognising the funding needs of the wider North Bedfordshire Methodist Circuit.

The Trustees' Annual Report was signed by the Chair of Trustees on behalf of the Church Council. The accompanying Methodist Standard Form of Accounts were presented to and approved by the Church Council on 28 February 2024.

Rev Christopher Sandy Chair of Trustees

Date: 28 February 2024

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Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Independent Examiner's Report

I report to the Managing Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Putnoe Heights Church (the "Charity") for the year ended 31 August 2023.

As the Managing Trustees of the Charity, 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 the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

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

• accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or

• the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Ian Morse

Name of Independent Examiner: Ian Morse Address: C/o Putnoe Heights Church Office Putnoe Heights Bedford MK41 8EB Date: 2 March 2024

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Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Accounting policies - Methodist Standard Form of Accounts

Basis of accounts

On the following pages 12 to 16 are given the Methodist Standard Form of Accounts of Putnoe Heights Church for the year ended 31 August 2023, prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Methodist Church in Great Britain.

The accounts have been prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis since income is below the threshold that allows this approach.

Accounting policies

In order to better aid the understanding of readers, the following accounting policies are stated which explain aspects of the standard form of accounts:

Core activities

The result for the year from core activities of the Charity, being the operation of the Church and Church Centre, are given in sections A to C on page 13.

Charitable collections

Collections made for specific charities are accounted for separately in section D and are not therefore part of the funds of the Charity.

Internal organisations

Any internal organisations within the overall Charity that have separate funds are shown in section E.

Funds

In common with most charities, the funds held by Putnoe Heights Church fall into three categories:

General unrestricted funds

General funds are unrestricted and can be used for any purpose in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the Managing Trustees.

Designated unrestricted funds

Designated funds are also unrestricted but have been allocated to a particular purpose by the Managing Trustees.

Restricted funds

Restricted funds can only be used for particular purposes within the charitable objectives. Such restrictions may arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. All funds relating to internal organisations are deemed to be restricted funds

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Putnoe Heights Church Year ended 31 August 2023

Accounting policies - Methodist Standard Form of Accounts

Assets and liabilities

Whilst the accounts are prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis, details of debtors and creditors existing at the year end are included in section G for reference but these do not form part of the overall funds disclosed in the accounts.

The only creditor actually included in the Receipts and Payments accounts are keycard deposits held for hirers since these have already been received but are due back to hirers upon return of the keycards in question.

Church site and building

In common with most Methodist Churches, the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes ("TMCP") are a custodian trustee of the church site and building at Putnoe Heights, which is held on the Model Trusts of the Methodist Church Act 1976. Usage of the site and building by Putnoe Heights Church is for those purposes as permitted under the Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church.

A value for the church building held by Putnoe Heights Church is included in the "Statement of Assets and Liabilities" (section G on page 14). This value is the historic deemed cost of the building upon transition to FRS102, based upon an insurance valuation conducted in 2015. Subsequently the accounts of Putnoe Heights Church have shifted to being prepared on a receipts and payments basis and the disclosed valuation is not therefore meant to represent the current market value of property at the year end date.

Accompanying notes

Additional accompanying notes are given voluntarily where it is felt these will add beneficial information to the reader of the accounts.

• 10 -

CHURCH RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS

THE METHODIST CHURCH

STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS

Putnoe Heights

Church

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

31 August 2023

CHURCH	CHURCH	CHURCH	CHURCH	CHURCH	CHURCH	CHURCH	CHURCH	CHURCH	CHURCH
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS
ACCOUNTS
THE METHODIST CHURCH
STANDARD FORMOF ACCOUNTS
Putnoe Heights									Church
FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 August2023
North Bedfordshire						Circuit	Circuit no	34/01
Registered Charity - Charity Registration number								1190242
If not a registered charityHer Majesty's Revenue and Customs Gift Aid number								XN42970
(The HMRC number is equivalent to a registered charity number in terms of evidence of charitable status and may be used to give to donors or grant funders wishing to see evidence of the organisation's charitable status. Methodist charities in England and Wales that are not registered charities are excepted from registration under Statutory Instrument 2014 No.242)
				Minister:
				Revd Christopher Sandy
				Church Stewards:
				Jennifer Snelson
				Susan Allen
				Treasurer:
				Andrew Dennison

• 11 -

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023	ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023	ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023	ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023		Putnoe Heights	Putnoe Heights	Putnoe Heights	Church	Church
				Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Totals this year		Totals last year
	SECTION A
				£	£	£		£
a1	RECEIPTS		Note
a2	Offerings andTax recovered		#1	24,921	-	24,921		28,003
a3	Bank and CFB interest and Investment income		#2	5,056	-	5,056		495
a4	Lettings		#2	27,133	-	27,133		27,371
a5	Other receipts		#2	41,987	-	41,987		1,766
a6	TOTAL RECEIPTS			99,097	-	99,097	(a7)	57,635
	SECTION B
b1	PAYMENTS
b2	CircuitAssessment orShare			43,875	-	43,875		37,000
b3	Donations		#3	1,971	-	1,971		1,971
b4	Repairs andMaintenance		#4	19,865	-	19,865		8,093
b5	Utilities (Insurances, water charges,heating& lighting)		#5	6,280	-	6,280		5,787
b6				-	-	-		-
b7	Otherpayments		#6	11,764	-	11,764		12,469
b8	TOTAL PAYMENTS			83,755	-	83,755	(b9)	65,320
	SECTION C
c1	NET RECEIPTS/PAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR		(a6-b8)	15,342	-	15,342		(7,685)
c2	Total funds brought forward from last year			169,861		**169,861 **	(c6)	57,576
c3	Sub total		(c1+c2)	185,203	-	185,203		**49,891 **
c4	Transfers and adjustments		#7	117		117	(c7)	119,970
c5	TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR		(c3+c4)	185,320	-	185,320	(c8)	169,861	(c6)
	SECTION D
d	FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS
	(these amounts are not to be included in total receipts/payments figures					£		£
d1	Balance broughtforwardfrom last year					214		-
d2	Offerings/Gifts- receivedforexternalorganisations					2,957		2,400
d3	Offerings/Gifts -passed to external organisations					2,797		2,186
d4	BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID (d1+d2-d3)					374		214

• 12 -

Putnoe Heights

Church

SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL SECTION E Please follow the Guidance Notes to complete this page

Summary of the Church accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 and Internal Organisations reporting to the Church Council/Church Meeting. Note that the funds of an Internal Organisation would normally be Restricted funds unless it could be clearly shown that they could be used for any Methodist purpose. This section must be completed to arrive at the gross income and expenditure totals of the Church. If gross income exceeds the Accruals threshold, then the Accruals method of accounting AND A DIFFERENT FORM must be used to report the accounts (see Methodist website). Please refer to the guidance notes regarding transfers between the District and connected District Organisations.

								Putnoe Heights	Putnoe Heights	Putnoe Heights	Putnoe Heights	Church
	SUMMARY OF CHURCH ACCOUNTS AND INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS REPORTING TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL
	SECTION E	Please follow the Guidance Notes to complete this page
	Summary of the Church accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 and Internal Organisations reporting to the Church Council/Church Meeting. Note that the funds of an Internal Organisation would normally be Restricted funds unless it could be clearly shown that they could be used for any Methodist purpose. This section must be completed to arrive at the gross income and expenditure totals of the Church. If gross income exceeds the Accruals threshold, then the Accruals method of accounting AND A DIFFERENT FORM must be used to report the accounts (see Methodist website). Please refer to the guidance notes regarding transfers betweentheDistrict and connectedDistrict Organisations.
	INTERNAL ORGANISATIONS	Receipts		Payments		Net Receipts/ Payments		Adjustments		Opening balances		Closing balances
e1	Tuesday Club	-		-		-		-		238		238
e2
e3
e4
e5
e6
e7
e8	Sub total of Internal Organisationsfunds	-		-		-		-		238	(e11)	238	(e12)
e9	Church accounts (totals brought forward from page 2 - totals column)	99,097	(a7)	83,755	(b9)	15,342		117	(c7)	169,861	(c6)	185,320	(c8)
e10	TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD BY CHURCH	99,097		83,755		15,342		117		170,099	(x)	185,558	(y)
	Continue on a separate sheet if necessary and bring the totals forward	TOTAL RECEIPTS		TOTAL PAYMENTS
	SECTION F
	STATEMENT OF ASSETS AN	D LIABILITIES
	CHURCH - CASH FUNDS HEL	D at 31 August 2023						OPENING BALANCES				CLOSING BALANCES
f1	Cash in hand							151				414
f2	BankCurrentAccount							45,397				8,256
f3	Bank DepositAccount							-				-
f4	Central FinanceBoard							2,709				13,573
f5	Trustees for Methodist Church	Purposes						121,827				163,077
f6	Other funds							-				-
f7	SUB TOTAL - Church accoun	ts						170,084	(c6)			185,320	(c8)
f8	Total funds held by Internal Organisations (the closing balance total from above) (e12)							238	(e11)			238	(e12)
f9	TOTAL CASH FUNDS HELD	BY CHURCH						170,322	(x)			185,558	(y)
	SECTION G							At				At
	OTHER ASSETS and LIABILI	TIES						1 September 2022				31 August 2023
g1	Investments (includeEndowments)							-				-
g2	Land & Buildings (see notes re Insurance value)							3,050,000				3,050,000
g3	Other Assets							-				-
g4	Loan(s)-showamount outstanding at yearend							-				-
g5	Other Liabilities							190				307
	f4 Include onlyFundsheld at the Central FinanceBo			ard
	f5Include onlyFundsheld atTrusteesfor Methodist			Church Purposes
	g1 Include any other investments (not the cash elem			ent of TMCP trusts acco		unts this is include		d in line f5

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Putnoe Heights Church	Putnoe Heights Church
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023
		2023				2022
		Unrestricted	Designated	Total		Unrestricted	Designated	Total
1	Offertory & Donations
	Loose Cash	5,251	-	5,251		3,718	-	3,718
	Envelope Scheme	-	-	-		2,128	-	2,128
	GiftAid envelopes	365	-	365		317	-	317
	Standing Orders	15,336	-	15,336		15,070	-	15,070
	TotalOffertory	**20,952 **	-	**20,952 **		21,233	-	21,233
	Donations	1,735	821	2,556		216	1,044	1,260
	GiftAidrefunds	1,413	-	1,413		5,510	-	5,510
	Total	24,100	821	24,921		26,959	1,044	28,003
2	Other Income
	Hire ofpremises	27,133	-	27,133		27,371	-	27,371
	Interest	5,056	-	5,056		495	-	495
	Photocopier income	27	-	27		76	-	76
	Feed-in-tariff receipts	3,428	-	3,428		1,097	-	_1,097 _
	Fundraising activities	799	-	799		458	-	458
	Miscellaneous	452	-	452		135	-	135
	Legacies	37,281	-	37,281		-	-	-
	Total	74,176	-	74,176		29,632	-	29,632
3	Grants & Donations				[External]
	A Rocha UK(Eco Church)	100		100
	Action ForChildren	19		19	181
	Christian Aid			-	854
	DEC		200	200
	Foodbank			-	1,480	inc. Autumn Appeal
	Friendsfor Life	100		100
	Kenyan Methodist Church	100		100
	Methodist Connexional Funds	1,400		1,400
	Methodist Church WorldMission Fund			-	214
	Royal British Legion	20		20
	SMART	32		32	68
		1,771	200	1,971	**2,797 **
4	Property Maintenance
	Repairs &maintenance	8,145	-	8,145		8,093	-	8,093
	Project expenditure- AVsystem	11,720	-	11,720		-	-	-
	Total	19,865	-	19,865		8,093	-	8,093
5	Insurance, utilities, etc
	Insurance	2,089	-	2,089		1,897	-	_1,897 _
	Electricity	1,974	-	1,974		1,485	-	1,485
	Gas	1,520	-	1,520		1,850	-	1,850
	Water	697	-	697		555	-	555
	Total	6,280	-	6,280		5,787	-	5,787

• 14 -

		2023	2023	2023				2022	2022
		Unrestricted	Designated		Total			Unrestricted	Designated	Total
6	Other expenditure
	Church music	610		-	610			470	-	470
	Churchpublications	-		-	-			-	-	-
	Worshipresources	212		-	212			255	-	255
	Licences & permits	903		-	903			806	-	806
	Salaries &NI	-		-	-			2,331	-	_2,331 _
	Cleaning Services	6,000		-	6,000			5,190	-	5,190
	CleaningMaterials	373		-	373			277	-	277
	Equipmenthire (photocopier)	607		-	607			607	-	_607 _
	Photocopiercharges	154		-	154			219	-	219
	Postage	19		-	19			24	-	24
	Stationery	117		-	117			203	-	203
	Telephone &internet	1,007		-	1,007			808	-	808
	Sundry expenses	1,122		640	1,762			365	914	1,279
	Total	11,124		640	**11,764 **			11,555	914	12,469
7	Adjustments inyear
	Movementin hire depositsheld				(20)
	Non-cash movements				137
					117
	Internal Organisations
		B/fwd		Income	Outgoings		Transfers	c/fwd
	2023(All restricted funds)
	TuesdayClub	238		-	-		-	238
	Total	238		-	-		-	238
	2022 (All restricted funds)
	TuesdayClub	238		-	-		-	238
	Total	238		-	-		-	238

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