THE LAKE DISTRICT SEARCH AND MOUNTAIN RESCUE ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL REPORT 2024
PRESENTED AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
19TH MARCH 2025
A CIO (CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISTION) NO. 1191015
Our Objects
FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT TO RELIEVE SUFFERING AND DISTRESS AMONGST PERSONS ENDANGERED BY ACCIDENTS OR NATURAL HAZARDS AND TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SECURE AND EFFICIENT SEARCH AND RESCUE OF ANY PERSON OR PERSONS SO ENDANGERED PRIMARILY IN CUMBRIA AND THE SURROUNDING AREA, IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY BY: -
----- Start of picture text -----
813
999 CALLS
IN 2024
714
999 CALLS
IN 2023
450
TEAM
MEMBERS
12
TEAMS
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PROMOTING, CO-ORDINATING AND SECURING ADEQUATE SEARCH AND RESCUE ARRANGEMENTS, AND ASSISTING ELSEWHERE IF CALLED UPON IN ANY SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATION,PRIMARILY IN MOUNTAINOUS AREAS OF CUMBRIA; Our Team Values
UNDERTAKING PUBLICITY WHERE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO INFORM OR EDUCATE THE PUBLIC IN ALL ASPECTS OF MOUNTAIN SAFETY;
REPRESENTING AND SUPPORTING MEMBER RESCUE TEAMS BY SPEAKING COLLECTIVELY ON THEIR BEHALF, PROMOTING SOCIAL INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THEM, AND PROVIDING THEM WITH HELP, GUIDANCE, TRAINING, FUNDING, AND ADVICE, INCLUDING THE FACILITY TO RAISE FUNDS.
report from the chair
Introduction
Welcome to the LDSAMRA Annual Report 2024.
As 2024 has drawn to a close the stark reality that is facing mountain rescue within the Lake District is that there is a year-on-year demand for a response from mountain rescue that is increasing at a worrying and probably unsustainable rate.
Increasing numbers of callouts
Increasing numbers of callouts has accelerated post-pandemic, with a noticeable change in public behaviour. Although many of the individuals that request support are injured, underlying this increase are rising numbers of preventable or avoidable callouts, by parties that have failed to prepare or plan adequately, resulting in being lost, caught out by bad weather or split from their party.
The year in statistics
In 2022 there were 610 calls to the emergency services for mountain rescue assistance (999 calls), rising to 813 calls in 2024. This is a rise of 33% in only three years. These 999 calls resulted in 954 team's deployments in 2024 (because more than one team may be required to respond to each 999 call) an increase of 41% in a similar period.
Some of these teams, namely Keswick, Langdale Ambleside and Wasdale, have each had to respond to over 150 callouts in 2024, resulting in significant strain on their teams.
report from the chaiR
Volunteer Organisation
Mountain Rescue in the Lakes is provided by 12 teams comprised of over 400 highly trained, highly motivated, unpaid volunteers. These volunteers are supported by their families and friends, all of which have to make significant sacrifices to support the demands of the service. Increasingly the teams are supporting each other to ensure good casualty outcomes; and it this collaboration, close working relationships and unstinting commitment, that provides me with personal sense of pride in our collective organisation.
Regional Roles
LDSAMRA is the umbrella organisation that represents the teams and is staffed by the same volunteers that are providing the rescue service at the coalface. These dedicated individuals often wear multiple hats within their teams e.g. as a team leader, operational drone pilot, team chair, media office, fund raiser, major incident officer, as well as their LDSAMRA roles. To them I offer my specific thanks.
Farewell
In March 2024 I had the honour of succeeding Richard Warren in the Chair role for LDSAMRA, a position that he held for 17 years. Richard has been an unstinting champion for and servant of lake district mountain rescue and will be sorely missed as he steps down from all his roles in March 2025.
Finally, it should be noted, there are no paid positions in Mountain Rescue. Every penny donated to LDSAMRA is focused at maintaining the rescue service and improving casualty outcomes.
Phil Gerrard Chair LDSAMRA
T H E L A K E D I S T R I C T S E A R C H A N D M O U N T A I N R E S C U E A S S O C I A T I O N W W W . L D S A M R A . O R G . U K • 2 0 2 4 A N N U A L R E P O R T
LDSAMRA Treasurer’s Report 2024 Final Report
| LDSAMRA Accounts | LDSAMRA Accounts | LDSAMRA Accounts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft | |||||||
| 12 Months to December 2024 | 12 Months to December 2023 | ||||||
| Note | £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Income | |||||||
| Donations | 1 | 108,613.54 | 87,899.94 | ||||
| Legacies | 2 | 912,184.00 | 204,150.75 | ||||
| Grants | 3 | - | - | ||||
| Gift Aid | 4 | 2,248.07 | 864.88 | ||||
| VAT Repayments | 5 | 7,804.14 | 13,331.54 | ||||
| SundryIncome | 6 | 17,182.29 | 906.13 | ||||
| 1,048,032.04 | 307,153.24 | ||||||
| Expenditure | |||||||
| Regular | |||||||
| Officers' Expenses | 7 | 3,347.32 - |
6,028.30 - |
||||
| Computer and Website | 837.07 - |
988.14 - |
|||||
| Training (Net) | 8 | 7,335.02 - |
12,160.02 - |
||||
| Insurance(Net) | 9 | 4,828.62 | 16,496.72 - |
||||
| FundraisingExpenses | 704.60 - |
906.00 - |
|||||
| SundryExpenses | 10 | 8,642.80 - |
1,289.20 - |
||||
| 16,038.19 - |
37,868.38 - |
||||||
| Projects | |||||||
| UAS Equipment and Training (Net) | 11 | 5,124.27 - |
8,187.01 - |
||||
| AdventureSmart(Net) | 12 | 16,491.00 | 991.20 - |
||||
| COVID-19/Other Medical Supplies | 13 | - | 35,550.00 - |
||||
| 11,366.73 | 44,728.21 - |
||||||
| Net(Expenditure) / Income | 1,043,360.58 | 224,556.65 | |||||
| Grants to Teams | 14 | 88,576.16 - |
154,000.00 - |
||||
| Net(Expenditure) / Income After Grants | 954,784.42 | 70,556.65 |
| LDSAMRA Accounts | LDSAMRA Accounts | LDSAMRA Accounts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft | |||||||
| 12 Months to December 2024 | 12 Months to December 2023 | ||||||
| Note | £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Balances Brought Forward | 300,373.68 | 229,817.03 | |||||
| Total Funds | 1,255,158.10 | 300,373.68 | |||||
| Designated Funds | |||||||
| Rescue 2020 Fund | 15 | 162,000.00 | 162,000.00 | ||||
| Chris Lewis Growth Fund | 16 | 304,041.45 | - | ||||
| Chris Lewis Capital Projects Fund | 16 | 304,041.45 | - | ||||
| Drone Expenditure | 11 | - | 684.75 | ||||
| Potential Insurance Top-Up | 17 | - | 30,048.15 | ||||
| 770,082.90 | 192,732.90 | ||||||
| Unrestricted Funds | 485,075.20 | 107,640.78 | |||||
| 1,255,158.10 | 300,373.68 | ||||||
| Fund Accounts | |||||||
| HSBC CommunityAccount | 7,954.10 | 94,454.94 | |||||
| HSBC Business MoneyManager Account | 1,085,003.82 | 43,918.74 | |||||
| Virgin CharityDeposit Account | 81,200.18 | 81,000.00 | |||||
| Mansfield BuildingSociety | 81,000.00 | 81,000.00 | |||||
| 1,255,158.10 | 300,373.68 |
Notes to the Accounts
-
1) Donations for 2024 finished ahead of 2023 levels. Significant donations during this year were: -
-
£2,000 from Jenny and Chris Alexander
-
£9,000 from The Wainwright Society
-
£5,200 from The Greenwood Christian Trust
-
£1,454 from Ourea Events
-
£6,000 from The Montane Lakeland 100
-
£1,312 from Julian Spencer
-
£1,000 from David Love (Cross Fell casualty)
-
£1,000 from Michael Fawcett
-
£1,000 from Wendy Longthorn
-
• £2,895 from the Lakes Distillery
-
2) Legacies for 2024 finished very significantly above 2023 levels and there are several legacies that are still being dealt with. Significant legacies during the year were: -
-
£1,000 from the late John Kenneth Lawrence
-
£62,500 from the late Ruth Janet Farrell
-
£577,473 from the late Chris Lewis (see note 15)
-
£5,000 from the late Keith Lowndes
-
£40,000 from the late Rhona Humphrey
-
£1,000 from the late Berenice Pedgley
-
£5,000 from the late Amanda Elizabeth Steele
-
£10,000 from the late Paul Bond
-
£55,000 from the Dr Donald Margerison
-
£5,000 from the late Mabel Shirley Markham
-
£73,196 from the late William McCullough
-
£28,634 from the late Peter Davis
-
£27,000 from the late Mary Cannell
-
£24,382 from the late Betty Hinchliffe
-
3) In 2024, as in 2023, no grants have been applied for or received.
-
4) The Gift Aid claim for 2023 of £2,248 was received in February. This compares to 2022 where £865 was received. The Gift Aid claim for 2024 will be compiled shortly.
-
5) The VAT reclaim of £7,804 for the second half of 2023 was received in February 2024. This compares to the VAT reclaim of £11,244 for the whole of 2022 and the VAT reclaim of £2,088 for the first half of 2023 both of which were received in 2023. The Gift Aid claim for 2024 will be compiled shortly.
-
6) Sundry income in 2024 comprises £5,000 for the sale of the trailer and £12,182 of interest.
-
7) Officers’ expense claims in 2024 are lower than 2023.
-
8) Training costs are shown net and include recovery of costs from teams. Some training costs have yet to be recovered from teams.
-
9) We have received the grant from Cumbria Police and paid the insurance for 2024/25. The cost in calendar year 2023 and the net income for calendar year 2024 relates to a change in timing of the start of the MREW insurance year to 1 July.
-
10) During 2024, LDSAMRA funded the publication of 1,000 copies of “A History of Mountain Search and Rescue in the Lake District” written by Bob Bennett of Wasdale MRT, at a cost of £8k. Sales arranged by the author brought in £1k to LDSAMRA and remaining copies were given to teams to sell at the recommended cover price of £20 per copy for their fundraising purposes and to promote the work of mountain rescue teams in the Lake District.
-
11) At the end of December 2023, there was £685 of the £71,765 donation from the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons for drone equipment and training. All of this has now been spent and in 2024 there was £5.1k of net expenditure in the year on UAS costs.
-
12) There was £8.5k expenditure on AdventureSmart in 2024 plus we received £25.0k ASUK funding available from the Lake District Foundation sponsored by The Lakes Distillery, leaving a net surplus of £16.5k for 2025’s campaign, compared to a net contribution of £1.0k by the region to the advertising campaign in 2023.
-
13) There was no expenditure on medical supplies for the region in 2024. This compares to £35.6k in 2023 for Easy Pulse mCPR devices for the region’s teams.
-
14) During 2024, the region distributed £85k to member teams from general funds. In addition, £3.6k was received by the region for distribution to specific teams.
-
15) As a reminder for all, the Rescue 2020 Fund of £162k was created by amalgamation of the Memorial Trust and Capital Grants Funds in September 2013. The terms of the fund are stated as follows:
The Fund will support by means of a grant or a loan, the following:
-
Projects (e.g. resilience laptops) which provide operational benefit to all Teams, a group of Teams, which are affiliated to LDSAMRA. These projects would be identified by the Working Groups set up by LDSAMRA.
-
A temporary emergency fund e.g. for a lost vehicle
-
Building of new Team bases and storage facilities, or major extensions to existing bases and storage facilities
-
Financial support should any Team affiliated to LDSAMRA encounter financial difficulties which threaten its operational capability.
-
16) £577,473 was received from the trustees of the Chris Lewis Trust Fund (CLTF) in May. The requirements of the trustees are: -
That £300,000 (Chris Lewis Growth Fund) be invested to generate growth and/or dividend and/or interest income, which should be used to support: -
-
Activities that encourage inter-team working and learning within LDSAMRA.
-
Safer working practices in mountain rescue, including investing in technology particularly where this reduces the risk to team members and/or improves the effectiveness of teams.
-
Learning internationally, by funding team members from across LDSAMRA to attend the International Commission for Alpine Rescue conference each year. We expect that LDSAMRA will send a representative to each of the five Commissions: avalanche, search dogs, terrestrial rescue, air rescue and medical.
The capital value of the invested £300,000 is to be maintained over 3-year measurement period, unless exceptionally, and only with the agreement of the undersigned (currently CLTF Trustees), these funds may be used to support a seriously injured team member should their injuries be sustained during mountain rescue activities and the insurance cover not be sufficient to support the reasonable needs of that team member and their family. Similar benevolence may be appropriate in the event of the death of team member through involvement in mountain rescue activities.
The remaining £277,473 received has been topped up to £300,000 (Chris Lewis Capital Projects Fund) to be used to support capital projects within the LDSAMRA Region. This may include the building or development of LDSAMRA team bases, investment in technology such as drones, or other similar expenditures. The LDSAMRA Trustees are asked to invite proposals from teams for their consideration. For the avoidance of doubt, the CLTF Trustees do not want these funds to be dissipated through disbursement of relatively small sums across the LDSAMRA teams.
- 17) At the end of December 2023, £30.0k was designated for a top-up of the MREW personal accident insurance policy. At a recent quarterly meeting it was agreed to dispense with the designation and release the amount to general unrestricted funds.
Summary of Financial Position
The region is in a very healthy state financially, and as at the end of December 2024, LDSAMRA held £1,255.1k of total funds, of which £162.0k is designated to the Rescue 2020 fund, £304.0k is designated to the Chris Lewis Growth Fund, £304.0k is designated to the Chris Lewis Capital Projects Fund and £485.1k is unrestricted.
John Bamforth, LDSAMRA Treasurer 15 March 2025
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
| Report to the trustees/ members of On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages |
The Lake District Search And Mountain Rescue Association | The Lake District Search And Mountain Rescue Association | The Lake District Search And Mountain Rescue Association |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2024 | Charity no (if any) |
1191015 | |
| 1-5 |
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2023. Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’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 Act.
Independent The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to examiner's statement undertake the examination by being a qualified member of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
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:
-
the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
-
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
-
the accounts did 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.
Signed: Date: 5 June 2025 Name: M.E. Burns Relevant professional ACMA CGMA qualification(s) or body: Address: 2 High street
1
Oct 2018
IER
Bigrigg
Cumbria CA22 2TR
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
None
2
Oct 2018
IER