2024-10-31-accounts - London Search & Rescue

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Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 01/11/23 Period start date To 31/10/24

Period end date

Charity name: London Search and Rescue

Charity registration number: 1192257

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	The objects of the charity are to preserve and protect life.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	In pursuit of the charity’s objects, London Search and Rescue provides and maintains an emergency search and rescue service for the benefit of the public by: (1) The provision of a dedicated and trained volunteer service to assist the emergency services in the operation of search and rescue within London; and (2) By the provision of support to other search and rescue organisations across the UK if called upon and able to do so.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	The Trustees confirm that in fulfilling their obligations and discharging their duties in respect of London Search and Rescue that they have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

	SORP reference
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	London Search and Rescue is a charity run entirely by volunteers. Our volunteers consist of trustees, the senior leadership team, support services and operational teams. It is our operational teams who undertake our search and rescue operations and form the bedrock of the charity’s activities. Our operational teams are on-call to attend any call- outs day or night within the whole of the Greater London area. During the year the charity organised continuous development and training for existing search operatives and organised training for new search operatives.

The operational teams are supported by volunteers with considerable expertise in specialist support including IT, data management, human resources, communications and marketing, risk management and legal.

The operational teams and support services teams are managed and supervised by a senior leadership team that reports to the trustees.

Achievements and Performance

	SORP reference
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	In the year from 1 November 2023 to 31 October 2024, London Search and Rescue has been called out to assist emergency services in the operation of search and rescue of missing and vulnerable people on 29 occasions totalling 1,344 hours of volunteer search activity. These searches have benefitted the individuals concerned, their loved ones and the wider community.

Financial Review

Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	At 31 October 2024 cash at bank totalled £142,580 (2023: £157,046), of which £35,016 (2023: £21,903) related to unrestricted income funds and £107,564 (2023: £135,143) to restricted income funds. Total income received was £111,780 (2023: £204,047). Total expenditure was £31,000 (2023: £27,058) plus a further £95,247 (2023: £130,437) on vehicles and associated search technology & equipment, noted in the accounts as vehicle asset. As per prior year’s report, a £20,000 deposit was paid to a company supplying the original vehicle that subsequently went into administration; the charity continues to pursue recovering this money. The charity received unrestricted income funds totalling £34,720 (2023: £14,047) generated via various fundraising activities, donations, and grants for which we continue to be exceptionally

		grateful to all contributors. The funds have helped to improve the operational capabilities, including running medical courses, upgrading and replacing much needed equipment and to pay for the running costs of the existing incident control vehicles. The charity also successfully applied for several grants, whilst all notable, the significant ones included £57,000 to secure a new water vehicle which will enhance the water team’s deployment capabilities. A £14,400 National Lottery grant to buy specialist equipment for the Search Technician teams and £3,520 for a new stretcher. In total restricted income funds received in the year were £77,060 (2023: £190,000)
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	Incomes received during the year are spent to achieve the stated aims, objectives and activities of the charity and in line with any requirements of donors or grant awarding bodies. Any surplus funds are carried forward to be utilised in future years. The charity aims to hold only sufficient unrestricted reserves to cover one year of running costs in the event that income levels decrease substantially due to unforeseen circumstances.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	Unrestricted Reserve: £35,016 (£2023: £21,904) Restricted Reserve: £107,564 (2023: £135,143) Total Reserve: £142,580 (2023: £157,047)

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document	Para 1.25	The Charity is governed by its Constitution.
How is the charity constituted?	Para 1.25	The Charity is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO).
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Trustees can be appointed in three ways: (1) By election (2) By nomination (with the nomination entity being the Board of Trustees) (3) Ex officio (chair only)

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:


Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51	Prior to nomination / election trustees are provided with an information and briefing pack which clearly defines their responsibilities and obligations. Following nomination / election, trustees are offered legal training to review their legal obligations in more depth and established trustees are offered refresher training on their legal obligations. These policies and procedures are currently the subject of a review and refresh as part of the charity’s overall focus on improving and strengthening its governance. In this respect the charity has recently appointed a Charity Secretary as well as a number of support specialists to support improved governance.
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51	The operational teams and support services teams are managed and supervised by a Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The SLT reports to the trustees formally through reports to the Trustees ahead of Trustee board meetings and informally as necessary and appropriate.
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51	None
Other		The Board of Trustees operates a risk register and a register of conflicts, both of which documents are periodically reviewed to ensure they remain current. The Board of Trustees has a schedule of meetings set out for the year to ensure that risks, finance and funding are continuously reviewed, as well as other issues that arise during the course of the year. The trustees also meet informally from time to time when necessary and are on hand to deal with urgent issues that might arise.

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	London Search and Rescue
Other name the charity uses	LONSAR or LondonSAR
Registered charity number	1192257
Charity’s principal address	The Warren, Croydon Road, Hayes, Bromley, BR2 7AL.

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (ifany)	Dates acted if not for whole year
Paul Lewis	Chair
Sean McCarry	Internal development
Steve Wood	Operational development
Steve McGowan	Training and accreditation	Resigned 15 May 2025
Chris Murphy	Support services	Appointed 22 July2024
Duncan Hardy	Support services	Appointed 22 July2024
Marie-Claire O'Hara	Support services	Appointed 30 September 2024

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

----- Start of picture text -----
Signature(s)
Full name(s) Paul Lewis
Position (eg Secretary, Chair
Chair, etc)
Date
5th August 2025
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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report	Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ members of On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages Responsibilities and basis of report Independent examiner's statement	Charity Name London Search and Rescue 31 October 2024 Charity no (if any) 1192257 7&8 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/10/2024. 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 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. 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.

Section A
Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/
members of
On accounts for the year
ended
Set out on pages
Responsibilities and
basis of report
Independent
examiner's statement

Charity Name
London Search and Rescue
31 October 2024
Charity no
(if any)
1192257
7&8
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above
charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/10/2024.
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 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.
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: Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:	KRMoss	05/08/2025

	Kathleen Moss

	Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

	48 Lawn Terrace, London, SE3 9LP

IER

Charity Name No (if any) London Serach and Rescue 1192257 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 01 November 2023 31 October 2024

Section A Receipts and payments

Section A Receipts and payments	Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ A1 Receipts Fundraising 23,882 Operations 1,891 Training 8,694 Support 253		Restricted funds to the nearest £ 71,400 4,660 1,000 -	Endowment funds to the nearest £	Total funds to the nearest £ 95,282 6,551 9,694 253 - - - - 111,780 - - - 111,780 330 18,919 5,854 5,169 728 - - - - 31,000 - 95,247 95,247 126,247 - 14,467 - 157,047 142,580	Last year to the nearest £
Fundraising	23,882	71,400	- - - -	95,282	8,947
Operations	1,891	4,660		6,551	192,134
Training	8,694	1,000		9,694	2,500
Support	253	-		253	467
Trustees and Directors(insurance and o	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	- - - -	-	-
	-	-		-	-
	-	-		-	-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	34,720	77,060		111,780	204,047

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
Kit Loan	-		- - -	-	-
Vehicle	-			-	-
*Sub total*	-			-	-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
			-	111,780	204,047

Fundraising	330		- - - - - - - - - -	330	-
Operations	9,527			18,919	15,835
Training	5,854			5,854	2,561
Support	5,169			5,169	3,306
Trustees and Directors (insurance and other)	728			728	5,356
	-			-	-
	-			-	-
	-			-	-
	-			-	-
*Sub total*	21,608			31,000	27,058

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
Kit Loan	-		- - -	-	-
Vehicle	-			95,247	130,437
*Sub total*	-			95,247	130,437
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
			-	126,247	157,495

	13,112		-	- 14,467	46,552
	-		- -	-	-
	21,904			157,047	110,495
	35,016		-	142,580	157,047

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B1 Cash funds	Signature Loan Details Details Computer Equipment Vehicles Details Details Stock Cash on hand *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 35,016 107,564 - - - - 35,016 107,564 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) 33,378 - 61,869 - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) 3,000 - - - Print Name Steve Wood	Endowment funds to nearest £
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			Date of approval
		Steve Wood	05Aug25