2025-10-31-accounts - London Search & Rescue

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Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 01.11.2024 Period start date To 31.10.25 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.

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

	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, a senior operational team, search teams and support services. It is our search teams who undertake our search and rescue operations and form the bedrock of the charity’s activities. Our search 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 search teams and support services teams are managed and supervised by an operations 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 2025, London Search and Rescue was called out to assist emergency services in the operation of search and rescue of missing and vulnerable people on 27 occasions totalling 1286 hours of volunteer search activity. These searches have benefitted the individuals concerned, their friends and family and the wider community.

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	At 31 October 2025 cash at bank totalled £13,349 (2024: £142,580), of which £4,595 (2024: £35,016) related to unrestricted income funds and £8,754 (2024: £107,564) to restricted income funds. In addition as at 31 October 2025 the charity held £14,610 in an investment account with CCLA Investment Management, of which £5,830 related to unrestricted funds and £8,780 to restricted funds. Therefore across cash at bank and the investment account as at 31 October 2025 total restricted funds were £10,425 and unrestricted funds and £17,534 restricted funds. Total income received was £202,464 (2024: £111,780), of which £59,514 was unrestricted and £142,950 restricted. Significant restricted donations included £70,000 from London Freemasons for the purchase and fit out of a new Bike Support Unit van, and £20,000 also from London Freemasons to enhance water safety provision along the river Thames. Total expenditure was £227,442 (2024: £31,000) plus a further £90,253 (2024: £95,247) on vehicles and associated search technology & equipment, noted in the accounts as vehicle asset. The significant increase in spend from 2024 to 2025 reflects the charity putting the significant funds held at 2024 year end to good use on much needed operational kit and training.
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 basic running costs in the event that income levels decrease substantially due to unforeseen circumstances.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	Unrestricted Reserve: £10,425 (2024: £35,016) Restricted Reserve: £17,534 (2024: £107,564) Total Reserve: £27,959 (2024: £142,580)

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	The charity is governed by its constitution.
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	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 office (chair only)

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements	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 pack which describes the structure of the charity and explains the obligations and responsibilities of trustees. Following nomination / election trustees are offered legal training to review their legal obligations.
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51	Over the course of the year the charity has evolved its leadership structure to align more closely with our core purpose of search and rescue. We have moved away from a senior leadership team model to a model where the focus is on our operations (i.e. searches), sitting alongside support services. Previously, the senior leadership team led across a wide range of activities including operational delivery, training, finance, fundraising, HR, communications and other support services. Under the new model, the Operations team has a narrower remit centred on search operations and training. Functions such as finance, fundraising, communications and HR continue to remain essential to the charity's continued success but these areas are now being managed through separate structures. This provides clearer accountabilities and ensures that we focus on delivering excellence in the charity's core activities.
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51	None


	Other		The board maintains a register of conflicts which is periodically reviewed to ensure it remains current. In this respect, trustee Steve Wood has declared a conflict in respect of software he provides to both the charity and tothe Met Police which the charity monitors. The board has a schedule of meetings set out for the year to ensure that it maintains oversight of the charity’s finances.

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	London Search and Rescue
Other name the charity uses	LONSAR or LondonSAR
Registered charity number	1182257
Charity’s principal address	The Warren, Croydon Road, Hayes, Bromley, BR2 7AL.

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year
Paul Lewis	Chair
Sean McCarry
Steve Wood
Chris Murphy
Duncan Hardy		Resigned 28 October 2025
Marie-Claire O’Hara	Charity Secretary

Declarations

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) P Lewis Full name(s) Paul Lewis Position (eg Secretary, Chair Chair, etc) Date 31 August 2026

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	Charity Name London Search and Rescue 31 October 2025 Charity no (if any) 1192257 7&8 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the charity”) for the year ended 31/10/2025.

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 charity’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 I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement 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: KR Moss Date: 14/08/2026 Name: Kathleen Moss Relevant professional Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 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 2024 31 October 2025

Section A Receipts and payments	Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 58,011 1,301 - 202	Restricted funds to the nearest £ 142,950 - - -	Endowment funds to the nearest £	Total funds to the nearest £	Last year to the nearest £
Fundraising	58,011		- - - -	200,961 1,301 - 202 - - - - 202,464	95,282 6,551 9,694 253 - - - -
Operations	1,301
Training	-
Support	202
Trustees and Directors(insurance and other)	-	-	-
	-	- - - 142,950 11,289 11,289 154,239 2,137 79,697 7,777 56,824 1,426 - - - - 147,861 20,069 - 85,118 105,186 253,048 - 98,809 - 107,563 8,754	- - - -
	-
	-
*Sub total*	59,514				111,780

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
Withdrawals CCLA investment account	6,711		- - -	18,000 - 18,000	- -
Vehicle	-
*Sub total*	6,711				-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
			-	220,464	111,780

Fundraising	3,642		- - - - - - - - - -	5,779 114,143 19,702 78,833 8,985 - - - - 227,442	330 18,919 5,854 5,169 728 - - - -
Operations	34,446
Training	11,925
Support	22,009
Trustees and Directors (insurance and other)	7,559
	-
	-
	-
	-
*Sub total*	79,581				31,000

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
Payments to CCLA investment account	11,931		- - - -	32,000 5,135 85,118 122,253	- - 95,247
IT assets	5,135
Vehicles	-
*Sub total*	17,066				95,247
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
			-	349,695	126,247

	- 30,421		-	- 129,230	- 14,467
	-		- -	- 142,579	- 157,047
	35,016
	4,595		-	13,349	142,580

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

Categories B1 Cash funds	Details Cash on hand *Total cash funds*	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Endowment funds to nearest £
		4,595 - -	8,754 - -	- - -
		4,595	8,754	-

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities	(agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details Stock Details CCLA investment account CCLA investment account Details Details Computer Equipment Vehicles Loan Signature	OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Unrestrcited 5,220 Restricted 8,780 - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) LonSAR 38,512 LonSAR 146,987 - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) 3,000 - - - Print Name	OK
			Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			5,830
			8,780
			-
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			When due (optional)





			Date of approval