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2023-12-31-accounts

Severn Area Rescue Association Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Multi-Disciplinary Volunteer Search and Rescue Team with Fifty Years of Lifeboat Service on the River Severn

Registered Charity CIO 1193634

Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

FOREWORD

In 2023, SARA celebrated its 50th anniversary with a celebratory reception held in our home at Cirencester Park, attended by the local community, including business leaders and key stakeholders.

As well as looking forward to a positive future, it was a time to reflect upon the journey the organisation has taken over the last 50 years. It was a wonderful opportunity to take a look at the many facets of SARA capabilities. With a display of some of the rescue crafts and vehicles, it gave guests the chance to ask the crews about the work they carry out as volunteers.

SARA has gone from strength to strength in the last 12 months. My personal highlight was in May, with the official opening of the new rescue station here in Cirencester, which has come about after a year of hard work and fundraising. Improving response times across the county, widening the net for recruitment, and providing specialist land search and rope rescue capability, this new station is already proving its worth in supporting our communities.

Another year of search and rescue on land and water has taken its toll on equipment, and in the 12 months ahead boats, vehicles and safety equipment will all require replacement. It is so important we never rest on our laurels and I am sure you will join me in continuing your wonderful support of SARA by getting behind the exciting fundraising events planned 2024.

The Rt. Hon. The Countess Bathurst

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

In 2023, SARA volunteers attended 107 separate operations:

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

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||| |---|---| |Contents| |Page No.| |Reference & Administrative Details|5| |Objectives and Achievements|5| |Structure, Governance and Management|6| |SARA Overview & Brief History|7| |Chair of Trustees Report|10| |CEO Report|12| |Financial Review|20| |Review of Risks|21| |Fundraising|22| |Independent Examiner’s Report|23| |Financial Statements|24| |Notes to the Financial Statements|26| |Appendix A: SARA’s Operational Role and Tasks|35| |Appendix B: 1-Page Summary of SARA Capabilities|39|

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SARA Lifeboat 3 ‘Swift and Bold’ heads up the River Wye, under Chepstow Town Bridge

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Reference and Administrative Details

The Severn Area Rescue Association is the largest independent multi-disciplinary volunteer search and rescue team in the UK. It is also the largest independent lifeboat service in the UK, second only to the RNLI, with 14 operational boats, of which five are declared lifeboats, and approximately 200 personnel.

Registered Charity CIO Number 1193634 Registered Address The Lifeboat Station, Beachley, Chepstow, NP16 7HH Independent Accounts Examiner Jane Swann BA(Hons) BFP FCA , Azets, Stourbridge Bankers Lloyds Bank Plc

Objectives

The objects of the Association, as stated in its Constitution are:

  1. The protection of life and property by the provision and maintenance of a rescue service incorporating both marine operations and land operations) with, in particular, specialist skills in swiftwater/flood, land search, lifeboats, rescue boats, marine rescue and cliff rescue;

  2. To assist Government Departments and Agencies and County and Local Authorities in their provision of emergency services; and

  3. To advance public education in outdoor safety, particularly in and around water.

The Association is non-profit making, and financed by voluntary contributions, grants from any public or private organisations, and any such fundraising activities or commercial arrangements as the Executive Committee recommends to the Trustees.

The Achievement of the Objects of the Charity

The policies adopted by the Executive Committee during the course of the year have met the objects of the Charity in the following ways:

The Trustees have given due regard to the guidance from the Charity Commission on public benefit, and consulted with the emergency services across the relevant area, and are satisfied that the objectives and activities of SARA provide a public benefit.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Structure, Governance and Management

SARA is governed by its Constitution. Certain ‘non-executive’ powers are reserved for the Board of Trustees with specific powers delegated to the Executive. The Trustees have final overall legal responsibility for the organisation and its governance. Non-Executive Trustees serve for a term of three years, being appointed at the Annual General Meeting; the CEO, Deputy CEO and the CFO are ex-officio Trustees.

The Trustees of the CIO in the year were: Keith Beckett (Chair of Trustees) Mark Carwardine (Chief Executive Officer) Judith Harvey Ian Morgan Shaun Egan (Deputy CEO) Ian Jarvis (Chief Finance Officer) Until 31 January 2023 Mervyn Fleming Until 11 May 2023 Alan Stanley Until 11 May 2023 John Cairns Until 11 May 2023 Vanessa Powell Until 21 September 2023 Richard Newhouse was appointed as CFO on 17 Feb 2023 and as a Trustee 11 May 2023

The Executive Committee is responsible to the Trustees for the overall running of the association in relation to all financial, safety, legal and operational matters. Its members during the year were:

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||| |---|---| |Chief Executive Officer (CEO)|Mark Carwardine| |Deputy CEO|Shaun Egan| |Chief Financial Officer|Ian Jarvis to Jan 23, thence Richard Newhouse| |Association Secretary|Ian Roberts| |Beachley Station General Manager|Lee Morris to April 2023| |Newport Station General Manager|Richard Dainty| |Tewkesbury Station General Manager|Matt Gardner to March 2023, thence| |Rich Young to Nov 2023| |Sharpness Station General Manager|David Palmer| |Upton Station General Manager|Peter Sherwood| |Wyre Forest Station General Manager|Ian Lofthouse| |Cotswolds Station General Manager|John Dutton|

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Additional technical and specialist managers were co-opted at the Executive level being:

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||| |---|---| |Executive Land Search Manager|John Dutton| |Executive Rope Rescue Officer|Andy Torbet| |Medical Officer|Jon Dallimore| |Wellbeing Officer|Kathy Donaldson| |IT Manager|Rob Jervis| |Communications Equipment Manager|Chris Thornton| |PR Officer|Richard Newhouse| |Executive Finance Manager|Helen Morris to Aug 2023|

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The Committees for the Beachley, Newport, Tewkesbury, Sharpness, Upton, Cotswolds and Wyre Forest Rescue Stations are responsible for the day-to-day running of each respective Station.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

The Operations of the Charity

SARA’s Mission Statement is:

To protect life and property through the provision of a professionally trained, specialist rescue service for marine, flood and land search incidents

The principal area of marine operations comprises the Bristol Channel and the Severn, Wye, Avon, and Usk rivers. Typical situations involved vessels suffering breakdown or damage by grounding, becoming lost in severely restricted visibility - a particularly dangerous situation in the tidal Severn - and searching for missing people. As a Lifeboat Organisation, SARA complies with the Rescue Boat Code of Practice (RBCP) and is a founder member of the National Independent Lifeboat Association (NILA).

Inland operations extend to the West of England and the Midlands and South-East Wales. SARA is an Associate Member of Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW) and is part of the South West England Rescue Association (SWERA). SARA’s technical and flood rescue standards are assured by qualifications from Rescue3Europe, which comply with national standards

SARA works closely with the statutory emergency services – Police, Fire & Rescue and Ambulance Services, likewise HM Coastguard – also with neighbouring and related volunteer rescue organisations. These particularly include the RNLI at Portishead, Penarth and Barry, the Coastguard helicopter based at St Athan, Longtown Mountain Rescue Team and both the South Wales Search and Rescue Dogs Association (SARDA(SW)), to name just a few. There is a strong mutual relationship with Gloucester Cave Rescue (GCRG) whose members often participate in land search operations as integrated search party members. Further details of SARA’s operational roles are provided in the Annex.

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Wyre Forest
(Kidderminster)
Worcestershire
Herefordshire Upton
Tewkesbury
S Gloucester
(Sub Station of Sharpness)
Gloucestershire
Gwent &
Monmouthshire Cotswolds
Sharpness (Cirencester)
Newport
Beachley
(Chepstow)
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The SARA Rescue Stations
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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Why SARA? A Short History!

The inaugural meeting to form the organisation which became SARA was held in 1973, and the charity was formally created in 1976, as ‘The Severn Auxiliary Rescue Association’. Its headquarters were at Tutshill - near the current Beachley station. At this time the RNLI did not cover river estuaries, such as the River Severn. There was felt to be a need for rescue organisation responsible for this hazardous stretch of river, particularly following the closure of the Aust Ferry after the opening of the Severn Bridge in 1966. In 1985 SARA also became an official Mountain Rescue Team in the role of Cliff Rescue for the Wye Valley, and SARA Beachley Station was designated as a ‘Mountain Rescue Post’.

In 1986 a second station was opened at Sharpness, primarily in response to a tragic loss of life in the Sharpness area and the name of the organisation was amended to what it is today. A station was opened at Wyre Forest in 2004, to cover the upper Severn area. In 2014 Wyre Forest Station moved into the Fire Station at Kidderminster, under a co-hosting arrangement, and in early 2021 moved again into the new Kidderminster Tri-Service ‘Emergency Hub’ Station.

In 2011, following major flooding, a Joint 'Water Rescue Centre' opened in Tewkesbury, as a strategic alliance between Gloucester Fire & Rescue Service, SARA and Gloucestershire County Council, and the new SARA Tewkesbury Station became SARA’s fourth.

For many years, emergencies in Newport were attended to by crew from SARA Beachley. In 2014 an equipment hub was placed in Newport, and in 2015 a base was established at Malpas Fire Station. Following a major bequest, new boats were purchased in 2016 and the Newport Lifeboat Station was established, within the Malpas Fire Station, becoming independent from Beachley in 2019.

The small independent ‘Water Emergency Incident Response’ (WEIR) team at Upton-upon-Severn elected in 2019 to merge with SARA, forming SARA Upton Station in 2020. SARA’s seventh station SARA Cotswolds, based at Cirencester Fire Station, was established in mid-2021 to provide a base for land search in eastern Gloucestershire.

The Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper MP, and his team, are briefed on what not to touch, before being taken out on SARA Lifeboat 1 during a visit in connection with World Drowning Prevention Day, in August

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

One of the SARA Team Doctors training in the Wye Valley

Taking visitors from HM Coastguard out on a lifeboat for a familiarisation trip

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Chair of Trustees’ Report

For the Board of Trustees, 2023 has been a year of exploration, understanding and analysis, coupled with supporting improvements and strategy development. As the year ends, it is great to be able to report that SARA completes its 50[th] year of rescue services to the Community in a very healthy, vibrant and active state.

Most importantly, SARA has been as in-demand as ever; reacting professionally to the rescue demands set by our tasking authorities and providing much needed rescue support to the public. A wide breadth of fundraising activity has meant that SARA ends the year in a healthy financial state and the Trustees are very grateful to all who spend time, energy and effort to drive this success. A robust balance sheet also allows for some much-needed investments, and both the Board and Executive Committee are keen to continue to make more improvements. This will require continued focus on our income, and we are keen to recruit further support in this area, particularly a Fundraising Officer to sit on the Executive Committee.

Outreach to our Tasking Authorities this year has provided demonstrable underpinning of the need for SARA's services, and has also provided the evidence that we are focused on provision of the right rescue services. This is an important demonstration that we continue to meet our Charitable Objectives and drives our future Mission and Purpose.

I am very grateful to our Patron, Lady Bathurst for her continued strong support to SARA, both at our events and in particular, for opening her home to host a 50[th] year celebration where we thanked our supporters and recruited some more.

Looking forward to 2024, the Board is ambitious to continue support the Members and make further improvements. We are convinced that we will be stronger acting as 'One SARA' and this will be a consistent theme. We will publish our Strategy that will define the organisation that we aspire to be, and will guide decision making through to 2030. To achieve our aims, we will strengthen the experience and contribution available to both the Board and the Executive Committee by seeking to broaden the support to the vital non-operational aspects of SARA.

Now, in 2024, we will learn from our exploration and analysis, and move to driving even greater delivery of improvements and to strengthen SARA's capability to be successful for the long-term

Finally, the Trustees are proud of what SARA has achieved this year and pass on our heartfelt thanks and admiration to all of our members who, after all, are the people that make this success possible.

Keith Beckett Chair of Trustees

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

The Formal Opening of SARA Cotswolds Station, by Lady Bathurst, in May

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

CEO Report on 2023

2023 was a good year for SARA, with further progress as an organisation and a continued need for our skills and capabilities in our areas of operation. However, as I write this I am conscious that 2024 started very sadly for us all.

Early in January we were learned of the death of John Cairns, who had been the chairman of SARA Wyre Forest for a time and, until quite recently, a trustee of the organisation. Only a few days later, we were again devastated to learn of the death of Hugh Inwood who was serving as the deputy general manager of SARA Sharpness Lifeboat Station. Hugh had been a member for five years and his passing leaves a huge void in the organisation.

I am of course very grateful to both for their contributions to SARA, and our thoughts and best wishes as an organisation are with their families.

John Cairns Hugh Inwood

In addition to John Cairns, both Jim Hewitt and Alan Stanley stood down as Trustees at the 2023 AGM. I would like to pay tribute to them, to Alan Palmer who also stood down in 2022 for personal reasons, and to others who served as Trustees in recent years. Their long dedication to SARA has been truly remarkable and hugely valued.

I would also like to thank Vanessa Powell and Belinda Johnson for their contributions. Vanessa joined us in 2022 as a non-executive Trustee, and Belinda as the Executive Fundraising Officer; both were obliged to stand down during 2023 for personal reasons and we wish them both well.

2023 was the year in which we celebrated our 50th anniversary, since the initial meetings of the organisation in 1973 which later became SARA. There were a number of press engagements and interviews throughout the year, most notably those on BBC Points West and ITV West, headed up by our founding chairman Jim Hewitt. We also held an Anniversary reception in October, hosted by our patron Lady Bathurst who was kind enough to host the reception at her family home in Cirencester. The evening allowed us to host both senior stakeholders of the emergency organisations that we support and potential future sponsors, sharing information on our mission, resources, skills and capabilities.

To mark the 50th anniversary the Trustees also initiated a new award named after our founder, ‘The Jim Hewitt Award for Exceptional Endeavour in Search and Rescue’. The first such award was presented to the crew of SARA Lifeboat 3 from Beachley who had used their initiative to search for, and subsequently rescue, a kayaker in great difficulty whilst they were engaged on another search in the lower part of the Severn Estuary in August.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

A further highlight of 2023 was the formal opening of our station in Cirencester, SARA Cotswolds. A sunny summer morning saw a significant group assemble for speeches from Lady Bathurst, our Chairman Keith Beckett and the Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Police; and included a demonstration of our rope rescue capability. I’m very grateful to our general manager John Dutton and his team for their hard work in getting SARA Cotswolds off the ground, and operating as a fully functioning base for search and rescue in eastern Gloucestershire.

Our search and rescue services have been in demand this year as much as ever, with our callout count again exceeding 100. There is rarely any discernible pattern to these incidents, with the three callouts to the Wye Valley cliffs occurring within just a few weeks of each other. As was the case in these incidents, many of the casualties we deal with go on to make full recoveries, and the callouts have a happy ending.

That was even the case at the end of a long evening in June, which saw an inland water rescue team and a lifeboat working with fire service colleagues to rescue a cow from the tidal River Wye. The lifeboat ended up beached and incredibly muddy but the cow was reunited with her calf and the farmer was very happy!

Rescuing a cow from the tidal River Wye Launching for a search near Hereford

Our Sharpness lifeboats assisted various sailing boats who had either mechanical issues requiring a tow to safety, or had slightly misjudged the rate of falling tides in particularly sandy areas of the river and needed a rescue to safety before returning to their vessels in time to refloat with the next high tide.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

We of course continue our flood responses where necessary and have been recognised in the media for this work assisting those unfortunate enough to be affected.

However, as with every year, our volunteers also deal with fatalities and I am proud of the professionalism which they display. The teams’ involvement with the tragic death of a teenager at Lechlade at the end of April was one of our most difficult callouts of the year, but by no means the only one.

I am grateful for the hard work of our Wellbeing team in supporting team members involved in these callouts, and I was delighted that towards the end of the year we secured a grant to enable some of them to be formally trained as instructors in Mental Health First Aid.

This year we conducted a review of our activities with each of our tasking authorities which proved extremely useful. The Coastguard, who oversee our lifeboat operations, successfully conducted very formal ‘declared facility reviews ’of our stations at Beachley and Sharpness and were both impressed and pleased to be able to continue our work with them.

The need for an in-house search dog capability has been evident for some years since on many searches we rely on search dogs brought in from other teams - in many cases from considerable distances. As a result of much hard work by a small team, we formally established a dog unit towards the end of last year, accredited to NSARDA (the National Search and Rescue Dogs Association). At the time of writing we have 4 search dogs (and their handlers) going through training in order to become fully accredited to national standards.

It's been a long standing part of our strategy to train our volunteers in-house as much as we can, and last year I was delighted that we qualified three additional instructors in swift-water rescue and an additional instructor in rope rescue. As I write this I know that they are all planning training courses for other volunteers.

As well as our own training, we train with other search and rescue teams as much as we can. We participated in a major exercise run by Wiltshire SAR, and in fact another has just taken place in February. Two parties of swift-water rescuers from across SARA joined multi-agency training at Cardiff White Water Centre, and a rope rescue team participated in a different multi-agency session in a quarry in the Mendips, and at the end of September we enjoyed a two-day SWERA training weekend.

A joint rope rescue exercise with Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Our vehicle fleet saw quite a rotation in 2023. We finally replaced an old Landrover at SARA Upton (with significant support from The Turner Trust) and the old crew van at SARA Tewksbury. We bought a new crew van for SARA Cotswolds - which is the first vehicle for that station - as a result of their significant fund raising efforts. In September we bought a base vehicle for the next Incident Control Unit, replacing a second-hand unit we bought in 2015. It has just entered service, and is a huge credit to the team who designed the interior and fitted it out, much of it themselves. We are very grateful to the Office of the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner, and other private donors, for their support with this project.

The new SARA Mobile 14, launching a boat at Upton Marina

This year there has been a huge amount of energy going into fundraising events. The SARA Sharpness open day in August is always popular and this year raised in excess of £7000, and in September we successfully held the Wild Wye Swim where once again entrants swam up to 10.5 kilometres down the River Wye, with SARA providing safety cover all the way. We raised around £15,000 from that day. There have been dozens of collection events, a sponsored abseil, our members have been sponsored to walk the Jurassic Coast and to Everest Base Camp, and our friends in the community have donated the proceeds from concerts, cold water swims, and many other events - to help us to help other people.

Other volunteers provide services which keep our services running 24 x7 x 365 – maintaining our fleets of vehicles and boats, organising and minuting meetings, ordering clothing, planning training etc ….. I could write a very long list. I am grateful to all of them for giving of their time - the value is clear to us all.

We provide first aid cover for a number of events run by other organisations- particularly sports organisations such as rowing clubs - and we have seen the demand for these services increase this year as other providers have started to take a step back. As a result we've reviewed and formalised our internal policy around providing such services so that we may be confident of providing the appropriate level of cover for each event. It is important that we do not over-reach ourselves, or going beyond what a voluntary search and rescue organisation can and should provide.

It continues to be important for us engage with the local community as much as possible across our areas of operation. A good example is escorting Santa in the run up to Christmas to visit communities

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

in Newport and Kidderminster! We also invite relevant stakeholders to visit us as much as possible, and amongst those who did so this year was Mark Harper MP, in his capacity as Secretary of State for Transport, and Chief Constable Rod Hansen.

There were two significant and unusual engagements in Chepstow this summer. Firstly the Town Council had asked for all help with getting the famous Union Jack flag repainted for the Coronation; There has been a flag painted on the cliff wall in Chepstow Harbour since the Silver Jubilee of George V, and the Council were keen to get it repainted in time. This provided an opportunity for a small SARA team to demonstrate their ability to work at very low water levels to enable the counsellor to safely access and repaint the flag.

A second job requiring such skill involved ensuring the safety of, and helping a team from the local archaeological society investigating the remains of the Roman crossing just upstream from Chepstow Castle. This is normally safely preserved under the mud, but on 2 occasions SARA crews were able to help the archaeologists to locate, fully assess, and document the remains - news of which has been spread around the world.

So, as we wrap up the end of our 50[th] year, I reflect upon the organization that we are today with c.200 members spread over 7 stations across a significant geographical footprint; providing an array of specialist (and hugely well regarded) search and rescue services to our communities, saving lives and helping people in their darkest hours.

Looking through the archive of black and white photos from SARAs early days in the 1970’s it is a real source of inspiration – a small group of community minded individuals gathering together to do what they can to help people in need and asking for nothing in return. That spirit of community endeavour remains, it is at the heart of everything we do and continues to drive the development of the organization.

And, as is evident from the stories I have related (which are only a small fraction of those I could have chosen), I believe that the Association is in excellent health after 50 years.

Mark Carwardine Chief Executive Officer

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

The kayak rescue, which earned the crew the first ‘Jim Hewitt Award for Exceptional Endeavour in Search and Rescue’

Which was presented by Chair Keith Beckett at the 50[th] Anniversary Reception

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Helping Chepstow Town Council to repaint the Chepstow Harbour Flag, ahead of the Coronation

Providing a Water Safety Talk to a Local School

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Financial Review

Currently SARA is in good financial shape, with around £250k in the bank. There are, however, significant challenges ahead so there is no room for complacency at this point.

Much of our funds are either in the form of Restricted Funds, given to us for specific purposes and not yet spent, or have been Designated by the Board for specific purposes (these purposes are all laid out in Notes 17 and 18 to the Accounts). We finished the year with just over £88k in Unrestricted Cash; slightly below the target figure of £100k for Unrestricted Reserves which the Board reviewed in November and confirmed as an appropriate target level. At the time of writing this figure has climbed to around £95k, and I expect to achieve the target level by the middle of 2024.

2023 was a very good year for fundraising, with some great income generation going on. We were fortunate to receive two bequests for £30k each. The Wild Wye Swim made about £15k, the Sharpness Open Day a little over £9k, we had a sponsored abseil and the first Cirencester Slog, Pauline trekked to Everest Base Camp and Sam walked the Jurassic Coast. The various Police and Crime Commissioners gave us in total £17.5k, and we had various corporate grants and donations. Plus of course a lot of members’ time went into providing safety and first cover at regattas and other events, and the myriad bucket collections, village fetes etc that keep SARA in the public eye and together make a lot of money as well. A really fantastic effort all round! And we have been working though our ‘overhead costs’, trying to save money where we can do so without any operational impact - this is an ongoing process!

In 2023, as well as maintaining our capabilities we funded a lot of training to enhance our skills, including more Advanced Powerboat Certificate of Competence courses, external Land Search skills courses, another Rope Rescue and more SRT instructors, and we re-certified all the existing SRT instructors. The ‘business as usual’ costs would make a long list! On top of that we have bought new crew vans for SARA Cotswolds and Tewkesbury, a new 4x4 for Upton (with help from the £15k Turner Trust) and a new ICU vehicle, also putting aside enough funds to complete the fitting out all of these vehicles.

One of the issues many members experience is the quality of the PPE they are issued or have to use. Most of it is very much fit for purpose but we all know there are quite a few leaky drysuits. In December the Board allocated £30k for stations to buy PPE by the end of 2024, on top of anything that they have raised for that purpose.

We also have a big challenge in the coming years with refitting and replacing our lifeboats, and replacing the remaining land rovers. We were very fortunate with government grants in the 5 or 6 years before Covid, but the big ‘DFT Rescue Boat Grant Programme’ is now finished. At the end of last year we put aside £50k for ‘Major Asset Replacements’. £30k of that was still left at the end of 2023, with £10k allocated for each of the target replacement vehicles at Newport, Tewkesbury and Beachley. At the end of 2023 the Board put aside another £50k towards the cost of the lifeboat replacements, and we will aim to build that up further in the next few years.

My thanks to everyone who has helped with the book-keeping, with passing through invoices promptly, with helping to keep costs down and submit spend requests ahead of time. These all make my role easier, and enable me to help ensure that funds are there when we need them, so we can continue to help other people when they need it the most.

Richard Newhouse Chief Financial Officer from Feb 2023

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Fundraising

SARA raises funds for services through applications to charitable foundations and trusts, bids for appropriate statutory contracts, supported by individual and corporate donations, and community fundraising activities and support.

SARA is registered with the Fundraising Regulator, has a Fundraising Complaints Policy and Procedure and adheres to The Code of Fundraising Practice. Any Fundraising Complaints received by the charity are recorded and acted upon as set out in the procedure. There were no complains received about fundraising, or any other matters, during 2023.

SARA has no paid fundraisers and does not pay for the services of any fundraising organisation or people.

Fundraising at the Caldicot 999 Day in August 2023

Review of Risks

The Trustees and Executive Committee conduct an ongoing review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and processes and controls are in place to mitigate those risks.

The Association has Standard Operating Procedures which each member must follow. Whilst SARA is not bound by the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 (as it is part of Mountain Rescue England & Wales (MREW) which is exempt from the above Act), the Trustee’s policy is that the Association should use this legislation as ‘good practice’ for SARA operations.

SARA carries insurance policies to cover health and safety risks, include some insurance cover provided through Mountain Rescue England & Wales (MREW). The Executive Committee continues to monitor Insurance policies to ensure they are adequate for SARA’s purposes.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF SARA

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Severn Area Rescue Association (the Charity) for the year ended 31 December 2023

Responsibilities and Basis of Report

As the Trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of ICAEW, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no 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 2011 Act; or

  2. the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

  3. the financial statements 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 financial statements to be reached.

Jane Swann BA(Hons) BFP FCA Azets First Floor, Copthall House Stourbridge West Midlands DY8 1PH

Dated: 26 March 2024

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
funds
funds
2023
2023
2023
2022
2022
2022
Notes
£
£
£
£
£
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and
legacies
3
177,931
65,770
243,701
187,744
52,864
240,608
Charitable activities
4
80,804
7,832
88,636
23,590
-
23,590
Other trading
activities
5
1,279
-
1,279
658
-
658
Investments
6
1,812
-
1,812
84
-
84
Other income
7
21,393
-
21,393
9,265
-
9,265
Total income
283,219
73,602
356,821
221,341
52,864
274,205
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8
13,153
-
13,153
8,986
1,747
10,733
Charitable activities
9
227,788
26,912
254,700
230,152
27,151
257,303
Total expenditure
240,941
26,912
267,853
239,138
28,898
268,036
Net incoming resources
before transfers
42,278
46,690
88,968
(17,797)
23,966
6,169
Gross transfers
between funds
40,461
(40,461)
-
9,674
(9,674)
-
Net income for the year/
Net movement in funds
82,739
6,229
88,968
(8,123)
14,292
6,169
Fund balances at 1 January
2023
405,025
41,139
446,164
413,148
26,847
439,995
Fund balances at 31
December 2023
487,764
47,368
535,132
405,025
41,139
446,164

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

~~Page 22~~

Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023

2023
2022
Notes
£
£
£
£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
14
247,134
214,711
Current assets
Debtors
15
40,374
42,248
Cash at bank and in hand
259,600
218,939
299,974
261,187
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year
16
(11,976)
(29,734)
Net current assets
287,998
231,453
Total assets less current liabilities
535,132
446,164
Income funds
Restricted funds
17
47,368
41,139
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
18
123,621
50,000
General unrestricted funds
364,143
355,025
487,764
405,025
535,132
446,164

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on .........................26 March 2024

.............................. Mr R J Newhouse Trustee

~~Page 23~~

Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

The Severn Area Rescue Association, also known as SARA, is the largest independent multi-disciplinary volunteer search and rescue team in the UK. SARA is also the largest independent lifeboat service in the UK, second only to the RNLI.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the SARA constitution, the Charities Act 2011, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

The accounts are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £1.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

The charity is a public benefit entity.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives unless the funds have been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds are set aside by the Trustees as a form of Unrestricted Fund, for the purpose of financing future purchases or replacement items.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

1.4 Income

Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. In this case income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable that they will be fulfilled.

Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised when the reclaimed tax is received.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

Legacies are recognised on receipt or otherwise if the charity has been notified of an impending distribution, the amount is known, and receipt is expected. If the amount is not known, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset.

Grant income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.

Income from trading activities includes income earned from trading activities to raise funds for the charity.

No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP. Further detail is given in the Trustee's Annual Report.

Investment income is earned through holding assets for investment purposes. Interest income is recognised as the charity's right to receive payment is established.

1.5 Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions.

Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs, and other administrative costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of resources.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense against the activity for which expenditure arose.

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Freehold land and buildings straight line over 25 years Plant and equipment straight line over 4 & 5 years

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.

1.7 Impairment of fixed assets

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.8 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

1.9 Financial instruments

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

1.10 Debtors and creditors receivable / payable within one year

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.

Current asset investments are short term highly liquid investments and are held at fair value. These include cash on deposit and cash equivalents with a maturity of less than one year.

A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the charity. Control is the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.12 Taxation

The charity is an exempt charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charity for UK tax purposes.

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

The only key accounting estimates included in the financial statements relate to the useful lives of the assets and the period over which they are depreciated. The trustees decide the useful life and determine the depreciation rates.

3 Donations and legacies

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Unrestricted|Restricted|Total|Unrestricted|Restricted|Total| |funds|funds|funds|funds| |2023|2023|2023|2022|2022|2022| |£|£|£|£|£|£| |Donations and gifts|60,391|20,325|80,716|151,486|31,607|183,093| |-|-| |Legacies receivable|82,135|82,135|5,000|5,000| |Grant Income|31,913|45,445|77,358|31,258|21,257|52,515| |-|-|-|-| |Sponsorships|1,092|1,092| |-|-|-|-| |Donated goods and services|2,400|2,400| |177,931|65,770|243,701|187,744|52,864|240,608|

----- End of picture text -----

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

4 Charitable activities

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |Charitable|Charitable| |activities|activities| |2023|2022| |£|£| |Fundraising events|86,486|21,590| |Service level agreement|2,000|2,000| |Charitable rental income|150|-| |88,636|23,590| |Analysis by fund| |Unrestricted funds|80,804|23,590| |Restricted funds|7,832|-| |88,636|23,590| |5|Other trading activities| |Unrestricted|Unrestricted| |funds|funds| |2023|2022| |£|£| |Sale of goods|-|25| |Commercial sponsorship|-|500| |Other trading income|1,279|133| |Other trading activities|1,279|658| |6|Investments| |Unrestricted|Unrestricted| |funds|funds| |2023|2022| |£|£| |Interest receivable|1,812|84|

----- End of picture text -----

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

7 Other income

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |Unrestricted|Unrestricted| |funds|funds| |2023|2022| |£|£| |Net gain on disposal of tangible fixed assets|15,200|2,250| |Other income|6,193|7,015| |21,393|9,265|

----- End of picture text -----

8 Raising funds

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Unrestricted|Unrestricted|Restricted|Total| |funds|funds|funds| |2023|2022|2022|2022| |£|£|£|£| |Fundraising and publicity| |Other fundraising costs|13,153|8,986|1,747|10,733| |13,153|8,986|1,747|10,733|

----- End of picture text -----

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

9 Charitable activities

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |Charitable|Charitable| |activities|activities| |2023|2022| |£|£| |Depreciation and impairment|56,445|54,491| |Fuel|15,353|19,258| |Training|20,441|24,021| |Insurance|36,911|37,912| |Consumables|8,953|5,195| |Repairs and maintenance|38,235|42,514| |Equipment purchases|39,489|41,359| |Communications|9,139|11,641| |Regulatory compliance|1,081|2,138| |226,047|238,529| |Share of support costs (see note 10)|21,875|15,553| |Share of governance costs (see note 10)|6,778|3,221| |254,700|257,303| |Analysis by fund| |Unrestricted funds|227,788|230,152| |Restricted funds|26,912|27,151| |254,700|257,303|

----- End of picture text -----

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |10|Support costs| |Support|Governance|2023|Support|Governance|2022| |costs|costs|costs|costs| |£|£|£|£|£|£| |-|-| |Heat, light and water|12,970|12,970|8,776|8,776| |Printing, postage and| |stationery|308|-|308|646|-|646| |-|-| |Computer costs|2,031|2,031|1,130|1,130| |Travel costs|219|-|219|408|-|408| |-|-| |Bank charges|2,566|2,566|2,666|2,666| |-|-| |Other support costs|2,380|2,380|1,346|1,346| |Rent and rates|1,401|-|1,401|581|-|581| |-|-| |Accountancy fees|6,668|6,668|3,136|3,136| |Legal and professional|-|110|110|-|85|85| |21,875|6,778|28,653|15,553|3,221|18,774| |Analysed between| |Charitable activities|21,875|6,778|28,653|15,553|3,221|18,774|

----- End of picture text -----

Accountancy fees contain costs for the independent examination of £1,950 (2022: £2,300) and other accountancy services of £1,800 (2022: £1,750).

11 Trustees

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration, benefits or expenses from the charity during the year.

12 Employees

There were no employees during the year.

13 Taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |14|Tangible fixed assets| |Freehold land|Plant and|Total| |and buildings|equipment| |£|£|£| |Cost| |At 1 January 2023|397,751|1,129,576|1,527,327| |Additions|-|88,868|88,868| |-| |Disposals|(15,000)|(15,000)| |At 31 December 2023|397,751|1,203,444|1,601,195| |Depreciation and impairment| |At 1 January 2023|258,085|1,054,531|1,312,616| |Depreciation charged in the year|12,681|43,764|56,445| |-| |Eliminated in respect of disposals|(15,000)|(15,000)| |At 31 December 2023|270,766|1,083,295|1,354,061| |Carrying amount| |At 31 December 2023|126,985|120,149|247,134| |At 31 December 2022|139,666|75,045|214,711| |15|Debtors| |2023|2022| |Amounts falling due within one year:|£|£| |Trade debtors|7,534|4,596| |Other debtors|9,803|9,764| |Prepayments and accrued income|23,037|27,888| |40,374|42,248| |16|Creditors: amounts falling due within one year| |2023|2022| |£|£| |Trade creditors|5,622|12,518| |Accruals and deferred income|6,354|17,216| |11,976|29,734|

----- End of picture text -----

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

17 Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Movement in funds| |Balance at|Incoming|Resources|Transfers|Balance at| |1 January 2023|resources|expended|31 December| |2023| |£|£|£|£|£| |Glos OPPC Grant|[(1)]|1,126|5,000|(4,233)|-|1,893| |-|-| |Beachley Station CCTV & Vehicle Radio|2,625|(2,423)|(202)| |Cotswold Station Start-up|10,129|419|(434)|(4,590)|5,524| |Cotswold Station Crew Van|16,984|5,426|-|(20,669)|1,741| |-|-|-| |SARA Lifeboat 14 Engine Replacement|1,150|1,150| |-| |Sharpness Station Building Maintenance|4,996|4,323|(689)|8,630| |-|-|-| |SARA Lifeboat 6 Trailer Replacement|3,129|3,129| |Other small restricted funds|[(2)]|1,000|8,141|(9,141)|-|-| |Incident Control Unit Fit-out|-|8,500|(754)|-|7,746| |-|-|-| |Beachley Launch Tractor Replacement|1,506|1,506| |Cotswolds Station New 4x4 Vehicle|-|250|-|-|250| |PPE|-|15,937|(7,916)|-|8,021| |Persimmon Homes Grant|[ (3)]|-|5,000|(282)|-|4,718| |-|-|-| |Mental Health First Aid Training|2,600|2,600| |Sharpness Station New Pressure| |Washers|-|1,500|(1,040)|-|460| |-|-|-| |Upton Station Vehicle Replacement|15,000|(15,000)| |41,139|73,602|(26,912)|(40,461)|47,368|

----- End of picture text -----

(1) Annual grant from Office of Police & Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire, for equipment and training for land-based search and rescue.

(2) Restricted income amounts under £5,000, which were spend directly for the purposes given. In 2023 this included a £2,900 government grant for Swiftwater Rescue Instructor training, which was combined with an existing £1,000 fund for that purpose, £2,100 specifically for equipment for Wyre Forest Station and £1,070 for waterproof aide memoires for casualty carers.

(3) Grant for technical rescue training and equipment.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

18 Designated funds

The trustees recognise the importance of maintaining the set of boats and vehicles, and ensuring their replacements on a timely basis. The Major Assets Fund was initiated last year with £50,000 to support the purchase of replacing major assets, to be supplemented with other funds specifically raised for these purposes. It is envisaged that the use and replacement of monies within the Major Assets Fund will be an ongoing activity.

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Movement in funds| |Balance at|Incoming|Resources|Balance at| |1 January 2023|resources|expended|31 December| |2023| |£|£|£|£| |Major Assets Replacement|[(1)]|50,000|54,000|(24,000)|80,000| |-| |Tewkesbury Station New Van Fit-out|26,265|(25,259)|1,006| |-| |Upton Station 4x4 Fit-out|10,000|(5,030)|4,970| |Purchase commitments H1 2024|[(2)]|-|6,645|-|6,645| |PPE|[(3)]|-|31,000|-|31,000| |50,000|127,910|(54,289)|123,621|

----- End of picture text -----

(1) The trustees recognise the importance of maintaining the set of boats, vehicles and buildings, and ensuring their replacements or major maintenance work is effected on a timely basis. The Major Assets Fund was initiated at the end of 2021 with £50,000 to support this, to be supplemented with other funds specifically raised for these purposes. It is envisaged that the use and replacement of monies within the Major Assets Fund will be an ongoing activity.

(2) Purchases agreed in Q4 2023 but not executed by year-end, target completion by end of Q1 2024.

(3) Funds allocated to rescue stations in late 2023, pro-rata based on crew numbers, to be spent on PPE during 2024.

19 Analysis of net assets between funds

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Unrestricted|Restricted|Total|Unrestricted|Restricted|Total| |funds|funds|funds|funds| |2023|2023|2023|2022|2022|2022| |£|£|£|£|£|£| |Fund balances at 31| |December 2023 are| |represented by:| |-|-| |Tangible assets|247,134|247,134|214,711|214,711| |Current assets/(liabilities)|240,630|47,368|287,998|190,314|41,139|231,453| |487,764|47,368|535,132|405,025|41,139|446,164|

----- End of picture text -----

Cash at bank and in hand at the year end was £259,600, of which £47,368 was restricted, and £123,621 designated by the trustees for a particular purpose.

This left an unrestricted cash balance of £88,611 at the year-end date.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

20 Related party transactions

Transactions with related parties

During the year the charity entered into the following transactions with related parties:

SARA commissions minor repairs to drysuits from Merv Fleming Associates, a business operated by Mervyn Fleming, a trustee of this charity until 11 May 2023. The total value of related party transactions between Merv Fleming Associates and SARA was £507 in 2023 (£513 in 2022) and the work was performed at a discounted commercial rate for SARA.

Accounting software was supplied through Vertis Accounting, a company of which Ian Jarvis, a trustee of this charity until 31 January 2023, was director. The total value of related party transactions between Vertis Accounting and SARA was £126 (net of VAT) in 2023 (£491 in 2022).

21 Subsidiaries

Details of the charity's subsidiaries at 31 December 2023 are as follows:

SARA Trading Limited - Registered in England (company number 11820156), incorporated 11 February 2019. The company has no share capital and is limited by guarantee. The charity has given a guarantee of £100, and is the relevant legal entity by virtue of the ability to appoint and remove trustees. The four officers of the company are also trustees of the charity. The company provides commercial training and organises events to raise funds for the charity. The company had net assets at 28 February 2023 of £13,831 (2022 : £7,750 ). The company made donations of £18,500 to the charity during the year.

The charity is not required to prepare consolidated accounts.

22 Contingent liability

As referred to in note 21, in the unlikely event of the subsidiary company SARA Trading Limited being wound up, the charity has guaranteed a payment of £100.

Page 35

Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Annex A: SARA’s Operational Role and Tasks

SARA is a multi-disciplinary volunteer search and rescue organisation and is the designated rescue service for an area of over 20,000 km[2 ] on and around the Severn. It provides:

SARA operates from seven rescue stations, at Newport, Chepstow (SARA Beachley), Sharpness, Tewkesbury, Upton-upon-Severn, Kidderminster (SARA Wyre Forest) and at Cirencester (SARA Cotswolds). SARA Crew receive ‘callouts’ through a combination of dedicated Pagers and through SMS messages using the SARCALL system.

Lifeboats and Mud Rescue

SARA is the designated rescue service for the Rivers Severn, Wye and Usk. The SARA lifeboats, based at Beachley, Sharpness and Newport are tasked by HM Coastguard, largely in response to 999 calls.

The River Severn below Gloucester is used for around 350 commercial ship transits per year and the lower Wye around 150. The Severn also has over 500 registered leisure craft transits between Gloucester and Sharpness alone each year, and many more that are not counted. The tidal range on the Severn at Beachley, and on the Wye at Chepstow, is 15 metres (the second highest in the World!), which means that the river changes within a few hours from a wide expanse of deep water, to narrow shallow channels weaving through extensive sandbanks.

In addition, the tidal current on the Severn reaches 12 knots; this can lead to very turbulent river conditions in even a moderate wind. Most of the way to Gloucester the riverbed is very broad, with a narrow and winding navigable channel, marked with numerous buoys, beacons and transits. The margins of all the tidal rivers have wide and thick mudbanks below the high-tide levels, and in places the exposed mud leads out to rocky islands at low tide.

Typical incidents for SARA include vessels grounding, or losing power hence requiring urgent assistance to avoid grounding. People have been rescued from islands or ledges where they were being cut off by the tide, or actually plucked from the mud. On other occasions boats, and other floating hardware, are broken loose by the water and drift with the fast currents and have to be recovered. On average lifeboats are launched operationally around once a week (50-60 launches per year).

*SARA's declared area of lifeboat operations, for which it is tasked by HM Coastguard, is the Severn, north from a line between Newport and Clevedon to Maisemore Weir near Gloucester, and the tributary rivers Wye (to Bigsweir Bridge), Usk (to the M4 Bridge) and the Avon (to Bristol Docks). If required in exceptional circumstances, SARA Lifeboats can extend beyond this area, using a re-fuelling stop at Newport, to operate north of a line from Barry to Weston Super Mare.

The SARA lifeboats area also features several high bridges – notably the M48 Severn Bridge but also the A48 in Chepstow and several in Newport. SARA is often called out to a ‘person at risk’ on a bridge. The majority, but sadly not all, are resolved directly by the Police. However, a lifeboat is always launched so as to be ready. Recoveries are therefore not uncommon, but SARA has successfully rescued people from the water below a bridge.

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Severn Area Rescue Association: Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Land Search

SARA provides land search capabilities in support of the Police. SARA has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in place with the Police Forces for Gloucestershire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire, the West Midlands, Shropshire, West Mercia and Warwickshire. These Police Forces request SARA support for ‘Missing Person’ searches in their respective areas, and teams from the various SARA Stations work together as appropriate to the search area location.

Such missing person searches can range in duration from less than an hour to spanning several days and may become ‘recovery’ rather than rescue operations. SARA is able to deploy one of its two Mobile ‘Incident Support Units’ (ISUs) to support such searches and other operations; searches are managed from the ISU, which is the focus for liaison with the Police and other agencies. SARA’s MoUs with the Police are to assist with any search, in any terrain, for a vulnerable missing person – including urban searches if required.

SARA is also a member (Associate Member since Jan 2021) of Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW). Generally, MR teams deploy into mountainous environments (or at least challenging ones); in the SARA area the more technical areas would include the Wye Valley, Forest of Dean, Wyre Forest or Cleeve Hill.

In addition, all neighbouring MR teams back each other up, so SARA is considered a backup for Longtown MR Team, and other teams in the Brecon Beacons. One example was the extensive search for April Jones around Machynlleth; SARA did not deploy as many other MR teams did but was put on high alert to back fill for any jobs in these teams’ areas.

Cliff Rescue

SARA Beachley is a specific base for the Cliff Rescue in the Lower Wye Valley, where the cliffs around Wyntours Leap, Symonds Yat and other walls are a popular destination for climbers of all abilities. It is estimated that there are 3,000-4,000 climber-days per year in the Lower Wye Valley. There are also a number of disused quarries in the area, in which accidents involving non-climbers happen.

SARA has an MoU with Gloucester Fire & Rescue Service (GFRS) for effecting cliff rescue operations, and an increasingly close relationship with South Wales FRS (some of the cliffs are on the Welsh side of the Wye). The SARA rope rescue training is based on Rescue3 qualifications, also used by the Fire and Rescue services which facilitates interoperability.

There is a further close relationship with Gloucestershire Cave Rescue Group (GCRG), which also has rope rescue trained personnel and relevant equipment, which are available as required. Conversely SARA is available to provide surface support to cave rescue operations, and indeed is integral to the contingency plans for caves such at ‘Otter Hole’ in the Wye Valley. Rope rescue operations are thankfully rare, but joint exercises are conducted with the FRS and GCRG.

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Swift Water and Flood Rescue

Swift Water is defined as ‘that moving fast enough to produce sufficient force to present a life and safety hazard to a person entering it’. Operations in ‘swift water’ are referred to as ‘SRT’ tasks and include life-saving rescue. However, due to the time-sensitive nature of water incidents these are often search and if necessary recovery operations. Their initiation is often by a combination of Police, FRS or Coastguard. Dependent on the water concerned, a small boat may be deployed, or a floating platform, in addition to crew directly in shallow water. SARA has the ability to launch such small boats in almost all rivers, with no requirement for slipway or road access to the riverbank. Such small boats are referred to as ‘Rescue’ boats; SARA prefers rigid rescue boats to reduce the risk of punctures from the use of inflatables.

SARA Swift Water crew are qualified as ‘Swift Water and Flood Rescue Technicians’, which is the national standard. The Swift Water Teams are also able to deploy on flood rescue operations nationally, as Flood Response Teams. DEFRA, through the National DEFRA Flood Rescue group, coordinate the Flood Response Team deployments nationally. SARA has 2 x ‘Type B’ and 4 x ‘Type C’ declared teams of 7, shared between its 7 Stations, which need to be ready for deployment anywhere in the country. SARA has a proven track record of deploying around the UK on such incidents including Essex (2014), Devon (2014) and Yorkshire (2015/16).

First Aid and Casualty Care

All SARA crew are trained, at minimum, in basic first aid. A number of SARA crew are further qualified to the much higher level of ‘Casualty Care’ as defined by MREW. In addition, a number of crew are professional paramedics, nurses or serving as Community First Responders.

First aid equipment is carried during all searches and in all SARA vehicles; depending on the nature of the operation, equipment such as Oxygen, portable defibrillators, back- and neck-stabilization boards may be taken into the field.

Education and Training Provision

SARA provides training and education to the wider community through a variety of routes. These include:

  1. Emergency Services Training. For the Emergency Services, SARA provides lifeboat training. For example, SARA Beachley has an ongoing relationship with the South West Ambulance Services Trust to provide structured, water-based rescue training for members of their Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART). This provides specialist knowledge, training and experience of working with boats, including in the tidal waters of the Severn Estuary.

  2. School Visits. Covid-permitting, the SARA stations frequently host visits from and undertakes visits to local primary schools, Scouts and Guides Units, etc. These are designed to be educational as well as fun, informing young people of the dangers of the water and other aspects of the local area of which they may be unaware.

  3. Outreach Activities. SARA frequently particulates in relevant ‘community outreach’ activities such as the Drowning Awareness Weeks, again providing education about the avoidance of risks as well as information concerning SARA and other emergency Services.

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Event Safety Cover

Most years SARA also provides safety and first aid cover to local outdoor-based events, generally sports related. These are usually events which involve water, and/or off-road running, such as rowing regattas, raft races, triathlons and off-road running races. SARA undertakes this role for several reasons:

  1. To support the local community. SARA has historically provided this service at a discount to the notional cost, in order to facilitate and support these local events to a greater extent than alternative organisations would be able to. The number of such races and events supported continues to rise, as local organisations realise the capabilities which SARA can bring to their events.

  2. To raise SARA’s profile. SARA is usually paid for providing the service, albeit at hugely discounted rates for community groups to enable these to be viable, but for many members of the public spectating, this is an excellent opportunity to see SARA in action.

  3. To put SARA’s skills into play 'in the field' and provide real-world experience.

SARA Lifeboat 1 ‘The Jim Hewitt’ on the River Wye near Woodcroft Quarry

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Annex B: Summary of SARA Capabilities

Inland Missing Person Search

Water operations

Mud Rescue

Cliff and Steep Ground (Gloucestershire-Based)

Advanced First Aid

Command and control

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