## **Trustees' Annual Report for the period** 

## **1[st] January 2023 - 31[st] December 2023** 

||**SECTION A – Reference and administration details**|
|---|---|
|**Charity name**|Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team (Tavistock)|
|**Registered charity number**|1201527|
|**Charity's principal address**|The Rescue Centre<br>Abbey Rise<br>Tavistock<br>PL19 9FD|



## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** 

|**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**|**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**|**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**|**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
||**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole year**|
|1|Mark Schofield|Chair||
|2|Heather Smyly|Secretary||
|3|Paul Hudson|Team Leader||
|4|Tom Layland|Treasurer|29th March 23 - 31st December 23|
|5|Paul Johnson|Equipment Officer||
|6|Chris Bunney|Fundraising Officer|29th March 23 - 31st December 23|
|7|Steve Mortimer|Treasurer|1st January 23 - 29th March 23|
|8|Al Reid|Training Officer||
|9||||
|10||||



**SECTION B – Structure. Governance and Management** 

**Description of the charity’s trusts** 

Constitution adopted 29th March 2004 

**Type of governing document** 



|||
|---|---|
|**How the charity is constituted**|Association consisting of team members|
|**Trustee selection methods**|Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually<br>by the members at the Annual General Meeting in<br>March|



## **Additional governance issues** 

Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team (Tavistock) is one of four teams in the Dartmoor Rescue Group, a member of the regional Peninsula Mountain and Cave Rescue Association and one of  48 teams nationally in Mountain Rescue England and Wales. 

All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benefits. 

## **SECTION C – Objectives and activities** 

**Summary of the objects** The objective of the Team is to relieve suffering and distress **of the charity set out in** amongst persons endangered by accidents or natural hazards **its governing document** primarily within moorland areas and to provide arrangements for  the secure and efficient search and rescue of any person or  persons so endangered and to encourage moorland safety instruction and awareness through all sections of the community. **Summary of the main** Our services are entirely voluntary and in particular demand in **activities undertaken for** situations where weather conditions are poor and the location of **the public benefit in** the missing person is unknown. Team members are highly **relation to  these objects** trained in a variety of skills including search techniques, **(include within this** navigation, first aid, swift water rescue, radio operation and **section the statutory** working with helicopters. Individual search teams are **declaration that  trustees** coordinated  through a team leader who is in constant radio **have had regard to the** contact with the controller coordinating the search effort. We **guidance issued by the** work closely with the police who initiate calls to us in situations **Charity Commission on** where our services may  be required.  The trustees have **public benefit)** complied with their duty to have  due regard to the commission's public benefit guidance. 



## **SECTION D – Achievements and Performance** 

|**Summary of the main**<br>**achievements of the**<br>**charity during the year**|**Summary of the main**<br>**achievements of the**<br>**charity during the year**||
|---|---|---|
||**Summary of the main**<br>**achievements of the**<br>**charity during the year**|2023/4 was a pretty ‘normal’ year after the freneticism of previous ones.<br>Operationally call outs were perhaps a little low, we completed ongoing<br>projects or moved them along the path completion, we remain<br>financially sound -though no cause for complacency- and we continued<br>to upgrade and improve our skills sets, equipment and procedures.<br>There was significant turnover of personnel within the team. Three of<br>the new intake from Jan 23 have been badged and we are completely<br>confident the fourth will do so soon. As ever we had a difficult job<br>sifting through and assessing some quality candidates to join the team.<br>We have taken the unusual step of taking on 8 trainees. They have<br>settled in well and we look forward to supporting their progression into<br>the team.<br>We are pleased to record that the Garage project has been completed,<br>with thanks to all involved. There is some follow up work required on<br>the painted floor but plans for that are in hand. It is great news too that<br>we have a new control vehicle to put in our new garage. This has<br>proved to be something of a Herculean task and we owe a great deal of<br>gratitude to those involved.|



## **SECTION E – Financial review** 

|||
|---|---|
|Brief statement of the<br>charity's policy on reserves|The charity has a reserve account which is used to build up<br>the level of funding necessary to ensure the charity's<br>sustainability and provide funds for long term projects.|
|Details of any funds<br>materially in deficit|None|



**SECTION F - Declaration** 



## **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees' report above.** 

|**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees' report above.**|**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees' report above.**|**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees' report above.**|
|---|---|---|
||||
|**Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees**|||
|**Signatures**|||
|**Full Name**|Emily Woodhouse|Tom Layland|
|**Position**|Secretary|Treasurer|
|**Date**|27th October 2024|27th October 2024|