2025-12-31-accounts

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report and Financial Statements 2025

Annual Report ............................................................................................................................................ Page 2 Administrative Information .................................................................................................. Page 2 Achievements and Performance ........................................................................................ Page 3 Church Attendance .................................................................................................................. Page 3 Deaths in 2025........................................................................................................................... Page 3 Review of the Year ................................................................................................................... Page 3-5 Financial Review ........................................................................................................................ Page 6 Reserves Policy .......................................................................................................................... Page 6 Financial Statements ................................................................................................................................ Pages 7-10 Summary of Receipts and Payments ................................................................................. Page 7 Statement of Assets and Liabilities ..................................................................................... Page 8 Notes ............................................................................................................................................. Page 9-10 Report of the Independent Examiner ............................................................................................... Page 11-12

Incumbent (Address for Correspondence):

The Reverend Ben Scott (Assistant Curate), c/o St Michael’s Vicarage, 117 Penhill Road, Lancing BN15 8HD

Independent Examiner:

Mrs Rosanne Nulty, 135 Stamford Road, Kettering, NN26 8YA

Bankers:

HSBC UK Bank PLC and Barclays Bank PLC

Parochial Church Council of South Lancing and Sompting Annual Report for 2025

Administrative Information

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of the Ecclesiastical Parish of South Lancing and Sompting is a registered charity with the Charity Commission (number 1205535). Its governing document is the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956.

During the year the following served as members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC):

Ex-officio Members:

The Reverend F.A.J. Smith (Chairman and Parish Priest) until 22 June 2025 The Reverend B. Scott (Assistant Curate) Chairman from 23 June 2025

Ms R.E.G. Connolly (Churchwarden and Vice Chairman) .......................................................... Until 2026 Mrs A.M. Gisby (Churchwarden and Vice Chairman) ................................................................. Until 2026 Mr I.L. Tout (Deputy Churchwarden and PCC Treasurer) .......................................................... Until 2026 Mr M.G. Tristram (Deputy Churchwarden) ..................................................................................... Until 2026 Mrs A.C. Upfield (Diocesan Synod Representative) .................................................................... Until 2026 Mrs A. Hunniball (Deanery Synod Representative) ..................................................................... Until 2027 Mr P.N. Walpole (Deanery Synod Representative) ...................................................................... Until 2026 Vacancy (Deanery Synod Representative) ...................................................................................... Until 2026 Vacancy (Deanery Synod Representative) ...................................................................................... Until 2026

Elected Members:

Miss C. Allen ............................................................................................................................................... Until 2026 Mrs K.H. Ayling .......................................................................................................................................... Until 2028 Mrs M.A. Burton ........................................................................................................................................ Until 2026 Mrs J.L.W. Excell ......................................................................................................................................... Until 2026 Mr S. Gates .................................................................................................................................................. Until 2027 Mr A.C. Kerney .......................................................................................................................................... Until 2027 Mrs G.E.M. Kerney (Parish Safeguarding Officer) ......................................................................... Until 2027 Mrs R. Kirsch ............................................................................................................................................... Until 2028 Mrs J. Lansley ............................................................................................................................................. Until 2028 Mrs J. Offord ............................................................................................................................................... Until 2028 Miss E.J.R. Weekes .................................................................................................................................... Until 2027 Vacancy ......................................................................................................................................................... Until 2026

Co-opted Members:

None

Standing Committee:

Revd Smith (Chairman until 22 June 2025) Ms Connolly (Churchwarden and Vice Chairman) Mr Tout (Deputy Churchwarden and PCC Treasurer) Mrs Kerney (Parish Safeguarding Officer)

Revd Scott (Chairman from 23 June 2025) Mrs Gisby (Churchwarden and Vice Chairman) Mr Tristram (Deputy Churchwarden) Miss Allen (Assistant Churchwarden)

Membership of the PCC is determined under the Church Representation Rules and consists of certain exofficio members (the incumbent, the churchwardens and members of the Deanery Synod) and twelve members of the church who are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM).

Aim of the PCC

The aim of the PCC is to co-operate with the minister in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.

Achievements and performance

Church attendance

On 31 December 2025 there were 145 names on the church electoral roll, 85 of which are of people resident within the parish. Following the 2025 roll renewal three names were added and one was removed. The average Sunday attendance was 118 adults and 11 children (based on October attendance figures). Attendance at Messy Church events was restricted to 35 and was booked out very quickly.

Deaths 2025

From the Electoral Roll, the PCC was sad to say goodbye to Lily Lange, Mollie Green, Neville Whittle, Rita Laraway and Victor Venn.

Review of the Year

The PCC held five ordinary meetings during the year. The Parish Mission Action Plan (MAP) has been used as a focus for its discussion and action through the year. The sections of the MAP follow those of the Diocesan Strategy – Church Growth, Reimagining Ministry and Contributing to the Common Good. An extended meeting at Church House Hove facilitated by The Reverend Dr Jack Dunn replaced the ordinary meeting in May and was used to evaluate the previous Mission Action Plan and make plans for the new one.
With the announcement that Fr Felix Smith would be leaving his role as Vicar in June after almost eight years, attention has turned to running the parish during the Vacancy. Fr Ben Scott (Assistant Curate) was appointed Chair of the PCC and a Sequestrator together with the Churchwardens, the Rev Shirley Tupper (Rural Dean) and the Rev Canon Paul Seaman. An extraordinary PCC meeting was held in December in conjunction with the PCC of Lancing with Coombes to agree the Parish Profile and elect parish representatives as part of the process to appoint a new vicar. The appreciation for the continued support shown by our retired clergy, Canon Michael Hart and Rev Gerald Kirsch, whilst always constant has been renewed for their support and ministry, especially since the Vacancy began. At a time when both hoped they might be doing less, they are doing much more, and this is deeply appreciated.
Safeguarding has continued to be a permanent agenda item. We have complied with the duty to have due regard to the House of Bishops' guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016. People working with children and vulnerable adults have attended online or in-person training sessions as appropriate to their roles with further support given as necessary. Safer Recruitment guidelines have been followed with recruitments to all posts either new or as roles become vacant. The Safeguarding Dashboard has been adopted and is a useful tool in ensuring compliance with diocesan requirements and to monitor progress.

An audit of church and non-church groups using our halls has been undertaken to establish which are specifically targeted to children or vulnerable adults. This has included reviewing safeguarding policies, insurance and adult-child ratios. This work is ongoing and is important so that we know all people using our facilities will be safeguarded as far as possible.

Policies encompassing safeguarding, health and safety, employment and other areas have been subject to discussion and annual review to ensure we remain compliant and aware of our responsibilities.

Services: Regular Sunday and weekday services have been maintained. Good congregational numbers across all three churches have been seen with some growth in all Sunday congregations. The number of funerals (21) remains steady, particularly those held at crematoriums. The number of baptisms (27) dipped slightly from 2024 but remains consistent but the number of weddings (3) remains low. Attendance at both Christmas and Easter was slightly down on the previous year.

Messy Church has continued to run and develop at St Michael’s on a bi-monthly basis incorporating a range of activities on different themes through the church year. Numbers are restricted to assist with catering with an online booking system used.

The Bishop of Chichester visited St Peter’s to celebrate and preach for the Patronal Festival which also marked the 60[th] anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone. Guest preachers have included Bishop Nicholas Reade who preached at Choral Evensong for the St Mary’s patronal festival in August, and Bishop Christopher Morgan who preached at the St Michael’s patronal festival in September. Guest

preachers at St Mary’s Choral Evensong have included the Reverend Russell Dewhurst, the Reverend Jerry Garton and the Venerable Chris Skilton.

The regular pattern of services has been maintained across the parish - 9 am Mass with Hymns at St Peter’s (1st, 2nd, 4th Sundays) and Mass with Hymns at St Mary’s (3rd Sunday), 10.30 am Sung Mass at St Michael’s, 5 pm Choral Evensong at St Mary’s usually when there is a fifth Sunday in the month (about four times each year). 9 am Morning Worship at St Peter’s (5th Sunday) and 6.30 pm Evening Worship on an ad hoc basis (3rd Sunday) led by Authorised Lay Minister Ian Tout. Weekday Masses at St Michael’s on Thursday and Saturday have continued as has daily Morning Prayer.

Members of the congregation have continued to take part in the monthly Ecumenical Morning Prayer and breakfast with people from all the churches in Lancing and Sompting. We coordinated the organisation of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with prayers being held at each of the churches and members of the congregation took part in these. In common with many parishes in the diocese we took part in the Diocesan Lent course “I Believe”, based around the Nicene Creed.

For the first time we offered ‘Ashing to Go’ outside the railway station on Ash Wednesday.

Time to Remember, our annual service for bereaved people and families, took place in October and was attended by the families of people whose funerals had been taken by the clergy over the last two years. Home Communion has been made available to housebound parishioners and those in rest homes in the parish by the Parish Priest, Curate and Lay Ministers of Communion.

Church Growth: All our regular groups have continued to run, these include Alive! (children’s group), XYZ (group for those in 20-60 age group) and Evergreen (group for those over 60), Home Group, Social Afternoon at St Peter’s, Baby Boomers and the Craft Club. Each add their own something to the social and spiritual life of the parish. Rise our youth group was put into abeyance due to numbers but we have launched Rooted, a new family activity planned to meet on 3-4 occasions across the year. Our Mothers’ Union branch continues to offer us a valuable link with their work supporting families worldwide. Further promotion of groups has been made through flyers, leaflets, social media and where relevant to schools.

An Alpha course run by Marion and David Peskett was open to everyone across the parish.

The parish employs a Parish Administrator, Heather Crookes. Heather’s employment assists in lifting some of the administrative burden from the clergy and helping to streamline and develop working processes and practices. Heather also oversees the management of the two church halls which includes overseeing bookings and invoicing for use, and managing the cleaner. Heather also carries out work for the Parish of Lancing with Coombes as Parish Administrator, and for part of the year for Worthing Deanery as Deanery Development Officer. There are Service Level Agreements in place for this work.

Reimagining Ministry: A volunteer group have continued to address general items of maintenance and small items as highlighted by the Quinquennial Inspections. The PCC continue to discuss major works including the required stonework replacement and roof repairs at St Mary’s, the proposed redevelopment of the church hall and additional storage at St Michael’s, and necessary repairs to pipe organs at St Michael’s and St Mary’s. Discussion around an alternative use of land at St Peter’s has continued and the land was transferred to the PCC’s ownership by the diocese. Ultimately it was decided not to advance this project at the present. Discussion on the management of the churchyard at St Mary’s and its proposed closure for burials has also taken place. Fundraising has been ongoing towards to conservation of a banner at St Michael’s presented after the end of the Second World War. When funding is in place the conservation work will be undertaken by Zenzie Tinker Conservation.

Promotion of the need for every member of the church to commit to making a regular and realistic contribution towards the ongoing ministry of the parish has continued. Building on the 2024 stewardship campaign there have been regular newsletter articles highlighting different aspects of ministry and its costs. The Resourcing and Vocation group are also looking at further ways to promote stewardship giving in 2026. Contactless giving devices are available at St Michael’s and St Mary’s. All three churches have online giving sites.

Contributing to the Common Good: The charity supported for 2025 was The Children’s Society Lancing and Sompting Churches Foodbank and £1705 was raised through Lent Lunches, donations, a collection at the Crib Services and The Walk, a sponsored prayer walk through the parish over two Saturdays

visiting each church in turn and other local points of interest. Some incidental support for other charities took place and we collected food for the Foodbank at Harvest and other items for Turning Tides at Epiphany. Concerts by other groups held at St Michael’s raised money for other charities including The Alzheimer’s Society and Electric Storm Youth.

We have continued links with schools in the parish. Fr Felix Smith was Vice Chair of Governors at Seaside Primary School. Two further members of the congregation sit on the Local Governing Body at the same school while other members of the congregation fulfil a similar role at schools both within the parish and beyond. Seaside Primary School and The Globe Primary Academy held their Christmas Carol Services at St Michael’s and Sompting Abbotts School held their Christmas Carol Services at St Mary’s. Seaside, Sompting Village Primary School, Boundstone Nursery School also decorated trees in the Christmas Tree Festival alongside other schools, businesses and community groups. The Worship Workshop at Seaside was unfortunately put into abeyance due to other time pressures. School visits from Sompting Village Primary School and Bramber Primary School were received at St Mary’s.

Usage of the halls at St Michael’s and St Peter’s as a venue for community groups has been continued but usage at St Michael’s has not improved on the previous year, despite additional ongoing promotion. We know that parking is an issue and are seeking what we can do to address this. A cleaner is employed at both halls. The PCC also allowed the use of the churches for concerts during the year. These included performances by Cotillion and Sussex Harmony (St Mary’s), Worthing Community Concert Band, Lancing Chamber Orchestra and The Boundstone Chorus (St Michael’s).

It was not possible to resurrect plans to run a Job Club in conjunction with Christians Against Poverty (CAP). This will continue to be subject to someone being trained to take on the club management. The new Memory Lane Café for people with dementia and their carers launched in September 2024 has continued to run monthly and develop.

St Michael’s received its Fairtrade Church status early in the year having been designated a Bronze Eco Church at the end of 2024. Further work on applications for St Peter’s and St Mary’s has continued but the criteria has changed making this more difficult to gain. We continue to encourage other churches to apply for this status and to promote the benefits beyond the immediate congregation. We have continued to support Recycling in Lancing and St Peter’s is now a collection point for donations to the various waste streams collected, in addition to St Michael’s. The energy audit of St Michael’s funded by the national church which taken place in November 2024 wasn’t received due to problems with the quality of the work of the firm originally appointed to undertake the audits. A new firm, Inspired Efficiency, were appointed to rewrite the reports which necessitated a further visit. The report was received in January 2026 and is under review.

Plans continued to relaunch the Penfold Memorial Charity which had previously operated in the old parish of Sompting. Discussions were held with the trustees of Lancing Parochial Charities which were founded with money from the same source about a possible merger to bring about the best use of assets and support a greater number of people.

A range of fundraising and social events were organised throughout the year across the three churches. This included our third Christmas Tree Festival which featured trees decorated by schools, businesses and community groups. When combined with the Christmas Fair it raised over £3000 for ongoing ministry. A series of open days at St Mary’s were organised in September under the national Heritage Open Days umbrella with around 100 people attending for tours and other special events.

Communication: We have continued to monitor and refine our communications to promote the parish, its ministry and events. Promotion on social media (Facebook and X) has continued and gets good support with the sharing of posts about events. We continue to review our website to make sure it remains up to date with changes to groups. The ‘coming soon’ page is updated weekly and is also used as a landing page for event booking.

Our MAP Communications group have been spearheading the plan to use iKnowChurch, our church database, as way to communicate with specific groups across the parish. Training is required to ensure this can happen. We’re also looking to use Google Workspace to create for role-based email accounts for office holders and some groups. The group are also looking to have new flyers promoting our

groups for children and families, and daytime groups for adults to be professionally printed and distributed to suitable places across the parish.

For the second year we’ve had Christmas cards printed with a Christmas message and information about our Christmas services and delivered these to homes across the parish. This is a joint project with the Parish of Lancing with Coombes with 3000 cards printed and delivered, or given out at other events.

The Net our quarterly community newsletter for St Michael’s has continued with circulation increased to 2400. It is funded by advertisements from local businesses and delivered to homes in the former St Michael’s parish by members of the congregation. It is also available on the website and highlighted on the St Michael’s Facebook page.

Financial Review

The total receipts on general unrestricted funds received was £154,076, restricted funds of £31,320 – a total received of £185,396 across the parish. We had unrestricted payments of £156,191, restricted fund payments of £64,522 leaving a total deficit of £35,317. The deficit in the unrestricted funds was primarily due to less income being generated from hall letting this year compared to 2024. The deficit in the restricted funds was caused by large expenditure on all three church buildings – some of which was funded in a previous year - and a conscious effort to use some of the restricted funds held.
We continue to offer a range of opportunities for members of the congregation and visitors to support the work and ministry of the church financially. Gift Aid envelopes are made available for tax-paying visitors and worshippers not currently part of a regular giving scheme. Membership (individual and joint) of the Parish Giving Scheme, which offers the opportunity to give by direct debit with gift aid (if relevant) being added and an optional yearly inflationary increase, is maintained at 74 (as in 2024). Contactless giving devices and online giving opportunities are also available for donors and are being well used.
The PCC has not been able to give directly to charity this year but has continued to rely on the generosity of the congregation in organising events or taking charity boxes.
The largest expenditure of the PCC was the sum of £69,229 paid to the Diocese to cover ministry costs. The Parish Share covers the housing, stipend and pension costs of the clergy together with a standard sum for diocesan central costs, clergy training and a contribution to national church funds. We continue to increase our contribution to our share each year as much as possible but unless our stewardship giving continues to rise then any future increases will prove unsustainable.

Reserves Policy

It is PCC policy to maintain a balance on the general unrestricted funds which equates to approximately two months’ worth of unrestricted payments as contingency against unforeseen circumstances.
The balances of the restricted Restoration and Development and Walsingham Cell funds are retained towards the costs of works to the church and church hall buildings and ongoing costs of the Walsingham Cell group respectively. The designated mission fund is for mission purposes.

Signed by the Chairman, Reverend Ben Scott (12 March 2026)

South Lancing and Sompting Parochial Church Council Summary of Financial Receipts and Payments 2025

Income Donations and Legacies Charitable Activities Other trading activities Investments Other Receipts Restoration and Development Funds Walsingham	Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	General Funds	Designated Funds	Restricted Funds	Total All Funds 2025	Total All Funds 2024
	£ £97,742 £9,578 £31,095 £2,215 £13,446	£	£ - £ 3,666 20 £15,434 £12,200	£ £97,742 £13,244 £31,095 £2,215 £13,466 £15,434 £12,200	£ £94,669 £18,573 £38,000 £2,867 £527 £36,482 £10,837
Total Received	£154,076	£0	£31,320	£185,396	£201,955
Expenditure on Cost of raising funds Charitable costs Trading costs Other payments Restoration and Development Funds Walsingham	£988 £155,021 £182		£2,165 £48,586 £13,771	£988 £157,186 £182 £0 £48,586 £13,771	£1,262 £159,026 £210 £140 £48,270 £12,457
Total Paid	£156,191	£0	£64,522	£220,713	£221,365

Net income or (net expenditure)	-£2,115	£0	-£33,202	-£35,317	-£19,410
Bank accounts as at 1st January 2025				£171,630	£212,481
Bank accounts at 31st December 2025				£136,313	£171,630

South Lancing and Sompting Parochial Church Council

Statement of Assets and Liabilities (Receipts and Payments presentation) 2025

	Unrestricted	Unrestricted	Unrestricted	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	Total All Funds 2025	Total All Funds 2024
	St Michael General Funds	St Mary General Funds	St Peter General Funds	St Michael R&D Fund	St Michael Walsingham Fund	St Mary R&D Fund	St Peter R&D Fund
Assets Bank Current Accounts Parish account Savings Accounts	£ £3,438 £515 £55,213	£846 £257	£ £21,091 £515	£24,324	£4,141	£ £1,817 £24,333	£	£ £27,192 £1,287 £108,011	£ £36,084 £1,112 £134,434
Bank and Savings Accounts	£59,166	£1,103	£21,606	£24,324	£4,141	£26,150	£0	£136,490	£171,630

Debtors	£0		£0			£0	£0	£0	£0
Chancel trust income (held on trust by Chichester DBF) 130 CBF Investment Fund Shares £2,886 CBF Deposit Fund		£11,205	£11,205			£2,225		£2,225 £2,886 £22,410	£2,126 £3,006 £21,441
Investment assets at market value	£2,886		£11,205			£2,225	£0	£27,521	£26,573

Total assets	£62,052	£1,103	£32,811	£24,324	£4,141	£28,375	£0	£152,806	£198,203

Total liabilities	£0		£0			£0	£0	£0	£0

This Financial Report for the year ended 31st December 2025, including the notes following, was approved by the PCC and signed on its behalf by the Reverend Ben Scott

Date: 6 April 2026

South Lancing and Sompting Parochial Church Council Notes to the Financial Report 2025

1 The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and the current Church Accounting Regulations, using the Receipts and Payments basis

2 Analysis of total received

Planned giving (excl tax refunds) Planned giving (no tax refunds) Loose cash collections Donations Donations to supported charities Gift Aid Recovered Fundraising	Unrestricted	Unrestricted	Unrestricted	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	Total All Funds 2025 £
	St Michael General £	St Mary General £	St Peter General £	St Michael £	St Mary £	St Peter £
	£29,234 £2,694 £2,609 £9,281 £3,326 £9,886 £10,785	£8,959 £741 £1,741 £4,966 £364 £2,642 £182	£5,233 £737 £988 £543 £110 £1,940 £781				£43,426 £4,172 £5,338 £14,790 £3,800 £14,468 £11,748
Donations and Legacies	£67,815	£19,595	£10,332	£0	£0	£0	£97,742
Fees for weddings and funerals	£2,262	£7,316	£0	£1,406	£2,260		£13,244
Charitable activities	£2,262	£7,316	£0	£1,406	£2,260	£0	£13,244
Hall Hiring Charges Magazine fees	£11,430 £680	£0 £0	£18,985 £0				£30,415 £680
Other trading activities	£12,110	£0	£18,985	£0	£0	£0	£31,095
Banks and CBF interest	£1,607	£360	£248				£2,215
Investments	£1,607	£360	£248	£0	£0	£0	£2,215
Other receipts Restoration and Development Fund Walsingham TOTAL OTHER	£12,836 £12,836	£250 £250	£360 £360	£6,950 £12,200 £19,150	£20 £4,943 £4,963	£3,541 £3,541	£13,466 £15,434 £12,200 £41,100
Total received on all funds	£96,630	£27,521	£29,925	£20,556	£7,223	£3,541	£185,396

South Lancing and Sompting Parochial Church Council Notes to the Financial Reports 2025

3 Analysis of total paid

3 Analysis of totalpaid
Expenses for Fundraising	Unrestricted			St Michael St Mary St Peter Restricted			Total All Funds 2025
	St Michael General	St Mary General	St Peter General
	£ £889	£ £99	£ £0	£	£	£	£ £988
Cost of raising funds	£889	£99	£0	£0	£0	£0	£988
Charitable grants and donations Parish share to Chichester Diocese Salaries and honoraria inc NI Expenses of Clergy and Church officials Mission and evangelism costs Insurance Water, Gas and Electricity Administration Other regular church running expenses Church maintenance and redecoration Hall maintenance and redecoration	£4,437 £46,865 £6,742 £5,827 £1,071 £4,881 £15,409 £1,692 £4,484 £3,294 £1,292	£182 £7,000 £2,544 £723 £0 £3,056 £8,633 £463 £3,041 £1,471 £0	£55 £15,364 £3,784 £1,481 £360 £771 £5,917 £304 £3,094 £488 £296	£777	£1,388	£0	£4,674 £69,229 £13,070 £8,031 £1,431 £8,708 £29,959 £2,459 £12,784 £5,253 £1,588
Charitable costs	£95,994	£27,113	£31,914	£777	£1,388	£0	£157,186
Magazine printing	£182	£0	£0				£182
Trading costs	£182	£0	£0	£0	£0	£0	£182
Other payments Restoration and Development Fund Walsingham				£24,753 £13,771	£13,318	£10,515	£0 £48,586 £13,771
Other payments	£0	£0	£0	£38,524	£13,318	£10,515	£62,357

Total paid on all funds	£97,065	£27,212	£31,914	£39,301	£14,706	£10,515	£220,713

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ South Lancing and Sompting Parochial Church Council members of On accounts for the part 1[st] January to 31[st] December 2025 Charity no year ended (if any) Set out on pages As attached

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the period 1/1/25 to 31 / 12/ 2025

Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report 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 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:

accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Date: 14[th] March 2026 Name: Rosanne Nulty Relevant professional Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, and Chartered qualification(s) or body Institute of Internal Auditors (if any): Address: 135 Stamford Road Kettering NN16 8YA Section B Disclosure

[No problem items to disclose]

October 2018

IER

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

A non-material timing difference of £177 of additional monies at bank (overall across all churches) compared to cashbook were noted. All sample income and expenditure reviewed was legitimate and appropriate.