## **PCC OF ST NICHOLAS HINXWORTH TREASURER’S REPORT** ## **General Information** The church’s funds started the year with £33,078 and finished the year with £35,253. These amounts are a combination of current account cash and savings in a CBF Church of England Deposit Account which is paying 3.7% interest. The net gain was £2,175. The accounts are sound for the average running of the church but would need financial help to finance a big project from grants and villagers. Essentially average annual costs of £15,387 are met by revenues of £28,453 which is a gain of £13,066 being £1,088 a month. However, unusually, in 2025 the church had to pay the Architect and construction company’s final bills of some £5,644 and £6,010 for repairs to our rented property thus reducing the overall gain dramatically. The notes with the final accounts will give the reader more detail on these broad amounts. ## **Looking to the future:** There is going to be massive expenditure on our old church building in the future so from the villagers of Hinxworth and Edworth’s point of view we need to increase revenue streams to help towards this future expenditure which will be explained in the Fabric Report. It is not correct, which many people think, that the church is financed by the Church of England via the Diocese of St Albans. Actually, the church is financed by us villagers who either attend services or donate on a regular basis via standing orders. That was £9,713 for 2025. Apart from standing orders, a good revenue stream is to use the church for marriages, funerals, baptisms and ashes burials. Initial contact for these is Revd Chris Campbell on 01462 742277. ## **Standing Orders (Planned Giving)** Like all churches, St Nicholas depends for its income almost entirely on the giving from our congregation and friends in the local community. It is not financed by the state or by wealth inherited from past generations and needs this income in order to sustain and develop our ministry and to maintain this beautiful church. We encourage all who can to join our 'Planned Giving' scheme, by making a pledge to give an amount regularly by standing order. Although we know there are many valuable requests for money from other charities, we would encouraged church members to review their giving, and see if they can increase their donations to St Nicholas. Please spread the word! There are giving forms just inside the church on the heater to facilitate your gift or contact me 01462 742953. A H Stephenson Honorary Treasurer 25th April 2026 1 Finaneial Statement for 2025 Ind•pend•nt examln•rfs report on the accounts Iu OonSI 1>0 896k Jw WAlknft 14615Mbl rAtr•*41 Od2M• ## **Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025 (version 2)** |**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025(version 2)**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||||||||||||| ||||**Unrestrict**|||**eDesignate**||**Restricted**|||**2025**||**2024**||**Notes**| ||||||||||||||||| |**Investments - SNVF**|||||||||||||1,285||(a)| ||||||||||||||||| |**Current Assets**|||||||||||||||| |Balance C/Fwd|||||||||||||||| |Cash at Bank|||||6,036||||||6,036||24,843||(b)| |Deposit Fund CCLA|||||||20,769||8,448||29,217|||6,950|(c)| ||||||||||||||||| |Totals|||||6,036||20,769||8,448||35,253||33,078||| ||||||||||||||||| |**Represented By:**|**Balance B/F**||**Incoming **|||**Outgoing**|||||||||| |General Fund||7,082||6,406|||-20,477||0||-6,988||7,082||| |Fabric Fund||16,433||36,015|||-18,807||||33,641||16,433||| |St Nicholas Village Fund||8,063||386|||||||8,448||8,063||| |Bellringers Fund||1,500||214|||-1,562||||152||1,500||| |Special Collections Fund|||||||||||||0||| |Totals||33,078||43,021|||-40,846||||35,253||33,078||| ||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||| |**_Alec_**|||||||||||||||| |A H Stephenson|||||||||||||||| |HonoraryTreasurer|||||||||||||||| |5th February2026|||||||||||||||| 3 |**St Nicholas Church Hinxworth - Parochial Church Council**|**St Nicholas Church Hinxworth - Parochial Church Council**|**St Nicholas Church Hinxworth - Parochial Church Council**|**St Nicholas Church Hinxworth - Parochial Church Council**|**St Nicholas Church Hinxworth - Parochial Church Council**|**St Nicholas Church Hinxworth - Parochial Church Council**|**St Nicholas Church Hinxworth - Parochial Church Council**|**St Nicholas Church Hinxworth - Parochial Church Council**|**St Nicholas Church Hinxworth - Parochial Church Council**|**St Nicholas Church Hinxworth - Parochial Church Council**||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Receipts and Payments for theyear ended 31 December 2025**|||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||| ||**Unrestricted**||**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Designated**|||**Restricted**|||||||| ||**General**||**Special**|**Bellringers**||**Fabric**||**St Nicholas**|||||||**Notes**| |||**Fund**|**Contributions**|**Fund**||**Fund**||**Village Fund**||**2025**|||**2024**||| |**Receipts**|||||||||||||||| |Gift Aid Donations all sources||||||9,713||||9,713|||9,483||(d)| |Donations,non-gift aid||||||1,529||||1,529|||2,358||(e)| |Fees||||||2,167||||2,167|||2,632||(f)| |RectoryRent(Gross)||6,406||||12,334||||18,740|||15,245||(g)| |For SNVF: Rent & Dividends||||||||386|||386|||309|(h)| |Cash from Investments|||||||1,291||||1,291||||| |Other Incomes: £5,045|||||||||||||||(i)| |Gift Aid Rebate|||||||2,381||||2,381|||3,913|| |Barbecue & FamilyFun Day|||||||1,143||||1,143||||| |Special Collections||||||||||||||188|| |Bellringers Fund||||214|||||||214|||6|| |Parish Council(for churchyard)|||||||500||||500|||500|| |Event Donations,e.g. use of church|||||||807||||807||||| |Fabric Fund Income|||||||4,150||||4,150|||6,742|(j)| |TOTAL INCOME||6,406||214||36,015||386||43,021|||41,376||| ||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||| 4 |**Payments:**|||||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Parish Share||6,562||||||||6,562||6,580|(k)| |Ashwell for stipend contribution||5,564||||||||5,564||5,564|(k)| |Utilities:(£3,261)|||||||||||||| |Insurance||1,931||||||||1,931||1,774|| |Electric||1,237||||||||1,237||1,049|| |Water||93||||||||93||107|| |Oil||||||||||||481|| |Church & Oak Room Cleaning|||||||||||||| |Feespaid to DBF||566||||||||566|||(f)| |Altar & Service Requirements||1,023||||||||1,023||2,254|(L)| |Fixtures & Fittings andgeneral maintenance||319||||||||319||515|| |Churchyard||2,664||||||||2,664||2,466|| |Special Collections||||||||||||188|| |St Nicholas Village Fund||||||||||||200|| |Rentalpropertyexpenses|||||||3,634|||3,634||4,766|| |Fabric Fund Costs|||||||15,173|||15,173|||(m)| |Loss in investment||519||||||||519||55|| |Bellringers Fund|||||1,561|||||1,561|||| |Paid to deposit account||||||||||||6,750|| |TOTAL PAYMENTS||20,478|||1,561||18,807|||40,846||32,749|| ||||||||||||||| |Excess of Expenditure over Income|||||||||||||| |Excess of Income over expenditure||||||||||2,175||8,627|| ||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||| |**_Alec_**|||||||||||||| |A H Stephenson|||||||||||||| |HonoraryTreasurer|||||||||||||| |21st January2026|||||||||||||| 5 ## **REPORT AND NOTES FOR THE 2025 ACCOUNTS AS AT 31[ST] DECEMBER 2025** ## **General Points** The accounts are based on a receipts and payments basis according to the rules of the Charities Act 2011and the PCC. The accounts are allocated to three funds. Firstly, Restricted Funds which are governed by a trust or specific body who have jurisdiction on how the funds are managed and not the PCC. In this case this fund is the St Nicholas Village Fund (SNVF). Secondly, Designated Funds which are managed by the PCC for a specific purpose in our case the Fabric and Bellringers Funds. Thirdly, the Unrestricted Fund to which everything else is accounted. The church accounts are sound. The assets have increased by £2,175 over the year which takes into account unusual payments of £6,010 for refurbishment of 10 New Inn Road our rented property. ## **Balance Sheet:** ## (a) £1,285 These were investments in two charity type funds with M&G and Blackrock, which were realised to cash during the year. These amounts were £538 and £753 respectively. These monies belong to the restricted SNVF fund. It is a charity with a fairly broad remit which is to provide finance for activities for the benefit of people within the parish such as help with children’s activities but not specifically for the church. ## (b) £6,036 This is the balance of the Church’s current bank account at 31 December 2025 with Lloyds Bank. A previous PCC meeting decided that an amount of this nature was sufficient cash to run the accounts on a monthly basis with remaining cash being transferred to deposit account. ## (c) £29,217 This is the value, as at 31[st] December 2025, for the deposit account, which is with Church Charities and Local Authorities Investment Group (CCLA) in the CBF Church of England Deposit Fund. The current interest rate is 3.8%. Two transfers were made to this fund during the year of £17,000 in February and £4,500 in December, which when added to the initial 1.1.2026 balance of £6,950 and interest of £767 produced the fund of £29,217 ## **Receipts:** ## (d) £9,713 The source of Gift Aid income comes from two sources: Firstly, monthly standing orders from individuals £7,225. Secondly, collections at church services £2,488. Gift Aid, at 25%, can be claimed from HMRC by the church as a charity from people who have made donations from already taxed income. This will amount to £2,428 and will be added to the accounts in 2026 for this amount. ## (e) £1,529 The non-gift aid donations were donated by individuals which were not eligible for gift aid. 6 ## (f) £2,167 Fees are charged according to a statutory scale for services in church for events such as funerals, marriages, ashes internments and adding gravestones. However, part of the fees paid are remitted to the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) which in this case was £566, The church made a net income of £1,601. These events are a useful source of income. ## (g) £18,740 This was the rent for the 12 months, which increased from £1,550 by 5% to £1,620 in December. The difference of about two month’s rent is explained because in 2024 we changed tenants and lost this rent. ## (h) £386 Part of the SNVF’s income comes from rent from land at £285 annually from the Jane Brooks Meadow. This historically was incorporated into the SNVF some years ago. Secondly income from dividends at £101. ## (i) £5,045 Other Income arrives from specific organisations or events rather than individuals. This year these came from an annual donation from the Parish Council of £500 towards the upkeep of the church grounds. The Barbecue and Family Fun Day of £1,143 gross, which after costs made a profit of £866. A claim for VAT for the new ropes and carpet costs of £1,562 in the Bell Tower at £214 from the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. The bellringers designated fund at year end now has a credit of £152. There is quite a difference in the Gift Aid rebates shown. The 2025 figure of £2,381was for 2024 and the earlier one of £3,913 for 2023 when the church received some £6,710 in one off donations to help towards the renewal of the steel roof and South window. The current rebate is based on £9,713 - note (d). A similar amount to 2024 at £9,483 and is likely to be the case into the future unless standing order donations increase dramatically! Various organisations and families donated £807 when the church was used by them. ## (j) £4,150 Fabric Fund Income. This was received from two items. £634 was the return of the VAT for the final invoice from LUX Construction who completed the works on the church building in 2023/24. Secondly, a return of a deposit of £3,516 paid initially to the managing agent, The Letting Quarter, for potential refurbishment works to 10 New Inn Road (10NIR) our rented property. 7 ## **Payments** ## (k) 12,126 Parish Share & Ashwell Stipend. These are the main costs of running the church with a total of £12,126. All parishes in the diocese pay a Parish Share to the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) at St Albans Diocese to help with the running costs of the organisation. The amount each parish pays is based on a formula on church usage which is quite complicated and beyond the scope of these notes. The Ashwell Stipend is our contribution towards the salary of the rector paid by the Benefice via Ashwell’s PCC to the diocese. Our contribution is 15% of the total. ## (l) £1,023 Altar & Service Requirements. These are the costs associated with operating church activity such as flowers, wafers, organ service, CCLI annual charge and organist fees. The 2024 increase is mostly explained by fees of £882 shown separately this time and Hymn books purchase of £363. ## (m)15,173 These costs are the final Architects fees of £1,582, LUX Construction final invoice £3,801, Refurbishment to 10NIR £6,010 and £3,780 an initial deposit to the Letting Quarter which was returned less a fee for the initial investigation of £264 – note (j) ## _**Alec**_ A H Stephenson Honorary Treasurer 5[th] February 2026 8 ## **PCC OF ST NICHOLAS HINXWORTH SECRETARY’S REPORT ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE PCC** _Overall 2025 was a busy year for the PCC, with meetings dominated by church fabric, property maintenance, heating challenges, financial management, and celebrating the joys of a growing congregation of young families at our monthly café church. The PCC met four times during 2025 (in February, July, October and November), in addition to the APCM in May._ The Family Café Church Service (a monthly informal service) was a consistent highlight of meeting, growing from a handful of families at the beginning of the year, to as many as seven or eight families by the end. It was also attracting back families of children baptised at the church. A Crib Service at St Nicholas for Christmas 2026 was proposed. Regular services and special festival services were confirmed throughout the year including Easter, St George’s Day in Edworth, Harvest Festival, Remembrance Sunday, a Lessons & Carols service and Christmas Day. Following the sad death of Simon Marlow in March 2025, the question of music and the organist was discussed at meetings, and we are very grateful to Sue Logan for playing for us as most services. Sadly our regular attendance at services has declined, predominantly due to people moving away, becoming less able to get to church and dying. Those who are unable to get to church regularly are offered communion at home by the Rector. However, in positive news, the numbers of children and young people worshiping with us has started to increase. The attendance of both Christmas and Easter was also at its highest level since before covid, which reflects the general positive feeling about the church, and gives hope for the future. In 2025 there were 3 baptisms, 2 weddings and 1 funeral in the parish. There haven’t been many events at St Nicholas this year, but we were very grateful for the team who organised the Village Barbecue & Family Fun Day, which was held on 30th August, and raised a profit of £866. The church also continues to act as a collection point for items for the food bank. Safeguarding featured at every meeting. The PCC adopted the required safeguarding policy and exoffenders recruitment policy, reviewed the safeguarding action plan (largely green with no red actions by October), updated the Domestic Abuse Policy contact numbers, and ensured all members were reminded to renew their Foundation Level safeguarding training. At each meeting we discuss the church's financial position, which has been broadly healthy throughout the year. A key source of stability was the rental income from the church-owned property at 10 New Inn Road, but the PCC regularly discussed ways to increase income, including encouraging more standing order donations from church members. The church property at 10 New Inn Road was another topic that has been on the agenda at most meetings, particularly in July, where significant repair issues emerged. By October, work was largely complete, with thanks to Geoff for managing the work. 9 The Quinquennial Inspection (QI) report was another major focus at meetings and the PCC identified key priorities during their meetings (see the Fabric report for more details) Heating the church building has been a persistent challenge, and discussions ranged from fixing the existing oil boiler chimney, to electric fan heaters, heated seat pads and blankets, and a potential underfloor heating system. No final solution was agreed by the end of the year, but the PCC acknowledged it was a priority affecting winter congregation numbers. The Net Zero Officer for the Diocese was also contacted for guidance. The PCC also received a quote for laying a mesh surface on the car park, but this project remained an aspiration, as it’s probably not a high priority compared to the building repairs. Following Rochell’s move, the PCC secretary role was vacant and the PCC have been grateful to Jane Hartree for stepping in when available to do the minutes. The PCC also spent time discussing Succession Planning more generally, especially as there were 4 vacancies for ordinary members to the PCC throughout the year, and realised there was a real need to find people with the time and skills to serve on the PCC and to become future church wardens. 10 ## **THE ANNUAL FABRIC REPORT** So far as the Church Fabric is concerned, this past year has been one of undertaking minor maintenance, to keep the church in good repair. For a historic building such as St Nicholas, there is a need for constant maintenance to ensure that the deterioration of the fabric is slowed down as much as funds allow – if we didn’t do this, the cost of repair would of course rise exponentially thereafter. The Quinquennial Report was undertaken on 14[th] May 2024, when David Llewellyn, Priory Heritage Historic Buildings Consultants, and I spent a couple of hours inspecting the church, reviewing the work undertaken during the previous Quinquennial (particularly the recently completed roofing, stonework and new South tower belfry window) and what further maintenance was needed to be undertaken as a result of the weather, wear and tear etc. on the building. David identifies every aspect of the building that he considers requires remedial work, whether minor or major and his report should be read as such. However, he accepts that funds are limited and does not expect every one of the items to be rectified within the Quinquennium period. For information, I will briefly outline the matters attended to In essence, the urgency of the maintenance or repair is broken down into 6 Categories, as follows: CATEGORY 1 - Urgent / dangerous items - repair within 6 months CATEGORY 2 – Essential work - repair within the next 2 years CATEGORY 3 – Recommended within the next quinquennium CATEGORY 4 – Eventual, desirable repairs, renewals, and redecoration. CATEGORY 5 – Items of routine maintenance CATEGORY 6 – Items requiring specialist advice. Apart from the need to check the building for loose material for descaling there were no other items in **Category 1** . In **Category 2** ‘Essential within the next 18 months’, included: South Porch - _Asphalt roof now in increasingly poor order, in urgent need of recovering (repair is not realistic). West face of porch has no downpipe and is served by short spitter only which now need redressing to shape or replacing as part of proposed repair work to porch roof. Parapet masonry + string course also considerably decayed with some sections of stonework likely at risk of falls._ 11 Tower - _Parapet masonry all rendered to internal and external faces. Now in poor condition in several areas. Significant sections of cement render are loose in sheets and retaining water in the structure of the wall behind. This increases freeze thaw action to damage the stone and further destabilise the render coating. Several coping sections also breaking up. Repair is now required with repairs to upper stage tower masonry later noted._ North Belfry Window - _Tracery to RH side of belfry window is cracked, not adequately bearing onto mullion (also decayed). All appears unstable / at risk of falls._ In **Category 3** ‘ _Essential within the Quinquennium’ (i.e. before June 2029), there are numerous items in a dozen or more individual locations where work is required, although with the projected funds available, it is unlikely that they can all be completed within the timescale (by 2029)_ Of the numerous items in **Category 4 ‘** Within the Next 10 Years (Eventual Repairs)’, they will have to take their turn. Of Items in **Category 5** ‘Items of Routine Maintenance and Redecoration’, the heater is the one item that requires consideration if the interior of the Church is to maintain a temperature above 32 degrees Fahrenheit - and maybe into the 40’s! See below. The Electrical System has been tested and certified and the previous lighting has been replaced with LED units which have performed faultlessly. There was a leak in the plastic roof covering the Chancel which was apparent on one occasion, although there have been no further signs of water ingress. There will, of course, come a time for re-roofing, as the plastic membrane is at least 20 years past its 25 years design life. ## **Maintenance of the Fabric** ## **Funding** The congregation and villagers have historically funded the large majority of the maintenance work on the church, and **all** the smaller, more routine maintenance. Neither the Diocese nor the national Church of England habitually fund repairs on parish churches, and as an active place of worship, there are a number of grants we are not able to apply for. For our last items of major work on the roof in 2023, we very gratefully received grants from the National Churches Trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation and Beds & Hers Historic Churches Trust, along with donations from local companies. But the large proportion of the money raised came from the people of Hinxworth and Edworth Villages. As outlined in the Treasurer’s report, we are trying to increase our regular planned giving, to help us carry out general maintenance and to plan for future larger scale works, and I would encourage every one of the congregation who is a UK taxpayer, consider paying in this way, as it enables St Nicholas Church PCC to recover the tax from Government (via the Gift Aid process), increasing donated income by some 25%. ## **General Maintenance** Following the retirement of Keith Buckingham (who previously undertook all minor maintenance of the church) I am attempting to find someone of similar experience, who is approved by the Diocese; this is proving difficult. 12 ## **Church Heating** Investigations have been undertaken in respect of church heating; I have discussed the matter with the Diocese and attended a course that reviewed alternative heating strategies, following which I considered that electric underfloor heating was the preferred way forward. Fortunately, a knowledgeable and qualified electrician, Steve Parkes, has recently moved into the village and has offered his services to investigate and assist in the installation of an underfloor electrical heating system. Steve and I visited St Andrew’s Church in Cuffley to view their installation, as advised by the Diocese expert, to confirm if such an installation would be applicable at Hinxworth. Our conclusion was that it would not only be suitable, but would provide heating where it was wanted – i.e. at the feet and legs, as well as for the rest of the body. It would not be ‘living room’ temperature, but that would be unacceptable in any event, due to both the cost and negative impact on the roof and other timbers. A proposal is being drawn up to cover the installation proposals, the estimated cost of the works and running costs, to be put before the PCC prior to applying for a Faculty and preparing a contract. The works will enable the removal of the 1948 oil heater and chimney, thus allowing space for at least one more row of pews. ## **Traffic Calming** The traffic calming measures in the High Street and Ashwell Road, at either end of the village, were installed by Hertfordshire County Council on behalf of Hinxworth Parish Council. I initially approached HCC on safety and practicality grounds in respect of their layouts, to move both the eastern and western restrictions to their current locations, to which they agreed. ## **Parking** Proposals had been formulated and costings obtained in respect of car parking on the grass triangle to the North of The Oak Room; this has been put on hold pending a review of future Church maintenance costs and other expenses. ## **Rectory, 10 New Inn Road** Following concerns expressed by the tenant as to the state of the floor boarding on the1[st] floor and 2 tiles missing on the roof, the Agent’s £30,000 proposed remediation measures were rejected and alternative work undertaken. Not only has the 1[st] floor been repaired at a fraction of the cost, but the ‘2 roof tiles’ were actually 15 in number, plus the whole of the house and garage ridges have been re-bedded, resulting in a saving of around £25,000 when compared with the original quotation. This raises serious questions as to the value that can be ascribed to the employment of an Agent. Geoff Burrows, Churchwarden 20[th] April 2026 13 ## **SAFEGUARDING REPORT TO APCM** The Parish is committed to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults and to supporting those who have been victims of abuse, as well as those who may present a risk to others. The PCC confirms to the APCM that it has complied with the duty under Section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have due regard to the House of Bishop’s guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). The PCC have adopted all the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policies and Practice Guidance, as well as “Promoting a Safer Church” (child protection and vulnerable adults policy) and the Domestic Abuse statement. These were last reviewed at the PCC meeting in November 2025, and our Safeguarding Action Plan was also considered at this meeting. Our Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse policies, along with details of where to seek assistance and the ‘blue’ Safeguarding Poster, are displayed on the noticeboard in church and there is additional safeguarding information in the bellringing chamber. Although we do not have a Church website, safeguarding information is also displayed our A Church Near You page. Up to date versions of Safeguarding Documents and advice can be found on the diocesan website: https://www.stalbansdiocese.org/safeguarding/safeguarding-documents/ Jo Adams, who is the PSO at St Mary’s, Ashwell, also gives oversight as PSO of the other benefice churches, include St Nicholas’, and she is assisted by the Rector. Our PSO, Tower Captain and all members of the PCC, have undertaken the appropriate safeguarding training within the last 3 years. Those who work with vulnerable groups in the Parish are recruited in accordance with the Practice Guidance Safer Recruitment and DBS checks are in place for those who require them. There were no serious safeguarding incidents in 2025 and therefore none were reported to the Diocese or the Charity Commission. Jo Adams (Benefice Safeguarding Officer) and Chris Campbell (Rector) April 2026 14 ## **BUNTINGFORD DEANERY SYNOD REPORT** Deanery synod meetings are held 4 times a year and are attended by clergy and PCC representatives from the churches in our deanery. They are chaired by the Rural Dean, Rev’d James Sawyer or the Lay Chair Mark Eaton. Each meeting starts with prayer. They routinely include an update from the Diocesan Synod, including the financial situation and an update on parish share payments. Opportunities for parishes to update the group on their current status are provided via a regular newsletter and at the meetings. In addition, each meeting had a particular focus as follows:- **February** 2024 - held in Royston Growing Generous Giving - presentation and discussion led by Kate Ford, Diocesan Giving Advisor. Mission report **May** 2024 - held in Walkern Vocations, especially to Reader and other forms of Lay Ministry - presentation by James Sawyer and others sharing their experiences **September** 2024 held in Ashwell Safeguarding in the national and local church - Peter Adams, lay chairman of the Diocesan Synod and a member of General Synod, and Dave Adams, Assistant Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser, **November** 2024 held in Buntingford Growing Younger and More Diverse - presentation by Rachel Drury, Diocesan Alban Way Project Lead. Also discussed the Deanery project for Growing Younger and More Diverse. During the year elections were also held for the deanery representatives to the Diocesan Synod. These elected were Clergy Rev James Sawyer, Rev Kirsty Wainwright, Rev Stephen Syvier Laity Dr Mark Eaton, Mrs Emma Robarts Jo Adams & Mark Eaton (Deanery Synod reps for St Mary’s, Ashwell) 15 ## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS** Church St Nicholas Church, Ashwell Road, Hinxworth, SG7 5HD Registered Charity number: 1208964 under the full name ‘THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST NICHOLAS HINXWORTH’ Rector The Rev’d Chris Campbell Curate Rev’d Paulet Brown Wilsher Correspondence (Rector) Revd Chris Campbell, 109 High Street, Ashwell, SG7 5PQ Correspondence (Treasuer) Mr Alec Stephenson, Peele Patch, The Close, Hinxworth, SG7 5HS Church Architect for Mr David Llewellyn Quinquennial Inspection ## **Membership of the Parochial Church Council (PCC)** PCC members who have served at any time during 2024. ## **Ex-officio members:** Rector The Rev’d Chris Campbell Churchwardens Alec Stephenson (also Treasurer) Geoff Burrows **Other Elected Members:** Michael (Mike) Camp (Margaret) Wendy Stark _During 2025, the PCC also co-opted Mrs Jane Hartree to meetings, to assist with taking minutes_ 16 ## **The Governing Documents of the Parochial Church** The Church of England have agreed with the Charity Commission that for the purposes of agreeing “governing documents”, Parochial Church Councils (PCCs) are governed by two pieces of legislation. They are: - The Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 as amended. - This defines the principal function or purpose, of the PCC as “promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical”, and, - The Church Representation Rules (contained in Schedule 3 to the Synodical Government Measure 1969 as amended). The full text is available in the Church Representation Rules 2025. ## **Parochial Church Council** Membership of the PCC is detailed in the Church Representation Rules 2025, section B. The PCC (Powers) Measure 1956 states 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”. In law the PCC is a body corporate. This means that it is a separate body from the people who serve on it, and that no member is individually liable for its debts. A change in the membership of the PCC does not affect the PCC’s liability for its debts, and consequently each new PCC should honour the contracts and pledges undertaken by the previous PCC. The composition and procedure of the PCC is regulated by the Church Representation Rules as contained in the Synodical Government Measure 1969 (as amended). The functions and powers of the PCC are contained in the Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measure 1956, as amended by the 1969 Measure. The PCC members are responsible for preparing financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the PCC as at the end of the financial year and of the surplus or deficit of the PCC for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the PCC members are required to: - Select suitable accounting polices and then apply them consistently; - Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - Comply with applicable Accounting Standards, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; - Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the PCC will continue in business. The PCC members are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records that with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the trust and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the PCC and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Elections to the PCC are held annually and all members of the church electoral roll are entitled to vote and stand for election. There is provision to co-opt members to the PCC, and the Rector is exofficio a member and the chair. 17