## **The Betenson Trust**
Financial
## Statements
For the year ended 30th September 2022
THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2022
|Trustees|Alexander Mackay (Chairman)|
|---|---|
||Rev. Dr Peter Hayler|
||Rev Lorraine Turner|
||Rev. Edward Wright (retired 29thMay 2022)|
||Rev. Tim Hatwell (appointed 29thMay 2022)|
||Christopher Lightfoot (retired 16thFebruary 2022)|
||Thomas Owen|
||Malcolm Wiffen|
||John Hutchings|
||Joy Bentley (appointed 7thNovember 2022)|
||Gill French (appointed 7thJuly 2023)|
|Clerk to the Trustees|Sarah Allewell|
||Rookery Dene|
||Long Mill Lane|
||St. Mary’s Platt|
||Sevenoaks|
||Kent|
||TN15 8NA|
|Charity Commission||
|Registration Number|207019|
|Principal Bankers|NatWest|
||67 High Street|
||Sevenoaks|
||Kent|
||TN13 1LA|
|Independent Examiner|John Gillespie FCA|
||Bramley Lodge|
||Borough Green Road|
||Wrotham|
||Sevenoaks|
||Kent|
||TN15 7RA|
2
THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2022
## **CONTENTS**
||Page|
|---|---|
|Trustees’ Annual Report|4|
|Independent Examiner’s Report|6|
|Receipts and Payments Accounts|7|
|Statement of Assets and Liabilities|8|
3
THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2022
## **TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT**
The Betenson Trust was originally established in 1788 following the death of Helen Betenson who bequeathed some of her fortune to build and maintain twelve almshouses. The Scheme for the regulation of the Charity was approved by the Charity Commission in 1970. Trustees include three ex-officio members, being the vicars of Wrotham, St. Mary’s Platt and Plaxtol. The remaining six co-optative trustees are appointed for a term of five years.
The Trust continues to provide accommodation for the benefit of twelve residents in the villages of Wrotham, St Mary`s Platt and Plaxtol in the County of Kent. There are four dwellings in each of the villages which, in the case of Wrotham and Platt, are listed as Grade II. Each resident pays a modest contribution towards the cost of maintenance and central heating.
The almshouses were fully occupied throughout the accounting period, with two occupying one cottage in Platt. One cottage in Plaxtol became vacant in February 2023, and refurbishment of the property will be undertaken before it is re-let.
It was touched upon in the last Report that relations between residents had not always been harmonious during the difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly, despite all efforts by the trustees to resolve neighbourly disputes, one licensee has had their appointment as a Beneficiary set aside, and Notice to Quit and Notice to Determine have been served. The trustees will provide every support possible to assist the resident to find alternative accommodation.
The extent of maintenance required on all properties was established through a survey conducted in the year, and will require significant funding. The current level of Weekly Maintenance Contributions will not be sufficient to sustain the necessary financing of these capital projects, and the Trustees are duly looking to restructure the Trust’s economic model.
The weekly contribution paid by residents was £50 for the first three months of the accounting period, but was increased to £55 from January 2022 as energy costs continue to rise. In line with the retail price index, this was increased to £65 from January 2023.
Investments, with a valuation of £186,272 at the year end, are held to provide funds for the maintenance of the properties. Funds were moved from the M&G account to diversify the investment holding, and further investments were made at CCLA and BlackRock. Due to the poor performance of the stock market towards the end of the year, all investments experienced a loss on revaluation at the year end. These amounted to £2,594 at CCLA, £2,160 at BlackRock, and £15,010 at M&G, of which £9,261 was unrealised, and £5,749 was realised on the sales made in May and June 2022 to purchase the investments in CCLA and BlackRock. Cash funds amounted to £14,011.
In past years, £100,000 of these funds have been disclosed as restricted, as the trustees have considered them to be reserved for the purpose of extraordinary repair, improvement or rebuilding of the almshouses. However, this is at the discretion of the trustees, and so they have been reclassified as designated funds and disclosed in these accounts as unrestricted.
The Trust was fortunate to receive donations from Great Comp and the Dodge Charity.
4
THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2022
Following the appointment of Rev. Tim Hatwell as Rector of Ightham and Wrotham, Tim became an ex-officio trustee on 29[th] May. Joy Bentley joined the body of trustees on 7[th] November and their valuable contribution is warmly welcomed. Thanks go to Rev Edward Wright for his time as a trustee. In addition, the trustees were delighted to welcome Gill French to the board on 7[th] July 2023.
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
A D Mackay
A D Mackay Chairman of the Trustees
Date: 24[th] July 2023
5
THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2022
## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE BETENSON TRUST**
I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 30[th] September 2022, which are set out on pages 7 to 8.
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner**
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
- examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
- follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
- state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **Basis of independent examiner's report**
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
## **Independent examiner's statement**
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act
have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
John Gillespie FCA Bramley Lodge Borough Green Road Wrotham Sevenoaks Kent TN15 7RA John Gillespie Date: 25[th] July 2023
6
**The Betenson Trust 207019 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period** Period start date Period end date **To from** 1st October 2021 30th September 2022
|**Section A Receipts and**|**payments**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**34,844**
**586**
-
**-**
**35,430**
**128,400**
**-**
**128,400**
**163,830**
**10,457**
**20,923**
**1,730**
**343**
**1,500**
**-**
**65**
**242**
**45**
**1,979**
**37,284**
**3,000**
**62,800**
**65,600**
**131,400**
**168,684**
**- 4,854**
**18,865**
**14,011**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**34,844**
**586**
**-**
**-**
**35,430**
**128,400**
**-**
**128,400**
**163,830**
**10,457**
**20,923**
**1,730**
**343**
**1,500**
**-**
**65**
**242**
**45**
**1,979**
**37,284**
**3,000**
**62,800**
**65,600**
**131,400**
**168,684**
**- 4,854**||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|Contributions|**34,844**|||||**32,840**|
|Donations|**586**|||||**527**|
||-|||||**-**|
||**-**|||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**35,430**|||||**33,367**|
||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**|||||||
|M&G Charibond charities fixed interest fund
accumulated units|**128,400**|||||**-**|
||**-**|||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**128,400**|||||**-**|
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||||
|||||||**33,367**|
||||||||
|Heat & light|**10,457**|||||**8,106**|
|Repairs & maintenance|**20,923**|||||**11,270**|
|Water|**1,730**|||||**1,728**|
|Lifeline|**343**|||||**207**|
|Honorarium|**1,500**|||||**1,500**|
|Professional fees|**-**|||||**1,499**|
|Expenses|**65**|||||**255**|
|Almshouse Association|**242**|||||**236**|
|TV licence|**45**|||||**45**|
|Insurance|**1,979**|||||**1,813**|
|**_Sub total_ **|**37,284**|||||**26,659**|
||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|||||||
|M&G Charibond fixed interest shares|**3,000**|||||**3,000**|
|CCLA COIF Charities Fixed Interest Fund|**62,800**|||||**-**|
|BlackRock Charities Growth and Income|**65,600**|||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_ **|**131,400**|||||**3,000**|
|**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||||
|||||||**29,659**|
||||||||
||**- 4,854**|**-**|**-**|**- 4,854**||**3,708**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|
||**18,865**|**-**|**-**|**18,865**||**15,157**|
||**14,011**|**-**|**-**|**14,011**||**18,865**|
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**||
|---|---|---|---|
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf
of all the trustees
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**
M&G
M&G
CCLA
**Details**
**Details**
Cottages - Plaxtol
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**
Current account
Cottages - Platt
Cottages - Wrotham
BlackRock
BlackRock
CCLA
S Allewell
Signature
A D Mackay|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**14,011**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**14,011**
**-**
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**Unrestricted**
**designated**
**-**
**Unrestricted**
**-**
**Unrestricted**
**designated**
**-**
**Unrestricted**
**-**
**Unrestricted**
**designated**
**-**
**Unrestricted**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**Endowment**
**-**
**Endowment**
**-**
**Endowment**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due (optional)**
`
Print Name
ALEXANDER D MACKAY
SARAH ALLEWELL|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||OK|
||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**33,334**|
||||**26,255**|
||||**33,333**|
||||**29,911**|
||||**33,333**|
||||**30,106**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**360,000**|
||||**340,000**|
||||**300,000**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of
approval|
||A D Mackay|ALEXANDER D MACKAY|24-Jul-23|
||S Allewell|SARAH ALLEWELL|24-Jul-23|
CCXX R7 accounts (SS)
25/07/2023
## **The Betenson Trust**
Financial
## Statements
For the year ended 30th September 2022
THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2022
|Trustees|Alexander Mackay (Chairman)|
|---|---|
||Rev. Dr Peter Hayler|
||Rev Lorraine Turner|
||Rev. Edward Wright (retired 29thMay 2022)|
||Rev. Tim Hatwell (appointed 29thMay 2022)|
||Christopher Lightfoot (retired 16thFebruary 2022)|
||Thomas Owen|
||Malcolm Wiffen|
||John Hutchings|
||Joy Bentley (appointed 7thNovember 2022)|
||Gill French (appointed 7thJuly 2023)|
|Clerk to the Trustees|Sarah Allewell|
||Rookery Dene|
||Long Mill Lane|
||St. Mary’s Platt|
||Sevenoaks|
||Kent|
||TN15 8NA|
|Charity Commission||
|Registration Number|207019|
|Principal Bankers|NatWest|
||67 High Street|
||Sevenoaks|
||Kent|
||TN13 1LA|
|Independent Examiner|John Gillespie FCA|
||Bramley Lodge|
||Borough Green Road|
||Wrotham|
||Sevenoaks|
||Kent|
||TN15 7RA|
2
THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2022
## **CONTENTS**
||Page|
|---|---|
|Trustees’ Annual Report|4|
|Independent Examiner’s Report|6|
|Receipts and Payments Accounts|7|
|Statement of Assets and Liabilities|8|
3
THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2022
## **TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT**
The Betenson Trust was originally established in 1788 following the death of Helen Betenson who bequeathed some of her fortune to build and maintain twelve almshouses. The Scheme for the regulation of the Charity was approved by the Charity Commission in 1970. Trustees include three ex-officio members, being the vicars of Wrotham, St. Mary’s Platt and Plaxtol. The remaining six co-optative trustees are appointed for a term of five years.
The Trust continues to provide accommodation for the benefit of twelve residents in the villages of Wrotham, St Mary`s Platt and Plaxtol in the County of Kent. There are four dwellings in each of the villages which, in the case of Wrotham and Platt, are listed as Grade II. Each resident pays a modest contribution towards the cost of maintenance and central heating.
The almshouses were fully occupied throughout the accounting period, with two occupying one cottage in Platt. One cottage in Plaxtol became vacant in February 2023, and refurbishment of the property will be undertaken before it is re-let.
It was touched upon in the last Report that relations between residents had not always been harmonious during the difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly, despite all efforts by the trustees to resolve neighbourly disputes, one licensee has had their appointment as a Beneficiary set aside, and Notice to Quit and Notice to Determine have been served. The trustees will provide every support possible to assist the resident to find alternative accommodation.
The extent of maintenance required on all properties was established through a survey conducted in the year, and will require significant funding. The current level of Weekly Maintenance Contributions will not be sufficient to sustain the necessary financing of these capital projects, and the Trustees are duly looking to restructure the Trust’s economic model.
The weekly contribution paid by residents was £50 for the first three months of the accounting period, but was increased to £55 from January 2022 as energy costs continue to rise. In line with the retail price index, this was increased to £65 from January 2023.
Investments, with a valuation of £186,272 at the year end, are held to provide funds for the maintenance of the properties. Funds were moved from the M&G account to diversify the investment holding, and further investments were made at CCLA and BlackRock. Due to the poor performance of the stock market towards the end of the year, all investments experienced a loss on revaluation at the year end. These amounted to £2,594 at CCLA, £2,160 at BlackRock, and £15,010 at M&G, of which £9,261 was unrealised, and £5,749 was realised on the sales made in May and June 2022 to purchase the investments in CCLA and BlackRock. Cash funds amounted to £14,011.
In past years, £100,000 of these funds have been disclosed as restricted, as the trustees have considered them to be reserved for the purpose of extraordinary repair, improvement or rebuilding of the almshouses. However, this is at the discretion of the trustees, and so they have been reclassified as designated funds and disclosed in these accounts as unrestricted.
The Trust was fortunate to receive donations from Great Comp and the Dodge Charity.
4
THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2022
Following the appointment of Rev. Tim Hatwell as Rector of Ightham and Wrotham, Tim became an ex-officio trustee on 29[th] May. Joy Bentley joined the body of trustees on 7[th] November and their valuable contribution is warmly welcomed. Thanks go to Rev Edward Wright for his time as a trustee. In addition, the trustees were delighted to welcome Gill French to the board on 7[th] July 2023.
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
A D Mackay
A D Mackay Chairman of the Trustees
Date: 24[th] July 2023
5
THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2022
## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE BETENSON TRUST**
I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 30[th] September 2022, which are set out on pages 7 to 8.
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner**
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
- examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
- follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
- state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **Basis of independent examiner's report**
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
## **Independent examiner's statement**
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act
have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
John Gillespie FCA Bramley Lodge Borough Green Road Wrotham Sevenoaks Kent TN15 7RA John Gillespie Date: 25[th] July 2023
6