## **The Betenson Trust** Financial ## Statements For the year ended 30th September 2023 THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2023 |Trustees|Alexander Mackay (Chairman)| |---|---| ||Rev. Dr Peter Hayler| ||Rev Lorraine Turner| ||Rev. Tim Hatwell (appointed 29thMay 2022)| ||Thomas Owen| ||Malcolm Wiffen| ||John Hutchings| ||Joy Bentley (appointed 7thNovember 2022, resigned 30th| ||June 2024)| ||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 2023 ## **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 2023 ## **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. In Platt, one almshouse is occupied by a couple. Each resident pays a modest contribution towards the cost of maintenance and central heating. Having established the extent of maintenance required on all properties through a survey conducted in 2022, it was recognised that the existing level of Weekly Maintenance Contributions (WMC) would not be sufficient to sustain the necessary financing of these capital projects, leading the Trustees to restructure the Trust’s economic model. This has involved increasing the WMC considerably and supporting residents in applications for Housing Benefit where they do not already receive this. The Trustees appreciate that not all residents will qualify for benefits, and in such cases will look to determine a WMC on an individual basis to avoid causing hardship. The weekly contribution paid by residents was £55 for the first three months of the accounting period, but was increased to £65 from January 2023. This was increased to £110 from January 2024 to help pay for a programme of upgrading the cottages as and when they fall vacant. An almshouse in Plaxtol became vacant in February 2023, and underwent refurbishment in the spring of 2024 before being re-let in April at an increased rate of WMC of £165, reflecting the superior quality of residence. A second almshouse in Plaxtol became vacant in November 2023, but refurbishment will not begin before sufficient funds are available. Following a Notice to Quit and Notice to Determine served upon a licensee in Platt, the almshouse became vacant in August 2023. The Trustees provided support to assist the resident in finding alternative accommodation and with removal costs. This almshouse is currently undergoing refurbishment and is expected to be occupied in August 2024, again at an increased rate of WMC of £165. Investments held at M&G, CCLA and BlackRock , with a total market valuation of £188,113 at the year end (2022: £200,289), are held to provide funds for the maintenance of the properties. This value included unrealised losses of £4,425 (2022: £14,015). There were also realised losses in the year of £752 (2022: £5,749). Cash funds amounted to £8,015 (2022: £14,011). The Trust was fortunate to receive donations from Wrotham Fireworks, Great Comp and the Dodge Charity. The trustees were delighted to welcome Joy Bentley to the board of trustees on 7[th] November 2022 and Gill French on 7[th] July 2023. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, Joy resigned 4 THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2023 at the end of June 2024. Her contribution to the work of the trust is much appreciated by the trustees, who wish her well in her future ventures. The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ Report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s Trustees A D Mackay Chairman of the Trustees Date: 8[th] July 2024 5 THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2023 ## **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 2023, 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: 8th July 2024 6 |**The Betenson Trust**|**The Betenson Trust**|**The Betenson Trust**|**The Betenson Trust**|**207019**|**207019**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Receipts and payments accounts**|||||| ||**For the period**
**from**|Period start date
1st October 2022|**To**|Period end date
30th September 2023|| |**For the period**
**from**|Period start date
1st October 2022|**To**|Period end date
30th September 2023| |---|---|---|---| ## **CC16a** |**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**37,372**
**420**
-
**-**
**37,792**
**10,000**
**-**
**10,000**
**47,792**||**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**||**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**37,372**
**420**
**-**
**-**
**37,792**
**10,000**
**-**
**10,000**
**47,792**||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**| |Contributions|**37,372**||||||||**34,844**| |Donations|**420**||||||||**586**| ||-||||||||**-**| ||**-**||||||||**-**| |**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**37,792**||||||||**35,430**| ||||||||||| |**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**|||||||||| |M&G Charibond charities fixed interest fund
accumulated units|**10,000**||||||||**128,400**| ||**-**||||||||**-**| |**_Sub total_**|**10,000**||||||||**128,400**| |**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||||||| ||||||||||**163,830**| ||||||||||| |
Heat & light|**13,425**||**-**||**-**||**13,425**||**10,457**| |Repairs & maintenance|**24,672**||**-**||**-**||**24,672**||**20,923**| |Water|**1,823**||**-**||**-**||**1,823**||**1,730**| |Lifeline|**187**||**-**||**-**||**187**||**343**| |Honorarium|**1,500**||**-**||**-**||**1,500**||**1,500**| |Professional fees|**6,475**||**-**||**-**||**6,475**||**-**| |Expenses|**104**||**-**||**-**||**104**||**65**| |Almshouse Association|**253**||**-**||**-**||**253**||**242**| |TV licence|**45**||**-**||**-**||**45**||**45**| |Insurance|**2,304**||**-**||**-**||**2,304**||**1,979**| |**_Sub total_ **|**50,788**||**-**||**-**||**50,788**||**37,284**| ||||||||||| |**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_ **|**3,000**||||||||**131,400**| |**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||||||| ||||||||||**168,684**| ||||||||||| ||**- 5,996**||**-**||**-**||**- 5,996**||**- 4,854**| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**14,011**||**-**||**-**||**14,011**||**18,865**| ||**8,015**||**-**||**-**||**8,015**||**14,011**| ## **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
**B1 Cash funds**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**|**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**
Current account
**Details**|**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**
Current account
**Details**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**|**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||**8,015**||**-**||**-**| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||||**8,015**||**-**||**-**| ||||||||OK| ||||||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| ||||||**-**||**-**| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**Details**||**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**||**Cost (optional)**||**Current value**
**(optional)**| ||M&G||
**Unrestricted**
**designated**||**-**||**33,334**| ||M&G||**Unrestricted**||**-**||**22,791**| ||CCLA||**Unrestricted**
**designated**||**-**||**33,333**| ||CCLA||**Unrestricted**||**-**||**34,675**| ||BlackRock||**Unrestricted**
**designated**||**-**||**33,333**| ||BlackRock||**Unrestricted**||**-**||**30,647**| ||**Details**||**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**||**Cost (optional)**||**Current value**
**(optional)**| ||Cottages - Plaxtol||
**Endowment**||**-**||**360,000**| ||Cottages - Platt||**Endowment**||**-**||**340,000**| ||Cottages - Wrotham||**Endowment**||**-**||**300,000**| ||||||**-**||**-**| ||||||**-**||**-**| ||||||**-**||**-**| ||Signature
Alexander Mackay
Sarah Allewell
**Details**||**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due (optional)**
`
Print Name
ALEXANDER D MACKAY
SARAH ALLEWELL||||**When due**
**(optional)**| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||||||||| ||||||||Date of
approval| ||Alexander Mackay||ALEXANDER D MACKAY||||08-Jul-24| ||Sarah Allewell||SARAH ALLEWELL||||08-Jul-24| CCXX R7 accounts (SS) 12/07/2024 ## **The Betenson Trust** Financial ## Statements For the year ended 30th September 2023 THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2023 |Trustees|Alexander Mackay (Chairman)| |---|---| ||Rev. Dr Peter Hayler| ||Rev Lorraine Turner| ||Rev. Tim Hatwell (appointed 29thMay 2022)| ||Thomas Owen| ||Malcolm Wiffen| ||John Hutchings| ||Joy Bentley (appointed 7thNovember 2022, resigned 30th| ||June 2024)| ||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 2023 ## **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 2023 ## **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. In Platt, one almshouse is occupied by a couple. Each resident pays a modest contribution towards the cost of maintenance and central heating. Having established the extent of maintenance required on all properties through a survey conducted in 2022, it was recognised that the existing level of Weekly Maintenance Contributions (WMC) would not be sufficient to sustain the necessary financing of these capital projects, leading the Trustees to restructure the Trust’s economic model. This has involved increasing the WMC considerably and supporting residents in applications for Housing Benefit where they do not already receive this. The Trustees appreciate that not all residents will qualify for benefits, and in such cases will look to determine a WMC on an individual basis to avoid causing hardship. The weekly contribution paid by residents was £55 for the first three months of the accounting period, but was increased to £65 from January 2023. This was increased to £110 from January 2024 to help pay for a programme of upgrading the cottages as and when they fall vacant. An almshouse in Plaxtol became vacant in February 2023, and underwent refurbishment in the spring of 2024 before being re-let in April at an increased rate of WMC of £165, reflecting the superior quality of residence. A second almshouse in Plaxtol became vacant in November 2023, but refurbishment will not begin before sufficient funds are available. Following a Notice to Quit and Notice to Determine served upon a licensee in Platt, the almshouse became vacant in August 2023. The Trustees provided support to assist the resident in finding alternative accommodation and with removal costs. This almshouse is currently undergoing refurbishment and is expected to be occupied in August 2024, again at an increased rate of WMC of £165. Investments held at M&G, CCLA and BlackRock , with a total market valuation of £188,113 at the year end (2022: £200,289), are held to provide funds for the maintenance of the properties. This value included unrealised losses of £4,425 (2022: £14,015). There were also realised losses in the year of £752 (2022: £5,749). Cash funds amounted to £8,015 (2022: £14,011). The Trust was fortunate to receive donations from Wrotham Fireworks, Great Comp and the Dodge Charity. The trustees were delighted to welcome Joy Bentley to the board of trustees on 7[th] November 2022 and Gill French on 7[th] July 2023. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, Joy resigned 4 THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2023 at the end of June 2024. Her contribution to the work of the trust is much appreciated by the trustees, who wish her well in her future ventures. The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ Report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s Trustees A D Mackay Chairman of the Trustees Date: 8[th] July 2024 5 THE BETENSON TRUST Financial Statements for the year ended 30[th] September 2023 ## **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 2023, 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: 8th July 2024 6