Charity number: 211409 THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2024 THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY CONTENTS Page The Trustees and Officers Annual Report of the Trustees Independent Auditors. Report Statement of Financial Activities 10 Balance Sheet Cash Flow Statement 12 Notes to the Accounts 13-18 Rotation of Trustees 19 THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY TRUSTEES. ADMINISTRATOR AND ADVISERS Trustees Mr P Kaser Mr M Waller Mr M OlveT Mr L Garside Ms R Coady Mr A Hall Rev M Dearnley Principal Office St Peter's Church St Peter's Street St Albans Hertfordshire AL13HG Charlty Reglstratlon Number 211409 Clerk Colllnson Hall 9-11 Victoria Street Sl Albans Hertfordshire AL1 3UB Accountants Collinson Hall 9-11 Victoria Street St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 3UB Archltect Cannon Morgan & Rheinberg Partnership 38 Holywell Hill St Albans Hertfordshire AU1 18U THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY TRUSTEES, ADMINISTRATOR AND ADVISERS l¢ontinuedl Property Agents Collinson Hall 9-11 Victoria Street Sl Albans Hertfordshire AL13UB Sollcltors Debenhams 0tt8way Ivy House 107 St Peters Street St Albans Hertfordshire AL13EW AudFtors Mercer & Hole LLP Gloucester House 72 London Road Sl Albans Hertfordshire AL1 1NS Bankers Natwesl Bank plc St Albans Branch 10 St Peters Street St Alb8ns Hertfordshire AL13LY THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2024 The truslees present the slalutory report with the accounts of The Church Lands Charity for the year ended 30 April 2024. Constltutlon The charity was regulated by a schedule sel out by the Charity Commission on 29 July 1881 and re- established by a new scheme of the Charity Commission dated 6 June 1995. The registration number 1$ 211409. Trustees and Offlcers The names of the Trustees and Officers who have served during the year are shown on the Trustees. Administrators and Advisers page of this report. The method of appointment of each trustee is shown on page 19. Trustees serve 2 four year term which is renewable. New Iruslees are provided with documentation lo enable them to appreciate the Trusvs objectives. organisation, method of operation and their responsibilities under the law. In addits'on existing trustees assist them in becoming fully conversant with their role. Prlnclpal Aims and Actlvltles The objects ofthe charity are'.- a. To provide funds for the upkeep and maintenance of the fabric of the Parish Churches of Sl Pelerfs, St Paul's and Sl Luke's all being in Sl Albans, Hertfordshire. Preference is given lo the needs of St Peterfs., and b. To further the ￿lIgIouS and other charitable purposes of the Church of England in any or all of these Parishes. The charity's main objective is to preserve and enhance its assets so that regular contributions can be made to the three beneficiary Parishes. These funds derive from rental income and income from cash deposits and other investment. The Iruslees make grants periodically lo the Parishes, with preference for St Peler's. Trustees are kept aware of the application of those grants by reports from the trustees appointed by the relevant Parish. Originally the Charity was endowed with retail and domestic propety in St. Albans. It is the policy of the Trustees lo ensure properties are maintained in good order and the income is maximised. The annual gross comrnercial rents have increased lo £273.032 12023.. £312,851 over 16-monlh periodl and the residential rents have increased to £495.129 (2023.- £639,219). There has been no change in this policy since last year. During the year grants of £457,500 {2023'. £440.000) were made to the churches as shown in Note 5 to the Accounts. The trustees. objective of maximising income has been met this year. and further opportunities to enhan¢e in¢ome are actively being sought. THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Icontinuedl FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2024 Organisation The trustees meet three times a year lo review the progress of the eharity and to decide upon the policy to be adopted. The chairman and clerk are the executive officers who carry out the wishe5 of the trustees. Application of Income The income of the charity after expenses is to be applied towards the maintenance and fabrie of the Parish Churches of the Ecclesiastical Parishes of St. Peter, St. Paul, and St Luke, in the diocese of St Albans wrth preferen¢e for St. Peter. andlor furthering the work of the Church of England in these parishes. The grants made are shown in Note S to the accounts. All three churches make themselves and their services available lo all parishioners and residentswithout charge. The trtjstees consider that by supporting the three churches they are fullilling the charity's public benefit requirement. Investment Pollcy The trustees periodically review any deposits and lake professional advice lo ensure that maximum interest is earned. The trustees wish for any investments lo be low risk and deposits are therefore held with the CBF Church of England fund. Future Obligatlons The trustees are ever mindful of the reliance by the Charity on its freehold property but consider its resources are adequate to fulfil its obligations. It has no contractual commitments of a capital nature. Future Plan5 The Iruslees intend to continue along the same lines as they are currently operating. They want lo maintain and enhance the existing propety portfolio. thereby preserving the income stream and maximising the distributions to the beneficiaries. R¢$erves Pollcy The charity's reseNes are reviewed on an annual basis. The trustees, policy is to maintain the real value of the ¢harity's assets, after aceounling for distributions. In addition, the trustees seek lo maintain free reseNes of £50,000 lo cover any unforeseen expenditure. Rlsk Assessment The trustees have fully reviewed the areas of risk to the charity, being business, comrnercial and financial risk. Although the areas of risk are deemed to be few, the main risk is the possibility of fluctuations in the propety market and reduced income from properb.es not being let. Publle Benefit The Trustees confirm that due regard has been paid lo the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES (continwd) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2024 Stat•m•nt olTrust••s' R•Spo￿lb11IdaS The trustses arE TesFon5It￿9 for pr8parfng the Truslggs. Annual Report and th8 finandal statements in accardance wlth appllcabl& law and United Kingdom A¢iy)unth'ng Standards (Uniied lQ"ngd¢Jn Generally AccountlrvJ Practlcal. The law ap￿1¢able to tharfti9s in Engkqnd & Wales requires the Irusleès to preparefinancial slatementsfor ea¢h finanaal year give a trua and falr wew of1he stote of affairs of the charity and of tha irthmlng r95ources and 8pp*lcation of r6sourcesof the tharftyfr>rthat period. In prepadng thesefinaneAo1 slatements. the Irustges are required ta. s8lect suitable a&*untirvJ policies and Ihen apply them ¢JJnsistenlly. obsgrvo the mèthods end prlnc4ples in the Charities SORP 2019 IFRS 102)., make judgm8nts and esth'malas that are reasonabl8 ond pNdent state whether applicable a￿ntIng standartis have teen fdl(YrfwJ, sutyact to any mgtgrfal departtJTes dSsck)5ed and 6xplained In the finandal statements. prepare the flrtanclal stat8menls on the golng o)ncem basis un18s5 il is in8pp￿priate to [￿eSuMe that the charlty wll o)ntinua In operatton. The trustees ar6 reswrtsible for k09plng proper aecounllng re￿rdS that disctose wlth reasonable a¢￿TaGY al any tlme the )InancHJ poSI￿on of the charity and ena￿e them to 8nsure that Ihe finanTral stalements compfy vrilh tha Charili85 Act 2011, the Charity (A(wunts ar¥J Reports) RegulatK)ns 2008 ond th provlsions of the trust daed. Th8yar9 also resp￿51b1ef0r safeguarding tr*e assets of the chanty and henoe for taking reasonabla steps for lh& prnvention and dgtgction offraud and ol*w irregularib'es. Siwad on b8haifof Ihg Trustees: Apwoved bythe Thlstees on lid LLIOIZL THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2024 We have audlted the financial statements of The Church Lands Charity (the 'charity'l for the year ended 30 April 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet and notes to the financial slalemenls, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republtc of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Praclicel. In our opinion the financial statements: give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs as 8t 30 April 2024, and of its in¢oming resource5 and application of resources. including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended.. have been properly prepaied in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice., and have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011. Basls for oplnlon We conducted our audit in accordance with International Stsndards on Auditing (UK) IISAS IUKII and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK. including the FRC'S Ethical Stsndard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. Conclusions relating to going concern In auditing the financial statements. we have concluded that the trustees, use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relatif7g lo events or conditions that. individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability lo continue as a going concern for a period of at least ￿e1ve months from when the financial statements are aulhoTised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsibilitie5 of the trustees with respect lo going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. Other information The other information comprises the information included in the Iruslees annual report, other than the financi81 slalements and our auditor's report Ihereon. The Iruslees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except lo the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report. we do not express any fomi of assuran￿ Conclusion thereon. Our responsibility 15 to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears lo be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY Icontinuedl FOR fHE PERIOD ENDED 30 APRIL 2024 material misslalements, we are ￿qUired lo determine whether this gives rise to a material miss18tement in the financial stslemenls themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstalemenl of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. Matters on which we are required to report by exception We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 fequire us lo report to you if, in our opinion.. the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees. report., or sufficient accounting records have not been kept., or the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records,. or we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. Responslbilitie$ of trusteos As explained more fully in the trustees, responsibilities statement sel out on page 5. the trustees are responsible for the preparation of financial statements which give a true and fair view, and for such inlemal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparalion of finan¢ial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial stalemenls, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing. as applicable, matters related lo going concern and using the going concern basis of a¢counling unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or tr) cease operations, or have no realistic altemalive but to do so. Audltor's responslbllltles for the audlt of the financial statements We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordan¢e with re9ulalions made under section 154 of that Act. Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due lo fraud or error, and lo issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAS {UK) will always delecl a material misstatement when it exists. Misstalemenls can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate. they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis ofthese financial stalemenls. Irregularities. including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our ￿spOnSIbl1111es, outlined above, to delecl material misslalemenls in respect of irregularities. including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent lo which these are capable of detecting irregularities. including fraud is detailed below. THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE CHURCH LANDS CHARITY Icontinuedl FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2024 Explanation as to what extent the audit wa$ ¢on$idered capable of detecting Irregularltles, Including fraud We gained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to the charity and the environment in which it operates and considered the risk of acts by the charity that were contrary to applicable laws and regulations, including fraud. We evaluated managemenvs incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements and the financial report (including the risk of override of controls), and determined that the principal risks were related lo posting inappropriate entries including journals to overstate revenue or understate expenditure. and management bias in accounting estimates. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included.. Discussions with management, including considerations of known or suspected instances of non- compliance with laws and regulations and fraud., Gaining an understanding of management's controls designed lo prevent and detect irregularities., and Identfying and testing journal entries. Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading lo a material misstatement in the financial statements or non