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After a challenging couple ofy¢ary we finally starte41 to emttge fmm the rerAsionary maO¢con0m1C ¢nvironment and exwien(Ed a solid recovery. The UK nomY is expec1 to grow by 4.40 in 2023. after a 6. rebound in 2021 [dIng to the Office for Budget Resp)nsibility. Howevcr, the growth out1({ is subjectto uncerthinty and risk4 such as the ongoing effects of the COV1D-19 pandemic, the adjustmrnt to the new trading aTrangements wlth the EU. and the FK)tential impact of rising inflation and interest ras. The UK inflation rate surged to i I. IY• in Ocl 2021 prompting the Bank of Englond to increase the offjcial Bank Rate up to 3% in November 2022. Inflation is onc of the main factors behind the ongoing Co# of Living Crisis in the UK. Russia's invasion of Ukrnin¢ in February 2022 brought an end to the era of theap gas flowing to European markets from Russi& Thc war h&s also disrupted global food market4 with tK)th Russia and Ukraine being major exporttts of cereal crops. Along with soaring food cost4 high energy bills have hit UK households W espe¢ially lower-in¢om¢ one5 that spend more of their earnings on housin8 Cljsts. With global energy prices spirallin& the UK'S energy price c4p has increased subst8ntiaIly. The cap. which limits what suppliets can charge LX)nsumer4 rea¢hed £3,549 per year in (knber 2022. compared with £1277 undS a year earlier. Unfortunately, while wages are growing quite f8sL they are currently not keeping pace with inflation. UK households experienced the b188t fall in livin8 slandards in decades in 2022, with 2023 also expthd to be a difficult year. In addition to the direct e05ts Ilke petrol, diesel g4 ekntricity. elc., there indir¢¢t costs such as the cost of transportation to bring prnlucts to markel the 4J)st of keeping busin¢ss¢s open as energy costs rise, etc. Morcov¢r. the incrtasc in the costs of oil and g4 the underlying cause of the energy price rise& also ¢at¢S a significant spike in the cost of petrothemlcals. Pdrochemicals arc used for fertiliscr4 packing materiaL clothing, and many other household and Industrial product& All price increases have plrt furth¢r pressure on wages to help pwle co All these factors hav¢ made a huge impact on our Parish, the liv¢s of our p8rishioners and our community. Unfortunately. pwle feel the constraints of the current economic climate therefore findin8 It hard to cope with rising trices and Supp their families. This resulted in the decline of the Church's wllections. The operatiog expe•dithre exceeded the operating iA¢ome by £35k. The operating defjcit (£35k) is higher than the operating deficit wc had in 2021 (£342k). Total expenditure ¢xceeded the total ineome by £IOK which is sli8htly loww Iby £3k) than in 2021. This was du¢ to severnl fKtors: the sale of candles decrea by £3K the Church plate collection decreed by £2.4L but regular donations incre&s¢d by £5.6L which means more people opted to donat¢ via tTansf¢rs lln a bank a¢count and sctting up direct debit. Overall income dTopped by £14.5k in compariyffl to 2021 dwite the generosity of our parishion¢ and hard-working Clergy. Th¢ factors discussed carlicr in this re1( su¢h as inflatiory and rising energy prices have sult¢d in incffas¢d expenditure f(Y our Parish. We io itKrease salaries to flect the imw of the infl*ion and supwjrt our Clergy as much as we Could. The priRs In the UK went up by l 0.5Y4 th¢ highest sinL¥ 1997.
For now, w¢ can sustain this deficit due to the number of oEmting funds accumulated in Fyevious yeas. Due to the [_pandeMi¢ effect and c05t of living in, as it has a dire effect on our financial result4 we need to continue incrIng fid-raisig activities and s¢ek new ways of attracting donations to cover our 0tIng Lyjsts gm. Our main sources of regular income are raised from donations made by the parishioners in the fonn of the purchase of candles plate colle¢tioffj regular donation& and subscriptions. The Parish is very grateful to the po)ple who held it stay atloat fiDat)¢ially during these difficult time& The income from donations for candles was £70.8k in 2022 {£73.8k in 2021) Plate colle¢tion5 for the needs of the Church were £35.7k tn 2022 (£38k in 2021) Collections boxes for the needs of the Church were £10.4k in 2022 {£8.2k in 2021) The number of regular donations and subscriptions was £46.6k in 2022 (£40.9k in 2021) The mis¢cllaneous d(N)ation amounied to £16.8k in 2022 (£33.Tr in 2021) Our main items of regular expendtture consisted of sar1e4 ¢lergy expenses and accommodatio electricity bil and insurae. Salary exwlditure was £76.6k in 2021 (£76.6k in 2021). Ckrgy expenses and ¢0M(latIOn were £25.4k in 2021 (£24.2k in 2021). G&$ and electricity expenditure in 2021 was £28.Tr whereas in 2022 li was £14.1k. Insurance sts remained at the same kvcl. It is currently paid via direct debit payment method illead of the lump sum. The closing EK)sition ofall r¢stri¢ted and funds * the end of the year 2022 w&% £199.7K which is knver than £207.8k at the end of last year. INVESTMENT POLICY The Charity continued to be IgIng its cash swiluses in the bank aUnt in 2022 due to two main reasons: (a) low-interest rates for short-tenn bank dew)sits that defeai their purpose, and (i)) aversion to long-terni liquidity risk. A ievi¢w of this policy will be condu¢tsi in 2023. RESERVES POLICY As of 31 December 2022, the totsl unrestricted nel cuffcnt were £64,616 which would ¢over nearly 4 month5 of avw operating expenses of the Parish. RISK REVIEW Th¢ Charity is debt-frc¢ as of 31 De¢ber 2022. The Churd) Council has been monitoring the fjnancial &Ition regularly to ensure wc can matntain susthinabilily by matching our income and expendits2r¢. PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS Bankers: HSBC Bank PLC 90 Baker Street l.ondon WIU6AX ArUntants and independent examiners". C Yew & Company 54 Glenburnie Road London SW17 7NF
The principal address of the Chtrity: The Cathedral ofthe Nattvity of the Most Holy Mother of Ihl and the Holy Tsar Martyrs and the New Martyrs of Rla 57 Harvard Road London W4 4ED Summary prc-audit aco)unts are pro8ented ov¢rle4f.