## **St Andrew** ! **s United Reformed Church Upper Hanover St Sheffield Trust**
**Report for the financial year Jan - Dec, 2020 from the Trustees of St Andrew** ! **s U.R.C. to the Charity Commission, Charity No. 237839**
## **A. Structure**
In 2018 we reported that we had had discussions with the Yorkshire Congregational Union (YCU) about the future of our own six Trustees, appointed under the 1861 Trust Deed establishing the church. We had considered appointing the YCU as our corporate Trustee as we were anxious about the number of our Trustees falling below 5, as required in our Trust Deed. The current interpretation of the Yorkshire Synod Trust and Property Committee Secretary is that our Trustees continue to function as the church’s Trustees. The discussion has not been moved forward.
The Elders and Management Team undertake routine management and report back to the Church Meeting of all members. The Trustees have renewed all policies. All meetings have been held on Zoom during the pandemic. There has been much less to do as the utilization of the buildings is very low, but major reconstruction projects have been completed.
## **B. General Objectives and activities (as listed on the CC website)**
1. **Overseas and famine relief:** we contribute significantly to Christian Aid and each Christmas create and fill boxes for Samaritan!s Purse for vulnerable children in Europe.
## **2. Religious activities:**
a) We continued to be the centre for three (two in addition to our own) worshipping communities, the St Michael!s Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Congolese Jesus for All Nations Church, Sheffield. We also host the Iranian community!s postRamadan and Ashura celebrations.
b) We have run autumn bible study groups with members of the congregation on Zoom and they have been attended by people outside the church membership.
c) We have been members of Churches Together in Broomhill and Broomhall (CTBB) in Sheffield, although it has been wound up in 2021 because of the age of participants.
## **3. Community Development:**
a) We participate in Broomhall and Broomhill activities, the former by representation on the Management Committee of the Broomhall Centre and membership of the Group of Groups (of organisations across Broomhall), and these meetings continued using Zoom. We provided full-time accommodation for Buzz and for their activities two full days a week. It was originally a children!s play and adult education group, but during the pandemic it has concentrated on providing support for Contact Centre families and for older people. The Broomhall Community Choir has not run since February. The only groups using the facilities have been the two additional religious communities, St Michael’s and JFAN, when it was considered safe by the Govt to do so, with all necessary precautions.
b) The Open Kitchen prepared weekly lunches and distributed them to the needy, but stopped serving in the hall. They worked with another community group and prepared many
thousands of lunches during the year. We also contributed weekly to a Food Bank at the adjacent Jesus Centre until it closed this year.
c) We do not have a trading subsidiary.
## **4. Religious and racial harmony** (see B2a and 3 above)
Broomhall is a multiethnic community and the Group of Groups is a multiracial group representing many organisations in Broomhall; some meetings are held in our facilities. The group is concerned with community cohesion, interaction with students of the two Universities and with the police to deal with drug abuse.
## **5. Recreation**
The facilities we provided for a number of music groups, choirs, dance groups, multiple cooking groups and a writing group have not been used, but we took the opportunity of lockdown to renew our hall floor, the better to be able to service our own and these other groups in the future.
## **6. The general public**
We have not run any functions during the year because of the pandemic, although the food preparation has benefitted the local community enormously.
## **7. Grants**
## **a) Making grants to organisations**
We gave our last annual grant to CTBB for the Worker for Older People of £1500, but this organisation has now disbanded.
## **b) Receiving grants**
We do not receive any grants from central government or any local authority. We received no funds from outside the UK. We did not operate outside England and Wales.
## **8. Providing facilities**
This provision is described above in B2, 3, and 6. We have also provided space for 25 years, fortnightly, for the St Andrew!s Child Contact Centre, for solicitor referred families where the non-cohabiting partner can meet their child/ren in a safe and supervised space on a Saturday. This has expanded under Buzz, and has involved weekday sessions and a food bank.
## **C. Achievements and performance**
1. We have been unable to use our facilities more widely during the pandemic.
2. We described the sale of our Manse last year and planned to use some of those funds for upgrading the kitchen, relaying the church hall floor, reroofing the church and continuing to employ a manager during the year. Residual funds were invested with a stockbroker on our behalf by the Yorkshire Congregational Union.
3. Our archives continue to be indexed.
4. Good documentation of all work on the buildings and church has been maintained in a Buildings Book. Fire safety procedures and documentation are maintained. The Church
Manual, describing all processes for church management is available in the building. We have continued to use Key Performance Indicators to review our Risk Register, which has itself been reviewed, and report these regularly from our Management Team to the Trustees.
5. The Trustees have reviewed and once again approved all policies. The two relatives of Trustees continue to work for the church as self-employed persons.
6. Similar numbers of volunteers have continued to work with the Open Kitchen and the Buzz St Andrew!s Child Contact Centre, but other groups have not functioned because of the pandemic.
8. The Management Team activity has continued to be of a high quality. Our finance records are reviewed monthly; this year we have a substantial deficit, as we have been unable to let our premises during the pandemic. It was agreed to close our Capital Fund (Charity number 254549) and use the resource as a Refurbishment Fund. Some of the shares have been sold, but the funds have taken almost a year to transfer and the Bank has not provided sufficient information to create a nominee account with a stockbroker for the sale of the remaining shares. However, we are no rush to sell these stocks, as the stockmarket has not yet returned to its prepandemic level.
9. The website has had little further development, although the monthly church magazine, The Messenger, has been put up regularly. There is little social media activity.
## **D. Which types of decision are made by the Trustees**
The day to day management of the affairs of the church has been delegated to the Elders for the spiritual side and the Management Team for the secular side. Minutes of both sets of meetings are circulated to the Trustees for regular review. The Trustees make policy and ensure that it is applied; these actions have followed recommendations in the Charity Commission publications. They keep abreast of regular CC Newsletters and ensure that appropriate responses are made. They review staff matters. They formed a group to discuss the future of the church, given the diminishing size of the congregation and its advancing age, taking evidence widely. They have provided an interim report, as described in A above. The dialogue with the Yorkshire Synod of the United Reformed Church as to how our ideas might accord with URC procedures with respect to Trustee functions has not progressed. Other ideas are being explored. The Tennis Club is flourishing on its new clay courts. The longer term future of the church continues to be discussed.
The Trustees received no remuneration or benefits during the year. None resigned, nor did any take up employment with the charity. No staff received a salary of more than £60, 000. No benefits were provided. The church itself had no volunteers, only members. Those using its facilities used their own volunteers.
**E.** Our **Aims, Objectives and Values** have previously been described and still apply.
Our **Mission** is: "To create an environment where Christians worship and community groups prosper.”
Our **Values** are listed and sentences encapsulating each one developed and have been displayed on one of our noticeboards
## **G. Statement regarding the deficit**
During the pandemic there has been very little opportunity to raise funds through our usual mechanism, letting our facilities to community user groups. Most have expressed an interest in resuming once the Govt instructions allow appropriate mixing.
Our reserves are sufficient to cover at least one year!s expenditure at the current rate, consistent with our Reserves Policy. Last year we sold our Manse, so have considerable reserves as a result, even after renewing the hall floor and one half of our main church roof.
## **H. General Statement on Compliance**
The accounts have been examined independently. That examination was carried out in accordance with directions for Independent Examiner Guidance for small charities. The church accounts were independently certified for the Annual Church Meeting, and this was held by Zoom in view of the prohibitions introduced to deal with the Covid19 pandemic. The accounts and this Report have been circulated widely and electronically approved by representatives of members, Elders, Management Team and Trustees. They were compliant with the Charities Act (1993).
The eligible Trustees and employees have had enhanced DBS checks carried out.
The Trustees have considered major risks to which the charity is being exposed and satisfied themselves that systems and procedures are in place to minimise those risks. The Risk Assessment indicators and procedures were reviewed, as were the charity’s financial controls. Of course, the church premises have been in lockdown for many months and have only now begun to be used cautiously by a few church groups using appropriate social distancing and taking all precautions following government and Yorkshire Synod advice. This has resulted in the complete loss of income from user groups, which has had a huge impact on the 2020 accounts. However, we do have a major cushion from the proceeds of the sale of the Manse, so we expect not to be in financial difficulty.
The Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the updated guidance (CC3) and regularly review Charity Commission News editions on publication. They can confirm that no serious risk, as defined in CC3, has occurred.
## **VI. Authorised Trustee Date**
This Annual report and accounts were considered and approved by the Elders, Trustees and Management Team.
Signed on their behalf by
Member, Elder, Chair of the Management Team and Trustee i.d.cooke@sheffield.ac.uk 0114 262 0718 8/9/2021
# **ST. ANDREW’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH Upper Hanover Street, Sheffield** (Registered Charity number 237839)
## **FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
**For the year ending 31 December, 2020**
To be presented to the Annual Church Meeting
## **Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] December 2020**
## **Receipts and Payments Account**
||**2020**|**2019**|
|---|---|---|
|**Income**|**£**|**£**|
|1 Collections and Donations
|25,747|40,483|
|2 Activities to Generate funds
|24,018|46,091|
|3 Other Receipts
|7,661|13,117|
||**57,426**|**99,691**|
|**Expenditure**|||
|4 Wider Church
|7,068|7,850|
|5 Ministerial|6,469|7,527|
|6 Church
|64,677|54,438|
|7 Other payments|11,663|11,711|
|Surplus (Deficit)
|(32,451)|18,165|
||**57,426**|**99,691**|
## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31[st] December 2020**
|**ASSETS**|**2020**|**2019**|
|---|---|---|
|Property values (including contents)|**£**|**£**|
|Church including Hall & Tennis Club|8,657,279|7,985,250|
|**Bank Balances**|||
|At 31.12.20|||
|HSBC|16,359|31,191|
|Restoration Fund HSBC|75,464||
|COIF|99,228|24,147|
|**Total**|**191,051**|**55,338**|
|**Investments**|||
|134 M & G Charifund Units|32,647|
37,479|
|Capital Fund|57,539|57,118|
|Accumulating Youth & Education Fund|25,659|
29,458|
|Brewin Dolphin|294,628||
|**Total**|**410,473**
**124,055**||
|**Combined Totals**|**601,524**
**179,393**||
|**LIABILITIES**|||
|Key deposits|90|90|
||**90**|**90**|
|**Total Assets**|**601,524**|**179,303**|
## **Independent Examiner's Report for the year ended 31[st] December 2020**
## **Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Independent Examiner**
As trustees of the charity, the members are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. They 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 Commissioners section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
- state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **Basis of Independent Examiner's Statement**
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 the management committee concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.
## **Independent Examiner's Statement**
In connection with my examination, no matters have come to my attention
1. which give me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
- to keep accounting records in accordance with s.130 of the 2011 Act; or
- to prepare accounts which accord with these accounting records 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.
## Ross A McMaster FCCA
# **ST. ANDREW’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH Upper Hanover Street, Sheffield** (Registered Charity number 237839)
## **FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
**For the year ending 31 December, 2020**
To be presented to the Annual Church Meeting
## **Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] December 2020**
## **Receipts and Payments Account**
||**2020**|**2019**|
|---|---|---|
|**Income**|**£**|**£**|
|1 Collections and Donations
|25,747|40,483|
|2 Activities to Generate funds
|24,018|46,091|
|3 Other Receipts
|7,661|13,117|
||**57,426**|**99,691**|
|**Expenditure**|||
|4 Wider Church
|7,068|7,850|
|5 Ministerial|6,469|7,527|
|6 Church
|64,677|54,438|
|7 Other payments|11,663|11,711|
|Surplus (Deficit)
|(32,451)|18,165|
||**57,426**|**99,691**|
## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31[st] December 2020**
|**ASSETS**|**2020**|**2019**|
|---|---|---|
|Property values (including contents)|**£**|**£**|
|Church including Hall & Tennis Club|8,657,279|7,985,250|
|**Bank Balances**|||
|At 31.12.20|||
|HSBC|16,359|31,191|
|Restoration Fund HSBC|75,464||
|COIF|99,228|24,147|
|**Total**|**191,051**|**55,338**|
|**Investments**|||
|134 M & G Charifund Units|32,647|
37,479|
|Capital Fund|57,539|57,118|
|Accumulating Youth & Education Fund|25,659|
29,458|
|Brewin Dolphin|294,628||
|**Total**|**410,473**
**124,055**||
|**Combined Totals**|**601,524**
**179,393**||
|**LIABILITIES**|||
|Key deposits|90|90|
||**90**|**90**|
|**Total Assets**|**601,524**|**179,303**|
## **Independent Examiner's Report for the year ended 31[st] December 2020**
## **Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Independent Examiner**
As trustees of the charity, the members are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. They 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 Commissioners section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
- state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **Basis of Independent Examiner's Statement**
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 the management committee concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.
## **Independent Examiner's Statement**
In connection with my examination, no matters have come to my attention
1. which give me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
- to keep accounting records in accordance with s.130 of the 2011 Act; or
- to prepare accounts which accord with these accounting records 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.
## Ross A McMaster FCCA