Charities Act 2011 and Regulations made thereunder ANNUAL REPORT for the period of 12 months ending 31 Decernber 2023 of the Charity entitled- THE CHURCH FUND (Registered No 247465) more commonly known as THE CHURCH FUND TRUST 1ST MARY'S, WALTON-ON-THAMES} PRINCIPAL ADDRESS: Mr AK Zwart, Secretary to the Trustees, 100 Cottimore Avenue, Walton-on-Tharnes i(r12 2AF GOVERNING DOCUMENT.. The Church Fund was established by a Trust Scheme dated 7 May 1964, as amended by further Trust Schemes dated 11 May 1965, 7 February 1973, 23 August 2006 and l February 2008. TRUSTEES The Trust Scheme provided for the appointment of six Trustees; two ex-officio, two Co-opted (serving for periods of five years) and two norninated {serving for periods of four years). Retiring Trustees are eligible for re-appointment for a further period subject to their retaining the qualifications laid down in the Trust Scheme. The ex-officio Trustees are the two Church Wardens of the Church of St Mary, Walton-on-Thames who are appointed each year at the Vestry meeting of Walton-on-Thame5 Parish. The nominated Trustees are appointed by Walton-on-Thames PCC. During the twelve months under revlew, the Trustees were:_ Mr D Henderson Mr M Felstead Mr A Berkinshaw-smlth Mrs J Gorrie Mr N Stapleton MrSHay (Ex-officio) (Co-opted} (Pcc-norninated) {PCC-nominated) {Co-opted) {Ex-officio) Appointed April 2019 Appointed October 2019 Appointed October 2020 Appolnted July 2021 Resigned June 2023 Resigned April 2023 David Henderson served as elected Chairman throughout 2023. OFFICERS The Secretary to the Trustees: Mr AK Zwart (Appointed September 2019) The "Independent Examinerf, of the Trust Fund Report and Accounts for 2023 is Ms Frances Wilde, Warner Wilde, 4 Marigold Drive, Bisleyi Surrey, GU24 9SF. AIMS The Church Fund Trust was established in 1964 following the sale, for local authority housing and educational purposes. of an area of glebe land at Vicarage Fields, Walton-on-Thames, which had for many years been held by the Parlsh. The net proceeds of the sale were invested In consultatlon wlth and on the advice of the Charity Commission and those investments, which are reviewed on a regular basis and revised a5 and when felt desirable, are the Source of the income of the Trust Fund. The Trust Fund operates only within the Ecclesiastical Parish of Walton-on-Thames and exlsts solely to provide financial support for that Parish. In practlce the only body or persons who may legltlmately call upon the Trust for assistance are the Parochlal Church Councll of St Mary with St John who approach the Trustees as necessary for advances from Trust Funds to meet expenditure arising on items which fall within the Trust Scheme. In February 2008 the Charity Commission agreed to Include the Church of St John and also agreed to broadenlng of the objectlves. Clause 22 of the Trust Scheme of 7 May 1964 was deleted and was replaced with the following. 22, Applicatlon of Incorne (l) The Trustees shall apply the clear yearly income of the Charlty for the followlng purposes and in the following order of prlorlty. (2) The Trustee5 shall apply a sufficlent part of the sald clear yearly Income In or towards defraylng the cost of the upkeep, repair and Insurance of the Parish Church of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Mary, Walton-on-Thames and the goods and ornaments thereof. (3) The Trustees shall apply the resldue of the sald clear yearly income in or toward5 defraying the cost of malntalnlng and Improving the sald parlsh church and the churchyard thereof, (4) If and In so far as the sald clear yearly Income Is not requ5red for appllcation in manner aforesald the Trustees may apply the same for the following purposes and In the following order of priority: In or towards defraying the cost of the upkeep, repair and insurance of the Church of St John, Cottimore, in the sald eccleslastlcal parish and the goods and ornament thereof. In or towards defraylng the cost of malntaining and improvln8 the Church of St John, Cottlmore, In the saSd eccleslastlcal parlsh and the churchyard thereof. (5) If and In so far as the sald clear yearly Income is not required for application in manner aforesaid the Trustees may apply the same in furtherance of the rellglous and other charltable work of the Church of England In the said eccleslastlcal parish. PUBLIC BENEFIT The Trust provides flnance to the eccle51astlcal Parish of Walton-on-Thames to maintain the fabric, flttlngs and runnlng costs of its two churches and for the malntenance of the churchyards. Thls allows the PCC to ensure that the churches are available for regular public worship whlchls open to a15 and the provision of sacred space for personal prayer and contemplation. VULNERABLE BENEFICIARI The Charlty does not deal directly with people, only wlth the Parochial Church Councll of Walton-on-Tharnes, so it does not have a need for a specific pollcy for vulnerable beneficiarie5. However, the Trustee5 note that the PCC have pollcies and procedures in place to safeguard the needs of any vulnerable people with whom they may come into contact as part of the running of the parish. ORGANISATION The Trustees routinely meet on a quarterly basis during the months of January, April, July and October. Other meetings may be held for reasons of urgency. The Trust does not own or occupy any land or buildings. The Trust is connected to but totally separate from the Parochial Church Council for St Mary with St John, Walton-on-Thames registered charity number 1128597 as referred to above. The Secretary to the Trustees works from their own home address. The Trust does not employ any staff. The Secretary to the Trustees is a volunteer. There are no other volunteers and It is not anticipated that there will be any in the foreseeable future. INVESTMENT POLICY The Trustees have agreed an investment policy statement with Brewln Dolphin, the investment managers. This dates from October 2020 and has been reviewed: no changes were made. The document covers investment objectives, risk. time horizon. liquidity requirements, ethical investment policy and administrative provisions. The Trustees seek to produce the best financial return within an acceptable level of risk. The investment objective for the consolidated portfolio is to maintain and grow the value of the capital over the long term (+io years) and In excess of inflation while generating an increasing level of income. This objective will be measured against CPI + 3.5%. The Trustees adopt a total return approach to investmenti generating the Investment return from income and capital galns or losses. It Is expected that if in any one year the total return is insufficient to meet the budgeted grant making expenditure, in the long term the real value of the Trust will still be rnaintained in accordance with the investment objective above. Brewin Dolphin manage the assets on a discretionary basis in line with this policy and provide custody of the assets. Managers are required to produce a valuation and performance report quarterly. The Trustees have nominated a list of authorised signatories, two of which are required to sign instructions to the investment manager. The Trustees meet with representatlves of Brewin Dolphin in April and October when the latter present the investment report. The Trustees have access to an online Portal which provides extensive details of values, performance and predicted dividend receipts. THE YEAR UNDER REVIEW During the year 2023 income totalled £65,059 {2022: £64.759). Requests made by the PCC to the Trustees during 2023 in respect of the running expenses of St Marfs and St John's Churches, totalled £46,710 (2022: £40,431). During 2022, the CFT made an advance to the PCC of £15,000 to aid with the cash flow of a building project at St John's Church. This amount was refunded in full during 2023. Major works were £Nil {2021: £Nil). Adminlstration costs were £1,696 (2022.. £1,674). The value of the investment assets held at 31 December 2023 was £2,316,760 (£2,217,336 at 31 December 2022). At the tome of signing this Annual Report. the forecast for receivable dividends per annum is £63,231. SERIOUS INCIDENTS There were no serious incidents to report. RISK MANAGEMENT The Trustees have consldered the major risks to whlch the Trust is exposed and have reviewed those risks and established systems and procedures to manage those risks. At the same time the Trustees reviewed the flnanclal controls and consider these controls to be sufficient to manage the risks identified. The economlc recovery remains under pressure from ongolng geo-politlcal factors and inflation. The Trustees, view Is that these trends wlll not jeopardise meetlng the anticipated requests by the PCC In 2024. FUTURE COMMITMENTS Apart from the normal running costs of the two Churches the only known commltments are as follows: In November 2023 a qulnquennlal Inspectlon of St Mary's church was undertaken. It Is antlclpated that the schedule of runnlng repairs and malntenance, arising from the report, wlll be phased over the following five years and the Trustees await notification from the PCC as to when the call for funding will fall and how much It wlll be. Indlcatlons are that there wlll be no unexpected major calls to come. RESERVES The Trustees have revlewed the need for holdlng funds as "reserves" Under guidance from the Charity Commlsslon the Trustees have set aslde a permanent endowment held separately. All the funds are Invested by professlonal advlsers Brewin Dolphln Llmlted, 12 Smlthfleld Street, London ECIA 9LA. Underused Income In one year Is held temporarily for expendlture In excess of Income In later years. The Trust Deed contalns a speclal provision for meetlng extraordlnary costs on appllcatlon from the Parochial Church Councll and a declslon of the Trustees. Slgned: Date; 23 PfEIL 201It ## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** **Section A Independent Examiner’s Report** **Report to the trustees/** The Church Fund **members of On accounts for the year** 31 December 2023 **Charity no** 247465 **ended (if any) Set out on pages** 1 and 2 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 December 2023. - **Responsibilities and** As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation **basis of report** of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. **Independent** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have **examiner's statement** come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or - the accounts do not accord with the accounting records I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. **Date:** 25/04/2024 **Signed:** ~~a~~ **Name:** FJ Wilde ~~Cs~~ **Relevant professional** FCCA DChA **qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:** 4 Marigold Drive Bisley Surrey GU24 9SF (HARITY (OMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES 24T465 Receipts and payments accounts ro CC16a 01*0112(Y23 31/f2r2tr23 Section A Receipts and payments Unrnsfylcted Rastrlcted Endowment Tothi fvftd• L•*ty¢or 74 totaif inctYn8 lorAR) A2 A$8•1 and Inv••¢ment4alo¥. (s•e 140 14.TfjP V8nc* h st Sub tot•1 14ix*i Totalrecelpts A3P• Grnnm StAlorfs& lotsl lo Stm 710 7141 4¢4Ji IAana Sub lotal 7.loj A4 Ass•¢ and Investment U￿h8 Sub totsl 71.799 N•t 0frn•{payn￿tsj A5 franskn bethveen funds A6 Ca8h ftmd8 last￿r and Cash fvnds thls ye•r•nd 24700 7.OJl 111488 114488 84690 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted funds Restrlctod funds Endobyment funds Caleg•xles Details •JTr¥t£ nearnst£ I Cash fund8 CAFBank CunvntA¢court IfJA88 rotal cash lunds 11*488 funds funds funds Details 1gn8ar8*lE to nearnst£ Details BD CHUR0262 B3 Invostment assets Ettsowmgnt D&8lthg, depcwltand ¢8sh a¢c>)unts BD CHUR0251 Eftdtrmiient 14113 Unrnst I127,70T 61,992 Detélls Costlop 84 Assets retalned for the charlty's own use Fuftdto *thkh Ila Det4115 85 Llabllllles IndependentEYanwrt¢tr¥Feo SI9n8dbY<￿ orhyo tnffjteeson beh8ifol Prfnt Name Dote of £3