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2024-12-31-accounts

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual report and consolidated financial statements

Company limited by guarantee (no 225457) Registered charity (no 247647) Date: 31 December 2024

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Contents

VISION STATEMENT ......................................................................................................................................... 2 LEGAL OBJECTS ................................................................................................................................................ 3 STRATEGIC REPORT .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Strategic Aims and Objectives for the Year .......................................................................................................... 3 Activities and Achievements in the Year ............................................................................................................... 4 Future Plans .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Post Balance Sheet Events .................................................................................................................................. 10 Financial Review ................................................................................................................................................. 10 Principal Risks and Uncertainties ....................................................................................................................... 13 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT............................................................................................14 Summary Information about the Structure of the Church of England................................................................ 14 Organisational Structure .................................................................................................................................... 15 DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES ........................................................................................................................17 Appointment of Auditor ..................................................................................................................................... 18 ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS ..............................................................................................................................19 Attendance of Directors at Meetings in 2024 .................................................................................................... 20 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BLACKBURN DIOCESAN BOARD OF FINANCE LIMITED ..........................................................................................................................................................21 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - Company ..........................................................................................25 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - Group ...............................................................................................26 INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT ...........................................................................................................27 BALANCE SHEET ..............................................................................................................................................28 CASH FLOW STATEMENT .................................................................................................................................29 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS .........................................................................................................30

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

VISION STATEMENT

Vision 2026 is an agenda for growth and change to see ‘Healthy Churches Transforming Communities’ across the Diocese of Blackburn in our centenary year of 2026.

The Vision was launched in 2015 when the Diocese of Blackburn made a bold strategic decision to change and to grow through the priorities of: • Making Disciples for Jesus Christ • Being Witnesses for Jesus Christ • Growing Leaders for Jesus Christ • Inspiring Children, Young People and Schools.

Over the course of 2020 the Diocese engaged in a ‘Vision Update’ through which we sought to identify what is going well and where the challenges are as we seek to realise our Vision of seeing ‘Healthy Churches Transforming Communities’.

Vision 2026 sets before the churches of Lancashire a profound belief in the power of the Gospel to transform lives and communities and expresses a firm commitment to maintaining clergy numbers and investing in the mission of the local church.

Our updated Vision 2026 building blocks are:-

Making disciples of Jesus Christ

Being witnesses to Jesus Christ

Growing leaders for Jesus Christ

Inspiring children and young people

The Diocesan Vision Prayer

Heavenly Father, we embrace Your call for us to make disciples, to be witnesses, to grow leaders and to inspire children and young people. Give us eyes to see Your vision, ears to hear the prompting of Your Spirit and courage to follow in the footsteps of your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

LEGAL OBJECTS

The Directors of the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited (BDBF), who are the Trustees for the purpose of charity law, present their annual report, together with the audited financial statements, for the year ended 31 December 2024.

The directors and trustees are one and the same and in signing as trustees they are also signing the strategic report sections in their capacity as directors.

This combined report satisfies the legal requirement for:

The BDBF’s principal objective is to promote, assist and advance the work of the Church of England, primarily but not exclusively in the Diocese of Blackburn, by acting as the financial executive of the Blackburn Diocesan Synod.

The BDBF has the following statutory functions:

STRATEGIC REPORT

Strategic Aims and Objectives for the Year

The main role of the BDBF is to identify and manage the financial aspect of the provision of the ministry within the Diocese, so as to provide appropriate personnel and financial resources to assist the Diocesan Synod, Bishop’s Council, deaneries and parishes to further the mission and strategic priorities in the Diocese.

Vision 2026 is an agenda for growth and change to see ‘Healthy Churches Transforming Communities’ across the Diocese of Blackburn in our centenary year of 2026. The Vision was launched in 2015 and updated in 2020.

The next phase of the implementation plan is available from our website at: - https://www.blackburn.anglican.org/vision update.

The Directors are aware of the Charity Commission's published guidance on the public benefit requirement in general and, more particularly, in ‘The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit' and have had regard to it in their administration of the BDBF.

The Directors believe that, by carrying out these objectives and in promoting the work of the Church of England in the Diocese of Blackburn, the BDBF helps to promote the whole mission of the Church (pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical) more effectively, both in the Diocese as a whole and in its individual parishes, and that in doing so it provides a benefit to the public by:

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Activities and Achievements in the Year

Vision 2026 consists of the four major building blocks of the Vision and below are the activities planned against each and the outcomes achieved:

Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

The Making Disciples team will help people to move on in their spiritual formation through:

In relation to our main objectives of Making Disciples of Jesus Christ, in 2024 we:

Being Witnesses

In 2024, our Being Witnesses’ vision was for a radical commitment to prayer. In the last year, there has been evidence of a broader and deeper commitment to prayer: in our churches; deaneries; diocese and across Lancashire. One church leader testified how the church’s commitment to pray for growth has borne fruit. Through ‘Held in God’s Gaze,’ an opportunity was given to call out Abrahams and Sarahs - giants of faith. The retreat days have had a strong, core group of people coming aside to pray and build their faith.

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

those events with an average of 56 adults and 53 under16s per event. Of these attenders approximately 56% were not regular church goers.

Growing Leaders included:

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

In relation to our main objectives of Growing Leaders for Jesus Christ we:

Inspiring Children and Young People included:

In relation to our main objectives of Inspiring Children and Young people for Jesus Christ we:

Commissioned the Board of Education to enable development through:

Full details of the activities carried out are contained within Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education Trustee Report.

During 2024 the BDBF also:

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

collaborative atmosphere. Where satisfied that there was a clear commitment by the parishes to strengthen their discipleship, stewardship and vision planning, and to meet an adjusted share contribution request, Parish Share meetings were able to reduce Share requests for a number of parishes from the parish support fund.

The actions outlined above were enabled through a range of administrative and legal functions ensuring that the priorities identified within Vision 2026 were facilitated whilst maintaining good governance.

Personnel

The Directors are thankful for everyone who contributes to the life of the Diocese and to the parishes for their continuing financial support. The directors would like to express particular thanks to all the staff serving the BDBF, to our clergy for their leadership during 2024 and to the PCCs for their ongoing commitment this last year. The Directors are thankful to God, for those parishes that continued to contribute their parish share in 2024.

Related parties

The BDBF must comply with Measures passed by the General Synod of the Church of England. It pays a donation based on an apportionment system for funding national training of ordinands and the activities of the various national boards and councils, as well as General Synod. The BDBF receives a grant from funds managed by the Church Commissioners. The BDBF pays for clergy stipends through the Church Commissioners. The stipends of the Diocesan and Suffragan Bishops are borne by the Church Commissioners.

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

The BDBF pays retirement contributions for stipendiary clergy and some employees to the Church of England Pensions Board.

 Parochial Church Councils (PCCs)

The BDBF is required by Measure to be custodian trustee in relation to PCC property, but the Company has no control over PCCs, which are independent charities. The accounts of PCCs and deaneries do not form part of these financial statements.

PCCs can influence decision-making within the BDBF at Diocesan Synod level through representations to those bodies and through the input of Deanery Synods.

The Cathedral is a separate entity to the BDBF but is engaged in many shared missional aims and activities. The Cathedral is the seat of the Diocesan Bishop.

The Board of Education is a registered charity, which has responsibility for 190 Church schools across the Diocese and is responsible for the largest number of voluntary aided schools in the country. It provides pastoral and professional support to all its schools and has particular commitment to enhancing the quality of provision for Religious Education, collective worship and the spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development of all pupils. The Board of Education also supports parishes on children’s work and youth work and has responsibility for chaplains in universities in the diocese.

There are three trusts that serve the diocesan church schools. These are Cidari, Learning Together Trust and The Bay Learning Trust. Each trust has members taken from corporate offices of the Church of England within the Diocese of Blackburn.

Future Plans

We will continue to work on the implementation of Vision 2026 in these last two years up until the Diocesan Centenary and continue to apply National Church funding in support of the mission and ministry of the diocese.

In 2025 the Diocese will embark on a year of prayer for growth and renewal where all parishes and diocesan bodies commit to pray for the life and growth of the diocese. Coupled with this the Diocese will consult widely on the next vision and key goals for future years in order to form a new vision and implementation plan for the period up until 2033.

We will continue to support each strand of Vision 2026.

Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Being Witnesses to Jesus Future plans for Being Witnesses include:

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Growing Leaders for Jesus Christ

The Growing Leaders Team is committed to facilitating the supply of an abundance of theologically literate lay and ordained leaders who, with a ministry rooted in prayer and a deep love of the Lord Jesus, can support the growth of healthy churches and transform communities. The team will do this by:

Inspiring Children and Young people for Jesus Christ

We will support the Diocesan commitment to Inspiring Children and Young people for Jesus Christ by continuing in partnership with the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education.

The DBE will enable and support parishes to inspire children and young people by:

a) Expanding Youth and Children's Work through the IGNITE Project

b) Enhancing Children and Youth Work

Enablers

Additional work will be completed by the central team on a number of activities that support parish ministry. These include:

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Post Balance Sheet Events

In April 2025 the diocese received a draft copy of an independent safeguarding audit which highlights the need for significant improvements in the policy and practice at Blackburn Cathedral. Whilst a separate charity, public perception is that the organisation is the same and therefore this has been reported to the Charity Commission as a serious incident due to the risk of reputational harm from the publicity.

Financial Review

Financial performance

The financial performance of the Charity in 2024 was considered satisfactory.

The operational surplus on the unrestricted funds was £0.835m. This was due to a combination of higher level of vacancies than budgeted, clergy housing costs below budget, positive investment performance and increased rental income received.

Total Income
Total Direct Expenditure
Net Income/ (Expenditure) before investments
Expenditure in / transfers to other funds from unrestricted
fund
Operational Surplus		 General
Designated
Total
Unrestricted
£'000
£'000
£'000
9,044
79
9,123
(3,932)
(178)
(4,110)
5,112
(99)
5,013
(4,262)
84
(4,178)
850
(15)
835

The operational surplus excludes the net movement on the group’s restricted funds (£1,287,000), endowment funds (£1,858,000) and net gain on unrestricted investments (£156,000) included in the group net movement in funds £1,562,000.

Parish share, the money given by Parishes to the BDBF to fund the mission and ministry of the Diocese, was again the principal source of funding in 2024. This increased by £0.076m to £7.95m (2023: £7.88m) . The Directors thank parishes for their contributions during the year, and especially those parishes able to meet their share request in full and those that make their parish share payments by monthly instalments.

Total income for the group (including parish share) before revaluation adjustments totalled £15.86m (2023 : £16.35m) , a decrease of £0.50m. Included in the total income figure are gains on the disposal of fixed assets of £0.87m (2023: £1.87m) .

Expenditure for the group amounted to £14.79m (2023: £14.83m) , a decrease of £0.04m. Included in these figures are losses on disposal and impairment of fixed assets of £24,000 (2023: £150,000).

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

The group Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) for the year shows net income of £1.07m (2023: £1.52m ) before net gains and losses on the revaluation of investments. This is a decrease of 0.45m on the previous year.

After revaluation adjustments, the net movement in total funds amounted to an increase of £1.56m (2023: increase of £3.14m) , which results in a total fund balance of £77.14m (2023: £75.57m) .

The net movement in unrestricted funds is an increase of £0.99m (2023: £0.08m) , which results in a general fund balance of £9.91m (2023: £8.91m) and designated fund balance of £2.66m (2023: £2.67m) . The net movement in unrestricted funds is made up of the operational surplus £0.84m and net gain on unrestricted investments of £0.16m.

Balance Sheet Position

While the net assets on the group balance sheet total £77.14m ( 2023: £75.57m ), included in this total are freehold land and buildings which are primarily used for ministry totalling £44.56m ( 2023: £43.37m ). Much of the remainder is held in restricted or endowment funds. In 2024 the defined benefit pension deficit is zero ( 2023: zero ).

Significant Property Transactions

During the year we purchased three future parsonages and two curate and associate vicar houses totalling £2.40m. Three of the houses were purchased from the restricted pastoral fund for £1.73m and two from endowment funds for £0.67m. Sale proceeds were received for eight curate houses, total of £2.23m. The profit from the sales added £0.86m into restricted funds.

Investment Performance

The Charity does not receive its donations evenly throughout the year. Some donations or funding grants received are held for a period prior to them being required for expenditure. The charity utilises NatWest reserve accounts and CCLA for cash investments.

The Board requests a member of CCLA to annually attend a meeting of the Investment Committee to update them on the Board’s investment position. The Investment Committee meets at least four times a year to review policy and performance. The Board invests in the CCLA Deposit, Investment and Property Funds which performed satisfactorily over the year in the context of comparator benchmarks for the sector. Around 88% of the portfolio is held in the CBF Church of England Investment Fund (see performance against comparator below) with the remainder held in the CBF Property Fund. In 2024 the capital value of our investments continued to rise by approximately 4%.

The CBF Church of England Investment Fund

Comparator - composite: From 01/01/21, MSCI WORLD 75%, MSCI UK Monthly Property 5%, iBoxx £ Gilts 15% & SONIA 5%. From 01/01/18, MSCI UK IMI 30%, MSCI World ex UK 45%, MSCI UK Monthly Property 5%, iBoxx £ Gilt 15% & 7 Day LIBID 5%. Source: CCLA

The CBF Church of England Investment Fund has been affected by market weakness in the first quarter of 2025 and fell by 3%. The unpredictable nature of the current American administration adds further risk and uncertainty to the financial markets. The investment committee will be monitoring CCLA’s positioning of the fund through the year.

The Board also manages glebe on behalf of the BDBF.

The total value of investments and deposits (excluding cash and investment property) at 31 December 2024 was £28.51m (2023: £28.12m) and the return on investment was 3.4% (2023: 3.5%). (Income divided by average capital value).

The total value of investment property at 31 December 2024 was £1.51m (2023: £1.54m ) and the return on investment was 2.1% (2023: 1.8%). (Net rental income divided by average capital value).

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Investment Policies

The BDBF’s investment policies are based on two key policies:

Ethical investment – the BDBF seeks to pursue an investment policy consistent with the values of the Christian faith. This is achieved by investing in CCLA who follow the policies of the Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group which are kept under review by the Investment Committee. For the past few years, the Diocesan investment partner has operated a policy of not investing in industries that are directly or indirectly drawing revenue from fossil fuel activity. This policy is already in place and will continue to be going forward as we seek to meet a 2030 target.

Long-term responsibilities – the Directors are aware of their long-term responsibilities in respect of endowed funds and as a result follow a correspondingly prudent approach to investment decisions.

Investment policy for long-term funds is aimed primarily at generating a sustainable income with due regard to the need for preservation of capital value and the possible need to realise investments to meet operational needs. The glebe investments are held for the purpose of raising income to achieve the maximum contribution possible towards clergy stipends on an ongoing basis. Unrestricted and restricted funds are invested to balance income, liquidity and the reimbursement of capital.

Environmental Impact

The diocese has begun work on reducing its carbon output with the aspiration to reach net carbon zero by 2030. In line with this aspiration, the DBF will report on its annual CO2 emissions and plans to reduce its carbon footprint. The emissions for 2024 based on energy bills were as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
Gas (kwh) Electric (kwh) CO2 Emissions (Tonnes Per
Year)
2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024
Clayton House energy 80,787 106,902 74,585 58,842 38.1 39.0
consumption
Whalley Abbey energy 297,341 278,785 60,002 49,284 79.9 73.0
consumption
St Philip’s Centre - - 86,000 98,267 23.6 27.0
----- End of picture text -----*

* note in 2023 issues with the meter led to reduced reporting of consumption

Strategies to reduce the carbon footprint:

Reserves Policy

The Directors have reviewed the charity’s needs for reserves in line with the guidance issued by the Charity Commission. The BDBF has considerable responsibilities, including the remuneration and housing of, on average, 185 parochial stipendiary clergy and is reliant on the contributions from the parishes of the Diocese. The BDBF aims to maintain a level of free reserves for income risk of 4% of three years forecast budgeted parish share, DBF fees and rental income and at least three months’ Parish Share budgeted expenditure as working capital. This will be held within the unrestricted funds (excluding fixed assets and clergy pension deficit). This is considered sufficient to cover short-term cash outflows, cushion non-receipt of Parish Share and any reduction of income from DBF Fees and rental income. The level of free reserves required for this policy is £4.4m.

This policy is reviewed annually considering the future and risks of the BDBF in its setting.

The level of free reserves at 31 December 2024 was £8.1m which is in excess of the policy by £3.7m. This excess will to be used to fund the budgeted deficits for the next 5 years. The deficits form part of a growth strategy including significant funding from National Church. This investment into the parishes of the diocese will provide future financial sustainability.

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

The Directors are confident in the steps taken to ensure the future going concern of the organisation.

There are several designated funds totalling £2.66m and the material ones are listed in note 24 on page 49. These funds are, in the main, held to fund future opportunities for the BDBF. They are reviewed regularly for appropriateness and levels.

The BDBF also administers a number of restricted and endowment funds that are held in specific trusts under charity law and are not available for general purposes. As at 31 December 2024 charity’s restricted funds totalled £10.56m and endowment funds totalled £50.98m. The group’s restricted funds totalled £11.05m and endowment funds totalled £53.52m. A description of each reserve, together with the intended use of the fund is set out in notes 25 and 26 of the financial statements on pages 50 to 52.

Grant making policy

Grants are made to the National Church to cover a proportion of its central costs and the cost of training for ministry (see note 10 to the financial statements). Grants are paid to other connected charities and to other charitable projects which appear to the Board to support the furtherance of the BDBF’s objectives (see note 16 to the financial statements).

Fundraising

Most of the funds raised by the BDBF are from other charities. We provide support and advice to parishes with their fundraising and raise some funds for other charities as part of the Bishop’s Harvest appeal or from the congregation at Visitations. At Ordination services funds raised for the BDBF are restricted to support those undergoing ordination training. We encourage online giving by the use of give.net. There is minimal fundraising from the public by the BDBF and this is normally at church services, not by direct marketing or using external fundraisers. We have not received any complaints from the public in relation to our fundraising activities.

Ephesian Fund Donations

A number of parishes have chosen to make their parish share payments through the Ephesian Fund operated by the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC). In 2024 a total of 7 churches paid funds through the Ephesian Fund with the restriction that the funds be applied against mission and ministry in churches who have signed up to the CEEC statement of faith. A total of £273, 407 was donated in this way and was applied against stipends and curacy costs for churches who meet the restriction.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The Directors of the charitable company have overall responsibility for ensuring that the Charity has an appropriate system of controls, financial and otherwise. The systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss. They include:

The Directors have a programme of risk management to assess and document business risks and implement risk management strategies. This involves assessing the types of risks the charity faces, prioritising them in terms of potential impact and likelihood of occurrence, and identifying means of mitigating the risks. This process draws on ongoing consideration of business risk, which already forms a significant aspect of the Directors’ duties, scrutiny by the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee (ARG) and of the annual meeting with the Auditors, to discuss financial and internal control issues. There is no internal audit function as it is not considered an efficient use of the resources of the charity. The risk register has been fully restructured to ensure better monitoring of risk and cascaded responsibility for risk management by department. The risk register continues to be reviewed on a sixmonthly basis by the ARG and material changes notified to the directors.

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Key Risks

The key risks, which may impact on the charitable company, include:

  1. Parish Share receipts fail to increase in line with medium-term budgetary projections – the risk is that the BDBF is unable to meet its objectives due to financial constraints. This may be exacerbated by the ongoing debates around Living in Love and Faith and global economic pressures

Existing pressures are:

Existing controls are:

Existing controls are:

Existing controls are:

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Summary Information about the Structure of the Church of England

The Church of England is the established church with HM The King as the Supreme Governor.

It is organised into two provinces each led by an archbishop (Canterbury for the Southern Province and York for the Northern) and 42 dioceses. Each diocese is a See under the care of a bishop who is charged with the cure of souls of all the people within that geographical area.

A diocese is divided into archdeaconries, deaneries, benefices and parishes. Benefices may comprise single or multiple parishes and are overseen by a parish priest (usually called a vicar, rector or priestin-charge). The parish priests are responsible for the ‘cure of souls’ in their parish.

The Church of England is governed nationally by General Synod as its legislative and deliberative body. It comprises ex-officio and elected representatives from each diocese, and it agrees and lays before Parliament measures for the governance of the church’s affairs, which, if enacted by Parliament, have the force of statute law. Blackburn Diocese currently has 5 elected clergy members and 6 elected lay members of General Synod. They were elected in 2021 for a period of five years.

In addition to the General Synod, the Archbishops’ Council has a coordinating role for the work authorised by the Synod; the Church Commissioners manage the historic assets of the Church of

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

England; and the Church of England Pensions Board administers the pension schemes for clergy and some lay workers.

Within each diocese, overall leadership lies with the Diocesan Bishop, who exercises that leadership as Bishop in the Diocesan Synod which is the statutory governing body of the Diocese.

Whilst each Diocese is a separate legal entity, with a clear responsibility for a specific geographical area, being part of the Church of England requires and enables each Diocese to seek support from and application for partnership with neighbouring Dioceses.

The Diocese of Blackburn was created in 1926. It has an area of 988 square miles and encompasses Lancashire with a few parishes in Wigan Metropolitan Borough. The overall population is approximately 1.3 million within urban and rural areas.

The Diocese of Blackburn has two archdeaconries (Blackburn and Lancaster), each the responsibility of an archdeacon. Each archdeaconry has seven deaneries with a number of benefices/parishes grouped geographically. An area dean has oversight of the deanery and each deanery has its own synod. Within each parish there is a body called the parochial church council which is made up of parish priest as chair, the churchwardens, curate and Licensed Lay Ministers if applicable, and a number of elected members. Each parochial church council is a separate charity.

The Cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese, an ecclesiastical corporation until it is certified by the Church Commissioners under the Cathedrals Measure 2021 as a charity. The Cathedral is separate from the BDBF. Copies of its trustees’ report and financial statements may be obtained from the Cathedral Offices, Cathedral Close, Blackburn BB1 5AA.

Organisational Structure

The BDBF was formed to manage the financial affairs and hold the assets of the Diocese. It was incorporated on 29 October 1927 as a charitable company limited by membership guarantees (No 225457) and its governing documents are the Memorandum and Articles of Association. The BDBF is registered with the Charity Commission (No 247647). The Charity is a limited by guarantee company and statutory accounts are filed annually with Companies House and Charity Commission.

The members of the company comprise the Diocesan Bishop, each member for the time being of the Blackburn Diocesan Synod, including sufficient co-opted lay members in order to ensure that there is a majority by one of lay membership. Many of Diocesan Synod’s responsibilities have been delegated to the Bishop’s Council and standing committee.

The members of Bishop’s Council are the Board of Trustees for the charity and in company law the Directors.

The Directors comprise six ex-officio members: the Diocesan Bishop, the Suffragan Bishops, the two Archdeacons, the Dean of Blackburn Cathedral. Four ex-officio elected positions: the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Houses of Clergy and Laity of Diocesan Synod. Three ex-officio appointed positions: the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Finance and the Chair of the Property Committee. The elected members are 4 clergy, 2 from each archdeaconry, elected by the House of Clergy and 8 lay members, 4 from each archdeaconry, elected by the House of Laity. Two members may be co-opted with the approval of the directors. Elections take place every three years with the last election being in 2024 for the triennium starting 1 January 2025.

Governance and policy of the BDBF is the responsibility of the directors.

Corporate priorities and the overall financial strategy for the BDBF, in its primary object to promote, assist and advance the work of the Church of England within the Diocese of Blackburn, are agreed by the Directors and confirmed by Diocesan Synod.

The responsibility for ensuring that these priorities and strategies are delivered, is delegated to the Vision Area Leaders.

The members of the company meet once a year in the general meeting to receive the annual report and financial statements. The Diocesan Synod each year receives and agrees the parish share budget, prepared and approved by the Directors. The Directors meet during the year to formulate and coordinate policies on mission, ministry and finance.

Some role names in the company incorporate the title ‘Director’ but, for the purposes of company law, are not directors of the company.

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Diocesan Synod has delegated the following functions to the Directors of the BDBF:

Statutory ecclesiastical boards and committees:

The Diocesan Mission and Pastoral Committee is responsible for the task of approving pastoral reorganisation, taking account of available clergy numbers and making use of new patterns of ministry. It is also responsible for finding appropriate alternative uses for churches which are closed for public worship.

The Diocesan Advisory Committee advises on matters affecting parishes including churches and places of worship on matters such as architecture, archaeology, art and the history of places of worship, the use and care of places of worship and their contents and the care of churchyards.

The Parsonages Board : the BDBF is designated as the Parsonages Board for the Diocese for the purpose of exercising the Parsonages Board’s functions under the Repair of Benefice Buildings Measure 1972.

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Patronage , constituted under the provisions of the Patronage (Benefices) Measure 1986, is sole or joint patron of a number of benefices.

Non-statutory committees:

The Strategic Programme Board is responsible for the oversight of the Diocesan Investment Programme funds the delivery of the objectives tied to that funding along with each of the Strategic Development Fund project boards until such time that the projects end. This programme board is accountable for the spend of church commissioner grant funding on programme activities and accountability against the agreed objectives.

Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel has a Chair independent of the Directors and is an advisory body offering external oversight and scrutiny to the diocese with regard to safeguarding.

The Finance Committee is responsible for the transaction of some of the business of the BDBF. Within delegated limits it can approve grants and other support and makes recommendations to the Directors in other cases. The membership of the Committee consists of the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Finance, the two Archdeacons, the Chair of the HR Committee, the Chair or the Vice Chair of the House of Clergy and the Chair or the Vice Chair of the House of Laity. The BDBF Directors can co-opt up to six members on the basis of their expertise, of whom a minimum of 2 must be members of Bishop’s Council and Directors of the BDBF.

The Property Committee is responsible for making major decisions concerning the management of parsonage and other houses owned by the BDBF, including setting the policy for their purchase, sale, repair and maintenance. The committee has delegated authority to authorise repairs within an agreed budget and to buy and sell property and land vested in the Board of Finance for diocesan purposes.

The Investment Committee meets on a regular basis to consider diocesan investments, to adjust the portfolio within parameters agreed by the Directors and to make recommendations to the Directors. It is also responsible for determining policy and making major decisions concerning the management of glebe property and investments for the benefit of the Blackburn Diocesan Stipends Fund.

The Audit, Governance and Risk Committee has a Chair independent of the Directors and is responsible for assisting the Directors in the discharge of their responsibilities for accounting policies, risk management, internal control and financial reporting, including liaison with the auditors.

The HR Committee deals with sensitive and other matters in relation to employed staff which cannot be considered by the full Board, partly because of their confidential nature and partly because of time

Page 16

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

pressures and includes two directors (one lay and one clergy) and four members co-opted for their HR expertise. It has delegated authority to approve most HR policies.

The Budget Scrutiny Committee assists the Bishop’s Budget team in drawing up the annual draft budgets for approval by the Directors prior to submission to Diocesan Synod.

Directors’ induction

Directors are given an induction file when first appointed. Explanations are given in Directors’ meetings to provide continuing training and Directors are encouraged to ask questions in order to develop their understanding of the charity. If additional information is required, it is brought to the attention of directors and the directors’ induction file updated accordingly. Directors undertake training at the start of each triennium.

Remuneration of key management personnel

The salary scale of the Diocesan Secretary is determined by the Chair of the BDBF and the Diocesan Bishop following advice from the HR Committee. Any annual award is in line with the other employed staff salary increase.

The salary levels of other key management personnel and all further posts are set by a job evaluation system. Annual pay increases are considered and approved as part of the budgeting process. They are considered by the HR Committee prior to implementation. An adjustment, if required would be recommended to the Board of Finance.

Funds held as custodian trustee

The BDBF is custodian trustee of assets held on permanent trust by virtue of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 and the Incumbents and Churchwardens (Trusts) Measure 1964 where the managing trustees are parochial church councils and others. These assets are not aggregated in the financial statements as the BDBF does not control them and these assets are held separately to those of the BDBF.

PCC trust investment assets held by the BDBF had a market value of £16.99 m at 31 December 2024 ( 2023: £16.26m ) Detailed certificates of holdings were sent to parishes (c. 1,500 accounts) and other managing trustees of the respective charities as requested at that date. Details of these investments are summarised in note 30.

DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees, who are also directors of The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report [including the Strategic Report) and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

Page 17

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

 the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Appointment of Auditor

The re-appointment of BHP LLP as auditors to the BDBF will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting.

Page 18

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Address Diocesan Offices, Clayton House, Walker Office Park, Blackburn Diocesan Offices, Clayton House, Walker Office Park, Blackburn
BB1 2QE
Trustees/Directors
Ex-Officio Rt Revd P J North
Rt Revd J L C Duff
Very Revd P Howell-Jones
Ven M C Ireland (resigned 6 April 2025)
Rt Revd Dr J Kennedy (appointed 19 July 2024)
Ven D Picken
Ex-Officio elected position Mr R J Collins
Mr T D Cox (resigned 25 July 2024)
Revd P A Lillicrap
Revd M Din (resigned 31 December 2024)
Ex-Officio appointed Mr D Barlow
Mr N P Aves
Revd D Porter
Elected Clergy Revd Dr R B Aechtner (resigned 10 August 2024)
Revd Canon Dr S Cox (resigned 31 December 2024)
Revd Canon A Holliday (resigned 31 December 2024)
Revd Canon A S Horsfall
Elected Lay Persons Dr A Carter (resigned 31 December 2024)
Prof R Carter (resigned 31 December 2024)
Mr M Gardner
Mr P J Ronson
Ms J M Stamper
Mr D J Wilkinson
Mrs A Wynne (resigned 31 December 2024)
Appointed after end of year Mr J Cowell (appointed 1 January 2025)
but prior to signing of the Revd D Craven (appointed 1 January 2025)
financial statements Revd M Din (appointed 2 March 2025)
Canon DP Gascoigne (appointed 1 January 2025)
Revd F Green (appointed 30 March 2025)
Canon R Haldane (appointed 1 January 2025)
Mrs H Lockwood (appointed 1 January 2025)
Ms R Shihadah-Davidson (appointed 2 March 2025)
Revd J Smith (appointed 1 January 2025)
Revd VL Vasey-Saunders (appointed 1 January 2025)
Miss W Walker (appointed 1 January 2025)

Key management personnel and advisers

Diocesan Secretary Canon S Whittaker Deputy Diocesan Secretaries Mrs R McGaughey, Mrs C Barton Head of Finance, Company Secretary Mrs R McGaughey Solicitors Anthony Collins, 134 Edmund Street, Birmingham B3 2ES

Page 19

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Insurers Ecclesiastical Insurance Office, Beaufort House,
Brunswick Road, Gloucester GL1 1JZ
Bankers National Westminster Bank,35 King William St,
Blackburn BB1 7DJ
Investment Asset Managers CCLA Investment Management Ltd, 1 Angel Ln,
London EC4R 3AB
Registered Auditor BHP LLP, One, Waterside Place, Basin Square,
Brimington Rd, Chesterfield S41 7FH
Glebe and Land Agent Ingham & Yorke, Huntroyde Estate Office, Padiham,
BB12 7QX

Attendance of Directors at Meetings in 2024

Total
Ex-Officio Rt Revd P J North 6/6
Rt Revd J L C Duff 5/6
Very Revd P Howell-Jones 2/6
Ven M C Ireland 4/6
Rt Revd J Kennedy 4/6
Ven D Picken 5/6
Ex-Officio elected position Mr R J Collins 6/6
Mr T D Cox 2/4
Revd P A Lillicrap 5/6
Revd Munawar Din 2/6
Ex-Officio appointed Mr D Barlow 6/6
Mr N P Aves 6/6
Revd D Porter 3/6
Elected Clergy Revd Dr R B Aechtner 4/4
Revd Canon Dr S Cox 4/6
Revd Canon A Holliday 4/6
Revd Canon A S Horsfall 5/6
Elected Lay Persons Dr A Carter 4/6
Prof R Carter 4/6
Mr M Gardner 4/6
Mr P J Ronson 5/6
Ms J M Stamper 6/6
Mr D J Wilkinson 6/6
Mrs A Wynne 4/6

By order of the Board approving both the Directors’ Report and Strategic Report

Mr D Barlow Chair of the Board of Finance

Vice-chair of the Board of Finance

18 June 2025

Page 20

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BLACKBURN DIOCESAN BOARD OF FINANCE LIMITED

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited (the 'parent charitable company') and its subsidiaries (the 'group') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the Charitable Company Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated Balance Sheet, the Charitable Company Balance Sheet, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes, 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 Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, 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 relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group and parent charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees' Report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is 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 to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Page 21

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the group and parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Strategic Report or the Directors' Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees' Responsibilities Statement, the trustees (who are also the directors of the parent charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group and parent charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or the parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to 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 detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements 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 of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

Page 22

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

We assessed the susceptibility of the group and parent charitable company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditors' Report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor’s Report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Page 23

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Nicola O’Sullivan (Senior statutory auditor)

for and on behalf of

BHP LLP

One Waterside Place Basin Square Brimington Road Chesterfield S41 7FH

Date: 25 June 2025

Page 24

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - Company

for the year ended 31 December 2024

Note
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
Parish contributions
Archbishops' Council and Church
commissioners
2
Other
3
Charitable activities:statutory fees,
chaplaincy and other income
4
Other trading activities
5
Investments
6
Other
7
Total Income and endowments
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8
Charitable activities
9
Other
Total Expenditure
10
Net income/(expenditure) before
investments
Net gains/(losses) on investments
18
Net income/(expenditure) before
transfers
Transfers between funds
12
Net income/(expenditure) before other
recognised gains and losses
Other recognised gains/(losses)
Gains/(losses) on defined benefit pension
schemes
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds at 1 January 2024
Total funds at 31 December 2024		 Unrestricted funds
General
Desig-
nated
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
7,680
-
273
-
400
-
4,340
-
241
64
137
-
159
-
452
-
222
-
145
-
461
15
446
-
6
-
853
12

9,169
79
6,646
12
276
-
46
-
3,656
178
10,535
10
-
-
-
4

3,932
178
10,581
14
5,237
(99)
(3,935)
(2)
145
11
1
274

5,382
(88)
(3,934)
272
(4,387)
84
2,774
1,529

995
(4)
(1,160)
1,801
-
-
-
-

995
(4)
(1,160)
1,801
8,913
2,667
11,717
49,180

9,908
2,663
10,557
50,981		 Total
funds
2024
£000
7,953
4,740
442
611
367
922
871
15,906
322
14,379
4

14,705

1,201
431

1,632
-

1,632
-

1,632
72,477
74,109		 Total
funds
2023
£000
7,877
3,802
725
666
422
918
1,869
16,279
447
14,306
8
14,761
1,518
1,418
2,936
-
2,936
-
2,936
69,541
72,477

All activities derive from continuing activities. The notes on pages 30 to 65 form part of the financial statements.

Details of company comparative figures (2023) for the Statement of Financial Activities by fund are disclosed in note 31.

Page 25

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - Group

for the year ended 31 December 2024

Note
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
Parish contributions
Archbishops' Council and Church
commissioners
2
Other
3
Charitable activities:statutory fees,
chaplaincy and other income
4
Other trading activities
5
Investments
6
Other
7
Total Income and endowments
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8
Charitable activities
9
Other
Total Expenditure
10
Net income/(expenditure) before
investments
Net gains/(losses) on investments
18
Net income/(expenditure) before
transfers
Transfers between funds
12
Net income/(expenditure) before other
recognised gains and losses
Other recognised gains/(losses)
Gains/(losses) on defined benefit pension
schemes
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds at 1 January 2024
Total funds at 31 December 2024		 Unrestricted funds
General
Desig-
nated
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
7,680
-
273
-
400
-
4,340
-
116
64
137
-
159
-
452
-
222
-
145
-
461
15
526
-
6
-
853
12

9,044
79
6,726
12
276
-
46
-
3,656
178
10,618
10
-
-
-
4

3,932
178
10,664
14
5,112
(99)
(3,938)
(2)
145
11
2
331

5,257
(88)
(3,936)
329
(4,262)
84
2,649
1,529

995
(4)
(1,287)
1,858
-
-
-
-

995
(4)
(1,287)
1,858
8,913
2,667
12,336
51,657

9,908
2,663
11,049
53,515		 Total
funds
2024
£000
7,953
4,740
317
611
367
1,002
871
15,861
322
14,462
4
14,788
1,073
489

1,562
-

1,562
-

1,562
75,573
77,135		 Total
funds
2023
£000
7,877
3,802
725
666
422
996
1,869
16,357
446
14,379
8
14,833
1,524
1,615
3,139
-
3,139
-
3,139
72,434
75,573

All activities derive from continuing activities. The notes on pages 30 to 65 form part of the financial statements.

Details of group comparative figures (2023) for the Statement of Financial Activities by fund are disclosed in note 31.

Page 26

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

for the year ended 31 December 2024
2024 2024 2023 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000
Company Group Company Group
Total income 15,894 15,849 15,506 15,584
Total expenditure 14,691 14,774 (14,749) (14,821)
______ ______ ______ ______
Operating surplus for the year 1,203 1,075 757 763
Net gains on investments 157 158 518 501
______ ______ ______ ______
Net income for the year 1,360 1,233 1,275 1,264
Other comprehensive income:
Net assets transferred to endowments (1,529) (1,529) (2,040) (2,040)
Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined benefit pension - - - -
schemes
______ ______ ______ ______
Total comprehensive expenditure (169) (296) (765) (776)

The income and expenditure account is derived from the Statement of Financial Activities with movements in endowment funds excluded to comply with company law. All income and expenditure is derived from continuing activities.

Page 27

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

BALANCE SHEET

at 31 December 2024

at 31 December 2024
Note 2024 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000
Company Group Company Group
Fixed Assets
Tangible Assets 17 44,558 44,558 43,374 43,374
Investments 18 20,871 23,651 20,622 23,344
Investment Property 18 1,507 1,507 1,537 1,537
______ ______ ______ ______
66,936 69,716 65,533 68,255
Current assets
Stocks 3 3 1 1
Debtors 19 2,819 2,838 2,088 2,107
Deposits and Cash at bank and in hand 5,828 6,059 5,775 6,133
______ ______ ______ ______
8,650 8,900 7,864 8,241
Creditors:amounts falling due within one year 20 (1,347) (1,351) (790) (793)
______ ______ ______ ______
Net current assets 7,303 7,549 7,074 7,448
Creditors:amounts falling due after more than 20 (130) (130) (130) (130)
one year
______ ______ ______ ______
(130) (130) (130) (130)
_ _ _ _
Net Assets 23 74,109 77,135 72,477 75,573
_ _ _ _
Capital and Reserves
Endowment funds 26 50,981 53,515 49,180 51,657
Restricted funds 25 10,557 11,049 11,717 12,336
Unrestricted funds - General 24 9,908 9,908 8,913 8,913
Unrestricted funds - Designated 24 2,663 2,663 2,667 2,667
_ _ _ _
74,109 77,135 72,477 75,573
_ _ _ _

The notes on pages 30 to 65 form part of the financial statements.

These financial statements were approved by the Directors and were signed on their behalf on 18 June 2025 by:

Mr D Barlow

Chair of the Board of Finance

Mr N P Aves Vice-chair of the Board of Finance

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Ltd is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (no. 225457)

Page 28

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

CASH FLOW STATEMENT

for the year ended 31 December 2024

2024
£000
Company
Net income before other recognised gains and losses
1,201
(Gains)/Losses on disposal of fixed assets
(838)
(Gains)/Losses on disposal of investments
(4)
Depreciation
51
(Increase)/decrease in stock
(2)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
(657)
(Decrease)/increase in creditors current liabilities
557

Cash (outflow)/ inflow from operating activities
308

Net income from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
(2,626)
Proceeds of sale of fixed assets
2,264
Purchase of investments
(14)
Proceeds of sale of investments
195

Net cash inflow/(outflow) from investing activities
(181)
_
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing activities
Repayments of borrowing
-
Loan repayments received
15
New loans made
(89)

Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing activities
(74)
_
(Decrease)/increase in cash in the year
53
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
5,775
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
5,828
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
2024
£000
Company
Cash in hand and at bank
966
Short term deposits
4,862
_
_
5,828
 _
_		 2024
2023
£000
£000
Group
Company
1,073
1,518
(838)
(1,791)
(4)
8
51
126
(2)
-
(657)
(276)
558
(267)

181
(682)


(2,626)
(4,432)
2,264
2,921
(14)
(13)
195
353


(181)
(1,171)
______
_
-
(418)
15
440
(89)
(99)


(74)
(77)
______
_
(74)
(1,930)
6,133
7,705
6,059
5,775
2024
2023
£000
£000
Group
Company
1,197
987
4,862
4,788
_____
_
6,059
5,775		 2023
£000
Group
1,524
(1,791)
8
126
-
(277)
(264)
(674)
(4,432)
2,921
(13)
353
(1,171)
_
(418)
440
(99)

(77)
_
(1,922)
8,055
6,133
2023
£000
Group
1,345
4,788
_
6,133
_

The notes on pages 30 to 65 form part of the financial statements.

Page 29

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(forming part of the financial statements)

  1. Accounting policies

The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the charitable company’s financial statements.

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities SORP (Second Edition, effective 1 January 2019) and applicable accounting standards FRS102, and under the historical cost convention adjusted for the revaluation of certain fixed assets.

The consolidated financial statements incorporate those of the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Ltd and its subsidiary undertaking The Bishop of Blackburn’s Fund for Widows and Orphans of Poor Clergy for the year ended 31 December 2023. Details of the individual subsidiary results are given in note 28.

Going concern

The Directors are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company’s ability to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Trustees believe they have sufficient reserves to allow time to adjust the operations of the charitable company to meet changed circumstances relating to inflation and energy costs. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the Trustees’ annual report and financial statements.

The Directors believe that the charitable company is a public benefit entity.

Functional currency

These financial statements are presented in pound sterling and are rounded to the nearest £000.

Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the accounting policies, trustees are required to make judgement, estimates, and assumptions about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affected current and future periods.

Judgements made by the Trustees, in the application of these accounting policies that have significant effect on the financial statements and estimates with a significant risk of material adjustment in the next year are deemed to be in relation to the depreciation rates of tangible fixed assets and the assumptions used in determining the value of the pension scheme deficit.

In the view of the Trustees, the following assumption concerning the future or estimation uncertainty affecting assets or liabilities at the balance sheet date are likely to result in a material adjustment to their carrying amounts in the next financial year.

An area of key estimation uncertainty is the valuation of investment land and property. The valuations are subject to judgements of an expert or management including, but not limited to, the state of repair of the properties, local knowledge, future income yields and market conditions

Fixed assets and depreciation

Assets with a value in excess of £500 are capitalised. Depreciation is provided for on the jointly owned Diocesan Offices and Whalley Abbey Retreat and Conference House. No other depreciation is provided on the charitable company’s freehold buildings including parsonage houses (explanation regarding parsonage houses is included in note 17) as the depreciation charge is immaterial. Freehold land is not depreciated.

Page 30

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

As it is the charitable company’s policy to maintain houses to a high standard, in accordance with a planned approach to repair and maintenance, such properties maintain residual disposal values in aggregate at least equal to their book values.

The charitable company will perform annual impairment testing of assets on which depreciation is not provided to determine whether residual values of housing properties in aggregate continue to exceed carrying value.

The Company holds all Heritage assets at an accurate valuation wherever possible. Where not possible, they are held at depreciated value.

Depreciation is provided to write off the cost less the estimated residual value of other tangible fixed assets by equal instalments over their estimated useful economic lives as follows:

Diocesan Offices 50 years on property 20 years on remodelling Whalley Abbey Retreat and Conference House 15 years to a residual value of £500,000 Fixtures, fittings and office equipment 4-10 years Heritage asset 15 years

Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments are stated at market value at the balance sheet date. Movements in market value arising during the year are shown as unrealised gains or losses on fixed asset investments in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Investment properties

Investment properties are included at their fair value.

Glebe land is recognised as held for investment purposes when it is held to rent out or there is a signed developers agreement.

Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

Creditors

Creditors are recognised when there is an obligation at the Balance Sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably.

Creditors are recognised at the amount that the Charitable Company anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.

Income

Parish contributions

Income includes amounts received from Parochial Church Councils in respect of parish share for general, stipends fund and parsonage house fund assessments. Parish share is recognised in the accounts when there is evidence of entitlement, receipt is probable and its amount can be measured reliably.

Income from Archbishops’ Council and Church Commissioners

Money from National Church Institutions is recognised when entitlement is probable.

Other donations, grants, legacies and similar income

Grants and donations receivable towards the cost of additions or improvements to freehold buildings are credited to income in the period to which they relate. Other grants are recorded as income when entitlement is probable. Other donations are recorded as income when received.

Page 31

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Other trading activities

The income from these sources is recognised on an accruals basis

Investment income

Investment income is recognised on an accruals basis.

Expenditure

Expenditure has been charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis. Expenditure relating directly to the objectives of the charity is shown as direct charitable expenditure.

Grants payable

Grants payable are debited to expenditure when the charitable company has a constructive obligation to pay.

Ministry in parishes

Ministry in Parishes includes the stipends, NI, pensions, housing costs and any direct expenses paid by the charitable company for ministers located in parishes.

Ministry support

Ministry Support includes the costs of the charitable company that provide either a direct service to the parishes or to the community of the parish. It also includes the National Training costs paid to National Church for the training of Ordinands and the costs of Whalley Abbey the retreat house of the Diocese.

Support and governance costs

Governance costs includes audit fee, trustee meeting expenses, Diocesan Synod expenses, Bishop’s Council expenses and an allocation of costs based on estimated time spent preparing statutory information and for governance/ strategic issues, by the Finance Team, Diocesan Secretary and Support Services Team.

Support includes the costs of the finance team and general management not included under Governance costs. Support costs have been allocated based on an estimate of time spent in each area.

Taxation

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited (by guarantee) is considered to pass the tests set out in paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK Corporation Tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part II Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

Pensions

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in independently administered funds. The amount charged in the Statement of Financial Activities represents the contributions payable to the scheme in respect of the accounting period.

The charitable company also participates in the Church Workers Pension Fund and the Church of England Funded Pension Scheme (see note 15). The assets of the defined benefit pension schemes are held separately from the charitable company in independently administered funds. The pension costs charged as expenditure represent the BDBF’s contributions paid in respect of the accounting period, in accordance with FRS102.

Fund accounting

Funds held by the charitable company are either:

Page 32

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Unrestricted general funds – these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees.

Unrestricted designated funds – these are funds set aside by the trustees out of unrestricted general funds for specific future purposes or projects.

Restricted funds – these are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charitable company. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Endowment funds - this is capital, held in perpetuity to create income for specified purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Where a grant or donation is received to fund a capital item or where an asset is donated, if there is an obligation relating to the future use or retention of the relevant asset, the balance relating to that asset is held within restricted funds as long as that restriction exists. Where there is no such restriction, the income relating to the purchase of capital items is transferred to unrestricted funds in the Statement of Financial Activities.

  1. Donations from Archbishops’ Council and Church Commissioners - company & group
Unrestricted fund
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Lowest Income Communities
Funding
-
-
1,510
-
Resourcing Ministerial Education
Funding and Pooling
26
-
-
-
Strategic Ministry Fund
-
-
902
-
Strategic Capacity Funding
374
-
208
-
Strategic Development Funding
-
-
1,599
-
Net Zero Funding
-
-
121
-
400
-
4,340
-
her donations - company & group
Unrestricted Funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Benefact Trust
66
58
-
-
Donations
11
6
29
-
Other Grants
164
-
86
-
Legacies
-
-
22
-
Total other donations -
company
241
64
137
-
Less Grant from Bishop of
Blackburn’s Fund for Widows
and Orphans of Poor Clergy
fund
(125)
-
-
-
Total other donations – group
116
64
137
-		 Total
funds
2024
£000
1,510
26
902
582
1,599
121
4,740
Total
funds
2024
£000
124
46
250
22
442
(125)
317		 Total
funds
2023
£000
1,460
134
735
453
1,005
15
3,802
Total
funds
2023
£000
117
500
108
-
725
-
725
  1. Other donations - company & group

Page 33

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

4. Charitable activities - company & group

Unrestricted Funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Statutory fees; chaplaincy income
3
-
451
-
Church Commissioners -
Guaranteed annuities
-
-
1
-
Recharges of costs
43
-
-
-
Whalley Abbey Conference House
108
-
-
-
Income for training courses
1
-
-
-
Other fees/sales
4
-
-
-


159
-
452
-
her trading activities - company & group
Unrestricted funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Rental Income
93
-
145
-
Whalley Abbey Conference House
95
-
-
-
Accounting and Legal services
34
-
-
-
Other fees/sales
-
-
-
-

222
-
145
-
vestment income
Company
Unrestricted funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Dividends receivable
234
15
397
-
Interest receivable
227
-
16
-
Rents receivable
-
-
33
-


461
15
446
-
Group
Unrestricted funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Dividends receivable
234
15
477
-
Interest receivable
227
-
16
-
Rents receivable
-
-
33
-


461
15
526
-		 Total
funds
2024
£000
454
1
43
108
1
4
611
Total
funds
2024
£000
238
95
34
-

367
Total
funds
2024
£000
646
243
33

922
Total
funds
2024
£000
726
243
33

1,002		 Total
funds
2023
£000
438
1
55
162
2
8
666
Total
funds
2023
£000
216
165
33
8

422
Total
funds
2023
£000
642
244
32
918
Total
funds
2023
£000
720
244
32
996
  1. Other trading activities - company & group

6. Investment income

Page 34

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

7. Other income – company and group

her income – company and group
Unrestricted funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Gains on disposal of fixed assets
6
-
853
12




6
-
853
12
st of raising funds – company and group
Unrestricted funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Project Management
48
-
3
-
Parish share
Secretariat
18
-
-
-
Archdeacons
-
-
8
-
Investment Management Costs
16
-
19
-
Whalley Abbey Rents
4
-
-
-
Rents
-
-
16
-
Fundraising Trading Whalley
Abbey
156
-
-
-
Fundraising Trading other
34
-
-
-




276
-
46
-		 Total
funds
2024
£000
871

871
Total
funds
2024
£000
51
18
8
35
4
16
156
34

322		 Total
funds
2023
£000
1,869
1,869
Total
funds
2023
£000
63
17
8
40
4
20
262
33
447

8. Cost of raising funds – company and group

Page 35

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

9. Expenditure on charitable activities

Company Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted Endowment Total funds Total funds
General Designated Funds Funds 2024 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Contributions to Archbishops' Council
Training for ministry 300 - - - 300 302
National Church responsibilities 179 - - - 179 177
Grants and provisions 31 - - - 31 31
Mission Agency pension
contributions - - - - - 10
Retired clergy housing costs
(CHARM) 125 - - - 125 119
Pooling of ordinand candidates
costs - - - - - 25
General Synod expenses 16 - - - 16 17
651 - - - 651 681
Parish ministry
Stipends & National Insurance 29 - 5,507 - 5,536 5,382
Pension contributions - 1,197 - 1,197 1,232
Housing costs 98 - 1,685 10 1,793 1,945
Removal, resettlement and other
grants - - 220 - 220 230
Other expenses 2 - 110 - 112 56
129
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 8,719
--------------------------------------		 10
--------------------------------------		 8,858
--------------------------------------		 8,845
--------------------------------------
Support for parish ministry 2,136 49 305 - 2,490 2,062
Whalley Abbey Conference House 303 - 1 - 304 259
Redundant churches - - 269 - 269 236
Strategic Development Funding
Projects 34 - 743 - 777 1,137
St Philip’s Centre Project 48 - - - 48 39
Grants to Parishes, Individuals
and Other Charities 47 129 498 - 674 723
2,568 178 1,816 - 4,562 4,456
-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Expenditure on education
Grants for the work of the Board 308
 -
 -
 -
 308
 324
308 - - - 308 324
Charitable activities 3,656 178 10,535 10 14,379 14,306

Page 36

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Group Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted Endowment Total funds Total funds
General Designated Funds Funds 2024 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Contributions to Archbishops' Council
Training for ministry 300 - - - 300 302
National Church responsibilities 179 - - - 179 177
Grants and provisions 31 - - - 31 31
Mission Agency pension
contributions - - - - - 10
Retired clergy housing costs
(CHARM) 125 - - - 125 119
Pooling of ordinand candidates
costs - - - - - 25
General Synod expenses 16 - - - 16 17
-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
651
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 651
--------------------------------------		 681
--------------------------------------
Parish ministry
Stipends & National Insurance 29 - 5,507 - 5,536 5,382
Pension contributions - 1,197 - 1,197 1,232
Housing costs 98 - 1,685 10 1,793 1,945
Removal, resettlement and other
grants - - 223 - 223 235
Other expenses 2 - 110 - 112 56
-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
129
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 8,722
--------------------------------------		 10
--------------------------------------		 8,861
--------------------------------------		 8,850
--------------------------------------
Support for parish ministry 2,136 49 307 - 2,492 2,062
Whalley Abbey Conference House 303 - 1 - 304 259
Redundant churches - - 269 - 269 236
Strategic Development Funding
Projects 34 - 743 - 777 1,137
St Philip’s Centre Project 48 - - 48 39
Grants to Parishes, Individuals
and Other Charities 47 129 576 - 752 790
-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
2,568
--------------------------------------		 178
--------------------------------------		 1,896
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 4,642
--------------------------------------		 4,523
--------------------------------------
Expenditure on education
Grants for the work of the Board 308 - - - 308 324
-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
308 - - - 308 324
Charitable activities 3,656 178 10,618 10 14,462 14,378

Page 37

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

10. Analysis of expenditure including allocation of support costs – company and group

Company
Activities
Grant
Manage-
ment
undertaken
funding of
Admin
directly
Activities
Support
£000
£000
£000
Cost of raising funds
262
-
60
Contributions to Archbishops' Council
16
635
-
Parish Ministry
8638
220
-
Support for Parish Ministry
2,549
1,209
804
Education
-
308
-
Other
4
-
-



11,469
2,372
864



Group
Activities
Grant
Manage-
ment
undertaken
funding of
Admin
directly
Activities
Support
£000
£000
£000
Cost of raising funds
262
-
60
Contributions to Archbishops' Council
16
635
-
Parish Ministry
8638
223
-
Support for Parish Ministry
2,551
1,287
804
Education
-
308
-
Other
4
-
-



11,471
2,453
864


 Total
2024
£000
322
651
8,858
4,562
308
4
14,705
Total
2024
£000
322
651
8,861
4,642
308
4

14,788
 Total
2023
£000
447
681
8,845
4,456
324
8
14,761
Total
2023
£000
447
681
8,850
4,523
324
8
14,833

11. Analysis of support costs – company and group

Unrestricted funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Raising Funds
52
-
8
-
Central Administration
574
-
22
-
Governance costs
Secretariat
36
-
-
-
Accounting and Finance Office
39
-
-
-
Audit & accountancy fees
26
-
-
-
Diocesan Synod costs
11
-
-
-
BDBF Directors and Bishop’s
Council Meetings
19
-
-
-
Chancellor and Registrar Fees
75
-
-
-



Support costs - company
832
-
30
-


Support costs – Bishop of Blackburn’s Fund for Widows and Orphans of Poor Clergy
Independent Examiner’s fees
-
-
2
-



Support costs - group
832
-
32
-

 Total
funds
2024
£000
60
596
36
39
26
11
19
75
862

2
864
 Total
funds
2023
£000
58
560
34
38
27
8
14
71
810
-
810

Page 38

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

12. Analysis of transfers between funds – company & group

Unrestricted funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
From general fund to stipends income
fund (restricted) and housing fund
(restricted), to cover the deficits on net
expenditure of those funds
(5,444)
-
5,444
-
From Pastoral Fund to Parsonages
Fund – transfer costs of parsonages
bought
-
-
(1,724)
1,724
From Vision 2026 fund (designated) to
general fund for the Vision Director post
20
(20)
-
-
From Diocesan Vision 2026 Strategic
Development fund to general fund and
Housing fund to cover loss of income
from houses used for projects
35
(23)
(12)
-
From Diocesan Vision 2026 Strategic
Development fund to restricted fund to
cover projects expenditure
-
(12)
12
-
From general fund to designated funds
for Diocesan Conference
(40)
40
-
-
From designated funds to general fund
to meet Area Dean expenditure
40
(40)
-
-
From stipends income to designated
fund to meet future clergy housing
expenditure
-
139
(139)
-
From released endowment fund to
general fund Whalley Abbey building
195
-
-
(195)
From Diocesan Investment Programme
fund (restricted) to general fund in line
with the condition of the grant funding
to support the parish share deficit in
turnaround or Diocesan Renewal
Programme parishes
807
-
(807)
-
Total transfers – company
(4,387)
84
2,774
1,529
Transfers on consolidation
125
(125)
Total transfers – group
(4,262)
84
2,649
1,529		 Total
2024
£000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

The funds that have been transferred have been used in line with any applicable restrictions and have been transferred to make the presentation of the expenditure more transparent. The spending of the funds has extinguished any restrictions.

13. Net income for the year – company and group

2024 2023
These are stated after charging: £000 £000
Fees payable to the auditor for audit services 26 27
Fees payable to the auditor for non audit services 2 2
Whalley Abbey Conference House Site Deficit 214 146

Page 39

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

14. Staff numbers and costs – company and group

The average number of people employed during the year was 70.5 (2023: 68) .

The full-time equivalent employees during the year, including sessional workers, has been analysed by teams.

Enablers and Obligations
Growing Leaders
Making Disciples
Being Witnesses
Being Witnesses – parish workers
Area Deans Admin
Whalley Abbey Conference House
The aggregate payroll costs of all employees were as follows:
Wages and salaries
Redundancy and settlement payments
Social security costs
Other pension costs
Other benefits		 2024
30.9
5.8
2.6
1.3
2.9
2.6
8.9
54.9
2024
£000
1,847
17
171
184
14
2,233		 2023
26.7
6.5
2.6
1.8
5.2
2.2
7.4
52.4
2023
£000
1,676
-
147
215
5
2,043

There were 2 employees whose salary was in excess of £60,000 – one in the band £60,000 to £70,000 and one in the band £70,000 to £80,000 ( 2023: 2 employees – one in the band £60,000 to £70,000 and one in the band £70,000 to £80,000)

Remuneration of key management personnel

Key management personnel are deemed to be those having authority and responsibility, delegated to them by the trustees, for planning, directing, and controlling the activities of the Diocese. During 2024 they were:

Diocesan Secretary: Canon Stephen Whittaker Deputy Diocesan Secretary and Company Secretary Mrs Ruth McGaughey Deputy Diocesan Secretary Mrs Carolyn Barton

Remuneration, pension and expenses for these 3 employees amounted to £237,473 ( 2023: £251,022 ).

In addition to the foregoing numbers of persons employed by the charitable company in 2024 there were 173.1 ( 2023: 173.6 ) full time equivalent stipendiary clergy in post in the Diocese. These may be analysed as follows:

Archdeacons
Incumbents
Curates
Lay Workers		 2024
2.0
136.4
34.4
0.3
173.1		 2023
2.0
134.9
36.2
0.5
173.6

The average number of stipendiary clergy in post during 2024 was 184.5 ( 2023: 185).

Page 40

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Although not employed by the charitable company the payroll costs of the above persons are met by the charitable company and are included in the financial statements. The aggregate payroll costs of the above persons are as follows:

persons are as follows:
2024 2023
£000 £000
Stipend 5,189 4,833
Redundancy and settlement payments 24 140
Social security costs 425 379
Apprenticeship Levy 24 22
Pension costs - current year 1,197 1,232
6,859 6,606
Trustees’ emoluments
Average number of directors
2024 2023
Directors 22.7 23

No trustee received any remuneration for services as Trustee. The Trustees received travelling and out of pocket expenses, totalling £14,795 ( 2023 - £16,444) in respect of General Synod duties, duties as archdeacon or area dean, and other duties as Trustees.

Trustees who are also licensed stipendiary clergy and archdeacons in the Diocese were in receipt of a stipend and housing provided by the BDBF during the year. The BDBF is also responsible for the provision of housing for the Suffragan Bishops but excluding the Diocesan Bishop and cathedral staff.

  1. Pension schemes – company and group

Church of England Funded Pension Scheme

The BDBF participates in the Church of England Funded Pensions Scheme for stipendiary clergy. This scheme is administered by the Church of England Pensions Board, which holds the assets of the schemes separately from those of the Employer and the other participating employers.

Each participating employer in the scheme pays contributions at a common contribution rate applied to pensionable stipends.

The scheme is considered to be a multi-employer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. This means it is not possible to attribute the Scheme’s assets and liabilities to specific employers and that contributions are accounted for as if the Scheme were a defined contribution scheme. The pensions costs charged to the SoFA in the year are contributions payable towards benefits and expenses accrued in that year, plus any impact of deficit contributions (see below).

A valuation of the Scheme is carried out once every three years. The most recent Scheme valuation completed was carried out at as 31 December 2021. The 2021 valuation revealed a surplus of £560m, based on assets of £2,720m and a funding target of £2,160m, assessed using the following assumptions:

Following finalisation of the 31 December 2021 valuation, deficit contributions ceased with effect from 1 January 2023, since the Scheme was fully funded.

Page 41

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

The next actuarial valuation is due at 31 December 2024. The calculations for this are under way. An interim reduction to deficit contributions to 3.2% of pensionable stipends was made with effect from April 2022, and remained in place until December 2022.

The deficit recovery contributions under the recovery plan in force at each 31 December were as follows:. % of pensionable stipends

31 December 2022 Nil
31 December 2023 Nil
31 December 2024 Nil

For senior office holders, pensionable stipends are adjusted in the calculations by a multiple, as set out in the Scheme’s rules.

Section 28.11A of FRS 102 requires agreed deficit recovery payments to be recognised as a liability. However, as there are no agreed deficit recovery payments from 1 January 2023 onwards, the balance sheet liability as at 31 December 2024 is nil. The movement in the balance sheet liability over 2023 and over 2024 is set out in the table below.

is set out in the table below.
2024 2023
£’000 £’000
Balance sheet liability at 1 January - -
Deficit contribution paid - -
Interest cost (recognised in SoFA) - -
Remaining change to the balance sheet liability* (recognised in SoFA) - -
Balance sheet liability at 31 December - -

This liability represents the present value of the deficit contributions agreed as at the accounting date and has been valued using the following assumptions. No assumptions are needed for December 2024 as there are no agreed deficit recovery payments going forward.

December December December
2024 2023 2022
Discount rate n/a n/a n/a
Price inflation n/a n/a n/a
Increase to total pensionable payroll n/a n/a n/a

The legal structure of the scheme is such that if another Responsible Body fails, Blackburn DBF could become responsible for paying a share of that Responsible Body’s pension liabilities.

Office holder contributions totalled £1,190,494 in 2024 ( 2023: £1,204,736 ).

Group Personal Pension Plan

The BDBF participates in a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the pension scheme are held separately from those of the BDBF in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge for the year represents contributions payable by the BDBF to the fund.

Church Workers Pension Fund

The BDBF participates in the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) section of the Church Workers Pension Fund (CWPF) for lay staff. The Scheme is administered by the Church of England Pensions Board, which holds the assets of the schemes separately from those of the Employer and the other participating employers.

For funding purposes, the DBS is divided into sub-pools in respect of each participating employer as well as a further sub-pool, known as the Life Risk Pool. The Life Risk Pool exists to share certain risks between employers, including those relating to mortality and post-retirement investment returns.

The division of the DBS into sub-pools is notional and is for the purpose of calculating ongoing contributions. They do not alter the fact that the assets of the DBS are held as a single trust fund out of which all the benefits are to be provided. From time to time, a notional premium is transferred from

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

employers’ sub-pools to the Life Risk Pool and all pensions and death benefits are paid from the Life Risk Pool.

The scheme is a multi-employer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. It is not possible to attribute the scheme’s assets and liabilities to specific employers, since each employer, through the Life Risk Pool, is exposed to actuarial risks associated with the current and former employees of other entities participating in the DBS. This means that contributions are accounted for as if DBS were a defined contribution scheme. The pensions costs charged to the SoFA in the year are contributions payable towards benefits and expenses accrued in that year 2024: £0 ( 2023: £27,545 ).

If, following an actuarial valuation of the Life Risk Pool, there is a surplus or deficit in the pool, further transfers may be made from the Life Risk Pool to the employers’ sub-pools, or vice versa. The amounts to be transferred (and their allocation between the sub-pools) will be settled by the Church of England Pensions Board on the advice of the Actuary.

A valuation of the DBS is carried out once every three years, the most recent having been carried out as at 31 December 2022. In this valuation, the Life Risk Section was shown to be in surplus by £73.6m. and £7.7m was notionally transferred from the employers’ sub-pools to the Life Risk Section. This increased the Employer contributions that would otherwise have been payable. The overall deficit in the DBS was £11.3m.

The next actuarial valuation is due at 31 December 2022. The calculations for this are under way.

Following the 2019 valuation, the Employer entered into an agreement with the Church Workers Pension Fund to pay a contribution rate of 45.2% of pensionable salary and expenses of £3,200 per year.

The joint movement in the provision is set out below:

The joint movement in the provision is set out below:
Joint Movement 2024 2023
£’000 £’000
Balance sheet liability at 1 January - -
Deficit contribution paid - -
Interest cost (recognised in SoFA) - -
Remaining change to the balance sheet liability*(recognised in SoFA) - -
Balance sheet liability at 31 December - -

This liability represents the present value of the deficit contributions agreed as at the accounting date and has been valued using the following assumptions, set by reference to the duration of the deficit recovery payments:

payments:
December 2024 December 2023 December 2022
Discount rate N/A N/A 0.00%

The legal structure of the scheme is such that if another employer fails, the employer could become responsible for paying a share of that employer’s pension liabilities.

Parsonages Board Retirement Benefit Schemes

The Parsonages Board Retirement Benefit Schemes contains one scheme with one member. It is a defined benefit scheme with the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group.

The scheme is not considered material within the assets of the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance and due to the cost to the charity of obtain information on the scheme the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance have not complied in full with the requirements of FRS102 in respect of pension disclosures.

The deficit was recognised at 1 January 2014 based on the triannual valuation (2013) of £94,200. The SOFA has been charged with the future service contribution rate with the past service deficit reducing the balance sheet liability in the intervening years. The balance sheet deficit has been adjusted on receipt of the latest triannual valuation report (June 2022). The deficit recognised at 31 December 2024 is £0.

The scheme was closed in February 2025 and a small surplus was repaid to the Blackburn Diocesan Borad of Finance. This is an immaterial post balance sheet event which has not been reflected in the results to the 31 December 2024.

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The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

16. Analysis of grants made

Company
Grants to
Individuals
Grants to
Institutions
Included Within
£000
£000
Contributions to Archbishops' Council
-
636
Parish Ministry
First appointment and resettlement grants
220
-
Support for parish ministry
Ordinands
118
-
Harvest appeal charities
-
25
Parishes
-
972
Area Deans (parishes)
-
14
Continuing ministerial education
9
-
Churches Together in Lancashire
-
6
Clergy hardship grants
4
-
Blackburn Cathedral
-
16
Inter Diocesan Counselling services
-
10
Emmanuel Theological college
-
30
Other
-
4
Education – Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education
-
308


Total Grants Payable - Company
351
2,021
Resettlement grants on retirement
3
-
Retired clergy and clergy widows
78
-


Total Grants Payable - Group
432
2,021		 2024
Total
£000
636
220
118
25
972
14
9
6
4
16
10
30
4
308

2,372
3
78

2,453		 2023
Total
£000
664
230
140
30
906
21
8
6
14
-
10
10
4
324
2,367
5
67
2,439

17. Tangible fixed assets – company and group

Parsonages
Non
Parsonages/
Land
£000
£000
Cost or valuation
At beginning of year
29,457
14,807
Additions
1,724
704
Disposals
-
(1,389)
At end of year
31,181
14,122
Depreciation
At beginning of year
-
996
Charge for year
-
18
Disposals
-
-
At end of year
-
1,014
Net book value
At 31 December 2024
31,181
13,108
At 31 December 2023
29,457
13,811		 Total
Freehold
land and
buildings
Fixtures,
fittings and
office
equipment
£000
£000
44,264
318
2,428
198
(1,389)
(18)

45,303
498

996
212
18
33
-
(16)
1,014
229
44,289
269
43,268
106		 Total
£000
44,582
2,626
(1,407)

45,801

1,208
51
(16)

1,243
44,558
43,374

Page 44

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Parsonage houses are legally vested in the incumbent (an “ecclesiastical corporation sole”) as freeholder during his incumbency. Three features of the incumbent’s freehold have significantly influenced the accounting treatment adopted in these financial statements. Firstly, the freeholder is not free to dispose of the house for personal benefit and is not responsible for maintaining the house. Secondly, proceeds of any sale, following a pastoral reorganisation which makes the house surplus, normally revert to the Diocesan Pastoral Account or Diocesan Stipends Fund. Thirdly, the Diocese is responsible for repair and maintenance, a responsibility which is currently carried out by the Diocesan Property Committee. The Diocese therefore carries both the benefits and obligations of ownership, and accordingly the financial statements include the parsonage houses together with other Diocesan land and buildings.

Parsonage houses and other Diocesan residential houses have been included in tangible fixed assets at cost, or valuation where cost was not available for houses purchased prior to 1998. The valuation attributed to each house was the mid-point (low point for the top two bands) of the council tax valuation banding applied to the house. The aggregate value of the houses valued in this way amounted to £18,745,000 (2023: £19,129,000 ) .

Heritage Asset

Whalley Abbey was bought from the Diocese of Manchester in 1926. It comprises substantial remains of a Cistercian Abbey founded in 1296 and dissolved in 1537.

The Abbey of St Mary the Virgin, also known as Locus Benedictus de Whalley was founded by Henry de Lacy, third Earl of Lincoln on the 4[th] April 1296. The Abbey had moved from the unfavourable site of Stanlaw into the Parsonage and other temporary buildings at Whalley in 1283, when there were 20 monks.

Excavation has uncovered the outlines of the church, surviving as foundations, as does the eastern claustral range and the polygonal Chapter House.

The standing Abbey buildings and Conference House

The following notes are extracted from the Conservation Plan prepared in 2002.

The Conservation Plan was compiled under the direction of John Prichard (Lloyd Evans Prichard), architect accredited in building conservation, with architectural history advice from James Anderson and Clare Hartwell (Architectural History Practice), and archaeological advice from Jason Wood (Heritage Consultancy Services).

North-East Gatehouse

The North-East Gatehouse dates to circa 1480, and was constructed to provide an impressive entrance to the Abbot’s Lodging and Clausum , the sacred precinct. It echoes the earlier North-West Gatehouse with its two entrance ways, but is embellished with diagonal buttresses, crenelation, and a statue niche.

Courtyard North Range

The Courtyard North Range may include some medieval content, but the present structures are principally seventeenth century, with nineteenth-century additions, and substantial late twentieth-century alterations to create the tea room, kitchen, and exhibition room. It is excluded from the scheduling.

The Conference House

The Conference House is excluded from the scheduling, but it deserves its Grade I status and is of national significance. The individual components are considered below, and elements of significance discussed.

The central block includes original medieval fabric, such as the arch adjacent to the chapel, as well as medieval stonework which has probably been re-used from demolished structures, such as the window between the Dining Room and the kitchen. The nineteenth century interiors are a very good example of Gothic Revival/Arts and Crafts work; particularly noteworthy is the roof and fireplace in the Great Hall and the staircase decorated windows.

The East Wing

The East Wing extends south from the chapel and comprises inter alia the Paslew Suite and the Peter of Chester room on the ground floor, and seven bedrooms on the first floor. The Paslew Suite and Peter of Chester room may incorporate medieval material, but they, and the bedrooms immediately above, were substantially rebuilt in the late sixteenth century, as evidenced by the mullioned windows in the east wall, the date stone (not always a true indicator and the dating of Forrest Historic by English Heritage during the 21stC refurbishment works. An extension was added in the mid-nineteenth century, with bedrooms above.

The West Wing

The West Range was added in the 1860s, and was well designed externally to blend with the late seventeenthcentury gabled north extension, and the remains of the Abbot’s Kitchen and Long Gallery Range on the west.

Page 45

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

The BDBF recognises its responsibility to preserve the heritage asset and is currently looking to raise funds to be able to undertake work on the ruins. It does not intend to acquire other heritage assets. Whalley Abbey grounds are open to the public to view the ruins but access is restricted to the buildings on the site.

The current asset value for Whalley Abbey is £0.9m after a major refurbishment of the house in 2004. The asset is being depreciated over 15 years to £0.5m. The depreciated value represents the value in the accounts of the whole site and is based on an indication made by a local surveyor. It is difficult to obtain an accurate valuation for the site as the ruins represent a continued liability for their maintenance and upkeep which considerably reduces the value of the asset if sold in its entirety.

18. Investments and investment property

Company Investment Unlisted CBF Others Total
Property investments investments investments
£000 £000 £000 £000
At valuation
At beginning of year 1,537 20,613 9 22,159
Additions - 14 - 14
Disposals (38) (188) - (226)
Increase (decrease) in market value 8 423 - 431
At end of year 1,507 20,862 9 22,378
At historic cost 464 10,611 9 11,084
Group Investment Unlisted CBF Others Total
Property investments investments investments
£000 £000 £000 £000
At valuation
At beginning of year 1,537 23,329 15 24,881
Additions - 14 - 14
Disposals (38) (188) - (226)
Increase (decrease) in market value 8
 481 - 489
At end of year 1,507 23,636 15 25,158
At historic cost 464 11,154 15 11,633

Investment property is Diocesan glebe land vested in the DBF under the Endowments and Glebe Measure 1976 that is held for the purposes of producing income for clergy stipends. The glebe land is measured at fair value at the year end by an independent RICS registered valuer. The valuation has been undertaken in accordance with International and RICS Valuation Standards and has been based upon the valuer’s experience in the valuation of agricultural, institutional and amenity land within the Lancashire and wider north-west region.

Unlisted investments are made up of Central Board of Finance investments in Church of England Investment Fund shares, Property Fund shares and Fixed Interest Securities.

Page 46

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

19. Debtors

2024
£000
Company
Amounts receivable within one year
Prepayments and accrued income
710
Amounts due from National Church Institutions
1,743
Other debtors
181
Loans to parishes
30
2,664
Amounts receivable after more than one year
Loans to parishes
155
155
Total Debtors
2,819
20. Creditors
2024
£000
Company
Amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
333
Other creditors (taxation and social security)
41
Other creditors
93
Accruals
45
Deferred income
835

1,347
2024
£000
Amounts falling due after more than one year
Due to Churches Conservation Trust
130

130		 2024
2023
£000
£000
Group
Company
729
788
1,743
384
181
905
30
24

2,683
2,001
155
87
155
87
2,838
2,088
2024
2023
£000
£000
Group
Company
333
172
41
60
93
434
49
103
835
21


1,351
790
2024
2023
£000
£000
130
130


130
130		 2023
£000
Group
807
384
905
24

2,020
87
87
2,107
2023
£000
Group
172
60
434
106
21

793
2023
£000
130

130

The amount owed to Churches Conservation Trust is due on disposal of three redundant church buildings.

Deferred income represents payments received in advance for future Whalley Abbey events and grant income where the conditions of the grant have not been met yet.

2024
£000
Analysis on movement in deferred income
Company
At beginning of year
21
Recognised in year
(21)
Deferred income in 2024
835
At end of year
835		 2024
£000
Group
21
(21)
835

835

Page 47

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

21. Commitments – company & group

Commitments at 31 December 2024, for which no provision has been made in these accounts, were as follows:

Authorised, but not contracted:
Parish Vision Fund
Pre-reformation Church Buildings Fund
Lower Income Communities Fund
Clergy Housing Fund
Whalley Abbey Quinquennial repairs		 2024
£000
126
-
83
404
155

768		 2023
£000
233
131
82
436
-
882

22. Called up share capital

The charitable company is limited by guarantee, registered in England and does not have an authorised or allotted share capital.

23. Net assets analysed by fund

Company
General Fund
Designated Funds
Total Unrestricted Funds
Pastoral Account
Other Restricted Funds
Total Restricted Funds
Parsonage Houses Fund
Stipends Capital / Housing Fund
Other Endowment Funds
Total Endowment Funds
Total		 Tangible
Fixed
Assets
In
£000
1,812
-

1,812
7,255
5
7,260
31,181
4,305
-
35,486
44,558		 Fixed
Asset
vestment
£000
7,143
528

7,671
-
22

22
1,173
11,324
2,188

14,685

22,378		 Current
Assets
£000
1,403
2,135

3,538
2,770
1,532

4,302
-
805
5

810

8,650		 Current
Liabilities
Long Term
Creditor
Net As
31
£000
£000
(450)
-
-
-


(450)
-
-
(130)
(897)
-


(897)
(130)
-
-
-
-
-
-


-
-


(1,347)
(130)		 sets as at
December
2024
£000
9,908
2,663
12,571
9,895
662
10,557
32,354
16,434
2,193
50,981
74,109

Page 48

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Group
General Fund
Designated Funds
Total Unrestricted Funds
Pastoral Account
Other Restricted Funds
Total Restricted Funds
Parsonage Houses Fund
Stipends Capital / Housing Fund
Other Endowment Funds
Total Endowment Funds
Total		 Tangible
Fixed
Assets
In
£000
1,812
-

1,812
7,255
5

7,260
31,181
4,305
-

35,486

44,558		 Fixed
Asset
vestment
£000
7,143
528

7,671
-
268

268
1,173
11,324
4,722

17,219

25,158		 Current
Assets
£000
1,403
2,135

3,538
2,770
1,782

4,552
-
805
5

810

8,900		 Current
Liabilities
Long Term
Creditor
Net As
31
£000
£000
(450)
-
-
-


(450)
-
-
(130)
(901)
-


(901)
(130)
-
-
-
-
-
-


-
-


(1,351)
(130)		 sets as at
December
2024
£000
9,908
2,663

12,571
9,895
1,154

11,049
32,354
16,434
4,727

53,515

77,135

24. Unrestricted funds

Unrestricted funds comprise those funds which are available for application for the general purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document. Movements on this fund are as follows:

At 1
General Fund
At 1
Designated Funds
Office Assets Fund
Parsonages Fund
Parish Vision 2026 Grant and
Loan Fund
Diocesan Vision Strategic
Development Fund
Diocesan Vision 2026 Fund
Allchurches Trust Grant Fund
Other Designated Funds		 January
2024
£000
8,913
January
2024
£000
496
112
813
477
349
238
182
______
2,667
 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
9,044
(3,932)
145
(4,262)
9,908
Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
14
-
11
-
521
-
-
-
139
251
4
(130)
-
-
687
-
1
-
(20)
458
61
(48)
-
(35)
327
-
(1)
-
-
237
-
-
-
-
182
__
_


___
79
(178)
11
84
2,663

Designated Funds

Fund Application/purpose Office Assets Fund Designated for repairs, renovation or for buying a new building in the future. Parsonages Fund For repairs and disability adaptation on parsonages in excess of parish share budget Parish Vision 2026 Grant and Loan Designated to provide grants and some of the loans to parishes to continue their Fund mission projects Diocesan Vision Strategic DevelopmentDesignated to provide match funding necessary for Strategic Development Funding Fund applications Diocesan Vision 2026 Fund Designated to contingencies for the development of the diocesan vision Allchurches Trust Grant Fund The fund assists with funding the cost of diocesan projects, building administration costs, education, parish mission projects and major building works.

Page 49

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

25. Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations, grants and investment income held on trust to be applied for specific purposes:

At 1
Diocesan Pastoral Account
Diocesan Stipends Fund
Income Account
Ephesian fund
Social Responsibility Projects
Bishops Ordination Fund
Resourcing Ministerial
Education (RME) Fund
Bishop’s Harvest Appeal
Bishop’s Clergy in Need Fund
SDF Funded Projects
DIP Fund
Net Zero Carbon Fund
Lower Income Communities
Funding
Parish Pastoral Fund
Other Restricted Funds
Subtotal Funds – Company
Bishop of Blackburn’s Fund for
Widows and Orphans of Poor
Clergy
Total Funds - Group		 January
2024
£000
10,801
-
-
70
144
154
23
39
57
-
-
-
184
245
__
11,717
619
____
12,336		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
914
(280)
-
(1,724)
9,711
1,925
(8,760)
-
6,835
-
273
-
-
(273)
-
2
-
-
-
72		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
914
(280)
-
(1,724)
9,711
1,925
(8,760)
-
6,835
-
273
-
-
(273)
-
2
-
-
-
72		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
914
(280)
-
(1,724)
9,711
1,925
(8,760)
-
6,835
-
273
-
-
(273)
-
2
-
-
-
72		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
914
(280)
-
(1,724)
9,711
1,925
(8,760)
-
6,835
-
273
-
-
(273)
-
2
-
-
-
72		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
914
(280)
-
(1,724)
9,711
1,925
(8,760)
-
6,835
-
273
-
-
(273)
-
2
-
-
-
72
1 (10) - - 135
-
(30)
23
(25)
2
-
714
(791)
885
(72)
260
(149)
1,510
(252)
-
-
137
(212)
__
_
6,646
(10,581)
80
(83)

___
6,726
(10,664)		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
__
1
1
____
2		 (1)
-
(3)
(807)
(1,253)
-
-
__
2,774
(125)
____
2,649		 123
21
41
(23)
6
111
5
184
171
__
10,557
492
____
11,049

The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:

Fund

Application/purpose

Diocesan Pastoral Account

Purposes are laid down in Section 78 of the Pastoral Measure 1983, the main purposes being:

Diocesan Stipends Fund Income Account

Subject to any charges imposed by the scheme or order the fund shall be applied to:

Ephesian Fund

The fund exists to enable parishes to pay their share through the Ephesian Fund and be assured that their money has been allocated to churches that have signed up to the Church of England Evangelical Council statement of faith.

Page 50

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Social Responsibility Projects The Social Responsibility section received funding for specific projects and for its general costs relating to those projects. Project funding was restricted to the project it had been requested for and approved expenditure is applied against the funding in accordance with the funders rules.

Bishop’s Ordination Fund The Ordination Fund is used to assist with meeting the costs of Ordinands in training. Resourcing Ministerial Education Specific funding for Ordinands in training from National Church. (RME) Fund Bishop’s Harvest Appeal Each year the Bishop selects a charity to benefit from his Harvest Appeal. Parishes, Schools and individuals within the Diocese collect money in support of this charity and the monies are distributed by the Diocese in accordance with the appeal. Bishop’s Clergy In Need Fund The fund was established by transfer of some of the Extra Mission and Ministry funds received from the Archbishops’ Council 2008 – 2010. Grants from the fund are awarded at the discretion of the Bishop, to serving clergy in the Diocese. Strategic Development Fund Specific funding for the Outer Estates, Preston Resourcing parish and Lighting Up New Generations projects from National Church Diocesan Investment Programme National funding to support local parishes develop mission within (DIP) Fund particular geographical areas and demographic groups, to develop and deliver diocesan-wide transformation programmes and to increase the number of newly ordained ministers Net Zero Carbon Fund Funding from National Church providing project management and fundraising capacity to deliver actions in the synod approved net zero action plan aligning with the national church aim to be carbon net zero by 2030. Funding also supports energy decarbonisation reports for schools and churches in Blackburn and Carlisle dioceses and 'quick wins' church improvement projects in Blackburn diocese. Lower Income Communities Fund Funding to promote the growth of churches in Lower Income Communities Parish Pastoral Fund This fund reflects monies ring fenced from the sale of a vicarage in a parish where no scheme for pastoral re-organisation is currently in place. The monies must be held until either a vicarage is purchased, or a scheme is put in place. Other restricted funds Various small funds including overseas link dioceses, ordinands training, Whalley Abbey bursary fund, Whalley Abbey grounds and chapel renovation, J Lofthouse fund for pre-reformation churches (spent in 2024), ministry support and others. Bishop of Blackburn’s Fund for The Fund is used to help clergy widows and retired clergy in cases of Widows and Orphans of Poor Clergy financial hardship, particularly with housing costs. It funds the cost of social events and the cost of the Diocesan Officer and Bishop’s visitors.

Page 51

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

26. Endowment funds

The endowment funds are held on trust to be retained for the benefit of the Charity as a capital fund. Where the whole of the fund must be permanently maintained it is known as permanent endowment. Where there is power of discretion to convert endowed funds into income, the fund is classified as expendable endowment.

At 1 January
2024
£000
Diocesan Stipends Fund Capital
Account
16,242
Parsonage Houses Fund
30,604
Other Permanent endowment
Maintenance of the Ministry
344
General purposes
428
Whalley Abbey
187
Other endowments
9
Stipends
1,366
Subtotal Funds - Company
49,180
Bishop of Blackburn’s Fund for
Widows and Orphans of Poor
Clergy
2,477
Total Funds - Group
51,657		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
4
(14)
202
16,434
-
-
26
1,724
32,354
-
-
-
-
352
-
-
10
-
438
8
-
-
(195)
-
-
-
-
-
9
-
-
28
-
1,394
12
(14)
274
1,529
50,981
-
-
57
-
2,534
12
(14)
331
1,529
53,515		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2024
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
4
(14)
202
16,434
-
-
26
1,724
32,354
-
-
-
-
352
-
-
10
-
438
8
-
-
(195)
-
-
-
-
-
9
-
-
28
-
1,394
12
(14)
274
1,529
50,981
-
-
57
-
2,534
12
(14)
331
1,529
53,515
50,981
2,534
53,515

The Diocesan Stipends Fund Capital Account

This fund represents the value of glebe property and investments at the balance sheet date and is a permanent endowment fund.

The account is governed by the Diocesan Stipends Fund Measure 1953 as amended by the Endowments and Glebe Measure 1976, the National Institutions Measure 1998, and the Miscellaneous Provisions Measure 1992.

Income arises from the sale of glebe assets, the transfer of parsonage sale money, transfers from the DSF Income account, as well as gifts, bequests and donations.

The main function of the fund is to produce income for the stipends, but it may also be used for other purposes including: acquiring glebe property, investing in a subsidiary, developing and protecting glebe amenities, investment, discharging loans and levies on glebe, improving parsonage houses and discharging any loans made by the Church Commissioners under the Endowments and Glebe Measure 1976.

Parsonages Houses fund

This fund represents the value of benefice houses at the balance sheet date, together with the Parsonages Building Fund held by the Church Commissioners and investments held by the Parsonages Board. The houses are used to provide accommodation for the parochial clergy.

The Diocese is not free to dispose of the houses except in accordance with the appropriate measure. There is provision for the net proceeds of sale to be applied to either the Diocesan Pastoral Account or Diocesan Stipends Fund Capital once a disposal has been effected.

The Parsonage Houses fund is an expendable endowment.

Other Permanent endowments

The permanent endowments are established under a variety of trust deeds and documents which require the funds to be held in perpetuity. The income of the funds is to be applied to the Bishop of Blackburn’s fund for widows and orphans of poor clergy, Maintenance of the Ministry fund, General purposes fund, Diocesan Stipends Income fund, Whalley Abbet fund (endowment released in 2024) and other smaller endowment funds.

Page 52

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

27. Related parties’ transactions – company and group

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education (BDBE)

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education (BDBE) is a separate registered charity, which has responsibility for 191 Church schools across the Diocese. It provides pastoral and professional support to all its schools and has particular commitment to enhancing the quality of provision for Religious Education. The Rt Revd Philip North is a director of both the BDBF and BDBE.

The Venerable David Picken is also a director of both the BDBF and BDBE.

Canon Stephen Whittaker is a director of the BDBE and is Diocesan Secretary of the BDBF.

The BDBF provides significant funding to the BDBE by way of a grant. Grants made to the BDBE during the year amounted to £308,154 ( 2023 £324,061 ).

Grants made from the BDBE to the BDBF during the year amounted to £ 27,154 ( 2023: £19,274 ). Goods and services made from the BDBF to the BDBE during the year amounted to £30,406 ( 2023: £27,867 ) net of VAT where applicable.

The balance owing at 31/12/24 was £44,760 ( 2023 £1,700 ).

Blackburn Cathedral

Blackburn Cathedral is a separate entity to the BDBF but is engaged in many shared missional aims and activities. The Cathedral is the seat of the Diocesan Bishop.

During the year, the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Ltd bought goods and services from Blackburn Cathedral amounting to £40,323 ( 2023 £17,707 ).

The balance owing for these services at 31/12/24 was £4,124 ( 2023 £nil ).

The Cathedral have an outstanding loan due to the BDBF of £7,340 ( 2023 £7,340 ).

The BDBF had no recharged costs to the Cathedral in 2024 ( 2023 £14,631 ).

Emmanuel Theological College (ETC)

The Rt Revd Philip North is a director of both the BDBF and ETC. Revd David Craven is a director of both the BDBF and ETC.

Grants made to Emmanuel Theological College from the BDBF during the year amounted to £30,000 (2023 £10,000).

During the year, the BDBF paid £18,284 to ETC for training of readers and ordinands (2023 £133,246). Services made to ETC during the year amounted to £1,364 (2023 £3,360). The balance owing at 31/12/24 was £nil (2023 £720).

Cidari Education Ltd

Cidari is a multi-academy trust that serves the Diocesan church schools. Trust members are taken from corporate offices of the Church of England within the Diocese of Blackburn.

Cidari shared office space with the BDBF up until December 2023. Recharges during this year amounted to £153 (2023 £10,006).

During the year donations received from trustees amounted to £4,345 ( 2023: £4,769 ). No donations have been received from key management personnel ( 2023: £nil ).

28. Subsidiary undertakings

The Bishop of Blackburn’s Fund for Widows and Orphans of Poor Clergy (“the fund”) is a subsidiary of the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance on the basis of common control. The purpose of the fund is to help clergy widows and retired clergy in cases of financial hardship, particularly with housing costs.

The results for the year to 31 December 2024 and the assets and liabilities at this date are:

Net
Gains and Movement in
Income Expenditure Losses Funds
£000 £000 £000 £000
The Bishop of Blackburn’s Fund for Widows
and Orphans of Poor Clergy
Charity number: 505091 80 (208) 58 (70)
Fixed Assets Deposits Total Net
Investments Debtors and Cash Creditors Assets
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
The Bishop of Blackburn’s Fund for Widows
and Orphans of Poor Clergy
Charity number: 505091 2,780 19 231 (4) 3,026

Page 53

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

29. Financial instruments

Company
Financial assets measured at fair value
Financial assets measured at amortised cost
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost
Financial liabilities measured at fair value
Group
Financial assets measured at fair value
Financial assets measured at amortised cost
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost
Financial liabilities measured at fair value
Financial assets measured at fair value comprise investments.
Financial assets measured at amortised cost comprise cash, trade debtors,
other debtors and receivables and parish loans.
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost comprise accruals, other
creditors, the Clergy Pension Scheme liability and amounts held for other bodies.
Financial liabilities measured at fair value comprise value linked loans.		 2024
£000
22,379
8,675
1,372
130
2024
£000
25,159
8,925
1,376
130		 2023
£000
22,159
7,864
790
130
2023
£000
24,881
8,241
793
130

30. Funds held as custodian trustee – company and group

The BDBF is custodian trustee of assets held on permanent trust by virtue of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 and the Incumbents and Churchwardens (Trusts) Measure 1964 where the managing trustees are parochial church councils and others. PCC trust investment assets held by the BDBF have been summarised below at market value:

CBF Church of England Deposit fund
CBF Church of England Investment fund
CBF Church of England Fixed Interest fund
CBF Church of England Property fund
Other
Cash at bank
Total assets held as custodian trustee		 2024
£000
5,451
11,183
265
58
26
4

16,987		 2023
£000
4,768
11,131
255
58
44
8
16,264

The BDBF also acts as custodian trustee in relation to Parochial Church Council (PCC) property. These assets are held separately to those of the BDBF.

Page 54

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

31. Prior year comparative Statement of Financial Activities

Statement of Financial Activities -
Company
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
Parish contributions
Archbishops' Council and Church
commissioners
Other
Charitable activities: statutory fees,
chaplaincy and other income
Other trading activities
Investments
Other
Total Income and endowments
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Other
Total Expenditure
Net income/(expenditure) before
investments
Net gains/(losses) on investments
Net income/(expenditure) before transfers
Transfers between funds
Net income/(expenditure) before other
recognised gains and losses
Other recognised gains/(losses)
Gain/(loss) on defined benefit pension
schemes
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds at 1 January 2023
Total funds at 31 December 2023		 Unrestricted funds
General
Desig-
nated
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
7,877
-
-
-
425
-
3,377
-
100
84
111
430
195
-
471
-
287
-
135
-
451
14
453
-
2
-
1,524
343

9,337
98
6,071
773
408
-
36
3
3,420
162
10,723
1
-
-
-
8

3,828
162
10,759
12
5,509
(64)
(4,688)
761
473
43
2
900

5,982
(21)
(4,686)
1,661
(5,589)
(294)
3,843
2,040

393
(315)
(843)
3,701
-
-
-
-

393
(315)
(843)
3,701
8,520
2,982
12,560
45,479

8,913
2,667
11,717
49,180		 Total
funds
2023
£000
7,877
3,802
725
666
422
918
1,869
16,279
447
14,306
8
14,761
1,518
1,418
2,936
-
2,936
-
2,936
69,541
72,477

Page 55

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Statement of Financial Activities - Group
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
Parish contributions
Archbishops' Council and Church
commissioners
Other
Charitable activities: statutory fees,
chaplaincy and other income
Other trading activities
Investments
Other
Total Income and endowments
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Other
Total Expenditure
Net income/(expenditure) before
investments
Net gains/(losses) on investments
Net income/(expenditure) before transfers
Transfers between funds
Net income/(expenditure) before other
recognised gains and losses
Other recognised gains/(losses)
Gain/(loss) on defined benefit pension
schemes
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds at 1 January 2023
Total funds at 31 December 2023		 Unrestricted funds
General
Desig-
nated
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
7,877
-
-
-
425
-
3,377
-
100
84
111
430
195
-
471
-
287
-
135
-
451
14
531
-
2
-
1,524
343

9,337
98
6,149
773
408
-
35
3
3,420
162
10,796
1
-
-
-
8

3,828
162
10,831
12
5,509
(64)
(4,682)
761
473
43
(15)
1,114

5,982
(21)
(4,697)
1,875
(5,589)
(294)
3,843
2,040

393
(315)
(854)
3,915
-
-
-
-

393
(315)
(854)
3,915
8,520
2,982
13,190
47,742

8,913
2,667
12,336
51,657		 Total
funds
2023
£000
7,877
3,802
725
666
422
996
1,869
16,357
446
14,379
8
14,833
1,524
1,615
3,139
-
3,139
-
3,139
72,434
75,573

Page 56

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

32. Prior year comparative Archbishops’ Council and Church Commissioners - company & group

Unrestricted fund Unrestricted fund Unrestricted fund Unrestricted fund Restricted Endowment Total funds
General Designated funds Funds 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Lowest Income Communities Funding - - 1,460 - 1,460
Energy Costs Grant - - - - -
Resourcing Ministerial
Education/Funding 6 - 128 - 134
Strategic Ministry Fund - - 735 - 735
Strategic Capacity Funding 419 - 34 - 453
Strategic Development Funding - - 1,005 - 1,005
Clergy hardship grant - - - -
Net Zero Funding - - 15 - 15
425 - 3,377 - 3,802
ior year comparative Other donations - company & group
Total
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Endowment funds
General Designated Funds Funds 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Benefact Trust 44 80 (7) - 117
Donations 12 4 54 430 500
Other Grants 44 - 64 - 108
Legacies - - - - -
100 84 111 430 725

33. Prior year comparative Other donations - company & group

34. Prior year comparative Charitable activities - company & group

ior year comparative Charitable activities - company & group
Unrestricted Funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Statutory fees; chaplaincy income
-
-
438
-
Church Commissioners - Guaranteed
annuities
-
-
1
-
Recharge of staff costs
23
-
32
-
Whalley Abbey Conference House
162
-
-
-
Income for training courses
2
-
-
-
Other fees/sales
8
-
-
-
195
-
471
-		 Total
funds
2023
£000
438
1
55
162
2
8
666

Page 57

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

35. Prior year comparative Other trading activities - company & group

Total
Unrestricted funds Restricted Endowment funds
General Designated Funds Funds 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Rental Income 83 - 133 - 216
Whalley Abbey Conference House 165 - - - 165
Accounting and Legal services 33 - - - 33
Other fees/sales 6 - 2 - 8
287 - 135 - 422
ior year comparative Investment Income
Company Unrestricted funds Restricted Endowment Total funds
General Designated Funds Funds 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Dividends receivable 230 14 398 - 642
Interest receivable 221 - 23 - 244
Rents receivable -
 - 32 -
 32
451 14 453 - 918
Group Unrestricted funds Restricted Endowment Total funds
General Designated Funds Funds 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Dividends receivable 230 14 476 - 720
Interest receivable 221 - 23 - 244
Rents receivable -
 - 32 -
 32
451 14 531 - 996

36. Prior year comparative Investment Income

37. Prior year comparative Other income – company and group

Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted Endowment Total funds
General Designated Funds Funds 2022
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Gains on disposal of fixed assets 2 - 1,524 343 1,869
2 - 1,524 343 1,869

Page 58

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

  1. Prior year comparative Cost of raising funds – company and group
or year comparative Cost of raising funds – company and group
Unrestricted funds
Restricted
Endowment
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
General
Designated
Funds
Funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
Project Management
63
-
-
-
Parish share
Secretariat
17
-
-
-
Archdeacons
-
-
8
-
Investment Management Costs
29
-
8
3
Whalley Abbey Rents
4
-
-
-
Rents
-
-
20
-
Fundraising Trading Whalley Abbey
262
-
-
-
Fundraising Trading other
33
-
-
-


408
-
36
3		 Total
funds
2022
2023
£000
63
17
8
40
4
20
262
33
447

Page 59

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

39. Prior year comparative Expenditure on charitable activities

Company Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted Endowment Total funds
General Designated Funds Funds 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Contributions to Archbishops' Council
Training for ministry 302 - - - 302
National Church responsibilities 177 - - - 177
Grants and provisions 31 - - - 31
Mission Agency pension
contributions 10 - - - 10
Retired clergy housing costs
(CHARM) 119 - - - 119
Pooling of ordinand candidates costs 25 - - - 25
General Synod expenses 17 - - - 17
681 - - - 681
-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Parish ministry
Stipends & National Insurance 18 - 5,364 - 5,382
Pension contributions - - 1,232 - 1,232
Housing costs 56 - 1,888 1 1,945
Removal, resettlement and other
grants - - 230 - 230
Other expenses 2 - 54 - 56
76
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 8,768
--------------------------------------		 1
--------------------------------------		 8,845
--------------------------------------
Support for parish ministry 1,847 32 183 - 2,062
Whalley Abbey Conference House 259 - - - 259
Redundant churches - - 236 - 236
Strategic Development Funding
Projects 19 - 1,118 - 1,137
St Philip’s Centre Project 39 - - - 39
Grants to Parishes, Individuals and
Other Charities 175 130
 418 -
 723
2,339
--------------------------------------		 162
--------------------------------------		 1,955
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 4,456
--------------------------------------
Expenditure on education
Grants for the work of the Board 324
 -
 - -
 324
324 - - - 324
Charitable activities 3,420 162 10,723 1 14,306

Page 60

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Group Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted Endowment Total funds
General Designated Funds Funds 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Contributions to Archbishops' Council
Training for ministry 302 - - - 302
National Church responsibilities 177 - - - 177
Grants and provisions 31 - - - 31
Mission Agency pension contributions 10 - - - 10
Retired clergy housing costs
(CHARM) 119 - - - 119
Pooling of ordinand candidates costs 25 - - - 25
General Synod expenses 17
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 17
--------------------------------------
681 - - - 681
-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Parish ministry
Stipends & National Insurance 18 - 5,364 - 5,382
Pension contributions - 1,232 - 1,232
Housing costs 56 - 1,888 1 1,945
Removal, resettlement and other
grants - 235 - 235
Other expenses 2
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 54
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 56
--------------------------------------
76
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 8,773
--------------------------------------		 1
--------------------------------------		 8,850
--------------------------------------
Support for parish ministry 1,847 32 183 - 2,062
Whalley Abbey Conference House 259 - - 259
Redundant churches - 236 - 236
Strategic Development Funding
Projects 19 - 1,118 - 1,137
St Philip’s Centre Project 39 - - - 39
Grants to Parishes, Individuals and
Other Charities 175 130 485 - 790
-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
2,339
--------------------------------------		 162
--------------------------------------		 2,022
--------------------------------------		 -
--------------------------------------		 4,523
--------------------------------------
Expenditure on education
Grants for the work of the Board 324 - - - 324
-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
324 - - - 324
Charitable activities 3,420 162 10,795 1 14,378

Page 61

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

40. Prior year comparative Analysis of expenditure including allocation of support costs

ior year comparative Analysis of expenditure including allocation of support costs
Company
Activities
Grant
Manage-
ment
undertaken
funding of
Admin
directly
Activities
Support
£000
£000
£000
Cost of raising funds
389
-
58
Contributions to Archbishops' Council
17
664
-
Parish Ministry
8,615
230
-
Support for Parish Ministry
2,555
1,149
752
Education
-
324
-
Other
8
-
-


11,584
2,367
810
Group
Activities
Grant
Manage-
ment
undertaken
funding of
Admin
directly
Activities
Support
£000
£000
£000
Cost of raising funds
389
-
58
Contributions to Archbishops' Council
17
664
-
Parish Ministry
8,615
235
-
Support for Parish Ministry
2,555
1,216
752
Education
-
324
-
Other
8
-
-



11,584
2,439
810		 Total
2023
£000
447
681
8,845
4,456
324
8
14,761
Total
2023
£000
447
681
8,850
4,523
324
8
14,833

41. Prior year comparative Analysis of support costs – company and group

Unrestricted funds Restricted Endowment Total funds
General Designated Funds Funds 2023
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Raising Funds 50 - 8 - 58
Central Administration 560 - - - 560
Governance costs
Secretariat 34 - - - 34
Accounting and Finance Office 38 - - - 38
Audit & accountancy fees 27 - - - 27
Diocesan Synod costs 8 - - - 8
DBF Directors and Bishop’s Council
Meetings 14 - - - 14
Chancellor and Registrar Fees 71 - -
 -
 71
802 - 8 - 810

Page 62

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

42. Prior year comparative Net assets analysed by fund

Company
Tangible Fixed
Assets
Fi
In
£000
General Fund
1,637
Designated Funds
-
Total Unrestricted Funds
1,637
Pastoral Account
8,168
Other Restricted Funds
-
Total Restricted Funds
8,168
Parsonage Houses Fund
29,457
Stipends Capital / Housing
Fund
4,112
Other Endowment Funds
-
Total Endowment Funds
33,569

Total
43,374
Group
Tangible Fixed
Assets
Fi
In
£000
General Fund
1,637
Designated Funds
-

Total Unrestricted Funds
1,637
Pastoral Account
8,168
Other Restricted Funds
-
Total Restricted Funds
8,168
Parsonage Houses Fund
29,457
Stipends Capital / Housing
Fund
4,112
Other Endowment Funds
-
Total Endowment Funds
33,569
Total
43,374		 xed Asset
vestment
N
£000
6,999
503

7,502
-
21

21
1,147
11,160
2,329

14,636

22,159
xed Asset
vestment
N
£000
6,999
503

7,502
-
266

266
1,147
11,160
4,806

17,113

24,881		 et Current
Assets
Long term
Creditor
Net as
31
£000
£000
277
-
2,164
-


2,441
-
2,947
(130)
711


3,658
(130)
-
-
970
-
5
-


975
-


7,074
(130)
et Current
Assets
Long term
Creditor
Net as
31
£000
£000
277
-
2,164
-

2,441
-
2,947
(130)
1,085

4,032
(130)
-
-
970
-
5
-

975
-

7,448
(130)		 sets as at
December
2023
£000
8,913
2,667
11,580
10,985
732
11,717
30,604
16,242
2,334
49,180
72,477
sets as at
December
2023
£000
8,913
2,667

11,580
10,985
1,351

12,336
30,604
16,242
4,811

51,657

75,573

Page 63

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

43. Prior year comparative Unrestricted funds

At 1
General Fund
Designated Funds
Office Assets Fund
Parsonages Fund
Parish Vision 2026 Grant and
Loan Fund
Diocesan Vision Strategic
Development Fund
Diocesan Vision 2026 Fund
Allchurches Trust Grant Fund
Other Designated Funds		 January
2023
£000
8,520
439
323
863
553
464
238
102
______
2,982
 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2023
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
9,337
(3,828)
473
(5,589)
8,913
14
-
43
-
496
-
-
-
(211)
112
4
(54)
-
-
813
-
(76)
-
-
477
80
(32)
-
(163)
349
-
-
-
-
238
-
-
-
80
182
__
_


___
98
(162)
43
(294)
2,667




 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2023
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
9,337
(3,828)
473
(5,589)
8,913
14
-
43
-
496
-
-
-
(211)
112
4
(54)
-
-
813
-
(76)
-
-
477
80
(32)
-
(163)
349
-
-
-
-
238
-
-
-
80
182
__
_


___
98
(162)
43
(294)
2,667




 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2023
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
9,337
(3,828)
473
(5,589)
8,913
14
-
43
-
496
-
-
-
(211)
112
4
(54)
-
-
813
-
(76)
-
-
477
80
(32)
-
(163)
349
-
-
-
-
238
-
-
-
80
182
__
_


___
98
(162)
43
(294)
2,667
496
112
813
477
349
238
182
_____
2,667
_
 __
 _

44. Prior year comparative Restricted funds

At 1
Diocesan Pastoral Account
Diocesan Stipends Fund
Income Account
Social Responsibility Projects
Parish Vision 2026 Grant
Fund
Bishops Ordination Fund
Resourcing Ministerial
Education (RME) Fund
Bishop’s Harvest Appeal
Bishop’s Clergy in Need Fund
SDF Funded Projects
Lower Income Communities
Funding
Parish Pastoral Fund
Other Restricted Funds
Subtotal Funds – Company
Bishop of Blackburn’s Fund for
Widows and Orphans of Poor
Clergy
Total Funds - Group		 January
2023
£000
11,701
-
69
38
152
161
20
37
17
-
184
182
__
12,561
629
____
13,190		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2023
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
1,534
(313)
-
(2,121)
10,801
1,815
(8,744)
-
6,929
-
1
-
-
-
70		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2023
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
1,534
(313)
-
(2,121)
10,801
1,815
(8,744)
-
6,929
-
1
-
-
-
70		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2023
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
1,534
(313)
-
(2,121)
10,801
1,815
(8,744)
-
6,929
-
1
-
-
-
70		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2023
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
1,534
(313)
-
(2,121)
10,801
1,815
(8,744)
-
6,929
-
1
-
-
-
70		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2023
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
1,534
(313)
-
(2,121)
10,801
1,815
(8,744)
-
6,929
-
1
-
-
-
70
5 (44) 1 - -
3 (11) - - 144
129
(136)
30
(27)
2
-
1,047
(1,114)
1,460
(304)
-
-
45
(66)
__
_
6,071
(10,759)
78
(72)

___
6,149
(10,831)		 -
-
-
-
-
__
1
(16)
____
(15)		 -
-
-
107
(1,156)
-
84
__
3,843
-
____
3,843		 154
23
39
57
-
184
245
______
11,717
619
______
12,336

Page 64

The Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Limited

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

45. Prior year comparative Endowment funds

At 1 January
2023
£000
Diocesan Stipends Fund Capital
Account
15,292
Parsonage Houses Fund
27,953
Other Permanent endowment
Maintenance of the Ministry
314
General purposes
391
Whalley Abbey
171
Other endowments
84
Stipends
1,274
Subtotal Funds - Company
45,479
Bishop of Blackburn’s Fund for
Widows and Orphans of Poor
Clergy
2,263
Total Funds - Group
47,742		 Income
Expenditure
Gains and
losses
Transfers
At 31
December
2023
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
343
(18)
625
-
16,242
430
-
100
2,121
30,604
-
-
30
-
344
-
-
37
-
428
-
-
16
-
187
-
6
-
(81)
9
-
-
92
-
1,366
773
(12)
900
2,040
49,180
-
-
214
-
2,477
773
(12)
1,114
2,040
51,657

Page 65