OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2020-12-31-accounts

Hartlip Village Hall Management Committee AGM: 11 March 2021 Chair’s Report

I would like to welcome everyone to this year’s AGM for the presentation of HVHMC Report and Accounts to the inhabitants of the parish of Hartlip.

Should there be any matters you wish to raise, please do so under Any Other Business.

Hartlip Village Hall is a registered charity and the Charity Trustees and HVHMC are responsible for managing the charity’s assets, namely HVH, HVH Car Park and the hall’s equipment, for the benefit of the charity and for no other purpose. They must ensure that the purposes of the charity as laid down in its Trust Deed are fulfilled and must obey the Duties of Charity Trustees as laid down by the Charity Commission.

This means that casual latitude in decision making about the use of the charity’s assets is not possible.

Committee Year 2020/21 has seen stability in committee members. Paul Williams was appointed as HPC Representative in 2020.

I have served as Chair and Secretary.

I have continued as Booking Clerk seeking out and encouraging new Regular Hirers to trial activities to benefit the community. Carrying this role in addition to the very significant workload of Chair and Secretary removes the need for this to be a paid post as it had been in the past thus reducing the hall’s financial outgoings.

Tracy Still was welcomed as Treasurer in December 2018 and has continued to hold that role during committee year 2020/21 working closely with me and becoming increasingly familiar with the requirements of the position.

The hall’s Charity Trustees have played an active part in the management of the hall and are very much ‘critical friends’ to HVHMC.

Particular mention must be made of Graham Addicott who has given a great deal of time to supporting me in monitoring the hall and car park during the enforced closures due to Covid-19 in 2020/21. This monitoring is essential to the responsible management of the Charity’s assets and is a requirement of the hall’s insurers during any period of closure. Thank you Graham.

Page 1 of 9

Lionel Robbins is Independent Financial Inspector to the hall and carried out the inspection of 2020 Finances on 12th January 2021.

Peter Blandon has continued to serve as a member of the support team in the capacity of IT Manager. Peter keeps the website up to date and also forwards booking enquiries onto me for action.

Graham Seymour has continued to serve as a member of the support team in the capacity of Technical Advisor. Graham carries out all the emergency lighting testing and keeps the necessary records up to date. This is an essential and onerous task.

Graham researches any new ideas which are of a technical nature and presents HVHMC with a report and guidance.

During this strange year with Covid-19 restrictions affecting the hall seriously Graham has supported me in monitoring the hall and car park during the enforced closures in 2020/21. The support he gives to me is greatly appreciated.

Jacqueline Shicluna has served as a member of the support team with responsibility for the running of Hartlip One Hundred Club.

Jacqueline was the committee member responsible for the establishment of Hartlip One Hundred Club.

HVHMC favours putting on an annual social event whenever possible to raise much needed funds for HVH but at a modest charge as a priority of this committee is to offer opportunities for the community to come together. Jacqueline has organised annual Quiz Nights in recent years. No such events were possible in 2020 because of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Paul White , serves as Maintenance Manager which is a large task covering dayto-day maintenance, supervision of large projects and supervision of all regular maintenance of equipment and services.

Much of Paul’s work goes on behind the scenes. His contribution is huge, making significant financial savings for HVHMC which contributes to its ability to maintain modest hire fees which directly benefits hirers and supports the fulfilling of hall’s charitable objects.

Each support member attends meetings if required and submits reports when necessary.

HVHMC is most grateful to them all.

The dedication, expertise, energy, time and determination of the whole HVHMC team has been immense during the last 6/7 years making an astounding range of crucial repairs and improvements to the hall possible and, as said earlier, has also assisted in enabling hire fees to be held at a very

Page 2 of 9

moderate level. This makes the activities available to residents at HVH inclusive to all.

Trina Davison joined the team in March 2020 as hall cleaner and ‘hit the ground running’ having been set some very challenging targets by me! I am very pleased to have her on board.

The demands upon HVHMC continue to be heavy and I am very grateful for the hard work and dedication of all members of the team.

Others have supported the hall and me personally during 2020/21 and I wish to record my thanks to:

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...............

2020/21 has been a year of much hard work and time investment for HVHMC. Once again, it has not been a year without challenge of various kinds. An unexpected and highly significant challenge during 2020/21 was the effect on the Charity of Covid-19 which has impacted on usage of the hall and hall income. Further comment follows on this matter.

The committee, since its formation seven years ago, has set itself ambitious targets and once again achieved all of them and more besides during this committee year.

Not only has the strategy and skilful management of recent years enabled the charity to weather the storm of Covid-19 during 2020/21 but it has also been possible to continue the works planned on the renovations and improvements to the Charity’s premises.

I will outline some of the work done in my main report but so much has been done that it is impossible to cover all. I have therefore, as throughout my Chairmanship, produced a bullet point appendix to my report which summarises all that has been done and which you can peruse at your leisure.

Page 3 of 9

It is recommended that residents visit the website and view the Chair’s Reports and Appendices for the years 2015 to 2020 in order to appreciate the huge amount achieved during those years by the team. Hartlip Village Hall is now in a much better and now secure financial, maintenance and usage position.

HVHMC work undertaken this year falls under the following broad headings :

  1. Finance

  2. Systems and Policies: review and development

  3. Maintenance/H&S

  4. Hirer recruitment/provision of services

Finance

Grants have been applied for and obtained.

Grants today tend to be match funded and so HVHMC must ensure that it manages its finances so that it has the financial resources to enable applications to be submitted. If HVHMC cannot make the required contributions, grants cannot be applied for.

These funds have been supplemented and, in some cases significantly so, by investment by HVHMC to enable a range of projects to be planned. These projects are outlined later in my report.

HVH Funds :

An unexpected and highly significant challenge during 2020/21 was the effect on the Charity of Covid-19. Three Lockdowns and strict restrictions between them has meant that HVH has had to remain closed to both Regular and Occasional Hirers for many weeks. During periods when able to open, it has not been possible to allow all groups back for regular activities because of vulnerability issues in their membership. Opening for occasional bookings, e.g. parties, has not been possible at all. Clearly, this impacts seriously on the finances of a small charity such as HVH.

Residents will recall that the present committee inherited a hall in a poor financial position and has worked tirelessly to improve this situation including the building of a contingency fund which is essential to any responsible charity. Had this not been done, there is a very real danger that the hall would have become wholly unviable due to the pandemic with closure more likely than not.

Page 4 of 9

Hard work and financial expertise have been invested for the last seven years to rationalise and make fees fair across the board.

Rigorous and regular analysis of income and outgoings, grant sourcing, efforts to increase hirings and the work mentioned earlier by committee and support team members has made it possible to maintain annual receipts at a similar level to that aimed for and achieved by this HVHMC first in 2015 i.e. 38% higher than 2014.

The major works identified as urgently needed in 2015 and somewhat daunting at the time have been prioritised and faced with determination. They have been costly projects but responsible financial management has made massive progress in this area possible. Work is still to be done.

Booking and Fees Sub-Committee (BFSC) continues to work towards

establishing and maintaining a fair and even playing field for hirers and security for the hall into the future.

Strong management enabled fees to be kept at rates set for 2017 during 2018 and 2019. A minimal increase was introduced from January 2020 and these fees will be maintained during 2021 in an endeavour to support hirers affected during the pandemic. This will not be easy for HVHMC as the hall suffered financially during this time.

Contingency Fund: 2017/18 saw the committee fulfil its intention to add to the Contingency Fund which it established in 2015/16 to give security to the hall facility and hirers. This fund continues to be held strong.

Fundraising: Hartlip One Hundred Club, established in 2017, was impacted upon by Covid-19 and members agreed to the suspension of the club for 2020 with funds being held over to 2021.

Systems and Policies: Review and Development

Terms and Conditions document has been reviewed and updated. It is available on the website.

All Booking Forms have been reviewed and updated to ensure that they capture necessary information efficiently, provide a strong paper trail for the official financial inspection and support the management of hires.

Invoicing of Regular Hirers is carried out annually for efficiency for hirers and HVHMC and to provide the evidence for financial inspection.

Website review continues. Some changes have been made. More will follow and include policies as appropriate.

The activities page, annual fee details and Terms and Conditions document have been updated.

A One Hundred Club page is provided.

Page 5 of 9

Finance Report : the new system introduced several years ago to improve efficiency and to ensure that committee members and Trustees can be active in understanding and tracking progress has been embedded.

Policies: there is an expectation today that organisations such as this establish key policies. One of the Charity Trustees, Graham Addicott, has undertaken the gradual drafting of policies which are brought to the committee for discussion, modification if necessary and ratification. This programme will continue in the months to come.

Maintenance and H&S

Progress through the rolling Development Plan has been excellent and detail is provided in the appendix to this report.

HVHMC has a policy of using local labour where possible.

Works this year include:

Page 6 of 9

Planning and financial preparation are in hand for further major works during 2021/22.

Some requests to use the car park have been received by organisations and have been refused for reasons fully explained and documented including in The Forum.

Unauthorised parking, if left unchecked, is one of the biggest threats if not the biggest threat to the sustainability of the Charity and its assets into the future.

Inconvenience to authorised users, H&S of authorised users,

safeguarding, security of the hall and nearby residents, abuse of HVHMC members are among the many impacts involved.

It must be remembered that HVH is a charity and must adhere to the purposes of the Trust Deed and to Charity Commission Law.

As such all HVH assets (hall, car park and equipment) are to be used to facilitate the fulfilment of the purposes of the charity and nothing else. The car park is therefore specifically and solely for users when attending the hall and is a crucial resource to the recruitment and retention of classes and activities.

Page 7 of 9

HVHMC allows Allotment Holders to park if space permits when, and only when, tending their allotment and for no other reason whatsoever. This privilege is never transferrable to a third party.

This is a regularly reviewable arrangement and will not continue as/when additional hiring of the hall takes place or if it is abused by allotment holders or causes adverse effects of any sort on the Charity or hall users.

Curtailing of this was going to be activated if new trial hirers embedded in 2020. The pandemic affected these hirings. Regular review will continue.

It must also be remembered that the access drive from The Street to Hartlip Village Hall Car Park is in private ownership.

Hartlip Village Hall Management Committee has a legal right of vehicular easement over the drive to enable access to the hall.

Hartlip residents have no such legal right of vehicular easement over the private drive and no right to park in the car park for personal reasons.

Unauthorised parking in recent years has led to loss of some hirers providing activities for residents thus loosing opportunities for residents. It has also caused the loss of vital income to the tune of four figures p.a. for the Charity.

Very real dangers of accident or fatality were being caused.

HVHMC is grateful to those who have responded appropriately to the message given clearly by the sign installed in the car park that this is HVH’s private car park.

Should unauthorised parking continue to be an issue, the matter will be considered further with appropriate action taken to protect the charity and authorised users.

Recruitment of Hirers/provision of services

This was actively focused on again during committee year 2020/21 but was affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic.

A number of new activities trialled at the start of 2020 and others were due to trial but Lockdowns have prevented that. Some were with a view to all-year slots, some with a view to blocks at intervals.

Irish Dancing’s extended hours have embedded and there are now significant Occasional Hire slots being booked in addition as required.

It is sincerely hoped that, in due course, some or all of the potential new providers of activities for the village will be able to start at HVH.

Page 8 of 9

As previously reported, HVHMC‘s in years past, closed HVH during school holidays which amounted to the hall being closed for 13 weeks or 25% of the year.

This committee was concerned about this waste of the resource in terms of the Charity fulfilling its purpose and also from a financial point of view. This time has and is being targeted to increase hall usage and income. New Regular Hirers are encouraged to be ‘all year round’ rather than ‘termtime only’.

This provides a better service to residents and other users.

This level of additional booking makes a much heavier demand on the Booking Clerk than the old system did.

It also relies heavily upon the car park and the availability of this facility is often a deal breaker for hirers.

Occasional hirings have sadly had to be suspended due to the pandemic.

HVHMC remains committed to engaging with the community of Hartlip and providing opportunities for the community to come together where possible. Christmas Eve 2019 saw the hall host Hartlip Sings Christmas for Hartlip residents. This was the fifth year of this free event. This is a collaborative event organised by Hartlip Community Hub for Hartlip Parish Council, HVHMC and the Chapel. It is a very popular event. HVHMC was disappointed that this event could not take place in 2020 due to the pandemic.

So, 2020 was a particularly strange year for HVHMC.

It has been demanding in different ways with good use made of the enforced closure time to push forward with the renovation, upgrade and general improvement of the Charity’s facilities.

I hope that we are able to look forward to resumption of business and, if possible, expansion of activities during 2021/22.

Barbara Addicott

Chair of Hartlip Village Hall Management Committee 11 March 2021

Page 9 of 9

HARTLIP VILLAGE HALL BANK RECONCILIATION

Balances at Bank: 31st December 2020

HSBC (CURRENT)
HSBC BMM (CONTINGENCY)
CASHBOOK
Balance brought forward 1st January 2020
PLUS Receipts
LESS Payments
Balance
of which
Damage Deposits Held in bank (as at 31-12-20)
Key Deposits 8 x £20
Art Club
x1
Clubbercise/Tribe
x1
Dance LouLou
x1
Dynamic Academy of Dance
x1
Pilates
x1
Reel Eire
x1
55+
x1
Yoga
x1
Outstanding Cheques
03.05.2019
101825
100 Club Prize/Whelan
03.12.2019
101850
100 Club Prize/Jones
HARTLIP VILLAGE HALL FUNDS AS AT 31.12.20
(Bal-DD, Key Deposits, Outstanding Cheques)		 35980.43
20264.18		 56244.61
43411.03
52860.45
40026.87
11.88
39.50
56244.61
0.00
160.00
51.38
56033.23

Prepared by: Date: 02/01/2021 Tracy Still

Checked by: Date: 08/01/2021 Barbara Addicott

Independent examiners report on the accounts CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES SÈction A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the tru$t¢e members of Hartlip village Hal On a￿ounts forthe year 31 De¢ember 2019 Charity no lil any) 258654 Sot out on pages RecoN￿1vatIO Respectlve rospon$ibiliti¢s ol trustees and examiner The Chanty's tru$tee8 are ￿SponSible forthe preparation of the ￿COUnt8. The ¢harFty's trustees ¢onsiiJer that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 Ilhe Charities Acr) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my respon51bilily to.. examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the piocedure5 laid down In the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under Section 14515llbl of the Charityes A¢t. and to state thther p8rticulaf matter5 have comg to Tny attention. Bas1$ of lrtdependent My examination was ¢affd out In accordance wrth geneol th"fftctions gNen xamin•r'$ statomont by the Charity C(xrmission. An e¥amifi8tion includes a ￿VIeW of the accounting records kèpt by the charity and a Comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual item8 or di$closures in the accounts and seeking 8xplanalions from t trustees ¢On￿rnIng any rnatters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is gwan as to whether the accounts present a 'ttue and fail, ￿eW and the report Is Iitnited to those ThatteFS set out in the statement below. Indgpgndont In ¢onnedion with my examinatton. no matter ha8 come to my attention •x•min•r'$ ¥tstsmont 1. which gives me reasonable cause to ￿lIeVe that in. any material resFÉd, the requirements. to keep a¢countlng records In a¢thanc8 with section 130 of th8 Charities A¢t', and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charitses Act have not been met.. or 2. to which, in my inion, attention should be drawn in orderto enab￿ a prO￿r of the accounts to be reached. Slgn?d: 17 February 2020 Name: Lionel Robknns Relevant prof•ssional qualffication(sl or body 111 any).. Address.. 24 Regency Court, sitting￿Urne, Kent, ME10 18Z IER