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The Pratt Green Trust

Registered Charity Number : 290556

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 29 MARCH 2024

Trust Contact and Acting Treasurer:

Revd Canon Michael Garland

6 Whimbrel Road

Quedgeley Gloucester GL2 4LJ

Trustees

The Rev Dr Janet Wootton (Chair) Ms Bernadette Farrell (Vice-Chair) The Rev Dr Andrew Pratt The Rev Robert Canham Dr Gillian Warson Dr Martin Clarke Rev Dr Graham Adams Revd Canon Michael Garland

Report 2023-4

Report of the trustees for the year ended 29th March 2024

The trustees present their report along with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 29th March 2024.

Constitution and objects

The Pratt Green Trust is constituted under a trust deed dated 30th March 1984 as varied by a deed of variation dated 31st October 1984 and registered as a charity under number 290556. The objects of the charity are:-

1) To advance public education in the field of church music and other music suitable for religious purposes and in the field of hymnody.
2) To provide prizes, scholarships, bursaries and other grants for church musicians and musicians concerned with the composition and rendering of religious music and for hymn writers.
3) To make donations to otherwise further the objects of other charities carrying on in whole or in part objects similar to the objects set out in 1 and 2 above.

Organisation

The trustees who have served during the year and since the year end are listed above.

Trustees are appointed by the remaining trustees or trustee. There is currently no time limit on a trustee’s term of appointment. The trustees meet half yearly, or more frequently if circumstances require. The Chair or Vice-Chair together with one other trustee can approve urgent grant requests between meetings up to a maximum of £600 subject to details of these being reported to the next full trustees meeting.

Grant Making and other project support Policy

The policy is to give continued support to the HymnQuest Project, the Pratt Green Collection at Durham University, The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland and to make occasional other grants to persons or institutions for specific projects, especially those unlikely to be undertaken without the Trust’s help.

Financial review and investment policy

Due to Covid and the resultant impact on the renewal of HymnQuest subscription numbers, the trustees agreed an extra six months free extension of subscriptions on renewal in 2020-2021. This action would have a detrimental impact on the HymnQuest income to the trust. As a result it was also agreed that, other than basic administrative expenditure, all other spending on HymnQuest would cease until further notice. A moratorium on grants was agreed in May 2021, which continues in operation.

The charity received an initial donation from the Reverend Frederick Pratt Green in 1984 together with the right to royalty income and / or other fees as set out in various agreements made between Reverend Frederick Pratt Green and Stainer & Bell Ltd, Hope Publishing Company and The Hymn Society of America.

The majority of the income from royalties currently arises from publications in the United States of America. As with any income of this type the amount receivable is entirely dependent on the level of sales and royalties which can vary dramatically and additionally is also affected by the $ - £ exchange rate prevailing at the time the royalties are paid. All income received and funds held by the charity are unrestricted and may be used at the trustees discretion in accordance with the objects of the charity.

The charity has also received the benefit of reasonable levels of income from sales of HymnQuest. This was as a result of a long term project undertaken by the Trust to compile a unique database of hymnody to allow greater access to the wide repertoire of hymns and songs for worship now available. A CD Rom was launched in May 2000. Given that the majority of sales are based on an annual licence the levels of income are difficult to predict as much depends on whether the number of subscribers grows significantly, whether purchasers decide to upgrade to new editions on a regular basis and what price can be charged for any of these upgrades. HymnQuest has continued to be upgraded this year as in past years. In 2022, a mobile version was released which enables users to access the data from tablets and smartphone devices.

The Hymnquest software engine has in the past few years been licensed to the Salvation Army to publish the Software Edition of the Song Book of the Salvation Army.

There are no restrictions on the charity’s power to invest. The trustees have up to now invested funds in bank deposit accounts as there have been significant calls on funds to develop the HymnQuest project and longer term investments were considered inappropriate. This position is kept under regular review but at this time no change to the current policy is considered appropriate given the difficulty in predicting the level of annual income likely to be received.

Reserves Policy

The Trust has a number of projects, which it supports within the terms of its primary charitable objective. The Trust was initially reliant for the majority of its income on the annual receipt in March of royalties in connection with the works of its original benefactor the Reverend Frederick Pratt Green. The amount of these royalties varies and is impossible to forecast. The marketing of HymnQuest created a third income stream although this is uncertain in amount and again the bulk of sales occur in the last three months of the Trust’s financial year. It can thus be seen that the bulk of the Trust’s income is received during a short period at the end of the financial year and the level of future income is dependent on factors outside the direct control of the Trustees.

In order to ensure that the Trust can meet its day to day operating expenses for at least a year and to provide a contingency for urgent grant requests it was considered prudent to maintain a General Fund of £10,000. In addition given the desire of the Trustees to be able to continue the provision of annual grants to specific bodies, and also to continue to support the Pratt Green Collection at Durham University and the HymnQuest project the designations made allow for these to continue for a period, should income reduce and will allow the Trustees time to explore ways of generating additional income or to reduce expenditure in an orderly and responsible manner.

Risk management .

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements Law applicable to charities in England and Wales require trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year.

In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to: select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently: make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed subject any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; that there are no serious incidents or other matters relating to their charity over the previous financial year that should have been brought to the commission’s attention; that all aspects of the Charity Commission Anti-Terrorism guidelines are followed and prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business, that all aspects of both the Charity Commission and Data Protection requirements are considered.

The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Review of the Year

In 2022, the Trustees agreed to a development programme leading to a relaunch of the Trust for its 40th anniversary in 2024. The working party, set up to oversee the project, continued its work throughout 2023 and 2024.

New Patrons were recruited in 2024, and a number of Associates, Partners and Friends joined.
A new website was launched in spring 2024,
An online version of HymnQuest became available in early 2024, with a revised subscription structure.
A hymn competition was successfully launched, with a number of high profile judges appointed and a high number of submissions by the spring of 2024.
Plans were in hand for a day conference later in the year.
There were explorations of a subsidiary charity to facilitate fund raising and other activities

A part time self-employed administrator was appointed in 2022 to facilitate the work.

The working party, with a number of subsidiary groups, reported regularly on progress to Trustee meetings.

During the follow up to the 40[th] anniversary, serious anomalies in the accounts became apparent. At a Trustees’ Meeting in October 2024, a finance working party was set up to investigate, and steps were put in place to safeguard existing funds. It has been necessary to reconstruct the 2023-4 accounts from bank records, with no access to documentation, which has led to a considerable delay in completion and submission. The situation is ongoing.

Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf.

The Revd Dr Janet Wootton

Chair of The Pratt Green Trust

THE PRArr REEN TR