Middlesex Junior Cricket Association (charity number 291966) Trustees’ Annual Report - for the year ended 30[th] September 2024
Reference and administration details
Trustees:
Clifford Pile
Simon Mollett
Executive committee:
Peter Lowrey (President)
Clifford Pile (Chairman and Chair of Central Area)
Simon Mollett (Treasurer)
James Grigg (Chair of Cricket Committee) (from Feb 2024)
Robert Tripp (web-site and Chair of East Area)
Laura de Silva (Chair of Girls’ Section)
Angus Fraser (co-opted member, Middlesex Cricket) (from March 2024)
Cricket committee:
John Ventham (Chair until Feb 2024)
James Grigg (Chair from Feb 2024)
Area Chairmen:
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Clifford Pile (Central)
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James Grigg (Vice Chair of Central)
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Robert Tripp (East)
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Laura de Silva (Chair of Girls Section)
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Hillary Jackson (North until March 2024)
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Steve Michelin (North from March 2024)
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Ralph Meyer (South)
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Tony Wright (West)
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Peter Hollman (Indoors cricket)
Raj Nath (Middlesex Cricket)
The Middlesex Junior Cricket Association (“the charity” or “MJCA”) has no principal address, nor staff. Contact details are given in its web-site www.mcacricket.org .
Structure and governance; objectives and activities
Members of the executive committee are appointed either through its constituent Area committees or by the Annual General Meeting, which all member clubs can attend. The trustees are appointed from the executive committee and are generally the Chairman and the Treasurer.
The charity is governed by its Constitution. Its object is the provision of facilities for recreation and other leisure-time occupation in the interests of social welfare for young people up to the age of 18. It aims to meet this object by organising cricket matches and competitions, primarily through member clubs in or affiliated to the former County of Middlesex. In doing so, it cooperates with Middlesex Cricket and the English Cricket Board (“ECB”). At a more local level, its activities are organised in five geographical Areas plus a separate county-wide Girls section.
Each Area and the Girls section organises, on an age-group basis, summer cricket in the form of both league matches and a cup competition for its constituent member clubs. Successful teams from these Area competitions then take part in county-level MJCA summer competitions. These in turn can lead to participation in national competitions run by the ECB. In summer 2024, 2,736 matches were scheduled to be played under the MJCA umbrella and, in a wet season, 1,943 were actually played, with the other matches either cancelled or abandoned.
The charity also organises indoor cricket in the winter for those of its member clubs that wish to participate – this is on a growing scale (202 winter indoors matches in 2023/24).
In order to support these competitions, the charity runs a website.
The trustees consider that these activities satisfy the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
The charity makes no grants (other than in the form of medals and trophies for successful teams), has no investments other than bank accounts and relies entirely on the hard work of volunteers, both directly running the charity and indirectly within its member clubs.
Remuneration and reimbursement of expenses
No Trustees, nor any member of the executive committee, receive any remuneration from the charity.
In the course of the year, expenses were paid to:
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A Trustee, 3 payments totalling £7,474.81 to reimburse him for payments for winter cricket venues made on-line using his personal bank cards;
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A Trustee, payment of £10.50 to reimburse him for postage costs in connection with the AGM; and
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One other member of the executive committee, £247.59 to reimburse him for costs in connection with the web-site and IT matters.
Management of major risks
The trustees of the charity have considered the major risks confronting the charity and have set policies and control systems to manage these risks as follows:
Major risks:
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Safeguarding of the junior members – this is primarily in the hands of the member clubs and, under paragraph 3(i) of the MJCA constitution, all member clubs must have ECB Clubmark accreditation, which includes controls on safeguarding. The cricket committee oversees rules for matches, taking into account safety considerations and ECB guidance (for example, on pitch lengths, on permissible fielding positions and on the use of helmets).
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Financial risks, of losses on activities or losses through fraud or theft – these are countered by the requirements for accounting, banking, cheque signing and independent examination of the annual accounts, as set out in the MJCA constitution paragraph 18.
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Inability to finance cricket activities – this is safeguarded by the charity’s policy of keeping reserves sufficient to meet the expected costs of the coming season, having regard to related income from clubs.
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Loss of member clubs or the charity’s role in organising junior cricket in Middlesex – this is monitored by the executive committee.
In addition, trustees and volunteer members of the executive committee are required to declare any conflicts of interest they might have on any matter of business. Any complaints will be considered by either the cricket committee (if involving cricket matters) or the executive committee and, if appropriate, referred to the disciplinary process set out in paragraph 8 of the MJCA constitution.
Achievements and performance
The charity’s cricket competitions in winter 2023/24 and the summer 2024 season were both successfully completed.
Financial review
The charity continues to be financially sound: in line with its reserves policy (above), the charity’s reserves are sufficient to fund the commitments required to arrange the cricket programme for the coming year (despite the substantially increased financial commitment to winter cricket).
Club subscriptions continued at their constitution-mandated level of £50 per club. Entry fees were unchanged. Two significant matters reflected in the financial results were the surplus made on winter cricket, reflecting the further improved entry numbers, and the reduced costs of trophies.
As a result of these activities, a surplus of £7,317 was made in the year to 30 September 2024 (2022/23: surplus £4,528).
A substantial prepayment of winter cricket costs was again made prior to the year-end and is shown as a pre-payment in the MJCA balance sheet.
We also wish to thank David Morgan FCA for again acting on an honorary basis as Independent Examiner and for being willing to act as such again next year.
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
C Pile
S Mollett
Clifford Pile Simon Mollett Chairman and Trustee Treasurer and Trustee Signed 16 January 2025
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of the Middlesex Junior Cricket Association on the accounts for the year ended 30[th] September 2024
(charity number 291966)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity for the year ended 30[th] September 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report.
As the charity’s trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and, in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act.
Independent examiner’s statement.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that, in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act, or
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the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
D Morgan
16 January 2025
D Morgan Chartered Accountant Independent Examiner
85 Sharps Lane Ruislip Middx. HA4 7HZ
Middlesex Junior Cricket Association (charity number 291966)
Accounts for the year ended 30[th] September 2024
Income and expenditure (note: all funds are unrestricted)
| Income Clubs - subscriptions - summer entries - winter entries Associate members - subscriptions - gift aid donations - gift aid tax recoverable Other income - bank interest - other donations Total income Expenses Cricket - summer pitches, balls and umpires - winter pitches, balls and umpires (Note) - trophies - coach and helper courses Admin - insurance and sundry - web-site and IT - bank charges Total expenses Net surplus for the year |
2024 £ 3,945 6,099 19,416 132 155 38 125 - 29,910 1,813 15,218 3,863 - 596 997 106 22,593 7,317 |
2023 £ 3,850 5,396 16,116 130 160 40 - 18 |
|---|---|---|
| 25,710 | ||
| 2,222 11,669 5,597 250 558 873 13 |
||
| 21,182 | ||
| 4,528 |
Note: substantial early payments of costs for the winter seasons were made prior to the yearends. These are shown as prepayments in the balance sheet and have been excluded from the costs included above in the years of payment under the heading “expenses”.
Middlesex Junior Cricket Association (charity number 291966) Accounts for the year ended 30[th] September 2024
| Balance sheet at 30th September (note: all funds are unrestricted) 2024 £ Cash at Bank - MJCA 26,366 - Central Area - - Girls’ Section - - total held at Metro Bank in MJCA account 26,366 Prepayment and sundry debtors (see Note to income and expenditure statement) 12,786 Sundry creditors - deposits held (winter cricket) (4,194) - accruals (1,102) - balance owed to Central Area - - balance owed to Girls Section - Net assets 33,856 Represented by: Accumulated funds brought forward 26,539 _Plus_Surplus for the year 7,317 Accumulated funds at 30th September 33,856 Approved by the Trustees on 16 January 2025 |
2023 £ 21,398 387 1,664 |
|---|---|
| 23,449 7,905 (2,764) - (387) (1,664) |
|
| 26,539 | |
| 22,011 4,528 |
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| 26,539 | |
S Mollett C Pile Simon Mollett Clifford Pile Treasurer Chairman