## **Downham Village Hall**
**Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year to 30 September 2021**
## **Contents**
|**Contents**||
|---|---|
|Reference and Administrative Details|2|
|Objectives and Activities|2|
|Chairman’s Report|3|
|Achievements and Performance|3|
|Financial Review|3|
|Structure, Governance and Management|4|
|Basis of preparation of the accounts|5|
|Independent Examiner’s unqualifed report|6|
|Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2021|7|
**Downham Village Hall**
## **Report of the Trustees**
for the year ended 30 September 2021
The Downham Village Hall Committee has pleasure in presenting their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30th September 2021.
## **Reference and Administrative Details**
Registered Charity Name: Downham Village Hall Working Charity Name: Downham Village Hall Management Committee Charity Registration Number: 296139 50 School Road, Downham, Essex Registered Office: The Trustees: Chair S Phillips Elected Member AGM Secretary M Roome Downham Church Representative Treasurer A Anderson Elected Member AGM Member S Baldry WI Representative Member M Thomason Parish Council Representative Booking Secretary V Fawkes Elected Member AGM Member D McDonald Elected Member AGM Member W Anderson Elected Member AGM Member J Moule Parish Council Representative Independent Examiner: Robert Andrews
## **Objectives and Activities**
We provide and maintain a much needed local village hall facility. We organise various charitable fundraising events to enable us to do this and hire the hall out privately to local community groups.
## **Public Benefit Statement**
The committee confirm that they have paid due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on Public Benefit during the year.
The Downham Village Hall Management Committee is an unincorporated charitable association.
The Committee manage the Downham village hall to ensure that it is available to benefit all of the local community, to ensure a high standard of services required to meet the growing needs. As the village hall is the focal point of the village it is the designated emergency crisis centre so it needs to be kept up to specification to meet the increasing population.
2
## **Downham Village Hall**
## **Chairman’s Report**
This year, much as the last, has been a year of restrictions in our operations and bookings with the requirements of Covid-19 safety being a large part of the preparation for any Hall use. Bookings have been affected in as much as the number of people allowed into the Hall at any one time.
The committee have been very responsive with Mike implementing the Covid rules and regulations, updating us all on new rules as they arise, Alan, Wendy and Mike have fitted all the Hall dispensers and signage, this has allowed the Hall to reopen in a safe manner, my thanks to them for taking on these tasks and keeping us Covid safe.
My thanks to Mike for also working on the website and email set up which is now fully working.
Hall maintenance has been up kept and on-going, sound proofing to the walls has been fitted and general cleaning and upkeep of the hall has been done.
I would like to thank all the committee for their input and time working towards Downham having a fully operating Village Hall for all and sundry.
On reflection the Hall is financially sound, and grants have helped keep the balance in a good place, my thanks to Alan for his work on the accounts and monitoring the Electric readings. With costs rising the committee are keen to seek out new heating systems that will benefit both the Hall and the climate.
Bookings are strong and regulars are now coming back although class numbers are restricted, we must give our thanks to Viv who does so much work on the phone and emails to keep the bookings coming. I must also thank Sylvia and the WI for always being on hand with helping in cleaning and new planting to the front of the Hall.
To summarise we look forward to a more open year with the Hall being able to return back to quiz nights and Harvest Supper again, my thanks to committee and residents who have helped in keeping the Village Hall tidy. We appreciate all the input we get from the community.
## **Achievements and Performance**
With the continued Covid epidemic affecting most of the year, greater emphasis was given to keeping up to date with Government directives and recommendations in respect to the operation of our village hall.
All new rules and changes to our terms and conditions were fully documented and the website developed further to include COVID regulations and assistance for our hirers.
In addition, with close liaison with our Insurance Company and weekly visits to the hall, the Management Committee were able to keep the hall secure and well maintained.
This allowed the hiring of the hall to be available, at the first permitted opportunity.
Despite the absence of hirers and fundraising events, the hall met all its financial commitments including all loan repayments.
## **Financial Review**
Through applications for Business support grants and Restart grants, we were able to secure funding of £19,427.51 to assist in the daily operation of maintaining and securing the hall.
3
## **Downham Village Hall**
With the restrictions in hiring in the first part of the year, it is pleasing to report that revenue from hiring only declined 20% from the previous year, this following an impressive return to the hall from our regular hirers when restrictions were lifted.
Good use was made of the ‘downtime’ to complete maintenance items both internally and externally and this resulted in a 39% increase in expenditure for the maintenance of the hall, the biggest expenditure items being much needed acoustic sound panelling fixed to the walls, at a cost of £1,162.20.
All regular expenditure items are scrutinised for accuracy and market rates are investigated before any new contracts are undertaken. The electricity contract taken out in December 2020, for 3 years, is looking particularly attractive in the present climate.
Quarterly repayments were made on the ACRE loan which had a balance of £6,959.78 outstanding at the year end. Monthly loan repayments were made on the Resident’s loan which had a balance of £20,100 as at 30 September 2021.
## **RESERVES**
It is the policy of the Management Committee to retain funds of not less than £5,000 to ensure there are sufficient funds to cover the regular maintenance of the Hall.
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
The charity is an unincorporated association; it is governed by its constitution which has been previously approved by the Committee. Although the Downham Village Hall Committee runs as an independent charity it still is governed by the South Hanningfield Parish Council who are Custodial Trustees. The hall is owned by the Management Committee but the Parish Council have ownership of the land.
Each year at the AGM a committee of trustees is appointed, consisting of a chairman, secretary and treasurer and up to at least four but no more than eleven nominated trustees. During the year up to three trustees may be co-opted if the maximum number is not achieved at the AGM. To be eligible to become a Committee Member they must reside in the Parish of South Hanningfield.
If the Committee has vacancies we advertise these on our website, “in local papers”, and, “parish notice boards/newsletters”. The potential members are then invited to the open part of a committee meeting where they can see what is involved and ask questions. It also gives the other committee members a chance to meet them and formulate an opinion of their suitability. If the potential member still wants to volunteer the matter is decided at the meeting by someone proposing and a vote takes place.
When we appoint committee members we try to look at individual specialist skills in order to accumulate a committee that can cover all of the required skilled areas in order for us to run a successful and efficient committee.
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## **Downham Village Hall**
## **Basis of preparation of the accounts**
The accounts were prepared on a Receipt and Payment basis.
Approved by the trustees on ………………..………. and signed on their behalf
by ……………………………………………………………………….….
Date ……………………..
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**Downham Village Hall**
## **Independent Examiner’s unqualified report**
I report on the accounts of Downham Village Hall for the year ended 30 September 2021, which are set out on pages 7 to 8.
## **Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and the examiner**
The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an Independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to
- Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
- Follow procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commissioners section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
- State whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **Basis of Independent Examiner’s Statement**
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the management committee concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an opinion on the accounts.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
- to keep accounting records in accordance with s.130 of the 2011 Act; or
- to prepare accounts, which accord with these accounting records have not been met; or
2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Robert Andrews MA, ACIB, FCIE
3 Sewards End, Wickford, SS12 9PB
Relevant Professional Qualification: Fellow of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners
Date:
6
## **Downham Village Hall**
## **Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2021**
## **Receipts and Payments**
|Note
**RECEIPTS**
Hall rents received
Voluntary receipts
1(a)
Activities for generating funds
1(b)
Goverment Grants
Investment income
Sundry Income
Total receipts
**PAYMENTS**
Hall operating costs
1(c)
Cost of generating funds
1(d)
Sundry expenditure
Website
Loan capital repayments
Loan interest
Total payments
Surplus (deficit) for the year
Cash at bank 1 October 2020
Cash at bank 30 September 2021|Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
Total funds
Last year
£
£
£
£
5,043.00
-
5,043.00
6,440.00
2,013.66
-
2,013.66
1,453.48
-
-
-
4,926.50
19,427.51
-
19,427.51
10,000.00
-
-
4.93|
|---|---|
||26,484.17
-
26,484.17
22,824.91
5,241.14
-
5,241.14
7,112.27
-
-
-
1,951.66
180.64
180.64
158.86
220.00
220.00
313.60
5,863.05
5,863.05
5,835.20
103.87
103.87
131.72|
||5,641.78
5,966.92
11,608.70
15,503.31
20,842.39
(5,966.92)
14,875.47
7,321.60
14,436.83
-
14,436.83
7,115.23|
||35,279.22
(5,966.92)
29,312.30
14,436.83|
## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities**
|Note
Cash funds
Barclays current account
Liabilities
Loan ACRE
2
Loan Resident
2
Net funds|Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total funds
Last year
£
£
£
£
35,279.22
(5,966.92)
29,312.30
14,436.83|
|---|---|
||35,279.22
(5,966.92)
29,312.30
14,436.83|
||-
6,959.78
6,959.78
9,222.83
20,100.00
20,100.00
23,700.00|
||-
27,059.78
27,059.78
32,922.83|
|||
||35,279.22
(33,026.70)
2,252.52
(18,486.00)|
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**Downham Village Hall**
## **Note 1 - Further analysis of Receipts and Payments**
|||Unrestricted
funds|Restricted
funds|Total funds|Last year|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||£|£|£|£|
|(a)|Voluntary receipts|||||
||Donations|593.34|-|593.34|927.00|
||Gift Aid recovered|1,405.46|-|1,405.46|505.57|
||Amazon Smile|14.86||14.86|5.00|
||Easyfunding|-|-|-|15.91|
|||2,013.66|-|2,013.66|1,453.48|
|(b)|Activities for generating funds|||||
||Harvest Supper|||-|2,781.50|
||Quiz nights|||-|2,145.00|
|||-|-|-|4,926.50|
|(c)|Hall operating costs|||||
||Electricity|1,295.22||1,295.22|2,944.98|
||Water|126.11||126.11|493.53|
||Insurance|694.26||694.26|693.46|
||Cleaning|670.00||670.00|1,083.33|
||Business rates|-||-|66.00|
||Refuse collection|237.12||237.12|237.12|
||Repairs & maintenance|2,218.43||2,218.43|1,593.85|
|||5,241.14|-|5,241.14|7,112.27|
|(d)|Cost of generating funds|||||
||Harvest Supper||||1,582.70|
||Other events||||368.96|
|||-|-|-|1,951.66|
## **Note 2 - Loans**
- Loan ACRE - £18,000 repayable by quarterly instalments over 8 years commencing November 2016. Interest payable currently 1.24%
- Loan (personal) - Loan of £30,000 from a local parishioner in September 2018. The loan is interest free for a period of up to 8 years 4 months. Repayments instalments of £300 per month commenced in January 2019.
8
## **Downham Village Hall**
## **Note 3 - Property**
The land on which the village hall stands is currently the property of South Hanningfield Parish Council. The building is owned by the Downham Village Hall charity and the Parish Council is the Custodial trustee. Three Parish Councillors are appointed as trustees. If the village hall were to cease operating then the property would revert to the Parish Council, therefore no value is recorded in the accounts of the charity.
9