2021-04-30-accounts

Upham New Millennium Village Hall Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements Year Ending 30 April 2021

Summary

The year 1 May 2020 to 30 April 2021 has been a somewhat unusual one. COVID had made its entrance onto the world stage at the end of 2019 and in March 2020, the UK was in lockdown which meant that very few activities anywhere could take place. The village hall was one of the many places that had to close its doors to all its hirers, except the pre-school which continued as an emergency hub and, as lockdown was still ongoing at the beginning of the financial year, it was a very quiet start.

The Trustees would like to thank the pre-school for taking good care of the village hall during the time when they were the only occupants; it was incredibly helpful to have people in to ensure that the building and its environs was maintained and kept clean.

The guidance on managing COVID was ever changing and the hall was eventually re-opened to some hirers, in line with the latest guidance, in mid-September 2020, but only briefly. Another national lockdown took place from 5 November to 2 December 2020, during which the hall was closed again. It re-opened on 3 December 2020, only to have to close once again just before Christmas 2020 until the end of mid-April 2021. At this point, some regular hirers were able to return within the latest government guidance.

The guidance on managing COVID was ever changing but the Trustees were able to hold a face-toface AGM in September 2020, otherwise, all committee meetings were held via online platforms.

Obviously, the lack of hirers able to use the hall was financially worrying, but throughout the COVID situation, a number of grants for facilities such as village halls were made available by the Government. The Trustees were able to take advantage of these which ensured that the financial year ended in a more positive way than originally anticipated.

In October 2020, the Trustees agreed to set up Upham New Millennium Village Hall as a recipient of donations via Amazon’s charity arm, Amazon Smile. This means that anyone who adds Upham New Millennium Village Hall as their chosen charity on the www.smile.amazon.co.uk website will be donating a small percentage of their spend to us.

During the year, discussions continued around updating the heating system from oil based to an air source heat pump. Planning permission was sought and granted and the order for a new air source heat pump was placed in April 2021 with the work to be undertaken in July 2021.

The Trustees would like to thank all those who hired the hall during the year, whether regular users or those who used it for one off events and we are grateful to them for adhering to the additional terms and conditions that were put in place.

In January 2021, Derek Pitter stood down as Trustee. He had been part of the hall for many years and in many guises; in fact, it could be said that he was a foundation stone of the hall. His valuable input will be missed and the Trustees would like to thank him for all his years of service to the hall.

The Trustees would like to thank the independent contractors who work so hard to keep the hall an attractive place for hirers; our booking agent, cleaners and caretaker.

The Trustees undertook their statutory duties and obtained all necessary licences including the premises licence issued by Winchester County Council and music licence issued by PPL PRS Ltd and also arranged suitable insurance.

The second phase of the car park was completed, any necessary equipment has been tested and any recommendations undertaken and the Trustees arranged for any repairs to be carried out by plumbers, electricians etc as necessary.

Thanks to the aforementioned Government grants, income exceeded expenditure during the year, resulting in a surplus of £11,097.

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Report of the Trustees

1. Introduction

The legal requirement for the trustees’ annual report is found in section 162 of the Charities Act 2011. The Act provides that the charity trustees must prepare in respect of each financial year of the charity an annual report containing:

• (a) such a report by the trustees on the activities of the charity during that year, and

• (b) such other information relating to the charity or to its trustees or officers

as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State.

2. Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisers

• (a) The name of the Trust is Upham New Millennium Village Hall.

• (b) The Trust is a registered charity, number 301976.

• (c) The address of the Trust is: Mortimers Lane, Lower Upham, Southampton, SO32 1HF

• (d) The following Trustees served, unless otherwise indicated, for the full year to 30 April 2021:

• Keith Dalley (from September 2020)

• Helen Firth (Chair & Treasurer to September 2020, then Co-Chair & Treasurer)

• Jane Gillen

• Roy Kimble (Co-Chair from September 2020)

• Claire Parry

• Derek Pitter (resigned January 2021)

• (e) The Trust has no employees but engages the services of a booking agent, cleaners and a caretaker.

(f) Other relevant organisations are:

• Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4TA

• Independent Examiner: Jason Foxwell, Independent–Examiner.Net, 39 Enfield Road, Poole, BH15 3LJ

3. Structure, Governance and Management

• (a) The Trust’s governing document is a Scheme ordered by the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales dated 9[th] March 2004. The Trust is an unincorporated association.

• (b) The management committee comprised six elected members (five as from January 2021) and three other members, who attend in an advisory capacity. The elected members are from some of the organisations that regularly use the village hall. Those organisations include Upham & District Gardening Club, Ringcraft, Sugarcraft, Sue Merrett School of Dance, the Village Pre-school, Parish Council, and Upham Players. The Trustees of the charity are made up of the majority of the management committee members.

The management committee may fill a casual vacancy in the office of an elected member at an ordinary meeting of the management committee and may co-opt up to

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two further members at a special meeting. All members serve until the next annual general meeting.

Under the Scheme:

• Elected members are appointed at the annual general meeting held in September by those inhabitants of the parish and surrounding neighbourhood over 18 years of age, who attend.

• Appointed members are nominated by their organisation within two months of the annual general meeting and their appointment will be effective from the latter of the date of their notification to the management committee and the annual general meeting.

• Co-opted members will serve from the date of their appointment at a special committee meeting.

• All management committee members will serve until the next annual general meeting and may serve further terms.

Within these prescriptions, the management committee seeks to secure the nomination and election of Trustees who will:

• provide the wide range of skills needed to manage the Hall;

• act diligently and conscientiously to fulfil the objects of the Trust; and

• make for a good balance of ages and gender.

The booking agent and caretaker also attended or provided reports for the meetings.

• (c) New Trustees are provided with the information they need to serve. Induction is provided by participation in the activities of the committee.

• (d) The management committee appoints a Chairman and a Treasurer. It meets at least eight times a year and actively undertakes the management and administration of the Hall. The management committee engages the services of an agent to secure, coordinate and organise all the bookings. It also engages a cleaning contractor and a caretaker on a paid basis and other building and maintenance services as needed. Trustees are not paid for their services.

• (e) The Trust has no connections with other charities. The relationship with related parties is set out above in the appointments procedure. The terms and conditions agreed with appointing organisations for their use of the Hall are identical to those agreed with similar local bodies who do not appoint. All these parties and the management committee have been scrupulous in ensuring that anyone with a close tie or interest absents him or herself from the consideration of the terms and conditions of any relevant contracts and the management committee has satisfied itself that those contracts offer excellent value for money.

4. Objects and Activities

• (a) The object of the Trust is the provision and maintenance of a village hall for use by the inhabitants of the parish of Upham and surrounding neighbourhoods without distinction of political, religious or other opinions, including use for:

• Meetings, lectures and classes, and

• Other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation

with the object of improving the conditions of life for the inhabitants.

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• (b) The Trust seeks to fulfil its objectives:

• by maximising bookings from as wide a range of users as possible while prioritising local and regular hirers;

• by maintaining the attraction of the Hall in a competitive market;

• by preserving the security and cleanliness of the Hall;

• by the good upkeep of the Hall’s decoration, plant and fittings.

5.

Hiring Agreement

Use of the Village Hall is subject to a hiring agreement which must be signed by the hirer when booking. The hiring agreement sets out the conditions of hire and identifies the respective responsibilities of each party to the agreement. Additional COVID risk assessments and terms & conditions were drawn up to enable hirers to safely use the hall during the pandemic.

6. Licences

The Hall has a Premises Licence (which allows licensable activities such as the supply of alcohol, plays, performance of dance to take place in Upham New Millennium Village Hall) and is licensed by PPL PRS Ltd (Phonographic Performance Ltd and Performing Rights Society) for live and recorded music.

7. Insurance

The Village Hall is insured with a comprehensive policy by Ansvar Insurance in respect of:

• buildings and accidental damage with a sum insured of £916,000

• contents (up to £21,000)

• public liability (£5,000,000)

• employers’ liability (£10,000,000)

• business interruption up to 24 months (£62,000)

• trustees’ indemnity (£250,000)

• property owners’ liability (£5,000,000)

• personal accident (up to £10,000)

• legal expenses (£250,000)

The management committee recognises that it is under a legal obligation to protect the building, its users and employees through adequate and appropriate insurance.

8.

Building and External Works Issues

The management committee carries out regular maintenance checks on the condition of the building and surrounding hard and soft landscapes and arranges for works to be undertaken, following quotation, by using local labour, wherever reasonable. Regular annual checks, such as having fire-fighting appliances checked, parts replaced and tested have been undertaken. In addition:

• In May 2020 the second, and final, phase of the car park resurfacing work was completed.

• In the summer of 2020, the new village hall website, part of the Upham Village suite of websites, went live.

• In February 2021, new and more efficient car park lights were installed.

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9. Achievement and Performance

Although hirers were rarely able to use the hall during this financial year due to the COVD pandemic, the majority of our regular hirers did return when able. Towards the end of the financial year, when the Government was reviewing restrictions and it was hoped that more and more activities in general could resume, it was pleasing to note that enquiries were received with at least one new regular hirer being confirmed for the beginning of the next financial year.

This year has achieved a respectable surplus which will go towards the new heating system planned for the next financial year and will of course manage the everyday overheads associated with running the hall.

10. Financial Review

• (a) Reserves

The Trust’s policy on reserves is:

• Endowment Fund: This expendable fund arose from the sale of land connected with the previous Hall. In 2003, it was agreed that the endowment fund would be designated The Saint New Millennium Endowment to commemorate Mrs Saint, the original benefactor of the village hall and other subsequent benefactors. £45,000 was endowed to this fund. Interest on the cash deposit it represents, is credited to the Unrestricted Fund. The management committee aims to sustain this fund to finance, in the longer term, the major renovation and construction work on the Hall.

• Restricted Fund: This represents the capital receipts raised to meet the construction costs of the new Hall. The management committee has agreed to depreciate these costs over the remaining estimated useful life of the Hall and to charge that depreciation against the Fund.

• Unrestricted Fund: This represents the balance on the current operating account of the Hall. The management committee aims year on year to achieve a modest surplus of income from hall hire and interest over operational and management costs. The aim of this policy is to sustain the short to medium term capacity to keep the Hall in good repair as the cost of so doing predictably accelerates.

• (b) Financial results

Year ending 30 April 2021 produced a healthy surplus of £11,097.

• (c) Investment policy

The Trustees consider that they have a duty to minimise investment risk. Since we are exempt as a charity from corporation tax on our investment income there is an investment of £50,000 in a Shawbrook Bank one-year fixed rate saver and £28,150 in a Shawbrook 2-month notice account whilst the balance of our cash is retained in a current account and a savings account with the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

11. Future Plans

Discussions over the heating system have been ongoing for well over a year and once the car park renovation was completed, it was agreed that an air source heat pump would be installed to replace the very old oil boiler. Although the order was placed during this financial year, the actual work will take place in the summer of 2021.

The lawn area outside the main room has been problematic for some time; it is in constant need of reseeding due to mole activity and shade from the trees. Consideration will be given to artificial grass options.

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12. Public Benefit

The Village Hall is a community building for the pursuit of art, culture, recreation and sport, and a facility in which the community is able to hold events, celebrate personal milestones and allow clubs and societies to flourish, which benefit not only people in the village of Upham but also the wider community. Residents of Upham enjoy a discount on hire prices.

13. Trustees’ Responsibilities in relation to Financial Statements and Accounting Records

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Trust and enable them to ensure the financial statements comply with the Charities Act.

They have a general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the Trust and to prevent fraud and other irregularities.

The Trust’s incoming and outgoing resources fall below the limit set in the Charities Act for requiring the financial statements to be audited, and the Trustees have decided not to have them audited. They are examined by an Independent Examiner whose report is included.

The Trustees have taken advantage of the exemption available to the charity in preparing accounts in the receipts and payments format.

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v o

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF UPHAM NEW MILLENNIUM VILLAGE HALL

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Upham New Millennium Village Hall (the Charity) for the year ended 30 April 2021.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the Charity 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 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 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 giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

2. the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Mr J P Foxwell FCCA FCIE independent-examiner.net

39 Enfield Road, Poole, BH15 3LJ

Date: 28 July 2021