2024-03-31-accounts

Charity Number: 302743

The Folkestone and Hythe Unit of the Sea Cadet Corps

Accounts

For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Contents:

ontents:
	Page
Trustees’ Report	1 – 4
Independent Examiner’s Report	5
Receipts and Payments Account	6
Statement of Assets and Liabilites	7

The Folkestone and Hythe Unit of the Sea Cadet Corps

Trustees’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Address

Folkestone & Hythe Sea Cadets, TS Invicta, Ross Way, Folkestone, Kent CT20 3UJ Website

www.tsinvcta.co.uk Email [e-mail] Telephone [phone]

Trustees

Lt Cdr Derek Smith RN - President Mr Neil Lomas – Chair Mrs Hannah Simpson – Treasurer Mr Keith Buckle - Secretary Rev Kate McNeice – Trustee (Padre) The Sea Cadet Association – Trustee Mrs Lynne Smith – Trustee Mr Timothy Geere – Trustee Mrs Amanda Simpson – Trustee Mr Ricky McNeice - Trustee

Our Purpose and Activities

We are a land-based training ship, TS Invicta, managed completely by volunteers. We have access to waterborne recreational adventurous activities throughout the UK. We are a youth development organisation, with a naval ethos, and we are affiliated to the Marine Society and Sea Cadets.

Our core activities act as a catalyst to enable young people aged 9-18, from all walks of life, to participate in activities and experiences that give them skills, for life. These activities are encompassed by the Corps’ Values of Honesty, Integrity, Self-respect, Discipline, and Courage. This is then linked with team-work, camaraderie and a fun environment which sets the cadets up for life, and the working world.

At TS Invicta, we have 55 Junior Sea Cadets (JSC), Sea Cadets (SC) and Royal Marines Cadets (RMC) and 36 Adult Volunteers. We use accredited courses such as BTEC, DofE, First Aid, RYA, Boating and other practical skills to help our young people and prepare them to cope with this constantly changing world.

Adult Volunteers

We are run by 36 adults, volunteering their own free time to help manage the Unit, as well as acting as instructors for our cadets.

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The Folkestone and Hythe Unit of the Sea Cadet Corps Trustees’ Report (Continued) For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

The two main groups of adults are the Unit Management Team, who act as the Charities Board of Trustees, and Instructional Staff who instruct and deliver training to the Cadets.

The majority of Instructional Staff volunteer for two parade nights per week - approximately five hours (not accounting the time taken to prepare and organise content for training). The unit parades for 50 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. Instructional Staff also attend volunteer training weekends which are approximately five hours per day.

The UMT meets once every 8 weeks for two hours. The trustees also complete other managerial and administration tasks, organise fundraising, undertake and oversee Unit maintenance, and carry out parade night visits.

Over 6,000 volunteer hours have been given to the Unit and in terms of cost, if the hourly rate was £15 per hour, this would equate to approximately £90,000 invested into the successful running of the Unit.

We are actively recruiting volunteers both as Instructional Staff and as members of the Unit Management Committee. We have engaged with the Marine Society for assistance with recruitment. They are assisting with placing advertisements, social media campaigns and contacting local businesses so that we can find the best people to help us continue to offer a valuable resource for both the Cadets and the local community.

Unit Management Team

Our charity is managed by a management committee, comprising 10 adult volunteers.

Each person has an allocated role and contributes to the success of our charity. They are responsible for the financial and legal management of the Charity. However, they also participate and support the instructional Staff at inspections, both at events and by applying for funds.

They contribute a minimum of 33 volunteer recorded hours a month; however, the actual figure can sometimes be much larger when there are various fundraising events on, or participation in the local community with Parades or Remembrance Services.

Instructional Staff

The main role of the instructional volunteers is to take the young people through the different training programmes.

This can be anything from catering or meteorology, to shooting and field-craft. These dedicated adult volunteers meet twice a week, for the parade evenings, as well as regularly giving up their free time at the weekends to take Cadets to various courses and competitions throughout the UK.

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The Folkestone and Hythe Unit of the Sea Cadet Corps Trustees’ Report (Continued) For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Cadets

We encourage Cadets to engage with the weekly training offered at TS Invicta and to attend District, Area or National courses. The Cadets gain qualifications in boating and various specialisations, such as First Aid, Communications and Seamanship.

During this year we signed a new agreement with Sir John Moore Barracks for the use of their sports field which allowed the Junior and Sea Cadets to use the sports field for team building and recreational activities and the Royal Marine Cadets for team building and vital fieldcraft training towards promotions.

We also continued our relationship with Folkestone Sea Sports to allow the Cadets the opportunity to get on the water for some fun sessions. Cadets completed Kayaking and Stand Up Paddleboarding and really enjoyed the experience. We also started working with Dover & Deal Unit to create a Unit Boating Area in Dover Harbour for Rowing and working towards Powerboat Training.

The Cadets have taken part in many parades, including National and District Trafalgar parades and Remembrance Day.

The Cadets also take part in District Competitions and this year the Sea Cadets won the Colour Party and Unarmed Drill Squad at the East Kent Drill and Piping Competition.

Folkestone and Hythe Sea Cadets also achieved the highest ever score in this year’s Unit Management Audit and were proud recipients of The Thompson Trophy.

Finances

This year we have started to rent out the Unit, on an hourly basis, to bring in a much-needed source of income. A local Church now regularly use the Unit on a Sunday. Mr Ricky McNeice was instrumental in getting this up and running and we express our thanks to the many hours of work undertaken in this regard.

With the monies that come in we are hoping to continue to maintain the Unit and make improvements such as redecorating and new carpets.

Our main source of income is subscriptions from the Cadets that attend the Unit. Our current level of subscriptions is £20 per month for Sea and Royal Cadets and £10 per month for Juniors. We also offer sibling discounts of 50%. We do everything we can to avoid increasing subscriptions to make Cadets accessible for all, and we are always happy to offer funded places where there is a local need. With our fundraising efforts we have managed to keep subscriptions at the same level as last year.

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The Folkestone and Hythe Unit of the Sea Cadet Corps Trustees’ Report (Continued) For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

The UMT are currently trying to get a parents and supporters association in place to enable us to undertake more fund-raising opportunities in the future.

Our current long-term goal is to replace the two porta cabins that house the wardroom and offices. They are already past their useful life expectancy and are expensive to heat in the winter.

Replacing these will hopefully mean more outdoor space and more energy efficient offices.

It is not a task that can be completed overnight, but we are in the process of applying for various funding to hopefully get the project up and running.

Thanks

We would like to give special thanks to our main fundraisers and donators last year.

Mr Ricky McNiece - Took on a sponsored bike ride and raised £1,326.52. Mrs Judith Murray – Makes regular donations in memory of her husband, John Murray. Mr Neil Lomas – Holds donation buckets at his hotel, this brought in £116.15.

Wine and Wisdom Fundraiser - This event raised over £800 so thank you to all organisers and attendees.

The Marine Officers Club - Continued their ongoing support with a £200 donation. Engaging Kent CIC - Donated £1,000 so we can continue our ongoing work with the Cadets. Globe and Laurel - Continued their ongoing support with a £100 donation.

The James Morris Educational Fund - Continued their ongoing support with a £250 donation. And finally, the awards night raffle raised over £200

These generous donations allow us to keep the unit open and provide the best possible experience for our cadets.

The trustees declare that they have approve the trustees’ report above.

Hannah Simpson

Treasurer

30 January 2025

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The Folkestone and Hythe Unit of the Sea Cadet Corps

Independent Examiner’s Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (the “Trust”) for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust, 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 Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 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 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:

• accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or

• 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.

Steven Wanstall FCCA

62 Astley Avenue Dover Kent CT16 2PP

30 January 2025

Page 5

The Folkestone and Hythe Unit of the Sea Cadet Corps Income and Expenditure Account For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
2023/24 2023/24 2023/24 2022/23
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
£ £ £ £
Receipts
Donations, legacies and similar income
Subscriptions 9,580.00 - 9,580.00 8,357.50
Fundraising and donations 5,857.05 - 5,857.05 876.65
Food van rental 2,400.00 - 2,400.00 2,400.00
Trailer rental - - - 60.00
Rental from church 4,260.00 - 4,260.00 -
Course fees 155.00 - 155.00 2,520.75
MSSC unit use and travel 1,213.06 - 1,213.06 1,627.32
Hythe Venetian Fete 250.00 - 250.00 -
Gift Aid 1,597.53 - 1,597.53 1,629.38
25,312.64 - 25,312.64 17,471.60
Grants
Grants 3,330.15 1,692.35 5,022.50 5,584.24
Investment income
Bank interest 147.84 - 147.84 22.32
Total Gross Income & Receipts 28,790.63 1,692.35 30,482.98 23,078.16
Charitable Payments
Go Cardless/Sum Up Fees 196.51 - 196.51 179.68
Activities 63.60 - 63.60 458.00
Course Fees 155.00 - 155.00 2,007.25
Fuel 729.02 - 729.02 1,304.46
Events 110.49 - 110.49 632.39
Printing, Postage and Stationery 18.29 - 18.29 641.85
Building Maintenance 1,272.84 7.58 1,280.42 1,375.77
Vehicle Maintenance, RFT & MOT 614.64 - 614.64 1,389.22
Branded Clothing 246.86 - 246.86 322.69
Cadet Equipment - 4,946.82 4,946.82 -
Unit Assets - - - 192.99
Car Park Rental 25.00 - 25.00 25.00
Water Rates 359.97 - 359.97 251.28
Electricity 4,627.35 - 4,627.35 3,674.99
Gas 1,773.52 - 1,773.52 3,721.21
Telephone and Broadband 730.40 - 730.40 586.20
Insurances 3,216.37 - 3,216.37 3,370.53
ICO Fees 35.00 - 35.00 35.00
Other 759.98 - 759.98 302.99
Total Gross Expenditure & Payments 14,934.84 4,954.40 19,889.24 20,471.50
Net of (payments) / receipts 13,855.79 (3,262.05) 10,593.74 2,606.66
Cash funds last year 12,168.11 7,081.17 19,249.28 16,642.62
Cash funds this year 26,023.90 3,819.12 29,843.02 19,249.28
----- End of picture text -----

Page 6

The Folkestone and Hythe Unit of the Sea Cadet Corps Statement of Assets and Liabilities As at 31 March 2024

Statement of Assets and Liabilites As at 31 March 2024
Cash funds Bank current account Bank savings account Cash in hand	2023/24 2023/24 Unrestricted Restricted 5,729.41 3,819.12 20,000.00 - 294.49 -	2023/24 Total 9,548.53 20,000.00 294.49	2022/23 Total 7,026.84 11,753.79 468.65
Total cash funds	26,023.90 3,819.12	29,843.02	19,249.28
Non-monetary assets for charity’s own use Property - Ross Way, Folkestone Trailers and rowing boats Minibuses	310,000.00 - 1,690.00 - 2,375.00 -	310,000.00 1,690.00 2,375.00	310,000.00 1,690.00 2,375.00
Total	314,065.00 -	314,065.00	314,065.00
Liabilities None	- -	-	-
Total	- -	-	-

Contingent liabilities and future obligations - None

The above receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities were approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Hannah Simpson Treasurer

30 January 2025

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