Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch
Annual Report 2023
Branch Registered Charity No: 506701
Contents
| ontents | |
|---|---|
| Page | |
| Notce of Meetng | 1 |
| List of Ofcers | 2 |
| Objects and Public Benefts Statement | 3 - 4 |
| Minutes of the Annual General Meetng Held on Wednesday, 5thJuly 2023 | 5 - 6 |
| at 6.30pm at The Crescent Christan Centre, Newtown, Powys | |
| RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Chairman’s Report 2023 | 7 |
| RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Treasurer’s Report 2023 | 8 |
| RSPCA Inspectorate Mid Wales Group Annual Report 2023 | 9 |
| AGM Agenda 2023 | 10 |
| Accounts for Year Ended 31 December 2023 | 11 - 21 |
Declaration
The report is approved as an accurate statement of our activities. Signed by Jenny Lloyd, Secretary/Chairperson
…………………………………………………… Dated: 6[th] June 2024
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
Page i of i
Notice of Branch Annual General Meeting 2023
Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
Branch Registered Charity No 506701
To all members of the RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch The Regional Representative Assistant Director Field Operations (North) National Welfare Manager RSPCA Cymru Wales
The Head of Branches Department & Branch Partnership Manager - Wales and West Midlands
Dear Sir/Madam
Please note that the Annual General Meeting for the Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch of the RSPCA had been arranged for:
Tuesday, 2[nd] July 2024 at 7pm at
The Crescent Christian Centre, Dolguan West, Milford Road, Newtown SY16 2DZ
Agenda
-
Opening address and welcome
-
Apologies for absence
-
Approval of minutes of the 2022 AGM held on 5[th] July 2023
-
Matters arising
-
To receive the accounts for the financial year 2023
-
Appointment of the independent examiner
-
To receive the committee’s report contained in the Annual Report
-
Committee election
-
Group inspectorate report contained in the Annual Report
-
Consideration of resolutions
-
Closing remarks
If you wish to attend via video conference, please contact me before Monday, 1[st] July 2024 with your email address so I can send you a link to join our meeting via video.
Resolutions and nominations for the committee election must be received by the branch secretary by Monday, 17[th] June 2024. Nomination forms are available from the secretary.
The branch accounts for the financial year 2023 together with the branch report for the AGM are available to branch members free of charge and can be requested from the branch secretary.
Note: The only branch members entitled to propose resolutions, speak, vote, and be counted in the quorum at the meeting are those whose names were entered in the list of branch members more than three months before the date of the meeting.
Margaret McInally, Branch Minutes Secretary 1[st] June 2024 Ms Margaret McInally, 10 Brynmor Parc, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3GA Telephone 01686 627208, Email margaretmcinally@myphone.coop
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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Trustees & Roles 2023
List of Trustees Elected 2023
Vikki Hunt, Committee Member Jenny Lloyd, Secretary/Chairperson Margaret McInally, Minutes Secretary Andy McVicar, Committee Member Sue McVicar, Treasurer Deborah Shaw, Committee Member
Bankers
HSBC, 1 Broad Street, The Cross, Newtown SY16 2LX
Accountants
DRE, Rosemount, The Bank, Newtown SY16 2AB
Principal Address
Garth Cottage, Fachwen, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3LN Contact Email: margaretmcinally@myphone.coop
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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Branch Objects, Main Activities and Achievements 2023
Objects and Public Benefit Statement
We confirm we have complied with the duty under the Charities Act 2016 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Commission.
The RSPCA Montgomeryshire Radnor Branch is an unincorporated charitable association and a separately registered branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (the Society), carrying out its direct animal welfare work in the areas of Powys - Montgomeryshire and Radnor.
The objects of the Branch are to promote the work and objects of the Society - to promote kindness and to prevent or suppress cruelty to animals by all lawful means - with particular reference to the area of the Branch, in accordance with the policies of the Society.
The trustees have reviewed the outcomes and achievements of our objectives and activities for the year, to ensure they remain focused on our charitable aims, and continue to deliver benefits to the public. We have complied with the duty under the Charities Act 2016 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Commission 4.
Advancement of Animal Welfare
Under the Charities Act 2016, the advancement of animal welfare is recognised as a distinct statutory charitable purpose. This legislation and the Animal Welfare Act of the same year indicate an acceptance by society that treating living creatures with compassion has a moral benefit for the public as a whole. Whilst this public benefit is clear, it is sometimes difficult to quantify and must be balanced against any detriment.
The Branch’s animal welfare work, although local in nature, benefits society at large and also aims to help people in need with the care of their animals. The following sections of this report highlight the Branch’s main activities and demonstrates the benefit provided to the public. All our charitable activities, as described in more detail in the following pages of this report, focus on promoting kindness and preventing or suppressing cruelty to animals and are undertaken to further these purposes for the public benefit.
Charitable Activities Pursued for the Public Benefit
-
The Society’s Inspectorate (as well as providing education, information and advice) rescues animals in distress and enforces laws against the cruel mistreatment of animals in England and Wales by bringing prosecutions. This work is key to ‘the prevention or suppression of cruelty’ part of the RSPCA objects, and promotes humane sentiments towards animals which involves moral benefit to humankind as a whole.
-
We respond to enquiries (both direct and via the Society’s national call centre) from the public about animal welfare and neutering needs locally. We are able to provide subsidised veterinary treatment for animals which are sick or injured and belong to local people on low incomes. We do this through a voucher scheme and direct financial assistance via the relevant veterinary practice used by the recipient. This work benefits those on means tested benefits by giving them financial help to obtain care for companion animals in need of veterinary treatment.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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Branch Objects, Main Activities and Achievements 2023
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The RSPCA, in conjunction with Cats Protection is providing a subsidised neutering and microchipping scheme for cats, available to families on low incomes across Wales. In addition, we still run a cat neutering scheme on a local housing estate which has an expanding cat population offering assistance to those on low incomes, together with our ongoing scheme, promoted by a local veterinary practice, to provide subsidised neutering of farm cats and another veterinary practice is still promoting our subsidised dog neutering scheme, once again available to those on low incomes/benefits.
-
Our Chairperson had secured a £10,000 grant received via the Wales Regional Board to which enabled us in 2022/2023 to provide free farm dog neutering organised through local vets in Powys.
These schemes all help to control dog/cat populations through neutering and benefit those on means tested incomes by giving them financial help to neuter and microchip companion animals, thereby promoting responsible pet ownership.
-
Our volunteers regularly provide assistance with the trapping of feral cats to enable neutering and welfare checks. One of our members has been concentrating efforts in and around the Welshpool area where expanding feral cat populations have been identified.
-
We provide volunteering opportunities for those who wish to support our work, including trusteeship and fundraising. This benefits local people by providing the possibility of doing work which is compassionate and rewarding.
Plans for the Future
-
We plan to continue with the support and schemes we have already in place as indicated above however due to potential future financial restrictions, will be concentrating finances on providing help with welfare.
-
We are still attempting to recruit additional committee members, fund raising supporters, a Media Officer and Introduce the role of Education Officer
The RSPCA like other charities has experienced a reduction in donations therefore has had to undergo a restructure to reduce running costs. Volunteers and staff have worked hard to maintain the current level of service provided by the RSPCA and hope to continue to do so in the future.
Thanks for Assistance
We wish to thank all members, officers and branch supporters for all the assistance provided throughout the year.
Request for Volunteers
Unfortunately, due to the large area covered by the Montgomeryshire/Radnor Branch, we struggle to recruit volunteers. We currently require fosterers, fund raisers, additional committee support and assistance with collection and placement of feral cat neutering traps. If you are able to offer any assistance or want to participate in any way, please do not hesitate to contact us, by telephone 01686 627208, write to 10 Brynmor Parc, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3GA or email margaret.mcinally@rspca-montgomeryshireandradnor.org.uk. Many thanks and we look forward to hearing from you.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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Annual General Meeting Held on Wednesday, 5[th] July 2023 at 6.30pm The Crescent Christian Centre, Dolguan West, Milford Road, Newtown SY16 2DZ
1.0
Opening address and welcome
Actions
- 1.1 Andy Chaired the meeting on behalf of Jenny. Andy welcomed all to the meeting and thanked the members for their attendance, in particular Sarah an RSPCA member for attending via video conference.
2.0
Present/Apologies for absence
- 2.1 Andy introduced Sarah to the committee and described their roles.
Andy also thanked Louise Peatson for her past support of the committee, as at one point the Branch could not have legally operated without her membership and attendance.
2.2 Present: Gavin Bevan, Senior Branch Partnership Manager (via video link) Vikki Hunt, Committee Member Sarah Hurford, Member (via video link) Jenny Lloyd, Chairperson & Secretary (via video link) Margaret McInally, Committee Member Andy McVicar, Committee Member Sue McVicar, Treasurer Deb Shaw, Committee Member
- 2.2 Apologies and thanks to the Trustees and Branch for all their hard work over the past year, had been received from the following:
Richard Cummins, Head of Branch Partnerships (England & Wales) Sandra Fruish, Assistant Director Branches, Partnerships & Volunteering Romain de Kerckhove, RSPCA Chief Inspector, Mid Wales Group (Dyfed Powys)
3.0 Approval of the minutes of the 2021 AGM – held on Thursday 23[rd] June 2022:
- 3.1 Margaret highlighted a mistake at item 6.2, the Accountants name should have read DRE (not W R E as typed). Subject to correction of this highlighted error, all confirmed they had read the minutes and they were proposed by Deb and seconded by Vikki and all in attendance in favour.
4.0 Matters arising
-
4.1 None reported.
-
5.0 To receive the accounts for the financial year 2022
-
5.1 Sue summarised the figures from the AGM report. None at the meeting had any questions.
Andy outlined the main work of the Branch for the benefit of Sarah, highlighting the increased assistance provided for animal welfare since Covid and the £10,000 grant received towards farm dog neutering. Andy also reported the Branch receipt of a further £10,000 to continue neutering farm dogs and strays. Sarah asked how the public were aware of this scheme and Andy said through advertisements with the vets. The scheme had been very successful so far.
-
5.2 The Accounts were proposed by Margaret, seconded by Deb and all at the meeting approved.
-
6.0 Appointment of the independent examiner
Actions
- 6.1 Andy requested we continue to use DRE Accountants who the Committee had agreed to appoint at last year’s AGM. They were half the price of the previous Accountants
Annual General Meeting Held on Wednesday, 5[th] July 2023 at 6.30pm2DZ
and prepared the Accounts on time with minimal fuss for £600. They had a little more work to do to prepare the Charity Commission return. Vikki proposed, Deb seconded and all in attendance in favour.
7.0 To receive the committee’s report contained in the Annual Report
- 7.1 Andy read Jenny’s report from the AGM report. None at the meeting had any questions. Proposer Sue and seconded by Vikki.
8.0 Committee election
- 8.1 Andy distributed the voting forms on behalf of Gavin. All members in attendance completed the voting forms. Jenny had emailed her completed form ready for the meeting. The following members have stated they are prepared to stand again:
Vikki Hunt, Jenny Lloyd, Sue McVicar, Andy McVicar, Deb Shaw and Margaret McInally. All nominated members were reappointed. Louise Peatson had previously confirmed she did not want to be appointed to the Committee for the coming year.
9.0 Group inspectorate report
-
9.1 As seen in the AGM report. None at the meeting had any questions.
-
9.2 In addition, Gavin passed on his thanks to the Trustees and acknowledged the difficulties of garnering support in rural areas. Andy said Gavin is a great support for the Branch and passed on the thanks of the Committee.
10.0 Consideration of resolutions
- 10.1 None to consider.
11.0 Any Other Matters
-
11.1 Andy reported attended a meeting with the North Wales Branch Trustees, with a view to obtaining opinions on a proposal to merge the North Wales Branches. At a previous meeting the Mont/Rad Trustees had voted in favour of pursuing discussions to merge the NW Branches, however the proposal was still at an early stage. A further meeting was to be held next week.
-
Related to this, Andy said that it was a struggle to answer all RSPCA calls received by himself and Sue with public expectations that calls would be answered 24/7.
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11.2 Cat Protection (CP)/RSPCA Neutering Scheme: Still ongoing. CP were administering this scheme. The cost had risen to £10 per cat with the vets being required to sign up to the new scheme.
-
11.3 Sarah enquired how proactive the RSPCA were with regard to illegal and poor dog breeding practices. Andy said the RSCPA are very proactive in trying to prevent illegal dog breeders particularly in prohibiting the Irish connection. They were also proactive in trying to prevent the over-breeding of dogs particularly those with breathing difficulties.
12.0 Closing remarks
12.1 Margaret and Andy thanked RSPCA staff and volunteers for their help over the past year and the marvelous work they were doing.
The meeting concluded at 7.15pm
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Chairperson’s Report for 2023
Dear Supporters
I hope you have had a good year, made more enjoyable by the animals in your life, and those animals you come across each day be they pets or wild animals.
It has again been a busy year for Montgomery and Radnor Branch as the cost of living has continued to make life difficult for many people. Sue and Andy McVicar have been kept very busy with requests for assistance to pay veterinary bills, not only are individuals struggling with living costs, but veterinary bills have risen significantly. We therefore use a high proportion of our monies to cover welfare needs, this assistance makes an enormous difference to both pet guardians and the pets themselves. A great deal of work goes into communicating with vets and guardians and keeping financial record of all transactions.
We continue to promote and help with the cost of neutering, in part for owned pets and also for feral cats. We have been able to continue with our farm dog neutering scheme as the Wales Board kindly granted us another £10,000. Deb Shaw has again worked very hard in the Welshpool area trapping feral cats and taking them to be neutered. She has set up a neutering scheme on Oldford Estate in Welshpool where we pay the full costs of neutering to those on very low incomes as there has been an historic problem there with many feral cats. Again we were able to set this scheme up with financial support from The Welsh RSPCA Board.
We have taken delivery a large quantity of dog and cat foods from a branch in North Wales who have an arrangement with pet food suppliers who donate food to this branch. The North Wales branch have to cover storage and distribution costs and we have therefore contributed towards these costs. The pet food has been delivered to food banks in Welshpool and Newtown.
Due to the difficulties in finding trustees and the ever increasing demand on our services, we are in the process of merging with Wrexham Branch and possibly in the future with other branches in North Wales. We hope this will make us more resilient into the future by sharing resources and expertise and also being able to employ someone to assist with welfare calls. All members will be kept updated as this merger progresses.
I would like to say an enormous thankyou to our small band of trustees all of whom work hard on a voluntary basis to try to make life better for all animals. I have mentioned Sue, Andy and Deb. Margaret as ever has put in a lot of time keeping all our paperwork up to date, completing meeting minutes, reviewing policies and putting together this AGM report.
Finally, I would like to say a huge thankyou to all our supporters whose contributions make our work possible and make this a kinder world for all animals.
Jenny Lloyd, Secretary & Chairperson, Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch RSPCA Dated 16[th] May 2024
RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Treasurer’s Report for Financial Year 2023
It gives me pleasure to present a summary of the branch’s financial circumstances for the financial year 1st January to 31st December, 2023.
Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch received a payment of £23,094.00 from the RSPCA Door to Door Collection fund. This money has enabled us to spend £2,693.31 on the neutering of cats and dogs in our branch area.
In addition, we have run a scheme for the Neutering of Farm and stray cats at a total cost to the branch of £2,125.36 and the Farm Dog Neutering scheme to the cost of £2,510.12. In addition, we spent a further £19,696.65 on animal welfare, treating a total of 146 animals, we neutered a further 88 animals.
During the financial year we received £143.95 in donations from members of the public and organisations.
To summarise during the financial year, we received an income of £34,058.35, which included a £10,000 grant from the RSPCA Regional Group for farm dog neutering. By way of expenditure, we spent a total of £31,407.98 during the year.
At the 31st December, 2023 the assets of the charity amounted to Current account balance £37,009.21 Money Manager Account balance £5,920.78 making a total of £42,929.99
Sue McVicar Honorary Treasurer Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch RSPCA Dated June 2024
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Annual Report 2023 Inspectorate Mid Wales Group
During 2023, the Inspectorate has continued to adapt and change to new ways of working. There has been a focus on prioritisation, and ensuring that we are in a position to deal quickly with the highest priority cruelty complaints. The sheer volume of incidents reported has created a backlog of work in the past, and we needed to get to a position where we were able to respond more quickly to those suffering animals that only the RSPCA Inspectorate will attend.
We are very grateful to Jane Lewis, Sally Davies and Dylan Thomas who have worked as Animal Rescue Volunteers in our team, dealing with animal rescues, collections and transfers. This has taken pressure away from the Inspectorate and allowed us to focus more on cruelty complaints. We have also worked closely with other charities, and other agencies, so that we can share this workload and ensure that we are able to respond to the most urgent cruelty complaints.
As always, we continue to respond to reports of cruelty in the hope that we can educate and advise, at an early stage, to prevent suffering. I’m pleased to say that most of our Inspections do result in this type of intervention, however, we do of course continue to deal with some serious issues that we must refer to the courts.
Last year Inspectors in the group submitted 45 files of evidence to our prosecutions department for consideration. When there is remorse shown, and we believe that there is unlikely to be a repeat offence, we do issue cautions in order to avoid the need for prosecuting offences through the courts. However, this is not always possible, and we do sometimes need to seek a court order to protect future animals from cruel owners, and to seek disqualification orders.
Prosecution cases dealt with this year include a man and a woman from Carmathenshire who had neglected 48 dogs and 1 cat, all kept in filthy and unsuitable conditions. The dogs had matted coats and skin diseases and were kept in cramped conditions in their house - some in cages one on top of the other. The defendants did plead guilty to the offences, and were convicted of causing suffering to their animals, and also failing to ensure that the needs of their animals were met. Both defendants were handed 15 week suspended prison sentences, ordered to undertake 50 hours of unpaid work, ordered to pay £400 in costs, and were disqualified from keeping all animals for 5 years.
Some of the most distressing cases we deal with are a result of ‘non accidental injury’. These can sometimes be difficult to prove, but we are increasing our skills in these case investigations and do seek to prosecute owners who have deliberately inflicted suffering on animals. One such case was dealt with in Swansea last year, when a man punched his 7-month old French Bulldog. This was only a small dog, but it was punched to the body leading to its death just a few minutes later. The owner did plead guilty, and was sentenced to a 4 month suspended prison sentence, ordered to attend 25 days of rehabilitation activity and an 80 day alcoholic abstinence programme, as well as being ordered to undertake 50 hours of unpaid work. He was also disqualified from keeping all animals for a period of 5 years.
In addition to our 3 Animal Rescue Volunteers, we also have 6 Inspectors and 5 Animal Rescue Officers. This year Animal Rescue Officer Andrew Harris celebrated 20 years of service with the Inspectorate, whilst Inspector Gemma Cooper was married, and Inspector Holly Brown had a daughter - Amela. Holly is due back from maternity leave in June 2024.
We continue to strive to be able to respond to all of the requests for help from the RSPCA Inspectorate. This is a work in progress, and we are very grateful to our volunteer colleagues who support this work, and also to other organisations such as the Police, Fire Service, Coastguard and Local Authority. We rely so much on the work of Llys Nini staff, as well as so many veterinary surgeons, animal hospital staff, and of course to all our branch volunteers.
Thank you for all that you have done.
Romain de Kerckhove Chief Inspector Mid Wales Inspectorate Group
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Annual General Meeting Agenda 2023
-
Opening address and welcome
-
Apologies for absence
-
Approval of minutes of the 2022 AGM held on 5[th] July 2023
-
Matters arising
-
To receive the accounts for the financial years 2023
-
Appointment of the independent examiner
-
To receive the committee’s report contained in the Annual Report
-
Committee election
-
Group inspectorate report contained in the Annual Report
-
Consideration of resolutions
-
Closing remark
RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch
Annual Report 2023
Branch Registered Charity No: 506701
Contents
| ontents | |
|---|---|
| Page | |
| Notce of Meetng | 1 |
| List of Ofcers | 2 |
| Objects and Public Benefts Statement | 3 - 4 |
| Minutes of the Annual General Meetng Held on Wednesday, 5thJuly 2023 | 5 - 6 |
| at 6.30pm at The Crescent Christan Centre, Newtown, Powys | |
| RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Chairman’s Report 2023 | 7 |
| RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Treasurer’s Report 2023 | 8 |
| RSPCA Inspectorate Mid Wales Group Annual Report 2023 | 9 |
| AGM Agenda 2023 | 10 |
| Accounts for Year Ended 31 December 2023 | 11 - 21 |
Declaration
The report is approved as an accurate statement of our activities. Signed by Jenny Lloyd, Secretary/Chairperson
…………………………………………………… Dated: 6[th] June 2024
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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Notice of Branch Annual General Meeting 2023
Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
Branch Registered Charity No 506701
To all members of the RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch The Regional Representative Assistant Director Field Operations (North) National Welfare Manager RSPCA Cymru Wales
The Head of Branches Department & Branch Partnership Manager - Wales and West Midlands
Dear Sir/Madam
Please note that the Annual General Meeting for the Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch of the RSPCA had been arranged for:
Tuesday, 2[nd] July 2024 at 7pm at
The Crescent Christian Centre, Dolguan West, Milford Road, Newtown SY16 2DZ
Agenda
-
Opening address and welcome
-
Apologies for absence
-
Approval of minutes of the 2022 AGM held on 5[th] July 2023
-
Matters arising
-
To receive the accounts for the financial year 2023
-
Appointment of the independent examiner
-
To receive the committee’s report contained in the Annual Report
-
Committee election
-
Group inspectorate report contained in the Annual Report
-
Consideration of resolutions
-
Closing remarks
If you wish to attend via video conference, please contact me before Monday, 1[st] July 2024 with your email address so I can send you a link to join our meeting via video.
Resolutions and nominations for the committee election must be received by the branch secretary by Monday, 17[th] June 2024. Nomination forms are available from the secretary.
The branch accounts for the financial year 2023 together with the branch report for the AGM are available to branch members free of charge and can be requested from the branch secretary.
Note: The only branch members entitled to propose resolutions, speak, vote, and be counted in the quorum at the meeting are those whose names were entered in the list of branch members more than three months before the date of the meeting.
Margaret McInally, Branch Minutes Secretary 1[st] June 2024 Ms Margaret McInally, 10 Brynmor Parc, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3GA Telephone 01686 627208, Email margaretmcinally@myphone.coop
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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Trustees & Roles 2023
List of Trustees Elected 2023
Vikki Hunt, Committee Member Jenny Lloyd, Secretary/Chairperson Margaret McInally, Minutes Secretary Andy McVicar, Committee Member Sue McVicar, Treasurer Deborah Shaw, Committee Member
Bankers
HSBC, 1 Broad Street, The Cross, Newtown SY16 2LX
Accountants
DRE, Rosemount, The Bank, Newtown SY16 2AB
Principal Address
Garth Cottage, Fachwen, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3LN Contact Email: margaretmcinally@myphone.coop
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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Branch Objects, Main Activities and Achievements 2023
Objects and Public Benefit Statement
We confirm we have complied with the duty under the Charities Act 2016 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Commission.
The RSPCA Montgomeryshire Radnor Branch is an unincorporated charitable association and a separately registered branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (the Society), carrying out its direct animal welfare work in the areas of Powys - Montgomeryshire and Radnor.
The objects of the Branch are to promote the work and objects of the Society - to promote kindness and to prevent or suppress cruelty to animals by all lawful means - with particular reference to the area of the Branch, in accordance with the policies of the Society.
The trustees have reviewed the outcomes and achievements of our objectives and activities for the year, to ensure they remain focused on our charitable aims, and continue to deliver benefits to the public. We have complied with the duty under the Charities Act 2016 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Commission 4.
Advancement of Animal Welfare
Under the Charities Act 2016, the advancement of animal welfare is recognised as a distinct statutory charitable purpose. This legislation and the Animal Welfare Act of the same year indicate an acceptance by society that treating living creatures with compassion has a moral benefit for the public as a whole. Whilst this public benefit is clear, it is sometimes difficult to quantify and must be balanced against any detriment.
The Branch’s animal welfare work, although local in nature, benefits society at large and also aims to help people in need with the care of their animals. The following sections of this report highlight the Branch’s main activities and demonstrates the benefit provided to the public. All our charitable activities, as described in more detail in the following pages of this report, focus on promoting kindness and preventing or suppressing cruelty to animals and are undertaken to further these purposes for the public benefit.
Charitable Activities Pursued for the Public Benefit
-
The Society’s Inspectorate (as well as providing education, information and advice) rescues animals in distress and enforces laws against the cruel mistreatment of animals in England and Wales by bringing prosecutions. This work is key to ‘the prevention or suppression of cruelty’ part of the RSPCA objects, and promotes humane sentiments towards animals which involves moral benefit to humankind as a whole.
-
We respond to enquiries (both direct and via the Society’s national call centre) from the public about animal welfare and neutering needs locally. We are able to provide subsidised veterinary treatment for animals which are sick or injured and belong to local people on low incomes. We do this through a voucher scheme and direct financial assistance via the relevant veterinary practice used by the recipient. This work benefits those on means tested benefits by giving them financial help to obtain care for companion animals in need of veterinary treatment.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch - Annual Report 2023
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Branch Objects, Main Activities and Achievements 2023
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The RSPCA, in conjunction with Cats Protection is providing a subsidised neutering and microchipping scheme for cats, available to families on low incomes across Wales. In addition, we still run a cat neutering scheme on a local housing estate which has an expanding cat population offering assistance to those on low incomes, together with our ongoing scheme, promoted by a local veterinary practice, to provide subsidised neutering of farm cats and another veterinary practice is still promoting our subsidised dog neutering scheme, once again available to those on low incomes/benefits.
-
Our Chairperson had secured a £10,000 grant received via the Wales Regional Board to which enabled us in 2022/2023 to provide free farm dog neutering organised through local vets in Powys.
These schemes all help to control dog/cat populations through neutering and benefit those on means tested incomes by giving them financial help to neuter and microchip companion animals, thereby promoting responsible pet ownership.
-
Our volunteers regularly provide assistance with the trapping of feral cats to enable neutering and welfare checks. One of our members has been concentrating efforts in and around the Welshpool area where expanding feral cat populations have been identified.
-
We provide volunteering opportunities for those who wish to support our work, including trusteeship and fundraising. This benefits local people by providing the possibility of doing work which is compassionate and rewarding.
Plans for the Future
-
We plan to continue with the support and schemes we have already in place as indicated above however due to potential future financial restrictions, will be concentrating finances on providing help with welfare.
-
We are still attempting to recruit additional committee members, fund raising supporters, a Media Officer and Introduce the role of Education Officer
The RSPCA like other charities has experienced a reduction in donations therefore has had to undergo a restructure to reduce running costs. Volunteers and staff have worked hard to maintain the current level of service provided by the RSPCA and hope to continue to do so in the future.
Thanks for Assistance
We wish to thank all members, officers and branch supporters for all the assistance provided throughout the year.
Request for Volunteers
Unfortunately, due to the large area covered by the Montgomeryshire/Radnor Branch, we struggle to recruit volunteers. We currently require fosterers, fund raisers, additional committee support and assistance with collection and placement of feral cat neutering traps. If you are able to offer any assistance or want to participate in any way, please do not hesitate to contact us, by telephone 01686 627208, write to 10 Brynmor Parc, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3GA or email margaret.mcinally@rspca-montgomeryshireandradnor.org.uk. Many thanks and we look forward to hearing from you.
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Annual General Meeting Held on Wednesday, 5[th] July 2023 at 6.30pm The Crescent Christian Centre, Dolguan West, Milford Road, Newtown SY16 2DZ
1.0
Opening address and welcome
Actions
- 1.1 Andy Chaired the meeting on behalf of Jenny. Andy welcomed all to the meeting and thanked the members for their attendance, in particular Sarah an RSPCA member for attending via video conference.
2.0
Present/Apologies for absence
- 2.1 Andy introduced Sarah to the committee and described their roles.
Andy also thanked Louise Peatson for her past support of the committee, as at one point the Branch could not have legally operated without her membership and attendance.
2.2 Present: Gavin Bevan, Senior Branch Partnership Manager (via video link) Vikki Hunt, Committee Member Sarah Hurford, Member (via video link) Jenny Lloyd, Chairperson & Secretary (via video link) Margaret McInally, Committee Member Andy McVicar, Committee Member Sue McVicar, Treasurer Deb Shaw, Committee Member
- 2.2 Apologies and thanks to the Trustees and Branch for all their hard work over the past year, had been received from the following:
Richard Cummins, Head of Branch Partnerships (England & Wales) Sandra Fruish, Assistant Director Branches, Partnerships & Volunteering Romain de Kerckhove, RSPCA Chief Inspector, Mid Wales Group (Dyfed Powys)
3.0 Approval of the minutes of the 2021 AGM – held on Thursday 23[rd] June 2022:
- 3.1 Margaret highlighted a mistake at item 6.2, the Accountants name should have read DRE (not W R E as typed). Subject to correction of this highlighted error, all confirmed they had read the minutes and they were proposed by Deb and seconded by Vikki and all in attendance in favour.
4.0 Matters arising
-
4.1 None reported.
-
5.0 To receive the accounts for the financial year 2022
-
5.1 Sue summarised the figures from the AGM report. None at the meeting had any questions.
Andy outlined the main work of the Branch for the benefit of Sarah, highlighting the increased assistance provided for animal welfare since Covid and the £10,000 grant received towards farm dog neutering. Andy also reported the Branch receipt of a further £10,000 to continue neutering farm dogs and strays. Sarah asked how the public were aware of this scheme and Andy said through advertisements with the vets. The scheme had been very successful so far.
-
5.2 The Accounts were proposed by Margaret, seconded by Deb and all at the meeting approved.
-
6.0 Appointment of the independent examiner
Actions
- 6.1 Andy requested we continue to use DRE Accountants who the Committee had agreed to appoint at last year’s AGM. They were half the price of the previous Accountants
Annual General Meeting Held on Wednesday, 5[th] July 2023 at 6.30pm2DZ
and prepared the Accounts on time with minimal fuss for £600. They had a little more work to do to prepare the Charity Commission return. Vikki proposed, Deb seconded and all in attendance in favour.
7.0 To receive the committee’s report contained in the Annual Report
- 7.1 Andy read Jenny’s report from the AGM report. None at the meeting had any questions. Proposer Sue and seconded by Vikki.
8.0 Committee election
- 8.1 Andy distributed the voting forms on behalf of Gavin. All members in attendance completed the voting forms. Jenny had emailed her completed form ready for the meeting. The following members have stated they are prepared to stand again:
Vikki Hunt, Jenny Lloyd, Sue McVicar, Andy McVicar, Deb Shaw and Margaret McInally. All nominated members were reappointed. Louise Peatson had previously confirmed she did not want to be appointed to the Committee for the coming year.
9.0 Group inspectorate report
-
9.1 As seen in the AGM report. None at the meeting had any questions.
-
9.2 In addition, Gavin passed on his thanks to the Trustees and acknowledged the difficulties of garnering support in rural areas. Andy said Gavin is a great support for the Branch and passed on the thanks of the Committee.
10.0 Consideration of resolutions
- 10.1 None to consider.
11.0 Any Other Matters
-
11.1 Andy reported attended a meeting with the North Wales Branch Trustees, with a view to obtaining opinions on a proposal to merge the North Wales Branches. At a previous meeting the Mont/Rad Trustees had voted in favour of pursuing discussions to merge the NW Branches, however the proposal was still at an early stage. A further meeting was to be held next week.
-
Related to this, Andy said that it was a struggle to answer all RSPCA calls received by himself and Sue with public expectations that calls would be answered 24/7.
-
11.2 Cat Protection (CP)/RSPCA Neutering Scheme: Still ongoing. CP were administering this scheme. The cost had risen to £10 per cat with the vets being required to sign up to the new scheme.
-
11.3 Sarah enquired how proactive the RSPCA were with regard to illegal and poor dog breeding practices. Andy said the RSCPA are very proactive in trying to prevent illegal dog breeders particularly in prohibiting the Irish connection. They were also proactive in trying to prevent the over-breeding of dogs particularly those with breathing difficulties.
12.0 Closing remarks
12.1 Margaret and Andy thanked RSPCA staff and volunteers for their help over the past year and the marvelous work they were doing.
The meeting concluded at 7.15pm
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Chairperson’s Report for 2023
Dear Supporters
I hope you have had a good year, made more enjoyable by the animals in your life, and those animals you come across each day be they pets or wild animals.
It has again been a busy year for Montgomery and Radnor Branch as the cost of living has continued to make life difficult for many people. Sue and Andy McVicar have been kept very busy with requests for assistance to pay veterinary bills, not only are individuals struggling with living costs, but veterinary bills have risen significantly. We therefore use a high proportion of our monies to cover welfare needs, this assistance makes an enormous difference to both pet guardians and the pets themselves. A great deal of work goes into communicating with vets and guardians and keeping financial record of all transactions.
We continue to promote and help with the cost of neutering, in part for owned pets and also for feral cats. We have been able to continue with our farm dog neutering scheme as the Wales Board kindly granted us another £10,000. Deb Shaw has again worked very hard in the Welshpool area trapping feral cats and taking them to be neutered. She has set up a neutering scheme on Oldford Estate in Welshpool where we pay the full costs of neutering to those on very low incomes as there has been an historic problem there with many feral cats. Again we were able to set this scheme up with financial support from The Welsh RSPCA Board.
We have taken delivery a large quantity of dog and cat foods from a branch in North Wales who have an arrangement with pet food suppliers who donate food to this branch. The North Wales branch have to cover storage and distribution costs and we have therefore contributed towards these costs. The pet food has been delivered to food banks in Welshpool and Newtown.
Due to the difficulties in finding trustees and the ever increasing demand on our services, we are in the process of merging with Wrexham Branch and possibly in the future with other branches in North Wales. We hope this will make us more resilient into the future by sharing resources and expertise and also being able to employ someone to assist with welfare calls. All members will be kept updated as this merger progresses.
I would like to say an enormous thankyou to our small band of trustees all of whom work hard on a voluntary basis to try to make life better for all animals. I have mentioned Sue, Andy and Deb. Margaret as ever has put in a lot of time keeping all our paperwork up to date, completing meeting minutes, reviewing policies and putting together this AGM report.
Finally, I would like to say a huge thankyou to all our supporters whose contributions make our work possible and make this a kinder world for all animals.
Jenny Lloyd, Secretary & Chairperson, Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch RSPCA Dated 16[th] May 2024
RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Treasurer’s Report for Financial Year 2023
It gives me pleasure to present a summary of the branch’s financial circumstances for the financial year 1st January to 31st December, 2023.
Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch received a payment of £23,094.00 from the RSPCA Door to Door Collection fund. This money has enabled us to spend £2,693.31 on the neutering of cats and dogs in our branch area.
In addition, we have run a scheme for the Neutering of Farm and stray cats at a total cost to the branch of £2,125.36 and the Farm Dog Neutering scheme to the cost of £2,510.12. In addition, we spent a further £19,696.65 on animal welfare, treating a total of 146 animals, we neutered a further 88 animals.
During the financial year we received £143.95 in donations from members of the public and organisations.
To summarise during the financial year, we received an income of £34,058.35, which included a £10,000 grant from the RSPCA Regional Group for farm dog neutering. By way of expenditure, we spent a total of £31,407.98 during the year.
At the 31st December, 2023 the assets of the charity amounted to Current account balance £37,009.21 Money Manager Account balance £5,920.78 making a total of £42,929.99
Sue McVicar Honorary Treasurer Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch RSPCA Dated June 2024
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Annual Report 2023 Inspectorate Mid Wales Group
During 2023, the Inspectorate has continued to adapt and change to new ways of working. There has been a focus on prioritisation, and ensuring that we are in a position to deal quickly with the highest priority cruelty complaints. The sheer volume of incidents reported has created a backlog of work in the past, and we needed to get to a position where we were able to respond more quickly to those suffering animals that only the RSPCA Inspectorate will attend.
We are very grateful to Jane Lewis, Sally Davies and Dylan Thomas who have worked as Animal Rescue Volunteers in our team, dealing with animal rescues, collections and transfers. This has taken pressure away from the Inspectorate and allowed us to focus more on cruelty complaints. We have also worked closely with other charities, and other agencies, so that we can share this workload and ensure that we are able to respond to the most urgent cruelty complaints.
As always, we continue to respond to reports of cruelty in the hope that we can educate and advise, at an early stage, to prevent suffering. I’m pleased to say that most of our Inspections do result in this type of intervention, however, we do of course continue to deal with some serious issues that we must refer to the courts.
Last year Inspectors in the group submitted 45 files of evidence to our prosecutions department for consideration. When there is remorse shown, and we believe that there is unlikely to be a repeat offence, we do issue cautions in order to avoid the need for prosecuting offences through the courts. However, this is not always possible, and we do sometimes need to seek a court order to protect future animals from cruel owners, and to seek disqualification orders.
Prosecution cases dealt with this year include a man and a woman from Carmathenshire who had neglected 48 dogs and 1 cat, all kept in filthy and unsuitable conditions. The dogs had matted coats and skin diseases and were kept in cramped conditions in their house - some in cages one on top of the other. The defendants did plead guilty to the offences, and were convicted of causing suffering to their animals, and also failing to ensure that the needs of their animals were met. Both defendants were handed 15 week suspended prison sentences, ordered to undertake 50 hours of unpaid work, ordered to pay £400 in costs, and were disqualified from keeping all animals for 5 years.
Some of the most distressing cases we deal with are a result of ‘non accidental injury’. These can sometimes be difficult to prove, but we are increasing our skills in these case investigations and do seek to prosecute owners who have deliberately inflicted suffering on animals. One such case was dealt with in Swansea last year, when a man punched his 7-month old French Bulldog. This was only a small dog, but it was punched to the body leading to its death just a few minutes later. The owner did plead guilty, and was sentenced to a 4 month suspended prison sentence, ordered to attend 25 days of rehabilitation activity and an 80 day alcoholic abstinence programme, as well as being ordered to undertake 50 hours of unpaid work. He was also disqualified from keeping all animals for a period of 5 years.
In addition to our 3 Animal Rescue Volunteers, we also have 6 Inspectors and 5 Animal Rescue Officers. This year Animal Rescue Officer Andrew Harris celebrated 20 years of service with the Inspectorate, whilst Inspector Gemma Cooper was married, and Inspector Holly Brown had a daughter - Amela. Holly is due back from maternity leave in June 2024.
We continue to strive to be able to respond to all of the requests for help from the RSPCA Inspectorate. This is a work in progress, and we are very grateful to our volunteer colleagues who support this work, and also to other organisations such as the Police, Fire Service, Coastguard and Local Authority. We rely so much on the work of Llys Nini staff, as well as so many veterinary surgeons, animal hospital staff, and of course to all our branch volunteers.
Thank you for all that you have done.
Romain de Kerckhove Chief Inspector Mid Wales Inspectorate Group
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Annual General Meeting Agenda 2023
-
Opening address and welcome
-
Apologies for absence
-
Approval of minutes of the 2022 AGM held on 5[th] July 2023
-
Matters arising
-
To receive the accounts for the financial years 2023
-
Appointment of the independent examiner
-
To receive the committee’s report contained in the Annual Report
-
Committee election
-
Group inspectorate report contained in the Annual Report
-
Consideration of resolutions
-
Closing remark
RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch
Annual Report 2023
Branch Registered Charity No: 506701
Contents
| ontents | |
|---|---|
| Page | |
| Notce of Meetng | 1 |
| List of Ofcers | 2 |
| Objects and Public Benefts Statement | 3 - 4 |
| Minutes of the Annual General Meetng Held on Wednesday, 5thJuly 2023 | 5 - 6 |
| at 6.30pm at The Crescent Christan Centre, Newtown, Powys | |
| RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Chairman’s Report 2023 | 7 |
| RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Treasurer’s Report 2023 | 8 |
| RSPCA Inspectorate Mid Wales Group Annual Report 2023 | 9 |
| AGM Agenda 2023 | 10 |
| Accounts for Year Ended 31 December 2023 | 11 - 21 |
Declaration
The report is approved as an accurate statement of our activities. Signed by Jenny Lloyd, Secretary/Chairperson
…………………………………………………… Dated: 6[th] June 2024
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Notice of Branch Annual General Meeting 2023
Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
Branch Registered Charity No 506701
To all members of the RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch The Regional Representative Assistant Director Field Operations (North) National Welfare Manager RSPCA Cymru Wales
The Head of Branches Department & Branch Partnership Manager - Wales and West Midlands
Dear Sir/Madam
Please note that the Annual General Meeting for the Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch of the RSPCA had been arranged for:
Tuesday, 2[nd] July 2024 at 7pm at
The Crescent Christian Centre, Dolguan West, Milford Road, Newtown SY16 2DZ
Agenda
-
Opening address and welcome
-
Apologies for absence
-
Approval of minutes of the 2022 AGM held on 5[th] July 2023
-
Matters arising
-
To receive the accounts for the financial year 2023
-
Appointment of the independent examiner
-
To receive the committee’s report contained in the Annual Report
-
Committee election
-
Group inspectorate report contained in the Annual Report
-
Consideration of resolutions
-
Closing remarks
If you wish to attend via video conference, please contact me before Monday, 1[st] July 2024 with your email address so I can send you a link to join our meeting via video.
Resolutions and nominations for the committee election must be received by the branch secretary by Monday, 17[th] June 2024. Nomination forms are available from the secretary.
The branch accounts for the financial year 2023 together with the branch report for the AGM are available to branch members free of charge and can be requested from the branch secretary.
Note: The only branch members entitled to propose resolutions, speak, vote, and be counted in the quorum at the meeting are those whose names were entered in the list of branch members more than three months before the date of the meeting.
Margaret McInally, Branch Minutes Secretary 1[st] June 2024 Ms Margaret McInally, 10 Brynmor Parc, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3GA Telephone 01686 627208, Email margaretmcinally@myphone.coop
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Trustees & Roles 2023
List of Trustees Elected 2023
Vikki Hunt, Committee Member Jenny Lloyd, Secretary/Chairperson Margaret McInally, Minutes Secretary Andy McVicar, Committee Member Sue McVicar, Treasurer Deborah Shaw, Committee Member
Bankers
HSBC, 1 Broad Street, The Cross, Newtown SY16 2LX
Accountants
DRE, Rosemount, The Bank, Newtown SY16 2AB
Principal Address
Garth Cottage, Fachwen, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3LN Contact Email: margaretmcinally@myphone.coop
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Branch Objects, Main Activities and Achievements 2023
Objects and Public Benefit Statement
We confirm we have complied with the duty under the Charities Act 2016 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Commission.
The RSPCA Montgomeryshire Radnor Branch is an unincorporated charitable association and a separately registered branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (the Society), carrying out its direct animal welfare work in the areas of Powys - Montgomeryshire and Radnor.
The objects of the Branch are to promote the work and objects of the Society - to promote kindness and to prevent or suppress cruelty to animals by all lawful means - with particular reference to the area of the Branch, in accordance with the policies of the Society.
The trustees have reviewed the outcomes and achievements of our objectives and activities for the year, to ensure they remain focused on our charitable aims, and continue to deliver benefits to the public. We have complied with the duty under the Charities Act 2016 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Commission 4.
Advancement of Animal Welfare
Under the Charities Act 2016, the advancement of animal welfare is recognised as a distinct statutory charitable purpose. This legislation and the Animal Welfare Act of the same year indicate an acceptance by society that treating living creatures with compassion has a moral benefit for the public as a whole. Whilst this public benefit is clear, it is sometimes difficult to quantify and must be balanced against any detriment.
The Branch’s animal welfare work, although local in nature, benefits society at large and also aims to help people in need with the care of their animals. The following sections of this report highlight the Branch’s main activities and demonstrates the benefit provided to the public. All our charitable activities, as described in more detail in the following pages of this report, focus on promoting kindness and preventing or suppressing cruelty to animals and are undertaken to further these purposes for the public benefit.
Charitable Activities Pursued for the Public Benefit
-
The Society’s Inspectorate (as well as providing education, information and advice) rescues animals in distress and enforces laws against the cruel mistreatment of animals in England and Wales by bringing prosecutions. This work is key to ‘the prevention or suppression of cruelty’ part of the RSPCA objects, and promotes humane sentiments towards animals which involves moral benefit to humankind as a whole.
-
We respond to enquiries (both direct and via the Society’s national call centre) from the public about animal welfare and neutering needs locally. We are able to provide subsidised veterinary treatment for animals which are sick or injured and belong to local people on low incomes. We do this through a voucher scheme and direct financial assistance via the relevant veterinary practice used by the recipient. This work benefits those on means tested benefits by giving them financial help to obtain care for companion animals in need of veterinary treatment.
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Branch Objects, Main Activities and Achievements 2023
-
The RSPCA, in conjunction with Cats Protection is providing a subsidised neutering and microchipping scheme for cats, available to families on low incomes across Wales. In addition, we still run a cat neutering scheme on a local housing estate which has an expanding cat population offering assistance to those on low incomes, together with our ongoing scheme, promoted by a local veterinary practice, to provide subsidised neutering of farm cats and another veterinary practice is still promoting our subsidised dog neutering scheme, once again available to those on low incomes/benefits.
-
Our Chairperson had secured a £10,000 grant received via the Wales Regional Board to which enabled us in 2022/2023 to provide free farm dog neutering organised through local vets in Powys.
These schemes all help to control dog/cat populations through neutering and benefit those on means tested incomes by giving them financial help to neuter and microchip companion animals, thereby promoting responsible pet ownership.
-
Our volunteers regularly provide assistance with the trapping of feral cats to enable neutering and welfare checks. One of our members has been concentrating efforts in and around the Welshpool area where expanding feral cat populations have been identified.
-
We provide volunteering opportunities for those who wish to support our work, including trusteeship and fundraising. This benefits local people by providing the possibility of doing work which is compassionate and rewarding.
Plans for the Future
-
We plan to continue with the support and schemes we have already in place as indicated above however due to potential future financial restrictions, will be concentrating finances on providing help with welfare.
-
We are still attempting to recruit additional committee members, fund raising supporters, a Media Officer and Introduce the role of Education Officer
The RSPCA like other charities has experienced a reduction in donations therefore has had to undergo a restructure to reduce running costs. Volunteers and staff have worked hard to maintain the current level of service provided by the RSPCA and hope to continue to do so in the future.
Thanks for Assistance
We wish to thank all members, officers and branch supporters for all the assistance provided throughout the year.
Request for Volunteers
Unfortunately, due to the large area covered by the Montgomeryshire/Radnor Branch, we struggle to recruit volunteers. We currently require fosterers, fund raisers, additional committee support and assistance with collection and placement of feral cat neutering traps. If you are able to offer any assistance or want to participate in any way, please do not hesitate to contact us, by telephone 01686 627208, write to 10 Brynmor Parc, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3GA or email margaret.mcinally@rspca-montgomeryshireandradnor.org.uk. Many thanks and we look forward to hearing from you.
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Annual General Meeting Held on Wednesday, 5[th] July 2023 at 6.30pm The Crescent Christian Centre, Dolguan West, Milford Road, Newtown SY16 2DZ
1.0
Opening address and welcome
Actions
- 1.1 Andy Chaired the meeting on behalf of Jenny. Andy welcomed all to the meeting and thanked the members for their attendance, in particular Sarah an RSPCA member for attending via video conference.
2.0
Present/Apologies for absence
- 2.1 Andy introduced Sarah to the committee and described their roles.
Andy also thanked Louise Peatson for her past support of the committee, as at one point the Branch could not have legally operated without her membership and attendance.
2.2 Present: Gavin Bevan, Senior Branch Partnership Manager (via video link) Vikki Hunt, Committee Member Sarah Hurford, Member (via video link) Jenny Lloyd, Chairperson & Secretary (via video link) Margaret McInally, Committee Member Andy McVicar, Committee Member Sue McVicar, Treasurer Deb Shaw, Committee Member
- 2.2 Apologies and thanks to the Trustees and Branch for all their hard work over the past year, had been received from the following:
Richard Cummins, Head of Branch Partnerships (England & Wales) Sandra Fruish, Assistant Director Branches, Partnerships & Volunteering Romain de Kerckhove, RSPCA Chief Inspector, Mid Wales Group (Dyfed Powys)
3.0 Approval of the minutes of the 2021 AGM – held on Thursday 23[rd] June 2022:
- 3.1 Margaret highlighted a mistake at item 6.2, the Accountants name should have read DRE (not W R E as typed). Subject to correction of this highlighted error, all confirmed they had read the minutes and they were proposed by Deb and seconded by Vikki and all in attendance in favour.
4.0 Matters arising
-
4.1 None reported.
-
5.0 To receive the accounts for the financial year 2022
-
5.1 Sue summarised the figures from the AGM report. None at the meeting had any questions.
Andy outlined the main work of the Branch for the benefit of Sarah, highlighting the increased assistance provided for animal welfare since Covid and the £10,000 grant received towards farm dog neutering. Andy also reported the Branch receipt of a further £10,000 to continue neutering farm dogs and strays. Sarah asked how the public were aware of this scheme and Andy said through advertisements with the vets. The scheme had been very successful so far.
-
5.2 The Accounts were proposed by Margaret, seconded by Deb and all at the meeting approved.
-
6.0 Appointment of the independent examiner
Actions
- 6.1 Andy requested we continue to use DRE Accountants who the Committee had agreed to appoint at last year’s AGM. They were half the price of the previous Accountants
Annual General Meeting Held on Wednesday, 5[th] July 2023 at 6.30pm2DZ
and prepared the Accounts on time with minimal fuss for £600. They had a little more work to do to prepare the Charity Commission return. Vikki proposed, Deb seconded and all in attendance in favour.
7.0 To receive the committee’s report contained in the Annual Report
- 7.1 Andy read Jenny’s report from the AGM report. None at the meeting had any questions. Proposer Sue and seconded by Vikki.
8.0 Committee election
- 8.1 Andy distributed the voting forms on behalf of Gavin. All members in attendance completed the voting forms. Jenny had emailed her completed form ready for the meeting. The following members have stated they are prepared to stand again:
Vikki Hunt, Jenny Lloyd, Sue McVicar, Andy McVicar, Deb Shaw and Margaret McInally. All nominated members were reappointed. Louise Peatson had previously confirmed she did not want to be appointed to the Committee for the coming year.
9.0 Group inspectorate report
-
9.1 As seen in the AGM report. None at the meeting had any questions.
-
9.2 In addition, Gavin passed on his thanks to the Trustees and acknowledged the difficulties of garnering support in rural areas. Andy said Gavin is a great support for the Branch and passed on the thanks of the Committee.
10.0 Consideration of resolutions
- 10.1 None to consider.
11.0 Any Other Matters
-
11.1 Andy reported attended a meeting with the North Wales Branch Trustees, with a view to obtaining opinions on a proposal to merge the North Wales Branches. At a previous meeting the Mont/Rad Trustees had voted in favour of pursuing discussions to merge the NW Branches, however the proposal was still at an early stage. A further meeting was to be held next week.
-
Related to this, Andy said that it was a struggle to answer all RSPCA calls received by himself and Sue with public expectations that calls would be answered 24/7.
-
11.2 Cat Protection (CP)/RSPCA Neutering Scheme: Still ongoing. CP were administering this scheme. The cost had risen to £10 per cat with the vets being required to sign up to the new scheme.
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11.3 Sarah enquired how proactive the RSPCA were with regard to illegal and poor dog breeding practices. Andy said the RSCPA are very proactive in trying to prevent illegal dog breeders particularly in prohibiting the Irish connection. They were also proactive in trying to prevent the over-breeding of dogs particularly those with breathing difficulties.
12.0 Closing remarks
12.1 Margaret and Andy thanked RSPCA staff and volunteers for their help over the past year and the marvelous work they were doing.
The meeting concluded at 7.15pm
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Chairperson’s Report for 2023
Dear Supporters
I hope you have had a good year, made more enjoyable by the animals in your life, and those animals you come across each day be they pets or wild animals.
It has again been a busy year for Montgomery and Radnor Branch as the cost of living has continued to make life difficult for many people. Sue and Andy McVicar have been kept very busy with requests for assistance to pay veterinary bills, not only are individuals struggling with living costs, but veterinary bills have risen significantly. We therefore use a high proportion of our monies to cover welfare needs, this assistance makes an enormous difference to both pet guardians and the pets themselves. A great deal of work goes into communicating with vets and guardians and keeping financial record of all transactions.
We continue to promote and help with the cost of neutering, in part for owned pets and also for feral cats. We have been able to continue with our farm dog neutering scheme as the Wales Board kindly granted us another £10,000. Deb Shaw has again worked very hard in the Welshpool area trapping feral cats and taking them to be neutered. She has set up a neutering scheme on Oldford Estate in Welshpool where we pay the full costs of neutering to those on very low incomes as there has been an historic problem there with many feral cats. Again we were able to set this scheme up with financial support from The Welsh RSPCA Board.
We have taken delivery a large quantity of dog and cat foods from a branch in North Wales who have an arrangement with pet food suppliers who donate food to this branch. The North Wales branch have to cover storage and distribution costs and we have therefore contributed towards these costs. The pet food has been delivered to food banks in Welshpool and Newtown.
Due to the difficulties in finding trustees and the ever increasing demand on our services, we are in the process of merging with Wrexham Branch and possibly in the future with other branches in North Wales. We hope this will make us more resilient into the future by sharing resources and expertise and also being able to employ someone to assist with welfare calls. All members will be kept updated as this merger progresses.
I would like to say an enormous thankyou to our small band of trustees all of whom work hard on a voluntary basis to try to make life better for all animals. I have mentioned Sue, Andy and Deb. Margaret as ever has put in a lot of time keeping all our paperwork up to date, completing meeting minutes, reviewing policies and putting together this AGM report.
Finally, I would like to say a huge thankyou to all our supporters whose contributions make our work possible and make this a kinder world for all animals.
Jenny Lloyd, Secretary & Chairperson, Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch RSPCA Dated 16[th] May 2024
RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Treasurer’s Report for Financial Year 2023
It gives me pleasure to present a summary of the branch’s financial circumstances for the financial year 1st January to 31st December, 2023.
Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch received a payment of £23,094.00 from the RSPCA Door to Door Collection fund. This money has enabled us to spend £2,693.31 on the neutering of cats and dogs in our branch area.
In addition, we have run a scheme for the Neutering of Farm and stray cats at a total cost to the branch of £2,125.36 and the Farm Dog Neutering scheme to the cost of £2,510.12. In addition, we spent a further £19,696.65 on animal welfare, treating a total of 146 animals, we neutered a further 88 animals.
During the financial year we received £143.95 in donations from members of the public and organisations.
To summarise during the financial year, we received an income of £34,058.35, which included a £10,000 grant from the RSPCA Regional Group for farm dog neutering. By way of expenditure, we spent a total of £31,407.98 during the year.
At the 31st December, 2023 the assets of the charity amounted to Current account balance £37,009.21 Money Manager Account balance £5,920.78 making a total of £42,929.99
Sue McVicar Honorary Treasurer Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch RSPCA Dated June 2024
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Annual Report 2023 Inspectorate Mid Wales Group
During 2023, the Inspectorate has continued to adapt and change to new ways of working. There has been a focus on prioritisation, and ensuring that we are in a position to deal quickly with the highest priority cruelty complaints. The sheer volume of incidents reported has created a backlog of work in the past, and we needed to get to a position where we were able to respond more quickly to those suffering animals that only the RSPCA Inspectorate will attend.
We are very grateful to Jane Lewis, Sally Davies and Dylan Thomas who have worked as Animal Rescue Volunteers in our team, dealing with animal rescues, collections and transfers. This has taken pressure away from the Inspectorate and allowed us to focus more on cruelty complaints. We have also worked closely with other charities, and other agencies, so that we can share this workload and ensure that we are able to respond to the most urgent cruelty complaints.
As always, we continue to respond to reports of cruelty in the hope that we can educate and advise, at an early stage, to prevent suffering. I’m pleased to say that most of our Inspections do result in this type of intervention, however, we do of course continue to deal with some serious issues that we must refer to the courts.
Last year Inspectors in the group submitted 45 files of evidence to our prosecutions department for consideration. When there is remorse shown, and we believe that there is unlikely to be a repeat offence, we do issue cautions in order to avoid the need for prosecuting offences through the courts. However, this is not always possible, and we do sometimes need to seek a court order to protect future animals from cruel owners, and to seek disqualification orders.
Prosecution cases dealt with this year include a man and a woman from Carmathenshire who had neglected 48 dogs and 1 cat, all kept in filthy and unsuitable conditions. The dogs had matted coats and skin diseases and were kept in cramped conditions in their house - some in cages one on top of the other. The defendants did plead guilty to the offences, and were convicted of causing suffering to their animals, and also failing to ensure that the needs of their animals were met. Both defendants were handed 15 week suspended prison sentences, ordered to undertake 50 hours of unpaid work, ordered to pay £400 in costs, and were disqualified from keeping all animals for 5 years.
Some of the most distressing cases we deal with are a result of ‘non accidental injury’. These can sometimes be difficult to prove, but we are increasing our skills in these case investigations and do seek to prosecute owners who have deliberately inflicted suffering on animals. One such case was dealt with in Swansea last year, when a man punched his 7-month old French Bulldog. This was only a small dog, but it was punched to the body leading to its death just a few minutes later. The owner did plead guilty, and was sentenced to a 4 month suspended prison sentence, ordered to attend 25 days of rehabilitation activity and an 80 day alcoholic abstinence programme, as well as being ordered to undertake 50 hours of unpaid work. He was also disqualified from keeping all animals for a period of 5 years.
In addition to our 3 Animal Rescue Volunteers, we also have 6 Inspectors and 5 Animal Rescue Officers. This year Animal Rescue Officer Andrew Harris celebrated 20 years of service with the Inspectorate, whilst Inspector Gemma Cooper was married, and Inspector Holly Brown had a daughter - Amela. Holly is due back from maternity leave in June 2024.
We continue to strive to be able to respond to all of the requests for help from the RSPCA Inspectorate. This is a work in progress, and we are very grateful to our volunteer colleagues who support this work, and also to other organisations such as the Police, Fire Service, Coastguard and Local Authority. We rely so much on the work of Llys Nini staff, as well as so many veterinary surgeons, animal hospital staff, and of course to all our branch volunteers.
Thank you for all that you have done.
Romain de Kerckhove Chief Inspector Mid Wales Inspectorate Group
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire & Radnor Branch Annual General Meeting Agenda 2023
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Opening address and welcome
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Apologies for absence
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Approval of minutes of the 2022 AGM held on 5[th] July 2023
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Matters arising
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To receive the accounts for the financial years 2023
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Appointment of the independent examiner
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To receive the committee’s report contained in the Annual Report
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Committee election
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Group inspectorate report contained in the Annual Report
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Consideration of resolutions
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Closing remark
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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RSPCA Montgomeryshire and Radnor Branch
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