1[st] Bispham Scout & Guide Group Annual Report 2022-2023
GoodForYou
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Chairman and Group Scout Leader’s Report
The last 12 months has seen the Group continue to grow from strength to strength with membership in all Sections. Our current total membership is in excess of 180, with all sections prospering and providing countless opportunities for all members of the Group to develop and learn new skills. Looking at all the reports which follow, all sections have been very active all year in one form or another.
We are delighted to report that we have opened a Squirrel Drey, which is a new Section for new Scouting section for 4- and 5-year-olds. This is exciting times for the Group and we welcome all the Squirrels as they start upon there Scouting journey. As we write this report, we are one of 4 Dreys which have opened in the Blackpool District, so well done to all our Squirrel Leaders for making this happen.
The success of the Group would not be possible without the help of all section leaders. Our sincere thanks go to all these leaders and volunteers (who of course give their time without any recompense - whatsoever!).
A Special thanks also to all parent helpers who have assisted at meetings and events. This help is greatly appreciated by all Leaders and the Group Executive committee and long may it continue as it makes a big difference and provides that extra support to the Leaders.
We are always on the lookout for new leaders for both our Scouting and Guiding sections. If any of you, as parents, would wish to help in any way please don’t hesitate to approach the appropriate section leaders.
Our “Tuesday” club has continued to ensure that the 1st Bispham Headquarters remains in excellent condition - see the Tuesday club section of the report for the list of tasks completed. Again, on behalf of the Group Executive, we would like to thank them for the time they give and the tremendous work they do.
To offset the increased running costs of the HQ, we have been extremely successful in hiring out the facility during the day to outside organisations. We are glad to report, and see from the accounts that this year this has been our most successful yet. Sincere thanks to Eileen Sanday (our Bookings Secretary) for all her tremendously hard work in managing bookings – thank you Eileen.
From a business perspective we will carefully manage our finances to ensure that we can maintain the excellent facilities we have today in the condition we are
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enjoying today – together with some reserves, just in case. We are well aware of increased energy costs and are carefully monitoring this issue as time moves forward.
We would also wish to advise you that in the summer of 1925, the Group will celebrate its 100th anniversary, We are in the early stages of planning various events to mark this occasion – more details to follow in due course!
Finally, again many thanks to you and to anyone else/all those of you who have provided support by way of assistance at meetings/events and we look forward to welcoming you throughout 2023/24 to the variety of activities which will be organised in the coming year. We look forward to seeing everyone at these events in the coming year.
Thanks again
David Cam DL Chairman
Steve Smith Group Scout Leader
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Treasurer’s Report
The accounts this year show a positive financial surplus - this being aided significantly with over £14K income from den hire. We are up to date with claiming gift aid from HMRC and can I say a big thank you to all parents who have completed gift aid forms.
Income from subscriptions has increased as we welcome more boys and girls into the group. It was also good to see a great turn out for our annual Xmas Fair, which provided a positive return.
The running costs of the den show an increase from last year, mainly due to the annual increases and having to renew items as necessary - we are extremely aware of rising energy costs, which will impact our running costs more so in the next 12 months - we are now on the increased tariff which we estimate will see our energy costs rise to circa £4,500.00 for the next 12 months!
Our overall bank balances are healthy, but we need to ensure that we maintain a "reserve" whilst at the same time ensure we can keep the fantastic building and facilities to the high standard that it currently is.
Looking ahead, and as a Group Executive, we are and intend to closely monitor our income and expenditure to ensure we continue to be able to enjoy this facility and be able to provide Scouting and Guiding at this excellent Headquarters for years to come.
Steve Winter, Treasurer
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It’s been an exciting time this year for 1st Bispham Squirrels, we started mid-January with 11 squirrels.
We started off learning about each other and the important things about scouting, learning our promise and the squirrel wiggle dance.
We’ve had a fun filled calendar so far from crafts including Mother’s Day crafts, making Easter chocolate crispy nests, planting seeds and growing our own cress.
We held an investiture party with all parents attending and even joining in with the squirrel wiggle dance. All squirrels and leaders were invested at the party.
We have also attended our first St George’s Day event at Stanley park which we all truly enjoyed and parents attended too.
We have a fun filled programme ahead and currently have 10 squirrels with the intention to go to 12 in September.
Natalie, Gill, Mandi & Hayley Squirrel Leaders
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We begin as we always do, thinking about how it has been another busy 12 months here at 1st Bispham Beavers!
We have been working hard each Thursday night; having lots of fun, learning new things, facing challenges, and making new friends. We have also been out and about too!
Back in April we joined the whole of Blackpool District on Camp at Bibby’s Farm. We spent time on the water, grass sledged, investigated a cave bus, tried archery, lit fires, tasted yummy s’mores, sang around a campfire and so much more! It was a perfect weekend of sun, fresh air and fun as well as learning some new scouting skills. All those who attended work towards the badge criteria for the Outdoor Challenge.
In May a team of Beavers represented our Colony at the George Schofield Competition – we made our own props and bravely sang in front of a panel of judges! Thank you to those who took part.
We took part in the annual Jott Walk around Marton Mere – where we definitely didn’t get lost or wet at any point!
We joined the nation in a special party to celebrate 70 years on the throne for her Majesty the Queen. Red, White and Blue, crowns, flags, bunting and party food all round.
In June we attended our first County Beaver Event – Puddle and Waddle at Waddecar Scout Campsite. Another jam-
packed fun day in the sun, that involved a lot of plastic ducks, water, kayaks and wanting to eat our packed lunches at 9am on the coach there!
In September we re-introduced lodges to Beavers for the children to work together in Teams, they have special badges to wear to show which lodge they belong too. We have also re-launched Beaver of the Week and worked hard to ensure our Beaver Scouts know how to take part in the Opening and Closing Ceremony and what an Investiture looks like.
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In October we supported our Beaver Scouts who were performing on The Grand Theatre Stage in Blackpool Gang Show – we were so very proud!
Thank you to John, Arthur, Anthony, Arthur and Josh who represented our Colony at the District Evening Gazette Competition, we used recycling junk to design our own Bonfire and Firework model.
Our annual visit to Blackpool Illuminations was thoroughly enjoyable and the chips always go down a treat! We are very grateful for all the extra help we had on this night too with our ever-growing colony numbers!
In November Michelle and Gabby came to talk to us about their trip to Malawi in Africa, we were fascinated to hear about the work they did out there building a school room for young children the same age as a Beaver Scout and how different the lives of the children are out there. We certainly have some Beaver Scouts who seem too keen to experience Scouting opportunities abroad when they are older.
December brought ‘Carols around the Campfire’ a chance to join other members of Blackpool District. A huge thank you for all the generous food donations that we were able to give to local charities in need.
2023 has already brought visits to Forest Gate Fire Station, St Stephen’s Church for Founders Day with our friends from 51[st] Blackpool and 1[st] Nor Breck, the Jewish Reformed Synagogue and a morning at Mowbreck, focussed on Scouting Skills for some of our oldest Beaver Scouts. In February we joined lots of other Beaver Colonies and Squirrel Dreys for a Birthday Party for Robert Baden Powel to commemorate Founders Day. I am always so very proud of 1[st] Bispham wherever we go!
Thanks to our local councillor Jo we have received a donation of vis-jackets, litter pickers and gloves so we can begin to work in our local community. Jo came to visit the colony back in September and we asked her for help with this.
Badge work has been our focus over the past 12 months – we have particularly focussed on the Activity Badges – Faith, Creative,
Communicator, First Aid, Disability Awareness, International Healthy Eating, Digital Citizen, Experiment, Hobbies, Teamwork, Skills and Outdoor Personal Challenge to name a few!
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We congratulated many Beaver Scouts on achieving the Chief Scout Bronze Award, the highest award you can earn as a Beaver. This also meant we had to say goodbye to lots of young people who moved onto Cubs.
We have so much more planned and still to do! So, watch this space!
As the Colony has grown and Beavers have moved on to Cubs, we have some spaces for new Beavers that we would be delighted to welcome to 1[st] Bispham. I would be grateful to any of our current families who can share this information with others. A big thank you; to you the parents for your support in providing that necessary taxi service each Thursday as well as to all the other events over the past year!
Finally, for all the above to take place a great deal of planning, commitment, enthusiasm and time is required. With an ever-growing colony I am reliant on such a supportive Leadership Team. A special thank you must go to all the Beaver Leaders, Julie (Badger), Darrell (Fox), Sienna (Hedgehog YL), Heather (Squirrel) Eleanor (Mole YL) Matthew (Owl) Jordan (Mouse) and Lesley (Robin – who was previously Grey Beaver at 1[st] Bispham who has kindly come back to help!) without you simply none of this would be possible – especially when I am having one of ‘my Emma ideas!’ Thank you ☺
Here’s to another action-packed fun filled time at 1st Bispham Beavers!
Emma Hornby, Grey Beaver
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Another action packed and fun time at 1[st] Bispham Cubs over the last year. In fact,
looking back at everything we’ve achieved, it’s difficult to imagine we squeezed all of the below and more into just 12 months!
Hot on the heels of winning the Jack Lamb scouting skills competition in March, in April we joined the rest of Blackpool District on a 2-night camp outdoors for St Georges Day weekend. We had an amazing time doing archery, shooting, canoeing, caving, climbing, geocaching, campfire and even a great fun disco! We packed a LOT of adventure into 3 days!
In May , for our Community Impact badge we gave back to our community with a litter pick around the local area. Cubs managed to collect a staggering 12 bags of litter, helping local residents and wildlife.
The summer months saw us complete our athletics badge, enjoy smores on the fire and Tomahawk Throwing in the sunshine. June saw us congratulate but say farewell to Matt, our Akela for the last 10 years, on his appointment as the District Commissioner! It also saw us be announced as the Blackpool District Pack of the Year in July – what a massive achievement for our Cubs!
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We returned after the summer holidays excited for our September Pack Holiday - Pirate Camp at Waddecar! We enjoyed Obstacle courses, Archery, Kayaks and Canoes, and even went panning for gold and bouldering! As a reward for our achievements as Pack of the Year, a team of 6 were invited to take part in the County Challenge day, which was all about team work and problem-solving challenges. We gave out over 120 badges, which just shows how much work the cubs had done!
In October we had an incredible 9 Cubs attend the Town Hall to be presented with their Chief Scout Silver award! This is the highest award a Cub Scout can earn and is testament to the hard work and effort those Cubs have put in during their time in Cubs!
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So, a huge congratulations to Liam, Noah, William, Lyla, Isla, Lincoln, Stan, Zac and Miley – a huge achievement, very well deserved!
The fun has continued through the winter months with visits to the Arcade Club, Ski Rossendale and Liverpool World Museum to name a few, as well as nights at the HQ completing badges about our hobbies and collections, the environment, pioneering, Money Skills, Air Activities and much more! We were amazed to find we had ventriloquists, magicians, performers of stage, screen and radio and super sportspeople amongst our cubs – 1[st] Bispham Cubs are a talented bunch!
As always, a massive and heartfelt thanks to the amazing Cub leadership team, without whom none of this would be possible – Carol, Keith, Sam, Owen, Richard, Connie and Lauren, and of course our fantastic Young Leader Ben – thank you all for the time and support you give, the joy you bring the Cubs and the laughs we have together. Volunteering with you all is an absolute pleasure!
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Thank you also to the parents and carers of our young people – we appreciate all your support!
We’re super proud to be the largest Cub pack in Blackpool District, however this also means that we are often at capacity. We’d love any additional help, so if you are interested in getting involved and joining in the amazing fun you’ve heard we’re having – get in touch!
Kelly – Akela (Cub Team Leader)
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The 1[st] Bispham Scout Troop during 2022/23 has grown from strength to strength, with weekly numbers ranging between 20-25 young people. All of them getting involved in our activities with the upmost enthusiasm.
This year during our troop nights we have become Scientists, Authors, Historians, Cartographers and Chefs amongst many other activities along the way. Cooking being a favourite of all the young people be it sticking to a recipe baking, the surprises that come from Ready Steady Cook or even finding new ways of making food during our science night. During this year we have celebrated Chinese new year and shrove Tuesday as well as the more local tradition of walking Blackpool’s very own illuminations.
As a troop we have been away on two residential trips. The first being a back to basics camp at Mowbreck Scout Campsite. During this weekend we learnt all about how to start and look after fires throughout the day, how to prepare the wood for them with knives, axes and saws and most importantly how to cook a variety of food on them. We also celebrated Bonfire night with a fantastic firework display and then fun with sparklers.
The second was our Winter Camp at Patterdale Hall, which was a joint weekend with our Guides and the 5[th] Blackpool Scouts & Cubs. As well as taking in the great hospitality of the team at the residence, we took on the a very snowy but bright Lake District. The Saturday was spent walking around Ullswater for our younger members, and the older scouts took on the adventure of walking a little higher in the mountains and even got in a little bit of sledging. The evening was spent playing games with the guides and 5[th] Blackpool mixing all the teams up so that new friendships were found. On the Sunday we put our walking boots back on, for a trip around Aira Force waterfall before heading home.
I would like to thank my leadership team Gemma, Malley and Morgan(YL) for all that they have done throughout the year, be it front of house delivering our program or the lesser seen behind the scenes bits, they all do a fantastic job and keep the troop thriving.
There’s a lot more fun, badges and camping to come throughout 2023 and in to 2024.
Dominic Moore
Scout Leader
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This last year as always has been a busy year for the Rainbows. We currently have 37 Rainbows and 6 on the waiting list. Even with a strong leadership team we rely on parent helpers to ensure our adult to Rainbow ratios are maintained.
In July 4 Rainbows will move up to Brownies with 3 of them having achieved their Gold Award which is the highest award that the Rainbows can get. This means over there Rainbow Journey they will have completed 6 theme awards, involving 6 skills builders, 6 interest badges and lots of hours undertaking unit meeting activities. They will be our first Rainbows to gain the Gold Award which is very exciting and a fantastic achievement.
In the Summer term of 2022, the girls worked towards their Have Adventure theme award, completing the camp skills builder and the agility badge. We also had a joint night with the Brownies and Guides celebrating the Queens Jubilee which was great fun. We had a joint campfire night with the Brownies and Guides where we enjoyed singing lots of songs and made some tasty smores to eat. For the last night before we broke up for the summer, we invited the parents to join in with a Treasure Hunt in the Rock Gardens which was lots of fun and made for a great competition!!
In the Autumn term the girls worked towards the Take Action Theme Award achieving the Make Change skills builder and either the helper or recycler badge.
We enjoyed a walk down the illuminations with a yummy bag of chips. The leaders were very proud of the way we behaved and the amount of walking we did. In the October half term, we went to see the Blackpool Gang Show at the Grand Theatre which was brilliant and all the girls had a great time. We also had fun at our annual Halloween party and then celebrated Bonfire night making our own sparklers and a firework picture.
We had a big promise night where we enrolled many of our latest Rainbows during the evening, we incorporated a bring a parent along night which went down very well by both the Rainbows and the parents. For our last night before we broke up for Christmas, we had a Jingle all the way night where we made jingle sticks and raised over £300 for the Blackpool Hospital Blueskies Charity fund. To finish off the year we all went to see Peter Pan on Ice at the Ice Arena which was a fantastic performance.
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In the Spring term the girls have worked towards the Express Myself Theme award which involved the Innovate skills builder and either the drawing or storyteller badge. The girls have done some fantastic drawings and stories. We celebrated World Thinking Day by travelling around the world in 1 hr. We visited Mexico, Australia, India, England and Africa. We had a lovely Easter party to end the term with.
We have a trip planned to the Zoo in May which we are all looking forward to
We have lots more exciting things planned for this coming year so watch this
Space!
Rachael Bailey-Brocklebank , Rainbow Leader
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Our brownie unit once again has had an exciting and eventful year. Myself and brown owl have had a busy time organising events and activities for our girls.
The unit numbers during the year have remained steady, our unit continues to flourish. We currently have 35 registered girls in the unit. We continue to encourage girls to carry on with their guiding journeys up to brownies from rainbows, and onto guide from brownies. The girls have continued to work towards their brownie programme and gaining and have gained the following two theme awards.
Know Myself
Girls explore emotions and learn about themselves. They’ll look at what they enjoy, build confidence and discover how feelings affect behaviour
Have Adventures
Girls have the chance to overcome fears, try new activities and learn survival skills. Getting outside and having adventures has always been an important part of guiding
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The girls gained this theme award on our brownie pack holiday (camp) in September of last year. It was a great success enjoyed by all. Tawny Owl celebrated as by organising and running the camp she gained her camp licence to be able to take the girls away on many more camps in the future.
Some of our girls by complete either two or four theme awards have been gained a bronze or silver award over the last year.
We as leaders are very proud of all our girl’s achievement, as every week they complete task and activities to gain each badge and award.
As always, the aim of brownies is to be a place of fun an enjoyment. Over the coming months we aim for the girls to achieve further badges and awards. We look forward to what the next 12 months has to bring.
Tawny Owl
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We've had a busy year at 1st Bispham Guides and we're now at full capacity with 22 Guides on the register.
We went on summer camp to Waddecar with most of the unit who enjoyed activities such as canoeing, the Badger's Warren and the bouldering Wall. We let the Guides explore the site too and they enjoyed adventuring with each other discovering interesting plants and taking pictures. We also took part in a site campfire which was led by various unit leaders there on camp with Scouting and Guiding units from all over. The Guides really enjoyed the campfire songs and carried on singing them once the campfire was over. To end the evening, we toasted marshmallows over a fire. We're planning another camp at Waddecar this summer and I have no doubts it will be just as much fun.
The Guides also joined the Scouts on their winter camp to Patterdale this year. The weather was beautiful on the day we did our walk, cold but sunny. We walked around the lake which provided excellent views. There were lots of icy patches which some of the Guides enjoyed skidding down. A brilliant evening of games finished off the camp.
We've been working towards many different skills builders in Guides and continue to do so. This year some of the Guides have finished their communicate Stage 4 skills builder and Camp Stage 4 Skills Builder. We're currently working on Lead Stage 4 which we'll finish by the summer.
A joint evening with the Rainbows and Brownies saw us celebrate the King's Coronation. We made crowns, planted "pots" of kindness and had a tea party. The girls all had a blast. We also cheered to the new King.
Michelle Green Guide Leader
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Tuesday Club
A couple of retired people work hard behind the scenes striving to keep the Den functioning and to the standard that we have come to love and enjoy. (They also have long tea breaks spent putting the world to rights!)
Regular jobs include:
Mowing lawns, weeding and pruning bushes.
Application of weedkiller on Drive and Car Park.
Regularly checking Emergency Lights and replacing batteries and fittings.
Regularly checking Fire Alarm call points.
AED readiness reporting.
And probably all sorts else.
One off jobs this year include:
One job with particular poignancy and pride was the installation of “Steve’s Bench” by the front door. The bench, kindly donated by Glasdons is in memory of our former Group Scout Leader and Tuesday club member, Steve Williamson.
Frequent liaising with the Electricity Board when they dug up our back lawn (twice) and the car park.
Erecting mesh screens between us and the park in the far corner of the rear lawn.
Replacing four broken toilet seats.
Construction of a traditional “biscuit tin” camp oven.
New members - If anybody has spare time and would like to help, we’d love to meet you. We are usually at the Den from 10.00am on Tuesday mornings, but check first as we have been meeting Mondays on several occasions.
Apologies if I’ve missed any jobs out or not given credit where it’s due, and many thanks to all who have helped in any way.
Pete and Vic.
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1st Bls ham nd Gulde Grou Inc(me & E t51 31st Marth Z023 20ZI 22 Income 709.77 Xmgs Fair £ 8,632.70 Den Htre 834.43 14.211.75 340.00 Donation5 Subxriptions Le55 rnonies returned to Sertions. refund5 and'credits of &Jbs" 2.250.rKJ £ 14,975.08 18,552.CNJ £ 10,267.CA) 11.792.98 4.708.08 306.60 Interest Re(eid 2.617.50 Giftd- HMRC 210.LK> Mini Bus Donati 648.26 Feed in Tariff Grant from 5coutA550c. re Squirrels Insurance Oaim settlent 320.fN) 0i5tritt storage £ 18,492.91 6,759.02 634.36 3,095_27 1.174.11 1.134.LX) 320.fN) 31,752.94 481_81 Sundry Expenses 733.72 Den GÈn. Matntenancelmisc Expenses 4,278.14 Den Running Costs 1.234.18 Metor Expenses 96.50 Bank CharEes I.324.£ Badges 181.(X) Neckers 21XI.OD FiTe Ext. Service 2.288.62 Laptops (bS attountexpensel 880.22 New Equiprnent 860.OD Cleaner £5,157.00 CapitationlSub5 a(xount expense) £ 17.715.23 524.85 2.401.30 5,469.38 836.74 72.75 2,[2.03 300.CKI IAIIA7 £7.102.00 21.722.92 0,030.02 k Uances 913.54 CAF Bank Gold £ 30,569.31 CAF Bank CurrentAcc(Jnt £ 67,940.90 CAF Fi¥ed Rate Bend £ 15,325.12 CAF &JbsAccwllt 25.34 21.582.10 89,316.49 13,854.96 £ 114,748.87 124.718.89 Sedion Account Balan5 as at 3110312023 Rainbows Brovmies Guides Beèvers Cub5 Scouts 492.67 988.48 703.30 546.23 248.(YJ 640.05
21 2022 Den Maintenance 860.rx) Cleaner 733.72 GeneTal MatntenarKelupkeep 1.060.00 2.401.30 1,593.72 3.461.30 Den Run 1,070.60 8uildinFJcontents Insuran 945.38 Electrsdty 700.00 Ground Rent 350_63 Water Rates 2QI.25 Non- Domestic Rates 650.40 Gas 359.88 IT & Broadbar 1,350.08 1.101.93 700.00 915.07 394.24 798.67 609.39 4.278.14 5.469.38 Motor 630.(M) Mini bus Insuran 389.18 Ser¥icelrepairslMoTIFuel 50.rK> TraIr Repair5 165.LM) ftoad Tax 1,234.18 645.LKI 26.74 165.rKJ 836.74 Fund Rai 709.77 Yjnas Foir 709.77 834.43 834.43 Donations 340.LK) Donations in memory ol Steve Williamson Deonation Irom est*e of M.Loomes Doantion for loan of Tableslchairs W.Sadler Legacv ILK).(M) 100.00 2,QOO. 2,250.rKJ Accounts Prepared by.. Steve Wbnte Checked by by: Russell Eastwood ...... ........... DateKLJ.gi.13
Inde endent Examiners Re ort to the Trustees of 1st Bis & Guide Grou ham Scout I report on the accounts of the l Bispham Scout & Guide Group for the year ending 31" March 2023 nsibilities and Basis of Re Res ort As charity trustees if I, Bispham Scout and Guide Group, 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 all the applicable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515){bl of the Act. Inde endent Examinerfs 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= l. Accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by sertion 130 of the Att; 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. 11.S.i3 Russell Eastwood 27 Chain Lane Staining Blackpool FY3 ODB