REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: SC009451 TWEED VALLEY MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM {SCIO) REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FI]YANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2025 TWEED VALLEY MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM (SCIO) CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED31ST MARCH 2025 Page Reference and Administrative Delails Report of the Trustees Independent F.xaminer's Report 10 Statement of Financigl Activities Balance Sheet 12 Notes to the Fin#neig1 Stglements 13 10 19 TWEED VALLEY MOLNTAIIY RESCUE TEAM (SCIO) REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS FOR THF. YEAR ENDED 3IST MARCH 2025 TRUSTEES PRINCIPALADDRKSS St John Base Hig?1i Slreei MEI.ROSE T[￿ gRY RECISTERED CHARITY NUMBFR SC009451 INt)F,PF.NDENT EXAMINER JR W Hoggy & Thorburn Chartered Accounlanls Rii'erside House l.adhope Vale Galashiel% Selkirkshire TDI IBT Website ww.Iwcedvalleymrt.org.uk Page I TWEED VALLEY MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM (SCIO) REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2025 The trustees preseni iheir report with ihe financial siaiements of the chariiy for the year ended 31 st March 2025. The Irustees have adopied Ihe provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities-. Stalemenl of Recommended Practice applicable io chartties preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effeclive l January 2019). OBJF,CTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objectives and aims The org)anisation's purposes are lo facilitate through Mountain Rescue the saviiig of lives. Ihe advancement of heallh, and Ihe location and relief of people who are lost. injured. missing. or oiherwise in need of assistance. For the avoidance of doubt. Ihe lerni 'Mountain Rescue ' includes all terrain search and rescue. and also sucli coininunily resilience activities as are deemed appropriale by the Charity Iruslees (normally. but iiol excliisively. in agreement with the Chief Constable. Police Service of Scotland or a delegated police ol'ficer). Other areas of team aclivity are: Providinby assistance to Ilie coinmunity during adverse weather events, Active parlicipalion in Scollisl) Mountain Rcscue Mainlaiiiii)gJ relationships with parti)er orbyanisalions such as Police Scolland, Scollish Fire aiid Rescue SLfviLL, Scottish Ainbulance Servic¢. 14M Coaslbyuard Search and Rescue Flelicopters. Scotlish Border.$ Council and neighbourinb Mounlain Rescue Teams affiliated lo Scottish Mounlain Rescue and Mountain Rescue Enb)land and Wales. Proinotion ot. safe practice in the mountains and hills OWECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Background Iii Septeinber l 963 tlie first search and rescue leam was fornied in the Borders. Originally the only one of 118 kind iii the Souih ol'scoiland and North-East of En&7land. the b7roup of voluiiieers was nained the BordLr Searcli aiid Rescue Unit. The idea behind Ihe forniation of the oribyinal unil was prompted mainly because of an increase in ihe nuinber of persons. particularly young and inexperienced in hill craft. walking the Cheviot Hi Ils in all seasons, and because of the then recent dealhs in a snowstom of Iwo shepherds on the Northumberland side of the Cheviot. Due to an increase in the number of incidents in boih the Tweedsmuir and Lammermuir Hills, by 1968, the unil consisted of three sections- Ihe Roxburghshire Section based at Yetholm: Ihe Berwickshire Section based al Duns and the Selkirkshire Seclion based ai Galashiels. The section which was based in Galashiels qiiickly became established as a team in its own right and was named the Tweed Valley Mounlain Rescue I'eam in 1973. Over the years the leam has assisled the Police, and other agencies. whenever asked in a wide range of tasks. often working alongside members of the Borders Search and Rescue Unit which now operates from Kelso. The tasks have ranged from the horrors of Lockerbie lo rescuing sheep stuck on ledges. from searching for rnissing children to searching for despondenl adults; from evacuating injured hill walkers to recovering the bodies of suicide viclims- from assisting al limes of flood to assisling during periods of heavy snows. ind¢¢d providingassistance over a much wider remil ihan the name Mountain Rescue Team might suggest. The area covered by the team includes significant expanses of open hill ground, foresls, rivers, lochs. as well as villages, towns and ihe City of Edinburgh. Although the team gels involved in a wide range of tasks the mosl common is missing person search work. The leam has developed its skills in this area and has trained Search Managers who work alongside Police Officers on such incidents. Page 2 TWEED VALLEY MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM (SCIO) REPORT OFTHE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2025 OIIJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Background A high prioriiy for the team is lo ensure the safely of lis own members and those affected by ils operalions. Training is ihe key and the leam undertakes lo Irain members in the skills required lo carry out ils main tasks. The team conlinues to train every Wednesday night as li has done since its earliest beginnings, as well as occasional Sundays and weekends on all hill craft and mounlain rescue techniques. The teain today is, in some ways, very differenl lo thal which started in ihe 1960's. However, it has nol changed in one very iinportanl way it is still made up of committed volunleer5 from all walks of life who share ihe desire to help another fellow human who may be sut'fering and need help. The leam will coiitinue lo evolve to meet the challenges which lie ahead to assisi Police Scoiland and the communilies of the Borders. ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE Charilable activities In 2024, we were called out 81 times over 80 incidents and expended 2364 person-hours on tliese jobs. In 20?3 we were called out 52 times over 50 incidenls and expended 2282 person-hours on these jobs. It may seein stran&iL Ihal Ilie total hours are nol massively dilyerenl coinpared 10 2023, bul this 15 down to tewer big7 searcl)es whicli lend to suck up a lol of lime in comparison lo relalively quick MTB and Hill rescues. Perhaps worth meiitionin&) Ihal if we reinoved ihe callouts Ihi5 year lo the new trails in Glentress, then our remainingi cal louls would have numbered 53 which would have been close lo ihe lasl two years. The new trails have b>LiiLrated a sigyi1i ficaiil uplifi in callouts (28 li) 2024). Oclober wa5 our busiesl month in team history with 13 iallouls. In 2024, 560/0 ofcallouts were to "SAS &8SiSt" tasking. This is an increase on 2023 (35 % ) and is Ihe higihesl of any years. These are maiiily jobs involving mouniain bikers and hill walkers in rural settings and the increase is influenced by the uplift in callouts lo ihe new Irails in Glentress. The 2024 percenlage breakdown of callouts againsi ihe main calegories lisled in our Family Booklel has sliilled for some categiories over 2023. The percenlagies for 2024 (5 yr average 2017-2021 in brackets) are.. Missing persons 21 % (30% ); Mountain Biking 460/0 (27 % ); Hill walking: 270/0 (26% )' Various other.. 50/0 (1 l O/o}' Equestrian.. l 0/0 (2010): Civil Resilience: 00/0 (30/o)- Al Work.. 00/0 ( l % ). The PLrcentagies for Mountain Ejiking have iiicreased substantially this year due to ihe openinbi of ihe new Irails in Glenlress. 11 is likely that the runningi Syr avera&)es will broadly align lo the figures in the Family Booklet. In lernis of ihe Mountaiii Bikin callouls this year: 2 callouls were in Caberston: 32 callouts were in Glenlress; I calloul was in Innerleitlien ai)d 2 call()uls were elsewhere. In 2023. 1 callout was in Caberston; 8 callouts were in Glentress. no callouts were in Innerleithen and 3 callouts were elsewliere. In 2024 there was an increased number of callouts lo injured parties, however in many of these the team worked alongside SAS staff. There was a noiable increase in significant injuries lo young people riding the new trails in Glentress. In 2024, 7 callouls involved fatalities (one was a dog). The hours we spend (duration) on the differenl caiegories of callouls remains broadly in line with the Family Booklet lislings: Missing Person searches 5-10 hours; Mountain Biking 2-3 hours. and Hill Walking 4-5 hours. Similarly, the number of members involved in callouts remains broadly in line with Family Booklet figures. In 2024, the Inaximuin number on Hillwalking callouls was 16 with generally 8-12 available. The maximum number on MTB callouts was 15 with generally 8-13 available. The maximum number on Missing Person allouts was 24 with generally 8-16 available. In terms of where we were lasked (Local Auihority areas), in 2024. 64 % of callouls were in the Scottisli Borders area. In 2023, 620/0 of callouts were in ihe Scottish Borders area. In 2024, 90/0 of callouts were in City if Edinburgh. 50/0 in Wesl Lothian- 160/0 in Mid Lothian. and l % in Easi Lothian. In 2023, 33010 of callouts were to Ciiy of Edinburgh and the Lothians. In 2024, 16010 of callouts were to the Pentland Hills. In 2023, 130/0 of our callouts were to the Peniland Hills. In both 2024 and 2023, 5 % of callouts were outstde our area. Page 3 TWEED VALLEY MOLNTAIN RESCUE TEAM {SCIO) REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THF. YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2025 ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCF. Team Legder's Report for June 2025 AGM This is the first Team Lead/Chair repon I liave written as Lead of Tweed Valley Mountain RescLJe Team hopefully I don'l miss oul anv importanl infomiation or fail io meiiiion anyone who deserves credii for work for and wiihin the leain over the l&st twelve months. If I do. my sincere apologies. Can I firsi bcb7in bv giving my hugc thanks lo our teom members. ai)d to ilieir families. direct aiid indirecl. who allow us all io participa1¢ in our voluntccring roles - wc all want lo bc here doing this, whereas tlieir tainilies niay iiol aiid al IIT)ies. b¢ar ihe brunl ot. additional M"ork and worrv whi Ic wc are all 'cnjoyinby' searching some pi¢¥e of Idiid, soiiiewli¢Fe vbSLur¢. al 2ani 011 a Tuesday iiioming.....usually in the rain. As we have seen. ?024 an ¢xLep(ionally busy year - nol quite the inu51 busy, bul very nearly. We had 81 call ouls. J less than in 2021 (our record year). wilh a tol(Il of2,364 hourts sp¢iiI 'iii d¢liuii' soiiicliow Ihis hour tibyure was I?￿ most we have ever seen. This has very definiiely been as a resuli of the opening or Ihe expanded lilenlress Mountain Biking'resort, in early 20?4. If we remove the callouts ihis year to Ihe iiew Irail.s in (ileniress. Ihen our remaining callouts would have numbered 53 which would have been close to Ihe last Iwo years. The new trails have gvenerated a signilicanl uplifi in callouls (?8 in 2094) - Oclober was oul busiesl monih in leam history with 13 cal louts. I now need to offer my thanks to several people and groups here - IhRnk¢ for the help in transitioning lo Ihe Leader rcTrle and thanks for handingj oi'er a team in a great piisjlji>ll. !OLir training on Incidenl Manag)emenl and SARCALL has been invaluable...and the overall ConiiiiillLL Ihanks for your patience, advice. arguments and skills - this ieam is nothing withoul a compelent committee running ihe show. I've al80 had several menlors during ihe last )'ear. inside and oulside of ihe team they know who they are hn have nffered s()Ine very IhniiLihi provokingy and l)elpful advice lo keep me tocused - manv thanks for vour sage words. n l iiie with the increase in call outs. this leam has conliniied lo evnI￿e 28 A prnfessinnal nrgani7atinn. We have conlinued lo iniprove niir i'e.hicle fleet with the Ne￿ Alpha coining in and ihe old A Ipha heing snld In anoiher team. our trusty Vehicle O￿lcer) and sub ieams for heading thi% work lip. And th&nks l() Ii)I" uiL¥llji) , ..x l .li'.i Stuck in a soggy field - someone had to take thal honor ot. beinb7 thc first to gcl il stuck 50rncwhcrc. Ili&qnks for looking after the fleet of vehicles we hav¢ also very much apprcciatcd by all mcmbcrs. We 1115u aLld¢d furtli¢i ¢4uipiI)ent lo our inventory a new 5tretch¢r. hlad 'Il¥irds. Ihcrmal monoculars. AED'S ( froiii d cliround bul ar¢ kev for this tcain. So lo Ilie fulure..... Luvking al Ihe liisl Leaderlchair repth, oiie ileiii 15 uiwoiii¥ - Ihe scarcli for a iiew 'garage locatini), for Dravo. ilh ilie FLS Gleniress - MacDonald Cardron¢l diSLU55iUllS Still iakiiib pliiLe l aiii surpriSL'd 1141Sn'l ruli away screaming after all Ihis work - Ihanks for your perseverance here and I do have £1 fL'L'liiib) abuui lilts nexi few monlhs and getting a nem, site. Page 5 TWEED VALLEY MOIINTAIIY RESCUE TEAM (SCIO) REPORT OF THE TRusfEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2tI25 ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCF. nieiitioned earlier ihe Irial of Ilie nevs recruitment procesq. This has been run in conjunction ￿1th the Irial of a new te2m slruclure, as you are aware of, wilh the creatiDn nf a 14onorary, Operalional and Associate Mernber/Non-Operational struclure. The maiii ain) here is to relain teain members as and wheii they decide to step back from the team after x years worth of service so ihat we relain iheir skills in ihe ieam for Irainin and odvicc as well os to provide an expanded sense of 'family'. This is reallv in line ¥¥iih muliiple other MR'S across Ihc country. Curreiiily ive liave 5-6 people requestin&y to Inove to ihis and should ihe Loinmittee and ovcrall m¢mb¢rship bc liapp), with this trial and struclure. Ive will need io amend ihe team conslilulion at an EGM aiid liopefully bring Iliis in to bcing. Th¢ rccruitmcnt proccss is b¢ing uscd to backfill team members 51cppiiig out or sleppiiig into the Associate Meinbcr rolc and provide that supply of prospcctive new recruits. To close. and in a similar vein lu Wli"¢px)n )ecommiiiee) on an) resolution which relates to a Inalter in which helshe has a personal interest or duly which ¢oiifl icls (or may conflict) with thL inlLrcsls of thc organisalion. hc/shc must ivithdraw from the meeling while ai) item of that nature is bein dcali with. For Ilie purpvses of Ili¢ iibove- (Iii iiil¢r¢s1 held by Lin iiidividudl wljo is '¢oiii)ected" willi Ilie cliarity trustcc under section 68(2) of Ihc Charltigs and Trus1¢¢ Iiive511neni (SLoII(tiid) ALI 2005 (liusbdiidlwi 1¢, pi111ii¥r, Lliild. pai¥i)i. broilier/sisler etc) shall be deeined io be held b) Ihai chariiy iruslee- a charitv Iiusiee will be deemed 10 have a personal inierest in relalion to (I Pdrticular mear ended 31 ￿ March 2025 8ei out on pages ihirteen to twenty three. Respective responsibilities of trustees Ind examiner The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of tlie aecoLinls in accordance with the terin% of the Charilies and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act ?OOS and ihe Charilies Accounts (Scoiland) Regulalions 2(K)6 (as amcnded}. The charitj s trustees consider ihat the audit requirement of Regyulalion l O( l )(a) lo (c) of the Accounts Regululions docs not apply. li is my responsibility to examine ihe a¢coui)Is as required under Section 44(1)(c) of the Act and lo stal¢ whether parlicular matters have come to rny attention. Ba515 of the independent examiner's report My ¢x(1111111(IIioii W<15 L¢iriied out iii accordance M'ith R¢gulalion I l of thc Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulalion5 2000. An ex