## **The Church of Scotland**
## **Parish of North-West Lochaber**
## CONGREGATIONAL ACCOUNTS
**Year Ended 31 December 2025**
**Congregation No: 382186**
**Charity No: SC021584**
1
## Reference and Administrative Information
Charity Name:
North-West Lochaber Church of Scotland (known as Parish of North-West Lochaber)
Charity Registration Number:
SC021584
Congregation Reference No: 382186 Contact Address: Fois A’ Chridhe Morar Mallaig PH40 4PA
## Trustees
Members of the Kirk Session:
Bill Skene Interim Moderator (from 1[st] October 2024 to 8[th] November 2025), John Arnold, June Cairns, Ross Carr (until 15[th] June 2025), Elizabeth Fleming, Jacqueline MacDonald, Ruth MacDonald, Anthony Titley, Alison Young (until 19[th] August 2025), Kathy Bradshaw
## Principal Office-bearers
Locum Minister: Rev. Donald Prentice (1 Nov 2024 to 7 Nov 2025) Minister: Rev. Matthew Ross (from 8 Nov 2025) Interim Moderator: Bill Skene (1 Oct 2024 until 7 Nov 2025) Session Clerk: John Arnold Church Treasurer: Simon Bradshaw
## Independent Examiner
Evelyne MacMillan, 11 Loch Nevis Crescent, Mallaig, PH41 4QJ
## Bankers
Bank of Scotland, 62 High Street, Fort William, PH33 6AE
2
## Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended 31 December 2025 Structure, Governance and Management
## Governing Document
The Church is administered in accordance with the terms of the Deed of Constitution (Unitary Form).
## Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees
Members of the Kirk Session are the charity trustees. The Kirk Session members are the elders of the church and are chosen from those members of the church who are considered to have the appropriate gifts and skills. The Minister, who is a member of the Kirk Session, is elected by the congregation and inducted by Presbytery. Following the retirement of Rev. Stewart Goudie on the 30[th] September 2024, Bill Skene was appointed from 1[st] October 2024 as Interim Moderator. He remained in this role until the appointment of Rev. Matthew Ross, who was inducted on 8[th] November 2025.
## Organisational Structure
The congregation is administered in accordance with a Unitary Constitution. In 2025 the Kirk Session met seven times in-person. The Kirk Session is responsible for all spiritual and temporal affairs within the church.
## Objectives and Activities
The Church of Scotland is Trinitarian in doctrine, Reformed in tradition and Presbyterian in polity. It exists to glorify God and to work for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom throughout the world. As a national Church, it acknowledges a distinctive call and duty to bring the ordinances of religion to the people in every parish of Scotland through a territorial ministry. It co-operates with other Churches in various ecumenical bodies in Scotland and beyond.
## Achievements and Performance
Following the decision in 2024 to sell Arisaig Church the building was deconsecrated on 10[th] May 2025 and the sale concluded on 30[th] May 2025.
Worship services were held in Mallaig and Arisaig on alternate Sundays, at Mallaig Church on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays each month, and at Arisaig Church on the 2nd and 4th Sundays until 30[th] May 2025, when Arisaig Church was sold. Following the sale, services have been held at the Astley Hall, Arisaig twice a month.
Rev. Donald Prentice continued as Locum Minister throughout 2025 and until 7[th] November 2025. Following the retirement of the previous Minister in October 2024, members of the Kirk Session and congregation formed a Nominations Committee and after a lengthy recruitment process Rev. Matthew Ross was appointed and inducted as Minister on 8[th] November 2025.
3
The locum minister undertook visits to the Small Isles and Knoydart in 2025 but chaplaincy visits to schools were limited. In the short time since his induction our new Minister has visited Eigg and Knoydart and delivered a Christmas service for Mallaig High School in Mallaig Church and will undertake such visits on a regular basis in 2026.
The weekly Ladies Bible Study, Thursday Drop-In, Music Group, and monthly prayers, all continued at Mallaig Church Hall throughout the year Table Talk weekly at Arisaig was suspended. A weekly prayer meeting was also instigated in the summer. Messy Breakfast continued monthly on Saturday mornings until the end of the school year but did not resume in the new school year. A new Poetry and Theology group was started under the guidance of Rev Donald Prentice and continues to meet fortnightly in Mallaig Church Hall.
There were changes to the Communion Roll during the year, we lost 5 members. Two Elders resigned from the Kirk Session during the year. Eight Funerals were conducted in the year.
## Financial Review
The principal source of income is standing orders and other regular gifts by members of the congregation, which totalled £17,382.73. During the year, £2,204 Gift Aid tax recovery was received from HMRC.
Expenditure during the year has been tightly controlled. The sum of £5,311.00 was drawn down from the Consolidated Fabric Fund in July 2025 in respect of electricity costs in 2024.
Following the appointment of a new Minister, work was undertaken to make much needed improvements to the Manse. This included a new oil tank and associated groundworks, downstairs carpets, decorating and other minor upgrades, with funds expended totalling £8,493.07. A claim has been submitted to draw down this sum from the Consolidated Fabric Fund which is expected to be realised in early 2026.
Repayment of a £30,000 loan provided by a neighbouring congregation to fund significant upgrade works to the bay windows at the Manse, which were completed in 2024, was settled in 2025 from the proceeds of the sale of Arisaig Church, held by the General Trustees.
The congregation’s Giving to Grow contribution in 2025 totalled £16,810.
Funds available at the end of the year have reduced by £8,870.34, with a balance of £4,920.19 in the General Fund _(2024: £13,790.53)_ .
## Reserves Policy
The Policy of the trustees is to maintain a minimum reserve of £5,000, equivalent to two months’ ordinary expenditure. Total funds dropped slightly below this level at the end of the year.
4
## Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities
Charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which show a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and its financial activities for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operational existence.
## **Approve by the Trustees and signed on their behalf** ,
Session Clerk Date:
5
## **Parish of North-West Lochaber Church of Scotland, SC021584**
## Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees
I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2025 which are set out on pages 6 to 11.
## Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## Basis of independent examiner’s statement
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.
## Independent examiner’s statement
In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention
1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44 (1)(a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations have not been met, or
2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
## Signed:
6
## **Receipts and Payments Account**
## **for year ending 31 December 2025**
|**Receipts and Payments**
**Account**
**for year ending 31 December**|**2025**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|||
|||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**Total**|**Total**|
|||**2025**|**2025**|**2025**|**2025**|**2024**|
|**Receipts**|**Section**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Incoming resources from**|||||||
|**generated funds**|||||||
|Income|**1**|21,855|-|-|21,855|28,770|
|Activities for|||||||
|generating|||||||
|funds|**2**|3,142|-|-|3,142|3,628|
|Investment|||||||
|income|**3**|0|-|-|-|-|
|Incoming|||||||
|resources from|||||||
|charitable|||||||
|activities|**4**|550|-|-|550|550|
|Grants|**5**|0|-|-|-|14,100|
|Receipts from|||||||
|General|||||||
|Trustees|**6**|5,311|-|-|5,311|13,395|
|Other|**7**|709|-|-|709|2,190|
|**Total Receipts**||**31,567**|-|-|**31,567**|**62,632**|
|**Payments**|**8**||||||
|Charitable|||||||
|activities||40,437|-|-|40,437|61,000|
|Governance|||||||
|costs||-|-|-|-|-|
|**Total Payments**||**40,437**|-|-|**40,437**|**61,000**|
|**Excess of Receipts over Payments**|||||||
|**for the year before transfers**||-8,870|-|-|-8,870|1,632|
|**Transfers**||-|-|-|-|-|
|**Excess of Receipts over Payments**|||||||
|**for the year**||**-8,870**|-|-|**-8,870**|**1,632**|
7
## **Statement of Balances at 31 December 2025**
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Total**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|||
||**2025**|**2025**|**2025**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Bank & Deposits Balances**||||||
|Bank & deposit balances|13,761|30|-|13,791|12,158|
|brought forward||||||
|**Movement in the year**||||||
|Excess of receipts over payments|-8,870|-|-|-8,870|1,632|
|**Bank & deposit balances**|4,890|30|-|4,920|13,791|
|**carried forward**||||||
The accounts were approved by the Kirk Session and Financial Board on 22[nd] March 2026
for and on behalf of the Kirk Session and Financial Board
**Session Clerk**
**Simon Bradshaw**
**Treasurer**
8
## **Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ending 31 December 2025**
|**1**
**Voluntary income**
Ordinary Offerings (Open Plate)
Offerings through bank
Tax recovered on Gift Aid
Legacies
Other donations
Other income
**2**
**Activities for Generating Funds**
Use of Premises
Stall at Arisaig Games
Soup & Sandwich Lunch
Quiz Nights
**3**
**Investment income**
Deposit interest
**4**
**Incoming Resources from**
**Charitable Activities**
Weddings and Funerals
**5**
**Grants**
Lochaber Presbytery
**6**
**Receipts from General Trustees**
Consolidated Fabric Fund
**7**
**Other**
Refunds
Credited in error by Post Office
**Receipts total**|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Endowment**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**2025**
**2025**
**2025**
3,533
-
-
13,850
-
-
2,205
-
-
-
-
-
2,268
-
-
-
-
-
**21,855**
793
-
-
1,701
-
-
648
-
-
-
-
-
**3,142**
-
-
-
550
-
-
**550**
-
-
0
-
-
0
-
-
5,311
-
-
**5,311**
-
-
329
-
-
380
-
-
**709**
-
-
**31,567**
-
-|**Total**
**2025**
3,533
13,850
2,205
0
2,268
0
**21,855**
793
1,701
648
0
**3,142**
-
550
**550**
0
0
5,311
**5,311**
329
380
**709**
**31,567**|**Total**
**2024**
4,093
16,275
6,259
-
2,144
-|
|---|---|---|---|
||||**28,770**|
||||632
1,858
628
510|
||||**3,628**|
||||-
550|
||||**550**|
||||14,100|
||||14,100|
||||13,395|
||||**13,395**|
||||1,820
370|
||||2,190|
|||||
||||62,632|
9
## **Notes forming part of the financial statements**
## **for year ending 31 December 2025** (continued)
|**8**
**Analysis of Resources Expended**
**Charitable Activities**
Giving to Grow
Presbytery Dues
Minister's Travel Expenses
Pulpit Supply
Fabric Repairs & Maintenance
Highland Council Tax
Electricity
Insurance
Church Office Expenses
Messy Breakfast
Arisaig Games
CCLI
Locum
Paid in error (and recovered)
Refund Post Office Error
Flowers
Soup & Sandwich Lunch
Nomination Committee Expenses
Going Forward Conference
Hire of Astley Hall
Collection for Lochaber Foodbank
Gifts
Card Payment Reader
Agency distribution for
third parties
**Governance Costs**
Independent Examiner’s Fee
**Total expenditure**|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Endowment**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**Funds**
**2025**
**2025**
**2025**
**£**
**£**
**£**
16,810
-
-
-
-
-
842
-
-
300
-
-
10,918
-
-
1,708
-
-
2,211
-
-
3,394
-
-
101
-
-
-
-
-
360
-
-
97
-
-
1,325
-
-
-
-
-
380
-
-
140
-
-
260
-
-
574
-
-
40
-
-
90
-
-
275
-
-
300
-
-
312
-
-
**40,437**
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
**40,437**
-
-|**Total**
**2025**
**£**
16,810
-
842
300
10,918
1,708
2,211
3,394
101
-
360
97
1,325
-
380
140
260
574
40
90
275
300
312
**40,437**
-
-
-
**40,437**|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
13,442
-
2,413
535
29,137
2,538
5,311
3,807
-
82
574
93
2,668
400
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-|
|---|---|---|---|
||||**61,000**|
||||-
-
-|
||||**61,000**|
10
## **Movements in Funds for year ending 31 December 2025**
||**At 1**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Jan**|**Incoming**|**Outgoing**||**At 31 Dec**|**At 31 Dec**|
||**2025**|**Resources**|**Resources**|**Transfers**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Restricted funds**|||||||
|Boat Charter Fund|30|-|-|-|30|30|
|**Unrestricted funds**|||||||
|General Fund|13,761|31,567|40,437|-|4,890|13,761|
|**Total funds**|**13,791**|**31,567**|**40,437**|-|**4,920**|**13,791**|
## **Purpose of Restricted Funds**
To be used to enable pastoral visits to the Boat Charter Fund Small Isles and Knoydart
## **9 Trustee Remuneration and Related Party Transactions**
During the year reimbursement of travel expenses of £841.95 was made to the locum, Rev. Donald Prentice and new Minister, Rev. Matthew Ross. The Parish also paid Council Tax of £1,708.17 relating to the Manse, which is provided for the use of the Minister. No trustees received reimbursement of expenses.
## **10 Investments**
No investments are held.
## **11 Staff costs and numbers**
The Parish of North-West Lochaber employed no staff during 2025.
All Church of Scotland congregations contribute to the National Stipend Fund which bears the costs of all ministers' stipends and employer's contributions for national insurance, pension and housing and loan fund. Ministers' stipends are paid in accordance with the national stipend scale, which is related to years of service. For the year under review the minimum stipend was £32,433 and the maximum stipend (in the fifth and subsequent years) £39,856.
11
**APPENDIX**
**FUNDS HELD BY THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND GENERAL TRUSTEES FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CONGREGATION**
## **382186 North West Lochaber**
|**_Consolidated Fabric Fund_**||
|---|---|
||**2025**|
|**CAPITAL ACCOUNT**|£|
|Credit balances held at 31 December at cost|116,365|
|Market value of balances at 31 December|116,365|
|**REVENUE ACCOUNT**||
|Credit balance at 31 December|4,020|
|**TEMPORARY ACCOUNT**||
|Credit balance at 31 December|2,131|
|£5,311.00 drawn down from the Consolidated Fabric Fund (Revenue Account) for electricity costs.||
|**_Individual Fund_**||
|**Purpose:**Fabric for Eigg Church||
||**2025**|
|**EXPENDABLE**|£|
|Credit balances held at 31 December at cost|10,531|
|Market value of balances at 31 December|17,673|
|**PERMANENT ENDOWMENT**||
|Credit balances held at 31 December at cost|-|
|Market value of balances at 31 December|-|
12