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← Scottish Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue

2025-05-31-accounts

Trustees Annual Report

for

Scottish Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue SCIO for the period

to 31[st] May 2025

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Scottish Charity No: SC043662

Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

Index

Page 3 Reference & Administrative Information Page 4 Trustees Annual Report: Structure Governance & Management Objectives & Activities Page 5 - 8 Achievements & Performance Page 9 Financial Review Page 9 Statement of Trustees Page 10 - 12 Annual Accounts: Page 10 Receipts & Payments Account Page 10 Statement of Balances Page 11 - 12 Notes to the Accounts Page 13 Independent Examiners Report

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

Reference & Administrative Information

Charity Name:

Scottish Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue SCIO

Better known as:

SSBTR

Scottish Charity No: SC043662 The Charites Principal Address:

161 Easter Langside Drive DALKIETH EH22 2FR

Patron: Dowager Duchess of Hamilton (Kay Hamilton)

Charities Trustees on date off approval including office held:

Chairperson Treasurer Secretary Trustee Trustee

Names of other trustees during the period:

None

Independent Examiner:

Bankers:

TSB PO Box 373 LEEDS LS14 9GQ

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

Structure, Governance & Management

Governing Document:

The Scottish Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue was recognised as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) on the 19[th] December 2012. Amended at AGM dated 13th November 2022 to include the ability to hold online meetings and raise the number of trustees from 6 to 8.

Trustee Recruitment & Appointment:

At each AGM, the members may elect any member (unless they are debarred from membership under clause 70) to be a charity trustee.

The board may at any time appoint any member (unless they are debarred from membership under clause 70) to be a charity trustee.

At each AGM, all of the charity trustees shall retire from office – but shall then be eligible for re-election under clause 69.

A charity trustee retiring at an AGM will be deemed to have been re-elected unless: -

Objectives & Activities

The Charities Charitable Purpose:

As set out in the ‘Constitution’ and ‘The Charities and Trustee Investments (Scotland) Act 2005’ the purpose(s) of Scottish Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue SCIO are the following: -

Any other purpose that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to any of the preceding purposes.

Summary of the main activities in relation to these objectives:

The main objectives of the Trust are to rehome dogs in permanent homes, to encourage owners to ensure their Staffordshire Bull Terriers are neutered, micro-chipped and where necessary vaccinated. The Trust provides and pays for veterinary treatment for all dogs in care, transport for dogs all over Scotland, access to homes to ensure the suitability of dogs and assesses the temperament and condition of dogs in need of rehoming.

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

Achievement & Performance for 2024-25

This year has been an extremely challenging year for the rescue. Ill-health and personal issues has led to a reduction in time and availability for the trustees. In addition to this, costs relating to current life-long foster dogs has increased significantly.

Over the past year the rescue has been approached to take in multiple dogs however most have health and behavioural issues which would have led to significant financial commitment from the rescue. Due to the projected veterinary costs relating to the current long and short term foster dogs, the trustees felt it would not be sensible to take dogs that may incur further costs at this time.

People looking to rehome a dog generally are looking for young dogs with no behaviour issues which has led to a significant reduction in dogs that the rescue have taken on to rehome because there are simply not the homes available.

Loss of kenneling facilities due to our preferred kennels being repurposed has not assisted this function due to lack of a safety net and nowhere to assess dogs who have additional challenges. There appears to be a distinct lack of fosterers applying for dogs which needs further work to understand this. There appears to be an overall dip in people applying to adopt a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. It may be fallout from the publicity around bull breeds and the ban on XL Bullies that have led to this reduction.

OPERATIONS

Dogs

Long Term foster dogs:

Brycen, Tai, Rhea, Leo, Angus, Nico.

Currently in foster:

Spud.

Spud came in with a bite history and spent a long time in kennels due to risk factor. A foster home was secured however Spud was diagnosed with cancer shortly after arrival, Spud has now completed treatment and is cancer free and likely to be adopted by his foster family shortly.

Deaths

Mylo

Mylo had significant health conditions relating to eye and skin problems and SSBTR were responsible for covering all vet bills. Mylo passed away in May this year.

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

SSBTR continues to pay vet bills for some dogs with pre-existing conditions although this decision may require reviewing in the near future.

Veterinary Practices

SSBTR has arrangements in place with vet practices throughout Scotland and receives a discount at most practices.

Kennels

The rescue continued to use Whitehill Kennels due to the exceptional care that is provided to our dogs. However, Whitehill took the difficult decision to no longer allow long term rescue use earlier in the year leaving SSBTR without trusted kennel partners.

Rehoming processes

During the pandemic, due to the volume of calls, and the desire of some to call early hours of the morning, it was decided to add a link to our website to ask people to complete a form. This has continued.

This prevents advertising of dogs available for rehoming which always brings in large numbers of interest because people focus on the image rather than the needs of the dog. Matching dogs to homes cuts down the number of homechecks required.

The process is for prospective adopters to complete an application form which are then sifted and removing who we would not consider to be a good option for one of our staffies. We then match individual dogs needs to applications. Once a suitable application has been found, we contact the prospective adopter to discuss their application. Only at this stage would we consider organising a homecheck.

Due to the reduction in people making contact to adopt a staffie, the Trustees will reconsider this approach.

All dogs go home with a ‘cosy dog’ style harness and a new lead. This encourages owners to use a harness for their staffie to put less pressure on their neck and we find them more escape-proof and these appear to help for those who like to chew their lead. We do not condone the use of flexi or extendable leads for use with any of our dogs.

In relation to those surrendering a dog, we ask the owner completes a form to give us more information about their dogs. We can then assess if we can assist. The Trustees have agreed that we will help as long as we are able to meet the dogs needs and recognise that this includes if we can afford to commit to the dog’s financial costs. We are reviewing our process for matching to streamline the process and ensure we respond quickly. This will include timelines and dates to respond to queries and regular check-ins.

Fosterers

The rescue could not operate without our fosterers. We continue to have issues recruiting fosterers and they are mainly utilised for long term purposes with most shortterm fosterers adopting. The main issue in recruiting fosterers remains around many of

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

our dogs cannot live with other dogs. We have worked to put together a pack for our fosterers which will shortly be used as standard. This pack includes information on what we provide for our dogs, what support we provide and SSBTR’s expectations for the care of our dogs.

Volunteers

—————

Our volunteers continue to be appreciated. However, there are simply not enough to cover the whole of Scotland. We are always on the lookout for volunteers and hope to continue our work to better recruit and support them next y

Membership

The membership list has depleted over the last few years and the Trustees are very keen to increase this number to allow supporters of the rescue to have more input. Work still requires to be done to increase the membership of the Charity.

Policies & Processes

We continue to work on updating policies and processes to ensure they are up to date and relevant for purpose.

Income and Expenditure

The rescues resources are dwindling due to the health needs of dogs in the rescues care and ongoing behavioral support required for some dogs. Due to the rising costs of vet bills, we expect vet bills to have increased at the end of the next fiscal year.

Van

The SSBTR van which was donated by Pets at Home Foundation in 2016 has around 48,000 miles on the clock. Due to increasing costs related to the van, which is now aging, the rescue gained consent from Pets at Home Foundation to sell the van as its not affordable.

Donors

The rescue has received multiple donations from individuals and from companies including Grampian Pet Foods. We are extremely grateful for these kind gestures, and these brought in additional income which is much needed.

The rescue receives around £1000 in vouchers per year from Pets at Home Foundation to spend at Pets at Home. These vouchers are used to purchase crates, cosy dog style harnesses and new leads for each staffie coming into SSBTR’s care. The vouchers are used to purchase enrichment toys and training treats for dogs in foster care and anything else that they may require.

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

We have regular donors who pay amounts monthly by standing order and PayPal. We also receive one-off donations through PayPal and JustGiving.

Events and Fundraising

SSBTR held stalls at Inverness Highland Games and Newhailes again this year. We are looking for events throughout next summer. We have opted not to do a calendar or Christmas Cards this year as these are not supported particularly well. The rescue has signed up to the Good Fundraising Guarantee through the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel and continually assesses fundraising standards.

Memberships

SSBTR are members of the Association of Dog and Cat Homes. The Trustees have access to these resources and assistance from the larger rescues. ADCH have been incredibly supportive.

Licensing

Under the Animal Welfare (Scotland) Act 2021, SSBTR require to be licensed via the local authority. The license was renewed by Midlothian Council in March 2025 for one year. SSBTR has a license issued by Midlothian Council to hold lotteries which has led to raffles and auctions.

Insurance

Insurance is in place to cover the physical assets and liabilities of the rescue.

Information Commissioners Office

The rescue processes a high amount of personal data therefore have registered with the Information Commissioners Office and have a named Data Protection Officer SSBTR operates entirely by unpaid Trustees and volunteers.

Priorities for next year

The Trustees would like to thank everyone who has assisted the Charity, and of course, the staffies this year.

“Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever.”

Karen Davison

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

Financial Review

Statement of Reserves Policy:

The Trustees have decided that they will not allow the monthly bank balance to go below £3,000. If the bank balance does get close to that figure, it has been agreed that they will stop taking in dogs on a daily basis until the balance reached £5,000.

Details of any deficit:

There is a financial deficit this year, the Trustees are aware of this and will continue to monitor the balance.

Details of Donated Facilities & Services:

The Charity benefits from the time given by all the Trustees to the running of the Charity.

Statement of Trustees Responsibilities

The members of the Charity must prepare financial statements which give sufficient detail to enable an appreciation of the transactions of the Charity during the financial year. The members of the Charity are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which, on request, must reflect the financial position of the Charity at that time. This must be done to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and must take reasonable steps for the prevention and/or detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Chairperson

Dated:

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

Receipts & Payments Account Year Ended 31[st] May 2025

Notes
Receipts
Donations & Legacies
1
Receipts from Fund Raising Activities
2
Other Charitable Activities
3
Grants
4
Bank Interest
Total Receipts
Payments
Expenses from Fund Raising Activities
5
Expenses from Charitable Activities
6
Independent Examination
Total Payments
Net Receipts/(Payments)
Transfer between Funds
Surplus/(Deficit) for Year
Statement of Balances as at
31st May 2025
Balances at Start of Year
Surplus/(Deficit) for Year
Balances at End of Year
Other Assets
See note 7		 Un
Restricted
5,689.63
255.64
0.00
1,000.00
0.00		 Restricted
Funds
Total
2025
0.00
5,689.63
0.00
255.64
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,000.00
0.00
0.00		 Total
2024
15,940.28
767.40
600.00
0.00
0.00
6,945.27 0.00
6,945.27		 17,307.68
20.00
11,773.53
250.00		 0.00
20.00
0.00
11,773.53
0.00
250.00		 40.00
22,161.85
0.00
12,045.53 0.00
12,043.53		 22,201.85
(5,098.26)
0.00		 0.00 (5,098.26)
0.00		 (4,894.17)
(5,098.26) 0.00(5,098.26) (4,894.17)
Un
Restricted
48,899.10
(5,098.26)		 Restricted
Funds
Total
2025
0.00
48,899.10
0.00 (5,098.26)		 Total
2024
53,793.27
(4,894.17)
43,800.84 0.00
43,800.84		 48,899.10
14,215 14,215

Liabilities

No Outstanding Liabilities

Financial Statements approved by the Charity and signed on its behalf by:

Signed......… ……………………………. Treasurer Dated......................................................................................

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

Notes to the Accounts Notes to the Accounts 2025 2024
1. Donations & Legacies
Donations 4,816.14 14,370.24
Legacies/Bequests 3.49 573.39
Just Giving Donations 870.00 996.65
£5,689.63 £15,940.28
2. Income from Fundraising Activities
Fundraising Events 0.00 120.77
Raffle 0.00 589.00
Easy Fundraising 21.35 57.63
Events/Merchandise 234.29 0.00
£255.64 £767.40
3. Other Charitable Activities
Adoption & Sponsorship 0.00 600.00
£0.00 £600.00
4. Grants
Gallimore Trust £1,000.00 £0.00
5. Expenses from Fundraising Activity
Fundraising Expenses 0.00 0.00
Lottery Licence 20.00 40.00
£0.00 £40.00
6. Expenses from Charitable Activity
Vet Fees 5,002.08 11,720.86
Mileage & Travel Costs 80.11 233.3
Motor Expenses 507.00 1,217.12
Kennels/Food/Bedding/Training & Tracking 3,731.68 6,479.37
Website Hosting 304.90 205.92
Insurance 1,160.33 569.87
Volunteer/Sundry Expenses 242.40 433.04
Office Expenses (inc Stationery/Postage) 75.13 621.37
Just Giving Fees 216.00 216.00
Subscriptions (inc ADCH/Shelter Manager) 453.90 465.00
£11,773.53 £22,161.85

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

Notes to the Accounts cont’d

7. Assets of SSBTR SCIO as at 31[st] May 2025

2024 Additions 2025
Assets 14,215 0 14,215
Total £14,215 £14,215

8. Trustee Remuneration and Related Party Transactions

The Trustees did not receive any remuneration or expenses during the year.

9. Nature & Purpose of Funds

The statements of account for the year show the financial figures for the Charity. All funds are un-restricted and for the sole use of the Charity and its running costs.

The one grant received from the Gallimore Trust for £1,000 was unrestricted and was used to cover the Vet costs.

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Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] May 2025 Scottish Charity No SC043662

Independent Examiner’s Report on the Accounts

Report to the trustees of Scottish Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue SCIO Registered charity number SC043662 On the accounts of the charity for the period to 31[st] May 2025 Set out on Pages 10 to 12

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

  2. to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations

have not been met, or

  1. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: ............................................................

Date: ................................................................

Relevant professional qualification(s) or body: ACIE & Dip Business & Finance

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