The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the trust's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)".
The objects of the trust, under the name Battle Baptist Church, are the advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination, the advancement of education for the public benefit, to meet the practical and spiritual needs of the local community and other charitable purposes, as the trustees may decide, in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.
Volunteers
The trust is grateful to the more than 100 volunteers who give their time freely in support of its aims and objectives.
Public benefit
We have considered the guidance of the Charity Commission on public benefit and in particular the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. In planning our activities, we aim to enable ordinary people to live out their Christian faith as part of the local community through worship and prayer, learning about the Gospel, developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus, in providing pastoral care for local residents and in missionary and outreach work.
Looking back over 2023, it was another year where much took place, both within our premises on Mount Street, but also out in the wider community of Battle and the surrounding area.
Meeting on Sunday mornings, with separate provision for children and youth, we have continued to see growth in terms of those engaging with our ministry both in person, but also through the live-streaming of our Sunday gatherings.
Midweek activities have been well attended across the age ranges - the premises being used in an ever increasing way. We began the year once again offering a ‘Warm Welcome’ space for the months of January through March, as part of the national initiative, and again at its conclusion in November and December. We also welcomed groups from the local primary school around Easter and Christmas.
Aware of the make-up of Battle, being very much a community focussed town, as a church we have sought to join in with a number of events that were being put on, seeking to offer practical help where needed as well as encouraging people to simply turn up and show support through their attendance.
In May we launched a Community Sports Sunday in partnership with Battle Town Football Club. This was a day of events for all ages and sporting abilities, with various opportunities for people to come along, have a go or cheer on those actively getting involved.
Investment in our overseas links, both financial and in terms of people engagement continued in 2023. Across the year we were fortunate to be able to host all of our mission partners - those we support from various places around the world and another team travelled to the Holy Land for 12 days during the summer, to help run a holiday club for children based in the West Bank.
Principal funding sources
The major sources of funds are freewill offerings, gifts, donations, legacies, rent from the letting of church premises and tax refunds under the gift aid scheme. There has been a continuing flow of offerings paid directly into the church bank account and the financial position of the trust is satisfactory, with adequate reserves.
Investment policy
The majority of monies are held in deposit accounts with recognised financial institutions and the Baptist Union Corporation, the latter a recognised deposit taker. The trust seeks to obtain the highest possible returns consistent with a cautious attitude to risk and short term availability of such monies.
Reserves policy
It is the policy of the trust to accumulate an adequate level of cash and readily accessible reserves deemed sufficient to meet likely unexpected expenditure needs. Subject to any donor's wishes, restricted funds are generally held to meet specific purposes for capital projects. The cash balance at the year end amounted to £181,124.
Current financial review
There was an excess of expenditure over income for the year of £18,184 as per page 6 of these financial statements.
At the end of the year the trust hold funds of £191,766, £180,620 unrestricted (of which £15,799 designated) and £11,146 restricted.
Risk management
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the major operational risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. Systems have been established to enable regular reports to be produced so that steps can be taken to minimise all risks. Policies on health and safety issues, on child protection and on vulnerable adults have been maintained and regularly reviewed in the year ended 31 December 2023.
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a memorandum and articles of association and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
The trust was formed to take over the ministry and affairs of Battle Baptist Church and the assets of the church were transferred to the trust on 1 April 2010, with the exception of the church land and property which is held on trust by the Baptist Union Corporation Limited for the benefit of the church. The Charity Commission has agreed that the name Battle Baptist Church can be used as an operating name and the objects and activities of the trust are identical to those of the former church.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
New trustees shall be appointed by processes that are public, clear and open so that all Members of Battle Baptist Church are enabled to consider prayerfully which Elders and Deacons should be appointed. After the receipt of nominations for any vacancies, and after the appropriate notice has been given, a secret ballot will be held at an Ordinary Church Members' Meeting. Those candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected provided each candidate shall have received votes from at least 66% of those Church Members who voted at the meeting.
Every member of the charity undertakes to contribute such amount as may be required (not exceeding £20) if it should be wound up, towards the charity's debts and liabilities.
The trust is managed on a day to day basis by the ministerial team, church manager, elders and support staff. These report to the trustees, who meet regularly. Whilst the trustees are legally responsible for the organisation and management of the trust, regular church members' meetings continue to be held in accordance with the practice of Baptist churches and due note is taken by the trustees of the matters discussed and the decisions reached in those meetings.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Life with Hope Trust for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the trust and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material 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 trust will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the trust and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the trust and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Life with Hope Trust (the trust) for the year ended 31 December 2023.
As the trustees of the trust (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the trust are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the trust’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the trust as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
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 financial statements to be reached.
Chartered Certified Accountant
Caladine Ltd
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Life with Hope Trust is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Battle Baptist Church Office, Mount Street, Battle, East Sussex, TN33 0EG.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the trust's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The trust is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The trust has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the trust. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the trust has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer or economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Property, plant and equipment are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following basis:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
Assets costing less than £500 are not capitalised.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts.
In the application of the trust’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Training fees
Insurance
Light, heat and water
Telephone
Postage, stationery, computer and copier
Sundries
Visiting speakers
Evangelism
Youth and children work
Catering
Music and copyright fees
Literature
Motor and travel expenses
Under the authority of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the trust, any trustee who is a Minister of the church can be paid a reasonable and proper stipend from the funds of the trust. During the year to 31 December 2023, Rev Ed Jones was the only trustee to which this applied and no remuneration or benefit was received by any other trustee.
Rev Ed Jones
Salary - £37,284 (2022: £34,836)
Pension - £4,674 (2022: £4,366)
Employer's NIC - £3,890 (2022: £3,748)
The church also provides living accommodation to Rev Ed Jones and his family free of charge.
During the year trustees and related parties made aggregate donations to the charity of £23,855 (2022: £21,811).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The land and buildings known as Battle Baptist Church and related land and manse in Mountjoy, Battle, are held by the Baptist Union Corporation Limited as custodian trustees on behalf of the members of Battle Baptist Church. Due to the nature of the buildings they are impossible to value and are therefore recognised at £nil cost.
The charity operates a defined contibution plan for its employees. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the charity pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. Once the contributions have been paid the charity has no further payment obligations. The contributions are recognised as an expense when they are due. Amounts not paid are shown in accruals on the statement of financial position. The assets of the plan are held separately from the charity in an independently administered fund.
Prior to 2021 pension provision was made through multi-employer defined pension plans. Where it is not possible for the charity to obtain sufficient information to enable it to account for a plan as a defined benefit plan, it accounts for the plan as a defined contribution plan.
Where the plan is in in deficit and where the charity has agreed, with the plan, to participate in a deficit funding arrangement, the charity recognises a liability for this obligation. The amount recognised is the net present value of the contributions payable under the agreement that relates to the deficit. The unwinding of the discount is recognised as a finance cost and any other change in the measurement of this liability is expensed to the Statement of Financial Activities.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The Halliday Special Projects Fund makes grants to young people of the church who are undertaking charitable projects both at home and abroad.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
The Fellowship Needs Fund is held to make interest free loans to members in need.
The Renew 1066 Fund contains donations received which have been designated by the donors to be used to support the two weekly meetings where it is “ok not to be ok”, known as “Renew 1066”. The resources expended are the salary of a newly appointed Renew 1066 worker.
Caterpillar Pre-School Of Battle Baptist Church (charity registration number 1145655) is a related party as under the constitution of the Pre-School the Trustees must be members of Battle Baptist Church.
During the year the Church charged rent to Caterpillar Pre-School amounting to £9,648 (2022: £9,998)
Emma Jones, wife of Rev Ed Jones, is employed by the church as Associate Pastor in training. She was paid a salary of £13,260 (2022: £12,384) and received employer's pension contributions of £1,325 (2022: £1,238) during the year.