The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 1 October 2023.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity's 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 2015)”.
The Basset Hound Rescue Network GB has a main objective, to rescue, take in and provide care, shelter and sanctuary for any neglected, abandoned, ill-treated, in need and unwanted dogs of the breed known as the Basset Hound, or any dog of predominantly Basset Hound in origin and type. Wherever possible, we re-home these dogs, through our robust assessment of the dogs whilst in the care of our foster carers. We support our foster homes or other facilities for the reception, care and treatment of such animals.
We also aim to alleviate the suffering of these dogs and promote humane behaviour towards animals by providing appropriate care, protection, treatment and security for animals which are in need of care and attention by reason of sickness, maltreatment, poor circumstances or ill usage and to educate the public in matters pertaining to animal welfare in general and the prevention of cruelty and suffering among animals.
We also provide support to basset hound owners who do not wish to surrender their hound to us, but require assistance to overcome any issues they may be having with the aim of keeping the hound at home. This includes general advice, including behaviourist interventions where it may be deemed necessary.
Objectives and Activities
The main focus of BRNGB is the rehoming and rescue of Basset hounds. We also work to support, educate and promote positive dog ownership to anyone who needs it. We receive enquiries from potential owners through our website, social media and increasingly through word of mouth.
We have attended the National Pet Show in Birmingham in order to raise awareness of the breed and to educate the public into the complexities of the breed.
We constantly scour the free ads and selling sites for Basset hounds that we feel may be at risk of being given away or sold cheaply and used for bait dogs, by messaging the owners and offering assistance and advice to existing owners. Many times the advice and support we have offered has enabled them to work through the problems and keep the basset with them.
We co-ordinate activities throughout the country that we use to fundraise and raise awareness of the Basset hound breed, plus the services we provide.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake. During the year, Basset Rescue Network GB has carried out its duty with regard to the objectives of the charity and to it's public benefit duty.
During the period October 1st 2022 to September 30th 2023, we had 38 hounds surrendered to us and 33 of these progressed to successful adoptions. Unfortunately, we saw the passing of 3 hounds during this time, due to age and health issues. At the end of the period, we had 18 dogs under assessment in foster homes. Due to illness and age, we have 1 dog in lifetime foster care, we continue to provide lifetime backup to all our adopted hounds in the form of behavioural support, veterinary costs and receiving the hound back into our care where possible
Unfortunately, we still didn’t feel it was 100% safe or viable to re-introduce indoor parties and gatherings for fundraising due to COVID-19. We were able to hold a 2nd birthday party fundraiser for the BRNGB puppies and an outdoor “camp basset” within a private secure paddock that has been fenced and insured by the charity, once again we are very grateful to our wonderful fosterers and supporters for allowing us the use of this paddock and for the fundraising opportunities it will bring.
We hope to be able to resume our regular fundraising events next year. Again, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most fundraising events were held online by our Fundraising team, a core group who organise raffles and events through our social media, this has been invaluable to the charity as we have had some very poorly bassets surrendered to us requiring expensive and extensive medical treatment. We wish to thank everyone who has supported us during this extremely difficult year. We would like to thank Rosie and Jane for tirelessly running our bonus ball fundraiser throughout the year, this is a great constant source of income, and their hard work has not gone unnoticed.
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Basset Rescue Network GB plan to continue our re-homing programme, and we have achieved our objective to extend our foster home network, however, due to increasing numbers, this is a continuing process, as we need to quickly offer rescue spaces to any Basset hound in need. We plan to expand our training programme for our foster carers, by providing regular sessions where team members can meet and discuss any issues they may have. We would like to expand our Activities by providing more events where members of the public can attend and find out more about the breed, and what we provide. We would like to expand our online merchandise by sourcing good quality products, to be undertaken by our Fundraising team. We plan to attend more shows throughout the country to promote our breed and responsible ownership.
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks. |
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The charity is a company limited by guarantee and registered with the Charities Commission for England and Wales.
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:
Our Trustees stand down at our AGM in October, and are duly re-elected.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The charity is run by four Trustees/Directors.
We have a large volunteer section, comprising of many people who are part of our team, these include:
Foster Carers – who care for our hounds in their own home and assess them according to our guidelines
Transporters – transporting our hounds around the country to wherever they need to be.
Home checkers – carrying out robust home checks for anyone who wants to adopt or foster with us.
Fundraisers – running events all over the country in aid of our charity.
We are fortunate to have many supporters who attend our events.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Basset Rescue Network GB (the charity) for the year ended 1 October 2023.
As the trustees of the charity (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 charity 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 charity’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 charity 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.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Basset Rescue Network GB is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Rose Cottage, Station Road, Llanwern, Newport, NP18 2DW.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's [governing document], the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "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 charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. 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.
The accounts (financial statements) have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity 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.
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.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
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.
All expenditure is included on an accruals basis and is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation to do so.
Charitable activities include expenditure associated with meeting its charitable objectives. This includes the cost of grant making, and direct provision of charitable services.
Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.
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. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
In the application of the charity’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.
Adoption fees
Charitable expenditure
Insurance
Printing and stationery
Legal and professional fees
Subscriptions
Sundry
Bank charges
Accountants fee
Fees charged to the accountants for the independent examination of these accounts totalled £780 (2022 £708).
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year. The follows trustees received reimbursed expenses as follows: S Savage nil (2022 £394 ), J Bloyce £340 (2022 £247), S Morgan £40 (2022 £84 ) and D Gilchrist £84 (2022 £64).
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 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.
Last year saw the sad passing of Sasha and Betty. Their supporters very kindly agreed that the remaining funds were transferred and used for our unrestricted charitable expenditure. There are currently no Restricted Funds.
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.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none).