The Board of Belfast City Centre Chaplaincy Ltd (BCCC) has pleasure in presenting their report for the 2024 Financial Year.
This report is prepared in accordance with the Manual of Laws of the Methodist Church in Ireland and the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities (Revised 2015)”.
The Board expresses deep gratitude to its Volunteer Chaplains for their generous giving of their time and for the heart-felt pastoral ministry they provide in Belfast City Centre.
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 charity's, 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 Object of the Charity is the advancement of the Christian religion in Belfast and its surrounding areas by:
Provision of pastoral support to all who work in the city.
Outreach to the people of the city through evangelism, counselling, education and training.
Engagement with issues of justice, reconciliation, fairness, equality and dignity as they affect the people of the city.
Assisting local churches with their ministry in the city.
During 2024, the charity continued to build its frequency of presence and therefore depth of ministry in existing Belfast City Centre locations. In 2024 we commissioned 5 new Volunteer Chaplains. Our Lead Chaplain continued to serve as Vice Chairman of the Board of the Belfast One Business Improvement District and Chairman of the ‘Belfast City Centre Beat Police’ project.
Volunteer Involvement
The company continually seeks to engage its volunteers in helping to strategically plan for the future. This is facilitated through:
Decisions of the Board being communicated to Volunteers
Time is regularly provided at Training Days to discuss the growth and direction of the Chaplaincy
A Volunteer WhatsApp group where every volunteer is encouraged to be active in generating ideas
BCCC is still a small Charitable Company, staffed by one part-time Development Officer (18 hours per week) and approximately 35 volunteer chaplains. During this period sufficient donations were received to meet the company’s financial obligations and to retain sufficient liquid financial reserves.
During the 2024 the Chaplaincy continued to build its base of Volunteer Chaplains while developing Grant Applications with The Methodist Church in Ireland’s Home Mission Department and The Benefact Trust for an increased scale of operations. A successful Expression of Interest was also submitted to The Lauderdale Trust, which will result in a full application next year.
The Chaplaincy has been granted charitable status the Charity Commission in Northern Ireland and its registration number is NIC108033.
BCCC is also governed by the Constitution (Manual of Laws) of the Methodist Church in Ireland as set out under the Methodist Church in Ireland Act 1928.
Governance
Governance of BCCC is provided by a Board of Trustees which meets four times each year. The Lead Chaplain is responsible to the Board of Trustees for the ‘day to day’ running of the Chaplaincy.
Risk Management
The Board assesses the major risks to which the charity is exposed on an ongoing basis, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the company and is satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate our exposure to the major risks.
The principal risks facing BCCC relate to the safeguarding of vulnerable people with whom our volunteer Chaplains interact. BCCC manages this risk through an initial training course and then ongoing training which all volunteers must complete and through the oversight of the Lead Chaplain who is a fully trained Minister of Religion. He is in turn assisted by two experienced Senior Chaplains. BCCC’s operating procedures require ant safeguarding issue to be reported to the Chairman of the Board immediately and a detailed written report then provided the BCCC Board.
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:
The Chaplaincy has maximised its growth capacity based on the current staffing structure. In 2025 priority will be given to securing funding to build the staff needed to further grow and support the base of Volunteer Chaplains in a sustainable way.
Going Concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the Accounting Policies.
The trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The Trustees (who are also the directors of the Company for the purposes 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 . Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP (FRS 102);
make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards (FRS 102) have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company 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 Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages 7 to 14.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Belfast City Centre Chaplaincy for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:
examine the accounts under section 65 of the Charities Act
follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act
I have examined your charity accounts as required under section 65 of the Charities Act and my examination was carried by in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act. The examination included a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also included consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as charity trustees concerning any such matters.
My role is to state whether any material matters have come to my attention giving us cause to believe:
1. That accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006
2. That the accounts do not accord with those accounting records
3. That the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the 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
4. That there is further information needed for a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
I have completed my examination and have no concerns in respect of the matters (1) to (4) listed above and, in connection with following the directions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, I have found no matters that require drawing to your attention.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Belfast City Centre Chaplaincy is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Northern Ireland. The registered office is 5 Glengall Street, Belfast, BT12 5AD.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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 charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity 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 charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
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.
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 on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is classified under headings of the statement of financial activities to which it relates:
expenditure on raising funds includes the costs of all fundraising activities, events, non-charitable trading activities, and the sale of donated goods.
expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs incurred by a charity in undertaking activities that further its charitable aims for the benefit of its beneficiaries, including those support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.
other expenditure includes all expenditure that is neither related to raising funds for the charity nor part of its expenditure on charitable activities.
All costs are allocated to expenditure categories reflecting the use of the resource. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs are apportioned between the activities they contribute to on a reasonable, justifiable and consistent basis.
Tangible fixed assets 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 bases:
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.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
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.
Charitable Expenditure
Charitable Expenditure
Computer running costs
Bank charges
Clothing costs
Telephone
Accountancy
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Key management personnel comprises the trustees who are not remunerated.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
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 (2023 - none).