The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.
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 trust's objects are to advance the Christian faith in accordance with the Statement of Beliefs in such ways and in such parts of the United Kingdom or the world as the Trustees from time to time may think fit.
The Trustees have agreed the most effective way to ensure the good news of the Christian gospel is faithfully preached in and around Hailsham is:
To support Hailsham Parish Church as long as it shares the same doctrines, beliefs and vision by providing grant funding for the purpose of employing ministry staff
To hold a reserve of funds for the purpose of forming a new independent Church in the future in accordance with the statement of beliefs should the Church of England formally move from its historic formularies in terms of its doctrines, liturgy or practice.
There have been no changes to these strategies during the year.
The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the trust should undertake.
During the year the Trust was able to make a further grant to the PCC of Hailsham Parish Church (HPC) of £17,271 to cover the cost of employing a children and families worker. The postholder moved away from the area in the Autumn, and recruitment of a replacement began. We look forward to continuing to fund the new appointee in 2025.
The Trust has been in ongoing conversations with representatives of the PCC of HPC around providing financial support for the employment of an Associate Vicar for the Church. The current incumbent of the Church, having moved from his role as Associate Vicar, has left a gap in staffing meaning some activities have been curtailed. The Trustees are keen to support any application for funding when an appointment is made so as to see resources for gospel ministry in Hailsham grow, but we are informed that no suitable candidates have yet come forward..
The Trustees continue to be amazed by God’s incredible provision for the Trust during the year and to the continuing generosity of an increasing number of donors.
Income for the year amounted to £64,757 (2023: £74,365) including donations and related gift aid of £60,635 (2023: £71,444). Expenditure totalled £17,561 (2023: £56,050) leading to a surplus of £47,196 (2023: Surplus of £18,315).
The Trust continues to have a firm financial footing, with a pool of reserves to be used in the future to form a new Church should it prove necessary. The Trust has established regular financial support from donors and will look to continue supporting gospel ministry.
Reserves Policy
The trustees can see there may be a need for an ‘Independent’ Anglican Church in Hailsham, if the day ever came when it was no longer possible for Bible-believing Christians to remain part of the Church of England. The Trust will be able to operate as such should the need arise and consider it should maintain a reserve equivalent to an estimate of six month running costs of a new Church.
The best estimate of the initial 6 months’ expenses and setup costs is £110,000 less the best estimate of the initial 6 months’ regular giving (currently £28,000) means a reserve of £82,000 should be maintained. This reflects that any change would not happen overnight and there would be time to switch further giving to the Trust. The calculation will be considered by the trustees annually, in light of any updates to estimates.
As at the balance sheet date, reserves stood at £165,406 (2023: £118,210).
Risk assessment
The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the trust is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
The trust is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association, company registration number 11213803. The Trust is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, registration number 1179594.
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:
As the need arises, prospective new board members with suitable gifts and abilities who share the vision and beliefs of the Trust as set out in the statement of faith are recommended by existing Trustees. If willing to serve, they are appointed and briefed on the work of the Trust.
None of the Trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the Trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £10 in the event of a winding up.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The Trustees, who are also the directors of Hailsham Parish Mission 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 Hailsham Parish Mission Trust (the trust) for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the trust are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 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. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
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 Companies Act 2006.
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 Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements 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 financial statements 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.
Hailsham Parish Mission Trust is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Chantry House, 22 Upperton Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 1BF.
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.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the trust 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.
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the trust 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.
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.
The trust has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the trust's balance sheet when the trust becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include trade and other receivables 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 trade and other payables 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 payables 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 payables are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the trust’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
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.
None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the trust during the year.
Total aggregate giving received from the Trustees and related parties was £13,527 (2023: £11,920).
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.
Hailsham Parish Church Staff
As outlined in the Trustees' report, the Trust has 2 objectives
- To support staffing costs for ministry staff of Hailsham Parish Church (HPC)
- To raise funds for the formation of a new Church should the need arise.
There had been an implication that donors were ignorant of this fact and that the only activity was to grant funds to HPC for ministry staff costs. During 2023 all donors were contacted and asked to indicate if their giving to the Trust should be restricted only for use to support the funding of staff members at Hailsham Parish Church (HPC). Almost all of those contacted responded with almost 95% of respondents indicating they supported the Trust in all aspects of its ministry. All who indicated they required their giving restricted have been treated as such and, for the sake of prudency, giving from any who did not respond has also been treated as restricted.
All restricted funds received were expended in the year on grants to the PCC with a shortfall being taken from the unrestricted reserves.
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.
Independent Church setup
The trustees can see there may be a need for an ‘Independent’ Church in Hailsham, if the day ever came when it was no longer possible for Bible-believing Christians to remain part of the Church of England. Reserves have been retained to cover the costs of setup and expenditure for the first 6 months of the Church, net of anticipated giving during that period. The reserve was adjusted to take account of inflationary pressures on costs and increases to monthly giving.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).