COLCHESTER_CATALYST_CHARI - Accounts

The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020.

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 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 2016)”.

The objective of the charity is the relief of the sick and suffering of North East Essex. The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when planning its future activities and setting the grant making policy for the year.

Details of the charities activities and achievements during the year are set out in the chairman's Report, administrator's report and the development manager's report.

Grant making policy

The Charity's detailed grant making criteria are set out elsewhere in this report. All applications for grants are considered by the Trustees and where successful are formally approved. An annual grants budget is set by the Trustees.

The results are shown in the financial statements of which the following is a summary:-

Reserves policy

The Trustees have adopted a policy of endeavouring to retain sufficient funds to maintain the Capital Reserve as at 30th September 1989 adjusted for inflation. The Capital Reserve at 31st December 2020 required by this policy amounted to £11,145,207 (2019: £11,111,871). It is intended that this policy will be adhered to for the foreseeable future whilst recognising that there may be temporary shortfalls in consequence of fluctuations in stock market values.

Investment policy

The investment policy is determined by the Trustees, with the benefit of external advice, after considering income requirements, risk profile and stock market prospects in the short and medium term.

Risk statement

The Trustees confirm that the major risks to which the charity is exposed, as identified by the Trustees, have been reviewed and systems established to mitigate these risks.

Plans for future periods

The Trustees plan for the foreseeable future to continue making grants with a view to making a positive contribution to improving care of the sick or suffering in the CO postcode area.

The charity is a company limited by guarantee (number 00634588), governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association and is a Registered Charity (number 228352).

At 31st December 2020 there were forty three members.

Colchester Catalyst Charity became a grant making charity in 1990 following the sale of the Colchester Oaks Hospital, in Oaks Drive, to Community Hospitals PLC. The sale was conditional on Community Hospitals PLC building a new hospital, to an agreed high specification, by 1994 - this was done and the new Oaks Hospital off Mile End Road was opened in January 1994.

With the agreement of the Charity Commissioners the directors decided to devote the income, from the invested funds resulting from the sale 'for the relief of the sick or suffering of North Essex'.

The Charity is administered by a Board of Trustees.

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:

Nominations for the appointment of new Trustees are made based upon the established knowledge and experience of the candidate and on the likely contribution that the candidate may make to the work of the charity. All Trustee appointments are subject to election at an AGM and all Trustees are subject to re-election at an AGM every three years.

Trustees are provided with appropriate information and guidance on induction; no other formal training is provided to trustees.

Administrator and assistant:

S Grant & W Larkin

Development Manager:

R Appleyard

Whittle & Partners LLP practising as Whittles has indicated their willingness to continue in office and will be proposed for reappointment in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006.

Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information.

The Trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

The trustees, who are also the directors of Colchester Catalyst Charity 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 charity 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 charity 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 charity 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 charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Colchester Catalyst Charity (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 December 2020 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 December 2020 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended;

have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:

the information given in the Trustees report, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

the directors' report included within the Trustees report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the Trustees report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the Trustees report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

Donations and subscriptions etc.

Income from investments

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

Colchester Catalyst Charity is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 14 Dedham Vale Business Centre, Manningtree Road, Dedham, Essex, CO7 6BL.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

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, modified to include certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

Going concern and COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has significantly disrupted individuals’ personal lives and businesses’ economic prospects in the UK and across the globe. The UK entered lockdown in March 2020 and some restrictions and social distancing provisions remain in place.

The charity has not been negatively affected by COVID-19 and has continued to operate as before.

We have continued to prepare the accounts on a going concern basis and deem this appropriate. We do not consider that a material uncertainty about our going concern status currently exists. In making this assessment we have considered the likely operating conditions for a period of twelve months from the date of our approval of these accounts.

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. Other income including income tax recoverable is accounted for on an accruals basis as far as it is prudent to do so.

Grants and donations payable are recognised as expenditure when the grant is approved.

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 net income/(expenditure) for the year.

Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at quoted sale value at the close of business on the balance sheet date. Changes in market value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year and carried to the capital fund. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.

Quoted investments are included at quoted saleable value as at the close of business on the balance sheet date, any surplus or deficit arising on such valuation is carried to capital fund.

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).

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost.

Financial assets comprise cash at bank and in hand, together with other debtors. Cash at bank and in hand is defined as all cash held in instant access bank accounts and used as working capital.

Financial liabilities held at amortised cost comprise all creditors except social security and other taxes, deferred income and provisions.

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

Grants and donations payable

Grants and donations payable are recognised as expenditure when the grant is approved.

Gifts in kind

The Charity receives the benefit of work carried out by volunteers. No value is placed on this in the financial statements.

Donations and subscriptions etc.

Income from investments

Income from quoted investments

Office expenses

Miscellaneous

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration, benefits or payments for expenses from the charity during the year.

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

No employees received total employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) of more than £60,000.

The company is a charity and is not liable to corporation tax on income. It is entitled to receive certain types of investment income without deduction of Income Tax at source.

Expenditure includes where appropriate irrecoverable Value Added Tax.

A detailed analysis of Grants and Donations made in the year can be found on page 6.

Accountancy

Sundries

Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £4,250 (2019- £4,390) for audit fees and £756 (2019: £756) for other work.

The analysis of grant funding for the period is as follows:

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

The charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes was £1,590 (2019: £1,574).

The auditor, Whittle & Partners LLP have processed the charity's payroll from information provided to them (note 10).

At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

The charity had no debt during the year.

No guarantees have been given or received.

During the year, Peter Fitt Chartered Accountants, a business in which P W E Fitt, a trustee of the charity, has an interest provided accountancy services without charge.