FOBT - REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

The Council of Management of the Trust, of whom 5 members are also Trustees, submit their annual report and the independently examined financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2009. The Council of Management has adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" issued in March 2005 in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the Trust.

TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Trustees are required to prepare financial statements that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Trust at the end of the financial year and of its surplus or deficit for the financial year. In doing so the trustees are required to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
• Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent, and:
• Prepare the financial statements on the on-going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Trust will continue to exist.

The Trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Trust and enables them to ensure that the financial statements comply with current legislation applicable to the Trust. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Trust and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention of fraud and other irregularities.

OBJECT OF THE CHARITABLE TRUST

The object for which the Charitable Trust was registered on 5 May 1977 remains:

To preserve or by making monetary grants to assist in the preservation for the benefit of the townspeople of Buckden in the County of Cambridgeshire and of the nation at large of the group of buildings situate at Buckden collectively called or known as Buckden Towers or Buckden Palace together with the land belonging thereto all of which buildings and land are together hereinafter called "the Towers".

TRUST MANAGEMENT

The members of the Council of Management are elected each year at the Trust's Annual General Meeting and serve for one year. According to the Trust's Rules, the number of members of the Council shall not be less than 8 nor more than 12 and at the AGM a retiring member of the Council shall be eligible for re-election. From within the membership of the Council, the Council appoints Trustees as required by the Trust's charitable status. Normally, there will no less than 4 and no more than 6 Trustees appointed.

THE PAST YEAR

The year has been a successful and enjoyable one, thanks to the work of a strong committee and supportive members and friends. Appreciation was expressed at the May AGM, which was followed by speakers representing Cambridgeshire Magistrates giving a fascinating talk and insight into the work of local Magistrates.

The 10th Annual Plant Sale, organised by Mrs Pat Huff, took place shortly afterwards. The sun shone, there was the 3rd highest attendance in the 10 years history of the Sale and the stallholders were very happy indeed, as were the customers. The overall profit was the highest yet.
Heritage Day at The Towers on Sunday 14 September 2008 was a great success with 129 people joining conducted tours. Our new Tour Guide, Lesley Cartwright, seemed to be in her element despite the fact that this was her first public performance.

In October, "Mr Samuel Pepys Returned to Buckden" in the form of Mr Geoffrey Hales, Actor & Historian. His return was witnessed and enjoyed by 45 members and friends, some of whom were somewhat surprised to hear of some of Mr Pepys’ activities as well as hearing first hand accounts of the Plague and the Great Fire of London.

Owing to the bad weather, the car park being like a skating rink, our Quiz Night, due to have been held in February had to be postponed until March. Rescheduled to 20 March, 59 people in 12 teams took part, victory going to a team comprising the Owners of The Towers.

Mrs Anne Nicol took over as acting Chair of the Council of Management in February 2002 and was confirmed in that position in June of that year. After nearly 7 years in post, she decided to retire with effect from 31 December 2008. Under her guidance, the Council of Management has managed to maintain and, indeed increase, its support to the Owners in developing and maintaining the historic buildings and grounds at The Towers. We all join in thanking Anne for her sterling efforts on behalf of the Trust and hope that she will remain an active member of the Council of Management and will continue with her work in maintaining the Knot Garden and in publicising the Annual Specialist Plant Sale that she has so successfully master-minded since its inception.

The Council of Management agreed that Mr Tony Gilchrist would take over as Acting Chair until the Council Meeting in June 2009.

Mr Peter Arch, a member of the Council of Management since May 2007 stood down in January owing to the pressure of other commitments. We thank Peter for his sterling efforts on behalf of the Trust.

Special tribute must be paid to the consistently high standard of catering at the FOBT events. Most provisions are donated, especially by committee members, as are the raffle prizes – and a number of members work very hard behind the scenes to ensure that the Trust’s events are always a great success. A very warm thank you to all involved.

It was with great sadness that we heard of the death, in May 2008, of Mr John James, our only Honorary Life Member and one of the founders of the Trust. Another founder member of the Trust, Mrs Gwen Harlow, passed away in September 2008. On a brighter note, the Trust’s youngest member, Ana Ramírez, joined the Trust as part of her family’s membership 3 months before she was born!

REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

The Statement of Financial Activities for the year is set out on page 15. A summary of the financial results and grants made by the Trust is set out below.

Income Generation. The Trust’s true income increased compared with last year from £6,741.93 to £6,828.21, a difference of £86.28. Income from subscriptions (Note 2 to the Accounts), tours (Note 5) and social functions (Note 6) rose this year, but income from donations (Note 11) and bank interest fell significantly. The Trust’s Guides, responsible for running conducted tours of The Towers continued to provide the second largest source of income (£762.00). Their contribution was boosted by the sales of teas during the Heritage Day in September 2008 which raised £259.18 and by the sale of lavender and home-produced items which raised a further £150.01 (Note 5). Other sales of lavender and a bring and buy sale organised by the now retired Chair, raised a further £287.00 (Note 6). The tax reclaim of £255.37 was £88.31 less than in the previous year and, owing to delays by HMRC in processing the claim do not appear in this year’s accounts.

Once again, the annual Specialist Plant Sale was the biggest source of income, bringing in a net profit of £3,126.82. £2,386.82 of this amount is shown in this year’s accounts; the remainder having appeared in last year’s accounts. This net profit was significantly up on last year when it raised £2,847.40 and was the highest in the 10 years that the Sale has been held. Attendance at 685 was only bettered by the attendance at the 2003 and 2007 Sales.

Interest (Note 12) on the Trust’s savings account decreased significantly, from £1,030.34 last year to £788.25 this year, owing mainly to the catastrophic fall in interest rates towards the end of the year caused by the “credit crunch”. Owing to the likelihood that interest rates will remain low, it is likely that interest in the coming financial year will fall to less than 50% of the amount received this year .

Routine Expenditure. Direct expenditure on administration of the Trust rose from £158.36 last year to £260.45 this year. Part of this increase was due to increases in printing and postal charges. This expenditure (Note 8) includes the printing and distribution of AGM material, Newsletters (published in April, August and December each year) and subscription requests and reminders. In addition, the total included £20.87 for web hosting and £120.00 for the printing, kindly carried out by the Administration Team at The Towers, of 2,000 publicity leaflets. 1,300 of these leaflets were distributed in the February Edition of the “Buckden Roundabout” to all households in Buckden Village and 250 were distributed to the congregations of the Churches in Buckden.

Equipment. The Trust’s gazebos were put to good use at the Plant Sale and on Heritage Day. A folding small gazebo was purchased during the year to replace the existing small gazebo that had become beyond economical repair.

Grants. As is shown in Note 10 to the Accounts, no grant to the Owners was made during the year. Owing to the failure of the Owners’ bid for a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant, they are currently examining ways of maintaining and improving the site without the grant. A grant, of up to £9,000 may be made next financial year when the maintenance and improvement programme has been decided. An additional grant of approximately £450 will be made to defray the cost of fitting a handrail alongside the steps leading into the Great Tower, a measure suggested to the Owners by the Council of Management of the Trust.

Overall Financial Results for the Year. Owing to no grants being made to the Owners (at their request), the overall results of the Trust’s financial activities resulted in a large increase in the General Fund from £18,440.80 at the beginning of the year to £24,977.06 at the end of the year, an increase of £6,536.26.

Membership. Membership (two-thirds of the way through the Trust’s membership year) stood at 78, exactly the same as last year—the uptake in new membership having compensated for losses due to deaths and resignations. Annual Membership now stands at 63 with 46 of these family and individual members having gift aided their subscriptions/donations. No new Life Memberships have been taken out this year and there are now 14 Life Members. There is an additional Honorary Corporate Member (the Owners).

FUTURE PLANS

The Council of Management has again reviewed the management of the Trust’s finances. The review concluded that, as reported last year:

• Income from Life Subscriptions and the tax recovered on these subscriptions should be held in a designated fund to ensure that income in respect of these life members’ subscriptions should not be lost.

• In order for the Trust to be managed efficiently and to provide a buffer to permit uninterrupted operation a general reserve equivalent to £5,000 should be maintained. This equates to approximately 6 months of general unrestricted fund expenditure.

• To ensure that the general fund was not unduly reduced and thus income from interest reduced drastically, overall expenditure, including grants, in any one financial year should not exceed £10,000.

• In future, should the Trust acquire additional equipment, only that valued at more than £500 at purchase would be included in the accounts.

The Council of Management may commit the Trust to making a further grant of £9,000 in the year 2009/10. In order to assess the impact of this grant on the Trust’s future financial situation, estimates of the income and expenditure have been drawn up as shown below. Based on historic data it has been assumed that:

• Annual membership will produce an income of £500 (20 individual and 38 family members). No new life memberships will be anticipated.

• Donations will be lower than in 2008/09 at £500.

• Social Events will raise £250 per annum.

• The Plant Sale will raise £2,250 in 2009/10 and 2010/11 (considerably less than in previous years).

• Bank interest will be approximately £250 in 2008/09 and £250 in 2009/10 (less than in 2008/09 to allow for reductions in the interest bearing funds and poor interest rates).

• Tours will raise approximately £600 each year. This is considerably less than in previous years but it was considered wise to err on the side of caution in case we have saturated the local market for tours.

• The 2009/10 tax reclaim will be lower than in 2008/09 at approximately £200. This assumes that no tax reclaim will be due on new life subscriptions. However, this figure will be increased in 2009/10 by the late payment of the £255.37 owing from 2008/09.

Since the Trust’s finances in the year commencing 1 April 2009 are actually healthier than predicted last year, it is believed that these overall levels of assets achieve a workable balance between meeting the obligations of the Trust in making grants in accordance with the objectives of the Trust and of maintaining a viable financial base from which the Trust can continue to function.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Trust is managed by a Council of Management comprising between 8 and 12 members elected annually at the Trust's AGM, which is held in May each year. From these members between 4 and 6 members are appointed as Trustees and the officers (Chair, Vice Chair, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer) are elected by the members of the Council at its first meeting after the Trust's AGM in May each year. Except in exceptional circumstances, a representative of the Owners of The Towers is present at the majority of meetings of the Council as an observer. However, this representative takes no part in the voting on any matter discussed by the Council.

The Council normally meets in June, September, January and March each year and during its meetings members receive a full briefing from the Honorary Treasurer on the Trust's financial situation including a full income and expenditure account and balance sheet for the current year to date, the Council decides on all major items of expenditure, new members are elected and reports on the historic buildings and gardens are received. Forthcoming fund raising events are also discussed.

The Trust's Annual General Meeting of Members is held in May each year at which Members are requested to approve the Minutes of the last AGM, approve the Annual Report and Accounts, elect a new Independent Examiner, elect Members to serve on the Council of Management and receive reports on the Historic Buildings and Grounds.

Each year in June, all members of the Council are given a printed copy of the Trust's Objectives and Rules together with the latest version of the Charity Commission's Leaflet CC3a - "Responsibilities of Charity Trustees: A Summary". These documents, which are also given to potential candidates for election to the Council, assist Council Members in ensuring that all decisions made are in accordance with these objectives and rules. Full minutes of all meetings are taken by the Honorary Secretary, circulated to all members and approved as being accurate at the following meeting and signed by the Chair to record the agreement of accuracy.

The Honorary Treasurer ensures that all monies received are paid into the Trust's bank account as soon as is practicable so that cash and cheque holdings are kept to the absolute minimum. All expenditure, except for incidental expenses at the Trust's events, are paid by cheque. All cash disbursements are issued against signed receipts and receipts are issued at the time of receipt for all cash received. All cheques issued against the Trust's current account have to be signed by the Honorary Treasurer, being a Trustee, and by one of the other two Trustees authorised by the Council to act on its behalf in such matters. No Trustee is permitted to sign a cheque that is made payable to himself/herself. The Honorary Treasurer acting alone is permitted to transfer funds electronically between the Trust’s current and savings accounts.

The Trust employs no staff and, as provided for in the Trust's Deed, except for out-of-pocket expenses, no Trustee or Member of the Council of Management receives any remuneration or or other benefit in money or money's worth. This financial year, no Trustees or Members of the Council of Management have received any out-of-pocket expenses.

Although the Trust uses the internet banking service provided by its bankers, owing to the types of accounts operated by the Trust electronic transfer of funds is only permitted between accounts. No such transfers to third parties are permitted or can take place. Apart from the electronic transfer of funds between accounts, the internet banking service is used purely to permit the Honorary Treasurer 24/7 access to statements of the Trust's accounts.

For the fourth year running the Council of Management has completed an internal financial control audit using the Charity Commission's "Internal Financial Controls Self Checklist for Charities". The checklist includes questions on accounting requirements, organisational structure, budgets, postal receipts, collection income, fund-raising events or campaigns, gift aid donations, banking and custody procedures, checks of income records, controls over expenditure, controls over purchases, payments by cheque, payments by cash, wages and salaries, control over fixed assets, investments and bank accounts.

At its meeting on 10 March 2009 the Council of Management agreed that internal financial controls in place were deemed to be adequate and sufficient.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Council of Management has continued to make an assessment of the financial risks that could influence the continuing successful operation of the Trust. These risks are listed below together with the Council's view on the likelihood of the risks materialising and on the steps taken to minimise these risks.

Membership. Apart from the Annual Plant Sale, the Trust derives the majority of its income from members' subscriptions, donations and support of the Trust's social and fund raising activities. Loss of a large number of members would call into question the viability of the Trust and its ability to meet its objectives as stated in the Trust's Deed. The Council of Management is very aware of this risk and takes active steps to increase membership and to retain current members by keeping them informed of the Trust's activities by means of Newsletters and the Trust's Web Site and by arranging events of interest to members.

Investment Income. At present the Trust lodges the majority of its General Fund in a savings account linked to its current account. Consideration has been given to changing this arrangement to improve the income from this source. However, there are risks involved in moving significant amounts of the General Fund into other investment mediums including the safety of such mediums and the ability to withdraw, at relatively short-notice, amounts from the investment medium. If such action were to be taken the Council believes that it would be necessary to employ the services of a professional financial adviser and it believes that the cost of such services would outweigh the increase in investment income that might accrue.

Adequacy of Financial Controls. Whenever money is involved there is a risk that those involved in handling such money may be tempted to steal from, or to defraud, the Trust. Fidelity insurance is one method of mitigating this type of risk. However, the Council of Management believes that such insurance is not necessary since all Members of Council and Trustees are only proposed for election following careful consideration of their suitability by the existing Council of Management and, as revealed by the recent check of internal financial controls, the financial affairs of the Trust are managed in such a way as to make theft or fraud difficult to carry out without early detection.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINATION OF ACCOUNTS

A resolution proposing that an independent examiner be re-appointed will be put to the Annual General Meeting.

This report was approved by the Council of Management and Trustees ex Committee on 31 March 2009.

M C CONBY
Honorary Secretary

A J GILCHRIST
Honorary Treasurer

Income:	2009/10	2010/11	Expenditure:	2009/10	2010/11
	£	£		£	£
Subscriptions	500	500	Administration	175	180
Donations	500	500	Grants	9,450
Social Events	250	250
Plant Sale	2,250	2,250
Interest	250	250
Tours	600	600
Tax Reclaim	455	200
Expenditure over Income	4,820		Income over Expenditure		4,370
Totals:	9,625	4,550	Totals:	9,625	4,550