2025 Budget Outturn Report and Trustees’ Report

The PCC met in February to review the Trustees’ Report which included the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2025

Lionel opened the discussion on the 2025 Accounts by commenting on the minutes of the Finance Committee and the budget monitoring table. The latter was in the usual format except that adjustments were also shown at the foot of this table regarding the difference between the annual accounts and the budget. Thus, the PCC could see that the surplus of £22,054 compared to the budget of £5,200, an increase of £16,854.

He then turned to the Financial Statements on pages 7 to 18 of the Trustees’ Report and how the information on pages 12 (Income) and 13 (expenditure) relate to the budget monitoring table just discussed.

The total Planned Giving had risen late in the year and extra bookings of lettings through the year meant that the total income received increased the potential surplus for the year. Lionel went through the other pages of these statements, commenting and/or answering questions on the contents.

On expenditure Lionel commented that, interestingly, he had spotted that the total forecast expenditure had hardly changed between the November 2025 PCC and the Outturn before the PCC in February 2026. A ‘bit of luck’ there for the Hon Treasurer!

Of course, some budget heads came in over while others came in under. This can happen when forecasting the appropriate level of spending when external factors can affect the final level of needs to maintain the provision of service and properties for any given year. Also, these assessments were undertaken in mid to late 2024 for the year to December 2025.

The minutes of the Finance Committee also contained the information that the total number in Planned Giving had fallen to 117 (125 last year), made up of 71 (72) using the Planned Giving Scheme (PGS) and 46 (53) paying via Standing Orders.

The Finance Committee had proposed that the extra details in Section 8 on page 16 were not required in these Financial Statements. However, the PCC decided that it would like to discuss further as to whether to retain the analysis of the income relating to Lettings, but that the analysis of the expenditure should be removed from the Financial Statements in the future.

The PCC agreed in principle to the proposal to simplify the way that the Fixed Asset Investments are shown on pages 16 and 17, with the change from the 2026 Final Accounts onwards.

The PCC did then formally approve the Report and Financial Statements.

It also agreed to formally request the Hall Trust for a grant to cover the cost of repairs to the large window at the back of church.

Lionel Mayoh, Honorary Treasurer