THE Charity Commission has opened a proper investigation right into a parish church in York after “serious concerns” were raised over its financial controls.
The Commission is undertaking a statutory inquiry into the PCC of Holy Trinity, Micklegate, York, after an initial investigation when the trustees on the time didn’t submit their annual accounting information for the financial years ending 31 December 2022 and 2023. The Commission then received a report from the present trustees listing concerns, a few of that are recorded within the trustees’ annual report and financial statements for the 12 months ended 31 December 2023.
The Commission received a report from the present trustees listing concerns, a few of that are recorded within the trustees’ annual report and financial statements for the 12 months ended 31 December 2023.
Issues include not accessing “any of its bank accounts for nearly five months”. The report says that the present PCC “still doesn’t have access to all of its bank accounts”, and that “the 2022 accounts remain in draft form because matters raised by the independent examiner remain unresolved. In turn, which means the 2023 accounts may only be provided in draft.”
It continues: “The PCC’s Independent Examiner, Guy Baragwanath of C&GB Associates, Thirsk, was unable to certify that the proposed church accounts for the 12 months ending thirty first December 2022 appropriately reflected the church’s actual financial position.”
The Charity Commission requested clarification on the accounts, but “a proof has not been provided”.
“Efforts proceed to resolve these matters, and others which have subsequently change into apparent, including issues referring to the legal ownership of the garages adjoining Jacob’s Well, and the status of church bank accounts to which no current PCC member has a mandate.”
In the notes to the financial statements from the identical report, it states that “the land and garages at Trinity Lane have been faraway from the accounts and transferred to The Micklegate Ecclesiastical Trust by previous officers of the PCC. The validity of that transfer is contested by the present PCC.”
Additionally, an “unknown expenditure” amounting to £2094 has been identified. The report says that the quantity “pertains to the balance within the Barclays Bank account as at thirty first December 2022. The account was closed in the midst of 2023 by previous officers of the PCC, and the current PCC has been unable to find out how the then balance was utilised.”
Included within the report for the annual parochial church meeting on Sunday 16 April 2023, and financial statements for the 12 months ended 31 December 2022, is the Charity Commission’s independent report on the accounts, which is dated 18 March of this 12 months.
It states that “payments have been made to PCC trustees within the 12 months that don’t appear to have been authorised and there isn’t any paperwork to quantify these payments. These payments seem like much larger than can be expected for any reclaim in relation to the expenditure category that they’d been accounted for
through the accounts software.
“Payments have also been made to PCC trustees as a reimbursement of broadband, telephone and mobile at their home address, nevertheless, the total amount of the bill has been reimbursed, not a percentage reflective of the time spent on PCC related work.
“Payments have been made to businesses related to PCC trustees. There doesn’t seem like any information inside minutes of meetings or a declaration of business interests form regarding payments to businesses related to trustees.”
In a written statement to the Church Times, the Priest-in-Charge of Holy Trinity since January 2023, the Revd Simon Askey, said: “In March of this 12 months, the PCC submitted a report back to the Charity Commission highlighting serious concerns in regards to the charity’s previous financial management. This related to financial periods during a chronic interregnum before the appointment of the present Priest in Charge. A latest Parochial Church Council has been appointed and is fully cooperating with the Charity Commission.”
