1. Structure, governance and management

1.1 Governing document

Bristol Charities came into being as a result of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, when the trustees assumed responsibility for the administration of the charities that had formerly been under the control of the Corporation of Bristol. These consisted of:

• Three charities that offered ‘accommodation to the poor’; Trinity Hospital South, founded in 1395 and today known as Barstaple House, Trinity Hospital North (founded in 1411 and subsequently sold by the Trustees) and Foster’s Almshouse, (founded in 1485).
• Fifty-three non-educational charities, principally involved in ‘gifts to the poor’.
  They were classified as: loan money (15 charities); money and gifts to parish poor (11); provision of sermons (6); setting the poor to work (4); aid to poor prisoners (4); help to poor tradesmen (3); aid to almshouse poor (3); gifts to the blind (3); almshouses (2); aid for poor lying-in women (2).
• The endowment funds of three Schools, being the Free Grammar School (now known as Bristol Grammar School), The Red Maids’ School and Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital. With effect from September 2004, each of the three schools incorporated and the funds were transferred to those new incorporated bodies.

In the late nineteenth century the charity became known as “Bristol Municipal Charities” but in April 2002 the name of the body reverted to “Bristol Charities.” The change of name reflected the fact that the organization has, since the 1830s, assumed responsibility for additional charities and has developed new services within Bristol.

In April 2005 Bristol Charities was incorporated; in the form of a company limited by guarantee, at which time the trustees became directors of that company. The company “Bristol Charities” serves as sole trustee of the many charities under its control. The Memorandum and Articles of Association now serve as the governing documents of Bristol Charities, whereas each charity has its own charitable scheme, describing its objects.

1.2 Appointment of Trustees

The Nominations Committee, whose membership consists of the Chairman, Vice Chairman and the chairmen of the various committees, has developed a policy for the identification and recruitment of new Trustees. This involves the creation of a matrix of skills and experience required and this is considered in the context of the skills and experience of existing Trustees. The Trustees have agreed that between 16 and 19 Trustees should be appointed at one time. The Nominations Committee meets at least once a year, to review the contents of the matrix, in the light of the changing requirements of Bristol Charities, and anticipates those gaps in the matrix that may be created by retirement or operational changes. Potential Trustees are identified as follows:

• Candidates recommended by existing Trustees.
• Approaching other organizations for recommendations. By way of example, the Nominations Committee identified a need for a Trustee with an understanding of social policy, as it affects older people. The Vice Chancellors of two local universities were approached and asked to make suitable recommendations.
• Advertising. It was identified that there was a requirement for a Trustee with practical and management experience in the care of older people. An advertisement was placed in the local press and four candidates were interviewed, with the subsequent appointment of two Trustees.
• All candidates are interviewed by the Chairman and at least one other member of the Nominations Committee. A brief curriculum vitae and report is then provided to all Trustees and the application is considered at a meeting of the board of Trustees

1.3 Trustee induction and training

All potential Trustees are provided with a comprehensive pack of information; annual accounts, Company governing documents, committee structure and the terms of reference, a history of the Charities, sample minutes, reports and budgets. They are also encouraged to consult our comprehensive website and invited to visit our offices and meet with the Chief Executive

Following a Trustee’s appointment, a full briefing is provided by the Chief Executive and new Trustees are encouraged to visit almshouses, day centers and other premises. Appointments to appropriate committees follow, once new Trustees have had an opportunity to observe Committee meetings.

1.4 Organisation and structure

The strategy, long-term planning and monitoring of performance are the responsibility of the board of Trustees, which meets on a two monthly cycle. The implementation of the agreed strategy and the day-to-day management of Bristol Charities are delegated to the Chief Executive. In order to assist in the process of developing strategic matters, the Trustees hold an annual ‘Away Day’, which has proved to be a valuable opportunity for the Trustees to review the role of Bristol Charities, consider its current work and discuss its future objectives.

Trustee responsibility for the operational outputs of Bristol Charities is delegated to three committees, each chaired by a Trustee;

• Orchard Homes Committee
  This Committee is responsible for the residential accommodation, occupied by 120 people.
• Bristol Charities’ Services Committee
  Responsible for day services for older people, support services for families with children with mental disabilities, in addition to a monitoring role in relation to those related services provided by independent charities managed by Bristol Charities.
• Grants Committee
  Responsible for managing the criteria and the process for approximately £400,000 awarded annually, to over 1,700 recipients.

Each committee meets six times a year and is responsible for developing an annual plan and budget, which is then presented to the board of Trustees. The committees monitor performance against the plans and budgets and their conclusions are reported to the board of Trustees.

Bristol Charities has investments valued at over £14 million but these relate to no less than 22 separate but subsidiary charities. The Investment Management Committee is responsible for the management performance of these assets, including an assessment of risk, asset allocation, selection of professional advisors, agreeing and reviewing the Trustees’ investment policy, the setting of appropriate benchmarks and monitoring the performance of those advisers during the course of an annual review. The committee meets on a quarterly basis. On the 20 March 2007, the Trustees agreed extended terms of reference in respect of the Investment Management Committee and that the new committee should be called the Assets and Finance Committee. The Committee will have overall responsibility for all endowment and operational property and non-property investments and assets. In addition it will review the consolidated annual operating and capital project budgets, in the context of the Charities’ strategic plans, in addition to the central management income and expenditure.

The Audit Committee is chaired by a Trustee who is an experienced Chartered Accountant. It is responsible for overseeing the external audit of the financial statements, the newly introduce internal audit process and the review of risk management.

The Trustees considered and agreed a risk management strategy at their meeting in March 2004 and since that time the Audit Committee has reviewed risk management on an annual basis. As agreed by Trustees, “major risks” are those risks that are assessed to have a high likelihood of occurring and would, if they occurred, have a severe impact on operational performance, achievement of aims and objectives or could damage the reputation of the charity. The annual review that was scheduled for March 2007 was deferred whilst the Audit Committee had an opportunity to consider the contents of an internal auditors’ report on ‘risk management’. The annual review was carried out in June 2007.

Trustees have therefore established a framework that allowed them to:

• identify the major risks that apply to their charity;
• make decisions about how to respond to the risks they face; and
• make an appropriate statement regarding risk management in the trustees’ annual report.

During the Trustees’ ‘Away Day’ in May 2006, it was agreed that a Remuneration Committee should be formed with the responsibility for the review of the Chief Executive’s remuneration and that of other members of the senior management team. The Committee met for its first meeting on 10 April 2007.

At the Company’s Extraordinary General Meeting held on 28 November 2006, it was agreed that the Chairman, Vice Chairman and other honorary officers from among their number should be appointed at the time of the Annual General Meeting of Bristol Charities with the term of the appointment to run until the next Annual General Meeting.

2. Objects and activities

Bristol Charities has four main areas of activity:

• Orchard Homes. A Registered Social Landlord, Orchard Homes is primarily a provider of almshouse accommodation for older people but it does include Bengough’s House, a 40 bed registered care home, and the ‘Furber Fund’ properties; consisting of 15 flats and houses. There are currently three active groups of almshouses, being Barstaple House, Perrett House and Red Cross Mews. A fourth almshouse, Foster’s Almshouse, situated at Christmas Steps, was closed in 2005, in anticipation of its sale and the reinvestment of the proceeds in a new Foster’s Almshouse development in Henbury, north Bristol.
• Grant giving. There are a number of grant giving charities but the main ones are ‘Relief in Need’, ‘Relief in Sickness’, the ‘Guild of the Handicapped’ and the ‘Miss Merchant Fund’. There are a number of smaller charities. Grants are made primarily to individuals, mainly in the form of vouchers that are used to acquire specific goods, although the trustees have, in recent years, created a ‘retained ownership scheme’, whereby items such as electric wheelchairs and scooters are acquired for named individuals but the ownership is retained so that the items can be re-cycled if the original recipient no longer requires those items. In the year to 31 March 2007, the trustees awarded grants amounting to £374,113, of which £208,692 consisted of individual grants to over 1,400 people.
• Bristol Charities’ Services. This activity mainly provides and manages day and other services for older people. The Trustees opened the Henbury Centre as a purpose built day centre in January 2005 and there are plans to develop other similar services for older people. The Trustees have pursued the idea of developing a network of day services for older people across Bristol but to be financially viable these plans are dependent upon Bristol City Council’s strategy, which has stated that it is not planning to fund such a service.
  
  In April 2002, the Trustees accepted a transfer of assets from Bristol Mencap, which was being wound up, and agreed to continue the employment of the Family Advice Worker, to provide a valuable family support service for children with severe disabilities. Those assets were virtually expended by March 2007 and the Trustees have agreed that the continued funding of this valuable and unique service within the city of Bristol will be met by contributions from appropriate grant-giving charities
• Management and consultancy services for other charities. Bristol Charities has been working closely with the Haberdashers’ Company; one of the ‘Great Twelve’ City of London Livery Companies. The Haberdashers’ Company acts as trustee of the William Jones’s Almshouse Charity in Monmouth, South Wales and Newland, Forest of Dean. Bristol Charities was originally commissioned in July 2005 to carry out a research project, which subsequently resulted in Bristol Charities’ appointment as ‘development agent’ in July 2006. In January 2007, Bristol Charities assumed direct management responsibility for the William Jones’s Almshouse Charity, as part of the preparations for the proposed redevelopment of the Monmouth almshouse site.

The creation of St. Augustine’s Consulting Limited
During the May 2006 ‘Away Day’ it was agreed that the consultancy work should be brought within a separate trading entity, responsible for consultancy services and after taking professional advice, St. Augustine’s Consulting Limited was formed. There are two directors of the Company, one Trustee and one non-Trustee. The directors met for their inaugural meeting on 20 February 2007. The income from St. Augustine’s Consulting Limited is transferred to Bristol Charities.

• Bristol Charities manages two other Bristol almshouse charities, on behalf of their respective boards of trustees; Bristol and Anchor Almshouse Charity since September 2001 and Lady Haberfield’s Almshouse Charity since April 2002. In addition to the almshouse provision of the Bristol and Anchor Almshouse Charity, Bristol Charities has managed the Beehive Centre since September 2001, providing day services for older people, four days per week. Bristol Charities has a contract with Bristol City Council to supply this service.
• The Bristol Charities website; www.bristolcharities.org.uk provides a comprehensive record of the work of Bristol Charities and its history. The website is viewed as an important way of informing stakeholders, beneficiaries, potential benefactors and those with a general interest in the work of Bristol Charities.

3. Achievements and performance

3.1 Development of the John Milton Clinic site, Crow Lane, Henbury

The potential benefits that would accrue from the acquisition of this out-dated clinic, which is adjacent to Bengough’s House, were first identified in 2001. Contracts were exchanged in March 2006 with completion subject to a satisfactory planning consent being obtained. A satisfactory planning consent was obtained on 7 August 2006 and completion took place on 25 August 2006. The planning provides for the construction of 18 almshouse flats for older people and, within the development, 250 m² of net lettable space for a new health clinic, for which the Primary Care Trust has entered into a 25 year lease. As at 31 March 2007, the contract for the demolition of the clinic had been let and the actual demolition was scheduled for the period from 23 April 2007 to 25 May 2007. It is anticipated that the new almshouse will be ready for occupation in early 2009.

3.2 Sale of the former Foster’s Almshouse, Colston Street. Bristol

In 2001 the Trustees had agreed to dispose of Foster’s Almshouse, recognizing that it would not be able to provide the type of modern almshouse accommodation required by older people. The Charity Commission had granted permission to dispose of the almshouse but Trustees deferred disposal until a new almshouse site could be identified. Following the agreement to acquire and develop the John Milton Clinic site in Crow Lane, Henbury, it was agreed that the residents of Foster’s Almshouse should be relocated. During the period June 2005 to 22 December 2005, all the almshouse residents were relocated, the majority of whom moved to other Bristol Charities’ almshouse accommodation. Appropriate alternative accommodation was identified for those who wanted to move to other parts of the city or for whom specialist accommodation was required.

In anticipation of these departures, private letting agents were instructed to find tenants who would occupy the flats on the basis of assured short-hold tenancy agreements, on the basis of a commercial rent. In addition to providing income for the Orchard Homes Charity, until the almshouse was sold, it was acknowledged that it would also prevent vandalism or illegal occupation. For the period from January 2006 to the completion of the sale in January 2007, the former almshouse was fully occupied.

Following a comprehensive marketing exercise, competitive bids were invited in November 2006 and as a result a sale price of £1.71 million was achieved, together with overage arrangements in respect of the three retail units in Christmas Steps and the adjoining garden area.

3.3 The future of the care home operation at Bengough’s House, Crow Lane, Henbury
In May 2006 the Trustees decided that a feasibility study should be carried out in respect of the future of Bengough’s House and it was subsequently agreed that the care home operation should be brought to an end. The Trustees had reviewed the viability of Bengough’s House, its facilities and the type of care that we were providing Bengough’s House was increasingly devoted to nursing care rather than the mix of residential and nursing beds that was originally envisaged. When Alderman Henry Bengough established an almshouse charity to allow older people to live independently in their own homes he was not creating a legacy for a nursing home. Trustees felt that the current use of Bengough’s House did not provide the type of accommodation and care that will be required by older people in future.

It was agreed on 12 October 2006 that staff consultation should take place. Residents and relatives were invited to a meeting on 24 October 2006. There were also meetings with other stakeholders, including city councilors, Social Services, the Primary Care Trust, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Charity Commission and the local Member of Parliament.

The Trustees carefully considered the results of the staff consultation, and other meetings, and at a Trustees’ meeting held on 15 November 2006 it was agreed that the care home operation should be brought to an end within 18 months. During the period since November 2006, Bristol Charities has liaised with residents, relatives and various agencies, to facilitate the relocation of residents.

3.4 The William Jones’s Almshouse Charity (the Haberdashers’ Company)

As mentioned above, Bristol Charities has directly managed the William Jones’s Almshouse Charity since January 2007. By his will of 1615, William Jones, a local man who made his fortune as a merchant in London and Stade, near Hamburg, established almshouses at Monmouth and Newland. He appointed the Haberdashers’ Company, as Trustee and they have managed the almshouses ever since. The existing Monmouth almshouse building dates back to 1961 and consist of 20 flats. It was apparent that the almshouses were no longer fit for purpose and Bristol Charities is working with the Haberdashers’ company to redevelop the site, to include modern almshouse accommodation. It is anticipated that the trusteeship of the William Jones’s Almshouse Charity will be transferred to Bristol Charities when a planning consent has been obtained in respect of the Monmouth site.

3.5 The Drapers’ Company

Founded over 600 years ago, the Drapers’ Company is one of the ‘Great Twelve’ Livery Companies of the City of London. The principal role of the Drapers’ Company today is the administration of the many Charitable Trusts that have been left in its care over the centuries and it acts as Trustee for three almshouse charities with some 200 residents. In March 2007 St. Augustine’s Consulting was commissioned to report upon various aspects of their almshouse provision.

3.6 Other almshouse charities

It had been the stated objective of the Trustees that in addition to directly managing other Bristol based charities, such as the Bristol and Anchor and Lady Haberfield almshouses, Bristol Charities should identify other charities for which it could provide services. This has included working with the trustees and legal advisers of the Joseph Neeld Almshouse Charity in Leigh Delamere, North Wiltshire.

3.7 Creation of a new Common Pooled Investment Fund

The trustees recognized that for the effective and efficient operation of the investments held by all charities, including appropriate allocation of assets, it would be in their best interests if all the investment assets, including individual properties, were brought within a new pooling scheme. Lengthy discussions with the Charity Commission were successfully brought to a conclusion and the new ‘Common Pooled Investment Fund’ was created with effect from 1 April 2006. Each charity has been allocated units in this Common Pooled Investment Fund.

3.8 Developing the Summerhill community hub

A four year lease in respect of the Summerhill social club, at a pepper-corn rent, has been agreed with Bristol City Council. The Trustees would have preferred a lease of a longer duration but this was not available. The four year lease allows the members of the former Bristol Association of Senior Social Club to continue to utilize the building and it provides Bristol Charities with limited scope to use the building for other community purposes.

4. Financial review, investment & reserves policy

Bristol Charities is financially strong, with reserves of over £22m. Of these £2.8m are Unrestricted Funds, of which approximately £2.3m is held in cash. Most of this cash represents accrued surpluses from Orchard Homes, which are to be utilized in the construction of the new John Foster’s Almshouse, Crow Lane, Henbury. Of the Restricted Reserves of £0.714million, nearly £0.4million is in cash, of which £0.316million represents the undistributed balances from our grant giving activities. These reserves have been substantially reduced over the last three years, by higher levels of grant giving.

Of our Charitable Activities the Almshouses operate at a surplus, whilst Bengough’s House, our residential/nursing home, operated at a deficit because the fees paid by Local Authority purchasers increased by no more than RPI, whilst our cost inflation was substantially more. Day Care Services were budgeted to operate at a deficit, which was covered by a donation of £57,695 from our grant giving charities.

The central costs were well controlled, increasing at no more than RPI. The costs are allocated to the Charitable Activities, Grant Giving, Investment Management and the two other charities which we manage. The income received from the work undertaken for the Haberdasher’s Company has helped to defray these costs and allowed the charity to build up a small reserve of £110,000 amounting to approximately three months of the central costs. We have seen very good returns from our investments this year, which is due both to a good performance from world stock markets, our property assets and a much more focused approach to managing our investments by the Investment Management Committee and our advisors, now incorporated into a formal investment management statement. The “Total Return” for the portfolio of stocks, property and cash was approximately 7.93%.

5. Plans for the future

5.1 Development of the new John Foster’s Almshouse, Crow Lane, Henbury

Tenders will be received on 19 July 2007 and it is anticipated that construction work will commence in September 2007, with completion in autumn 2008.

5.2 Development of the William Jones Almshouse site, Monmouth, South Wales

It is anticipated that a planning consent in respect of the new almshouse site at Monmouth will be submitted in November 2007. By that time, the terms of an agreement with a joint venture partner will have been finalised. Based on the information available at this time, it is hoped that planning consent can be achieved by February 2008, at which time it is agreed that the trusteeship of this charity will transfer to Bristol Charities from the Haberdashers’ Company.

5.3 The development of Bengough’s House

The careful management of the closure of the care home operation at Bengough’s House is a major priority. There is a continuing commitment to the maintenance of the high standard of care which has been a feature of the Home. In addition, the Trustees will explore the future uses of the site.

5.4 Developing services for older people

Following on from the work described at 3.8 above, we will continue to develop services at the Summerhill Club and explore the possibility of developing services in another part of Bristol, in collaboration with a local community group.

5.5 Further consultancy work on behalf of other charities, particularly almshouse charities

a. To bring to a conclusion the sale of the Joseph Neeld Almshouse and to prepare a plan for the re-investment of the proceeds in another suitable charitable activity.

b. To be involved in discussions with other almshouse charities, concerning either consultancy or possible management.