Jonathan Barnett, Solicitor welcomed Members of the Charitable Trusts Sub-Committee to the meeting and sought nominations for the role of Chair of the Sub-Committee Committee for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

It was moved by Councillor Stephen Bennett, seconded by Councillor Brenda Hall that Councillor Andrew Hodson be appointed Chair.

No other nominations were received.

Resolved – That Councillor Andrew Hodson be appointed Chair of the Charitable Trusts Sub-Committee for the remainder of the municipal year.

The Chair invited nominations for the role of Vice Chair of the Charitable Trusts Sub-Committee for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

It was moved by Councillor Brenda Hall, seconded by Councillor Allan Brame that Councillor Stephen Bennett be appointed Vice Chair.

No other nominations were received.

Resolved – That Councillor Stephen Bennett be appointed Deputy Chair of the Charitable Trusts Sub-Committee for the remainder of the municipal year.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and those watching the webcast.

The Chair confirmed that no apologies had been received.

Members of the Sub-Committee were asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in connection with any item on the agenda and state the nature of the interest.

No such declarations were made however it was noted that the Council are no longer the Trustee of the E.F Callister Youth Club and therefore this would be removed from the Terms of Reference and all future agendas.

The appendices to this item may not be suitable to view for people with disabilities, users of assistive technology or mobile phone devices. Please contact shaunallen@wirral.gov.uk if you would like these documents in an accessible format.

The Senior Finance Manager introduced the report of the Director of Finance which presented the Statement of Accounts of the Mayor’s Charity for the year ended 14^th May 2024 for approval.  This included the carried forward amount of £11,015, which had subsequently been donated to various charities in 2024/25.

The Internal Audit Manager presented the Internal Audit report into the Mayor’s Charity Account as per the Charities Commission Independent Examiners Checklist.

It was highlighted that the total for creditors at the year-end in 2023/24 was £14,210.  It was reported that officers had reviewed the operation of the lottery by reviewing the monthly prizes on offer during the year by offering a total monthly prize pot of £1,000 instead of the previous £1,250 from October 2023 onwards.  This had allowed the Council lottery to raise a surplus of £2,994 for 2023/24 compared to £851 in the previous year.

It was further highlighted that the 2023/24 Mayor dispersed his donation payments post year end; these were included in this account as Events After the Reporting Period and that receipt of one donation made of £500 to Woodchurch Juniors had been unable to be confirmed.  Also, to aid the process of confirming receipts from the charities that they had received the monies from the Mayor, it had been recommended that a letter be sent to those receiving money requesting that they return a tear off strip to the Mayor via the Civic and Electoral Services Officer acknowledging receipt of the donation.

On a motion by Councillor S Bennett and seconded by Councillor A Brame, it was -

Resolved – That the Statement of Accounts and the Internal Audit report be approved.

The Director of Finance submitted a report providing information relating to inactive charities and the further investigation which was being undertaken to enable the transfer of fund balances to third parties and the formal closure of each charity.

It was reported that following a review of the Council’s balance sheet, investigation had been undertaken into balances held on behalf of third parties which included six accounts which have charitable status and that a seventh charity had been identified for which Wirral are named as the Trustee.  The relevant charities and fund balances had been detailed in appendix 1 of the report.

Members were advised that investigation had commenced to source suitable active third parties to which the funds could be transferred which must provide services in line with the objectives of the charities.

On a motion by Councillor S Bennett and seconded by Councillor B Hall, it was -

Resolved –

(1)  That the update regarding the seven inactive charities identified in paragraph 3.1 of the report be noted.

(2)  That the Director of Finance be authorised to proceed with steps towards the closure of the charities.

(3)  That the Director of Finance be requested to bring a report to a future meeting of the Sub-Committee with detailed proposals regarding the transfer of funds to appropriate third party organisations.