MINUTES
Minutes of the Sixteenth Annual General Meeting of CHAPTER (West Cheshire) Ltd
held on Tuesday, 7 October 2014
at 52 Old Vicarage, Parkgate Road, University of Chester Campus,
Chester. CH1 4BJ
Commencing at 6.30 PM
PRESENT:
John Dunkerley (JD)
Paul Moores (PM)
Emma Rees
(ER)
Tom Parry
(TP)
Audrey Williamson (AW)
Richard Mottershead (RM)
Colin Jones
(CJ)
Rob Storey
(RS)
Chair
Company Secretary
Vice Chair
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
ATTENDEES:
Anne Piercy
Susan Sullivan
April Aspin
Janice Eastwood
Wendy Haywood
Rachel Collier
Terri Roberts
Chief Officer
Deputy Chief Officer
Admin Officer (Minute Taker)
Finance Office
Project Worker
Youth Project Worker
Project Worker
INVITEES:
Andrew Laycock
Angela Rodgers
Barrie Jackson
Barry Timmins
Bruce Burford
Ceris Timms
Chris Laycock
Debbie Fletcher
Graham Haslett
Hayley Cavanagh
Hilda Laycock
Holly Ellerton
Lauren Selsby
Maire Gibson
Mike Casselden
Nic Davies
Nina Landry
Pat Griffiths
Rachel Turnock
Roy Johnson
Sam Newton
Tom Robinson
Item
1
Introduction
John Dunkerley (JD) opened the Sixteenth AGM by welcoming all present
and commented on how encouraging it was to see so many Service Users and
their families. JD informed the meeting that the purpose of the AGM was twofold. The formalities, eg reporting on the Annual Report & Accounts, etc
would be dealt with during the first half of the meeting. This would be
followed by short presentations from the Chief Officer, Chair, Vice Chair and
the Service User Group. The meeting would conclude with the presentation of
Certificates to Service Users.
2
Apologies for Absence
Formal apologies were received from 25 invitees
3
Minutes of AGM held on 8 October 2013
The Minutes were agreed and accepted as a true and accurate record of the
meeting. These were proposed by Emma Rees and seconded by Richard
Mottershead. They were then signed by JD and PM
4
Matter Arising
JD asked the meeting if there were any matters arising from the minutes of last
year’s meeting. There were none
5
Annual Reports
Trustees Report– JD reflected on the activities of last year which formed the
basis for actions for the current year. CHAPTER has had to deal with a
significant turnover of Trustees and it was important to replace those moving
on with the expertise to lead the company and support the staff in going
forward.
It had become clear that there was an urgent need to shore up the support
given to staff. The creation of the Deputy Chief Officer role has filled this
gap; strengthening the management team which historically had comprised of
only one individual.
JD went on to say that for a third successive year CHAPTER had seen a
significant reduction in its funding levels. The NHS and Local Authorities
have seen a reduction in their funding levels which has a knock on effect for
all voluntary organisations who are competing for a much smaller amount of
funding available.
JD then handed over to Paul Moores to present the financial statement.
Statement of Accounts for the year ending 31 3 2014 – PM opened by stating
that we are still operating in a tough environment. Our income for the
financial year was £137.7K with expenditure running at £171.1K. This shows
an operating loss of £33.4K which is clearly a significant amount. However,
due to the prudent way the business has been managed, together with making
some tough decisions to close certain projects, (eg Wood ‘n’ Gardens) it has
been able to build up considerable reserves. These currently stand at £154K,
down from £188K at the start of the financial year. Crucially, compared to
2010, we have seen a 50% drop in funding for the year 2013-2014 which is
clearly a significant amount..
A lot of work has been carried out on the classification of Restricted and
Unrestricted funds as it appeared that a large portion of historic funds had
been wrongly categorised. Restricted money will now be accounted for fully
in the period in which its incurred
The current year will continue to be challenging and all small charities are
struggling in the current climate. Due to our still reasonably healthy reserves,
we can manage to meet CHAPTER’s goals for the next couple of years.
However, we have built into our Business Plan a caveat that, should the
projection be that reserves will drop below £50,000 in a given year, a closure
plan will be instigated.
PM formally submitted the accounts to the meeting for acceptance. This was
proposed by –
John Dunkerley and seconded by Colin Jones
A show of hands carried the vote unanimously
Chief Officer’s Report – Anne Piercy (AP) opened her presentation by
thanking AA for producing the newsletter and went on to report how
CHAPTER has adapted in an ever changing environment. We are still
managing to provide the same quality service, never losing sight of our core
values, and responding to the needs of our Service Users. The Youth Project
has undergone a major overhaul, and although it has lost some of its social
activities, it is now much more focused. The Garden Project continues to
flourish. Clients felt the benefits of the project continuing at a lower cost was
very worthwhile and far outweighed the loss of the paid element previously
which was previously available
Looking at a snapshot of just one day in the year, we are providing a service to
over 200 clients. This was made up of 136 “live” clients who were working on
Action Plans and Placements, 12 at referral stage, 21 in the induction process,
and 23 in the support programme. Demand for our services is as strong as
ever.
AP went on to introduce all members of the team. As JD and PM had both
alluded to, AP reiterated that this is a difficult period in our history but we
have met the challenges by offering more opportunities to our beneficiaries,
streamlining our services, making better use of technology and re-evaluating
roles within the management structure.
We continue to offer courses in Confidence, Communication and Mentoring
which are all very popular. We have also continued to ensure that robust
systems are in place together with a solid Board structure offering support,
expertise and specialist knowledge in all areas of the business.
AP concluded by providing some quotes from a Quality Survey carried out
with our Service Users earlier in the year and also the very encouraging and
uplifting feedback we received following the Investors in People review
which saw us retain our kitemark for the ninth successive year. In summary,
CHAPTER is up to the challenge and looking forward to the future.
6
Election of Board Members & Officers
6.1
Re-election of Retiring Trustees
In accordance with Article 36 of the Articles of Association of
CHAPTER (West Cheshire) Ltd, three Trustees were due to retire from
office and had been re-nominated for re-election
John Dunkerley – (Chair)
Proposed By: Paul Moores / Seconded By: Rob Storey
Tom Parry –
Proposed By: John Dunkerley / Seconded By: Paul Moores
Emma Rees – (Vice Chair)
Proposed By: Paul Moores / Seconded By: Audrey Williamson
The proposals were unanimously approved by the members
6.2
Election of New Trustees
There were no new Trustees to be appointed at the moment
6.3 Election of Officers
There was no appointment of Officers at this time
7
Appointment of Independent Examiner
It was agreed that Robert Hall FCA of Mitchell Charlesworth Chartered
Accountants be re-appointed for the year 2014/2015. They had now been with
us for 4 years and we have built up a good relationship with them
This was proposed by Paul Moores and seconded by John Dunkerley. The
proposal was approved unanimously.
8
Service User Group (SUG)
JD introduced the 4 members of the SUG (Tom, Mike, Nina and Rachel) and
stressed the importance of the strong links between CHAPTER and the
representatives of the SUG who keep us all focused and act as an important
interface between Trustees, staff and clients. He went on to announce that a
second member of the SUG would be joining Mike Morrissey at Board
meetings.
The theme of the presentation was the progress that had been made in the last
12 months and how important the socialising aspect of the Group was to them
in helping to alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation. A photographic
record of some of their trips which included days out at Llandudno and
Conwy played in the background. The Group meet formally every couple of
months at CHAPTER. There are now around 20 members with approx. 12-14
attending each meeting at CHAPTER. However, the aim is to find a regular
base to meet informally about once a month – there is a possibility that Glan
Aber could be a potential venue. All 4 representatives felt the support they
receive from CHAPTER is fantastic and vital in building their confidence,
self-esteem etc.
JD thanked the Group for their enjoyable talk and said it’s a reminder to us all
to keep working diligently to make sure that people like Tom, Mike, Nina and
Rachel continue to benefit from CHAPTER’s services and expertise.
9
Are there Silver Linings in Cuckoos’ Nests? Representing Mental Illness
in Literature and Film
JD introduced ER who is a Senior Lecturer in English at the University of
Chester, focusing on the early modern period, and on literature and film. ER
has written extensively on gender studies and representation, contributing
chapters to a number of acclaimed academic works.
The focus of the presentation was how the media represents mental illness; the
gaps between our own experience and what is being re-presented back to us;
and how perceptions and beliefs have changed over the years. This was
portrayed by depicting the difference in attitudes and treatment regimens
depicted in the 2 films – One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
ER summed up by saying that the stigma surrounding mental health is slowly
being removed but there is still a great deal of work to be done. ER then posed
4 questions and opened up the discussions to the floor encouraging the
audience to email her with details of films they had seen, how it had affected
them and why.
10
Presentation of Awards & Certificates by Emma Rees
Sue Sullivan (SS) introduced all students who had participated in various
courses and ER presented their certificates and congratulated them on behalf
of the organisation, The courses were both accredited through Open Awards
and non-accredited, which CHAPTER had run throughout the year. These
included Mentoring – this is a 3E’s project – Engage, Empower, Enable
which is in its early stages (11 trainees so far), Confidence and
Communications. She also went onto to thank Dawn Swettenham of
Swettenham Chemists, Tarvin Fisheries and our Trustee, Colin Jones, who
had been instrumental in providing fishing and tennis activities for our Service
Users.
Certificates were presented to the following students by ER –
Mentoring
11
Work
Experience
Sam Newton
Confidence
Communications
Holly Ellerton
Barry Timmins
Nina Landry
Lauren Selsby
Rachel Turnock
Sam Newton
Barry Timmins
Nina Landry
JD thanked everyone who presented at the AGM this evening and said how
much it was appreciated by all. He went onto thank ER and the University for
the use of the room and finally, he thanked all staff for their continued hard
work their support in making the evening a success.
There being no further business, JD closed the meeting at 8.00 PM
SIGNED:
……………………………..
(Chairman)
………………………………..
(Company Secretary)
Date: ………………………..
Date: ………………………