QCH Report FINAL V2 - Flipbook - Page 11
Queenscourt Hospice (Registered number 2102320)
Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31st March 2024 (continued)
6. Financial Review
The Charity is showing net expenditure in 2023/24 of £541,048 which compares to net expenditure of
£1,197,786 the previous year. A significant part of this change is due to investment gains of £258,856
compared to investment losses of £441,683 the previous year.
Running costs increased by c.£372,000 with expenditure on the services the Hospice provides costing
£13,630 per day compared to £12,611 the year before. Staffing costs, which relate directly to the
services we provide, account for c.£210,000 of the increase, with additional works of repair and
maintenance to the buildings and grounds increasing costs by c.£152,000.
7. Reserves and Investments
We have predicted further budget deficits for 2024/25 and future years. We work on three-year financial
plans which seek to scale back our dependence on reserves and generate more income or savings on
expenditure.
We have reviewed and updated our designated funds which set aside money for specific purposes;
these continuing to be a tangible fixed assets fund required for future depreciation charges, a budget
deficit fund allocated to support a potential shortfall in the forthcoming year, a capital investment fund
to support committed and planned enhancement of our assets, a contingency fund set aside in the
event of non-recurring expenditure requirements and the Dr Karen Groves legacy development fund
specifically aimed at seeking donations to “Keep Queenscourt in Service”. An additional designated
fund has been set up this year for Specialist Palliative Care Contracts to ensure that any surplus income
arising on these contracts is re-invested in this part of the service. Our general (unrestricted) fund of
£5,217,911 represents our free reserves, of which up to £1,465,000 may be attributed to being held as
investment property rather than cash or other listed investments.
Our policy on reserves is to have a strong cash position to deal with unexpected costs and the
occasional shortfall of income or difficulty with cash flow, so we aim to retain about £1.4m on short term
deposit. To ensure the continuity of our services we also need a reserve to be sufficient to cover an
extended operating deficit on core services for up to 2 years (i.e. current year and 12 months beyond)
in order to allow time, if necessary, for us to re-organise our funding and operational strategies. At the
time of setting our budget in April 2024 our worst case scenario would be for reserves to be adequate
for at least 17 months beyond the current year.
We recognise that with inflation and modest interest rates, cash will lose its value. Nevertheless, we
believe that it is sound policy to keep some short-term cash in CCLA’s Charities Deposit Fund. This
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