Founded 1980
Chair:        
Secretary: 
Treasurer: 

Graham Smith
Jan Thompson
Graham Mumby-Croft


 Issue No. 82 SPRING 2020
FROM THE TREASURER

I do hope that this edition of my Treasurers Report finds you all in good health, or at least as good as can be expected, and still enjoying retirement.

Due to the fact that the AGM was moved to October last year, it was not until the Autumn copy of the Newsletter was published that I was in a position to publish the accounts, which had been signed off by the auditors in April. I now find myself in the position of having sent off “the books” for audit once again and therefore not being in a position to be able to inform you officially of what the financial situation currently is.

However I am in a position to be able to report that I am now happy that the ramifications that followed the changes to subscription rates, (surprisingly, now almost 3-years ago), have eventually settled down with the final piece of the jigsaw being the closing down of the original “NEWSLETTER” bank account that was opened when the association was originally formed.

This has meant that the payments that I was receiving of £5 and £10 per year, from members who had either passed away, moved away, or were in a position to not be able to manage their accounts, were stopped. As yet, Harry Brett and I have not received contact from anyone to complain that their membership payments have stopped.

Having said that, I do still have a few members who having changed their Standing Order to the new subscription rate, have obviously forgotten to cancel the original as I have about 4 members from whom I am receiving payment twice a year, actually often on the same day, of subs at the old rate, and the new rate. I will be writing to those concerned and harry and I are now undertaking a full audit of our respective membership lists to ensure that we are both effectively “singing from the same hymn sheet”.

If you wish to check your bank account, and discover that you are one of the “double payers” then please write and let me know, and I will arrange a refund. Please remember though,,,,,,please do not then cancel both Standing Orders or I will then find myself in the position of having to write to you because I have received no subscriptions, I do have one member who has done just that. No names, No pack drill, but I will be in touch.

What I am able to report from this years accounts is that at the year end it looks as if we have a healthy surplus of income over expenditure, even allowing for the fact that the PGA are yet to invoice me for the 2020 diaries, which means that I will likely have to bear the cost of two lots of diaries from this years income.

The main improvement in our finances has come from the reduced cost of running the association, including a reduction in the committee, by not replacing members who leave, and our attempts to keep travelling costs as low as possible. A big influence on the finances was the generous offer from the PGA to allow us to run the AGM at the same time, and at the same venue as their annual conference. This has greatly reduced our costs, whilst at the same time giving us access to a really good venue, and the opportunity to meet socially with some of our serving colleagues, and to hear their experiences in today’s Prison Service.

If you were not able to attend last year, or perhaps have never attended an AGM, I would urge you to come along for the day, if only for a bit of lunch and a chat. The 2020 PGA Conference is at the Raddison Blu, Hotel at East Midlands Airport on Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th of October. RPGA Annual General Meeting is on Tuesday 13th October. Do please come along.

However I am happy to be able to report that, barring any unforeseen major price increases, I do not envisage the need to adjust subscription rates for the 2021 financial year, and hopefully beyond then too. The full financial results will be available for the AGM, and published in the Autumn edition of the Newsletter.

You will not be surprised to learn that my task as treasurer is still not made any easier by the banks, who I am sure try to make things as awkward as possible. The latest ploy is for them to change the layout, and format of the Bank Statements, with entries obviously restricted to a certain number of characters per line. The result of this is that, where I have two, or more members with the same surname, it has become much more difficult for me to identify which member the payment is from. This is complicated further by the fact that there are several members who pay their subscriptions from a bank account that is not in their own name, and in these cases I have had to become something of a detective to track down which payment belongs to which member.

Oh Well, it keeps me out of mischief, and out from under my wife’s feet.

I wish you all a long and peaceful summer.

Graham Mumby-Croft
Treasurer


Graham Mumby-Croft
Treasurer