Coles', Moorpool & The Eyre St Thomas Day Charity

The trust is for the support of Rampton & Woodbeck residents who find themselves in financial hardship or ill health and for general charitable purposes within the parish at the discretion of the trustees. 'Small' grants are available at the discretion of the trustees.

The trust is Registered with the HMRC as a charity under registration number 061000036155. We are unable to register with the Charity Commission as our turnover us below their £5,000 registration threshold.

Who are the Trustees? The corporate collective body of the 7 members of the Parish Council together with 2 additional Co-opted Trustees, who are residents of the Parish make up the trusteeship.

The trustees may be able assist in three ways:

1. Relieving either generally or individually persons resident in the Civil Parish boundary who are in conditions of Need, Financial hardship or Distress by making small grants of money or providing for or paying towards items, utility bills, services or facilities. This is from the remit of the Eyre St Thomas Day Charity.
2. Relieving either generally or individually person's resident in the Civil Parish boundary who are by reason of, ill-health, medical needs, infirm, disability, Old Age, Youth, by making small grants of money or providing for or paying toward items, services, utility bills, facilities. This is from the remit of the Eyre St Thomas Day Charity. Additionally, in the spirit of the original remit of Coles' Bread Charity, help to persons listed 1 & 2 towards food costs.
3. General Charitable Purposes - To further such objects or purposes which are exclusively charitable according to the law of England and Wales in any part of Rampton & Woodbeck Parish in such a manner as the trustees may in the absolute discretion think fit. Which can benefit or be appreciated by all people of all ages in the parish. For Example, the Village Hall itself, Pinder Park or other recreational facilities, flower planters and street furniture as suitable.
   This is from the remit of the Moorpool Charity, which should be spent generally in the parish to all demographics of people.

When no individual in need is forthcoming, the trustees annually reinvest half of the profit of the charity into its long term investment fund and allocate an amount which benefits people of the parish.

All applications should be made either in writing or by email to the Clerk to the Parish Council (who is also Clerk to the Trustees). All applications are dealt with in the strictest confidence. Whilst the trustees need to know the applicants details, they are sworn to abide to strict confidentiality and will not disclose any personal information outside of the meeting. The trustees agreed that it is possible that 1 or more trustees may known the applicant and therefore be able to provide additional positive/beneficial context to their situation or condition, which may assist the trusteeship in making a fair decision against the charity criteria.

Minutes are published on our website but they provide no information as to who has been helped, only generic information, ie a resident of the parish has been assisted etc.

The Trustees may also agree to reach out and offer a little assistance to residents of the Parish at their discretion.

Contact Details

• Name: Mrs Claire Challener
• Address: Grove Farm, 101 Town Street, Lound, DN22 8RX
• Telephone: 07471 877504
• Email: clerk@ramptonandwoodbeck-pc.gov.uk

Prior to the creation of Parish Council's in 1894 the Vestry held the power to appoint trustees (the Churchwardens and Overseers) to a non-ecclesiastical charity. This power transferred to Parish Councils in 1894 under the Passing of the Local Government Act 1894.

Between 1597 and 1835 public responsibility for looking after the poor rested with each individual parish. An act of 1572 gave authority for the collection of alms in each parish by an Alms Collector. Then the Alms Collector was replaced by an Overseer of the Poor by The Poor Law Act of 1597/8 which required each parish to appoint overseers of the poor.

The updated Poor Law Act of 1601 extended the functions of 'Overseers' to the Churchwardens and from then on these officials acted together, empowered by that Act to raise through the Poor Rate, whatever was needed to support the parish poor from the owners and occupiers of property. The 'Overseers' were usually appointed in vestry meetings.

The assessments of expenditure and rates collected by the overseers were quite separate from those of the Churchwardens, though they might well be agreed and collected at the same time. In the many places where the Churchwardens were also the Overseers of the poor and vice versa, the resulting accounts were often muddled together in the same books.

In some parishes it became customary for the poor inhabitants, or 'settled poor', to be assisted by the Overseers and for poor vagrants from elsewhere to be dealt with by the Churchwardens. One of the Overseers was generally made responsible for the funds, like a treasurer, and from 1691 they were required to keep note of their disbursements.

The Overseers' responsibilities included the following:

• To provide 'outdoor relief' (help for the individual at home) and 'indoor relief' (help in an almshouse or workhouse)
• To provide the most appropriate help. The overseers would not necessarily provide outdoor relief in the form of money. Relief in kind, such as the provision of clothing, food and fuel.
• To find work for those capable of employment. This was largely an attempt to stop begging by those who could work. These people were sometimes called "sturdy beggars". They also arranged apprenticeships for poor children or orphans.
• Impose and collect the poor rate. This was a tax imposed on occupiers of property in order to finance the aid of the poor. The overseers would collect the tax from those who were required to pay.

Parish concern for its poor did not end with the creation of Poor Law Unions in 1834. Most places continued some programme of assistance to the poorer inhabitants, with distributions of coal, bread, and small sums of money, all carefully recorded, up to 1894. (the Vestry Book)

Between 1894 and 2011, by statutory power, Rampton Parish Council was able to appoint 4 trustees to the local charities:

1. Appoint one trustee for each parochial charity in place of each Overseer position who was formerly entitled to be a trustee.
2. Appoint one trustee in place of each Churchwarden position who was formerly entitled to be a trustee of a non-ecclesiastical charity.

Since 2012, the Charities Act 2011 enabled the implementation of the alternative option of appointment of the Corporate Body of the Council as the Corporate Trusteeship to the local charities. However, the parish council has a duty to choose one option or the other. The Parish Council resolved to implement this method from 2017 onward.

The Charity Commission & Small Charities Coalition recommends as a minimum a charity should have no less than 3 trustees and no more than 10 as a maximum. At Rampton we have 7 cllrs and 2 co-opted trustees fitting into this recommended amount.

The charity has approximate income of £1300 from land rent and quarterly dividend payments from the charity's investment fund.

Our Internal Auditors Report

The 3rd Tab 'Charity Land Register' of the spreadsheet below shows the land of the charity

A list of the Trustees of our Charity

A list of the staff member of our Charity

It is the intention of Coles', Moorpool & The Eyre St Thomas Day Charity to publish as much information as we can online. However, some older items are only available in print.

Residents should also be aware that the Charity is entitled to withhold certain information, but the Charity will only do this if the information is considered to be confidential. Please check the Documents page for a list of documents currently available.

We are registered with the ICO Information Commissioners Office as a Data Processor. Our Registration number is A8267837. Follow this link for full details about the Freedom of Information Act

The quickest and easiest way to find Charity minutes is on the links below. However, our Agendas and Minutes are available to view via our Council Meetings Calendar, here you will find all papers associated with each charity meeting linked to the calendar entry.

All of our documents are stored in our document management system (DMS) where you can also view our charity agendas and minutes. You can set the filter to select documents of interest.

PLEASE NOTE All Charity minutes published are classed as draft until approved at the the following charity Meeting.