Scheme

The Trust is governed by a Scheme approved by the Charity Commission. This defines the purpose and structure of the Trust and what it does. The text of the scheme as updated in 2010 is below or can be downloaded from the documents page. The Trustees may not now be the same as in the text below as they change from time to time.

Original Scheme Sealed 19th December 1995

Amended by Trustees 17th May 2010 using the power provided by section 74D of the Charities Act 1993, as amended by the Charities Act 2006

Scheme including appointment of Trustees

CHARITY COMMISSION

In the matter of the Charity known as Warmington Almshouses in the Parish of Warmington, in the County of Northamptonshire, comprised in declaration of trust dated the 15th July 1862 as varied or affected by a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners of the 3rd October 1963; and

In the matter of the Charities Act 1993 as amended by the Charities Act 2006

SCHEME

  1. Administration of Charity.

    1. The above mentioned charity and the property thereof specified in the schedule hereto and all the other property (if any) of the Charity shall be administered and managed subject to and in accordance with the provisions of the Scheme by the body of Trustees hereinafter appointed.

    2. The name of the Charity shall be The Warmington Almshouses Charitable Trust or such other name as the Trustees from time to time by resolution may decide with the prior approval of the Charity Commissioners.

  2. Investment of cash. All sums of cash now or at any time belonging to the Charity other than the sums of cash needed for immediate working purposes, shall be invested in trust for the Charity.

  3. Vesting. The land with the buildings thereon specified in the said schedule is hereby vested in the Official Custodian for Charities for all the estate and interest therein belonging to or held in trust for the Charity.

TRUSTEES

  1. Trustees.

    1. The body of Trustees shall consist when complete of seven competent persons being-One Ex-officio Trustee, Two Nominated Trustees and Four Co-opted Trustees

    2. The Co-opted Trustees shall be persons who through residence, or other occupation or employment, or otherwise have special knowledge of the Parish of Warmington.

  2. Ex–officio Trustee.

    1. The Ex-officio Trustee shall be the Lord or the Lady for the time being of the Manor of the Parish of Elton in the County of Cambridgeshire.

    2. The Ex-officio Trustee may from time to time in writing under his or her hand duly notified to the Trustees appoint some other competent person to be a Trustee in his or her place during such time as he or she does not wish to perform the duties of Trustee.

    3. If the Lord or Lady of the said Manor is a minor his or her guardian shall be the Ex-officio Trustee until the said Lord or Lady comes of age.

  3. Nominated Trustees. The Nominated Trustees shall be appointed by Warmington Parish Council. Each appointment shall be made for a term of up to four years at a meeting convened and held according to the ordinary practice of the appointing body. The chairman of the meeting shall cause the name of each person to be notified forthwith to the Trustees or their clerk. The person appointed may be but need not be a member of the appointing council.

  4. Co–opted Trustees. Every Co-opted Trustee shall be appointed for a term of up to five years by a resolution of the Trustees passed at a special meeting of which not less than 21 days’ notice has been given and may be so appointed not more than one month before the term of an existing Co-opted Trustee expires with effect from the date of expiry but so that the latter shall not vote on the matter.

  5. Appointment of Trustees. The following persons are appointed Trustees to hold office for the periods specified:

David George Short, of WinchesterHouse, BigGreen, Warmington,

Nominated Trustee until 19th December 2013

Derek Rowell, of 43 Pierce Crescent, Warmington,

Nominated Trustee until 17th May 2014

Stephen Cheeseman, of 14 LongLane, Warmington,

Co-opted Trusteeuntil 7th Dec 2012

Christopher Ellard, of 15 PierceCrescent, Warmington,

Co-optedTrusteeuntil 7th Dec 2014

Elizabeth Davey, of 9 ChurchLane, Warmington,

Co-opted Trusteeuntil 17th May 2014

SylviaUpex, ofTheLaurelsChurchStreet, Warmington,

Co-opted Trusteeuntil 17th May 2013

  1. Declaration by Trustees. No person shall be entitled to act as a Trustee whether on a first or on any subsequent entry into office until after signing a declaration of acceptance and of willingness to act in the trusts of this Scheme.

  2. Determination of Trusteeship. A Trustee shall cease to be a Trustee if he or she:

    1. is disqualified from acting as a Trustee by virtue of section 72 of the Charities Act 1993; or

    2. becomes incapable (in the opinion of the Trustees) by reason of illness, injury or mental disorder of managing his or her own affairs; or

    3. is not an Ex-officio Trustee and is absent without the permission of the Trustees from all their meetings held within a period of one year and the Trustees resolve that his or her office be vacated; or

    4. gives not less than one month’s notice in writing of his or her intention to resign (but only if at least four Trustees will remain in office when the notice of resignation is to take effect); or

    5. ceases to possess the qualifications mentioned in clause 4 (2) of this Scheme.

  3. Vacancies. Upon the occurrence of a vacancy the Trustees shall cause a note thereof to be entered in their minutes at their meeting and in the case of a vacancy in the office of Nominated Trustee shall cause notice thereof to be given as soon as possible to the proper appointing council. Any competent Trustee may be re-appointed.

MEETINGS AND PROCEEDINGS OF TRUSTEES

  1. Ordinary Meetings. The Trustees shall hold at least two ordinary meetings in each year.

  1. Chairman. The Trustees at their first ordinary meeting in each year shall elect one of their number to be chairman of their meetings until the commencement of the first ordinary meeting of the following year. The chairman shall always be eligible for re-election. If at any meeting the chairman is not present within ten minutes after the time appointed for holding the same or there is no chairman the Trustees present shall choose one of their number to be chairman of their meeting.

  2. Special meetings. A special meeting may be summoned at any time by the chairman or any two Trustees upon not less than four days’ notice being given to the other Trustees of the matters to be discussed, but if the matters include an appointment of a Co-opted Trustee then upon not less than 21 days’ notice being given. A special meeting may be summoned to take place immediately after an ordinary meeting.

  3. Quorum. There shall be a quorum when four Trustees are present at a meeting.

  4. Voting. Every matter shall be determined by the majority of votes of the Trustees present and voting on the question. In case of equality of votes the chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote whether he or she has or has not voted previously on the same question but no Trustee in any other circumstances shall have more than one vote.

  5. Minutes. The Trustees shall keep, in books maintained for the purpose, or electronically, minutes of the proceedings of their meetings.

  6. Accounts and annual report. Charity trustees shall comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act 1993 as amended by the Charities Act 2006, relevant to the income/expenditure level of the charity with regard to :

      1. the keeping of accounting records for the Charity;

      2. the preparation of annual statements of accounts for the Charity;

      3. the auditing or independent examination of the statements of account of the Charity;

      4. the preparation of an Annual Report and the sending of it to the Charity Commission; and

      5. the preparation of an annual return and its submission to the Commission.

  7. General power to make regulations. Within the limits prescribed by this Scheme the Trustees shall have full power from time to time to make regulations for the management of the Charity and for the conduct of their business including the summoning of meetings, the appointment of a clerk, the deposit of money at a proper bank and the custody of documents.

APPLICATION OF INCOME

  1. Expenses of management. The Trustees shall first defray out of the income of the Charity the cost of maintaining the property of the Charity (including the repair and insurance of any buildings thereon) and all other charges and outgoings payable in respect thereof and all proper costs, charges and expenses of and incidental to the administration and management of the Charity.

  2. Cyclical Maintenance Fund.

    1. The Trustees may establish and maintain a reserve fund, to be entitled Cyclical Maintenance Fund, for the purpose of providing for those items of ordinary maintenance and repair of the almshouses belonging to the Charity which recur at infrequent intervals.

    2. Any such fund shall be maintained out of the income of the Charity by setting aside such annual sum sufficient for the purpose.

    3. Income of the Charity which is attributable to the fund shall constitute part of the fund.

    4. The Trustees may at any time apply the fund, or any part of it, for its purposes; but insofar as the fund is not so applied it shall be invested in trust for the Charity.

  3. Extraordinary Repair Fund. Subject to any further Order or direction of the Commissioners.

    1. The Trustees shall establish and maintain a reserve fund, to be entitled Extraordinary Repair Fund, for the purpose of providing for the extraordinary repair, improvement and rebuilding of the almshouses of the Charity.

    2. The fund shall be maintained by transfer to the fund out of the income of the Charity of such annual sum sufficient for the purpose of the fund unless the Commissioners otherwise direct.

    3. Income of the Charity which is attributable to the fund shall constitute part of the fund.

    4. The Trustees may at any time apply the fund, or any part of it, for its purpose but insofar as the fund is not so applied it shall be invested in trust for the Charity.

  4. Benefit of residents. Subject to the payments aforesaid the Trustees shall apply the income of the Charity for the benefit of the residents in the almshouses of the Charity or any of them in such manner as the Trustees think fit from time to time.

ALMSHOUSES AND RESIDENTS

  1. Almshouses. The almshouses belonging to the Charity and the property occupied therewith shall be appropriated and used for the accommodation of residents in conformity with the provisions of this Scheme.

  2. Saving for existing residents. Appointments of residents under this Scheme shall be made without prejudice to the interests of the existing residents.

  3. Qualifications of residents.

    1. The residents shall be poor and needy persons in the following order of priority-

      1. Persons who have lived in the Parish of Warmington for not less than three years,

      2. Persons who have lived in the Parishes of Cotterstock, Fotheringhay or Tansor, in the County of Northamptonshire, or any other Parish which has the same combined benefice as the Parish of Warmington, for not less than three years, or

      3. Persons not qualified under (1) (a) or (b) of this sub clause.

    2. In exceptional cases the Trustees may give preference to a poor and needy person even though they would not qualify under the above order of priority if in the opinion of the Trustees the person has the greater need.

  4. Contributions. The Trustees may make it a condition of appointing or permitting a person to reside that they shall from resources available to them –

    1. contribute a regular sum towards the cost of maintaining the almshouses and essential services in them but the amount of the regular sum shall not be such as to cause hardship;

    2. contribute towards the cost of lighting and heating the almshouses and providing hot water in them.

  5. Notice of vacancy.NoappointmentofaresidentshallbemadebytheTrusteesuntilasufficientnoticeofanexistingvacancyspecifyingthequalificationsrequiredfromapplicantshasbeenpublishedinWarmingtonbyadvertismentorotherwisesoastogiveduepublicitytotheintendedappointmentbutitshallnotbenecessarytopublishanoticeifavacancyamongthesameclassofresidentshasbeenpublished.

  6. Applications for appointment. All applications for appointment shall be made to the Trustees or their clerk in such manner as the Trustees direct. Before appointing any applicant to be a resident the Trustees shall require him of her to attend in person unless he or she is physically disabled or the Trustees are of the opinion that special circumstances render this unnecessary, An applicant may be required to supply evidence of his or her qualification for appointment.

  7. Selection of residents. Residents shall be selected only after full investigation of the suitability and circumstances of the applicants.

  8. Appointments of residents. Every appointment of a resident shall be made by the Trustees at a special meeting.

  9. Records. The Trustees shall provide and keep a book in which shall be entered the name, age and description of every person appointed to be a resident, the date of every appointment and the date and occasion of every vacancy. They shall also keep a register of all applications for appointment.

  10. Absence from almshouses. The Trustees shall require that any resident who desires to be absent from the almshouses for more than 28 days in any one year shall obtain prior consent of the Trustees or of some officer of the Charity to be nominated by them.

  11. Rooms not to be let. No resident shall be permitted to let or part with the possession of the room or rooms allotted to him or her or except with the permission of the Trustees to allow any person to share the occupation of the same or any part thereof.

  12. Warden. The Trustees may appoint a warden to perform such duties as may be necessary for the superintendence and care of residents at such reasonable salary and upon such reasonable terms as to notice within the limits permitted by law and otherwise as they think fit and may allot to the warden a room or rooms in the almshouses as a residence while he or she holds office as warden.

  13. Setting aside appointments.

    1. The Trustees may set aside the appointment of any resident who in their opinion –

      1. persistently or without reasonable excuse either disregards the regulations for the residents or disturbs the quiet occupation of the almshouses or otherwise behaves vexatiously or offensively; or

      2. no longer has the required qualifications; or

      3. has been appointed without having the required qualifications; or

      4. is suffering from mental or other disease or infirmity rendering him or her unsuited to remain a resident.

    2. Upon setting aside the appointment of a resident the Trustees shall require and take possession of the room or rooms occupied by him or her.

    3. The Trustees upon recovery of a resident whose appointment has been set aside on account of mental or other disease or infirmity may re-appoint him or her without giving previous notice of the vacancy.

  14. Regulations. The Trustees may prescribe from time to time such reasonable regulations as they consider expedient for the management of the almshouses and the welfare of the residents but so that the same shall not be at variance or inconsistent with any of the provisions of the Scheme.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

  1. Appropriation of benefits. The appropriation of the benefits of the Charity shall be made by the Managing Trustees at the meetings of their body and not separately by any individual Trustee or Trustees: Provided that the Trustees from time to time may appoint two or more members of their body to be a committee for dealing with any cases of emergency but all acts and proceedings of committees shall be reported in due course to the Trustees.

  2. Trustees not to be personally interested. No Trustee shall take or hold any interest in property belonging to the Charity otherwise than as a Trustee for the purposes thereof and no Trustee shall receive remuneration, or be interested in the supply of work or goods, at the cost of the Charity.

  3. Charity not to relieve public funds. The Trustees shall not apply income of the Charity directly in relief of rates, taxes or other public funds but may apply income in supplementing relief or assistance provided out of public funds.

  4. Questions under Scheme. Any question as to the construction of this Scheme or as to the regularity or the validity of any acts done or about to be done under this Scheme shall be determined by the Commissioners upon such application made to them for the purpose as they think sufficient.

SCHEDULE

Land situate at Warmington in the County of Northamptonshire with the buildings thereon known as 3, 5 and 7 ChurchLane.

The following investments –

£2.69 cash on deposit at Barclays Bank PLC.

£14239.09 cash on current account at the said branch of the said bank.

The following debts –

£117228.91 in the form of a mortgage – to the Charity Bank

£18900.00 in the form of a loan – to the Almshouse Association

This schedule is made up to the 30th April 2010.

Original Scheme Sealed by Order of the Commissioners 19th day of December 1995. Amended by the Trustees using the power provided by section 74D of the CharitiesAct 1993, as amended by the Charities Act 2006 by resolution at a meeting of the Trustees on 17th May 2010.