The Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund (Incorporating AMCARE UK)
Registered Charity No: 800434 / Registered G.A.Y.E. No: 000101126

Annual Report

ASBF Annual Report, Year Ending 31st March, 2008

The acknowledged name of the FUND is the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund, which was established in June 1986 on the initiative of the then President of the Chief Ambulance Officers Association for charitable purposes and has as a consequence served the Ambulance Services for over twenty years.

Over the years the FUND has accumulated capital from donations received. Capital is invested in an accepted manner and grants are paid out appropriately in accordance with the Funds approved Constitution.

Any request for financial assistance has to be carefully considered and can only be made in relatively small amounts and as a result of necessitous circumstances. The FUND has been able to distribute limited grants to applicants finding themselves in financial difficulties as a result of sudden illness, accident, disability, nursing home costs, wheelchair expenses and/or assistance with funeral expenses. Serving Members or Retired Members of the Ambulance Service requesting assistance need to complete an application form advising full details of their financial situation and reasons for seeking help.

The Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund needs to increase its small capital base and is always seeking donations. Donations however small give our Treasurer the opportunity to claim an extra 28% over and above the amount donated through the Chancellor’s Gift Aid Scheme.

Fittingly the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund is the longest standing charitable organisation in the Ambulance Service, yet many people have little or no idea about the ASBF or the ways in which we can help those members of the Ambulance Service who are in need.

Please be assured that all applications are dealt with in strict confidence and with utmost discretion. The Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund is the professional Ambulance Services own charity and is entirely devoted to helping ambulance service colleagues and their families in need.

The FUND is a Registered Charity and its registered Number is 800434. It is also registered with the "Give As You Earn Scheme" Registration Number is 000101126.

The Executive Council of Management (“the Council”) is the Legislative body of the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund (“the FUND”) and as such the Council members are the Trustees of the FUND. The Council have pleasure in presenting this report and financial statements for the year ending the 31st March 2008.

OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the FUND is for the relief of poverty, sickness and distress amongst every one employed in the Ambulance Services of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and the Republic of Ireland, or previously employed persons having retired or left such Ambulance Services on medical grounds and the dependents of such persons being likewise qualified and in furtherance of this object the FUND may assist such persons as stipulated in the Funds Constitution.

Note: Persons who have left the Ambulance Service to take up alternative employment have no constitutional rights to become a recipient from the Funds finances.

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THE COUNCIL
The management of the FUND is vested in The Council whose powers and duties are more specifically set out in clauses of the Funds Constitution.

In accordance with the FUND's Constitution, the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman were elected in the year 2005 and it is therefore necessary to hold elections for these two positions at the Annual General Meeting in this year 2008.

All other members of the Council shall hold office from the end of the meeting at which they were elected to the end of the next Annual General Meeting.

The following are the current appointed / elected Officers: -
HONORARY LIFE PRESIDENT
Mr Norman H. Lakin

CHAIRMAN: Mr. Paul Leopold
VICE CHAIRMAN: Mr. Roy Norris

The following two persons have been appointed: -

TREASURER: Mrs. Karen Jackson
SECRETARY: Mr. Simon Fermor

Members appointed to serve on the Council: -

Mr Gerry Brown, Essex
Mr Roland Chesney, Essex
Mr Robert Lee, Staffordshire
Mr Victor Holdsworth, West Midlands
Mr Cliff Randall, Wales
Mr Peter Kendall, Beds & Hertfordshire
Mr Harry Goulding, Lancashire
Mr Frank Gill, Lancashire
Mr Trevor Shelbourne, Yorkshire
Mr John Allen, Nottinghamshire

TRUSTEES
The above "Named" persons form the current Council of Management and as such are the present TRUSTEES of the FUND.

Mr Steve Evans - Retired PR Officer – West Midlands

Mr Harry Reed - Retired Durham - is a Listed Regional Helper.

MEETINGS
During the year the FUND Members attended the following meetings: -

May 2007 - Charity Chase Law Conference (Roy Norris, Vice Chairman)

23rd May 2007 - The Council Committee meeting at Caerleon House, Pontypool, Wales

27th June 2007 - AGM, at AMBEX, Harrogate Yorkshire.

19th September 2007 - The Council Committee meeting at the Fleet Management Centre, Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

20th February 2008 - The Council Committee meeting at the Maple Room, Langley Park Estate, Chippenham.

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CLAIMS
Applications for assistance, from whatever source they originate, are submitted to: -

Mr. S. D. Fermor
National Secretary
Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund
“Cherith” 150 Willingdon Road
Eastbourne
East Sussex BN21 1TS
Tel: 01323 721150
E-mail: asbf.enquiries@hotmail.co.uk

CASE COMMITTEE
The details of every case are programmed by the Secretary and referred for a decision, to the FUNDs Case Committee, consisting of the :-

Honorary Life President - Chairman - Treasurer - Secretary.

Committees can be made up of co-opted members, in which event at least two thirds of the members serving on each committee must be members of the Council.

Whilst all claims are dealt with appropriately it is most important that the entire details of a case are submitted with reliable written confirmation of the Public Sector Ambulance Service in which the person is serving or has served, on whom eligibility of a claim is based, with independent credentials where possible.

All claims should to be submitted on an official Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund claims form, so as to assist the case committee in their appraisal of each case. The Case Committee is mindful that there are many other charities with money set aside to help those who are in need, e.g., Soldiers’ Sailors’ & Airmen’s Families Association (SSAFA) - The Royal British Legion (RBL) - UNISON (Hardship Fund).

Aware of the fact that many other charities have greater resources specifically to help people who are in need, the FUNDs Case Committee always takes into consideration the possibility of apportioning payments with other charities so as to distribute the FUNDS resources in the most appropriate manner.

GENERAL
The number of applications submitted to the Secretary, have varied over the existence of the FUND, but the number of cases receiving help this year is slightly lower than last year. The categories – "Domestic Aid and Disability Aid"– covers a multiplicity of reasons for requesting help from the FUND, and are the highest categorizations paying grants to members this year. Retired members have always been entitled to apply to the FUND for assistance and the Constitution of our Fund has always given credibility to our Retired Colleagues. For over Twenty years the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund has almost certainly helped more retired personnel than any other Benevolent Organisation that is associated with the Ambulance Services.

It is noticeable that applications from retired persons, this year, have amounted to 40.625% from personnel retired by reason of age and 25% from personnel retired due to sickness, a total of 65.625% of all the cases that have received grants from our FUND.

Category of Persons given aid :-

Seven persons still in Service ----- 21.875%
Four persons sick but still in Service ----- 12.500%
Eight persons Medically Retired ----- 25.000%
Thirteen persons Retired ----- 40.625%

It is not permissible to endorse applications for relief that are not within the Funds Constitution.

The “Give As You Earn” scheme that is operating Nationwide is still a main source of regular income to the FUND. We appeal to you all to recognise the importance of contributing, in this way, to the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund. You can obtain details from the Fund's National Secretary. The most important outgoings from the FUND are to the beneficiaries. Organizational costs are kept to a minimum; the telephone and general administration costs of the National Secretary are paid for by the FUND. The FUND pays an Honorarium to the Secretary and to the Treasurer, which is reassessed annually. Since the commencement of our FUND, many important assignments, often involving hundreds of miles travelled, are performed out of generosity, given freely to the FUND.

Following the termination of The Ambulance Service Association we are grateful that the Ambulance Service Network NHS Confederation has continued to work together with the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund and the Trustees of the FUND wish to acknowledge, with high regard, the help and support The FUND is receiving.

We are conscious that the liaison we have had with the Ambulance Services Personnel Departments has been clearly beneficial both to the FUND and to the personnel they employ.

Regional Representatives are a great asset to the FUND and we are grateful that they are able to cover areas of the Country promoting the FUND's Benefits to all employees of the Ambulance Services. Now that the Ambulance Service Trusts have carried out a complete National re-organisation it would benefit all members of the Ambulance Service, and as a general rule good welfare amongst its staff, if each Ambulance Service Trust ensured that they maintained an Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund Regional Representative at all times.

The success of our FUND, as a Relief Society, is the degree to which it meets the needs of the recipients and this is mainly due to the way its Trustees discharge their responsibilities. The FUND’s Honorary Life President would therefore wish to express his appreciation, on behalf of the Fund’s Membership, to his colleagues who serve on the Council of Management for their devotion to the Fund.

The Trustees would like to place on record our sincere appreciation to those Ambulance Service Trusts Chief Executives, who have kindly allowed us to hold our meetings at their Headquarters, those Companies who have sponsored us at various times over many years and convey our sincere thanks to all those who have supported the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund throughout the year, those individuals who brought cases to our notice and our gratitude to all those people who contribute to the FUND, especially people who contribute through the “GIVE AS YOU EARN” scheme.

The Ambulance Services Memorial is a Landmark in the History of the Ambulance Services, for which we should all feel rightly proud. The Ambulance Services Memorial sited in our Remembrance Garden at The National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire, was unveiled in September 2004. We had several enquiries asking if we were going to continue to make arrangements for an Ambulance Services Remembrance Day. Arrangements have therefore been made for the Ambulance Services Remembrance Reunion to be held, with a suitable service in The Millennium Chapel of Peace and Forgiveness, at The National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire, on Thursday 18th September 2008.

I am pleased to convey my gratitude for the support given on previous remembrance days and I thank all those persons who took part to, once again, make it a day to remember.

I now have the knowledge that pursuing the Ambulance Services Memorial project has been worthwhile, it is extremely rewarding and I am satisfied that we have achieved this milestone.

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ASBF Charity Money Boxes
We now have cardboard charity saving money boxes depicting an AMBULANCE VEHICLE in which personnel can donate their loose change to the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund and we thank FERNO UK who have sponsored them. If you have not seen them around your own Ambulance Service then we suggest that you kindly make contact with our National Secretary who will ensure that you have a supply of them. It is estimated that The Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund gives coverage to at least 38,000 staff. If everyone of them saved just ONE PENNY each day and donated it to your very own charity - The Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund – we would receive the sum of £138,700 – 00p

The PARAMEDIC JOURNAL
We gratefully acknowledge the recent production of The Paramedic Journal and we wish to thank Nicky Helen and her team at E.S.P.D. Ltd on the Wirral for a very good, clear and precise production. I am sure that all of you who have been privileged to read one will appreciate the value it is to The Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund.

The PATRON
Further to The Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund amalgamation with Amcare UK which took place on the 27th March 2007 we are pleased to announce that at the last Amcare UK Annual General Meeting held on the 22nd April 2007 the decision was promulgated and the ultimate decision regarding this amalgamation was taken at The Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund - Annual General Meeting held at the Majestic Hotel on Wednesday 27th June 2007.

Mr. Simon Weston OBE

In addition we are extremely pleased to announce that Mr Simon Weston OBE., has agreed to be the Patron of The Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund and that he will be attending AMBEX 2008 in this position

After much deliberation as your Honorary Life President I feel that I should continue assisting on the ASBF case committee and to produce the annual report on a year on year basis, for and on behalf of the Trustees of the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund. May I use this occasion to convey my gratitude to you all, for your personal contribution to the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund over the years and to those who assist me in maintaining the Ambulance Services Memorial.

This report is for and on behalf of the
Trustees of the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund

Signed: - N. H. Lakin 31st March 2008

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Created by Michael W North IT Services. Copyright Ambulance Service Benevolent Fund 2004.
Last updated June 2008