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Expenses Policy

Downloadable version: Expenses Policy Version 1.0: Approved: 18 October 2017 [UNDER REVISION JAN 2022]

All expenses under any of the following sections must be claimed no later than 31 January following the end of the Financial Year (31st December) in which the expenditure occurred. Claims after this date will not be paid. The current Expenses Form must be used.

Travel Expenses

SCACR will, if asked, pay reasonable travel expenses to Trustees, elected Officers (Master, General Secretary, Treasurer, BRF Secretary, Safeguarding Officer) and other representatives attending the Association business meetings listed below.

  • General Committee Meetings, the AGM or any EGM
  • Annual District Meetings (Trustees and Elected Officers only, attending ADMs in Districts other than their own)
  • Team or Committee/Sub-Committee Meetings as below:
    • Finance Committee
    • Training & Recruitment Team
    • Communication & Events Team
    • Bell Maintenance & Restoration Team
    • Administration, Records & Library Team

Elected Officers may also claim reimbursement for other travel on Association business required to carry out the duties of the role to which they have been elected (this list is not necessarily exhaustive):

  • Travel to the funeral of a Member (Master only)
  • To present a 50-year membership Certificate to a Member (Master only)
  • Safeguarding training (Safeguarding Officer)
  • Travel whilst representing the Association will be at the discretion of the Trustees and should be agreed in advance.

Travel to social events and practices or on outings cannot be claimed.

Travel will be reimbursed provided that:

  • An Expense Form is completed (available from the Treasurer or the SCACR website)
  • Expenditure is evidenced wherever possible by original receipts (train/bus fares etc)
  • Car mileage claims are based on the current rate agreed by the Finance Committee (currently 25p/mile)
  • Reimbursement will be by cheque or electronic bank transfer
  • Payments in cash will not normally be made
  • Parking costs will not normally be paid.

CCCBR Annual Meeting

Travel to the annual meeting of the Council will be reimbursed for the 5 elected CCCBR representatives only.

Mileage rates on a return journey:

  • Any round trip up to 100 miles at 25p/mile
  • On a longer round trip, the first 100 miles will be reimbursed at 25p/mile, and all mileage over 100 miles will be reimbursed at 15p/mile.

Train, coach or air fares may be claimed and must be evidenced by a receipt. Train and air travel must be 2nd class/economy class.

If the venue of the meeting is more than 3 hours travel time from home (by the shortest route), and the start time of the meeting/event is before 10am, budget overnight accommodation and breakfast may be claimed at cost, to a maximum of £100, for the night before the start of the meeting. This must be supported by a receipt.

Accommodation on the evening after meeting has ended may only be claimed if the venue of the meeting is more than 4 hours travel time from home by the shortest route.

Parking overnight and at the meeting venue may be claimed.

Drinks, lunch and dinner are the responsibility of the representative and may not be claimed from the Association.

Training Courses

All Association or District training courses should set a course fee for attendees at a level which aims to cover the cost of organising and running the training course, but without making any significant profit. This should include the cost of:

  • reproduction of training course materials, postage etc
  • catering (such as tea, coffee, cakes, biscuits, and lunch if provided)
  • tower donations
  • travel at 25p/mile for the course tutor
  • other costs will be considered at the Trustees discretion only

Any profits from training courses are donated to the BRF or SYRF.

If any individual Officer or Member of the Association is asked to organise a training course for a specific tower or group of people, or to attend practices regularly to assist with progress, the tutor/helper should enter into a private agreement with the tower and ringers involved if reimbursement is desired.

District Expenses

District secretarial expenses (such as bulk copying, paper, printer ink, envelopes and postage) may be claimed from the Treasurer on production of relevant receipts.

Production and postal distribution costs for newsletters and event publicity may also be claimed by submitting the relevant receipts to the Treasurer, or by asking the supplier to submit the invoice directly to the Treasurer for direct payment. Use of email and the SCACR website is actively encouraged to minimise these expenses.

Soundbow

The cost of reprographic production and postal distribution of Soundbow may be claimed from the Treasurer on production of relevant receipts.

Association Social Events

The price of the event ticket should be set to recover the cost of the event expenses.

If supplier payment is required in advance of tickets being sold (e.g. hall hire, band/music, food orders, equipment hire, copying and printing), these costs may be claimed from the Treasurer in advance of the event on production of a receipt, or an invoice sent to the Treasurer for direct payment to the supplier.

All ticket monies should be given to the Treasurer for banking, or should be paid directly into the Association bank account. Expenses should be paid from ticket receipts only with the prior agreement of the Treasurer.

Bell Restoration Fund

The BRF Secretary or a District BRF Representative may claim reimbursement for the travel required to carry out a bell or tower inspection.

Sussex Young Ringers Fund (The Reg Johnson and Harold Wood Memorial Fund)

The adult organiser(s) of a Sussex Young Ringers event or practice may claim the following expenses from this fund:

  • Mileage to/from practices, at the rate of 25p/mile.
  • Refreshment/catering costs
  • Tower donations

It is not expected that young ringers attending Sussex Young Ringer events should have to pay towards the expenses above.

If Sussex Young Ringers are entered in Regional or National Competitions then the following additional expenses may be claimed:

  • Competition entry fees
  • Travel to the competition and accommodation/breakfast for the competition Team Manager and one other adult helper (per team) at the same rates as for CCCBR representatives above.
  • Travel to the competition and accommodation/breakfast for the young person and one parent/guardian per young person at the same rates as for CCCBR representatives above.

Version 1.0: Approved: 18 October 2017

Promoting and Supporting Bellringing in Sussex

The Sussex County Association of Change Ringers was founded on 24 January 1885. Today we have about 1200 members from more than 130 church towers right across Sussex. Our aims, which have changed little since those early days, are to promote and support change ringing on bells in Sussex.

Interested in Learning to Ring?

Bellringing is a social hobby that exercises both mind and body - it's a great way to make new friends! Bellringers in Sussex would welcome you as a new recruit! Take a look at our What is Bellringing? and Learning to Ring pages to find out more. Donate Now to support our work.

A Brief History of the SCACR

There is a long history of bells being hung in the churches of Sussex, a number are still in existence that, although not dated, can with confidence be dated back to the thirteenth century. Gradually single bells were added to, and bell fittings were altered to give more control over the sounding of them. Bell foundries were established in Sussex to cast new bells for local churches due in part to the problems of transporting heavy goods any distance.

With more control of the bells, the order in which they sounded could be altered and so change ringing was born. Dating back to the sixteenth century there are numerous records of payment for ringers across Sussex, from Bosham and Pagham in the west to Bodiam and Hailsham in the east. New rings of bells were cast to provide the musical instruments for change ringing to be practised upon.

Some of the methods being rung would be familiar to ringers today. The first peal of 5040 changes by Sussex ringers was completed at Horsham in 1766. This was Grandsire Triples and it is possible that over thirty years earlier this method was being practised in Chichester. In those days bellringing was seen very much as a secular sport to be carried out by the upper class tradesman of the town. This was the case right into the nineteenth century, however things were already changing. The Oxford Movement was developing and this resulted in more control being taken by the clergy over the bells hung in churches. This led to the formation of ringing societies up and down the country, however Sussex lagged a few years behind the pioneers. The situation was soon to be rectified.

At Brighton the formation of a Sussex ringing society had been discussed but had got no further than just talk. The catalyst was the installation of a new ring of bells at St Peter’s church in Brighton, and one of those taught to ring was George Attree. He was a well-connected business man in the town and through his endeavours our present Association was formed. He called a meeting at Brighton in December 1884 and the Sussex County Association of Change Ringers was officially formed in January 1885. The Association had 251 members from 25 towers across Sussex, and George Attree was the first secretary. The Bishop of Chichester was president; there was initially no master.

Many bellringers from Sussex have served in the armed forces. Those who never returned from the First World War are commemorated in the Roll of Honour.

Today, the Association has about 1,300 members ringing at 139 towers. The aims of the modern association are similar to those when it was first formed. The SCACR has survived and evolved to meet changing times and needs. It is in a strong position to continue supporting and promoting bellringing in Sussex into the future.

David Kirkaldy (Master of the SCACR 2010-2013) has written a book about the first 125 years of the association: "The Sussex County Association of Change Ringers - 1885-2010". 

A vision for SCACR - Revised Rules Passed

The EGM on 27th September was attended by 30 members at the Scout HQ in Hurstpierpoint. As the date clashed with a number of tower outings and weddings, the General Secretary recorded apologies from over 40 members, many of whom had commented that they were happy with the rules circulated and hoped that they would be passed.

After discussion and some minor amendments, the new set of rules was accepted

Read more: A vision for SCACR - Revised Rules Passed

Roll of Honour

Great War Centenary

Large numbers of bellringers from the British Isles and its Empire served in the First World War in His Majesty’s Forces on sea, land and in the air, at home and abroad, some never to return.

The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR) Great War 1914-1918 Roll of Honour commemorates all those known ringers who fell. These names were collected from Association Secretaries in the early 1920’s and then inscribed into a commissioned handwritten Memorial Book. The Memorial Book was presented to the Council during the 1924 meeting.

From 1995 onwards missing names began to be added to the Memorial Book and more especially so in recent years making the listing more complete and accurate as possible. In doing this it has filled up the original Book requiring a second handwritten book to be commissioned. These Memorial Books can be viewed in a display case on the way up to the ringing chamber at St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

Images of the pages of the CC Roll of Honour are available to view online. Photographic copies of the pages of each Book together with a listing of the text are available. Each entry shows the ringer’s name, initials, home tower and society name where known.

Alan Regin

2017 - Alan Regin M.B.E., CCCBR Steward of the Rolls of Honour, at the John Taylor Bell Foundry, Loughborough, Leicestershire with the bells for St George's Memorial Church, Ypres prior to their departure.

Alan Regin M.B.E., is the current Steward of the Rolls of Honour for the CCCBR and he and his team are owed a tremendous vote of thanks for the hard work they have done to ensure that as many names as possible of those bell-ringers who fell serving their county in the Great War are commemorated.

During 2018 more SCACR bell-ringers names who lost their lives in the Great War have come to light and are now listed in the latest (March 2019) SCACR Roll of Honour pdf update. This includes a listing of all the known Sussex ringers (260) and their Home Tower who served in the Great War and returned. Perhaps you may know of someone who has been missed, if you do then please let me know.

You’re all encouraged to participate in this memorial by contributing any names, photographs or biographical details that you may have to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Roll_of_Honour.pdf - updated March 2019.

Alan Seymour
March 2019

More Articles ...

  1. Safeguarding Children & Vulnerable Adults
  2. Learning to Ring
  3. Contact Us
  4. Sussex Young Ringers

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