Our Lady Star of the Sea (Tilbury) Finances commentary.

• Our income is falling short of our expenses resulting in net losses

• We could boost our income by depositing using Gift Aid, (for those paying Income Tax) which enables us to claim refunds of 25p from HMRC

• The majority of the Parish's expenses are fixed costs and very minimal discretionary costs that we can do without. Since our costs are fixed costs, we ought to increase our offertory giving for the Parish finances to improve.

• Given the rise in the cost of living in the UK, expenses will go up, thereby further worsening our financial position.

• We have been running down our bank account over the years, and in three to four years time we will have exhausted our bank balance.

• The Finance Committee would like to encourage parishioners to set up direct debits from their bank accounts or to use Gift Aid envelopes to enable the Parish to claim Tax refund through the Gift Aid Scheme.

• The Parish is appealing to parishioners to increase their offertory so that we can sustain ourselves.