Annual General Meeting 2022

Minutes Pro forma

Structure, governance and management

The Group’s governing documents are those of The Scout Association. They consist of a Royal Charter, which in turn gives authority to the Bye Laws of the Association and The Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association. The Group is a trust established under its rules which are common to all Scouts. The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.

The Group is managed by the Group Executive Committee, the members of which are the ‘Charity Trustees’ of the Scout Group which is an educational charity. As charity trustees they are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities. This includes the registration, keeping proper accounts and making returns to the Charity Commission as appropriate.

The Committee consists of three independent representatives, Chair, Treasurer and Secretary together with the Group Scout Leaders, individual section leaders (if opted to take on the responsibility) and members’ representation and meets every 4 months.

Members of the Executive Committee complete ‘Essential Information for Executive Committee’ training along with regular refreshers in Safety and Safeguarding.

This Group Executive Committee exists to support the Group Scout Leader in meeting the responsibilities of their appointment and is responsible for:

• The maintenance of Group property;
• The raising of funds and the administration of Group finance;
• The insurance of persons, property and equipment;
• Group public occasions;
• Assisting in the recruitment of leaders and other adult support;
• Appointing any sub committees that may be required;
• Appointing Group Administrators and Advisors other than those who are elected.

Risk and Internal Control

The Group Executive Committee has identified the major risks to which they believe the Group is exposed, these have been reviewed and systems have been established to mitigate against them.

The main areas of concern that have been identified are:

Damage to the building, property and equipment. The Group would request the use of buildings, property and equipment from neighbouring organisations such as the church, community centre and other Scout Groups. Similar reciprocal arrangements exist with these organisations. The Group has sufficient buildings and contents insurance in place to mitigate against permanent loss.

Injury to leaders, helpers, supporters and members. The Group, through the membership fees payable annually, contributes to the Scout Associations national accident insurance policy. Risk Assessments are undertaken and approved by the Group Scout Leader on behalf of the District Commissioner before all activities.

Reduction or loss of leaders. The Group is totally reliant upon volunteers to run and administer the activities of the group. If there was a reduction in the number of leaders to an unacceptable level in a particular section or the group as a whole then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section. In the worst-case scenario the complete closure of the Group.

Reduction or loss of members. The Group provides activities for all young people aged 6 to 18. If there was a reduction in membership in a particular section or the group as whole then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section. In the worst-case scenario the complete closure of the Group.

Risk and Internal Control of Finances

The group has in place systems of internal controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or loss; these include clear budget setting, two signatories for all payments, a robust finance policy with spending authorisation schedule and well considered and scoped comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered.

Reduced income. The Group is primarily reliant upon income from membership subscriptions. The group does hold a reserve to ensure the continuity of activities should there be a major reduction in income. The Committee could raise the value of subscriptions to increase the income to the group on an ongoing basis, either temporarily or permanently. The Committee’s primary plan for meet any short fall is through the hiring of the Shepway Close Centre as one of our biggest assets.

Objectives and activities

The Purpose of Scouting

Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.

The Values of Scouting

As Scouts we are guided by these values:

Integrity – We act with integrity; we are honest, trustworthy and loyal.

Respect – We have self-respect and respect for others.

Care – We support others and take care of the world in which we live.

Belief – We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes.

Co-operation – We make a positive difference; we co-operate with others and make friends.

The Scout Method

Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and:

• enjoy what they are doing and have fun
• take part in activities indoors and outdoors
• learn by doing
• share in spiritual reflection
• take responsibility and make choices
• undertake new and challenging activities
• make and live by their Promise

Financial Review

The Group’s policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resources to continue the charitable activities of the group should income and fundraising activities fall short. The Group Executive Committee considers that the group should hold a sum equivalent to 12 months running costs, designating £2400 to this purpose. This was reviewed in full in October 2022 and annually thereafter. The 2021 accounting period set the designated reserves fund at £4000. This was to include the reserves fund as set above with an additional 2 months’ worth of loan repayment cover in addition to a sum for unexpected repair of the Group minibuses.

At the end of the 2022 financial year, the Group held £11,692 cash with unallocated reserves of £5022 held in the Group’s current account against this at year end.

This is above the level required for operating expenses. However this can be explained by:

• cash held for operating costs due early in the next financial year
• the Committee’s continued rolling programme of maintenance of the Shepway Close Centre
• to fully fund the Group’s ambitious 2018-2023 growth and development plan.

Investment Policy      

The Group’s Income and Expenditure is relatively small and as a consequence does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer-term investments such as stocks and shares. The Group has therefore adopted a low risk strategy to the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only mainstream banks or building societies or The Scout Association’s Short Term Investment Service.

The Group Executive regularly monitors the levels of bank balances and the interest rates received to ensure the group obtains maximum value and income from its banking arrangements. Occasionally this may involve using an account that requires a period of notice before funds may be withdrawn, before doing so the Group Executive considers the cash flow requirements. The annual budget setting process takes this into consideration.

Public benefit statement

The Group meets the Charity Commission’s public benefit criteria under both the advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development headings.

Group Chair’s Statement

The Trustee Board have been fully committed in supporting the Group leadership team develop the Skills for Life growth and development plan laying out the roadmap for the future of our Group and Scouting locally and supporting the volunteer section teams in trying to bring down our waiting lists. The problem seems to be a difficult one to solve – the more we improve our programmes, resources and centre, the more people want to join us! We’ve supported the attempt to open a new section for Beavers, however this was not successful due to no adult being willing to volunteer to help run it. We will try again, but this year’s attempt has sadly not led to the positive outcome we were aiming for.

The Trustees have also considered the budget moving forward and with the continues cost of living crisis, we can no longer keep subs at the current level. Craig and I have set this out in the letter send to all parents last month and we hope you will understand and agree with us. We will not compromise the quality of our programme, having worked so hard to get it to where it us. In our cost cutting efforts, we have removed some of the external services we were buying into, such as cleaning, and are now doing this in house using our existing volunteers who once again have stepped up to the plate to take this on. Thank you to them and of course, any one wishing to volunteer is very welcome. Without action, our predictions were a deficit of of £10,000 in our finances by 2025 and obviously, we cannot manage this or put the group at risk. As written in the letter, we do not want finances to be a barrier to Scouting, so encourage anyone with financial difficulties casued by this increase to speak to us so we can help – we have the Penticost fund to call upon!

As always, I’d like to thank my fellow trustees for their continued support and enthusiasm in the stewardship of the Group and of course, our thanks to Craig, Alistair and the leadership team for their hard work and dedication in giving our young people the opportunity to learn skills for life.

Click the download (pdf)

2022 Annual Accounts

2022 Examiners Report