Newark District Scout Council
Annual Report and Accounts year ended 31st March 2024
Registered Charity: 1031735 Scout Association Registration Number: 14703 www.newarkscouts.org.uk
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Trustees of Newark District Scout Council
The following tristees were in place during the year or when these accounts were signed.
Ex Officio Trustees Tony Roberts (Chair) Richard Dearlove (District Commissioner) Ruth Rabon (Secretary) Geoff Bow (Treasurer) Rowena Aiken (Treasurer) Steven Hartley (District Exporer Commissioner) Ben Blyth (District Scout Network Commissioner) Joshua Thorn (District Youth Commissionner)
Elected Trustees Chris Cobb Charlotte Dray Victoria Nicholson Kerry Watson Sharon Lathlane Nominated Trustees Cathy Bow Thomas Cragg Jack Kellas Natalie Muller Bankers CAF Bank Limited
Charity Address 28 Harewood Avenue NEWARK Nottinghamshire NG24 4AN
Constritution & Governance
The constitution of the District Scout Council is as laid down in the Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR) of the Scout Association, a copy of which can be found at http://www.scouts.org.uk/por
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Trustees Report
The district trustee board has been actively looking for a new chairman to fill the vacancy left for the past year. We have had an experienced member of the board stand in as chairman temporarily, this has enabled continued productive board meetings. To help share the responsibility I have volunteered to write this report regarding the activity of the district, on behalf of the board.
During this financial year we have continued to provide a variety of adventurous and youth led activities and camps for the young people in Newark scouting. This includes the Raptors and Vikings explorer units weekly meet ups alongside their events like Rabbit Run, Gladstonbury and water activities. We also helped facilitate the running of DofE and district events for sections other than explorers. As well as this we are constantly looking at district equipment provisions and how we can help the movement provide the best enrichment, this involved the continued running of the district minibus and kit trailer, as well as other more typical provisions like cooking and camping equipment.
We have a new treasurer who has conquered a steep learning curve and is now working alongside the rest of the trustees to ensure the district’s financial records are correct and understood. Objectives have been set to break down the accounting of the district units into separate funds to make it fairer and more accountable. The board discussed the drop-in membership fees due to an operational closure of some units in the district, and the steps that have been taken to help resolve the situation that caused it.
Joshua Thorn
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Treasurer's Report
The accounts have been drawn up on a receipts and payments basis
Financial Overview
The Receipts and Payments Account shows a suplus in the year of £4,924 in the year. A large backpayment from the prior year for Gift Aid went throuhg this year and so accounted for £2,684 of this. The rest was due to the timing of receipts and payments and therefore there was a balanced budget across the district in the year.
District fees remained at £6 per member this year enabling the continued used of Gold OSM which is now being used by all groups in the district.
Prepaid Cards
Prepaid cards have now been transferered over to OSM cards and these are intergrated into OSM and so enable a smoother and quicker process for all involved in their use.
Online Scout Manager (OSM)- Online Payments
As introduced last year this is now being used through the integrated system with GoCardless and is showing better financial control and usabilitiy. This has improved operation use for both Parents and Groups and will continue to be in use despite the slightly higher cost.
Online Scout Manager (OSM)- Accountancy Tools
This has been used for the Accounts this year and due to its integration and importation features with Go Cardless and the rest of OSM it is proving to be useful tool. It provides reports as required and enabled the completion of the annual reports to be done in a smooth manner.
Reserves Policy
The Scout Councils Policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resouces to continue the charitable activities of the Newark District should income and fundraising activities fall short.
The trustees note that in addition to maintaining a Scouting program, buildings must remain safe and adhere to health and safety guidance, as such we recognise that some one-off capital investments may be required.
The reserves in the year remain at £6958 restricted and £82,571 was general unrestricted at the year end. Of the unrestricted £30,000 is required as a contingency to met operational costs for the next twelve monthsand provide working capital to secure continuity of the Scouts Councils activities.
During the year the Trustees continually reassess the utilisation of the charitys remaining cash reserves for the benefit of Scouting within the District.
As at 31st March 2024, the total reserves amounted to £89,529 (£84,605 on 31st March 2023).
Rowena Aiken
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NEWARK AND DISTRICT SCOUT COUNCIL RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT For the year 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024
| Receipts 1 Membership Fees Fees Paid to County Net Membership Fees 2 Youth Programme Activities 3 Grants Donations 4 Gift Aid 5 Fund Raising 6 Minibus Hire 7 Badge and Necker Sales Bank Interest Total Receipts Payments 2 Youth Programme Activities 3 Grants Donations 7 Badge and Necker purchases 8 Support Services 9 Repairs and Maintenance Training and Development Micellaneous 10 Go Cardless and Prepaid Cards Bank Fees Sub Total Asset Purchases Total Payments Surplus (Deficit) Cash funds b/f 12 Cash Funds at y/e |
Apr 22- Mar 23 Unrestricted Restricted Total Total 27,069 0 27,069 35,948 -22,568 0 -22,568 -29,761 4,501 0 4,501 6,187 26,617 0 26,617 37,007 500 0 500 3,000 450 0 450 0 2,684 0 2,684 330 1,303 0 1,303 313 1,510 0 1,510 50 209 0 209 495 1,817 0 1,817 531 39,591 0 39,591 47,913 23,979 0 23,979 43,317 2,817 0 2,817 300 320 0 320 -174 873 0 873 554 4,261 0 4,261 3,993 118 0 118 262 142 0 142 0 426 0 426 0 1,055 0 1,055 1,083 63 0 63 72 34,054 0 34,054 49,406 612 0 612 1,173 34,666 0 34,666 50,580 0 4,924 0 4,924 -2,666 77,648 6958 84,606 87272 82,572 6958 89,530 84,606 Apr 23 to Mar 24 |
|---|---|
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NEWARK AND DISTRICT SCOUT COUNCIL Statement of Assets and Liabilities As on 31st March 2024
| 12 Cash Funds Petty Cash Current Account Prepaid Card Funds Investment Account Other Monetary Assets Trade Debtors 4 Gift Aid 1 Group Membership Fees Stock 7 District and County Badges 7 District Neckers 7 Other Badges for resale Assets for Own Use 6 Minibus (valuation for insurance purposes) Activity Equipment Office Equipment Liabilities County Membership Fees |
31/03/2024 0 15,880 3,811 69,838 89,530 374 0 708 502 0 0 502 62,000 11,153 208 73,361 0 0 |
31/03/2023 0 3,965 1,606 79,034 84,605 66 2,684 1,443 4,193 502 0 0 502 62,000 10,541 208 72,749 0 0 |
|---|---|---|
These Financial Statements were approved by the Trustees on the 4th December 2024 signed on behalf of the Trustees by:
Trustee
Rowena Aiken Treasurer
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Notes to the Accounts
1. Membership Fees
Membership fees are paid on to the County and are deducted from membership fees collected and these are shown as net in the Receipts section. This is because these fees are in effect held by the district as an agent before being passed on.
As receipts and payments may span the year-end these are not necessarily matched in the same accounting year. The table below shows the membership fees from Groups with matching receipts and payments by subscription year
| Fees from Groups less paid to County Net Total HQ Fee per member County add on per member Number of members District Levy per member |
2023/24 £ 24,087 -21483 2,604 35.50 14.00 434 6.00 |
2022/23 £ 25919 -23117 2802 35.50 14.00 467 6.00 |
2021/22 £ 22776 -21874 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 902 34.50 14.00 451 2.00 |
The district is largely dependent upon the district levy of the youth membership subscription fee to sustain its core expense of administration, training, insurance and licencing.
2. Youth Programme Activities
Explorer Activities
In addition to the regular weely meetings, 6 events were conducted in the year including, camps, hikes, Gladstonbury, Rabbit Run, Water Experience and Parks. Some were for individual Explorer Scout Units and some were combined events.
Distric Events
These include camps, Water experience day and Wide Games.
Duke of Edinburgh
During the year there were 8 Gold and 8 Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Participants.
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Analysis of Spend
| Income | Expense | Balance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D Of E | 1,792.00 | -945.06 | 846.94 |
| Events - Beavers | 780.00 | -1,160.65 | -380.65 |
| Events - Cubs | 3,550.00 | -2,225.76 | 1,324.24 |
| Events - Explorers | 15,801.50 | -12,185.47 | 3,616.03 |
| Events - Scouts | 4,363.92 | -3,983.55 | 380.37 |
| Clothing Sales | 330.00 | -1,127.00 | -797.00 |
| Activity Equpment | - | -588.12 | -588.12 |
| Rent and Meetings | - | -1,763.25 | -1,763.25 |
| 26,617.42 | -23,978.86 | 2,638.56 |
3. Grant and Donation
A donation of £400 was received from the Southwell Ploughing Match event, which takes place locally, and which the ESU's volunteer their time to assist in the event. Another donation of £50 was received from South C Sport
A Grant was awarded of £500 from Early Years. This was to assist in the set up of the Squirrel Drey for 4-6 year olds at 7th Newark.
4. Gift Aid
Last year a claim for Gift aid for the previous 4 years was made and received from HMRC. This was paid in following the last year end and therefore shows in this years accounts.
The claiming of gift aid has been more manageable following the introduction and use of OSM online payments and the use of online gift aid declarations.
5. Fundraising
£1303.27 was raised for the Czech International Camp through a Quiz Night, parade and other fundraising efforts
6. Minibus Hire
BNA donated us a Minibus in the financial year 2022-23
This is now in use by the District Scout Groups and other community organisations at a reasonable charge to cover running costs.
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7. Badge and Necker Sales
Newark District and County badges are provided by the District to Groups at a reasonable price.
Necker sales and purchases all relate to the Raptors and Vikings ESUs.
8. Support Services
Small increases were seen inline with inflation during the year in this area, across the insurance, independent examination, website and general supplies.
Additional licence costs were also incurred as per the rollout of OSM and its use within all Groups in the district.
9. Repairs and Maintenance
Ongoing annual manintenance costs for the donated Minibus and Trailer were incurred to ensure operational use.
10. GoCardless and Prepaid Cards
During the year the adoption of the OSM cards was fully implemented and other cards ceased to be operational. This has a benefit in terms of admin time required to submit expenses and more thancovers the expence incurred. than
11. Trustees Expenses
No trustee received any renumberation during the year. One trustee was reimbursed for travel expenses at a total of £65 (2023 - £85)
12. Funds
Unrestricted Funds: These funds are those received that are not subject to any special restrictions: they are divided between general funds and designated funds. Designated funds comprise amounts set aside by the Trustees of the Council to be used for a particular purposes.
Restricted Funds: Restricted funds are those earmarked for a special purpose by a donor or in terms of an appeal.
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The restricted funds held all relate to international events, grant funding for equipment and money from County to part fund a District Store.
The designated funds were used within the year to fund the Czech international trip.
| Unrestricted Funds General Fun Designated Total Unrestricted Restricted Funds Equipment International District Store Total Restricted Total Funds |
31/03/2023 Receipts in Year Transfers Payments in Year 31/03/2024 £ £ £ £ £ 71362 0 6285 0 77647 6285 0 -6285 0 0 77647 0 0 0 77647 1958 0 0 0 1958 0 0 0 0 0 5000 0 0 0 5000 6958 0 0 0 6958 84605 0 0 0 84605 |
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Group Lead Volunteer's Report
Our last AGM was held around 18 months ago, and has been delayed this year, due to illness from our outgoing treasurer, which significantly delayed the preparation of the district accounts as our new Treasurer needed to fully understand the work undertaken by her predecessor without any assistance and then learn all the systems that were in place for the district.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Geoff Bow our outgoing treasure for all the hard work he put into the treasurer role over the last 6 years or so and it is my hope that Geoff will return to the district in the future, despite having moved outside of the district. I would also like to thank Rowena Aiken, our new treasurer who has now familiarised herself with all the systems we have in place within the district. The accounts are extremely healthy within the district, one of the priorities over the coming year will be to utilise some of these funds to further enhance our offering within the district.
Over the last year recruitment has been and ever challenging prospect, with numbers of volunteers reducing. We are currently looking for three Group Lead Volunteers (GLV), having just appointed a new GLV for Balderton and a number of individual sections have limited contingency if a volunteer is suddenly unavailable. The trustee board will be focusing on different strategies to increase the number of volunteers we attract.
Scouting has just undergone the biggest change since the 1960’s with the transformation journey. This is a national directive to modernise scouting and make it dynamic and fit for the next generations. Role titles have changed and been simplified with new team structures in place and a new trustee board, less focused on operational matters and more focused on governance.
Scouting has been rocked over recent years following the tragedy on the Great Orme in 2018. This has brought about far reaching operational changes to ensure safety is front and foremost in everything we
We now have 3 Squirrel Dreys operational with plans to open further dreys over the coming year.
There are a number of Priorities for this Board to focus on over the coming year, which are very similar to last year, but the constant firefighting of recruitment has stretched resources meaning there is still lots on the ‘To do’ list. The main priorities are :-
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Adult Recruitment
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Additional 2 members for the Finance Committee
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Full budgeting to be set for the district including district levy for 2025
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Re-structuring the district to meet its obligations under the revised Scouting Structures issued by
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Gilwell under ‘Transformation’
Richard Dearlove DLV Newark District
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