## **1[st] Corsham Scout Group**
## **Trustee’s report for the period 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025**
## **Section A – Reference and administration details**
Charity name: 1[st] Corsham (Lord Methuen’s Own) Scout Group
The Group is registered with the Charity Commission, registration number 1059288.
The Charity’s principle address is:
Corsham Scout and Guide Headquarters The Laggar Corsham Wiltshire SN13 0DE
The Charity may be contacted through the Chairman as follows:
Chris Hyde 3 Potley Lane Corsham Wiltshire SN13 9RY
Throughout the year being reported on, the following have acted as Charity Trustees:
Chris Hyde - Chair
Roger Tigwell - Treasurer
Gayle Lui - Trustee
Drew Tigwell – Lead Volunteer
Sarah Ball, Trustee (Resigned 24/09/24)
Martin Lancashire – Trustee
## **Section B – Structure, governance and management**
The Group is run as a Charitable Trust under the rules of The Charities Commission.
The Group’s governing documents are currently 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_ (POR), specifically Rule 5.4, of the Scout Association.
A proposal, agreed by the Trustee Board, to continue to adopt the Group’s governing documents (Constitution) to be in line with those contained in Section 5.4 of the _POR_ of the Scout Association is included in the Agenda for the Group AGM to be held on 24[th] September 2024.
The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the rules of The Charities Commission and Rule 5.4 of the _Policy, Organisation and Rules_ of the Scout Association.
A Trustee Board acts as the governing body for the Charity, 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
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with legislation applicable to all charities. This includes the registration, keeping proper accounts and making returns to the Charity Commission as appropriate.
The Trustee Board consists of 3 independent representatives, Chair, Treasurer and Secretary together with the Group Scout Leader and 3 Trustees who are also Section Leaders. It meets six times per year.
The Trustee Board exists to support the Group Scout Leader in meeting the responsibilities of the appointment and is responsible for:
- The maintenance of property owned by the Group;
- The raising of funds and the administration of Group finance;
- The insurance of person, property and equipment;
- Group public occasions;
- Assisting in the recruitment of leaders and other adult support;
- Appointing any sub-committees that may be required; and
- Appointing Group Administrators and Advisors other than those who are elected.
The Group has in place systems of internal controls, which are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or loss. These include a requirement for two signatories for all major payments and a range of comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered.
With effect from April 2024, there have a number of changes and clarifications to section 5.4 of the POR relating to the appointment of Trustees, the role of the Trustees, how the Trustees manage the Trust and greater separation of Trust management from the day-to-day management of the Group. These changes are being phased in during 2024 and 2025.
## **Section C – Objectives and activities**
The objectives of the Group are as a unit of the Scout Association.
The Aim of The Scout Association is to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities. The method of achieving the Aim of the Association is by providing an enjoyable and attractive scheme of progressive training, based on the Scout Promise and Law and guided by adult leadership.
The Group meets the Charity Commission’s public benefit criteria through both of:
- The advancement of education; and
- The advancement of citizenship or community development.
## **Section D – Achievements and Performance**
The Group continues to provide Scouting opportunities for young people in each of the available ageranges, catering for young people aged 6-14 years. It works in close partnership with the North Wiltshire District Explorer Scout Unit, which means that the full range of scouting provision is available locally. The Group provides the necessary infrastructure for this wide-ranging provision, including running two separate building locations and providing support and training for adult leaders.
The three sections continue to operate at or near capacity and provide a strong, progressive programme of adventurous and other activities. There is a bias towards water activities in the Scout section, as it is a Sea Scout Unit as designated by The Royal Navy.
Despite being one of the largest in the area the Group continues to find itself unable to meet all of the potential demand for places for young people at the Beavers and Cubs levels. The Trustee Board has concluded that at present, due to the hall and other facilities being in use by various sections of both the Scout Group and local Guiding Unit on each weeknight, it is not possible to extend the size of the sections
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or create additional ones. The Trustee Board will keep the situation under review. In the meantime enquiries where the Group is unable to provide a place are referred to other local Scout Groups. The Group has sufficient capacity to meet demand for Sea Scouts.
All of the activities of the Group are enabled through the hard work of a significant number of volunteers, fulfilling a diverse range of roles. There are no paid staff and the activities of the Charity would not be possible without this significant voluntary contribution.
## **Section E – Financial Review**
The Group held total funds of £33,057, including the required reserves, at the year-end. This is an increase of £4817 on the previous year (FY2023/24 - £28,240) due entirely to timing differences as a result of income for camps and trips received at the end of 2024/25 with related expenditure happening early in 2025/26.
All three Sections (Beavers, Cubs and Sea Scouts) have been meeting normally throughout the year (including attending camps and going on trips) and normal membership subscriptions are in place. Although income levels are at usual levels, it has been necessary to waive or reduce membership subscriptions in a few cases, where families have been struggling under the current economic conditions. The Trustee Board has sanctioned these on the basis that financial conditions should not be a barrier to young people to prevent them having the opportunity to benefit by the activities the Scout Group can provide. Even though the Group itself is suffering from increased operation costs, based on the budgets and forecasts prepared for the last year and the coming year, the current level of annual income is sufficient to maintain normal operations and maintain the necessary reserves.
The Board’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 Trustee Board considers that the Group should hold a sum equivalent to at least 6 months total running costs - approximately £12,000. A sum equal to this is held in a notice term deposit account, to maximise earnings on the reserves held.
As part of a review of the existing building infrastructure, the Trustee Board has signed off on a necessary renewal of elements of the main hall fire alarm system and electrical system, as identified by external experts. The fire alarm system had a major overhaul during April 2024 and an annual maintenance contract has been entered into for ongoing maintenance. The electrical works have yet to be carried out, due mainly to the difficulty in finding a contractor to do the work. A number have been approached but no quotes have been received as yet. It is anticipated these works could cost in the region of £2,000. Funds are being kept aside to pay for these works.
## **Section G – Declaration**
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustee’s report above at the Trustee Board meeting held on 10[th] September 2024.
Signed on behalf of the Trustee Board on 4[th] September 2024:
**----- Start of picture text -----**
as - Chairman
**----- End of picture text -----**
___________________________ Roger Tigwell - Treasurer
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**Draft Charities Commission Accounts Submission - Year Ended 31st March 2025**
## **Section A - Receipts and Payments**
|||**Unrestricted**
**funds**|**Restricted**
**funds**|**Endowment**
**funds**|**Total funds**|**Prior year**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||
||**A1 Receipts**|||||||
||**Membership**|||||||
||Membershipsubscriptioins|13,679|||13,679|13,760||
||lesspaid|(5,869)|||(5,869)|(4,806)||
||**Total Membership**|**7,811**|**0**|**0**|**7,811**|**8,954**||
||**Investment Income**|441|||441|420||
||**Fundraisng General**|203|||203|241||
||**Donations/Grants**|||||||
||Guides contribution towards HQ running
costs|4,800|||4,800|4,674||
||Activitycharges|16,021|||16,021|11,350||
||donations andgrants|2,503|||2,503|500||
||Gift Aid|2,719|||2,719|2,695||
||**Sundry Receipts**|||||||
||Hire of hall|2,272|||2,272|2,791||
||Sundries|0|||0|62||
||**Sub-Total**|**36,769**|**0**|**0**|**36,769**|**31,688**||
||**A2 Asset and Investment sales**|||||||
||Asset sale|0|0|0|0|0||
||**Total Receipts**|36,769|0|0|36,769|31,688||
||**A3 Payments**|||||||
||**Premises**|||||||
||Ground rent|0|||0|50||
||Heat,light,water,etc.|2,927|||2,927|3,357||
||Insurance|3,593|||3,593|3,299||
||Cleaning|3,491|||3,491|3,351||
||Repairs and renewals|2,378|||2,378|3,471||
||**Miscellaneous**|742|||742|751||
||**Insurance**|||||||
||Boats|1,228|||1,228|1,228||
||Leaders|42|||42|42||
||**Equipment**|||||||
|Purchase|1,275|||1,275|191|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Repairs|141|||141|11|
|**Training**|75|||75|177|
|**Activities Expenditure**|16,059|||16,059|11,744|
|**Sub-Total**|31,952|0|0|31,952|27,673|
|**A4 Asset and Investment Purchases**|0|0|0|0|0|
|**Total Payments**|31,952|0|0|31,952|27,673|
|Net of Receipts/(Payments)|4,817|0|0|4,817|4,015|
|A5 Transfers Between Funds|0|0|0|0|0|
|A6 Cash Funds Last Year End|28,240|||28,240|24,225|
|Cash Funds This Year End|33,057|0|0|33,057|28,240|
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of theperiod**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of theperiod**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of theperiod**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of theperiod**||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**|**Details**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||Group Accounts|**33,057**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**_Total cash funds_**|**33,057**|**-**|**-**|
||**Details**||||
|||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**Details**|**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost**
**(optional)**||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
## **B3 Investment assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use**
## **B5 Liabilities**
|||**-**|**-**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|
|**Details**|**Fund to which**
**asset belongs **|**Cost**
**(optional)**|**Current value**
**(optional)**|
|Headquarters Building||**-**|**1,168,795**|
|Boathouse Building||**-**|**134,216**|
|Boats and Contents||**-**|**135,650**|
|Note - values shown above represent insured
values||**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|
|**Details**|**Fund to which**
**liability relates**|**Amount due**
**(optional)**|**When due**
**(optional)**|
|||**-**||
|||**-**||
|||**-**||
|||**-**||
|||**-**||
CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examiner's report on the
accounts
Section A
Independent Examiner's Report
Report to the trustees
g[DLrr &Ro u P
On accounts for the y8ar
ended
31 /031 ?ozfj
Charlty no
(if any)
losqzsg
Set out on pages
ITOmemb6r to include niiMkn nf >A
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above
chartty {Yhe Trust.) for the year ended 3110 312915.
As tha charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of th6
accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011
{'the Act").
Responslblllties and
bas1$ of report
I r8POrt In respect of my examination of the Trust'5 accounts carried out
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I
have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 145(5}(b) of the Act.
Independent
examiner's statement u
of
18.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have
come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that
disclosed below ') which gives me cause to believe that in, any materral
respect:
the accounting records were not kept in accordance wrth section 130
of the Charities Act,. or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements
conrnIng the fomi and conlent of accounts set out in the Charities
(Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement
that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is not a matter
considered as part of an indep6ndent examination.
I hav8 no concems and have come across no other matters in connection
wilh the examination to which attention Should be drawn in this report in
order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Please delete the words in the brackets rf they do not apply.
Dato:
Signed:
Name..
k¥RT Sro Flrt OP
HAAT6R&O
47(14
Relevant professional
qualification{s) or body
6ftfE4r60
IER
If .c.IA
Oct 2018
(if any):
Address:
h&
aiisewdy.
Ippenham
Wiltshire SN15 3DO
Company No.. 13800518
mail.. chri
Tel.. 01249 658059
Section B
Disclosure
Only complete rf the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern
(see CC32. Independent examination of charity accounts- directions and
guidance for examiners).
Glvo he briof details of
any items that the
examlnerwishes to
dlsclose.
IER
Oct 2018