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2023-12-31-accounts

First Baldock Scout Group

AGM 2024

Date: Wednesday 27[th] March 2024 Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm Venue: 1[st] Baldock Scout Hall Charity Number 1087365

Minutes

PRESENT:

Executive Committee: Paul Wheeler - Chair, Nick Cooke and Irene Coldrey - Secretary Group Leadership: Jacqui Wakefield- GSL & BSL, Fiona Potts- AGSL & CSL, Rob Hemming – SL, Deb Simpson – SL, Catherine Ashelby – ASL, Barry Dickson – DCSL, James Tiplady BSL, Amy White – ABSL, Laura Higgins – ABSL,

District Leadership: Robert Coldrey- DC

Parents: Kevin Lock and Richard Payne

1 INTRODUCTION

The GSL welcomed everyone to the meeting, thanked all for attending and thanked the Leaders and the Exec. for their support.

The chair welcomed everyone to the First Baldock Scout Group AGM, and thanked parents, leaders and those representing the Distict as listed above.

Exec. Committee: Christopher Bennet – Treasurer and Tony Gribble

Group Leadership: Chris Lewis- ASL, Fern Boughton – ACSL, Dariusz Kazubek - ACSL District Leadership: Rita Hawkins – Co-Ordinator Editor, Dave Hawkins – District Badge Secretary

The minutes of last year were approved by Robert Coldrey and seconded by Nick Cooke

GOVERNANCE TOPICS

5 Transition From Exec Committee to Trustee Board Paul Wheeler – Chair, explained that the transition from an executive committee to trustee board is to reflect the Charirty Commission guidelines and good practice and is the approach recommended by TSA (The Scout Association). The Trustees focus soley on the governance of the charity, not the delivery of Scouting, which is the responsibility of the Operartional Support function.

6 Adopt the model constitution from POR (Policy, Organisation and Rules) Paul Wheeler – Chair, In line with the recommendation from Scout Headquarters. I propose that we adopt the model constitution from Chapter 5 of Policy, Organisation and Rules. A copy of this was available for review and inspection prior to this meeting. https://www.scouts.org.uk/por/5-localgovernance-and-finance-of-groups-districts-counties/ Seconded by Robert Coldrey with a show of hands to approve

7 Note The Groups financial year. Paul Wheeler – Chair, Members of the Group Scout Council are asked to note that our charity’s financial year is 1[st] January to the 31[st] December

8 Agree the number of members that may be elected to the Trustee Board Paul Wheeler – Chair, The Group Scout Council must agree the number of people that can be elected to the Trustee Board.In line with the outgoing Trustee Board of 5 - 12 people can be elected, I propose that the Group Scout Council approves that recommendation. Seconded by Fiona Potts with a show of hands to approve.

9 Agree the quorum for each of the Group Scout Council and meetings of the Group Trustee Board Paul Wheeler – Chair, The Group Scout Council must agree the quorum for Trustee Board meetings, and any sub-committee meetings. The Charity Commission statement of good practice is that the Trustee Board quorum should be set at one third of Trustee Board members plus one and that the sub-committee quorum should be set at one third of Trustee Board members plus one. The recommendation from the outgoing Trustee Board is that the quorum should be as set the Charity Commission good practice statement. It was agreed that a minimum of three should be present. Seconded by Nick Cooke with a show of hands to approve. REVIEW of the PREVIOUS YEAR

10 SECTION REPORTS 1ST BALDOCK BEAVER COLONIES – TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY It’s been a very busy year for the beavers since last April 2023.

We began with an ambitious Air Activities sleepover with a planned visit and tour to the Shuttleworth Collection. Unfortunately, the booked coach failed to materialise on the morning so with some quick thinking and a plan from the previous year we all arrived at Baldock train station and descended on Shepreth Wild Animal Park for the day. After what could have been a mini disaster a great day was had by all. We finished the day with a chip shop supper and all beavers settled down for the night sleeping on roll mats in our scout hut. Some of our highlights have seen us complete a hike around Radwell Meadows, receive a visit from the fire service and enjoy a calm and relaxing yoga session. We finished our summer term off with a visit to the fun rings at Gosling ski slope, caught a train to Letchworth to visit Howard gardens and paddle in the lovely springs of Ashwell. For the first time since Covid we returned to Hoo Hill Maze at Shefford to explore the maze in the dark and then get stuck in the mud in their car park! We have also completed some lovely craft activities which included making little Beavers for the Christmas Church Festival, build bridges to support cups of water, complete an egg drop challenge and decorate aprons for Father’s Day.

Over the last year our beavers have been incredibly busy both at home and during meetings and we have given out an outstanding 444 badges over the year across both colonies. We currently have 32 Beavers spread over two Beaver colonies utilising 5 leaders and 4 young leaders.

Beavers that have achieved our highest award - Chief Scout Bronze, are listed below: Reuben Smith 18/07/2023 Ivan Varnavas 18/07/2023 Oscar Willoughby 13/02/2024 Kye Higgins 18/07/2023 Oliver Cherry 18/07/2023 Elliott Brown 18/07/2023 Joel Potts 18/07/2023 Thomas Walton 24/01/2024 Oscar Caton 13/02/2024 Buddy Goode-Dooher 27/03/2024 Eliott Tiplady 27/03/2024

1[ST] BALDOCK CUBS – KNIGHTS

Last year we went to camp with 1st Baldock templars in February to Leslie Sell activity centre. We completed a good deed for the site by collecting sticks and longer branches for the Leslie sell team to continue making their fences.

The older cubs enjoyed themselves, as always, at a wonderful weekend of sixers and seconder. With many of them completing parts of their base requirements for their you shape award and towards their Chief Scouts Silver. It is always a very rewarding experience for the older children.

We enjoyed an excellent St Georges Parade, hosted by 2nd Baldock, in Baldock (with the addition of the emergency text broadcast halfway through the service).

For our summer term: members of the 1st Baldock Group joined in with the greenway walk and it was excellent to see such a promising turnout. We hope to see more young people at this year's event on the 19th May.

We also enjoyed our summer camp at Boyd Field with all the cubs participating in paddleboarding, firelighting and cooking over an open fire, and climbing. This is always an opportunity for all the cubs to learn how to work within a team. We also enjoyed the company of a group of scouts from Holland who joined us for breakfast on the Sunday morning.

The end of term picnic at Wymondley Wood is always a pleasant end to the term when all the children and parents from across the sections can get together to enjoy themselves.

We returned in the autumn with some cubs having an excellent time at PGL in October. This is always a highlight of the year for our young people, and they always bring back so many good memories from their 2 nights away. These include midnight snacks to crate stacking.

Remembrance Parade had a good turnout from the pack.

We had a good year thanks to all the Cubs for contributing to a great Pack. Thanks to the parents for supporting their Cubs and allowing them to join in with all the activities and events that we offer to them. Thanks to all the Young Leaders and Leaders for being a superb team. Well done to the Cubs who achieved their Chief Scouts Silver Award.

How many badges this year? 396, including 21 different activity badges. Amazing achievement everyone, well done.

Fiona, Akela Rob, King Louie Darek, Swift Fern, Shere Khan Penny, Kaa Knights Chief Scout Silver Award Edgar Chapman James Dunstan Jake Gribble Benjamin Sterling Alex Sander Logan Hemmings Oliver Turner Harry Patrick

1[ST] BALDOCK CUBS – TEMPLARS

I joined the group at the start of the year and quickly realised that Akela Fiona and team have done a great job and I have joined a great pack. We currently have 17 Cubs and looking forward to having some more.

Catherine attends every week, and we really hope she decides to become a leader. We are very lucky to have Ryan as a young leader who has been incredibly helpful as she knows the Cubs, and the vast equipment store. We have a few amazing parents and relatives that help most weeks. Without this help the pack could not function, but we always need more.

We have done a lot of team activities including a trade post and the Cubs did brilliantly at the great egg race. The Cubs have learnt about the environment as well as doing some arts and craft. All the Cubs spoke about their hobbies and collections, its great to see their other interests. The Cubs have gained their home safety badge as well as worked towards their skills badge, so they should all be helping you at home, in a safe manner, well we tried.

Some Cubs attended the camp at Leslie Sell with the Knights and we have five attending the district sixers and seconders camp.

Yours in Scouting Barry Dickinson – Akela, District Cub Scout Leader

Templars Chief Scout Silver Awards Phoenix Perrott Isaac Brown William Patmore Rowan Potts Lucas Hammond Arthur Brewster Isaac Dumpleton Arthur Roberts

1[ST] BALDOCK SCOUT TROOP

A time to celebrate!

Challenges!

No great change on the 2022 report. There needs to be some level of change within the troop to ensure the on-going retention of leaders delivering the high-quality program to young people on a regular basis.

Congratulations to all scouts who have completed their Gold Scout Award.

Zac Gribble, Ruby Eckers, Hannah MacArthur, Jan Kazubek, Samuel Atkinson, Linus Rix-White and Chloe Water.

Looking forward to the 2024 and all the challenges it will bring.

Deborah Simpson Scout Leader

STOP PRESS!

Chief Scout Gold awards already presented in 2024 to Isaac West, Oliver Cooke, and the Scout you shape award completed by Hannah MacArthur.

11 CHAIRS REPORT

Report from the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Baldock 1[st] Scouts - March 2024 I would like to welcome everyone to the Annual General Meeting of 1[st] Baldock Scout group. I do hope you all enjoy the evening, and please do enjoy the refreshments provided as well.

Baldock 1[st] Executive committee has had another successful year, and I would like to give thanks to all the officers, leaders, and members of the committee for their help and support. Just to remind you that the executive committee are responsible the running of the hall and are not directly involved in the various activities of the Scout sections. It is our responsibility to ensure the Scout Hut is a safe and secure environment for all of the Scouting activities, and also for all of the other users of the Scout Hut.

1[st] Baldock is very lucky to have a number of regular users of the hall. The income from the regular users does allow us to maintain the property to a good standard, and we also benefit from past investments including the air pump heating system, led lighting, and

soundproofing to the main hall. This does make the hall a great place for Scouting, but also a really good facility for our other users.

I am pleased to report we have had a relatively quiet year, with no exceptional costs incurred in maintaining the hall. We have this year fitted a new CCTV system, which should help with the security of the hall and surrounding areas. We have previously suffered with low-level vandalism, which has included graffiti and damage to the storage container at the rear, plus some damage to the window grilles. We have had no further incidents since the installation, and we are able to access past recording to potentially identify perpetrators, and we are hoping that a good CCTV system will act as a real deterrent.

We have also ungraded the outdoor lighting which will enable us to continue with outdoor activities when we move into the autumn and winter months.

We are still looking to replace the wooden storage shed at the rear. I would like to thank Irene for her efforts in tidying the area at the rear of the hall which had become very overgrown with brambles and weeds, plus the ivy which was growing onto the roof. Unfortunately, when we remove the shed it is likely that the cladding on the wall of the old Hall will also require replacement, so we have to be prepared for the extra costs.

We have also maintained a substantial contingency fund held for the roof replacement, which is currently over its suggested lifespan. The roof is currently watertight, but we are aware the material used was of a lighter weight and will be quite costly to replace.

You will see in the financial report that we have a substantial amount of funds available to spend on the Hall as required. Apart the contingency reserved for the roof replacement, we also have funds available for other projects. We are considering modernising the kitchen and would also welcome any suggestions on how the Hall can be improved and upgraded.

A reminder that we will be holding our usual Scouts burger stall at the Street Fair on 14[th] May. We are looking for lots of help from our Scouts, and from parents as well. We look forward to serving you one of our lovely burgers or hot dogs.

I do thank everyone for coming along tonight to support us, and hope you enjoy the rest of the evening.

Paul Wheeler Chairman - Baldock 1[st] Executive Committee

TREASURERS REPORT 2023 Overall, the funds available to the group increased by £6,693.10 due to significant increased balances in the following group / section accounts: - Group £5,141.71 Scouts £923.68

Group Costs

Repairs / maintenance

12

Repairs in 2023 totalled £3,155.02 compared to £7,137.77 in 2022 a decrease of £3,982.75 making a total of £10,292.79 spent in two years. This is due to a variety of projects but notably the installation of CCTV and further repairs to the fabric of the building.

Cleaning

Cleaning costs were £2,267.75 in 2023 compared to £1805.62 in 2022 a difference of £462.13 due the hourly cost increasing again.

Utilities

Gas and Electricity bills have increased to £1769.74 (2023) from £1711.82 (2022). Currently the hut is using a fixed price tariff which is currently favourable in the current economic climate. Note the Group has only paid one water bill for £70.00 during 2023 with another update being requested.

Group Income

Hire

Rent in 2023 £11,865.20 was received compared to 2022 when £15,545.00 was received a decrease of £3,679.80 This is due to: -

Balances

Funds to cover the general maintenance of the hut and other associated costs incurred in the running of the 1[st] Baldock Scout Group.

There is a minimal amount of money kept as cash (less than £40) and on account for badges (less than £300) throughout the different section in the group.

Funds available in the group

Total funds available in the group’s name £55,322.54

Suggested Actions

• Sections have available £14,942.11 (£1.88 more than in 2022) needing to ensure funds raised are spent on activities without accruing significant reserves unless there is a planned financial commitment benefitting the whole section e.g., new equipment. Due to this amount being £1.88 more than in 2022 sections are now spending what they receive and unlike previous years are nor accruing greater reserves. Therefore, there is no need to increase subs for individual members.

APPOINTMENTS

13 RE-APPOINT/ APPOINT GROUP CHAIR / TREASURER / SECRETARY

The following were put forward for re-election:

Paul Wheeler – Chair, proposed by Fiona Potts and seconded by Rob Coldrey Chris Bennett – Treasurer, proposed by Irene Coldrey and seconded by Jacqui Wakefield Irene Coldrey – Secretary, proposed by Paul Wheeler and seconded by James Tiplady

14 ELECTION OF MEMBERS TO THE GROUP TRUSTEE BOARD Nick Cooke and Tony Gribble – Committee Members proposed by Irene Coldrey and seconded by Paul Wheeler

15 ELECTION OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Michael Robert Bullard was proposed as Independent Examiner proposed by Irene Coldrey and seconded by Fiona Potts.

16 PRESENTATION OF AWARDS LONG SERVICE AWARD Presented by Robert Coldrey DC James Tiplady – 10 Years Service AGSL (Assistant Group Scout Leader) WOOD BADGE Fiona Potts

17 AOB Rob Hemming would like to thank the work of the Trustee Board on the continued undating of the scout hut particully the sound proofingand new heating system both of which have made a huge difference. Formal Meeting closed at 8.15 pm Refreshments

FIRST BALDOCK SCOUT GROUP GROUP CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS - DEC 2023

EXECUTIVE SCOUTS CUBS - KNIGHTS CUBS - TEMPLARS BEAVERS TOTAL
OPENING
Current (including cash, badge
20148.53
3593.89
2415.58
3193.82
4187.46
33539.28
Deposit
15090.16
15090.16
35,238.69
£
3,593.89
£
2,415.58
£
3,193.82
£
4,187.46
£
48,629.44
£
CLOSING
Current (including cash, badge
25290.27
3588.64
2794.84
3447.49
5111.14
40232.38
Deposit
15090.16
15090.16
40,380.43
£
3,588.64
£
2,794.84
£
3,447.49
£
5,111.14
£
55,322.54
£
Year + / -
5,141.74
£
5.25
-£
379.26
£
253.67
£
923.68
£
6,693.10
£

Treasurers Report 2023

Overall, the funds available to the group increased by £6,693.10 due to significant increased balances in the following group / section accounts:Group £5,141.71 Scouts £923.68

Group Costs

Repairs / maintenance

Repairs in 2023 totalled £3,155.02 compared to £7,137.77 in 2022 a decrease of £3,982.75 making a total of £10,292.79 spent in two years. This is due to a variety of projects but notably the installation of CCTV and further repairs to the fabric of the building.

Cleaning

Cleaning costs were £2,267.75 in 2023 compared to £1805.62 in 2022 a difference of £462.13 due the hourly cost increasing again.

Utilities

Gas and Electricity bills have increased to £1769.74 (2023) from £1711.82 (2022). Currently the hut is using a fixed price tariff which is currently favourable in the current economic climate. Note the Group has only paid one water bill for £70.00 during 2023 with another update being requested.

Group Income

Hire

Rent in 2023 £11,865.20 was received compared to 2022 when £15,545.00 was received a decrease of £3,679.80 This is due to:-

Balances

• Lloyds current £25,290.27 (for expenditure)

Funds to cover the general maintenance of the hut and other associated costs incurred in the running of the 1[st] Baldock Scout Group.

There is a minimal amount of money kept as cash (less than £40) and on account for badges (less than £300) throughout the different section in the group

Funds available in the group

Total funds available in the group’s name £55,322.54

Suggested Actions