Southampton City Scout District
2023 - 2024 Annual Report & Financial Statement
Report & Accounts for the year ended 31[st ] March 2024
TRUSTEES Ex-Officio Appointment Name
District Commissioner - Joshua Smith District Chair - Veronica Radford District Secretary - Erika Corradini District Treasurer - Tony Bradley District Explorer Scout Commissioner - Luke Hall District Scout Network Commissioner - Lucy Blatherwick District Youth Commissioner - Josie Anderson Deputy District Commissioner (Programme) - Ollie Hyde
TRUSTEES
Elected
Jane Cook Gail Langton Sarah Granger George Longhurst
Nominated
Amanda Wallace Thelma Bishop-Young Ruth Hopgood Charlotte Scholefield
Co-opted
Rex Budd (Wilverley Committee) Kay Wilkinson (Appointments Committee) Graham Meering (District President) Joe Butterworth (SSAGO Rep) Lloyd Pearson (ASU Administrator)
BANKERS: Natwest, Shirley
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER: Langdowns DFK, Chartered Accountants
District Registration number with the Scout Association: 12038
Charity Registration number: 1117805
Contact Name and Address: Tony Bradley 2 Pewsey Place SOUTHAMPTON SO15 7RX
District Chair
The Scout Association is in the midst of changing procedures across all areas, a process called Transformation. It has been a difficult gestation and even more difficult birth, with a stop-start dynamic causing confusion and exasperation! This AGM will mark the beginning of our transformation here in Southampton, with a new format, a new Constitution and a much reduced Trustee Board.
However what has not changed is our continuing success story for bringing Scouting to our local young people and community. Our youth membership is ever growing, we have a new 6[th] Explorer unit and 8 out of our 11 groups have a Squirrel Drey, welcoming children as young as 4. The level of accomplishment continues to be incredible in our young people, with large numbers of each section achieving the highest level of Chief Scout awards for their age group. As ever this is due to the fantastic hard work of you, the volunteers, who give that most valuable commodity -your time. Thank you!
Another measure of our success is that there are so many aspects to our District that offer many opportunities for adults to continue in scouting, with Network, SSAGO, ASU in Activities and Dakota, offering experienced scouters to help in any area of the District; Appointments, Training and Digital Teams, who are invaluable in helping volunteers to establish themselves in their role.
One of the most dedicated group of volunteers is the Wilverley Maintenance Team, who tirelessly look after our District Campsite in the lovely New Forest. They really need your help and offer a warm welcome and friendship while you work. One of the people who dedicated many years to helping at Wilverley was Graham Wide, who was also the District Chair for 25 years. We were sad to hear of his passing and are grateful for all that he gave to scouting in our community.
We are also sad to say goodbye to Nico and Carolyn Chart who have left the District after many years. In his long scouting career Nico was GSL at the 14[th] , then our District Training Manager and also set up and led the District Media Team. Carolyn was the Appointments Secretary and her efficient processing of our new volunteers was really appreciated. They have only moved to Romsey so we hope they will keep in touch!
Finally I would like to thank our District President, Graham and our District Secretary, Erika, who are stepping down. I am very glad to say Graham is to continue in the District as District Administrator, but I will be looking for a new Secretary when Erika finishes.
I am very pleased to announce our new President will be Thelma, who is also to take a role in the District Volunteer Team for welcoming, training and development. Thelma brings a wealth of experience in scouting, having been our District Commissioner, held County roles and forged great links with our Council through the City of Culture initiative. Thank you to Veronica. her and everyone for making scouting in Southampton such a success.
District Commissioner
Scouting in Southampton City has bucked the national trend this past year. At a time when many areas have shrunk, we’ve grown both our youth membership to 927 (+3.2% vs 2023) and total adult volunteers to 315 (+8.2% vs 2023) in the February 2024 census. It’s particularly fantastic to see the growth in volunteer numbers, as this is the first year since the pandemic that our total number of volunteers has increased. Thank you to all the amazing volunteers involved in making this growth happen.
Our Programme Team has done a phenomenal job this year, putting on a whole range of exciting District events to bring all groups together, such as our very first District Squirrel Activity Day, and old favourites like the Beavers trip to Marwell Zoo, Cubs Chess Competition, Explorers Paintballing, etc. Sadly our District Camp scheduled for May 2024 had to be postponed to 2025. Instead, a District Activity Camp was held for the Scout section at the start of May. Thank you to everyone who supported these events. Whether organising them, or making sure your young people can attend and have an enjoyable time, such a vibrant offer would have not been possible without your help.
We’ve continued to support groups that are struggling, working closely with Hampshire Scout’s Growth & Development Team. The 9th in particular is in desperate need of more volunteers and the 1st needs a new GSL. If anyone knows anyone who might be interested, please let us know. There has also been a steady stream of support mediation provided to groups and sections to help resolve issues and complaints throughout the year. This is something that appears to be becoming much more demanding on District time and resources each year since the pandemic.
Training compliance remains a high priority for Scouting. All volunteers should now have completed their Safety and Safeguarding within the required timeframes. I’d like to say a particular thanks to our Training Team and GSLs for helping keep this at an acceptable level. Looking ahead, we now need to get First Aid fully up to date as well among relevant roles. Similarly to Safety and Safeguarding training, those with overdue First Aid training will soon be required to step back from Scouting until it is up to date.
Finally, on behalf of the District I would like to express my thanks to everyone across the city and beyond who has been involved in supporting Scouting in Southampton. Without your contribution so many young people would have been deprived of the opportunity to enjoy Scouting and develop their skills for life. It’s your hard work and tireless commitment that makes all of this possible.
Joshua Smith | District Commissioner
Squirrels
Squirrels are the youngest members of the Scout family made up of girls and boys aged 4 to 5. Easily recognised by their red tops, they think big, try new things and have fun.
Squirrels have been extremely busy this year and we have had a fun packed fantastic 12 months. The section has continued to grow in the district, and we now have 8 dreys approved with 6 currently up and running. We have 2[nd] , 9[th] , 11[th] , 13[th] , 14[th] and the 26[th] with the 7[th] and 29[th] preparing to start.
On the 17[th ] June 23 the Squirrels from across the district came together for the first district squirrel fun day. They took part in many activities including Slack lines, soft archery, soft axe throwing and much more. The event was supported by some of our district explorers, who were fantastic on the day. I would also like to thank all the leaders, adults and squirrels who attended on the day.
In March 24 the squirrels along with the other sections in the district attended the ie district cross country event at the sports centre. Well done to the 13[th] squirrels who won the trophy. We are looking forward to the next cross country and hope to see the new dreys joining the fun.
Since January 2023, our youngest section, Squirrels, have been able to enjoy exciting Nights Away experiences. It has been great to see some of the squirrels participating in nights away over the past 12 months. This is a great opportunity for Squirrels.
I have had the pleasure of visiting groups over the past 12 months and presenting over 20 Chief Scout Acorn Awards. This is the highest award a Squirrel Scout can earn. To get it, they need to complete all four Challenge Awards and any two Activity Badges of your choice. The Chief Scout’s Acorn Award shows that they have had adventures, helped friends, and learned new things – it’s a big achievement, and we are very proud of them all.
We are very excited for the next 12 months and we have several amazing activities planned, such as a district trip to a farm and 2 district camps.
Amanda Wallace
District Squirrel Lead Volunteer
Beavers
Over this past year Beaver colonies across the district have taken part in a wide range of activities, day trips & camps. A number of colonies started the year by attending Marwell’s Scouting The Zoo event, held over a weekend in May.
In June we held our annual Loggerheads competition at the 13th Scout HQ. 8 Colonies attended and the young people took part in a range of bases themed around Kings & Queens. The weather was on our side and we ended the day with a much needed water fight.
To get in the festive spirit in December we held our annual Christingle Service at St James Methodist Church, then in January we attended the Pantomime at The Point. We finished up the year by celebrating Founders Day with an indoor Campfire, a big thank you to Lloyd Pearson for running this for us.
It’s been a pleasure attending colony evenings to present Bronze awards, with a large number being presented this year.
As always I’d like to say a huge thank you to all of the volunteers, Adult & Young Leaders, who provide engaging & adventurous programmes for the Beavers across our district.
Abi Bacon (Squirrel)
Cubs
The Cubs section has had a very full District calendar again this year, offering a wide range of activities to many across the 11 Packs.
Sat 13th May 2023:
A huge thankyou to Ant for running Cubs Archery Competition at 22nd HQ. The Competition was well supported and for some Cubs it was the 1st time they had shot arrows.
The competition was won by 7th Southampton (Bassett) Cubs, well done to all those involved.
Sat 10th June 2023 :
David’s Challenge Camp at Wilverley, Detectives Camp.
We had a fun weekend of Detective themed bases and enjoyed good weather.
The teams of 6 Cubs from access the District had to work and use their
Cubs knowledge to complete the set tasks.
Congratulations to the 7th Southampton (Bassett) Cubs team, who won the competition.
Sat 24th June 2023:
Cubs on the water at Testwood lakes.
Thanks to Charlie Bakerfrom 26th for organising the event.
We had 3 packs for this event with 40 Cubs signed up. The Cubs had many different opportunities on the water. We had good weather and a great day.
Unfortunately the following weekend when we had another 4 packs to take out the event had to be cancelled due to bad weather.
Sat 1st July 2023:
Cubs District outing to Blackgang Chine IOW.
172 Cubs and Leaders spent the day at Blackgang.
We enjoyed sailing up the Solent to the IOW, for some Cubs this was the 1st time they had been on a Ferry and the 1st time to the Island.
They had an amazing time on the rides, exploring all the different zones and eating Icecream(choosing the flavours was really difficult so many to choose from, the Cubs told me.) When we were returning the Cubs got to wave to the Cruise liners that were going up the Solent.
Friday 7th July (evening)2023:
Cubs Athletics/Athletics Plus badge at the Running/Athletics enclosure on the Sports Centre.
We had over 100 Cubs join us for a fun evening of sport to earn their badges. It was lovely to have so many parents stay and sit in the seating areas cheering on the Cubs. Every Cub earned either their Athletics badge or Athletics Plus badge.
Well done everyone and thank you to the leaders and parent helpers for manning the different activities and keeping scores.
- Friday 14th Sunday 16th September 2023:
Survival Camp at Ferny Crofts.
This camp was a challenge as Linda who was organising it for us was taken ill and unable to continue to organise and support the camp.(Thankfully she was alright)
Thank you to all the Leaders who came on board to help us get the activities, bases, timings and groups for activities together in such a short time.
The Cubs enjoyed a full weekend of activities, Climbing, Backwards Cooking, Science, 1st aid with an Ambulance, Mini Pioneering, Tomahaking, Zip line and much more. A campfire on Saturday evening kept us warm and as always listening to that many young people singing together was amazing to listen to across Ferny.
Sunday however was a little more challenging as we had a storm hit us and had to send Cubs home early and strike camp in torrential heavy rain and high winds. Well done Leaders and parents that stayed to help us pack up as quickly as we could.
Tuesday 5th December 2023:
Cubs Carols service.
It was lovely to return to St James Road Methodist Church and meet the new Minister Stephen who was very keen to support us and anyone else in the District who would like to use their facilities for meetings and Scouting activities.
The Cubs and their families were very generous again this year, with so many gifts
supporting SCRATCH. So that children SCRATCH support across the City would receive a present at Christmas.
Thank you once again to all those who supported the evening and to our supporters from ASU for serving drinks, mince pies and biscuits to parents and brothers and sisters of the cubs, while they waited for the Cubs to finish their party.
Tuesday 13th February 2024:
Cubs Chess Competition.
We love this competition, it is lovely to see that a game that is challenging and needs skillful thought processing is still so popular.
The evening was well supported with a Cub that is under 9 ½ years and 1 over 9 ½ years from each pack setting up and playing chess with each other throughout the evening. We had Cubs from 8 packs attending.
Chief Scouts Silvers Awards.
I have had the great pleasure of awarding Silver awards to:
7 Cubs at the 13th Southampton (Millbrook) Cub Pack. April 19th 2023.
9 Cubs at the 7th Southampton (Bassett) Cub Pack. April 20th 2023.
2 Cubs at the 11th Southampton (Freemantle) Cub Pack. April 21st 2023.
12 Cubs at the 1st Southampton (Aldermoor) Cub Pack July 18th 2023.
I know some groups have presented their own so we have had many more completed.
I have been invited to visit 6 Packs and take part in their Cub Forums so that I can see what the Cubs want to add to their programmes to give a wide variety of challenges and activities and a balanced programme. Thank you to those packs for inviting me.
The section continues to go from strength to strength and we are looking forward to another exciting year ahead and Survival camp 2025 at Lyons Copse.
Sarah Granger (Chil)
A.D.C Cubs
Southampton City District
Scouts
We ended 2023 with a District Christmas Camp at Ferny Crofts with around 45 Scouts from across 5 troops taking part. It included a range of Christmassy activities and enjoyed a festive feast as a liking activity between both sections.
Christmas Camp also served as a relaunch for the District offer for our Scout section programme (10-14 years olds). District Scout Leader Meetings to bring troop volunteers together to share ideas, collaborate, and help shape the District Programme now in full swing despite the absence of a District Scout Section Lead. These are now hosted by troops and rotate round the different groups across the city.
Unfortunately our District Camp 2024 had to be postponed. Instead, a District Activity Camp was held for the Scout section at the start of May. This went very well, with 130 young people attending from across 7 groups, supported by over 40 volunteers. Thank you to everyone who supported the event.
We look forward to seeing what comes next for the section, which appears to be in a much healthier state than a year ago at a District level. Potential future events being planned are a water activity day, water park trip, incident hike competition, and Christmas camp.
Thank you to everyone who has helped make this possible, particularly those volunteering to run future events.
Joshua Smith | District Commissioner
Explorer Scouts
The Explorer section continues to thrive and our teams coordinate effectively to offer a range of activities and events for our young people.
Some district highlights over the last year include:
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Escape to the County Camp in Dorset.
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Christmas Camp at Ferny Crofts
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District Ice Stating evening at WestQuay.
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Summit Mountaineering trip in Snowdonia
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Ferny Fest in the New Forest
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County Kodu
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Paintballing Day
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Monopoly Run in London
We are also very proud to have won the Bronze Kudu Trophy which was held earlier this year in March. Our Silver and Gold teams were also highly placed.
Our teams have also conducted numerous other camps and events throughout the year, for which I am very grateful for their dedication and time.
Size and Growth
We have an exceptional team of adult leaders who provide an outstanding programme to our young people.
We were thrilled to open a new unit to cope with the increased interest in Explorers in the east side of our district. Wyvern ESU opened in October at St Mary’s Stoneham Church Hall, where the 26th Southampton Scout Group also meet. We were extremely disappointed that the new unit did not open at 29th Portwood HQ as we had hoped. Our current challenge is to encourage young people to attend Explorers at the new unit which is on the fringe of our district.
DofE and Top Awards
Our district DofE provision continues to gain in popularity. This 2024 season we have 2 Bronze teams and a single Silver team completing their expeditions. Going forward we are looking to appoint a dedicated Top Awards Coordinator to help further improve our DofE provision and increase the number of young people achieving Chief Scout Awards
Looking ahead, we have a Summer Camp to Purbeck to look forward to in August with 24 Explorers. Activities will include a kayak trip to Brownsea island, Corfe castle, rock climbing on the coastline and a trip to the local water park.
In 2025 we are also hoping to visit Kandersteg in Switzerland. So far we have 30 young people signed up for what we hope will be an unforgettable experience.
Lastly, I would like to record my continued thanks to my exceptional leadership team, my leaders– together you continue to achieve some amazing things. I am humbled by your commitment to these Young People and the dedication you have for Scouting.
Luke Hall | District Explorer Scout Commissioner
Network
Activities
Network continues to enjoy a wide and varied programme - from kayaking and climbing to ice cream and board games!
Highlights include the Winchester Fireworks back in November, and taking part in the London Monopoly Run - big shout out to our team for coming 2nd overall in the Network competition! It sounded like a great if not rather tiring day running around London! Thanks to all those who have helped run activities this year - it’s always really appreciated and great to have your input into the programme!
Camps
Network organised and took part in a number of camps this year, including:
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Escape to the Country Camp (Southampton City Explorers and Network Challenge Camp)
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Autumn Ferny Camp
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Christmas Camp
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Winter Camp
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IOW Revolution
We very much enjoyed them all!
Membership
Over the 2023-24 year Network have seen a significant number of our members turning 25 and so beginning to phase out of our programme. We don’t ask those turning 25 to immediately leave, but the natural progression is that they tend to drop away. This does mean that some of our regular attendees are coming to less socials, and Network is therefore feeling a little more sparse than previous years.
Oh the flip side it’s been great to see more young people considering the move up from Explorers to Network - there is definitely more awareness of Network among the current older Explorers. We’ve had several come along to various socials, and are hoping to continue to see this trend!
At our peak (at Christmas Camp) we had around 22 active members and although overall at the end of the year we have had a small dip in membership, it’s currently nothing to worry about - especially with the promise of new members in September from the SSAGO cohort.
Financials
This year Network and Explorers merged bank accounts. This solved a number of issues we were having, and is a much better system for Network. Thanks to Luke and Tony for helping to work this out!
Lucy Blatherwick - District Scout Network Commissioner
Southampton SSAGO
(Student Scout & Guide Organisation)
In Summer 2023 we had four members complete their Gold DofE Expedition. The expedition was organised and run by our members. Furthermore, we had nine members attend Kandersteg International Scout Centre in an international trip, organised by Southampton SSAGO.
We had a disappointing intake of Freshers this year, with only one new member joining. The poor uptake in freshers this academic year has informed a change in strategy for next academic year. We have begun planning our Freshers term and are hoping for a good turn out.
Our members have continued to support the District in their leadership roles, including helping to set up Wyvern Explorer Unit.
This year we had members attend all three national SSAGO rallies, offering minibus driving to all rallies. We had a few members attend the national ball, something that we don’t typically do, including one member being on the organising committee.
Additionally to the national events, we had a freshers camp at Winchester fireworks, a joint winter camp with Network in the Brecon Beacons and attended the Isle of Wight Revolution. This summer we will be running a summer camp for our members at Gilwell Park.
On top of regular camps, we have held regular socials for members including hikes, crafts, our annual christmas meal and cocktail party.
In Summer 2025, we are planning to go on an international trip to Slovenia, and run another Gold DofE expedition.
Joseph Butterworth Scout Liaison 2024/2025 Southampton SSAGO
Youth Team
In my first year as Youth Commissioner I have spent time supporting district events and using them as an opportunity to hear the suggestions of scouts and explorers in the district.
At the Explorers and Scouts Christmas camp I ran a scouts forum where the scouts shared their views about what they enjoyed about scouting and what events and activities they wanted to see from a district programme. I was able to share these thoughts with the scouts leaders at the camp who will hopefully be able to incorporate these ideas into a programme for the young people. As a programme team we were able to begin this through the Scouts Survival Camp, in replacement for the postponed district camp, which included many of the ideas produced by the scouts, including a longer camp, backwards cooking and Laser-tag.
I have also visited the district’s newest explorer unit, Wyvern, where I introduced the young people and leaders to the Youshape award. It was great to hear the variety of ideas they had for growing their unit size and adding more adventure to their scouting journey!
I’m looking forward to attending more district events over the next year, including the upcoming squirrels and beavers camp, as well as visiting more groups and sections to discuss Youshape and what young people want to do with their scouting.
Josie Anderson - District Youth Commissioner
Wilverley Scout Campsite
Bookings for the year have been strong, enabling us to continue to provide a significant return to the Wilverley Dividend Fund, supporting training, equipment and investment in Scouting in our District. Financial details are in the Treasurer's report. Use of the site by our own groups is increasing, taking advantage of free and preferential rates for our own District. This rising trend will hopefully continue. Generator charges have to be passed on at cost, but these were frozen at £8 per hour for 2024.
New posts have been put in alongside the track around the field. This has been successful in preventing vehicles being taken on to the grass, with the resulting damage.
There is now a dual fuel fridge in the Charles Alan Building as well as the Cottage. Both required extra work to improve ventilation and prevent new, more sensitive carbon monoxide sensors being tripped. Other improvements to the Cottage have been to roof ventilation, chimney brickwork, plumbing, emergency lighting and hallway floor support.
Forestry England required us to conduct a tree survey in adherence to the terms of our lease. (First occurrence in the 50 years we have had the site.) This identified a lot of work needing to be done. One dead tree was felled, and about 30 trees “dead-wooded”. The last phase was to bring in a “Merlo” heavy machine to halve the height of all the conifers alongside the A35 and around the Cottage activity field. As well as efficiency, the commissioning of this machine was for safety reasons to prevent any chance of wood falling towards the main road. Work was completed in midMay 2024. A new permanent fence has been erected by us on the inside of the roadside tree line behind the two buildings, replacing our temporary fencing. This was necessary after verge clearance work done by Hampshire Highways in 2023, left the boundary insecure from a safety and safeguarding point of view.
At the end of March, our LPG generator failed, eleven years after being installed new. Work is continuing to source the parts which may resolve the problem. These are only available from the United States. At the time of writing, no supplier has been found who is willing to export to the UK. There is no electrical power on site and therefore no hot water for showers. The lack of cottage heating is not an issue during summer time, but will be by the autumn. This has increased the urgency to secure funding of approximately £150,000 needed to bring mains electricity on to the site from Holmsley.
As always, we are indebted to the six members of the maintenance team, unchanged since last year. More members would be very welcome as it would be very difficult to operate with less people. Our booking secretary Richard Webster who works very hard behind the scenes, has had extra work keeping site users up to date with the generator situation.
As well as mains electricity supply and other electrical work related to this, tasks remaining on the project list until time and manpower permit, are the replacement of the field toilet, and improvement of the drainage in the lower DofE field.
Yours in Scouting,
Rex Budd WilverLey Committee Chairman
Active support Unit
This year has been a year of steadily trying to ramp things up, and will be what we aim to continue to do going forward. The main focus has been trying to ensure that everybody is aware of what permits are available and ensuring that funding is being used where appropriate to support scouting in our area. Over the past year we’ve seen more and more scouters applying for funding and signing up to various courses from Top Rope to Power Boat Level 2’s. Progress has been slower than we’d have hoped on this though as it’s proving difficult to find providers of these courses, but we are steadily getting there, and setting up mailing lists to allow us to distribute details quicker to those who want them in the future to allow more people to sign up, but also allow us to hopefully run our own courses in the future.
Dakota ASU has attended some events over the past year including the Cubs christingle and carol service. They are very keen to attend more events though and I would implore anyone who needs assistance on evenings or events to Carol Nicholls.
Lloyd Pearson Active Support Unit Manager
District Support Teams
Training Team:
Training
With help from our six Training Advisers (Thelma, Graham, Ellie, Georgie, Iain, David) we have continued to support leaders and assistants in the district through training.
Many thanks to all leaders who have found time to keep themselves chilled and skilled. Between the leaders of the district there are 89 woodbadges in current roles.
14 of those woodbadges were awarded during 2023 and another 8 so far in 2024.
Thanks also to Georgie, Iain, plus help from Andy Ife, who have helped us run 4 first response courses last year and another three so far this year.
Keep up the good work.
Nicholas G Chart
Local Training Manager Hampshire County Scouts
Appointments Advisory Committee:
Annual Report of the Appointments Advisory Committee for
District AGM, Southampton City Scouts
June 2023 to end of May 2024 Members of the Appointments Committee this year were:
Kay Wilkinson (Chair)
Carolyn Chart (Secretary) Gail Langton Jane Cook
Christopher Shanks
Anthony Wilkinson
A huge thank you to every member of the panel for their hard work this year, and for streamlining the appointments and training process through close collaboration with Nico on the training team.
Over the last twelve months since the last AGM, we held eight Appointments Panel meetings (in, July, October, November, January, February, March, April and May) and approved the following 50 appointments.
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5 Explorer Scout Leaders
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2 Assistant Explorer scout leader
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1 Scout leader at 14th
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5 Assistant Scout Leaders at the 2nd, 7th and 14th
10 Scouts Sectional Assistants at the 2nd, 9th, 14th, 26th and 29th
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1 Cub Leader at the 25th
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7 Assistant Cub Leaders at the 1st, 7th, 14th, 26th and 29th
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4 Cubs Sectional Assistants at the 2nd, 9th, 26th
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1 Beaver leader at 26th
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5 Assistant Beaver Leaders at the 11th, 14th, 22nd and 29th
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1 Beavers Sectional Assistant at the 29th
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2 Squirrel scout leader at the 14th and 26th
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5 Squirrels Sectional Assistant at the 11th, 14th and 26th
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1 Group skills instructor at 25th
The candidates were all of a very high standard. In addition, we have considered and approved 12 changes of role or additional roles within the District - these are decided without needing to meet the candidate in person. The number of new leaders and of changes of role approved this year is a slight decrease from last year. All of our panel meetings have been on Zoom. We have also regularly sent reminders for
reviews due which are occasionally coming through– thanks so much to all those who have endeavoured to keep on top of these!
On a personal note, I will be stepping down from my role as Appointments Secretary at the end of June after 7 years in the role having started in June 2017. Thank you to all those who have served alongside me on the Appointments Committee and to those GSLs and on the District team who have worked with me to make the appointments process as welcoming and efficient as we can to all the new leaders joining us. Carolyn Chart District Appointments Secretary
Digital Team:
The digital team members are Abi Bacon, Charlie Baker, Luke Hall, Oli Bills, Sam Chapman, and me though I am retiring from this role in July 2024. This Team exists to help the District provide communications that are high quality, on-brand, and safety delivered via appropriate technologies in accordance with all relevant laws and guidance from the Scout Association.
We keep the district website and social media informative, we pass out news of district activities, and we help district members with digital communications. We look after the Google Workspace administration of email addresses, etc.
This year we have helped the district to adopt two-factor authentication for access to district email accounts, as this is standard security practice these days.
Anyone who is interested in digital and media topics is invited to coordinate with us to help us develop and encourage good communications within and beyond the district.
The digital team have also been keeping the district website, Wilverley website and group websites updated, especially when adding Squirrel sections. Please continue to let us know if you spot anything that needs to be updated. GSLs can also be added as website editors on request.
Please continue to submit news and anything your group would like to have promoted to our email address digital@southamptoncityscouts.org.uk
Nico is retiring from the Digital Team. We thank him for his time and dedication to the role. If anyone would like to join the team please let us know.
Finally here are some stats!
District Google Workspace Stats:
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Email - 127 weekly active users
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Drive - 51 weekly active users and 183gb of documents stored securely.
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Calendar 42 weekly active users
Website Stats - Page views on district website over the last 12 months:
Nico Chart & Luke Hall
Safety Advisor
There were no incidents or breaches of Health and Safety legislation reported, nor any contact with groups regarding issues or concerns they might have had over the year.
Tony Bradley, Health and Safety advisor
District Treasurer
I can report there continues to be a healthy return to bookings for Wilverley, with an income of £37,690, including a booking refund of £690, despite the fact we suffered a failure of the generator in the spring. Against this the maintenance was £5042, overheads £7130, utilities £4384, insurance £2739 and projects £2314. Taking into account all receipts and expenditure the District generated a surplus of £11,179 to be distributed between the Wilverley Long Term Project Fund and the District Dividend Fund.
Price increases of raw materials and commodities continue to rise, reflected in the increases seen in the maintenance costs above. The Wilverley committee will continue to monitor increases for the next year and going forward.
We continue to use NatWest for our current and reserve banking and continue to use FreeAgent as much as possible. During the year we moved the sum £35,000 to our investment account with CCLA, our charities investment fund, to ensure our holding with NatWest didn’t exceed the NatWest bank guarantee of £85K. NatWest have informed us that we now exceed an annual turnover of £100k and will be subject to business banking charges from 1st June 2024.
During the year we began to make use of pre-loaded payment cards for several Explorer leaders and then ADCs and some of the Wilverley maintenance team.
This is proving successful in providing flexibility to these card holders and obviating the need for them to be out-of-pocket whilst awaiting refunds.
I can report that our independent examiner Langdowns DFK were given the supporting documentation for the examination of accounts in good time, and a complete and accurate set of figures are presented to the AGM, as set out below.
We are grateful to Lucy Parry and Jade Jex of Langdowns and pleased to see a continuation of the good service we have received for the previous years in reviewing and examining the accounts, and for the work they have done on our behalf this year.
The annual census was completed in January of this year and invoices issued to the groups and units. I am pleased to say we made our combined subscription payment to the County before the end of the financial year, having received all incoming payments in good time. Early
payment reductions and a one-off County rebate were able to be passed on. It is because we process over £50k in making the census payment that we now exceed our banking turnover limit.
My thanks again to the groups, units, and their treasurers for their assistance and speedy responses in making their payments.
Tony Bradley District Treasurer June 2024.
Southampton City Scout District Receipts and Payments Account Forth• y4 ilt 20 31 2Q4 Recei ts and a ments 2023-2024 Unrnsirfl fvnd 2022.2023 1knr88tblct fvndl 4&•51 121 15 Grfl AYJ 4YI 7&) 5.123 grards 3,511 $L•l &5 11,417 IIQZ1 12.016 31,187 11170 74.QJS 83.100 Inv¢Atr•m Bank hltWg51 slY irtrt 7M7J Tol•l(oss *Mm• •J5 To(•lrne• Southampton City Scout District Receipts and Payments Account 1•t 21)23 31 21124 Recei ts and ments 2023-2024 lknrwtrtct•d funds 2022-2023 ihDrnstrlct•d fvnds
011 sur¥yt IriSurao 71X tivrt AGM 1•4 Subtrtsl •7 r¢try &142 121 st(la1 7.7 Tor•i(kn%s Exp•n Totsip•ynw 77*11 11.179 24ATJ 128.450 103.971 Cash tlts yMr•nAI Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year Xt2>2024 20224023 Unw•Btrtd•d lthrn•trfctod fund• C48h funds 8ank ¢wrprl 31,937 71,53T 10.424 Cèsrfft)kts IhSL4 17 139.fj29 128, Sub ¢4•1
The following table is the declared non-monetary assets at 31st March 2024
| Southampton City Scout District - Non Monetary Assets |
||||||||
| Assumption: Any asset sold is more than 5 years old and therefore written off |
||||||||
| Depreciation of asset value by straight line depreciation over 5 years |
||||||||
| Consumables not knowingly included | ||||||||
| Buildings at Wilverley District Camp Site NOT counted - Not realisable assets. |
||||||||
| Assets bought in 2019-20 |
2019/20 value |
2020/21 value |
2021/22 value |
2022/23 value |
2023/24 value |
2024/25 value |
||
| Wilverley Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Archery Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Canoe Club Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Climbing Wall Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Shooting Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| District Camping Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Miscellan eous |
£500.00 | £400.00 | £300.00 | £200.00 | £100.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Network Equipme |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| nt | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explorer Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Assets bought in 2020-2021 |
2020/21 value |
2021/22 value |
2022/23 value |
2023/24 value |
2024/25 value |
2025/26 value |
||
| Wilverley Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Archery Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Canoe Club Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Climbing Wall Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Shooting Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| District Camping Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Miscellan eous |
£400.00 | £320.00 | £240.00 | £160.00 | £80.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Network Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Explorer Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Assets bought in 2021-2022 |
2021/22 value |
2022/23 value |
2023/24 value |
2024/25 value |
2025/26 value |
2026/27 value |
||
| Wilverley Equipme nt |
£869.97 | £695.98 | £521.98 | £347.99 | £173.99 | £0.00 | ||
| Archery Equipme |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| nt | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canoe Club Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Climbing Wall Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Shooting Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| District Camping Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Miscellan eous |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Network Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Explorer Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Assets bought in 2022-2023 |
2022/23 value |
2023/24 value |
2024/25 value |
2025/26 value |
2026/27 value |
2027/28 value |
||
| Wilverley Equipme nt |
£1,594.4 9 |
£1,275.5 9 |
£956.69 | £637.80 | £318.90 | £0.00 | ||
| Archery Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Canoe Club Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Climbing Wall Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Shooting Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| District Camping Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellan eous |
£599.98 | £479.98 | £359.99 | £239.99 | £120.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Network Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Explorer Equipme nt |
£931.00 | £744.80 | £558.60 | £372.40 | £186.20 | £0.00 | ||
| Assets bought in 2023-2024 |
2023/24 value |
2024/25 value |
2025/26 value |
2026/27 value |
2027/28 value |
2028/29 value |
||
| Wilverley Equipme nt |
£1,442.9 0 |
£1,154.3 2 |
£865.74 | £577.16 | £288.58 | £0.00 | * | |
| Archery Equipme nt |
£158.33 | £126.66 | £95.00 | £63.33 | £31.67 | £0.00 | ** | |
| Canoe Club Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Climbing Wall Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Shooting Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| District Camping Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Miscellan eous |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Network Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Explorer Equipme nt |
£2,002.7 6 |
£1,602.2 1 |
£1,201.6 6 |
£801.10 | £400.55 | £0.00 | ||
| 2022/23 year | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
end values |
||||||||||
| bought in :- |
Current year | Current-1 |
Current-2 | Current-3 | Current-4 | Totals | ||||
| Wilverley Equipme nt |
£1,442.9 0 |
£1,275.5 9 |
£521.98 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £3,240.47 | ||||
| Archery Equipme nt |
£158.33 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £158.33 | ||||
| Canoe Club Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||||
| Climbing Wall Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||||
| Shooting Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||||
| District Camping Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||||
| Miscellan eous |
£0.00 | £479.98 | £0.00 | £160.00 | £100.00 | £739.98 | ||||
| Network Equipme nt |
£0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||||
| Explorer Equipme nt |
£2,002.7 6 |
£744.80 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £2,747.56 | *** | |||
| Tony Bradley, District Treasurer, Southampton City Scout District, 31st March 2024 |
TOTAL | £6,886.35 | ||||||||
| * | Wilverley equipme nt bought: |
Fridge £939.95 10/07/20 23 |
Wilverley Maintena nce |
|||||||
| Battery | £89.99 | 16/07/20 | Wilverley |
| Charger | 23 | Maintena nce |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Charger |
£53.99 | 29/12/20 23 |
Wilverley Maintena nce |
|||||
| CCTV equipt |
359.97 | 13/09/20 23 |
Wilverley Maintena nce |
|||||
| ** | Archery equipt |
Arrows etc |
£158.33 | 12/05/20 23 |
Activities | |||
| *** | Explorers Equipme nt |
Tents | £1,910.4 0 |
09/11/20 23 |
Explorers Equipme nt |
|||
| Cookers | £92.36 | 28/02/20 24 |
Explorers Equipme nt |
|||||
Independeiit examlner'i Yeport to the ti'ustees of .8ou(hampion e.iiy fJi%triti Suiul CAJuncil I report to the tnistces on my examinalion of thc accounts of th¢ Souihgmpton City District Scout Council for tlie year ended 31 Mardi 2024. RespThD$lbllitles And bi8Ji of report As the charily trustees of Ihe Souilthnipton Cily Di8lric(8uiuL C.(iun¢il yi)u are %()S7b1L f(Ir the preparation of the accounts Tn accordance wilh Ihc rcquircments ofthc Chariiies Act 2011 {'thc Act,). I report Ill irspect of my examirjation of tbe Southampton City Distsici SCot Council accounts cairied nut under secti()n 145 of tl)e 2Ql I ALt alld iii carrying oiit my examination I have follow¢d all d)e dpplicahle Direcli(Jns given by Ihc (:haiity C.(>mmis%iim under seclian 14.5(5){h} of tlie ACL Independent e¥aminer's statement I have eompleted my exAminntion. I confum thfit no material tter5 have come to my attention iti e()nnectioii with tliL LK4niination giving Inc edusc to bclicve diat in aiiy mAtei'ial respccl.. acc()unling TecoTd8 were not kept in respe¢t of the Southampron c.ity r)istrict Sut council a5 rcquircd by scction 130 of th¢ ACE or 2. IhL a¢Luun(¥ du nul ae¢()rd with ihusL r¢'Luriis. I h8v¢ no ¢on¢¢rns and have come acro no other matters in conne¢tion with the examination lo which atl¢ntion should bc drawn in this rewrt in order lo enable a proper underslanding of the accounts lo be reached. Signed.. Name.. Mrs L A Parry, ALA ICAEW Address.. Langdowns L)TrK Fleining Court L¢ixh Road Easileigh SouthalpIOrt. S050 9PD Dale..
Southampton City Scout District Receipts and Payments Account
| Year start date | Year start date | Year end date | Year end date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For the year from |
1st April 2023 | To | 31 March 2024 | |||
| Receipts and payments | ||||||
| 2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | |||||
| Unrestricted funds | Unrestricted funds | |||||
| £ | £ | |||||
| Receipts | ||||||
| Donations, legacies and similar income | ||||||
| Membership subscriptions | 50,655 | 45,951 | ||||
| Less:Membership subscriptions paid on (National/County/Area/District) | - | 50,655 | - | 46,072 | ||
| Net membership subscriptions retained | - | - | 121 | |||
| Sales | 137 | 15 | ||||
| Activities | ||||||
| Gift Aid | 4,986 | 4,348 | ||||
| Other similar income (insurance claim) | 4,750 | |||||
| Sub total | 5,123 | 8,992 | ||||
| Grants | ||||||
| Maintenance grant | ||||||
| Other grants | 3,518 | 500 | ||||
| Sub total | 3,518 | 500 | ||||
| Fundraising (gross) | ||||||
| Sections | 11,214 | 9,417 | ||||
| Camps | 13,021 | 12,036 | ||||
| Wilverley booking | 37,690 | 31,287 | ||||
| Other fundraising activities (Explorers, Network and ASU) | 12,170 | 30,360 | ||||
| Sub total | 74,095 | 83,100 | ||||
| Investment income | ||||||
| Bank interest | 2,726 | 891 | ||||
| Building Society interest | ||||||
| The Scout Association Short Term Investment Service | ||||||
| Property Rent dividend | 7,473 | 8,000 | ||||
| Other investment income | ||||||
| - | ||||||
| Sub total | 10,199 | 8,891 | ||||
| Total Gross Income | 92,935 | 101,484 | ||||
| Asset and investment | sales, etc. | |||||
| Total receipts | 92,935 | 101,484 |
Southampton City Scout District Receipts and Payments Account
Year start date
Year end date
For the year 1st April 2023 To 31 March 2024 from
Receipts and payments
| Receipts and payments | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | |
| Unrestricted funds | Unrestricted funds | |
| £ | £ | |
| Payments | ||
| Charitable Payments | ||
| Youth programme and activities | 6,061 | 5,085 |
| Adult support and training | 744 | |
| Rent | ||
| 180 | 160 | |
| Explorers, Network and ASU | 28,880 | 29,334 |
| Insurance | ||
| 2,739 | 2,690 | |
| Repairs and Renewals (Wilverley Maintenance) | 7,356 | 7,295 |
| Materials and equipment | ||
| Printing and photocopying | ||
| Contribution to camp costs | 11,397 | 10,152 |
| Professional fees | ||
| 816 | 780 | |
| Activities | ||
| 3,599 | 1,244 | |
| Advertising & promotion | 83 | 75 |
| Leaving & retirement gifts | 377 | |
| AGM Expenses | 45 | 194 |
| Staff Training | 961 | 222 |
| Wilverley overhead (Gas, Water, Waste, Phone etc.) | 11,514 | 9,229 |
| Sub total | ||
| 74,008 | 67,204 | |
| Fundraising expenses | ||
| Web hosting | 1,606 | 233 |
| International Jamboree Funding | 6,142 | 9,446 |
| ASU cash payment | ||
| - | ||
| Cash-in-hand written off (Activities and Treasurer) | 128 | |
| Sub total | ||
| 7,748 | 9,807 | |
| Total Gross Expenditure | 81,756 | 77,011 |
| Asset and investment purchases, etc. | ||
| Total payments | 81,756 | 77,011 |
| Net of receipts/(payments) | 11,179 | 24,473 |
| Cash funds last year end | 128,450 | 103,977 |
| Cash funds this year end | 139,629 | 128,450 |
Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year
| 2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted funds | Unrestricted funds | |
| £ | £ | |
| Cash funds | ||
| Bank current account | 22,681 | 31,937 |
| Bank deposit account | 27,278 | 46,660 |
| CCLA Charities Investment Account | 76,537 | 39,429 |
| Explorers, Network and ASU bank accounts | 11,937 | 10,424 |
| Equals card account | 1,179 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash/Floats (ASU) | 17 | ||
| Total cash funds | 139,629 |
128,450 | |
| Other monetary assets | |||
| Tax claim | |||
| Debts due from the County/Area/District/Group | |||
| Insurance claim | |||
| Sub total | |||
| - |
- | ||
| Investment assets | |||
| Investment property | |||
| Quoted investments | |||
| Other investments - detail | |||
| Sub total | |||
| - |
- | ||
| Non monetary assets for charity's own use | |||
| Badge stock | 611 |
850 | |
| Shop stock | |||
| Other stock | |||
| Land and buildings | |||
| Motor vehicles | |||
| Scouting equipment, furniture. Fixed assets | 6,886 |
3,455 | |
| Other | |||
| Sub total | 7,497 |
4,305 | |
| Liabilities | |||
| Accounts not yet paid | |||
| Expenses incurred but | not invoiced | ||
| Subscriptions not yet paid | |||
| Loan - detail | |||
| Other liabilities. | |||
| Sub total | |||
| - |
- |
Contingent liabilities and future obligations
The above receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities were approved by the Trustees on 28th June 2024 (the date of the Executive Committee meeting that approved the accounts) and signed on their behalf by:
Signature Print Name Dr. V. M. Radford Chair Mr. J. A. Bradley Treasurer
Independent examiner's i'epoi't to the ti'ustees of Southampton City Distx'ict Scout Council I repoi't to the tiiistees on iny examination of the accounts of the Soutliampton City Disti'ict Scout Council foi tlie yeai- ended 31 Mai'ch 2024. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity ti'ustees of the Southampton City District Scout Council you are i'esponsible foi. tlie pt'epai'ation of tlie accounts in accoi'dance with the i'equii-ements of tlie Chai-ilies Act 2011 {'the Act,). I repoi't in i'espect of niy exaniination of the Southampton City District Scout Council accounts caii'ied out undei- section 145 of tlie 2011 Act and in cai-rying out my examiiiation I have followed all the applicable Diiections given by the Chaiity Cominission undei. section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent examinei s statement have completed my examination. I confirin that no material mattels have come to my attention in connection witli tlie examination giving me cause to believe that in any mateiial respect.. accounting recoi-ds were not kept in iespect of tlie Southampton City Disti'ict Scout Council as i'equii-ed by section 130 of the Act. oi. 2. the accounts do not accord witli those i'ecoi'ds. I have no concei'ns and have come aci'oss no othei. matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be di'awn in this i'eport in oi'dei. to enable a pi'opei. understanding of tlie accounts to be l-eached. Signed.. Name., Mi"s L A Parry, ACA ICAEW Addi'ess: Langdowns DFK Fleming Court Leigh Road Eastleigh Southampton, S050 9PD Date..