## Trustees' Annual Report 

## For the period 


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From (start date) 0 1 0 4 2 4 to end date  3 1 0 3 2 5<br>Section A Reference and administration details<br>Charity name Brunel District Scout Council<br>Other names the charity is known by<br>Registered charity number (if any) 1 1 2 8 6 4 7<br>HQ registration number 1 6 7 1 5<br>Charity’s principal address 81 Cornfield Close<br>Bradley Stoke<br>Postcode B S 3 2 9 D R<br>Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity<br>(These will be published in the annual report of the charity and the Charity Register if reporting for a Registered Charity with a charity regulator)<br>Dates acted if not for<br>Trustee Name Office (if any)<br>whole year<br>1 Clive Lewis Syme Mason District Lead Volunteer<br>2 Nick Nelson District Chair<br>3 Hugh Thorpe District Treasurer<br>4 Hazel Sperring<br>5 Paul Baker<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>



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|6<br>7<br>8<br>9<br>10<br>11<br>12<br>13<br>14<br>15|Ben Shadbolt|14-24 Team Leader|||
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||Glen Mills||||
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Names and addresses of advisers (optional information but encouraged as best practice) _(These will be published in the annual report of the charity)_ 

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||**Section B**||**Structure, governance and management**||||
|Desc<br>Type<br>(e.g.<br>How<br>(e.g<br>Trus|ription of the charity’s trusts<br>of governing document<br>trust deed, constitution)<br>the charity is constituted<br>. trust, association, company)<br>tee selection methods||||||
|||||The District's governing documents are those of the The Scout<br>Association. They consist of a Royal Charter, which in turn gives<br>authority to the Bye Laws of the Association and The Policy,<br>Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.|||
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|||||The District is a trust established under its rules which are common<br>to all Scouts.|||
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|||||The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy,|||




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The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association. 

(e.g. appointed by, elected by) 

Additional governance issues (optional information but encouraged as best practice) 

||The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy|
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||,<br>Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.|
||tion but encouraged as best practice)|
|You may choose to include additional<br>information, where relevant, about:<br>Policies and procedures adopted for:<br>a) the induction and training of trustees; b) trus|The District is managed by the District Trustee Board, the members<br>of which are the ‘Charity Trustees’ of the Scout Group which is an<br>educational charity. As charity trustees they are responsible for<br>complying with legislation applicable to charities. This includes the<br>registration, keeping proper accounts and making returns to the<br>Charity Commission as appropriate.<br>The Trustee Board consists of the Chair, Treasurer and up to 10<br>Trustees (including 2 Ex Officio Trustees) and meets every 2<br>months.<br>Members of the Trustee Board complete Being a Scouts Trustee<br>learning within the first 6 months of joining the Board.<br>This District Trustee Board exists to make sure the charity is well-<br>managed, risks are assessed and mitigated, buildings and<br>equipment are in good working order, and everyone follows legal<br>requirements and the organisation's policies and rules. Their<br>support helps other volunteers run high-quality and safe<br>programmes that gives young people skills for life.<br>|
||**Structure, governance and management (continued)**<br>**Risk and Internal Control (Specimen 1)**<br>The District Trustee Board has identified the major risks to|




**Section B Structure, governance and management (continued) Risk and Internal Control (Specimen 1)** The District Trustee Board has identified the major risks to 

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The District Trustee Board has identified the major risks to which they believe the District is exposed, these have been reviewed and systems have been established to mitigate against them. The main areas of concern that have been identified are: 

Collapse of an Explorer or Network Unit, either through lack of volunteers or insufficient volunteers. The District would look to spread existing Explorer or Network members across existing sections if volunteers could not be found by other means. Damage to the building, property and equipment. The District would request the use of buildings, property and equipment from neighbouring organisations such as the church, community centre and other Scout Districts. The District has identified the need for sufficient buildings and contents insurance to mitigate against permanent loss. Injury to leaders, helpers, supporters and members. The District through the capitation fees contributes to the Scout Associations national accident insurance policy. Risk Assessments are undertaken before all activities. Ineffective control or loss of data. The risk of a regulatory breach has led the District to identify this as a key area for review and is identifying suitable resources to review all of its tools and systems to ensure both compliance and control is in place. 

4  LT700001 (14 September 2024) 



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|**Section C**||**Objectives and activities**||
|Summary of the objects of the charity set out<br>in its governing document||**The Purpose of Scouting**<br>Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in<br>their personal development,<br>empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.<br>**The Values of Scouting**<br>As Scouts we are guided by these values:<br>**Integrity -**We act with integrity; we are honest, trustworthy and<br>loyal.<br>**Respect -**We have self-respect and respect for others.<br>**Care -**We support others and take care of the world in which we<br>live.<br>**Belief -**We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes.<br>**Co-operation -**We make a positive difference; we co-operate with<br>others and make friends.<br>**The Scout Method**<br>Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with<br>adults, work together based on the<br>values of Scouting and:<br>- enjoy what they are doing and have fun<br>- take part in activities indoors and outdoors<br>- learn by doing<br>- share in spiritual reflection<br>- take responsibility and make choices<br>- undertake new and challenging activities<br>- make and live by their Promise.||
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See section D for further details of activities undertaken. Summary of the main activities in relation to these objects 

Additional details of the objectives and activities (optional information but encouraged as best practice) 

|||See section D for further details of activities undertaken.|See section D for further details of activities undertaken.|
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|||s (optional information but encouraged as best practice)||
|You**may choose**to include further<br>statements, where relevant, about:<br>• policy on grantmaking;<br>• contribution made by volunteers;<br>• policy on investments.<br>Public benefit statement||||
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|||The District meets the Charity Commission's public benefit criteria<br>under both the advancement of education and the advancement of<br>citizenship or community development headings.||
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|**Section D**||**Achievements and performance**||
|Summary of the main achievements of<br>the charity during the year||||
|||The District is attracting potential new Trustees to the<br>Board to increase the diversity of thought in decision<br>making and act as a challenge. These are currently pre-<br>appointment.<br>A risk register has been introduced and scored with trustee<br>leads in place to identify and manage mitigation actions.<br>Regular meetings are in place using modern facilities to||




6  LT700001 (14 September 2024) 



g g p g improve decision making and highlight to potential trustees our professional approach. Scouting has been working through a huge transformation programme which was significantly impacted by the launch of the new adult membership system last November. 

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new adult membership system last November. The launch of the new system has been hugely challenging for everyone at all levels in the organisation…and continues to be so. However, the delivery of a great quality Scouting programme has been sustained and both young people and volunteer membership numbers have marginally increased. The new membership system continues to evolve as bugs & fixes are ironed out.  Realistically, this will be at least the end of 2025 but in the meantime, all volunteers continue to persevere... particularly the Group Lead Volunteers. Our current national 'Skills for Life' strategy ends at the end of 2025.  This 5yr plan was originally started in 2018 but due to COVID, was delayed. Since last year, HQ have been developing our next 5yr strategy in consultation with volunteers, youth forums and the general public. This new strategy will be launched towards the end of 2025/early 2026. The new strategy will be based on global trends and the evolving needs of young people, skills development, education, and communities towards 2035. It will shape our post-2025 vision and strategic roadmap for Scouting for the next 5yrs…so exciting times ahead!  This will have a direct influence on all on the ‘front line’ as it will shape our programme…the most important part of Scouting and also how we support our volunteers. Overall 5% increase in District membership (see separate graphic circulated with this document)...with a 5.2% increase in Young People and a 4.4% increase in volunteers. Demand has never been greater…as always we need more volunteers but equally, meeting places are also increasingly difficult to find and sustain. Scouting’s newest and youngest section for the 4-5yr olds, Squirrels, is progressing well within the District.  We now have 4 Squirrel Dreys in the District and by the end of 2025, there will hopefully be another 4. Overall, a challenging but successful year! 

**Section E Financial Review** 

8  LT700001 (14 September 2024) 



|Brief statement of the charity’s policy on<br>reserves<br>Quantify and explain any designations<br>Details of any funds materially in deficit<br>(circumstances plus steps to eliminate)||**Reserves Policy**<br>The Districts policy on reserves is to hold sufficient<br>resources to continue the charitable activities of the group<br>should income and fundraising activities fall short. The<br>District Trustee Board considers that the District should hold a sum<br>equivalent to 6 months running costs, circa £15,000.<br>The District held reserves in excess of £50,000 against this at year<br>end. This is above the level required for operating<br>expenses.<br>However this can be explained by and is held to<br>support development of Groups across the District through<br>either grants or loans.|
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|||**Investment Policy (Specimen 1)**<br>The principle source of funding are subscription payments<br>made direct to the charity by Explorer Units or through<br>annual capitation payments by all Group's across the<br>District for other members.|



Further financial review details (optional information) 

- You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant, about: **Investment Policy (Specimen 1)** 

- • the charity’s principal sources of funds The principle source of funding are subscription payments (including any fundraising); made direct to the charity by Explorer Units or through annual capitation payments by all Group's across the District for other members. 

9  LT700001 (14 September 2024) 



- how expenditure has supported the key Key expenditure items are the adminstrative costs of objectives of the charity; running a charity including premises, insurance, IT costs and training. The Charity also has substantial receipts and payments on a broadly breakeven basis for specific events that are charged separately to annual subscriptions. 

- • investment policy and objectives; **Investment Policy** The District does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer term investments. The District has therefore adopted a risk averse strategy to the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only mainstream banks or building societies. 

|**Section F**||**Other Optional Information**|||
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|Plans for future periods (details of any|||||
|significant activities planned to achieve them)|||||
|**Section G**||**Declaration**|||




The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above 

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees 

|Signature(s)<br>Full name(s)||||
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|||Nicholas Nelson|Hugh Thorpe|



10  LT700001 (14 September 2024) 



|Position (eg Secretary, Chair)<br>Date||Chair|Chair|Chair|Chair|Chair|Chair|Treasurer||
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|||1<br>2<br>1<br>0<br>2<br>5||||||||
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11  LT700001 (14 September 2024) 



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