4[th] Frodsham (Overton) Scout Group Hillside Road, Overton Frodsham WA6 6AW Website: htps://4thfrodsham.mwscouts.org/ Email scoutgroup@4thfrodshamscoutgroup.org.uk ## 4[th] Frodsham (Overton) Scouts Trustees’ Annual Report for year 1[st] Jan – 31[st] Dec 2025, 47th AGM 2026 ## Reference and administratve informaton Charity number: 1147166 Principal address: 1 Hillside Road, Frodsham, Cheshire, WA6 6AW ## Trustees and members of the Trustee board |Name|Role| |---|---| |Geof Tantum|Chair| |Dave Sconce|Treasurer| |Alex Atkinson|GroupLead Volunteer| |Rob Taylor|Trustee| |Geraldine Fleming|Trustee| |Michele Hardwick|Trustee| |Ron Sayle|Trustee| Tony Smart has agreed to continue as independent examiner ## Governance, structure and management The Group is an unincorporated association. It registered as a charity with the Charity Commission in May 2012. ## Governing document The governing document of the Group is the model constitution for Scout Groups contained within the Policy, Rules and Organisation (POR) of the Scout Association, in particular Rules 5c.1. Chapter 5: c. Consttutons of Groups, Districts and Countes (except Scotland) | Policy, Organisaton and Rules | Scouts ## Trustee appointment and recruitment Members of the Group Trustee board are appointed by several processes in accordance with POR. Trustees are elected by the AGM, where any member can stand, nominate and vote for candidates. The appointment of the Chair is approved by the AGM on the recommendation of the trustee board following a fair process. The Treasurer is elected at the AGM and serve as Trustees. The Group Lead Volunteer is an ex-officio Trustee, the role is approved by the District. Outside of the AGM, the Trustee board may co-opt Trustees, but the number of such co-opted Trustees cannot exceed in number those elected by the AGM that are not ex-officio Trustees. Page 1 of 5 Registered Charity No: 1147166 England and Wales 4[th] Frodsham (Overton) Scout Group Hillside Road, Overton Frodsham WA6 6AW Website: htps://4thfrodsham.mwscouts.org/ Email scoutgroup@4thfrodshamscoutgroup.org.uk ## Trustee inducton and training New Trustees are required to undergo Trustee training which is provided by the Scout Association. Training is facilitated online. ## Decision making processes The Trustees of the Group are the members of the Trustee board. In this report the terms ‘the Trustees’ or ‘Trustee board are used interchangeably. The Trustees are accountable to the Group Scout Council for the management of the Group. The Trustees have ultimate legal responsibility for the running of the Group. The Truste Board aims to meet about once every month The trustee board considers reports from the Chair, Treasurer, Group Lead Volunteer with Section Leaders reporting the lad volunteer, these reports are done on a regular basis. It receives updates on the Group’s financial situation and any reports of recent safety or safeguarding incidents at every meeting. The Group Lead Volunteer’s meeting serves as the primary Leaders Committee and is responsible for coordinating activity between the three sections. It is chaired by the Group Scout Leader and composed of all Leaders where possible. The Group Scout Council serves as the electoral body for the Group. A comprehensive description of its composition can be found in POR, but primarily it is composed of Scout Patrol Leaders, Leaders and volunteers, all parents of Beavers, Cubs and Scouts and any supporters or group members. It normally meets only once a year as the Group Annual General Meeting. While the Trustee board is responsible for the overall management of the Group, the day-to-day running of the Group is the responsibility of the Group lead volunteer, who is accountable in this regard to the district lead volunteer. In turn, the running of the Beaver, Cub and Scout Sections is the responsibility of the individual Section team leaders. ## Related partes, subsidiaries and custodian funds Although an independent charity in its own right, the Group is integrally involved with the wider Scouting movement. In all matters, the Group is required to act in accordance with policies and decisions made by the Scout Association at a national level, and Cheshire County Scouts and Mersey Weaver Scout District at a regional level. There is a direct line management structure from the County Commissioner down to individual leaders in the Group. The Group in turn exerts an influence on all of these organisations through their representative structures. All three Sections (Beavers, Cubs and Scouts) share a single bank account. This is in place to provide convenience to the sections and gives a clear separation between the income and expenditure of the Sections and the Group. This arrangement is regularly reviewed by the Trustee board and all expenditure must be signed for in accordance with a policy set by the Trustee board. Bank accounts require dual authorisation. Page 2 of 5 Registered Charity No: 1147166 England and Wales 4[th] Frodsham (Overton) Scout Group Hillside Road, Overton Frodsham WA6 6AW Website: htps://4thfrodsham.mwscouts.org/ Email scoutgroup@4thfrodshamscoutgroup.org.uk ## Risk management statement The Trustees are responsible for ensuring that the Group adequately manages the risks and uncertainties it faces. The Trustees believe the primary risks facing the Group are as follows: - Safeguarding of young people: the Group takes responsibility for groups of young people on a regular basis and consequently is responsible on these occasions for their health and wellbeing. To mitigate this risk, the Group complies fully with the policies of the Scout Association in this regard, including requiring volunteers to undergo DBS checks and requiring leaders to receive comprehensive training. All Leaders are required to be qualified first aiders and to thoroughly report all incidents and near misses. The Group takes out relevant insurance through the Scout Association. The Trustees also review all incidents on a regular basis. - Loss of income: the Group is a charitable, voluntary organisation and is vulnerable to the withdrawal of funding or other loss of income. To mitigate this risk, the Trustees review the Group’s financial situation at every meeting and look to ensure the Group draws on a varied and broad range of funding sources, so that the loss of any one source does not adversely affect the Group. - Loss of leaders/volunteers: The Group has no employees and is entirely dependent upon volunteers for all aspects of its work, from the running of activities in the Sections through to the administration of its finances and the work of the Trustees. Turnover of volunteers also carries with it an associated risk of loss of knowledge or experience. However, the Trustees remain confident that, thanks to its large base of friends, supporters and parents of new members, the Group will be able to maintain sufficient level of volunteers to continue its operations in the coming year. - Financial misconduct or fraud: All organisations, but particularly those that are purely reliant on volunteers, are to some degree exposed to the risk of financial misconduct or fraud. The Trustee Board has put in place to add extra checks and balances to mitigate this risk. Our accounts already require two signatures to spend money, and Sections have been required to present accounts to the Treasurer on a regular basis. In addition, the Trustee have mandated that a responsible person (e.g. the Section Leader, group lead volunteer or Group Chairman) must authorise the expenditure in principle before funds can be signed for out of the Group accounts. In practice, most significant payments are authorised the whole Trustee board through decisions in writing including email or at meetings. Subscriptions cannot be paid in cash and the Group uses online banking and payments to add extra scrutiny and minimise cash handling expect for fundraising. The Trustees believe these major risks are being adequately mitigated but regularly review the situation. Page 3 of 5 Registered Charity No: 1147166 England and Wales 4[th] Frodsham (Overton) Scout Group Hillside Road, Overton Frodsham WA6 6AW Website: htps://4thfrodsham.mwscouts.org/ Email scoutgroup@4thfrodshamscoutgroup.org.uk ## Aims and objectves The objective of the Group 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 Group provides Sections for Beavers (age 6-8), Cubs (age 8 to 10 ½ ), and Scouts (age 10 ½ to 14). ## Review of the previous year – achievements and performance The Group is in a strong position as regards numbers of children both attending the beaver and cub sections, Scouts would benefit with more members. For beavers and Cubs there is a number of children on the waiting list of age for when they move sections. This is testimony to the dedication and commitment shown by our volunteer leaders. Words can never be found to convey the thanks to these individuals both in the past, presently and into the future. Without people giving up their time to help run the sections the overall group would not exist. 4[th] Frodsham has a strong reputation for providing a ‘best in class‘ Scouting experience and our aim is to preserve this for future generations. All sections have been on camps, gone climbing, done cooking, made campfires, participated in hikes, worked towards their badge programmes, helped in the community and not to mention celebrating Remembrance Day, and VE Day. There are simply too many other activities to mention in this report. All of these exciting activities were arranged and supported by our fantastic team of leaders, helpers and young helpers and are designed to teach our young people skills for life. Once again thanks to Ron and Joyce Sayle and to Cynthia George, now with Rob and James for maintaining the building to such a high level and for managing all of our hirers, Hiring the building is the number 1 source of funding for the group outside of Subscriptions and it is so important to continue to have hirers use our facility. This was even more important as the Group finances are still affected from little fundraising. So many thanks to all the Leaders, Young Leaders, Parent helpers, Exec committee members for making it all happen for our young people in 2025 Our primary focus going forward will be recruiting more leaders, treasurer and continuing to deliver a fantastic programme for the youth. We also need to focus on a new heating system and the possibility of solar panels. We have plans to open a squirrel section to create a 4[th] section. ## Summary of fnancial performance in year A copy of our financial position will be made available in advance of the AGM. In summary the Group is on a relatively strong financial footing. The waiting list is now a district waiting list with 4[th] Frodsham being in high demand. Collection of subscriptions is efficient via ‘online scout manager‘. Special mention to Ron, Joyce and Cynthia as a serious contribution to Funds has come from the hire of HQ to local community groups when not required for Scouting purposes. We are eternally grateful for the excellent management of our facility and furthermore delighted that local groups can benefit from it at minimal cost. Page 4 of 5 Registered Charity No: 1147166 England and Wales 4[th] Frodsham (Overton) Scout Group Hillside Road, Overton Frodsham WA6 6AW Website: htps://4thfrodsham.mwscouts.org/ Email scoutgroup@4thfrodshamscoutgroup.org.uk ## Going concern The Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in existence for the foreseeable future. We do however need to upgrade the heating due to a boiler failure and increase the number of trustees with a treasurer as a priority. ## Reserves policy The Trustees have agreed to adopt of policy of holding 12 months operating costs as reserves, which currently is about £20,000. The Group has maintained throughout the year, and continues to maintain, sufficient funds to meet this criterion. ## Public beneft statement The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to guidance published by the Charity Commission regarding Public Benefit. Page 5 of 5 Registered Charity No: 1147166 England and Wales **----- Start of picture text -----**
4th Frodsham Group Scout Account
Receipts & Payments Account - Year Ending 31st December 2025
2024 2025
£ £ £ £ £ £
Balances b/fwd
24,460.95 Executive Current Account 23,213.10
- Business Premium Account -
- Sections -
- -
24,460.95 23,213.10
Receipts
12,706.81 Members' Subscriptions 13,130.40
- Gift Aid -
1,050.00 Grants and donations 990.50
- Fund Raising -
- Insurance payout 3,820.00
5,986.00 HQ, Equipment & Minibus Hire 5,149.00
6,447.12 Activity income 2,305.73
- Sundry Income -
- Insurance payout and tax refund, minibus -
26,189.93 25,395.63
**----- End of picture text -----**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Payments
2,234.82 Electricity and Gas 2,152.66
2,723.38 Insurance 1,373.45
2,312.40 Rent & Rates 3,854.00
587.10 Water 618.73
12,294.01 Activities and equipment 8,484.63
1,910.96 Building Maintenance & Cleaning 4,657.88
1,119.45 Vehicle Costs 784.34
141.51 Other expenditure (inc uniforms/badges) 571.78
161.15 Internet connection -
20.00 Leader Training -
3,933.00 27,437.78 Capitation 4,725.00 27,222.47
- 1,247.85 Surplus/Deficit for Year - 1,826.84
Balances c/fwd
23,213.10 Executive Current Account 21,386.26
- Business Premium Account -
- Sections -
- -
23,213.10 21,386.26
Signed............…………...................... Date..................................
Honorary Treasurer
**----- End of picture text -----**
## 4th Frodsham Scout Troop Receipts & Payments Account - Year Ending 31st December 2025 |Balances b/fwd
Executve Current Account
Business Premium Account
Scouts
Cubs
Beavers
Receipts
Members' Subscriptons
Gif Aid
Grants & Donatons
Fund Raising
Insurance Payout
HQ, Equipment & Minibus Hire
Event/Actvity Income
Transfers from sectons
Sundry Income
Bank Interest|Executve
2025
£
£
23,213.10
-
-
-
-
-
23,213.10
13,130.40
-
990.50
-
3,820.00
5,149.00
2,305.73
-
-
-||Scouts
£
£
Acc closed in 2021
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-||Cubs
£
£
Acc closed in 2021
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-||Beavers
£
£
Acc closed in 2021
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-||All
2025
£
£
23,213.10
-
-
-
-
-
23,213.10
13,130.40
-
990.50
-
3,820.00
5,149.00
2,305.73
-
-
-
-
-
25,395.63| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Payments
Electricity & Gas
Insurance
Rent & Rates
Water
Actvites and equipment
Building Maintenance & Cleaning
Vehicle Costs
Other expenditure (inc uniform/ba
Uniforms/Badges
Leader training
Internet connecton
Sectons' Allowance
Sectons' expenditure
Scouts
Cubs
Beavers
Group Scout Leader
Capitaton
Surplus/Defcit for Year
Balances c/fwd
Executve Current Account
Business Premium Account
Group Scout Leader
Scouts
Cubs
Beavers|2,152.66
1,373.45
3,854.00
618.73
8,484.63
4,657.88
784.34
d 571.78
-
-
-
-
4,725.00|


















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||2,152.66
-
1,373.45
3,854.00
618.73
8,484.63
4,657.88
784.34
571.78
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4,725.00|

















27,222.47
- 1,826.84






| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||21,386.26
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-|| |||21,386.26||-||-|||-|||21,386.26| |||||||||||||| 21,386.26 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the truste￿ | members of 4° FrcNJsham {O¥erton) S￿uts Group On accounts forthe year ended 2025 Charity no lrfanyl 1147166 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examivth'on of the accounts of the above charityllhe Trusf) for the year ended 3111212025 Responsibilities and As Ihe charity trustees of the Trust, you are resp)nsible for the preparation basis of report of the a(thunts in ￿1rda￿e with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Ihe Acr). I report in resped of my examination of the Trust's ￿cOuntS carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have follcfyved the applicable Directions gtven by the Charity Commission under section 145{5>(b) of the Ad. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material mattets have CQTnE to my *tention in connection wtth the exami[￿tion which gives rr cause to bdieve that in. any material respxct" aca)unts'ng records ware not kept in ac￿rdar￿e with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not ￿ wrth the a¢xounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no COn￿mS and have come across no other matters in connection wilh the examination to which attenb'on should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the xcounts to be reathed. . Please (￿lete the in Ihe braL*ets rfthey do not apply. Signed: Name: Antony RayrnC￿d Smart Relevant professional qualification(s) or body Ilf any): CIMA (Retired) Address: 60 Bates Lane Helsby Frt>dsham WA6 9LF Section B Disclosure Only ￿mplete If the examinef needs to hNJhlight matters of concem Isee CC32, Independent examin*'on of chanty ￿nts. directions and guidance for examiners). IER October 2018 Glve here brlef detalls of . any it•ms that th• examiner vAshes to disclose. NIA IER October 2018