## 1[St] Bromsgrove Otters Scout Group Trustees Report & Annual Accounts 2023 2024 ## 1[st] Bromsgrove Otters Scout Group ## **Registered charity number: 1201844** Principal address: 1[st] Bromsgrove Scout Hut Charford Road Bromsgrove B60 3LU ## **Trustee Name** ## **Position** David Bridge Group Chairperson Benjamin Stanhope Trustee Mark Trueman Group Treasurer Paula Landon Trustee Cassie Gregory Trustee Jim Weaver Group Lead Volunteer Kerri Monaghan Section Team Leader (Scouts) Matt Nickless Section Team Leader (Cubs) Sara Southall Section Team Leader (Beavers) ## **Structure, Governance and Management** The Group's governing documents are those of Scouts UK (formerly The Scout Association). They are under a Royal Charter, which in turn gives authority to the byelaws of the organisation and The Policy, Organisation and Rules of Scouts UK. The Group is a trust, established under its rules which are common to all Scouts. The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of Scouts UK. The Group is managed by the board, the members of which are the ‘Charity Trustees’ of the Scout District which is an educational charity. As charity trustees, they are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities. This includes the registration with, and keeping of and returning proper accounts to, the Charity Commission as appropriate. The Group Trustee Board consists of: - Ex-officio members: Group Chairperson; Group Treasurer; Group Lead Volunteer; Section Team Leaders (for Scouts, Cubs and Beavers) - Elected Member(s) – Parent Representative, approved at the Group Annual General Meeting - Co-opted members – number must not exceed that of elected members - Right of Attendance – the County Commissioner and the County Chairman The Trustee Board exists to support the District Commissioner in meeting the responsibilities of the appointment of, and to provide support for, Scout Groups, Explorer Scout Units and any Scout Network in the District, including: - Promoting the development of Scouting in the Group and arranging for harmonious co-operation with other organisations - The raising of funds and the administration of the Group’s finance and property - Appointing other sub-committees and their chairs as the Board may require - Supervising the administration of the Group, particularly in relation to finance and the trusteeship of property - Attending to Group administration ## **Risk and Internal Control** The Trustee Board has identified the major risks to which they believe the Group 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: 1. Injury to leaders, helpers, supporters and members: The Group, through the capitation fee, contributes to Scouts’ national accident insurance policy. Risk assessments are undertaken before all activities. 2. Reduced income from fund raising: The Group is primarily reliant upon income from subscriptions and fundraising. The Group does hold a reserve to ensure the continuity of its duties should there be a major reduction in income. The Board could raise the subscription cost to increase income to the Group on an ongoing basis, either temporarily or permanently. 3. Reduction or loss of trustees, managers, administrators or supporters: The Group is totally reliant upon volunteers to run and administer the activities of the Group. If there was a reduction in the number of trustees, managers, administrators and supporters to an unacceptable level, there would have to be a review of whether the Group is in a viable state to provide effective support to Scout Groups. In the worst-case scenario, the amalgamation of the Group with a neighboring Scout Group might be necessary. ## **Objectives and Activities** The objectives of the Group are as a unit of Scouts UK. The Aim of Scouts UK is to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities. The method of achieving the Aim of the organisation is by providing an enjoyable and attractive scheme of progressive training, based on the Scout Promise and Law and guided by adult leadership. The Group meets the Charity Commission's public benefit criteria under both the advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development headings. ## **Achievements and Performance** The Trustee Board is pleased to report continued support to the District Team, other Scout Groups and District Units; some of the achievements include: ## **Beavers** We currently have 15 Beavers with two more due to start in September 2024. We have three full-time leaders, two with occasional attendance and one on maternity leave for the year. In addition to this, we have two Young Leaders, one of whom is progressing to become an adult leader soon, when they turn 18. In addition, one of our leaders has put in a lot of effort to gain their Wood Beads this year. Beavers have achieved a total of 141 badges over the year and have thoroughly enjoyed earning them through a varied programme of indoor and outdoor activities. Seven Beavers have achieved their Chief Scout’s Bronze Award, and six of these have moved up to Cubs to continue their Scouting journey. We have introduced Lodges for them all to be part of and awarded leaver certificates and badges in recognition of them progressing on from Beavers. Beavers feel very proud when they are nominated as Lodge leaders and presented with their leaver certificates. Before the holidays we introduced “Bob” the Beaver Bear, who goes home with one Beaver for a week, allowing them to report back and maybe earn credit towards badges. Badges - We were visited by St. John Ambulance when working towards our 12 emergency aid badges, and Kitsune Martial Arts visited to talk about healthy eating and exercise towards health and fitness badges. Cyclist badges have been achieved at Sanders Park. Eleven Beavers achieved nights away badges, four of whom had their first night away with us, and one Beaver achieved 10 nights in total. Eleven builder, seven personal challenge and 10 cook badges were also achieved. Other badges included teamwork, skills, outdoors, world, creative, adventure, safety, sports, peer leadership, snow sports and paddle sports. Camping - We had a winter sleepover at the Hut where they used our new indoor tents to get used to how we camp outside. February saw several Beavers attend a sleepover at the Sea Life Centre, which was a unique experience for them, all watching sea creatures from their sleeping bags. Group camp at Pikes Pool was for one night in smaller tents than usual. This worked well for getting to sleep, less lost property and the Beavers appearing to settle better. Alongside this, they attended the Remembrance Day Parade in Bromsgrove, representing the Group with exceptional behaviour. A small number then attended the St. George’s Day event this year. Activities - Beavers have cooked on the fire making pitta pockets, Smores and Welsh cakes. They have pioneered and crafted at Beaconsfield, taken part in crate stacking, archery, go-karting and grass sledging at Blackwell, climbing in Worcester and enjoyed the zip wire, Laser Tag and craft at Pikes Pool. They loved visiting Bromsgrove fire station and Webbs Garden Centre. They met the firefighters, sprayed the hose and learned about fire safety. While at Webbs Winter Wonderland Walk, they watched the lights and met Santa, asking him many, many questions! A small fundraising event at the hut raised £210 towards a fun activity or entertainer to be arranged for the September term. Beavers love a party or a theme night and have enjoyed several throughout the year. They did a brilliant job of decorating the Hut and then had a Christmas party. They celebrated Chinese New Year with lanterns and traditional food, and one Beaver wore traditional clothes. An Olympics-themed winter sports evening featured new games to try, such as indoor tobogganing, with other challenges and medals which were lots of fun. There was a Pac-Man party as something different to do, and a Ghostbusters party filled with games and ectoplasm to finish off the summer term. It has been a busy and rewarding year. ## **Cubs** There are currently 23 Cubs in the pack, and we typically have had high weekly attendance at sessions this year. Over the year the Cubs participated in many awesome activities including: - orienteering - night line - a party at Halloween - collecting items to fill shoe boxes which they also decorated, before sending them off to charities in Eastern Europe - bouncing on the inflatable course at The Buzz - new sporting activities like tai chi, kabaddi and Frisbee golf - making 3D snowflakes for Christmas crafts - climbing at Redpoint, Worcester - fire lighting using flint/steel - backwoods cooking on a fire - pedal carts - grass sleds - quartermaster stuff - where Cubs looked at kit and discussed what would be needed to take to camp, then helped get gear out and ready for camp We also had a few hikes, including a chip shop hike where cubs tested chips from Bromsgrove chip shops and rated their favourites. In addition to this, some Cubs participated in the District Night Hike in November, and we had several camps/sleepovers, including a night in a museum in Warwick in February and sleeping ‘underwater’ in the tunnel at the Sea Life centre in April. We camped at Pikes Pool on Group camp in May, with kayaking, zip wire, tree climbing, orienteering, whittling and an introduction to general camp skills as activities. To finish all that off we had a joint fun session with the Scouts in the Aqua Park at Aztec, Upton Warren. During the year these activities have led to the Cubs being awarding 215 badges, including: Animal carer, Artist, Astronomer, Backwoods Cooking, Book Reader, Chef, Collector, Communicator, Cyclist, Entertainer, Gardener, Home Help, International, Martial Arts, Naturalist, Pioneer, Road Safety, Scientist, Skater, Hikes, Nights Away, Swimmer, Time on the water. The following Challenge Badges were awarded: 6 Adventure 8 Outdoor - 8 Personal - 5 Skills - 8 Team Leader 11 Teamwork - 7 World Nine Cubs gained the highest Cubs award - the Chief Scout’s Silver Award - prior to finishing, when eight moved on to Scouts. ## **Scouts** Scouts has had a very successful year thanks to the teamwork and enthusiasm of leadership. Over the last year we have awarded 220 badges including six Chief Scout’s Gold Awards. We will be starting the term with 20 Scouts, six leaders and two Young Leaders. This includes two Scouts transferring in from elsewhere. During the year we have had a sleepover at the Hut, slept with the fishes at the Sea Life Centre, camped twice as a Section at Kinver, as a group at Pikes Pool, and six Scouts went on a challenging expedition camp. We gave the Scouts the badge requirements for some of the challenge badges and they came up with innovative ways of achieving them. This saw us get to know our local area by having a very interesting tour of St John’s Church, completing a challenging town treasure hunt and helping out at Avoncroft Museum. We also went on some adventures, taking part in Laser Tag, celebrating Christmas at The Buzz, visiting the fire and police stations, and taking part in our third bell boat regatta with the Cubs, where we came first and third (well, the young people did; the leaders are in training!). We finally went swimming, which has been a feature of Patrol forum many times and was very popular with young people and leaders alike. We have had craft evenings decorating the Hut for all Sections to have Halloween parties and, of course, had a party ourselves! We had a Christmas-themed cook-off which, as every cooking challenge, was very entertaining with a steep learning curve. No chopping boards were roasted on this occasion! We have hiked, eaten chips, grass sledged, go-karted, shot arrows, climbed, zip wired, kayaked and many more things. We finished the year with a splash at the Aqua Park in a joint celebrating with the Cubs. Six of our Scouts had an amazing time in Kandersteg, the International Scout Campsite in Switzerland, with over 250 other Scouts from Hereford and Worcester. They met with Scouts from all over the world, took part in Via Ferrata, tubing, rafting, hiking, zip wires, town visits and the all-important international campfire. A fantastic time was had by all. We have had an exciting year during which the Scouts have undoubtedly made new friends, had amazing adventures and learned new skills. It has been a pleasure to see them grow and develop over the last 12 months, and we look forward to another packed and adventurous year of Scouting. ## **Financial Report 2023-2024** 2023/24 was a stable financial year, with well attended Sections maintaining the level of membership subscriptions. The comprehensive program of events and camps continued from the previous year, and here again revenues were consistent year over year. The financial planning of the events was extremely well managed by the Sections, with income and expenditure perfectly balanced – a huge thank you to all the leaders for their diligence! Overall, there was a ~£2.2k deficit in receipts versus payments during the year. This was due to: - Subsidy of several events, using the Group’s savings, to reduce the cost to parents/carers of some of the larger events held during the year. - Gift Aid claim not being made within the accounting year. This will be made during the next financial year and will provide ~£1500 additional income. - a £1500 deposit being paid from the savings account for repairs to the roof during this financial year. Balance of payment is due in the next financial year. Excepting those items, the overall balance of the account would be positive £800 for the year, showing strong underlying running of the Group. OSM and GoCardless continue to be used for organising events and funding, with >95% of income received through GoCardless. In this financial year, savings were distributed into higher interest accounts. This brought in an additional £250 during the year and is expected to contribute a total of £600 annually. This policy will continue during the next financial year. Finally, we were able to maintain the 'back-up' fund of £3000, which equates to 3-6 months of continued operation in the event of 'emergency', in line with the Group’s stated policy. This is held in the Group savings account, together with additional savings, as planning for the long-term maintenance of the Scout Hut is completed. Mark Trueman, Group Treasurer Full details of the annual accounts can be found as an accompanying document to this report. ## **Future Plans** Our immediate plan in the coming year is to continue with our extensive programme of Scouting , creating an interesting and diverse environment for our young people, maintaining risk assessments and working within Government and Scouting guidelines. We are also keen to expand our leadership team over the coming year to help support our existing leaders who give up so much of their time in support of the Group. If you feel you could play a part in our Group, please contact the Group Lead Volunteer, Jim Weaver: Jim.weaver@scoutsbromsgrove.org.uk ## **Declaratio** ## **n** The trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees Report above. Signed, on behalf of the charity’s trustees, ## **David Bridge, Group Chairperson** **Benjamin Stanhope, Trustee** **9 September 2024** ## **1st Bromsgrove Otters Scout Group (Charity no. 1201844) Receipts and payments account** |||Year start date|Year start date|Year end date| |---|---|---|---|---| ||**For the year**
**from**|**1st April 2024**|**To**|**31st March 2025**| |||||| |**Receipts and payments**||||| |**Receipts**||**2024/2025**
**Unrestricted funds**
**£**||**2023/2024**
**Unrestricted funds**
**£**| |**Donations, legacies and similar income**||||| |Membershipsubscriptions||**£ 7,726.62**||**£ 7,292.77**| |Donations||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Legacies||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Gift Aid(1)||**£ 5,120.69**||**£ -**| |Other similar income||**£ -**||**£ -**| |**Sub total**||**£ 12,847.31**||**£ 7,292.77**| |**Grants**||||| |Maintenenacegrant||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Othergrants||**£ -**||**£ -**| |**Sub total**||**£ -**||**£ -**| |**Fundraising events(gross)**||||| |Youthprogramme and activities||**£ 11,658.68**||**£ 9,209.16**| |Weeklymeetings at hut||**£ 481.20**||**£ -**| |Detail 3||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Other fundraisingactivities||**£ 33.06**||**£ 54.66**| |**Sub total**||**£ 12,172.94**||**£ 9,263.82**| |**Scout hut income**||||| |Hire of building||**£ 44.00**||**£ 25.00**| |Hire of equipment||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Other Scout hut income||**£ -**||**£ -**| |**Sub total**||**£ 44.00**||**£ 25.00**| |**Investment income**||||| |Bank interest(2)||**£ 566.73**||**£ 302.93**| |BuildingSocietyinterest||**£ -**||**£ -**| |The Scout Association Short Term Investment Service||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Other investment income||**£ -**||**£ -**| |**Sub total**||**£ 566.73**||**£ 302.93**| |**_Total Gross Income_**
**Asset and investment sales, etc.**
**_Total receipts_**||||| |||||**£ 16,884.52**| |||||| |||||**£ -**| |||||| |||**£ 25,630.98**||**£ 16,884.52**| LT700002 (July 2021) 1 of 4 ## **1st Bromsgrove Otters Scout Group (Charity no. 1201844) Receipts and payments account** |||Year start date|Year start date|Year end date| |---|---|---|---|---| ||**For the year**
**from**|**1st April 2024**|**To**|**31st March 2025**| |||||| |**Receipts and payments**||||| |**Payments**||**2024/2025**
**Unrestricted funds**
**£**
**£ 3,976.59**
**£ 11,947.54**
**£ 3,598.98**
**£ -**
**£ 156.49**
**£ 1,691.69**
**£ 733.51**
**£ 3,271.19**
**£ 1,024.76**
**£ -**
**£ -**
**£ -**
**£ 328.34**
**£ -**
**£ 100.00**
**£ 10.00**
**£ 26,839.09**
**£ -**
**£ -**
**£ -**
**£ -**
**£ -**
**£ 26,839.09**
**-**
**£**
**£ 26,839.09**
**-£ 1,208.11**
**£ 26,969.20**
**£ 25,761.09**||**2023/2024**
**Unrestricted funds**
**£**| |**Charitable Payments**||||| |Membershipsubscriptionspaid on(National/County/Area/District)||**£ 3,976.59**||**£ 3,276.00**| |Youthprogramme and activities(3)||**£ 11,947.54**||**£ 9,685.77**| |Meetings at hut(3a)||**£ 3,598.98**||**£ -**| |Rent||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Water and Sewerage||**£ 156.49**||**£ 140.23**| |Electricityand Gas(4)||**£ 1,691.69**||**£ 615.00**| |Insurance||**£ 733.51**||**£ 771.30**| |Repairs and Renewals(5)||**£ 3,271.19**||**£ 1,640.50**| |Materials and equipment||**£ 1,024.76**||**£ 2,460.37**| |Printingandphotocopying||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Contribution to campcosts||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Uniforms||**£ -**||**£ 157.00**| |AGM and trustee expenses||**£ 328.34**||**£ 278.81**| |Gifts||**£ -**||**£ 41.24**| |Adult support and training||**£ 100.00**||**£ -**| |Bank charges||**£ 10.00**||**£ -**| |**Sub total**||**£ 26,839.09**||**£ 19,066.22**| |**Fundraising expenses**||||| |Detail 1||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Detail 2||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Detail 3||**£ -**||**£ -**| |Other fundraisingcosts||**£ -**||**£ -**| |**Sub total**||**£ -**||**£ -**| |**_Total Gross Expenditure_**
**Asset and investment purchases, etc.**
**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments) - (6)_**
**Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**||||| |||||**£ 19,066.22**| |||||| |||||**-**
**£**| |||||| |||||**£ 19,066.22**| |||||| |||**-£ 1,208.11**||**-£ 2,181.70**| |||**£ 26,969.20**||**£ 28,748.79**| |||**£ 25,761.09**||**£ 26,969.20**| LT700002 (July 2021) 2 of 4 ## **1st Bromsgrove Otters Scout Group (Charity no. 1201844) Receipts and payments account** |**Receipts and**|**payments account**|**payments account**|**payments account**|| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Year start date|||Year end date| ||**For the year**
**from**|**1st April 2024**|**To**|**31st March 2025**| |||||| |**Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year**||||| |**2024/2025**
**Unrestricted funds**
**£**
**Cash funds**
Bank current account
**£ 2,783.56**
Bank deposit account
**£ 4,076.03**
Buildingsocietyaccount
**£ 18,498.51**
The Scout Association Short Term Investment Service
**-**
Cash/Floats
**£ 402.99**
**Total cash funds**
**£ 25,761.09**
(agree balances with receipts andpayments account)
ok
**Other monetary assets**
Tax claim
**-**
Debts due from the County/Area/District/Group
**-**
Insurance claim
**-**
**Sub total**
**-**
**Investment assets**
Investmentproperty- detail
**-**
Quoted investments
**-**
Other investments - detail
**-**
**Sub total**
**-**
**Non monetary assets for charity's own use**
Badge stock
**-**
Shopstock
**-**
Other stock
**-**
Land and buildings
**-**
Motor vehicles(Trailer)-(7)
**£ 5,721.00**
Scoutingequipment,furniture etc(Hut Inventory)-(7)
**£ 16,500.00**
Other
**-**
**Sub total**
**£ 22,221.00**
**Liabilities**
Accounts notyetpaid
Expenses incurred but not invoiced
Subscriptions notyetpaid
**£ -**
Loan - detail
**-**
Other liabilities
**-**
**Sub total**
**£ -**||||**2023/2024**
**Unrestricted funds**
**£**| |||||| |||||**£ 1,661.90**| |||||**£ 24,349.96**| |||||**£ -**| |||||**£ -**| |||||**£ 957.34**| |||||**26,969.20**| |||||| |||||| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**£ 5,721.00**| |||||**£ 16,500.00**| |||||**-**| |||||**£ 22,221.00**| |||||| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||| |**Total net assets**||**£ 47,982.09**||**£ 48,788.09**| **The above receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities were approved by the Trustees on 9th Sept 2025 (the date of the Executive Committee meeting that approved the accounts) and signed on their behalf by** |Signature|Print Name| |---|---| ||D Bridge
Chair| ||M Trueman
Treasurer| LT700002 (July 2021) 3 of 4 ## **1st Bromsgrove Otters Scout Group (Charity no. 1201844) Receipts and payments account** Year start date Year end date **For the year 1st April 2024 To 31st March 2025 from** ## **Treasurers notes** ## **Income** (1) Gift aid claim in this accounts for previous 2 years (2) Bank interest increase due to savings moved into higher interest long term accounts. ## **Outgoings** (3) Youth Programme and activities relates to paid-for events held off site and funded separately through parent charges (3a) Meetings relates to weekly meetings at hut and associated costs, normally funded through membership fees (4) Increase in Gas/Electric due to lower than normal payments in 23/24 due to large credit amount in that year - this year figure normal (5) Includes £3k for roof repairs ## **Overall** (6) Overall position OK. Group running at ~£1k per annum deficit since Covid, after removal of exceptional items, with healthy reserve. (7) Assets indicated at current insured value. Hut inventory attached separately for reference. LT700002 (July 2021) 4 of 4 **LT700005 – Scrutineer’s Report to the Trustees (July 2019)** ## Template for the scrutineer's report to the trustees ## **Scrutineer's Report to the Trustees of the 1[st] Bromsgrove Otters Scout Council** I report on the accounts of the Group/District for the year ended 31[st] March 2025. ## Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Scrutineer As the Group's/District's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that neither the audit nor independent examination requirements of the Charities Act 2011 apply. It is my responsibility without carrying out an audit or independent examination to scrutinise the accounts and to report to you. ## Basis of Scrutineer's Statement In accordance with the directions given in the Group's/District's constitution, I have scrutinised the records and the accounts set out on in the files provided below: 1. '1st Bromsgrove Accounts 2025-2025 final'. This is the accounts as submitted to district, and the format is the Scouts required template. 2. 'Financial transactions Apr_24 to Mar_25': This is the excel that contains transactional listings and is used to create the accounts report. 3. 'Cashbook 2024-2025':This is a download of all the transactions recorded in OSM. ## Scrutineer's Statement In my opinion the accounts are in accordance with the records produced to me and comply with the constitution. Name: Nirmal Modi Address: ...................5, Fairway Avenue............................................................. .....................UB77AN, London.............................................................. ..................................................................................................................... Date: 07[th] Jan 2026