Greater London North Scout County Trustees, Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2023 Trustees The County ExecLrtive as now been renamed as The Trustee Board. Those who have seNed in this capacity during the last year and to the date of this report are as follows. Andrew WeLlbeloved (Chair to 04.07.23 died 26.04.24) Andrew Donn (County Lead VoLunteerl John NeLson (Chair from 04.07.23 & Secretary) Brian Hosier {treasurert Thomas Graham Ben HardcastLe David Bowman I Co treasurer from 04.07.23 to 16.04.241 Chris Stevenson Ellie Way (Youth Commissioner to 16.04.241 The principal address of the charty for correspondence purposes is County Office Scout Park Gordon Road London Nll 2PB Structure. govemance and management The County's governing documents are th0￿ of The Scout Association. They consist of a Royal Charter. which in turn gives authority to the Bye Laws of the Association and The Policy. Organisation and RuLes of the ScoutAssoaation. The County is a trust established under ruLes which are common to all Scouts. It is aLso a Registered Charity in its own right number 272028. The Trustees are appointsd in accordan￿ wtth the Poticy. Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association. The County is managed by The Trustee Board. the members of which are the 'Charity Trustees. of the County which is an educationaL charity. As charity trustee5 they are responsible for compLwng wrth legisLation appbcable to charibes. This incLudes the registration. keeping proper accounts and making returns to the Charity Commission as appropriate. The Board consists of the Chairman. Treasurer and Secretary together with the County LeadVoLunteer and upto 10 other member5. Ofthe 10 other members half are appointed by the County Scout Council and the other half are nominated by the County Lead Volunteer and approved by the County Scout Council both at the AGM. The Board exists to support the County Lead Voluntser in meeting the resFx)nsibiiities of the apwintment and is responsibLe for. The maintenance of County propety. The development of the County: The training of leaders and administrator& The raising of funds and the administralion of Countyfinance: The insurance of persons. property and equipment County public occasions-. Assisting in the recruitment of leaders and other aduLt support Appointing any sub committees that may be required: The Board has two principaL sub-committees to assist with these responsibilities: the Finance sub-committee and an Appointments Advisory Committee and both meet as required. The Trustee Board itself usuaLLy meets quarterly. Risk and internal Control The County has in place systems of internal controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or Loss. These include two signatories for all payments and comprehensive insurance poiiaes to ensure that insurable risks are covered. PrincipaL risks facing the County are as foLLows'. Exposure to financial loss from events - mrfagated by a robust Events approvaL process Reputational damage from adverse press coverage- mibgated by the use of a County PubLic Relations officer in contart wth locaL Press and the Scout Association media team Reduced income from a fall in membership in our component Districts which provide the major partof our income- mitigated by the support and training of volunteer Scout Leaders to enable a chaLLenging. vigorous and appealing programme for young peopl Objectives and activities The objectives of the County are as a unrt of The Scout Association. The Aim of The Scout Association is to promote the development of young peopLe in achieving their fuLI physicaL intelleciuaL sociaL and spiritual potentials as individuals. as respon5ibLe citizens and as members of their Local. national and international communities. The method of achieving the Aim of the Association is by providing an enjoyabLe and attractive scheme of progressive training. based on the Scout Promise and Law and guided by adult leadership. In the County of Greater London North our objectives are currendy as follows: To make qualty Scouting available to every young person in the catchment area of the County, regardLes5 of gender. ra￿. ethniaty. religion or disabiLity- To ensure that every ScoLrt Group offers the opportunity for young people aged 6 to 25 to prog￿$5 through the Scout sections in a clearty identifiabLe way, either within their Group, or through fom)al arrangements with other Scout Groups and District and County led provisions. To continually 'quality assure, the quality of Scouting in every Scout Group. To continuously recruit and retsin aduLt leaders and he￿er& To maintain a quaitty programme of aduLttraining and development To build strong teams of aduLts who wiiL deliver the County's objecttves. The County SUPPOrts the work done in Groups and Distritts in deLivering the programme by.. Delivering the national modular adult training scheme. Supporting and promoling participation in national and internationaL events. Providing Leadership and guidance both for District Managers and those who manage specific sections within districts. Providing County-wide events and competitions. e.g. handicrafts. camping, water activities, hiLL walking and dimbing etc Liaising wth other Scout Counties to share resources and good practi￿. Achievemerts and Perfomiance 2023 proved to be a very busy year at Greater IA)ndon North Scout County, with many meetings. Presentations. ceremonies. gatherings, training weekends and local and international expeditions and camps taking place throughout the County. including our participation in many Royal and National events. In March 2023. we were delighted to receive notification from The Scout Association that all London Counties were being invited to Thominate a number of young adults (who had completed or were working towards their Queen.￿King'S Scout Award) as well as some older adult volunteers, to support the plaDS for the King's Coronation throughout the Corondtion wcckcnd. Wc wcrc delightcd that 4 young adults and one adult volunteer from Greater London North pl￿$ two Explorers from NoTth London Scout District were selected, who all made us immensely proud by proving to k wonderful ambassadors for Scouting. On Sunday 23rd April 2023, 1 I new Queen'slKtng's Scouts from Greater London North gathered at Windsor to attend the prestigious 'Day of Celebration and Achievement additional 7 young people were also invited to attend the parade following their exemplary work during the late Queen's Lying-in-state as prt of their involvement in 'Operation Feather,. for which they also each receiv￿ a Commissioner's Commendation from GLN'S County Lead Volunteer. Andrew Don In May 2023, Greater London North wer¢ invited to select 3 young adults to attend the Kin¥s Garden Party. Their role w&s to steward the event and to assist ticket collecting and counting, wheelchair sUp￿rt and front of house. They all did a wonderfilljob keeping guests happy, taking hundt&Js of photos and answering any questions. In April 2023, Richard Williams. fornierly County Commi&sioner for Greater London Middlesex West, w&s appointed &s the new Regional Cornmissioner for Londo￿ Greater London North have been Working closely with Ricl)ard and Scouts HQ on a major drive to ensure full mandatory training compliance, specifically Safety and Safeguarding, acro&s all Counties, whtch h&s resulted in a significant drop in the number of adults within our County still outstanding in their training. Following 3 years of PTeparation including many fimdraising events and training sessions, in August 2023, the GLN contingent for the 25th World Scout JamErf)ree, made up of 54 young people and 9 adults, set off on their incredible adventure to South Kore4 led by their Unit Leader, John Nelson and his Unit t£adership Team. Upon their aLTival, they were met with some major challenges. mosily brought on by the weather conditions. but remained focused and Tesilient thanks to the support and the dedication of the Unit Leadership Team. Our huge thanks and appreciation goes to ¢veryone on the Unit Leadership 'Feam for their unwavering support in ensuring the safety of our young people and for making sure that they continued to have a positive and a fun r￿led eX￿rience during their time in South Korea. As part of Scout's transformational projecL we have continued to work towards the impRem¢ntation of many of the major transforniational changes taking place. including improvement to the volunteer experience. simplification of roles and role names and the replacement of the national Comp&ss datsb&se. with information (including any changes to ttmelines) being cascaded to our Groups and Units via our various communication channels. Follo￿7ng our successful grant application to Scouts HQ's'Underrepresented Communities Fund,. Nicole Perry w&8 recruited in January 2024 as Greater t￿ndOn North's Local GroTh Officer, with her main focus being to work with our existing volunteers to support local Scouting and to grow new groups and missing sections, specifically in unde￿epreSellted, cthnic and faith comtnunitics acr055 th¢ County where there is currcntly very liitle or no provision. Over the course of this 2-year project. Nicole will also oversee the recruitment of Thew volunteers into these areas, thus delivering on our County Development Plan to support programme delivery and to provide Scouting opportunities to many more young people. During 2023. we were delighted to present I I new Queen's/King's Scout certificates and badges (split between North London 7, Barnet 2 and Enfield 2) which has resulted in GLN being ranked ¢xtrem¢ly highly within the Scout Counties of the UL In 2023, we presented 213 Adult Awards, this is the most our County has ever awarded in any single year. These awards are to ensure that our adult volunteers continued to be suitably recognis¢d for their exceptional service, which included 2 Bar's to Silver Acorns (Andrew Donn and Steve Cox) and I I Silver Acorns (Andre Grossman. Andy Simpso Cathy Heels, Clare Ember& Gwyn and Stuart Muckelt, Lesley Bugg, Marc Morris, Mark Trollope, Mike Thurston. and Peter de Naeyer. A full schedule of all our adult awards last year can be found here 2024 Roll of Honour. After a gap of more than 4 years due to the covid pandemic, a Scouts servic¢ in Westminster Abbey was held on Friday 23rd February 2024 to celebrate the signiftcant contribution and achievements of some of our adult volunteers including those who had received their Silver Acorn in 2019-2021 and some Silver Wolf recipients from before 2020. The Scouts hope to be able to hold a similar event in 2025 in order to invit¢ the mor¢ recent cohort of Adult Award holders to the service. On the 7th November 2023, 15 Explorers from across the County were selected to support the State Opening of ParliamenL whose role it was to greet ambassadors and honoured guests at the Peers Entrance, ￿te a forn￿l10Th to greet HM The King and direct all guests through th¢ House of Lords. On Remembrance Sunday, 12th November. a contingent of 30 of GLN'S Scouts and Explorers plus 4 IAders, w¢re also selected to represent The Scout Association as part of the youth section of the Cenotsph Parade. where they walked along the parade route thmugh Whitehall and laid a wreath on behalf of both UK S￿uts and GLN Scout County. Some of our County's Queen's/King's Scouts, plus a Lead also acted as'way finders, in Whitehall where th¢y were positioned along Horse Guards Parade. Our thanks go to all of our County's representatlves who did an outstanding job acting as wonderful role mod¢ls, proudly supp)rting S¢outs at these major natioJ]al events. We were delighted to once again be able to hold the Chiltern 20 and Southern 50 events this year with the Chiltern 20 tsking place in October 2023 and the Southern 50 taking place in February 2024. Both events were a resounding success with a record number of young people entering the Southern 50 hike. the largest participation in our County's history. Many international camps and expeditions took place throughout the year, including an exceptional expedition to the Himalayas. led by Dan Ingle from Hatters Explorers in Southgate. 58 Scouts, 49 of them young people, took part in the County's biggest ever adventure which included a visit to Leh ([￿kSa) and Rumbak in the Himalay&s, to a rernote settlement where the Scout Unit ran an optical project. providing reading tests and the delivery over 100 pairs of glasses to the local rM)madic wpulation, helping those who needed assistance with their 5ighL Our profound thanks go to Dan and his tean] for leading this incredible adventure which we have no doubt will strongly feature in our County's history for many years to come. During 2023. 117 YouThg Peopl¢ and 14 Leaders were recognised through the J￿k Petchey Achievement Awards scheme, Nvhich resulted in almost £51.718 in grants being awarded to Groups and Units across the County. In February 2024, District Lead Volunteers, tnembers of our Cowity Team and our Trustee Boar¢ parents, volunteers and dignitaries from across the County gathered at the Arts Depot in North Finchley to attend the Jack Petchey Achievement Awards ceremony. hosted by the Jack Petchey Foundatio￿ to celebrate the achievements of the aTrward winners in what was a very s￿CIal and uplifting event. Our thanks go to Jackie Harto& GLN'S Jack Pelchey CooTdinator, for her excell¢nt work in organising the event and for runni￿ th¢ Achievement Award scheme on behalf of the County. At the AGM held at the Dockland Scout Project in July 2023, David Bowman was appointed as our County's Joint County Treasurer. sharing the role with Brian Hosier whilst the County underwent the handover process. Ellie Way also F*came an ex-officio member of the Trustee Board by virtue of her appointment as County Youth Commissioner. Unfortunately. IK)th David and Ellie have since had to stand down from theiT r¢spectiv¢ roles for person81 reasons and as such th¢ County are now beginning a new recruitment process for their successors. Andrew Wellbeloved also advised the meetÉng of his intention to stand down &s County Chair following the AGM but to remain a member of the Trustee Board. John N¢lson h&s since been appointed as his successor. Unfortunately Andrew died unexpectedly on 26 Atffil 2024 and will be missed by his many frkends in Scouling but not forgotten. As we prepare for another busy year aherf our thanks and our gratitude as always go out to our dedicated team of leaders and volunteers for everything that they do to support the work of the County in order to deliver safe and exciting programmes to all of our young people. Public BenefFt In planning our activibes forthe yearwe kept in mind atourtrustee meetings the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit Membership of the Scout Association. and therefore of the County. is open to aLI. no matter what background, falth. gender. or personal circumstances. Subscriptions payable to Local groups are minimal and no young person would be preventsd from joining ifthey were unable to pay this subscription. Grants are available at Group. District and County LeveL to assist all young peopLe to fuLly parts"cipate in aLL acbvities. Plans for the Future Our frtus for 2024 will be for u5 lo continue to build on thc resurgence in the number of young people listed in our census daW with most Groups having now returned to pre- pandemic levels. We will coThtinue in our efforts to recruit more adult volunteers to support our young people through our Lo￿1 Growth Officer and thTOU8h other recruitment initiatives. The County will continue to suptK)rt many events. including the Chiltern 20 and the Southern 50 hikes, and the 'Big Help Out, national day of volunteering where we hope to inspire and Tecruit more volunteers into Scouting. We will also support local and international Scouting activities and expeditions, including beginning the preparations for tbe 26th World Scout Jamboree due to take place in Poland in the summer of 2027, and to continue to lead our adventumus activities programme led by a team of volunteers. m8ny of whom have undergone Mountain Leader Training and Assessments in order to gain Hillwalking permits and become Hillwalking County Assessors. In July 2024, we will be holding our County AGM at Frith Grange in BarneL kindly hosted by Tracey smil￿ District tEad Volunteer for Barnet Borough District. wbeTe we ￿11] implement the latest guidance to running an AGM that will align wÉth changes to Scouts POR (Policy, Organisation and Rules), having already implemenied the initial changes at last y¢ar's AGM. We will continue to develop our internal communications using various social media platfornis and will work to update our County websit¢. Tl]rough our vaTiOUS communication channels. we will seek to recruit new volunteers into a number of vacant County role% including an Assistant County Conmiissioner Inlemational, an Assistant County Commissioner Activities. a County Youth Commissioner and a Teplacement County Treasurer to tske over from Brian Hosier who dedicated so m8ry years to his County Trrasurer role for which we are immensely gratefijl. We will continue to promote the Jack Petchey Achievement Awards scheme and to reach out to Groups and Units from across the County ￿10 so far are yet to apply. We will also conttnue to provide supy>rt to any young person wishing to gain a Top Scouting Awar(L Finally, we will continue in our mission to bring Scouting to &s many communities as possible and to ensure that the makeup of our County is &s diverse and as inclusive as those whom we represent. With the help of our excellent leadership team, we ￿111 also continue to work with Scouts HQ to ensure that we are fully prepared for when the key transforniation changes come into effect over the coming months. Financial activities and results Our General Fund has made a surplus of £2,213 during the year due to a substantial refund of an overpayment for DeveLopment costs paid to HQ foLlowing the departure of our employees during the year. A transfer of £21.573 has been made to the Jamboree Designated Fund to supportfuture Jamborees and funds previously set aside for GaLLeon SAS were transferred back to the General Fund when they closed. The General Fund now stands at £108.918 and with a minimum of LiabiLities this Fund is considered satisfartory and sufficient for foreseeable needs. The totaL of Designated Funds have fallen by £23.619 as we supported the 2023 World Scout Jamboree with amounts set aside in the Jamboree Fund. The totalto carry forward is £31,390. Restricted Funds now only incLude Jack Petchey and aLL amounts received have been paid to groups/units. The onLy other receipt was a donation for the HiLLwalking acttvity and that is the balance carried forward of £250. During the year we have continued to recetve achievement award grants from the Jack Petchey Foundation. in total £51.718. and these have all been paid out to group5 and Leaders in the County to assist Wtth further acbvities. We are most grateful to the Foundation for this continuing support and generosity to young peopLe and leaders as50tiated with our groups. Investment Powers. Policy and Perfomance is a requirement of POR (Polrcy Organisation and Rules) that funds not immediately required by the County are transferred into a suitable investment vehicle permitted by POR. The Counws policy is to invest in bank deposit accounts including the Charities Offiaal Investment Fund and CAF. Reserves Reserves can be considered as the balance on our General Fund. It has been agreed that this figure should not fall below £50.000. The fund stsnds in excess of this amount due to the c05t of the development being so much Less than budget when two support workers lefL This project has now been restarted so reserves are likely to fall during the current year. Voluntary Help Many voLunteers give of their time and tsLents to support Scouting in Greater London North at Group. District and County leveL We are greatly indebted to these volunteers for their commttment arKI 5UPPOrt Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by. John Nelson Chairman 31 May 2024 GREATER LONDON NORTH SCOUT COUNTY Receipts and Payments Account Forthe year 31¥r DECEMBER 2023 2023 Receipts and payments 2023 2022 Totsl knds Totsl funds hJnd5 fimds Recelpts Donath)n% ltsl ioil 2sJ si 20.264 Grants lackPetchey 51,718 56.981 Subtglal 5&581 ArtThfi(￿5 Igrossl Jamboree 7&145 114072 Euroiaftiisr Southem 5010)Ii tem 20 2Q012 IS442 Cub Camp Refvn(I dewsit OofE WeLcome p 216 3.081 ot￿r acdvitses 1.520 3,320 btotal &n6 98 157 139915 Interest 3￿54 855 COIF iTtrTE5t 787 174 Subtotal 3.05 Totrdl Gross Income $1.968 198.803 215B46 Total receipts 4789 19&803 21&84 Page 9 Scouts 1 LT700003 GREATER LONDON NORTH SCOUT couKrY Receipts and Payments Accourt 31st December 2023 2022 2023 Receipts and payments Ttrtslfvnds Totalfunds f￿dS frjnds Charitsble Pbymerts Yoth rKryramme aCtiV￿e$ 1&721 12.188 L440 Adultsupport 1297 &692 S8L8ry costs IM)2 11,700 Jambpree 127.TrJ7 131877 GTrnts latkPEtrhEy 51318 56.381 D0vdow￿nteXpen5e5 3591 S5,143 Insurance 248 Team Expenses 1548 Awardseverwry 857 Web hOstin￿re￿ Srts L028 798 DolEwelcorne packs 1070 Errorcorrected in 2022 AGM r￿rn hire 370 County Office 500 Sundries 225 31 660 Bankcharge5 SubtolaL 141759 51318 283AS3 Other expeTtseS Di¥wtiOnS 25.482 52.318., 220.5S9 2S3.4$3 Trtal payThents 1417W', 220S59 283.4S3 22.409 41815 350 21.756 67.60? 20.196 Cash funds Last year end Cash funds thffls yearend I￿705 5& 14 229.921 ILE918 31.391 i40.$58 162.314 Pa¢e 10 Scouts IT7rpJri)3 Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year 31st DECEMBER 2023 31-De£-22 Gerteral fvnds Oesignated fvnd5 Reslrirted Funds Total funds Totsl funds Cash funds current account- speufic .i?o 21174 4" '"N'. 34294 32A86 eank depD51t account- general COIF Attounts ZB,056 9,216 250 61,872 742 fj7.956 Total Cash 108918 31.390 250 j4Q55B 162.31d Other monetsry assets DotE cheque5 in har 389 Gift ￿￿Jamb0ree loo 4iOO Sub total 389 4.100 293 Non moth*t*ry ass•ts for charity's own OofE siodLof books 845 845 737 DO￿ debtors 402 402 402 Sub totsL 402 1.2d7 L247 737 abiLitie5 Arnounts owing DopoGits reteived for futur4 avont 6rM) Strbtotsl 600 DESIGNATED FUNDS balance Tr￿5f Closing bJl¥nce G¥llpDn SAS 1.408 31 -1.377 Beaver Fund Souther 501Chilt¢m 20 10.526 20.012 15.721 14£17 Jèmboree Fund¥nternaLtr8nsf*rs 43.075 78932 127m7 21.573 16.573 Developmènt Fund SS.CN)9 98.944 142.759 20.196 31.390 JackPetchey 51.718 52318 Hillwai￿rtg 250 250 fjoo 51S68 52318 2X> The ab¢)ve retypts and payThents Kcount and 5tatementcé 3ssÈts and I]abi1Th￿we￿e approved by theTNste8s on 16 April 2024 aThJ signed on their behalf by Signattjre Prirt Name John NElson- ChaiT Brian Ho￿er- Treasuref Page 11 Scouts Greater London Ngrth 3 LT7fAJo)3 INDEPENDENT ￿AllNER's REPOFrr TO THE TRUSTEES GREATER LONt)ON NoirrH SCOLrf COUNTf l ￿port to the charity trustees ￿ my exaM￿￿10n of crf the dority for the year ended 31 Decembef 2023 Yth￿h we set (YA on pa&*s 1 to 11. Responsibilities and basis of report As Charity's trustees you r respcrti14e for the prep8rath)n of tr£ ac£ounts in accordance ￿th the req(￿rements ot the CFhvrties Act 2011 {ItÈ Ac*). I rewrt in respec* of my examinabon of the tharrty's accounts carried out LTrJer section 145 of the Act an in carrying out my examinati￿ I have fcdlovRd all the appkatle Th"recti(￿s gNen ty the Ctsrity Commission under seth'on 14515}Ib} ofthe Act Inde￿ndent Examknrfs Slatwn9nt I have coM￿eted my examinab"on. I confirm that m materia mattets have ccffle lo my attwttion in connect•)n vAth the exaninabon gNirYJ me cause to L*lieve th8t in a)y m*erial res￿1.. accounting rec￿ were rb)t kept in re$￿t of the ch* as required by sax1(￿ 130 of t￿ Ac( or 121 the a¢¢￿ts do not ￿ wilh ttN)se T￿orr Signed Heather Ra￿r Fck........................... 31 Freston Garderts Bamet Herts EN4 9LX June 2024 Page 12