24[th] Ipswich Scout Group Treasurers report 2025 2026
Once again our accounts have been prepared on the simple income and expenditure basis which is straightforward to understand.
I have changed the end date of our annual accounts to 31[st] March from 4[th] April, this makes things easier for future years, there have been only minimal transactions between 31[st] March and 4[th] April resulting in no major changes to the income or expenditure figures.
We do need to report our accounts to the Charity Commission, this can be completed online, as our accounts are quite straightforward and our income and expenditure fall within their guidelines for straightforward submission. This can be done once our accounts have been scrutinised.
The following report details the major income and expenditure for the year, it is worth summarising a few points. These should be read in conjunction with the balance sheet.
The group remains in a financially good position with funds held at the end of the year amounting to £79,851.29 a fall of £7,624.15, once the cost of Shirley Shelley and the Asbestos ceiling work is taken into account, a total of £9,496.89 is taken into account we did make a small profit, but we should consider that while these are “oneoff” expenses this type of unexpected cost can arise in the future.
While this still leaves us with reasonable funds we need to be aware that there are some substantial costs ahead of us. In particular our CCTV requires a major overhaul, and there are other maintenance requirements the total amount of these is not know at this time, but could run into several thousands.
INCOME
Our income from hall hires remains our major source of income although this has fallen considerably this year, this and other amounts for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are as below
2024/25 2025/26 Hall Hires £16,893.40 £11,596.47 Gift Aid £ 802.50
Our major Hall hires include £2,750 from IKA Karate, £1,025 from KUNG Fu, £1,000 from a dog training group, church Group £895, Bulgarian School £1,085 and Rainbird £820.
There are also smaller amounts from a limited number of one-off hires.
We hold our funds in two accounts with Barclays Bank, our day-to-day account and an interest paying account, in general the aim is to hold around £2,500 in the main
account with the balance earning interest, moving money between the accounts can be done at no cost and can be completed on the day requested. Over the last 12 months we have earned £918.14 interest. During this period interest rates have dropped from 1.25% to 1.10%
I have also allocated £40,000 to a part of the high income account as a reserve fund following advice from the Wolsey District Treasurer, this is simply a nominal fund but can be used for any expenditure required by the group.
Expenditure
Several of our outgoings have increased this year, in particular the following
| 2024/25 | 2025/26 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HQ Maintenance | £6,956 | £9,202.50 | ||
| Electric | £2,704 | £2,626 | } | (a small saving) |
| Waste bin collection | £ 850 | £ 609.40 | } | (a small saving) |
| AMG Group | £1,906 | |||
| Insurance | £1,508.06 | £1,565.00 | ||
| Initial services | £2,392.19 | |||
| Shirley Shelley | £6,114.03 |
In the last year our HQ maintenance and repairs costs have risen considerably, as mentioned previously this does include £3,900.00 for sealing of our ceilings in most of the HQ (ex the main hall) due to Asbestos in the ceiling Artex, while this now complete any future work involved in maintaining the ceiling or making holes for electrical work etc. will need specialists in asbestos work to do this, there is no doubt this will be more expensive than normal.
We also took on contracts with Initial Services for maintenance and supply of cleaning and toiletry requirements, this includes specialist disposal equipment in all toilets.
In addition, we entered a contract with Shirley Shelly Ltd for HQ cleaning, this has proved expensive at £6,114, roughly 50% of the income from hall hires, this contract has been cancelled and currently we have no replacement.
Future Expenditure
There is little doubt that our future expenses will continue at a higher rate, maintenance and safety of our HQ remains a high priority and with the large building we have and the support we are able to give to our members this will remain a priority.
While we have solar panels and a battery system in the building, utility bills are likely to continue to rise in the future.
Conclusion
Our total funds at the beginning of the year were £82,514.42 so have reduced by £7,624.15.
The group remains in a sound financial position but we should be aware that our major, and currently only, source of income is hire of the building, we have a reasonable range of hirers so while some may leave others often take their place, another lockdown such as the Covid period could have a serious impact on our finances. We should remember we received Government aid for the lockdown which may not be the case for the future.
While hall hires remain our major source of income, the number of hirers has reduced in the last few years, in particular single hires for parties and similar have been very few this year.
Our hall hire rate is mainly unchanged for several years for our regular hirers, this may be the time to standardise our charges and look at a small increase for our regular hirers although we cannot afford to lose these.