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2023-12-31-accounts

Winchester District Scout Council

Annual Report of the Trustees for the period 1[st] January 2023 to 31[st] December 2023

SECTION A: Reference and administration details

The Winchester District Scout Council (WDSC), to which this report is addressed, is the charity that supports the operation of the Winchester District of The Scout Association (TSA) (‘the District)).

Charity No. 302317 Scout Association Registration No. 12033

The charity’s principal address is Pinsent Campsite, Clarendon Way, Winchester SO22 5QL

Names of the Trustees[1] :

Name Route to membership (and related roles) Dates as trustee
Richard
Mendelsohn		 Ex-Officio (District Chair – elected at AGM
2020 and 2021)		 1stJan 2023 to 31stDec 2023
James Fraser Ex-Officio (District Treasurer – elected at
AGM 2020 and 2021)
(Chair of Finance Sub-committee)		 1stJan 2023 to 31stDec 2023
Robin Cook Ex-Officio (District Commissioner) 1stJan 2023 to 31stDec 2023
Bruce Martin Ex-Officio (District Explorer Scout
Commissioner)		 1stJan 2023 to 31stDec 2023
Megan Thompson Ex-Officio (District Youth Commissioner) 1stJan to 31stDec 2023??
Kama Miller-
Gambie		 Ex-Officio (District Youth Commissioner) 5thJune2023 to 31stDec 2023
Oscar Lodge Youth Member 5thJune2023 to 31stDec 2023
Chris Welland Elected at AGM 2020, 2021 and 2022
(Group Chair 3rd)		 1stJan 2023 to 31stDec 2023
Claire Sclater Elected at AGM 2020 and 2021. Resigned at
AGM 13thJune 2022 (Group Chair 6th)		 1stJan 2023 to 5thJun 2023
\Sarah Tilley2 Elected at AGM 2020 and 2021. Resigned at
AGM 13thJune 2022 (Group Chair 7th)		 1stJan 2023 to 5thJun 2023
Garry Cook Elected at AGM 2020, 2021 and 2022
(Treasurer of the Explorer Scouts Sub-
Committee)		 1stJan 2023 to 5thJun 2023
Name Route to membership (and related roles) Dates as trustee
John Le Riche Elected at AGM 2020, 2021 and 2022
(Vice President)		 1stJan 2023 to 24thJan 2023
(deceased)
Dawn Inglis Nominated at AGM 2020, 2021 and 2022
(Chair of Appointments Advisory
Committee)		 1stJan 2023 to 31stDec 2023
David Ashby District Scout Network Commissioner 5thJun 2023 to 31stDec 2023
Ian Johnson Nominated at AGM 2020, 2021 and 2022
(Chair of Pinsent Campsite and Activities
Sub-committee)		 1stJan 2023 to 31stDec 2023
Chris Floyd Nominated at AGM 2023 (Activities
Manager)		 5thJun 2023 to 31stDec 2023
Bernard Stebbing Nominated at AGM 2020, 2021 and 2022
(Chair of Growth and Development sub-
committee)		 1stJan 2023 to 5thJun 2023
Nick Safford Elected at AGM 2022 (Group Chair 12th) 1stJan 2023 to 31stDec 2023
Andy Roberts Elected at AGM 2022 (Group Chair 5th) 1stJan 2023 to 31stDec 2023

1 All members of the District Executive Committee are trustees, and all trustees were members of the District Executive Committee as then was.

The following roles Executive Committee / Trustee roles are vacant as of 31[st] Dec 2023:

Route to membership (and related roles) Route to membership (and related roles) Dates
Ex-Officio (District Secretary) 1stJan to 31stDec 2023
Chair of Pinsent New Building Sub-committee 1stJan to 31stDec 2022
The following persons had a right of attendance at trustees’ meetings:
Martin Mackey County Commissioner (Hampshire) 1stJan to ??
Paul Bell County Chair (Hampshire) 1stJan 2023 to 31stDec 2023

The District had no advisers in terms of the administration of the charity.

SECTION B: Structure, governance and management

As at 31[st] December 2023 the District consisted of:

The District’s governing documents are those 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 Scout Association (TSA).

The District is created and operated as an educational charity under the rules of TSA. It is an autonomous organisation holding its property and equipment and admitting people to membership of the Scout District subject to the policy and rules

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of The Scout Association. The District operates in accordance with the constitution provided at Rule 4.25 of the Policy, Organisation and Rules of TSA.

The District was led during the period by the District Commissioner and managed by the District Executive Committee. They were accountable to the District Scout Council for the satisfactory running of the District.

Today and going forward, the District is managed by the Winchester District Trustee Board, the members of which are the charity’s trustees of the Winchester District which is an educational charity. As charity trustees they are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities. This includes the registration, keeping proper accounts and making charity returns to the Charity Commission as appropriate.

The trustee board consists of a Chair, Treasurer and six trustees which include two ex-officio trustees and two coopted trustees. The trustee board meets every four months. Members of the trustee board complete ‘Being a Scouts Trustee’ learning programme within their first six months of joining the board.

The Winchester District Trustee Board exists to make sure the charity is well managed, risks are assessed and mitigated, buildings and equipment are in good working order, and everyone follows legal requirements and the Scout Associations Policy and Rules. Their support helps other volunteers run high quality and safe programmes that give young people skills for life.

Risk and Internal Controls

The Winchester 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 them. The main areas of concern identified are:

Injury to leaders, helpers, supporters and members: The District, through the membership fees, contributes to the Scout Association’s national accident insurance policy. In addition, a review has been undertaken to ensure that all adults supporting the District are covered by this or alternative insurance. Risk Assessments are undertaken and appropriate risk reduction measures are put in place before all activities take place in accordance with TSA Policy, Organisation and Rules.

Damage to buildings, property and equipment:

3

Reduction or loss of youth members: The District and Groups provide activities for all young people aged between 4 to 25. If there was a significant reduction in membership in a section of a particular Group then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of that section. In a worst-case scenario the complete closure of a Group might be necessary. This reduces the District’s, and its Group’s, ability to fulfil its aims that every young person in the area who wishes to take part in its activities is able to do so and that those activities will be wide ranging and of a high standard and educational value as expected by TSA. This risk is addressed through seeking to provide a wide-ranging programme of activities of a high standard and educational value in all sections;

Reduction or loss of leaders: The District relies totally upon volunteers[3] to run and administer the activities in the District. If there was a reduction in the number of leaders to an unacceptable level in a particular section or a Group as a whole, then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section. In the worst-case scenario, the complete closure of the District. This negates District, and its Groups, ability to fulfil its aims as above. This risk is addressed through seeking to maintain sufficient adult support for every section through continuous attention to recruitment, with Groups assisted by a District Growth and Development Team.

Reduced income from fundraising: The District relies primarily upon income from membership subscriptions and fundraising. The District holds reserves to ensure the continuity of activities should there be a major reduction in income. The Trustee Board could raise the value of its membership subscriptions so as to increase the income to the District on an ongoing basis, either temporarily or permanently.

Improper or uncontrolled expenditure: The District continually monitors its expenditures against its annual budget. Financial controls are in place which are designed to protect against unauthorised expenditure by any individuals who undertake scouting or other related activities on behalf of the District which necessarily incur costs. The District also has in place a system of internal controls which are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or loss, which include two signatories for all payments, and comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered.

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SECTION C: Objectives and activities

The objectives of the District are as a unit of the Scout Association. Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society. Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and:

In addition, the District aims that every young person in the area who wishes to take part in its activities should be able to do so, and that those activities will be wide ranging and of a high standard and educational value as expected by TSA.

The District maintains three charitable funds to support those people who would otherwise be unable to participate in normal scouting activities enjoyed by the majority of members: -

  1. The RBR Fund for young people in Winchester District who are members of the Scout Association, who want to take part in activities which are appropriate to them but who, through financial circumstances, find themselves unable to take part. It also supports those who need financial assistance to become or to remain members of a Section within the District. Access to the fund is not available to Leaders or other adult supporters.

  2. The Mike Green Fund for supporting people in training to run adventurous activities but who, through financial circumstances, find themselves unable to partake of appropriate training.

  3. The International Fund for assisting young people in Scouting to attend international Scouting events.

The District meets the Charity Commission's public benefit criteria under both the advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development headings.

SECTION D: Achievements, performance and objectives

Scouting in Winchester continues to thrive and the challenge remains to meet the demand from young people wanting to become Scouts and to increase that demand by providing better activities.

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Overall the year in 2023:

The census showed that ~~#~~ bounceback was working well but not as well as hoped. At 1381 young members, the January 2024 census was a ~~sl~~ igh ~~t i~~ mprovement over the January 2023 census of 2022.

The Growth and Development team and the District Development Officer have remained active through the year. The high number of leaders recruited during lockdown is testament to this. The Joining List remains high. This represents an unsatisfied demand and is unsatisfactory because those young people on the Joining List will only be young people for a limited time and are missing out. The aim is for a zero Joining List while stimulating more young people to want to join through a wide range of high-quality activities and publicity that encourages others to take part. The key to satisfying the demand and improving activities is to recruit more adults. This has exceeded expectations this year.

In accord with national needs, good progress has been made on the validation of leader competence against the required training modules.. The late completion of induction activities has been addressed but still needs more effort to make late completion a historical issue. Imposing restrictions on attending nights away activities when induction has not been completed on time has proved effective with several completions in the week before a camp. Late Wood Badges was also addressed in October and is now an ongoing activity as Wood Badges become due. This has resulted in several leaders having their role reduced from Section Leader or Assistant Section Leader to Section Assistant and several from any role to Group Occasional Helper. Some have declined to renew DBS disclosures and have been removed from the register.

One new Squirrel dre ~~ys o~~ pened in 2023 and early results were good. Six dreys are now open. Beavers, Cubs and Scouts all resumed normal operations, and several camps were held.

The Scout Antler Incident Hike Competition and Autumn Walking Expedition to the Brecon Beacons took place.

Explorers were also active. Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and several joined the Scouts in a joint expedition to the beacon Beacons. The muchneeded new unit, Titan, started recruiting in 2023 and are now up to 12 members.

6

The Network District Commissioner, through the University Freshers Fayre’s is continuing to attract new members, there now being 28, up 7.

Of the twelve Groups, all had Group Scout Leaders (GSLs) at the end of 2022 although two were Acting GSLs. The 4[th] remained dormant despite attempts to revive it.

Scouting relies on adult volunteers (we have 507 adult volunteers, slightly down on the 518 from last year. These volunteers have engaged well with the unusual challenges thrown at them ~~.~~

SECTION E: Financial review

Pinsent bookings were buoyant during the year with Scouts keen to be back camping. We received a very generous donation from Colin and Viv Brooks, £60,000 to kickstart the construction of a new Activity Barn at Pinsent. This along with the extra £2k revenue from camping is the main drivers behind the £63k increase in revenue over 2022. The £6k increase in expenditure was mainly due to increased youth activities. Expenditure to date on the new activity barn has been capitalised under asset purchases.

During the year the District Trustees expressed a desire for some of the District’s funds that are in zero interest bearing accounts should be moved to interest bearing accounts, this has resulted in the district opening three new interest bearing accounts, Canterbury, Redwood and United. This has resulted in an increase in interest earned for the District, and the interest figure for 2024 is expected to be much higher. Total cash funds at the end of the year were £313k up from £254 last year. The bulk of the increase is due to the donation, Of the £313k, £29k is not ringfenced and represents approximately two years of average expenditure.

SECTION F: Plans for future period

Our overall plans and priorities set out in our previous report continued unchanged at the start of 2023 apart from the introduction of Squirrel Scouts. Emphasis remains what we had set out in order to grow the District:

A new emphasis has been injected into the new building at Pinsent although this is still discussion with the architect engaged.

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Emphasis continues to be placed on maintaining and developing the close relationships with our local communities and with City and Hampshire Councillors and Council Officers. The need for new Scout buildings and land swaps continues to be urgent. These, as ever, will only be achieved with local community and local authority support. The key to funding new building construction remains to be achieved with community use by day - most likely by the very young or elderly.

Scouting in Winchester continues to embrace TSA’s Strategy for 2018-23 with its continued focus on the following four objectives:

As mentioned in the financial review, Two former members of the District, Colin and Viv Brooks very kindly donated £65,000. Winchester City Council, through the Rural England prosperity Fund also granted £38,000, which will appear in 2024 accounts, towards the overall £145,000 cost of the project. The balance of the funds will come from within the District. Construction has started and will be completed in June 2024 with an official opening scheduled for 15[th] June 2024 to which local dignitaries have been invited. The new Activity Barn replaces the semi-derelict structure we used to use for archery and Shooting. This will enable these and other new activities to continue under cover all year round.

Preparations are also underway to restart fund raising to complete the construction of the new Campsite Facility building which has been held up now for several years.

SECTION G: Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees: -

Signature
and date		 10thJune 2024 29th June 2024
Names Richard Mendelsohn Robin Cook
Positions Chairman District Commissioner

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Winchester District Scout Council

Receipts and Payments Account

For the year from 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023

Receipts and Payments
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Total funds
£
£
£
Receipts
Donations, legacies & similar income
Membership subscriptions
98,453
0
98,453
Less: Membership subscriptions paid on
71,708
0
71,708
Net Membership subscriptions retained
26,745
0
26,745
Donations (other)
0
0
0
Gift Aid
3,921
0
3,921
Interest
961
0
961
Other similar income
0
0
0
Sub total
31,627
0
31,627
Grants
Covid 19 Grants
0
0
Sub total
0
0
0
Barn Project
Barn Project
0
60,000
60,000
Sub total
0
60,000
60,000
Youth Programme and Activities
Activities
8,057
0
8,057
Beavers
7,412
0
7,412
Cubs
11,478
0
11,478
Scouts
7,905
0
7,905
Network
0
0
0
Explorers
38,792
0
38,792
Sub total
73,644
0
73,644
Pinsent Campsite
Bookings
14,506
0
14,506
Other
2,343
0
2,343
Sub total
16,849
0
16,849
Other District activities
Badges
12,946
0
12,946
RBT Transfer
750
0
750
Other
216
0
216
Sub total
13,912
0
13,912
Investment income
COIF - Winchester District Scout Council
250
0
250
COIF - RBR Fund
0
143
143
COIF - Jamboree
0
26
26
Sub total
250
169
419
Total Gross Income
136,282
60,169
196,451
Asset sales
0
0
0
Total Receipts
136,282
60,169
196,451
2023		 2022
Total funds
£
79,872
58,671
21,201
0
2,552
368
0
24,121
2,667
2,667
590
590
8,496
19,535
2,200
13,023
0
37,121
80,375
12,711
1,636
14,347
11,294
0
0
11,294
55
32
6
93
133,487
0
133,487

Winchester District Scout Council

Receipts and Payments Account

For the year from 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023

Receipts and Payments

Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Total funds
£
£
£
Payments
Charitable Payments
District Commissioner's expenses
582
0
582
Training / Conferences (District Team / Executiv
91
0
91
AGM and District Conference
82
0
82
Badges
11,576
0
11,576
Poppy Wreath
375
0
375
Publicity
294
0
294
District Resources (incl. Training materials)
0
0
0
St George's Day
870
0
870
New Unit Grants
360
0
360
District Development Officer
10,296
0
10,296
Other
71
0
71
Sub total
24,597
0
24,597
Youth Programme and Activities
Activities
1,791
0
1,791
Activity equipment
0
0
0
Beavers
5,214
0
5,214
Cubs
7,477
0
7,477
Scouts
9,989
0
9,989
Explorers
39,870
0
39,870
Network
0
0
0
Training Activity
0
0
0
RBR payments
0
1,276
1,276
Jamboree payments
0
7,891
7,891
Sub total
64,341
9,167
73,508
Pinsent Campsite
Southern Electric
443
0
443
Southern Water
352
0
352
Insurance
433
0
433
Maintenance / Improvements
9,890
0
9,890
Projects
818
0
818
Fundraising Costs
0
0
0
Sub total
11,936
0
11,936
Total Gross Expenditure
100,874
9,167
110,041
Asset purchases
0
0
0
Barn Project
27,701
27,701
New Build Expenditure
0
0
0
Total Payments
100,874
36,868
137,742
Net of receipts/(payments)
35,408
23,301
58,709
Transfers between funds
0
0
0
Cash funds last year end
218,286
36,467
254,753
Cash funds this year end
253,694
59,768
313,462
2023		 2022
Total funds
£
105
386
90
11,774
0
299
0
2,291
600
7,102
3,107
25,754
0
0
18,487
3,450
11,407
32,222
0
1,696
1,402
0
68,664
407
356
411
3,696
5,552
0
10,422
104,840
1,630
590
2,365
109,425
24,062

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Winchester District Scout Council Assets

Having reviewed our asset disclosures in the accounts, we wanted to more clearly reflect assets owned by the District, and this is now reflected in this note. While accrual accounting has not been adopted, we also wanted to reflect the fact that most assets depreciate in value over time. This note therefore details our depreciation policy for each asset type and the asset summary describes the carrying values of those assets, reflecting their ongoing value and life

Pinsent Campsite

The District own and operate a camp site at Clarendon Way, Winchester. Pinsent is an approximately 7 acre site with 8 camping areas, a toilet block, activity areas including a crate stacking tower and archery and air rifle shooting areas. The site was gifted to the District in 1931 following Major Pinsent’s purchase of it for £1,000. It has no acquisition cost and the District Executive obtained a valuation in use for the site of £250k in 2015.

Planning permission for a utility building has been granted and the foundations installed at the site. The main construction will only commence once the additional £700k of funding has been raised. The balance of funds raised for the Pinsent new building held at bank stand at £76,549.

Planning Permission has been granted for the construction of an activity barn. Funding has been provided by a generous grant from Colin Brooks, £60,000, and a grant from the governments prosperity fund, £38,000, admisinstered by Winchester City Council as well as some funding from the activities team balance and a district loan to the activities team. The Barn is expected to cost £150,000. The barn should be completed in the first half of 2024.

District Asset Summary

District Asset Summary
Cost 2023 Purchases B/f Deprec 2023Depreciation C/f Value
Pinsent Building - Planning & footings 58,881 0 0 0 58,881
Pinsent Site - Campfire Circle 20,008 0 (5,500) (1,000) 13,508
Pinsent Site - Roundhouse 11,178 0 (2,097) (559) 8,522
Pinsent Site - Crate Stack Structure & actiity eqpt 31,414 0 0 0 31,414
Pinsent Site - Toilet Block 32,051 0 (19,765) (6,410) 5,876
Pinsent Site - Storage Containers 4,778 3,228 (4,054) (684) 3,268
Pinsent Site - Maintenance Equipment 3,289 0 (2,011) (639) 639
161,598 3,228 (33,426) (9,292) 122,108
Depreciation Policy
Pinsent Building - Planning & footings No write off until building completed
Pinsent Campfire Circle & Roundhouse 20 years
Pinsent Interim Toilet Block 5 years
Pinsent Storage containers 10 years
Pinsent Maintenance Equipment 2 -5 years

The District owns activity equipment including bows, air rifles, crates and ropes which are maintained and replaced as necessary.

The District consider depreciation of this stock of equipment to not be necessary as it is repaired and replaced on a rolling basis. The level of equipment is maintained at a similar levels year on year. The District also holds a stock of badges and other sundry materials.

2023
Activity Equipment £
Pinsent Activity Equipment 10,765
Crate Stack & Pioneering Equipment 20,649
Total 31,414
2023 2022
£ £
Badge Stock 4,593 4,848