**Hitchin District Scouts Annual Review to 31[st] March 2023**
## **Hitchin District Scout Council**
## **President & Vice Presidents**
President Vice Presidents
Richard Cox Rose De Roeck Tony Freeman Peter Hankin Bernard Higgs Keith McEwen Shirley Street
## **District Board of Trustees**
Chairman Secretary Treasurer Assistant Treasurer District Commissioner District Youth Commissioner Trustees
Mike Wells Fiona Barrett Craig Wilson Anna Pargeter Henry Harrison Tom Hankin Denise Wells Geraint Edwards Alan Langley Tony Hankin Tracey Higginbotham Kevin Hankin
## **District Membership**
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Beavers 263
Cubs 299 Membership Trend
Scouts 236
1200
Explorers 69
Network 8 1000
Total Young People 875 800
Total Adults 258 600
Total Membership 1133 400
This year our youth 200
membership dropped slightly 0
from 888 to 875(-1.5%). We
believe this is due to a number
Youth membership Adult membership
of factors. Partly, we are still
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
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This year our youth membership dropped slightly from 888 to 875(-1.5%). We believe this is due to a number of factors. Partly, we are still feeling the effects of the
pandemic, groups feel that they need to work with smaller numbers to support the young people. Also, Cubs is effectively full, this puts a limit on Beaver places. We are looking at options to increase Cub capacity and trying to increase the number of young leaders.
## **Groups and Units in Hitchin District**
## **Scout Groups**
1st Hitchin (Boys’ School) 2nd Hitchin (Air Scouts) 3rd Hitchin (Walsworth Road Baptist Church) 4th Hitchin (St. Ippolytts) 5th Hitchin (St. Mark’s) 6th Hitchin (Priory) 7th Hitchin (Our Lady’s) 8th Hitchin (Oughton) 9th Hitchin (1st Ickleford) 11th Hitchin (Christchurch) 12th Hitchin (St. Mary’s and Holy Saviour)
15th Hitchin (Holwell and Pirton) 16th Hitchin (St. Faiths)
17th Hitchin (St. Michael’s)
## **Explorer Scout Units**
1st Hitchin ESU BEAR ESU DORA ESU HYDRUS Young Leaders
**Network Scout Unit** Hitchin District Network
## **District Awards and Achievements**
**Kings Scout Award** Ashley Clinch
## **Chief Scouts Award for Merit**
Michael Wells Andrew Henton Pusey
**Commissioner’s Commendation** Zach Le Coze
## **Chief Scouts Commendation for Good Service**
David Brister Stephen Cook Janet Roberts Anne West
**50 Years’ Service** Michael Cranfield
**15 Years’ Service**
Elizabeth Cranfield Christian Frisch Nicola Gilbert Michael Hamid Dany Hawkess Mark Lally Gemma Pearson Michael Wells Thomas White Peter Woolston
**25 Years’ Service**
Hazel Beadle Wendy Hawkes
**10 Years’ Service**
Raymond Blake Elizabeth Deeks Christine Evans Kay Miller Andrew Moore Nicholas Senechal Jane Veasey Peter Watson
**20 Years’ Service** Garry Brandon Andrew Henton Pusey
**5 years’ service**
Fiona Barratt Joanne Berry-Norman Gillian Bhumbra Sabine Bullmore Joanna Clinch Mascha Collier Sara Cranfield Andrew Fraser Victoria Hellyer Jasmine Livings Edward Manson Lowell Metcalfe Helen Neeves Rachel Nelson Katherine Prince Richard Randall Dionne Thompson Mark Waples Simon Wightman Craig Wilson
## **District Chairman**
Hello again and thank you for reading the annual review of Hitchin scouting. I was very pleased to welcome Henry as our new District Commissioner a year ago, it has been great getting to know him and I think you will all agree he has taken to the role like a duck to water.
It has been another very busy year with activities for our young people and I would sincerely like to thank all of the leaders and adult volunteers who have helped to deliver these “Skills for life” we simply could not do it without you. I would also like to thank the members of the District executive, or trustee board as we shall be know as hence forth, for their support to me again this year, you all do an amazing job behind the scenes.
I have attended the district training day at Whitehill School this year and enjoyed the interactive discussions, the fellowship at lunch time and of course the freshly made Pizza, thank you to Craig our treasurer for funding this. I also attended the district awards evening at Priory School to see so many of our young people gain awards and recognition, I was especially proud to be awarded a 15 year service badge and the Medal of merit, I wore them both with pride at the St. Georges day parade.
I look forward to welcoming you to our AGM at the Cricket club again this year.
Mike Wells District Chairman
## **District Treasurer**
The Financial Accounts for the calendar year 2022 have been presented for approval at the AGM. The accounts have been approved by the Trustee Committee, and independently examined. I would like to thank Philippa MorganMales for carrying out the examination.
Hitchin Scouts was very fortunate to receive several grants and donations in 2022. These include Leslie Sell Trust (£2,400), Norman Hyde Trust (£6,500), The Revere Trust (£10,000) and Beds & Luton Community Foundation (£3,500). The grants and donations have helped us to fund repairs to the District HQ roof, purchase equipment, provide training to volunteers, and reduce participation costs for young people attending major events such as DAW 2022, Lochearnhead 2023 and the Scout Jamboree. Part of the Beds & Luton grant will be used in 2023 to provide inperson training courses for leaders across the district and groups to support our young people with their mental health. £4,000 from the previously awarded Covid Grant was used to subsidise the DAW 2022 District Camp.
Scout Association membership fees were increased by £1 at both a national and county level. Fortunately, the financial position at Hitchin District meant that we did not need to increase the District portion of the overall membership fee. Comparing the subscription costs charged by each group across the District to the previous year, average subscriptions per term for each young person increased from £31 in 2021 to £32.50 in 2022. This reflects the increased costs of running the groups not only from increased national membership fees, but also from the general increase in prices across the economy.
Scout shop sales increased by approximately 40% compared to 2021. Profits from the shop are re-invested into Scouting in Hitchin. Thank you to Denise and the team.
Expenditure on the Scout HQ building, including insurance, was broadly in line with 2021 (once the one-off roof repairs are deducted), but an increase in electricity costs has been noted owing to prices rising, and lack of availability of
cheaper tariffs. Expenditure on equipment and training increased compared to 2021, but as noted above, these additional expenses have been met through grants and donations.
Gift Aid was claimed in 2022 but owing to a delay in receiving the money from HMRC, the amount of £1,192 will be recorded in the 2023 accounts.
Explorer Unit finances are healthy and there are no concerns with the ability to pay the national membership fees for any of the units. Explorer subscriptions will remain at the current level of £30 per term for 2023.
Receipts were £125,343 compared to £42,725 in 2021 and Expenditure was £82,070 compared to £69,171 in 2021. The higher receipts are due to the awards of the grants and donations mentioned above, plus collection of fees for major events such as Lochearnhead 2023 (£32,000) and DAW 2022 (£26,000). DAW also contributed to the higher expenditure compared to 2021.
Overall, at the end of 2022, District funds stood at £93,980, which is £43,273 higher than at the end of 2021.
Craig Wilson District Treasurer
## **District Commissioner**
I’d like to start by thanking all our adult volunteers for their continued work this year. Our volunteer numbers have continued to grow to 258 and we couldn’t offer scouting in Hitchin without everybody’s commitment and enthusiasm.
After I started as District Commissioner in June last year, we started to look at the organisation of the district team. I wanted a team that supported working together in smaller groups and not overburdening individuals as much as possible. We therefor tried to move to a greater number of roles formed into the areas of programme, activities and people. We also created new roles to better mentor volunteers, increase the flow from scouts to explorers and support top awards in the district. You can see the new team structure on the next page.
At the end of this year, Kevin will be leaving the district team after 10 years of supporting the district with activities. As everybody in the district knows, Kevin does a huge amount: supporting booking the climbing wall, nights away permits, equipment booking, St Georges day parades, district activity weekends and loads more. He will be irreplaceable in the team. He has agreed to join the Board of Trustees so will be around to help guide us going forwards.
We are also very sad to be losing Richard Cox as our District President. Richard has been supporting Hitchin Scouting as President since 2000 with his time and influence. He has kindly let us use his home for various events over the years and has been hugely supportive finding grants, for example when the HQ roof needed replacing.
Thank you also to Chris, who is standing down as Network Commissioner and Fiona who is standing down as District Secretary. Finally, thank you to everybody on the district team for your support in my first year as District Commissioner.
This year saw the return of many favourite events: the beaver sleepover and St Georges Day Parade in the town square. We had a record attendance of other 120 award holders at the annual celebration evening. We also had a successful District
Volunteers Day at Whitehill School with sessions on Youth Shaped Scouting, Inclusivity, Growth, Adventurous Activities and a social Pizza lunch.
We have loads to look forward to in the coming year, including Lochearnhead in August. I am looking forward to another strong year for Hitchin Scouts.
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Henry Harrison
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Deputy DC Team
Activity Team
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Programme Team
People Tearn
Young
## **Vacancies**
We are always looking for people to join the district team and help coordinate scouting across the district. If you are interested in any position, please get in touch with somebody in the DC team. In particular, we are looking for a District Explorer Scout Commissioner, Network Commissioner, ADC Volunteers.
The District Explorer Scout Commissioner (DESC) is similar to a GSL role. As explorer units are part of the district rather than a group, the DESC helps to coordinate them and support the leaders. This would involve organising/ supporting joint events, working with the ‘want to join coordinator’ to support new explorers joining, working with the ‘top awards coordinator’ to support top explorer awards, running termly explorer leader meetings and generally supporting the 4 units.
The Network Commissioner supports the 18-25 age range in the district. This could be young adults who volunteer with us or members who want to stay in touch with the district after explorers. It involves keeping in semi-regular contact with the group, supporting events and acting as a go-between for the network and the district team.
As Kevin is leaving the district team, we are also looking for somebody to take on parts of his role. In particular, we will need somebody to help manage bookings for the district facilities, including the climbing wall and Hitch Wood. This process is mostly automated but does require some coordination.
The ADC volunteers would support Tina, supporting adults in the district. This involves mentoring adults, supporting new volunteers and publicising what we do in Hitchin.
## **Upcoming events**
|June/ July|Mental Health First Aid Training|
|---|---|
|June|Sailing Taster Days|
|July|Lochearnhead|
|September|Youth Showcase event in the town square|
|September|District Scout Expedition|
|November|Green Beret|
|January|Fire and Ice|
|January|Beaver Sleepover|
|March|Explorer Walking weekend|
|April|St Georges Day|
For up to date district and county event dates please see the district calendar: hitchinscouts.org/calendar
## **What’s the best thing you did in scouting this year?**
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reeeeally enjoyed ITTH this year
I loved the new challenge of
sailing, it wasn’t something I’d ever
done before, felt great to complete
it and get my Stage 1
Peak Assault
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I loved making coconut jewellery because we got to use sand paper!
Piñatas don't dry if there is too much paint on them. 360s whilst ice skating was fun until fell over
The last sailing lesson of the summer was fun because of learning how to capsize properly and how to turtle safely
An evening doing bike repair distracted by Just Dance
The Chinese lantern's were cool when they burnt on the water. The structure of the lantern was important.
love sailing with 7th as always - staying upright and going in the water are both fun!
One of my favourite things was doing the chip-shop challenge. I also loved the night hike, as walking in the dark is something I find very enjoyable, but my favourite thing we did was definitely he Christmas Party.
Ili!* ['
Hide and seek in the dark at the church
Scouts
Hitchin
Registered Charity Number 302546
## **Hitchin District Scout Council Receipts and Payments Account**
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For the year
01/01/2022 To 31/12/2022
from
Receipts
2022 2021
£ £
Subscriptions
Membership subscriptions 46,746.00 44,363.00
Less:Membership subscriptions paid on
- 42,336.00 - 42,328.00
(National/County/Area/District)
Net membership subscriptions retained 4,410.00 2,035.00
District Operations
Premises 44.99 -
Administration - -
Adult support & training - 80.00
Equipment - -
Sub total 44.99 80.00
District Activities & Groups
District events & activities 31,799.91 2,614.77
Jamboree 7,087.50 500.00
Explorers 11,365.14 12,456.51
Youth Forum, Young Leaders & Network - -
Lochearnhead 32,063.28 9,257.64
Sub total 82,315.83 24,828.92
Donations, legacies and similar income
Private donations and grants 7,275.00 -
DHQ Roof 10,000.00 4,300.00
Charities Trust 500.00 500.00
Jamboree Donation 6,805.45 -
Other 60.35 131.90
Sub total 24,640.80 4,931.90
Charitable income to pass on
St Georges day - MACs - -
Corporate matched funding passed to specific
82.16 -
groups
82.16 -
Scout Shop
Scout Shop Sales 13,836.27 9,735.57
13,836.27 9,735.57
Investment income
Bank interest 13.86 94.37
Paypal - -
Gift Aid - 1,020.00
Sub total 13.86 1,114.37
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_**Total receipts**_
**125,343.91**
**42,725.76**
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Payments
2022 2021
£ £
District Operations
Premises 4,213.58 17,316.13
Administration 510.87 178.68
Adult support & training 2,545.53 1,268.10
Equipment 928.72 431.30
Sub total 8,198.70 19,194.21
District Activities & Groups
District events & activities 36,397.89 3,273.37
Jamboree 2023 12,767.50 234.28
Explorers 11,876.36 10,353.95
Youth Forum, Young Leaders & Network 344.48 107.96
Lochearnhead 1,081.18 27,673.00
Sub total 62,467.41 41,642.56
Charitable income to pass on
Hitchin Initiative 150.00 150.00
Corporate matched funding passed to specific
68.51 119.34
groups
RBL Poppy Appeal 30.00
248.51 269.34
Scout Shop
Scout Shop Expenditure 11,156.24 8,065.71
11,156.24 8,065.71
Total payments 82,070.86 69,171.82
Receipts and Payments Accounts Summary
2022 2021
£ £
Total Receipts 125,343.91 42,725.76
Total payments 82,070.86 69,171.82
Net of receipts/(payments) 43,273.05 - 26,446.06
Cash funds last year end 50,707.88 77,153.94
Cash funds carried forward 93,980.93 50,707.88
Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year
2022 2021
£ £
Cash funds
Bank current account 28,618.96 21,353.19
2nd 'Project' account 33,757.10 -
The Scout Association Short Term
11,589.88 11,576.02
Investment Service
Paypal 299.57 232.06
Explorers 12,880.62 13,391.84
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Scout Shop current account 4,632.23 2,659.98
Scout Shop Liability - - 97.85
Scout shop Cash/Floats 25.00 25.00
Scout shop Debtors 2,177.57 1,567.64
Total cash funds 93,980.93 50,707.88
The above receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities were
approved by the Trustees on 15th June 2023 and signed on their behalf by
Signature Print Name
CRAIG WILSON Treasurer
MIKE WELLS Chair
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Independent examinerfs report to the trustees of Hitchin District Scout Council
I rerK)rt to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Hitchin District Scout Council for the
year ended 31yE December 2022.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Hitchin Distrirt Scout Council you are responsible ftjr the pparation of the
accounts in accordance with the requirnents ofthe Charities Art 20111'the Act'l.
I report in respect of my examination of the Hitchin District Scout Council accounts carried out under
section 145 of the 2011 Act and in caryr¥J out my examination I have followed all the applicable
Directions given by the Charity Commission under secbon 14515llbl of the Act
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have coTh* to my attention in
onnection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect
ccounting records were not kept in respect of the Hitchin District Scout Council as required by
section 130 of the Act or
2. the accounts do not accord wrth those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection wtth the examination to which
attention should be drawn in this port in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be
reached.
Srgned-
Name:
IflLi/nA
4L--J
Relevant professional qual¥fication or membership of professional bodies Irf any):
Address:
6/
£6* 7(q
Date:
2J