Ware District Scout Council Trustees Annual Report 1 January to 31 December 2024 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report |Contents|Contents| |---|---| |**A.**|**Reference and Administration Details .......................................................................... 3**| |**B.**|**Structure, Governance and Management ..................................................................... 4**| ||Risk and Internal Control .................................................................................................................. 4| |**C.**|**Objectives and Activities.................................................................................................. 5**| ||The Values of Scouting ..................................................................................................................... 5| ||The Scout Method ............................................................................................................................... 5| ||Public Benefit Statement .................................................................................................................. 5| |**D.**|**Achievements and Performance .................................................................................... 6**| ||Trustee Board ....................................................................................................................................... 6| ||Programme ........................................................................................................................................... 6| ||Growth & Development..................................................................................................................... 6| ||Transformation ..................................................................................................................................... 7| ||Safety & Training Compliance ......................................................................................................... 7| ||Youth Programme ............................................................................................................................... 8| |**E.**|**Financial Review ............................................................................................................. 11**| ||Treasurer’s Report ........................................................................................................................... 11| ||Reserves Policy ................................................................................................................................. 11| ||Investment Policy ............................................................................................................................. 11| |**F.**|**Accounts ........................................................................................................................... 12**| ||Receipts & Payments ...................................................................................................................... 12| ||Statememt of assets and liabilities ............................................................................................. 14| ||Independent Examiner’s Report .................................................................................................. 15| |**G.**|**Declaration ....................................................................................................................... 16**| Page 2 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ## A. Reference and Administration Details Report for the period 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 Charity name: Ware District Scout Council Other names the charity is known by: Ware & District Scouts Registered charity number: 302624 Scout Association registration number: 10001449 Principal address: District Scout Headquarters, Broadmeads Ware, Hertfordshire SG12 9HY Website warescouts.org.uk ## Trustees for the period 1 January to 31 December 2024 |**Trustee Name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for the whole year**| |---|---|---| |||| |**David Allen**|Chair|| |**Geoff Addy**|Treasurer|| |**Paul Stretch**|District Lead Volunteer|| |**Ollie Rose**|District Explorer Scout
Commissioner|Ex officio to 7 November 2024, then co-opted.| |**Peter Raymen**|Appointments Chair|| |**Keith Jennings**||| |**Megan Allen**||| |**Gavin Miles**||To 14 May 2024| |**Mark Buswell**||From 6 February 2024| Page 3 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ## B. Structure, Governance and Management The Charity’s governing documents are those of The Scout Association. They consist of a Royal Charter which in turn gives authority to the By-laws of the Association and the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association and the Constitution of Ware District Scout Council. Ware District Scout Council (‘the District’) 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 The Scout Association and the Constitution. The Charity is managed by the District Trustee 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, keeping proper accounts and making returns to the Charity Commission as appropriate. The Trustee Board consists of the Chair, Treasurer and a number of other Trustees and meets several times a year. Members of the Trustee Board complete the Scouts’ Trustee learning within the first 6 months of joining the Board. This 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 organisation's policies and rules. Their support helps other volunteers run high quality and safe programmes that gives young people skills for life. ## Risk and Internal Control The Ware District Scout Council Trustee Board recognise that risk management is essential to our governance and to the sustainable operation of our scout district. As such the board has adopted the Ware & District Risk Management Policy. This policy is based on and aligns with guidance and templates from The Scout Association and the Charity Commission. The Trustees have reviewed the district’s key risks, logged them in a risk register and formulated appropriate actions to minimise, manage and discharge these risks. Risks will continue to be reviewed and managed on an on-going basis as required and will be formally reviewed at least annually. The risk register is available on request. Page 4 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ## C. Objectives and Activities The primary objective of the District is that of the Scout Association generally, namely: to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society. ## The Values of Scouting As Scouts we are guided by these values: - Integrity - We act with integrity; we are honest, trustworthy and loyal. - Respect - We have self-respect and respect for others. - Care - We support others and take care of the world in which we live. - Belief - We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes. - Co-operation - We make a positive difference; we cooperate with others and make friends. ## The Scout Method Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and: - enjoy what they are doing and have fun - take part in activities indoors and outdoors - learn by doing - share in spiritual reflection - take responsibility and make choices - undertake new and challenging activities - make and live by their Promise. The activities of the District are: - the provision of the Scouting programme for 4–25 year old members - support and administration for the management and activities of the Groups within Ware and District. ## Public Benefit Statement 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. Page 5 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ## D. Achievements and Performance ## Trustee Board The District Trustee Board continued through 2024 to strengthen their ways of working around governance and financial controls and reorientate the work of the Board based on the broader Scout Transformation programme. Several legacy financial accounts have been consolidated into the main district account, and we have adopted financial tools to help manage the finances and this is bringing better visibility and control. Additionally, we have continued to improve our management of the District HQ with various works and improvements, including improved fire safety, pending renewal of the HQ lease, which will allow more ambitious redevelopment. Near the end of 2024 our previous chair, Dave Allen, indicated his intention to step away from the Trustee Board and through the end of 2024 and early 2025 the board transitioned smoothly to a new chair. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dave for all his hard work as District Chair – we trust he will stay engaged with Ware Scouting and we will see him at activities from time to time. Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Trustee Board, to thank our District Lead Volunteer, Paul Stretch, and his team of District Sections Leads, for all their hard work organising district events and running our Explorer groups. Most, if not all, district volunteers are also leaders at groups within the district and their dedication to Scouting to go the extra mile to take on district activities is much appreciated. ## **Mark Buswell, District Chair** ## Programme The programme across the groups and district events continued to rebuild throughout 2024, with more events and activities as the memory of pandemic and lockdown faded. Details of the sections’ activities are described elsewhere in the report. 156 Chief Scout’s Awards were achieved across the District in 2024, compared with 130 in 2023. ## Growth & Development Squirrels continued to grow across the groups, with seven dreys running in six groups by the end of 2024. These now provide Scouting for 103 young people aged 4-5 years old, a 75% increase on the beginning of 2024. Ignis Explorer Scout Unit opened in Buntingford at the beginning of the year, providing for the 14-18 year olds in the north of the district. Later in the year, Terra Explorer Scout Unit opened in Ware, expanding capacity in Ware town. With four Explorer Scout Units now running, we ended 2024 with 80 Explorer Scouts, including Young Leaders, a 29% growth on the start of 2024. Page 6 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report There was strong growth in 2024 across the District as a whole, ahead of both the Hertfordshire and national averages. This is evidence of the quality of the programme, and the adult volunteers delivering it, across the district. Comparing census 31 Jan 2025 to 31 Jan 2024, Ware remains the fourth largest District (of 18) in Hertfordshire by 4-18 year old members. |**Census**|**2025**|**vs 2024**| |---|---|---| |Young people aged 4-18years|988|+4.8%| |Adults|281|+9.3%| |**Total**|**1,269**|**+5.8%**| Areas for future growth are the continued expansion of Squirrels and Explorers, plus the opportunity to re-open Network as the growing Explorer membership move into that age range. Additional work is needed to ensure that Beavers and Cubs membership remains strong, with some active youth recruitment now becoming necessary. ## Transformation A key objective for 2024 was to prepare everyone for the TSA’s transformation project. TSA’s new membership and learning systems went live in November and everyone had a lot of preparation to help it go as smoothly as possible across Groups and District. The top priorities were to ensure that mandatory safety and safeguarding training were up to date, DBS disclosures were up to date, appointments and Getting Started were up to date and that near-complete Wood Badges were completed before November. Many adults also managed to complete first response training too. All this was achieved on time for the Transformation deadline, putting us in a great position ready for the changes. Also, a lot of time was spent helping everyone across the District to understand the impact of Transformation, especially around the move to the new teams, new ways of working and the change in some peoples’ roles. Again, Ware went into the Transformation in a good place with a strong understanding of what was required and what to expect. ## Safety & Training Compliance A strong proactive focus was maintained on training compliance, with zero adults noncompliant in most months. The handful of adult volunteers who did become noncompliant throughout the year were supported to recover their compliant position very quickly. The number of first response courses run in Ware, and the number of adults able to deliver these, was increased during the year. This enabled an increasing number of adults to obtain or renew their first response. Together, these actions ensured that we kept our young people safe and minimised disruption to programme delivery. Page 7 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ## Youth Programme ## Squirrel Scouts Squirrels continue to grow in Ware & District, with seven Dreys open by the end of 2024, offering adventure and opportunities to 103 young people (75% growth from the previous year). Their Leaders are arranging a wide range of activities, including visits from the Police and Herts & Essex Air Ambulance to name a couple. Litter picking, gardening, making pizzas, toasting marshmallows are some of the many other activities undertaken. Hoddesdon library laid on a Duplo session which a squirrel drey attended and imagination ran wild that evening. We have had the first Squirrels sleepover in Ware & District – well done 2[nd] Ware (St Mary’s). There was a fantastic turnout by the Squirrels for the St George's Day parade, with lots of new red flags being proudly carried by the Squirrels. ## Beaver Scouts It’s amazing how time flies and another year has gone by. In that year we have had our annual Tug of War which was won by Buntingford. Congratulation to them! We made changes to our hike and did a circular loop from Chauncy School and up to Hartham Common and back. The weather was really kind to us and tired Beavers returned home. Some of the colonies joined the Squirrels and attended the Carol Service for a fun filled time. Our Beavers attended Hertfordshire Zoo to start working on their Global Issues Activity badge and the Hertfordshire Zoo Conservation Champion Badge, the sun shone on us, and the animals were all out on show. A scavenger hunt was completed prior to the St George’s day parade, again the sun appeared to make the day a success. Next year is the Beaver Scouts 40th birthday so plenty of celebrations to look forward to. ## Cub Scouts 2024 was a great year for the Cub section with a full and active set of district events to support the packs’ own individual programmes. We also welcomed the re-opening of Hawks Cub Pack in Buntingford, which now bring us back to 12 Cub packs in the district. We started 2024 with a successful swimming gala. February had the entire Cub section at Amwell View School, climbing, dancing, swimming and much more at our annual Founder’s Day celebration. In May we had 11 Cub packs participate in the fast and furious Go Kart competition at Chauncy School, Ware. Page 8 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report We continued 2024 with Oxley Shield & Wildgoose Trophy in September, followed by the Night Hike in October. ## Scouts The District calendar in 2024 started with the Cooking Competition, which carried the theme of “Paris”; congratulations to Great Amwell on retaining the District trophy. With just one District event in the Spring term, plans were put in place to introduce the Masterbuilder’s (‘not Lego’) Competition for 2025. The summer term saw the Scout & Guide Swimming Gala at Ware Lido, with 2[nd] Ware prevailing in the monsoon conditions and again in the Raft Race organised by Ware Town Council. The multi-activity day at ESSA Water Activities Centre, in which Scouts participated non-competitively in paddle sports, saw a decline in numbers compared with previous years, and was opened to the Explorer Scouts. In the autumn, the Nocturnal Competition returned with a new route that eliminated main road crossings, and in which Explorers ran two of the activity bases. Congratulations to the winners, 1[st] Stanstead Abbotts, who pipped Great Amwell to the post by one point and won the District Boot at the County Green Beret competition. In the wake of logistical changes for camping arrangements at Green Beret in 2023, 5[th] Ware provided centralised catering arrangements for the district, reducing the burden of a ‘heavyweight camp’ on small leadership teams for Scout sections. Congratulations to all Scouts achieving the Chief Scout’s Gold Award this year; this is the culmination of your adventures, challenges and fun during your time in Scouts and a significant achievement to be proud of. ## Explorer Scouts & Young Leaders 2024 saw the District’s Explorer Scout Units continued growth with new units starting in both Ware and Buntingford. Now with three units, we have around 50 Explorers regularly attending weekday activities by the end of 2024, a 55% increase on the start of the year. This has been achieved by leaders throughout the district coming together to make sure that the young people know that the Scouting journey continues after leaving Scouts and enabling them to succeed, hopefully onto further roles. This year the Explorers have continued to maximise their outdoors adventure, with nearly every Explorer and leader spending at least one night in a hammock. We have been to Danemead campsite, both camping under the stars to raise money for homeless veterans and hiking from Ware with the bare necessities. Activity highlights also included multiple teams entering Peak Assault, achieving a top 10 place in the Monopoly run, and attending Scare Fest at Gilwell Park. Explorers have also helped run activities at District events, and at county level for Green Beret. On a weekly basis Explorers have been working on their Scouting skills through navigation evenings, first aid training and back to basic cooking. Making sure to use local facilities, Explorers have also been taking part in kayaking, escape rooms, crazy golf, Page 9 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report whittling, laser tag and karaoke. Explorers have many new and exciting opportunities to develop their skills and experiences in the coming year. Young Leaders have continued to grow in 2024, with regular training events delivered. There were 27 Explorer Scout Young Leaders helping at group sections, plus a similar number of young people doing their Duke of Edinburgh Award volunteering with Scouts. We are proud to say we have had many Young Leaders moving into adult leader roles. Page 10 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ## E. Financial Review ## Treasurer’s Report ## Income / Receipts Total Income was £31,551 for the year compared to £29,872 for 2023, which is due to an increase in 2024 of membership subscriptions of £4,238, and an increase in Scouting activities of £1,915. In 2023 there were one off receipts for Jamboree of £4,230 and District Camp of £5,385. As mentioned last year 2023 was the last year the district would support Jamboree participants. The district received £1,030 in donations during the year, whereas in 2023 it received £452. No Gift Aid in 2024 was recovered but the 2023 Gift Aid outstanding was received earlier this calendar year. Hire of the HQ was £2,369 in 2024 compared to £200 in 2023 and the District also received a grant of £3,500 during the year under review. ## Payments Total payments for the year were £31,985 compared to £34,447 for 2023. This included £12,242 on Scouting activities in 2024 compared to £12,445 in 2023 with the District camp also paid in 2023 for £9,323. Other highlights include a donation from the Barney Fund of £1,000 for a Scout Groups trip to Norway. We also received backdated lease payments due on the HQ which totalled £5,122. ## Summary Overall, the District made a loss of £1,435 for the financial year compared to a loss of £4,575 in 2023, and this decreased the cash reserves to £49,900 at the end of 2024, and this includes the Restricted Funds balance of £7,462. It should be noted however that if the Norway grant of £1,000 from the Barney Fund had not been paid the net loss would be £435 for the financial year. ## **Geoffrey Addy, District Treasurer** ## Reserves Policy The Trustee Board’s policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resources to continue the charitable activities in the district should income and fundraising activities fall short. The Trustee Board considers that the Charity should hold a sum equivalent to 12 months running costs, circa £16,000. ## Investment Policy The Charity does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer term investments. The Charity has therefore adopted a risk averse strategy to the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only mainstream banks or building societies. Page 11 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ## F. Accounts ## Receipts & Payments ||||Year start date|Year start date|Year end date
**31-Dec-24**|| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**For the year**
**from**||**01-Jan-24**|**To**||| |||||||| |**Receipts and payments**||||||| |**Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**||**Restricted**
**funds**
**Endowment**
**funds**
**£**
**£**
**2024**||**Total funds**
**£**|**2023**
**Total funds**
**£**| |**Donations, legacies and similar**
**income**|||||**60,214**
**- 51,461**|| |Membership subscriptions|**60,214**|||||**46,365**| |Less: Membership subscriptions paid on
(National/County/Area/District) enter figures with a minus sign|**- 51,461**|||||**- 41,850**| |Net membership subscriptions retained|**8,753**||**-**|**-**|**8,753**
**1,030**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**4,515**| |Donations|**1,030**|||||**452**| |Youth programme and activities|**14,570**|||||**12,655**| |District Camp||||||**5,385**| |Jamboree||||||**4,230**| |Gift Aid||||||| |Other similar income||||||**-**| |**Sub total**|**24,353**||**-**|**-**|**9,783**|**27,237**| |**Grants**|||||**-**
**3,500**|| |Maintenenace grant||||||**-**| |Other grants|**3,500**|||||**-**| |**Sub total**|**3,500**||**-**|**-**|**3,500**|**-**| |**Fundraising (gross)**|||||**501**
**187**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**513**|| |Christmas Tree Collection|**501**|||||**500**| |County Lottery|**187**|||||**-**| |Scout Active Support||||||| |Training Sections||||||| |Race Night||||||| |Barn Dance||||||**-**| |Scout Shop|**513**|||||**1,922**| |**Sub total**|**1,201**||**-**|**-**|**1,201**|**2,422**| |**Investment income**|||||**128**
**-**
**-**
**2,369**
**-**|| |Bank interest|**128**|||||**13**| |Bank Incentive||||||**-**| |The Scout Association Short Term
Investment Service||||||**-**| |Property Rent income|**2,369**|||||**200**| |Other investment income||||||**-**| |**Sub total**|**2,497**||**-**
**-**|**-**
**-**|**2,497**|**213**| |**_Total Gross Income_ **
**Asset and investment sales, etc.**
**_Total receipts_**||||||| ||||||**16,981**|**29,872**| |||||||| ||**-**||**-**|
**-**|
**-**|
**-**| ||**31,551**||**-**|
**-**||| ||**31,551**||||
**16,981**|**29,872**| Page 12 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ||||Year start date|Year start date|Year end date
**31-Dec-24**|| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**For the year**
**from**||**01-Jan-24**|**To**||| |||||||| |**Receipts and payments**||||||| |**Payments**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**||**Restricted**
**funds**
**Endowment**
**funds**
**£**
**£**
**2024**||**Total funds**
**£**|**2023**
**Total funds**
**£**| |**Charitable Payments**|||**1,000**||**12,242**
**-**
**5,831**
**5,122**
**1,494**
**681**
**2,336**
**1,000**
**2,945**
**10**
**-**
**1,134**
**13**
**78**
**100**
**-**|| |Youth programme and activities|**12,242**|||||**12,445**| |District Camp||||||**9,323**| |Administration Costs|**5,831**|||||**1,534**| |Rent / Lease Renewal|**5,122**|||||**25**| |HQ Maintenance|**1,494**|||||**1,363**| |Utility Costs|**681**|||||**991**| |Insurance|**2,336**|||||**2,068**| |Norway Grant||||||| |Materials and equipment|**2,945**|||||**212**| |Website Renewal|**10**|||||| |Contribution to Jamboree||||||**5,091**| |Uniforms|**1,134**|||||**526**| |AGM and trustee expenses|**13**|||||| |Donations To Charity|**78**|||||**730**| |Training|**100**|||||**110**| |Hertfordshire County Lottery||||||| |**Sub total**|**31,985**||**1,000**|**-**|**32,985**|**34,418**| |**Fundraising expenses**|||||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|| |Scout Shop||||||**29**| |Barn Dance||||||**-**| |Beer Festival||||||**-**| |Other fundraising costs||||||**-**| |**Sub total**|**-**||**-**
**1,000**|**-**
**-**|**-**|**29**| |**_Total Gross Expenditure_ **
**Asset and investment**
**purchases, etc.**
**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**Transfers between funds**
**Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**||||||| ||||||**32,985**|**34,447**| |||||||| ||||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**| ||**31,985**
**- 435**||**1,000**
**- 1,000**|**-**
**-**||| ||||||**32,985**|**34,447**| |||||||| ||**- 435**||||**- 1,435**|**- 4,575**| ||||**8,462**|**-**
**-**|**-**
**51,334**|**-**| ||**42,872**|||||**55,910**| ||**42,438**||**7,462**|**-**|**49,900**|**51,334**| Page 13 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ## Statement of assets and liabilities ||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**Endowment**
**funds**
**£**
**£**
**31/12/2024**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**Endowment**
**funds**
**£**
**£**
**31/12/2024**|**Total funds**
**£**|**31-Dec-23**
**Total funds**
**£**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Cash funds**|||**7,462**||**49,900**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|| |Bank current account|**42,438**|||||**37,402**| |Bank deposit account||||||**13,932**| |Building society account||||||**-**| |The Scout Association Short Term
Investment Service||||||**-**| |Cash/Floats||||||| |**Total cash funds**|**42,438**||**7,462**|**-**|**49,900**|**51,334**| |**Other monetary assets**|||||**-**
**-**
**-**|| |Tax claim||||||**-**| |Debts due from the
County/Area/District/Group||||||**-**| |Insurance claim||||||**-**| |**Sub total**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**| |**Investment assets**|||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**|| |Investment property - detail|**-**|||||| |Quoted investments|**-**|||||**-**| |Other investments - detail|**-**|||||**-**| |**Sub total**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**| |**Non monetary assets for**
**charity's own use**|||||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|| |Badge stock||||||**-**| |Shop stock||||||**-**| |Other stock||||||**-**| |Land and buildings||||||**-**| |Motor vehicles||||||**-**| |Scouting equipment, furniture etc||||||**-**| |Other||||||**-**| |**Sub total**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**| |**Liabilities**|||||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|| |Accounts not yet paid||||||**-**| |Expenses incurred but not invoiced||||||**-**| |Subscriptions not yet paid||||||**-**| |Loan - detail||||||**-**| |Other liabilities||||||**-**| |**Sub total**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**| Page 14 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ## Independent Examiner’s Report I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Ware District Scout Council for the year ended 31 December 2024 ## Responsibilities and basis for report As the charity trustees of the Ware District Scout Council, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). I report in respect of my examination of the Ware District Scout Council accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. ## Independent examiner’s statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Ware District Scout Council as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: Name: Karl James Gravenor FCCA Date: 31 May 2025 Page 15 Ware District Scout Council - Trustees Annual Report ## G. Declaration The Trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the Trustees. Signature: Name: Mark Buswell Position: Chair Date: 16 June 2025 Signature: P Stretch Name: Paul Stretch Position: District Lead Volunteer Date: 16 June 2025 Page 16