2022-03-31-accounts

Canterbury, Whitstable & Herne Bay District Scout Council

Annual Report and Accounts 2021/2022

The Scout Association District Registration Number: 12702 Charity Commission Registered Number: 303360

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Canterbury, Whitstable & Herne Bay District Scout Council

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Held at

Canterbury and District Bowling Club South Canterbury Road, CT1 3LJ Sunday 27[th] November 2022

2.00 pm

AGENDA

1. Welcome – District Chairman

2. Approve Minutes of District AGM 19[th] September 2021

3. Trustees’ Annual Report

4. District Treasurer’s Report

5. District Commissioner’s Report

6. DC’s Nomination of District Chairman

7. Election of District Treasurer and District Secretary

8. The District Executive Committee

9. a. Elected Members

10. b. Members Nominated by the DC

11. c. Co-opted Members

12. Appointment of Auditor

13. Any Other Business

14. County Representative

15. District Chairman

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Minutes of the District Annual General Meeting Held at Ross Wood on Saturday 19[th] September 2021

1. Welcome by the District Chairman

Russell Feast welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1. Attended Russell Feast, Andy Trill, Sam Trill, David Bentley, Mary Bentley, Di Wilson, James Oakley, Elaine Oakley, Ian Hoare, Cathie Hoare, Peter Reynolds, Alan Noake, Patrick Warden, Tessa Dale.

2. Apologies

Mike Poole, Jack Dale, Rev Carol Smith, Brian Buggins, Jamie Bentley, Lennie Oakley

1. Approval of Minutes

Minutes of the 2019 - 2020 AGM were approved, Proposed by Di Wilson and Seconded by David Bentley 5. Trustees Annual Report 2020-2021

Welcome, and thank you for turning out for the District’s Annual General Meeting. Despite the very limiting effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, the trustees are aware that Scouting continues, albeit in rather difficult circumstances. We are pleased to note an increase in numbers which our District Commissioner will tell us about, and we

congratulate the service team at the District Camp Site at Ross Wood for what really has been a major contribution to Scouting, both in this District and beyond. Whilst expenditure at the site has been fairly high, the trustees are satisfied that it is money well spent and focussed on the development of young people, but more of that later. We continue to hear of the hard work put in by our leaders, ably supported by the District Team, but again we are concerned about the number of new leaders waiting for an appointment interview.

1. District Treasurer’s Report 2020-2021 Mary Bentley presented the accounts as detailed in the Annual Report. All Groups had returned their capitation fees on time. Mary referred all present to her written report and said that she would take any questions following the meeting by email if necessary. There were no questions so approval was proposed by Mary Bentley and seconded by Peter Maley; all agreed.

2. District Chair’s Report 2020-2021

Just after the last AGM we held a meeting of the Executive for new members of the committee to meet the others and discuss a few issues, but there was a notable exception in that the secretary was missing. Now some would say that getting married and being away on honeymoon is a poor excuse for missing a meeting but I am certainly pleased to see Jack here today and I am sure you all join me in wishing him and his wife Grace a very happy future.

At the last AGM we decided to hold this year’s in September to give more time for processing of awards and to hold it in a hotel or similar venue. How plans change! The dreaded Covid-19 virus has interrupted plans and affected everything so much. Processing paperwork has been seriously delayed in some offices and the hotels and other venues we considered were shut. Although they have opened again, numbers are severely restricted indoors and the situation seems to change on an almost daily basis. For that reason we decided Ross Wood was the most sensible venue as it gave us the option for indoors or outdoors whatever the weather. However, I did let the Lord Mayor’s office know that this would be a very short, business only, meeting with no talks and visitors, so that is exactly what is intended. The Lord Mayor sent a message which I shall read out later.

It has been a strange year. There was little activity for the committee to consider as our investments were doing well, income from camping was up and facilities at Ross Wood had never been better. Then came the lockdown and all stopped, including our St George’s Day Parade and Service. Our DC Jamie Bentley will tell us all about the uniform side of the District but for the committee, with no urgent matters and no meetings, there was a sense of isolation from what young people were doing. Nevertheless, I am very pleased that our treasurer Mary Bentley has once again done sterling work in producing the accounts, answering questions, and getting them through the audit stage, so our sincere thanks go to Mary.

The District Executive has two sub-committees. The District Appointments Advisory Committee has had major

communication difficulties throughout the year and the chair has recently stood down, so the newly appointed

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Secretary to the committee, Hilary Baybutt, will be kick-starting the appointment process this month and I am pleased to announce that Peter Reynolds has agreed to take over as chair, a role he has held before.

The Ross Wood sub-committee, on the other hand, has been very active. They have been fairly autonomous in their activity and have produced some excellent results. Andy Trill is chair of the Ross Wood sub-committee and he will tell us about the work they have undertaken and the improvements which have been made. It seems odd to mention the benefits of Covid-19 but it has given the grass time to recover and improved the camp sites. Finally, a word about the District Development Plan. For a variety of reasons, including the pandemic, there will be no update to the District Development Plan this year. Nevertheless, we hear that the County Commissioner Dean Harding continues to commend our current plan to others but we do need to update it in the year ahead.

1. District Commissioner Report 2020-2021

The District stands with about 1100 members, 270 active adults making approximately 1500 in total which is ranked high in the County. Jamie Bentley explained that attention to safeguarding and training had been given over the year and thanked Ian Hoare and Andy Trill for their particular support in this regard. Andy Trill and Sam Trill were shown appreciation for their work in reducing the backlog of appointment tasks to 30/40 particularly attending to the pre-provisional roles outstanding. Jamie thanked the covid team who have been in place to support groups in recent months with risk assessments and other support to enable them to get back to scouting ways. 5 or 6 groups are scouting again. Jamie thanked Carol Smith for her help in arranging a Zoom St George’s Day which was well received by all involved. Jamie drew attention to the census coming forward to October 2020 but no more information had been released yet.

1. DC’s Nomination of District Chair 2021-2022

Andy Trill nominated the current Chair, Russell Feast, to continue as Chairman, this was seconded by Ian Hoare 10. Election of District Treasurer and District Secretary 2021 - 2022

Mary Bentley was proposed as District Treasure by Russell Feast and Seconded by Ian Hoare

Sam Trill was proposed as District secretary by Mary Bentley and Seconded by James Oakley

1. The District Executive Committee 2021 – 2022

Di Wilson, Cathie Hoare were voted onto the committee proposed Sam trill Second Mary Bentley

Jack Miller, Patrick Warden were co-opted onto the committee, proposed by Cathie Hoare and Seconded by David Bentley

1. Appointment of Auditor 2021 -2022

Mary Bentley said that the new auditor, J. Neame, had provided a good service and therefore proposed him again for the coming year, seconded by Russell Feast. All agreed.

1. Any Other Business

Peter Reynold raised the request for young people to join the Appointments committee. It would be good to have their input and views. Anyone who has a young person in their group that may be interested in this role then please contact Andy Trill or Peter Reynolds.

1. Kent County Scouts representative Alan Noake spoke on behalf of Kent County Scouts and thanked everyone for their continued support and hard work.

2. District Chairman

Russell Feast closed the meeting by thanking the Ross Wood SASU, Andy and his Team, all the Groups in the District and to the members of the District Executive Committee. Russell congratulated everyone for their efforts in the past year, thanked them for coming and that he looked forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s AGM in September 2022.

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District Executive 2020/2021

District President Vacant Vice Presidents Audrey Gilham, Mike Gilham, Poppy Beerling Trustees Ex Officio Chair of District Russell Feast Treasurer Mary Bentley Secretary Sam Trill District Commissioner Andy Trill, Jamie Bentley Deputy District Commissioner James Oakley District Youth Commissioner Jamie Watson Robert Nye District Explorer Scout Commissioner Sam Jackman, Pete Maley, David Bentley District Scout Network Leader Cathie Hoare Elected Members Peter Reynolds, Wendy Dyer, Adam Line, Elaine Oakley, Lynette Oakley, Peter Woolgar Nominated Members None Co-Opted Members None Bankers Lloyds Bank and National Westminster Bank Auditor/Independent Examiner Jane Neame, Chartered Accountant, Whitstable

The Annual Reports for the Year to 31[st] March 2022

District Trustees’ Report

Despite continued health concerns in the UK, with 1 in 60 apparently still suffering with Covid, escalating fuel and food costs, record inflation and unrest in Europe, the Trustees are pleased to note that we find that Scouting in the District has emerged from a difficult two-year period and has just about returned to normal. Membership dropped during the period but this year we have seen a significant increase again and there is a positive outlook for the future.

The Scout Association announced a number of changes to be introduced in 2023. Our District Commissioner (DC), Andy Trill, has prepared the way for these. We have seen the introduction of the youngest section, Squirrels, for four- and five-year-olds, and we look forward to seeing how this develops and spreads throughout the District. Within the District Executive Committee (DEC), the Association has decided to do away with the District Appointments Advisory Committee (DAAC), a sub-committee of the DEC, and adopt a new model for the appointment and review of leaders. The Trustees have expressed some concern about this but time will tell. Our DAAC has done an outstanding job over the past few years and we are most grateful to the members of the committee for the conscientious way they have tackled and eradicated what was a significant backlog. We are now fully up-to-date and ready for the transition to the new system.

Every year, the Scout Active Support Unit (SASU) essentially acts as the service team at Ross Wood and has undertaken many improvements. Kent Wildlife Trust’s recent introduction of Bison to the west of the site led to considerable concern about our western boundary but our DC negotiated a satisfactory outcome. We lost a relatively small area of woodland that we had fenced, “owned” (or thought we did) and cared for over the past 70 years, but the outcome is perhaps not as bad as it could have been. Fortunately, the boundary changes will not affect most of our activity bases although some changes will be necessary and once again it will be the service team who have to make the adjustments. The Trustees have always appreciated the effort put in by the members of the service team and have some sympathy for the additional work required following the changes. Importantly, however, Ross Wood continues to be a valuable camp site enjoyed by many and it continues to offer young people an opportunity to experience good camping and an expanding range of activities. We are indebted to members of the service team for all their hard work.

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Finally, the Trustees note that the District Team continue to provide leadership and support to Groups and on behalf of all members in the District, we wish to thank them for their dedication, led from the front by our very capable DC, Andy Trill.

Russell Feast – Chair of Trustees

Accounts for the Year Ended 31[st] March 2022

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Payments Breakdown 31st March 2022 31st March 2021 Activity Costs Cub xmas party District Swimming Gala Cub camp Cub party lcub swim District Beaver Sleepover Jamboree First aid Bag for Distrirt Acknvities jamboree event Beaver Day Survival weekends You shape weekend51 Links Other Scouting costs Ross Woods expenses Scout Shop Purchases Badge Purchases ',Capital expenses on Ross Woods 'Capital expense Miscellaneous Administration Costs Independent Examination Fee Media license for District AGM Expenses and Presentations Website Payments District Sundry and Admin District Trai ningluniform Equipment Ref reshments Mileage St Georges Dayexpense5 Other Expenditure Icovid District expenses Charitable Donations Network account dormant loss Total Payments 0.(￿ | o.ct) | 2.(KKI.¢)J 2.238. 0.￿] o.(J) | 18.181.49 I2.5￿).( 2.IM6.57 16,417.561 933.95 418.83 3,477.53 2(X).(KJ 2.246.(X) 240.Q) 285.17 276.86] 45.46 153.38 0.(￿] 0.￿] 0.￿] 0.￿] 0.￿] 9&CIJ 71.95 323.28 SGD 125.58 71x65 25,229.39

Statement of Assets and Liabilities 31st March 2022 31st March 2021 Monetary Assets Cash, Bank and Similar Funds M&G - Marketvalue £98,7(￿.79 Lloyds Bank Scout Network Account Lloyds Bank Current Account Lloyds Bank Scout Shop Natwest Ross Wood Account At Cost i(xJ,rm.(x) 125.58 53,085.281 6,663.61 7,703.451 3,(KK).521 23,908.151 76,5￿.￿] 170,993.39 63,331.C13 6.772. 20,816.65 3.483.13 23,911.54 76,Effi.38 194,923.69 Natwest Badge Account Santander Deposit Account Virgin Charity Deposit Account Total Monetary Assets Other Monetary Assets Total Other Monetary Assets Non Monetary Assets Badges Held by Badge Secretary at cost Scout Shop Stock at cost Special 1st Equipment- Ross Wood - Insurance value Land and 8uildings-Ross Wood - Insurance Value Total Other Non Monetary Assets 1,167.(Xi 6,222.CM) 21,520. 699.158.CA) 728.C67. 1,393.721 6,222.021 12,792.0)] 694,983.Q) 715,390.74 Deposit Accounts Summary 31st Marth 2021 Interestl Transfers Dividends 5.027.82 101.58 2.39 5.266.82 31st Marth 2022 IM&G (At costl ',Virgin Isantander I[￿,co). 76,￿.￿) 23,9)8.15 2(￿.414.95 I￿.CO).(M) 76,fA18.38 23,911.54 2￿,519.92 interestldividend paid into main Lloyds account |The Value of M & G Fund as at 3tst March 2022 was £105899.92

Ross Wood Account 3tst Marth 2022 3tst Marth 2021 Ross Wood Income Wally May Centre Camping Visitorsl 51te use Badges Climbing Shooting Archery Bikes Axes Laser gunsl game hi Donations EDF refund Miscellaneous Grants Total Income Ross Wood E¥pensÈs Maintenance Capital Development Tractor Quad Bike Insurance Admin Health, Safety and Cleanin8 Advettising and Legal 5hooring Climbing Archery Bikes Axes Waste Disposal Water 2.￿.[￿} 3.414.¢Jl 10,727.0) iF￿.(M} 203.(K) 3,228. 1.230. 1,155.(M) 32.Cl) s￿.[ i￿1.¢x¥ 170. IiO.(M) 357.02 131.07 285.17 10.667.( 3L29Q69 227.59 lo,￿).( 14729.66 4.83I.E￿J 1,163.E 6,359.46 3,477.53 79.74 4.484.63 611.14 4,832.13 82.17 632.49 6.17 1.079.86 39.95 21F3.03 39.95 131.72 62.99 244.95 1.254.96 42&42 326.50 1,020.16 82.36 Gas Electricity Telephone Refreshments Total Expenses Net Ross Wood SurplusllDeficitl Ross Wood Openin8 Balance 7,703.45 Net Annual Surplus/lDefi"citl 13,113.20 Ross Wood Closing Balan 20.816.65 misccredit of £285.17 is to be pla￿d against expenditu￿ of admin as amount paid out of wrong account 1,328.26 1,347.92 51&91 9.73 .17 1418L49 13,113.20 19.895.1 -5,165.43 12,868.88 5,165.43 7,703.45

District Treasurer’s Report

Overview . The District has maintained its capital investment position and continued to support the maintenance and development of the Ross Wood Campsite and other Scouting activities upon request.

Investments and Reserves. The District retains its substantial level of reserves held in investment accounts but most interest rates remain low. We chose to invest in M & G which has proved to be a big source of income over the four past years. We also continue to allow for the creation of a development strategy into sustainable Scouting activities and benefits.

Independent Examination. The DEC remained with our independent examiner Jane Neame. The committee believe it is important to review the choice of examiner regularly to ensure an unbiased examination is completed, but felt that Jane has provided us with an excellent service over the past couple of years.

Public Benefit Statement. The District meets the Charity Commission’s Public Benefit criteria under both the Advancement of Education and Advancement of Citizenship or Community Development headings. Mary Bentley – District Treasurer

District Commissioner’s Report

Scouting in the District has done nothing but grow from strength to strength despite coming out of restrictions, with the addition of new sections and existing sections filling up fast. Here is our youth profile:

Canterbury Whitstable & Herne Bay - 2021 Canterbury Whitstable & Herne Bay - 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
114 [136125133127]
90 [11094] 88
49 61 59 56 70 73 50 [56]
33 33 24 34 33
2 14 9 [26] 10
0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
----- End of picture text -----

713 young people 996 young people

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Pre-Covid, we had 1065 young members. However, there is a slight lag on the numbers reported so we feel confident that we are now somewhere near the pre-Covid number. This conclusion may be supported by the fact that we have a demand to join Scouting not seen for many years. With hundreds of enquiries since face-to-face Scouting resumed, and currently a regular stream of enquiries averaging ten a week, we have a massive challenge on our hands. Of course, we would love every young person to slot straight into a local Group, but the reality is we have 18 months to 2 years of waiting lists across the majority of Groups and Sections. At Census we had 160. Some Groups are unable to expand due to the availability of meeting space. Others just don’t have sufficient volunteers available. So, going forward, we need to look at new, different and innovative ways to address this unprecedented demand.

Across all Groups, the programme remains strong. You will see from the above table that we now have nurseryage members who are part of the new Squirrel section. Our first “drey” started at Littlebourne, followed by Worthgate, and we look forward to 14[th] and 16[th] Canterbury starting Squirrels during the ensuing year. Across the majority of sections our young members have been given nights away opportunities and access to adventurous and outdoor activities. For this to happen we need the dedication and commitment of our adult volunteers who, week in and week out, do an amazing job across all our sections. To support our adult volunteers, our Training Team has been working hard to ensure leaders have the skills and tools to deliver the best possible programme. Our leaders have been doing a brilliant job keeping up with training demands and requirements, ensuring our District remains compliant, specifically with regard mandatory training such as safety and safeguarding. Our District at any point in time will always have a need for members to train, but currently we are safety 97%, safeguarding 98%, and First Aid 99% compliant. This is a fantastic achievement and effort by all our teams, to ensure we remain a safe organisation.

We do recruit new adult volunteers and during the reporting period our District Appointments Advisory Committee has undertaken another year of sterling work, reducing the backlog at the start of the year, already greatly reduced from the previous year, to a position where we are up to date with new recently volunteered adults being seen within weeks of signing up.

We continue to recognise the good work of our leaders, now over 300 in number, and throughout the year we receive and distribute many long service and merit awards. For this reporting period, we gave out 64 awards. It is important we give credit where it is due, and this report affords me the opportunity to say a massive thank you to everyone involved in supporting Scouting in our District. To all our adult volunteers, be they in uniform, serving on executive committees, or parents who occasionally help at meetings. To those that offer all manner of support from transporting kit to camp, donating quietly in the background, cutting grass or painting Scout halls. We need you all to make Scouting happen.

Andy Trill - District Commissioner

District Appointment Advisory Committee (DAAC) Report

The DAAC meets regularly and has completed nine sessions over the last year, seeing 39 people. We continue to meet via Zoom as we feel this has been the best use of our time and resources. It has enabled us to meet up to 6 people at any given session and has not prevented us from seeing anyone, even if they have been a little late or forgotten and needed a reminder. Each person is invited to complete a questionnaire about their experience with the DAAC, but the feedback has been poor. Only three people have returned the questionnaires this year, but most of the results (scored out of five) are good:

1a Communication method used to invite you? Scores: 5 5 3 1b Understanding the purpose of your attendance? Scores: 5 5 5 1c Written information supplied to you in advance? Scores: 5 5 4 1d Ease of accessing the Zoom site? Scores: 5 5 1 2 Had you received a written specification of the role? Yes No No 3 Are you confident you know where to access ongoing support? Yes Yes Yes

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4 Appropriateness of the conversation?

Scores: 5 5 5

• 5 General comments from participants:

• I found the meeting very informative, and the contents kept me entertained. The panel were kind, friendly, and knowledgeable. In different circumstances, I would prefer a face-to-face meeting.

• The board’s welcome was very nice and I enjoyed the discussion. The board seemed genuinely interested

in my views and the work I am doing currently with the Scouts, which I appreciated.

There are still a few issues with wrong email addresses and phone numbers on Compass, but generally we find a

way round this. Thanks must go to the GSL’s for all their help with any queries we may have. Thanks also to Ian Hoare and the DAAC team for their support and dedication this year.

Hilary Baybutt - District Appointments Advisory Committee Secretary

District Badge Secretary’s Report

County and District badges need to be held in stock to meet immediate demand. Orders are taken and fulfilled within 7/10 days, often shorter.

We have a stock of single District and County badges at 55p. These may be used for placement on scarves, blankets or for swapping.

Promotional or special badges from Scout Shop would be considered if demand arises. Please phone or email for order forms, prices, ideas, and information.

David Bentley - District Badge Secretary [phone] [e-mail]

District Scout Shop Report

Prospects are looking good with parents making appointments to purchase uniform. Stock levels are kept higher due to increased postal charges and we place large orders rather than lots of little ones for the same reason. We would love to receive ideas for the shop and, of course, offers of help.

David and Mary Bentley – District Scout Shop Managers

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Ross Wood District Campsite Report

During the reporting period, the home of Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay Scouts, Ross Woods, has had another fantastic year with a significant increase in usage across all areas.

As we emerged from the pandemic years, our daily and weekend campsite use returned to pre-Covid levels with the Wally May Centre maintaining good use. This of course is balanced financially with the increase in site maintenance and development work whilst some maintenance was undertaken using the Covid draw-down grant funding. Groups rediscovered and regularly used the site as we went from Scouting’s warning state Amber to Green, and they have continued to access the woods. Often during weekday evenings Groups can be found around the campfire using it as a base for their evening activities.

The most significant development was the conclusion with the Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) on our west side border. As part of the Wilder Project, we now have a fence erected by KWT which for the most part follows the land registry border. It appears, however, that for many years we have been making use of a strip of land beyond our border, so we have had to give up a small area that will necessitate changing part of the assault course. Fortunately, KWT has agreed that we may continue to use the southern part of the strip, in all about 1.1 acres, and this will allow us to keep our ranges and the nursery forest school in their current locations. The introduction of a public area beyond the fence line has meant we are less secure, so moving forward we need to erect more secure fencing along our borders.

Schools who used our grounds for DofE activities post Covid (as KCC delayed opening their DofE programme) have continued to use us as have St Nicholas, The Canterbury Academy and Hoath & Chislet Primary School. This provides us with a regular income. In addition, we are experiencing an uplift in bookings from Live Action Role Play (LARP) clubs. During this reporting period we started work with the ‘Get Out’ charity who work with inner city schools; they used Ross Wood for three days a week during a three-week period in the summer. Our wood offers the students a camping and bushcraft experience alongside two days surf school adventures on the sea at Ramsgate.

We continue to support 1[st] Herne & Reculver Scout Group and Explorers who access our site and use the Wally May centre twice a week.

It has very much been a settling back in year maintaining and maximising the use of our facilities, and this will continue for the ensuing reporting period, after which we will be in a much stronger position to review budgets and forecasts and determine how we wish to develop the site in future.

A massive thank you to all the volunteers who have contributed their time freely, above and beyond their Group Scouting roles. This fantastic, and continual, effort in maintaining the site means we can offer great adventures, activities, and outdoor experiences to hundreds of young people across Scouting, Guiding, cadet groups and Schools, not just from our District but from across the UK.

Andy Trill – SASU Manager

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Canterbury, Whitstable & Herne Bay District Scout Council

Annual Report and Accounts 2021/2022

The Scout Association District Registration Number: 12702 Charity Commission Registered Number: 303360

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Canterbury, Whitstable & Herne Bay District Scout Council

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Held at

Canterbury and District Bowling Club South Canterbury Road, CT1 3LJ Sunday 27[th] November 2022

2.00 pm

AGENDA

1. Welcome – District Chairman

2. Approve Minutes of District AGM 19[th] September 2021

3. Trustees’ Annual Report

4. District Treasurer’s Report

5. District Commissioner’s Report

6. DC’s Nomination of District Chairman

7. Election of District Treasurer and District Secretary

8. The District Executive Committee

9. a. Elected Members

10. b. Members Nominated by the DC

11. c. Co-opted Members

12. Appointment of Auditor

13. Any Other Business

14. County Representative

15. District Chairman

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Minutes of the District Annual General Meeting Held at Ross Wood on Saturday 19[th] September 2021

1. Welcome by the District Chairman

Russell Feast welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1. Attended Russell Feast, Andy Trill, Sam Trill, David Bentley, Mary Bentley, Di Wilson, James Oakley, Elaine Oakley, Ian Hoare, Cathie Hoare, Peter Reynolds, Alan Noake, Patrick Warden, Tessa Dale.

2. Apologies

Mike Poole, Jack Dale, Rev Carol Smith, Brian Buggins, Jamie Bentley, Lennie Oakley

1. Approval of Minutes

Minutes of the 2019 - 2020 AGM were approved, Proposed by Di Wilson and Seconded by David Bentley 5. Trustees Annual Report 2020-2021

Welcome, and thank you for turning out for the District’s Annual General Meeting. Despite the very limiting effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, the trustees are aware that Scouting continues, albeit in rather difficult circumstances. We are pleased to note an increase in numbers which our District Commissioner will tell us about, and we

congratulate the service team at the District Camp Site at Ross Wood for what really has been a major contribution to Scouting, both in this District and beyond. Whilst expenditure at the site has been fairly high, the trustees are satisfied that it is money well spent and focussed on the development of young people, but more of that later. We continue to hear of the hard work put in by our leaders, ably supported by the District Team, but again we are concerned about the number of new leaders waiting for an appointment interview.

1. District Treasurer’s Report 2020-2021 Mary Bentley presented the accounts as detailed in the Annual Report. All Groups had returned their capitation fees on time. Mary referred all present to her written report and said that she would take any questions following the meeting by email if necessary. There were no questions so approval was proposed by Mary Bentley and seconded by Peter Maley; all agreed.

2. District Chair’s Report 2020-2021

Just after the last AGM we held a meeting of the Executive for new members of the committee to meet the others and discuss a few issues, but there was a notable exception in that the secretary was missing. Now some would say that getting married and being away on honeymoon is a poor excuse for missing a meeting but I am certainly pleased to see Jack here today and I am sure you all join me in wishing him and his wife Grace a very happy future.

At the last AGM we decided to hold this year’s in September to give more time for processing of awards and to hold it in a hotel or similar venue. How plans change! The dreaded Covid-19 virus has interrupted plans and affected everything so much. Processing paperwork has been seriously delayed in some offices and the hotels and other venues we considered were shut. Although they have opened again, numbers are severely restricted indoors and the situation seems to change on an almost daily basis. For that reason we decided Ross Wood was the most sensible venue as it gave us the option for indoors or outdoors whatever the weather. However, I did let the Lord Mayor’s office know that this would be a very short, business only, meeting with no talks and visitors, so that is exactly what is intended. The Lord Mayor sent a message which I shall read out later.

It has been a strange year. There was little activity for the committee to consider as our investments were doing well, income from camping was up and facilities at Ross Wood had never been better. Then came the lockdown and all stopped, including our St George’s Day Parade and Service. Our DC Jamie Bentley will tell us all about the uniform side of the District but for the committee, with no urgent matters and no meetings, there was a sense of isolation from what young people were doing. Nevertheless, I am very pleased that our treasurer Mary Bentley has once again done sterling work in producing the accounts, answering questions, and getting them through the audit stage, so our sincere thanks go to Mary.

The District Executive has two sub-committees. The District Appointments Advisory Committee has had major

communication difficulties throughout the year and the chair has recently stood down, so the newly appointed

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Secretary to the committee, Hilary Baybutt, will be kick-starting the appointment process this month and I am pleased to announce that Peter Reynolds has agreed to take over as chair, a role he has held before.

The Ross Wood sub-committee, on the other hand, has been very active. They have been fairly autonomous in their activity and have produced some excellent results. Andy Trill is chair of the Ross Wood sub-committee and he will tell us about the work they have undertaken and the improvements which have been made. It seems odd to mention the benefits of Covid-19 but it has given the grass time to recover and improved the camp sites. Finally, a word about the District Development Plan. For a variety of reasons, including the pandemic, there will be no update to the District Development Plan this year. Nevertheless, we hear that the County Commissioner Dean Harding continues to commend our current plan to others but we do need to update it in the year ahead.

1. District Commissioner Report 2020-2021

The District stands with about 1100 members, 270 active adults making approximately 1500 in total which is ranked high in the County. Jamie Bentley explained that attention to safeguarding and training had been given over the year and thanked Ian Hoare and Andy Trill for their particular support in this regard. Andy Trill and Sam Trill were shown appreciation for their work in reducing the backlog of appointment tasks to 30/40 particularly attending to the pre-provisional roles outstanding. Jamie thanked the covid team who have been in place to support groups in recent months with risk assessments and other support to enable them to get back to scouting ways. 5 or 6 groups are scouting again. Jamie thanked Carol Smith for her help in arranging a Zoom St George’s Day which was well received by all involved. Jamie drew attention to the census coming forward to October 2020 but no more information had been released yet.

1. DC’s Nomination of District Chair 2021-2022

Andy Trill nominated the current Chair, Russell Feast, to continue as Chairman, this was seconded by Ian Hoare 10. Election of District Treasurer and District Secretary 2021 - 2022

Mary Bentley was proposed as District Treasure by Russell Feast and Seconded by Ian Hoare

Sam Trill was proposed as District secretary by Mary Bentley and Seconded by James Oakley

1. The District Executive Committee 2021 – 2022

Di Wilson, Cathie Hoare were voted onto the committee proposed Sam trill Second Mary Bentley

Jack Miller, Patrick Warden were co-opted onto the committee, proposed by Cathie Hoare and Seconded by David Bentley

1. Appointment of Auditor 2021 -2022

Mary Bentley said that the new auditor, J. Neame, had provided a good service and therefore proposed him again for the coming year, seconded by Russell Feast. All agreed.

1. Any Other Business

Peter Reynold raised the request for young people to join the Appointments committee. It would be good to have their input and views. Anyone who has a young person in their group that may be interested in this role then please contact Andy Trill or Peter Reynolds.

1. Kent County Scouts representative Alan Noake spoke on behalf of Kent County Scouts and thanked everyone for their continued support and hard work.

2. District Chairman

Russell Feast closed the meeting by thanking the Ross Wood SASU, Andy and his Team, all the Groups in the District and to the members of the District Executive Committee. Russell congratulated everyone for their efforts in the past year, thanked them for coming and that he looked forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s AGM in September 2022.

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District Executive 2020/2021

District President Vacant Vice Presidents Audrey Gilham, Mike Gilham, Poppy Beerling Trustees Ex Officio Chair of District Russell Feast Treasurer Mary Bentley Secretary Sam Trill District Commissioner Andy Trill, Jamie Bentley Deputy District Commissioner James Oakley District Youth Commissioner Jamie Watson Robert Nye District Explorer Scout Commissioner Sam Jackman, Pete Maley, David Bentley District Scout Network Leader Cathie Hoare Elected Members Peter Reynolds, Wendy Dyer, Adam Line, Elaine Oakley, Lynette Oakley, Peter Woolgar Nominated Members None Co-Opted Members None Bankers Lloyds Bank and National Westminster Bank Auditor/Independent Examiner Jane Neame, Chartered Accountant, Whitstable

The Annual Reports for the Year to 31[st] March 2022

District Trustees’ Report

Despite continued health concerns in the UK, with 1 in 60 apparently still suffering with Covid, escalating fuel and food costs, record inflation and unrest in Europe, the Trustees are pleased to note that we find that Scouting in the District has emerged from a difficult two-year period and has just about returned to normal. Membership dropped during the period but this year we have seen a significant increase again and there is a positive outlook for the future.

The Scout Association announced a number of changes to be introduced in 2023. Our District Commissioner (DC), Andy Trill, has prepared the way for these. We have seen the introduction of the youngest section, Squirrels, for four- and five-year-olds, and we look forward to seeing how this develops and spreads throughout the District. Within the District Executive Committee (DEC), the Association has decided to do away with the District Appointments Advisory Committee (DAAC), a sub-committee of the DEC, and adopt a new model for the appointment and review of leaders. The Trustees have expressed some concern about this but time will tell. Our DAAC has done an outstanding job over the past few years and we are most grateful to the members of the committee for the conscientious way they have tackled and eradicated what was a significant backlog. We are now fully up-to-date and ready for the transition to the new system.

Every year, the Scout Active Support Unit (SASU) essentially acts as the service team at Ross Wood and has undertaken many improvements. Kent Wildlife Trust’s recent introduction of Bison to the west of the site led to considerable concern about our western boundary but our DC negotiated a satisfactory outcome. We lost a relatively small area of woodland that we had fenced, “owned” (or thought we did) and cared for over the past 70 years, but the outcome is perhaps not as bad as it could have been. Fortunately, the boundary changes will not affect most of our activity bases although some changes will be necessary and once again it will be the service team who have to make the adjustments. The Trustees have always appreciated the effort put in by the members of the service team and have some sympathy for the additional work required following the changes. Importantly, however, Ross Wood continues to be a valuable camp site enjoyed by many and it continues to offer young people an opportunity to experience good camping and an expanding range of activities. We are indebted to members of the service team for all their hard work.

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Finally, the Trustees note that the District Team continue to provide leadership and support to Groups and on behalf of all members in the District, we wish to thank them for their dedication, led from the front by our very capable DC, Andy Trill.

Russell Feast – Chair of Trustees

Accounts for the Year Ended 31[st] March 2022

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Payments Breakdown 31st March 2022 31st March 2021 Activity Costs Cub xmas party District Swimming Gala Cub camp Cub party lcub swim District Beaver Sleepover Jamboree First aid Bag for Distrirt Acknvities jamboree event Beaver Day Survival weekends You shape weekend51 Links Other Scouting costs Ross Woods expenses Scout Shop Purchases Badge Purchases ',Capital expenses on Ross Woods 'Capital expense Miscellaneous Administration Costs Independent Examination Fee Media license for District AGM Expenses and Presentations Website Payments District Sundry and Admin District Trai ningluniform Equipment Ref reshments Mileage St Georges Dayexpense5 Other Expenditure Icovid District expenses Charitable Donations Network account dormant loss Total Payments 0.(￿ | o.ct) | 2.(KKI.¢)J 2.238. 0.￿] o.(J) | 18.181.49 I2.5￿).( 2.IM6.57 16,417.561 933.95 418.83 3,477.53 2(X).(KJ 2.246.(X) 240.Q) 285.17 276.86] 45.46 153.38 0.(￿] 0.￿] 0.￿] 0.￿] 0.￿] 9&CIJ 71.95 323.28 SGD 125.58 71x65 25,229.39

Statement of Assets and Liabilities 31st March 2022 31st March 2021 Monetary Assets Cash, Bank and Similar Funds M&G - Marketvalue £98,7(￿.79 Lloyds Bank Scout Network Account Lloyds Bank Current Account Lloyds Bank Scout Shop Natwest Ross Wood Account At Cost i(xJ,rm.(x) 125.58 53,085.281 6,663.61 7,703.451 3,(KK).521 23,908.151 76,5￿.￿] 170,993.39 63,331.C13 6.772. 20,816.65 3.483.13 23,911.54 76,Effi.38 194,923.69 Natwest Badge Account Santander Deposit Account Virgin Charity Deposit Account Total Monetary Assets Other Monetary Assets Total Other Monetary Assets Non Monetary Assets Badges Held by Badge Secretary at cost Scout Shop Stock at cost Special 1st Equipment- Ross Wood - Insurance value Land and 8uildings-Ross Wood - Insurance Value Total Other Non Monetary Assets 1,167.(Xi 6,222.CM) 21,520. 699.158.CA) 728.C67. 1,393.721 6,222.021 12,792.0)] 694,983.Q) 715,390.74 Deposit Accounts Summary 31st Marth 2021 Interestl Transfers Dividends 5.027.82 101.58 2.39 5.266.82 31st Marth 2022 IM&G (At costl ',Virgin Isantander I[￿,co). 76,￿.￿) 23,9)8.15 2(￿.414.95 I￿.CO).(M) 76,fA18.38 23,911.54 2￿,519.92 interestldividend paid into main Lloyds account |The Value of M & G Fund as at 3tst March 2022 was £105899.92

Ross Wood Account 3tst Marth 2022 3tst Marth 2021 Ross Wood Income Wally May Centre Camping Visitorsl 51te use Badges Climbing Shooting Archery Bikes Axes Laser gunsl game hi Donations EDF refund Miscellaneous Grants Total Income Ross Wood E¥pensÈs Maintenance Capital Development Tractor Quad Bike Insurance Admin Health, Safety and Cleanin8 Advettising and Legal 5hooring Climbing Archery Bikes Axes Waste Disposal Water 2.￿.[￿} 3.414.¢Jl 10,727.0) iF￿.(M} 203.(K) 3,228. 1.230. 1,155.(M) 32.Cl) s￿.[ i￿1.¢x¥ 170. IiO.(M) 357.02 131.07 285.17 10.667.( 3L29Q69 227.59 lo,￿).( 14729.66 4.83I.E￿J 1,163.E 6,359.46 3,477.53 79.74 4.484.63 611.14 4,832.13 82.17 632.49 6.17 1.079.86 39.95 21F3.03 39.95 131.72 62.99 244.95 1.254.96 42&42 326.50 1,020.16 82.36 Gas Electricity Telephone Refreshments Total Expenses Net Ross Wood SurplusllDeficitl Ross Wood Openin8 Balance 7,703.45 Net Annual Surplus/lDefi"citl 13,113.20 Ross Wood Closing Balan 20.816.65 misccredit of £285.17 is to be pla￿d against expenditu￿ of admin as amount paid out of wrong account 1,328.26 1,347.92 51&91 9.73 .17 1418L49 13,113.20 19.895.1 -5,165.43 12,868.88 5,165.43 7,703.45

District Treasurer’s Report

Overview . The District has maintained its capital investment position and continued to support the maintenance and development of the Ross Wood Campsite and other Scouting activities upon request.

Investments and Reserves. The District retains its substantial level of reserves held in investment accounts but most interest rates remain low. We chose to invest in M & G which has proved to be a big source of income over the four past years. We also continue to allow for the creation of a development strategy into sustainable Scouting activities and benefits.

Independent Examination. The DEC remained with our independent examiner Jane Neame. The committee believe it is important to review the choice of examiner regularly to ensure an unbiased examination is completed, but felt that Jane has provided us with an excellent service over the past couple of years.

Public Benefit Statement. The District meets the Charity Commission’s Public Benefit criteria under both the Advancement of Education and Advancement of Citizenship or Community Development headings. Mary Bentley – District Treasurer

District Commissioner’s Report

Scouting in the District has done nothing but grow from strength to strength despite coming out of restrictions, with the addition of new sections and existing sections filling up fast. Here is our youth profile:

Canterbury Whitstable & Herne Bay - 2021 Canterbury Whitstable & Herne Bay - 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
114 [136125133127]
90 [11094] 88
49 61 59 56 70 73 50 [56]
33 33 24 34 33
2 14 9 [26] 10
0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
----- End of picture text -----

713 young people 996 young people

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Pre-Covid, we had 1065 young members. However, there is a slight lag on the numbers reported so we feel confident that we are now somewhere near the pre-Covid number. This conclusion may be supported by the fact that we have a demand to join Scouting not seen for many years. With hundreds of enquiries since face-to-face Scouting resumed, and currently a regular stream of enquiries averaging ten a week, we have a massive challenge on our hands. Of course, we would love every young person to slot straight into a local Group, but the reality is we have 18 months to 2 years of waiting lists across the majority of Groups and Sections. At Census we had 160. Some Groups are unable to expand due to the availability of meeting space. Others just don’t have sufficient volunteers available. So, going forward, we need to look at new, different and innovative ways to address this unprecedented demand.

Across all Groups, the programme remains strong. You will see from the above table that we now have nurseryage members who are part of the new Squirrel section. Our first “drey” started at Littlebourne, followed by Worthgate, and we look forward to 14[th] and 16[th] Canterbury starting Squirrels during the ensuing year. Across the majority of sections our young members have been given nights away opportunities and access to adventurous and outdoor activities. For this to happen we need the dedication and commitment of our adult volunteers who, week in and week out, do an amazing job across all our sections. To support our adult volunteers, our Training Team has been working hard to ensure leaders have the skills and tools to deliver the best possible programme. Our leaders have been doing a brilliant job keeping up with training demands and requirements, ensuring our District remains compliant, specifically with regard mandatory training such as safety and safeguarding. Our District at any point in time will always have a need for members to train, but currently we are safety 97%, safeguarding 98%, and First Aid 99% compliant. This is a fantastic achievement and effort by all our teams, to ensure we remain a safe organisation.

We do recruit new adult volunteers and during the reporting period our District Appointments Advisory Committee has undertaken another year of sterling work, reducing the backlog at the start of the year, already greatly reduced from the previous year, to a position where we are up to date with new recently volunteered adults being seen within weeks of signing up.

We continue to recognise the good work of our leaders, now over 300 in number, and throughout the year we receive and distribute many long service and merit awards. For this reporting period, we gave out 64 awards. It is important we give credit where it is due, and this report affords me the opportunity to say a massive thank you to everyone involved in supporting Scouting in our District. To all our adult volunteers, be they in uniform, serving on executive committees, or parents who occasionally help at meetings. To those that offer all manner of support from transporting kit to camp, donating quietly in the background, cutting grass or painting Scout halls. We need you all to make Scouting happen.

Andy Trill - District Commissioner

District Appointment Advisory Committee (DAAC) Report

The DAAC meets regularly and has completed nine sessions over the last year, seeing 39 people. We continue to meet via Zoom as we feel this has been the best use of our time and resources. It has enabled us to meet up to 6 people at any given session and has not prevented us from seeing anyone, even if they have been a little late or forgotten and needed a reminder. Each person is invited to complete a questionnaire about their experience with the DAAC, but the feedback has been poor. Only three people have returned the questionnaires this year, but most of the results (scored out of five) are good:

1a Communication method used to invite you? Scores: 5 5 3 1b Understanding the purpose of your attendance? Scores: 5 5 5 1c Written information supplied to you in advance? Scores: 5 5 4 1d Ease of accessing the Zoom site? Scores: 5 5 1 2 Had you received a written specification of the role? Yes No No 3 Are you confident you know where to access ongoing support? Yes Yes Yes

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4 Appropriateness of the conversation?

Scores: 5 5 5

• 5 General comments from participants:

• I found the meeting very informative, and the contents kept me entertained. The panel were kind, friendly, and knowledgeable. In different circumstances, I would prefer a face-to-face meeting.

• The board’s welcome was very nice and I enjoyed the discussion. The board seemed genuinely interested

in my views and the work I am doing currently with the Scouts, which I appreciated.

There are still a few issues with wrong email addresses and phone numbers on Compass, but generally we find a

way round this. Thanks must go to the GSL’s for all their help with any queries we may have. Thanks also to Ian Hoare and the DAAC team for their support and dedication this year.

Hilary Baybutt - District Appointments Advisory Committee Secretary

District Badge Secretary’s Report

County and District badges need to be held in stock to meet immediate demand. Orders are taken and fulfilled within 7/10 days, often shorter.

We have a stock of single District and County badges at 55p. These may be used for placement on scarves, blankets or for swapping.

Promotional or special badges from Scout Shop would be considered if demand arises. Please phone or email for order forms, prices, ideas, and information.

David Bentley - District Badge Secretary [phone] [e-mail]

District Scout Shop Report

Prospects are looking good with parents making appointments to purchase uniform. Stock levels are kept higher due to increased postal charges and we place large orders rather than lots of little ones for the same reason. We would love to receive ideas for the shop and, of course, offers of help.

David and Mary Bentley – District Scout Shop Managers

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Ross Wood District Campsite Report

During the reporting period, the home of Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay Scouts, Ross Woods, has had another fantastic year with a significant increase in usage across all areas.

As we emerged from the pandemic years, our daily and weekend campsite use returned to pre-Covid levels with the Wally May Centre maintaining good use. This of course is balanced financially with the increase in site maintenance and development work whilst some maintenance was undertaken using the Covid draw-down grant funding. Groups rediscovered and regularly used the site as we went from Scouting’s warning state Amber to Green, and they have continued to access the woods. Often during weekday evenings Groups can be found around the campfire using it as a base for their evening activities.

The most significant development was the conclusion with the Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) on our west side border. As part of the Wilder Project, we now have a fence erected by KWT which for the most part follows the land registry border. It appears, however, that for many years we have been making use of a strip of land beyond our border, so we have had to give up a small area that will necessitate changing part of the assault course. Fortunately, KWT has agreed that we may continue to use the southern part of the strip, in all about 1.1 acres, and this will allow us to keep our ranges and the nursery forest school in their current locations. The introduction of a public area beyond the fence line has meant we are less secure, so moving forward we need to erect more secure fencing along our borders.

Schools who used our grounds for DofE activities post Covid (as KCC delayed opening their DofE programme) have continued to use us as have St Nicholas, The Canterbury Academy and Hoath & Chislet Primary School. This provides us with a regular income. In addition, we are experiencing an uplift in bookings from Live Action Role Play (LARP) clubs. During this reporting period we started work with the ‘Get Out’ charity who work with inner city schools; they used Ross Wood for three days a week during a three-week period in the summer. Our wood offers the students a camping and bushcraft experience alongside two days surf school adventures on the sea at Ramsgate.

We continue to support 1[st] Herne & Reculver Scout Group and Explorers who access our site and use the Wally May centre twice a week.

It has very much been a settling back in year maintaining and maximising the use of our facilities, and this will continue for the ensuing reporting period, after which we will be in a much stronger position to review budgets and forecasts and determine how we wish to develop the site in future.

A massive thank you to all the volunteers who have contributed their time freely, above and beyond their Group Scouting roles. This fantastic, and continual, effort in maintaining the site means we can offer great adventures, activities, and outdoor experiences to hundreds of young people across Scouting, Guiding, cadet groups and Schools, not just from our District but from across the UK.

Andy Trill – SASU Manager

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ members of On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages Responsibilities and basis of report

Canterbury Whitstable and Herne Bay District Scout Council 31 March 2022 Charity no (if any) 303360 1 – 6 (one to six) I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 March 2022. As the charity's trustees, 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 Trust’s 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 I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or

• the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or

• the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:	Date:	25 November 2022
	Mrs Jane Neame
	Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
	The Elders 52 Ham Shades Lane Whitstable Kent CT5 1NX

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Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of None any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

2