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2022-03-31-accounts

4[th] Lewisham (1[st] Hither Green) Scout Group Charity Number: 303778, Scout Registration Number: 649

Annual Report, Governance and Accounts

1[st] April 2021 – 31[st] March 2022

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Reference and Administration Details

Charity name: 4[th] Lewisham (1[st] Hither Green) Scout Group Charity Registration Number: 303778

Scout Registration Number: 649

Charity’s principal address: Ted Ray Scout Hall, 123-127 Springbank Road, Hither Green, London SE13 6SS

Board of Trustees – Group Executive Committee

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Mr Greg Noonan Chairperson
Mr Stephen Nicoli Treasurer
Miss Isabel Gainey Group Scout Leader
Mrs Janet Gainey Secretary (Acting) / Assistant Beaver Scout Leader
Mr Jon Forsdyke Deputy Group Scout Leader / Assistant Cub Scout Leader
Mr Gavin Forsdyke Deputy Group Scout Leader / Explorer Scout Leader
(Discovery ESU)
Mrs Michelle Cub Scout Leader
Forsdyke
Mr Dan Bing Scout Leader
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Secretary’s Report

Building

Through the pandemic our building was used very little, through the year the use has gradually increased to levels of that prior to the pandemic. The buildings renovation project is largely finished with small details around storage left and window coverings.

Hall Hire

We have welcomed back our regular hirers and are in discussions with a preschool about potential hire. This would enable us to move away from occasional hire which in the past has caused some issues and difficulty for our volunteers.

Scout Sections

We were guided by Scouts UK and the National Youth Agency on what we could do and what readiness level we were operating at and this continued to ease in April 2021.

We had to wait until June 2021 before restrictions allowed us to undertake nights away activities. We returned to face to face meetings and have been able to undertake a wide variety of activities with all sections. We had to put measures in place to reduce the Page 2 of 12 risks caused by Covid 19.

Our Beaver section took part in a large number of activities such as an outdoor day at Frylands Wood Scout campsite, paddle boarding, climbing at Sutcliffe park and a lot of exciting and interesting craft activities. They welcomed their new helpers Nick and Carolyn.

Our Cub Scouts went on a weekend camp at Frylands Wood doing orienteering, building shelters, campfire, wide games and bee keeping. They also went paddle boarding, climbing at Sutcliffe park and on a hike in Shoreham.

The Scout section attended a week’s summer camp at Cranham campsite in the Cotswolds, taking part in activities such as, gorge walking, abseiling from a bridge, damming a river and canoeing the River Wye. They invested their new leader team, Dan, Ed, Adam and a number of new Scouts into the Scouting movement. The ceremonies took place at the source of the River Thames and at the Gates of Windsor Castle.

We thank all of our volunteers that made this happen we have been able to provide excellent activities and experiences for all of members.

Our section numbers have remained constant throughout the year running at full capacity.

We are exploring the possibility of opening a young Squirrels section, 4- 6 years, but this would be once we are able to recruit additional volunteers for the roles.

Group Executive

The group executive committee (Board of Trustees) meet every 6 weeks and organise the overall management of the group, Scout sections and building. We thank all of our trustees for the work they have out into the group through a difficult period coming through the Covid 19 pandemic.

We also have to thank Ruth Jessop who is an advisor to the committee and bookkeeper.

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Structure, Governance and Management

The Group's governing documents are those of The Scouts UK. They consist of a Royal Charter, which in turn gives authority to the Bye Laws of the Association and The Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association. The Group is a trust established under its rules which are common to all Scouts.

The 4[th] Lewisham (1[st] Hither Green) Scout Group delivers scouting for three sections of young people as follows:

We have a partnership agreement with the Discovery Explorer Scout Unit which is a Lewisham District Scout Council provision. This agreement is reviewed annually.  Discovery Explorer Scout Unit (14 – 18 years)

The Group is managed by the Group Executive Committee (Board of Trustees), the members of which are the charity trustees of the Scout Group. 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 Committee consists of 3 independent representatives, Chair, Treasurer and Secretary together with the Group Scout Leader, Deputy Group Scout Leaders, section leaders and parent representation. During this year, we have been unable to recruit a Group Secretary, so Janet Gainey became Acting Group Secretary.

The Committee meets regularly and is responsible for:

The management of the Group property by:

Supporting an active, attractive and balanced programme of activities, by:

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Risk and Internal Control

The Group Executive Committee has identified the major risks to which they believe the Group is exposed and put mitigations in place as follows:

Injury to leaders, helpers, supporters and members: The Group, through the Annual Membership fees, contributes to the Scout Association’s national accident insurance policy. Risk Assessments are undertaken before all Scouting activities. At all events and activities at least one leader must hold a valid First Response certificate. First Aid kits are provided.

Reduction or loss of leaders: The Group is totally reliant upon volunteers to run and administer its activities. This is currently a significant challenge, with many of our leaders and supporters undertaking two roles. The Group will continue to recruit adults and make use of flexible volunteering from those who have limited time available.

Reduction or loss of members: The Group provides activities for all young people aged 6 to 14. The Group believes that an active, attractive and balanced programme of activities will continue to attract young people to scouting. Our three sections are currently near capacity for the size of our hall.

Damage to the Ted Ray Scout Hall: The Group has sufficient buildings and contents insurance in place to mitigate against permanent loss. If the Ted Ray Scout Hall was unusable, the Group could arrange to meet temporarily at a local church hall of which there are several. However, we would suffer a significant loss of income.

Reduced income: The Group has a reserve fund policy, sufficient to pay expenses for the Ted Ray Scout Hall and to ensure the continuity of activities should there be a major reduction in income. The Group could also limit or suspend the provision of subsidies and investment expenditure. The Group could also apply for grants or undertake more fundraising activities.

Financial Controls: The Group has in place systems of internal financial control that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against financial mismanagement or loss. These include: having a limited number of Trustees who can access our financial reserves; requiring two signatures to access bank accounts; separate access to smaller operation funds; processes for continuous accounting including checks against bank statements; and a comprehensive insurance policy to ensure that insurable risks are covered.

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Objectives and Activities

The Purpose of Scouting

The Purpose of Scouting is to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of the local, national and international communities.

Method

The method of achieving the Aim of the Association is by providing an enjoyable and attractive scheme of progressive training, based on the Scout Promise and Law and guided by adult leadership.

The Values of Scouting

As Scouts we are guided by these values:

The objectives of the Group are as a unit of the Scout Association

Summary of the main activities in relation to these objectives

The 4[th] Lewisham (Hither Green) Scout Group will deliver scouting to children and young people in line with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of the Scouts UK.

The Scout Group will provide an attractive and balanced programme of activities, events and experiences for children including weekly meetings; a range of activities outside the Ted Ray Scout Hall including outdoor activities; and the opportunity to attend nights’ away experiences each year.

The Group has a partnership agreement with the Discovery Explorer Scout Unit.

The Scout Group will ensure the operation of each section is overseen by an adult. The leader will ensure that at least two adults are present at regular indoor meetings. The leader will also ensure that the Scouts UKs recommended minimum ratio for adults to children is adhered to for both outdoor activities held away from the usual meeting place and nights’ away experiences. (Beaver Scouts: 1 to 6; Cub Scouts 1 to 8; Scouts 1 to 12).

The Scout Group Executive Committee will work with the Group Scout Leader to manage the Scout Group by delivering effective governance to ensure scouting is delivered and developed.

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Future Plans

The Scout Group, although impacted by the Covid 19 crisis, we have been able to welcome back our regular hall hirers in a safe and controlled manner in line with Scouts UK and government guidance. The Trustees hope that improved facilities will enable us to further increase the number and value of regular bookings and therefore increase the Group’s income.

We have resumed all Scout activities, also with guidance from the UK government and Scouts UK, to ensure our members take part in safe, well planned and risk assessed activities. Our number of youth members remain strong and we hold waiting list for all sections. We are liaising with other local Scout groups to try to facilitate all those on our waiting list.

We will look to increase the number of our members achieving their top Chief Scout Awards. We will also increase our leader training compliance to ensure all adults are fully competent and equipped to run a range of activities.

We are continuing to support and work in partnership with the Discovery Explorer Scout Unit.

We are looking at the new Squirrel Scout section (4 – 6 years), reading guidance, policies and advice on how the new younger section is managed and whether we can recruit adult volunteers to run the section, can find a time slot that suits the age group and consider opening a new section in the future.

The most important task for the future is to urgently recruit additional adult volunteers for all sections. The trustees would welcome offers of help or ideas about how to recruit leaders and helpers for all sections.

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Financial Review

The Group’s income and expenditure are divided into two parts – those related to the Scout activities and those related to the hire and maintenance of the Ted Ray Scout Hall. It is the Group’s policy that surpluses from the hire and maintenance of the Ted Ray Scout Hall may be used to fund or subsidise Scout activities and to invest in upgrading scouting equipment.

Scout Activities Financial Review

We are registered with HMRC for Gift Aid on members’ subscriptions however we have been delayed in claiming this due to an error on the HMRC system due to a change in our banking details. Once resolved we will collect 2 years’ worth of claims.

The Group received a volunteer hour grant from Bloomberg of £3,657.00 for which we have to thank our Chairperson, Greg Noonan. We will use these funds toward Scout group activities.

Ted Ray Scout Hall Financial Review

Usually, the hire of the Ted Ray Scout Hall to other regular users provides a stable income which is used to pay for maintenance and improvements to the hall, as well as to subsidise scouting activities. Regular hall hire has slowly increased through the year and provided us an income of £5,320.28. This is still below pre pandemic levels of around £12,000, but we predict we will return to this level in 2022/2023.

We have completed the bulk of the Scout hall renovation project, painting and adding a new roof between hall and garage.

We also receive a small amount of income for our Feed in Tariff on electricity produced by or solar panel array. This also reduced our utility expenditure.

Reserves Policy

The Group's policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resources to:

The Group Executive Committee considers that the Group should hold a minimum of £10,000. At 31 March 2022 the Group held total funds of £33,494.15.

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Investment Policy

The Group has adopted a low-risk strategy to the investment of its funds. All funds are held in mainstream banks.

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Statements of Accounts 1[st] April 2021 – 31[st] March 2022

Financial Year 1[st] April 2021 to 31[st] March 2022 and Comparison with Previous Financial Year

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Scout Group
Income 2021/22 2020/21
Scout group sections £10,386.00 £3,565.76
Group activities £1,875.00 £127.95
Group activities - Malta trip refunded £0.00 -£15,877.85
Gift aid rebate £0.00 £1,041.89
Grants received £1,957.00 £5,838.00
Total Scout Group Income £14,218.00 -£5,304.25
Expenditure
Scout group sections £8,010.50 £377.75
Group activities £2,425.48 £29.74
Group activities - Malta trip refunded £0.00 -£15,309.09
Group equipment £0.00 £15.85
Office and admin £514.61 £291.86
Membership and subscription £3,106.50 £1,869.00
Leader training £15.10 £0.00
Fundraising for others £0.00 £60.27
Total Scout Group Expenditure £14,072.19 -£12,664.62
Scout Group Surplus / (Deficit) £145.81 £7,360.37
Ted Ray Scout Hall
Income 2021/22 2020/21
Hall hire £5,320.28 £1,027.00
Donations and solar income £264.06 £294.57
Deposits received £50.00 £0.00
Grants received £9,593.74 £21,484.79
Misc other £250.00 £59.80
Total Ted Ray Scout Hall Income £15,478.08 £22,866.16
Expenditure
Deposits returned £40.00 £0.00
Hall Maintenance and building projects £7,019.44 £5,472.90
Utilities and overheads £5,369.28 £5,448.00
Hall equipment £2.50 £168.33
Total Ted Ray Scout Hall Expenditure £12,431.22 £11,089.23
Ted Ray Scout Hall Surplus / (Deficit) £3,046.86 £11,776.93
Overall Surplus / (Deficit) £3,192.67 £19,137.30
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Statements of Accounts - Payments and Receipts 1st April 2021 – 31st March 2022

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Balance C/F
Balance B/F 31 March
1 April 2021 Income Expenditure 2022
Totals £30,301.48 £29,696.08 £26,503.41 £33,494.15
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT 31 MARCH 2022
ASSETS
Cash funds
Bank accounts £33,494.15
Total cash funds £33,494.15
Assets retained for the Charity's own use
Buildings (professional
valuation) £500,000.00
Equipment (at cost) £15,574.01
Total assets retained for the Charity's own use £515,574.01
LIABILITIES
Liabilities £710.19
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