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2024-03-31-accounts

Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scouts Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24

Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

Annual General Meeting - Thursday 27th June 2024 at 19.30

District Headquarters, Lodge Avenue, Dagenham

RM8 2HQ

Evening programme

19:00 – Arrival

19:30 – Annual General Meeting and Presentations Close – Refreshments

AGM Agenda

  1. Welcome by District Chair

  2. Apologies for absence

  3. District Constitution and Meeting Quorums

  4. Receive and approve the minutes of 2023 Annual General Meeting of District Council held on 29th June 2023.

  5. District Commissioners Overview of the past 12 months

  6. Receive and consider District Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ending 31[st] March 2024.

  7. Appointment of District Chair

  8. Appointment of District Treasurer

  9. Appointment of other members of the District Trustee Board

  10. 10.Approval of District President and Vice Presidents

  11. 11.Appointment/Ratification of District Representatives for Thriftwood Board of Trustees

  12. 12.Appointment of an Independent Examiner of Accounts

  13. 13.Presentation of Awards

  14. 14.Close of meeting and refreshments

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

Minutes of the District AGM held on Thursday 29th June.

Attendees from Executive Committee:

Name

Sean Wade Sally Di-Menno Adrian Sinclair Andy Dodkins Malcolm Beerling Terence Humphries Teri Keenan Jill May Diana McNaughton Rob McNaughton Hazel Taverner Rosemary Thompson Angie Wellington

Role

Chair Secretary District Commissioner District Network Scout Commissioner

Other Notable Attendees

Name Role Alan Dennison District Vice President Alec Everitt District Vice President Malcolm Wetherell District Vice President

Attendance numbers: Approximately 40

• Welcome by District Chair

Good evening everyone. Welcome back. This year has gone quickly.

• Apologies for absence

Leigh Dowling, Nadiya Mohammed-Umer, John Barber, Karen Marais, Gerhard Marais, Lilian Duah, Anna Skipton, Dan Skipton, Terry Kingham, Melissa Lowndes, Jo Bailey and Katherine Christie.

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

The accounts for 2022/23 are presented in the format recommended by the Scout Association. There is a receipts and payments account and a statement of assets and liabilities as of 31 March 2023. The columns show unrestricted, restricted, and total funds and the previous year’s figures for comparison.

The cash funds brought forward at the beginning of the year were just over £85k and we ended the year with a balance of £97k. At the year-end we had not received the subscription invoice from County, therefore the cash balances are high. This invoice was received in settled in April.

The remaining DaneCamp refunds were also settled during the year.

Receipts from activities was significantly higher than last year however receipts from donations and grants were down. Explorer receipts have also been higher this year.

Expenditure in the year totalled £28.5k. Most of the expenditure relates to camps and activities for Young People and the ForJodie project. Others relate to normal running costs including insurance, DHQ upkeep and other district expenses. Also, this year we bought £6k worth of Adventure Island tickets at a significant discount to sell on as a fundraiser. We also paid on the district contribution to the WSJ.

A number of groups had not settled their subscription payments at the year-end and are shown as accounts receivable. These invoices have now been settled. The outstanding subscription invoice to County is shown as an account payable.

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

The property assets held by the District are shown on page 3 of the accounts. These are the investment property at Albany Road and the District’s share of the freehold of Thriftwood Campsite.

The cash funds held at year end were £97,328. This includes restricted funds totalling just over £10k for the ForJodie Project, international funds, Network and the Jack Petchey.

Other earmarked funds of over £35k are for the District Headquarters project, and the District’s COVID recovery priorities of retention, recruitment, and support for Groups.

• District Chairmans report

Welcome back to another District AGM.

This year seems to have flown past.

I’ll start off with a huge thanks to all of you for the time you give up each week to deliver Scouting to so many across the District. A special thanks to Adrian, the job of DC is definitely not an easy one and he consistently delivers and without him the District would simply not be able to run in the way that it does.

It’s another positive year for all of us in BDN. The 3 Explorer units being full is great news and continued growth even slowed down across the district is growth none the less and should be celebrated.

A year of ‘proper’ scouting has been welcome, and my first full year as District chair with us back to normal. The few events I have been able to attend, have been wonderful, and its truly brilliant how many young people are involved with and enjoy scouting in the District thanks to all your efforts.

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

Moving forward this year are the changes coming from HQ with regards to structure changes. I know Adrian has these in full swing and is getting the team leads in place for this to go ahead.

Reiterating Adrian's point, compliance is good but could be better and we don’t want to lose good volunteers for compliance issues. If we can all collectively get on the case not only will it make the DCs job easier, it will make everyone else’s life easier as we will not have to lose volunteers.

Finally, Alkesh our current treasurer has advised he will be stepping down from the Exec due to changes in circumstances, he has kindly offered to stay on until we can find a replacement. Thank you to Alkesh for your work with the District and Exec. We wish you well with future endeavours.

• District Commissioners Report

2022-2023 has seen continued growth in the number of young people and Scouting across the District getting back to normal with Groups getting out and about much more and camping happening more often as well, which has been great to see.

The growth in youth membership in the census was a little over 100 from the previous year. This was partly driven by Squirrel Dreys being opened at 1[st] Barking, 6[th] Dagenham (St Mary’s) and 11[th] Newham West during the year. Hopefully we’ll start to see Squirrels opening at more groups over the next year.

While the growth wasn’t as high as from 2021 to 2022 census, we’d already shown a fantastic recovery across most of the District following COVID, and the slight slowdown in growth isn’t something that should cause concern.

There are still plenty of opportunities to grow Scouting in the District. I’m still seeing plenty of joining enquiries coming in from both the Scouts website and the District website. There has also been some time spent on potential new groups being opened. While nothing has come from those yet, there are more similar opportunities coming up.

Quite a bit has happened behind the scenes during 2022-23. We’ve got the District name officially changed to reflect the merger and got the new District badge design agreed and out to all the groups. The District website has also had a bit of an overhaul.

I’ve had two big focuses over the last year:

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

Those are on top of the Wood Badges and Length of Services that have also been awarded during the year.

Compliance around the appointments process and training remains important, with County, Region and HQ taking an interest in anything that is not up to date and expecting quick action to be taken. The training compliance is looking reasonable across the whole District, but there’s room for improvement. Sadly, I have to spend a lot of time chasing various bits up and have had to suspend more people that I’d like due to training or DBS’s not being in place.

There’s not much to say on activities and events over the 2022-23 year. We started the year with our first ever St Georges Day Activity Day, held at Gilwell Park and attended by over 300 people. As our first District event for all sections after the merger it was great to see many there.

In March 2023 we then had our first District event attended by Squirrels as they joined the Beavers for an Egg Hunt at Hargreaves.

Thank you to everyone involved in getting those events pulled together.

I’ll finish here with a thank you to all of you for your support over the last year. We can and we will keep moving forward.

District Chairman vacates the chair.

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

Sue Beerling 50 years’ service Lin Barratt Silver Acorn

Meeting finishes at 20.00

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

2023-2024 Annual Report and Accounts

Reference and administration details

President Vice Presidents

John Barber DL

Vice Presidents Alan Dennison
Alec Everitt
Col Stephen Foakes TD DL
Malcolm Wetherell
District Officers
District Chair Sean Wade
District Secretary Sally Di-Menno
District Treasurer Alkesh Shah
District Commissioner Adrian Sinclair
District Network Scout Commissioner Andy Dodkins
Trustee Board Members
Elected Members Ellie Franks
Terence Humphries
Teri Keenan
Diana McNaughton
Robert McNaughton
Margaret Robinson
Rosemary Thompson
Nominated Members Malcolm Beerling
Jill May
Nadiya Mohamed-Umer
Hazel Taverner
Angie Wellington
Bankers Metro Bank, Lloyds Bank
Charity Number 303798
Scout Registration 10001013
Contact Adrian Sinclair
Adrian.Sinclair@bdnscouts.org.uk

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

Structure, governance and management

The District's governing documents are those of The Scout Association. They consist of a Royal Charter, which in turn gives authority to the Bye Laws of the Association and The Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.

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 Rule of the Scout Association.

The District 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, Secretary, Treasurer and 14 Trustees (including 2 Ex Officio Trustee) and meets at least 4 times a year.

Members of the Trustee Board complete Being a 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.

Objectives and activities

The Purpose of Scouting

Scouting exists 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.

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

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:

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.

Achievements and performance

Membership

The 2023-24 year was another one of growth in Scouting across the District, with numbers of young people reaching 767, up from 708 the previous year.

All sections except for Explorers grew during the year. The Explorer unit suffered a small drop in numbers (62 down to 60) after seeing some changes in volunteers involved with the section after the 2023 census led to some instability. Ten of the fourteen groups in the District grew during the year.

Behind the scenes there have been lots of meetings and discussions around opening new groups in the District.

The 15[th] Barking (Al Kahf) Scout Group was officially registered on 20[th] March 2024 with plans in place for it to start with a Beavers section during 2024-25.

We have seen changes to the Group Scout Leader at 3 groups across the year: 19[th] Barking & Dagenham – Robert McNaughton taking over from Graham Russ

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

9[th] Dagenham – Leigh Dowling and Rose Thompson jointly taking on the vacant role following the sad passing of Ken Thompson.

Events

May saw us hold our first BDN District Together at Thriftwood Scout Campsite, attended by around 60 people. This provided an opportunity for adult volunteers and young leaders from across the District to catch up with each other, attend some practical skills training sessions and have a go at activities like air rifles and tomahawk throwing.

In July, 72 Scouts attended an Open Day at Docklands Scout Project taking part in rowing, sailing, kayaking and canoeing activities to help them towards their Adventure Challenge Award and Paddle Sports and Time on the Water Activity Badges.

In November, Squirrels and Beavers had a Spooky Wellie Walk at Hargreaves Campsite, bringing back an activity that we’d not held since before COVID. The District also led the annual Thriftwood Memorial Service, with representatives from several groups laying wreaths.

Explorers

Each unit has had a varied programme across the year covering Scouting skills, various trips, and a number of youth-led activities.

Module A training sessions have been run for the Districts Young Leaders.

In May twelve Explorers completed their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition, hiking around the Essex countryside.

Network

Networkers within our District were selected to support the Kings Coronation in May 2023. An event of such national importance recognises the skills and resilience Networkers can bring. We are immensely proud of our BDN Networkers who were selected to attend.

We also had Networkers attend the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea. The conditions they had to endure during the Jamboree again show the resilience and can-do spirit which shines through again.

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

Last spring Network attended the National Network festival weekend in Birmingham, and then Gilwell Reunion in September.

October they were pumpkin carving, and in November they won the GLNE Kilmuir Trophy competition.

To wrap up 2023 they went out for their Christmas meal at the Toby Carvery in Romford, and to kick start 2024 they held their winter camp at Cherrywood in Thurrock.

We were very pleased for George and Tom to complete their Gold DofE Award and Queens Scout Award. They celebrated their achievements by parading at Windsor castle for St Georges Day, and being invited to the Gold DofE celebration at Buckingham Palace.

We are continuing our top awards programme, and have our Gold DofE Canoeing expedition planned for August 2024, following skills training at ESSA and a practice expedition along the River Stour.

We are looking forward to more Networkers following George and Tom with their Gold DofE and having our first Kings Scouts in the District in 2025.

ForJodie

The project recognised the milestone of 5 years in March 2024 since Jodie’s death in. This was a good time for reflect on the projects achievements in her memory.

We have now trained over 600 people in first aid and continue to do so. We have recently run our first 2 day outdoor first aid course, and have more courses planned for the coming year.

Our ForJodie Bleed Control kits are still available for purchase through our Website www.forjodieproject.org.uk, or our supplier ProTrainings.uk. We also continue to donate kits where we can, including the Mancroft Advice Project in Great Yarmouth, 44th Bury Scout Group in Greater Manchester, and Eastbourne District Scout First Aid Team (EDSFAT) .

Compliance and Governance

Compliance and governance are key areas that sit constantly in the background of everything we do.

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

During the year, the District was able to achieve every group having Trustee Board in place to support them. The overall strength of each of these Trustee Boards varies but getting them all in place is a huge step in the right direction.

Compliance regarding mandatory training has generally been in a good position throughout the year. There have been occasions when suspensions have been necessary due to non-completion of training but these have also then been resolved quickly.

Transformation

During the year the District team has been starting to be set up to fit the volunteering model that will come in as part of Transformation. This has seen Rose Thompson appointed as the District Programme Team Leader and Leigh Dowling appointed as the District Volunteering Development Team Leader. Anna Skipton was appointed the District Support Team Leader but has since stepped down following the birth of her daughter.

Meetings have also been held with Groups to help them understand the impact of Transformation on them and start preparing for the changes that are coming.

25[th] World Scout Jamboree – South Korea 2023

In July three of our Explorer Scouts and two of our adult volunteers headed out to South Korea to take part in the 25[th] World Scout Jamboree.

Financial Review

The accounts for 2023/24 are presented in the format recommended by the Scout Association. There is a receipts and payments account and a statement of assets and liabilities as of 31 March 2024. The columns show unrestricted, restricted and total funds and the previous year’s figures for comparison.

The cash funds brought forward at the beginning of the year were just over £97k and we ended the year with a balance of of £116k.

Receipts and expenses from activities were lower compared to last year as well as from donations. Explorer receipts have increased further this year.

We received from county £39.5k which is the the remaining balance of the now closed Newham District. We also received about £5k directly from another closed Newham group

Expenditure in the year totalled £25.7k. Most of the expenditure relates to camps

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

and activities for Young People and the ForJodie project. Others relate to normal running costs including insurance, DHQ upkeep and other district expenses. Further Adventure island tickets were bought. We also paid for advice relating to the DHQ lease expension.

This year all groups settled their subscription invoices before the year end.

The property assets held by the District are shown on page 3 of the accounts. These are the investment property at Albany Road and the District’s share of the freehold of Thriftwood Campsite.

The cash funds held at year end were £116.5k. This includes restricted funds totalling around £8.5k for the ForJodie Project, international funds, Network and the Jack Patchy.

Other earmarked funds of over £37k are for the District Headquarters project, and the District’s COVID recovery priorities of retention, recruitment and support for Groups.

The unrestricted reserves at year end stood at just over £72k. This puts the District in a strong position to deal with the continuing challenges of COVID19 and its longer-term impact. The District needs to have enough funds in hand to meet its liabilities including insuring and keeping the headquarters building in good repair.

The District Trustee Board continues to keep the budget and reserves policy under review to make sure that there is a balance between improving the facilities that support the District alongside providing a wide programme of activities for all sections.

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Barking, Dagenham & Newham District Scout Council – Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24

Receipts & Payments Account

Receipts
Subscription Receipts (Net)		 Year to 31 Mar 2024 31 Mar 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total		 Total Funds

MembershipSubs Current Year		 39,210
0
39,210		 36,945
Members Subs Paid on (62,193)
0
(62,193)		 0
Total Subscription Receipts (Net)
Activity Receipts		 (22,983)
0
(22,983)		 36,945

ActivityReceipts		 2,344
0
2,344		 3,295
CampReceipts 0
0
0		 151
Advance Payments for Camps / Activities 0
0
0		 (11,136)
Refunds 0
0
0		 37
Total Activity Receipts 2,344
0
2,344		 (7,653)
Explorer Receipts
Donations, Grants & Fundraising		 10,741
0
10,741		 6,354

B &D Lottery		 282
0
282		 291
Donations 1,920
240
2,160		 3,567
Fundraising 6,208
0
6,208		 0
Grants 44,956
1,290
46,246		 1,000
Total Donations, Grants & Fundraising
Total Receipts
Payments
Charitable Payments		 53,366
1,530
54,896		 4,857
43,468
1,530
44,998		 40,503

Youth Prog& Activities Expense		 (3,372)
(800)
(4,172)		 (7,280)
Explorer Expenses (7,642)
0
(7,642)		 (7,220)
BuildingProject (229)
0
(229)
District Expenses (4,310)
0
(4,310)		 (787)
Donation 50
0
50
Elect & Gas (559)
0
(559)		 (799)
Insurance,Licences & Subs (1,640)
0
(1,640)		 (1,501)
Materials & Equipment (360)
0
(360)		 (619)
Network Receipts/ Expense (230)
0
(230)		 148
Printing& Photocopying 0
0
0		 (42)
Rent (507)
0
(507)
Repairs & Renewals (1,067)
0
(1,067)		 (467)
Uniforms & Badges (322)
0
(322)		 (1,342)
Water & Sewage 0
0
0		 (110)
Website 0
0
0		 (241)
Total Charitable Payments
Fundraising Expenses		 (20,188)
(800)
(20,988)		 (20,261)

FundraisingExpenses		 (3,200)
0
(3,200)		 (6,000)
Projects 0
(1,572)
(1,572)		 (2,357)
Total Fundraising Expenses (3,200)
(1,572)
(4,772)		 (8,357)
Total Charitable Expenses (23,388)
(2,372)
(25,760)		 (28,618)
Net Receipts /(Payments) 20,080
(842)
19,238		 11,885
Cash Funds Last Year End 87,925
9,359
97,283		 85,399
Net change in cash forperiod 20,080
(842)
19,238		 11,885
Cash Funds atperiod end 108,004
8,517
116,521		 97,283

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

Cash Funds
Barclays		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
Funds
Total
Funds
1,811
0
1,811
31 Mar 2024		 31 Mar 2023
Total Funds
1,811
Equals 2,438
0
2,438		 3,443
Metro Bank - Explorers 1,775
0
1,775		 8,445
Metro Bank - Main 73,243
0
73,243		 83,584
Lloyds
Total Cash Funds
Other monetary assets
Accounts Receivable
Total Other monetary assets
Investment Assets
Investment Property - 10 & 10A Albany Rd, RM6 6BS
Non monetary assets for charity's own use
Land and buildings - Thriftwood Scout Campsite & Activity Centre
Creditors
Accounts Payable
Total Creditors		 37,255
0
37,255		 0
116,521
0
116,521
1,407
0
1,407		 97,283
5,755
1,407
0
1,407
25,000
0
25,000
250
0
250
0
0
0		 5,755
25,000
250
29,133
0
0
0		 29,133

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