2023-03-31-accounts - St Andrew's (Yeovil) Scout Group

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ST. ANDREW’S GROUP SCOUT COUNCIL

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

WEDNESDAY, 17[TH] MAY 2023

Present: Simon Merrett (GSL), Trish Darley (AGSL & Woden Cubs), Ken Yates (Mercury Scouts), Tony Langdon (Mercury Scouts), James Wright (Mercury Scouts), Mandy Merrett (Thor Cubs), Sue Kinder (Woden Cubs), Jenny Jones (Beavers), Yasmin King (Beavers), Olivia King (Beavers), Rebecca Byrne (Chair), Vicky King (Treasurer), Jan Yates (Secretary), Matt Hurley (Trustee), Claire Rowswell (Trustee), Pippa Wannell (Trustee), John Myers (Administrator)

Introduction and Welcome

Apologies for absence: Ian Harley (Pegasus Scouts), Megan Buller (Pegasus Scouts), Mike Kerr (Thor Cubs), Steph Mellors (Thor Cubs), Heather Pitts (District Commissioner, Camelot, East Somerset)

Minutes of AGM held 14[th] May 2022 approved by Rebecca Byrne and seconded by Vicky King.

Governance Topics

Rebecca noted to the Group Scout Council members present that this part of the meeting is necessary to make sure that the charity’s foundations are in good order.

Rebecca: In line with the recommendation from Scout Headquarters, I propose that we adopt the model constitution from Chapter 5 of Policy, Organisation and Rules. A copy of this was available for review and inspection prior to this meeting, and copies are also available at the meeting.

Seconder: Trish Darley

Rebecca: Members of the Group Scout Council are asked to note that our charity’s financial year is 1[st] April to 31[st] March.

Rebecca: The Group Scout Council must agree at its AGM the number of people that can be elected to the Trustee Board. The recommendation from the outgoing Trustee Board is that 12 people can be elected. I propose that the Group Scout Council approves that recommendation.

Seconder: Trish Darley

Rebecca: The Group Scout Council must agree at its AGM the quorum – the minimum number of Group Scout Council members that must be present at a meeting of the Group Scout Council. The recommendation from the outgoing Trustee Board is that the quorum should be set at 15 persons. The Group Scout Council is asked to approve that recommendation.

Seconder: Claire Rowswell

Rebecca: The Group Scout Council must agree at its AGM the quorum for Trustee Board meetings, and any sub-committee meetings. The Charity Commission statement of good practice is that the Trustee Board quorum should be set at one third of Trustee Board members plus one and that the sub-committee quorum should be set at one third of Trustee Board members plus one. The recommendation from the outgoing Trustee Board is that the quorum should be set as the Charity Commission good practice statement. The Group Scout Council is asked to approve that recommendation.

Seconder: Simon Merrett

Review of the previous year

Group Scout Leader’s Review of Scouting

Leader wise, the Group has lost Sharyn Rosewell and Rory Burrows from Woden Cubs. Trish Darley has become Woden Cub’s Leader. Woden lost Sam as a Young Leader, but have gained him as a section assistant. Thor Cubs, Danielle Shead has recently had a baby, and is still to return to Scouting, and Katarzyna (Kazia) has joined their team. Beavers have a new Young Leader, Tegan Hurley, with their team. Mercury Scouts have been joined by James Wright, who was invested during the summer camp trip last year to Brownsea Island. Alex Merrett is also a member of Mercury Scouts when he is back home and available. Membership figures for the current census remain about the same as the last census.

In the past, each section has presented their own report, but the new system requires the report to be done by myself. I messaged the Leaders for their individual section reports, asking for some bullet points, but it appears all sections have been so busy, I have hopefully not missed anything out, and apologies if I have.

Beavers have taken part in many activities: cooking marshmallows, sports evening, mask making, keyrings, a hike around Nine Springs, enjoying two sleep overs, knot tying, putting up tents, and a visit from the Air Ambulance. After the sad passing of the Queen, the Beavers designed and wrote cards to the new King. We were very proud when they received a reply from the Palace saying that the cards were a comfort to the Royal Family. The current section number is 19, with a small waiting list.

Cubs: Have continued this last year with a very active programme, taking part in District Camp at Hornblotton, summer camp at Ferny Crofts including a visit to Brownsea Island. Using the local camp at Windmill Farm, learning basic skills, and the sleepover for new Cubs in March this year. Cubs are now getting ready for District Camp again, where the theme for dressing up is ‘Frozen.’ Both Woden and Thor have been kayaking at Sutton Bingham and have enjoyed hikes around Martock. Cubs are currently working towards their International, Global Issues, Communicator, Gardener, and Naturalist badges. Woden currently have 20 Cubs, 4 Leaders and 3 Young Leaders. Thor have 21 Cubs, 5 Leaders and 2 Young Leaders.

Scouts: Attended Summer Camp 2022 at Ferny Crofts, with a visit to Brownsea Island, where one of their latest team members, James, was invested. They have attended two District Day Hikes, Letterboxing on Dartmoor, County Challenge, and kayaking sessions at Sutton Bingham. Patrol leaders and assistant patrol leaders from Mercury attended a training weekend, and are now full of ideas. Several joint evenings have been held, fire lighting and food cooked, also a hike around Yeovil using ‘what 3 words’ to solve puzzles. Both troops (Mercury & Pegasus) have held rifle shooting sessions, knot work, map work, cooking pancakes, making bath bombs and candles, and have held Coronation themed activities.

A massive well done to William Pitcher for achieving Scouts highest award, Chief Scouts Gold. And to Toby Mitchell, who through lots of hard work has achieved his Master at Arms and Physical Recreation badges. He also recently, after only a year of attending the scout archery sessions, attended the National Scout Archery competition in London, winning the Under-14s bare-bow competition.

Mercury currently has 16 Scouts, with another 3 just starting to attend, and Pegasus has 15 Scouts.

Annual Report of the Group Trustee Board – Chair

The current Executive Committee have continued to focus on projects to help improve the hall and surroundings this year and I will start by thanking Jan and Ken for regularly keeping an eye on the hall and being available for all sorts of annual checks and call outs to make sure our systems at the hall are working properly. Thank you.

Last year, we reported that we had successfully fenced in the back area of the hall.

This year, thanks to Bradfords, we were able to replace the fencing from the Scout Shop to the bottom of the car park, and thanks to those who lent a hand with this project.

Last year, we reported that we had to rebuild the pillar at the gate end of the wall, due to someone knocking it over. This year, we had to rebuild the pillar at the other end after a van hit it. Not only did we have to rebuild it, but unfortunately, it had to be done twice. We found that when the last fence panel was fixed in, the whole pillar moved from the ground. It, therefore, had to come down, be rebuilt again with a steel tube going through the centre of it.

We also reported last year that the car park needed repair due to it sinking in places. This has only recently been done, so the cost does not feature in the annual accounts for 2022/23 but will show up next year. This does mean that our financial reserves have been hit somewhat recently.

We did not hold our Autumn Fair last year, which is usually a good earner for us, but we have plans for this in September. Since last May, we no longer let the hall out for elections, so have lost that small income.

We have had two Big Breakfasts in the last financial year, along with a Christmas Bingo, and funds coming in from two Bag2School collections, Amazon Smile, Easy Fundraising and Gift Aid.

A recent report from Yeovil Town Council indicated that the defibrillator, installed last year at our premises, has been used three times. A good asset for the community that surrounds us, and it is hoped that those who required its use are in good health.

A reminder that we still have the second-hand uniform facility available. Please contact Claire Rowswell for information.

Another busy year in all.

Moving ahead, I mentioned in my communication about the AGM the topic of transformation. However, the biggest impact is the change from an Executive Committee to a Board of Trustees. In the simplest terms, it will be like a school having a Board of Governors and a PTA. These changes must happen in line with Charity Commission Policy.

Executive meetings used to cover governance, fundraising, building and equipment maintenance, etc. These topics are now needing to be split between two boards.

We have had a very supportive number of parents on the Executive. However, with the new structure, we are realistically looking for additional help, when splitting out some of the tasks.

Ideally, we would be looking for one or two parents per section (5 or 10) in total that have a particular interest e.g.:

Helping to organize fundraising events;

People that have handyman skills that we could call on to help with hall maintenance or decorating;

People that might be interested in helping Ian out with our equipment stores; And other tasks like that.

Because being a Board Trustee is not for everyone.

As I have previously said, our financial reserves have been hit with a couple of big spends this year, so we do need to fundraise if we are to keep on top of our building obligations – as we own our own premises.

If any parent feels they can help in any way at all, it will take pressure off the leadership team so they can focus on the fun activities for your children.

I will now hand over to our Treasurer, Vicky King, for an update on the year end accounts.

Treasurer’s Report – including Annual Statement of Accounts

The accounts presented represent a full and varied year of scouting with fundraisers, camps, sleepovers, and time away from the hall taking place alongside the regular hall-based section meetings. They cover the year to 31[st] March 2023.

Account Balances

We started the year with bank account totals of £19,310.82 split across the 3 accounts. The current account is our main account with unreserved funds available for use. The deposit account holds our cash reserves and represents approximately one term’s worth of subs, this being the amount recommended by the Charity Commission. The final account, the camp account, holds funds received in advance for camps, sleepovers, and other offsite activities and, therefore, are ringfenced funds.
Total income which also includes camp fees and offsite activities was up this year on the previous year at £26,679.04 against £19,410.24.
Total expenditure which again includes camp fees and offsite activities was also up at £30,310.20 against £20,185.98.
We ended the year with bank account totals of £15,679.66, split across the same 3 accounts.

INCOME REPORTING

Our subs income of £8,505.00 was topped up with a gift aid claim of £1,696.09 which was back up to the normal level again following a dip the previous year due to our decision to reduce subs during lockdown to just cover the capitation fee per child.

Despite opting for a “recruitment drive” in September to boost numbers, instead of our usual fundraising Autumn Fair, we still saw a good amount of fundraising with payments from Amazon Smile and Easy Fundraising, two Bag2School collections, two Big Breakfasts and a Christmas Bingo.

We did not receive any grants in this financial year.

The Scout Shop was charged £60 rent, as in previous years and a cross charge was made to cover the electricity it used.

EXPENDITURE REPORTING

Like all businesses and homes, we have been hit hard by the increase in energy prices. We have seen our gas soar to £2,420.43 from £1,343.82 the previous year. Our electricity costs have gone the same way at £2,749.70 from £1,282.09 the previous year. Our water bill has also increased but fortunately by a much smaller amount.

The only hall project we had done was a rebuild of the pillar at the front of the car park after it had been knocked and damaged, at a cost of £405.60.

The capitation charge per child has also increased from £53 to £55. This means that from your child’s subs of £90 an academic year, the Group passes £55 to District/County/HQ and keeps £35 for week night activities and running costs, which incidentally does not include any payments to the leaders as their work is purely voluntary.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

With all the above in mind, it has been agreed that subscriptions for the 2023/24 academic year be increased to £45 per term, with the option to pay this in one lump sum of £135 in September.

We have been able to keep subscriptions at the same rate for many years, due to the Group being able to absorb increasing costs through successful fundraising and budgeting. However, due to taking no income into the Group through lockdown, the exponential increase in energy costs over the last 12 months and the year-on-year increases in capitation and other general running costs we do now have to apply this increase in order to keep the Group running.

I have liaised with another Group in Yeovil, and they are in the same position that we are in; they have kept subscriptions static for a good number of years at £35, but this year they too are needing to increase by a similar amount.

Making Appointments:

’ – To approve the GSL s nomination of the Group Chair Simon Merrett proposed Rebecca Byrne as Group Chair and asked for a show of hands as approval.

Election of Group Secretary – Jan Yates. The Group Secretary is an elected appointment. Show of hands to approve Jan’s election.

Election of Group Treasurer – Vicky King. The Group Treasurer is an elected appointment. Show of hands to approve Vicky’s election.

Election of persons to the Trustee Board – Matt Hurley, Claire Rowswell, Pippa Wannell. Show of hands to approve their election.

’ Approval of GSL s Nominations to the Trustee Board – John Myers (Administrator), Ian Harley (Quartermaster), Trish Darley (AGSL)

Thanks to all Trustees for their work during the past year, and thanks to Katy Mickler and Adrian Read, who have stepped down, for all their help and support during their time on the committee.

– Appointment of Scrutineer/Independent Examiner/Auditor Treasurer, Vicky King proposed Lavinia Watson, Old Mill, Wells, who is qualified for the role. Show of hands to approve Lavinia’s nomination.

District Address: John Myers spoke in Heather Pitts’ absence. On behalf of District, I am to pass on how pleasing it is to see St Andrew’s bounce back after Covid, when several groups have not. Thanks to Trish, who has ensured that the Group’s data on Compass is fully updated when so many groups across the district (75%) have no necessary information listed on Compass. The governance of the Group is in good hands. Heather appreciates the amount of work that goes on with the young people, and Simon’s report bore evidence to that. John added his thanks to Heather’s too.

DocuSign Envelope ID: A4F2A7DC-19EB-4273-8764-871D78FE3CB2

ST ANDREWS SCOUT GROUP YEOVIL

YEAR END ACCOUNTS

Friday, March 31, 2023

DocuSign Envelope ID: A4F2A7DC-19EB-4273-8764-871D78FE3CB2

Opening balance as at 01.04.22 Current Account Deposit Account Camp Account less chqs not cleared 21/22 add cash not banked 21/22 Add Income Less Expenditure Less cash not banked by 31.03.23 Add chqs written but not cleared by 31.03.23 Total funds available Current Account balance as at 31.03.23 Deposit Account balance as at 31.03.23 Camp Account balance as at 31.03.23 Cash in hand	10,047.93 £ 2,437.98 £ 6,824.91 £ 19,310.82 £ 19,310.82 £ 19,310.82 £ 26,679.04 £ 45,989.86 £ 30,310.20 £ 15,679.66 £ 15,679.66 £ 15,679.66 £ 15679.66 5,480.32 £ 2,442.59 £ 7,756.75 £ - £ 15679.66

Accounts Reviewed By:

16.05.23 Date:

DocuSign Envelope ID: A4F2A7DC-19EB-4273-8764-871D78FE3CB2

INCOME Membership fees Misc items & T Shirts Interest earned on Deposit Account Gift Aid Gas Electric Grants/Donations General Fundraising Scout Shop Rifle Club Summer Camp 2023 Summer Camp 2022 Other Camps/Off Site Activities EXPENDITURE Membership fees Misc items & T Shirts Stationery/Postage Hall Maintenance Hall Projects Gas Electric Water Insurance Badges Tents/Equipment General Fundraising Week night activities Summer Camp 2023 Summer Camp 2022 Other Camps/Off Site Activities	YE 31.03.23 £8,505.00 £952.20 £4.61 £1,696.09 £13.76 £559.11 £0.00 £1,565.44 £60.00 160.00 £4,558.00 £5,712.05 £2,892.78
	£26,679.04
	£5,060.00 £1,386.01 £1,599.45 £1,323.03 £405.60 £2,420.43 £2,749.70 £126.22 £1,052.24 £1,017.28 £144.23 £502.51 £787.06 £60.00 £9,419.08 £2,257.36
	£30,310.20

DocuSign Envelope ID: A4F2A7DC-19EB-4273-8764-871D78FE3CB2

LT700006 - Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees (July 2019)

England & Wales

Unqualified report for a non-company charity preparing receipts and payments accounts with a gross income of £250,000 or less in the relevant financial year

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of St Andrews Scout Council

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the St Andrews Scout Group for the year ended 31 March 2023

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the St Andrews Scout Group 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 St Andrews Scout Group accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the St Andrews Scout Group as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed:

Lavinia Watson Name:

Address: 11A St Thomas Street, Wells, BA5 3UU

Date: 16.05.23