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Trustee’s Annual Report & Statement of Accounts Salisbury & South Wilts District Scout Council

Covering the period 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025

Annual Trustee’s Report

Section	Title	Page
	Table of contents
A	Reference & administration details	1
B	Structure, governance and management	2
C	Objectives & activities	4
D	Achievements & performance	5
E	Financial review	6
F	Campsite Quest	7
G	Trustee declaration	7

Annual Statement of Accounts

Title	Page
Statement of Accounts	8
Independent examiner's report on the accounts	11

Trustee’s Annual Report

Covering the period 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025

Section A: Reference & administration details

District/Charity name:

Salisbury & South Wilts District Scout Council

Registration details:

Registered Charity Number: 305937 Scout Headquarters Registration Number: 10001350

Principal Address: Dennis Marsh House Westminster Road Salisbury SP2 7DG

Name of the charity trustees who have managed the charity (if no dates are shown then the trustee has served for the whole period this report covers):

Trustee name Mr I Jack Mr RN Demain-Griffiths Mr IW Davies Mrs D Cook Mr JN Wyeth Mr D Waspe Mr PJ Handford Mrs S Beswick Mr C Lewis	Office Dates acted if not whole year District Lead Volunteer Ex-officio n/a District Trustee Board Chair Ex-officio n/a District Treasurer Ex-officio n/a Scout Shop Manager Elected member n/a District Team Leader 14-24 Elected member n/a District Team Leader Support Elected member n/a DMH committee Chair Elected member n/a Trustee Elected member n/a Trustee Elected member n/a

Currently no advisers attached to Trustee board.

The ownership of the building of the District (and the land upon which the building stands) are vested in:

The Scout Association Trust Corporation c/o The Scout Association Gilwell Park London E4 7QW

The Trustees have appointed the following Independent Examiner, in accordance with Charity Commission regulations:

Clifford Fry & Co St Mary’s House Netherhampton Salisbury SP2 8PU

pg. 1

Section B: Structure, governance and management

A description of the charity’s trusts.

Type of governing document:

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.

How the charity is constituted:

The District is a trust established under its rules which are common to all Scouts.

Trustee selection methods:

The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.

Additional governance information: a) the induction and training of trustees

The District is managed by the District Lead Volunteer and the District Leadership Team, and the District Trustee Board whose members are the ‘Charity Trustees’ of the Scout District which is an educational charity. As charity trustees they are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities. This includes the registration, keeping proper accounts and making returns to the Charity Commission as appropriate.

The Trustee Board consists of the Chair, Treasurer and 7 Trustees (including 1 Ex Officio Trustees) and meets every 3 months.

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 wellmanaged, 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.

b) trustee' consideration of major risks and the systems and procedures to manage them

Management of Risk and Internal Control

The Trustee Board has identified the major risks to which they believe the District is exposed, these have been reviewed and systems have been established to mitigate against them. The main areas of concern that have been identified are:

Damage to the building, property and equipment: The District would request the use of buildings, property and equipment from neighbouring organisations such local churches, community centres and other Scout owned properties. The District has sufficient buildings and contents insurance in place to mitigate against permanent loss.
Injury to leaders, helpers, supporters and members: The District through the capitation fees contributes to the Scout Associations national accident insurance policy. Risk Assessments are undertaken before all activities.

pg. 2

Reduced income from fund raising: The District is primarily reliant upon income from subscriptions and the Scout Shop. The District does hold a reserve to ensure the continuity of activities should there be a major reduction in income. The Trustee Board can decide to increase the District Levy on Membership subscriptions, either temporarily or permanently.
Reduction or loss of leaders: The District is totally reliant upon volunteers to run and administer the activities of the District. If there was a reduction in the number of leaders to an unacceptable level in a particular section or the whole District, there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section. In the worst-case scenario, this could result in the complete closure of the District.
Reduction or loss of members: The District provides activities for all young people aged 4 to 18. If there was a reduction in membership in a particular section or the District as whole then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section. In the worst-case scenario, the complete closure of the District may be required. The likelihood of this occurrence is low and is further mitigated by the fact that each section have a waiting list and register of interest.

Financial Control

The District has in place systems of internal controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mis-management or loss, these include having 2 signatories for all payments and comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered. Payments for expenses are approved by either the District Lead Volunteer, nominated deputies, or the District Chair, before payment is made.

pg. 3

Section C: Objectives & activities

Summary of the objects of the charity The Purpose of Scouting set out in its governing document

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. Belief - We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes.

Co-operation - We make a positive difference; we co-operate with others and make friends.

The Scout Method

Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and:

enjoy what they are doing and have fun
take part in activities indoors and outdoors
learn by doing
share in spiritual reflection
take responsibility and make choices
undertake new and challenging activities
make and live by their Promise.

Summary of the main activities in relation to these objects

The District Scout Council has 18 groups within, also 6 Explorer Units, all of which are drawn together as part of the Scouting family. All groups share the same purpose, aims, values and method. The District exists to manage and support these groups, and to ensure that high quality Scouting opportunities are available to all. Across these groups, each week, we provide young people the opportunity to enjoy fun and adventure, whilst developing those essential skills to succeed, now and in the future. We are proud to offer this. We are proud to live by our Scout values

Public benefit statement

Salisbury & South Wilts District Scout Council meets the Charity Commission's public benefit criteria under both the advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development.

pg. 4

Section D: Achievements & performance

Salisbury and South Wiltshire District has 18 Scout Groups and 6 Explorer Units, encompassing:

1091 Youth members

45 Young leaders (under 18 years)

346 Adults in both leadership and support roles

This a significant cohort of young people, a slight increase overall on last year’s census figures, who are accessing scouting and this year includes the Squirrel section (4-6 year olds) of which three have been set up so far in the District. We continue to offer a broad range of activities, accessible to all our members, with a clear focus on the purpose of scouting.

This year has seen enormous upheaval across scouting in the UK as the movement as a whole restructured. The transformation process was carried out in tandem with the introduction of a new on-line membership system and the overhaul of adult learning (formerly training). It has not been a smooth process with the online system proving to be bug-ridden and in some aspects difficult to use but our volunteers have persevered and continue to do so in order that our core function is still delivered.

In terms of restructuring, at Group level this has been achieved with little more than changing role titles but at District level the way in which we manage the operational functions has been overhauled. Although not all the new roles have been filled, we have had the opportunity to reorganise and select individuals for certain roles based on skills and merit and this has been very successful, reenergising the delivery of the scouting programme. Fundamental to this is the understanding that our volunteers in District level roles are not appointed with an open-ended timeframe but should take on a role with a fixed tenure after which they may choose to continue or step-down without feeling that they are letting the team down in any way.

Notable early successes from this are the increase in media coverage of scouting events, including online, press and tv which have come from having a dedicated media lead and also increased participation in events. There were over 300 young people and 100 adults on parade at Old Sarum Castle for our St George’s Day celebration and the district scout camp in May was attended by 120 scouts from 11 different groups, a 3-fold increase on last year.

District continues to provide a wide range of events for all sections which add to the busy programmes provided by individual groups. In addition, the Explorer section is increasing its provision of Duke of Edinburgh’s Award training and assessment which is delivered at a muchreduced cost compared to the same provision provided through schools, which tend to use commercial providers. In addition, we have given financial support to adult training allowing our volunteers to gain the necessary skills and qualifications to safely deliver archery, tomahawk throwing and air rifle shooting and this is an area of support that we wish to further develop as we see that such investment benefits both the youth programme and the retention of adult volunteers.

Campsite Quest – our ongoing project to secure a campsite for the District – has surpassed expectations in fundraising, thanks in no small part to a team of dedicated volunteers who sort and sell on second hand books. However, securing a suitable parcel of land is proving to be difficult and despite bidding on various promising sites we have yet to achieve our ultimate goal of owning our own piece of land that we can dedicate to scouting activities.

This has been a challenging year in many respects but we overcome many difficulties and have continued to successfully deliver scouting.

pg. 5

Section E: Financial review

Reserves policy

The Trustees have agreed a policy on reserves, whereby sufficient resources to continue the charitable activities of the District should income and fundraising activities fall short should be held. The Trustees consider that the district should hold a sum equivalent to 12 months running costs, approximately £15k.

The District held reserves (General Fund) of £12k against this at year end.

This is lower than the agreed reserves for operating expenses and is subject to review by the Trustees, as additional funds should be held due to ongoing financial instability and cost of living expenses

Financial performance

This financial year has seen a deficit over income over expenditure of £12k overall for the year, mainly due to funding for the solar panels installation at DMH.

Major sources of income for the District continue to be the Campsite Quest, the Christmas post, the Scout and Guide Panto and donations related to the use of the District Minibus.

Sectional events operate on a cost neutral basis (or as close neutral as possible), however, some events have delivered a favourable variance and these funds will be used to subsidise future events for the relevant section.

Events and activities are run on the basis that each instance is self-funding, except where agreement has been sought from the District Trustee Board to subsidise.

Investment policy and objectives

The Trustee’s view is that the District does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer term investments.

The District's Income and Expenditure is very small and as a consequence does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer-term investments such as stocks and shares. The District has therefore adopted a low risk strategy to the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only mainstream banks or building societies or The Scout Association's Short Term Investment Service.

The Trustee Board regularly monitors the levels of bank balances and the interest rates received to ensure the District obtains maximum value and income from its banking arrangements. Occasionally this may involve using an account that requires a period of notice before funds may be withdrawn, before doing so the Trustee Board considers the cashflow requirements.

pg. 6

Section F: Further Information

Campsite Quest

The dream of approximately 3 acres of well drained flat land with access to water and a bit of woodland is still alive and well. Excitement mounted when a several plots in Rockbourne which matched our requirements came up for auction last year. A pre-auction offer for three plots was made but not accepted by the vendor, and the acceptable price was within budget but the addition of auction fees and legal fees we were not able to agree a deal.

Other sites Tytherley, Thruxton and Blashford Lakes were contenders, but when visited did not meet our requirements, thus the search continues.

The initial target of £150,000 was passed last September and since then the funds have increased to over £160,000. Funds continue to arrive via Book Sales, Coin Sales, Community Lottery, Badge Sewing, Holly Ball, Christmas Post and generous personal donations. We will continue to fund raise as every pound saved increases our chances of being able to afford the land when it comes up for sale.

In the meantime thank you to all who have supported our efforts over the past year. If you are reading this and think you have 3 acres of well drained flat land with access to water and a bit of woodland near Salisbury that may be suitable for us to purchase please get in touch via campsitequest@sswscouts.org.uk. We would love to talk to you, do a deal and invite you to the opening of the Salisbury Scouts Camping Ground.

Section G: Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved this Annual Trustee’s Report, and is signed to indicate approval, on behalf of the charity’s Trustees, on 6 July 2025:

Mr RN Demain-Griffiths Chair, Trustee Board

pg. 7

Statement of Accounts

Receipts & Payments Account covering the period 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025

pg. 8

pg. 9

pg. 10

pg. 11

2025-03-31-accounts