Annual Report 2020 - 2021
Charity Number: 505004 Hereford and Worcester Scout County
Welcome from Harry!
I think we can all agree that this last year has been different to say the least. The whole world shut down, and so did Scouts as we knew it, but being Scouts we didn’t give up. We made that transition into the digital age and managed to keep Scouts going in a virtual setting. Of course, it made things like climbing a bit tricky, unless you were fortunate enough to have a climbing wall in your garden, but it did lead to some great online activities, including virtual escape rooms. There was one escape room that was developed in our county and even managed to spread to Scouts worldwide.
Even with things like they are, we have still managed to put on some successful County events over the last year and it’s great to see so many of you getting involved however you can. We have seen virtual camps, including the Beavers on a bear hunt and camp pow wow. There has been Shirehike, which was a great event to give people the opportunity to get out and get active. Also, we gave the young people the chance to get their voices heard and help shape the County by taking part in Shirevoice, our County youth forum.
I am really looking forward to seeing what the next year brings, we are already beginning to see the transition back into some sort of normality and as we all hope that we can get back to how we were I can’t wait to see how the County develops and how you all continue to make me proud to be part of an organisation where we can all work together and achieve greatness even in the toughest of times.
Thank you everyone for all you do!
Yours in Scouting
Harry Bantham-Jones County Youth Commissioner
An Introduction from the Chair
What a year!
We have all had to find new ways of doing everyday things and I am truly in awe of the innovative and imaginative new ways that our amazing volunteers have found to keep scouting alive through some of the most challenging times in its history.
With our virtual programme elements and online events, Scouts Hereford and Worcester has been recognised time and again by our peers and senior members of the organisation throughout the pandemic. Virtual programme elements produced within our county, both as county led and personal projects, have been enjoyed by scouters across the UK and around the world through direct participation and through imitation; and they do say ‘imitation is the highest form of flattery’.
In my view we have been ahead of the pack from day one in terms of providing for our young people and keeping them engaged. Our young people and volunteers haven’t shied away from finding new ways to do things to keep scouting alive and this has paid off in the way that they are all still so hungry to get back outdoors with each other even after one or two ‘false starts’ and this should be a source of enormous pride for all our members, as it is for me.
To all our members, old and young I say: Keep up the good work, keep inspiring each other and keep on scouting.
Scouting by the County Commissioner
The Scout County’s development plan is aligned directly with The Scout Association’s vision that by 2023 we will have prepared more young people with skills for life, supported by amazing leaders delivering an inspiring programme. As a County we will support this wider vision:
Growth
We will be growing, be more inclusive, and be shaped by young people, making a bigger impact in our communities.
As a movement, we have grown for the last 13 years. We want to continue that positive trend, bringing skills for life to more young people across the UK.
By 2023, in the UK we will have:
-
50,000 more young people aged 6-18 in Scouts
-
10,000 more frontline adult volunteers (Section Leaders and Assistant Section Leaders)
-
5,000 more Young Leaders
Inclusivity
Scouts is open to all. We now have over 102,000 girls and have started 834 sections in areas of deprivation since 2013. We believe it’s a priority to reflect the diversity of the communities we are in.
By 2023:
-
we will have started Scouts in 500 more UK areas of deprivation reaching young people who could benefit the most
-
our adult volunteers will reflect the demographics of our society
Youth Shaped
Over the last four years, there has been a growing momentum to ensure young people are shaping their experiences and taking on leadership roles at Scouts. We want to continue to build on this.
By 2023:
-
250,000 young people will be shaping their experiences at Scouts
-
50% of young people will be achieving the top awards
-
Build adult training to reflect the needs of our members with more programme focus
-
Build support for an increased international programme
-
Aim to increase awareness of and promotion of, all the community activities undertaken throughout the year.
There are a number of challenges to overcome to make these aims a reality; the key one of which is finding and recruiting the right adult volunteers.
Community Impact
Since the launch of our social action campaign, A Million Hands, in 2015, over 250,000 young people have had the opportunity to take part in high quality social action on four big issues of our time. The campaign won ‘Cross-Sector Partnership of the Year’ at the Charity Times Awards in 2016.
By 2023:
-
at least 250,000 young people will be making a positive impact in their community each year
-
50% of young people will be achieving the top awards
As a result of supporting the UK Visions the County as a result will:
-
Continue to grow groups and build upon the Districts growth and development
-
Continue to improve Scouting provision in highly deprived areas of the County with support of the Regional Development Service
-
Work on increased ethnic membership to fully reflect local communities.
-
Appoint Deputy County Youth Commissioner to improve our focus on Youth Shaped Scouting throughout the County.
-
Build the County activity provision and support leaders in building their programmes
-
Make sure we have an effective Young Leaders Leader in each District and build upon our County Young Leaders camps (which includes training).
-
Review the support towards top awards and the pathways to them
-
Maintain a great level of young people on the County Executive and focus on all Districts achieving similar.
-
Focus on supporting the Explorer age ranges to build on retention
-
Ensure Youth Forums are happening in every District and as appropriate at County level.
-
Build adult training to reflect the needs of our members with more programme focus
-
Build support for an increased international programme
-
Aim to increase awareness of and promotion of, all the community activities undertaken throughout the year.
Supporting the Strategy
To support the UK strategy the County has prepared and is implementing an orbit plan, detailed on the next page. Which sets out targets and priorities.
Census & Membership
Due to covid we predicted a 30-35% loss, so were pleased to find that we came in lower than this. The table below illustrates our current position. Overall, despite the challlenges we now face in terms of finding new adult volunteers, the management tems across the Countty are in a positive position to re-open Scouting as we progress through the new framweforks. It is generally felt that section numbers will bounce back when we fully return to face to face scouting.
The County has recruited a Growth and Developmeent officer, and has targeted adult recruitment with various campaigns in the county. Some of the main focuses of support willlbe:
o Explorers provision in Worcester and Avon Vale
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Tenbury – new group
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Bromyard – new group
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Leominster – developing the group
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Recruitment Campaign
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Bromsgrove GSL recruitment
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Various rural groups in all Districts
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Redditch district general leaders
There are also a number of projects that will be supported by RST and us in the next year, complete with national support and campaigns.
Adult Awards
Congratulations to all our members listed here. All of whom fully deserve the recongnition they have recieved.
Name Award for Merit John Askew Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service David Crump Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Eugenia Davies Bar to the Award for Merit Andrew Gowthorpe Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Sarah Payne Award for Merit Paul Preece Award for Merit Neil Storey Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Sandra Watkins Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Nicola Ashdown Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Georgina Braley Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Mireya Carrillo Enriquez Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Ryan Clarke Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Deborah Corlett Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Holly Ferris Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Daniel Field Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Jessica Field Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Mark Garnier Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Amanda GreenowLangford Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Michele Guinan Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Paddock Award for Merit Charlotte Lorraine Penlington Award for Merit Denyse Plant Award for Merit Rosemary Rayner Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Martin Scholefield Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Jane Sharpe Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Steven Eddies Commissioners Commendation Kelly Prosser Commissioners Commendation Valerie Leddington Commissioners Commendation Philip Love Commissioners Commendation Alison Shaw Commissioners Commendation James Telfer Commissioners Commendation Matthew Bayley Award for Merit Kathy Baylis Bar to the Award for Merit Andrew Channell Award for Merit Marcus Hart Bar to the Award for Merit Chloe Field Commissioners Commendation Benjamin Johnstone Commissioners Commendation
Name Award for Merit Ian Newman Commissioners Commendation Denise Anderson Bar to the Award for Merit Julie Billingham Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Melanie Brammer Bar to the Award for Merit Michelle Brooks Award for Merit Leslie Deakin Silver Acorn Emily Denton Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Ian Dovey Award for Merit Ashley Gillam Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Robert Silver Acorn Greenfield Lynne Griffin Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Joanne Hanslow Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Julie Hardiman Award for Merit Timothy Higgins Award for Merit Tara Kelly-Hulbert Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Philip Lewis Award for Merit Kim Marston Bar to the Award for Merit Joseph Nock Silver Acorn Jennifer Packer Award for Merit Mark Reece Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Marina Robinson Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Gwynne Robinson Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Southan Award for Merit Christine Leo Stockford Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Joseph Timney Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Craig Wood Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service
The Money
Financial Review:
The charity’s principal funding sources are membership subscriptions, activity and camping fees.
These are used to provide support, adult training, activities and camping facilities.
In 2020 cancellation of the European Jamboree and the trip to Norway due to Coronavirus reduced income and expenditure on the charity’s activities.
The pandemic also led to partial closure of Kinver campsite reducing income to £6,389 with expenditure of £36,629 before depreciation. Covid-19 support grants of £34,185 helped towards the deficit and to maintain Kinver’s cash position.
Please see the separate, Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2021 for further details.
Reserves Policy:
The Trustees consider that the reserves of the Charity should equate to between six and twelve months of the Charity’s annual expenditure excluding self funding events and activities i.e. between £72,493 and £144,987 based on the accounts for the year ended 31st March 2021.
Why volunteering at Scouts is
1. It’s good for your skills and your future
84%
of UK adults believe Scouts helps you develop skills useful in later life (YouGov 2020)
71%
of young people in the UK aged 14–18 believe Scouts helps you develop skills useful in later life (YouGov 2020)
Scouts score 18% higher on courage, 15% higher on independence and are 18% more likely to be better problem solvers (Scout Experience Survey 2020)
2. It’s good for your health and happiness
The most common benefits volunteers report are enjoyment (93%) , a sense of personal achievement (90%) and feeling that they make a difference (90%) . (Time Well Spent Survey NCVO 2019)
Scouts spend on average 1.1 more days a week being physically active (Scouts Experience Survey 2020
Over three-quarters of volunteers (77%) agree it improves their mental health and wellbeing. (Time Well Spent Survey NCVO 2019)
People who’ve volunteered in the past year were more satisfied with their lives and rated their overall health as better. (Journal of Happiness Studies 2020)
3. It’s good for your family, friends and community
Researchers found that participants ages 16-24 and 55-74 were especially likely to benefit from volunteering, perhaps because of the opportunity to build social connections. (Journal of Happiness 2020)
Over two-thirds (68%) of volunteers agree it helps them feel less isolated – this is even higher among younger volunteers (77%) for those aged 18–24 and 76% for those aged 25–34). (Time Well Spent Survey NCVO 2019)
scouts.org.uk/ volunteer
© Scouts 2021
Our People
The covid crisis this year has meant that all our volunteers across the County have been in an unusual situation and with some new pressures to contend with. Our People Team has been focused on:
Compliance – we took the opportunity while many people were not meeting face-to-face to encourage all our volunteers to ensure that their mandatory training in areas such as Safety and Safeguarding were up to date. We are pleased with our progress in this area and all our volunteer line managers continue to have a focus on this to ensure the safe running of our fantastic programme.
Training – While our normal face-to-face courses and meetings with Training Advisers have not been possible, that doesn’t mean that our training provision has been closed down. Quite the reverse! We have made use of technology and taken our training online. Through the year 2020 – 2021 we delivered over 25 courses to participants throughout Hereford and Worcester and beyond. Our most distant participant tuned in to Module 25 from Mauritius! Our training advisers have continued to work remotely with learners to validate modules where possible and we have continued to award Wood Badges. Congratulations to you if you have earned your Wood Badge this year!
Managers and Supporters – I’d like to take this opportunity to say how amazing our volunteer managers have been this year. They have ensured that their premises are safe and looked after while meetings haven’t taken place, have learned and applied new rules and regulations around covid safety, have worked with trustees to ensure that their Group continues to be financially viable in a year where income has been variable and fundraising nearly impossible and have worked with their teams to get Scouting back up and running again as soon as possible. Well done!
Moving Forward - We know that while our usual Scouting offering was not possible, some 10% of adult volunteers moved on to other things. Recruiting new adults in this situation has been hard. With UK HQ supporting recruitment nationally and with the hard work of our County Development Officer, we will be focusing on supporting our Districts with their recruitment plans.
Trustee Support
Over the last twelve months we have not been able to run our usual programme of Executive Committee training workshops. However we have provided some on-line resources and prepared a series of videos which cover the content of the workshops. Unfortunately, the uptake of the videos has been low. Hopefully, we will be able to re-commence workshops in the not-too-distant future.
In September 2020 new training requirements for all members of Executive Committees were introduced and these requirements apply retrospectively. As part of the plan to meet the national compliance objectives we will continue to monitor the uptake of these new training requirements.
Young Leaders
Since taking on the ACC role in September 2020 myself and a group of other volunteers have continued to build on the great work done in previous years. We have held two very successful training camps, one in October covering the First Aid Module & one in February covering 5 modules, these camps were extremely well attended with around 60 young leaders attending each. For our February Camp we offered a new opportunity for Young Leaders who had already completing the training to come back and help to deliver modules to other Young Leaders as part of their top award. This went extremely well with 6 young Leaders taking this up & giving good feedback about the experience.
Future plans for County Young Leaders involves us build on these success of this last year. This includes us getting Young Leaders getting more involved with what we run and how we run it, working in conjunction with the County Youth Commissioner Team & offering training and experiences other than just the module training weekends. We also want to offer more support for adult leaders working with young leaders & Explorer Scout Leaders - Young Leaders to better help Young Leaders at a grass roots level.
Sian Telfer ACC Young Leaders
Kinver
Due to Covid-19, Kinver has been closed for business.
A small dedicated Team has visited the site to complete safety inspections and ensure the site remains secure and in a safe position, when it is able to open again.
A number of Safety fences have been erected around areas of concern during the mothballing. Tree maintenacne and general works have been carried out across the site.
This year was supposed to be a centenary celebratio, which has been postponed until its safe to carry out a suitable celebrations.
The future of Kinver requires a level of investment and the Trustees of the County will be examining these approached next year in order to best understand how to operate Kinver going forward.
The County would like to thank Rob Williams for visiting the site and carrying ut variooousjobs across the site during lockdowns.
Pride
2020/2021 has been a quiet year in role. Prides were cancelled and with restrictions no attendance possible.
The rainbow café was set up offering a safe space for yp and leaders to come for a chat and get access to outside sources of help.
Whilst the pride role has been quiet, I have been busy with running events for Beavers, we had the Bear Hunt Camp last year and we are just about to launch the 35th Birthday Circus camp. Although virtual, feedback has been amazing and participant level are good. Beavers has really stepped up and joined in with any event offered to them including Shire Hike and the Egg Hunt.
Pride workshops have been run in different sections virtually and again feed back has been great.
With restrictions easing, we are looking at the possibility of attending just Worcestershire Pride this year in September, whether this will be just adult attendance or will include yp, we will decide when guidance is given
Inclusion
This year has seen challenges for all leaders, considering how to keep their programmes inclusive, both whilst being virtual and when returning face to face under the restrictions. Common queries have focussed on how to explain the new rules, clarity around having additional adults attending for 1:1 support under Covid, and the perennial questions around making adjustments to badge criteria to balance accessibility with equal levels of challenge. Some groups have also made use of the time to focus on their Inclusivity RAGs and action plans, with support given to facilitate that discussion with the full leader team.
By the AGM, we will have delivered two well attended Module 7: Scouting For All sessions. The engagement of participants showed a clear interest exists for further training in this area, leading to the provision of optional Module 36: Adjustments to Scouts with a workshopping focus on sharing knowledge and developing practical ideas for identifying and making reasonable adjustments. New mini-modules around Autism and Dyslexia & Dyspraxia are currently in development within the national network, and will be delivered within the County in the coming year. Leader Stewart Watkiss has developed his own autism workshop based on his leader and personal experience of supporting scouts with autism, informed by his professional study. The first delivery of this prompted some excellent sharing of good practise by the attendees, and requests from groups to deliver more localised offers to their leader teams.
Shirejam
The Shirejam team have worked hard to provide a series of challenges for all our members, from Beavers to Network, including Adult Leaders and Executive Members too during lockdown! 100’s of members compled the challenges and submitedevidence to the Shirejam team.
There was also a whole host events from The Quest, ShireHikee through to a Beavers Virtual Sleepover. Thank you to all the organising leaders, supporting parents and carers who have helped making Scouting at Home so special and its own unique adventure!
othEr shirEjAm ACtivtlES in 2020-21 The Quest Scouts 24th - 26th July shirEVOICE 2021 Scouts "_ Hlirfrfwd & WrKcoster Beavers ona Bear Hunt!
Our Governance
Constitution
The full name of the charity is ‘Hereford and Worcester Scout County’ and the charity registration number is 505004. The charity is an educational charity established in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR) of The Scout Association. The County is registered with The Scout Association, number 16100. The County Scout Council has adopted the standard constitution recommended in chapter 5 of POR and adopted the necessary associated resolutions, e.g. quorum for meetings.
Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.
As defined in POR, Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and:
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enjoy what they are doing and have fun
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take part in activities indoors and outdoors
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learn by doing
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share in spiritual reflection
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take responsibility and make choices
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undertake new and challenging activities
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make and live by their Promise.
Trustees
Ex Officio
Robert Sidley - County Commissioner Jamie Sandison - Chair Ian Newman - Treasuer Joanne Turnbull - Secretary
Elected
Matthew Fox (Unitl September 2020) Abbie McFarlane (From September 2020) Robert Williams Harry Bantham-Jones - County Youth Commissioner Hannah Oliver
Nominated
Alan Lane Robert Nichols Nicola Hedley - Deputy County Youth Commissioner
Our Governance
Other Key Roles during the year:
Deputy County Commissioner People Deputy County Commissioner Perception Deputy County Commissioner Programme Deputy County Commissioner Activities Deputy County Commissioner Kivner County Youth Commissioner
Mel Brammer Peter Dodman Rob Williams Vacant Rob K Williams Harry Bantham Jones
Assistant County Commissioner International Assictant County Commissioner Young Leaders Assistant County Commissioner Explorers Assistant County Commissioner Network Assistant County Commissioner Inclusion Assistant County Commussioner Pride Assistant County Commissioner Exec. Support County Training Administrator County Activate SAS Manager County BushScout SAS Manager County Appointments Chair County Appointments Secretary County Safeguarding Advisor County Safety Advisor County Legal Advisor Coounty MAPS County Badge Secretary County Presidents
Ann Clark Sian Telfer Vacant Matt Fox Andy Hopkins Phil Lacey John Day Mark Strain John Stribblehill Lee Russell Alan Lane Gareth Roberts Val Leddington Vacant Mike Thompson Vacant Jacky Green To Be Appointed
Structure, Governance and Management
Scouting in the United Kingdom is organised in Scout Groups, Scout Districts, Scout Counties and Country Headquarters. These ‘units’ of Scouting provide:
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support;
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channels for communication;
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opportunities for youth Members and Leaders to make decisions and take responsibility;
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functional units through which the design and delivery of the programme can be best achieved;
As a Scout County, Hereford and Worcester is comprised of nine Scout Districts, two County Scout Active Support Units and a County Team. Scouting in the County is run by the County Team lead by the County Commissioner and supported by the County Executive (the Trustees).
Trustees comprise 3 County Officers, the County Commissioner, the County Youth Commissioner, up to 4 persons nominated by the County Commissioner and approved by the County Scout Council plus up to 4 persons elected by members of the County Scout Council at the annual meeting. Proposals are invited prior to the annual meeting for elected trustees. The number of nominated trustees may not exceed the number of elected trustees.
Our Governance
The County Executive Committee manage the County infrastructure and support services, meeting four times a year. The Executive Committee exists to support the County Commissioner in meeting the responsibilities of the appointment.
Members of the Executive Committee act collectively as charity Trustees of the Scout County, and in the best interests of its members to:
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Comply with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.
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Protect and maintain any property and equipment owned by and/or used by the County.
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Manage the County finances.
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Provide insurance for people, property and equipment.
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Provide sufficient resources for Scouting to operate. This includes, but is not limited to, supporting recruitment, other adult support, and fundraising activities.
-
Promote and support the development of Scouting in the local area.
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Manage and implement the Safety Policy locally.
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Ensure that a positive image of Scouting exists in the local community.
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Appoint and manage the operation of any sub-Committees, including appointing Chairmen to lead the sub-committees.
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Ensure that Young People are meaningfully involved in decision making at all levels within the County.
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The opening, closure and amalgamation of Districts and Scout Active Support Units in the County as necessary.
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Appoint and manage the operation of an Appointments Advisory Committee, including appointing an Appointments Committee Chairman to lead it.
The Executive Committee also:
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Appoint Administrators, Advisers, and Co-opted members of the Executive Committee.
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Approve the Annual Report and Annual Accounts after their examination by an appropriate auditor, independent examiner or scrutineer.
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Present the Annual Report and Annual Accounts to the County Scout Council at the Annual General Meeting; file a copy with National Headquarters and submit them to the Charity Commission.
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Maintain confidentiality with regard to appropriate Executive Committee business.
Our Governance
Risk and Internal Controls
The County has in place systems of internal controls that are designed to provide good assurance against material mismanagement or loss. These include two independent authorisers for all payments and comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered.
The Trustees regularly review the risks to which they might be exposed and systems have been established to mitigate those risks. The Trustees updated the County risk management approach developed by The Scout Association. This involves initial review, dedicated risk assessment workshops and further review and iteration leading to a comprehensive risk register with mitigating actions and responsibilities which is regularly reviewed by the Trustees.
The County has a well-established Safeguarding Coordinator, working in conjunction with the County Commissioner. A number of training initiative and updates have taken place including the revision of The Scout Association’s yellow card policy.
Contribution of Volunteers
Scouting across Hereford & Worcester County is entirely dependent on the combined resources of thousands of adult volunteers to lead, manage, administer and support Scouting. The County greatly appreciates the generosity, time and effort given by these volunteers (and their families) and the fantastic impact that they have on delivering the fun, challenge and everyday adventure that is Scouting.
Nevertheless, the County is limited in the amount of Scouting that it can provide (directly or indirectly) by the number of adult volunteers that it has. We are therefore constantly on the lookout and proactively recruiting additional volunteers (to whom we provide full training).
Our Paid Staff
The County currently has two members of staff. The pensions provsion is provided for by the Scouts Association.
County Administrator ; full time part time hours contract
Operations Manager for Kinver ; full time fixed term contract.
Growth & Development Officer; full time fixed term contract.
Financial
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 17(5) of the 2011 Charities Act to have due regard to guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission when reviewing the charity’s objectives and in planning future activities.’
Our Governance
Declaration:
The Trustees declare that they have approved this annual report at their virtual meeting on the 10th June 2021.
Signed on behalf of the charity Trustees:
Signature: Full Name: Jamie Sandison
Position: Chairman Date: 14/06/2021
County Secretary
Joanne Turnbull, 16 Northwick Close, Worcester, WR3 7EF e-mail: info@scoutshw.org.uk Website: www.scoutshw.org.uk
Annual Report 2020 - 2021
Charity Number: 505004 Hereford and Worcester Scout County
Welcome from Harry!
I think we can all agree that this last year has been different to say the least. The whole world shut down, and so did Scouts as we knew it, but being Scouts we didn’t give up. We made that transition into the digital age and managed to keep Scouts going in a virtual setting. Of course, it made things like climbing a bit tricky, unless you were fortunate enough to have a climbing wall in your garden, but it did lead to some great online activities, including virtual escape rooms. There was one escape room that was developed in our county and even managed to spread to Scouts worldwide.
Even with things like they are, we have still managed to put on some successful County events over the last year and it’s great to see so many of you getting involved however you can. We have seen virtual camps, including the Beavers on a bear hunt and camp pow wow. There has been Shirehike, which was a great event to give people the opportunity to get out and get active. Also, we gave the young people the chance to get their voices heard and help shape the County by taking part in Shirevoice, our County youth forum.
I am really looking forward to seeing what the next year brings, we are already beginning to see the transition back into some sort of normality and as we all hope that we can get back to how we were I can’t wait to see how the County develops and how you all continue to make me proud to be part of an organisation where we can all work together and achieve greatness even in the toughest of times.
Thank you everyone for all you do!
Yours in Scouting
Harry Bantham-Jones County Youth Commissioner
An Introduction from the Chair
What a year!
We have all had to find new ways of doing everyday things and I am truly in awe of the innovative and imaginative new ways that our amazing volunteers have found to keep scouting alive through some of the most challenging times in its history.
With our virtual programme elements and online events, Scouts Hereford and Worcester has been recognised time and again by our peers and senior members of the organisation throughout the pandemic. Virtual programme elements produced within our county, both as county led and personal projects, have been enjoyed by scouters across the UK and around the world through direct participation and through imitation; and they do say ‘imitation is the highest form of flattery’.
In my view we have been ahead of the pack from day one in terms of providing for our young people and keeping them engaged. Our young people and volunteers haven’t shied away from finding new ways to do things to keep scouting alive and this has paid off in the way that they are all still so hungry to get back outdoors with each other even after one or two ‘false starts’ and this should be a source of enormous pride for all our members, as it is for me.
To all our members, old and young I say: Keep up the good work, keep inspiring each other and keep on scouting.
Scouting by the County Commissioner
The Scout County’s development plan is aligned directly with The Scout Association’s vision that by 2023 we will have prepared more young people with skills for life, supported by amazing leaders delivering an inspiring programme. As a County we will support this wider vision:
Growth
We will be growing, be more inclusive, and be shaped by young people, making a bigger impact in our communities.
As a movement, we have grown for the last 13 years. We want to continue that positive trend, bringing skills for life to more young people across the UK.
By 2023, in the UK we will have:
-
50,000 more young people aged 6-18 in Scouts
-
10,000 more frontline adult volunteers (Section Leaders and Assistant Section Leaders)
-
5,000 more Young Leaders
Inclusivity
Scouts is open to all. We now have over 102,000 girls and have started 834 sections in areas of deprivation since 2013. We believe it’s a priority to reflect the diversity of the communities we are in.
By 2023:
-
we will have started Scouts in 500 more UK areas of deprivation reaching young people who could benefit the most
-
our adult volunteers will reflect the demographics of our society
Youth Shaped
Over the last four years, there has been a growing momentum to ensure young people are shaping their experiences and taking on leadership roles at Scouts. We want to continue to build on this.
By 2023:
-
250,000 young people will be shaping their experiences at Scouts
-
50% of young people will be achieving the top awards
-
Build adult training to reflect the needs of our members with more programme focus
-
Build support for an increased international programme
-
Aim to increase awareness of and promotion of, all the community activities undertaken throughout the year.
There are a number of challenges to overcome to make these aims a reality; the key one of which is finding and recruiting the right adult volunteers.
Community Impact
Since the launch of our social action campaign, A Million Hands, in 2015, over 250,000 young people have had the opportunity to take part in high quality social action on four big issues of our time. The campaign won ‘Cross-Sector Partnership of the Year’ at the Charity Times Awards in 2016.
By 2023:
-
at least 250,000 young people will be making a positive impact in their community each year
-
50% of young people will be achieving the top awards
As a result of supporting the UK Visions the County as a result will:
-
Continue to grow groups and build upon the Districts growth and development
-
Continue to improve Scouting provision in highly deprived areas of the County with support of the Regional Development Service
-
Work on increased ethnic membership to fully reflect local communities.
-
Appoint Deputy County Youth Commissioner to improve our focus on Youth Shaped Scouting throughout the County.
-
Build the County activity provision and support leaders in building their programmes
-
Make sure we have an effective Young Leaders Leader in each District and build upon our County Young Leaders camps (which includes training).
-
Review the support towards top awards and the pathways to them
-
Maintain a great level of young people on the County Executive and focus on all Districts achieving similar.
-
Focus on supporting the Explorer age ranges to build on retention
-
Ensure Youth Forums are happening in every District and as appropriate at County level.
-
Build adult training to reflect the needs of our members with more programme focus
-
Build support for an increased international programme
-
Aim to increase awareness of and promotion of, all the community activities undertaken throughout the year.
Supporting the Strategy
To support the UK strategy the County has prepared and is implementing an orbit plan, detailed on the next page. Which sets out targets and priorities.
Census & Membership
Due to covid we predicted a 30-35% loss, so were pleased to find that we came in lower than this. The table below illustrates our current position. Overall, despite the challlenges we now face in terms of finding new adult volunteers, the management tems across the Countty are in a positive position to re-open Scouting as we progress through the new framweforks. It is generally felt that section numbers will bounce back when we fully return to face to face scouting.
The County has recruited a Growth and Developmeent officer, and has targeted adult recruitment with various campaigns in the county. Some of the main focuses of support willlbe:
o Explorers provision in Worcester and Avon Vale
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Tenbury – new group
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Bromyard – new group
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Leominster – developing the group
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Recruitment Campaign
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Bromsgrove GSL recruitment
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Various rural groups in all Districts
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Redditch district general leaders
There are also a number of projects that will be supported by RST and us in the next year, complete with national support and campaigns.
Adult Awards
Congratulations to all our members listed here. All of whom fully deserve the recongnition they have recieved.
Name Award for Merit John Askew Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service David Crump Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Eugenia Davies Bar to the Award for Merit Andrew Gowthorpe Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Sarah Payne Award for Merit Paul Preece Award for Merit Neil Storey Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Sandra Watkins Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Nicola Ashdown Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Georgina Braley Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Mireya Carrillo Enriquez Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Ryan Clarke Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Deborah Corlett Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Holly Ferris Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Daniel Field Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Jessica Field Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Mark Garnier Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Amanda GreenowLangford Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Michele Guinan Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Paddock Award for Merit Charlotte Lorraine Penlington Award for Merit Denyse Plant Award for Merit Rosemary Rayner Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Martin Scholefield Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Jane Sharpe Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Steven Eddies Commissioners Commendation Kelly Prosser Commissioners Commendation Valerie Leddington Commissioners Commendation Philip Love Commissioners Commendation Alison Shaw Commissioners Commendation James Telfer Commissioners Commendation Matthew Bayley Award for Merit Kathy Baylis Bar to the Award for Merit Andrew Channell Award for Merit Marcus Hart Bar to the Award for Merit Chloe Field Commissioners Commendation Benjamin Johnstone Commissioners Commendation
Name Award for Merit Ian Newman Commissioners Commendation Denise Anderson Bar to the Award for Merit Julie Billingham Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Melanie Brammer Bar to the Award for Merit Michelle Brooks Award for Merit Leslie Deakin Silver Acorn Emily Denton Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Ian Dovey Award for Merit Ashley Gillam Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Robert Silver Acorn Greenfield Lynne Griffin Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Joanne Hanslow Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Julie Hardiman Award for Merit Timothy Higgins Award for Merit Tara Kelly-Hulbert Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Philip Lewis Award for Merit Kim Marston Bar to the Award for Merit Joseph Nock Silver Acorn Jennifer Packer Award for Merit Mark Reece Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Marina Robinson Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Gwynne Robinson Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Southan Award for Merit Christine Leo Stockford Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Joseph Timney Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service Craig Wood Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service
The Money
Financial Review:
The charity’s principal funding sources are membership subscriptions, activity and camping fees.
These are used to provide support, adult training, activities and camping facilities.
In 2020 cancellation of the European Jamboree and the trip to Norway due to Coronavirus reduced income and expenditure on the charity’s activities.
The pandemic also led to partial closure of Kinver campsite reducing income to £6,389 with expenditure of £36,629 before depreciation. Covid-19 support grants of £34,185 helped towards the deficit and to maintain Kinver’s cash position.
Please see the separate, Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2021 for further details.
Reserves Policy:
The Trustees consider that the reserves of the Charity should equate to between six and twelve months of the Charity’s annual expenditure excluding self funding events and activities i.e. between £72,493 and £144,987 based on the accounts for the year ended 31st March 2021.
Why volunteering at Scouts is
1. It’s good for your skills and your future
84%
of UK adults believe Scouts helps you develop skills useful in later life (YouGov 2020)
71%
of young people in the UK aged 14–18 believe Scouts helps you develop skills useful in later life (YouGov 2020)
Scouts score 18% higher on courage, 15% higher on independence and are 18% more likely to be better problem solvers (Scout Experience Survey 2020)
2. It’s good for your health and happiness
The most common benefits volunteers report are enjoyment (93%) , a sense of personal achievement (90%) and feeling that they make a difference (90%) . (Time Well Spent Survey NCVO 2019)
Scouts spend on average 1.1 more days a week being physically active (Scouts Experience Survey 2020
Over three-quarters of volunteers (77%) agree it improves their mental health and wellbeing. (Time Well Spent Survey NCVO 2019)
People who’ve volunteered in the past year were more satisfied with their lives and rated their overall health as better. (Journal of Happiness Studies 2020)
3. It’s good for your family, friends and community
Researchers found that participants ages 16-24 and 55-74 were especially likely to benefit from volunteering, perhaps because of the opportunity to build social connections. (Journal of Happiness 2020)
Over two-thirds (68%) of volunteers agree it helps them feel less isolated – this is even higher among younger volunteers (77%) for those aged 18–24 and 76% for those aged 25–34). (Time Well Spent Survey NCVO 2019)
scouts.org.uk/ volunteer
© Scouts 2021
Our People
The covid crisis this year has meant that all our volunteers across the County have been in an unusual situation and with some new pressures to contend with. Our People Team has been focused on:
Compliance – we took the opportunity while many people were not meeting face-to-face to encourage all our volunteers to ensure that their mandatory training in areas such as Safety and Safeguarding were up to date. We are pleased with our progress in this area and all our volunteer line managers continue to have a focus on this to ensure the safe running of our fantastic programme.
Training – While our normal face-to-face courses and meetings with Training Advisers have not been possible, that doesn’t mean that our training provision has been closed down. Quite the reverse! We have made use of technology and taken our training online. Through the year 2020 – 2021 we delivered over 25 courses to participants throughout Hereford and Worcester and beyond. Our most distant participant tuned in to Module 25 from Mauritius! Our training advisers have continued to work remotely with learners to validate modules where possible and we have continued to award Wood Badges. Congratulations to you if you have earned your Wood Badge this year!
Managers and Supporters – I’d like to take this opportunity to say how amazing our volunteer managers have been this year. They have ensured that their premises are safe and looked after while meetings haven’t taken place, have learned and applied new rules and regulations around covid safety, have worked with trustees to ensure that their Group continues to be financially viable in a year where income has been variable and fundraising nearly impossible and have worked with their teams to get Scouting back up and running again as soon as possible. Well done!
Moving Forward - We know that while our usual Scouting offering was not possible, some 10% of adult volunteers moved on to other things. Recruiting new adults in this situation has been hard. With UK HQ supporting recruitment nationally and with the hard work of our County Development Officer, we will be focusing on supporting our Districts with their recruitment plans.
Trustee Support
Over the last twelve months we have not been able to run our usual programme of Executive Committee training workshops. However we have provided some on-line resources and prepared a series of videos which cover the content of the workshops. Unfortunately, the uptake of the videos has been low. Hopefully, we will be able to re-commence workshops in the not-too-distant future.
In September 2020 new training requirements for all members of Executive Committees were introduced and these requirements apply retrospectively. As part of the plan to meet the national compliance objectives we will continue to monitor the uptake of these new training requirements.
Young Leaders
Since taking on the ACC role in September 2020 myself and a group of other volunteers have continued to build on the great work done in previous years. We have held two very successful training camps, one in October covering the First Aid Module & one in February covering 5 modules, these camps were extremely well attended with around 60 young leaders attending each. For our February Camp we offered a new opportunity for Young Leaders who had already completing the training to come back and help to deliver modules to other Young Leaders as part of their top award. This went extremely well with 6 young Leaders taking this up & giving good feedback about the experience.
Future plans for County Young Leaders involves us build on these success of this last year. This includes us getting Young Leaders getting more involved with what we run and how we run it, working in conjunction with the County Youth Commissioner Team & offering training and experiences other than just the module training weekends. We also want to offer more support for adult leaders working with young leaders & Explorer Scout Leaders - Young Leaders to better help Young Leaders at a grass roots level.
Sian Telfer ACC Young Leaders
Kinver
Due to Covid-19, Kinver has been closed for business.
A small dedicated Team has visited the site to complete safety inspections and ensure the site remains secure and in a safe position, when it is able to open again.
A number of Safety fences have been erected around areas of concern during the mothballing. Tree maintenacne and general works have been carried out across the site.
This year was supposed to be a centenary celebratio, which has been postponed until its safe to carry out a suitable celebrations.
The future of Kinver requires a level of investment and the Trustees of the County will be examining these approached next year in order to best understand how to operate Kinver going forward.
The County would like to thank Rob Williams for visiting the site and carrying ut variooousjobs across the site during lockdowns.
Pride
2020/2021 has been a quiet year in role. Prides were cancelled and with restrictions no attendance possible.
The rainbow café was set up offering a safe space for yp and leaders to come for a chat and get access to outside sources of help.
Whilst the pride role has been quiet, I have been busy with running events for Beavers, we had the Bear Hunt Camp last year and we are just about to launch the 35th Birthday Circus camp. Although virtual, feedback has been amazing and participant level are good. Beavers has really stepped up and joined in with any event offered to them including Shire Hike and the Egg Hunt.
Pride workshops have been run in different sections virtually and again feed back has been great.
With restrictions easing, we are looking at the possibility of attending just Worcestershire Pride this year in September, whether this will be just adult attendance or will include yp, we will decide when guidance is given
Inclusion
This year has seen challenges for all leaders, considering how to keep their programmes inclusive, both whilst being virtual and when returning face to face under the restrictions. Common queries have focussed on how to explain the new rules, clarity around having additional adults attending for 1:1 support under Covid, and the perennial questions around making adjustments to badge criteria to balance accessibility with equal levels of challenge. Some groups have also made use of the time to focus on their Inclusivity RAGs and action plans, with support given to facilitate that discussion with the full leader team.
By the AGM, we will have delivered two well attended Module 7: Scouting For All sessions. The engagement of participants showed a clear interest exists for further training in this area, leading to the provision of optional Module 36: Adjustments to Scouts with a workshopping focus on sharing knowledge and developing practical ideas for identifying and making reasonable adjustments. New mini-modules around Autism and Dyslexia & Dyspraxia are currently in development within the national network, and will be delivered within the County in the coming year. Leader Stewart Watkiss has developed his own autism workshop based on his leader and personal experience of supporting scouts with autism, informed by his professional study. The first delivery of this prompted some excellent sharing of good practise by the attendees, and requests from groups to deliver more localised offers to their leader teams.
Shirejam
The Shirejam team have worked hard to provide a series of challenges for all our members, from Beavers to Network, including Adult Leaders and Executive Members too during lockdown! 100’s of members compled the challenges and submitedevidence to the Shirejam team.
There was also a whole host events from The Quest, ShireHikee through to a Beavers Virtual Sleepover. Thank you to all the organising leaders, supporting parents and carers who have helped making Scouting at Home so special and its own unique adventure!
othEr shirEjAm ACtivtlES in 2020-21 The Quest Scouts 24th - 26th July shirEVOICE 2021 Scouts "_ Hlirfrfwd & WrKcoster Beavers ona Bear Hunt!
Our Governance
Constitution
The full name of the charity is ‘Hereford and Worcester Scout County’ and the charity registration number is 505004. The charity is an educational charity established in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR) of The Scout Association. The County is registered with The Scout Association, number 16100. The County Scout Council has adopted the standard constitution recommended in chapter 5 of POR and adopted the necessary associated resolutions, e.g. quorum for meetings.
Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.
As defined in POR, Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and:
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enjoy what they are doing and have fun
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take part in activities indoors and outdoors
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learn by doing
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share in spiritual reflection
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take responsibility and make choices
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undertake new and challenging activities
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make and live by their Promise.
Trustees
Ex Officio
Robert Sidley - County Commissioner Jamie Sandison - Chair Ian Newman - Treasuer Joanne Turnbull - Secretary
Elected
Matthew Fox (Unitl September 2020) Abbie McFarlane (From September 2020) Robert Williams Harry Bantham-Jones - County Youth Commissioner Hannah Oliver
Nominated
Alan Lane Robert Nichols Nicola Hedley - Deputy County Youth Commissioner
Our Governance
Other Key Roles during the year:
Deputy County Commissioner People Deputy County Commissioner Perception Deputy County Commissioner Programme Deputy County Commissioner Activities Deputy County Commissioner Kivner County Youth Commissioner
Mel Brammer Peter Dodman Rob Williams Vacant Rob K Williams Harry Bantham Jones
Assistant County Commissioner International Assictant County Commissioner Young Leaders Assistant County Commissioner Explorers Assistant County Commissioner Network Assistant County Commissioner Inclusion Assistant County Commussioner Pride Assistant County Commissioner Exec. Support County Training Administrator County Activate SAS Manager County BushScout SAS Manager County Appointments Chair County Appointments Secretary County Safeguarding Advisor County Safety Advisor County Legal Advisor Coounty MAPS County Badge Secretary County Presidents
Ann Clark Sian Telfer Vacant Matt Fox Andy Hopkins Phil Lacey John Day Mark Strain John Stribblehill Lee Russell Alan Lane Gareth Roberts Val Leddington Vacant Mike Thompson Vacant Jacky Green To Be Appointed
Structure, Governance and Management
Scouting in the United Kingdom is organised in Scout Groups, Scout Districts, Scout Counties and Country Headquarters. These ‘units’ of Scouting provide:
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support;
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channels for communication;
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opportunities for youth Members and Leaders to make decisions and take responsibility;
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functional units through which the design and delivery of the programme can be best achieved;
As a Scout County, Hereford and Worcester is comprised of nine Scout Districts, two County Scout Active Support Units and a County Team. Scouting in the County is run by the County Team lead by the County Commissioner and supported by the County Executive (the Trustees).
Trustees comprise 3 County Officers, the County Commissioner, the County Youth Commissioner, up to 4 persons nominated by the County Commissioner and approved by the County Scout Council plus up to 4 persons elected by members of the County Scout Council at the annual meeting. Proposals are invited prior to the annual meeting for elected trustees. The number of nominated trustees may not exceed the number of elected trustees.
Our Governance
The County Executive Committee manage the County infrastructure and support services, meeting four times a year. The Executive Committee exists to support the County Commissioner in meeting the responsibilities of the appointment.
Members of the Executive Committee act collectively as charity Trustees of the Scout County, and in the best interests of its members to:
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Comply with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.
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Protect and maintain any property and equipment owned by and/or used by the County.
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Manage the County finances.
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Provide insurance for people, property and equipment.
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Provide sufficient resources for Scouting to operate. This includes, but is not limited to, supporting recruitment, other adult support, and fundraising activities.
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Promote and support the development of Scouting in the local area.
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Manage and implement the Safety Policy locally.
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Ensure that a positive image of Scouting exists in the local community.
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Appoint and manage the operation of any sub-Committees, including appointing Chairmen to lead the sub-committees.
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Ensure that Young People are meaningfully involved in decision making at all levels within the County.
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The opening, closure and amalgamation of Districts and Scout Active Support Units in the County as necessary.
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Appoint and manage the operation of an Appointments Advisory Committee, including appointing an Appointments Committee Chairman to lead it.
The Executive Committee also:
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Appoint Administrators, Advisers, and Co-opted members of the Executive Committee.
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Approve the Annual Report and Annual Accounts after their examination by an appropriate auditor, independent examiner or scrutineer.
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Present the Annual Report and Annual Accounts to the County Scout Council at the Annual General Meeting; file a copy with National Headquarters and submit them to the Charity Commission.
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Maintain confidentiality with regard to appropriate Executive Committee business.
Our Governance
Risk and Internal Controls
The County has in place systems of internal controls that are designed to provide good assurance against material mismanagement or loss. These include two independent authorisers for all payments and comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered.
The Trustees regularly review the risks to which they might be exposed and systems have been established to mitigate those risks. The Trustees updated the County risk management approach developed by The Scout Association. This involves initial review, dedicated risk assessment workshops and further review and iteration leading to a comprehensive risk register with mitigating actions and responsibilities which is regularly reviewed by the Trustees.
The County has a well-established Safeguarding Coordinator, working in conjunction with the County Commissioner. A number of training initiative and updates have taken place including the revision of The Scout Association’s yellow card policy.
Contribution of Volunteers
Scouting across Hereford & Worcester County is entirely dependent on the combined resources of thousands of adult volunteers to lead, manage, administer and support Scouting. The County greatly appreciates the generosity, time and effort given by these volunteers (and their families) and the fantastic impact that they have on delivering the fun, challenge and everyday adventure that is Scouting.
Nevertheless, the County is limited in the amount of Scouting that it can provide (directly or indirectly) by the number of adult volunteers that it has. We are therefore constantly on the lookout and proactively recruiting additional volunteers (to whom we provide full training).
Our Paid Staff
The County currently has two members of staff. The pensions provsion is provided for by the Scouts Association.
County Administrator ; full time part time hours contract
Operations Manager for Kinver ; full time fixed term contract.
Growth & Development Officer; full time fixed term contract.
Financial
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 17(5) of the 2011 Charities Act to have due regard to guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission when reviewing the charity’s objectives and in planning future activities.’
Our Governance
Declaration:
The Trustees declare that they have approved this annual report at their virtual meeting on the 10th June 2021.
Signed on behalf of the charity Trustees:
Signature: Full Name: Jamie Sandison
Position: Chairman Date: 14/06/2021
County Secretary
Joanne Turnbull, 16 Northwick Close, Worcester, WR3 7EF e-mail: info@scoutshw.org.uk Website: www.scoutshw.org.uk
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 505004
Report of the Trustees and
Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
for Hereford & Worcester Scout County
The Richards Sandy Partnership Thorneloe House 25 Barbourne Road Worcester Worcestershire WR1 1RU
Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Contents of the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 1 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 2 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 3 |
| Balance Sheet | 4 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 5 to 13 |
Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st March 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).
Please refer to the separate annual report as presented by the trustees.
Page 1
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustee$ of Hereford & Worcester Scout County Indopendenl examinerfs report to tho trustoès of Hèreford & Worc88tsr Scout County I rEPOrt to the chanty trustees on my examination of the accounts ol Hereford & Worcester Scout County (the Tru511 for the year ended 31st March 2021. Respon81bllltleg and basls of report As the chanty tnjstèes of the Twsl ytsu a responsible for the preparation of the account5 in 3ccordance wth the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (tre ACYI. I rèport in respect of my examination of the Trusvs accounts carried out under Section 145 of the Act and in carrying out rny examination I have followed all applicable DI¢tiOnS given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llbl of the Act. Independent examlnerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no malenal matters have corne to Ny attefition It? connecbon with the examination giwng me cause to believe that In any [nate81 respect. accounts.ng cOrdS were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act", or the accounts do not accord wth those COrdS, 01 the accounts do not cornply with the applicable requirements concerning Ihe fonn and content of accounts set out In the Chanbes (Account5 and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the aKounis give a tiue and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent exaTnination. I have no concerns and have coNe across no other matters in connection with the examination to bthich attention should be drawn in this report In order to enable a proper understsnding Df the accounts to be reached. Robert lestyn Richards IFCA CTA FCCAI ICAEW The Richards Sandy Partnership Thorneloe House 25 Barbourne Road WorcestÈr Worcestershire WR1 1RU Dato /6/ 202 ) Page 2
Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Statement of Financial Activities
for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
| Unrestricted Unrestricted Kinver funds fund Notes £ £ INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 3 72,742 34,987 Charitable activities Kinver campsite - 6,389 Administration, adult training & support 366 - Events and activities 11,179 - Other trading activities 4 - 6 Investment income 5 1,280 - Total 85,567 41,382 EXPENDITURE ON Raising funds - 261 Charitable activities 6 Kinver campsite - 88,552 Administration, adult training & support 54,995 999 Events and activities 11,313 - Grants 180 - Total 66,488 89,812 Net gains/(losses) on investments 1,631 - NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 20,710 (48,430) RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward 77,822 451,881 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 98,532 403,451 |
Restricted fund £ 16,000 - - - - - 16,000 - - - - - - - 16,000 - 16,000 |
2021 Total funds £ 123,729 6,389 366 11,179 6 1,280 142,949 261 88,552 55,994 11,313 180 156,300 1,631 (11,720) 529,703 517,983 |
2020 Total funds £ 61,556 75,524 - 328,318 4,462 1,157 471,017 2,725 131,411 47,727 337,383 16,839 536,085 (1,246) (66,314) 596,017 529,703 |
|---|---|---|---|
The notes form part of these financial statements
Page 3
Hereford & w09$t•r Scout County Balance Sheet 31st March 2021 2021 2020 unstnGted nver fund Unrestsicted funds Restricted fund Total funds Total funds Notes FIXEDASSÈTS Tangible assets Invesbnents 13 14 368,098 368,098 3B,466 421,280 35.613 38,466 38,466 368,098 406,564 456.893 CURRENT ASSETS Stod(s Debtors Cash at bank 15 16 1,40S 3,680 31,337 1,405 5,433 320,7B9 1,665 23,794 285,543 1,753 273,452 16,000 27S,205 36,422 16,000 327.627 311,002 CREOITORS Amounts falling due wthin Dne year 17 1215,1391 11,0691 1216,2081 1238.1921 NET CURRENT ASSETS 60,066 35.353 16.000 111,419 72,810 TOTAL A55ET5 LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 98,532 403,451 16,000 517,983 529,703 NET ASSETS 98,532 403,451 16,000 517,983 528,703 FUNDS Unre5tncted funds Restricted funds 18 SOq,983 16,000 529,703 TOTAL FUNDS 517,983 529,703 The financial statements were approved by the Boar ..10:. .JuDe,.2Q)21....... and We signed on its behalf by. Df Trustees and authon5ed for Issue on J Tumbull- Trustee The notes fom part ol these financi81 staternents Page 4
Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
1. STATUTORY INFORMATION
Hereford & Worcester Scout County is an unincorporated charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The charity's principal address is 16 Northwick Close, Worcester, WR3 7EF.
2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
BASIS OF PREPARING THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value, as modified by the revaluation of certain assets.
The accounts are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The charity is exempt from preparing a cashflow statement because it is not a larger charity.
INCOME
Income from grants and donations is recognised on a performance basis in the period in which the charity is entitled to receipt and the amount can be measured with reasonable certainty.
Government grant income has been received by way of the Coronavirus Job Retention Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Grant. The income has been classed as grant income and has been recognised on a performance basis.
Membership subscriptions are considered to be, in substance, donations rather than payment for services. Membership subscriptions are recognised over the subscription period on a straight-line basis.
Income from charitable activities for services provided is recognised in line with the provision of those services.
For legacies, entitlement is the earlier of the charity being notified of an impending distribution or the legacy being received.
Investment income is recognised when the relating investments issue notice of distribution to its investors.
Interest income is recognised for all interest-bearing instruments on an accruals basis.
EXPENDITURE
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.
TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.
Freehold property - 10% on cost Scouting equipment - 10% on cost Motor vehicles - 20% on cost
Page 5
continued...
Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued
TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Included within Freehold Property is the Don Vince Building Extension at a cost of £16,170 and this is being depreciated on a straight line over ten years. The remainder of Freehold Buildings includes Freehold Land and Buildings, Caravans and Stores. The Freehold Land has a value of £13,815 and is not depreciated. The remaining buildings are being depreciated on a straight line over 10 years, commencing from 1 April 2018. Previously these buildings were not depreciated due to the high level of maintenance required for upkeep, however since the buildings are a mix of construction types it has been deemed appropriate to apply depreciation at the same rate of the Don Vince building from the transition to FRS 102. In the future the Trustees may source a professional assessment of the condition and current lifespan of these buildings.
Assets costing less than £500 are not capitalised.
INVESTMENTS
Investments quoted on a recognised stock exchange or whose value derives from them (CIFs, etc) are valued at market value at the year end. Both realised and unrealised gains are shown under 'net gains / (losses) on investments' on the face of the SoFA.
STOCKS
Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.
TAXATION
The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.
FUND ACCOUNTING
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.
PENSION COSTS AND OTHER POST-RETIREMENT BENEFITS
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charity's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11' Basic Financial Instruments' and Section 12 'Other Financial Instruments Issues' of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised when the charity becomes party to contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets are offset, with the net amounts presented in the accounts where there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic Financial Assets
Basic financial assets, which include trade and other receivables and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest.
Basic Financial Liabilities
Basic financial liabilities, including trade and other payables, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of future receipts, discounted at a market rate of interest. Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade payables are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of the operations from suppliers. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade payables are recognised initially at transaction cost.
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continued...
Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
3. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
| Donations Gift aid Legacies Grants Gross subscription income - including subs collected as agent of The Scout Association Subscription income paid over to The Scout Association Grants received, included in the above, are as follows: Coronavirus Job Retention Grant Coronavirus Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Grant 4. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES Shop income 5. INVESTMENT INCOME Bank interest Investment income 6. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS Grant funding of activities Direct (see note Costs 7) £ £ Kinver campsite 87,521 - Administration, adult training & support 51,606 - Events and activities 11,313 - Grants - 180 150,440 180 |
2021 £ 2,814 304 16,000 37,348 233,960 (166,697) 123,729 2021 £ 9,013 28,335 37,348 2021 £ 6 2021 £ 59 1,221 1,280 Support costs (see note 8) £ 1,031 4,388 - - 5,419 |
2020 £ 1,314 290 - - 220,800 (160,848) 61,556 2020 £ - - - 2020 £ 4,462 2020 £ 80 1,077 1,157 Totals £ 88,552 55,994 11,313 180 156,039 |
|---|---|---|
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Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
7. GRANTS PAYABLE
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |||||
| Grants | 180 | 16,839 | ||||
| The total grants paid to individuals during the year was as follows: | ||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| £ | £ | |||||
| Grants to individuals | 180 | 16,839 | ||||
| SUPPORT COSTS | ||||||
| Governance | ||||||
| Management | Finance | costs | Totals | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Kinver campsite | 962 | 69 | - | 1,031 | ||
| Administration, adult training & support | 2,134 | 328 | 1,926 | 4,388 | ||
| 3,096 | 397 | 1,926 | 5,419 | |||
| Support costs, included in the above, are as follows: | ||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| Administration, | ||||||
| adult | ||||||
| Kinver | training | Total | Total | |||
| campsite | & support | activities | activities | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Telephone | 962 | - | 962 | 916 | ||
| Postage and stationery | - | 2,134 | 2,134 | 1,915 | ||
| AGM Meetings & Conference | - | - | - | 5,130 | ||
| Bank charges | 69 | 328 | 397 | 323 | ||
| Independent examination | - | 1,926 | 1,926 | 1,488 | ||
| 1,031 | 4,388 | 5,419 | 9,772 |
8. SUPPORT COSTS
9. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31st March 2021 nor for the year ended 31st March 2020.
TRUSTEES' EXPENSES
During the year ended 31 March 2021 travel expenses totalling £196 were reimbursed to two trustees for travel whilst performing Scouting roles. In the prior year travel expenses totalling £4,396 were reimbursed to five trustees.
10. STAFF COSTS
| Wages and salaries Social security costs Other pension costs The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows: Kinver staff |
2021 £ 31,714 (377) 757 32,094 2021 2 |
2020 £ 5,178 377 124 5,679 2020 2 |
|---|---|---|
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Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
10. STAFF COSTS - continued
No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.
11. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
| Unrestricted Unrestricted Kinver Restricted funds fund fund £ £ £ INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 61,086 470 - Charitable activities Kinver campsite - 75,524 - Events and activities 328,318 - - Other trading activities - 4,462 - Investment income 1,157 - - Total 390,561 80,456 - EXPENDITURE ON Raising funds - 2,725 - Charitable activities Kinver campsite - 131,411 - Administration, adult training & support 47,727 - - Events and activities 337,383 - - Grants 16,839 - - Total 401,949 134,136 - Net gains/(losses) on investments (1,246) - - NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) (12,634) (53,680) - RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward 90,456 505,561 - TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 77,822 451,881 - 12. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting): 2021 £ Independent examiner's fee in respect of external scrutiny 1,926 |
Total funds £ 61,556 75,524 328,318 4,462 1,157 471,017 2,725 131,411 47,727 337,383 16,839 536,085 (1,246) (66,314) 596,017 529,703 2020 £ 1,488 |
|---|---|
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Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
13. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
| Freehold property £ COST At 1st April 2020 and 31st March 2021 531,483 DEPRECIATION At 1st April 2020 111,619 Charge for year 51,766 At 31st March 2021 163,385 NET BOOK VALUE At 31st March 2021 368,098 At 31st March 2020 419,864 14. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS MARKET VALUE At 1st April 2020 Revaluations At 31st March 2021 NET BOOK VALUE At 31st March 2021 At 31st March 2020 There were no investment assets outside the UK. 15. STOCKS Kinver shop stock 16. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR Other debtors Social security Accrued income Prepayments |
Freehold property £ 531,483 111,619 51,766 163,385 368,098 419,864 |
Scouting equipment £ 63,421 63,421 - 63,421 - - |
Motor vehicles £ 7,080 5,664 1,416 7,080 - 1,416 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
17. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
| Social security and other taxes Pensions Other creditors Deferred income Accrued expenses |
2021 £ - 1,827 956 211,690 1,735 216,208 |
2020 £ 1,185 300 - 233,861 2,846 238,192 |
|---|---|---|
Of the deferred income of £211,690, £32,575 relates to income received for trips taking places after the year end. The remaining £179,115 relates to membership fees received prior to the year end but which relate to 21/22. As per the accounting policy for subscription income, this income is recognised on a pro rata basis for the period to which it relates.
| Deferred income brought forward Subscription income released in the year Event income released in the year as the event takes place(or cancelled due to Covid-19) Subscription income deferred Event income deferred Deferred income carried forward |
2020 £ 233,861 (189,120) (44,316) 179,115 32,150 211,690 |
2020 £ 157,232 - (155,255) 189,120 42,764 233,861 |
|---|---|---|
18. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
| Unrestricted funds General fund Unrestricted Kinver fund International fund New Scout Logo - Group Signs fund Hardship fund County Building Set Up fund Restricted funds Mary Cotterell Trust TOTAL FUNDS |
At 1.4.20 £ 61,722 451,881 1,750 1,350 8,000 5,000 529,703 - 529,703 |
Net movement in funds £ 19,464 (48,430) 1,246 - - - (27,720) 16,000 (11,720) |
Transfers between funds £ (14,404) - 14,404 - - - - - - |
At 31.3.21 £ 66,782 403,451 17,400 1,350 8,000 5,000 501,983 16,000 517,983 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
18. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Unrestricted funds General fund Unrestricted Kinver fund International fund Restricted funds Mary Cotterell Trust TOTAL FUNDS |
Incoming resources £ 84,107 41,382 1,460 126,949 16,000 142,949 |
Resources expended £ (66,274) (89,812) (214) (156,300) - (156,300) |
Gains and Movement losses in funds £ £ 1,631 19,464 - (48,430) - 1,246 1,631 (27,720) - 16,000 1,631 (11,720) |
|---|---|---|---|
Comparatives for movement in funds
| Unrestricted funds General fund Unrestricted Kinver fund International fund New Scout Logo - Group Signs fund New S.A.S Unit fund Hardship fund Legacy fund County Building Set Up fund TOTAL FUNDS |
At 1.4.19 £ 63,340 505,561 7,000 1,365 1,000 8,000 4,751 5,000 596,017 596,017 |
Net movement in funds £ 4,205 (53,680) (10,950) (15) (1,123) - (4,751) - (66,314) (66,314) |
Transfers between funds £ (5,823) - 5,700 - 123 - - - - - |
At 31.3.20 £ 61,722 451,881 1,750 1,350 - 8,000 - 5,000 529,703 529,703 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Unrestricted funds General fund Unrestricted Kinver fund International fund New Scout Logo - Group Signs fund New S.A.S Unit fund Legacy fund TOTAL FUNDS |
Incoming resources £ 390,561 80,456 - - - - 471,017 471,017 |
Resources expended £ (385,110) (134,136) (10,950) (15) (1,123) (4,751) (536,085) (536,085) |
Gains and Movement losses in funds £ £ (1,246) 4,205 - (53,680) - (10,950) - (15) - (1,123) - (4,751) (1,246) (66,314) (1,246) (66,314) |
|---|---|---|---|
TRANSFERS BETWEEN FUNDS
During the year £14,404 was transferred from the General fund to the International fund in order to increase the funds available for grant awards.
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Hereford & Worcester Scout County
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2021
19. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
During the year ended 31 March 2021 expenses totalling £169 were waived by two trustees. This balance has been included within donations and no conditions have been attached to these donations. In the prior year expenses totalling £435 were waived by five trustees.
20. PURPOSE OF FUNDS
UNRESTRICTED FUNDS
General Fund
The unrestricted general fund can be used for any charitable purpose within the charity's objects and approved by the Trustees.
DESIGNATED FUNDS
Kinver Fund
The Trustees have designated net proceeds from Kinver camp activities to be used to maintain and develop the County Campsite at Kinver.
International Fund
These are funds which have been designated for the purpose of supporting members attending Scouting events in other countries.
New Scout Logo - Group Signs fund
These are funds which have been designated for the purpose of grants towards the cost of Scout Group HQ signs with the new Scout brand logo.
New S.A.S Unit fund
These are funds which have been designated for the provision of outdoor activities for Scouts & Guides.
Hardship fund
These are funds which have been designated for the purpose of supporting members to participate in Scouting events that they otherwise could not afford.
Legacy fund
These are funds which have been designated for the purpose of purchasing equipment for Shirejam 2019 which can be re-used at future events.
County Building Set Up fund
These are funds which have been designated for the purpose of equipping a suitable property as a County HQ.
RESTRICTED FUNDS
Mary Cotterell Trust fund
This fund is restricted for the purpose of supporting children in Herefordshire as far as this may be possible.
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