## **Minutes of 25th Bolton Scout Group AGM**
## **Monday 30[th ] June 2025**
## **8.25pm**
## **Present:**
Vicky Dean -Chair Mike Marsh Neil Higginson -Treasurer Daisy Eherne Tracey Nicholls- GSL Steven Fletcher Joanne Taylor Chris Taylor Kevin Porter – PCC Darren Williams - District Julie Egan Dave Pryar Graham Nash Marie Cornwell – Secretary
## **1. Welcome**
Vicky welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked everyone for coming and everyone’s input in what they do for our young people & especially during the Scout Refurbishment.
**2. Apologies:** Craig Bennett, Kate Butterworth, Florence Taylor, Nigel & Sandra (PCC)
**3. Previous minutes** - TN proposed that we accept the previous minutes. This was seconded by JE.
**4. Matters arising** – Gift Aid needs looking at. There is some work to be done on OSM.
## **5. Treasurers report year ended 2024**
NH presented the accounts in usual format. Subscriptions had fallen by £900. Gift Aid had increased. John’s donation was used for the kitchen refurbishment. The charges showing up for OSM & Go Cardless need to be added on to camps etc. It is a good system and takes a lot of work out of handling cash and paying in to bank. It was suggested that subs are increased this year to £50 per quarter as reserves are low in each section due to money had to pay for refurb. Still need to do some fundraising for repair of tents and racking for the garage. Could do a fundraiser for a specific thing or ask parents for donations. Further discussion on this at the next Executive meeting. NH said that once again income matches outcome this year.
## **6. Consttuton adopton**
We are following POR.
## **7. Overview of each Group/Section report.**
**Scouts** – GN said have 28 members, bit concerned about adult ratios. Graham is stepping down, Group is healthy.
**Cubs/Explorers –** NC said that numbers are not great ie 12 regular cubs and only 6 explorers. Could do a bring your friend night, maybe improve the programme or take them out more. **Beavers –** JT said have 23/24 who attend weekly, but low numbers on waiting list. Been doing badges and activities.
TN said lots of changes. Thanked SF & CB for all their help. Thanked everyone for helping with the container. Thanked VD & NH who do a lot behind the scenes. Thanked District too for their support. Could send email out to encourage friends to join. Could do a recruitment drive at local schools i.e. Lostock Primary, Beaumont Primary, St Bernards RC Primary & Rumworth School.
## 8. – **Electon of Ofcers**
Election of Officers took place
Vicky Dean - Chair
Treasurer – Neil Higginson
Minute taker – Marie Cornwell
9. Appoint independent Examiner
Nick Pilling has checked our accounts and signed them off (Free of charge)
## **10. AOB**
TN asked that people take stuff out of fridge before it goes off.
The individual group reports are attached to these minutes in one document.
The meeting closed at 9.28pm.
Next AGM date is Monday 27[th] April 2026.
## **25th Bolton Annual General Meetng**
## **30th June 2025**
## **Scout secton report 2024/25**
As it stands now Thursday night Scouts is a strong group with 28 young people and a relatively good age spread. It has been good for the Wednesday and Thursday Scouts to come together and this has seen the troop start to thrive and grow with less leavers. We have 1 Scout due to move up to Explorers in September, and a number of Cubs will be moving up. With this in mind leader numbers has the potential to become an issue.
In terms of Badges it is safe to say that although we have completed the vast majority of badges, the recording and distribution is not a strong point, however we will try hard to amend this. Part of 2024s AGM was report was to state that we supported 2 YPs to progress
to Chief Scouts Award. This year we are not quite in the position to be able to state this however with the growing numbers this may become possible going forward.
Since the last AGM we have continued to take part in the usual events of Pike View Hike, Border Hike, Cardboard Canoe race, Escape from Rammy and Chariot Race for the 2[nd] time going forward
As Scouts we had 2 young teams in the Pike View Hike but they both did excellently and completed the course without being rescued.
We are looking to broaden this over the coming year by potentially adding the West Lancs Moonlight event in January and dependent on the success and timing of this adding the Alcatraz event to this which may also help with the Expedition Challenge badge.
In terms of Pike View Hike which is clearly extremely close to the group we did one practice hike, and this was the 1[st] time that any of the Scouts had walked unaided before.
A couple of nights of mention where the parent led orienteering at Moss Bank Park, the annual Armistice Day Walk to the Pike along with going to Airvault for the regular postChristmas party as well as a fishing night at Off The Scale followed by support at a GMW fishing competition.
I do feel that the works which has taken place whilst extremely good for the group, it may have seen scouting levels and enthusiasm for the fundamentals of Scouting diminish. We need to remember that Scouting is not about money, structures or meetings but about ensuring young people are prepared with the outdoors skills of life which has previously been given but needs to be at the focus of what we do. Monetary wise we remain in a strong position and should consider ensuring that the capability of the young people to enjoy their time is at the centre of everything completed.
I would like to continue to thank all leaders and assistants for their support throughout, however it is at this point that I will state that I will be standing down as Scout Leader as of the end of July purely for personal reasons. I will remain as an occasional helper and will be able to help on the bigger events and also on occasion on Thursdays but due to moving I simply cannot commit to every Thursday. This reemphasises my point that the group may need to consider the level of adults available for safety reasons.
I would like to thank all of my fellow leaders both in Scouts and the group as a whole for their assistance over the last 6 years and look to continue my association with the group.
Many Thanks
## **25th Bolton Beavers AGM Report 2024/25**
The last 12 months have been busy and successful for our Beaver Colony.
We have consistently had 23-24 children on the books with at least 20 attending every week. We have run a varied programme built around the badges to be achieved each term.
Some highlights from winter 2024 include an evening visit to Bibbys Farm, a torch-lit hike in Rivington, Remembrance Day Hike attended by 19 Beavers, annual bowling trip and an amazing sleepover at FlipOut Trampoline Park! The sleepover was run jointly by ourselves and 20[th] Bolton and we had 33 attendees. We had exclusive use of the park after closing. The beavers all “slept” on the trampoline beds and had a brilliant time.
In the spring term of 2025, we were away from the hut for the renovations. The Beavers enjoyed linking up with the rest of the group for our AirVault night as well as crazy golfing and go-karting and involving parents with cooking via online Teams. Aftre half term we enjoyed the return to the hut, we celebrated St David’s Day and St Patricks Day with traditional games and food from Wales and Ireland and took part in a community litter pick to earn the My World Challenge. We also visited BMRT and learnt some first aid skills. Unfortunately there was no St Georges Day event and only 2 young people attended church parade that day.
Summer Term saw us getting to grips with the new Money Skills badge, we have a planned trip to Smithills Farm and a visit from Justicia Fair Trade Shop.
Over this year we have achieved 11 activity and challenge badges plus some sleepovers and hikes away staged badges. Some of the Beavers have also worked towards badges at home, for example book reader, swimmers, hobbies and personal challenge badges. We have celebrated these successes in our log-chews!
Church parade has been hit and miss again this year, with only one beaver attending the Remembrance Day service and 3-6 on other dates.
During this period, we have invested 13 new Beavers. We have lost 3, who decided scouting was not for them and one who did not continue into Cubs. We have seen 7 Beavers swim up to Cubs in the last year. This means we currently have 5 children who are already 8 or will be 8 before the start of next term, waiting for places in Cubs. We only have 4 children aged 6-8 on the waiting list for Beavers and a few more who will be 6 in the coming months. This is the smallest waiting list we have had for some time.
Financially we remain comfortable, spending as and when we need to. The new Lloyds bank account has been set up and is running fairly smoothly.
I would like to say a big thank you to my fellow Beaver Leaders Amber and Matt, my Young Leaders James and Daisy and all the other leaders at 25[th] for all your support over the last year.
## **25[th] Bolton Cubs – AGM 30[th] June 2025**
The cubs meet on a Wednesday before the Explorers. Many of the Explorers are young leaders and come down early to help us out.
The Cub's programme is aimed to be engaging and interesting. This means lots of hands-on activities usually relating to badge work. To keep the programme engaging we try to space badges out. This is to make sure that there is something for all the cubs to enjoy, as some enjoy some badges more than others.
The start of the year was a little chaotic and saw lots of activities out of the hut since we were unable to access it. These activities ranged from bowling to climbing and skating. The Cubs all thoroughly enjoyed these activities.
Once settled back in the hut the Cubs started to get back on track with some badge work, really engaging and enjoying learning about space, pioneering and fire lighting, as well as some seasonal activities to go along with it.
We were also lucky to have been able to have Horwich first responders at a couple of meetings. They taught the cubs many critical first aid skills including; CPR, recovery positions, preventing choking, applying bandages and how to approach these medical situations.
The cubs also once again took part in Pike view hike, where they worked as a team, along with Jess one of our explorer leaders, to complete a long hike and many checkpoints along the way. Hopefully, next year even more of the cubs will be eager to participate in these events.
We hope the cubs are all looking forwards to joining us again next year where we hope to continue with the fun activities both in and out of the hut.
## **Rogue Explorers – AGM 30[th] June 2025**
This year we have welcomed Jess to the group who has joined as an Explorer leader. She is highly involved in Scouting and her knowledge has been a great benefit to the Explorers.
The Explorers now meet separately to the Scouts, on a Wednesday evening, allowing their programme to be tailored towards Explorer specific badges.
The Explorers are in charge of their own programme spending a few meetings planning what it is that they want to do. The aim of this is to ensure that they can engage fully in their programme and ensure that they are enjoying their time in Explorers.
This year started off a little unusual being out of the hut. The lower numbers in explorers meant that on the odd occasion they needed to join in with the Cub’s activities. However, they were still able to do some activities separate to the cubs.
Once they were settled back in the hut they planned out their meetings. This included a mixture of badge work and other fun activities that they showed interest in. They have been making use of the amazing new kitchen facilities to do some cooking, as well as some more relaxed evenings playing board games.
They have also participated in a couple of events, where they showed great team spirit and came out scoring well. Hopefully they will be equally as eager to participate in these events when they return next year.
In recent weeks the Explorers have been looking at completing their higher awards, specifically showing interest in DofE and their platinum awards. They have already started looking at the ICV list and planning which tasks they would like to.
We hope that the Explorers will be back next year to continue their pursuit of their higher awards and continue to enjoy their time as an Explorer.
**Lostock (25th Bolton) Scout Group**
## **Charity No. 508004**
## **Receipts and Payments account for the year ended 31 December 2024**
|**Receipts**
**£**
**£**
Subscriptions
10,645.00
Gift Aid on Subscriptions
1,365.08
Camp & Activities
4,891.00
J Holmes gift
5,000.00
YIF Grant restricted funds for capital
100,823.00
YIF Grant restricted funds for revenue
2,682.00
Unspecified income
492.84
total income
125,898.92
**Payments**
Capitation
4,040.50
Rent
1,600.00
Camp & Activities
6,982.60
Badges
495.88
Contents Insurance
229.25
Broadband
287.94
Tent repairs
292.43
Generator repair
171.59
Brian & Kath gift
80.00
HQ renovation non-capital costs
1,490.60
Sundry Items
270.08
OSM payment processing fee
301.86
GoCardless payment processing fee
240.67
Accounting adjustment
-17.28
total outgoings
16,466.12
**Surplus / deficit for the Year**
109,432.80
Bank Balance as 1 January 2024
16,907.80
**Bank Balance as 31 December 2024**
126,340.60
made up of as follows:-
Group
5,884.35
Beavers
1,460.48
Cubs
5,195.31
Scouts
5,439.65
Explorers
1,360.81
Group savings account
107,000.00
totals
126,340.60|**Beavers**
**Cubs**
**Scouts**
**Explorers**
**Group**
3,120.00
3,295.00
3,150.00
1,080.00
1,365.08
583.00
900.00
3,408.00
5,000.00
100,823.00
2,682.00
492.84
3,703.00
3,295.00
4,050.00
1,572.84
113,278.08
1,102.50
1,155.00
1,207.50
892.50
-317.00
800.00
800.00
1,540.88
200.70
2,188.38
706.00
2,346.64
439.39
43.15
13.34
229.25
287.94
292.43
171.59
80.00
1,490.60
195.07
75.01
71.71
64.41
79.21
20.06
66.47
57.17
51.42
63.24
15.81
53.03
-17.30
0.02
4,206.72
2,372.39
3,551.67
1,634.37
4,700.97
-503.72
922.61
498.33
-61.53
108,577.11
**2023**
**Change**
4,307.24
1,577.11
1,964.20
-503.72
4,272.70
922.61
4,941.32
498.33
1,422.34
-61.53
0.00
107,000.00
16,907.80
109,432.80|
|---|---|
|**HQ renovation non-capital costs**||
|---|---|
|Building contract|105.60|
|Building control|200.00|
|Nsure Environmental|285.00|
|HQ lease legal fees|900.00|
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Lostock (25th Bolton) Scout Group
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Lostock {25th Bolton) Scout Group
ft)rthe year ended 31. December 2024
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charitytrustees of the Lostock (25, Bolton) Scout Group you are responsibleforthe
preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirement5 of the Charities Att 2011 {'the
Act'}.
th
I report in respect of my examination of the Lostock125 Bolton) Scout Group accounts carried out
under Section 145 of the 2011 Att and in carying out my examination I havefollowed all the
applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under sertion 145{51{b) of the Act.
Independent examlner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matter5 have come to my attention in
connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respett:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Lostock (25th Bolton) Scout Group as
required by settion 130 of the Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no COnrn5 and have come acr055 no other matters in connection with the examination to
which attention should be drawn in this report in orderto enable a proper understanding of the
accounts to be reached.
Signe
Name: QIC&(cZ •45 VILL
Relevant professional qualification or membership of professional bodies lif any): C i M A
Address: q ILiO4- sr
Date: Z