1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR TO 31 March 2025
## **1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP**
**ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR TO 31 March 2025**
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1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR TO 31 March 2025
## **1[ST] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP**
## **Up to 17[th] November 2024 – Group Executive Committee**
**Ex Officio** Chair Mrs Emma Little Secretary Ms Rebecca Cowley (resigned 17.11.24) Treasurer Fiona Slater Group Lead Volunteer Mr Douglas McIntyre Beaver Lead Volunteer Ms Lea Scott (resigned 17.11.24) Cub Lead Volunteer Ms Sam Carter (resigned 2.8.24) Scout Lead Volunteer Mr Mark Lloyd (resigned 17.11.24) Explorer Lead Volunteer Mr Robin Kennedy (resigned 17.11.24) **Elected** Ms Victoria Welsh Dr Jane Halpin Mrs Jane McIntyre **Nominated** Ms Dizzy Peverley Mr Simon Harrison Miss Georgia Turnbull (appointed 2.11.24) Mr Andy Gray (resigned 2.8.24)
## **From 17[th] November 2024 – Trustee Board**
Mrs Emma Little (Chair) Mr Douglas McIntyre (Group Lead Volunteer) Fiona Slater (Treasurer) Ms Victoria Welsh Dr Jane Halpin Mrs Jane McIntyre Ms Dizzy Peverley Mr Simon Harrison Miss Georgia Turnbull (appointed 2.11.24) Mr Thomas Harrison (appointed 17.11.24) Mrs Jennifer Rogers (appointed 14.2.25)
**Bankers** NatWest Bank Plc **Scout Registration number** 2558 **Charity Registration Number** 520716 **Contact name and address** Mr Douglas McIntyre 59 Burnhope Road Washington NE38 8DZ
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1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR TO 31 March 2025
The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their annual report and financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2025.
The legal and administrative details of the Group are shown elsewhere in this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, Policy, Organisation and Rules of the Scout Association (POR) and the Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting and Reporting by Charities (2005).
## **Objectives of the Group**
The Group was formed in 1916 by the adoption of POR by the founding Group leaders, who also acted as Trustees. The Group’s aim, in common with that of the Scout Association, is to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.
## **Organisation**
In the earlier part of the year, the Group was managed by the Group Executive Committee (Trustees), who met regularly to discuss all aspects of day to day running. The leaders of the Group were Trustees by virtue of their position as a leader. From the last AGM on 17[th] November 2024, the Group adopted the changes mandated by The Scout Association and the following structural changes were instituted:
- A Trustee Board, who make sure the charity is well managed, risks are assessed and mitigated, buildings and equipment are in good working order, and everyone follows legal requirements and Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR).
- A Group Leadership Team, who focus on the day to day delivery of a great scouting experience.
## **Investment powers**
The Group’s investment powers are set out in POR.
## **Review of Activities by D McIntyre, Group Lead Volunteer**
The Group continues to thrive, thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication of the volunteer teams. They are committed, across all sections, to giving the young people the best possible experiences. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them wholeheartedly for all that they do in giving up their time for the benefit of their young people.
Behind the leadership teams there is the Trustee Board. This comprises a Chairperson, Treasurer and Trustee members. There are 11 Trustees at the moment. The ideal number is considered to be between 5 and 12. It is their responsibility to ensure the Group is managed satisfactorily, is financially secure and to ensure that everything is in place to ensure Safety and Safeguarding of all members.
Not all of the Trustee board hold volunteer roles in Sections and I would like to thank each and every one of them for their continued work and support.
When the Group Executive changed to a Trustee Board, the Board’s responsibilities were restricted to governance and safety. We now have a Group Leadership Team that is responsible for the more routine management matters. Unfortunately, that Team has not met as often as it should but that is something I will address going forward.
NUMBERS: Pre Covid, we had in excess of 100 young people through two Beaver colonies, two Cub packs, a Scout Troop and Explorer Unit. Since Covid our numbers have diminished, in the lower sections particularly. As a result of that and the shortage of adult volunteers we had to close a Beaver Colony and Cub pack.
We opened a Squirrel Drey in September 2024 with an initial target of 12 young people. That is coming along nicely.
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1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR TO 31 March 2025
Section numbers currently are:-
- Squirrels 17
- Beavers 15
- Cubs 27
- Scouts 20
- Explorers 11
- Group total 90
There is room for growth across the board, apart from Cubs who have healthy numbers.
Adult volunteer numbers are reasonably healthy, thanks to a combination of young people taking leader roles once they have turned 18, a number of adults having upgraded their roles and a few additional adults having been recruited. Currently we have the following numbers supporting each section:-
- Squirrels 7
- Beavers 8
- Cubs 7
- Scouts 7
- Explorers 5
Some of our adults help at more than one section and not everyone is able to attend regularly. The actual number of adult volunteers is around 35 including Trustee Board members. In addition, there are 8 Helpers of whom 2 can be considered active.
I have long wished to reopen the second Beaver Colony and Cub Pack again. Both second sections would need to be reopened at the same time to give satisfactory opportunity for transition between the sections. This is something that perhaps the Group Leadership Team could consider going forward.
Simon Harrison originally joined our Group as my Deputy Group Scout Leader. Unfortunately, that role no longer exists under the new framework. In recent months Simon has had to take a step backwards for personal reasons but continues to support me and the Team taking responsibility for making sure that all Risk Assessments are in place across the Group for activities etc.
His knowledge, skills, enthusiasm and drive are boundless and he has added a whole new dimension to the management team. I can’t thank him enough for all that he has done and will continue to do.
Last but not least I would like to thank my wife Jane, who continues to support, guide and encourage me in my role. That has been unwavering over a period of over 30 years.
## CHANGES:
Scouting has undergone changes since our last AGM:-
- Changes to the constitution and responsibilities of the Trustee Board have been implemented, as highlighted earlier in this report.
- Compass, the former Scout Association database for adults, has been replaced by a new digital Membership System. The transition has not been without its issues and there are still a number of areas where work is in progress. One of the main changes is that it is a self-service style of operation where individuals and management volunteers need to log in to the system to proactively manage the membership. There is much less direction coming from the centre. This is proving problematic for new volunteers as the former District Appointments Team is no more and the onus is on Group Leads to take their new volunteers along the joining path.
- Jane was the former Appointments Secretary for our District and has volunteered to continue to help coordinate the joining process along with Group Leads to facilitate this transition, as District Volunteer Development Team Lead.
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1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS
YEAR TO 31 March 2025
- Scouting has moved to a Teams based structure. As part of that the names of roles has changed. The hierarchy is now Group Lead Volunteer, Team Leader, Team Member. The former Occasional Helpers are now Non Members - Needs Disclosure.
- Training has been radically restructured in keeping with this.
Thanks again to everyone for what you do and apologies if I have left anyone out.
D McIntyre, Group Lead Volunteer 16[th] November 2025
## **Policy on reserves**
In general, it is the Group’s aim to maintain sufficient funds to ensure the success of all of its activities and to provide a contingency to support equipment replacement and unforeseen expenses at short notice. A sum of £1,500 has been designated as this contingency. Currently we have a healthy balance, and that is after spending some of our reserves on a new minibus for the benefit of the group.
## **Risk management**
The Trustees assess the major strategic and operational risks faced by the Group on an ongoing basis and react to mitigate these risks. Through the Scout Association we arrange insurance to cover liability, personal accident and injury to young people and leaders as well as adequate insurance elsewhere for the building, the camping and activity equipment and the Group’s minibus.
## **Grant making policy**
The Group does not have a policy in respect of making grants.
## **Approval of the Trustees report**
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf.
## E M Little
**Mrs E Little** Group Chair 16[th] November 2025
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1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS
YEAR TO 31 March 2025
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1st Washington Scout Group (Charity no. 520716)
Receipts and payments account
Year start date Year end date
For the year
1st April 2024 To 31st March 2025
from
Receipts and payments
2024/25 2023/24
Unrestricted
Unrestricted funds
funds
£ £
Receipts
Donations, legacies and similar income
Membership subscriptions 13,835 13,705
Donations 21 85
Legacies -
Gift Aid 2,908 3,420
Other similar income - -
Sub total 16,763 17,210
Grants
Maintenence grant - -
Other grants 500 -
Sub total 500 -
Fundraising events (gross)
Events income 12,888 11,369
Section income - -
Other fundraising activities 49 -
- -
Sub total 12,937 11,369
Scout hut income
Hire of building 1,280 1,125
Hire of minibus 2,050 1,452
Other Scout hut income - -
Sub total 3,330 2,577
Investment income
Bank interest 435 421
Bank compensation - -
The Scout Association Short Term Investment Service - -
Other investment income - -
Sub total 435 421
Total Gross Income 33,965 31,577
Asset and investment sales, etc. 3,000 -
Total receipts 36,965 31,577
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1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS
YEAR TO 31 March 2025
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1st Washin ton Scout Grou Charit no. 520716
g p ( y )
Receipts and payments account
Year start date Year end date
For the year
1st April 2024 To 31st March 2025
from
Receipts and payments
2024/25 2023/24
Unrestricted
Unrestricted funds
funds
£ £
Payments
Charitable Payments
Membership subscriptions paid on (National/County/Area/District) 4,181 3,911
Youth programme and activities 13,536 15,008
Adult support and training 138 45
Rent and Rates 38 38
Water and Sewerage 315 460
Electricity and Gas 1,526 745
Broadband 421 501
Insurance 1,038 953
Cleaning 1,666 1,432
Repairs and Renewals 3,117 10,555
Materials and equipment 295 3,414
Badges and neckers 870 969
Minibus and trailer expenses 4,945 2,399
OSM fees 306 234
GoCardless fees 856 619
AGM and trustee expenses - -
Miscellaneous - fundraiser for NE Autism 368 -
Sub total 33,616 41,282
Fundraising expenses
Detail 1 - -
Detail 2 - -
Detail 3 - -
Other fundraising costs - -
Sub total - -
Total Gross Expenditure 33,616 41,282
Asset and investment purchases, etc. - minibus 20,400 -
Total payments 54,016 41,282
Net of receipts/(payments) - 17,051 - 9,705
Cash funds last year end 28,494 38,199
Cash funds this year end 11,443 28,494
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1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR TO 31 March 2025
|**1st Washington Scout Group (Charity no. 520716)**|**1st Washington Scout Group (Charity no. 520716)**|**1st Washington Scout Group (Charity no. 520716)**|**1st Washington Scout Group (Charity no. 520716)**|**1st Washington Scout Group (Charity no. 520716)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Receipts and**|**payments account**||||
|||Year start date||Year end date|
||**For the year**
**from**|
**1st April 2024**|**To**|**31st March 2025**|
||||||
|**Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year**|||||
|||**2024/25**||**2023/24**|
|||**Unrestricted**
**funds**||**Unrestricted funds**|
|||**£**||**£**|
|**Cash funds**|||||
|Bank current account ****4502||**2,201**||**853**|
|Bank deposit account ****3117||**7,334**||**25,730**|
|Bank deposit accounts ****6336 and ****4588||**547**||**420**|
|Equals Moneyaccount||**1,297**||**1,370**|
|Cash/Floats||**63**||**122**|
|**Total cash funds**||**11,443**||**28,494**|
|(agree balances w ith receipts andpayments account)||ok||ok|
|**Other monetary assets**|||||
|Tax claim||**-**||**-**|
|Debts due from the County/Area/District/Group||**-**||**-**|
|Insurance claim||**-**||**-**|
|**Sub total**||**-**||**-**|
|**Investment assets**|||||
|Investmentproperty- detail||**-**||**-**|
|Quoted investments||**-**||**-**|
|Other investments - detail||**-**||**-**|
|**Sub total**||**-**||**-**|
|**Non monetary assets for charity's own use**|||||
|Badge stock||**-**||**-**|
|Shopstock||**-**||**-**|
|Other stock||**-**||**-**|
|Land and buildings||**125,000**||**125,000**|
|Motor vehicles||**20,000**||**3,000**|
|Scoutingequipment,furniture etc||**15,000**||**15,000**|
|Other||**-**||**-**|
|**Sub total**||**160,000**||**143,000**|
|**Liabilities**|||||
|Accounts notyetpaid||**-**||**-**|
|Expenses incurred but not invoiced||**-**||**-**|
|Subscriptions notyetpaid||**-**||**-**|
|Loan - detail||**-**||**-**|
|Other liabilities||**-**||**-**|
|**Sub total**||**-**||**-**|
||||||
|**Total net assets**||**171,443**||**171,494**|
||||||
|**The above receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities were approved by the**
**Trustees on 16th November 2025 and signed on their behalf by**|||||
|Signature||Print Name|||
|E M Little||E M Little||Chair|
|F M Slater||F M Slater||Treasurer|
||||||
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1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR TO 31 March 2025
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **Accounting policies**
1. Income shown in the Receipts and Payment Account is before deduction of any expenses.
2. Non-monetary assets shown in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities has been given as an estimated valuation by the Trustees based on their knowledge of the assets involved and their age and condition.
3. These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP 2000) for Charities, as applicable to the Group.
4. The receipts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis.
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1[st] WASHINGTON SCOUT GROUP ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR TO 31 March 2025
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