Scouts 5th Urniston (Aquilrfer) ANNUAL REPORT 2020-21 SEAVEKS cubs. SCOUTS EXPLO R E RS. network" ## **TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT - 1[ST] APRIL 2020 TO 31[ST] MARCH 2021** Charity Name: 5[th] Urmston (Aquilifer) Scout Group Address: The Lighthouse Eeasbrook Urmston Manchester M41 9JA Registered Charity Number: 521691 HQ registration Number: 18054 Names of the Trustees who manage the charity ## **Trustee Name** ## **Office** Christine Winterbottom Group Scout Leader Tom Pickles Chair Zoe Bond Treasurer Margaret Marshall Group Administrator Jonathan Platt Booking Secretary Susan Owen Cub Scout Leader Carroll O’Neill Member Names of Holding Trustees, who hold the land and property in trust John Irlam John Ironmonger David Till Christine Winterbottom ## **STRUCTURE GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** The Group's governing documents are those of The Scout Association. They consist of a Royal Charter, which in turn gives authority to the Bye Laws of the Association and The Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association. The Group is a trust established under its rules which are common to all Scouts. The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association. The Group is managed by the Group Executive Committee, the members of which are the ‘Charity Trustees’ of the Scout Group which is an educational charity. As charity trustees they are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities. This includes the registration, keeping proper accounts and making returns to the Charity Commission as appropriate. The Committee consists of three independent representatives, Chair, Treasurer and Secretary together with the Group Scout Leader, individual section leaders (if opted to take on the responsibility) and parent representation and meets every month. This Group Executive Committee exists to support the Group Scout Leader in meeting the responsibilities of the appointments and is responsible for: - The maintenance of Group property; - The raising of funds and the administration of Group finance; - The insurance of persons, property and equipment; - Group public occasions; - Assisting in the recruitment of leaders and other adult support; - Appointing any sub committees that may be required; - Appointing Group Administrators and Advisors other than those who are elected. ## **Risk and Internal Control** The group has in place systems of internal controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or loss, these include two signatories for all payments and comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered. ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** ## **The Purpose of Scouting** Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society. ## **The Values of Scouting** As Scouts we are guided by these values: **Integrity** - We act with integrity; we are honest, trustworthy and loyal. **Respect** - We have self-respect and respect for others. **Care** - We support others and take care of the world in which we live. **Belief** - We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes. **Co-operation** - We make a positive difference; we co-operate with others and make friends. ## **The Scout Method** Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and: - enjoy what they are doing and have fun - take part in activities indoors and outdoors - learn by doing - share in spiritual reflection - take responsibility and make choices - undertake new and challenging activities - make and live by their Promise. The Group meets the Charity Commission's public benefit criteria under both the advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development headings. ## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE** ## **Chair’s Report** As we begin to see light at the end of the tunnel, as restrictions increasingly ease, I would like to wish everybody involved in Scouting at 5[th] Urmston all of our very best wishes - as well as extending, on behalf of the Executive Committee (The Exec), our thanks for ALL of you who have been involved Scouting at 5[th] Urmston during such challenging times. Reflecting on the acute phase of the pandemic, when lockdowns and restrictions severely impacted life as we know it – including Scouting, I’m happy to say that the resilience at 5[th] Urmston shone through. There were unique opportunities for our Scouting community to ‘do our bit’ to help one another and the wider community. It is the values that we instil that saw so many of our members support initiatives such as Clap for Carers, which seems an age ago now, and honouring the fallen on Remembrance Day – not with our usual parade, which was sadly missed, but donning our uniforms to pay our respects & show our support from our own doorsteps. The theme of adaptability, also shone through in some of the work that was done to facilitate remote engagement; from the quizzing & cooking at Mike’s Friday evening Zoom Meeting with Scouts to our very own monthly Executive Committee Meetings – where we became used, technological glitches aside, to seeing one another to ‘virtually’ look after matters. Whilst so many of our usual activities were curtailed, the Service Crew continued (restrictions and social distancing permitting) to tend to the site, ensuring that we will be ‘good to go’ just as soon as circumstances permit. I’d like to extend our thanks for all the often-unseen work that they do for 5th Urmston. It’s also important to acknowledge that so many of our annual fixed costs continued as usual, such as buildings & contents insurance; it is with this in mind that we must extend our gratitude for the continued payment of subs – in the absence of face to face meetings being permitted. Once again, thank you for your support and resilience during the most challenging of times – I hope that we can all meet in person once again at the AGM in September. **Tom Pickles, Group Chair** **Treasurer’s Report** Our year end accounts show an overall profit of £11,272. ## Income Despite Covid-19 the Group income for the year is slightly higher than last year. This is despite Section income being down by £8k. This has been offset by a grant from Trafford Borough Council of £10k. ## Expenditure As you know Covid-19 has meant little or no meetings for some sections of the group resulting in almost no spend on section activities. The Group have however had to continue to pay the fixed costs. Maintenance spend was kept to essential works only. Total expenditure was £29k Thank you to all that have supported the group despite the challenges of the past year. We will be reviewing our Gift Aid documents this year. If you have not already signed a Gift Aid form or if your form is out of date we may request that you sign a new one. Gift Aid allows us to claim an extra 25% of your donations/subscriptions from the government at no extra cost to you (we can even claim back for prior years). Thanks to all who regularly donate as part of the monthly donation scheme. These extra funds help improve and maintain our facilities. If you would like to donate (any amount is welcome), please ask myself or any of our Leaders for our deposit account details. It is easy to set up a regular standing order and we would be very grateful - remember the Gift Aid form means we receive even more. **Zoe Bond, Group Treasurer** 11 ¥EP. **Group Scout Leader’s Report** What a year that was, let’s hope we never have another like that one! During the year we said goodbye to some of our team. We lost Lynn Caddy our Group Secretary, Steve Greatex (Hawkeye) Assistant Beaver Leader at Aspen Colony and Claire Harris Section Assistant at Willow colony. They will all be missed. My thanks to all of them for all they did for the group – in Steve’s case for more than 15 years. Alison Evans (Shanto) decided to stand down as Beaver Leader. She will be a hard act to follow. She took on both colonies in 2016 and has done a fantastic job leading them for the last 5 years. I am pleased that she has agreed to stay on as an assistant leader, so we won’t lose her expertise entirely. Thank you to Rachel Winterbottom (Wendy) for agreeing to step up to Beaver Leader at Aspen. We still need someone to take on this responsibility at Willow – please let me know if you would like to give it a try. The Beavers really are a lot of fun to be around! A huge thank you to the Cub and Scout leaders for all the Zoom meetings throughout the year. I know that it wasn’t easy coming up with things to do remotely week after week – well done for all your efforts. A special thank you to Mike Ellis who hosted every one of these meetings and some group leaders’ meetings, too! I don’t know how we’d have managed without him. Thanks also to Service Crew for keeping the grounds looking beautiful throughout and for all their hard work clearing up after the flood in January. My thanks as always to our wonderful Executive Committee who work so hard behind the scenes - with special thanks to Tom our Group Chair and Zoe our Treasurer who have been kept very busy over the last 12 months. Most of all thank you to all our members (and their parents) for sticking with us through this challenging year. ## **Tina Winterbottom, Group Scout Leader** You will notice that there are no Beaver or Explorer Scout Reports this year. This is due to them not being able to meet during the restrictions. ## **Remus Pack** It’s certainly been a year to remember – Zoom sessions are extremely different to face-to-face meetings. We had a regular core of a dozen or so Cubs attending weekly Zoom meetings, plus another 6 or so members who joined when possible. We had a couple of siblings who regularly joined in, together with lots of parents – fun for the whole family. One thing I noticed on our Zoom calls was how supportive you all were of each other – a fantastic attribute to have, well done all. I need to say thank you to Bagheera (Victoria) for her support with these weekly meetings. Many thanks to everyone who joined these sessions – it was lovely to be able to continue scouting, albeit being different to what we were used to. We undertook a huge amount of work – we cooked cookies, pancakes, cheese tarts, we designed, built and even slept in indoor dens, we ran around our houses and gardens taking part in scavenger hunts, we planted seeds and made crystals, we had a fire safety presentation and enjoyed lots of other fun activities. In addition, we ‘Clapped our Carers’, ‘Walked to the Moon’ (well, we did a mile each!) and took part in the Big Weekender. In September, we were joined by Romulus Pack due to reduced numbers zooming in each week – it worked well and we all made new friends. Everyone has done their very best during the last 12 months – I am extremely proud of each and every one of you. I have to end this report with a massive Scouting BRAVO to Akela Liz for stepping forward and running our Pack meetings whilst I’ve been unavailable on Tuesdays. ## **Susan Owen, Akela** ## **Romulus Pack** Well, what a year! Zoom sessions are just not the same They started well, reasonably attended and with enthusiasm from both cubs and leaders. We had a great time doing the science badge and some cookery, lots of artwork and several round the house scavenger hunts. But as the situation dragged on and online lessons continued at schools, number for cubs dropped even lower so we took the decision to combine the zoom sessions with Tuesday pack. Everyone did their best (great example of our scouting motto) but there is no doubt membership suffered on both young person and leadership levels however, we will come back stronger. Many thanks to all those cubs who did attend the zoom sessions. For me personally it was lovely to see your faces each week Thanks also to the leadership team for finding the motivation to join the sessions and stay positive. I’m glad we’re getting back to face-to-face meetings and I’m looking forward even more to getting back to more normal sessions and offering a full service. Keep on scouting everyone! ## **Liz Armstrong, Akela** ## **Scout Troop** Extraordinary times means extraordinary Scouting! As you know last year started in Lockdown so no face to face scouting allowed! As a leadership team we decided we had to continue to provide scouting during these unprecedented times. So online meetings using Zoom began…. And we did everything we could think of to keep 30+ scouts engaged We collected for the elderly We wrote letters to the elderly We did the toilet roll challenge We made boats We built We quizzed We gamed We baked We camped (in the garden) And then we thought we were free again…. But unfortunately, we only lasted 3 weeks until a new lockdown. So off we set again on Zoom I must say well done to all the Scouts - you did it and should be so proud to have continued throughout the lockdown. Something else that makes me proud is my team who without question stepped up and helped provide Scouting online. They gave up their time every week even with their lives being a bit upside-down. A massive thank you to Phil, Bob (Dib dob), Auntie Jackie, Ivan, Fran and special mention to Alicia who even though she had to do home learning in her GCSE year attended all the zoom meetings and led a few of the programs too! Only one thing to say ## **B R A V O!** **Mike Ellis, Scout Leader** ## **Service Crew** ## **Coronavirus** As was included in last year’s annual report, Coronavirus has continued to hit the service crew as badly as the sections, with members of the service crew being unable to meet on the regular Monday evening and Thursday daytime slots for most of the year. This has been especially true indoors where the 2-metre separation rule could not be observed. Some of our members are now in their 80s, putting them in the ‘at risk’ group for Coronavirus, but these members have continued to meet, as best they can, on Thursdays where grass cutting and outside work has continued. With the gradual lifting of restrictions, the service crew will begin meeting regularly again. We are also pleased to announce the addition of 2 new members of the crew that have joined recently, whose children are in the group. This has been a welcome development and has brought the average age of service crew members down significantly! ## **Camping Site** The effects of climate change in the local area continue to cause difficulties for us. In previous years this has restricted the amount of outside work that can be done, as the ground becomes saturated over the winter periods from rainfall. The last 12 months has been no exception to this, despite us being unable to meet, as emergency action was needed following the significant rainfall we saw which flooded the entire site and the outbuildings (toilet block, range and outside workshops and stores). This caused extensive water damage and the service team have worked hard to repair damaged equipment and clear the mud and slurry that the floods brought into the buildings. ## **Headquarters** One of the jobs that was halted during COVID-19 was the overhaul of the ceiling soundproofing panels in the main hall. We are pleased to say that this work has now been completed and the panels fixed in such a way that they will hopefully remain in place. Repairs are still needed to the security shutters in the main hall as these are very large and cause on-going issues. The work that started last year on the re-arrangement of the downstairs storage space is also nearing completion and it is hoped that this will help keep activity rooms from being blocked with piles of equipment. Last year we reported that the main entry ramp and steps to the HQ need overhauling due to corrosion in the sub frame. During COVID-19 discussions have continued on the best way to approach the repairs that are needed, and it is expected that this work will commence over the coming months. Similarly, the decking at the opposite end of the HQ is also showing sign of deterioration and this work will need to be scheduled for the coming 12 months. ## **Equipment** Our working equipment has also been subject to some tender loving care during COVID-19, which has included routine maintenance of mowers and repairs. In particular, the floods referred to above required us to undertake some extensive work stripping down and repairing the machinery which also got full of water. This includes repairs to the clutch of the ‘Fergie’ tractor (which is also now in its 70’s, but not as susceptible to COVID-19!). The mowers, tractors and dumper are all regarded by the crew as ‘workhorses’ and are key to the work that takes place on the site. ## **Members** Connor O’Neill Chris O’Neill Morgan O’Neill Eddie O’Neill Brian Timms David Porter Matt Gibb-Shacklock Roy Martin John Thatcher James Cooke* Luch Visentin* *Our new members ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** The Group's policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resources to continue the charitable activities of the group should income and fundraising activities fall short. The Group Executive Committee considers that the group should hold a sum equivalent to 6 months running costs, circa £24,000. The Group held reserves of approximately £90,000 against this at year end, £42,000 of which is unrestricted. This is in line with accepted standards for operating expenses to cover unforeseen circumstances. ## **Investment Policy** The Group does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer term investments. The Group has therefore adopted a risk averse strategy to the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only mainstream banks or building societies. ## **DECLARATION** The trustees declare that they have approved the report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees, Tom Pickles Chair Christine Winterbottom Group Scout Leader 5TH URMSTON UILIFER SCOUT GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2021 5TH URMSTON AQUILIFER FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2021 SCOUT GROUP Page Independent Examiners Rewrt Statement of tncome and Expenditure Balance Sheet Notes to the Financial Statements I reportto the trustees on my examination of tr aCCo￿ts ¢)fthe 5" Urmston Scout Group fortheyear el￿ed 31° Marth 2021. accounts sn accordance wrth the requiywnerrts of the Ch*rties Ad 2011 Adl. I reportin respBrtof my exaThMnation Df the P Urn)ston Scout (knip acc(xmts carrted out underse£tion 145 of the 2011 Act and in caffwng out rny examinab.on I ha¥efoiltA¥ed aiithe aPFAKable Oirtttw)ns gr￿ bythe Charity Commi55KJn 1451Silbl of tr*ALt I have compLeted myexamin¥bon. I confirmthat M mèteriai matters have come to my attention cortnecbon with the examination 9Mng mecause to believe that in any material re5Fe¢t accourting rec￿d5 were not keptin ￿pect of the 5" ikrnston Scout Group as required by secbon 130 of the Act or 2 the accovnts do notaccord wÈthtlw)se rewds.. or 3. the accounts do not comrlywrth the appk4bie requÉrements contrming theftym and contentof accounts set out in the Charibts (Acrounts and Rewrt51 ReguLatKJn$ 2008 otherthan arry requiremert thaithe accryJrrtS gNe a ￿n￿and farliew wthich is r*)ta malterconsidered as part of an independertt ￿MInatiorL I have no concem5 and have a)me across no other mattets in coTrr*etion wth thè ￿mInatiorS to whith attention Sh￿aId be drawn in this reportin C￿t0 enable a prDper Ur￿erStanding of the accounts to be reached. Siyned: Narna Adele Lane Relevantwofessionalryalification or m8mLwsFMp rAryoft$5wThI ￿￿eS [rfanyl: FCA Address: 818foad Ro* Sale. Cheshire. M33 2EU Date.. 6 September 2021 STATEMENT EAND CH 2019n020 Tothi 202012•21 RtsirSethd FuDdi 202•n021 2020n021 TotAI L•rewl¢ted 3.918.68 3,804.47 &400 00 19.94 458.42 42fM).00 40.00 &¢Xk6.68 257.10 ¢7LKI.C 8.(kn.68 1.469 10 6.700.00 1212.(0 Mernbvship Fees Ink[¢￿ R¢cei> Gift Tax & Intere# Saleof Grwp T-shitts TTaff¢)rd MBCCwidOr*t 3.ts)J.rrt 3.000.IX) io.thx).th) io.fxy). 20.841.51 4212.01 24.966.28 29.l78.28 13.508.41 Substhptiortslaft¢r Membersbip Fwl 11.182.WJ I1.182.￿j FunthiyuL8 22.4J3.38 I i.1￿.00 43294.89 TOTAL INCOME FOR THE YKAR 4212.ts) 36.l48.28 40,360.28 4.752.90 664.63 1.155.85 1.338.94 388.79 4.834.51 4WJI. J27.12 1.023.90 542 68 496.78 1779.23 4.801.99 527.12 1.023.90 542.68 496.78 1779.23 Electricity M8initn*K¢.' HQ, Lmd Fundriisin8 EXF￿ c4p1w1￿ Ftes B4dBts knd R¢8qlii p05th￿ PriNin8 St*t TTainin8 Fe¢s tffjj & PrDfcJ5i(wl Fees 6.065.25 724.78 7.518. 122. 7.518. 122.1X) 225.(H) 711.60 390.80 3￿.80 264.7$ 696.22 7,970.82 76.58 22.88 7.401.28 353,10 362.85 348.88 275.44 68. 55.66 7.401.28 1373.58 36185 348.88 275.44 68.IX) 55.06 7.401.28 2.373.58 Striiw Eq￿Ipnxnt SectioD AalVIIi¢g SundrL¢S CO￿ of T-Shirt$ Sold Buildin8 D¢prtti*ic 40,M7.94 TOTAL EXPEliDrr(IRK FOR THE YL4R 29.081.19 29.O88.19 2W6.95 INCOME FOR THE YEAR 7W.09 2019r202• NOTE J￿.1*) 25￿.610.04 64Jts).￿J 213314.76 BUtLDINGS- ￿ WDV 362.557.44 351ni57 413.56 67J9l.31 289.55 17 $72.17 STCCK OFT4HIRTS CASH AT BANK CASH IN HAND PREPAYmE￿S& ACCRUED IPKOME 637.n 71.014.72 I.￿.1￿$ 17 637.71 971. I.CO2.06 17 92.30 17,117.18 17 117.18 176.86 io io 972S9.11 431770.30 04131 RKPRESENTED BYI 37SJ23.36 37&1M30 378.170JO fIJm￿.1X) REVALUAllow R&8ERVE 389,44ZJi 60.OW.(rfJ 438 770.30 45Q 042.31 Add( RMST ILIFER OR TH ND al Btsi¥ of A¢￿￿t￿ bl prwry*l￿ for Off￿ IKld f(w uleby th2 tsmwJt*E TA￿ the￿¢ (les5￿1¢i￿Altyj tesithJDI ¢thsFwI ￿LuCI￿r ¢xh ¢XkKYAtyJ useful lif¢. l(lin8S 2%.5% Tht iattd wwTh4lwJ #1131st 19)71y Pd¢r FCwdilTe& Cffj * a rTrffk4 of £64W.IJ) Tht Ith￿1 IsA•te￿ * this the Bd•Slxa •kl thtwlu5of v41uthi￿ I551m￿ in the It￿]￿]0n T¢serv¢ 20zon•21 2019ft010 Bifw 358.030.36 358.030Jfj Athliti(Ais cth 35&OJ]J6 338￿30J6 67.414.32 ￿.013.04 7,401.28 7.401.21 ChtrBC frKth¢ Y¢•r 74JIIAO 67A14J2 Net Value at 31st 2021 2B3314.76 2 16.04 Vdu¢*31x 2020 1&04 298 17Jl 2120n021 201912020 Valuati(xdCart Blf* Additi( 33.119.19 31.601.24 o.th) 1.517.95 Vahwtirfr•tCifvd 33.Il9.J9 33,119.19 25.677.79 23J24.69 1373.58 1353.10 0.00 ChaTg¢ f￿ the Yur 28MIJ7 77.79 Net Bt¥* 31st Mtrch ￿21 S967J2 7A4I.40 Net BLL* ValuE ¥ 31* Nlu¢h 2020 7841AO 8J76JS 2•19r 11.477.74 11,477.74 10 6324 6324 cw.ial Fwi T(¢rn Pde 9Jth36 JWA2 49J26.é2 35.743.96 17J87.11 s9.6￿.98 17 117.18 17 71 17 1•21A021 201W2021 4J91M 440131 194.94 4.170.56 OiftAid 2Mfr2t 2•1912•Y* 1.433.04 24 W*x 9J71.11 9J71.18 Independent examinerfs report to the tntstees of P Urniston (Aquilifer) Scout Group I reportto the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the V Urmston Scout Group for the year ended 31" March 2021. Responsibilities and ￿l51S of report As the charrtytrustees of the 5th Umiston Scout Group you are re5pon5ibie forthe preparation ofthe accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 fthe Arfl. I report in respert of my examination of the 5th Unnston Scout Group accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Art and in carrying out my examination I have foiLowed all the appibcable Dirxtions given by the Charity Commission under section 145151(bl of the ACL Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my èxamination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection wth the examination givin9 me ￿￿se to believe that in any material respect accounting records were not kept in Trspect ofthe 5 Urniston Sccmrt Group as required by section 130 ofthe Act" or 2. the accounts do not accord with those reC￿d%. or 3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concembng the fom and content of accounts set out in the Charibe5 (Accounts and Reportsl Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a and fair view vthich is not a matter consKlered as part of an independent examination. I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the èxamination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed.. Name: Adele Lane ReLevaTrt prOfes￿onaL qualification or membership of professi¢)nal bTrJies rrf any): FCA Address: 81 Broad Road. Sale. Cheshire. M33 2EU D*e: 6 September 2021