2024-03-31-accounts - Southampton Unit 311 Of The Sea Cadet Corps

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SOUTHAMPTON SEA CADET UNIT

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

HELD ON MONDAY 14[th] OCTOBER 2024 @ Solent University

The meeting opened at 1830

Present

UMC

Capt. Martin Phipps (President) Capt. Andrew Moll (Chairman) Stuart King (Vice Chairman) Martin Kelly (Treasurer) Catherine Tipper (Fund-Raising) John Simonds

Staff

Lt. Lindsay Bassett (Commanding Officer) C Lloyd (1[st] Lt) WO2 J Zobel PO Simon Tipper (Boats Officer) PO D Beardshaw PO P McCullagh PO J Williamson PPO L Searle PPO D Tipper PPO L Willis J Wagner Cllr S Weston

Parents/Guardians and members of the public - 30

1. Apologies for absence

John Onslow (Secretary)

2. Opening comments by Chair of UMC

The Chairman opened the meeting, welcomed all those in attendance and presented a brief account of the achievements of the last year. The Chairman also thanked all the local companies and organisations that have done so much to support the Unit.

3. Minutes of the last AGM for adoption

The minutes of the last AGM on 16[h] October 2023 were proposed by Catherine Tipper and seconded by Stuart King, they are hereby accepted as a true record of that meeting. The minutes were signed by the Chairman.

4. Matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting

There were no matters arising.

5. Unit Chairman’s Report

INFRASTRUCTURE

Main Block: The main building continues to function with the usual running repairs. Water ingress continues to be a problem after heavy rain or very high tides, and we will have to address that. Unfortunately, the manufacturers of our current flood defences ceased trading earlier this year, and we are looking to find a supplier of similar units who will service our current barriers. If we cannot find one, then we will have to embark on a rolling programme of replacement.

Canute Building: Canute Building is holding up well. Canute port would benefit from being recarpeted, so if you know anyone in the flooring business, do get in touch. We are also having problems maintaining a non-slip surface on the wheelchair ramp. Again, suggestions would be welcome.

Union Castle: Earlier in the year we found that Union Castle had flooded badly after a very high tide, and the walls were showing signs of mould and damp. Investigation has established that poor ventilation and water passing the flood barriers were the main problems, not leakage through the walls, but we need to do some interior work to make the building properly usable for teaching again.

Sea Wall: I mentioned the state of the sea wall last year, and it has continued to deteriorate slowly. However, there is a risk that because the sea is eroding the earth and gravel behind the facing stones, we could suddenly experience a localised collapse. I will mention this again at the end when I look ahead.

Equipment

There has been little change on the equipment front, with just minor additions to our Canoeing / Kayaking equipment and Duke of Edinburgh’s equipment. While I am naturally inclined towards the watersports, DofE is one the Unit’s biggest success stories, with almost every cadet who is eligible by age signing up the programme.

PERSONNEL

UMC

The committee remains steady at seven. Giuseppe Saieva has left the UK to take up a new role in the Middle East, but I am pleased to welcome to the management committee Matthew Stewart in his place. Fortuitously, Matthew works for the maritime college, which is why we can be here this evening – thank you Matthew.

We have seven experienced committee members, but currently no parents. Under MSSC rules, we can have two parents as part of our team, and we are all very keen to make that happen, so we get to hear the voice of our customers. We engage with the cadets regularly to find out what works for them, but much less often do we hear from the parents and guardians. So, if you feel you could help steer the Unit forwards, do please speak to one of the committee members or a member of staff after the meeting.

Looking Ahead

A high priority for this year is refurbishing the toilets and shower units to create three separate unisex cubicles each with a toilet and shower. The cadets were recently asked what they wanted more of, and one of the items was more weekend camps. Refurbishing the toilets and showers will significantly improve our ability to facilitate overnight stays, either for camps or courses. The last Lord Mayor’s fundraising generated £11,500 towards the costs of this project, though we think it will cost us a bit more.

As I mentioned last year, the Sea Wall behind Canute continues to be a cause for concern. We are hoping to have a patch-repair done in the next few weeks, but the long-term solution is complete refurbishment, which will take a lot of money.

Before my closing remarks, I must mention our most pressing issue and the biggest threat to the Unit.

We have two leases, one with the City Council for the plot with the boat house, and one with ABRI for the plot containing Canute Building. They expire on 15 August 2026 and 13 April 2027, the City Council lease being the first to expire.

While on paper, this might still seem away off, the grant funding organisations that we rely on for the funds we cannot raise ourselves, and this incudes MSSC, will not invest unless they can see a return for their investment. Consequently, our major sources of grant funding have pulled up the drawbridge, and they will not lower it until a new lease is secured. We know the City Council is strapped for cash and is considering its options. However, for Southampton Sea Cadets, delay means demise. We will have another attempt at engaging the Council’s planning team later this autumn but if that is unsuccessful, I will be contacting you to ask you to write to your local ward councillor so they can fight for us in council.

Closing Remarks

In closing, I would like to record my thanks to everyone who helps make Southampton Sea Cadets so successful. I mentioned our various supporters and benefactors in my opening presentation, but I would like to reiterate that for the minutes. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to our President, Martin Phipps and the Unit’s trustees, the UMC, for all the hard work they do behind the scenes to provide the facilities the Unit uses. You do not see much of the UMC, but without them the Unit could not function.

I would like to thank the Commanding Officer,1[st] Lt and all the staff for all the work they do front of house. Theirs is the tougher job because, as trustees, we can often fit our volunteer contribution in around our other work and activities. However, the staff have to be available when there is training going on, and that takes preparation and time. They give selflessly of their time, and I would ask you to give them a round of applause.

6. Commanding Officer’s Report

I would like to start by saying Thank you to our UMC, they have once again supported all the cadets to be able to achieve and experience all that the sea cadets offer. Thank you. And wow what a year it has been for the Unit, as a lot of you will know from taxi -ing your children we have been extremely busy this year.

I would like to start by giving you some of the numbers that highlight just how busy and committed the cadets have been over the last 12 months.

Training days – 450 Community events – 44 Qualifications gained: Cadets – 638 Qualifications gained: Adults – 118

Obviously, being Sea Cadets, we like to be out on the water and with the building of the new pontoons this meant an extended boating window on parade nights and throughout the year, which has led to the cadets participating in or a total of 2,741 hours afloat training, an average of 43 hours for each cadet. With this much time on the water it enabled our cadets to achieve 237 boating qualifications from Offshore Sailing and Power to RYA power level 1, From Paddle sport start to Paddle instructor, and everything in between, the cadets have gained valuable experiences and qualifications recognised outside of sea cadets.

Another key part of the Unit’s calendar is competitions and we started the year as we do most years with our drill teams coming together and starting their training, sometimes training the day after the Christmas party. We are very lucky to have dedicated cadets who really love drill and enjoy the team spirit created, they need it when training in the cold and wet for many hours on a Sunday morning. Their dedication and hard work paid off and they won their way to National drill and Piping in Plymouth. Performing in front of all the spectators and a very special guest, Princess Anne the Admiral of Sea cadets and recently announced Patron of the MSSC.

We are pleased to once again have the National Colour party champions.

The piping team came a very impressive 3[rd] place and PPO McCullagh who was a cadet at the time came 2[nd]

The continuity team on the day were awarded 4[th] place, however following an investigation into a judges’ mix up they were later awarded 3[rd] place.

That wasn’t the end of our competitions calendar we went straight from drill and piping to band. As you have heard tonight, we are lucky to have talented musicians within the unit supported by dedicated adults who, for most of the cadets, teach them their instrument from scratch. Joining with Poole Unit the band formed the Wessex district band and won the Southern Area competition, heading to Greenwich in the beautiful sunshine to compete against the best bands in the country.

The band came 5[th] overall and within that they also had many 2nds and 3rds in the different categories including COD, best dressed and bugle section. AC Bassett was also in the Solo bugle competition; she came away with a silver medal. An amazing achievement for all the band. The band didn’t stop there though they were asked to put on a very special display in the heart of the New Forest, and for the second time in the year the cadets were in front of the royal family performing for Prince Michael of Kent, who was extremely impressed with their performance.

We were not done yet with National competitions as two of our more experienced sailors took part in the district sailing regatta winning through in the junior Quest Class to Area where in testing conditions they won through to Nationals in Southport. They not only competed in the regatta but also the sail handling competition winning all the way through to Area, there was no National event this year. They went on to come 6[th] place out of 14 in the Nationals the first time a team of Southampton sailors have reached the National competitions for many years.

Alongside these competitions we have also had Cadets attending paddle sport competitions and rowing regatta.

The cadets take huge pride in taking part in various community events and over the past 12 months they have been involved in parades, raffle tickets selling, fetes and cruise ship visits. A testament to the Cadets and their smartness and politeness is the amount of people that comment and how many new recruits we get from being seen out in the community.

Once again, I have been blown away by the sheer brilliance of the cadets you see here tonight. They each bring something unique to the Unit, which makes it a great place to be and allows everyone to take full advantage of the sea cadet experience.

None of this is possible though without our amazing adult volunteers some of who are here tonight. All of them give up their evenings, some 2 or 3 nights a week, others 1 night and then their weekends, while looking after their own families and working full time. My wholehearted thanks to each and every one; we could not be as successful as we are without you.

My thanks to you the parents for supporting your cadets for being their taxi service and allowing the opportunity to get a head start in life.

Lastly my thanks to you the cadets from our youngest junior right through to oldest cadet each and every one of you brings success to the Unit in your own way. I am so grateful that we have a group of young people who completely embody the sea cadet values, especially when we see such negative stories on the news, I can often be heard telling anyone who will listen how amazing you all are. Keep doing what you are doing, keep taking every opportunity you are offered, and keep living those Corps values.

8. Treasurer’s Report and adoption of accounts

[See: Appendix I; Financial Report to AGM - accounts for 1[st] April 2023 to 31[st] March 2024.]

The Treasurer presented the unapproved accounts as completion of the audit was awaited. See Appendix I below. These will be approved by the UMC in due course.

Post meeting EGM held 13 November 2024:

The audited accounts for FY 2022/23 were adopted.

9. Election/Re-election of Unit Management Team (UMT) Trustees

All the members of the UMC indicated they were happy to stand for re-election. Each trustee was formally elected by the meeting for a further 12 months.

The elected members of the Unit Management Committee for the next year are, therefore

Andrew Moll Martin Kelly Stuart King John Onslow John Simonds Matthew Stewart Catherine Tipper

10. Any Other Business

Following the presentation of reports, the Area Officer spoke to review the year and stated: “Southampton was one of the best Units in the Southern Area”

Andrew Moll Chairman of Trustees Southampton Sea Cadets

Appendix 1:

Southampton Sea Cadets

Financial Report to AGM - accounts for 1 April 2023- 31 Mar 2024

Income Cadet Donations Fundraising/Other Donations Uniforms Other Total Income: Expenditure (revenue) Administration and Banking Training Boats Vehicles Premises (inc insurance) Misc Expenditure (capital) Canute building Pontoon Total Expenditure Surplus/Defcit Opening Balances Closing Balances	2023-2024 12,310.00 27,306.24 155.00 735.84 40,507.08 -176.20 -2,341.45 -281.76 -2,560.17 -15,917.63 -473.99 0.00 -40,648.80	40,507. 08 - 21,751. 20 - 40,648. 80 - 62,400. 00 - 21,892. 92 40,845. 40 18,952. 48	2022- 23 £ 11,370. 50 28,126. 40 -228.20 545.58 39,814. 28 39,814. 28 -208.40 - 3,576.3 4 -467.32 - 1,835.2 1 - 8,697.7 2 0.00 - 14,784. 99 - 1,605.0 0 - 5,630.7 0 - 7,235.7 0
			- 22,020. 69 17,793. 59 23,051. 80 40,845. 40

21,892. 17,793. 92 60

Net Movement

Notes:

The significant feature in this financial year was the building of the pontoon extension to significantly increase the unit’s afloat capability. Once again, we are grateful to several companies who provided services either cheaply or even pro-bono, nevertheless the project cost the unit £46,279.50. Two significant grants totalling 30,000 funded much of this project, the remainder was from some small donations and a minor inclusion into unit surpluses.
Also significant, though not financially was the pro-bono work to fully renovate the slipway, amounting to work to the value of probably about £40,000.

Current financial model.

The overall cost of maintaining and running the training from the Unit, without considering major equipment purchases, major repair work or capital investment is in the region of £20,000.
Our largest income is from Cadet subscriptions which varies with numbers on strength but is currently in the region of £10,500 per year. This is enhanced by gift aid, and we urge all parents who pay tax and have not completed the necessary forms for gift aid to do so. It increases the current annual income for each senior cadet by £60
Another major sources of income is the Southampton Boat Show which this year delivered about £2,500 from the unit raffle. We are very grateful for all the parents who assisted staff and UMC members to man the stand and hope more will consider doing this in future. As well as fund raising it has a very valuable role in keeping the unit in the public eye. However, our income from this much reduced from the peaks we achieved before covid. Whilst this remains a valuable source of income, we must ensure other sources can fill this gap.
Additionally, we have been very well supported this year by being the Lord Mayor’s charity and attracted support from the Southampton Master Mariners and the Southampton Ship Owners.
However, the costs of maintaining the unit have, like all costs been subject to inflation, particularly our energy bills, insurance and minibus expenditure. In the current year our rent payable to the Crown Estates has increased as a result of the pontoon extension.

The Unit Management Committee have therefore decided that with effect from 1[st] January 2025, subscriptions will be increased to £22 for Seniors, £11 for Juniors.

Boat Show Raffle Prize List:

Prizes	Donated by	Winner	Order	Value of Prize
Apple iPad,9th Generation,Wi-Fi,64Gb	ElectroFreeze	AndyScott,Poole	1	£349
2 x Adult, 2 x Child Family Ticket (Heritage cruise approx 2 hours) for Shieldhall Steamship	Shieldhall	Kat Rogers(email)	2	£100
RYA Power Boat Level 2 Course	Marine Power Training	Gurpreet Singh(email)	3	£315
Amazon voucher £100	Southampton Sea Cadets	CraigH via Jason Wagner(email)	4	£100
2 bottles wine (collection from Southampton only) White:1 x Pinot Gris, 1 x Vaucluse(French).	Jon Onslow	Shavi Uruquhart(email)	5	£20
Deckvest 6D 170N MercuryRed	Spinlock	Brian Jones,Rayleigh	6	£200
Amazon voucher £50	Southampton Sea Cadets	MandyBateman(email)	7	£50
Waterproof Belt Pack large	Spinlock	J. Jones-Mason,Beaconsfield	8	£44
Alto flotation Belt Aqua	Spinlock	Jim Tracey,Fawley	9	£50
Kru XF ISO NavyAuto-inflate lifejacket	Ocean Safety	John Pocknell,Poole	10	£90
Kru XF ISO Navy Auto-inflate lifejackets	Ocean Safety	N. Oliver,York	11	£90
Waterproof Belt Pack medium	Spinlock	Shannon Rockey,Lymington	12	£33
Alto flotation Belt Black	Spinlock	Patrick McGlead,Fareham	13	£50
2 bottles wine (collection from Southampton only) Red: 1 x Shiraz, 1 x Aluado(Portuguese),	Jon Onslow	Gareth Richardson (email)	14	£20
2 bottles wine (collection from Southampton only) Red: 1 x Cabalie (Catalan French) White: 1 x Bordeaux	Jon Onslow	Richard Snow - DONATED BACK TO UNIT	15	£20
Waterproof Belt Pack small	Spinlock	James Dajlid,Eastleigh	16	£27
£1,558

Southampton Sea Cadets Financial Report to AGM - accounts for l April 2023- 31 Mar 2024 2023-2024 2022-23 Income Cadet Donations Fundraising/Other Donation5 Uniforms Other Total Income: 12,598.00 27,234.24 155.00 648.73 40,635.97 11.370.50 28,126.40 -228.20 545.58 39,814.28 39,814.28 40,635.97 Expenditure (revenue) Administration and Banking Training Boats Vehicles Premises linc insurance) Misc Total Ex Rev -238.14 -1,830.56 -471.36 -2,989.12 -15,937.63 -473.99 -208.40 -3,576.34 -467,32 -1,835.21 -8,697.72 0.00 -14,784.99 -21,940.80 -21,940.80 Expenditure (capital) Canute building Pontoon Total Capex 0.00 -40,459.20 -40,459.20 -1,605,00 -5,630.70 -7,235.70 -40,459.20 Total Expendlture Surplus/Deficit -62,400.00 -21,764.03 -22,020.69 17,793.59 Opening Balances Closing Balances Net Movement 40,845.40 19,081.37 -21,764.03 23,051.80 40,845.40 17,793.60 // Yates & Co. Charttred A¢covntints 27 RNrnood Girdens Mar¢Id Soulhlmpton, Hampshire S040 4YX