Annual Report and Financial Statements 20-21
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Annual report and financial statements 2020-21 1 Annual report and financial statements 2020-21 Contents Welcome from the Chair 3 The impact of COVID-19 5 Our purpose and method 6 Vision and strategic objectives 6 Skills for Life Our plan to prepare better futures 2018-2023 7 How we operate 8 Our members 9 Growth during a global pandemic 10 Governance structure and Board membership 11 Our advisers Team Cheshire 12 Roll of Honour 13 Our finances 20 Independent Examiners Report Financial statements 21 Our thanks 2 This has given us the peculiar Administration Welcome situation of the current County Thanks to the foresight of Graham Commissioner Dave Hopley Phillips and the backing of the Scout from the reporting on the year when the Association we have been at the previous County Commissioner was forefront of creating young leaders County Chair in office. Dave Hopley was well in roles that helped us well at the prepared coming from his role as start of this pandemic, switching Deputy County Commissioner and from face-to-face scouting to online Be Prepared! reading his report I think you will at the drop of a hat. All Meetings of This has been the most agree that we have had a smooth the Executive, and its sub- extraordinary year in Scouting, not transition. At this stage I would like committees have met online. I thank so much for planned activities but to thank those people who also put Janet Williamson our County for the lack of them when actions their names forward for the role of Secretary for organising and taken have been to keep Scouting CC. The level of all candidates was minuting both the Executive and the alive when almost no face-to-face extremely high and we are fortunate Finance Committee meetings. activity took place. What I said last to have people of your skills in the year still holds true: that Scouting is County. County Office a movement and we go with the The County Office at Asher House flow. And Scouting is a federation - Finance was closed but we are most grateful like a honeycomb there is strength Like all enterprises Covid threatened to Bright Futures to allow us to in the individual parts, Groups, and still threatens our finances. Our continue using this as our County Districts, Counties, Regions and solution was to cut expenses to a address and, when lockdown Countries. minimum, furloughing all staff and finishes, our meeting room. Both The overriding circumstance last cutting all outstanding commitments Cathy Bland at County Office and year was the breakout of to the bare bones. At the same time, Deb Ardern at the Campsite Office Coronavirus at the start. which we were fortunate to receive the were furloughed through most of effectively reduced all face-to-face Covid grants made available to the year and we contributed to scouting to nil with only one County Groups up to County level. Also, our make up their remuneration to Scout event taking place, Winter main source of County income, the 100% for the major part of the year. Camp at Forest Camp Activity County Levy was on a pre Covid Centre. In this light this is the report level and the net result, as will be Campsites Committee chaired by of the Executive committee. detailed by our outgoing County Philip Cox: Treasurer Edward Appleton, has The result of breakeven at the There are three parts: Activities, been a year ending on just short of Forest Campsite from a budgeted Finance and Administration. breakeven. Next year, the year income of £185,000 reduced to an ending on 31st December 2021, will actual income of £26,000 was Activities be different. The threat of a extraordinary. This could not have Dave Hopley will cover this in his reduction in scout membership been achieved without the terrier- report, but I point out that through through a year of no face-to-face like determination of Christine and the foresight, energy and guidance activities was highly probable and John Whittingham and the up to of Graham Phillips and his team, the Executive took the decision last date and accurate budgeted particularly Dave Hopley and Nigel year to encourage the maintenance accounts they produced at each Flatman we were in the best of Scout membership by reducing meeting and to the Maintenance and possible position to change to the levy for 2021 by 50% and this Security work which was reduced to online. I would also like to mention will be reflected in next year’s ‘essential only’ under the guidance that it is credit to Graham Phillips accounts and to a lesser extent in of Paul Gibson. and the work of Val Thomason and the year after. The reduction in The issues of Waste Disposal and Dave Hopley that we have had a Scout numbers of 20% overall will Access at Forest camp remain but seemingly effortless handover of also have an ongoing effect. Our were not an operational issue during County Commissioner, not at the accounts are strong enough to face the year. They continue to be AGM as is normally the case, but the needs of these unexpected worked on as a priority. five months earlier on January 31st. crises and to match fund the demands of infrastructure improvement should this be achieved. 3 Executive Members Edward Appleton will officially retire Welcome All members of the Executive as County Treasurer at the end of Committee have helped to keep the this meeting but will work with Luke from the show on the road: Thornton to affect a proper John Duley was on top of our DBS handover. I therefore take this County Chair figures with a running total of only opportunity to thank Edward for the 100 case outstanding and a time and effort he has put in in his turnaround time of only 48 hours at role as County Treasurer. It is not an (continued) the year end and has ensured the easy job with people and activities rollout of Online Scout Manager to and accounts dispersed across the most of the County. County. During your time you have Michael Shiels must be thanked for managed to consolidate and simplify his sterling work for his time with the accounting structure across the Executive: providing a link Cheshire and cope with the between us and the Freemasons, changing circumstances of financial their grant of £50,000 to Scouting Regulations and the Trustees Act, activities and helping us to fund the not to mention just dealing with roll out of Online Scout Manager and people. For all our AGMs you have in his own capacity providing us produced impeccable accounts. You with the County photocopier. He have introduced us to Sue as our stands down from the Executive at long-serving County Secretary who this AGM and we are grateful for all also has worked tirelessly and that he has done. efficiently for the Executive Nigel Flatman, (as well as Committee so for this and all you renovating the Boulder Wall to a have done, we give you grateful pristine condition), has together thanks. with Dave Hopley been a driver of the online technology and latterly Finally, Baden-Powell said Be the rollout and supervision of risk Prepared. In Cheshire we were assessments for the restart of prepared. Scouting face to face. Alex Dodd has been able to keep I commend this report of the the youth element ticking over Executive Committee to you working with Districts aiming for a 100% representation and maintaining the Youth Forum meetings online. The long-term effect of Youth in Scouting is now Peter Mather TD being felt with some young and County Chair enthusiastic District Commissioners, our ‘New’ County Commissioner and to be appointed at this meeting our new Treasurer, who recently served as the Youth member on the Executive committee, Luke Thornton. 4 And whilst it is acknowledged this Despite the challenges of the last The impact of has not been equally distributed, year, 78 Groups and Sections there have been great examples of managed to grow their numbers! COVID-19 Groups supporting one another, as And we have retained over 80% of well as support available from our members at our last census and Districts and County. are already seeing young people This year has been unlike any we’ve coming back in droves, as we return experienced in our lifetimes. I truly The pandemic has tested our to more face-to-face Scouting. believe that Scouting is more resilience, encouraged us to be Therefore, we remain focused on important now than ever before, to innovative and increased our recruiting and motivating adult give young people a sense of awareness of the importance of volunteers. connection and belonging. To give prioritising our mental health. hope to a generation, to develop Volunteering for Cheshire Scouts is: #SkillsForLife. Kindness emerged, this year, as the - Good for your health and most important quality we can have, happiness During this period of Covid recovery, and our members have shown - Good for your skills as we start to get back together they’ve got buckets of it, with many - Good for your family and safely, we’ve been focusing on four key worker volunteers or those community key areas: supporting the effort to beat Covid- - It’s #GoodForYou 19 from making PPE to fundraising 1. Delivering a great programme for NHS Charities and helping at As we look ahead there’s so much for our young people vaccination centres across the to look forward to in 2021-22, with 2.