The Group Trustee Board

The Trustee Board exists to support the Group Lead Volunteer in meeting the responsibilities of their appointment.

Trustees must act collectively as charity trustees of the Scout Group, and in the best interests of its members to:

• Comply with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.
• Protect and maintain any property and equipment owned by and/or used by the Group.
• Manage the Group finances.
• Provide insurance for people, property and equipment.
• Provide sufficient resources for Scouting to operate. This includes, but is not limited to, supporting recruitment, other adult support, and fundraising activities.
• Promote and support the development of Scouting in the local area.
• Manage and implement the Safety Policy locally.
• Ensure that a positive image of Scouting exists in the local community.
• Appoint and manage the operation of any sub-committee, including appointing a Chair to lead the sub-committee.
• Ensure that Young People are meaningfully involved in decision making at all levels within the Group.
• The opening, closure and amalgamation of Sections in the Group as necessary.

The Trustee Board must also:

• Appoint Administrators, Advisers, and Co-opted Trustees.
• Approve the Annual Report and Annual Accounts after their examination by an appropriate auditor, independent examiner or scrutineer.
• Present the Annual Report and Annual Accounts to the Scout Council at the Annual General Meeting; file a copy with the District Trustee Board; and if a registered charity, to the appropriate charity regulator if the regulator’s rules require it. (See Rule 13.3)
• Maintain confidentiality with regard to appropriate Trustee Board business.
• Where staff are employed, act as a responsible employer in accordance with Scouting’s values and relevant legislation.
• Ensure line management responsibilities for employed staff are clearly established and communicated.

Group Trustees

The Group Trustee Board is made up of four types of Trustees.

Ex-officio Trustees have a role on the Trustee Board due to their role in Scouting. These include:

• Group Lead Volunteer
• Group Chair
• Group Treasurer
• Group Secretary
• All Section Team Leaders (i.e. individuals holding a Beaver Team Leader, Cub Team Leader or Scout Team Leader role) subject to that Section Team Leaders expressly indicating to the AGM (in writing or orally at the meeting) that they are willing to perform such a function.

Elected Trustees stand for election at the Annual General Meeting and are elected by the Group Scout Council to take on the role; there are usually four to six in number.

Nominated Trustees are nominated by the Group Lead Volunteer in partnership with the Group Chair and approved at the Annual General Meeting; there must be no more nominated Trustees than elected Trustees.

Co-opted Trustees are chosen to take on a role by the Group Trustee Board due to specific skills or knowledge useful to the committee; there must be no more co-opted Trustees than elected Trustees.

POR rule 5.4 cover the membership of the Group Trustee Board in detail.

The membership is set up this way to ensure that the interests of the Group Scout Council and the Group Scout Leader are represented, and balanced. It also serves to broaden the membership of the Trustee Board – possibly to bring in people from other parts of the local community.

Ideally, between the nominated, elected and co-opted Trustees, the Group Trustee Board should include a parent of at least one Member of each of the Sections in the Group.

Charity Trustees

Scout Groups in England and Wales are considered charities by law, and some may be registered with the appropriate charity regulator. All members of the Group Trustee Board are charity trustees.

To comply with legislation, all charities must have a governing body, which in Scouting we call a Trustee Board. Members of the Trustee Board must act collectively as Charity Trustees of the Scout Group.

Charity trustees have a number of specific responsibilities that they must fulfil to ensure the effective running of the Scout Group.

It’s vital that all Trustees understand their responsibilities as Charity Trustees.

Collectively and individually they must:

• Ensure that the charity is carrying out the purposes for which it is set up and no other.
• Follow Policy, Organisation & Rules, charity law and other laws which apply to the charity along with any requirements of the appropriate charity regulator.
•  Make balanced and adequately informed decisions to enable the charity to carry out its purposes and avoid putting themselves in a position where their duty to the charity conflicts with their personal interests or loyalty to any other person or body.
• Comply with statutory accounting and reporting requirements.
• Demonstrate that the charity is complying with the law, is well run and is effective.
• Ensure accountability within the charity, particularly when delegating responsibility for particular tasks or decisions to others.
• Act responsibly, reasonably and honestly making sure the charity’s assets are only used to support or carry out its purposes.
• Avoid exposing the charity’s assets, beneficiaries or reputation to undue risk.
• Make use of the skills and experience available from other trustees while taking appropriate advice when necessary.

Trustees are legally and financially responsible for the running of the Scout Group. This means that in some circumstances, if things do go wrong, trustees may be liable for any debt or financial loss incurred by the Group. However, this is rare and trustees can protect against this by following the duties and responsibilities as laid out in this factsheet and POR.