How we operate

How we operate

The Scout Association exists by authority of a Royal Charter granted by King George V in 1912 and supplemented by further charters granted by King George VI and HM Queen Elizabeth II. These charters give authority to the byelaws of The Scout Association, which are approved by His Majesty’s Privy Council.

The byelaws, in turn, authorise the making of rules for the regulation of The Scout Association’s affairs. The rules are laid out in The Scout Association’s Policy, Organisation and Rules.

This report and financial statements cover the activities directly controlled by The Scout Association – charity numbers 306101 (England and Wales) and SCO38437 (Scotland). This includes its five wholly owned subsidiary companies – Scout Shops Limited, Scout Insurance Services Limited, Scout Services Limited, Scout Products Limited and World Scout Shop Limited (see note 12 to the financial statements for further information on these companies).

The activities of the Scout Councils of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales together with Scout Counties, Areas, Regions (Scotland), Districts and Groups aren’t reflected in this report and accounts. These bodies are autonomous charities affiliated to The Scout Association, which together form the Scout movement in the United Kingdom.

The Board of Trustees

Throughout the year, The Scout Association has diligently adhered to all relevant laws and regulations, ensuring full compliance with the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. The Board of Trustees has taken proactive measures to maintain transparency and accountability in all our operations. We’ve implemented robust governance practices and regularly reviewed our policies to align with legal requirements. Our commitment to ethical standards and regulatory compliance underscores our dedication to serving the community effectively and responsibly.

The Board has 20 members:

• 12 members nominated and elected by the Council of The Scout Association at the AGM: 9 elected members and 3 elected youth members.
• 5 members appointed by the Council at the AGM on the recommendation of the Board: the Chair of the Board, the Treasurer and up to 3 others.
• 3 Ex-Officio Members: the Chief Executive, UK Chief Volunteer and the UK Youth Lead.

We give an induction for all new Trustees. All Trustees take part in training and development opportunities throughout the year.

In 2024–25, Trustees took part in training and development sessions focused on one or more areas related to The Scout Association’s business, including safeguarding and safety.

The Board’s responsibility includes policy making and overseeing risk management. It delegates the day-to-day management of The Scout Association to the Chief Executive and UK Chief Volunteer, who work with the UK Leadership Team, the UK Youth Lead and their team, and the Executive Leadership Team who manage our employed staff.

The Board delegates certain functions to six committees that report to it (Strategy and Delivery, Finance, People and Culture, Nominations and Governance, Safeguarding, and Safety). The Board appoints Trustees to serve on these committees annually, with the committee chairs having a three-year term, subject to performance and their continuation as a Trustee. The Board met formally 10 times during 2024–25. In that period, the Board also met on several other occasions to receive briefings on important issues, when necessary.

Policies and rules

At The Scout Association, we’ve a comprehensive set of policies and rules applicable to the movement. These policies and rules are regularly reviewed by senior volunteers, senior management, and staff employed across the UK.

We’re committed to giving young people and adult volunteers the best possible experience in Scouts. To help us achieve this, we follow several key policies, so we can make sure Scouts grows in a way that’s safe, accessible, and free from discrimination.

Our key policies include:

• Duty of Candour
• Equal Opportunities Policy
• Privacy and Data Protection Policy
• Religious Policy
• Safeguarding Policy
• Safety Policy
• Vetting Policy
• Youth Member Anti-Bullying Policy

Risk management

The Board of Trustees is responsible for identifying, assessing, and managing the risks of The Scout Association and its subsidiaries. The Board of Trustees and its committees operate a comprehensive risk management process to make sure appropriate steps are taken to manage and mitigate governance, external, operational (including safety and safeguarding), legal/regulatory and financial risks. Scouts’ activities require risk identification and reasonable mitigation to make sure our charitable objectives are achieved.

The process involves the identification and grouping of the risks The Scout Association faces, both directly and indirectly, through the activities of the movement more generally. This includes evaluating the risks in terms of their potential impact and likelihood to occur, as well as considering The Scout Association’s appetite for those risks, and identifying how they can be mitigated and managed.

Responsibility for risk management is assigned to members of the Executive Leadership Team, UK Leadership Team (senior volunteers) and Chairs of the Board’s reporting committees, as well as the Boards of its subsidiaries.

The Board reviews its major risks throughout the year. The safety and safeguarding of young people involved in Scouts are our highest priorities.

Other major risks to our organisation include:

• Public trust – reputational damage due to public perception, historical issues, and external factors.
• Growth
• Data security, specifically an information security breach.
• Digital delivery and adoption.
• Equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Management and oversight of our federated structure.
• Making sure we have the right working culture.
• Financial loss or failure of investments and assets.

Risk Appetite

The Board reviews the risk appetite of each corporate level risk annually to determine the individual tolerance level, what happens when thresholds are breached, and the appropriate and immediate remedial action to bring any issue back within risk tolerance levels. While accepting that risk in Scouts’ activities can never be entirely eliminated, we’re committed to making sure activities are planned and undertaken to the highest levels of quality and safety.

Given the nature of the activities undertaken, we seek to continuously minimise the potential for serious harm to be caused to young people and members to the greatest extent feasible. Where incidents or near misses do occur, we’re committed to learn from such events and develop our approaches through continuous improvement supported by our Duty of Candour.

However, The Scout Association has a high appetite for opportunities for membership growth and would be comfortable taking more risk in this area.