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Appealing a decision to end membership of a young person

3.9.1 Appeal the ending of membership of a young person which was initiated locally 

3.9.1.1 Right of appeal 
Any Squirrel, Beaver, Cub, Scout or Explorer (including a Young Leader) who has their membership ended locally by Group or District under POR 3.7.3 or POR 3.8.1.5 has the right of appeal to the District Chair, with the aid of parents, if desired by the young person. 

3.9.1.2 Appeal panel composition and process
If an appeal is requested by the person whose membership has been ended, the District Chair must convene a panel of three adult members.  

Panel requirements: 

  1. the panel is appointed by the District Chair 
  2. at least one member of the panel should be aged under 25 
  3. at least one member of the panel should hold a Sectional role  
  4. each member of the panel must have a full appointment, including a completed and satisfactory personal enquiry 
  5. no member of the panel can have been involved in the decision process to end the membership of the young person.

3.9.1.3 Participation and sponsoring authority rights

  1. A reasonable opportunity must be provided for the young person whose membership has been ended, or their parents, to attend the panel meeting and present their case against the ending of membership. 
  2. If the ending of membership is from a Sponsored Group (including an Explorer Unit partnered with a Sponsored Group, or from a section in a Sponsored Group in which the young person is a Young Leader), the Sponsoring Authority, who must have been consulted before the membership ending was agreed, has the right to attend the panel meeting and be heard. 

3.9.2 Appeal the ending of membership of a young person which was initiated by UK Headquarters

3.9.2.1 Appeal grounds and process

  1. Where a young person’s membership has been ended under POR 3.8.1.6, if the youth member or their parent disagrees with the outcome they must raise their disagreement with the Head of Governance at UK Headquarters within 14 days of the decision. 
  2. Appeals will only be considered on either of these two grounds: 
    1. new information has become available that was not previously considered 
    2. a required process was not followed that could have altered the decision to end membership 

    There can be no appeal based on ending membership following an unsatisfactory criminal record check (Scouts PVG disclosure) for a Young Leader/Young Helper in Scotland. 

  3. The process to review the appeal:
    1. grounds to appeal the decision must be assessed by the UK Headquarters’ Head of Governance, the Head of Legal Services and the Chief Volunteering Officer (with a quorum of two)
    2. if the appeal meets the criteria, it will be reviewed by UK Headquarters’ Head of Safeguarding and a nominee of the UK Chief Volunteer
    3. the UK Headquarters’ Head of Governance must ensure that the individual receives a written, final outcome  
  4. There is no further right to complain or appeal after this appeal process is completed.