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Disposal of assets

5e.9.1 Disposal of Group, District or County assets at amalgamation 

5e.9.1.1

  1. If two or more Groups, Districts or Counties amalgamate, the retiring Treasurers must prepare a statement of account at the date of the amalgamation.  
  2. The statement, together with all Group, District or County assets, supported by all books of account and vouchers, must be handed to the Treasurer of the Group, District or County formed by the amalgamation.  
  3. If the receiving Treasurer considers it necessary, after consultation with the Trustee Board, they must ask the Trustee Board to appoint an appropriate person to examine the accounts.  

5e.9.2 Disposal of District or County assets at splitting  

5e.9.2.1

  1. POR 5e.9.2 does not apply to Groups. 
  2. If a District is split into two or more separate Districts, or into parts which will be amalgamated with other Districts, the assets of the District should be divided into proportions approximately represented by the member numbers of each part after splitting.  
  3. If a County is split into two or more separate Counties, or into parts, which will be amalgamated with other Counties, the assets of the County should be divided into proportions approximately represented by the member numbers of each part after splitting.  
  4. These proportions of the District or County assets should then be transferred to the Districts or County, which become responsible for those parts of the old Districts or County.  
    This should normally be done under the supervision of UK Headquarters.  

5e.9.3 Disposal of assets at closure of a Group, District or County 

5e.9.3.1

  1. It is important to note that closure of a Group, District or County may be the result of a merger of Groups or Districts or Counties.  In these situations, two or more charitable entities are closed and are replaced by one new charity. 
  2. If a Group, District or County is closed, the Treasurer must prepare a statement of account at the effective date of closure.  
    • For a Group, the statement, together with all assets, must be handed to the District Treasurer as soon as possible after the closure date and must be supported by all books of accounts and vouchers.  
    • For a District, the statement, together with all assets, must be handed to the County Treasurer as soon as possible after the closure date and must be supported by all books of accounts and vouchers.  
    • For a County, the statement, together with all assets, must be handed to the Country and UK Headquarters as soon as possible after the closure date and must be supported by all books of accounts and vouchers.  
  3. The Treasurer must ensure that the statement of account is properly independently examined or audited as appropriate. 

5e.9.4 Assets and liabilities remaining after closure of a Group, District or County 

5e.9.4.1 Policy statement underpinning this section 5e.9.4
In the unlikely event that liabilities remain after the closure of a Group, District, or County then - to the extent that these liabilities exceed the value of any assets (including those already transferred under POR 5e.9.3) - there is no automatic transfer of those net liabilities to another entity.  

Any such outstanding net liabilities will therefore be the responsibility of the Trustees of the closed Group, District, or County. However, the relevant District, County, or Country Headquarters may, at their discretion, choose to provide financial support where their Trustees consider it to be in the best interests of their charity. 

5e.9.4.2 Net assets 
Net assets are where, after closure, total assets are greater than total liabilities: 

  1. Net assets of a Group automatically pass to the District Scout Council which may use or dispose of these at its absolute discretion solely for the purposes of scouting.  
  2. Net assets of a District automatically pass to the County Scout Council, which may use or dispose of these at its absolute discretion solely for the purposes of scouting. 
  3. Net assets of a County automatically pass to the Country Headquarters, which may use or dispose of these at its absolute discretion, solely for the purposes of scouting.  

5e.9.4.3 Net liabilities 
Net liabilities are where, after closure, total assets are less than total liabilities: 

  1. If after the closure of a Group there are net liabilities, then these remain the responsibility of the closed Group’s Trustees. 
  2. If after the closure of a District there are net liabilities, then these remain the responsibility of the closed District’s Trustees. 
  3. If after the closure of a County there are net liabilities, then these remain the responsibility of the closed County’s Trustees. 

However, the relevant receiving District, County, or Country Headquarters may, at their discretion, choose to provide financial support where their Trustees consider it to be in the best interests of their charity. 

5e.9.4.4 Other considerations following closure 

  1. If there is any reasonable prospect of the Group, District or County being revived, the disposition of these assets and liabilities may be delayed by the respective Trustee Board for such a period as it thinks proper with a view to returning them to the revived Group, District or County.  
  2. The Trustee Board of the receiving entity must ensure the preservation of the statements of account and all accounting records of the Group, District or County which has been closed. This will be within the timeframes indicated within the receiving entity’s Data Retention Policy but should normally be at least six years.