Tools to support Trustee Boards

Who is responsible for administration?

Trustees are collectively responsible for making sure good administration and organisation is in place. Administration may be done by one person, or multiple people, whatever suits the Trustee Board's needs. 

Whoever takes the Trustee Board meeting minutes needs to understand what the Trustee Board do and work well with the Chair.  

For Group Trustee Boards, carrying out this administration is part of the Group Leadership Team’s responsibility.

For District and County Trustee Boards, carrying it out is done by the respective Support Team. 

A Trustee Board member should not take minutes, as it will make it difficult for them to fully contribute to the meeting.

Examples of Trustee Board administration tasks:

• Working with the Chair to prepare meeting agendas.
• Distributing agendas and meeting documents.
• Preparing meeting logistics, including booking meeting place(s).
• Taking minutes.
• Maintaining records.
• Supporting the completion of the annual census return.
• Administering the Trustee open selection process agreed by the Trustee Board.
• Preparing and advertising the Annual General meeting.
• Coordinating and collating the Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts.

Tip: Run the Governance or Support? Trustee Board activity to help your Trustees understand the tasks that form part of effective governance. 

At Trustee Board meetings, you may talk about the day-to-day running of Scouts, but your focus should be on making sure things are going to plan, the budget is well-managed, and there’s support in place.

Access the Trustee Board Meeting Agenda Prompts to get an overview of some of the topics you may need to discuss at your meetings, and suggestions of how often to have these discussions.

Annual General Meetings (AGMs) are Scout Council meetings with important legal aspects and key, mandatory aspects the Trustee Board must cover.  

Access the Annual General Meetings webpage to get tips on how to run your AGM and to get an agenda template and script.

Scouts carry out an annual census to create a detailed picture of the young people and volunteers who are members of the organisation.  

Access the Census webpage to find out more information. 

Trustees need to indicate they have agreed to new Sections, Groups or Districts or any changes required to Group or District registrations, as appropriate.

You'll find the forms to make these changes on the Registration forms webpage. 

Check out the Engaging with the local community webpage to know more about identifying and mapping your community and get tips on how to make contact with your local community. 

Every charity must have a governing document, in Scouts we call this a constitution. The constitution is formally adopted through the charity Annual General Meeting (AGM) and it's good practice to re-adopt it at every AGM.

Access the Your Constitution webpage to find out more about how to create a constitution for your Group, District or County/Region/Area (Scotland). 

Check out our GDPR Toolkit to learn what records to keep and what your responsibilities are within GDPR. 

Trustees volunteer together to make sure Groups, Districts, and Counties/Areas/Regions (Scotland) manage money well and have enough money for now and in the future.  

This means the Trustee board should have clear information on which bank accounts are used and what are the procedures for managing them, create and follow an expenses policy, and make the arrangements for accounting and reporting are in place. 

Here are some resources to help Trustees look after finances and make sure proper accounts are kept: 

• Accounting and reporting: Independent examination of accounts, receipts and payment, scrutineer's report to the trustees and the Trustees' annual report
• Banking: information on maintaining accurate financial records
• Gift Aid: how to claim back taxes as donation to your charity
• Grants and funds for your local Group

Access the Finances webpage to discover more resources. 

Trustees make sure Groups, Districts and Counties/Areas/Regions (Scotland) have the right insurance for people, buildings, and equipment. 

Check out the Insurance webpage to discover more about what insurance automatically provided by the Scouts and what additional insurance cover you may need to purchase.

Trustees must follow POR, key policies, and charity regulations. 

Being a Trustee in Scouts learning provides more information on what this means, and what are the charity regulators and regional variations. 

You'll find guidance for Trustee Boards on recent changes in regulations and in POR on Updates for Trustee Boards.

Trustees look after records of ownership of property and make sure buildings are well maintained and safe.  

Check out the Your Scout building webpage to get more information on property management, maintenance, insurance and sponsorship agreements.

Some Groups, District and Counties have appointed the Scout Association Trust Corporation (SATC) to hold title to land as a Custodian Trustee on their behalf. 

Check out The Scout Association Trust Corporation webpage to find out more and to understand the procedures required for appointing the SATC. 

All Scout Units are independent charities.  

Those based in England and Wales may not be required to register with the Charity Commission, as they've been ‘excepted’ by a ruling of the Charity Commission. 

Check the Registering as a charity webpage to find out if your Unit should be registered as a charity. 

Identifying, monitoring, and managing risk is a key part of good charity governance and Trustees must develop and maintain a risk register. 

Access the risk register webpage to find out more and to get a risk register template.

The UK Headquarters Legal Services team provides general legal advice and acts as solicitor for UK Headquarters and The Scout Association Trust Corporation (SATC). Check the Legal Services webpage to learn more.